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(Staged Part 2)
Note:
Do You Have the Time,
To Listen to Me Whine,
About Nothing and Everything All at Once. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
18 august 2006
this entry is late...mostly because it's taken me a few days to get over the events of this past tuesday's training class.
as some of you already know, matea has fear issues with other dogs, stemming from 4 months of bad experiences at dog parks when she was 8-10 mos of age. add to that her breed - GWPs are bred for "sharpness", meaning if they perceive a threat they're going in, and matea is definitely the quintessential GWP - plus she's a female, and a wannabe alpha...even though with her own pack of at least five other dogs, she's a big pushover.
in class, cheryl - my new hero in dog training and behavior - sometimes has exercises in controlled chaos...dogs retrieving across each other's paths, toys flying everywhere, excitement amped up...all to create dogs who are more interested in working with/for their handler than be distracted by other dogs.
for matea, such exercises are brilliant as it boosts her confidence, showing her that she can work around other dogs and focus on the task at hand without perceiving a threat from every dog she encounters. and she's doing wonderfully. we'd not had a single incident with matea in almost 4 mos of classes, even if another dog accidentally bumps into her or gets into her face.
...until this past tuesday.
taz (an older jack russell...ironically sold to cheryl by another friend of mine who breeds JRTs and has a wirehaired pointer as well!) was in class. during a controlled-chaos exercise, matea was heading out - full steam - to retrieve her tennis ball for me...dogs everywhere, and go figure the ball should roll under taz, the JRT.
taz spun, facing off with matea, and matea had her head down, totally wanting to back away. this was my interpretation of her reaction, and it was confirmed by cheryl after class when we reviewed the event.
matea was actually making the decision to forget the ball, and more importantly, forget the JRT, deciding neither was worth it. if i'd called her back, i truly believe she would have come. but since cheryl's goal is to build this dog's confidence, i stuck to the task at hand: "fetch...fetch." then, apparently, taz made the first challenge/snap. at that point the GWP sharpness kicked in and matea was on her. you've never heard such screaming...cheryl assured me later that taz had been through WAY worse during flyball events, and that her reaction tends to be extreme screaming at just about anything.
with the screaming, the GWP prey-drive kicked in...probably 10 times that of any normal dog. being 50-feet away, i wasn't in the fray until it was over 5 seconds later. 5 seconds that felt like a bloody lifetime. matea was not giving up. BUT let me assure you there was no blood, no injuries, which i suppose i should derive confidence from, in that my dog does have bite inhibition.
i DO believe that had i been right there, the incident would have stopped before it began. however, i wasn't. and fortunately cheryl WAS. AND fortunately taz is one of cheryl's dogs (owned by a niece, i believe). AND fortunately, cheryl is cesar millan in a woman's form. she was calm and assertive, snatching matea's beard and twisting, then holding her by her lips for a good 4 seconds before switching to her happy-voice and saying: "okay! let's go play!"
for the next ten minutes cheryl had me send matea for retrieves with taz right there (held by cheryl), and in fact, growling at matea....a rottie was lunging at the other side of matea (a friendly rottie, but matea doesn't seem capable of discerning the difference), and other dogs at the receiving end. you could literally see matea work through her fears, her body cringing as she came close to the other dogs, yet following through with the task at hand with coaching from me. but it was clear that matea does NOT want confrontation...she was giving the growling JRT a wide berth after that, and not because she'd been reprimanded for fighting. there was really no reprimand.
still, seeing 68 lbs of solid muscle on a little 15 lb JRT is truly frightening. growing up i witnessed the swift death of a pug at the jaws of our one german shepherd...and i saw many fights between our shepherds. any kind of dog fight or scuffle has a major effect on me, even on tv, and i'm working to overcome that.
after class, with her arm around my shoulders, cheryl pointed to matea, lying 20' away on her own in a down even as the JRT was being led past her.... "that is not a bad dog," cheryl said. "if that was a bad dog, i'd be going home and digging a hole tonight."
It's finally here....my 2nd collaboration with Glossy magazine. To look at the preview, head to page 31. See what inspires me!! ;D
...combat boots, walked on
many terrains, countries,
feces, courtyards, buildings..
even doors, dogs, bugs...sewers........
How could I pass up face painting day?
For TRP Painted Faces
FGR Shiny things
View On Black if you wanna check out all my pores
I have not used face paint in a while, so I just had to participate. I painted my whole face up and my stinking camera was having some issues, I was paranoid that I was going to break out from having all this stuff on my face. It all worked out. I really need to shower, I washed it all off, but I still feel icky.
Well I am off to shower and do some running around I have been putting off. Hope everyone has a great Saturday night!!!!
Oh and I was planning on smiling today because Pimp and Ali were bustin my chops yesterday, but I would of looked like a freak with a big ole smile on my face... AHHAHA some other day!!
Viaduc de Chanteloube, sur la baie des Moulettes, submergé par le lac de Serre-Ponçon.
Le lac était presque plein lors de cette prise de vue.
This small lake was established in a civic area near to a large park, which has a substantial body of water. The No Fishing Sign has been defaced and several young men are fishing in the lake everyday. The ducks have had a second clutch of chicks. So in spite of being asked not to fish, reported to Local Laws and possibly the police, they continue to fish.
It is a pity there isn't an on the spot fine!
I had to make a larger version of this image (which is already in my stream) for a different purpose and ... well, this is where I store my images ....
If you're stuck and want to get back to my site, Utata, click here.
F90x/N90s + Tokina 12-24 F/4, Fuji Superia 400. Nantes, réalisée dans le cadre du marathon photo de l'Ev 2008.
Thème : Sans issue.
I've walked past this fella loads of times and watched him do his act, and had this shot in mind for over a year, a lot of playing and headscratching over the computer, but I honestly couldn't have done it without the inspiration I've gained from seeing the photos posted on this site by those I've listed as contacts.
Grand Canyon NP, AZ
A majestic view of the Grand Canyon from the Mather Point overlook taken during a recent family vacation.
The canyon itself was magnificent but I found it truly difficult to do it justice in a photograph. First, haze was a constant issue. This shot was actually one of the few where the haze was manageable in post. Second, as much as I loved traveling out west with my family and observing as my kids saw for the first time some of the national parks that I hold in such high regard, it had its trade offs. For starters, sunrise shots were simply out of the question. Instead, midday shooting in harsh light was the norm. Advance scouting was not really an option - once we left left an overlook, it was quite literally in the rear view mirror and "gone" for good. Planting myself in one spot for several hours while waiting for better light was simply not in the cards like it would have been had I been traveling with my typical group of photography companions. That said, my first visit to GCNP provided some some valuable intel that will surely be useful for my next visit, whenever that may be.
Hope you enjoy this one.
WORN:
HAIR :#Besom~Gossip *Blacks*
MAKEUP: [MJN] NotBasic Gloss {Catwa}
DRESS BY:Bakaboo - Falbala Fantasy Dress
SHOES:: CULT : RIBBON HEELS ( BELLEZA FREYA)
JEWELRY:Kibitz - Lucrecia necklace - gold
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