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March 21, 2001 Hello Everyone! So this update has to cover all of February and March. But I don't know how much I can remember, so you'll have to bear with me. Let's see...
I haven't signed him up for "Advanced beginners" yet. Maybe in the summer or fall, but for now I think he just has to mature a bit.
And the dogs seem to be much friendlier than the ones at Ambleside. I think it's because at Ambleside the dogs romp around, all sort of pushed together in a small area. At Inter-River everyone keeps moving around, up and down the trails, so the dogs are kept busy. We've met lots of dogs, and have become regulars - people know Murphy, though they have no idea what my name is.
Allie and I took Murphy on a hike, at the beginning of February, through Lynn Headwaters all the way down to Inter-River Park, and then home. Murphy made it through like a trooper, though he did get bogged down (literally) a few times in muddy spots. We had to coax him over and around a few fallen trees, but other than that he had a good time. He was covered in mud past his belly by the time we made it home. Notice that even at the beginning of February Allie is only wearing a vest, a long sleeved sweater and mitts. That is what makes putting up with all the rain worth it!
Between Inter-River and daycare Murphy has really blossomed. He's not scared of other dogs anymore, and seems hurt when other dogs won't stop to sniff him. He looks at me like "Why don't they want to be my friend?". He's still clearly submissive to other dogs, but not afraid of them. At daycare he still gets overwhelmed sometimes, but that's to be expected when you are 27 pounds and 5 or more dogs twice your size surround you! Murphy is going to daycare every Thursday
(while I was in Toronto he went in everyday) and has made some
friends there. Eli is another English Cocker who we had heard
about from Lisa, the owner of the daycare. But I had never managed
to have Murphy in daycare on the same day as this elusive "Eli".
Then, about a month ago, we were walking in our regular park
when I saw a little blue roan cocker bouncing down the trail
towards us. I was thrilled, and so was Murphy. The two dogs sniffed
at each other, and the blue roan jumped all over me. Then its
owner said: I stopped and scared the hell out of his poor owner by asking if Eli went to Dog Days. She looked at me like I was either psychic or a stalker. It was in fact the very same Eli! I explained how I knew who her dog was, and we went on to exchange info on our dogs behaviour, personality etc. I felt the same way as I did when I was in Europe and stumbled across another Canadian - someone just like me in a sea of strangers. Needless to say, English Cockers are pretty rare in Vancouver. Anyway, it turns out that Eli and Murphy are only days apart in age, and have very similar personalities - goofy and people oriented. And Eli jumps up on people all the time! It's not my fault! So we sort of said that we'd send the dogs into Dog Days on the following Thursday so they'd get a chance to hang out. Now Thursday has become our regular day, and Eli's too. Lisa says they play together really well, and she's even managed to get them to nap together, which must have been no small feat since Murphy doesn't really do naps unless he's crated. Last Thursday the two of them made friends with another dog named Carly, who I assume is a female. She's some sort of Border Collie/Lab cross, I think. I'm glad Murphy and Eli aren't forming some sort of English Cocker, boys only clique together. Murphy made it through a week without me, when I went to Toronto for my birthday. This website came in handy when I wanted to be reminded of what he looked like!
Murphy has just had his second groom today - and once again got an A+ for behaviour. This time his bandana and bows were in an Easter theme. Here is a picture as promised.
Meghan Here's the link to the next update: March 23, 2001 |
Murphy
has now completed beginners obedience. He did fine in the class,
and I think we are both relieved that it's over. He got bored
VERY easily - repeating the same move over and over and over
drove him CRAZY! Ironically, our last day was the best because
we were doing all the moves, put together. It should have been
the hardest day, but Murphy was thrilled. We did obstacle courses
and relays, which Murphy seemed to think were a lot of fun. He
still has problems with healing though, so I guess he's going
to be wearing his Halti head harness for the near future. Notice
how much bigger all the other dogs are. There was only one other
small dog, a beagle. I think that this helped Murphy get over
his shyness too, being forced to interact with big dogs.(My father
is in the photo because I was in Toronto).
We
did get some snow, must have been right before or right after
the forest picture was taken. It lasted all of 24 hours on the
ground, but Murphy got a chance to play in it. He seemed to think
it was perfect for digging - and he's never dug in anything else.
I
almost forgot to include that Murphy has been neutered! February
23rd was the fateful day, and he made it through without any
complications. He got a tattoo at the same time. Whoever tattooed
him should be tattooing for a living - I was afraid that Murph
would come home with one of those jagged, scrawled tattoos, but
his has perfect printing. Anyway, Murphy did have one complication
from the surgery, but it was his own fault: he chewed out his
stitches. They were supposed to be removed 10 days after the
surgery. Murphy pulled them out after only 4. But, with a little
anitbiotic cream, he still healed just fine.
I
think that covers everything. Oh, except his stuffies. Or rather
the lack there of. He has systematically destroyed all his stuffed
toys. I try to sew them up for him, but it's just a matter of
minutes before he's torn them apart again. I'm desperately trying
to keep Ethel the Dog (shown here, to your left) and Oscar the
Octopus from the stuffed toy graveyard, but I think their days
are numbered.