Beaches Are For Exploring

When Professor McLovin is outside he is usually quite excited. Some might say he becomes overstimulated by everything that's going around him and all those tempting options presented to him. On hikes he'll go crashing through the woods, blazing his own personal trail. In parks he'll run around among various landmarks, constantly checking out new things to play with.

But on rocky beaches he never quite reaches that top gear. McLovin takes his sweet time to wander around the intertidal zone, exploring around rocks, checking out the water's edge, wistfully gazing at ducks just out of reach, all the while carefully avoiding those scary tidal pools. He doesn't tear around the beach like he does when he's in other outdoor environments--he has discovered that not everything should be glossed over as quickly as possible and that some things deserve a second look.

Lesson #31: You Can Never Be Too Comfortable

We recently returned from a week-long vacation to our family's cabin on Hornby Island. The cabin is located directly on the beach which lends itself particularly well to certain activities of which the Professor is quite fond: aimless exploring, chasing birds and other small animals, fetching rocks out of the ocean, and just general romping about. In fact, it is a veritable Dog Heaven.


This doesn't mean McLovin won't for additional ways to make his visit more enjoyable. You might think he'd be content lazing about on the rocks with all of his whims satisfied for the duration of his stay. But he will definitely take advantage of a more comfortable resting place when given the opportunity, especially when it's unwittingly provided by one of his companions (see picture). I suppose one can always find ways to improve one's lot in life, even under seemingly ideal situations.

Lesson #30: Don't Shy Away from Big Challenges

Professor McLovin loves playing with sticks. It took him a few months in our care to fully appreciate how much fun can be had with sticks but once he grew accustomed to this new type of plaything he quickly became open to all the intriguing and entertaining possibilities offered by a canine-arboreal combination.


When I pick out a stick for play, I go for something that is appropriately suited in such characteristics as length, girth, and weight so that Oscar can chase it at will. Buoyancy is an additional factor to be considered when throwing sticks into water.


However, when left to his own devices the Professor tends to throw common sense to the wind and opts for a very different kind of stick indeed: his mantra seems to be longer, bigger, heavier, more unwieldy. The pictures show the kind of stick that he likes to pick up on his own accord. You can judge for yourself whether you would choose a stick of this size when other options were available.


And yet he's never disappointed or frustrated by having to deal with a larger-than-necessary problem. If he can physically move it then he will figure out how. If he needs to work on it for hours in order to chew it in half then just give him enough time to get the task done. The Professor doesn't shy away from big challenges--let that be the lesson we learn from him today.

Lesson #29: It's the Thought That Counts

As detailed previously in this blog, Professor McLovin howls when he hears sirens in the distance. Sometimes, however, he is so overcome by his need to join in that he completely forgets about his current situation and breaks out into song regardless of what he might doing. This includes times when there is something already in his mouth.

This afternoon we were at the park--the Professor just made another one of his Willie Mays catches look routine--when an ambulance drives by. Oscar, of course, feels the need to join the chorus so he puts his head back and lets loose with a howl. What comes out is not his typical mournful cry: rather, he emits garbled sounds of nonsense that sound more like a muted trumpet played underneath an elevated train. The Professor doesn't seem to notice or care that his call to his brethren was not as sonorous as usual but what's important is that he gave his best effort to sing along and didn't waste time dropping his ball in order to do so.

Lesson #28: Willie Mays Wasn't That Special

My dedicated readers have no doubt noticed that there have not been many postings on this blog of late. That is because the Professor generally takes summer off from teaching to spend more time on his research projects. I realize these breaks are frustrating but I think we should consider ourselves lucky to have access to such a luminary figure on a regular basis throughout the school year that we should not begrudge his summer vacation.

But the Professor is back on the dais which brings us to today's lesson delivered during the heart of baseball season.


It's known in most circles simply as "The Catch". Willie Mays made an outstanding play in the 1954 World Series by chasing down a fly ball hit over his head and catching it on the fly. Many people think it is the best defensive play in the history of baseball.

Oscar McLovin is here to tell you that we shouldn't get so carried away by Mays's dramatic display. The Professor performs this same feat at least once a day during our ball-throwing session. Let's compare the human to the canine:

- Mays catches the ball on the fly whereas McLovin allows it to bounce once or twice. Advantage: Mays
- Mays needs special equipment to catch a ball whereas McLovin doesn't. Advantage: McLovin
- Mays made his catch in a pressure-packed situation whereas McLovin doesn't know what pressure is. Advantage: Mays
- Mays caught his ball with his hands (a part of the body ideally designed to perform such tasks) whereas McLovin catches balls with his mouth. Advantage: McLovin
- Mays had to wait for the ball to be hit to take off whereas McLovin generally anticipates where the ball is going to be, taking off before the ball is thrown his way. Advantage: Tie
- Mays made his catch once in his lifetime whereas McLovin makes the catch routinely. Advantage: McLovin

I'll let you decide which version of "The Catch" is more impressive but the spectator wins wither way as each one is fun to watch.

Lesson #27: Rain Complements Certain Activities Only

Those of you who live in the great Pacific Northwest know we almost set a record for consecutive days without rainfall earlier this month. We came close but we didn't actually break the record which was just as well since it provided a convenient opportunity for the professor's next lesson. His subject this time? Rain.

When you're running about chasing a tennis ball around a field or engaging in a similar activity rain is quite nice. It keeps one's skin or fur cool and the warmth that one generates from strenuous exercise is offset by the wet. But if you're just hanging around then rain makes it distinctly unpleasant to go outside.

When Oscar McLovin knows it's time for his morning walk he doesn't care what the weather is like outside. I'm convinced that even monsoon-like conditions would fail to temper his enthusiasm. But if he has the option to go outside to spend some time in our yard then he needs the heavens to cooperate: if it's raining cats and dogs he will politely decline the option of going outside unless he needs to relieve himself.

Now I'm aware that this lesson can partly be interpreted as the inverse of Lesson #24 but I feel that the degree to which his behavior changes warrants a separate entry. I suppose that even adverse weather conditions are sometimes right as rain.

Lesson #26: The Warm Side of Bed is Best

Oscar is generally not allowed on furniture in our house. He is invited to go up on the couch in the basement whenever he pleases (usually when we're watching a movie) but all the other chairs and couches are off limits and he respects these guidelines. Frankly I'm surprised he understands the various rules we've laid out for him but he is a tenured professor after all.

The situation with our bed is a tad more complicated but we've managed to work out an arrangement that suits all of our needs. Everyone goes sleep in our respective sleeping spots: the humans in the big bed and the Professor in his little round pet bed. However, McLovin likes to get up with the sun which is often too early for us humans to rouse ourselves. To alleviate his need for attention at this ungodly hour he crawls up into the human bed where he rests peacefully until there's more action in the bed around him. Sometimes he decides he needs to sleep directly between the two of us in which case we're forced to get up earlier than we had planned.

On those occasions when one human gets out of bed while the other slumbers on Oscar immediately gravitates toward the space recently vacated. Maybe he does this to change things up, maybe he just wants to snuggle, but I think the real reason is the subject of today's lesson. It sure is a nice cozy way to ease into the day.