I have a .m4a file I'd like to upload and share here. Anyone know a good program or site for the purpose?

soundcloud?

I'm fast gaining a much deeper empathy for my puppy having clients.

Lord 'o Mercy. I have _enormous_ welts on my arm from the mouthing. Foster mom says I need to be 'tougher'. Me? Jeez, I'm one of the hardest asses I've ever met where discipline is concerned. I need a new strategy.

Otherwise, he's been delightful. No fuss in the crate at all. He's learning to walk behind me on the stairs and we got through the feeding ritual in only 5 minutes. It seemed like a long time, but in the overall scheme of things, he did really well. I could see the gears turning as he tried to figure out what I wanted.

The problem may be that the Bully part of him doesn't actually care what I want. This could make doing demonstrations very difficult, if not impossible.

His love for all dogs was even more evident this morning. I was able to convince a woman to let her dog go in our front yard and Cagney ran like a mad thing for a good 15 minutes. It was perfect. He was crazy excited, but appropriately submissive and polite.

When we came in, he was all dirty from the wet grass. He figured out very quickly that I wanted him to lay down on a towel and then completely submitted to being wiped off. I tried to sing the feet wiping song I made up for Bartleby, but it was too sad. I'll have to think of a new one.

Aw. He'll get it. Sweet boy.

Darby and I are headed to the beach. Supposed to be 80 again today. Madness!

soundcloud?

Ok, I think this works. 20-second track here: [link] Ryan sings Waltzing Matilda.

I tried to sing the feet wiping song I made up for Bartleby, but it was too sad. I'll have to think of a new one.

Awww, bonny. I always just mutter at Kato, "Muddy feets! Look at these muddy feets!" and he looks at me like, "You ungrammatical moron. It's 'FEET'."

How old is Cagney? I wonder -- and this is just a wondering -- if there's a bitterant you can rub on forearms to help break the mouthing trend.

Man, I wish my dad lived in D.C. He would be a perfect dog walker for you guys. Short walks, maybe 1 or 2 clients, but he is an EXCELLENT animal trainer. We have always had Scots and he trained them to everything, with nary a raised voice, and, at the most, a gentle tap on the nose with a finger.

He IS Alpha. (Wonder where I got it from....)

Someone needs to motivate me to Freecycle stuff I couldn't (half-assedly) sell on Craigslist. Even if the money would be awesome and make me feel better about getting rid of things, actually getting rid of the things is better. Right? I mean, an old food processor has value but I really do care more about getting it out of my house and should act on that.

This is me, right now. It needs to get gone more than I need the cash. I need to just pack it all up, take it to Goodwill, get - and save - the receipt, and take the lot of it off my taxes next year. Hm. That might even actually be more profitable than Craigslisting the stuff, and certainly easier. Come on, motivation, where are you? Did I leave you in the garden again?

I love dogs. But having house-sat for a couple with a yellow Lab for a week, and having lived with a guy who had a Samoyed, I know that dogs are too needy and require too much focused attention for me. Maybe I'd be okay with dogs if it could be like it was back on the farm: the dogs safe outside, never in, trained to do their jobs and follow commands and act right, but not needing walks or housetraining or being entertained. Cats are the pets for me. Show them the litterbox, show them the food and water bowls, wrap anything they mustn't scratch in plastic until they get the idea, and glue all the small things in their flight paths down with QuakeHold, and that's that. I'd much rather clean a litterbox than take an excited critter who needs to pee and wants to smell and chase everything for a walk.

What I forsee happening... when she passess, being the only one out here in CA, I will have to be the one to deal with all the junk. Just don't wanna.

omnis, I sympathize. I come from a long line of collectors, pack-rats, and Depression-era hoarders of tin foil. After my mom died, clearing out the house where she and her mother had lived the majority of their lives was just an awful chore. Hell, we're still not done - even though the house is sold, my sister's attic is still stuffed full of antiques. Mostly clocks.

Take earrings off, aim low, strike fast, strike twice and don't be afraid to get dirty.

This is why Erin rocks, cause this is how Erin rolls.

Nora and smonster! A friend of mine is moving to New Orleans in June for her first residency. Can I hook you guys up?

How old is Cagney? I wonder -- and this is just a wondering -- if there's a bitterant you can rub on forearms to help break the mouthing trend.

He's roughly 11 months and just got neutered this Monday. So. Yeah. Bitter apple may be the next logical step.

At this point, the stuff I was worried about seems sorted, but there are three things that I am just not sure I can 'teach out.'

One completely unexpected thing is an intolerance to heat. It's not even 70 and he seems to be suffering. I figured that his nose was not snubbed enough to be a problem, but I might be wrong.

He did learn the 'give' command pretty easily...in the house that is. Other dogs in the mix and he has no ears for me.

Man, I wish my dad lived in D.C. He would be a perfect dog walker for you guys. Short walks, maybe 1 or 2 clients, but he is an EXCELLENT animal trainer. We have always had Scots and he trained them to everything, with nary a raised voice, and, at the most, a gentle tap on the nose with a finger.

OMG, so do *I*! I'd give anything to get a few, more mature, alpha folks on the payroll to do special needs and individual walks. (And Scotties are a challenge! You go, Dad of E!)