Head Cold

Hi there.  I didn't mean to leave such a bleak post at the top for so long.  My silence hasn't been about despondency so much as it's been about a head cold.  The sun came out yesterday morning for a while, and Lila and I took a long walk together and it smelled like spring.  So that has helped a lot.  The head cold is moderately bad.  It feels like a horse is stepping on my head, most of the time, and there's a fair amount of sneezing and sniffling and sleeping. 

Expect a post about Lila, the new dog, someday soon.  I haven't written about her yet partly because she's skittish and I was fearful that some of this shelter skittishness would take its form as aggression.  I want to do right by this dog, but I also do not want a dog that is aggressive, or that I can't feel safe inviting people around.  So we were in trial mode, and I didn't want to write too much about her because in the terrible circumstance that she didn't work out I would have felt even worse about it if a couple hundred internet strangers all second-guessed me.  But she's calming down and showing much more affection and trust and she's quite disarming and loveable.  So I'm pretty sure we're a good match.  I'll introduce her when I can get my hands on a digital camera. 

Comments

[katherine]

. . . I can't wait for pics of Lila! And may your headcold be soon sent on its way . . . I have a confession to make - I haven't taken so much as an antibiotic in a decade but last fall got a headcold that wouldn't leave for weeks and weeks. I finally went to the health center and they gave me a cortisone nose spray - 'aquacort spray' or something like that - and my headcold Disappeared in 24 hours. I am not big on western medicine but, dang, when it works, it Works :)

[The Happy Feminist]

When we first got our corgi puppy, he had a habit every night of barking aggressively at us and not letting us pick him up. I spent many nights wringing my hands and doing google searches on "aggressive dogs."

After a few weeks, however, our corgi stopped his aggressive behavior. I think he was just acting out because he was afraid of his new environment. As soon as he started to trust us, he was fine. Now he's a little cupcake.

[misspixie]

There's a great article in the New Yorker this week about a guy who works with aggressive or unmanageable dogs. Basically, the idea is that dogs are highly responsive to the emotions and movements of their owners and other humans around them. The article also draws on dance theory to show how it's important that your body movements are integrated with what you're trying to accomplish with a dog. Perhaps Lila is relaxing because you're relaxing! Or maybe she was just nervous about the new place. Anyway, I highly recommend the article, and feel better soon.

[a]

Spring blooms a bit later up in your parts, perhaps some of the head cold is allergies.

The trees and blossoms look pretty, but damn can they make you stuffy and sneezy.

[T.]

Hope you feel better soon!

[Dan]

Feel better soon... I'm glad to hear Lila is calming down and settling into the household. :D

[girlMD]

gesundheit!
many spring greetings to miss lila.

[PG]

"There's a great article in the New Yorker this week about a guy who works with aggressive or unmanageable dogs."

The South Park guy!

[TP]

hey Sherry,

Boxers are a skittish breed. Fortunately, that's almost all it is: skittishness. Rarely translates into aggression or anything like that.

[DOG_TRAINING]

Correct use of the training leash is important, not only during training sessions, but at all times. Always having a loop over your thumb and your hand closed into a fist, prevents even the strongest dog from unexpectedly jerking the leash through your fingers and breaking free. Whether it's the hand-loop or a loop formed by marrying the leash over your thumb, the result is the same. Pulling on the leash merely causes your grip to tighten

New Genetic Dogtraining see it at http://www.dogtrainingcentral.com