Wow, three months without updating this blog and so much has happened with Maya.
She discovered water this summer, first at one "dog park" with open trails where I was taking her for a bit in the summer and then at the "Wilderness." It's really not wilderness but that's what it's called and it's a great place to walk Maya, or better let her run loose, and there's a great stream that she owns now! No more the water-shy puppy.
I've been trying to upload photos but for some reason am not getting the right pop-up menu when I click on the 'insert image' icon. And it is late. I'll try again tomorrow ... or soon.
Also discovered another great place to let Maya run: a mountain down past the preserve with the lake where I used to take Maya when I started this blog. Looking for a place to let her run free I took her on the trails through the swamp and explored the trail leaving the preserve. I came to a road and found another park where mostly mountain bikers go. Occasionally I meet another dog owner. The trails there not only go up the mountain but go to the reservoir. Unfortunately, the path to the reservoir crosses state land where hunting is permitted. That starts this week. Maya loves it there, though she also likes the wilderness and I'll probably go to the wilderness more often during hunting season, which goes to the end of the year. No point in risking someone mistakenly entering the park with a gun. Maya's white hide could easily be mistaken for the rear end of a white tail deer.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Happy trails ...
Found a great new "dog park" not from from my house ... 10 minutes probably. Trails open to dogs off leash. Took Maya there today, her third walk of the day por mi, but kept her on a leash just to get a sense of the park. Looks like a great place to let her go ... as long as she comes back with no problem. She's been great with Kobu but not sure how she'll do on her own.
I thought having a dog would help me keep my weight down with all the walking. Something's not working right. Not that I'm obese or anything but I'm lugging about 20 pounds over optimum and not making progress on it. Plus, walking Maya keeps me from running. Somehow I should do both but it's not working out. It's either too blasted hot--lately anyway--or I just have too much to do and so we saunter around the neighborhood looking for Maya's playmates.
Gotta work on this.
I thought having a dog would help me keep my weight down with all the walking. Something's not working right. Not that I'm obese or anything but I'm lugging about 20 pounds over optimum and not making progress on it. Plus, walking Maya keeps me from running. Somehow I should do both but it's not working out. It's either too blasted hot--lately anyway--or I just have too much to do and so we saunter around the neighborhood looking for Maya's playmates.
Gotta work on this.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Blood and Daisy
We bathe Maya once a month, at least, when it's time for her anti-flea and tick med, which is a topical ointment we put on her back. She was overdue by a couple days when Meche and I gave her a bath this evening. She sees it as torture by terrorists. For Maya, she's locked in a small room, held down and subjected to repeated water treatments. She's even taunted with treats and entreaties to "calm down" ... "that's a good girl" ... just before being administered another water shock. Betrayed by her primary care giver, who's trying to hold her still, she's at the mercy of the disciplinarian intent on carrying out the task of repeated dousing.
I was soaked through. I climbed into the tub with her and just held onto her. That was the only way. She'd gotten so panicky I had let her out of the tub and let her shake off a couple of times, during which we lathered her with the shampoo Meche had managed to squirt onto her in one of the tub bouts. There's gotta be a better way but I don't have it down. Maybe I should take her to a groomer and observe.
Then I tried to clip her nails. I got as far as the first one and she bolted bleeding. She made red paw prints around living room, dining room and kitchen. A groom and a nail clipping in order. I think Meche cleaned Maya's ears, but will have to check ... tomorrow ... when I'm outside and in old clothes ... so she can shake her head off after. She's got the best ears for the Barney song, "Do your ears hang low? Can you toss them to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them o'er your shoulder, like a Continental Soldier? Do your ears hang low?"
Yep.
Maya's treat was playing with Daisy, who just happened to be walking by when we went out for a walk about 8ish or 8:30. We met Daisy the other night when we happened upon a gathering on 1 Street. She already knows the two Rottweilers, Leo and Taz, and Max, whose ethnicity I forget but he's one of those scruffy looking, cute little dogs, and he and Maya had a great time tussling in his yard a couple of weeks ago. There was another little dog, whose name I also forget, and Daisey—the puppy. At three months she's the newbie. Her owners said she's a beagle mix, but she looks plenty beagle and is a pretty girl with white with black patches on her torso and white, black and brown on her face.
Maya was crazy the other night at the gathering, over-excited at finding a party in the middle of the street and then throwing herself shamelessly under Leo. Gotta instill some self-respect in her ... and get her fixed.
I was soaked through. I climbed into the tub with her and just held onto her. That was the only way. She'd gotten so panicky I had let her out of the tub and let her shake off a couple of times, during which we lathered her with the shampoo Meche had managed to squirt onto her in one of the tub bouts. There's gotta be a better way but I don't have it down. Maybe I should take her to a groomer and observe.
Then I tried to clip her nails. I got as far as the first one and she bolted bleeding. She made red paw prints around living room, dining room and kitchen. A groom and a nail clipping in order. I think Meche cleaned Maya's ears, but will have to check ... tomorrow ... when I'm outside and in old clothes ... so she can shake her head off after. She's got the best ears for the Barney song, "Do your ears hang low? Can you toss them to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them o'er your shoulder, like a Continental Soldier? Do your ears hang low?"
Yep.
Maya's treat was playing with Daisy, who just happened to be walking by when we went out for a walk about 8ish or 8:30. We met Daisy the other night when we happened upon a gathering on 1 Street. She already knows the two Rottweilers, Leo and Taz, and Max, whose ethnicity I forget but he's one of those scruffy looking, cute little dogs, and he and Maya had a great time tussling in his yard a couple of weeks ago. There was another little dog, whose name I also forget, and Daisey—the puppy. At three months she's the newbie. Her owners said she's a beagle mix, but she looks plenty beagle and is a pretty girl with white with black patches on her torso and white, black and brown on her face.
Maya was crazy the other night at the gathering, over-excited at finding a party in the middle of the street and then throwing herself shamelessly under Leo. Gotta instill some self-respect in her ... and get her fixed.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Freedom with limits
Maya had at least one great day this Fourth of July weekend. Saturday we went to a despedida (goodbye party) for friends who are moving back to Mexico. It was at David's house in the woods. At first I tied Maya up with Kobu on her 30-foot cable, just like Kobu's, and they had a great time. But once I noticed they had unleashed Kobu I decided to give Maya her chance. She did superbly. She never left the yard except the one time David and I were close to the road, looking at his flower garden. Then Maya wandered onto his road, though it's sparsely traveled and she came back with I called her. It was a nice party, even through to the fire pit after dark, though I'm suffering terribly from the mosquito bites, despite repellent. Maya was just one more well-behaved guest with us. I gave Kobu and Maya each a CET chew I get from the vet and Kobu got right protective of his when Maya got too near when he was gnawing away.
It was a great party. Will miss our friends. Have to get Maya up there more often this summer. Today we went to a local dog park. The dogs can run free in the enclosed fence but the grounds is all wood chips and it's not the most attractive place I've seen to run your dog. Plus Maya started to run like crazy, the ways she likes to do once in a while to burn off energy, and an older female dog made her stop. I think Maya's running made her nervous. It's not my favorite place to take her.
I also let her loose in the yard this evening, at Meche's insistence, and scolded Maya when she went toward the deck stairs or toward the opening near the retaining wall. She responded well. She fetched a ball for a while and didn't run off. But later I had to scooper her up literally as she was in the act of jumping the gate! That was it for the night .
She was really good during dinner, though. I fed her just before and while she nosed around seeing if anyone would feed her, she gave up easily and just laid down at our feet while we caught the end of the Peru-Uruguay soccer match for the America's cup.
It was a great party. Will miss our friends. Have to get Maya up there more often this summer. Today we went to a local dog park. The dogs can run free in the enclosed fence but the grounds is all wood chips and it's not the most attractive place I've seen to run your dog. Plus Maya started to run like crazy, the ways she likes to do once in a while to burn off energy, and an older female dog made her stop. I think Maya's running made her nervous. It's not my favorite place to take her.
I also let her loose in the yard this evening, at Meche's insistence, and scolded Maya when she went toward the deck stairs or toward the opening near the retaining wall. She responded well. She fetched a ball for a while and didn't run off. But later I had to scooper her up literally as she was in the act of jumping the gate! That was it for the night .
She was really good during dinner, though. I fed her just before and while she nosed around seeing if anyone would feed her, she gave up easily and just laid down at our feet while we caught the end of the Peru-Uruguay soccer match for the America's cup.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
On the leash
Maya has advanced from puppy class to obedience train. She was six month old on Saturday, the same day we began training. As usual, though, the training was more about training the owners than the dogs. Our first class was about holding the leash. Yeah, the leash.
Okay, it makes sense and I find I was intuitively holding the leash similarly to what the trainer said, the thumb through the loop and create another loop by gripping the leash higher up and for extra control holding the leash midway toward the dog with the other hand. And we learned how to lock up the leash by wrapping it once again around the same thumb. It sound complicated but isn’t really.
Anyway, the idea is always have control of the dog and lead it without having to be rough with her or jerking her. The training’s golden rule is timing, patience and consistency. This is consistency, getting the dog used to the leash and the guidance of it. As long as she is walking in the direction you want her to, basically with you, the leash is loose without pressure on her, but when she deviates from the direction she’s suppose to go, the pressure of the leash locking up should guide her to move in the direction of least resistance.
Patience and consistency. I’ve never been that great at that with my daughters. Now I have to get it right with Maya? I was thinking as I walked her tonight now my treatment of Maya sometime reflects my parenting skills: well intentioned but often overbearing.
Okay, it makes sense and I find I was intuitively holding the leash similarly to what the trainer said, the thumb through the loop and create another loop by gripping the leash higher up and for extra control holding the leash midway toward the dog with the other hand. And we learned how to lock up the leash by wrapping it once again around the same thumb. It sound complicated but isn’t really.
Anyway, the idea is always have control of the dog and lead it without having to be rough with her or jerking her. The training’s golden rule is timing, patience and consistency. This is consistency, getting the dog used to the leash and the guidance of it. As long as she is walking in the direction you want her to, basically with you, the leash is loose without pressure on her, but when she deviates from the direction she’s suppose to go, the pressure of the leash locking up should guide her to move in the direction of least resistance.
Patience and consistency. I’ve never been that great at that with my daughters. Now I have to get it right with Maya? I was thinking as I walked her tonight now my treatment of Maya sometime reflects my parenting skills: well intentioned but often overbearing.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Running Maya
Today I ran Maya. It’s actually the first time I have taken her on a run, though we’ve run a little bit while walking a few times. We went to Rockwood Hall, a park along the Hudson where some impressive chiseled stonewalls are all that’s left of a mansion that once stood there maybe 100 years ago. A nice walking trail circles the park, making about a 2.25-mile course. Maya and I went there about 1 pm and ran a mile and then walked a quarter mile and then ran another mile. After that we walked, and then a little more running when a couple runners going a lot faster than we had went by. Maya got excited and started to run with them. They said they were going about 8 minutes a mile, which beats the hell out of my 10 to 11 minutes a mile. When I stopped Maya was obviously disappointed. My pace bored her! In total we did 3.9 miles.
She was tuckered. This evening she wouldn’t chase a tennis ball for anything. She would have played tug but I don’t play that with her leash and that’s all I had. She crashed about 10, even though Fionna had a bunch of friends over watching a movie. Kids are normally an unbearable distraction for Maya, who thinks everyone is her playmate.
One of the trainers said I shouldn’t run her until she’s about a year old and completely gown. I think she wants to run and something like what I did today isn’t too much for her. Plus, I need to get out and run with some regularity. I’ve been in a funk for at least a half year. Thought I might have picked up Lime Disease or some other thing but the doctor found only a low count for vitamin B12. So getting shots for that. He says that should help restore my energy. It’s good stuff, B12. But he also said the best thing for fatigue is exercise! I haven’t run hardly at all since last fall, but a year ago I was regularly doing six-mile runs and in April of 2010 had even twice run the equivalent of a half marathon! I prefer running on dirt or gravel, so if I keep to that and don’t over do it with Maya, I think she’ll be fine. Me too, I hope.
She was tuckered. This evening she wouldn’t chase a tennis ball for anything. She would have played tug but I don’t play that with her leash and that’s all I had. She crashed about 10, even though Fionna had a bunch of friends over watching a movie. Kids are normally an unbearable distraction for Maya, who thinks everyone is her playmate.
One of the trainers said I shouldn’t run her until she’s about a year old and completely gown. I think she wants to run and something like what I did today isn’t too much for her. Plus, I need to get out and run with some regularity. I’ve been in a funk for at least a half year. Thought I might have picked up Lime Disease or some other thing but the doctor found only a low count for vitamin B12. So getting shots for that. He says that should help restore my energy. It’s good stuff, B12. But he also said the best thing for fatigue is exercise! I haven’t run hardly at all since last fall, but a year ago I was regularly doing six-mile runs and in April of 2010 had even twice run the equivalent of a half marathon! I prefer running on dirt or gravel, so if I keep to that and don’t over do it with Maya, I think she’ll be fine. Me too, I hope.
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