| Home |
| Search |
| Today's Posts |
|
#17
24-11-2003, 01:02 AM
|
|||
|
|||
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
|
|
#18
24-11-2003, 01:04 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article ,
wrote: madgardener wrote: So I called her and dragged her dawg ass out the front door over to the pit she'd dug and dragged her muzzle thru the dirt yelling at her "what did you DO????? BAAAADDDDD DAWG, NO" about 30 seconds of this Why are you mad at the dog instead of your sons, who left them unsupervised? For what it's worth, your dog most likely associates your yelling with her most recent action...coming to you before being dragged outside. If you doubt this... Next time, try getting her to come again immediately after the yelling. If she thinks coming is a good thing and digging is the bad thing, she won't hesitate to come. Eric You may be right in this particular case, but to go off on a barely related tangent, there's another effect of yelling at dogs, an effect which explains why strange old ladies who live alone with creepy little yappy dogs can never get their runny-eyed shivery eggshell-headed monsters to stop yapping. When the crazy old dog-owner starts yelling "Be quiet Winky-dums! Stop that barking right now! Oh you bad Winkywinky, stop that now! Bad Winky! Bad!" this incites the bulby-eyed little horror to ever more insistant yappiness. From that little dog's point of view, its beloved mistress is barking WITH them at the nasty knock at the door, & yelling at the dog to stop barking reinforces their pet's desire to please & to do stuff with the Mistress. It only LOOKS like disobedience. By the way, I've been thinking of getting a yappy dog to go with my own increasingly little old lady life toddling about talking to plants, but I might have a couple years yet to go before I'm quite old enough, though I've got the toddling down now. Some of those dogs do look rather like rats so I like 'em. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#19
24-11-2003, 01:32 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , Frogleg
wrote: On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 20:27:05 -0600, wrote: madgardener wrote: So I called her and dragged her dawg ass out the front door over to the pit she'd dug and dragged her muzzle thru the dirt yelling at her "what did you DO????? BAAAADDDDD DAWG, NO" about 30 seconds of this Why are you mad at the dog instead of your sons, who left them unsupervised? For what it's worth, your dog most likely associates your yelling with her most recent action...coming to you before being dragged outside. This struck me, too. Our NPR station carries 'Calling All Pets' (from Wisconson Public Radio -- http://www.wpr.org/pets/) with animal behaviorist Tricia McConnell. Her training advice is almost universally directed toward encouraging good behavior and training animals out of bad habits. Unless they're 'caught in the act' (or preferably just as the idea is forming :-), it is virtually useless to punish them for a prior (even a couple minutes prior) act. This may be generally true, & the majority of dogs do seem to have the IQ of a baked mutton incapable of putting sundry events together into a broader understanding. But some dogs clearly have very complex thought processes, lay plans, await results, as any social hunting animal must be able to do. I had a dog unstring a toilet roll while I was away, & when I came home, hid until I found the paper unravelled before coming out to see what I was going to do about it. I've had or known dogs in the past that tried to hide their misdeeds, or went all ashamed-acting immediately before the discovery of some chewed up item. I've known dogs that when miffed about something would wait patiently for the chance to be alone to do something rotten to express dissatisfaction. I was never much for punishing a dog at all, but some of them definitely can put two & two together, & if you find a shoe chewed almost in half, they know they did it, & they know it's why you're acting peevish with them. Or you can be standing on completely the different side of a room from where a chair-leg is gnawed & ask a dog sternly "Do you know what you did?" & it'll lower its head & take a surreptitious glance at the chairleg; shame is something dogs can feel, & most of the stuff they're ashamed of is stuff they intentionally waited until you weren't around to do it, so know perfectly well there could be repurcussions. A little dog, maybe not so likely, but a german shepard, an australian sheep dog, a newfoundland, some of them seem a lot smarter than four year old children. It may still be a poor training tactic to yell at them while showing them the chewed up shoe, as the deed felt good when it was being done & will feel good when done again; plus attention is attention & they may want to get yelled at again. But I do think many a dog can quite easily make a connection between your unhappiness & that nibbled shoe you're waggling at them, or a dug-up garden. -paghat the ratgirl Dr. McConnell, a very bright and cheerful woman, as well as a sound academic, has written several books on (mostly) dog training that may be available in your library. She even had a good tip recently about keeping neighbors' dogs from pooping on your lawn. Send me a SASE and $10, and I'll reveal the secret. :-) Since digging is a common problem, I'm sure she deals with that. Genuinely sorry about your flowers, Mad. -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#20
24-11-2003, 02:12 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article ,
wrote: there is a big difference between "expert" and "on the radio and especially on the TV". As I live in Wisconsin and catch the show every now and then I can say I am not impressed. there are dogs called "hunting dogs" genetically wired to be stubborn (or the dog dont hunt!), pleasing people is secondary to their "job". I have both hard headed hunting stock Springers and soft little toy dogs, Poms and Paps that are bred to PLEASE people. It is like the two groups are from different planets. SkippyPB the Pom poor baby was my first toy dog ever. I soon learned that the training techniques I used with springers, like hauling them around, yelling at em, rewarding with food, etc. wasnt going to work with the little guy. Hunting dogs are incredibly pain tolerant, physically and emotionally. Wild canines in packs, the alpha will periodically inflict pain to induce subservience in lieutenants, who accept that they don't even have the right to breed. The alpha's split-second moments of violence reinforces rather than does harm to the "family" or pack structure. A dog that shows its belly because it just got its face nipped does not feel victmized, it benefits from reinforcement of its position in the pack, whereas if it balks, serious injury could result, or even outcast status & the life of a starving scavenger. The main thing a good hunting dog learns from inflicted pain is it's "place" in the world & who is boss. Unless the abuse is agregious, it will not feel abused or show fear; it will be happily subservient to the alpha human who wacks him. However, learning to show its belly to the human alpha isn't the same as learning hunting techniques, nor will it result in a generally reliable animal. While I do not believe most dogs feel unhappy with owners who hit them even with moderate violence, it is NOT essential to do this to establish mastery over a dog. From pain-oriented punishments the dog may well learn to inflict pain further down the social ladder --someone can hit his dog & it'll still love & obey him & hold no grudges, but the guy down the block better never try it or he'll need some serious stitches. And the owner saying that shithead down the block shouldn't have raised a stick to wack someone else's dog isn't going to wash when it comes up before the judge who decides its a dangerous animal. Worse, it will become second-nature to such a dog to show, say, a rowdy child who is the boss. A child entering pack territory must submit to the alpha human's "lieutenant," i.e., Mr. Good Dog. It doesn't take a mean dog or a bad dog or even a poorly trained dog to get itself in maximum trouble. It was just a dog that understood the social order was reinforced by painful nipping or wacking. When it seeks a similar submissive response by nipping a child, & gets entirely the wrong response, it then bites seriously. That same afternoon, animal control comes by to arrange for the dog's destruction & there's a phone call from the kid's father's attorney, & a second mortgage is going to be required. The often-wacked happy obedient dog never again gets to hang out with that greatly loved belly-scratchin' human who will forever after refuse to believe his dog was unprovoked. On the other hand, I've stopped dogs from being rowdy, when even their owners couldn't get them under control, merely by pinching the dog's cheek. This settles them down at once & gets their attention. I'm not sure why it would work so reliably, but I learned this when I was a teenager & took a German shephard through a training program, & I've often had opportunity to do the face-pinch trick in the decades since; a dog can be completely unfamiliar with the maneuver, or it can have experienced it a great deal so isn't surprised, either way it's the same response -- settle down, come to attention. Doesn't need to be done painfully, but enough to be felt, so it would qualify as a use of pain in training -- do it three times, for the rest of the day if not forever after, you only have to touch the cheek. It's about the least threatening method of conveying alpha status to a jumping slobbering over-excited or leash-yanking refuses-to-hear-you dog -- it feels that cheek-pinch & suddenly it wants to know what you want of it. Alhough this seems never to fail on a large good-natured dog, it's useless for miniatures; I always assumed that was because toys & miniatures are naturally stupid, but maybe you've got a better idea, & lap-dogs are really wired to a different standard. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#21
24-11-2003, 02:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , GaryM
wrote: madgardener wrote in : When we ate chicken, I shared the bones with Rose, Pesters and Sugar because the punishment was over. Chicken bones? I'm no dog expert but I have seen a dog suffer from internal lacerations from chicken bones. Not a pleasant way to go. COOKED bones become brittle & can splinter like glass, & may on RARE occasions cause death from internal injury. The leg bones are the greatest risk, but any cooked brittle bone could potentially lodge even a small splinter anywhere along the digestive system, where it can become encysted & require major surgery to remove. RAW bones crush rather than splinter & many kennels get cheap wing & neckbones as major doggy treats. To be perfectly paranoid, however, most cases of campylobacteriosis are the result of feeding raw meat to pets. The National Center for Infectious Diseases says even ONE DROP of chicken blood or sliver of raw meat may infect a dog, & can be passed in some cases from dog to human. Also salmonella carried by dogs & cats to humans often involve animals fed raw meats. So too Taxoplasmosis passed to humans from cats is associated with cats that either catch a lot of food for themselves ouitdoors, or are fed raw meat indoors. Nevertheless, these problems must be statistically very slight, because most dog experts agree raw chicken bones are healthy. I'm reposting something I wrote on this a long while back: CHICKEN BONES repost: I'd often wondered about the "chicken bones are bad for dogs" rule, since foxes, coyotes, wolves, & even some domestic dogs, will kill & eat chickens, & wild canines break the bones & eat at least the marrow (wolves invariably eat the entire bone). And they even "wolf them down" so to speak, as carnivores just do not "savor" their food or chew it carefully. How many wolves & foxes keal over dead from eating bird bones? Well, I sure didn't know, but I was betting it's not a big issue since it's the normal diet. So I tried to find some stuff on the net. I found a "worst case scenario" in an article about a great dane that had to have surgery to remove shattered chicken bone pieces from her intestines, the bone fragments described as "terribly sharp." These were COOKED bone fragments which is important to keep in mind -- cooked bones, NOT raw bones, are the ones that are brittle. It's easy to remember that backwards; do not remember it backwards! In the same case of this great dane, however, even the chicken meat had become leathery in the intestine & was apparently regarded as indigestible by this Dane's system -- so this was not a healthy normal animal to begin with, unable to digest any meat well. So I continued looking & found this among many websites with similar information: http://www.skansen.com/nutrition/bone.htm which promotes raw meat & bones, especially chickenwings & necks, as one of the best diets for domestic dogs, typically fed by breeders with many dogs with no ill side effects & many benifits. It is unfortunately cooked bones that are most apt to be fed to dogs by by individual dog-owners, in the form of table-scraps of cooked meals. RAW bones do not crumble into splinters. I, too, had heard "cooked chicken bones are fine" & maybe that's true if they're cooked into a gelatin, but basically the advice is bass-ackwards. Raw chicken bones "are safely crushed" according to the above cited article. The website author's source is an artical by Dr Ian Billinghurst, "Give Your Dog a Bone" in KEEP YOUR PET HEALTHY THE NATURAL WAY edited by Pat Lazarus. It begins now to make sense to me. That poor great dane was given cooked chicken bones & had some digestive problem arleady, hence it needed major surgery to repair the damage. But dogs -- just like wolves & foxes & coyotes -- can eat RAW birds, including chickens, bones & all, without risk. Even cooked bones may only RARELY cause problems. Dr. Mike Richards at vetinfo.com states that in 18 years of continuous practice on dogs, he had NEVER seen a perferation injury caused by a chicken bone. So there is definitely a "folklore" element to belief in this as a noteworthy problem. Dr. Richards does note that dogs fed an excess of chicken bones sans the meat may acquire lower bowel obstruction treatable with stool softeners, manual removal of hard stools, or even enemas. I note that serious dog breeders do not feed table scraps from which all meat has been removed, but feed raw chicken parts, meat & bones together. If it were just the bones, the excess of bone calcium could harden stool & cause a dog considerable misery. [rest of article as applicable to pet rats deleted] -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#22
24-11-2003, 03:02 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , Frogleg
wrote: On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 16:37:16 GMT, wrote: We had a Cocker Spaniel when I was a kid that dug holes every time he was left alone in the yard. And every time, my father would drag him to the hole, rub his nose in it, and whack him with a newspaper. We probably had that dog for 5 years, and he *never* quit digging holes. Either the dog or my father was a slow learner. Constant hole-digging is a common neurotic problem in dogs & is very ofen an indication of the dog's misery, loneliness, fear, or unhappiness. It'd be my guess the dog was alone a lot, but other things can cause neurotic behavior. When I still lived in Seattle, I observed a neighbor's dog undermining a large old tree, digging itself a veritable cave over a long period of time. Throughout the three years I observed it, its only contact with its family was to be hastily fed but barely talked to, & occasionally someone went out there to beat the living daylights out of it for barking to get attention. When the dog came down with diarrhea I called animal control & the dog was removed; I felt bad doing it but it was a very sick animal getting no care at all. The neighbor vanished not long after, & good riddance; the tree however had to be removed, the dog had so damaged it. Other causes can be much less the fault of an owner. Even well-cared for dogs can become neurotic. A change in family status (like arrival of an infant), a menacing neighbor's dog that has it continuously cowed & frightened, or any number of things difficult to recognize. Since the behavior manifests from a dog equivalent of depression, punishment just depresses it all the more, heightening the behavior. The most common cause of hole-digging or other neurotic behaviors is something that may sound vague but is of central importance to the emotional well being of a dog: good training. An otherwise sweet dog that has never gone through obedience training & does not have that training reinforced in a predictable environment does not even know what its position in life is supposed to be. In its uncertainty it becomes a little crazy. They're pack animals & need not merely a social life, but a well-defined location in the "pack" or family unit which will include people of all ages, cats, parrots, bunnies, pet rats, even immediate neighbors & their pets. A dog will reliably obey everyone higher in the social order (mom & dad), & it will protect everyone lower in the social order (the kids & even that gawdamn annoying cat). But if it does not know where it stands, it neither protects nor obeys, but digs holes or licks itself until it has given itself raw open soars. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#23
24-11-2003, 03:12 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , Frogleg
wrote: On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 16:37:16 GMT, wrote: We had a Cocker Spaniel when I was a kid that dug holes every time he was left alone in the yard. And every time, my father would drag him to the hole, rub his nose in it, and whack him with a newspaper. We probably had that dog for 5 years, and he *never* quit digging holes. Either the dog or my father was a slow learner. Constant hole-digging is a common neurotic problem in dogs & is very ofen an indication of the dog's misery, loneliness, fear, or unhappiness. It'd be my guess the dog was alone a lot, but other things can cause neurotic behavior. When I still lived in Seattle, I observed a neighbor's dog undermining a large old tree, digging itself a veritable cave over a long period of time. Throughout the three years I observed it, its only contact with its family was to be hastily fed but barely talked to, & occasionally someone went out there to beat the living daylights out of it for barking to get attention. When the dog came down with diarrhea I called animal control & the dog was removed; I felt bad doing it but it was a very sick animal getting no care at all. The neighbor vanished not long after, & good riddance; the tree however had to be removed, the dog had so damaged it. Other causes can be much less the fault of an owner. Even well-cared for dogs can become neurotic. A change in family status (like arrival of an infant), a menacing neighbor's dog that has it continuously cowed & frightened, or any number of things difficult to recognize. Since the behavior manifests from a dog equivalent of depression, punishment just depresses it all the more, heightening the behavior. The most common cause of hole-digging or other neurotic behaviors is something that may sound vague but is of central importance to the emotional well being of a dog: good training. An otherwise sweet dog that has never gone through obedience training & does not have that training reinforced in a predictable environment does not even know what its position in life is supposed to be. In its uncertainty it becomes a little crazy. They're pack animals & need not merely a social life, but a well-defined location in the "pack" or family unit which will include people of all ages, cats, parrots, bunnies, pet rats, even immediate neighbors & their pets. A dog will reliably obey everyone higher in the social order (mom & dad), & it will protect everyone lower in the social order (the kids & even that gawdamn annoying cat). But if it does not know where it stands, it neither protects nor obeys, but digs holes or licks itself until it has given itself raw open soars. -paghat the ratgirl -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#24
24-11-2003, 03:19 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , wrote:
cocker spaniels used to be a hunting dog. then they became popular and the breed was basically ruined by wanton over breeding. yes, they are incredibly stupid, like trying to train an Afghan, it isnt that it cant be done, but it is amazing when it is done. A friend's English spaniel was everything a cocker spaniel isn't, intelligent, good natured, obedient, not to mention invariably healthy. But this was over 25 years ago, & I've encountered a few english spaniels since that are as stupid & child-unfriendly as some of the cockers I've found appalling. I wonder how long it takes to ruin a breed that has become too popular for its own good & ends up bred by every third-rate amateur. I've heard there are cockers in Europe nothing like the American standard of stupidity, but don't know if that's true. Seems like if it were true someone would import them & breed a smarter strain of cocker. -paghat the ratgirl Lots of people "do" dog training. I have seen various methods come and go, the latest rage is "clicker" training... originally designed for porpoises who hear well in that range. ah well. it isnt how well she can train dogs, it is how many people drop out in frustration trying to get their hunting dogs trained being "nice". I agree, training (like with a kid) is nag, nag, nag and constant reminding, and saying the same command every time and enforcing it. when a person walks in the door and the dog that is normally waiting to greet them is hiding instead, I think one can make some deductions about dog behavior then. OTOH, when I yell "what did you do" at my dogs for no reason, they look back blankly (well, all but one who was raised Catholic). It like the dogs dont attack the garbage when I am in the kitchen, but if I leave the door op;en and leave all bets are off. And if I am sitting at my puter and a dog slinks by ears flat and looking back at me I had better go and check the house over. Ingrid -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#25
24-11-2003, 03:22 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
In article , wrote:
cocker spaniels used to be a hunting dog. then they became popular and the breed was basically ruined by wanton over breeding. yes, they are incredibly stupid, like trying to train an Afghan, it isnt that it cant be done, but it is amazing when it is done. A friend's English spaniel was everything a cocker spaniel isn't, intelligent, good natured, obedient, not to mention invariably healthy. But this was over 25 years ago, & I've encountered a few english spaniels since that are as stupid & child-unfriendly as some of the cockers I've found appalling. I wonder how long it takes to ruin a breed that has become too popular for its own good & ends up bred by every third-rate amateur. I've heard there are cockers in Europe nothing like the American standard of stupidity, but don't know if that's true. Seems like if it were true someone would import them & breed a smarter strain of cocker. -paghat the ratgirl Lots of people "do" dog training. I have seen various methods come and go, the latest rage is "clicker" training... originally designed for porpoises who hear well in that range. ah well. it isnt how well she can train dogs, it is how many people drop out in frustration trying to get their hunting dogs trained being "nice". I agree, training (like with a kid) is nag, nag, nag and constant reminding, and saying the same command every time and enforcing it. when a person walks in the door and the dog that is normally waiting to greet them is hiding instead, I think one can make some deductions about dog behavior then. OTOH, when I yell "what did you do" at my dogs for no reason, they look back blankly (well, all but one who was raised Catholic). It like the dogs dont attack the garbage when I am in the kitchen, but if I leave the door op;en and leave all bets are off. And if I am sitting at my puter and a dog slinks by ears flat and looking back at me I had better go and check the house over. Ingrid -- "Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher. "Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature. -from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers" See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/ |
|
#26
24-11-2003, 06:44 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
Hi
I would love to see pictures of your garden  I have just had a run in with a nasty worm in my computer which required a complete factory restore. My fish tank went pfft on me and I lost all my guppies plus theres a large water stain on the wall that now needs repainting. What is it they say about life being an adventure? Oh well...I can get more guppies later. It took around 20 hours to restore my computer and I'm still downloading and replacing stuff *sigh* I had to bring in all the plants outside tonight since it rained heavily today and it's supposed to be in the low 30's tonight and tomorrow night. My Black Dragon Coleus plants are doing well (I started them about 2 months ago) The bougainvillea is blooming away, in bright fuschia, and the Lace Leaf Japanese Maple has several new branches. Now if I could just figure out why the leaves on my small cardboard palm are turning brown. My dog (a Terrier Dachshund mix) is afraid of the yard He only tries todig up the carpet and roots under the pillows on the couch. Dogs are pretty smart, they know when they've done something they shouldn't have. Mine will sit under the dining table and look guilty. Shell "madgardener" wrote in message ... Today when I came home from work, I had a late fall fairy moment. When I got out of the car, oldest son hollers at me from upstairs that I'd better check my front garden, because apparently he'd not been paying attention and both dawgs were outside. But the worst part wasn't that both were outside, because Rose is a good girl. But Rose doesn't tell Sugar not to do things......... This was bad news to me because I had come home with the intent on getting some beautiful unusual fall weather garden stuff done. I walked along the front looking and stopped short when I came to where the yellow, and the orange kniphofia HAD been planted. And the clump of geraniums that had resisted my diggings a few years ago and have graced me with fleeting blossoms.....and lord knows what else. Because there was a hole going to Australia (Hi Pen!!) and about three foot wide.................................arghhhhhhhhhh hh Mike comes out the front door and informs me that Sugar and Rose had been out all day since his brother had gone to work this morning at 8. I pointed to the massive hole and he dropped his jaw and I then told him to get Sugar for me. Apparently she KNEW she'd done something wrong like she always does, and had been hiding under his covers ever since he'd discovered them outside and gotten them back in the house.. So I called her and dragged her dawg ass out the front door over to the pit she'd dug and dragged her muzzle thru the dirt yelling at her "what did you DO????? BAAAADDDDD DAWG, NO" about 30 seconds of this with her curled into a grubworm position I then picked her bodily up and handed her to Mike, no small feat since she weighs 50 pounds now and I have no business doing this at the moment. I then tell him to put her butt in the house and please go get a bag of the topsoil under the black cherry tree, and I filled up the pit with the whole 40 pounds of soil, and unpotted an aster and some other plants that somehow have survived despite the frosts lately. So help me if she digs these up I'll have her for dinner............(not really, but eventually she'll figure out this is NOT the thing to do or "mama will be torked off" After I got over the initial rage, I was done with it and happened to look over at the Mexican Sage I have gotten from the lady down the road and was blessed with the sight of the most incredible fairy. Flitting about thru the Blue Enigma and the sage. I had Mike go get the camera and I proceeded to try and capture her beauty. I have some awesome shots of her on the sage. The underside of her is breath taking, but I finally got the outer side of her and the orangeness of her against the soft lavender and darker lavendar fuzz of the Mexican sage is unworthy of words. There are still a few flowers going, the Gaura has dark pink and burgandy flowers hovering above dark burgandy and green leaves in a pot, two Tequila sunrise coreopsis have sprung up in another pot. The Enigma is going in both spots, the Mexican sage, a little yellow composite I can't identify. The arum lilies are all leafed out now and stand out with their silver and green mottled leaves. The mimosa that died six years ago in the fence row gave up a whole section and just missed my Diablo ninebark, Loripedilum and Wine and Roses weigelia, and there are fat buds on the old lilac that reminds me I need to take out another older branch before next spring to get larger blossoms. I will plant the burning bushes, pieris and rhodie tomorrow as it will be the last day of 70 degree weather until the weather goddess decides to grace us with warmth. After tomorrow, rains move back in, followed by temperatures in the low 20's and highs barely getting to 50. The bulbs might get planted too, but I have to find a place to tuck them into a spot where Sugar won't uproot them. I'd hate to go thru all this to have her uncover my efforts. She has a bad habit of returning to the scene of the crime and recommiting it. It took several digs in the NSSG where the departed pulmonaria lived before she got that I was going to kill her if she unearthed the remaining plants again. The spot she persisted at now houses Ruby slippers lobelias and an Itea bush. If I have to I'll lay chicken wire down on the soil to prevent her from digging up the soil where it's seemingly bare. Thanks for letting me share a more "normal" moment with ya'll. I hope everyone has a great holiday. anyone wishing to see the pics I took today just give me a holler and I'll JPEG 'em to you. ,madgardener up on the ridge, back in fairy holler overlooking English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36 |
|
#27
24-11-2003, 05:02 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
wrote in message ... cocker spaniels used to be a hunting dog. then they became popular and the breed was basically ruined by wanton over breeding. yes, they are incredibly stupid, like trying to train an Afghan, it isnt that it cant be done, but it is amazing when it is done. In defense of Cocker spaniels, I'm not sure it is fair to tar all of them with the "stupid" brush. I have always had terriers previously and they have been intelligent and easily trainable to a fault. When I got my cocker, I attempted the same training practices and she responded winningly. Of all my dogs, she is the most obedient and the least garden destructive. Well, none of them are particularly destructive, but at least she keeps to the paths and doesn't wander into the planting beds. She is pretty much totally blind (genetic cataracts) but that doesn't seem to slow her down in the slightest nor does she lose her bearings at all in familiar settings. About the only stupid thing I have ever seen her do is wait patiently at the bottom of the fir tree for the squirrels to come down (as if they would with her sitting there) but I find that more humorous than stupid. I am amazed at how long she will sit and wait. She is an ideal gardening companion. pam - gardengal |
|
#28
24-11-2003, 06:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
|
|
#29
24-11-2003, 08:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
Xref: kermit rec.gardens:257168
On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 16:58:40 GMT, "Pam - gardengal" wrote: In defense of Cocker spaniels, I'm not sure it is fair to tar all of them with the "stupid" brush. I have always had terriers previously and they have been intelligent and easily trainable to a fault. When I got my cocker, I attempted the same training practices and she responded winningly. Of all my dogs, she is the most obedient and the least garden destructive. Well, none of them are particularly destructive, but at least she keeps to the paths and doesn't wander into the planting beds. She is pretty much totally blind (genetic cataracts) but that doesn't seem to slow her down in the slightest nor does she lose her bearings at all in familiar settings. About the only stupid thing I have ever seen her do is wait patiently at the bottom of the fir tree for the squirrels to come down (as if they would with her sitting there) but I find that more humorous than stupid. I am amazed at how long she will sit and wait. She is an ideal gardening companion. I hate to sound like a one-trick pony(?), but I have really become a great fan of Dr. McConnell. Often people ask "what is the best dog for...(children, house pet, guarding, kind disposition)?" and she replies that there are a few broadly generalized traits, but that each animal is his/her individual creature. My mention of a Cocker Spaniel was *not* meant to denigrate the breed. In fact, my anecdotal assessment was that my father was deficient in learning power, not the dog. A neighbor has recently trained a couple of Labs to a fare-thee-well, apparently using a lot of shouting and restraint. I believe this can be successful, However, I'd much rather learn the tricks of training an animal with treats and kind words. Your canine companion sounds lovely. McConnell claiims cats can be trained, too, but I'm not sure she means dragging in the Sunday paper. Which is about the only trick I'd like Marigold to learn. :-) |
|
#30
25-11-2003, 03:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
A late fall fairy moment and bad dawg boredom
On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 17:53:36 GMT, Janet Baraclough
wrote: The message from (paghat) contains these words: By the way, I've been thinking of getting a yappy dog to go with my own increasingly little old lady life toddling about talking to plants, Nah..in my minds eye picture of you, you'd be better suited to a handsome large parrot which would ride around on your shoulder, rearranging the fruit-and-flowers on your large hats, and shouting abuse at the public in a voice that sounds just like yours. Janet. ROFLMAO.............strangly, I can picture it too now that you've colored in the lines for us Janet. THanks, I needed a smile and a chuckle. madgardener who has Rose and a vindictive Sugar and six assorted felines to flesh out her image |
| Reply |
|
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Forum | |||
| My sweet slut dawg, Rose | Gardening | |||
| [IBC] Fighting Winter Boredom | Bonsai | |||
Linear Mode
