My fortune cookie from the other day said: Allow disruptions to deepen your concentration.
Okay, Confucious...
Is that really good advice?
Really?
I'm not sure I agree with that fortune. But... I have to admit that I get more done with a time crunch.
And... there is nothing like a demanding dog to create a lack of concentration and time.
Walk me.
Play with me.
Rub my tummy.
Feed me.
Let me outside.
I'm bored...get me a bone to chew on.
I just wish sometimes that Rex hadn't misread my fortune. I think he thought it said: CONSTANT disruptions. I read it to mean occasional. But I guess I'm stuck with his interpretation.
I have to say that with a dog and all the disruptions in my days, I get more done and have less anxiety than I ever did without him -- thank you, Rex!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
10 Things About Rex
I was just reading Kate DiCamillo's book Because of Winn Dixie for the umpteenth time. In the book, the little girl makes a list of 10 things she knows about Winn Dixie. But later she reflects that a list cannot tell us the essence of a person.
Nevertheless... here is a list about Rex.
10 Things I Know About Rex
1. Rex farts. His farts are like what you smell if you drive past where someone ran over a skunk. Sorry for the comparison. But ... no lie.
2. Rex is big. He even looks like Clifford the Big Red Dog. But you get used to the size if you are around him long enough. Then he only looks big when you see a medium-sized dog.
3. Rex loves belly rubs. Who among us would not like a massage. Duh.
4. Rex's favorite toy is anything he has at the moment that you want to get away from him. This is also his favorite game.
5. Rex loves to chase a tennis ball if someone will throw it for him. (He actually loves this a little TOO much. When he gets wound up about chasing that tennis ball, he might even come near to knocking you over. How would you like to have a lion jumping up on you? Well... that's what it's like.)
6. Rex loves to eat. If you asked him his favorite time of day, he would probably say: Mealtime. Rex can eat a lot too. But if you dump three scoopfuls of food into his dish, that'll probably hold him for a while.
7. Rex hates plastic bags and he will tear up a brown plastic bag with a Cub logo on it for no reason whatsoever--no reason I know of anyway.
8. Rex loves walks. If you want to get in shape and get motivated to walk every day--he's your man, a personal trainer. He will even check you like a hockey player and corral you toward the front door in the morning if it looks like you are trying to go into the kitchen or bathroom or anywhere else besides to the front door to strap his halter leash on him and head out for a walk. A 105-pound dog smiling and jumping and barking can be awfully persuasive.
9. Rex is protective. He will kick someone's butt--or some dog more likely--if they come near you. So when walking him, it's important to get between him and any approaching dogs so he knows that he doesn't have to protect you and that you are there to protect him instead.
10. Most of all, Rex just wants to be loved. When he is laying at your feet, he always wants to be touching your foot or leg with his paw. He wants to be close to his owners. No matter what.
Nevertheless... here is a list about Rex.
10 Things I Know About Rex
1. Rex farts. His farts are like what you smell if you drive past where someone ran over a skunk. Sorry for the comparison. But ... no lie.
2. Rex is big. He even looks like Clifford the Big Red Dog. But you get used to the size if you are around him long enough. Then he only looks big when you see a medium-sized dog.
3. Rex loves belly rubs. Who among us would not like a massage. Duh.
4. Rex's favorite toy is anything he has at the moment that you want to get away from him. This is also his favorite game.
5. Rex loves to chase a tennis ball if someone will throw it for him. (He actually loves this a little TOO much. When he gets wound up about chasing that tennis ball, he might even come near to knocking you over. How would you like to have a lion jumping up on you? Well... that's what it's like.)
6. Rex loves to eat. If you asked him his favorite time of day, he would probably say: Mealtime. Rex can eat a lot too. But if you dump three scoopfuls of food into his dish, that'll probably hold him for a while.
7. Rex hates plastic bags and he will tear up a brown plastic bag with a Cub logo on it for no reason whatsoever--no reason I know of anyway.
8. Rex loves walks. If you want to get in shape and get motivated to walk every day--he's your man, a personal trainer. He will even check you like a hockey player and corral you toward the front door in the morning if it looks like you are trying to go into the kitchen or bathroom or anywhere else besides to the front door to strap his halter leash on him and head out for a walk. A 105-pound dog smiling and jumping and barking can be awfully persuasive.
9. Rex is protective. He will kick someone's butt--or some dog more likely--if they come near you. So when walking him, it's important to get between him and any approaching dogs so he knows that he doesn't have to protect you and that you are there to protect him instead.
10. Most of all, Rex just wants to be loved. When he is laying at your feet, he always wants to be touching your foot or leg with his paw. He wants to be close to his owners. No matter what.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cookie Monster--Counter Surfer
Yesterday, Rex sniffed out a cookie leftover from my Subway lunch lying on the kitchen table. How could he smell the melted chocolate chips through the plastic?
My first warning of this was the wrestling sound of plastic. I rushed to the kitchen in time to see Rex hurtle through the living room, torn plastic streaming behind him.
I chased Rex around the room, cookie and plastic in his mouth.
"Drop it!" I said.
He looked for an escape route. I walked closer. He turned and dropped it. Then he dug the paper-covered cookie out of the plastic.
"Give me the cookie," I said.
This command only made his jaws clench more firmly. I pried at his teeth. Chocolate is bad for dogs. What if he got sick? I kept pulling at the sharp incisors but to no avail. He wanted that cookie. Who wouldn't? Whether chocolate was good for him or not, he was eating it.
Just a week before he had caught a squirrel on our walk. He didn't even kill it. And he dropped it within a few seconds of my saying, "Drop it!" But this incident would end differently. Cookies are already cooked. The squirrel was not ready-to-eat.
I pulled at his teeth again.
"Drop it!"
I tore half of the paper-covered cookie from his mouth. Then, like a snake wolfing down a mouse, he promptly gulped down the remaining half of the cookie.
My first warning of this was the wrestling sound of plastic. I rushed to the kitchen in time to see Rex hurtle through the living room, torn plastic streaming behind him.
I chased Rex around the room, cookie and plastic in his mouth.
"Drop it!" I said.
He looked for an escape route. I walked closer. He turned and dropped it. Then he dug the paper-covered cookie out of the plastic.
"Give me the cookie," I said.
This command only made his jaws clench more firmly. I pried at his teeth. Chocolate is bad for dogs. What if he got sick? I kept pulling at the sharp incisors but to no avail. He wanted that cookie. Who wouldn't? Whether chocolate was good for him or not, he was eating it.
Just a week before he had caught a squirrel on our walk. He didn't even kill it. And he dropped it within a few seconds of my saying, "Drop it!" But this incident would end differently. Cookies are already cooked. The squirrel was not ready-to-eat.
I pulled at his teeth again.
"Drop it!"
I tore half of the paper-covered cookie from his mouth. Then, like a snake wolfing down a mouse, he promptly gulped down the remaining half of the cookie.
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