Have a bright shiny New Year

WOW!!! Has this year flown by or what?

So I have been visiting with relatives in Northern California for the month of December and had the best intentions of blogging while I am here… you know the old saying, “the best laid plans of mice and men”. My Grandmother is turning 100 next week and there is much to do before the big celebration.

It has been wonderful spending time with extended family and friends and I have made a new friend by the name of “Babe” my uncles cream Golden Retriever. She is a darling dog and her family should be very proud of how they have raised her. She is three years old and absolutely delightful. Her only drawback is that she suffers from a bit of “puppyitis” in her greeting rituals (typical Golden lol).

I have been working with her on calm greetings with everyone I can find when we are out on walks and she is starting to get it. She is a party girl and wants to say hello and have a dance with everyone (human and canine alike) she see’s. My Hungarian Vizsla Amber was the same. It took a while to get it through to her that not every one wants a poke in the forehead as a greeting. Babe has wonderful social skills and the off leash park here is fantastic. It has a double gated entrance, an area for small dogs who don’t want to run with the big dogs, tables and benches to sit at and much more. We in Australia could learn from this great design and the dedicated people who maintain it.

I met many great dog owners who have shelter dogs whose behaviour needs slight tweaking, they don’t end up in shelters because they were perfect dogs. Two Aussie shepherds spring to mind. Quincy and Simba both turned up at the park on the same day about 30 minutes apart and had herding issues that the owners didn’t know how to control. After a bit of discussion with their owners and interruption and redirection techniques with the dogs, I felt they had a better understanding of what makes their K9Charmers tick.

I have always tried to see the world through “dog goggles” and when I am explaining to pet owners why their companions are behaving in a certain way (which is usually unacceptable), I try to get them to see what is going on from the dogs perspective. Of course, this is subjective and only my opinion (it is only through observation and interpretation) that we can make an analysis. When I preempt a behaviour and say “ watch this, your dog is about to…” and then he does it, I say “there’s nothing special about me, just lots of observation on my part”. Dogs have a limited range of behaviours to cope with changes in their environment and they do what works, even when it upsets the humans who are occupying the same space.

Sharing space on this earth seems to be getting harder for some and easier for others. It is my hope that this shiny new year will bring joy, happiness and hope the world over. May all your dreams and wishes come true.

Enjoy the journey.