Me and My Shadow

Here is your chance to say "I told you so". It only took 48 hours and we decided to adopt the 2 year old black laborador from the humane society. It really didn't come down to worrying about his being adopted. It didn't come down to fear for him or his life. It came down to the fact that he simply fit our family without much training. He already knew the language and already had the training. Now we have had to remind him he is expected to do what he has learned, but there is little to teach him - except that he is loved.

He never responded to Samson - the name the Human Society gave him. So we've renamed him Shadow, since he follows one around everywhere. He just has to be in the middle of everything.

Now he's not perfect. He tried to steal a pork chop directly off my plate last Sunday, but what is good about him is over the top excellent. What has thrilled us immensely is that he loves children and has obviously been raised around them. Our neighbor has a 2 year old son. Shadow ignores all the neighbor's dogs, but will stop everything to see the boy. They run up and down the fence together. The boy one day reached his hand through the fence and had his hand all over Shadow's mouth before anyone could do anything. Shadow just stayed still. Then there was the 2 year old girl we met on one of our nightly walks. Talking with the grandparents, the girl and Shadow got bored. He laid down in the road and she proceeded to place Mardi Gras beads around his neck. Then there are the kids at PetSmart and Brusters that want to come see him.

A word to the wise - and to those who have a weakness for ice cream - Bruster's gives out Doggie Sundaes - It's a scoop of vanilla with a milkbone!

One last bit - We tried with a choker collar and he's too tough for that. Neither of us was enjoying th constant hacking. At PetSmart, we bought the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Harness and saw an immediate difference! Now we enjoy strolling down the Avenue - and I'd better get off here and start that!

http://www.buygentleleader.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/easywalk/productdescription

10 Things I've learned about Samson

Here's are 10 things I've learned about Samson this weekend.

First, Samson is not his name. It must be what the Human Society gave him to identify and personalize, but he doesn't respond to it. Fortunately, he's very attentive, so we have not needed there to be a name. In fact, if he were mine his name would be Shadow because he does follow me everywhere.

Second, he's house broken! He will run in circles at the door. A rather loud and big event considering his size!

Third, he been rather well trained. He knows a number of commands - "sit", "lie down", "no", "come" and I'm sure many more I haven't used yet. He has been trained with a leash. I spent one walk having to remind him he was expected to walk well on it. Squirrels and cats are still a huge issue, but I think a month of this would have him nearly perfect.

Fourth, he takes food gently from my hand - which is great for giving him his medicine.

Fifth, this was a well pampered dog! The worst thing that has ever happened to him is this crate. He expects to sleep on the bed with us and to sit on the couch with us. To tell him to get down after he's up there really confuses him. He doesn't think he's getting away with something. He thinks it's completely natural for him to be everywhere doing everything you are doing. He will leave you in the backyard for A/C. He is accustomed to human food. He recognizes a box of Milkbones.

Sixth, he will bury whatever rawhide bone you give him. Other than that he doesn't do any other damage in the yard.

Seven, he will lie down quietly if we are engaged in another activity like watching TV or having a conversation. There is no demanding that we pay attention to him. But if you get up or look his way, he's on it!

Eight, he cannot be trusted in the kitchen if no one is in there. We lost two hamburgers Saturday night. If we're in there, he smells the air, but does not touch the counter. I also appreciate the he moves out of my way as I move around. Dakota didn't do that - probably because he couldn't.

Nine, he's playful, energetic AND knows how to play gently. He puts my hand and arm in his mouth, but does not clamp down. He loves to nuzzle my hand when I'm walking about the house. He was very tempted to try and catch my legs as they passed by on the treadmill this morning.

Ten, he hates to be alone. I let him in the backyard to do his business and when he's ready, he comes to the stoop and howls the most mournful thing. We also put him his crate to run out for 15 minutes yesterday and you could hear the howling at the street. When James left this morning, he cried at the front door and eventually quieted down lying with his back pressed against the door watching the handle. I left him with a rawhide bone and the entire back porch (with little on it) and clear the windows to the floor so he can watch birds and squirrels.... Any suggestions????? Is this a breed thing???? I think this may be why he's at the humane society. He could not live in a multifamily dwelling without the neighbors complaining....

Fostering

Dictionary.com defines fostering as:

1.to promote the growth or development of; further; encourage: to foster new ideas.
2. to bring up, raise, or rear, as a foster child.

Let me share with you how we hit both of these today.

Today I went and took a class in tile mosaics from Laura Aiken. I've really only looked at geometrics in my tapestries and I wondered if I could stick with it, but use a mosaic cartoon to do some representative pieces. I thought it was worth a shot. So here we begin with a blank.

I then chose colors and went through where to place them. I tried these three combinations, but then this is there I ended up.

I liked the purple in the background and the red pear.

From there I began working on placing the tile. I'm thinking this is going to work for me. And I was able to finish the pear in the first session. It's really a great deal of fun. I always love to create something out of what seems like nothing.

Then from there I headed over to the Greenville Humane Society and looked into foster care. We have decided against a puppy at this point because of the construction, and have hesitated about a dog because I have a monumental birthday this year and we're planning to be in New Zealand for a month. Boarding fees would just be too much. We really miss having a dog around. I also made the mistake of checking out the website for who was up for adoption. There were 3 that had kennel cough and were looking for foster care. This seems like a good compromise. We can help the dog get a chance to be out on the adoption floor and we get to have a dog around again. Well, the Humane Society thought it was a good idea and i brought home Samson - a 2 year old 67 pound pure bred black Labrador retriever.

They provided us with a kennel, food, medication and a bone. He loved the bone, chewed it chewed it and chewed it. Then I let him out in the back yard and he promptly buried it. I can already see we are going to have issues about the couch. He knows the words "No" and "Down" already! I don't think his tail has stopped wagging since he got here. He'll be adopted almost instantly if we can just get him healthy.