Lesson #35: Don't Hold Grudges

Oscar likes to go for walks around our neighbourhood and one of our favourite destinations is the library. Since dogs are not currently allowed to enter libraries Oscar must wait outside while his owners pick up their requested items. So just for a few minutes Oscar gets tied to a tree where he must wait patiently until his owners return to release him.

Now it's quite obvious that Oscar does not enjoy this particular sequence of the walk as he does not appreciate being tethered to a stationary object nor does he like being separated from his people. He has actually begun to recognize when we're drawing close to our destination and tries to delay our progress by not pulling quite as enthusiastically on his lead as normal.


But today's lesson applies to his behaviour when his walking companion reemerges from the library doors to reclaim their briefly-abandoned pet. One might expect the Professor to display a certain amount of disappointment or resentment or at least be somewhat indifferent to his owner's return.

Not this professor, however. The moment he glimpses his owner returning around the corner to retrieve him he starts jumping for joy like what he's currently witnessing is one of the best things to happen to him in weeks. He doesn't remind you of the feelings he had just a few minutes before, even for the briefest moment. It's as if the relationship is starting from a clean slate: wouldn't it be nice if all relationships focused exclusively on the good parts rather than dwelling on those that are less than ideal?

Lesson #34: If You Lobby for Something with Enough Passion It Just Might Come True

Oscar does not exactly hide his emotions. He makes it very easy to see what he wants by his behavior. And usually what he wants more than anything else is to go for a walk.

Oscar knows that mornings are for him: the first order of business each day is to go to the park for a vigorous workout. Pretty much every day starts this way and Oscar has come to expect this although that doesn't mean he won't try to get you out the door as early as possible.

Afternoons, however, are not always as kind to the Professor and most days end with only the one big morning walk. If it were up to Oscar we would go to the park three, four, five times a day but that's not practical for his owners for a number of reasons. But sometimes when I come home from a long day and I see how excited he gets I can't resist making him the happiest dog in the world and we go out for another ball session. When you see an animal (or a person) getting so excited at the prospect of a particular activity it just feels great being able to make that happen.

Conversely, it can break your heart not being able to come through all the time but I think we strike a good balance. Because if we don't go out in the afternoon then it's only a matter of hours until the next morning rolls around.

Lesson #33: Don't Just Vanquish Your Enemies, Disembowl Them

It should be no surprise to loyal readers of this blog that the Professor loves to chase balls and play with toys. My personal theory as to why he enjoys this so much is that a ball resembles a small furry animal that is simply begging to be chased. Oscar considers it his duty to conquer his plaything and stop all movement as quickly as possible. When the chase is over, McLovin often opts to take his victim into his mouth and thrash it about wildly from side to side.

Just a few days ago he managed to separate the inner lining of his soccer ball from the outer shell and fling the ball from side to side as if it were a flaccid corpse. It was quite a display and it gave me the image that I tried to capture in the title of today's lesson.

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.