He Knows What He Wants

You would think that after having us over for dessert and letting us talk Ken into unconsciousness, that Ken and Linda would forgo having us over for a full-blown meal.  But they are made of sterner stuff than that (and I think Ken had a nap that afternoon!).

Below is a photo of Greg preparing a salad dressing, but the photo contains a lovely shot of Ken's homemade foccacia appetizer!

Greg in the kitchen making dressing.

Many of you may remember that Jam is a bit stubborn.  You might recall that on our ride home from Southeastern Guide Dogs on the first day, Jam tried for 55 minutes to sit on the seat with Fred.  It was only during the last five minutes of the ride that he finally settle in for a nap.  Sigh.  He is a supremely stubborn boy.  We are STILL working on his sock addiction, which has turned into a full blown cloth addiction.  Although now, we have gotten him to release the offending cloth item, which he never did before.  I consider this progress.  Remember, baby steps and consistency.

So, it was with those two thoughts in mind that we realized we had the perfect exposure for Jam this evening: trash can surfing.   Take a look at the next photo and look for the trash can.

Fred and I are at the breakfast table with Jam lying down at my feet. The trash can is at the lower right of the photo.

Yeah, you think that leash is tight, but it isn't.  Jam has just enough room to lunge for the trash can over to the right of the frame.  Ken has been peeling and cutting and putting lovely, stinky things in there all night. When we first rounded the corner, Jam caught me off guard and lunged and got a wad of paper towels soaked in pork juice.  YUM!  Which I then had to dig out of his mouth.

Sigh.

So, we set up the exposure.  I would sit with the loose leash and Jam would watch Ken peel something and toss it into the trash.  Then Jam would go for it.  I would correct him and he would stop.  Then Ken would peel some more.  This happened about every 2 minutes.

For the next 30 minutes. 

Sometimes Ken would walk away and Jam would just lunge to see what was in there that perhaps he had missed.  Honestly, MR. HARDHEAD!  You weren't allowed to see inside that trashcan the last 29 times.  Do you think you are going to see inside now?

Dinner was a salad with pecans, pears and a light vinaigrette, a lovely pork tenderloin with roasted veggies and potatoes and Fred made a rice pudding.  Mmmmmm!

Jam, finally relaxing, after a hard night of trash surfing. Linda is in the background.

 Did I mention what nice friends we have?  We are truly lucky to have such a lovely circle of friends to help us raise our puppy.