Month: April 2022

Baby has a mass on her left hind leg. It started as a pea-shaped hard lump, about a week ago. We thought it was a small cyst and tried to aspirate it, to no avail. Maybe it would go away, we thought. Wrong. In one week, it grew to the sized of a quarter, and Baby started licking and chewing on it. Not good.

I took her to the vet today. He took one look at it and said, “It’s some kind of tumor, benign or malignant. We can take a sample and send it to the lab, but in the meanwhile Baby will mess with it. It needs to come off.” So, she went to surgery (local anesthetic) later in the day. We will see what it was when the lab results come in.

Better to be safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

I have been increasingly worried about Vinnie’s progress when on leash. There hasn’t been much: he still pulls and still goes semi-berserk when coming upon another dog on leash, feeling it necessary to get to that dog and socialize. This kind of behavior is not acceptable, and I worry that Vinnie will offend the wrong dog and get his ass handed to him.

Today I visited a neighbor named Gini who has 40 years of experience in dog training. Gini is “old school”, and uses the Koehler Method, which is a no-nonsense series of lessons to quickly get the attention of, and obedience from, the subject dog. It’s “my way or the highway” training, kind of like the way my Dad brought me up: do the right thing or there will be repercussions.

Gini and I took Vinnie for a walk, using a 15’ rope lead and a 16” chrome choke collar. Vinnie, who likes to do his own thing while on leash, quickly learned that he would have to adjust his attitude. Within about ten minutes, Gini had Vinnie walking calmly next to her without saying one word. Simply amazing it was.

The experience was much different from the obedience training that Vinnie got when we first adopted him. We used a local trainer who uses treats to reward correct behavior. It worked up to a point, but then plateaued. And, besides, I don’t always keep a quantity of doggie treats in my pocket. The original trainer (“Linda”) didn’t really have much luck overcoming Vinnie’s stubbornness.

After our session together, Gini took Vinnie and three other dogs for a walk… together… through the community. She told me later that Vinnie did very well, walking alongside her calmly and “respecting” the pack leader, a dog named “Harold”, by letting him set the pace. Great news!

Gini is a friend and did not charge me for her knowledge and time. She told me that I will be doing the training and she gave me a one-sheet lesson plan (“Novice Obedience Class”) from the Koehler book. She also loaned me the choke chain and a crate for Vinnie to be kept in for one hour prior to his daily lesson… so he will be anxious to leave captivity and go for his training walk. After training, he returns to the Manning “fun zone” with his buddies to do whatever they wish.

What the heck, I’m retired and Vinnie has lots of free time so we are going to do this thing. The little guy loves me and wants to please me.

I’m excited.

In the meanwhile, the electric/invisible fence is working its magic. Vinnie has shown little interest in challenging his artificial confines and seems to understand that the fence is not to be breached… or there will be Hell to pay. We will continue this training until the end of April. He’s no dummy, and I’m sure he will learn what we expect just like the others did.

Going back to the Koehler Method training, once Vinnie begins to toe the line, I may do some remedial work on Baby and BonBon to make sure that they all understand how things are going to proceed from now on. I don’t want Vinnie to observe one set of rules and commands and the other two living under a different regime. It wouldn’t be fair and it would be confusing, as well. They are good sports and good dogs, all three of them, and I think they will be happier when they are all marching to the same tune.

This will be particularly important when we are traveling in the RV. We expect/demand that our dogs stay with us in the patio area while off-leash. Baby and BonBon are already good about this, so we need Vinnie to get the hint and conform. (Maybe I will have Gini give me some specialized instruction in this area?)

My goal is to have one obedient pack by the time I set loose the Three Stooges on the beach in Coos Bay.

It’s Springtime here in Mesquite. All of the vegetation is blooming, flowers are starting to appear, and the bees and hummingbirds are happy.

It is really quite beautiful in the desert at this time of the year. We have three Palo Verde trees on our property and they will soon be covered with yellow blossoms. All of our many varieties of cactus put out large blooms, as well, as does the ice plant. Lots of yellow and white flowers decorating our neighborhood. Very pretty, but it only lasts for a month or so.

My right shoulder has rebounded. After a couple of cortisone shots, I am now able to swing a golf club without pain. The shots haven’t improved my technique, though, as I have three months of rust to work off. That being said, at 74 years old, I am happy that I can still play golf with my neighbors and friends. My buddy Galen and I each hit a large bucket of range balls today; I probably hit a dozen good shots out of sixty. Another couple of trips to the driving range and I will be ready to play Conestoga Golf Club, our Sun City course where I have a pass for two free rounds. Can hardly wait.

Vinnie update: Perfect dog in just about every way, except social graces when meeting another dog while walking on leash. Mr. Vinnie has the bad habit of rushing up to a dog and putting his mug in their face. He fails to understand that this conveys a threat to the other dog. Or, maybe he is just trying to establish his bonafides as a tough guy who won’t be pushed around. Who knows what is going on? It’s a bad habit that is going to get him hurt when the “other guy” feels threatened and attacks him. It has happened to him in the past, I’m sure: those two wounds on his neck when we got him (that were allegedly “allergies”) were, I’m sure, puncture wounds from some big dog grabbing him by the neck. Anyway, I’m consulting with a couple of dog trainers in our area to see how we can break him of this bad habit before we head off to the “leash-free” beach in Coos Bay.

Charlie and I have planned a several-day get-away with our son Jeff and wife Carol in May. They will be vacationing at Grand Canyon and will meet up with us at Kanab, Utah where we will stay three nights at the Kanab RV Corral. The day after we arrive in Kanab, Jeff, Carol and I will drive 90-minutes to Antelope Canyon (Navajo Nation) for a hike. The next day, the same crew will do an ATV tour of Coral Sands State Park. Charlie is not into these kinds of things and will stay at the RV with the dogs, reading a book. It should be three nights and days of fun, as we always enjoy our time with Jeff and Carol.

This past week saw Charlie visiting an OB-Gyn specialist in St. George. She has a bunch of issues in her nether regions that demand attention. Charlie really like the doctor and will be going back for treatment in the near future. Anything to make her feel better!

It is amazing that my wife is still kicking after all the crummy medical issues that she has endured in her life. Just about every part of her has been worked on or is being assisted by a vast array of pills that she takes twice a day. Considering all of this, she is normally a very friendly and cheerful person and doesn’t dwell on her medical misfortunes. I love that lady!

We found out last week that our neighbor friend, Sandy, will be joining us in Brookings, Oregon while we are there for a month in August. She’s going to rent a park-owned Airstream for a week or so. That will be great; we have fun together.

Anyway, back to the grind.

See you down the road!