Pets
Posted: Sat 19 August, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Domestic 5 Comments »You know, it’s funny – despite the fact that she can be an absolute Pain in the Arse, I do actually like having Hound around.
I never used to be a dog person really. My parents always preferred cats, so I grew up with Siamese cats, and never really entertained the idea of having a dog. It grew on me as an idea over the years, and then when I was in Manchester I got two pups, and loved having them around. In the end one got given away to a good home, and the other one had to be put to sleep. I was there when the vet did it, held her as her heart stopped, and it put me off having a pet again for a good while.
But since being down here with Herself, I’ve gotten very used to Hound, as well as her idiosyncracies. Most mornings now I take her out for a walk, and we also do another one later on, and that’s usually a good thing.
Yesterday I worked from home (and at the moment it looks like I might be doing a lot more of that in the near future) and one thing I’ve enjoyed is just having Hound asleep on my feet while working, or lying down beside the desk, fast asleep, dreaming, and yipping in her dream – very, very funny.
Yeah, sure, she can be a huge pain in the bum, but at the same time I wouldn’t give her up for anything.
Isn’t it strange how things work out sometimes?
Dog Shit
Posted: Mon 14 August, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Health, Thoughts 4 Comments »Every morning, I get annoyed by a certain percentage (and I assume it’s a minority) of dog owners. Now, we own a dog, the ineffable Hound, who goes out for a walk every morning. During that walk, she normally has at least one major shit. It’s what dogs do.
If I actually see her taking her shit, I clear it up. I pretty much always carry at least a couple of shit-bags in a pocket. As a responsible (well, at least semi-responsible) dog-owner that’s fine, it’s part of the job. (To make life more complex, I don’t technically own Hound – I inherited her. She’s Herself’s dog, bought with previous partner, but I’ve inherited the role of dog-owner/walker/plaything) If Hound disappears off into the bushes and bracken for her shit then I admit, I don’t chase in after her in order to get it. I’m not that dedicated, frankly.
But what really annoys me is the people who take their dog out, watch it having a shit on the path, or anywhere else in full vision, and just leave it there. Don’t even bother cleaning it up. If I see them doing it, I do tend to ask whether they plan on picking up their dog’s shit – and do they need to use one of my spare shit-bags? (I never did manage to be subtle) But most of the time you just come across the discarded article, and it really pisses me off.
If you’re going to own a dog, then picking up that dog’s shit is a simple part-and-parcel of the process. It’s a job that grosses me out completely, but it’s part of the deal, so I do it. I’d love to never have to pick up a still-warm (and in winter, slightly steaming) fresh-laid dog log. (you can feel it through the bag – I don’t mean pick it up in one’s bare hand)
I just don’t understand the people who don’t get that, who think it’s OK to leave their dog’s shit all over the place for Someone Else to clear up.
Plasma
Posted: Tue 8 August, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Cynicism, Domestic, Thoughts 5 Comments »When I was walking Hound last night, it was getting dark, but quite a few people still had curtains open. (God that makes me sound like a perv, doesn’t it? Ah well)
Anyway, one thing I noticed while out was quite how bloody ugly a lot of the new wall-mounted plasma TV screens actually are. They’re hard to miss, to be honest.
So first of all, wouldn’t it make sense to – well – close curtains etc.? Otherwise surely you’re just advertising “Hey, we can afford (or at least get the credit for) a big 40″ plasma” ?
But also, to me they’re just intrusive. I don’t want to lose half the wallspace in a room to a fucking TV. Great, it’s thin, and can hang on a wall. But why would I want it to? Personally, I much prefer to take up wallspace with prints of photos I’ve taken, or that other people have taken. The TV can sit in its proper place, in the corner of the room.
I don’t know, maybe I’m just some kind of Luddite, but I simply can’t see the appeal of hanging a TV off the wall, and letting it dominate the room.
Knackered
Posted: Sat 22 July, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Domestic 1 Comment »Ah, the joys of overnight thunderstorms. Three o’clock this morning, and Hound starts scratching the walls, going crackers – yep, it’s lightning. After half an hour of just the lightning flashes, then comes the thunder, and one high-strung dog goes orbital. She ends up sleeping – well, lying – under the bed, trying to burrow to Australia to get away from it.
Then came the rain. She was OK with that – and it was wonderful, feeling the way the air temperature just dropped like a stone as the rain fell. Absolutely fantastic.
By 5am Hound was calm(ish) again, and we managed to get back to sleep. For a while…
Time-Keeping
Posted: Sun 16 July, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Getting Organised 1 Comment »I don’t know how Hound does it, but she has the most amazing body-clock I’ve seen in a long time.
During the week, she gets a walk in the morning before we go to work – she likes it, and needs the extra exercise. Let’s face it, it’s almost impossible to exhaust a collie anyway, but two walks a day is a good way to make sure she gets at least some of what she needs. Anyway, these walks normally happen at 7.15 or 7.30 in the morning. Which is fine.
However, Hound doesn’t understand about weekends. So now we get woken up at 7.15 on Saturday and Sunday, with the collie equivalent of “Wake up! It’s time for my walk! Come on! You’ll be late!” This involves first coming upstairs, and standing in the doorway of the bedroom, ears aloft, tongue out, and generally looking happy/stupid. If that doesn’t get our attention, then she bounces on to the bed between us, normally managing to land at least on paw direct on the groin or bladder. If even that fails, she will lay between us, nose to nose with me, and using her paw to pat me on the face in an “I’m here, you know – wakey wakey” style.
I suspect it won’t be long before she understands the words “Fuck Off, Hound, it’s the weekend!”…
Cliched
Posted: Sat 15 July, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Cynicism 2 Comments »How unimaginative do you have to be, to call your two Dalmatian dogs Pongo and Perdita?
I saw a couple in the park this morning while walking Hound (which is her nom de blog, rather than demonstrating a lack of imagination) who had done exactly that…
Anthropomorphic
Posted: Tue 11 July, 2006 Filed under: Animals, Thoughts 3 Comments »One BBC series that I do love watching is the Big Cat Diary. I’ve always been a fan of the big cats in general, and I find the basic premise of the series to be great, and make for fantastic TV.
But one thing really bugs me – it’s the way they give all the animals identities, names, and attribute human characteristics to them. I can understand (to a degree) why it’s done, and I suspect it’s actually very difficult to not do it, particularly when (as with one lion pride) you’ve been following them for 18 years. but I personally find it very distracting.
I’d rather know the facts, the information, etc., without the anthropomorphic extras.
But it’s still a brilliant programme.