Tightening up with our dogs during the pandemic

I recall vaguely that some people in the far north, perhaps Eskimos, described the coldness of the night in terms of dogs.  If it was a three or four dog night; that meant it was really cold.  Getting by with one or two dogs was more tolerable.  It has been cold outside here, below freezing most mornings, but up in my study it is warm enough, sleeping in my lounge chair, covered by whatever blankets I feel comfortable with.  But Jessica, my Irish Terrier, has her own opinion about that.  Perhaps it has some relationship to the coldness outside, but she has been determined to sleep on top of me at night.  She was getting me trained in that respect in the recent past, but when I hurt my shoulder, it was not tolerable for me, and she had to leave me alone.

But my shoulder is a lot better.  Last night was typical.  My term for telling her I intended to get to sleep is “nap.”  “I’m going to take a nap, now Jessica; so, don’t get in my lounge chair.”  She warned me she had a plan by ignoring my words and getting in my lounge chair anyway.  When I was ready to go to sleep, I tipped the lounge chair up gently and slid her out onto the floor.  She watched me settle in and then pawed my arm indicating she wanted to get into my lap.  I said, “okay,” and reached for her, but she wanted to play hard to get, moving away when I reached for her.  At last, I said in annoyance, “Go away, I’m going to sleep”, but just as I began to doze off, she raked my right arm with her nails.  “Go away,” I said again, and tried to get back to sleep.  After a few iterations of this, I was no longer sleepy; so, I turned the light on and read on my Kindle for a while, Ignoring Jessica’s unhappiness with me.  

As soon as I was sleepy again, I put my Kindle away and the next time she messed with me, I jackknifed forward, grabbed her forward legs up close to her chest and pulled her up on top of my stomach; which was her goal all along; so, at last she was ready to go to sleep for the night.  This isn’t to say there wasn’t a lot of shifting about on both our parts.  My ribcage in the area most associated with my left shoulder, while not as sore as it has been, will complain if Jessica is lying on it for too long.  Also, Jessica prefers spending a lot of time parallel to my left leg with her head toward my feet, which is okay because it is my right leg that has the damaged knee cap.  And so, we sleep.

Waking up this morning, some of my joints and other structure felt a bit uncomfortable, but after loosening up with some dumbbells I felt okay.  I don’t have the usual morning headache and in retrospect I enjoyed Jessica sleeping on top of me.  When she was young and squirmy, she didn’t like being a lapdog, but now, when she’s in the mood (or perhaps shortly after she’s been trimmed and its cold outside) she does.  So perhaps it is a coincidence, but when the temperature drops down near freezing outside, I am having one-dog nights.

But as our sleeping arrangements are getting sorted, I wondered about the introduction of a Ben-like Ridgeback.  What would he be wanting to do while Jessica was annoying me by playing hard to get when all I want to do is sleep, with or without her sleeping on me?   And, if he got to close would Jessica wake me up with a growl or a bark?  Of course, he would get used to that eventually, and steer-clear if he could, but he would have to walk by the lounge chair to get to the water dishes.  

In the past this was less of a problem inasmuch as I spent most nights sleeping on the floor, but I’m creakier than I used to be and wouldn’t be able to sleep on my left shoulder at all.  The lounge chair is fine.  My shoulder and I have gotten used to it.

Now, with this hiding out because of the pandemic, not being able to get back into hiking quite yet because of medication changes and weather, Jessica, Duffy, my Schnoodle, and I have been living in a closer relationship than in the past.  I thought they might feel a bit of cabin fever being restricted to the house and yard most days, but not so.  They like it fine.  I have been more attentive to what they want and need, and they like that more than fine.   

So, what would happen if we added a Ridgeback to our mix?  I looked over at Jessica just now and she is lying on a blanket in morning sunlight watching me.  I wouldn’t be the only person to look at (Duffy does a lot of sleeping, and Jessica ignores him most of the time) if we had a Ridgeback.  

And no matter how fixed our situation is now, it would be just as fixed, albeit arranged differently if Ben, our last Ridgeback, were still alive.  Ben was easier to live with than Jessica has been.  Then too, if the weather stays cool at night, and my shoulder heals a bit more, perhaps I can sleep on the floor again, from time to time, and if there were a Ridgeback to keep us company, I could have a three-dog night if I needed one.

 

Dog behavior has nothing to do with their breed, recent test results imply

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/28/science/dogs-breed-behavior-genes.html

I thought the above referenced study based upon DNA analysis was interesting.  I am glad scientists round about are interested in learning about our symbiotic companions.  I did think the statistic about pure bred dogs behaving in accordance with the breed tradition, that is, what the breed was intended to do, was rather low, but in thinking it over I have no personal experience that would even enable me to advance an anecdotal argument to its contrary. 

After reading the article I read the comments from the responders to the article.  They were all over the place, but the most valid criticized the anecdotal nature of information provided by those who paid the $175 to have their dogs DNA checked.  Responders to the article thought such people extremely untrustworthy making the study of little value.

In the case of Ridgebacks, my anecdotal response wouldn't have anything to do with what the Ridgeback was originally intended to do, the hunting of lions.  Probably few people living today have any experience with that attribute.  The secondary attribute, probably the reason most Ridgebacks were purchased, and a reason still valid today was farm and home protection against wild animals and human intruders.  I haven't seen the questionnaire, but I wouldn't know how to answer the question, if this is one of their questions for the Ridgeback, "would your Ridgeback protect you and your property?"  That is something that has never been put to the test in my case.   I do believe that Trooper was sort of tested.  We were hiking in the mountains when he was seven months old and some mountain bikers came racing down the trail towards us.  There wasn't room for me to get him off to the side.  There was a drop off to the left and a steep incline to the right.  I braced for impact.  Trooper however knew exactly what to do.  He went into combat mode and gave an enormous bark/growl.  I never knew those bikes had such good brakes.  The two racers got off their bikes, and making sure I had hold of Trooper's collar inched past us with their bikes between them and Trooper.  I didn't like those guys racing down hiking trails endangering whomever,  and so I gave Trooper an appreciative pat on the head and we hiked on.  Trooper did that same sort of thing  two other times that I recall: a jogger on a dark night and someone running through a parking lot toward a store.

Sage did that sort of thing on three occasions that I recall.  Ginger and Ben seemed too friendly to ever do anything like that.  I dog sat a Ridgeback that seemed timid.

I don't know how any of that would bear upon my Ridgebacks willingness to protect me and my property.  When any delivery person or cat comes up on my front porch, my non-Ridgebacks go berserk.  The Ridgebacks would rarely join in.  But any dog who will bark will probably deter the casual intruder where I live.  Would Susan's 12 year old 23-pound Schnoodle or my 6 year old 45-pound Irish Terrier protect me.  I doubt the Schnoodle would.  Maybe Jessica would if I was actually being attacked, on the floor, bleeding out, but I'm not sure. 

Abolition of all internal taxes

The British tax people have discovered of a new tax source.  The smiling face of the head tax man Phillip Hammond appearing prominently in this article:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/19/revealed-treasury-to-announce-tax-raid-on-work-perks-enjoyed-by/?WT.mc_id=e_DM225451&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FAM_New_AEM_Recipient&utm_source=email&utm_medium=Edi_FAM_New_AEM_Recipient_2016_11_20&utm_campaign=DM225451

I thought of the Beatles song while reading it.  By coincidental contrast I've been reading Henry Adams First Administration of Jefferson.  Jefferson was a Republican who didn't believe in a strong executive, the examples of strong monarch's in European nations were too powerful a threat for him to think otherwise, and yet there he was, President of the United States, and someone needed to be in charge.  He wasn't being hypocritical in exercising more power than he believed the U.S. president ought to have, but in doing what he believed was right he was indeed exercising the power available to him as president.  In 1801 he did something that would be anathema to Phillip Hammond.  He abolished all internal taxes.

Actually what Jefferson did would be anathema to most American politicians as well.  Maybe modern day Republicans would lean a bit more in his direction, but they wouldn't abolish all internal taxes.  Trump as Bush (the younger) and Reagan before him intends to lower taxes, but no one today suggests that government can do without something from each one of us.  And the Federalists of Jefferson's day, a minority in congress but possessing the best orators, were very uncomfortable with Jefferson's decision.  However, as Adams writes on page 184 of the Library of America edition, "Resistance to the abolition of taxes was impossible after the promise which the President's Message held out.  The Federalists themselves had made peace with France, and hostilities between France and England had ceased.  For the first time in ten years no danger of foreign war was apparent, and if the Administration offered to effect economies in the public service, Congress could hardly deny that economies were possible."

I need to read ahead to discover whether all taxes were indeed abolished.  If so where did Jefferson get the money later on to purchase the Louisiana territory from Napoleon, and wouldn't Jefferson have been better off beefing up the U.S. military in accordance with Federalist wishes?  Had they done so the War of 1812 wouldn't have been such an iffy thing.  Indeed the U.S. might well have accomplished the goals of some politicians at the time (not Jefferson) and conquered Canada; which would mean that instead of hoping to move to Northern Idaho I might today be considering a move to British Colombia -- or maybe not.  I suspect everyone up there would have voted for Hillary and our own Tax Man would be scouring records of our incomes to find new things to tax.


In the meantime my favorite hiking area, the usually dry riverbed of the San Jacinto River has been inundated by "street people."  I've been referring to them as trolls since there is no "street" down there, and the first ones that interfered with my hiking activities lived under a bridge.  The last time I was down there, hiking through some brush not hitherto inhabited by trolls, my dogs veered off to some bushes.  I stopped and looked back and there was a little man with some binoculars staring off toward the south levee.    Without looking at me he said, "ah ha.  You walked right by me without seeing me.  Your dogs saw me, but you never did." 


I found that a curious thing for him to say but only asked, "are you staying here."  He answered, "Yep, I'm one of them"; which made it sound as though he and the others were getting criticism from somewhere.  I asked, "are you from Riverside"?  I had heard that the street people in Riverside had been chased out of the parks they had been camping in.  He said, "nope.  I was destined for this life six months ago."  I didn't ask him where he was getting money to live on.  Living off of the land clearly wasn't possible at the river.  Was he getting enough government support (from internal taxes) to go down from the river to Stater Bros and buy groceries? 


Jessica, my energetic seven-month old Irish Terrier was jumping up on him for attention.  He didn't put his hands on her, needing both of them to hold his field glasses, but he turned sideways.  Having been jumped on by her myself I knew it wasn't a pleasant experience; so I called her and we went on. 

Jessica still lives

Neither Ben nor Duffy nor I have killed Jessica in self-defense. We have all dealt with her little teeth, her frenetic biting, her daunting energy, and perhaps our barking, snarling, snapping, yelling and actually hands and teeth on chastisement have slowly had an effect.  On the other hand it may just be that she is a bit older. -- 13 1/2 weeks.

Two milestones occurred today.  She is now able to jump up on the couches where Duffy has hitherto gone to be away from her.  I looked down from the stairway landing and there she was lying there on one of them, her crossed, paws dangling over the edge of one of the cushions, looking regal and proud of herself.  The second milestone is that she came up to me while typing (I was doing the typing not her) and stuck her head up through my legs for petting.  I've managed to pet her several times today with out a hint of teeth (from her not me).

The weather and Jessica have kept us away from hikes for several days.  So instead we have been spending more time in the backyard.  It isn't a very big yard as yards go.  Ben can't get up to speed in it.  Duffy can and has chased around madly with Jessica in pursuit.  He at six is still very fast, much faster than she is at this point.  On occasion Jessica has chased about on her own.  She did that this morning: out along side the fruit trees, quick turn,  back alongside Ben into the garage, back out again and repeat -- doing laps that include a quick turn at both ends, eight or ten while we stood there watching her.

For some time now her favorite place to nap when I am at my desk is under it.  I have accidentally run over some part of her (since her ears don't seem deformed I'm guessing it has been on a paw) with a chair wheel countless times.  Pain apparently doesn't teach her anything because it is still her favorite spot.  It has taught me something and most often I look down to see where she is before moving my chair about -- I'm getting better but I still occasionally forget.

Her favorite playmate has become Duffy.  Duffy will still snap and snarl at her if he is in my lap and she tugs at the blanket, but when both are on the floor they will play for long periods of time.  But today Ben took his turn. At one point she ran around him cleverly and then leaped up toward his head.  Her whole head went into his mouth.  Fortunately he didn't bite down.  He is so unbelievably gentle with her - a perfect Ridgeback.  Duffy too is a perfect dog.   I knew that, and that I ought to be thankful and content, but then I had to get Jessica.  More than once I asked myself, "what have you done"?  But we all three keep assuming that this next time she will be sweet and gentle, and are been rewarded a little bit this week for our patience.

A sick soul and Jessica

 [written 3-23-16]

I had the thought long ago that I might get a pup after losing Susan.  I didn't think about it seriously, but it was still there; so when I began checking to see what was out there -- not thinking I was especially serious, I found a breeder in Missouri who was selling Irish Terriers as pets.  She seemed to fit my interests exactly.  She doesn't seem associated with the AKC; which I had come to mistrust.  She is a bit like an Airedale breeder Larry Jr has been interested in.  These breeders get a lot of criticism from AKC purists, but they aren't tempted to breed for contest winning -- maybe their lines will be a bit healthier.  I can only hope.  They can't be any worse than what I got recently from the Ginger and Sage AKC breeder in Arizona.  The New York AKC breeder of Ben predicts Ben will be healthy and live a long time, but he has been wearing out on recent hikes -- worrying me a little.  He stops in the shade with his tongue hanging and then comes running, huffing and puffing, to catch up.  Meanwhile Duffy, who came from a breeder similar to the Irish Terrier breeder, runs up and back, up and back with inexhaustible energy.  Duffy will be six in May.  He's six months older than Ben.

Ben is probably okay.  He runs about the study from time to time -- runs down stairs and out into the back yard where he fence-fights with the backyard neighbor's dogs for a few seconds, his booming basso-profundo contrasting to the little yips of the min-pins, and then dashes back upstairs expecting a treat.  That sounds healthy enough but he ought to be able to hike further than I can.

I haven't felt much like writing poetry the last couple of months.  Maybe that is too strongly associated with Susan at present.  I resolved to concentrate on poetry and I will most likely go back to it, but I have an idea for another novel and I am not functioning under anyone's rules or expectations at the present time.  I had resolved to work on novels after I retired.  It was something I was looking forward to, but after about seven of them I burned out.  Larry Jr is collecting them and believes he will do something with them one day.  He was hoping I'd write another (I guess that is an expectation but not an unpleasant one).  And then there is a novel I was half-way through before I decided to give up and do other things -- none of that taking time away from worrying about and taking care of Susan, but I discover that in thinking about and working on the novel -- as well as thinking about the arrival of a pup in a few months I am cheering up.

The American philosopher William James in his Varieties of Religious Experience classified people as "sick souls" and "healthy souls."  I read this book years ago and think the data he had was mostly about Catholics, nuns, monks, priests -- religious people notable enough to be written about, and I might not be remembering correctly.  But if I am, the "sick soul" is one who can't let go of his sin.  He dwells upon it and continues to ask for forgiveness but he doesn't seem to really expect it.  I have read the biographies of Calvinists who were in this category as well.  The "healthy soul" on the other hand accepts God's grace, accepts that God has truly cast his sin as far as the east is from the west, and since it is gone, has a cheerful outlook and functions well in the world.  Susan and I for most of our marriage seemed to be in the "healthy soul" category, and even when she was getting sicker her attitude was very good.  I think though that I may have slipped into the "sick soul" category -- not about sin; just my attitude.

A bad attitude is sinful but I wasn't thinking in those terms.  I was unhappy with the way life had turned out, as though with the end of Susan I was at loose ends as well.  Of course I had responsibilities.  I needed to look out for Larry Jr.  He needed and still needs a lot of financial care.  Then, of course, there are the dogs, Ben and Duffy, but they are approaching the ages at which I lost Sage (age 7).  Did I really want to wait until I lost Ben or Duffy before getting another dog?  Also, maybe I'd feel too sad at the loss to think clearly about it.  Would I really want a sad dog from the pound?  There are (sick souls?) who urge people to get pound dogs and the dog won't necessarily be a sick soul itself, but sometimes it will.   I found two Airedales at the local pound at different times and bought both of them for Larry Jr.  The first, Winston, had a very good attitude, but there was something physically wrong with him and after a few years he died suddenly.  The other Airedale, Samson, was a sick soul sort.  He had been abused by his previous owner and it took Larry Jr a very long time to win him over.  Then after a relatively brief time of their being happy with each other Samson died.

Of all the breeds I've studied, at least the ones I thought I might under some circumstances be happy with, the Irish Terrier was far and away the healthiest (according to the statistics I had at hand).  it was the smallest breed that would still (in my opinion) be a first class hiking dog able to deal with any sort of wild animal, especially coyotes.  I first read about Irish Terriers when I was researching the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  The Irish Terrier is one of the breeds believed to be part of the foundation stock of the Rhodesian Ridgeback.  It was a popular hunting breed in South Africa.  Hunters would use it to go after lions, but like the Airedale the Irish Terrier would eventually get pissed at the Lion and take it on.  This resulted in a rapid turnover of Irish Terriers and Airedales, but it is a good indication of the Irish Terrier character, and from what I understand not as much has been done to alter the character of the Irish Terrier.

Larry Jr knew of an Irish Terrier that lived near him in Apple Valley who was attacked by a pack of coyotes in his yard and killed two of them before the rest ran bleeding off.  He wasn't impressed with it however.  I asked if the Irish Terrier looked beat up, and he said he didn't.  He just lay in his yard looking surly.  I expect though that my little female Irish Terrier will be much more cheerful.  We do cheerful things.  I don't leave our dogs out in the yard to fend for themselves.  At least I am expecting Jessica to be cheerful.