The Dog Blog: August 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

Battles over ice and water

Our late mutt Lady often fought with our other dogs (like Buddy and Katie) over food, but sometimes it went beyond food.

Once, at the dog park, Lady got into it with another dog over water; I was feeding her from a bottle, and another dog tried to break in on the action.

So she took umbrage. It lasted only seconds, and neither dog was hurt.

The most memorable battle incident came when a man dumped a large bucket of ice in the middle of the dog park. Lady, a sled-dog type, decided to lay down in the cooling ice (it was a hot day), and another dog tried to fight her for it. She stood up for herself, and several dog owners pulled the dogs apart.

Lady didn't get to lay down in the ice, but she did get to chomp some ice. So did the other dog. And they seemed happy.

When people asked if they could give Lady a treat, I always said no. I didn't want a fight to break out.

Usually, Lady had no problems with other dogs at the park, at least over water or ice. Once, a sizable Great Dane was drinking from the children's faucet, and Lady got in between his front legs and drank from the doggie faucet. The huge dog didn't even react to her presence.

Lady did get hurt at the dog park now and then, and I may write about that later. We'll see.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• ... said the spider to ...

, • The Dog Diary (2015)

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• OOH! OOH! The stereophonic huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Sunday, August 26, 2018

We've had five dogs since we moved to Rural Hall (one is still alive), and barking has often been the big problem for them.

BUDDY THE BARKER

Actually, Buddy was the only big barker in the family. Katie only barked when she'd be outside and Buddy would bark. Then Katie would start barking, and I'd have to tell her to shut up. Otherwise, she was quiet.

Scottie (like Katie, a collie) was not a barker at all, even when he was outside.

Lady sometimes barked when she heard someone or something outside, but she wasn't much of a barker, either. There IS a story about Lady barking a bit at the dog park. In fact, there's another Lady barking story.

Dixie, our current dog, isn't a barker. My wife Holly had feared getting a beagle, thinking that all beagles are barkers. Dixie was quiet at the Forsyth Humane Society, and I figured she'd be quiet here, too. So far, she's only barked with other dogs (or cats) around, and even that is extremely rare.

Actually, it's been quiet with Dixie around.

• Woof! (it didn’t need translation)

• Woof! One barker in the family (Buddy)

• Woof! Lady barking up the right tree