Thursday, March 16, 2006

Ooops, out of the habit

Sorry for not updating for a few days now. Life is crazy-busy these days, and it appears that it's just going to get busier! Last week I had midterms (yes, ugly word!) and so I was furiously cramming for those. Luckily I had gotten a heads' up on the one midterm from a co-worker that is also a classmate, so I was able to prepare a bit more specifically for it. It made a world of difference in my studying! The Finance midterm wasn't pretty . . . I just hope I knew enough to pass the darned thing. For some reason my brain has a lot of trouble grasping the concept of stocks and bonds and capital assets. I think this is just confirmation that I shouldn't be doing any serious investing with an advisor :)

Things with the dogs are going about as well as usual. I had Billy on a nice long streak with no accidents in the house (thank God for belly bands!) but lately he has been pooping in the house again. I think he does it to keep me humble, because he's certainly old enough to know better. And he is the most "advanced" little dog when it comes to marking and humping. I feel so lucky! He marked my travel bag the other day, while it was on my bed . . . so I'm washing my quilts again. At least they're clean.

We started obedience classes again this week. It feels really good to get back into that routine. This course puts a lot of emphasis on clicker training, which I firmly believe is a great way to train Cockers. The clicker marks the action you want the dog to continue offering, and then the treat reinforces it. So when the dog is asked to sit, as soon as the dog's bum touches the ground, click and treat. All of the dogs that I have used it with (granted, only 3) have understood the concept really quickly, and have learned things with a happiness I was missing when I was using more correction-based training. Billy did really nicely with offering sits, started to learn the stand command (without me hand stacking him, which is what he's used to) and is slowly learning to stay. His recall, as always, was fabulous. That's the only bonus of owning a momma's boy!

Farley is doing really well these days. He has completely recovered from his peach pit incident, and his hair is even growing back on his abdomen and front leg where the IV was. He's back to eating whatever he can find, so at least I know he didn't learn his lesson ;)

And Quigley, well, he's aging. Still thinner than he's ever been, but he seems to be holding his own. He's such a gentle soul, he just sort of co-exists with everybody. He lets the other two dogs push him out of the way during cuddle time, so I have to take the time to spend some one on one time with just him. He appreciates that.

I have continued with my lifestyle program. The eating out hasn't been as easy to conquer, especially when there's nothing quick to make at home. But I'm making a real effort. I'm still walking at least 6 days a week, which I will cut back to 5 days now that Billy has obedience one night. I'm slowly losing a bit of weight, and the walks are good for me. With it warming up, and the sun staying out longer, it just feels good to be outside. I have seen a neurologist to work on my headaches, so if I can manage those, life will really be good!

So that's my update for now . . . sorry for the long "absence" of sorts, but I'm back in full force now.

1 comment:

Visichy said...

Great update on how things are going for you. Sounds like the boys are keeping you on your toes LOL.