Water off a Duck's Back

Have you ever witnessed the grace and ease of a duck in his element?  It is like a ballet.  Smooth and flowing like the water he plays in.

It soothes and calms my spirit and is one of the many pleasures I am able to enjoy in my own backyard.

My only regret is that I don't a have a bigger and real pond for Luigi to splash and swim about.

It's so easy on the eyes, quiets the mind and caresses the soul every time I watch his graceful moves.

And I never tire of it.

I love my little ducky and the good feels he gives.

(or watch on YouTube)

Luigi, the king of swim

Breaking Our Wills

Brut is aggressive.  It as simple as that.  And while he we have less and less incidences with him lashing out on the other dogs, he will always be aggressive.  It is his nature.

As painful and scary this demeanor is, I also love it about him.  When he uses his dominance in a way that is productive, it is an awesome sight, that only takes the power of his death glare to make the room his own.  

I love that fight.  I love that spirit in him.  And I wouldn't break him of it if I was paid to.  

It is what makes Brut, Brut.

In my life I've been pressed to the ultimate limits of my will being broken and it is that last scream of innocence that has kept me alive another day.  And I could never force that onto Brut to contend to my will or anyone elses.  I have live too long that way, I could never put those screws to his head.

In fact it is his aggression that I understand the most.  The feeling of being boxed in corners you can never get out of, but you fight because you have to.  Somehow, someway you must fight.  That is what I see in Brut.  That's what I see in myself.  And that is what has caused me to think way outside of the box, especially with Brut.  Brut's uniqueness is just that.  He forced me to make that tiny crack and peek outside the box.  Then we worked constantly on breaking it down, even the ones I built back up because it was scary and awkward, we broke those down too.  And we are still cracking and crashing through walls due to our very nature of fighting for what is right.

 When I harness his energy, I harness mine as well.  

They wanted to break our wills, but they couldn't.

This time around I've got a partner and so does Brut.   

  

I Gotcha Your Back

Have no fear, Brut is here!

Have you ever had your dog help you in a way that you never thought was possible?  All my dogs are my personal therapy dogs, but Brut and I are like twins, and we usually always know what the other needs.

Mark is walking Brut and I'm following behind on the trail getting ready to hit the open field.  I have a huge fear of people so when I saw there are a couple of people out there walking and a little shot of fear rushes to my brain.  Brut who is always in tune with me knows this and our surroundings turns around and drags Daddy back a little ways, sniffing this way and that, stalling a bit, before finally moving forward.

We take the next length of the field with the woman slightly ahead of us and far out of any threat zone.  And when we turn down the path back into the woods.  Brut made a big, long paw scrap looking right at me as he pumped each leg back, as if to say "and that's how we do it!"  I gave him a bite of my apple that he had no interest in the entire walk, but took my gift of thanks willingly.

He has done this with my fear of people before when I've been walking him.  When a cars, people or bikes go by he will pause and start sniffing around while looking at me out of the corner of his eye.  I keep my eyes on him and when said "threat" passes, he moves on.  I just have to follow his lead.

It's like a game and it works wonders.  And it's so cool to understand each other and play.  Where nobody knows or is watching or anything looks out of the ordinary.  I truly believe it is one of the many special ways Brut shows me he loves me and he is grateful for all I have done for him in dealing with him.  And he shows a special side of himself in those moments.  A very caring, cajole dog who saves me every day.  

He's taking care of me, like I take care of him.

      

Thank you for asking

Several of you have asked how I am doing since the incident with Brut and vet and I am OK.

I finally got something that Brut has been trying to teach me.  Lord knows I'm a slow learner, BOL! but Brut is always a patient teacher.

He has been trying to show me when he doesn't want to do something and to trust him with the why.  It happened the day the vet came to our house for heartworm test and shots.  Brut paused quite dramatically while I dangled a leash in front of him.  Just the sight should have made him do cartwheels.  He made the pause noted and then came when I called him to go out to the driveway to see the vet. He growled, then made a grab for her face while she started to draw blood.

I remembered the pause that he gave me before coming when called later while relaying the story to hubby.  But it was what happened later that night when Brut wanted a head rub from hubby, hubby kept insisting he get on the couch next to him.  Brut refused, still vying for a head rub.  I told hubby, Brut doesn't want on couch, he wants his head rubbed."  I knew the position Brut was being put in was going to have a bad outcome.  But hubby didn't listen, kept coaxing him up and so Brut finally gave and within seconds was snarling and growling at Fiona across the room in the next chair.  All Brut wanted was some attention and then go to his room.  He had no intentions for wanting to stay.

It was this pause that made me see the light of the situation that happened with the vet that day.  I wasn't angry with Brut, but I was having a hard time hearing what he was trying to say.  And he taught me something very valuable that day.

I've even see him pause in the middle of dog fight, trying to get my attention and not to react in the same manner.  And of course I did and he kept on fighting.  Like OK, if this is what you want.

Brut is molding me to what he needs.  And I am doing the same with him.  And the more I realize he is listening to me, the more I'd better start listening to him.

We bonded a little bit more this past weekend.  Another secret into the world of Brut unlocked.  I am always awestruck when I realize he's trying to get my attention, and I finally "get it."

   Changing lives two at a time

Monday Memories down Puppy Lane...

 Feeling a bit nostalgic and thought I'd ease your Monday in with puppies.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Just chillin' with my ducky!

I'm a big boy, I can take myself for a walk!

Gotcha big brother!

Somebody save me, please...

And he flies through the air with the greatest of ease...

p.s. thank you for your comments this weekend about the incident with Brut and the vet.  It really helped.

       dog bloggers are still the best!

Still Shaken

I'm having a hard time trying to shake this whole thing with Brut and our vet.  Even looking back and analyzing every second, there was a one second window just before he went for her face if there was a moment to make a correction, that was the time.  And it wasn't enough time to do anything.  Other than not have gone through with the heartworm test and shot in the driveway of our home, Brut showed no signs of aggression, frustration, stress, or any crazies.  But my guard was also down.  Way down.  The rest of the dogs had went so well, I got caught up in the hope that Brut would too, instead of taking into account, it was Brut.  And normally I'm right in tune with him and can read him so well.  And he fooled both of us.  

And I'm so cautious, extra cautious in situations that involve Brut.  Always have been.  

Everyone at the vet clinic was saying, "It happened.  Don't worry about it.  Could have been a whole lot worse.( The vet had a mark on her nose and shoulder.)  Shit happens.  You guys are good."

And I'm just having a hard time letting go and believing that.  

Brut has been sticking right close to me as if in remorse and trying to help me come out of my shock and fear of what happen.  

It's still so hard to know everything is OK.  

The 5-1 Theory

So have you heard of the 9-1 theory?  It's when you have 9 good things happen and 1 bad, and that 1 bad blots out the 9 good.  It makes it difficult to see all the good things that have happened because of that one nagging thing that went wrong.

Well, I had the 5-1 theory happen yesterday when the vet made a "farm call" to our house for heartworm test and annual shots.  3 dogs did well, 1 did better than expected, 1 was an angel, and then there was the bad boy.  Can you guess who it was?

This was the first time our vet has come to our house for anything, The three I was worried about the most was Brut, Chance and Blaze, in that order.  Chance was my better than expected.  I've never seen him so relaxed and take so well to the procedure and the vet.  Blaze was an angel.  Just a perfect angel.  Didn't even fight when the needle went in to draw the blood.  I couldn't believe it.

So you know who that leaves...my bad boy Brut.  Everything was going so well, that I was hopeful if there was a chance and the circumstances were good, things with him would go well for him too.  Except I forgot the one main point.  The one main problem with Brut that was my greatest concern to begin with, the vet was on HIS turf.  He was OK at first but he is sneaky.  While I held his head and hugged his body, the vet held his leg to draw blood.  Then it happened quickly, Brut growled than snapped at her in the face.  He nicked her nose and got her shoulder, all while I held him.  And I've had a hard time letting go of it.  I knew better and I still tried.

We are taking him in the vet's office tomorrow to finish what never got started.  Brut has a healthy fear of the vet's office.  I've seen him run into Daddy's lap when a little dog got aggressive with him.  This is a much better atmosphere for him to be handle because he knows it.  He has to wear a muzzle though.  And I'm OK with that.  He's never tried to bite anyone before.  So this is our first time. It was all wrong time, wrong place and something I didn't even come close to expecting.

So this afternoon should be interesting to say the least.

Somebody, please tell me, I can't be alone in this...has your dog ever been a problem at the vet with you?