A week ago Friday, George and I went on a date. We'd planned to eat at the Wine Loft and then go watch Ted, at the Green, an open-air shopping mall. Neither of us was terribly excited about Ted, but we wanted to laugh and it was the best choice available. Dinner was perfect.
George got the movie time wrong, so it had already started when we arrived at the theater. We didn't mind at all because a band called The Fries was playing at the Green, and we listened to awesome music from the '60s, '70s, and 80's instead. Black Water, A Hard Day's Night, Surfin' USA...oh, yeah.
We had so much fun, George made a couple of CDs off iTunes of the playlist and similar songs to commemorate the night.
I love it when a weak plan falls apart!
A Dog
Daisy is going through a lot right now, bless her furry little heart.
First, we took her to a pond to swim for the first time. She started into the water enthusiastically after a thrown tennis ball, but as soon as her feet sank into a bit of mud, she froze and freaked. "What!?!?" She flat refused to go deeper.
And then Jack freaked out because no one was willing to retrieve the ball and we had to leave it as a present for a real retriever.
What sort of defective golden retriever do we have? Bad knees and no water sense!
Anyway, George took her back to a bit cleaner water the following day and made her swim. He carried her into the water and put her down. Nick took pictures and got some good ones!
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| Here she is trying to climb up George. |
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| George trying to encourage her |
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| "Why are you doing this to me?!?!" |
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| "Water's for drinking, not swimming." |
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| "I can do it, but I'm not happy about it." |
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| "Still not happy, people." |
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| You're a good girl, Daisy! |
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| "Dude, I'm tryin' not to die. Don't care about the ball." |
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| The Flying Lip |
So she can swim, even it if isn't yet her favorite activity. George will keep working with her until she can, you know, retrieve something from the water.
Swimming's not the only new activity she's being trained to do. We finally had an invisible fence installed and have begun the "correction" phase of training, also know as "shock therapy."
Oh, lordy. I never thought I would do this to a dog.
I shocked myself with the collar to know how much it hurt (she was whining so pitifully!), and it's really not bad. So all of you out there thinking (like I thought) how mean it is...it's not.
But she doesn't like it (which is good) and today we actually let her out off leash. She didn't go anywhere near the fence, and she let George and the boys walk off the driveway without trying to follow.
Good girl!
Poor Daisy is going through a lot right now. Send her some cyber-hugs. She needs them.
Haha, what a great post! Poor Daisy! First her people won't let her eat socks, and then they expect her to go get a tennis ball that THEY threw out into the water. I don't know what's wrong with them, Daisy!
ReplyDeleteGlad your date turned out so well. You look lovely!
you are all so cute!
ReplyDeleteLove how your date turned out!!
ReplyDeleteSweet Daisy - hugs & kisses, girl! I know I wrote to you before about the swimming (maybe FB?) ... another thing to consider is taking her with another dog ~ ours has learned only good things from her dog friends.
We left our little flags up for the Invisible Fence for quite a good long time, and then took out every other one, then more... and when we wanted to keep her out of the garden, we put them up by that! Wishing you all well - just one tip: Do NOT unplug the fence ;) They KNOW! oxox
Oh you make me laugh!!! Isn't it wonderful when "dates" don't go according to plan, doesn't happen often enough. We have just finished watching the closing ceremony to the London games, what a great mix of old and new. I found myself saying to my husband more than afew times, do we have that on our ipod play list?
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of Daisy - didn't know she didn't like swimming. We have to be careful with Billie as she likes it a little too much. By the way, your craft room looks great. Like you, I do like quiet but not absolute silence, I still need to be in control.
Man, you are married to a handsome hunk! (You're not so bad yourself!) And what a romantic thing for him to do - making that cd and all. Sounds like a magical evening. I really enjoyed all of the photos. The ones of your and your hubby are beautiful. They need to be printed and framed. Great ones of Daisy, too. Life's tough. Sending her a big cyber hug.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, per our email discussion. . . I am able to open up a comment box this morning. Anyway, I just love Daisy whether or not she loves swimming :). Hugs.
ReplyDeleteAh! I think that some of the best "dates" happen when the unexpected happen!
ReplyDeletePoor Daisy! Growing up can be such a challenge, LOL!
Just a FYI: my cousins retriever figured out how to turn his head a certain way to move the shock coller so it wouldn't connect with the wire. Bugger was able to run all over the open country! LOL! Now the poor guy doesn't get to get out of his dog run without close supervision!
I love it when you write about your dog. It was one of those posts (the one where your dog "wrote") that convinced me to get another dog. I just couldn't deal with the fur and energy of another golden retriever though, so we got a cockapoo. I do miss the playful fun of a golden. It's fun to see your pictures.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! So wish you could see Annie in action around water. If there is a tennis ball, it doesn't matter where it is, she will do anything to go get it. Annie cannon balls into water (think flying leap)and will swim for hours. She will be totally wiped out that night but loves every minute of it.
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