Dewey And the Ducks

At our school we have a pair of mallards who live on the campus.  Periodically we will get an update that they have laid eggs somewhere and that we need to be very quiet or careful so as not to disturb the nesting mother duck.

Often when we are walking in, we will pass the mom and dad mallard.  Sometimes Dewey notices them and sometimes he doesn't.  It depends on which way the wind is blowing and whether the ducks are in his direct line of sight.  They can be tricksy and hide in the bushes.

On Friday, a dark and rainy day, we were out walking.  We walked by the rain gutter that was making a loud waterfall onto some bricks.  It was a bit of a startling noise for Dewey so we stopped so he could get used to the sound.

Dewey staring at the waterfall.

It didn't take Dewey long to get used to the gushing of the water sound onto the bricks.  He lifted his head and looked up at the grass.

Dewey catching sight of the duck couple and pricking up his ears.

 He pricked up his ears.  I noticed this and looked down to where his gaze was fixed.  There were the mallards.

The mallards cavorting in the puddles.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.  They were happily cavorting in the puddles, which were quite deep.

Dewey staring at the mallards.

Dewey was lost in thought.  Easter had passed. The rain was coming down.  It was a peaceful, zen moment.

I wonder what was going through his mind?

A Model of Perfection

Jam was a different dog on Friday.  Of course we had our walk! And we had a more casual day as it was the Senior-kindergartner picnic and all school convo, which is always exciting.

  

Jam relaxing on the gym floor during the all school convo.

Jam was very well behaved during the convo.  Except for that one moment when he flipped over on his back and waved his legs in the air like a drunken octopus.  Oh, yeah, was that during the lower division choir's song?  Was that when the headmaster looked over in our general direction?  

I quickly captured what seemed to be Jam's 23 legs and shoved him under my legs and next to the bleachers where he stayed in a down position for the remainder of the convo.

Jam at a Bonefish Grill high top table.  He's underneath looking out at the public.

That evening we decided that we would go out for dinner to celebrate the weekend and we headed over to Bonefish Grill, which seems to be the only restaurant capable of making mussels.  We sat outside at a high top table, which would be a new experience for Jam.

At first he was a little fussy, but he is really great out at restaurants and he settled down quickly.  What should have been disturbing to an intact 12 month old puppy was the silly Pomeranian dog that another customer had brought to the restaurant and was feeding at her chair.  Yes, she was taking food off her plate and putting it on a smaller plate for her dog and feeding him right there in front of my dog.

Jams head is that the lower right of the photo.  There is a small Pomeranian at the top left of the photo.  There is also a lady sitting on a chair giving Jam the stink eye.  She owns the pom.  

Jam didn't care.  The more that lady gave Jam the stink eye, the more he turned his classic lab profile slightly to the left and did a Brad Pitt.  Meaning everyone who walked by immediately saw Jam and said, "OOOOOH how beautiful!" (He is quite striking.) And no one paid her little dog any attention.

That's it Jam.  When faced with evil, small dogs who are being fed from the table, take relief in the zen of your inner beauty.

How I love him, my buddha lab.

And now, for your moment of Zen

Her Royal Highness (HRH) Berkeley has had a problem recently with barking and not letting me get more than 5 feet away from her without barking for me to come back and attend her. This past week we did some training, with a little success. Fred and I would give her a down-stay command and then would leave her presence for 30 seconds to a minute and then come back to praise her for staying (if she did!) or get her to redo it (if she didn't).

As the line in Monty Python and the Holy Grail goes, "(She) got better."

I taught several classes last week and some of them went smoothly with HRH sitting quietly. Others, had HRH jumping up and harrassing me verbally to the amusement of all the students.

Wednesday, though, was a good day. I caught her in a rare moment of calm and tranquility and she decided that sitting more than five feet away from me was OK. Watch for the frequent glances back to me for verification that I am still in my same spot and haven't moved. Otherwise, not a peep from her.