Sunday, October 19, 2008

There's kookiness in that freight train!!!

Like any lovable being on this planet, Maggie has her share of weird little antics that cause us to double take at what we aren't quite sure she has just done! Playtime, which is whenever she decides, comes in a variety of forms but almost always involves not one but two objects planted firmly in her mouth. It never makes any sense what those two are and invariably they are completely different, as in a squeaky toy and a ball, a ball and a blanket that seldom rests in the same place twice in any given week, a blanket and a freshly folded piece of clean laundry, more often than naught, someone's underwear!!!

The idea of the game is to fight like crazy with her over one of the pieces she has a hold of and throw it along the hallway; simply waiting for her to drop one item has little play value and is usually met with a disdainful look implying, "Are we playing or aren't we?" So the battle continues with renewed zeal and as the ball is launched down the hallway, the blanket has to be gripped tightly as she prances (yes, we have a dog that prances! Perhaps we should saddle her!!!) after said ball!

Now have I mentioned her energy level as this pastime unfolds? Whether it's the retriever in her or simply that she's a dog, the chase is on, the focus is pinpoint, the likelihood of the toy's escape, nil and NOTHING will stand in her way!!! (Editorial note..... throwing squeaky toys and balls makes some sense but throwing blankets somehow lacks impact and I will profess that it makes no sense to me!!!) So you have to know, with everything that's within her she wants that object back in her mouth. Her intensity has its weaknesses as she's facing me one moment and with the ball rolling past her in the next heartbeat, her attempt at keeping an eye on the trajectory can have her smacking her head against the near wall, followed by an instantaneous adjustment to carry on prancing after the fleeing felon!!! It would make for good video coverage and needless to say a cringing audience as she wallops herself and carries on as if to say, "I'm alright, what are you laughing at???"

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Puppy School

This is a place to socialize your dog, learn what you can to improve on your skills as a master, teach your puppy the accepted ways of healing, staying and so on.

Now Maggie was rather accepting of the idea that this place had a whole pack of animals and their masters which by the way is not a word in her vocabulary, she being the queen of all she surveys!!!!

Surely these fellow four legged friends were here for her amusement but why was Alana pulling on her collar and using a commanding tone repeatedly with her? Being new to the surroundings, Maggie decided to go with the flow and assess things as they unfolded. This of course was totally acceptable to Alana who proudly went through the paces as the teacher instructed. Now being a puppy and all, Maggie allowed distraction to take over which automatically calls for increased energy to flow through her as her desires to sniff out the young studly puppy in front of her not to mention the antics of the less behaved, masters and dogs alike were of huge interest to her!!! After all, she had been good for a decent length of time so the reward was to "have at" her newly found friends!!!

Alana's gentle tugs along with her firm yet calm assertive commands gave way to a full on one arm workout as the leash's tensile strength was put to the test!!! Maggie's determination matched the opposing force and desires of Alana to the point where the teacher paused and noted the fact that Maggie was somewhat high spirited. This developed into her later commenting that Maggie was manic to which Alana agreed through gritted teeth and a now overworked bicep!!!

Great, so the dog that belonged to a Principal's family had made a name for herself as the most determined at being disruptive in class!!! Thanks Maggie.....humility comes in many forms!!! Class dismissed!!!