Dog people use “good dog” as praise. I am trying to use “skillful dog”. Skillful means is a Buddhist concept. That there is no good and bad, just a continuum of skills. There is less judgement. We can all become more skillful. Bodhi and me.
Bodhi has been under the weather. He is not his bouncy, crazy puppy self. We are laying off the exercise and letting him rest. Could it be something we did? He got his vaccinations more than a week ago, could he be having a delayed reaction? He could have hurt himself playing with a bigger dog. Are we overreacting?
When he is lethargic and sleeping a lot, we wish for the crazy, bouncy puppy. When he is healthy and racing around the house the kitchen table, we wish for the calm, mellow, mature dog that he will one day become. One year of puppyhood equals fourteen human years. We will have a teenager soon enough.
Today I drove with my pack to Waimea to the Kona Coast Kennel Club dog show match.
How exciting to see all the dogs that don’t look like me. Wait a minute, nobody looks like me… As we waited for my turn to go in the ring I practiced being calm by sitting.
I learned soon after that my pack leader was not going into the ring with me but this really nice lady would be my handler. She had a sweet encouraging voice and yummy treats.
She encouraged me to stand with a yummy treat while the judge touched and looked at me. I had to do this a lot, and I had to prance around the ring too.
I’m so glad the nice lady named Melisa handled me, because my pack leader does not have the good treats and the happy voice.
I was so glad to get out of the ring so I can be me. Then I find out that I won best in breed! I was so excited that I won, but my pack leaders were laughing because I was the only vizsla. Oh well, I like it better when I can roll around in the grass on my back while chewing on koa leaves anyway. Then there was all these applause, and I quickly look at the ring to find out that Oliver, my class mate at AKC CGC won the show!
This dog show stuff is fun, for the first hour… Can we go home now?
I mean it, can we go home…
Pack leader said that I might have to go into the ring again. He was right, and the nice lady Melisa took me back in the ring one more time.
Here I am prancing about the ring!
Bodhi participated in his first dog show match and he bounced around the ring. The other puppies were calm and serene. It didn’t matter, Bodhi got a ribbon for Best of Breed because he was the only Hungarian Vizsla at the show. That’s the beauty of just showing up.
Today was my first day at school. The class I’m taking is AKC Canine Good Citizen. This class is eight weeks long. At first I was a little nervous with all the new people and dogs. Then pack leader was really strict and didn’t allow me to meet the other people.
We did all these walking drills and this funny exercise where the pack leaders stopped and talked but I had to sit and watch them and the other dog.
Not fair!!! When do I get to sniff? Then we played the watch me game. Pack leader had a smelly treat in his hand and he moved around with his face. I had to watch.
How long do I have to do this to get the treat? We also practiced the command come on a long rope. I thought it was silly exercise, why wouldn’t I come, I get treats and praise when I do it, so I chewed the yellow rope when nobody was looking waiting my turn. At the end of class some dogs and pack leaders practiced for the dog show match in Waimea tomorrow. I was invited to participate too! At the end of the class, I was so tired that I fell asleep in the car.
I understand that he is just a puppy, but I didn’t expect those sharp pointy teeth. To deter him from jumping on me, I was trying to give him his bone, but instead he bit my hand. I was enraged. Keith tapped Bodhi’s muzzle to show him who is the alpha around here as I put band-aides on my fingers cursing. The next day, I brought Bodhi out to play with a neighbor’s dog who had a rope leash. I stepped on the leash, the dog ran and I got a nasty rope burn on the top of my foot. Another large band-aide on my foot. I look like I’ve returned from battle.
Today we swam at Kailua Bay after a short walk on Wailua Road.
Here is a movie of me fetching a train from the surf.
Last night, Bodhi jumped over the baby gate to his closet where he sleeps. He didn’t want to sleep so he barked to be let out. We tried to ignore him and shook a can filled with coins to deter his barking. He jumped over the gate and peed on the floor. It was chaotic. We were frantic. We didn’t want to disturb the neighbors in the middle of the night. After we all calmed down, he eventually settled down and gave up, with a sigh.
The next morning, I had to remind myself that he is a dog. He lives in the present moment, not in the past and not in the future. He doesn’t focus on what happened last night. We can start each day anew, with a clean slate, with beginner’s mind. He only reacts to my frustration with frustration.
I sat in his closet with the door slightly ajar. He wanted to come in because this where the party is, his bed, his food, his human. I was able to reestablish a positive connection to his closet. He didn’t jump the gate that night, but just to be sure, we got a second gate to place above the first.
I went to my first parade! I sniffed all kinds of funny smells. Heard all kinds of loud noises like rock bands, motorcycles, firecrackers, and sirens from police cars and fire trucks. I was brave and didn’t flinch at any of these noises. I also met big people, little people, people in strollers (which I had to be very careful with), people on stilts that were very tall, people in funny costumes and lots of people who just thought I was the cutest and wanted my picture. I’m thinking they must be mistaking me for a movie star… 
