cjsmith | Speaker to Animals

Good day at the clinic yesterday. Nobody near death, and I got lots of puppy kisses. Any day I have to wash my glasses is a good day. The new shoes are still impressive. Two thumbs up.

I'm convinced that the dogs who are quietest at home are the noisiest when boarded. The loudest barkers show no comprehension of the word "Quiet". (It's obvious when a dog knows he's not obeying. I'm sure you dog lovers know the look. These guys simply have no clue they're being addressed.) A habitually silent dog, of course, would never need to learn such a command.

Walking these guys can be an art. They don't get as much exercise as they're accustomed to getting, they're bored, and they're surrounded by strangers while their own humans are nowhere to be found. Then they get outside, and wow, that's heaven. They jump and they run in circles and they sniff and they stand with their heads pointing into the wind. If there's no urgent need, the last thing they want to do is waste any time with bathroom things. They're too busy watching cars or gazing raptly at the lot next door because maybe it might have squirrels. Eventually I have to get them back inside because I've got a lot of work to do, so I casually saunter past the most recent place where a dog has done some important doggy business. You can watch their brains shift gears. Sniff. Sniff. Oh! I remember something like this, something related to this, once, long ago. Sniff. I think I'll walk funny for a few steps, maybe a yard or two. Sniff. Ah yes! NOW I know what I need to do! (All except one, yesterday. His mental process was: Sniff. Take a bite. I guess no routine works perfectly all the time.)

I got to do some of the "checkins" yesterday, which basically means bringing the client and the animal into an exam room, taking temperature/pulse rate/respiration rate/weight, and asking some basic questions. All this gets jotted down in the client's file, on the computer in the exam room, for the doctor to glance at when she arrives. I think this part is fun, actually, boring as it might sound. I get to greet the patient and I get to bond with the owners a bit. Most owners are pleased when I think their dog or cat is cute, which may be why doing this is so enjoyable. They ARE cute, all of them, and I love to talk to them and scritch them. One lady with an elegant Himalayan was so surprised at how well I got along with her cat that she was shocked that I wasn't the vet. (I wonder if the all-blue outfit wasn't a bit of a tip-off.) "You're so good with her!" she exclaimed. (Cat was, at this point, hiding her head in my elbow. Cat didn't seem particularly happy to me, but it's true that hiding in my elbow did show a certain level of trust.) I adore them. I guess it shows. :-)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh yes. If you are a Dog, being Outside is the best thing ever.

I remember a certain Dog, we called him Fat Fred. He loved Outside, even in the winter in Manhattan. When he got older he had nerve damage to his spine and he had trouble walking. It made me so sad when we couldn't take him Outside anymore, because Outside is heaven for Dogs.

Oh ouch - that is a bummer. Outside is a good chunk of What Makes Life Wonderful, at least for dogs. I wish every dog who's in pain or has trouble moving could at least lift his face to the breeze Outside.

Yes. Fat Fred loved Outside even in the snow and the yuck, and we used to help clean his paws out because the slush was so nasty and gritty. He also loved Toast and sitting near his humans but Outside when we were out for breakfast.

I miss that stinky old dog.

My childhood dog Pokey loved the snow, too, and she would catch snowballs (or slushballs, whatever the weather granted us) in the air until her whole mouth must have been numb and her gums began to bleed. She was always so disappointed when we'd stop playing the game just because we saw that happening.

Remember this whenever you doubt your sanity choosing this career path!

I'm still insane, of course. Your point?

Our dog doesn't know the meaning of the word "quiet."
She does know the meaning of the word "Enough!" -- or, rather, a meaning.
Near as I can figure it, "enough!" has become her cue that she's going to be closed away in the bathroom to bark to her heart's content if she doesn't stop barking soon. She even anticipates it now; when she doesn't stop barking she'll stride into the bathroom, head held high, barking proudly. It's a little odd.
She's also learning to respond to "Shhh!".

She even anticipates it now; when she doesn't stop barking she'll stride into the bathroom, head held high, barking proudly.

Oh man, that's hilarious. I love it. What a portrait of a dog who knows the rules! :-)

(nods) We've taken to referring to it as the "free speech zone."

I need to re-read Ringworld!

It's been a long time for me as well. I always did love the concept of Teela, and the way the long and careful plan for luck didn't exactly go as expected. :-)

I was always fascinated by the tasp, and how the concept of pleasure can be turned into a weapon.

dear CJ, if you ever doubt the decision you made to take this path, re-read this entry. you sound so blissfully happy, and clearly, you were meant to do this.

I wonder if I could become a good writer, too, so I could write about it. The common wisdom seems to say "Write what you know," but I never felt like writing about a computer programmer's life. I couldn't see the point. This, though, this is fun and interesting, right? :-)

yes! you should! ...but what do you mean "if i could become a good writer"?? CJ, you ARE a good writer, and have been for the entire time i've known you. i love hearing the stories not only about the animals, but of your adventures in college.

Oh, I mean good enough to put stuff in a book. That's a big honking pile of work, and frankly, I may simply be too lazy for it. :-)

Heh. I keep getting comments as to how my two are so much better behaved than the usual King Charles Cavalier. I think it helps that 1) they're not actually pure-bred, or even close, just look-somewhat-like mutts, and 2) I've worked a lot to make sure they behave as well as possible. They are some of the hardest dogs to train I've tried, but they do KNOW all the commands, including both "Speak!" and "Quiet!". The vet's helper said they hardly realized Madeleine was back in the kennel, she was so quiet all day.

They are trained to alarm-bell people at the door, but lately they've switched to a quiet "WOOF." instead of the full bark. Except when the windows are open and there are other dogs right outside, but they'll stop when I tell them to quiet down, even then.

They are terminally cute, though. The hardest part in training them is getting OTHER people to be consistently strict enough.

The mutt aspect probably does help, and the fact that you've focused on behavior is probably HUGE. The variation in training levels out there is wide. Of course, the variation in commands and hand signals is also wide. Some dogs know "Quiet!", some know "No Bark", some know a hand signal that looks like the human is trying to close her own nonexistent muzzle with her fingers -- and then of course there are the dogs who speak Spanish. :-)

Getting other people to stick to the same boundaries must be a real toughie. I see it with my sister and our parents. She allows the dog on a certain piece of furniture, but my parents don't, so the dog is always sneaking onto my parents' couch; my parents allow the dog to sniff around the dishwasher as it's being loaded, but my sister doesn't, so that's a hard boundary for my sister to set. To be fair, I think the dog KNOWS perfectly well what exactly she is allowed to do in whose house. She just thinks she can get away with stuff. :-)

My little kittens (about 5 months old) went in for their first visit to the vet today. Our new vet went on at length about how the last time she was looking for a cat, she was looking for gray one exactly like our Phileas, and how attractive he was. It was kinda cool to hear that about our "free to good home" cat from Craig's List, though also a little confusing to me, since I've never chosen my cats for their color.

Too bad you're on the other coast!

Aww! I'm with you in that it would be a little confusing to me also, but then, I've hardly ever chosen a cat -- they find me. :-) If I were to choose, it would be based on friendliness and personality. (I suppose if all my clothing were one color... hmm... color-coordinated cat fur has some possibilities.)

Speaker to Animals

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