Everyone seems down with the weather we've been having. Who can blame them, it's getting to me also. I suppose we ought to all come together and cheer each other up.
I'm going to start by greeting strangers on the street. It's something that draws confused looks in the city. "What, huh, did I do something wrong? Why are you saying hello to me?" That tends to be the general reaction. Dogs on the other hand do a wonderful job of greeting. Every time they pass another dog they want to stop and "say hello" with a sniff. I'll avoid the sniffing, but if you see me, expect a hello.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
ki'ipu the ratter
Training is coming along very well. But recently I've run into a bit of an issue. The Irish Jack Russell was bred to hunt and kill mice and rats. On two consecutive nights last week, I watched as a mouse scurried across my living room floor. The problem: Ki'ipu just sat in his chair half asleep. I'm pretty sure he never even noticed it. I tried to wake him up by talking excitedly. It didn't work. I watched the mouse run into and out of two closets, so i tried to get Ki'ipu on its scent. Nothing.
It was right around midnight both nights. I understand the mouse thing is going to happen when you live in the city, especially next to train tracks the MBTA is doing work on. The problem is, I can't really put out mouse traps except in the kitchen. Ki'ipu is sure to get into them. He's not allowed in the kitchen, so I'm not as worried about that.
So if i can't lay mouse traps and my dog won't do his job, I'm left with a mouse problem, something I don't want to have to deal with.
It was right around midnight both nights. I understand the mouse thing is going to happen when you live in the city, especially next to train tracks the MBTA is doing work on. The problem is, I can't really put out mouse traps except in the kitchen. Ki'ipu is sure to get into them. He's not allowed in the kitchen, so I'm not as worried about that.
So if i can't lay mouse traps and my dog won't do his job, I'm left with a mouse problem, something I don't want to have to deal with.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
people who whistle
nothing pisses me off more than when i'm walking the dog, working on getting him to walk loose leash, and someone goes by and whistles or makes kiss noises and keep walking... he has a natural instinct to go to the person making those noises.
he loves people. living in the city, we walk by a lot of them. one thing i want him to learn is if someone wants to pay attention to him, he can do so back, but he needs to leave alone the people who don't care. he's getting good at it, but he gets confused every time someone walks by and gives him that attention but doesn't stop.
ki'ipu's a small dog, and one thing i've noticed, when he runs at people's feet, they tend to get tripped up pretty good. so, to resolve the whistling/kissing noise issue with people, i've started giving him more slack on the leash whenever that happens. he runs up, trips them up, gets the attention... and they think twice before whistling next time...
I usually offer an overly dramatic "oh, i'm soooo sorry" and we're on our way.
he loves people. living in the city, we walk by a lot of them. one thing i want him to learn is if someone wants to pay attention to him, he can do so back, but he needs to leave alone the people who don't care. he's getting good at it, but he gets confused every time someone walks by and gives him that attention but doesn't stop.
ki'ipu's a small dog, and one thing i've noticed, when he runs at people's feet, they tend to get tripped up pretty good. so, to resolve the whistling/kissing noise issue with people, i've started giving him more slack on the leash whenever that happens. he runs up, trips them up, gets the attention... and they think twice before whistling next time...
I usually offer an overly dramatic "oh, i'm soooo sorry" and we're on our way.
Friday, April 3, 2009
There are the people who love dogs and the people who are just kind-hearted. I'm used to people telling me they want to take ki'ipu home with them. And I don't blame them. When he's behaving, this guy can melt the coldest of souls. If that wasn't the case, we wouldn't have 15 people a day stopping us to ask about our doggie.
It's the one guy who is downright genuine though, that you remember.
We were walking behind Coolidge Corner. A man who appeared to be on the lower end of the financial spectrum caught a glimpse of the keepster as he was feeding the meter.
He shrieked with excitement, "Hold on, you have to wait one second. Oh my goodness."
"Okay!?! I thought. He ran to his car, which was a late 70s rust-colored beater of an Oldsmobile. His back seat disorderly and covered with trash, he leaned back into a box of 'big dog' bones and pulled one out. "My daughter would absolutely love this dog," he said as he handed Ki'ipu a bone the size of half his body. The bone, of the Milkbone brand, is not one I'd choose for the dog.
I believe 'pretentious' would be how people would describe us when it comes to our dog and the food we give him. Truth is, his food is probably more expensive than ours.
Anyway, instead of realizing immediately how genuinely nice this guy was, i was busy thinking about how i probably wouldn't ever give the bone to ki'ipu. He did end up getting it a few weeks later and what I got was a reminder of sorts that nice people are out there, sometimes it's our own fault because we aren't looking.
Also, I could probably learn a few things from that dude about giving.
It's the one guy who is downright genuine though, that you remember.
We were walking behind Coolidge Corner. A man who appeared to be on the lower end of the financial spectrum caught a glimpse of the keepster as he was feeding the meter.
He shrieked with excitement, "Hold on, you have to wait one second. Oh my goodness."
"Okay!?! I thought. He ran to his car, which was a late 70s rust-colored beater of an Oldsmobile. His back seat disorderly and covered with trash, he leaned back into a box of 'big dog' bones and pulled one out. "My daughter would absolutely love this dog," he said as he handed Ki'ipu a bone the size of half his body. The bone, of the Milkbone brand, is not one I'd choose for the dog.
I believe 'pretentious' would be how people would describe us when it comes to our dog and the food we give him. Truth is, his food is probably more expensive than ours.
Anyway, instead of realizing immediately how genuinely nice this guy was, i was busy thinking about how i probably wouldn't ever give the bone to ki'ipu. He did end up getting it a few weeks later and what I got was a reminder of sorts that nice people are out there, sometimes it's our own fault because we aren't looking.
Also, I could probably learn a few things from that dude about giving.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
that reminds me...
A few weeks back we were walking down beacon street, near coolidge corner. An older man stopped us on the street. As you know, that has become much less uncommon since we got the dogger. This conversation began pretty typically, the older gentleman raved about how adorable our dog was, asking what "kind" it is as he reached down to pet the little guy.
"Well sir, he's a Jack Russell." While he was still petting Ki'ipu, the man on the street immediately looked up, changing his tone from excited to accusatory. "You know they're unloyal (which according to my dictionary isn't actually a word) and they're agressive!" Gee, thanks for the advice, mister.
Jess and I were both speechless. So we just turned and walked away. What do you say to that, anyway?
"Well sir, he's a Jack Russell." While he was still petting Ki'ipu, the man on the street immediately looked up, changing his tone from excited to accusatory. "You know they're unloyal (which according to my dictionary isn't actually a word) and they're agressive!" Gee, thanks for the advice, mister.
Jess and I were both speechless. So we just turned and walked away. What do you say to that, anyway?
Monday, March 30, 2009
3/31 people story
We meet a LOT of people. To date, there are a few stories that stand out, ones we've told over and over to our friends. I've read Jacks draw a lot of laughs, but the true surprise is how much we laugh at the way people interact with ours.
so, stories will follow... not all about Ki'ipu, but more about how people respond to him. It's a good look at what kind of people we live side by side with but wouldn't interact with otherwise.
On the first warm day of late winter, we brought a relatively untrained Ki'ipu, still only about 9 weeks old, down to Newbury Street. We figured it'd be good to socialize him to crowds, especially living in the city. On our walk he drew a lot of "aw"s. Almost everyone we passed wanted the people they were with to "look at the puppy." A lot of people would ask to pet him, which is exactly why we brought him down there.
One trendy teenage girl took it a step further, she wanted a picture. I thought that was a little weird, but agreed to let her snap a photo. She immediately set down her starbucks coffee next to Ki'ipu and began fumbling with her cellphone camera. Now how do you think the Ki'ipster responded to that? He did what any curious puppy would do, he went right after the coffee. My wife was crouched down trying to keep a grip on the scrambling puppy. The girl asked, "can you keep him still for a second for the picture?"
"Um, maybe you should move the coffee" my wife fired back, at that point showing the slightest of irritation but still holding her tongue. The girl's response: "I need it in the picture to show my friends how small he is, can you please keep him away from it?" She took the picture and that's where the story ended, except Jess and I still can't get over the fact that it actually went down like that. It probably goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. Some people are idiots.
so, stories will follow... not all about Ki'ipu, but more about how people respond to him. It's a good look at what kind of people we live side by side with but wouldn't interact with otherwise.
On the first warm day of late winter, we brought a relatively untrained Ki'ipu, still only about 9 weeks old, down to Newbury Street. We figured it'd be good to socialize him to crowds, especially living in the city. On our walk he drew a lot of "aw"s. Almost everyone we passed wanted the people they were with to "look at the puppy." A lot of people would ask to pet him, which is exactly why we brought him down there.
One trendy teenage girl took it a step further, she wanted a picture. I thought that was a little weird, but agreed to let her snap a photo. She immediately set down her starbucks coffee next to Ki'ipu and began fumbling with her cellphone camera. Now how do you think the Ki'ipster responded to that? He did what any curious puppy would do, he went right after the coffee. My wife was crouched down trying to keep a grip on the scrambling puppy. The girl asked, "can you keep him still for a second for the picture?"
"Um, maybe you should move the coffee" my wife fired back, at that point showing the slightest of irritation but still holding her tongue. The girl's response: "I need it in the picture to show my friends how small he is, can you please keep him away from it?" She took the picture and that's where the story ended, except Jess and I still can't get over the fact that it actually went down like that. It probably goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. Some people are idiots.
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