September 6, 2012
My previous canine family members have included working breeds – Shepard, Border Collie – but none of them actually had to work. I required that each sit for a cookie. That maneuver was more about earning a treat – a kind of doggie ‘please’ – than about drawing on their skills. I did teach one dog to lie down and roll over when I pointed a trigger finger at him, a game many guests enjoyed. I’m learning that a working dog – such as a service dog – doesn’t do tricks. A working dog does a job. And when that working dog is Sir Thomas, he look to me as his boss. When I think back on past jobs, my best bosses were the ones who made clear what was expected of me, let me know how well I performed, and offered guidance for new tasks.The least effective bosses played games, […]
August 30, 2012
Missed a visit with Sir Thomas because I spent the morning at the vet’s with Elsie. She’d been lethargic – not typically a word found in a border collie vocabulary – and, worse, her pupils took up nearly her whole eye and stayed so even in the light. Happily, she’s back to her feisty if still creaky self. The vet increased her meds slightly (sounds familiar…). So it’s a brush and a long wall for her today before heading out to visit the young ‘un. I missed not seeing him for a day No Sir Thomas stories to share, no fur clinging to the slobber he drooled on my pants leg, no loving eyes gazing up into mine. Though we both still have some training to undergo, some more getting-to-know-you get-togethers, we’re close. Soon, I won’t have to leave him. Yes, Sir Thomas, you will be coming home.
August 28, 2012
Good boy! We’re having fun working on basics. Soon enough and we’ll be working on them side-by-side.
August 24, 2012