Thursday, April 14, 2011

A Question, Wildlife and Dogs

Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. ~Plato

I'm doing a random poll today ... okay, I admit it's not THAT random, but still.

Do you think it's believable that grown men in their 20s and early 30s, siblings from a blue collar family, would still rough house? Would you find it odd to see one tackle the other and wrestle on the front lawn? This is outside of physical sports (like football and hockey) where you would expect it.

I'm curious to hear your response.

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My battle with wildlife in my gardens has already begun. Around my well pump I have piles of spring bulbs, mostly daffodils and tulips. Two days ago, I went to check them out and found deer prints in the soil and ALL My tulips eaten down to nubs.

*sigh*

And so it begins.

Lest I forget that we do live out in the wild, last night upon our return home from agility class (it was dark) we returned to a moose in our yard. Moose are really, really, really big. Truthfully, unless you've seen one IRL, you can't begin to understand how huge they are.

More, they have pretty much no fear, not of people, cars, dogs... so you sit and watch them stroll away.

They are truly amazing. We haven't had a moose in my yard (that I've seen anyway) for many, many years. I honestly hope we don't again. They're quite intimidating.

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A recipe for disaster: last night as the agility classes were turning over (advanced goes out one door, intermediate comes in another) two of our "reactive" dogs decided to ... um.... react.

One is a pit bull who loves people, likes about half the dogs she knows, but has zero tolerance for other alpha females. Her owner is about 5'2" and the dog is about 70 lbs of solid muscle.

The other is a lab mix, ditto the above. Loves people (in fact one of her favorite people is my DD ... the dog cries when she sees her), tolerates many dogs, but has no tolerance for any kind of bad behavior on the part of other dogs. Her owner is fairly tall (about 5'6") but very slim and the dog is about 90 lbs of solid muscle.

They saw each other, coming and going last night. The pit recognized an alpha female and starting barking, the lab was having none of that and responded in kind. Both dogs dug in and headed for each other, dragging their owners... oh boy. I happened to be close enough to the lab (who I trust completely not to tag me ... I don't know the pit that well, she's pretty new to class), so I grabbed hold of her and helped drag her away. But WOW! It was incredibly intense.

The dogs were all wound up yesterday. I suspect it was because of the rain... they hadn't been able to get their wiggles out during the day. It made for a very interesting class. The busy dogs were busier, the cranky dogs were crankier, the goofy dogs were goofier. Wonder what tonight at the beginning class will hold (aside from me having to push a 80 lb timid Doberman over the walk-it)?

I really do love dogs.

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You Are Regular



You are lively and energetic. You are constantly seeking the new challenges.

You are easily inspired and are always coming up with new ideas. You have a lot of enthusiasm.

You stay adaptable and flexible. You want to be agile and ready for anything.

You are a rule breaker to the extreme. You get a thrill from pushing boundaries and breaking taboos.



About 75% right ...

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6 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

I've been away from young men too long to know the answer to your question.

Sorry to hear the deer are back. You can't catch a break.

Dru said...

You Are Decaf

You are a patient and compassionate person. You understand that we're all human.

You are one of the most determined people around. You can dig deep when you need to.

You are good at putting things together and following directions. You stay focused.

You are proud of what you know how to do. And you know that you're improving every day.


This is accurate.

We don't have male relatives, but I suspect that they'll continue to rough-house until they are in their 40s.

Angelina Rain said...

My hubby and brother-in-law are both in their early thirties and although they don’t rough house anymore, they are still crazy in their own way. They constantly make fun of each other, put the other one down, and bully one another. At first, being an only child, I was shocked by their behavior, but after a while I learned that that’s how they communicate. Instead of saying “I love you, bro” by say “f.u. old man” and in their heads it has the same meaning. Strange! I won’t begin to understand their relationship, but it’s so much fun to listen in on their phone conversations. It’s like being at a comedy show. The way they communicate you would think they don’t get along but in fact they have a very close relationship.

I’m sorry to hear about the wildlife that’s ruining your garden. When I was a kid, my mother had a little box with a window screen on top built and she would put that over the bulbs and keep it that way until they would start growing. She also used to put moth balls around the plants. That deterred squirrels and rabbits.

Tori Lennox said...

I don't spend any time around guys that age, especially brothers, so no idea. But I have it on good authority that guys never really grow up. LOL

Melissa McClone said...

I don't think it's odd. It's just something guys do sometimes. I don't have brothers, but I have two b-i-ls.

Brandy said...

Hubs has no brothers, nor do I, so I can't help with your question in that context. I would swear I've heard of that same situation in another book.

Supposedly, I am Regular as well. Nah. Anyone can tell you, I am far from regular. *G*

Hope you had a good day!