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A dog's life often necessitates being left alone in the house. Who knows what they do with all that free time but I think it's likely they spend most of their days sleeping and waiting patiently for their owners to return.
When one of us comes or goes from the house Professor McLovin likes to prop himself up on our windowsill that overlooks the street to watch his people come and go. Perhaps it makes him feel like the absence will be just a little bit shorter this way. Our window provides him with an uncontested view of the street that allows him to see what's going on in front of his house. But it also underscores today's lesson and emphasizes how the Professor considers it one's duty to look out for those who are important to you.
Oscar has one particularly endearing habit: he howls at sirens. Whenever an ambulance or fire truck drives by within hearing range, his ears perk up for a second then he tilts his head back and lets loose a series of unearthly howls that can last up to half a minute. We've tried to get him to howl on command but have been entirely unsuccessful as he will take his cue from one source only.Now it's unclear why exactly he behaves this way but one possible explanation is that he is demonstrating unequivocal support for his friends. Even friends that come in the bright-red-metallic-can-put-out-fires variety. If you hear someone giving a cry for help then one natural reaction would be to let them know where you are if they need to find you and also stress that you feel similarly and have their back.
But all in all this is one of the Professor's lessons for which I don't really care if there's a method to his madness: just hearing him deliver his notes brings a smile to my face every time.
Oscar's leash manners are less than exemplary. Like many dogs he loves to pull and pull. He's pretty much intolerable to take on walks unless he's in his harness and even then he can be difficult to manage. We've been trying to improve his leash behavior for some time to mixed success: if he's pulling on his lead then we try and make him stop by standing still. Of course this makes the walk progress much more slowly but we think our efforts are starting to bear fruit and that Oscar realizes he can't just decide where he wants to go while on leash.
Not to be discouraged, the Professor has recently developed an alternate solution which he employs on occasion. He likes to keep in constant motion so when he feels a tug from behind instead of just stopping and waiting he will run behind his walker in order to relieve the tension in the leash. When he is especially excited (such as when we're on our way to the park for our morning walk) Prof. McLovin basically ends up running around his walker in circles, turning the leash into a confused mess of twists and knots. But because he's not pulling we don't have to stop and wait which means we get to our destination faster as a result of his ridiculous constant motion.
Ah, springtime.The days grow longer, the birds are singing, the grass is growing, and the bugs are buzzing. The last of which provides Professor McLovin with yet another opportunity to expound on his latest rule.Bicycles, balls, rodents, joggers, falling leaves, dogs, waves: the world is filled with so many things that move. It doesn't matter if you can't catch whatever you're chasing because it's the pursuit itself that is most satisfying. So if you see something move out of the corner of your eye consider it your duty to get over there as fast as you can and start tearing around after it until it's gone or has become stationary. Only then can you give up the chase.
Oscar hates taking a bath in the conventional sense--there must be something uncomfortable about being sprayed with a blast of water from a hose even if you're in a dedicated dogwash facility. So whenever the Professor is a little stinky the most agreeable solution for all concerned is to head to the lake or ocean for a dip that usually involves some version of fetch. We just returned from a jaunt to Vancouver where the weather and tides allowed for a couple of long walks on the expanse of wet sand at Jericho Beach (shhh, don't tell the park authorities) so we had the chance to play in the ocean quite a bit.
Of course it's tons of fun splashing about in the water but one of the unintended consequences from this activity is that Oscar's coat becomes soft and fluffy once he's had a chance to dry off. If we bathe in freshwater the effect is similar but not as pronounced as that of saltwater. For some reason the ocean is much more effective at producing the soft coat of fur. I'm not sure why this happens but Professor McLovin doesn't always feel the need to explain his lessons: often noting the observations is pleasure in and of itself.
Oscar has a girlfriend. He likes playing with other dogs but Sam is his preferred playmate. They are about the same size, both have Labrador Retriever blood in them, and they absolutely love romping about with each other whenever they are together. Oscar is a few years younger and might have a bit more energy but they enjoy wrestling so much that they can go at it for hours on end.
Sam had been staying at Oscar's house for the last few days so they had gotten used to each other's company when it was time for Sam to go back home. It was taxing for the humans to separate the canines as they both wanted to be on the same side of the front door at all times. We finally managed to get Sam to leave the house unaccompanied but she obviously didn't want to go alone: she kept looking back at the house where she knew her best friend was. Eventually she hopped up into the car but it was a prolonged departure. For his part, Oscar was perched on the window sill, watching his friend reluctantly walk away. For the rest of the evening he was entirely subdued, remaining a little distant from us, and he went to bed early in a seemingly morose mood.
All in all, it was a difficult event to witness but at least we know they will have plenty of future opportunities to rekindle their friendship. And in a few days' time both dogs will have moved on to more pressing matters because, as we learned in lesson 3, It's All About the Here and Now.
I didn't need my dog to teach me this lesson but nevertheless I am pleased he has confirmed my feelings on the subject. Every time we are reminded to 'fall back' or 'spring forward' I recall the same emotions of frustration and senselessness. Because it grows apparent with every passing year that Daylight Savings is unnatural and should be made a thing of the past.So I was somewhat satisfied when Professor McLovin
started lecturing on this theme come spring. On the morning when the clocks were set back an hour he awoke an hour 'late' and completely ignored the new time in a symbolic protest, a 'lie-in' if you will. Each day, as the sun started rising earlier and earlier, he adjusted his morning routine accordingly, always ignoring time (man's synthetic construct) in deference of Time (mother nature's clock.)Yes, we should form patterns following the natural rising and setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of time rather than pandering to knee-jerk reactions based on outdated traditions that may not have ever been a good idea even when they conceived. (I'm might be a little too passionate on this topic: I read an entire non-fiction book devoted to the history and debate surrounding Daylight Savings.) So let's add one more voice on the side against mechanically adjusting all the clocks in the house on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
