Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
The puddins at 2 weeks old...
As is the habit of small creatures, little ones get bigger. And in the grand tradition of things growing bigger, the puddins are a lot more wriggly and active than the last time I tried to get pictures of them - making it tricky to a picture!
Bebe #1 - how is it possible that the most active one (hence the plushie, otherwise he kept crawling to me) that is nigh impossible to get a shot of takes the nicest picture?
Bebe #2 - the smallest at about 210g but such a snuggly little guy :)
Bebe #3 - our little cheddar-n-cream kitten, on the squidge!
Bebe#4 The plushie trick was required for her as well - I think the next few weeks are going to be filled with little rocket kittens, zooming here and there!
Bebe #1 - how is it possible that the most active one (hence the plushie, otherwise he kept crawling to me) that is nigh impossible to get a shot of takes the nicest picture?
Bebe #2 - the smallest at about 210g but such a snuggly little guy :)
Bebe #3 - our little cheddar-n-cream kitten, on the squidge!
Bebe#4 The plushie trick was required for her as well - I think the next few weeks are going to be filled with little rocket kittens, zooming here and there!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Jaak Panksepp
Behind somewhat behind the times at the moment, I recently had his name mentioned, thought a lot of his stuff sounded really interested and went off on a google quest.
Oh. My. How have I not known this guy as anything more than the person involved with the discovery of rats laughter??? (Which I remember reading at the time and thinking, "Well yes that makes sense in a species with a complex social structure, though it's cool to see it proven.") Affective neuroscience? Fascinating stuff. I have been trawling through the video lecture materials and have a feeling the next few days will be crammed with video downloads and ordering material from the library!
Oh. My. How have I not known this guy as anything more than the person involved with the discovery of rats laughter??? (Which I remember reading at the time and thinking, "Well yes that makes sense in a species with a complex social structure, though it's cool to see it proven.") Affective neuroscience? Fascinating stuff. I have been trawling through the video lecture materials and have a feeling the next few days will be crammed with video downloads and ordering material from the library!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
An attempt to define...
A number of times over the years people have mentioned to me they wish their dogs would act a bit more like mine. (Obviously these people have managed to avoid their crazy ratbag moments... LOL) The implication is that their dogs are just too (silly, wild, crazy, stubborn, insert something) to act like that which simply isn't true. I point out that Hope didn't naturally come with these skills (no dog does - nor any person for that matter, hence the terrible twos in most people and the fact that some people have yet to learn it as adults!) but rather we train for calm focused attention.
I always seem to get met with dubious and disbelieving stares though and queries as to what I mean by that and then fumble around trying to explain. It encompasses a lot of things, much of it simply how we do things in daily life as really the same basic foundations that make your dog well mannered in daily life are the same as those on the training field. The two biggest overall concepts though I find myself reminded of are that you get what you accept and you reinforce what you accept intentionally or otherwise. That includes impulse control, self control, self restraint and the ability to bring oneself down from an excited emotional state! If you accept a dog who pulls and barks nonstop and is out of control as just how things are, then by virtue of not reinforcing sitting, quiet, self-restraint, emotional regulation, attention and manners - you not only allow those things to be self reinforcing and well rehearsed you are essentially training (however inadvertently) for them!
Calm, attentive focus requires attention on their partner (you, who are also required to give it back), self-control and self-restraint, deference based in trust and mutual respect in your relationship and partnership, an on-of-switch so they can utilize the high drives when they need to and turn them back off in situations where a couch potato is called for. (May have to revise that list as I'm sure after I mull it over I'll remember stuff I've forgotten to add.)
For anyone who thinks that Hope naturally came that way though or her personality is inclined toward it may I submit Rin. The insane-o teenage working Border Collie with a less than stellar start who was given up because she was, well... an insane-o teenage working Border Collie with a less than stellar start. She is rapidly learning the same skills and she came to me as a untrained 1 year old with a history of humans being fun at times but generally irrelevant to getting what she wanted in life and sometimes an out and out hindrance to be gotten around. Rin was a dog who was working for her own interests and had little inkling why anyone else ought to matter to her let alone have their desires be deferred to. She also had a wonderful set of bad habits that led to her owner feeling he had to find someone or put her to sleep. These included:
The first time I took Rin out on lead (mind this is long after we'd worked on manners at home - we always work in babysteps!) she wanted to pull. And pull. And bounce. And whine. And eat her lead. And paw her collar off to get loose. And play Gandhi and flop over. And croc death roll. And pop up, lunge and pull. And attempt to drag me off after one unlucky pull succeeded in knocking me flat on my bum. And screech that glass shattering excited screech Border Collies seem so talented at when she discovered I was hanging on. After having spent so much time perpetually locked up, in a new place with so many potential things to do and see and sniff and jump on and chase had her in hyperdrive! As far as she was concerned I was a minor obstacle to get around rather than the person who could give her access to all these wonderfully cool things if she cooperated with a few rules.
We were in the parking lot and we stayed there, far away from everyone. The first thing we did was reinforce "mom opening the car is a cue to plant my posterior and wait because it is the only thing that will ever, ever, ever work to get me out!" That was very hard work when her poor little brain was just smoking in overload and considering she'd never HAD to put any pause between impulse and action in her prior life.
When we had some self restraint in the car she was invited out and immediately lost her brain again, dashing headlong towards all the interesting things once her body felt that rush of forward momentum. (And yes she'd had a very solid bit of exercise beforehand!) Unfortunately for her as she discovered she was on lead, so after an initial tanty she remembered herself enough to reorient back to LLW and I reinforced attention with our "Rin Would Jump Through Flaming Hoops For This Stuff" level treats. We sat to play with eye contact while standing, eye contact while sitting, eye contact while laying down and laying on her side with eye contact. We played with a few tricks and targeting, sticking with simple and known behaviours that alternated between active and calm/passive ones. From an outside perspective it probably looked like we were achieving a fat lot of nothing sitting there and goofing around. When we went to training the first time we missed out on her entire actual training classes - the cost thrown away on that fee and a 45m drive a pittance compare to the cost of teaching her ill manners could WORK... SOMETIMES. (Slot machines work sometimes too... and idiots all over pump coins into them knowing full well sometimes isn't likely to be this time because MAYBE it will be.) We lathered. We rinsed. We repeated. We moved to walking in small circles and patterns in the area. Over a few weeks we got progressively better and were able to work up to becoming progressively closer, occasionally having moments where she'd forget herself in the excitement and we had to move back a step or two before quickly regaining ground.
She would still get excited (the joys of working with motion sensitive hyper-environmentally aware Border Collies) but we simply used that as an opportunity to reinforce calmness and attention. Not only was I looking for her ability to engage me rather than be drawn by the environment but I wanted her to learn she could retain the ability to CHOOSE to engage me over it. The ability to choose and be in control of herself rather than taken for a ride on the neuro-chemistry of her impulses.
We'd already done quite a bit of doggy zen and related games so she had some basis of familiarity. Zen would include some of Sue Eh's stuff, bits of Susan Garrett's It's Yer Choice which we've used the techniques of for many years before they were given a formal outline and name and other bits and pieces. Likewise with Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol.
We did McDevitt's Look At That games, as well as the old standard eye contact (which completely apropos of nothing my brain insists amuses itself by chirping "Look at moi Kimmy!" instead of LAT when I do it). We played rev up and rev down games and combine them with zen. I'd introduce the tuggy, rev her up by dangling it and teasing, waving it and running off hiding it, razzing it over her toes and ears, dashing and zig zagging it, tossing it in the air and catching it before giving her the cue to take it. We'd play hard and then cue out, with a big reward and lay down - sculpting the time it took her to gear down from a big one to brief. The quicker she relaxed under my hands, the quicker we'd get back to the game and bigger it'd be when it came.
We played with marking muscle relaxation, when she was laying there on her side and watching the other dogs, I'd lay my hands on her and softly but firmly draw a long stroke on a leg muscle or along the lips or eyebrows and mark and reward the action of the muscle relaxing under my hands. (Not the relaxed muscle but the act of of it releasing it's tension under my fingers.) I use this as a Conditioned Relaxation response later on, where I can touch them on the shoulder or midsection and their bodies flop over already relaxing before their brains even take time to think on it.
The general idea of all of it was that:
1.) even in the face of excitement you need to control yourself and stay aware of me as your partner (as I do you)
2.) I will give you the tools to do so and help you learn how and be a good leader and provider so we've built trust and our relationship so you can feel confident in deferring to me
3.) choosing me over the environmental distractions and self-controlled choices over blindly following impulses is something you can do; here's how and it pays well
4.) choosing to do so is the only way I will give you access to the other exciting things
5.) in the face of temptation a default known behaviour to center and ground yourself and relax
6.) if you need aid in gearing down I will assist you with the Conditioned Relaxer
It took several attempts before we went anywhere near the field or other dogs, let alone followed along with the drills when we went to training but in doing a lot of "nothing" sitting there we started laying important foundations that will make the training on the field that much easier and builds our relationship, builds trust reliance and partnership and continues to reinforce my value as the gate-holder of all fun and good things.
I always seem to get met with dubious and disbelieving stares though and queries as to what I mean by that and then fumble around trying to explain. It encompasses a lot of things, much of it simply how we do things in daily life as really the same basic foundations that make your dog well mannered in daily life are the same as those on the training field. The two biggest overall concepts though I find myself reminded of are that you get what you accept and you reinforce what you accept intentionally or otherwise. That includes impulse control, self control, self restraint and the ability to bring oneself down from an excited emotional state! If you accept a dog who pulls and barks nonstop and is out of control as just how things are, then by virtue of not reinforcing sitting, quiet, self-restraint, emotional regulation, attention and manners - you not only allow those things to be self reinforcing and well rehearsed you are essentially training (however inadvertently) for them!
Calm, attentive focus requires attention on their partner (you, who are also required to give it back), self-control and self-restraint, deference based in trust and mutual respect in your relationship and partnership, an on-of-switch so they can utilize the high drives when they need to and turn them back off in situations where a couch potato is called for. (May have to revise that list as I'm sure after I mull it over I'll remember stuff I've forgotten to add.)
For anyone who thinks that Hope naturally came that way though or her personality is inclined toward it may I submit Rin. The insane-o teenage working Border Collie with a less than stellar start who was given up because she was, well... an insane-o teenage working Border Collie with a less than stellar start. She is rapidly learning the same skills and she came to me as a untrained 1 year old with a history of humans being fun at times but generally irrelevant to getting what she wanted in life and sometimes an out and out hindrance to be gotten around. Rin was a dog who was working for her own interests and had little inkling why anyone else ought to matter to her let alone have their desires be deferred to. She also had a wonderful set of bad habits that led to her owner feeling he had to find someone or put her to sleep. These included:
- pulling on lead and lunging while scrabbling desperately towards whatever caught her eye (oxygen? that's for whimps...)
- jetting away the second she could and only coming back when she felt like it (Bless her owner, not only did he not teach a recall he taught her to run away when approached as a game!) With her previous owner this meant they'd find her 4-5 km away.
- obsessively scanning for anything even remotely able to be construed as edible to steal, counter surfing (as well as landing on the stove, poking her head IN the oven etc), mugging people for food they were holding (carrying a sandwhich on the plate? now you see it, now you don't...) and once snatched you'd need the jaws of life to regain possession of
- screaming if her collar was touched (and I mean with a single finger) loudly and blood curdling to the point at one event one day I had a number of people and a comp rep come dashing to our tent to check the poor dog wasn't being horribly mangled and hacked to pieces with a machete. Primarily because she feared it would mean being locked up again.
- she could not abide being confined - crates, small rooms and cars resulted in screaming-fits and bashing around the back of the car boxing the windows trying to get out because she had a history of being locked up all day, out for a few hours and then locked up again.
- an impulse control that would've made a gnats look wildly impressive
- a tendency to randomly eat carpet/linoleum flooring/walls/furniture if you weren't looking, even if appropriate and high value chew items were available (whoops, couch arm fell into my mouth ma!)
- and despite being a good natured, personable, fun loving, happy-go-lucky little gem of a sweetheart that I was head over heels in love with - all the social graces and politeness of an Ork.
The first time I took Rin out on lead (mind this is long after we'd worked on manners at home - we always work in babysteps!) she wanted to pull. And pull. And bounce. And whine. And eat her lead. And paw her collar off to get loose. And play Gandhi and flop over. And croc death roll. And pop up, lunge and pull. And attempt to drag me off after one unlucky pull succeeded in knocking me flat on my bum. And screech that glass shattering excited screech Border Collies seem so talented at when she discovered I was hanging on. After having spent so much time perpetually locked up, in a new place with so many potential things to do and see and sniff and jump on and chase had her in hyperdrive! As far as she was concerned I was a minor obstacle to get around rather than the person who could give her access to all these wonderfully cool things if she cooperated with a few rules.
We were in the parking lot and we stayed there, far away from everyone. The first thing we did was reinforce "mom opening the car is a cue to plant my posterior and wait because it is the only thing that will ever, ever, ever work to get me out!" That was very hard work when her poor little brain was just smoking in overload and considering she'd never HAD to put any pause between impulse and action in her prior life.
When we had some self restraint in the car she was invited out and immediately lost her brain again, dashing headlong towards all the interesting things once her body felt that rush of forward momentum. (And yes she'd had a very solid bit of exercise beforehand!) Unfortunately for her as she discovered she was on lead, so after an initial tanty she remembered herself enough to reorient back to LLW and I reinforced attention with our "Rin Would Jump Through Flaming Hoops For This Stuff" level treats. We sat to play with eye contact while standing, eye contact while sitting, eye contact while laying down and laying on her side with eye contact. We played with a few tricks and targeting, sticking with simple and known behaviours that alternated between active and calm/passive ones. From an outside perspective it probably looked like we were achieving a fat lot of nothing sitting there and goofing around. When we went to training the first time we missed out on her entire actual training classes - the cost thrown away on that fee and a 45m drive a pittance compare to the cost of teaching her ill manners could WORK... SOMETIMES. (Slot machines work sometimes too... and idiots all over pump coins into them knowing full well sometimes isn't likely to be this time because MAYBE it will be.) We lathered. We rinsed. We repeated. We moved to walking in small circles and patterns in the area. Over a few weeks we got progressively better and were able to work up to becoming progressively closer, occasionally having moments where she'd forget herself in the excitement and we had to move back a step or two before quickly regaining ground.
She would still get excited (the joys of working with motion sensitive hyper-environmentally aware Border Collies) but we simply used that as an opportunity to reinforce calmness and attention. Not only was I looking for her ability to engage me rather than be drawn by the environment but I wanted her to learn she could retain the ability to CHOOSE to engage me over it. The ability to choose and be in control of herself rather than taken for a ride on the neuro-chemistry of her impulses.
We'd already done quite a bit of doggy zen and related games so she had some basis of familiarity. Zen would include some of Sue Eh's stuff, bits of Susan Garrett's It's Yer Choice which we've used the techniques of for many years before they were given a formal outline and name and other bits and pieces. Likewise with Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol.
We did McDevitt's Look At That games, as well as the old standard eye contact (which completely apropos of nothing my brain insists amuses itself by chirping "Look at moi Kimmy!" instead of LAT when I do it). We played rev up and rev down games and combine them with zen. I'd introduce the tuggy, rev her up by dangling it and teasing, waving it and running off hiding it, razzing it over her toes and ears, dashing and zig zagging it, tossing it in the air and catching it before giving her the cue to take it. We'd play hard and then cue out, with a big reward and lay down - sculpting the time it took her to gear down from a big one to brief. The quicker she relaxed under my hands, the quicker we'd get back to the game and bigger it'd be when it came.
We played with marking muscle relaxation, when she was laying there on her side and watching the other dogs, I'd lay my hands on her and softly but firmly draw a long stroke on a leg muscle or along the lips or eyebrows and mark and reward the action of the muscle relaxing under my hands. (Not the relaxed muscle but the act of of it releasing it's tension under my fingers.) I use this as a Conditioned Relaxation response later on, where I can touch them on the shoulder or midsection and their bodies flop over already relaxing before their brains even take time to think on it.
The general idea of all of it was that:
1.) even in the face of excitement you need to control yourself and stay aware of me as your partner (as I do you)
2.) I will give you the tools to do so and help you learn how and be a good leader and provider so we've built trust and our relationship so you can feel confident in deferring to me
3.) choosing me over the environmental distractions and self-controlled choices over blindly following impulses is something you can do; here's how and it pays well
4.) choosing to do so is the only way I will give you access to the other exciting things
5.) in the face of temptation a default known behaviour to center and ground yourself and relax
6.) if you need aid in gearing down I will assist you with the Conditioned Relaxer
It took several attempts before we went anywhere near the field or other dogs, let alone followed along with the drills when we went to training but in doing a lot of "nothing" sitting there we started laying important foundations that will make the training on the field that much easier and builds our relationship, builds trust reliance and partnership and continues to reinforce my value as the gate-holder of all fun and good things.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Just a quickie... Hope got enough points at the Hastings comp to finish her Aust. FD Championship so now she's AFDCh. Cuebiyar Cross My Heart PT :)
She had fun at the next comp in Ringwood as well and was very pleased to win a bag of treats and goodies for most amusing bandana (bandanas worn by all flyball members in that comp in support of a member who is fighting cancer at the moment) in our matching disco glittery sequin bandanas too! LOL
As you can see, being a flyball dog is a very rough job indeed! LOL For those who have followed our tuggy saga you can also see our BRAND NEW burgundy FLUFFY-WUBBIE!
For those who have missed the saga, Hope had one particular tug toy known as Fluffy-Wubbie she loved and adored above all others. When it was new it was about as long as I am tall and as the name would imply - it was fluffy. She would run back at top speeds and hit it just as hard as she could and tug like mad! After months of "love" though, Fluffy was reduced to a >20cm tatty, bald and sad looking nub. It's size also meant my knuckles were in peril of recieving dental imprints when she hit it. We tried a number of different tuggy styles and I'd bought various bits of faux-fur/polar fleece with no joy. There was just no tuggy as wonderful... till now! She is in looovveeee!!! Long live Fluffy-Wubbie the Second!!!!
She had fun at the next comp in Ringwood as well and was very pleased to win a bag of treats and goodies for most amusing bandana (bandanas worn by all flyball members in that comp in support of a member who is fighting cancer at the moment) in our matching disco glittery sequin bandanas too! LOL
As you can see, being a flyball dog is a very rough job indeed! LOL For those who have followed our tuggy saga you can also see our BRAND NEW burgundy FLUFFY-WUBBIE!
For those who have missed the saga, Hope had one particular tug toy known as Fluffy-Wubbie she loved and adored above all others. When it was new it was about as long as I am tall and as the name would imply - it was fluffy. She would run back at top speeds and hit it just as hard as she could and tug like mad! After months of "love" though, Fluffy was reduced to a >20cm tatty, bald and sad looking nub. It's size also meant my knuckles were in peril of recieving dental imprints when she hit it. We tried a number of different tuggy styles and I'd bought various bits of faux-fur/polar fleece with no joy. There was just no tuggy as wonderful... till now! She is in looovveeee!!! Long live Fluffy-Wubbie the Second!!!!
Monday, April 11, 2011
The puddins at 1 week old...
Well some of them were more sleepy than others and more easy to get tollerably decent shots of but here are their one week old pics. :)
Bebe #1
(No prizes for why this one is nicknamed pipsqueek despite being the most chubby! He is very chatty!)
Bebe #2
Bebe #3
(Snuggled next to mumma or her paw anyway!)
Bebe #4... our little girl and the first to start opening her eyes
Bebe #1
(No prizes for why this one is nicknamed pipsqueek despite being the most chubby! He is very chatty!)
Bebe #2
Bebe #3
(Snuggled next to mumma or her paw anyway!)
Bebe #4... our little girl and the first to start opening her eyes
Friday, April 08, 2011
TWO!
My little miss turned two... that seems very hard to believe as it really does (cliche aside) seem like only just a tiny little while ago that I was sitting here typing up the post annoucing her arrival a few hours after her birth. Time has literally flown with her - she was an easy pregnancy with an easy-peasie birth who later proved to be an easy baby and one thing just seems to flow into the next with her till she's become my easy, sunny kid. Mind you she knows her own mind and if you manage to actually rile her she's got a temper that's spectacular to witness and a stuborn streak a country mile wide!
Her birthday itself was a quiet one as she's not been well nor have I. But even sick we got a few smiles... sorry for pic quality, this is off my mobile.
Instead we celebrated a few days after with a lovely day of just mum and Lily (and dogs of course)
Before having her birthday picnic at Emerald Lake Park
And of course, the cake... it doesn't quite show it but it's choc with turquoise and orange.
Happy second birthday to my gorgeous girl!
Her birthday itself was a quiet one as she's not been well nor have I. But even sick we got a few smiles... sorry for pic quality, this is off my mobile.
Instead we celebrated a few days after with a lovely day of just mum and Lily (and dogs of course)
Before having her birthday picnic at Emerald Lake Park
And of course, the cake... it doesn't quite show it but it's choc with turquoise and orange.
Happy second birthday to my gorgeous girl!
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
We may have created a monster...
It's no secret Dr. Who is a popular thing in this house and we've got a running list of cute little incidents involving it and the kids.
La bringing home a drawing from school which he proudly told me was, "The Doctor. And his TARDIS. And his sonic screwdriver!" and explaining why the TARDIS is orange with a smug little "I FIXED the chameleon circuit!" was just plain cute.
Lily started recognizing the Doctors and chirping, "Doctor DOOO!" at 18 months old we mutually agreed was all kinds of adorable.
When La spent the day dancing around chanting "I. Am. Your. Soldier!", quoting lines and speaking everything in an electronic halting voiced Dalek tone and I had to explain to his teacher what he was on about it was a tad embarrassing.
The number of times I've had to endure debates over some point of cannon from my five year old and his thirty year old father made me reflect that with his parents normal was never really going to be on the books anyway.
When Nic had on
The fact that Laurent, having nabbed a colouring marker and scrawled a green slash across his forehead, spent the afternoon informing people he was "Slitheen" and about to emerge from his skin suit while making farting noises was a bit much but still... it was cute, in a geek!Pride kind of way. To be honest, we always rather suspected he was possessed and one day the mother ship would one day return for him... so a skin-suited Raxacoricofallapatorian wasn't too far a stretch.
For the past week though my darling little spawn latched onto a pen he asserts is a sonic screwdriver (and dang if he hasn't mastered the "you've dribbled on yourself" look if you try and correct him) and steadfastly started REFUSING to do a dang thing unless he first sonic screwdrivered it. Food? Not edible unless it's scanned and analyzed first. Going anywhere? Not unless it's the direction the sonic screwdriver is leading him. Clothing? Not unless he's checked it's not an alien in disguise. Twenty. Four. Hours. A. Day.
We MAY possibly just have gone a smidge too far in indoctrinating the children.
La bringing home a drawing from school which he proudly told me was, "The Doctor. And his TARDIS. And his sonic screwdriver!" and explaining why the TARDIS is orange with a smug little "I FIXED the chameleon circuit!" was just plain cute.
Lily started recognizing the Doctors and chirping, "Doctor DOOO!" at 18 months old we mutually agreed was all kinds of adorable.
When La spent the day dancing around chanting "I. Am. Your. Soldier!", quoting lines and speaking everything in an electronic halting voiced Dalek tone and I had to explain to his teacher what he was on about it was a tad embarrassing.
The number of times I've had to endure debates over some point of cannon from my five year old and his thirty year old father made me reflect that with his parents normal was never really going to be on the books anyway.
When Nic had on
The fact that Laurent, having nabbed a colouring marker and scrawled a green slash across his forehead, spent the afternoon informing people he was "Slitheen" and about to emerge from his skin suit while making farting noises was a bit much but still... it was cute, in a geek!Pride kind of way. To be honest, we always rather suspected he was possessed and one day the mother ship would one day return for him... so a skin-suited Raxacoricofallapatorian wasn't too far a stretch.
For the past week though my darling little spawn latched onto a pen he asserts is a sonic screwdriver (and dang if he hasn't mastered the "you've dribbled on yourself" look if you try and correct him) and steadfastly started REFUSING to do a dang thing unless he first sonic screwdrivered it. Food? Not edible unless it's scanned and analyzed first. Going anywhere? Not unless it's the direction the sonic screwdriver is leading him. Clothing? Not unless he's checked it's not an alien in disguise. Twenty. Four. Hours. A. Day.
We MAY possibly just have gone a smidge too far in indoctrinating the children.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Hello world...
Meet our new little sweetlings, who arrived last night -
Two little ginger tabbies, one with colouring similar to our own Jasper and one with a white blaze and boots
a little blue tortoiseshell girl
and a blue-silver tabby baby with white blaze and boots.
They're just beautiful and doing very well with their mummy. La is over the moon, chattering about what we're going to name them and how many new toys he wants to buy them in a few weeks when they can play in between cooing over how gorgeous they are, how cute the little milk squeeks and slurps are, praising mummy for being brilliant and repeating everything he's ever been told about kitten development. I feel very sorry for his teachers in the following weeks as they and the class will undoubtedly be hearing ALL about every detail and factoid that he recalls. Nostalgia has hit BIG time, as he recalls our litters of foster kittens and Emi from last year as well. He still remembers each of them. He's not the only one nostalgia has hit either admittedly!
In the meantime, Hopie had a good time at the Hastings flyball comp and was doing a great job. I had an awesome time, given I had Nic minding both kiddos both days - which meant two full days of no kidlets and all dogs! I love my kids to bits but sometimes it's nice to miss them and just be myself without having to worry about what fresh chaos La is getting into. After a week of Lily having a sky-high fever for several days and did this all day so long, at least so long as she was being held...
as well as craptastic sleep and La having a few days where he was alternating between mad-hatter hyper and tolerating things badly this was especially welcome!
(La in an insane-but-happy moment. And anyone reckon SickLily has got the sad puppy dog eyes mastered? Just a bit?)
Last but not least a picture I'd meant to post awhile back. For those who don't know the back story, Shadow came to me from his owner via Maremma Rescue Vic. His owner "fudged" his history, saying he was used to sheep and poultry. Shadow quickly demonstrated he had some pretty significant issues with wanting to be predatory. He had us absolutely in despair over it and at my wits end because nothing seemed to work for well over a year and even when Jodie came over she couldn't see him acting with much guardian instinct. Not being safe around them here wasn't even an issue limited to our own animals safety but presented a major risk if he were ever to escape as not only would neighboring animals be at risk but their owners would be within their rights to have him destroyed. I kept working with him though because of just that reason... and scenes like this are VERY sweet! Yep... that's the dog who couldn't help but chase them and wanted to eat them. Snoozing next to his best buddy Timtam. The real test will come with the birds but we're moving slowly and cautiously at this point.
Two little ginger tabbies, one with colouring similar to our own Jasper and one with a white blaze and boots
a little blue tortoiseshell girl
and a blue-silver tabby baby with white blaze and boots.
They're just beautiful and doing very well with their mummy. La is over the moon, chattering about what we're going to name them and how many new toys he wants to buy them in a few weeks when they can play in between cooing over how gorgeous they are, how cute the little milk squeeks and slurps are, praising mummy for being brilliant and repeating everything he's ever been told about kitten development. I feel very sorry for his teachers in the following weeks as they and the class will undoubtedly be hearing ALL about every detail and factoid that he recalls. Nostalgia has hit BIG time, as he recalls our litters of foster kittens and Emi from last year as well. He still remembers each of them. He's not the only one nostalgia has hit either admittedly!
In the meantime, Hopie had a good time at the Hastings flyball comp and was doing a great job. I had an awesome time, given I had Nic minding both kiddos both days - which meant two full days of no kidlets and all dogs! I love my kids to bits but sometimes it's nice to miss them and just be myself without having to worry about what fresh chaos La is getting into. After a week of Lily having a sky-high fever for several days and did this all day so long, at least so long as she was being held...
as well as craptastic sleep and La having a few days where he was alternating between mad-hatter hyper and tolerating things badly this was especially welcome!
(La in an insane-but-happy moment. And anyone reckon SickLily has got the sad puppy dog eyes mastered? Just a bit?)
Last but not least a picture I'd meant to post awhile back. For those who don't know the back story, Shadow came to me from his owner via Maremma Rescue Vic. His owner "fudged" his history, saying he was used to sheep and poultry. Shadow quickly demonstrated he had some pretty significant issues with wanting to be predatory. He had us absolutely in despair over it and at my wits end because nothing seemed to work for well over a year and even when Jodie came over she couldn't see him acting with much guardian instinct. Not being safe around them here wasn't even an issue limited to our own animals safety but presented a major risk if he were ever to escape as not only would neighboring animals be at risk but their owners would be within their rights to have him destroyed. I kept working with him though because of just that reason... and scenes like this are VERY sweet! Yep... that's the dog who couldn't help but chase them and wanted to eat them. Snoozing next to his best buddy Timtam. The real test will come with the birds but we're moving slowly and cautiously at this point.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Behold - a sign of the end of days...
I. Went. Jogging.
Yep. I'll give you all a moment to pause and catch your breath from that hysterical laughter.
After not having jogged in *mumbletymumble* ages I started off on our walk and that oh-so-intelligent part of my brain piped up "hey, wouldn't it be nice to get back to jogging?" So I figured what they heck and started. First little while was an adrenaline rush. Whoo hoo... I fell into it like I'd never stopped! That little voice in my head was positively smug - ha! Not so out of shape after all! Yeah. Well... pride and the fall and all that...
I made it not quite a kilometer before the stitch in my side made a persuasive enough argument that we walked most of the rest of our normal nightly-walkies route. So yeah... maybe that whole jogging idea is one of those things I need to do slightly more often. And um, maybe some of that core focused stuff going by the general 'oh hey, remember me, I'm the muscle you forgot you had - surprise!' feeling in that area.
The dogs thought this new revelation was BRILLIANT. They'd figured all my speeds faster than plod had been broken! Who knew???
Now our usual route is along a quiet dirt road and we almost never see anyone along the way aside from the cows, sheep or occasional tethered goat. Today however I also had a few years scared off my life when my mob of dogs saw SOMETHING in the dark and stopped dead in their tracks. Sierra, being the oldest, vaguely recalled hearing "guardian instinct" somewhere in the Australian Shepherd job description quietly growled a low warning. Which is more intimidating if you've never met her and don't know this is the dog who jumps when she's startled by her own farts. Her lieutenants - Hope, Rin and Shadow took a moment to look mutually confused (nope, we haven't done anything to make her peevish at us - huh, must be something else!) before deciding it was their job as lieutenants to back her up even if they had no clue what they were backing her up on. Still they get points for sounding intimidating, even if all three heads were constantly swiveling in randomly opposite directions that seemed to be everywhere other than where the deadly serial killer was apparently laying in wait. The serial killer, who, by the way happened to be one of our neighbors who do know my mob are harmless and their completely stone deaf fat Methuselah of a beagle who paid them utterly NO notice. ~_~ How embarrassment!
Yep. I'll give you all a moment to pause and catch your breath from that hysterical laughter.
After not having jogged in *mumbletymumble* ages I started off on our walk and that oh-so-intelligent part of my brain piped up "hey, wouldn't it be nice to get back to jogging?" So I figured what they heck and started. First little while was an adrenaline rush. Whoo hoo... I fell into it like I'd never stopped! That little voice in my head was positively smug - ha! Not so out of shape after all! Yeah. Well... pride and the fall and all that...
I made it not quite a kilometer before the stitch in my side made a persuasive enough argument that we walked most of the rest of our normal nightly-walkies route. So yeah... maybe that whole jogging idea is one of those things I need to do slightly more often. And um, maybe some of that core focused stuff going by the general 'oh hey, remember me, I'm the muscle you forgot you had - surprise!' feeling in that area.
The dogs thought this new revelation was BRILLIANT. They'd figured all my speeds faster than plod had been broken! Who knew???
Now our usual route is along a quiet dirt road and we almost never see anyone along the way aside from the cows, sheep or occasional tethered goat. Today however I also had a few years scared off my life when my mob of dogs saw SOMETHING in the dark and stopped dead in their tracks. Sierra, being the oldest, vaguely recalled hearing "guardian instinct" somewhere in the Australian Shepherd job description quietly growled a low warning. Which is more intimidating if you've never met her and don't know this is the dog who jumps when she's startled by her own farts. Her lieutenants - Hope, Rin and Shadow took a moment to look mutually confused (nope, we haven't done anything to make her peevish at us - huh, must be something else!) before deciding it was their job as lieutenants to back her up even if they had no clue what they were backing her up on. Still they get points for sounding intimidating, even if all three heads were constantly swiveling in randomly opposite directions that seemed to be everywhere other than where the deadly serial killer was apparently laying in wait. The serial killer, who, by the way happened to be one of our neighbors who do know my mob are harmless and their completely stone deaf fat Methuselah of a beagle who paid them utterly NO notice. ~_~ How embarrassment!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Yesterday we had our Pakenham comp with Hopie (which I *still* managed to be late to... gods I miss traveling with just me and the dogs some days!) yesterday and was quite pleased with it. She did pretty well but even more exciting she was fine with us sitting next to the dog which she'd been previously rather worried about which was awesome!
In the meantime the next day we went to training as per usual but I only took Sierra and Rin as Hope had what we thought was a bug bite but might have been the start of a hotspot. (It's looking like a bug bite after all though!) After Si had a few runs for fun, Rin and I sat down together waiting for our turn and playing in the sunshine. As we goofed around practicing down/sits, please, LAT, eye contact, targeting, on/off switch and leave it I had to admire how clever she is. I had a thought that it was really serendipity that we were sitting here enjoying this today. If I'd not have happened to read the message about her when I did, hadn't responded to ask about her or had they not called VHA in the first place to see if anyone would take her as a last resort before putting her down she might have been PTS and I wouldn't have half the fun in my life I did at that moment. I am so, so, so glad things worked out as they did!
She is a mad hatter, feral-head, wild child, crazy nutterbutter Borderbrat but since I think those traits make for a lot of fun, you can read that as "she's such a deeply cool dog!" Mind you she's not the dog for everyone so I can understand how she'd be trouble elsewhere. She is a professional cardboard box and plastic bottle demolisher. (Incidentally the people at Bunnings must think I'm a mad box hoarder given how often I come in for more boxes...) She needs if a dead minimum of a morning romp with the tennis-ball launcher around the paddocks, an hour or two of merry chaos wrestling around with her sisters at full throttle, a good long walk and training games throughout the day to take the edge off her need to do something. Why? Because if you don't that energy and busy little brain are liable to be found with their mouth on a couch or chair or WALL getting ready to to chew chunks to test which is the highest in palatablity. She is busy and curious and dastardly inventive and wonderfully bloody mindedly creative to work with. She has no sense of gravity and is more liable to sleep on the top of the fridge or woodshed roof than an actual dog bed. (Yes I could change that btw, as I have with perching/sleeping on countertops and stovetops but there is something about her snoozing on the fridge top that makes me laugh every single time, so I choose to keep it.) She comes with two speeds: fast and may-redefine-lightspeed-as-a-standard-measurement. She's Sam I Am in Green Eggs And Ham who must run through every variable when told you don't want green eggs and ham. Yeah you might THINK you don't but what about here or there, in a house, with a mouse, in a box,with a fox, in a car, in a tree, in a train, in the dark, in the rain, with a goat or on a boat? In short she is a nut but she's my kinda nut and I luffs her!
In different news I finished my March challenge painting of the boat - it's a miniature, just under 8x8cm (3x3"). The white isn't reading quite right on the camera and a lot of the more subtle blue, lavender and green undertones in the white don't show.
I also started on Rambo, a 14 year old Sheltie, who also belongs to the team-mate I painted Leo for. He's quite grey in the face so it'll be interesting to paint that much white and try to make it look not rubbish. Here's the rough-in:
I've also done a bit more on the black tri dog and on my cows but part of what I did was some veerrryyy thin glazes which require extra time to set fully so you don't pick up the layer again when you keep going so nothing too thrilling on them atm.
In the meantime the next day we went to training as per usual but I only took Sierra and Rin as Hope had what we thought was a bug bite but might have been the start of a hotspot. (It's looking like a bug bite after all though!) After Si had a few runs for fun, Rin and I sat down together waiting for our turn and playing in the sunshine. As we goofed around practicing down/sits, please, LAT, eye contact, targeting, on/off switch and leave it I had to admire how clever she is. I had a thought that it was really serendipity that we were sitting here enjoying this today. If I'd not have happened to read the message about her when I did, hadn't responded to ask about her or had they not called VHA in the first place to see if anyone would take her as a last resort before putting her down she might have been PTS and I wouldn't have half the fun in my life I did at that moment. I am so, so, so glad things worked out as they did!
She is a mad hatter, feral-head, wild child, crazy nutterbutter Borderbrat but since I think those traits make for a lot of fun, you can read that as "she's such a deeply cool dog!" Mind you she's not the dog for everyone so I can understand how she'd be trouble elsewhere. She is a professional cardboard box and plastic bottle demolisher. (Incidentally the people at Bunnings must think I'm a mad box hoarder given how often I come in for more boxes...) She needs if a dead minimum of a morning romp with the tennis-ball launcher around the paddocks, an hour or two of merry chaos wrestling around with her sisters at full throttle, a good long walk and training games throughout the day to take the edge off her need to do something. Why? Because if you don't that energy and busy little brain are liable to be found with their mouth on a couch or chair or WALL getting ready to to chew chunks to test which is the highest in palatablity. She is busy and curious and dastardly inventive and wonderfully bloody mindedly creative to work with. She has no sense of gravity and is more liable to sleep on the top of the fridge or woodshed roof than an actual dog bed. (Yes I could change that btw, as I have with perching/sleeping on countertops and stovetops but there is something about her snoozing on the fridge top that makes me laugh every single time, so I choose to keep it.) She comes with two speeds: fast and may-redefine-lightspeed-as-a-standard-measurement. She's Sam I Am in Green Eggs And Ham who must run through every variable when told you don't want green eggs and ham. Yeah you might THINK you don't but what about here or there, in a house, with a mouse, in a box,with a fox, in a car, in a tree, in a train, in the dark, in the rain, with a goat or on a boat? In short she is a nut but she's my kinda nut and I luffs her!
In different news I finished my March challenge painting of the boat - it's a miniature, just under 8x8cm (3x3"). The white isn't reading quite right on the camera and a lot of the more subtle blue, lavender and green undertones in the white don't show.
I also started on Rambo, a 14 year old Sheltie, who also belongs to the team-mate I painted Leo for. He's quite grey in the face so it'll be interesting to paint that much white and try to make it look not rubbish. Here's the rough-in:
I've also done a bit more on the black tri dog and on my cows but part of what I did was some veerrryyy thin glazes which require extra time to set fully so you don't pick up the layer again when you keep going so nothing too thrilling on them atm.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Dexter
I hadn't said anything to most people just after, not really feeling up to talking about it but I think I've put off talking about it as long as I can.
At the last update Dexter had been prescribed antibiotics long term and supplemental soft-food. He appeared to be going well, not eating much chaff but eating pellets and softer veg/fruit plus the critcare. The mites/ear funk he'd had when I got him had cleared. I'd thought if he had to have these issues at least he's dealing well with all the fussing, wasn't distressed by his injections (smeared a banana bit on the counter and did it while he was licking every molecule up) and he took to the crit care routine nudging the tip for more.
Then I'd been gone with Hopie at flyball on the Sat, leaving early in the morning and getting back lateish and and when I saw him in his little bed I knew we were in big trouble. I was grabbing his carrier and saying get back in the car, ring the vets to say get everything ready when he sort of sighed and passed. The best guess is maybe the antibiotics and/or not getting enough fibre with only pellets/critical care vs hay or stress from the abscess caused GI stasis and I wasn't there to stop it in time. Probably the fact that he'd had the problem for so long before I got him contributed, maybe if he'd seen the vet with the old people it'd have never developed the abscess. I can't undo having not been there when he went into stasis and I hate the thought he'd have felt ill and wanting me all day while I was gone. But I wish even more it were better known by people to have their vets keep a close eye on their bunnies teeth so things can be caught before they're problems. Please have routine health checks bunny mums and dads, they might save a life.
Rest in peace Dexie, until we all meet up at the Rainbow Bridge again one day.
At the last update Dexter had been prescribed antibiotics long term and supplemental soft-food. He appeared to be going well, not eating much chaff but eating pellets and softer veg/fruit plus the critcare. The mites/ear funk he'd had when I got him had cleared. I'd thought if he had to have these issues at least he's dealing well with all the fussing, wasn't distressed by his injections (smeared a banana bit on the counter and did it while he was licking every molecule up) and he took to the crit care routine nudging the tip for more.
Then I'd been gone with Hopie at flyball on the Sat, leaving early in the morning and getting back lateish and and when I saw him in his little bed I knew we were in big trouble. I was grabbing his carrier and saying get back in the car, ring the vets to say get everything ready when he sort of sighed and passed. The best guess is maybe the antibiotics and/or not getting enough fibre with only pellets/critical care vs hay or stress from the abscess caused GI stasis and I wasn't there to stop it in time. Probably the fact that he'd had the problem for so long before I got him contributed, maybe if he'd seen the vet with the old people it'd have never developed the abscess. I can't undo having not been there when he went into stasis and I hate the thought he'd have felt ill and wanting me all day while I was gone. But I wish even more it were better known by people to have their vets keep a close eye on their bunnies teeth so things can be caught before they're problems. Please have routine health checks bunny mums and dads, they might save a life.
Rest in peace Dexie, until we all meet up at the Rainbow Bridge again one day.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
A brief update on my tri colour Aussie boy - he's gone to the salon and gotten his first layer of highlights! Don't worry, they will be knocked back shortly and his eye shape (gah - too ROUND!) will be fixed so I can move onto his nose and lips etc.
Part of the inspiration for wanting to paint again comes from the a love of the works by my MIL's godmother Mania Mavro along with a few other artists that were friends of my MIL's father and taught him to paint. Ms. Mavro was an absolutely amazing painter - beautiful sense of colour, very bold and energetic. Here's a few examples of their works:
the above are Ms Mavro's, painted in the interwar period while the below are by a friend who taught Nic's grandfather to paint somewhat earlier:
After having not touched a paintbrush since I was very young, I decided to start trying to teach myself to paint instead of waiting to attend a proper course in a few years time because I loved looking at them. (Obviously I'm NO WHERE near the talent and skill here... yet!) So in November and I spent most of Nov/Dec doing 'sketch a day' challenges. I didn't touch anything in January but picked the brush up in February. I finished a few quick challenges along with a small Collie portrait. While I'm most drawn to a semi (vs photo/hyperrealistic) realistic style and animals, I also would LOVE to be able to paint like these artists. The trouble being that while it LOOKS simple it's deceptive to do so in a way that doesn't just create so much messy murky muck slopped on a canvas. And I, um... fall woefully short on those skills, along with lacking the familiarity and understanding of the subjects I have a bit of a headstart in with dogs. So in short, it's really frigging hard - as my first attempt proves!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Leo, finished painting #4
So here is Leo in his finished state... he's the third painting I've attempted and the fourth finished. I've been pleased with my progress and how a few tips I'd recieved off the critique of my first two attempts worked out on this one. Here's the full shot:
Not the greatest photo, the second close-up gives a better idea of colouring - for example the white of the ruff in the first actually isn't a flat white blob there but has lots of subtle shades of grey and lavender. I think the difficulty in photographing is to do with some colours being more glossy and hence reflective of the cameras light than others. He's 5x7 on canvas, paints are Derivan Matisse Structure in carbon black, titanium white, cad med red, cad med yellow and ultramarine blue. (Pthalo didn't work for it.)
I'm also super excited about my new March acrylics challenge. When I first saw the reference photo I thought there was no way I could do it - rows on rows of boats in dock, not my favorite subject to start with and this monster had no less than 36 boats along with many buildings in the background! It'd be a nightmare even for someone very experienced let alone me. I think I've found a crop I like though - not 100% sure the composition is good buuuutttt excited to get started all the same! Here's a sneak peak of my crop intended for a mini canvas:
In the meantime I'm working slowly on the black tri Aussie, the cows and the floral one atm.
Not the greatest photo, the second close-up gives a better idea of colouring - for example the white of the ruff in the first actually isn't a flat white blob there but has lots of subtle shades of grey and lavender. I think the difficulty in photographing is to do with some colours being more glossy and hence reflective of the cameras light than others. He's 5x7 on canvas, paints are Derivan Matisse Structure in carbon black, titanium white, cad med red, cad med yellow and ultramarine blue. (Pthalo didn't work for it.)
I'm also super excited about my new March acrylics challenge. When I first saw the reference photo I thought there was no way I could do it - rows on rows of boats in dock, not my favorite subject to start with and this monster had no less than 36 boats along with many buildings in the background! It'd be a nightmare even for someone very experienced let alone me. I think I've found a crop I like though - not 100% sure the composition is good buuuutttt excited to get started all the same! Here's a sneak peak of my crop intended for a mini canvas:
In the meantime I'm working slowly on the black tri Aussie, the cows and the floral one atm.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Lukieboos is going home...
Luka is going home to his mum after being on vacation here, which we knew was not going to go over well with the president and vice president (aka La and Lily) of the Lukieboo Fan Club. When I first told La he wailed that Luka needed to stay here and proceeded to have a fit before curling up while glaring and pretending to be a fire breathing dragon roasting me. Not one for subtlety of expression our La!
I reminded him he's known all along Luka isn't ours to keep, that we'll see him again, that his mum misses him a lot and so on. He was unimpressed, so being a good mum I told him it's okay to be sad or angry and asked if there's something we might do that might make him feel better. Maybe he could paint a picture or make a book with photos in it that he could look at to remember all the fun he's had? When I didn't get much response I told him to just think about it.
A little while later while we were cleaning up the yard he's informed me he knows what will make him feel better since Luka has to go home. He does want to paint a picture but apparently the only thing that will make it better is to get a puppy of his very own. ~_~ I shoulda known better than to ask! He was doubly unimpressed when I told him that we're not getting a puppy for a good while yet and when we do it won't be just his. Poor La, it's not easy being five!
I reminded him he's known all along Luka isn't ours to keep, that we'll see him again, that his mum misses him a lot and so on. He was unimpressed, so being a good mum I told him it's okay to be sad or angry and asked if there's something we might do that might make him feel better. Maybe he could paint a picture or make a book with photos in it that he could look at to remember all the fun he's had? When I didn't get much response I told him to just think about it.
A little while later while we were cleaning up the yard he's informed me he knows what will make him feel better since Luka has to go home. He does want to paint a picture but apparently the only thing that will make it better is to get a puppy of his very own. ~_~ I shoulda known better than to ask! He was doubly unimpressed when I told him that we're not getting a puppy for a good while yet and when we do it won't be just his. Poor La, it's not easy being five!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)