These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Friday, February 05, 2010

Bits and Pieces

I've noticed recently that I am having lots of hits here on the blog from countries all around the world. I'm having a lot more than has been normal. A few are because of google searches, but many are coming direct. I'm curious what it is all about, but there is no way to know. None of those visitors are commenting. Interesting, however.

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Max is my resident "bad boy." If you haven't read here long, I'll explain that. He is adorably sweet and loves me beyond description. The "bad" part is that (1) he doesn't share well, (2) he wants to be pack leader and I won't let him, (3) he consistently forgets all I try to teach him about 1 & 2. He needs to be in a one or two dogs home, but until and unless I find a perfect one that I can trust 100%, he will stay here. I love him too much to do anything that might not be best for him. This is being rewarded, as it seems that he is beginning to accept some of the status quo .... albeit, very, very slowly. He has perhaps 0.5% now!

I've noticed that he seems to be most relaxed and happy when he is either the only dog on the sofa with me or is somehow touching me. The latter might be: on the back of the couch with his paw touching me or has his chin on my shoulder; on the floor with his head on my foot; snuggled against me on one side with NONE of the others on that same side. Yeah, he's quirky.

Max is not an exceptionally cuddly dog. He seems to be almost nervous about a lot of snuggling. However, he seems to be overcoming some of that. He now snuggles down to the side of me and puts his head on my thigh, and if I start petting him or massaging his back, he no longer stiffens but rolls his eyes up at me, and I swear he almost smiles! And yesterday! Yesterday, all the others were playing in and out of the house, and Max actually crawled into my lap, leaned his head against my chest, rolled his eyes up toward me and gave a soft sigh as he relaxed. I was astounded! He stayed there for at least five minutes! I petted and talked to him and really hugged him to me. It was a very special time for us both.

Now for the most amazing part of all .... I've noticed in the last few days that Max has decreased his growling at his buddies. The growling was part of the Alpha struggle, and it seems [knock on wood!!] he may be letting go of this incessant battle with the others for the leader position! Yes, he still growls, but just a little throat rumble as compared to the old snarling kind of growl that often led to a brief skirmish with Sam or Joe. He still won't share one side of the couch with one of the others, preferring to snort and get down when one of them jumps up. He still doesn't want one of them at or even near the food dish when he is there. He still doesn't cuddle with the others as they do with each other. But he is less confrontational. That is a huge improvement in my book!

Another step of progress? Yeah, I think so! A baby step, and a giant step, all in one!!

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Another Max story. You know how some dogs dig in with their back paws, scuff them backward, throwing dirt everywhere if they are outside or scratching the carpet inside? It might be done in play or as a challenge. Well, Max does that in playing with the other dogs. Often.

This morning Max tried to act "tough" with his buddies by doing the rear-foot-dig-in. Trouble is, he was on the ceramic tile in the kitchen, and when he did that, his feet, all four of them, went in separate directions!! I almost lost it! He didn't quite hit the floor, but he was scrambling to get his feet back under him! The other dogs were looking at him, as surprised as he was, and almost as if they thought he was doing a trick! Lola started bouncing around him and barking playfully! The look on his face was priceless! I could imagine him trying to say "Hey, yeah, wasn't that cool? I did that on purpose, you know!" Yeah, right!

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The snow is melting. It is slow, but there is a definite melt going on. The ground is still covered, but it is "shorter." Places that have only the most recent snow (about 10 inches) are now down to about an inch. The places that are in the shade accumulated a lot, and the spots that were about 2.5 feet a couple days ago are now down to ankle or mid-calf height, so probably less than a foot. I'm psyched! I may drive into town later today or tomorrow and do a couple errands. I know that sounds like something I might say any day of any week, but in the last three weeks plus, I haven't been on many pleasure trips. Yes, I've had the trips to Albuquerque, including wonderful lunches. There was the one trip to Ruidoso that about did me in. But something just because I felt like it? Nope. It will be nice to start taking my life back to the normal place. I'll let you know how it goes.


And that's it, my miscellany for today. Hope all of you are well and happy. I know Caroline is because she is getting snow!

13 comments:

  1. Every family seems to have one child that's challenging to raise. Max seems to be yours. Those dominate personality types can be hard to rein in.

    We have a rescue long haired chihuahua who is Super-Glued to me. When he cannot see me or hear my voice he is a perfect angel. He turns into a demon the minute he hears my voice.

    He and my little grandson have the mutual hate society going.

    When it's just Bob and I he's a perfect angel.

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  2. Every once in a while after Sophie goes to the bathroom she will kick her back feet and I have never understood why she does that. I think it's really funny when she does it.

    And yes.....I am very happy that we got snow. We are expecting a lot more Sunday-Monday. The only day I don't want snow is tomorrow because I am going to KC for the day.

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  3. Odd, isn't it, how they determine their roles? I'm glad Max is OK with people, although he needs a little while to be sure of it!

    Linda, I can't tell you how much I understand the idiosyncrasies of rescue dogs. All five of these are rescues, and two were seriously disturbed, Max and Sam. My friends are amazed at how well adjusted they are at this time. They're not perfect, but they are now lovable and sociable, and the progress makes my heart sing!

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  4. Caroline, I have seen them do that occasionally, too, and I don't know the significance of it in that circumstance.

    I'm supposed to have sunshine through Sunday, and on Monday, we are scheduled for snow .... are you ready for this? ..... wait for it! .... from Monday through Saturday, with a short break on Friday!!!!

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  5. Sarge always does that with his back feet after he goes to the bathroom. He digs hard and tears up the grass. It is really funny.

    Right now he is laying on my foot. Phil is jealous because Sarge is really my dog. When we come home, he runs right past Phil to me.
    Even if he has a favorite, Sarge is still very protective of Phil.
    Phil has a cold, and I can see Sarge's ears perk up when Phil coughs. This morning Phil was coughing really hard and Sarge had to run in and make sure he was okay. Sarge used to sleep with Phil, but now he is in the crate at night so maybe he is made about that, lol

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  6. YG, they certainly have minds of their own, don't they? Each has his/her own way of doing things and that's all there is to it!

    You know, don't you, that before it is over, you're gonna have 2 dogs .... Sarge for you and another for Phil!! LOL!

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  7. You may be keeping an eye out for a one dog home for Max but I bet Max is waiting for you to find homes for all the other dogs ....

    What does it look like when you get a blog hit from a cell phone? Can you tell I am in Fort Wayne IN? (Or it might say New Haven as I am on the broder of fw and nh). I noticed that when I visited your blog frm the laptop with verizon FIOS it registered onthe counter on your sidebar as Ontario CN sometimes instead of INDIANA...
    Mary (Ox)

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  8. Mary, you're right about Max. As you see, he still doesn't fully understand that I'm the Alpha!

    I've looked through all three of my trackers, and the only one that is near the time you visited registers from Cincinnati. I assume that is it. Depending on the tracker, some show that I am in NM, usually Ruidoso, while others show I'm in Arkansas, which is the hub for my ISP. Perhaps the hub for your cell in in Cincinnati??

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  9. Hi Lyn,
    Sorry I haven't been by lately, I've been busy with Katie! Anyway my pug Ruby is like Max. She won't let my other dog,Roxy lay in my lap while she she there. Sometimes she will but rarely. She's so jealous! Max sounds so sweet and I could envision him on the floor doing the paw thing! Ruby does that after she pee's! I will say "Good Girl" over and over, she will do it as long as I keep saying it!
    Love Di

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  10. Max sounds like such a character! I'm glad he seems to be open to growth, or change. I'm guessing that's unusual for a dog- heck, it's unusual for people!

    Hugs,
    Betty

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  11. Diana, I knew you would be busy, no problem at all. Isn't that a funny little behavior of dogs? It sounds like it is pretty wide spread, too!

    Betty, he is a character! He is really cute and sweet .... unless he is growling! Dogs can change, and it helps that Max is still relatively young, 3.5 years. I actually think dogs often change more readily than humans!!

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  12. Lynilu,

    I use this phrase with Simon Sir Poopalot to remind him I am alpha : I'm the boss applesauce! Apparently Judge Judy uses that phrase but I swear I got it from an old tv show called Little Rascals.

    Re: The cell phone hub...could be Cincy...can you tell how long I am on your blog? One night I kept my browser open on the cell and I think I had your blog up in the browser, If not yours, it was someone else I read on a regular basis. I worried that if stat counters keep track of time a 12 hr visit would make me seem like a slow reader or a stalker! Mary (ox)

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  13. Mary, some of the trackers do show the sign in and sign out. I don't usually pay attention to that, to be honest. In fact, I rarely pay attention to the trackers at all, but occasionally it is interesting to see who is visiting.

    BTW, just for fun I googled "I'm the boss, applesauce," and I didn't find a clear reference to anything but Judge Judy.I only spent a few minutes, so further research might produce something else, but I didn't see it. I've been trying to recall it from LR, but I'm drawing a blank. Do you remember who said it?

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!