Posts Tagged ‘dog obedience’
Sore Arms
Friday morning there was a heavy dew and as the sun hit surfaces, things started to develop clouds of steam that made it look like they would soon erupt in flames.
The cornfield to our south and the shade sail were both looking noticeably smoky.
I started the day with a visit to our local pharmacy for vaccination shots after looking online and seeing open appointments immediately available. Why not? I’ve never had the RSV shot, so I added that to my annual flu and COVID vaccinations. I also accepted the pneumonia vaccine because we couldn’t find any record that I had received that shot in the last 5 years. Four shots at once! What was I thinking?
Well, I was thinking that I have only ever reacted one time with a mild fever after a vaccination shot, so I went in with all the positive intentions I could muster. My other life-hack with vaccination shots is to immediately work my arms and get some exercise to encourage maximum blood flow. To aid that flow, I also make a conscious effort to drink even more water than usual to really maximize my hydration. Lastly, I ramp up those positive intentions with visualizations of processing the developing immunities with minimal negative reactions.
The feeling of stiff muscles in my two arms is accepted as a reasonable outcome. That just helps remind me to use them even more.
It was a beautiful day yesterday, but since it started so wet, I found something other than mowing to do. Cyndie agreed to team up to spread some more composted manure onto the hay field. In a pleasing surprise, the horses were interested in coming out to supervise.
When I returned to the composting area to get another trailer-full, Cyndie sent me a message that I might want to come back through the paddocks, since the horses were crowding around the gate.
We were very happy to see that Asher had settled down to watch us from just outside the gate. It is so rewarding when he chooses to stay with us even though we are not giving him any attention. That rarely lasts, however. While I was mowing the north loop pathway, I noticed a car slow down on the road. Then I spotted Asher’s orange scarf and hollered at him to return. To his credit, he sprinted directly to me on the mower.
A quick phone call to Cyndie determined that she was in the barn, and I was able to have her call out to him. He ran right off toward her voice. A happy ending to an unsettling situation of him being off property and meandering in traffic.
The hybrid maple tree behind the hay shed (and next to the visibly ailing one) is halfway through its transition to maximum brilliance. Cyndie finished moving the last few hay bales out of the shed and into the barn in preparation for a delivery of a fresh batch of hay expected to arrive next Wednesday.
Too bad I was busy mowing because that would have been a good workout for my sore arms.
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Around Again
Sitting on the cold, hard ground with a pile of dog treats beside me, I watched as Asher passionately made another manic pass around the neighbor’s outbuilding. Their cat had dashed under a tiny opening to avoid capture. Sure, I was feeling angry. He had clearly disrespected my commands for the last twenty minutes as he freely trotted along well beyond the repeatedly demonstrated limits of our property, but that wasn’t entirely unexpected.
No, what was irking me even more was the way our horse, Light, walked right up to my face while I was cutting through the back pasture and without warning, reared up on her hind legs giving me a much too close encounter with one of her front hooves. WTF, girl!
My startled audible response was enough to get all the horses to react, rearranging themselves to different positions. I didn’t have time to deal with them at the moment because I was on a mission to regain control of Asher while thinking about what model of shock collar I wanted to convince Cyndie we should buy.
When I crested the hill of the hay field, I caught sight of Asher and saw him turn toward me in response to my call. Then he crossed the road and continued his illicit sniff-fari along the cornfield’s edge in gross defiance.
I phoned Cyndie and asked her to ring the “dinner” bell at our front door because we’ve trained him to return to that and sometimes it actually works. He definitely heard it. He turned and began to run. I thought we had him and I started running for the gate near the driveway to meet him, but he kept going along the road and headed directly for the neighbor’s place with the cockapoo and the barn cat.
Did I mention it was cold? I really didn’t want to be sitting on the ground, but it was obvious that Asher was not going to allow me to catch him. I needed him to come to me. Offering food was not enough enticement. Each time he came around the building, he returned to the spot the cat had snuck under. Each time he took off around again, I moved closer to that spot.
Finally, I was able to reach him and attach the leash to his harness. I am not proud of my performance as I practically dragged him back the long walk to our house on that leash.
The ambiance in the house was warm and pleasant as I whipped dog and leash through the door before slamming it angrily to go feed the horses and pretend I wasn’t thoroughly pissed with Light’s unsafe behavior.
I was triggered, majorly. My old self would have proceeded ignorantly. I wanted to shut down. I didn’t want to look at the dog ever again. I didn’t want to be the only one feeding the horses every day. I didn’t want animals. I didn’t want to be married.
You see where this was headed. But, I know better now. My depression has been treated by professionals.
I have also learned life lessons from horses. I quickly got back to grazing. Deep breaths. When Light began her spastic leg flexing that always ends up spilling her feed pan, I stood beside her and moved my hand soothingly along her chest and leg until she calmed down.
We don’t always take the time to do that for her. In this case, I was also doing it for me.
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