Teaching a Dog to Read

"If you wish to be a writer, write." - Epictetus

I've decided that I will write in the morning before I do anything else (except feed the furry kids and load up the day's pages for LASR/WC/Aurora). That means either I get my butt in gear and write my blog the night before, or my blog posts will be later in the morning than usual.

Not writing makes me cranky. Sad. Upset. Depressed. I have to write. And, when I don't, I'm not a fun person to be around. So, it's a priority from here on out.

I'm still not publicly announcing WHAT I'm writing, but I'm writing. And when it's done and submitted, I'll tell you what it is. Some of you know (because you're part of my crit group), but I feel as though talking about it will jinx the flow... silly maybe, but there it is.

I ran into a wall today at only 500 words, and I was determined to hit at least 700. So, I putzed around looking at writing prompts and dares and found one that worked for me ... have something random happen that turns out isn't really random at all (the example the site gave was having a car accident happen outside a cop's house -- the cop calls it in, then goes to help ... but it turns out that it wasn't an accident at all, that the serial killer she's been hunting needed to get her out of the secure house and was driving one of the cars).

So, it gave me an idea for the next scene and off I went. I managed a total of just over 1000 words. If all goes as planned, this story will be done by mid-October, if not earlier.

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I'm going to teach my dog the alphabet. No, really... I was talking to a lady who has a therapy dog and she's teaching hers. He knows all the letters in his name (so when she says, "Simon, how do you spell your name? Where's the 'S'... the 'I'..." he can pick them out).

One of the things required of a therapy dog is that they have a large bag of tricks. The cuter and more unusual, the better. Dakota can do the usual (sit, down, shake, etc) plus she high-fives, rolls over and bows. She can also hold a treat on her nose until we tell her to flip it, then tosses and catches it (most of the time). We want her to sneeze on command, wipe her face and speak (and whisper). It's a lot of work, but she's smart and picks up on things pretty quickly.

Our old trainer at PetsMart (who did Dakota's AKC Good Citizen training) offers a therapy dog training class (with official certification at the end), so we're going to look into taking that soon. Handlers only have to be ten years old, so DD can handle her, too, which is awesome.

With any luck, in the next few months, Dakota will be certified and we can start going to nursing homes, schools, libraries, etc.

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You Are Strong

You are tough as nails. You have amazing endurance, drive, and ambition. You motor through any obstacles in your way. It's almost impossible to deter you. You enjoy working hard, but you also take time to savor the sweeter side of life. You give yourself a break when you need it. This down time adds to your stability.

The Candy Bar Test

Works for me.... I'm craving chocolate now, though.

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Fall's In The Air

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ~Edwin Way Teale

The past week or so, the nights have been downright chilly. That fall snap is starting to show up in the weather.

This time of year I feel a little lost ... the butterflies are done, the garden is nearly done (all that's left is to pick the last of everything, then pull up the plants and turn the garden). I didn't have enough "anything" that I grew myself to preserve (I had BIG plans for my green beans, but the year was just too hot and the plants struggled and produced very little). Preserving foodwise, all I have left are the butternut squash and apples.

Then it's fall and winter. No more outdoor time really. Walking the dog, sure, but ... nothing else. In one way it's a bit of a relief -- I don't have to feel guilty spending time inside on the computer. But it's also such a loss. There are days I just like to walk around my yard and smile at the flowers.

I know I'm borrowing trouble. It's only August. But, we'll most likely have our first hard freeze in less than a month. I miss long growing seasons.

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I ran into our first dog trainer yesterday at PetsMart. It was great to see her and we gabbed for a while. She was so pleased with Dakota's behavior. Even though Dakota was SO excited to see her (it's been well over a year, but I swear Dakota remembered her), she DID sit for her greeting (whined the whole time, but kept her butt on the ground).

We talked about agility and about Dakota being a therapy dog. I asked her if she honestly thought Dakota had it in her to be one. I absolutely know Dakota has a sweet temperament -- she'd never nip or bite anyone under any circumstances. But she's also a scaredy-dog and I worry about new situations (and wheelchairs and walkers). She'll put up with any kind of human treatment. She's had kids slap her in the face (they mean to pet, but toddlers don't always control their movements well), poke her eyes, step on her paws, etc. And she doesn't even flinch. But new OBJECTS can freak her out.

Take yesterday.

After playing at the dog park and bathed her. And once all her fluffiness was wet, I noticed she'd torn out all the fur on her cheekbone and it was red and raw from all her scratching. Uh oh. Only one thing to do: the cone of shame.



When I held it, she was fine. When I put it (flat) under her face, she was fine. When I curled it around her head? She absolutely flipped out, terrified. Crying, jumping, shaking ... she ended up destroying the e-collar (apparently even fairly pliable plastic WILL shatter if you hit it against the wall, the table, the banister, etc. enough times) and then just lay there, wearing the remnants, shivering.

So... therapy dog? Or not?

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You Are Sweet and Sensitive

You're the type of person who's always taking others into consideration. You are very empathetic. You like to think everything through carefully. You tend to regret rash decisions. You are tentatively playful. It takes you a while to open up to new friends. You prefer calm waters where you can drift along peacefully. You don't like waves.

The Rubber Duckie Test

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... NO. Is there a stronger word for no? If so, insert here.

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