I'm going to a police debriefing on a big officer-involved shooting we had last week (because i took the call that sent officers to check on a suicidal subject who happened to have some hunting rifles and really good aim). *gulp* it was a pretty routine call from my end and i'm not terribly concerned about being heavily criticized, and i'm very interested in seeing how a formal debriefing actually works...but i'm also pretty anxious about being in a room surrounded by officers while they have the opportunity to pick apart every choice i made as a calltaker. I don't think they will, or that that would be part of this process (critiquing generally happens within a few days in a closed office with a union rep and none did, so i'm certainly not "in trouble" at all)

don't need ~ma, just to get some friggin sleep tonight.

Good luck erin!

Pico doesn't seem to rip anything but the dryer sheets. She will shake the shit out of things, and playing seems to involve a lot of pouncing, but things pretty much stay in one piece. Of course that may be because Oz is shredding every toy in his path before she would ever get a shot at them.

Good luck erin. Perhaps you will actually be praised!

Truman sounds like a dog after my own heart. Bartleby will pull out the toys but has no concept of replacing them.

And, in a way I have never been able to explain, he wants to grab a toy to take outside when in a pee break. No clue. He does NOT grab a toy if I say 'outside', which he knows involves the collar. 'Pee' which is just the yard means he MUST have a toy. He immediately drops it...and leaves it for me to pick up. If I didn't follow behind him, every single toy would be out there and he'd be grabbing socks or something.

I guess he wants to show off his vast wealth and holdings to the peasant passersby.

Wow erin, your job... I don't think I could handle the stress of it. I'm in awe of you.

When we go visit my SiL, he spends his time finding all THEIR dogs' toys and putting them on THEIR bed. He is very tidy,

Truman is adorable.

People who claim animals don't have emotions and personality just baffle me. Have they ever *met* an animal? If they're just running on instinct and "programming", so are we.

I love seeing my cats go to the toy box and pick out a toy. Leo thinks all the toys are *his*. Percy didn't really know how to play when I got him; he would bat a little at strings dangled over his head, but it took almost a year for him to get the concept that things that weren't food and weren't going to hurt him had any use. Of course, now he plays with stuff that he shouldn't touch, but I'd rather that than him huddled in a corner warily watching Leo play, or staring at toys as if he had no idea what they were for.

Kato is the only dog I've met who doesn't destroy his toys. He has a teddy bear that's over 3 years old whose squeaker still works.

Call the Guinness Book of World Records. Seriously. I've never met a big dog that didn't killkillkill the squeaker.

He also generally only squeaks it (at double-time, honestly) when we're both home, usually when we both get home from work, which I assume expresses his joy that both humans have returned to give him pettins and foods. Tim and I have verified independently that when only 1 of us is home, he might carry the teddy bear around, but he doesn't squeak it.

t edit x-post with Zenkitty on animal emotions!

Truman, on the other hand. LOVES his toys. When anyone he likes comes over, the first thing he does is grab a toy to show them.

My dad's hearing dog, Matt, does this. It's totally adorable.

aw, thanks. i'm in awe of every teacher i know - because i couldn't handle that stress! seriously, in grad school i had a student teaching requirement and spent the whole 2 semester grading papers because the thought of actually having to make lesson plans and be responsible for teaching other human beings!

and on that note, thanks for the feedback cuple days ago. i've had far too many opportunities today to reassure callers that help is on the way and ya'lls comment have me feeling a lot less cranky about repeating "help is on the way" or "they're driving there right now lights and sirens" more than 5 times per call :)

Tep, continued ~ma that the situation resolves itself in a manner favorable to everyone, especially you, Tim, and the puppy. (The ex's son is more or less on his own, far as I'm concerned.)

Re: the toys-- Jasmine, the Big Black Lab still has the stuffed duckie we gave her as a puppy nearly four years ago. It's still miraculously intact despite a lot of love, although the squeaker is deader than a dead thing. Pisces loves squeakers so much she kills them in her enthusiasm. I think we might have a squirrel toy that still squeaks on occasion.

Mooshu could care less about toys.

Totally! He does the dance of squeaker joy when the whole pack is present.

I'm with you Zen, dogs (the only animals I'm qualified to interpret) definitely have emotions, personality and preferences. Sadly though, lots of humans interpret those emotions, etc as if they were identical to our thought processes. That isn't possible. Which means it is totally on US to interpret and respond appropriately.

I had a great conversation with a woman in the park today about her Yorkie. She gave me the list of reactions that cause her trouble. I said, okay I'm going to tell you about your dog's life and you tell me if I'm close. It was fun to see her eyes get bigger and bigger as I hit every predictable button connected to squishy boundaries.

She wailed something like, "What does this mean?!"

What it means is that, no, your 5lb dog is not an alpha who is running your life. He IS a very confused creature who reacts instinctively to your lack of leadership. (somebody's GOT to do it) Step up your routines and he'll calm down considerably. If you don't want to do that (which I understand) then you get to practice not blaming him for being a canine thinker.