Play Dates and Naps

My youngest asked me the other day if having Nana reminded me of when she and her sister were little. Boy does it ever.  My days are spent supervising the activities of the very young.  Mornings are spent making sure Nana gets the right nutrition, has plenty of fresh air and exercise, continues to learn her social manners.  She has a good lunch and then settles down for an hour or hour and a half nap.  While she naps I have an opportunity to get a few things done.  Instead of a play pen I have a crate that I use when I need to take a shower.  At least I know she isn't getting into trouble and eating the backs off my books.  My social activities have been ratcheted down.  There are some places you just can't take the very young.  I'm still looking for a reliable "baby sitter" and

I am making play dates with other nice "doggies" so she can learn to play nice with others. 

So yep.....having Nana is a blast to the past and very much reminds me of when the girls were very young.  Of course there are differences, next week Nana is going to get "tutored" so I won't have to worry about any unplanned pregnancies - now that is something you definitely can't do with your teenage girl type children - though I'm sure some parents wish it were an option.

Life as Usual

Briard with a touch of snow

There is nothing like snow to give a scruffy dog an impromptue cleaning. We have had some cold and snowy weather lately.  My daughter moved into a new place and promptly had the power go out for 4-5 days.  We even had snow at the 1000 ft level which is unusual.

My days are often spent trying to keep a very busy puppy occupied and getting enough exercise so that my books and furniture survive.  Nana and I spent 2.5 hours yesterday with a friend and his border collie in the snow.  That only took care of the morning requirement for exercise. I will confess that she does settle for the night around 5:30pm and I am able to get some things done.

Nana will be spayed week after next and after recovery I am going to start looking for a herding trainer.  Nana needs a job with leadership potential.  There is not a submissive bone in her body.  She isn't aggressive but I was reminded about the current genre in horse training.  Riders don't want to dominate their horses, they want to provide leadership.  She allows me the leadership role, until she decides enough is enough.  I am noticing behavior trends.  When she is tired and had enough of hiking she will move toward the trail leading to the parking lot and stare at me.  If I don't agree she will come back, but is likely to jump at me and then nip my calf if I move away from her preferred direction.  I see my job as retaining her intelligence and confidence without losing my executive right to make the final decision. At 6.5 months she is a teenager who thinks she knows better.

For all her cute stuffed toy appearance - this is one tough dog.