What are you doing today?

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Mad Dilys
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

It's another glorious morning here! We have had so much sunshine, day after day since Christmas really. Yes, we have had some rain and a few gloomy days but not the familiar bleak grey, day after day, so I'm feeling pretty chirpy and in spite of the gout I can more about, just have to put my feet up more often. :up

Today I'm starting a Begonia and Kalanchoe note book for the year. I have four tiny new Kalanchoes at present. I do still have last year's which are pretty straggly and have only a sprinkle of flower left between them. I shall trim them up, repot them and as soon as it warms up I shall put them outside - after all they did amazingly well there last year in spite or because of having most of their leaves eaten by slugs :up .


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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

Mad Dilys wrote:Horus, thank you for doing my spring walk for me. I have some big mobility problems at the moment and such a walk is a wonderful dream.
I echo those sentiments MD. :up

I do not complain about my increasing limitations, what's the point, but I am a little envious when we see all those interesting places that Horus has in his area and his ability to explore them. Mind you, I sometimes think it is Annie taking Horus for a walk. ;)

Up to about a year ago I would drive into the centre of town (blue badge) and walk around some of the historical sites and post a few pictures. Since I gave up driving (my decision) my mobility has further reduced. I am still thinking about a mobility scooter, my vision is borderline for one of those. Fine if you are alone but when there are still two of you I think it is a bit selfish.

So Annie, keep taking your boss out for walks and with spring around the corner there should be some good pictures. Make sure he gets fed and watered at a local hostelry Annie ;) :lol:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

You may well be right about it being Annie taking me out as I suppose she is my motivation. No doubt by now you guys have figured out that she is a big part of my life and walking on my own would not be the same. I am fairly gregarious as a person, but being on your own for most of the day you do not meet many others during the average day so I talk to Annie quite a lot. She is very much her own boss and is feisty with a stubborn streak, but will always do as she is told (eventually). Having said that she is never far from my side and as we spend so much time together she will whine if I leave her for even a short time, so there’s little chance of asking someone to keep an eye on her for a few minutes if she can still see me, also she will sulk when I go out shopping by going into a corner and looking sorry for herself. :(

Strange how you find yourself talking to a dog when you are out for a walk and quite amusing when you reflect upon what you actually say to them such as “Oh look! I told you not to walk through all that mud, now look at you! don’t complain to me when you have to have a bath, it’s your own fault” :lol: I almost expect her to answer “Well I don’t care”. :P The nicest thing is that most evenings she will curl up behind my legs as I am lolling about on the sofa watching some TV, then she suddenly decided that she wants a cuddle and will climb up onto my chest and shoulder and go to sleep with her head tucked into my neck.

I am hoping to get some interesting shots with my ‘Annie Cam’ once the weather gets a bit better.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

H, I think from all your posts that we realise that Annie has become your constant companion, and as you say there are times when she is the motivation for you to get out and about.
Unlike cats, dogs are such faithful pets. We have never had a dog. I watched a program yesterday about the Bala sheepdog sales. I think Border Collies are lovely animals but most are working dogs as they should be, that is their heritage.
The farm dogs live outside in a kennel or a barn and never go inside the house (or very rarely). These dogs were sold almost like a piece of equipment but when the seller took his dog to the field to demonstrate its skill with sheep, the dog looked up at his master with anticipation in his eyes. Let's get on with it he seemed to be saying.
I thought it was wonderful to see that even a dog, although very well cared for, lived mostly away from the family but knew his master and was willing and keen to work hard for him.
I am probably now regretting that we never had a dog. If you give them love they will return it in buckets. We know that from our grand daughters little terrier Millie who is now getting very old. :(
:gg:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Grandad, it is years since I was in Egypt, but if my DH has the speaker on the phone and Cat hears me she will still call frantically.

I love that cat and miss her terribly..... even though she'd bully me from time to time. :lol:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

Yes, I must seriously think about applying for a blue badge - and a mobility scooter! :tk
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I think dogs are great companions have had several over the years and think about getting another one now quite a bit. My problem is I still want to travel and what to do with a dog when I'm gone? The daughters house is not set up at all for a dog (just the design and layout in that you'd have to take it out the front door and then go entirely around the house to the back to find lawn OR side door but that is downstairs and still around to the back) and the kids have allergies so her house is out.

Kennels are ok but here dog kennels have turned into luxury dog retreats and cost starting at $40/day. This is so they will play with the dog, allow it to lounge in a living room type set up with TV, walk, food, daily brushing and on and on. All that is ok for short term but to put it into real perspective I pay $51/night for a mid range hotel (swimming pool, breakfast included with TV, microwave & fridge in room) when I go to the States. Guess I'm saying to Board a dog here for any amount of time is super expensive.

Granted I wouldn't want my dog just thrown into a chain enclosure and left there but nor do I think what is being charged here is worth it.

On the other hand dogs are great motivators to get one up and going and are somebody to talk to. Personally I quite enjoy seeing where Annie takes H every day.

Today I was up early, put on cabbage rolls to cook as I got the perfect cabbage yesterday for cooking, vaccum'd the upstairs and have a load of laundry drying. Sitting with my first cuppa right now and thinking what I'll do. I do need to get outside and do some weeding but I'll prefer that for afternoon as the guy is coming today between 11am & noon to replace the heater he installed just pre-Christmas in the hot tub. He's been back here at least 3 times as it isn't working - will show on the gauge the water temp is 115F yet in reality it is about 85F, doesn't come on when turned on etc etc etc so the repair guys have concluded now that it is probably the heater so today they're putting in another one. I understand zip about it I just want to be able to push the 'on' button and push the other button 'til it says 100F and then turn it off and push the button 'til it goes down to 85F (which is where it keeps the water heated to). The chemicals are easy in that they float in this thing and I put in a new tablet when the old one dissolves. When I pass the shop I take a sample of the water in for testing and so far all is neat, clean, sanitary and working well and my old bones feel much better for having a hot soak.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Md, always remember that dogs have masters and cats have servants ;)

Grandad those sheepdogs display exactly some of the behaviour that makes dogs such good company for humans, they see the farmer as part of the pack (in fact their leader) and in their minds when rounding up sheep they are part of a hunt. Even dogs like Annie still display that pack behaviour and that is the basis of understanding how a dogs brain works and in being able to controll them properly. She sees me as the senior pack leader and her protector and behaves in that manner, unlike a male dog who will tend to go quiet and possibly attack if it feels threatened, a bitches main role is to get the attention of the pack leader and bark at anything unusual, that is why they make such good house dogs. They also know that the food comes from you and are more likey to be subservient to you as again they see you as the alpha male. That senior role is important when owning any dog, it must know that you are the boss and should respond to your voice and not because of any sort of violence towards it. I have two rules of thumb with a dog, it should stop what it is doing and look towards you immediately with one simple word of command, usually an authoritive "Stay" and second you should be able to take a dogs food away without any snarling. This may make you laugh, but any puppy I have had always loves to play and part of that play is to see where it ranks in the pecking order, so what you do is to get down to its level on the carpet and play with it. At some point it will get over boisterous and give you a nip, it is now that you gently scragg it to the carpet making a growling noise in its ear and then give the ear a gentle nip, it soon learns who is the boss. :lol: :lol:
Personally I quite enjoy seeing where Annie takes H every day.
:lol: :lol: That sounds about right ;)
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Very interesting Horus. Sounds a bit like the Dog Whisperer's theory to me and nothing wrong with that - nor with Victoria Stilwell or even Barbara Woodhouse they all have their successes.

Just as humans have similarities and differences so do dogs in my experience. I am definitely not an expert, but started going to obedience training classes in 1958 and always liked to have my dogs biddable at least - but they are so different as individuals I wouldn't be so brave as to make generalisations when it comes to training, and the pack theory.

I think the female is slightly more likely to be pack leader, certainly when I was working in showing kennels and the dogs were basically kept in stable groups of 12 or 15 in large grass pens during the day. There were some male dogs who were agressive but the females were "bitchy" and took no nonsense. At mating time it's the female calls the shots, and God help a male who doesn't toe the line.

My daughter's dogs are all neutered but even beforehand her Jack Russell bitch bullied her male Spaniel and her huge male Doberman Pinscher who is almost scared of his shadow unless an unanounced stranger enters the house or garden.

I never had dogs like that, but I did have a few who were resistant to training - of course they were'nt puppies when they were rescued and had a trauma in their past life. They were a Bouvier de Flandres, who was six months old when I bought him - put down for his serious bite of a friend of mine that he knew well.

Then there was Rosco a one eyed 6 month German Shepherd pup that had had 3 previous homes. He wanted to organise my horses, my sheep, my hens and my children! In the end when he was 2 years old his herding Jacob sheep with their big horns and independent spirit turned into a battle and a final visit to the vet. :(

Rasta McPasta the naughtiest dog in the world, according to my children, was pretty good around our property and actually gave warning that we had a fire in the house - thus saving all except the kitchen. Off our property he was dangerous to anything that moved, I used to walk him at 5 am in the heart of the country ready for any outbreak of frenzied barking and attempt to kill passing cars, people, horses - almost nothing stopped him. Obedience classes even with the administration of a sedative were impossible.

I'm pretty convinced that some dogs are mentally impaired and some are just plain crazy!

I've had a few dogs as well as working in Saluki and Dachshund showing kennels, quarantine kennels, veterinary hospital and breeding show and racing Whippets. I usually had at least 3 dogs the oldest living until he was over 18 years old.

Just for fun these are the main kinds of dogs I've owned in chronological order - Rhodesian Ridgeback/Border Collie - Cairn Terriers - Saluki - Miniature Pinscher - Irish Wolfhound - Bull Terrier/Golden Retriever - Whippets - Smooth Scotch Collie - Bouvier de Flandres - German Shepherds and a few mongrels here and there. :lol:

I also usually had at least 3 cats at the same time, sometimes 6 not more though. Like the dogs they were all individuals some dominating and some timid. I miss them all very much.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

I suppose we all have our own ideas and experiences to call upon, I also base mine on owning many varied dogs over my lifetime including real Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Alsations living in Africa plus many other Collie and terrier breeds. My father in law (a one time well know international breeder and show judge) had kennels during most of the 40 years or so that I knew him and I based my own opinions of dogs on what I observed and of course my own experience, TV dog whisperers never came into it. ;)
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

I love Rhodesian Ridgebacks, such beautiful, tough and faithful animals. I was working in Quarantine kennels at the time of the troubles and we had quite a few dogs that were owned by returning ex-pats.

One pair of dogs I will always remember as it was my responsibility to keep them under control when being examined. Their owners lived in Rhodesia had gone out for the evening leaving their dogs loose in their large house during their absence. On their return, the dogs were watching from an upstairs window when the owners were attacked as they got out of their car. The two dogs jumped through the glass and hit the ground running. The dog grabbed one man by the shoulder and mauled him, the bitch killed the other man by seizing him by the throat. The staff were soon on the scene in response to the noise and the owners were unhurt.

During their time in quarantine they behaved very well. They didn't like being seperated for inspection, but I found the dried fish I always had in my pocket for these occasions worked wonders in distracting them. Maybe because he didn't have day to day handling of them was the reason the Vet was so scared of them. The animals didn't see any of us as a threat at all, because their owners weren't present.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

We called them Lion Dogs and a friend of mine a German guy had a similar experience. He once came home and the local African police mistaking his address for someone else's tried to arrest him as he got out of his vehicle on his own property, they soon realised their mistake. One policeman was pinned to the ground and the other tried to escape by scaling a high fence, impossible to do with a Ridgeback hanging onto your neck, luckily he was able to call them off as they were well trained. I genuinely believe that with few exceptions there are very few bad dogs, but plenty of bad owners, I have never had a badly behaved dog in my life with the exception of one which was a rescue dog and I had nothing to do with training that one, it had a bad owner. If people cannot relate a dogs behaviour to their ancestral pack mentality then they know little about dogs or how to train one, people may mock Cesar Millan, but he has more understanding of dog behaviour than many current dog owners do.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I like watching Milan's Dog Shows. IMO many of the people who have dogs he goes to see shouldn't be owners at all. They have negative 100% idea of how to raise, train, keep a dog. In some instances the dogs they have raised are down right dangerous as they've learned too well how to get their own way knowing the Owners are totally ineffective. Not the dogs fault at all but more that the owners are completely clueless.

I grew up with mega animals and honestly never had a problem with any of them. I seemed to know or naturally learned how to get cows through a field, horses saddled & bridled - my point being I was always able to manage animals way larger than me as a kid. Same with most dogs I've had - never really had a problem.

Only with one. It was a terrier cross. A rescue and on getting it home found out it was a runner if it got outside the gate. Not a hope it would come close once it detected any level of freedom and it was gone. Lasted less than two weeks with me as I was not about to deal with a dog that had learned ingrained running behaviour. Was cute but the second it saw a path to escape it was gone.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Today the Gas Engineer is coming to estimate for the new supply etc.

Things are on the move............. a sensible builder will be next for chimney capping and ceiling replacements.

Now searching for 2nd Electrician to certify house before making a choice as to who will do the job.
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

You certainly have a lot of work to get done MD :o
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

I don't know what your weather is like, MD, but the white stuff is back here! If yours is the same as ours, say your prayers for your gas engineer to turn up! How is it down your way, Grandad?
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

Very fine sleety stuff in the air RS. Not laying.........yet! :(

My sister and her partner were coming through from Hythe to join us for lunch at Chapmans.......yes Chapmans again :lol: But have just wisely called off. Our daughter and her husband never miss an opportunity so they may join us instead. They only live at Herne near Herne Bay. :)
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

Turned very cold here but only a very light dusting of snow so far, hardly visible to be honest and gone very quickly so hopefully we will miss most of it. I just wish the weather would turn a little warmer as for months it seems to have been so cold and wet, this Winter has really dragged on. :(
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Grandad »

Horus wrote:I just wish the weather would turn a little warmer as for months it seems to have been so cold and wet, this Winter has really dragged on. :(
Couldn't agree more H and that is from a southerner ;)

In 4 weeks we will be in the Emirates, current temperature around 30C and humidity around 40%, that'll do :lol:
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Re: What are you doing today?

Post by Horus »

It is doing all sorts here, one minute bright sunshine and the next snow flurries, but cold as the Arctic.
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