Lest you think I made it up. . .

 Every single time she leaves the kitchen now. . . Oddly enough, the turnaround happens after she walks past the scary spot, but in the act of planning her turnaround, she doesn't even notice she's already crossed the imaginary line. Here's the backstory.

Bass Ackwards: A Stella Story

Stella has conquered a long list of fears and is generally a happy pup now, but she's still terrified of a spot on the kitchen floor.

She's been afraid of the scary spot since she came to live with us.  There's not much to distinguish the scary spot from any other span of floorspace.  At certain times of day there may be a sun patch there.  It's near the stove and she hates the stove, but she finds this spot terrifying even when no one is cooking anything.

Leaving the kitchen via the scary spot (which is the only way to leave the kitchen) turns Stella into a Bambi on ice impersonator.  Her legs splay out.  Her feet scramble like a cartoon character.  Sometimes our poor girl gets "trapped" in the kitchen when her fear gets too great.  I've woken up a few times to a sad little whimper from down the hall when Stella ventured into the kitchen for a drink from her water bowl and simply could not escape until I ran in to grab hold of her collar and lead her across the scary spot so we could go back to bed.

There's nothing there.  Nothing.  She's never been hurt there, and the rest of the floor doesn't scare her.  Also, apparently it's only scary to walk over the scary spot when she's leaving the kitchen, not when she's entering the kitchen.

Last weekend, J noticed that the frantic cartoon scrambling had stopped.  Now, when Stella gets to the scary spot, she turns around and backs out of the kitchen.  J posited that because Stella doesn't find it scary to walk into the kitchen, she may have associated her fear with the direction she was facing when she crossed the spot.  Backing through to leave the kitchen isn't scary, because entering the kitchen isn't scary.

Sure enough, over the past week I've watched Stella walk right to the imaginary scary spot line.  The shaky Bambi legs would start, but then she'd pause and turn around to back through the spot without further incident.

The thought process and strategy involved in this new kitchen exit method is seriously impressive...but there's still absolutely nothing there.  

Maybe it's the dog version of holding one's breath while driving past a cemetery.  

UPDATE: Now, there's video.

River Road Books & Mostly Shepherds!

Okay, so I guess I shouldn't promise to post something "tomorrow" ever again, because my version of tomorrow takes half a week, apparently.  But oh, my goodness, I loved doing the STAY event at River Road Books in Fair Haven, NJ.  I'm still smiling about it!  Such a great group of people and wonderful dogs!

River Road Books is a beautiful book store run by a great group of book loving ladies!  They're such a vital and vibrant part of the community, offering a summer reading program for kids, writing workshops, and other events.  It's nice to see an indie bookstore that is thriving!

I read from STAY, answered questions, and signed books.  Libby Cook from Mostly Shepherds talked about her amazing rescue organization, and showed off a few of the adoptable animals at Mostly Shepherds.

Me & Gidget

I love dogs in general, although I tend to be more of a big dog person, but I fell hard for Gidget.  She's a Jack Russell/Pug mix (or "Jug") who acts like a big dog in a twelve pound package.  She's so sweet and funny and I had the hardest time resisting the urge to smuggle her home in my handbag.  Her listing is here, complete with an adorable video of her playing with a tennis ball that's almost as big as her head.

Libby had Magnum, a super smart German Shepherd with a long stock coat (like Argo's), do a few tricks for the crowd.  He'd only had two obedience classes before the event and he was already performing like a pro.  You can see a video of Magnum working on his obedience training on his listing here.  He was so calm, considering the crowd of people!

Magnum & Libby

One of the people at the event was a lovely woman who had adopted a German Shepherd from Libby about ten years ago.  She got up and talked about how her dog changed her life.  It was so moving!  She also said that German Shepherds are one of the more frequently abused breeds.  New dog owners mistakenly think that because German Shepherds are big, powerful dogs, they need to be handled roughly, but the most important thing an owner needs to train a German Shepherd is love.

What she said has stuck with me, because it's so true!  Positive reinforcement goes a long way with German Shepherds.  What they want most is to be a part of a pack.  When you love them and bond with them and make sure they know they belong with you, they will do everything they can to make you happy.  Giving them the opportunity to succeed goes a lot further than any kind of harsh correction ever could.  I think it's also important to note that herding dogs are wired a little differently from other breeds, and even if you're an experience dog owner, if you've never had a herding dog, doing research and talking to people with herding breed experience will be incredibly helpful.

It was so nice to spend time chatting with people who love books and German Shepherds as much as I do!  If you're in the New Jersey area and are thinking about adopting a dog, get in touch with Libby and Mostly Shepherds.  She's very mindful of matching the right owners to the right dog, and is a genuinely beautiful and inspiring person.  It was an honor to meet her.

There was also a kitty in attendance, but I believe she's been adopted.  However, Mostly Shepherds has a few more adoptable cats listed.

Roberta Van Anda from the Rumson-Fair Haven Patch was there and posted about the event, so you can read more about it, and see more pictures here. 

Before the event, I had a great little walk down memory lane Broad Street.  I lived in Red Bank, NJ (right next door to Fair Haven) one summer in the late nineties, and it was also just plain cool to have the opportunity to bum around downtown again.  I expected everything to be different. It's been over a decade since my last visit, but Red Bank is still hopping.  So many of the local stores and restaurants I loved when I lived there are going strong, like The Bistro (where I once accidentally wore my brand new summer dress to dinner inside out), The Downtown (where one of my roommates and I played along with the band leader at a swing show and pretended to be Swedish Swing Dance Champions . . . long story*), and, this place:

Now I'm back home, doing some writing, gearing up for my event in Batavia at Present Tense Books next week, and cuddling with my German Shepherds.  

I was only gone for a night, but they get pretty clingy when I've been away.  

Oh, and if you haven't already entered, I'm giving away five copies of STAY plus gourmet dog cookies!

*No, actually, it's not a long story. That's pretty much the whole story right there.  A good time was had by all.

Writing Binge

At certain points in my writing process, the best way to work is to completely dive in.  So when J left this weekend to go camping with the Larkin men, I used the opportunity to throw myself a one-woman writing retreat.

I loaded up on supplies: Easy meals so I wouldn't have to spend time cooking, and super yummy snacks to bribe myself with if my attention started to wane.

Then I took the plunge.  Aside from coming up for air to play with the dogs several times a day, I lived in my manuscript all weekend long.  And it was blissful.




What were you up to this past weekend?

My dog pack

So, yesterday, I let the dogs out while I was exercising.  I finished up and was about to go take a shower.  I closed the door to the yard, and made sure I closed the bedroom door, because Argo, when left to his own devices in the bedroom will strip the blankets off the bed (I don't know why).  I double checked to make sure Stella wasn't in the bedroom, because I've accidentally closed her in there before, and she gets upset about it.

I was just about to turn the water on in the shower when I heard the hollow heaving sound of Argo starting to puke.  I raced to the door and opened it, only to find that Stella had accidentally been locked outside.  Argo didn't really have to puke.  He was perfectly fine the second I opened the door.  He was just trying to get my attention so I'd let Stella back in.  A 105lb dog starting to heave will always, always get my attention, and Argo uses this to his advantage.

They couldn't have been apart for more than five minutes, but oh, the celebration they had when they were reunited - prancing around, nibbling and sniffing each other like Stella had just come back from a long, long journey.

I absolutely, completely and totally love the way my dogs love each other.  It's a beautiful thing to watch their friendship.

Good fences really do make good neighbors!

So, the fence is up, and I have to say, it has done wonders in quelling my neighbor-related angst. It's also made having two German Shepherds so much easier (except when they are outside and it starts raining, and we don't realize it, and they decide to mud wrestle in the garden and then run through the house).

Argo has pretty much said, "Hey, it was nice knowing you, but I have a yard. . ." That dog can spend all day lying in the shade sniffing the breeze. He is blissfully happy.

Stella, on the other hand, was more excited about all the attention she gets when Argo is outside. If she did go outside, she had to come in to check on me every five minutes. We've just been leaving the door open so they can come and go as they please. Then J shut the door and left them outside for about ten minutes the other day, (because they were muddy AGAIN and he was trying to keep them from tracking it through the house AGAIN). Stella was traumatized and has now decided she'd rather just stay indoors, preferably with some part of her touching some part of me at all times. She likes to lie on my feet, or sleep with her head on my lap, or walk so close to me that I trip over her. We're working on it. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't flattering to be needed so much, especially since my other furry confidant has chosen the yard over me, but I know it's not healthy behavior, and I so desperately want Stella to be a happy, healthy dog. It breaks my heart that she spends so much time in a state of fear.

I am so thrilled that my view of The Crap Garden has been narrowed. Although, I suspect Mrs. Gnome has been moving her crap up higher into the trees. In defiance? For my benefit? Just because? Who knows! From the kitchen window, I can see several windsocks, a fake owl, and a gaggle of wind chimes over the top of the fence, but, not having to look at the fake deer, assorted mop handles, and all those bowling balls certainly does wonders for my mood.

The weather has been all over the place lately, but Friday was as perfect a day as anyone could ask for. I spent much of it outside working in my new office. And it was lovely.