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importance of training.. Sid Vicious at the Park. |
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Most of the stories I tell are of things
that happen to Sid and I during our jaunts to the park. Last
night was no different then any other night. We ran and jumped
and played in the soggy grass because it had rained the day
before. Sid has a habit of trying to run and greet every person
and furkin he meets. After countless leash burns from the leash
skimming through my fingers I finally got quick enough just to
step on Sid's leash. It's a 50 foot leash so he can get pretty
far away from me. We were walking back to the Jeep when a couple
started walking towards us with their dog who, of course, was
off leash. Now, I knew that this particular couple didn't like
Sid to come toward their dog, so, as Sid headed towards them I
stepped on the leash. All of a sudden S N A P, the leash snaps
and breaks about 6 inches from his collars. There Sid is, 10
feet away from me and OFF LEASH calmly heading towards the
couple. THINK FAST, I thought to myself... I started saying
"wait" in a very, VERY calm voice, rather hard for me since I
was in a panic. Sid slowed down but did not stop. I kept saying
"wait" and as he slowed I picked up speed. I get within reach
and snatch a little tuft of fur on the back of his neck. Sid
stops. I say "Sid sit".. Sid sat. I take off his collar, turn
the leash around and slip the end of his collar through the loop
of the handle, buckle back up his collar and off we go. Lucky
for me Sid knows the word "wait" because he definitely doesn't
know the word "come." Well, he DOES know what "come" means but
he doesn't always obey. For all you knew Chow owners out there?
Teach the word WAIT. It will make your life much easier, I
promise.
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Sid Vicious goes to a party...
It's been a while since I've posted a Sid
Vicious story, partly because nothing new and exciting has occurred and
partly because I've just been way busy. Today Sid and I went to a Cancer
Research fund raiser that our Vet Hospital put on. It was a lot of fun,
so many dogs and food and things to auction on.. A lot of stuff
happened. I have so much to tell you but I think I'll save that for a
different post and just concentrate this one on Sid and the 7 1/2 month
old English Bull Mastiff that he met. We've seen the puppy before but it
was when he was 5 months old and even then he was as big as Sid. NOW at
7 1/2 months old, the puppy weighs 120 pounds!! The sweetest boy ever..
Take a look at these pics!! The guy is the puppy's Dad and the girl
holding Sid is Colleen, Sid's groomer. LOL..
Cropped
this one so you could get a close up look:
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Final
try.. Sid the camera shy Chow. But, look how big that
Mastiff is!! OMG, he's going to hit over 200 pounds when
he's full grown. That's what the Dad said anyways.. :
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Here's
Colleen trying to get Sid to look at the camera! LOL
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As you know, Sid and I "GO" to the park every day,
sometimes 2. Today was one of those days, we just got back. We started our usual
jaunt around the park and we saw a man with two dogs. A red Irish Setter and a
black Lab. Sid could not resist the temptation to check them out and visit. The
first to approach us was the black Lab. I forgot to add.. When the black Lab ran
towards Sid, Sid ran towards me and SAT on my feet. THEN.. Sid and the Lab
played and played. The Irish Setter was a little more timid but finally came
over to see what all the fuss was about. Both dogs were so friendly and Sid
loved them both. Sid is so funny though. The Lab, a male was younger so Sid was
more rambunctious and they chased each other and actually SHARED a tennis ball!
WOW, I thought to myself, this is cool, no toy aggression!! YAY!! The Irish
Setter was a female and older. When she walked up to Sid, Sid calmed down,
almost like he KNEW that she was older and a GIRL so he had to treat her like a
GIRL. awwwwwwwwwwww, so cute!!
The man asked me if Sid was a Chow and I said yes. No comments to aggression or
being 'bad' or 'dangerous' or anything like that.. I asked him if people were
more afraid of his black Lab and he said "That's funny you asked, yes they are
and I used to have a black Rotti and people actually crossed the street so they
didn't have to walk by us".. hrumph, I said, PEOPLE! He just laughed.
Off Sid and I went to continue our 'play time'.. As we started to leave Nicci
arrives (the Airedale).. Sid gets more and more comfortable around Nicci every
time he sees him. This morning he started 'play growling' at Nicci. LOL, Nicci,
being the old gent that he is, just looks at Sid and keeps walking. HA HA HA..
OK, are you still waiting for the FAT LIP comment I made in the heading of this
story?? Here goes:
The back of the Jeep was open and I'm telling Sid.. "Get in the Jeep"... Sid is
being stubborn because Nicci was still in his play range.. SID, I say, GET IN
THE JEEP! Well, I guess my head was just at the right height because Sid jumps
in the Jeep and S M A C K we connect and I get a FAT LIP! OUCH! THAT HURT, I say
to myself, but immediately start checking SID'S mouth to be sure HE doesn't have
any blood dripping from HIS mouth!!!
For the love
of a dog.. hahahahahaha.
Soccer Day at the Park -
As you know it's soccer season for all the little kids around the
country. In my home town the soccer practices are held at Sid's park.
The kids range
in age from 5 to 16. Tonight as Sid and I were making our rounds a group
of girls, about 7 or 8 years old, start rushing up towards Sid. Sid was
about 10 feet away from me, on his leash, but still a little too far for
my comfort so I head towards Sid and the group of girls. Sid gets really
excited and starts doing his little 'bear' hops around the girls which
cause them to squeal and laugh. This causes Sid to get even MORE
excited! THEN, Sid sees a million little hands head toward his face!
I say - "OK
now, his name his Sid and just pet him under his chin first".. All the
girls start petting Sid under his chin and Sid is loving it. Then one
little girl asked me why I said to pet him under his chin. I explained
that if you ask to pet someone's dog and you're told it's ok, you should
always pet under the chin first because if you pet them on their heads
they will think you're trying to be their boss. All the girls go "OH"
like it made perfect sense. Then another little girl came up and asked
to pet Sid. I said sure and before I start my "petting" shpeel, a couple
of the girls say "Pet him under his chin first" and another little girl
explained why. It was adorable to watch. The little girls voices were so
high and squeaky though that it was just causing Sid to become TOO
excited! He wanted to play with them and he started doing zoomies around
them WITH THE LEASH IN MY HAND! hahaha, OK, girls, I say.. It's time for
me and Sid to go. Another good night for the Ambassadors of the Chow
Chow. 
Meanwhile in a different state one of Sid's
friends gets to visit a nursing home.
I may sign up Mikki as a therapy dog. An old
classmate and I and his 103 year old mom visit our high school teacher
in senior care center. We were going to take turns dog sitting Mikki
outside. One staff member came out and said to me "by all means bring
the dog in, we love our elderly to get visits by pets"
Everyone loved Mikki. They let us visit Jean in the dining room. Mikki
who is shy with strangers, was calm and let the seniors pet her. She did
give me a look as if to say, I hope you get me out of here soon, but she
hung in there for two hours. She was good maneuvering around wheel
chairs, didn't flinch when someone almost poked her in the eye.
Alzheimer and dementia patients were more quiet, subdued without drugs.
The staff was happy getting the food prepared without having to tend
after the resdients. Photo was taken in Peterborough, Ontario, CA.
My
friend Ed is 70, Jean, my old teacher we visit in the nursing home is
94, she looked just like Meryl Streep when she was young. Olive on the
far right is 103. She lives in Toronto during the summer and will head
for Florida the end of the month. Olive still lives on her own, cooks,
cleans and bakes for her church. she walks with a cane, the wheel chair
was used because of nursing home rules. Olive is SDA, sabbath is on
Friday, church Saturday morning. She says 'you are what you eat'. She
used to be a vegetarian. She was born in Antigua, eats salt cod,
dumplings, greens and rice, chicken, peas and rice. Has never eaten
pork. She finally gave me her dumpling recipe, mashed potatoes, flour,
egg and milk, fried in a bit of grease. She just got a clean bill of
health. She does have a pacemaker, gets B12 shots.
Mikki here, I love the old people, I get lots of attention, they pet me,
everyone said what a well behaved, quiet little girl I am. Ha, they
haven't seen me chase squirrels or chipmunks. The day the photo was
taken I nailed a skunk, which unfortunately was the end of my part time
job. Mommy says I still smell skunky.
Reprinted with permission:
sit_by_the_beach
cheriekynb
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