Its been a long haul
I have been subject to the ridicule of neighbours, ("He's off again" I can hear them say as I bounce excitedly around a newly "laid" doggy stool) and have been drenched in winter rain storms and snow more times than I care to mention willing her to wee on the wet grass!...but finally the incontinent bulldog is now clean!
Mind you I think I have made a bit of a needy monster there, for every time we now go out on a walk, Constance makes sure she performs and will stop afterwards with the look of a circus acrobat when they shout "tarrrrrr rahhhhhhhhhhh!" waiting with tip toe excitement for me to make a fuss of her!
Its amazing what a little praise will do for a girl.
I am feeling jet lagged today. Yesterday I was cooking on adrenalin for some reason and after a full night shift completed a ton of chores when I got home without stopping, Subsequently I just cant get going today. We have had dreadful stormy weather since yesterday and gale force winds have again buffered the cottage and field. It was so bad last night that when I took the dogs out , I dug out my trusty wind up torch and checked on the weighted down hen houses to see if they were ok.The houses all looked ok but I had to stop at the gate to check on the guinea fowl who were all hanging on to the Churchyard elm branches with a hard frozen looking hysteria!
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| The guineas after their difficult night |
I explained that I was checking up on the guineas up in the tree and she laughed asking what I could actually do to help them!
"Oh I know I can't do much" I explained "I'm only giving them some morale support"
She gave me a look
Hummm , I know , I know.,......I sound like a loon
If everyone gave me the sort of praise that you give Constance every time I did a poo, then things might have turned out differently for me. As it is, I have to go into hiding after vacating the bathroom.
ReplyDeletetom...the simple answer to this is........ifsomeoine didnt praise you
ReplyDeletewould you have shat on the kitchen floor?
I am glad that I am not the only one to make a complete fool of myself with the animals.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Oh LOL! John, I love it. The power of AFFIRMATION - you are just like me when it comes to animals (and the training of them) I trained my Rottweiler early in 2002(now sadly over the Rainbow bridge) religiously in the middle of winter. Having done a dance on the lawn and "well-done, mom's boy" before retiring at 8.30, I would wake him around midnight, and out into the winter night we'd go . And he always obliged and I always gave him the dance and praise. He was house-trained until he died in 2008. It works, I know it does. Good on you. Hope you're feeling a bit more chipper this afternoon. Blessings from Jo
ReplyDeleteI sometimes do, John - but only when sneezing after a bad curry.
ReplyDeleteRemember to give yourself an 'atta-boy' once in a while too John (and this has nothing to do with bodily functions!).
ReplyDeleteYou're not a loon. We could do with more caring people like you in the world, carry on as you are, your blog is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteBriony
Hello. Just stopped over from Maura's blog. Your post about Constance had me smiling this morning. I am now a follower. :)
ReplyDeleteValerie
Success! What a relief!
ReplyDeletePraising in all endeavors is much needed.
ReplyDeleteGood job!
LOL I have a visual of you praising Constance John...it must be great entertainment for the neighbours! ;)
ReplyDeleteShe's done very well ...all your love and attention must have worked on her and now she loves all the excitement at her 'achievements'. That's too bad you're getting hit with lots of storms..just be glad it's not snow!
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Maura :)
Such a gentle soul! Have a great weekend! xo
ReplyDeleteEveryone likes a little praise !
ReplyDeleteIt always worked for me in the teaching profession and the on the 'dog front'! We have a need to know that we are doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteoh, i can imagine what the town thinks of you! the "adorable loon" - makes for good coffee clutch moments, i'm sure. spring should come before you know it. and congrats on the potty training!! not an easy job!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a job well done! Potty training an older dog can be a nightmare! Well, I suppose it has been, a little.... praise is the key! I don't understand, though, you said you got her from a nice lady, was Constance outside living in a kennel, never potty trained or walked? You have had to do all the things that one does with a new puppy, I thought she was a full sized dog???? Well, anyway, how great is that - you have her house broken and she walks well with the pack on the road and has fit right in, you have done a good job!
ReplyDeletesharon
ReplyDeleteConstance was well loved and cared for in her previous home, but generally I think she was lived in a well appointed concrete run, with some time in the house.
She had not really known a proper toilet regieme and although walked in a field, had no real experience of main roads and no discipline of on road walking. aLSO, She was terrified of anything new andcould not cope with traffic at all.
Now she walks with the other dogs without problem ( usualyy she is the first to wait for the walk to begin) and she understands that garden means toilet.....
You certainly have done a remarkable job with Constance, and you deserve a pat on the head and some words of praise yourself. You wonder what goes through their doggy brains though, when they see you praising a poop. Maybe they learn to go in the garden, just so they can see the show.
ReplyDeleteJohn G--would love for you to link up with us at Verde Farm for Farm Friend Friday--you would be perfect :)
ReplyDeleteA loon? Maybe just a tad bit.
ReplyDeleteYour Friend, m.
big kiss to Constance, I'm happy for her.
ReplyDeleteEverybody feels better when someone else lets them know that they are not alone in the world. Especially in times of strife and hardship. Isn't that how you make your patients feel every day? Why should it be any less for a flock of birds. I hope I am as much of a loon as you are.
ReplyDeleteYes but I talk to our animals as if they were humans, so I am also heading towards looniness. And I love it! Better to care about the living creatures which also inhabit our world rather than dismissing or disregarding them. Can't apply this reasoning to our rat problem though! I am trying to send out loving thoughts to those little creatures, but failing miserably!
ReplyDeleteHope your wind has died down.
A loon? Maybe, but definitely a loveable loon, not the kind one slowly edges away from in distress! So glad to hear that Constance has finally figured out where to poo! You've done an excellent job with her... many people would have given up on her and just left her outside, which is miserable. Guineas are the most bizarre birds. My neighbor had several, and one of the hens would go into the tree by my bedroom to "get away" from the others. She'd be fine for a while, and then she'd apparently get "lonely" and rather than just heading back into her yard where everybody was, she start up the most god-awful screaming racket until the others came to find her, and then they'd all head back next door.
ReplyDeleteContinent Constance! Well done John, you've done a great job with her.
ReplyDeleteThe next time you need some help with dog training, you might like to visit my blog. It's all about dogs! Maybe we can help.
ReplyDeleteOooooh, well done Constance ~ and well done to Daddy John for all his love, patience and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI am now beginning to think that we have 'programmed' Amber a little too well about toilet matters! Yesterday one of our flimsy metal garden sheds fell over in all this flippin wind we're having, blocking her path to her toilet area. I couldn't lift it from the path (not that I think I should have done really, since I had a prolapsed disc a couple of years ago!) but I just couldn't persuade her to 'go' anywhere else in the garden! The poor pooch kept crouching down to see if it might just be possible to crawl beneath said shed and in the end, I had to clamber round between the compost bins to shove the bloody thing back upright ~ sort of!
She happily obliged with a poop on her toilet bed and I ended up with an aching back for the rest of the day ~ oh, the things we do for our animals...
Oh John, you are one in a million and those animals are all so lucky to have you are their "Master"
ReplyDeleteGill in Canada
that is hilarious! i am sure your neighbors think you are something else. poor guineas...
ReplyDeleteThey're beautiful John! I love the guinea hens...very decked-out-for-a-night-on-Broadway looking. I can just see them with a champagne flute in one hand and a terribly slender cigar in the other.
ReplyDelete:-)