I was thinking about the Rosie situation and how many of you think I hate her (I really don’t), and I’ve come to the realization that I’m a shitty pet owner. My cat is overweight, neither of my dogs is trained, etc. Sure, I shower them with affection and they have better medical care than a lot of people, but I suck in the discipline department. I meant to meet with trainers when I got Lily, but many of you said to wait a while, then I broke my shoulder, then I moved, then I found Rosie, and now it is impossible to try to train one with the other just sitting there getting in the way. Oh, well.
I suppose Lily is not completely untrained. If I’m lying in bed and I open my arms and say “What’s a brother got to do to get some love?” or “Gimme some sugar,” Lily comes over and lies in my arms and lets me pet her belly while she licks my face. And if I am in the living room by myself and I yell “Where’s my little doggie” she’ll come running in, jump in my lap, and lick my face. That counts as training, no?
In other news, I am completely addicted to tea. I’ve even given up my morning coffee, choosing the mellow tea caffeine over the jolting coffee experience. I also like making it- I like watching it steep, I like the different things you have to do for different teas, I like the rituals. What I really need now is a good tea with no caffeine to compliment my chamomile consumption at night. Some variety would be nice.
Elizabelle
where the pet pictures be, mon?
Wilson Heath
Anyone got a good pointer for DC protest-y activity next week? (Shutdown is roughly inevitable at this point, at least for some small span of time.)
BGinCHI
By tea you mean marijuana, right John?
Otherwise I can’t follow what you’re saying.
Baud
Some dogs, like mine, are born trainers rather than trainees. It’s all good.
soonergrunt
A nice cup of decaf tea does sound good right now. Thanks, John!
stuckinred
Our Bohdi is very well trained, once in a while his collar will come of and he stands still and waits for us to put it back on. He comes when he is calls and is a all-around good boy. Lil Bit, the cocker’ is awful. If she gets out off the leash she immediately runs to the back yard and finds poop to eat. She has run off several times, won’t come when she is called and is a brat. We just had to adjust. She stays on the leash and we watch her like a hawk. Stick with it.
Just Some Fuckhead
Look on the bright side, John. At least you aren’t failing real live human beings, in whom our future rests, like the rest of us.
I missed my daughter’s track meet this afternoon and I. Don’t. Care.
SteveinSC
Hot tea has a sharp, but clean taste. I gave up coffee after I had reached the point of coffee in the morning, multiple coffees at work, and coffee at/after supper. Now it is coffee at breakfast, tea the rest of the day, and, on occasion, espresso after supper. John Cole, very definitely try Bigelow’s Oolong, you won’t be disappointed.
gelfling545
Seriously, take your canine family members & get some training. It can help so much and improves not just your life but theirs as well since they will be less confused by your frustration with their behavior & therefore happier. Just learning the “stay” command makes them safer. My daughter & her husband had 2 Boston “Terrorists” who seemed demented until the (very gentle) training course they took together. (you have to get trained too!) Now they are still lively & energetic but much more agreeable to be around
stuckinred
@Just Some Fuckhead: schmuck
demkat620
@Just Some Fuckhead: Yeah my kid has softball practice tomorrow and all I can think about is I hope it rains.
Some days it is too tiring to have kids.
Anne Laurie
The saying goes: If you’re not training your pets, they’re training you.
As for the ‘two dogs, one person’ logistics: Crate one and work with the other. The crated dog will probably scream like a banshee at first, but they’ll also have a real incentive to prove they’re The Good One when you swap them around.
Now that the weather’s getting nicer, you can also start taking them for walks individually and do some training work on-lead. Exercise for you, brainwork for Lily & Rosie. Just don’t forget the treats! — especially when you’re working with the Piglet.
Comrade Mary
Give me a Tunch pic and I’ll tell you about teas.
shortstop
My childhood dog was a completely laid-back (not to say submissive), agreeable, malleable pooch. Plus, she was small, so she was never hard to control, even if she hadn’t been so eager to please. So I grew up not understanding the complete, total, utter necessity of training your dog. Imagine the cold shower of reality I got when the third baseman and I adopted a largish alpha male who chased cars, didn’t have the faintest idea how to walk on a leash and bowled elderly ladies over by jumping exuberantly on them.
You must train your dogs. You have to. It’s not just about “discipline,” although that’s part of it. It’s for the happiness of both of you and the cognitive development and healthy emotional function of your dogs. Dogs are actually happier when they know what the boundaries are. They want to please us (I’m going to make people upset by noting that they want to please us because that’s the way to get food — yes, dogs can be very affectionate but not at all in the same way we are) and when they get mixed signals from us or ineffective communication (such as lecturing them at length as we would a human, rather than using consistent commands they can understand), they don’t know how to make us happy.
That’s very frustrating for them as well as us. It also deprives them of the ability to exercise the dog version of problem-solving skills — they need not just physical exercise but also regular mental stimulation, and training (which never stops — you will be doing this forever, although it gets much easier) provides that.
It’s going to be hard at first. You have to do it even when you don’t feel like doing it. There will be some things Lily will pick up quickly and Rosie won’t seem to be able to figure out, and vice versa, and you’ll wonder why. But you really gotta do this for the peace and comfort of everyone in your house. And you might just find you like Rosie a lot better after you do. You might not. But right now you’re not giving her a fair shake because you’ve fallen down on what you should be doing.
BGinCHI
@shortstop: Cole probably has the dogs in the car partway to Chi already.
Just Some Fuckhead
@demkat620:
Just the freaking shuttle service ya have to run is hell enough without standing there for two hours pretending like second to last place is the most awesome thing evah.
Anne Laurie
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Imagine the chagrin when it turns out Neither. Does. She.
P.S. This is reason #6,758 why the Spousal Unit & I took ourselves out of the breeding pool.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
Hi John and All,
I’ve become a big fan of this Good Earth tea. Caffeine free with lots of interesting flavors and a hint of sweetness. It’s good.
Good Earth at Amazon
You may want a smaller box to start out – a local grocery may carry it. Then again, the 6-box pack might go well with your 50 year supply of chamomile. ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
stuckinred
@Just Some Fuckhead: Track and swimming, the black holes of kids sports. So much of them are good but the Waiting is the Hardest Part!
Litlebritdifrnt
Yeah well you and me both Cole. I mean what human being would put up with Cueball? Seriously. He regularly raids the trash, scattering cat food and dog food cans all over the kitchen floor, he wrecks the couch on a regular basis, he chases the cats, he has a barking contest with the next door neighbor’s dog every damn night, if anyone ever comes to the front door you would swear that he was going to devour them in an instant, three times in the last week I have come home and he has ripped the curtains off the front window so he can see something that he previously could not see. Oh and he pees in the cat litter box and misses. Am I going to get rid of him? No.
shortstop
@BGinCHI: Hope I didn’t come off like an arrogant expert. I’m full of wisdom, not natural skill, on this. Training a pooch requires daily consistency,and I’m a born procrastinator and stop-and-start worker. It took me a long while to figure out how to train myself so I could actually do it with a dog.
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
did john arbuckle ever chase odie with a vacuum cleaner? or maybe for purposes of analogy, rosie is nermal, and lily is odie….we know who john arbukle and garfield are…
ErinSiobhan
It’s not really training for the dogs. It’s training for the owner. My mother got a dog for company after my dad died. The first couple of years with him were really rough – he basically took over the house and there was a very unfortunate incident that ended with him nipping her. She needed stitches and the dog got placed on a watch list. She loved him but he made her miserable because she simply couldn’t manage him. Finally, she took him to obedience training. He’s still not a perfect dog but the balance of power has shifted in her favour and she has established some control.
shortstop
@ErinSiobhan:
It is. It’s extremely humbling to see how quickly they positively change their behavior when we start doing the right things. Like they were just waiting for us to stop being such dumbasses.
lawnorder
I love both my dogs but there are occasions I want to strangle them, like when my female dog chewed on my apple tree and killed it or my male dog got a hold of the thanksgiving turkey…
Part of pet owning is living with the disasters. And wishing you had a better dog / cat / fish
Litlebritdifrnt
Oh BTW if you have a Big Lots around you they are having an “International Foods” thing right now and they have Typhoo tea bags $4.00 for a box of 80. Typhoo tea is FABULOUS!
stuckinred
@lawnorder: $1500 for raising toxicity treatment, yes!
Lysana
The dog owners have the training sitch well in hand, so I will focus on the tea question. First, to introduce a technical term, tisanes are non-tea teas. Herbals, in short. If it doesn’t have the leaf of the tea plant in it, it’s a tisane.
Rooibos is one of the loveliest tisanes ever. Lovely mouth feel and comforting. Mint tisanes can also be excellent, especially if dinner isn’t quite sitting well. Ditto that for anything using ginger. I’m also a big fan of raspberry and blackberry tisanes, hot or cold.
Just Some Fuckhead
@stuckinred:
Meh, it ain’t all bad. We’re renting a hall and a DJ for her 16th birthday party this weekend so she can dance with all her friends.
steviez314
Maybe you can send Rosie to a doggie boot camp for 2-3 weeks. Then it will be a lot easier when she comes back as long as you listen to the trainer’s instructions.
I did that for 2 dogs and it worked great.
soonergrunt
@ErinSiobhan:
THIS. Obedience training is all about teaching the human how to be the Alpha, and how to use that to get the dog(s) to know and be comfortable with their place in the family.
stuckinred
@Just Some Fuckhead: I was just fuckin around.
stuckinred
@soonergrunt: The Monks of New Skete
soonergrunt
@Just Some Fuckhead: Wow. Well, I have an Asperger’s 16-year-old boy and a Neurotypical 12-year-old girl.
I came home from work today and the 12-year-old was sitting on the floor with a boy from school, their books open and completely ignored.
I am so not ready for this phase of my life.
Anne Laurie
@Litlebritdifrnt: Yeah, but you love Cueball — he’s got the perfect home for him. Rosie needs to be in a household where she can be loved like Cueball is loved. And that’s not the JC household, because Lily already had a lock on whatever affection John could spare from Tunch.
And I say this as someone who’s living with an Obligation Dog, sigh. At least, even though we feel guilty for not loving her whole-heartedly, we can see that she loves living in our household… and the only real alternative for her, barring a miracle, is euthanasia. Rosie’s not that kind of re-housing risk — the sooner she can go where she’ll be the center of someone’s universe, the better for everybody!
Sarah, Proud and Tall
And someone is going to recommend the fucking Dog Whisperer (ignoring the fact that the vile little carbuncle’s idea of “training” a difficult dog seems to be to karate chop it in the neck or strangle it with its chain until it DOES WHAT IT’S FUCKING TOLD) in three… two… one…
jcgrim
For tea lovers out there I recommend you try Mighty Leaf Tea Company’s organic rooibos and chamomile citrus available as loose or in silk pouches.
http://www.mightyleaf.com/index.cfm
Your Welcome.
stuckinred
Here we go, dog training flame war in one two three. . .
stuckinred
@Sarah, Proud and Tall</a>: seems to be
I see you have a deep understanding of Caesar.
Anne Laurie
@soonergrunt:
Reason 6,759 why the SU & I took ourselves out of the breeding pool…
Comrade Mary
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Really? Honest? Because I’ve been looking for something to match the PG Tips packed-in-foil experience (not available in Canada – pity!), and I don’t know if I can live with another disappointment.
MikeJ
@soonergrunt: When she’s 18 you can do like burnspesq and send her up here to Seattle to be an art school girl. We’ll make sure you have nothing worry about. Bwaahahahahah.
Citizen_X
Here’s a couple of guys talking about tea.
Oh, and martial arts. And life.
demkat620
@stuckinred: Dude, try Science Olympiad. Don’t get me wrong, I am proud of my son. This is a big deal. But its 30 kids taking tests for an entire day.
God love him that he wants to do it but do I really have to watch?
Lolis
@demkat620:
No kids. No pets. Yeah, I’m feeling good.
mazareth
Hey John, I don’t do pets that live out of water, so no love for me on that.
Tea however, is one of my favorite subjects. Check out these folks: http://www.rishi-tea.com/
Most of their teas are organic and fair trade. Fresh and very high quality. I special order my favorites from our local co-op. Shipping is free on orders over $66. (Yes, I drink that much tea!)
The Keemum, China Breakfast, Golden Yunnan and Pu Erh Classic, and the Wuyi Oolong are my favorites. Jamaica Red Rooibos is my favorite of the herbal blends. Rishi sells several sampler packages with 5-6 different 1 oz. bags for each of the major categories. Enough to figure out if you like them, but you’re not stuck with mass quantities of something you don’t like.
On another subject, thanks to all of you outside of Wisconsin that helped out with the Kloppenburg/Prosser race!
RedKitten
Chalk up another recommendation for rooibos tea. It works no matter what time of day it is, and is just lovely.
We purchased some Coffee Pu’erh tea at David’s Tea awhile back. It’s awesome. It’s post-fermented tea (tastier than it sounds), and this particular type of it tastes like a weird hybrid of tea, coffee and chocolate. It’s basically tea for coffee drinkers and it’s freaking, fracking awesome.
@Comrade Mary:
I see what you did there.
stuckinred
@stuckinred: @demkat620: No kids, just dogs. My frame of reference is 20 years managing kids sports. The worst I saw was the Royal Academy of Dance program. The scared those poor little girls shitless!
Elizabelle
Someone said “Thank God and Greyhound” on the NYT Glenn Beck leaving show thread ….
So here’s the original. Happy happy hour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx8x3LCnYZw
newhavenguy
Why I am a cat person, pretty much. As much of a thoughtless dick as I am to the human people around me, I spring for sashimi dinners every now and then to share with the folks’ cats- one of whom is fatter than Tunch, which actually worries me. (No cat of my own right now, so I visit like a doting grandparent, spoiling the shit out of them.)
Discipline? Unthinkable- it would be harder to organize Democrats, for chrissake. Besides, they don’t want discipline, just food, clean water, clean litter, and attention when (and only when) they feel like it. Hell, I’m having dinner with Sweet Pea and Pippen tomorrow. If I’m feeling nice, maybe I’ll bring some food for Mom and Dad, too.
Mary G
I have to agree, training is amazing. Before I applied for disability I spent a large part of a year house-sitting two demons with fur for a friend. She would give them treats whenever they wanted them, let them eat people food right off people’s plates, jump all over everyone, yadda yadda yadda. They expected the same from me and it was exhausting. I couldn’t walk them or even get leashes on.
In desperation I took them to an obedience class and they picked it up in a week or two. We only practiced 10 minutes or so each dog a couple of times a day. The next time I came to stay, they remembered everything. While my friend was still there, they were horrible as ever. I went into the guest room to unpack and she left. By the time I came back out, they were lying quietly in their places I had assigned them for treats. We got along like gangbusters. They acted like little angels. Then the instant she got home they transformed back into monsters again!
I think Rosie is bored and needs a job to do. Now that the weather is getting better, get up off the Lazy Boy and take her to class. She will feel special and you will be so much more relaxed; it’s worth it.
harlana
Cesar Milan, check it out
Ty Lookwell
I’m going to recommend buying some loose leaf yerba mate for the afternoons (not evenings, it is mildly stimulating). I love Rosamonte’s Suave, which I order from these guys: http://www.yerbamateteagourd.com/rosamonte-kilo-p-50.html
You don’t really need all the gourds and metal straws and such, just brew it like tea (I do).
I’m also going to suggest a bagged tea… Costco’s Kirkland brand sells the Japanese tea maker Ito En’s sencha mixed with matcha in bags, and I’ve been buying it for years. Use 2 bags per cup, though. And it mixes very nicely with the above mentioned mate (if you don’t mind mixing loose and bags together).
Oh, and for summer, get into oolongs and roasted barley teas (iced).
stuckinred
Fresca
Parallel 5ths (Jewish Steel)
Why do Marxists drink herbal tea?
Because proper tea is theft.
Roger Moore
@demkat620:
No, you don’t. I remember going to lots of events growing up, with many happy memories. Essentially zero of those happy memories involve my parents watching me, and for most of them I honestly couldn’t tell you whether my parents were there or not. If he’s really involved in what he’s doing, he probably won’t know or care if you slip out for a few hours. Ask him; I’ll bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Comrade Mary
@RedKitten:
For everyone else.
(I have some Red Rose on hand right now. Pitiful. But the YouTube comments say that Typhoo is what RR used to be like, so I’ll take that as another yes vote. And I didn’t know that Lipton had taken over RR, but in retrospect, that certainly does explain its decline.)
NOTE TO COLE: I am still talking about teas with caffeine. You want the lowdown on caffeine-free herbals, you give me a picture of the cat. Nobody gets hurt.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Comrade Mary:
These Typhoo t-bags are wrapped in foil and are perfect for a single cup of tea. I am using them at the office, where I do not have a pot to brew multiple cups and they work well. Having said that they are strong enough to brew two large cups in the morning in my tea pot. I have two must have brands of tea Typhoo and PG-tips. Anything other than that is a waste of water to be honest.
stuckinred
@Litlebritdifrnt: Sounds like an 8-ball.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Comrade Mary:
don’t feel bad, Red Rose is what I use when I cannot get my hands on Typhoo or PG-Tips. It is an acceptable substitute when you consider that the alternative is Lipton.
lacp
I try to do 3 cups a day of Penn Herb’s Mental Alertness blend, ’cause this aging brain of mine needs all the help it can get. In addition, I add celery seed (for my gout) to one cup and hawthorne berries (for the ticker) to the other two.
TooManyJens
I never wanted my parents to come to my track meets. Was I weird?
WaterGirl
I can’t recall who was talking about one of the actors from the TV show Justified the other night, but if you’re reading this, here is an interesting article that focuses a lot on the two male leads.
stuckinred
@WaterGirl: I see we approved a new pool at Crystal Lake!
Keith G
@shortstop:
Once again, I find myself echoing shortstop.
JC, you have dropped some scratch on some less than necessary things. Training Lily and Rosie is a necessity, damn it.
Either get to it or please just shut the fuck up. The whining is silly. Your lack of effort is negligent, at best. Spend the ~$200 it will take to get some professional help for initial training for both. Consult with a certified pro on a home visit if you like.
Respect your girls enough to do this for them.
schrodinger's cat
John Cole’s transformation to crazy cat (and dog) lady 95 % complete.
Lets see, he makes pots of tea, potters around in the garden, is fastidious about cleaning (refer to the naked moping incident), loves to cook and is cranky and curmudgeonly.
The transformation will be 100% when he takes up knitting, while sitting on the porch in his rocking chair.
P.S. We can has Tunch photo plz?
Kthx.
Comrade Mary
@Litlebritdifrnt: Thanks! Oh, I just hope the Typhoo is wrapped in foil here. For some reason, PG Tips isn’t, and the one brand that is consistently foil-wrapped (President’s Choice) seems to have fallen drastically in quality lately, or else I just got a bad batch.
schrodinger's cat
I have a suggestion for the next book club selection.
Stabilizing an unstable economy by Hyman Minsky.
garage mahal
Cole
I hear Paul Ryan has an obedience plan that involves torturing your dogs. It doesn’t work. It makes no sense. And it’s cruel. But it’s on FUCKING PAPER goddammit.
Omnes Omnibus
@TooManyJens: I hated when people came to my track or cross country meets. I liked having people come to rugby games when I was in college though.
mazareth
Back on the tea thing. As far as bagged tea goes. I get the Yorkshire Gold blend by Taylors of Harrowgate.It’s strong. My personal nickname for it is Yorkshire Rocket Fuel. Their Assam is good too. I don’t like messing with loose leaf tea at work…
jl
I guess Cole needs to get some ‘double dog whisperer’ to train his two canines. Tunch is lurking, plotting fiendishly clever ways to mess it all up, I suppose.
What the heck, life is short.
Cole has done two good deeds this week, which should make up for his bad awfulness as a pet owner (at least awful in puritanical terms, since at least he and his pets are fat and happy).
One, Cole made me aware of the phrase ‘shit show fail parade’, which will probably come in very handy over the next few weeks and months, at least that is what I think from the performance of our Very Serious Overlords lately.
Two, Cole’s awesome and totally credible gumdrops and rainbows budget fix that he unveiled earlier today, which looks every bit as credible as the Ryan plan. I am sure Brooks will praise it in Friday’s NYTimes.
You are a good man, Johnny Cole.
On the tea crisis: ginger tea, unsweetened.
WaterGirl
@stuckinred: Yay. New pool in Urbana, new mayor in Champaign. It’s about time. Pretty happy about that!
Also glad we ended up with more votes in Wisconsin, even if the margin is slim.
Edit: I got my hands on an iPad yesterday and ended up ordering one. I am very excited about that! I wanted to ask you how long it takes to get used to typing on the virtual keyboard. I find that with my actual keyboard, I rest my fingers lightly on the keys all the time, which definitely does not work with the virtual keyboard.
I just couldn’t figure out what to do with my hands on the virtual keyboard, and I was reminded of the experience of learning how to smoke a joint all those decades ago, just couldn’t get it right, couldn’t get it right, then you do.
Linnaeus
Here in the Emerald City, you’re like to get run out of town if you don’t drink coffee – well, not really, but you can’t spit without hitting a coffee shop. So I don’t see ever giving up coffee.
But late in the day, definitely tea. I’m sure folks here have much better tea palates than I do. For my money, my favorite is Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast.
Just Some Fuckhead
@soonergrunt: Twelve seems a little early. Have you tried beatings yet?
Fucen Pneumatic Fuck Wrench Tarmal
@Comrade Mary:
it never fails, when you want some pussy its always a fine line between begging and extortion.
socialissimo
My wife and I rescued an “unadoptable” Husky/Sheppard X
wasis extremely dog agressive and uncontrollable on walks. We put him through 2 intensive training programs at the low, low price of $1000 and now he is a joy to behold. Except when he feels compelled to show a random dog that he is 8o lbs.of I-will-fucking-kill-you, like 2 weeks ago when he ripped off a pit bull’s ear and received a chest puncture for the trouble. In a class environment no less. All in all, the classes wre worth every penny. The wife unit is more relaxed although I ‘m disappointed that I can no longer use the “how do you expect to discipline our kids if you can’t look after a dog” argument when family planning comes up.maye
i second the recommendation of Rooibos (aka African Red Bush) tea for your non-caffeine enjoyment. It’s an acquired taste. It’s almost like somebody took root beer and made a mild hot tea out of it.
jl
Come to think of it, catnip tea might be just the thing. A little sip o’ nip for ol’ John Cole that grouchy ol’ soul, and and a little nip o’ nip for Tunch.
I am eagerly awaiting videos made by a Cole blasted on nip of a Tunch blasted on nip, with the two dogs looking on in wonder.
And voila, a few seconds in google and look what comes up:
Catnip Tea Benefits
Catnip Tea has a calming effect, may help relieve stress, and may help treat anxiety and nervousness.
(check)
Catnip Tea may help alleviate insomnia.
(check)
Catnip Tea may also be used to help lessen migraine headaches.
(check, I think Cole has those, or close to it)
Catnip Tea may also relieve stomach complaints such as colic, cramps, gas, and indigestion.
(check)
Catnip Tea may be used in treating fever.
(that will be checked soon)
Catnip Tea may help in treating toothaches.
(soon to be checked too, one way or another, the way Cole’s fortune has been running in terms of physical decay)
http://www.teabenefits.com/herbal-tea-benefits/catnip-tea-benefits.html
Holy Little Miss Muffet and Her Curds and Whey, I think we have found the wonder drug Cole needs.
Article says anyone pregnant should not drink it. Which would not seem to apply to Cole. But as we have seen, anything can happen in the Cole household, so Cole should note that down, even though it may seem unlikely now.
JR
White tea is what you’re looking for. Low in caffeine compared to other teas, light and fragrant, but pure tea, no herbs or flowers.
I’ve never gotten into flowers or herbs, unless I have a stomach-ache or can’t sleep…
Little Boots
Affection is everything. Cesar Milon would hate us both, but affection is everything to all animals. and that is enough.
debit
Cole, some of us think you hate Rosie because you say things like, “I hate Rosie.” You call her an asshole. You say you want to open the door and let her run off to be someone else’s problem.
If I was at the point where I could say things like that, repeatedly and with great force, about any of my pets, I would have to be at the point where absolutely hated them. So perhaps you can see why some of us are perplexed when you claim you don’t really hate Rosie.
Brad
I call this post, “The Distilled Essence of John Cole”
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@stuckinred:
Cesar Milan is a vile turd.
He once came to Shady Pines because Muriel Heppelthwaite’s dear little pug was having dominance issues. Every time the nurse tried to take the doggy off Muriel’s lap to clean up the urine (which usually came from Muriel, not the doggy) it would growl at them like Cthulhu after a bad weekend on the turps.
It was a dear little thing with a tiny mooshed up face and a pink slobbery tongue. All it really needed was for Muriel to say no to it occasionally, to give it treats or pats as a reward for sitting and staying, instead of letting it do whatever it wanted.
We were all sitting in the common room, watching repeats of “Gilligan’s Island” (It’s supposed to be soothing).
Cesar whisked in, all hands and beady snake eyes, and made a grab at the dog, while shouting something about “making the dog fear you as the Alpha”. The doggy growled at him and he proceeded to poke it in the middle of its forehead with his stubby little fingers, while telling it it was a “bad dog”.
The “bad dog” slipped off Muriel’s lap, shook itself a bit damply, then when Cesar came in for the next poke, ran through his legs and clamped its teeth onto Cesar’s butt like a starving seagull on a chip.
I almost wet myself laughing, so you can imagine what condition Muriel was in.
Cesar wailed like a soul in hell and ran, flailing with his hands at the dog attached to his bottom.
We didn’t see the doggy for at least an hour after that, until it trotted back into the common room with a satisfied smirk on its ugly little face and a scrap of damp and slightly bloody khaki in its teeth.
We found a decent trainer after that, and she recommended gentle, loving discipline and respect, not physical attacks, and Muriel’s doggy was a dear after that, although we never quite managed to stop it snaffling the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups from the common room.
Paul W.
Well damn Mr. Cole! While I don’t approve of your lazy approach to training your pet, which it is, you have almost sold me on tea! I’m currently a coffee fanatic (just bought 3 pounds whole bean yesterday and use a French press), but what would a beginner need to brew some “mellow caffination” of tea (and anyone can help me here)?
jl
Cole just luuuuuvvvvs his blog commentariate (Right, Cole? Right?….Right?)
I thought so.
Thanks. I love you too, Cole (in a safe hug manly sort of way).
And look how he talks about that crowd.
WaterGirl
@soonergrunt: I vividly recall working with a great guy years ago, who would sometimes arrive at work on a Monday morning looking pretty ragged. When I would ask how he was doing, sometimes he would just look at me and say these 4 words: “My daughter is 13.” So you have that to look forward to!
P.S. I looked up neurotypical and found contradictory info. Would love to understand the reference. The Google failed me.
Little Boots
@debit:
oh, who hasn’t thought that. if the kids are alive at the end of the day, every parent has done their job. that’s my motto, dammit.
Little Boots
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I KNEW it.
bystander
Oh, c’mon, Cole. If I can train a borzoi (#75/79 in dog intelligence) to sit, stay, down, wait, and perform a comfortable heel on a loose leash in 6 weeks worth classes (one hour each), you can train a Parson Jack Russell Terrier (#46/79 in dog intelligence) to do all of that and more. Me thinks it’s you who doesn’t want your behavior “adjusted.” Or you fear the loss of an easy Open Thread topic. Clearly you’re not a shitty pet owner. Since it could be different if you wanted it to be, I suspect y’all are pretty well adapted to each other’s idiosyncrasies.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
For tea, my recommendation would be TWG tea from Singapore. Lovely tea of all kinds, of the highest quality, and of course quite expensive, but worth every cent.
They freight me a pound of their black honey tea from Singapore every three or four months. It’s beautiful. A strong black tea with a wonderful bees’-waxy scent and a light honey flavor, and only 80 bucks a pound including shipping.
Tim, Interrupted
Is it possible that we think you hate Rosie because you’ve told us that many times?
I agree with the above poster, Cole: you’ve got things the way you want them with the pets. When you decide that’s no longer true, then you’ll change.
Trained dogs are much happier. I know this from experience. It’s not so much about rigorous training regimens as it is about CONSISTENCY and firm BOUNDARIES. They like it.
Also, too and furthermore: Why is there no link in this post to a corresponding post over at Sully’s new digs containing his thoughts on you and your pets?
debit
@Little Boots: Sure, sometimes they do things that irritate me. Like how Chloe is food obsessed and thought that she should get a treat every time she goes out to pee, and would attempt to get me to let her out every ten minutes. But that was my fault because I taught her that I’d treat her for that when I first got her, because I was stupid and over indulgent.
But I’ve never had a pet I hated, or said I hated, or wished would go away. Not in word, not in thought.
WaterGirl
@debit: Hi Debit, I know you directed this at Cole, but I will jump in and say that i can see how it could all fit together. John has a big heart, especially for pets, and I believe he does love Rosie, but he may not like her a lot of the time.
Little story:
I know from caring for my sweet boy kitty (for 10 weeks) who was dying, that a special bond formed while I was caring for him during that time that went beyond the bond we had before, even though I always felt he was my kitty soulmate.
Rosie and John just don’t fit together, but I believe he takes good care of her.
So if John is caring for Rosie because he feels he needs to, even if he doesn’t like her a lot of the time, and doesn’t feel about Rosie anything like what he feels for Lily, I can see how a special bond could develop, even if he doesn’t like Rosie very much.
John shows Rosie love, with snuggles and lap time and care-taking, even though he wishes he had his nice life with Tunch and Lily back.
I think it would be difficult for a really responsible guy like Cole to let a dog go once he has brought her into his life, so it takes some time to work through it all. Cole has decided to find a new home for Rosie. I wonder if it’s like a job, once you have decided you need to leave, it can be really painful to work those remaining days or weeks.
I don’t know if John would agree with what I’ve said, but that’s how i make sense of it all. For what it’s worth.
Tim, Interrupted
Oh, also, too, additionally, and furthermore again: Agree with the above commenter that you have become a cat and dog lady who putters in her garden and sips tea. Which is of course, fine.
What I’m wondering is when you are finally going to at long last come out of the closet and marry me?
Or Sully. He’d probably love to make you his second husband.
fraught
I just hate the posts where you call her an asshole and joke about giving her away when it seems to me that she’s really happy with you and would be heartbroken if she were dumped. Either do it or don’t do it but please leave us out of the drama involved. It makes me feel shitty especially when I think of all the people in Japan who are living with thoughts of their pets being crushed by a tsunami and being swept out to sea. I can’t imagine not loving my dogs.
Little Boots
@debit:
I totally do that too. It’s wrong, so wrong. but I know that they love me and I love them, and would never hurt them in any way, but damn, sometimes they drive me nuts with their begging, and the worst part is I know it’s my fault. what to do. and fraught, do you seriously think John would actually dump his dog? I don’t.
Corner Stone
@Tim, Interrupted: Wow. Just..errr…WoW.
Katie5
@Comrade Mary: Yorkshire Gold is the ticket, but I don’t know if you get it in Canada either.
And any of these three are better than the orange pekoe crap we drink in Canada.
Corner Stone
Bull shit. You clearly hate her.
This could not be any more clear.
Ogden Gnash
@gelfling545: there it is. training works all the way around, for everyone, or not at all. don’t worry about having perfectly trained Stepford dogs. find a point where they know you’re the boss and you know when it’s ok for them to get away with small things. dogs like to think they get over on us sometimes. my dogs aren’t perfect, but they’re happy. they make me happy too.
debit
@WaterGirl: I actually do think he takes excellent care of her, and is having a hard time with the idea of sending her to another home. I commented in another Rosie thread about this. It’s just weird to me that he can say he hates her, then say later that he doesn’t understand why people think he hates her. You know?
Jay S
DIY herb tea:
1. Rosemary and lemon or lime (juice and rind both)
2. Lavender
LindaH
Check out “It’s Me or the Dog”. Victoria Stillwell is the dog trainer and she pushes reward, exercise, and consistency. She gives really good lessons on the show on how to stop a lot of bad behavior from your dogs. Training will make you and Rosie feel better.
Comrade Mary
@Katie5: Holy shit. Those people are serious about tea. And yay — A Bit of Home in Mississauga stocks Yorkshire Gold. I’ll have to go out there, even though paying $12.99 plus HST for 80 bags gives me pause.
Even better: Say Tea on Bloor has the tea and is even closer to me. W00t!
Gracie
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: Fucking fabulous story.
One of Milan’s devotees once said to me: “You say your dog has leash aggression? There is no such thing.” My dog sure showed her later how wrong she was. Caesar Milan can suck my pssst.
Katie5
@Comrade Mary: You won’t go wrong. Yorkshire Gold produces an incredibly rounded, almost buttery tea.
Of course, once we really get into tea, we’ll have to start talking accessories. Like a Brown Betty tea pot. And then the essential tea cozy.
Jane2
@Keith G: What Keith and others have said. Animals don’t just “know” how to behave, and you have to get some dog training. And “I’m a shitty pet owner” begs for “oh no you’re not”, but if you don’t get some training for yourself and your animals, then yes you are.
As a cat owner, I can say that Tunch requires no training…that cranky homicidal nature is his way of saying “I love you”.
Gracie
I second Victoria Stillwell’s program, if you’d like to get started that way.
Plus, she’s cute and sometimes wears fuck-me knee-high black leather boots.
Comrade Mary
@Katie5:
Of course I have a Brown Betty! [Jack]What do you think I am — a farmer?[/Jack] (Although a Yorkshire farmer would definitely be drinking this stuff, so that really doesn’t seem fair.)
Jane2
@Comrade Mary:
Only we Canuckistanians know that reference! Good one.
Elizabelle
FWIW, we had a great question from a youngish BJ commenter on the thread re Hardball clip:
from Elia Isquire:
soonergrunt
@Just Some Fuckhead: Well, they weren’t even doing anything but giving each other goofy sideways looks, but I can remember being thirteen.
soonergrunt
@WaterGirl: Asperger’s Syndrome people (and sometimes ADD or ADHD people) refer to people who do not have their condition as ‘neurotypical’ as in ‘the typical brain that is not like mine.’
It’s labeling the non-diagnosed in such a way as to take away the title of ‘normal’ which can be said to imply that AS people are ‘abnormal.’ It comes from the mindset that “I have a label so they should be labeled too.”
When you realize that to them, their behavior is normal and the rest of us are kind of screwed up in our reactions to them, it begins to make sense in a way.
This sometimes has undertones of contempt, particularly among those AS people who hold that they do not have a condition requiring medication or counseling, such people believing their condition grants them superiority in areas such as concentration, focus, and honesty.
MikeJ
@soonergrunt:
My favorite song of all time.
Scamp Dog
@lawnorder: Tell me about it. Miss Biscuit ate my passport this morning, a week and a half before I make a trip to China.
Fortunately, the passport office here in Denver has excellent, helpful staff, and (absolutely astounding after a trip to the DMV) short waits: one person in line ahead of me. I pick up the new passport tomorrow afternoon, overnight it to the Chinese consulate in Houston, and hope the express service comes through by next Friday.
soonergrunt
@MikeJ: cool. thanks.
MikeJ
@soonergrunt: For my money, no song has every conveyed a specific feeling (13 yr old first love) the way that song did.
I saw the Big Star reunion show at Mizzou and was so pissed off at Alex because he did the song as a throw away and just laughed through it. Pity they didn’t get a good version for the album.
Elia Isquire
Children by the million wait for Alex Chilton…
JG
If I lived in West Virginia, I might just be in love with John Cole – love of animals, slightly obsessed with tea, sarcastic as f#ck, and of course the proper obsession with politics. Who am I kidding, I’m just a little in love even though I live in SF. I now have 2 cats whose training consists of sleeping wherever they like, waking me up at night by breaking stuff, and generally causing cute but annoying trouble. They do respond beautifully, however, if I say “breakfast.” They run from any- and everywhere and sit obediently by the food bowls.
Now, on to tea – I used to live in Philly and highly recommend a little shop in Center City called Premium Steap. They have a reasonably decent website, and the ladies who run the shop are very sweet + always give you free mini-sample pouches in person or with online orders. For night time teas, I love a good rooibos. You can get a bit of the “black tea” experience with some richer flavored teas when you need a break from the tisanes like chamomile. Premium Steap has a pumpkin creme rooibos that is amazing. For black tea, I am a devotee of their vanilla early grey and winter solstice (a vanilla-orange ceylon black).
Sometime a little while back you were asking about teapots as well. I have a 3-cup ForLife Serenity pot that is great stuff – no drips from the spout, roomy strainer, and you can tip the teapot almost upside down and the lid doesn’t fall off. I could be a spokesperson for them – seriously. Their Essentials line is also decent.
Tim, Interrupted
@Corner Stone:
What?
I said boundaries were good for PETS. I never said I had any.
mrmobi
John, I have a different take on “training” than most folks, I think. I had a wonderful Shi’Tzu named Brindle. He was totally untrained. In fact, I didn’t even want him, as MrsMobi had decided that we needed a doggie for our 8-year-old daughter to play with.
For about 2 months, I watched as he captured the hearts of my two girls, and then one day I found myself taking him for a walk, although I was never really sure who was walking whom.
What followed was 17 years of walks, in fair weather and foul, with my pal, my buddy, my charmer of neighborhood children and the only son I’ll ever have. Training would have ruined the whole experience.
It’s been 9 months now since he died, and hardly a day goes by when MrsMobi and I don’t comment on how much we miss him and how much the thought of him still makes us laugh (and cry).
That’s the ticket, John. Keep doing that.
As far as tea goes, I believe you are insane. Tea is ok (especially Earl Grey), but how the hell do you wake up without fresh brewed coffee. Seriously, seek counseling. What’s that motto of the coffee company, “life is short, be awake for it.”
Booda
Lapsang Suchong.
Seriously.
That is all.
justawriter
@Booda: Lapsang Souchong is an acquired taste, although I seem to have acquired it, at least some of the time. Not everybody appreciates tea that seems to have gone through a brushfire. But then again, I know people who love Retsina, which I can also appreciate, but it is a wine blended with turpentine. There is almost no comestible so bizarre that someone is not in love with it, but some should come with warning labels like smoked tea, piney wine and anything with more than 50,000 Scoville units (100 Scoville units in the Midwest).
midge
you know what’s awesome? corn tea. it’s toasted, you can get it in korean markets (probably not helpful to you in WV). it’s almost a savory tea, if that makes any sense. in the same way green tea is almost savory. no caffeine, and super soothing. bonus: in the summertime you can brew up huge pots of it and stick it in the fridge — so refreshing and delicious.
socialissimo
@Booda: Exactly. Period.
All that chamomile and lilac roibos are just weeds in hot water for the same crowd that thinks triple soy lattes are “coffee”.
alejandro
SOBA tea.
Caffeine-free buckwheat tea. Buckwheat is not wheat. You may not have it in your neck o the woods, but it’s a good mellow tea you can buy in bulk or bags, and have cold in summer or hot in winter. Delicious with oyaki too, but that’s not happening in this country, unfortunately.
Try it, sir.
Oh, and one more thing – you should try growing sweet potatoes. Even if you don’t like to eat them, they’re easy to grow (from a sweet potato stuck in water) and have pretty long vines – and should do very well in your climate. Also try that, sensei.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@mrmobi:
I suspect you trained each other, without knowing it.
Many of us who don’t subscribe to the Cesar Milan school of training (which often seems based on the idea that dogs need to be trained to do what they are told because the Alpha told them to) have a different idea of training.
That is, simply living with your dog in a loving way which allows the two (or three or more) of you to negotiate boundaries, have fun, reward good behaviour and enjoy life together – in effect, training each other. This usually involves a lot of living with each other’s quirks, like when they get miffed and sulk or try to weasel out of things like a teenager on heat.
Sitting and staying and not attacking people is an important part of that for the dog’s safety and the owners’ sanity, but so is romping around, jumping in laps, licking faces, sleeping on beds and doing all the dog stuff.
It sounds like you and Brindle just automatically lived your lives that way. John, on the other hand, is good at the living together bit, but apparently not the sitting and staying bit.
I’m not suggesting John needs to train his dogs into perfectly behaved automatons, because that won’t make any of them happy.
I’m suggesting he needs to work with his dogs to give them structure in their lives, so that, for example, Rosie doesn’t bolt out of the car, and eventually John might stop “joking” that he hates her and they might all enjoy their lives together a bit more.
As the owner of a mildly psychotic pekinese with anger control issues and a dicky bladder, but who loves me like his entire world, I know of what I speak.
Anne Laurie
@fraught:
It’s performance art: venting about Rosie’s less-than-desirable habits here makes it easier for Cole to deal with her in real life. Most companion-animal-householders and quite a few parents do it. The guy behind Desperate Housewives said he got the idea when he was watching news of a mother who killed her kids before committing suicide. He said something like “I can’t imagine the kind of person who’d even think of doing something like that”, and his mom said “I can, because I did. More than once.”
Or as the tshirt says: You’ll always love your kids, but sometimes it’s hard to like them.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
And let me stress that I don’t think John hates his dogs or that he is a bad owner. He’s a very good owner who loves his dogs very much and wants the best for them.
I just think that, because he loves his dogs so much, he doesn’t like to “tell them what to do” because that might be harsh or mean, without realizing that what they want is gentle, negotiated structure in their lives.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
John – you need to buy a copy of “The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs, which by my count has been recommended to you about thirty two thousand and one times.
It will tell you everything you need to know to be a good dog owner.
Hell, I’ll even buy you a copy and have Amazon ship it to you, if you’ll just read the bloody thing.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@Anne Laurie:
Just peeping out from behind the sock puppet to say hello, and I hope you are well.
DPirate
No dog really needs to be trained if it’s just a pet. They aren’t all given to learning, anyway, making it a chore rather than fun. I had one dog that just couldn’t learn a damn thing. I had another that was almost psychic. Once someone complained he was shitting on the snowshoe trail, so I showed him once how he should shit off the trail, and I swear the next morning he stuck his ass out over the side and crapped off the trail.
Everything was like that, except if he ever saw a gun he would run away for miles. There were wolves outside the cabin one night and I took out the rifle and went to chase them off. Couldn’t find the dog and was worried that he ran off after them and got eaten, but he crawled out from under the bunk a few hours later and all was well. He was an awful coward.
Lavocat
I’ve been following all these cringeworthy open threads re this tea business of yours and I think you have officially crossed the line from tea-curious to outright gay.
Face it John, you’re gay. All you’re missing is the Mister Rogers cardigan and some penny loafers.
shortstop
A couple more observations on training.
I have never watched this Cesar character, and have no wish to, but I don’t think too many people still subscribe to his bullshit. Positive reinforcement is the way, baby, the only way. As has been mentioned, going to an expert–either group classes or a couple of sessions one on one–will get you started on training yourself, which is really what it’s about since most of us don’t have a natural talent for this and books can take us only so far. Having a trainer right there to correct us on the spot (“shortstop, now follow up with so and so right away”) is invaluable. Once we change our behavior, the dogs change theirs. It feels like magic but it’s actually very simple cause and effect.
Also wanted to piggyback on people’s comments about giving them affection: Training based on positive reinforcement is not harsh or cold and it does not withhold affection. It’s calm, loving and reward-based, and those rewards can include food, toys, immediate access to other dogs (a big one for our canine-loving pooch) and of course praise. But the display of affection alone, as integral (and natural!) as it is to a good human-canine relationship, very often does not get humans and dogs to where we need to go to live together comfortably.
An example is our current dog, a rescue who is naturally somewhat timid and afraid of metallic noises. That’s a real problem since we live in the middle of Chicago and have no yard to speak of; we walk her four times a day. Training has been invaluable in helping her to feel confident enough to negotiate the outside world with us–for just one example, “touch” usually brings her focus and calm back when a garbage truck goes by. She has gotten much less afraid outdoors because she now automatically falls back on habits we’ve developed together through training.
When you think of it as giving your dog the tools it needs to cope and thrive, training loses its false reputation as being all about domination.
bob h
I think you should try Japanese green tea. I think the caffeine level is much lower than coffee, and preparing it properly involves some skill and paraphernalia that is kind of fun. Supposedly has anti-cancer properties, as well.
Sarah in Brooklyn
@John Cole – the Upton catalog (I don’t work for them, honest) has a whole section of tisanes and caffeine free teas. They have some lovely flavored roobois teas and decaf chais and all sorts of good things. Welcome to the world of tea! I raise my cup of Assam to you!
snarkypsice
@Comrade Mary:
Look for Yorkshire Tea (or order it online). Better than both PG Tips and Typhoo. Being a Brit, I don’t hold with all these fancy teas ;-) Make it dark and strong and give me some ginger nuts to dunk in it.
snarkypsice
@mrmobi:
This was beautiful. I’m so sorry for your loss. Now excuse me – I need a tissue.
wellmeaningmamma
Try Tulsi tea. Its considered an adaptogenic herbal tea, grown organically by thousands of small family farms in India. We love it in our household. There’s a ton of varieties, but personally I like the original.
rickstersherpa
If someone has already posted this, you might want to apply for “Its me or the Dog.”
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/its-me-or-dog/casting/
Rosie sounds like a potential star for this show.
Tom
For decaf tea, it’s either chamomile or non-caffeinated bigelow green tea w/ lemon (the caffeinated version is my go-to tea).
acallidryas
@demkat620:
I can’t believe you do watch Science Olympiad. My parents never came to my math team meets, and I can’t say I blame them. (They got all their parenting points from letting three kids learn musical instruments and attending beginner concerts. *shudder* I feel so badly for putting them through that.)
lawnorder
On the subject of night / sleep friendly teas, have you tried lemon verbena ? Plant it on your backyard, it grows like a weed, and it is a very flavorful feel good, relaxing tea.
Good for drinking after Rosie has made a mess ;)
Paul in KY
@TooManyJens: Were you good at track or not?
Paul in KY
@Little Boots: I think what Cesar says is you can’t be too affectionate with dogs. The stupid ones get delusions of grandeur.
That’s why I like cats. You can be as affecionate as you want.
Barbara
All I can say is, my little dog has no love to give us and it breaks my heart. He is well enough trained — I am a veteran dog owner — but he is fearful and aggressive and most likely we are at the end of our rope because I have done everything even a few things that are not really reasonable.
What I wouldn’t give to have a dog that likes having its belly rubbed. Instead, I am trying to figure out how to give my dog the kindest end I can. Bad pet owner, indeed. I think not.
Tim, Interrupted
@Lavocat:
I concur. Last night I was of a mind that Cole and his jovial/emo/macho/dunce blog persona and I would be a good match, but it would def end in murder/suicide. Plus, I am not really into chunky fellows.
But yeah, either way, JC needs to pry himself out of the closet. It’s got to be getting stinky in there, sharing room with Miss Lindsay Graham.
Sherean
Not sure if you’ve heard about this, but you can decaffeinate the tea yourself. Simply brew it for one minute, pour that tea out, then pour fresh hot water in and steep for the full amount of time. This rinses most of the caffeine out. Here’s one link I found that explains: http://www.wisegeek.com/can-i-really-decaffeinate-tea.htm
Tim, Interrupted
You people who think Cesar Milan does not encourage or show affection to his or other peoples’ dogs are very unobservant.
Real affection and caring involves boundary setting, firm leadership, and direction. Not cruel or abusive in any way, but firm and loving. I have “trained” two dogs and know whereof I speak. It is more about consistency and love and caring than anything else.
I watch CM’s show frequently and have seen him show affection and love over and over, even to dogs that other people consider unsalvageable. And if the dog can’t be socialized to remain in a home, he often will adopt it himself.
A lot of you seem to think the only way to show affection to a pet is by letting them do what they want and dominating your lives and your homes as a result. Your dogs are likely nervous and insecure as a result; they don’t know what the boundaries are, so they’re always acting out to test them. You never show them, so they keep pushing. I’ve seen this a lot at the dog park and in other peoples’ home. Lazy owners.
Aardvark Cheeselog
Since nobody else has suggested it, how about this? Look around for an obedience training club. This will be a group of people who are active in obedience trial sports, and they will have a variety of training classes. Their methods will be based on positive feedback (modern obedience, at least at the novice level, is all about the treats) and their motive will not be making money from your problems. As a bonus, if you hang around a little before/after class, you get to watch the club members working with their dogs. That can be pretty amazing.
bystander
@Barbara:
That just sucks. I might have one long conversation with a veterinarian I really liked and respected for a last ditch recommendation (better living through chemistry) but, it is true, that you cannot win them all.
fwiw… we did adopt one kennel sour border collie and it was 3 years before I could collar him without his offering to snap. What made it work is that he bonded to place and to the rest of the dog pack. The only way I could get him out of the house to potty was to “herd him with a ‘pig board’.” Fortunately, I didn’t have to retrieve him from the yard that way. Habituating him was a loooong process, and it’s not for everyone.
{{{hugs}}}
Paul in KY
@Barbara: Very sorry to hear that, Barbara.
WaterGirl
@soonergrunt: Way late getting back to the thread, so I don’t know if you’ll see this. Just want to say that I really appreciate the explanation from you. What you said makes total sense.
Luci
Good grief! I have not had time to read all the posts, so my apologies if I’m repeating someone else’s thoughts. Anyway, if you are a non training dog owner and can live with that, who is to say it’s wrong? If the dog is annoying you so that you cannot stand it, go for some training by all means, but some of us think it’s a lot easier to adjust to whatever is going on rather than try and adjust someone/something else. (Like a pet!) So, you’ve got an energetic, somewhat spoiled, rambunctious dog…. get a bigger fence and let her run it off, or leash her and take her for 5 mile walks, or LET her be obnoxious!(My neighbors have a Jack Russell they chain to the flag pole, and he spends a LOT of time running around and around, but I still hear him barking in there way too early in the morning when the paper people come by. heehee! They’re a bit cranky sometimes, so I take a nasty delight in that, and should it be MY noise who has awakened the dog, although I do not do it purposely, I don’t get too upset. ;) I have five cats, and there are times I want to scream, and cats are not even as tough as dogs that way. If she is sweet to you, that’s great! Something strange and different walked into your life with Rosie, and you can either accept it and take what it is and learn from it, or you can fight it and be frustrated. I guess you could reject it too, but that’s a sad and awful thought. Maybe someday you’re going to need to know how to deal with chaos and craziness, and you’ll be glad Rosie taught you how to do it. ;) I’ve had a lot of things like that happen, and I think I’m older than you are, so… Good luck! And don’t be sooooo damn hard on yourself. We all think you’re great! ;)
mclaren
In the brave new world of 2011, the solution seems obvious: waterboard Tunch and Rosie.