Miss Puppypants - the new addition!

OK, so that bundle of seven week old cuteness is my new puppy. I shall dub her Miss Puppypants on this blog, so as to protect her (or my) identity!

She is a Lab/German Shepherd cross and she is a gorgeous little thing who will one day be a giant beast of a canine!

She’s very affectionate, quite vocal and just beautiful to look at in that “it just melts me” kind of way.

Having a brand new puppy has its challenges. She doesn’t stay quiet all through the night yet, she needs to be toilet trained and she’s very uncoordinated!
I find it disturbing that I find myself bouncing her up and down on my knee, talking to her in baby voices, constantly trying to track her digestive patterns (and therefore poop and pee habits) and watching her sleep like she’s some kind of little angel.

*sigh*

It makes me feel like one of those weird, “I’ve got a dog instead of children and one day I will end up on that Cesar Milan show because I mistook it for a human and now it treats me like a chump” people.

Unlike a human child, I like that I can kick her out of the house when she cries too much about nothing whatsoever, or when she needs to poop. Yay for outside dogs!

Miss Puppypants gets along famously with my other dog, which is always a relief and I love how quickly she has bonded with me. I look forward to many happy years with our furry pets

I’m back home early from the neighborhood party after a round of trick or treating and a hearty dinner.  Well, I didn’t really want to leave early but my friend and her hubby was tired out from the walking and, I suspect, just made an excuse to go because he (hubby) got so turned on at the french maid costume I lent my friend.

IOW, in all probability, he is currently fucking my friend in MY french maid costume, one that  I had hoped to be the first to get fucked in.

That kind of sucks, huh?  Well, that’s one of the benefits of having a spouse — you get sex on call.  Really, I should get one of those.  I have no doubt that I have enough tricks up my sleeve to keep him happy in the bedroom.  Then again, that was never the question, wasn’t it?  It was whether or not he could keep up with me.

Anyway, I’m still way glad that  Mx and I were able to wear the Wonder Twins costume I made for us.  I know it’s supposed to be worn by two humans or a couple but as I am still sans my better half, I saw no reason not to go as what I wanted.  So Mx went as Zan and I went as Jayna.  When he shows up, no worries, I can make him a Zan costume and Mx can go as Gleek and we’ll be one big happy purple alien family. 

When my uncle saw my costume (which was pretty awesome), he said that I had too much time on my hands.  I beg to differ.  I made this costume when I was up to my ears in work and with my business.  I just wanted a great looking costume bad enough to make time for it.  Plus, the creative in me wouldn’t stand for a half-hearted costume.   That simply wouldn’t do.  So, as Tim Gunn would have it, I “worked it”.

Oh, Mx was the greatest and nicest dog on the planet tonight.  Cesar Milan would have been  proud of him having been such a balanced dog.  We wove in and out of children, of houses, of people and not once did he growl or fret or get anxious or nervous.  He just followed my lead and wagged his tail.  He didn’t even growl at dogs who greeted us  at their front doors.  So, yes, I am really proud of this socialized booger. 

So my teenybopper cousins are out partying and flirting, my adult aunts and uncles are drinking and socializing, and I’m here at home at around 10:30 writing on my blog on the second best party night of the year.  In a different lifetime, 10pm would be the start of showing up at a party — no, not even.  By 10pm, I’d still be picking which party to show up at first.  Then again, that was before I entered Suburbia and became a stay-at-home single.

I am longing to reclaim my throne again.  I know that when I decided to come here and was met with a string of unfortunate events that my energy was wholly depleted and different.  It even went down to below freezing.  But if you ask me, I can feel myself gearing back up to normal — feisty, adventurous, relentless, pioneering.  My strength is gaining momentum and I am feeling the urge to break out of this self-imposed isolation.

I don’t know how but I can feel that I will emerge from all of this much stronger, much more powerful and formidable than before.  It’s going to be like one of those bestsellers where the heroine was down on her luck in the beginning but then rises to take on the whole world by storm — richer, more beautiful, more charismatic and charming, more powerful than ever with a certain je nais se quois borne out of the hell that not everyone could survive but she did.

And once that indubitable certainty sets in that no one but her can sit on that queenly throne, everyone will start scampering for her favor.  And then and only then will her majesty decide who to grant mercy, favor or grace.

After that last paragraph, I would like to say, “The End.”  But, no, that wouldn’t be right.  It’s not the end.  It’s the beginning.

for the lack of posting..   but even though it is not technically Monday, here is your dog blog monday update, and it comes with another update as well…

Hi Baby! I would like to sniff you!

This photo is from October 20 – the night before I stared feeling contractions, and even though I was convinced it was a false alarm (it was still 3 weeks till my due date) I really wanted to make sure I got this photo before I lost the belly.  Also, for those of you who were wondering, yes Bo is naturally that sweet and attentive to my belly, and no, peanut butter was not involved in the taking of this photo, why do you ask?

ANYHOW, good thing we did because this was the real deal buckaroo, this camper was no longer happy kicking me in the lungs and carving profane words in the walls of my uterus.  And so I present for your consideration:

Sebastian’s Birth Story

just the highlights, minus the boring gross stuff

(now with 90% less crotch shots!)

First off, some things you should know about me.  I am terrified of needles.  Some things you should not be scared of if you are going to have a hospital birth: needles.  and ice chips.  but mostly needles.

This is me with my IV

Needles make me angry

And there is this bacteria that a lot of women have, and it wouldn’t really affect you, but it could cause complications with the baby if you have it.  So they give you antibiotics and boom, done, it’s ok for you, ok for the baby.  But you would think they would want to test for this maybe I don’t know, before you are 37 weeks pregnant, since technically that is full term.  But no, my test was scheduled for Thursday Oct 22 and, if you’ll remember, I went to the hospital Tuesday, Oct 20, so just to be safe we worked under the assumption that I did have it.  EVEN THOUGH I PROBABLY DID NOT.  Which meant that I got not one, not two, but FIVE bags of penicillin through that IV.  Does penicillin burn, you may ask… why, yes. yes, it does.

Moving on, another thing you may remember about me is that I really like food.  If I were a dog and you were Cesar Milan, you would say I am extremely food motivated.  What?  Jump in front of that car?  No way…that would be stupid…  wait, are those snausages in it for me?  done.

BUT they won’t let you eat when you are in labor.  I know this doesn’t seem like a big deal, except my labor lasted 24 hours, folks.  That’s 24 hours.  like an entire season of the hit show, 24, which in fact, I could have watched on the dvd player in the room if i wanted to hate my life even more.

Also everyone who meant well and dropped off food for Patrick, I hate you.  Because do you know what is worse than being 18 hours into labor and smelling Jimmy Johns which you cannot eat?  I don’t know, I’m seriously asking, what is worse than that?

On the plus side, I’m pretty sure my doctor was Alan Tudyk.  Compare this photo of Alan Tudyk:

With this photo of the doctor who delivered me:

Firefly this, bitches

Coincidence?  I think not.  I mean now that Firefly is off the air and I haven’t seen him in Dollhouse lately, the man has to make a living.  right?  right?  Please don’t disillusion me on this one, it was the highlight of my birthing experience (minus of course the end result).

So the FACT that Alan Tudyk delivered me makes it all the more embarrassing that during the part where I was pushing (for 90 minutes), I was obsessed with the idea that the pressure was going to pop out one of my eyeballs.  I know it’s not totally rational, but just imagine that you have gone 24 hours without food, have a killer head cold and then are constipated.  That is a little what it felt like, maybe.

Anyways, this is a direct quote, me:  Are my eyes going to pop out of my head?

Alan: No, that won’t happen

Me: Do you promise?

Alan: Yes. …

and then there was a kind of awkward silence, where I might have asked again.  And it might be more acceptable except I really hadn’t taken any drugs besides the epidural, which really isn’t supposed to make you loopy.  Nope, that was all me.  I also told the nurse my leg felt like a giant overstuffed sausage, which actually didn’t make her skip a beat, she just started telling me about this great place in Naperville to buy bratwurst.  +2 for her.  Oh, and -2 for the nurse who was checking my cervix (which some people apparently don’t mind, but I find really really uncomfortable….  I was going to make a comparison here, but Patrick says it is inappropriate.  and if Patrick says it…) AND SHE ANSWERED HER PHONE.  So one hand is in my business and the other is talking on the phone.  Seriously, lady, pick one or the other.

Also, whenever someone told me I was doing a good job, I apparently made the joke “Oh, it’s nothing, you’re the one doing all the work.”  Which, ok, not my best work, but possibly could have been overlooked if I hadn’t said it over and over again, and then laughed like it was the funniest thing possible.  Let’s just say I might not be welcome at this hospital any more.

The best things in life always make an entrance, so even if he was a little turtle, totally worth it for our little Mr. Man, who by the way, weighed 7lbs 14oz…  3 WEEKS EARLY.  OMG am I glad I didn’t go full term.

Introducing Falcor Sebastian Patrick:

He is the sweetest little baby imaginable.  I’m pretty sure the little hell minion I was supposed to get got switched up in the uterus relocation line and I accidentally got the saint baby that was supposed to go to someone far nicer than me.  shh…  I’m not going to say anything.

He’s only one week old and even though he was almost 8lbs, all of his 0-3 month clothes are giant on him.  It’s pretty adorable actually.  This was supposed to be his coming home from the hospital outfit, with the little teddy bear ears (Oh god, please tell me I didn’t turn my child into a future furry of america), but as you can see, he still has some growing to do.

And as for me, I am recovering really well.  The day after I gave birth I was all, look at me, I can stand up and take a shower all by myself!  And then I felt so good I decided to walk to the nursery to get the little man, all by myself!  And then I saw the pediatrician and was talking to him (all by myself) and then I started to black out so he had to grab a wheelchair and wheel me back to the room.  Which, btw, is a great trick to play on your husband, getting wheeled into the room in a wheelchair.  He will likely freak out.

And I’m not going to tell you all the horrible details, but allow me to reference the part in the Vagina Monologues where they talk about what their vaginas would wear out on the town.  And I’ll just say my vagina, would have to dress up as Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas.  Too vague?  I have a million stitches holding my lady parts together and it hurts.  BUT totally worth it for this little monster:

OH and PS – I DID NOT POOP THE BED!  I had two witnesses corroborate this story, and it’s not like I was even thinking or trying but I didn’t, I am the 3% who didn’t.  Booyah.

Sorry for the long time between posts! Before I begin, I want to honor a dear buddy of mine – Polka – who died yesterday at noon. I tried my hardest to medicate her and give her lots of love, but alas, it was her time to go.

I had her for 2.5 years, and she was the sweetest weather loach! She knew when it was time for food, she let me pet her, she even fed off a flake I had in my hand once. Yes, fish do have personalities She also was notorious for sticking by other tankmates if they ever got sick. Well, that paid off because her other loach buddy Toastie was by her side the whole time until I had to get her in the quarantine tank. So please give your blessings to her (give her thanks!) – she made a lot of us smile, including my mom, who wasn’t so fond of “eel-like” fish until I got weather loaches.

Back to Learning How to Pivot -

Situation 2: The Angry One

RAWR!

Ah, yes, we’ve encountered these before. I’m talking about the angry guy – the person you have no idea why they’re so angry, but you know they are.

What do you do about it? Let’s see… some would get angry too, and snap back. Others would feel victimized, mope and feel bad (just like the first group but their reaction is different)… it really depends from person to person. Some will get passive aggressive too just to get back at the angry person. Think about a situation where you encountered someone like this, be it a parent, sibling, friend, complete stranger… How did YOU react?

I see this a lot in my circle of friends and family. I often feel bad because the solution is quite simple but it takes a bit to get to that point where you can react in the ideal way at the drop of a hat. I know.. I sometimes still have issues myself, lol!

Here’s where we’ll begin. We need to get inside the head of the angry person. Why are they so angry? Is it something you did? But no wait, you just got into the situation and you don’t think  you did anything? Or you think it really was you?

You will encounter people who are just… naturally angry. All the time. Sometimes you will encounter those who let even the smallest things tick them off. Some you will encounter and they are just having a bad day/week, and they will take it out on you. But do you notice none of these things have anything to do with you? (Important side note here: What if you really did do something wrong? The truth is usually a person can handle these situations in a better way than just getting angry. )

I’m going to take a lesson I learned from one of my heroes… yes, you must all be familiar with this one, LOL! Bear with the long lesson – it’s so worth it!

Cesar Milan and Daddy

Cesar Milan teaches on his show, The Dog Whisperer, that when you encounter an angry or frustrated dog, you don’t ever respond back with anger or frustration, because it essentially leads to more anger and frustration. You end up not putting the correct effort to fix your dog. The majority of the show, however, deals with fixing the human more than anything, because it leads to “fixing” the dog (quotation marks because the truth is in the dog world, if there’s something wrong with your dog, there’s something wrong with you. They’re excellent indicators of our emotions and our lives! Little angels sent down to help us out ).

He then has you change your “energy”… your moods/emotions/feelings. You can’t think about how angry this dog makes you because the dog feels it and starts to get even angrier. Even though we don’t consciously notice it sometimes, the truth is we can feel other peoples’ energies without a problem. So essentially, we are at the same playing level as the dog. Cesar Milan has you change your attitude – and explains to you a bit more about how a dog’s mind really works while you try to ground yourself. Some dog owners get frazzled by Cesar’s calm demeanor when he enters a home and immediately calms a “hopeless” dog down, but that’s something he has acquired through many many years of emotional discipline. Just remember… this is something ANYBODY can do. There are never any exceptions when it comes to improving yourself.

"Calm and assertive"

So the dog owners start to pick up on Cesar’s energy, and suddenly they get it! Voila! You’ve got a calm and happily submissive dog on a leash, walking through your neighborhood full of small  loud children that would normally get that dog all riled up. The owners walk tall and proud, almost like a noble monarch with a staff – calm, cool and yet assertive. You’ve done what you needed with the dog, the dog is bringing about what you brought about, and look at you now! Ahh, the world is at peace again.

Remember the law of physics I explained about attracting more things with your vibrational frequency? This is essentially what Cesar Milan is teaching the American dog owners, without getting “weirdly spiritual” about it.

So tying that into the human world, you see this in any situation. If you see two people fighting, you just see a clash of emotional intensity from both sides. There’s not one side that has brought in a calm energy, or love (love doesn’t always have to pertain to romantic or family relationships). And is that fight fruitful? Majority of the time, no, it isn’t.

I have encountered that just not feeding into the energy is what leads to a more successful encounter with “angry person”. When you’re in a calm state, you can see this person yelling or being just rude, and notice how badly you feel for them because the truth is, there’s something very wrong with them that has them that unbalanced. Same with dogs – we feel bad when we see a beaten up dog, correct? and now he doesn’t trust anyone so he snaps at any hand that comes close? Well, you don’t just sit there and feel bad (if you want to get moving in a positive way) – you just change YOUR attitude about the situation.

Don't mind the iStock watermark. Who pays for digital images anyway???

First off, you know what you did “wrong” and what you did “right”. If you know you didn’t do anything wrong, just let them go off and try to get all upset with you. You have enough self confidence in yourself to know you didn’t do anything wrong and the truth is there’s no reason to have to prove it. You just let them keep doing what they’re doing. If you know you did something wrong, just be honest and apologize in a calm manner.

But that person isn’t feeding off of you because you’re not giving back negative energy! Now what? They might get louder, they might get even more mean… but don’t worry, that’s just the peak of it. It’s like seeing Cesar Milan try to drain the energy out of an angry dog by letting them bite on a tennis racket or shoe or whatever. Let “angry person” get it out of their system. Soon, they will be too exhausted to say anything else.

Usually after not being responsive, or you calmly asserted yourself in the situation (you made a point without raising your voice or getting upset, and let it go), that person will either apologize or just continue moping in their misery. It’s okay. It’s their deal, not yours.

Blessing in Disguise

“What is this person here suppose to teach me?”

Wow, you’ve encountered an angry person! But the cool part is they’ve taught you so much in simply one session.

1) You’ve learned to not let someone else’s emotions dominate your own. You are, essentially, choosing to be happy.

2) It’s their problem, not yours. This is so important to remember. The “angry person” is angry because they simply choose to be, and there are probably a number of issues underlying in there that you’re not responsible for. Let them deal with it.

3) Love and calmness is all you’ll ever need. It’s true! All you need is a calm demeanor and self confidence (I love using humor as well! Laughter is the best way!). With that attitude, you can get anything you want in life, such as happiness and abundance.

So I challenge you, my reader, to try this next time you encounter an “angry person” situation. You can ask yourself if you even did anything wrong, but always remember to keep your emotions down. If you can’t handle it at first, learn to just walk away. It’s that simple This method works on just about anyone, even the persistent annoying ones.

xoxo,

WaterBaby.

Let me start by saying I lost my dog Lucy about two years ago to cancer…She was blue-tic beagle……15 inch, and I loved that dog…..Around two years ago just before she pasted away I began watching Cesar Milan on the  National Geographic Channel in Dog Whisper Show…I loved it…….

The guy had a way with dogs that reminded me of this guy I used to know that frequented a local coffee shop I used to go to……That guy, Tom …bless his soul…(he pasted away) used to tell me  about his dog psychology business..he had a small kennel……he used to tell me stories about his job……training dogs……and he would always come back to the same point……he didn’t train the dogs…he untrained the people….

Well, he must have know Cesar Milan, The ‘Dog Whisperer’…cause they were cut from the same cloth……I have watched with smiles, and fond remembrances of my dog days ( I haven’t got new dog, yet)…how that dog started as a young pup, that grew into a great people dog, that barked when someone came into the house…then preceded to lick them, or demand a rub……..

But , watching Cesar always reminds me that dogs are really very simple…you must understand that they are ‘live in the now’ animals…..Who originally operated in packs, that had a dominant leader,  and that, that fact, is always in their heads……….

Cesar has taken that knowledge and built a whole industry on that fact…..an immigrant from Mexico (now an American Citizen, with a wife, who runs his business,  and two kids) he came here with a gift …the ability to  project a “calm , assertive energy”…….and that, he has used for training dogs, and people……

And he has done it in a big way that grows each year (the show will be syndicated with FOX next year), but he owes his start to Jadda Smith who used his services to get control of four Rottweilers, and then networked him out,  after helping him with his English……

The main thing that Cesar puts out is that dogs, are dogs…and that they will take over your life, if you don’t assert yourself…It is always remarkable to see him show up at someone’s house, and in ten minutes, have that person’s dog under control, and taking heed of his actions……..Cesar doesn’t always do this in such a short time…in those cases  that he doesn’t,  it is off to his ‘pack’ of dogs to help him redefine the problem dog, so that the pack hierarchy can be re -established….I love the show… and the guy deserves everything good that has happened to him…….

Prima di tutto mi scuso per la lunghissima pausa estiva, ho avuto davvero tante cose da fare Ma non mi sono dimenticato di voi, vi prometto tantissime nuove guide.

Oggi vi voglio far conoscere i consigli di un addestratore che sta spopolando negli Stati Uniti: Cesar Milan

Molti consigli li ho già scritti io nei precedenti post, ma non fa mai male ripeterli

1. I cani non sono persone. Quello che fa felici loro non corrisponde necessariamente a quello che fa felici noi. Per far felice un cane basta poco: esercizio regolare, un capobranco stabile e affetto debitamente guadagnato.

2. Fate passeggiare il vostro cane ogni giorno per almeno 45 minuti. Una passeggiata strutturata e regolare è vitale, specie per i cani con problemi comportamentali, ed è lo strumento più potente a vostra disposizione per instaurare un legame sano e forte con il vostro cane.

3. Siate coerenti. Accertatevi che tutti i componenti della vostra famiglia stabiliscano le stesse regole, gli stessi confini e gli stessi limiti nei confronti del vostro cane.

4. L’affetto nel momento sbagliato può favorire l’instabilità mentale del cane. Manifestate il vostro affetto al cane dopo che ha fatto esercizio o che ha mangiato, oppure quando cambia un comportamento adeguandosi a quello da voi richiesto, obbedisce a una regola o a un comando, o quando assume uno stato rilassato, quieto e remissivo.

Yesterday I got to go along with my nearly-4-year-old on his preschool field trip to a local farm.  We visit this farm nearly every year, and I have to say, God’s lovely autumn creativity is rivaled only by the delicious scent of homemade pumpkin donuts wafting through the air.  Mercy! They are SO. GOOD.   The crispy deep-fried shell  is smothered in frosting, and opens to reveal a warm, spicy center that would probably convince even Jillian Michaels to forget about the Extra Sugarfree Gum and Protein shakes in favor of at least one…dozen.

We went on a hayride, chose a couple of mini-pumpkins, played in the hay, rode a “pumpkin” train, laughed during storytime, and again–the donuts.  Not that I’m fixating or salivating at the very thought of them.  [What are we doing tonight, honey?...]

M and I laughed at the goats, who by all accounts have the coolest jungle gym set ever, and who get to spend their days vacillating between munching aimlessly on straw–and sitting upon that same straw.  For the longest time the Billy below refused to look at me for a picture.  I called out to him like a pathetic fool:  “Here Billy Goat!  Here Goat!  Look at me!!  Look at ME!”

In a swift act of pity, M cried out with authority, “HEY GOAT!  LOOK AT MY MOM!!”

Since I seem to be creating lists of options lately, I’ve decided that perhaps I should…:

1.  Feel badly that I have no power over these creatures,

2.  Call Cesar Milan for tips

3.  Acknowledge my child is a goat whisperer and start charging hourly fees for his services.

A little extra money would be nice…

It’s official: BET is doing a reality show with infamous dog killer/NFL star, Michael Vick.

I wake up in the morning to the sound of roosters crowing and of dogs waking up to the morning sun and shaking off the morning dew that has accumulated on the ground they were sleeping on. I walk out of the room I share with 7 others and rub the sleep out of my eyes. Bathing and breakfast will come later, first I must run.  There are dogs everywhere ranging in age from 5 years to 5 weeks and everything in between. They hang out on the boxing ring, on the concrete and randomly dispersed on the grass. There is no fence to keep them in, there is no electric collar, they know where home is and they do not wander needlessly. I put on my shoes and start heading to the bridge towards town and the main road where my run will begin. Deaung, a muscular, stocky mutt and his son mike, similar in coloring but with the sleek, skinny figure of a pup just growing into full size. They come along with me, I do not call them, I do not motion, I am only concerned with myself, the dogs will do what they do. I get to the road and my walk begins to speed up into a trot, the dogs stop their sniffing of random corners here and there and along with me begin to focus on the task at hand. In the horizon mist covered hills in the jungles of Northern Thailand greet the morning activity that is beginning to take place in the Bohemian town of Pai, Mae Hong Son.

In this town of 3000, there are quite possibly 1000 dogs belonging to someone somehow. You will not see a single leash yet there is not one fence holding in any dog nor electric collar nor the nervous sounds of a barking dog trapped inside a small home. Dogs do not run away and ownership is not always clear cut. A dog may belong to an individual or may be the dog that hangs out in the neighborhood street, a Soi Maa, or street dog. A symbiotic relationship with the people of the neighborhood exists, in return for watching for strangers at night the dog will get the scraps thrown out by the nearby households. A relationship of dog and man that formed thousands of years ago has not changed one bit.

We often think of dogs on the street or in third world countries as being “unhappy” (if that word even applies to dogs) but the truth of the matter these dogs are far more stable than the vast majority of our beloved friends. I will tell you why and how you can bring this stability into your own with your own pet.

Most people know Cesar Millan from his hit show, The Dog Whisperer, as seen on the National Geographic Channel. We caught up with Cesar this week and he demonstrated his talents are not limited to dogs.  He successfully calmed Angry Panda with a few snaps of his fingers and went on to deal with the neighborhood dogs.  If your dog is a little unruly take a look at Cesar’s site for a few tips that are almost guaranteed to work. http://www.cesarmillaninc.com

We decided we hadn’t seen enough white people yet, so we hit up some tourist spots. The first was the Lotus Temple. It was built by the owners of Lotus Blossom as a tribute to the Baha’i faith, which like all the other religions, makes little sense. The temple, while an architectural marvel, departed from Lotus Blossom’s history of having the best Lo Mein in the northeast, as they served no food there.

The temple was a giant flower shaped dome surrounded by shallow pools. Inside, you were not allowed to wear shoes, take pictures, or talk. They had at least 10 white people inside, all volunteers, all with the sole task of shushing people. This is tough, mentally stimulating work. We will call our one friend Stan the man.

Stan the Man graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in philosophy and religion. He is tall, lanky, and hails originally from the great nation of Finland. He has been dreaming of interning at the Lotus Temple since he was a small child, and worked rigorously in college to achieve this dream. Now that he is there, he spends all day and night optimizing the shush. He knows how to shush in 14 languages as well as in sign language. He lists his mentors as Cesar Milan (the dog whisperer), Christian Bale, and Robin Fialco.

Never have I seen white people utilized so well in a sea of Indian people. Indian people are naturally gregarious, do not give a shit about rules, and are loud. That is why they must recruit the best, to keep intact complete silence within the temple. Stan the man later came up to me and asked if I was from Spain. I said no. He asked where I was from. I said Romania. Then he left.

We then went to go see Humayun’s tomb. We actually thought this was it. We got there, there were no people, only stray dogs and the occasional Mexican. We turned around and went back the way we came.

This was actually it.

Humayun's Tomb - New Delhi

The first picture was taken by Nagpal and the ladder was snagged by Walovitch, please vote in the comment box on whose photography skills are superior.

In front of the building were these dirty, Spanish hippies who had been following us around the monument. We gave them the ole slip so I could take a picture. Their musk could be smelt for miles around. They had not showered since 1984, and their armpits were where the local homeless lived. Frigin’ hippies.

Monuments in India are a big scam for foreigners. Indian nationals generally pay 10 rupees (20 cents) while foreigners are forced to pay 250 rupees (5 dollars). When you can get a good lunch at a restaurant for 100 rupees, 250 starts feeling like a lot.

I’m quietly becoming addicted to the escape games on Bored.com. For anyone who hasn’t checked them out, It’s a flash game where you use your mouse to explore a room and try to find a way out. Great way to kill some time after you’ve read Decent Community at work. While you’re at Bored.com, try the Causality game, where you have to kill six stick figures without any of them seeing another die. It sounds weird, but it’s pretty challenging. If you figure out, let me know because I’m stumped. … Today marks 19 years since the passing of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan. He died in a helicopter accident while on tour with Eric Clapton. Rolling Stone named Vaughan the No. 7 Best Guitarist of all time. … Rest in Peace, Sen. Ted Kennedy. Gov. Deval Patrick said he would support legislation that will allow him to appoint a successor rather than wait months to hold a special election. Decent Community has some good suggestions as to who should replace the legendary Kennedy. … Did anyone else catch the Celebrity Roast of Joan Rivers on Comedy Central last week? Shame on you if you missed it. The annual Roast is nothing but hysterical. The always raw Lisa Lampanelli was absent again this year, but Gilbert Gottfried was as funny as ever. Check out his act and I’ll give you $5 if you don’t laugh. I’ll throw you $10 if you don’t chuckle at what I think is his best performance at the Roast of Hugh Hefner. … So why should casual movie fans be interested in the upcoming science-fiction flick “Avatar?” Because James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2, Alien, Aquaman) has spent the last 12 years working on it and it is reportedly the most expensive movie ever made. He released the first trailer for the movie last week. It’s due out in December. … Happy 61st birthday to Robert Remus, better known as Sgt. Slaughter. He feuded with Hulk Hogan during the WWF’s heyday, even hitting the Hulkster with a pointed boot and trying to pin him with an Iraq flag. Did you know Slaughter is one of a handful of celebrities (including Buzz Aldrin, William “Refrigerator” Perry and Roddy Piper) to be honored by having their own G.I. Joe action figures? … Happy 57th birthday to Paul Reubens, also know as Pee-Wee Herman. Decent show to watch as a kid. Despite the fact that he was arrested to flogging the dolphin in a porn theater 1991 and another arrest for kiddie porn in 2002, he is returning to the entertainment business later this year for a Pee-Wee stage show in Hollywood in November. He also recently said he is close to filming a Pee-Wee movie he wrote. … Happy 50th birthday to Downtown Julie Brown, former VJ on MTV. Did you know Brown won the World Disco Dancing Championships at age 20, or that she posed naked for Playboy in 1998? … Happy 40th birthday to The Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan. He wasn’t a licensed dog trainer when he struck it big (he freely admitted he was just a “Mexican guy who has a magical way with dogs”), but his work with Will Smith’s pup led to his stardom. Smith and wife Jada started recommending him to other celebrities, and even worked with him to improve his English as he started hitting it big.

What’s amazing to me is how the universe keeps guiding my writing journey. Let me tell you a little story.

I have attended “I Can Do It” conferences for the past 4 years, usually in Tampa but a few weeks ago on a cruise through Alaska. It’s what keeps me inspired and confident in my choices. The conference has dozens of fabulous workshops by various Hay House publishers and amazing keynote speakers.

Last year “I Can Do It 2008″ was extra special, not only because of the great women I went with, but because of one of the keynote speakers- Cesar Milan. This was my favorite part of the conference, listening to Cesar tell thousands of attendees how the spirit of an animal is more powerful than ours because they live in the now, they have no ego, they feel and respond to our energy, etc…. It was fabulous and I was jazzed when I got home and motivated to complete my my book.

Now flash forward to this week- meeting with my editor and working on my book proposal. I spent the week putting together a list of contacts of people I have met over the years which might be instrumental in my book campaign. It is my intetntion to send them copies of my manuscript and ask for a foreword/testimonial.
Cesar Milan and Dr. Wayne Dyer were the two men on the top of my list.

I received this message on my FB page today and am still in awe of this universe. Although it came to me from Wayne’s fan page I swear it was written to keep me reminded……..

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer: Did you know that the Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life philosophy can not only make positive changes in our lives, but those of our beloved four-legged companions as well?

Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, took the stage with Dr. Wayne Dyer and Byron Katie at I Can Do It! Tampa 2008 to share how using our powers of visualization can instantly transform our energy and our relationships with our dogs!Wayne Dyer, Cesar Millan, and Byron Katie at I Can Do It!
Source: www.youtube.com
www.hayhouse.com – Wayne Dyer, Cesar Millan, and Byron Katie at the I Can Do It! Tampa 2008. Listen in to their live conversation on the HayHouseRadio.com Stage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C69k7Pwp8wo&feature=channel

As you can imagine- I am really jazzed now! When you are on your true path in life the universe makes sure you receive everything in your vortex!
Happy Tuesday!

As you have probably all noticed there has been a debate raging in the world of dog training over the past couple of years. On one side is Cesar Milan and his fans and on the other side is the likes of Dr. Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson – dog training gurus in their own right without the celebrity status. The Dog Whispering gang believe you have to assert your dominance to have a successful relationship with your dog while the behaviorists like Dunbar and Donaldson focus on the science behind learning theory and positive reinforcement to achieve great things with dogs. Check out the new spin we have put on this ongoing debate with the press release we issued this week. Let us know what you think about our new approach to bridge the gap between these two camps!

Halifax, Nova Scotia (PRWEB) July 22, 2009 — The rise in popularity of Cesar Milan, National Geographic’s Dog Whisperer, has exposed a rift in society’s canine culture. Milan and his followers believe dog owners must act like dominant pack leaders, but a growing number of modern trainers are protesting Milan’s methods, claiming they lead to an increase in dog aggression. Now a Nova Scotia-based company, the Clicker Leash Co., bridges the gap between the two camps with its flagship invention, the Clicker Leash.

The Clicker Leash first drew international attention when a Los Angeles-based PR firm chose the training system for a Presidential Puppy gift box, presented earlier this year to the Obamas. The product evolved from clicker training, a method frequently used by behaviourists, zoo keepers and professional trainers to train all species of animals. Since its arrival in the marketplace, the training leash has been embraced by experienced clicker trainers but has also made waves in dog whispering circles. “Being dominant means you control access to resources and traditionally this has been achieved with force,” explains company president Adina MacRae. “The Clicker Leash clearly lets dogs know you are the one in control of their resources without getting physical. When you use those resources as rewards, you end up with a well-trained dog without using the scare tactics formerly associated with dominance.”

MacRae and business partner Shannon Spruin drew from their love of dogs to start the Clicker Leash Co. Both women own successful dog walking businesses and MacRae offers in-home canine counselling services. As Milan’s popularity grew, she saw an increase in demand for her services. “Cesar draws attention to the need for dog training but there is a reason for the warning at the beginning of his shows,” says MacRae. “When people try to physically dominate their dogs they run the risk of frightening them and a fearful dog is more likely to bite.”

The Clicker Leash can be found in stores across the country as well as on the company web site www.clickerleash.com where free training videos are available.

Contact: 1-888-PAWSITIVE

Take one dog, a large 5 year old black labrador named Ollie; take one half of a filthy old tennis ball lying in its path en route to a pond, somewhere in the New Forest this afternoon. Now put the two together in the pond and you get disobedience that goes well beyond being even mildly amusing after a period of time.

Ollie went into the very muddy  (it’s big and deep too) pond and stayed there for 45 minutes, pawing the muddy bottom, trawling for the half tennis ball that he’d put in there on entering the water.

I, meanwhile, am pacing up and down trying to entice him out, pretending to leave him behind, walking up hill and down dale in the vicinity, keeping a watchful eye on him and getting more and more furious and frustrated. The problem then became OTHER people! They kept appearing with their dogs walking neatly beside them and thinking my dog had been abandoned. It all became rather too embarrassing as they started looking round for an owner. I of course could see them from my vantage point up a small hill hiding behind a gorse bush!

I was in despair (this is not the first time this has happened and I should have known better than to walk anywhere near a ruddy pond!).

I wandered past Ollie again and again in a seemingly carefree but determined fashion so as not to be seen to have given in to his demands…I kept thinking about what Cesar Milan (American dog training TV star) would do in this situation – ‘be calm and assertive’ I kept whispering to myself.

Eventually I decided I needed to seek help. I found a very nice middle-aged couple quietly minding their own business and sunbathing nearby with their two beautiful black labradors, both younger and better behaved than mine.

“I am so sorry to disturb you, but I can’t get my dog out of the pool and wondered if you and/or your dogs could possibly serve as a distraction for a few minutes so I can engage his attention and try and get him to come out?” says I.

Man leaps to feet and pounds off down to said pond with his boys following obediently and both sitting on the pond’s bank on command. A VERY impressive display!

Despite my protestations, man strides into the water (in shorts and sandals!) up to his knees and manages to fling a lassoo round Ollie’s neck and between us we heave him towards us – he is clearly furious…the dog that is. The man is having a whale of a time helping a damsel and her dog in distress. Meanwhile his wife has strolled down towards us and stands arms folded looking less than pleased as her husband gets covered in muddy water. He’s loving it.

I thank them both profusely of course at which point, Ollie shakes his soaking wet muddy body all over them both and I beat a hasty and apologetic retreat.

Kai - flat-coat retriever/chow mix

Miniature poodle

Kai is our older dog, about 10 years older than Rustle. He’s also the superior dog in our pack. He’s not an Alpha, and he doesn’t try to be the way he used to. Rustle, however, knows that Kai is above him in the pack hierarchy. You might think, as I did, that Rustle would learn from Kai the way puppies learn from adults in the pack. It turns out that, in most cases, the opposite is true.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that Kai must have spent the first few years of his life without another dog for companionship. He knows how to behave around people, and he’s pretty good with cats. I’ve seen him behave very well around puppies. However, I’ve observed that he doesn’t know how to play with other dogs. He knows how to take toys from them. He knows how to play chase – and he’s just as happy to be chased as he is to chase. When Gryffin, our yellow lab, was still with us, Kai learned how to wrestle. Gryffin was Kai’s height and length, roughly, but weighed more. The only way for Kai to assert himself was to wrestle.

Kai jumped fences. Gryffin dug under them. Kai learned to dig – mostly scrapes, shallow troughs where he could lie down, but he helped Gryffin escape the yard once or twice. I never saw Kai staring when Gryffin dug, but he must have been paying attention. Rustle likes to kick his hind legs after going to the bathroom – it’s an instinctive behavior meant to spread his scent and better mark his territory. Kai never did that until he saw Rustle do it. He never seems to be paying attention, but when Rustle’s behavior gets him something that Kai wants, Kai is perfectly happy to adopt the successful behavior.

Your direct reports aren’t much different, although they’re generally behaving consciously and intentionally, rather than instinctively. For example, when I needed to learn more about Excel, I went to a co-worker who I had observed was better with the program than I was. I didn’t go to my supervisor. Seems normal, right? The trouble is that it’s happening constantly, and not just about job skills. Have you ever noticed that when you come back into the office from vacation or from a business trip that your team has adopted some behavior that rubs you the wrong way? This process is why that happens. You weren’t there to teach them, so they learned from someone else.

There are differences between managers and leaders. One of them is this: A leader does more than hand out assignments, enforce deadlines, and do paperwork. A leader leads – by teaching, coaching, and training, as well as by setting an example. You can’t lead if you’re not present. Whoever is present, and training your team, is the leader – regardless of job description or title. I know my dogs learn from each other, so I watch that and intervene when the behavior isn’t something that I want. At the same time, I try to provide enough input and stimulation that they’re busy learning from me.

Here’s a great way to demonstrate innovation, at the cost of a few friends – suggest to senior management that managers of your level don’t need offices. They need a plethora of small conference rooms with telephones. Sitting in the midst of your bullpen gives you more leadership opportunities, and when you need a private meeting or a private phone call, you can use one of the small conference rooms.

It was Deja and Karma that found me. They said I was barking in my sleep and making quick jabbing moves with my paws. I hope they didn’t catch me drooling into the pillow.

Now I don’t usually recall my dreams but this one was so vivid that it ended up shaking me awake. It was so weird.  I began to describe it to them immediately.  I found myself talking to a porous yellow sponge that lives in Bikini Bottom.

“What is there left to do?,” I said to my yellow friend.  “I’ve accomplished so much in so little time.  Where am I going to find adventure when I’ve done everything that I want?”

“That’s a question you’re going to have to answer for yourself, Louie,” SpongeBob answered. Other than Cesar Milan, Mr. SquarePants was the closest thing that I had to an idol.  He had achieved iconic status in my world. “I’ve always found that the best adventures happen close to home.  Look at all my shenanigans with Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward.”

“Why is your voice so mature?,” I inquired.

“It’s your dream,” he responded. He smiled with his two teeth jutting forward.

“Oh right.”

“Go home,” SpongeBob said. “You were elected dog catcher and now you’re neglecting your duties.  There’s something that needs to be done and until you do it, you’ll always be restless. It’ll nag you like a dog pulling on your pant leg.”

We bent over laughing at the reference.  Even in the most serious discussions, my sub consciousness can’t help but to lighten the mood.

“SpongeBob, thanks for always being there for me,” I said wistfully.  “I’ve always guided myself by remembering W.W.S.B.D. – What Would SpongeBob Do. I’m concerned that because I’m just an Italian Greyhound that I won’t be up for the job.”

“Hey that’s what I’m there for,” the sponge responded. “It sounds like you got the fervor and now you’ve got the religion.  Remember, it’s not the size of the dog, it’s the size of their heart.  Now I’m going to go and catch some jellyfish.”

“So that’s how it went,” I said looking into Deja and Karma’s eyes.  Their bewildered look made me feel a bit uneasy.

“What do you think it means?,” Karma said.

“It means we’re going home,” Deja sighed.  “I just found the coolest place for gelato too.  What a bummer. I really like Italy too.  Ciao!”

“Get the others and tell them to pack up,” I said hurriedly.  “Grab the gelato to go.  I need to make two calls: one to First Dog Bo to tell him I’m going back to Arizona.  I’ll return to Italy when the need for a canine ambassador arises.  The second is to Sheriff Joe Arpiao.  I’m lucky to be on the country’s toughest sheriff’s team. Tell him I’m reporting for duty.”

Dominance continues to spark long debates among dog training professionals and owners alike but thanks to the work of Dr. Sophia Yin, hopefully some of the misconceptions and misinterpretations of animal behavior can be laid to rest. On her web site you will find everything you need to know about dominance, why it is relevant when assessing animal behavior and how it is mis-used when we look at the interactions we share with our dogs.

We guarantee you will learn a thing or two about dominance and dog behavior if you check out this site! Enjoy and pass it on!

I’ve been working for two years at a business that scores standardized tests. Many of the people who work there are teachers, or retired teachers and school administrators. I’m none of those things. After my first two months there, my supervisor was absent and the project lead asked me to step in and supervise the team for that day.

Now, I’m the oldest of the four siblings in my family. The youngest of my three sisters was born with ADHD. I learned patience early, and my parents always put me in charge of one or more of my sisters.

I’m also a dog owner, and a fan of Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer. Cesar always says the key to living with dogs is being the pack leader. They key to that is staying calm and assertive at all times.

I was an Army officer. I led a tank platoon in the First Gulf War. So in addition to having the leadership traits a lot of eldest siblings have, I also have formal training and experience.

That day at work last year, I had a plan in seconds: Use the patience I developed growing up to remain calm and assertive. Remember that I’m a substitute, and don’t rock the boat. Get the team through the day without reinventing anything. At the end of the day, several veteran supervisors complimented me on how well I did. They seemed surprised, but to me it came naturally.

This year I supervised a team for an entire project. After a few days, a team member asked me where I taught. I explained that I was not a teacher and never had been. My team was shocked. Apparently my calm, assertive manner and my ability to explain how instructions applied to individuals made them believe that I was a teacher. Or maybe they just assumed that my background was the same as theirs.

It got me thinking, though, because many people who have known me a long time – one friend since the 4th grade – think I would make a good teacher. Maybe they’re right. I don’t want to find out.

I have taught, but I’ve always taught my peers. I naturally found situations where I instructed fellow students, officers, or soldiers. In fact, instructing soldiers is part and parcel of being an officer. I’ve taught in classrooms, offices, and in the field – literally in open fields. I’ve never taught youths, and I have no desire to do so. The truth is, I don’t like kids in general. If I’ve been around your kids, you don’t know that about me because I do like your kids. Given a chance to build a relationship with a small number of young people, I enjoy it. Once we get past any shyness or reticence, I’m happy to get on the floor and play with the kids or carry a kid on my shoulders through the zoo or park. I occasionally think about volunteering with the high school youth group at church, or tutoring at the library or community center, but I have no desire to teach professionally.

In my work, I’ve been on two projects where I worked with material submitted by teachers rather than by students. In both cases, I observed that at least half of the teachers didn’t follow instructions. I’m talking about simple instructions, with illustrations and diagrams. I can’t know if they chose not to, if they were congenitally incapable of doing so, or what. I suspect that they simply become so used to being in charge of their classrooms that they don’t think about switching off and letting someone else be in charge. I have trouble working with people like that – though I have no trouble supervising/leading/coaching them because the first thing I do is address that issue. Once it’s clear that they need to let someone else be in charge and follow instructions, we get along fine.

Last night I attended a training session for a part-time gig proctoring standardized tests. It seemed like a fun thing to do because I would get to meet new people and earn a little pocket money at the same time. Many of the other people at the session were people I knew from the last two years. During the training session I discovered that the leader of the group didn’t know how to teach, and that many of my fellow trainees couldn’t follow instructions. This might be less fun than I thought.

Here were my key takeaways:

• Repetition is the key to learning. I discovered this by osmosis. Army training is very repetitive, and it works – in high stress situations, you rely on the comfort of the familiar, and repetition makes things familiar. Last night, I would have been repeating (without being sarcastic or sardonic), “As you can see in the handout…If you’ll follow along in the handout…Read the handout and you’ll see…” This reinforces the process as well as the information. Just because I’m calm doesn’t mean everyone else is, and repetition can help settle people down and get them in a better mindset to learn.
• Peer pressure is your friend. Make it about them, not about you. For example, if people keep interrupting you, point out that everyone has to stay there until you cover all the material. Suddenly half the room will turn into tutors, helping the confused people while you move on. Do not let classroom “helpers” become sarcastic or disrespectful. If there’s an issue that affects the majority of your class, address it. If one person is having trouble following along, let a helper act as a study partner or aide – but make them sit next to each other so you don’t make yourself harder to hear.
• Hold your questions. Seriously. When you’re teaching, know the difference between participatory and non-participatory situations. In the former, encourage and solicit questions all the time. In the latter, for example when you have to deliver standardized information, only allow questions at the end of a topic, and only allow questions on that topic. Use a whiteboard or butcher paper to record questions that you’ll come back to at the end, because you don’t want to shut anyone down. However, if you reach the end of your presentation, you can dismiss the people who don’t have questions and focus on the smaller group who need your help.
• Use your handouts. If you hand something out, it better be because you want people to follow along with you as you go through it. Otherwise, hand it out at the end. If you are going through a handout, insist that people follow along. Be extremely clear about which part you’re reading now. Don’t make people guess what the handout is for, and don’t let people ignore it.
• Focus on problems. Don’t focus on people, focus on problems. If the same question keeps coming up, over and over again, stop what you’re doing and address the confusion. When I say stop, I mean stop the entire class. Raise your voice, get everyone’s attention, and focus everyone on the fact that you’re repeating information rather than moving forward, and ask why that’s happening. You may need to have one or two people stay after the class is complete to go over something. It may be that a small change in how you present the information clears everything up. If you just muddle on and keep repeating yourself, you’re just making the process longer for everyone. Address the problem so you can move on.
• Don’t allow hypotheticals. Hypothetical questions can bog down your process. The best response is something like, “If that comes up, we’ll deal with it then.” Don’t stop delivering the information that 100% of the people will need 100% of the time to deal with something that 1 person might have to deal with once in their entire career.
• Identify geniuses. I had an IQ test as part of separating from the Army after the First Gulf War, and I scored something like 142. It’s not genius, as far as I know. I’m certainly no member of MENSA. However, a key part of the process last night was learning about inventorying our testing materials. This year I was part of a team that inventoried, organized, and tracked 130,000 test booklets. I just finished a project where we had to inventory about 35,000 test submissions. This project won’t have more than 100 or so per proctor. Since last night’s instructor knows me from the job where I did all that warehouse work, it should have occurred to her that I could help teach that part of the course – or at least that that not everyone in the room would need the same level of instruction on that part of the work.

I would bet money that after a session or two, they’ll ask me to be a hall monitor or a floater, so I can use my patience and calm to settle down problem rooms and address issues as they come up.

Found this!  Anyone else got any info?  http://healthycatclub.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/bbc-tv-pedigree-dogs-exposed/#comment-49

Gonna go on a search and destroy to find some more!

Here is some information on a study completed by the Royal Society for Protection of Animals.

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=pedigreedogs 

http://www.verrere.org.uk/RSPCA%20report%20critique1.pdf

An article on inbreeding. 

http://www.physorg.com/news138025054.html

Some info on Sringohydromyelia that happens in King Charles Cavalier Spaniels.

http://www.jaaha.org/cgi/content/abstract/36/1/34

Apparently the “ridge” for which the Rhodesian Ridgeback gets it’s name poses major health issues, and puppies born without it are immediately culled even if healthy, because they don’t fit the breed profile.  It has been prove that the puppies with the ridge that is so sought after are sickly and prone to pin hole like lesions on their skin which allow infection to get to their spin or brains.  The puppies without the ridge are the more heartier of the breed! 

http://www.rhodesianridgebackhealth.org/resources/ridgegenetics.html

While I understand that we have to have standards because we can’t have people going of half-assed or half-cocked breeding left, right and centre, but really should the standard, cosmetics and or looks weigh heavier in the show ring than HEALTH!?????  The winner of Crufts in 2003 Yakee a Dangerous Liason a Pekingese was immediately rushed from the winning circle to sit on an ice pack to cool him down because the threat of him overheating from running around the ring under the lights with that fur was imminent! 

I can’t say I love my dog more or less for him being the breed he is.  To me he is the opposite of what Cesar Milan tries to tell me.  He is Brody, he is a dog, he is a Yellow Lab….  Cesar wants me to see him as dog, breed, individual.  However I feel that is where we go wrong.  When we don’t see them as individuals they become object, of prestige, power and money and are used at all costs to gain each…..  When we see them as living, breathing creature with beating hearts and searching else who feel pain how can you not stop and think that what we are doing to them in the name of perfecting a breed is WRONG!

So watch out for tomorrow when I start talking about my disdain for breastfeeding Mothers!  ARRRRG!