Another day, another issue, another rant

'Kids' are baby goats. Fur grows on animals, and on some male humans. I like fur when it's on the creature that grew it. Dead fur creeps me out, but I would never stand in your way if you wish to own dead, dull, icky things. I might point and laugh, though.

"Fur-kids." Gag me. The hair {not fur!} on the back of my neck stands up every time I read, or hear, this doG-awful term. What the hell is a fur kid? Is it a human infant that must be shaved to find it's mouth? Because that's what *I* think of when I hear 'fur kid'. {Yes, I'm an odd little ducky, let's move on, shall we?} . Maybe it's a term meant for.... I'm reaching here... cashmere and angora goats? Well, they don't have fur, they have HAIR. Please believe me, I've known many, many members of the goat family up close and personal. Lovely, lovely creatures. All of them have hair.

Today, while reading a working line GSD forum, a woman that I know to compete in Schutzhund {a working dog event that has 3 phases: obedience, protection, tracking} referred to her serious, working line GSDs as 'fur-kids'. At first I gasped, as I'm familiar with her rep as a serious trainer of serious working dogs. FURKID????? REALLY??? Then I shook my head in disbelief. All this guardian/caretaker/fur-kid crap is percolating into serious dog circles. If this doesn't frighten you, you're not paying attention.

I am not, not, NOT the freakin' guardian of 'furkids'! I OWN DOGS. I love and adore dogs. Dogs have been my friends my entire life. I've been protected several times by dogs, for which I'm very grateful. The word 'dog' is very special to me, I have no need or desire to describe them as anything _but a dog.

What does the word 'dog' mean to you? Something stinky? Non-stop barking? A pain in your behindermost bits? Even more work for you to do? Shedding? Annoyance? Money pit? Something to occupy the kids?

A dog is the most loyal of creatures, always there with a wag of the tail, so forgiving of human frailities. Honest. Dependable. You can always count on a dog to be himself, day in, day out.... one of their finest qualities in my opinion.

When you bring home a dog, and especially when you put a collar and leash on him, you enter into a covenant.. One that says you will be patient, kind, and understanding. That you'll provide for ALL of his needs... training, exercise, medical care, quality food, clean water, fun and games, shelter, love and affection. A safe and comfy place to sleep. That you'll protect him should the occasion warrant. That you will love him unconditionally. And, finally, that you will be there for him at the end, humanely and gently releasing him from this life when his quality of life is low.

This, dear friends, is what good dog OWNERS do for their DOGS. I have no idea what one does with a 'fur-kid'. Dress them up as princesses? Put them in uniforms? NO! Wait! I remember!

The 'guardians' of 'fur-kids' shave their faces so they can find their mouths~! Ah, don't ya just LOVE a blog post that comes full circle?

If you don't appreciate begging dogs...

don't feed them while you're eating!

Dogs are easier to train than husbands. *I* don't mind if they beg, and I've taught each of them a cute begging behavior. It amuses me, and I always share what I'm eating with them. Husband is mercurial... some days he doesn't mind and will feed them, the next he might want me to put them up, or put up the baby gate so he's left alone. I have no sympathy for him. Pick a path and stick to it!

New anti-cancer drug for dogs!

http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2009/06/03/palladia-new-anti-cancer-drug-for-dogs.htm

Yippeeeee~!

Time

There's never enough time to go around. I've been asking for 28 hour days for years, you can tell how successful *that* was.

We had a glorious day today here in Oregon... full sun, warmth, frisky horses and dogs. It's still too muddy to ride, though, since our mountain is steep, and we don't want to risk injuring the horses trying to travail long muddy slides. Soon. Soon riding will be a daily thing. Can't wait.

The above left photo is a shot of me with Sis, my girlfriend's mare, and the ears of Addi, her other mare. I must have been looking for a spot to... well, nevermind! :-) I'll just say that we usually take a few beers with us when we go up. Horses, sun, friend, mountain, beer. My idea of a perfect afternoon! The photo on the right is a view of our homestretch, coming down the mountain close to home.

Rain, rain, go away! We NEED to RIDE! YeeeeHawwww!

It's snowing. In March.

Wow.

What is with all the snow this season? Mid-winter I was snowed in for almost two weeks, couldn't get out in my van. Lucky for me, DH drives a heavy service van with traction devices, so he ran my errands for me.

My horses are doing their spring shed, and we have snowy goosefeathers coming down, and sticking. I don't think I've ever blanketed a horse in March before. Not that they care, mind you, as they're out in the snow playing with their jolly ball. The dogs are another matter entirely. Only Kira, my German Shepherd, wants out. Winston and Dice want nothing to do with it. As I type this, Winston is snuggled under the covers on my bed.

I shall turn on the tunes and work on some new items for my Etsy shop. It's productive, warm and dry. Maybe I'll join Winston later. :-)

Competition

This morning, I was sent a link to a video of the winner of the dog dancing contest at Crufts. It was an awesome performance, only a couple of brief glitches, but fun to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7LLxP73Sv8

I miss competing. While I never got into heelwork to music, I've done my share of obedience and agility. My life has changed a lot from the days of driving to training, driving to teach class, and driving around the PacNW on weekends to compete. I don't miss the driving, but I very much miss traveling with dogs. It's a lot of fun to head down the road with the dogs, wondering how we'll do. And the drive home was always more fun when there was lots of ribbons with us.

These days, Winston protects us from evil cats, Kira is glued to my side, and Dicey is still the bouncing, floating little butterfly. I think we're all pretty content with how things have turned out for us.