tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85236116456096703862024-03-14T08:38:59.012-07:00Red Snapper9Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-50372885990759118732015-09-21T11:29:00.000-07:002015-09-21T11:29:23.369-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another trip to San Francisco ... now I've discovered the Marriott Waterfront hotel I find I get quite sad when I have to leave. I've been fortunate to get a room overlooking the bay every time I've stayed here and the early morning views as the sun rises are wonderful. The light changes so much every day and throughout the day. I don't think I'll ever tire of staying here. It makes me long to live by the sea... something I can't see me ever being able to achieve, but I'll still hold onto the dream of maybe one day.<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-38410316058299709842015-08-25T21:51:00.002-07:002015-08-29T23:34:29.595-07:00EffieMeet the lovely Effie. Her previous owner had left her tied up outside from just 2 months old. She'd had to survive outside all over the winter, but was eventually handed over to the owner's neighbour who signed her over to SLR (Southern Lurcher Rescue). I volunteered to foster her and she came to stay with me and my dogs until a new home was found.<br />
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It wasn't long before there was some good news. I had recently done a home check for Katie here in Reading who was interested in my previous foster, Dottie, but she was already set to go to another home. I contacted Katie to tell her I was fostering a new young bitch and arranged to take Effie to see her and her husband. She was very happy to meet them and very gentle with their very elderly greyhound, Ben. After doing a sleep-over with them a week later they fell in love with her and she is going to live with them on 9 September, when Katie is back from her adventure holiday in Columbia.<br />
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Effie is such a sweet-natured little girl. Despite her harsh start in life she is a happy, friendly and loving girl. She is loving playing with Alice but I have to restrict them as much as I can so that she doesn't learn to play too rough and end up knocking Ben over - he's very frail. She deserves to have a loving home where she can play and explore and be fussed over. She's going to make them very happy and be much-loved. I'll miss her lots but the sadness at having to say goodbye will be tempered by knowing how happy she will be... and hopefully I'll get to see her again for walks before too long.<br />
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Hugs and kisses sweet little Effie!<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-42967444489155393212015-08-09T08:24:00.000-07:002015-08-09T08:24:22.773-07:00Sad timeChris's brother, Steve, died yesterday. Four months after being diagnosed with liver cancer. It's a sad time.redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-80076468082704764172015-07-29T13:40:00.002-07:002015-07-29T13:45:10.608-07:00LennyI watched Claire's video of Lenny's holiday in Walberswick today... it brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.<br />
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He's so special. I wish I could have kept him. It's one of the most difficult things about fostering... the ones that totally capture your heart. I just hope there aren't many that do that.redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-6458153504008755672015-07-28T11:07:00.002-07:002015-07-28T11:07:26.655-07:00SummerI love the seasons we get in the UK, especially spring and the summer. But they go so quickly. It's nearly the end of July now and I'm thinking about what I have planned for November. I wish it were possible for me to live more in the moment. I tried that this year by taking some days off to give me long weekends during May and June, but I still find that the days go too quickly and before I know it it's nearly August and that means just a few more weeks before the best part of summer is over. I know that some people love autumn but I love May and June and I'm wistful every year when those months have gone.<br />
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I think there's something wrong with me.... I've said I'll take in another Lurcher pup when I know it's a bad idea. I'm a sucker for an unwanted Lurcher. I may be posting about Patchy soon!redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-25258867698858603792015-07-26T03:15:00.002-07:002015-07-26T06:45:25.383-07:00Blog on my websiteJust worked out how to add my blog to my redsnapper website. I had to play around with the css in order to get it centred on the page and also the blog settings so as to restrict the number of posts that are listed. I think it looks good. I know there are other things you can do to get the blog inserted into a personal website but I'm OK with how this looks. I'm adding this post in order to see how easy it is to add to the blog from my website. I can see this so it works!redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-69440638898640153812015-07-26T00:43:00.002-07:002015-07-26T00:43:45.166-07:00DottieDottie came to stay on 5 July. She is the sweetest-natured little girl I've ever had. She was saved by a couple in Finchampstead when they heard that the RSPCA were going to have her put to sleep. SLR stepped in and I offered to foster her. Unfortunately a week later, on the 11th, she came into season just before she was due to go in for spaying. This is my first time with a bitch in season and it's not been easy. She's goading Comet all the time and he keeps mounting her so it's been a case of watching them all the time and quite often having to keep them confined to different spaces. Although Comet has been neutered I still have the awful worry in the back of my mind that something might have gone wrong and Dottie will end up being pregnant. Alice has suddenly decided she hates her and runs away from her with her with her tail between her legs. I wonder if it's because she is in season.... I'll have to look online to see if this could be the problem.<br />
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She's due to meet her potential new family tomorrow, Monday 27 July. I will miss her lots as she is so affectionate, but this family with two young children sound ideal for this happy, gentle, fun-loving little girl.<br />
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Good luck Dottie!!!<br />
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redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-4679206621001215982014-06-15T01:14:00.001-07:002014-06-15T01:14:41.241-07:00Sleepy Alice<div style="font-family: Futura; font-size: 14px;">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I love this little girl, but sometimes I need reminding of that. She can be such a monster when we’re out for our walks. She gets so excited and loves it so much that she forgets herself, me, training... everything, except running and looking out for potential prey. Her prey drive is so strong that she’s looking around all the time for movement; for something to chase. She doesn’t try and chase Daisy quite as much as she did at first because most of the time Daisy doesn’t want to be chased and has her way of saying no - snapping and turning away rather than running off - although she will sometimes run and let Alice chase her. Alice’s target now is Comet. Every time she goads him - by pushing her muzzle into his neck and grrrring - he will respond and eventually start running. They run together with Comet snapping at her and Alice pushing the muzzle into his neck - if she didn’t have the muzzle on, she would definitely bring him down. When Comet has had enough he comes back to me and stops running, but Alice’s adrenalin keeps pumping and she keeps grrrring at him and pushing the muzzle into his neck quite aggressively. This is when I step in, but it’s hard to calm her down when the rush is still there. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I know from seeing how Daisy has stopped running that if Comet didn’t want to be chased he wouldn’t run, so I don’t intervene unless Alice gets too over-the-top. But my worry is that Alice is learning that this is how she interacts with other dogs and that she’ll become even more of a problem to walk with other dogs. So far she is much more subdued when we walk with other dogs (she was fine with Adrian’s 4 dogs on Friday), but I can see from her body language that every so often the adrenalin will start pumping - she’s looking around for prey rather than just trotting along with the other dogs and sniffing things. That’s when she’ll start goading Comet, even when other dogs are around. If any of the other dogs start chasing her she stops, but if they don’t then she’ll keep trying to bring Comet down. I’m not sure what to do about this, but for now I’m trying to take them out with other dogs as much as I can. I’m going to think more about how it is that the adrenalin rush and excitement can stop suddenly when there are other dogs there who start intervening. Maybe if I watch more closely what is going on I’ll be able to work out how to trigger that myself.</span></div>
redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-67662848496515854612014-05-23T07:00:00.002-07:002014-05-23T07:04:18.625-07:00Friday, 23 MayThe work I've been doing with Alice since the meeting with Jim has taught me 2 key things:<br />
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<li><b><u>You need to watch your dog for signs</u></b> - their body-language; signs of what they might be about to do; what they are doing, and how they are reacting to their environment. I thought I knew about dogs, and about my dogs in particular but I've never really (I mean really) concentrated on watching them in this way. It's been a revelation and I can now see so many aspects of their behaviour in a different way. Chasing isn't just about running after each other; there's more going on depending on what happened before they started, who the dogs are, where they are, etc.</li>
<li><u><b>It takes time</b> </u>- I always knew this, but I've now learned that time means more than a couple of weeks. It means weeks, months, maybe for the rest of their life. Giving it time means understanding and accepting that from this point on the way you interact with your dog is going to change. From now on you are taking on a particular way of working with your dog, which includes watching for signs and using specific training instructions as much as you can every day. Never miss an opportunity to give an instruction, watch your timing, correct when necessary and praise.... and do it over and over again.</li>
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Alice is a different dog from the little girl I brought home and it's entirely due to the training I've been taking her to with Andrew and the visit from Jim. She's almost unrecognisable. Whereas for the first few months it was a constant battle to get her to do what I wanted, now she looks to me for direction for at least 50% of the time, and this can only get better. I think she's a happier dog as a result. She still has a strong character, but she's not the little monster she used to be. I'm so glad I persevered and decided to keep her. It's been a very interesting and rewarding learning curve and has enabled a lovely little girl to emerge.redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-31761749653595286272014-05-22T09:10:00.000-07:002014-05-22T09:10:04.467-07:00Thursday, 22 MayThere have been some interesting and positive things happening with Alice over the past weeks. I've been away so missed writing up before now.<br />
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A few weeks back I noticed that Alice was not chasing Daisy the way she used to. It's even got to the point now where Daisy can run as much as she likes and Alice just watches or ignores her. However, what she's now doing is chasing Comet. I'm not concerned about this because I know from the experience with Daisy, that if they don't want to be chased they won't run. So the fact that Comet runs means he is OK with being chased. Alice gets quite rough with him but he doesn't seem to be bothered. He keeps running until he's had enough and then comes to a halt near me and Alice joins him.<br />
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Their relationship is interesting. They are playing together much more than in the first 6 months that I had Alice. It always used to be Alice and Daisy play-fighting and Comet keeping out of it, but now it's much more Comet and Alice play-fighting and Daisy watching. Every evening Alice gets onto the sofa and Comet comes in and starts barking and lunging at her. Sometimes she just lays there but others she responds and jumps at him and they end up having a play-tussle. It seems like he's telling her that even though she's on the sofa and he's on the floor, he's the boss.<br />
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I've had some bad experiences over recent weeks with meeting dogs when Alice is on the lead, but also some which have been much less frenetic so I think there's some progress. Last weekend I decided I would let Alice be off the lead on the water meadows where I take them. There's usually other dogs over there so I've tried to keep away from them. But Alice is always fine with other dogs off the lead when we do the SLR walks so I thought I would see how she was. In fact it was a really good move because she was fine with all the dogs we met - and there were quite a lot of them. By the end of the walk she wasn't taking much notice when a new dog appeared and she was very good about coming back to me. This makes me wonder whether more exposure to dogs off the lead will help her handle seeing dogs on the lead. I'll try again this coming weekend and see.<br />
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Here's Alice and Comet snuggling up together.<br />
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Scours Lane, alongside the River Thames - where I take the dogs during the week. They did lots of crazy running but also were happy to trot along with me some of the time,<br />
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redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-86184301230974485012014-04-25T05:13:00.000-07:002014-04-25T05:15:18.762-07:00Signs that Alice is looking to me for directionOut on our morning walk recently Comet went off in one direction and Daisy hung behind sniffing something out in the long grass. Alice was off the lead but made no attempt to run off towards Comet, nor towards Daisy. I didn't say anything to her just watched her reactions. She kept looking towards Comet and then towards Daisy, clearly not sure what to do other than stick with me. She eventually stopped, looked around, and sat down - without any word from me. She clearly couldn't decide what to do. She had that look that said she was about to run off to one of them but when I said "heel" she just trotted over to me. A few months back and there would have been no question she would have been off chasing after one of them rather than trotting alongside me. I think this is a sign of real progress in getting her to focus on me rather than on anything and everything that is going on around her... small steps!<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-22268428686126291462014-04-25T04:55:00.000-07:002014-04-25T05:04:26.943-07:00Friday, 25 AprilMore interesting interaction between the dogs this morning. Comet is doing a great job of chasing Alice and making her stop chasing Daisy. I understand now that if Daisy doesn''t want to be chased she wouldn't run so I don't try to stop them anymore. But directly Comet spots the chase has started, wherever he is, he's off after them. He doesn't stop until his caught her somehow - usually by grabbing her coat, or if she's slowed down he grabs her leg. He always has a very self-satisfied look on his face and a very bouncy, happy, walk back to me after his succeeded in stopping her and calming her down. Alice always has a go at him when he tries to stop her, but he doesn't over-react. He just keeps snapping, turns his side towards her until he's decided she's stopped, and then trots away. Alice always stands still for a few seconds and then usually comes trotting back to me. It's fascinating watching him as I can't tell when Alice has submitted but obviously Comet knows the signs. I'm really grateful to Jim for showing me how to watch their behaviour more closely so as to understand what's going on. Good boy Comet!!!<br />
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Here's a slightly longer video. You can see that Alice is the fastest but Comet doesn't give up. In this one he manages to eventually slow Alice down enough for her not to get so frantic about chasing Daisy. I think he's going to be a help in getting Alice's prey and chase instincts under more control ... hopefully!<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-86399825315421299582014-04-25T04:42:00.003-07:002014-04-25T04:44:13.075-07:00Easter Monday - Burkham WoodsLovely SLR walk at Burkham Woods. Some people and dogs I'd not met before which was good, including India. It was interesting to watch her behaviour with other dogs... a strong dominance streak but her tail got hurt at one point and she cried and cried and ran straight back to Nicola for reassurance and comfort. Since meeting with Jim I've found I'm watching dog behaviour much more carefully now and feel I'm getting better at understanding what is going on.<br />
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Alice did her usual chasing Daisy, and Comet intervened, as usual, but they soon stopped and joined in with the other dogs. Daisy mixes with the other dogs very well and loves to run and explore with them, but I never see her getting involved if there are any spats. She somehow manages to spot what's about to happen and keep out of the way. Comet doesn't want to get involved but he's often picked on. He gives some yelps and runs back to me and then it's all forgotten and he runs off with the other dogs again, but tends to keep fairly close to me throughout the walks. Alice loves to be with the other dogs and if any of the dogs kick-off she will run forwards with the pack. She's careful to not get involved but she still wants to be up front seeing what's happening. Like Comet, she usually gets picked on at some point but immediately submits and runs back to me for reassurance and then is off again.<br />
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I'm hoping to go for more walks at Burkham so that we can join Nicola and her pack again and see how Alice interacts with India, who won't stand for any nonsense from Alice. Hopefully next time Daisy will resist dunking her nose in the mud!!!<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-31386576373902407372014-04-19T11:03:00.003-07:002014-04-19T11:03:56.814-07:00Sunday, 13 AprilBusy weekend: drove down to Alresford on Friday to pick up Barney a 7 month old Lurcher who was coming into SLR for fostering. I had to take him to the Newbury Dog Show the next day and hand him over to Phillipa who was keeping him for the night, and pick up Sam another young Lurcher who needed transporting to South Mimms. I really liked Barney. He's a lovely happy little boy and I could easily have kept him... if I didn't already have 3 dogs!<br />
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Barney was due to be fostered in Maidenhead so I offered to meet Phillipa on Sunday morning for a walk and to pick up Barney and take him to meet his new foster mum.<br />
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I met Phillipa in Tadley on a common where there were lots of dog walkers. Alice wasn't great, but I think there's some small progress with the barking. I thought it would be good for me to take here where there would be lots of other dogs - if I don't do this then I'm not going to get a chance to teach her how to behave. I think there's some progress. She's still getting agitated and barking but I'm able to temper this more now and she's not going quite so ballistic. I think it's going to be some time before she stops reacting but for now if I keep concentrating on keeping in front of her, walking at normal pace and making eye contact with her while she's trying to bark then hopefully she will get less and less agitated and eventually take no notice. It's going to be a long haul, but having to write this diary has helped me to see that there's some progress, even if it's only small steps.<br />
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Here's the lovely Bruno... makes me sigh just thinking about him. He gave me such a lovely snuggle when I was handing him over to his new foster mum. He was obviously feeling anxious and had bonded with me after just one day together and didn't like the thought of me going. I hope he's having a happy time with his new family.<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-16894200884772489952014-04-19T10:49:00.002-07:002014-04-19T10:49:20.287-07:00All About Dogs Show, Newbury 12 April 2014I took the dogs to the dog show at Newbury along with Jaeme and Lewis (the kids who live near me). I thought there would be somewhere to put down a rug and have a base-camp, but there wasn't so we had to keep walking round. There were lots of dogs there so it wasn't a pleasant experience as Alice kept wanting to bark and even Comet started snapping at some dogs. I think it was all too much for them, and a lesson learned for me.redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-75733873833728282512014-04-14T09:16:00.002-07:002014-04-14T09:16:31.592-07:00Manor Farm Walk - 6 April 2014Took the dogs down to Manor Farm Country Park near Botley for an SLR walk. Romi hires the field for us to use to let all the dogs off in a secure environment. They all loved it. Both Daisy and Comet tended to stay away from the crazy chasing but they still enjoyed themselves. It was interesting watching Alice. When she initiated a chase other dogs joined in and when they did she immediately held back a bit. There was a group of dogs that were intent on chasing and it looked as though she was a bit intimidated by them when they joined in. I was expecting her to display her strong prey drive and try to bring dogs down (I had her muzzled so she couldn't actually bring them down), but although she started the chase in this way, she immediately let the others take over when the really serious chasers started. This gave me some hope that as she matures that drive will diminish and that maybe taking her for more SLR walks with a larger group of dogs will help temper the instinct as well.<br />
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It was embarrassing to see that my 3 were in every shot of someone feeding treats to dogs - Alice is at the head of the pack with the red edge to her coat. I say "my three" as I've now adopted Alice. Nearly 9 months and nobody else wanted her so she's staying, and Daisy and Comet are going to have to keep up the controlling tactics.<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-58144815776539590302014-04-05T09:47:00.001-07:002014-04-05T09:47:27.160-07:00SaturdayWe had another difficult encounter with a dog in the week during which Alice went berserk. It was along the narrow towpath again. I saw the dog coming and put her on the side away from the dog but I couldn't stop her barking. I'm not sure how I should have handled it... maybe I should have turned and walked the other way. The problem was the dog's owner was jogging so they would have caught up with us. I'll definitely try to think about doing this next time, and decided I had to just put this down to one step along the way to getting her behaviour under control.<br />
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Today was much more promising. We went for an early morning walk to Sonning Meadows, further along the River Thames, downstream from where I walk the dogs during the week. It's wide open fields with lots of room for them to run. There were quite a few dogs out but they were a long way off so I made sure they were out of sight before letting any of the dogs off the lead. Before I could do this I saw someone I regularly bump into. He has a whippet that he keeps on the lead and a Weimeraner bitch who runs free. He's really nice and very understanding of Alice's behaviour. He's seen her go berserk every time we meet him and he takes no notice. This time I positioned myself in front of Alice and bent down to make eye contact with her. I said "hey" "hey" to her every time she tried to look around me. She made some whimpering noises but there was no barking at all and no lunging at his dogs. I was able to stand near him talking, all the while watching her, without her getting agitated. He even commented how much better she was than normal. I was pleased with how she responded and especially pleased that when I let her off the lead just afterwards she didn't start frantically chasing Daisy like she did the last time I let her off just after meeting another dog. It seemed like this time the adrenaline hadn't kicked in nearly as much so when Comet chased her down she responded and stopped chasing - last time she wouldn't submit.<br />
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Here they are chasing with Comet making sure she stopped when he told her. He couldn't quite catch her but he went over to her when she attempted to chase Daisy again. It's interesting to watch his body language and her's as she responds.<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-9503610299327852492014-04-01T09:40:00.001-07:002014-04-01T09:43:33.178-07:00SaturdayBit of a set-back on Saturday, but still much to learn from it.<br />
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I was picking up a pooh on a narrow section of path on the way to the open field where I let the dogs off and behind me a Staffie suddenly appeared off the lead. Alice went berserk and Comet had a bark as well. The owner had another dog on a lead and just carried on walking past without attempting to get control of his off-lead dog, giving me a dirty look as he went.<br />
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He was going in the same direction we were heading so I let them get way ahead of me and then let Daisy and Comet off, and then Alice. She immediately started chasing Daisy and when Comet chased her she wouldn't submit. She just kept on bundling with him. I got the impression that her adrenaline had been raised when she had seen the Staffie and she was too hyped to stop chasing when Comet had a go at her.<br />
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It was a nice day and being Saturday there were a number of people out walking the tow path, including dogs so I put Alice back on the lead.<br />
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There was another dog on the way back to the car, just before we got to the narrow path again and I managed to keep her relatively calm... just a few grumbles, but she was clearly still hyped up.<br />
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When I think back over how I handled it I realise I was walking much too slow on the way back and I should have been more aware of the need to walk at a brisk, normal pace. I did try to maintain eye contact and said "hey" "hey" a few times, which worked. But I think she might have been calmer if I had walked more quickly.<br />
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As for the first dog, I don't think I could have avoided Alice barking but maybe if I'd walked briskly in the opposite direction to the man and his dogs and concentrated on the heel work and praise this might have calmed her down and she wouldn't have been so hyper by the time I'd walked back to the fields again and let her off.<br />
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I'm making Alice wait a few seconds before giving her the reward and have also been doing some more "find it" work... she's almost got it.<br />
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This is the narrow path earlier in the year just before it completely flooded, looking back towards where the car is parked. The second photo is the field the path leads to where I let the dogs off the lead - the towpath is to the left. It's a great place for them to run but difficult on the narrow path if I meet anyone with a dog.<br />
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<br />redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-43675874399369868132014-03-29T01:57:00.000-07:002014-03-29T01:59:04.048-07:00CometAnother interesting walk with the dogs today. I'm getting the hang of the lead jerking, especially as I'm doing it with Daisy on one side and Alice on the other - both of them want to be in front - it's a bit like driving a dog sled!<br />
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It's fascinating to now see what I hadn't been aware of before about Comet's behaviour and how he and Alice interact when they are off the lead. These videos show it really well.<br />
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The pattern is:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Daisy wants to be chased so starts running</li>
<li>Alice sees the movement and starts chasing her</li>
<li>Comet doesn't respond to Daisy but when he sees Alice go he chases her</li>
<li>Daisy keeps running but Comet stops Alice and they bounce around each other with Comet nipping Alice until she gives in</li>
<li>the final move is Alice stops bouncing, Comet waits a second and then walks off, over to Daisy, or to me, or just to sniff the grass, while Alice stands and waits a moment before moving off. </li>
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Comet sees the signal that Alice has submitted but I can't see it, not yet anyway .... fascinating!!!<br />
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Started trying the "find it" with Alice. She's not sure yet, but has started to look around when I say "find it". She knows there's a treat coming but not sure what she needs to do to get it, so she tries sitting and lying down until I persuade her by doing lots of encouraging pointing and saying "find it".redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-20035588493393341732014-03-27T08:46:00.000-07:002014-03-27T08:46:31.307-07:00AliceThis is the start of my diary recording progress on getting control over Alice's behaviour when she sees other dogs when she's on the lead. Today is our first day!<br />
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I decided to take all the dogs to Scours Lane so that I could work on what I need to do when they are off the lead, rather than walk Alice on her own round the streets. I made myself focus on Alice much more and tried to spot the signs as to what she was about to do.<br />
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I let Daisy and Comet off their leads and Alice started to pull to go too. So I did the rapid jerking of the lead and every time she stopped pulling. There was the usual chasing directly I let her off the lead. She chased both dogs for a minute or two then they all came back to me. I rustled the paper in my pocket and made Alice wait a few seconds, paying attention to me, before I gave her a treat. I did this every time she came back to me. Her attention lapsed a little bit but on the whole she kept looking to me while she waited for the treat... which was more than Comet did! So generally some useful practice and positive responses from Alice.<br />
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Off the lead chasing was interesting. I didn't intervene and just watched them to try and see if I could work out what was happening. After having spent the time with Jim I'm much more aware now of what to look for and it was fascinating. I felt I got a much better insight into the relationship between Alice and Daisy, and especially between Alice and Comet.<br />
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Daisy likes to be chased and will goad Alice to chase her. She can't outrun Alice so she snaps at her if she gets too close and bumps her. There's no sign of aggression, it's just Alice pushing her luck and Daisy letting her know she's going too far. Alice keeps chasing regardless and Daisy keeps snapping, but I can see that this is how their relationship is. I used to think that I should step in and stop Alice because Daisy was getting upset but today I could see, for the first time, that this is very much the game they play: Daisy lets her go quite far and Alice knows this and keeps pushing it, and Daisy keeps snapping at her... it's the game and the roles they play.<br />
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What was also interesting was to watch what Comet did and how Alice reacted. Every time Alice started chasing Daisy Comet stopped what he was doing and started chasing both of them. He would bump Alice and grab her coat, snap at her neck or leg and Daisy would peel off and came over to me while Comet jumped at Alice putting her in her place. He kept doing this until Alice adopted a certain stance which to me looked like she was saying, OK, you're boss, I'll stop now. He stayed by her and even chased her until she adopted this stance. He would then trot over to me while Alice stayed where she was, not attempting to chase, then she would trot over to me. It was a fascinating insight into my little man's behaviour which I have never been aware of before. As with Daisy, I used to think I should intervene, but I could see today that they need to work out the relationship for themselves. I used to think that what I was seeing was Comet coming to Daisy's rescue but in fact it's much more about Comet asserting his authority on Alice, and I must leave them to it to work out their relationship. I really think that Comet is going to be a great help in getting Alice to respect the pecking order and that her over-the-top behaviour when she's running with my two will gradually come under control.<br />
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Here's Comet putting Alice in her place. Normally it would be Alice doing the chasing, but you can see here that Comet is taking control. Alice takes a few pops at him, but he persists and ends up taking control.... very interesting!<br />
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On the way back to the car I put Alice back on the lead and immediately we saw a dog in the distance. I saw that she had seen it and she started to move forward. I turned, bent down a bit to make eye contact and said "hey, hey" and she immediately moved back. I had to do this a few times, but there was no barking and I was able to get her attention away from the dog very easily. Admittedly the dog was some way off and didn't come past us, but I thought it was a good start.redsnapperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00020484697270814063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-28009333867649463482013-05-30T01:30:00.002-07:002013-05-30T01:30:36.943-07:00I've resisted posting anything about my submission to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition because I wanted to see what the final outcome would be. I embarked on this venture with a lot of trepidation as I've never felt my drawing was good enough to enter competitions like this. This feeling was reinforced when the picture framer kept telling me I shouldn't expect to get selected.<br />
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I was therefore more than thrilled when I got the letter from the RA to say my drawings had been short-listed. It was the most amazing feeling and I still can't believe it happened. I then had to wait 3 weeks before hearing whether I had been successful. I must admit that although it was an anxious time it was also great to have 3 weeks in which to revel in my achievement of being short-listed. I still didn't think I would get selected but with friends telling me my drawings are great and I should be more positive I started to think that maybe I could be successful, and maybe my life was about to change forever.<br />
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I got the letter on 25 May, when I got back from meeting Jane at the RA where she was collecting her paintings. When I saw the letter in the postbox I somehow knew it was a rejection, and sure enough it was. I felt disappointed but not surprised, but by later in the day I had got really down about it. I had that glimmer of hope but it was taken away from me and I spent the evening getting even more down. By the next morning I wanted to find out what others have said about being in this situation and found a number of really helpful and positive blogs which helped turn me around.<br />
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I was able to focus again on the fact that I had been short-listed by the RA - an amazing achievement - and came to realise that there is a positive side to being rejected. By submitting my drawings I was taking a major step towards taking my drawing seriously. Artists everywhere get rejected many times and they would never achieve any form of recognition or success if they didn't submit to this and learn to accept it as part of the process.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnV4bQeWYsImo-165VPuyeDeqKVuPNDKdoxVxBV_YlZwP8xEBrR1m48Ct-ujTXKMq9evK_7DYmP1orfHABdGHQGUMECtQ_spmnVHaiaNLi7iSHJWhQyX-AcNBDLtAspUZMoQSwYzFsGLD/s1600/IMG_2930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnV4bQeWYsImo-165VPuyeDeqKVuPNDKdoxVxBV_YlZwP8xEBrR1m48Ct-ujTXKMq9evK_7DYmP1orfHABdGHQGUMECtQ_spmnVHaiaNLi7iSHJWhQyX-AcNBDLtAspUZMoQSwYzFsGLD/s200/IMG_2930.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reuben</td></tr>
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I'm now feeling much more positive. I've completed a new drawing (of Reuben) and started one of Spike. I'm going to submit some drawings to one or two competitions coming up, knowing that next time rejection wont be such an issue. I'm so grateful to Jane for pushing me into submitting to the RA and determined not to let it stop there. It may be a bit of a cliche, but when Theodore Roosevelt said <i>"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried"</i>, he got it right!<br />
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<br />Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-1359390089304477722013-03-24T10:00:00.000-07:002013-03-24T10:10:42.435-07:00Back from my trip to San Francisco where I had a great time at the St Patrick's Day Parade. The atmosphere was brilliant... all the music, marching bands, everyone having a fun time. San Francisco really knows how to do a parade. There were thousands of people taking part and tens of thousands lining the route. I've never seen so many floats and participants in a parade - it took over 2 hours for them all to get to the Civic Center Plaza. I went into the city to do one of the stairway walks but it was such a lovely warm sunny day and the road was closed to traffic so I decided to stay and see what the parade was like. Once it started I was hooked and never made it to Corona Heights for the walk - I did it on Sunday instead. It was tiring being at all the business meetings while I was at HQ but worth it for the opportunity to spend time in the city and be part of this special parade. Lots of photos to come!<br />
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Decided to abandon the daily "random act of kindness' - I'll stick with trying to do as many acts of kindness as I can without having the pressure of trying to do it every day. It's really hard when you lead a solitary life as I do. I work at home all day and only go out to the pool and to take the dogs for a walk in the morning so acts of kindness end up with me spending money.... I'll run out of money by the end of the year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3y7QI_fxIFhLTEjuP1XYb0BZtANm3DaIca0u6VHCu9VEpTPwkspf9UWvfVsEsCp9b_aSgEv0PRKxlxWPUgNKvyKlyu_zz9QaENdO0zkkhn0aWtrhtDU8KK53fgg9pQuG81ns89Ipfpv5/s1600/IMG_6309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3y7QI_fxIFhLTEjuP1XYb0BZtANm3DaIca0u6VHCu9VEpTPwkspf9UWvfVsEsCp9b_aSgEv0PRKxlxWPUgNKvyKlyu_zz9QaENdO0zkkhn0aWtrhtDU8KK53fgg9pQuG81ns89Ipfpv5/s200/IMG_6309.jpg" width="200" /></a>Finalised my "business cards" for red snapper bags. I'll give some to Becky at Ruby Reds so she can hand them out to her clients. I don't expect to get any sales but you never know. Etsy hasn't produced anything so I might as well try another route. I went for black background with different coloured buttons which I could include with any bags I sell and match the card to the colour of the bags.Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-88808410301981361862013-02-21T09:46:00.002-08:002013-02-21T09:52:13.346-08:00I got my drawings from the picture framer today. They look really nice but it was obvious from the way he spoke that he didn't think my drawings were good enough - he even said they weren't sharp enough. I'm not expecting to have either of them chosen, I just feel that if I'm going to keep drawing and want to improve I need to take it more seriously and do it more often. Entering them for the RA Summer Exhibition is my first attempt to shift into the more serious realms. But I have to say that his comments really knocked me back. It was a bit of a "wake-up call" that actually I'm not that good. I've always felt this myself, or at least felt that whilst I might be quite good at copying I don't have enough creative and technical skills to call myself an artist. Hearing someone with an artistic background keep stressing that you're unlikely to be chosen and criticise the quality of the drawing is hard to take. I'll submit both of them as I've paid the fee and the cost of the framing, but now I'm seriously thinking I should give up on the drawing and accept that I'm just mediocre.<br />
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Couldn't find any random act of kindness to do either, so bit of a miserable day all round. Not feeling much like making shortbread for the dustmen!<br />
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Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-56428349019331858302013-02-20T22:14:00.001-08:002013-02-21T09:51:42.118-08:00I heard an item on the radio on Saturday where a woman was talking about her experience of embarking on random acts of kindness and one of the things that stuck in my mind was that she said she found the first 2 weeks really difficult. So I'm not surprised to find that less than a week in I'm already struggling.<br />
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I spend a lot of time working in isolation which I know means it's going to be hard to carry out spontaneous and random acts of kindness, but yesterday I had to go into the office and thought this would create some good opportunities, but it didn't. I could have paid for the coffee for the person behind me in the queue in the restaurant but I know he is very right-wing so there was no way I was going to buy his coffee! So I went to bed with a feeling of failure. At this point I'm thinking that I could end up incurring lots of expenditure over the next 12 months, as the easiest way to find acts of kindness involve me spending money. I'm going to try and stay positive - it is, after all, meant to be a positive process. Maybe the fact that I got a 25 pound win on the premium bonds at the weekend is a sign that I'm on the right track.<br />
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Still not sure what to do today, but I think I might make some shortbread tomorrow night to give to the dustmen on Friday.<br />
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Thinking about Jane who had her eye surgery on Tuesday, and hoping she is coping OK.Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8523611645609670386.post-21551331347273048132013-02-19T06:17:00.002-08:002013-02-20T22:17:41.146-08:00I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote in my blog.... so much has happened over the years since that last post... all good!<br />
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I'm back because I want to record a new challenge I've set myself: to do random acts of kindness for as many days as I can over the coming year. I have a feeling I wont manage every day but I'm not going to let that stop me.<br />
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I started on Saturday, 16 February but only now decided to record the acts on my blog. Here's my first acts"<br />
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Tuesday, 19 February: bought a copy of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain from Amazon and had them ship it to Jane who is scheduled for eye surgery today.<br />
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Monday, 18 February: Sent a card with a photo of San Francisco fog to Jane Howard. I met Jane a few weeks ago when I was in Nevis. She's a friend of the person who let me sleep in her spare room while I was visiting Penny in the house opposite.... long and complex story! It turns out that Jane lives in Woodford Green, just a stone's throw from where I grew up; she has connections with San Francisco (through her son) and she did an art degree at Central St Martins. We got on really well and met up again on Saturday, 16 February at the National Portrait Gallery for the Man Ray exhibition. She's persuaded me to submit a couple of drawings to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. I'm not sure about it but have committed to doing it as long as she does the same. Hopefully she will be well enough after the eye surgery she has to have to produce something in time.<br />
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Sunday, 17 February: a jogger dropped a £5 note when he ran past me. I could have just picked it up but instead I shouted at him and kept shouting but he didn't respond. So I kept the £5 and gave a donation to an animal charity.<br />
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Saturday, 16 February: gave the guy selling Big Issue an additional 2.50 for the magazine. It was a really interesting edition so I got my payback straight away.<br />
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<br />Red Snapper9http://www.blogger.com/profile/14741063770897139746noreply@blogger.com0