Lessons for dog carers

The little black dog
some of you have met during a walk has stayed with us for another week. His Spanish name "Sino" means, "Het Lot" in Flemish, "le Destin" in French, "Schicksal" in German and "Fate" in English.
For me his staying with us turned out to be a very nice week.
Our cat did not agree and kept her distance from Sino.
This 9 months old dog is an athlete filled with enough energy to keep on running, sniffing and jumping for a long time. Taking that into account I walked him three times a day, sometimes even at midday.
It was nice to see how my two dogs treated him in a different way. My male Labrador gave him no choice with clear communication: a loud bark and a show of teeth was enough to keep the young dog at bay. But my female Labrador was "nice" to him with the result that he kept on harassing her until I intervened. For that I used two things. Outside, for instance while breakfasting underneath our Algarroba tree, I would attach one end of a rope to his collar and the other end to the carob tree. Inside our home I would put him in his bench. Each time the result was immediate: he calmed down.
If he was rough I was rough with him too. Nevertheless he preferred to come and lie next to my feet when I was working on the computer.
Walking in the woods around our "chabola" was paradise for him after the life in an urbanization. I never waited for him and I never had to call him. He always paid attention to me.
Teaching him the Sit, Stay, Come during the feeding ritual was a piece of cake (so to speak).
However I can fully understand that such a young and energetic dog can pose a problem for elderly "nice" people.
If you are over seventy and thinking about adopting a young dog, it might be a good idea to ask me for advice first.

Free dog(carers)training sessions.
Soon the temperatures will drop and I will be able to accompany you once more during our walks/caminatas.
In addition to that I am offering my walking friends something else for free.
In september I will start with free dog CARERS training sessions for the members of my Sunday morning walking group. When I told Beatrice about my idea she threatened to call the Guardia Civil and have me imprisoned. When I told a few Spanish friends I could see it in their eyes: they really think that I am now definitely raving mad.

This is my proposal.

1. I invite friends who are willing to host the free weekly sessions in their garden to get in touch with me. If you know of any other place where we can meet, let me know.
2. I look forward to working with small groups of friends.
3. I look forward to working with friends who confirm they are willing to learn.
4. I look forward to working with friends who confirm they will attend my sessions for a minimum of six months, this being the equivalent of at least 24 consecutive sessions.
5. I look forward to working with friends who are willing to learn from their dogs.
6. I look forward to working with friends who are willing to have a close look at the River called "Denial".
7. I look forward to working with friends who will tell me I am making them feel stupid.
8. Do you remember what I wrote about serving and helping (in May 2011) on this blog? If you remember you will know I am looking forward to work with you because I know that I will learn from you.

Most of the time this blog is a one way street. This time I am really looking forward to your proposals, your ideas, your questions and your suggestions.

Looking at the weather forecast on the U3A website I see that temperatures will be lower during the weekend. What I am going to do this coming Sunday 28.08.2011 is this: At 19.30 I will go to the bar Lluna Llunera (on the placeta de Las Ocas) in Jalon, where I will wait till 20.30. Then I will leave for a short walk. If you want to come along for a chat only that is ok. If you want to accompany me during the short walk, bring along una linterna / a torch.

Un abrazo de Bruno, el encantador de perros y adiestrador de seres humanos