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March 28, 2001 Hello Everyone! I've gone on a photo taking spree with Murphy. The good news is that I've managed to limit myself to just my favourites. The bad news is that my parents needed to finish off a roll of film, so I'll be getting 20 of their pictures later tonight. The further bad news is that I'm half done my next roll of film. But that next roll will have to wait 'til next week's update.  Anyway, this update is all about water. On Saturday I took Murphy to the park, and we ventured further out into the creek than ever before! I took him down into this little gully that other dog owners had told me was good for the smaller dogs. It's very slow moving and, right now, very shallow. I hopped across a 2 foot wide, 2 inch deep stream and called Murphy to follow me. After much hesitation, he did! Doesn't he look thrilled? Once he'd gotten used to walking in the water he was much happier, and wandered around investigating the little area. And, I swear, Murphy has eyes, they are just disguised in the dark blue patches.
I feel almost bad about not using him to hunt birds, he seems so innately a tuned to it. But, that's what happens when you are adopted by a vegetarian! It's just as well; he only seems to be interested in crows and robins at the moment, not birds that are actually hunted. And I've tried to show him ducks and swans. I don't think that he's figured out that birds can be found swimming in water. So we wandered around in this area awhile, just getting used to the feeling of splashing around in water. Murphy didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave, so that's probably a good sign. We walked on rocks, around shrubs, over logs etc. Then we headed out, and back onto the trail.
This photo shows why some people think that Murphy is a Basset Hound - those long ears and short legs. So that's it for the photos for today! During lunch today Allie worked with Murphy on catching balls which Murphy picked up pretty quickly. He'd already learned to catch stuffed toys, but fast moving, small, hard projectiles have been more difficult for him. Not any more! Allie got him to catch his tennis ball a half dozen times. So, swimming and now catching are the big projects for the spring. The most difficult part is teaching him to give up whatever it is he's just caught. Murphy prefers that we chase him and pry it out of his mouth. I guess that will be the third springtime project. |
See? He's actually enjoying himself in the
water. He's probably trying to spot birds that he heard chirping.
Murph is getting more and more obsessed with tracking birds,
but that's to be expected when a breed has been created over
800 years to track and flush birds. He freezes when he spots
any bird, watches them, then pounces. He's never come anywhere
near one, but he's getting more focussed as he matures.
We returned to Murphy's
favourite watering hole, and I thought I'd try to get him a little
further into the water there as well. Maybe by tossing his tennis
ball into the water for him to fetch. The only problem with this
is that Murph doesn't seem to like to put wet balls in his mouth,
as you can tell from the picture. Luckily, by accident, I found
a spot that, if I threw his ball to him, the current carried
it straight back to me. So I tossed his ball, he grabbed it,
then released it back into the water where I could then pick
it up as it came my way.|
Meghan Here's the link to the next update: April 9, 2001 Home | Latest news | From the beginning | Origins | What kind of dog is that? | Colours of cockers | Cocker links |