What Lesson?

Yesterday i was quite tired after the episode from the day before, so i only tried to recap those events. so today i'm going to start with yesterday, again hehe

being so tired i didn't do much yesterday, except from going for a long walk whit Diesel along the road. i made it to the mail box, it's probably a little over 2 km to get there. and it was a test of what i had learned so far watching "The Dog Whisperer". there are quite a few places that have dogs. one of them being the farm where i used to turn around last summer, about 1.5 km from home. they have at least 3 dogs, and they bark when you get by their place. my goal was to keep Diesel focussed ahead. so as soon as he'd try to look in the other dog's direction, i give him a little tug and sometime a little nudge on the side to distract him from the distraction. knowing how he like to chase after other animals, he could have dragged me over to a potential dog fight but it kept him from getting in that excited state of mind and we made it all the way without incidents. although the last place we walked by, the dog was very persistent and it was harder for Diesel to stay focus.

they say that you can't hide your emotions from a dog and they can smell your fear and since it's a sign of weakness, they feel they should take over leadership and do what they think a leader should do. i must admit, when we walked by the farm with 3 dogs, i had some apprehension. my heart was beating harder and all but i focussed on how i was supposed to keep him focussed and stay confident in my body language. seeing how well it works gives me more confidence.

Remember yesterday how i said, in the evening I'd keep Diesel on leash to make sure he doesn't dash for an other porcupine. well, this evening, it might have been 7:20 pm and i thought it wasn't very dark yet so it would be ok to clip him on once we get on the patio. I guess not. i saw him dart toward the end of the house and then toward the wood, and i spotted a porcupine at the edge. I called him back somewhat panicked, screaming NO, NO, Danger!!!, I was hoping he would've learned his lesson but i guess not. I'm very thankful that he turned around. only 36 hours after a run to the vet and running back for it? so from now on, in the evening, he must be clipped before to set foot outside, no ifs, ands of buts.

after i hooked the leash on him, we walked around the yard and did go see the porcupine. he was not a very nervous one. not even budging at first. then only turning his back to us. i remember seeing porcupines last year that would make it to the wood if we went his way. this one, we got as close as 10 feet away. so we got a good look at him. it look like that one had many animal try their luck at him. there was a fairly big patch on his back that was bare of quills. not long after, my husband arrived and i pointed him to the prickly pest that was now making his way back in the woods, when my husband got to him, he was about 4 feet up in a tree and so my husband had an even closer look at him. I wish i had my camera with me when we first got close to him, i could've had a good shot at him.

Just a few minutes ago, I could hear Diesel singing like a whale upstairs. was wondering what made him decide to try his singing talents. looked around and there was nothing so i concluded that he probably heard some other dog from the neighborhood.

earlier today, Misty decided to try her luck at a stroll upstairs. as soon as i saw her, i went to see Diesel, he was thinking of getting up from his corner and investigate the fluffiness but i told him to stay put and he did. i went to pet him to keep him in a very relaxed state and was able to send back Misty downstairs without a fuss. if i can keep the experiences positive, they should adjust to each other fairly quickly.