The DOOM Spaniels

I was thinking about the mat training post and shaping vs luring, and how funny training can be.

When we moved here, we had a pretty good texture on the hard-surface floor so Yvaine and Merlin didn't slip, but I still set up some rubber-backed rugs where they often took turns at a run. When I asked them to practice sitting, they preferred to do it on the rug instead of the bare floor.

The kitchen has the best light, so when I started taking a lot of pictures of them sitting together, I started going there. The mat used to be facing the island, but it was easier to sit on than the floor, so it quickly became The Spot The Spaniels Sat.

When Baby Tristan learned to sit still, he sat on the kitchen mat because Yvaine did. It was automatic, enter the kitchen, go to the mat. If we practiced other tricks, we started from and returned to the mat.

And Gwyn... learned from Tristan.

I never specifically told them to sit there, but they seem to find it a comfortable, comforting routine.

@nail-bat-lesbian said: Here’s Patrick, my Springer❤️ sadly, he passed away in December, but he was my best friend for 14 1/2 years

...

What a beautiful boy. I hope all your memories bring you joy.

Listen, listen... I know tumblr is erratic and sometimes you have to undo its errors. But also, it's important that everyone should follow the people they want, and be comfortable if they unfollow someone too (temporarily or permanently).

We all have our individual quirks. There was a time I was distressed to look at any black and white dogs, for example; it hurt too much to miss my Tessa.

Nobody needs to justify why you are or aren't following someone ❤️ I'm here trying to shine a little bright spot in my day and everyone else's. If, for some reason, my posts aren't pleasant for someone, they could absolutely block me, and feel good about it. We all have our reasons for what we feel. It doesn't have to make sense, either. It's all good.

Taking a moment to reflect on departed friends, much beloved and desperately missed.

With love to @konmari-dogs for the Merlin sculpture (I have tried and tried but cannot get a decent photo of this lovely thing), and to @fragile-milkbones for the Yvaine portrait (art by Brittany Ragland @copper_ruby on social media). And appreciation to https://www.etsy.com/shop/InAGlaze for the urns.

Tristan is helping. He is a good boy that way.

Thank you to everyone for your support and love during our loss, and your loss too. Yvaine was a unique, extraordinary lady, and there is a gaping hole in our lives that will always be there.

We will have other quadrupedal family members, and we will love them just as much, because they are all wondrous creatures. But the piece of my heart that Yvaine took with her was right in the center. The ache will be there for a long time.

Merlin, buddy, it's been two years today. We still miss you so much.

~Snippets from Around the Farm~

I've mentioned a few times that we have to introduce horses and dogs carefully because they have different body language. Even though our horses like dogs, the two species can have alarming miscommunication, so they need to learn about each other under close supervision. Here's some photos I just dug up from Yvaine's very first encounter with Serenity and Firefly, meeting across the fence at our old farm.

The meeting across the fence reminded me of an interspecies miscommunication anecdote, a rare direct encounter between two critters who are no longer with us, Georgedog and Duchess-mare. Interaction across the horse/dog fence was unusual, so I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late to intercede. Georgedog was at the fence, and Duchess-mare came over, reached across, and bit him. (He was all right, a smidge bruised.) I'll explain why:

George was enjoying some unusual dropped horse feed at the base of the fence, from the dog side. [Happy dog! Jackpot.]

Duchess approached the spilled feed from the horse side. She put her ears back and head low, swung her nose towards George, to drive George away from the food. [Threatening horse.]

George looked up at Duchess with ears back, head low but neck swinging, not stiff, her tail relaxed, and no hackles or warning sounds. George was encouraged by Duchess's canine appeasement body language, so continued eating, relieved to share with someone who asked so politely. He also put his own ears back, but as they were floppy, Duchess didn't understand. [Relaxed dog. Agreeing to share.]

A horse would typically have responded to Duchess by leaving, or by echoing Duchess's body language to refuse to leave (and they'd have shared without fuss). From Duchess's equine perspective, George was rudely ignoring her. So Duchess escalated. She reached over the fence, and nipped George's chubby back. [Offended horse. Following through on her threats.]

George yelped, jumped backwards, and fled inside. [Confused, slightly bruised dog, trusts Big Hooved Dogs much less.]

The exact same body language had opposite meanings for the two species, and resultingly, George got an unpleasant surprise. This kind of failure in translation is why, when our dogs are allowed in the pasture, we introduce dogs and horses very slowly, under supervision, on leads, until they both realize that they are not speaking the same language. There's a long list of normal behaviors for each species that can accidentally injure or offend the other, so we don't rush.

Sir Galahad the Cute

Adopted in 2000 from a cocker rescue, Galahad was our first cocker and my first experience with pleasant dogs less than ~60 lb (27kg). Galahad was quite sure that he was bigger than my 65lb dogs, in fact. Sir Galahad the Cute was joyful, he was confident, he was bouncy, he was clever. He solved problems we didn't know were problems but boy were they problems after he solved them.

The Little Man was stunningly beautiful, to the point that people actively attempted to get their faces torn off because that gorgeous little dog couldn't *possibly* be serious about that (adorable) snarl of a siren song. He didn't care for strangers, but would tolerate them after a formal introduction--you just had to pause for the introduction first! Somehow experienced dog owners and even veterinarians would forget everything they knew about approaching an unfamiliar dog when they first saw his golden aura.

He went deaf at about 12. Until then he would wake up and follow us around throughout the day, but once he was fully deaf, he started sleeping through interruptions. Yvaine originally joined our household (2011) to wake Galahad up periodically by bouncing the furniture, and so he could follow her to where the activity was, so he could stay active and fit. And mostly fit and active and happy he stayed, until he left us on July 28, 2015.

My photography skills aren't any better than they used to be, but cameras have improved a lot. So almost all of my photos of Galahad are terrible. Fortunately a friend with camera skillz got some photos of the Rubber Puppy in, oh, probably late middle age. Thanks to Solomon Peachy for permission to use his photos.

~Memories, Good Memories~

I recorded this video the week before Merlin died in August. We loved seeing this. After nearly three years, Merlin had not only become comfortable with twice-daily meals, he was confident enough to demand them every time, and even complain that I was taking too long to prepare them. He'd been doing it regularly for about a month, at that point.

We called it "cannoning," the way he bounced up of his forefeet to give the bark more emphasis.

Everything about this was wonderful.