Calming Fires of Fear
SPARKING A MEMORY
In late May, while driving Shamus, the Newf, to Tails on Trails at Empire Plaza, we happened upon a tower of thick, black smoke billowing above the tree line. While at the stop sign, it was a mere curiosity … but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Not far ahead, a most ravenous fire devoured a building right before our eyes. I sat mesmerized for a moment. The hungry flames, having claimed every last board and shingle, licked at the sky in a frantic search for more fuel. A volunteer firefighter stood at the roadside, radio to mouth. Sirens blared their approach and broke through my daze.
Newfound(land) Chihuahua Love
While out and about in Chatham, NY, our Tails on Trails class spent a good deal of time looking like the Beatles on the cover of Abbey Road. This class emphasized sitting at the curb and looking both ways before crossing the street. We also worked on leash cues that redirect our dogs in one seemless motion, an activity which was delightfully dizzying at times, and we served lots and lots of treats.
Shamus, our Newf, did especially well during this class. I’m confident his best behavior was an attempt to impress his lady friend, a cute little Chihuahua pup named Maya. The two met in last year’s class and played coy upon reintroduction. I suspect that they’re still smitten but feeling a bit too awkward to flirt in front of their parents.
See the budding, if unlikely romance for yourself…
Tails on Trails at the Park
Tails on Trails, our dog socialization class hosted by Nassau Vet, visited The Crossings, a public park in Colonie, NY on May 2nd. Shamus and his dog pals had a terrific time healing, loose leash walking around the pond, playing Dog Baseball, and learning direction through light leash pressure while weaving between gazebo posts. In the end, they were all asked to climb on the outdoor furniture. Huzzah! What dog doesn’t like that?
Oh, and if you’ve never heard of Dog Baseball, it’s a pretty clever excercise. Each base is marked by a dog practicing “down stays.” The other dogs walk the bases performing certain tasks at each. Shamus, positioned at second, was asked to sit still while the others came through. At this, he excelled. What more could you expect from an aloof Newf?
The Newf, Back at the Farm
Part 2 of Training a Therapy Newf…
Shamus had a terrific time revisiting the farm where his socialization class began a year ago. As a young Shepherd approached him, our vet tech said, “It’s okay. Shamus is socialized.” My head spun in her direction. Yes. You heard it here first, folks. The Clunes, with a long history of adopting hard luck cases, officially have a well-socialized dog.
Last year’s grumblings, the result of another dog’s approach, are now a thing of the past. Size no longer matters. Shamus greets every canine with his head held high (or low, depending on butt height). His tail, a pom pom in perpetual motion, cheers the possibility of any and all new friendships. He even trots past cows with exuberance whereas, last year, he dragged me out of the barn on our first walk through.
Training a Therapy Newf
Last week, I said my Newf and I would become a therapy team for Be the Change, a movement to promote animal welfare. While I’m eagerly awaiting the delivery of my Delta Society training manual, it occurred to me that our training started a year ago, almost to the day. At the time,what we were doing simply wasn’t obvious. I thought it might be fun to look back to see how far we’ve come.
IDENTIFYING OBSTACLES
Last March, as we drove our rescue Newf toward home, Tim stopped the car allowing for?the passage of two riders on horseback. The Newf, locking his eyes on the magnificent animals, rumbled a low, guttural growl from the back seat. Tim and I flashed glances at each other. There is nothing more unnerving than having an unknown giant growling directly behind your face. The horses passed and we continued the half mile toward home. Once out of view, all was right with the world again. Then, as we all settled in for an afternoon rest later that weekend, Clint Eastwood charged across our obscenely huge plasma screen – on horseback . Shamus jolted upright and rumbled once more. He watched vigilantly throughout the rest of the film. Not long after, this behavior carried over at PetsMart when encountering 2 larger dogs. We obviously had some socialization issues to overcome.
This site is powered by 100% renewable energy. Yours could be too.
Host with FatCow!
We're affiliates because we're fans.
