tacran
Posted : 1/17/2014 12:57:03 PM
Cold and sunny ---- that sounds wonderful! But we've got cold and foggy.
Tina, I hate those kinds of sleepless nights (or mornings, I guess). Ugh!
I'll try the smiling thing with Ruby later today. As for her reactions to yelling or corrective noises -- the first few times we used the shaker can when she incessantly barked at the fence, she cowered, but now it doesn't phase her, so I don't use it. If she's amped up in a play frenzy, raising your voice can make her react like Bugsy. I think she interprets our loud voices as a cheering squad since we sometimes engage in the frenzy by chasing her around the house after she takes the tug toy. I guess she assumes loud voices mean fun things. I'm sure it would be different if someone yelled with an angry tone of voice.
Yesterday I was at the "human grooming salon" 
for the first time since before the holidays. The gal told me they had to put down one of their dogs earlier this week. She had what they thought was just an infected abscess on her hind end, but after failed treatments it was determined to be very aggressive cancer, and in a couple weeks it was clear she was in severe pain, beyond help. They made the horrible decision to euthanize, and she told me how she and her husband spent their final day with her (including prime rib!), waiting for the vet to come to the house. By the time my appointment was done, tears were shed by both of us -- she was only a couple days into her grief. I'm always amazed at how a story like that can bring back all my raw emotion, so many years after losing Tonka. I was in a blue funk the rest of the evening. She's worried about her other dog, who is whining and looking for his friend. 
On a lighter note, I watched a PBS special I'd recorded recently called "Unlocking Sherlock." It included interviews with the creators and actors from the new version of Sherlock. It was very interesting to hear the actors discuss their approach to the characters. Season 3 starts Sunday --- I'm so excited!