This and that

During our visit to the vet, I was told that I should brush Olive's teeth daily. My immediate reaction was that I have enough trouble remembering to brush and floss my own teeth; how am I going to brush my dog's? Well, that is not the problem. I am trying to remember to brush her coat daily and brushing her teeth with a special dog toothbrush that fits over my finger seems a natural extension. Sounds like the problem is solved, right? Well, Olive doesn't mind her coat being brushed at all, but she is not so cooperative with her teeth. It seemed fairly easy when the vet's assistant did it, not so easy when I attempted to do it at home. I found a video on the internet that didn't seem to help me much. For now I am trying to get her used to the taste of the dog toothpaste (poultry flavored). She seems to like licking it off my finger. I will be stopping at the vet's office this afternoon to pick up a nail clipper; perhaps I can get a few ideas from the staff.

I am somewhat intrigued at the prospect of using Olive as a goose dog to keep geese away from the pond in the center of our townhouse complex. Research is a bit problematic in that what is on the internet seems to be mostly advertising for outfits that are offering to bring their own border collies in to chase off the geese for a fee. I am looking to offer the service gratis to my own homeowners' association. I will have to do some more digging.

I found a dog obedience class in my town that I would like to bring Olive to. She is already a fairly well behaved dog so that I think she will do well, though I would like to teach her to stop barking on command, to stop pulling at the leash, and to pay attention to me rather than being so focused on squirrels. A class begins in August, though if I go away to fiddle camp in Maine I will have to miss the first class. Perhaps I could get my friend Katie or my sister to take her in my stead. I did want to try this fiddle camp in addition to the camp at Ashokan NY that I attend annually, but I suppose it might have to wait until next year--I hate the thought of leaving Olive behind for Ashokan and then repeating it a few weeks later.

A relative of mine makes his own excellent wine each year and throws a dinner and wine tasting each year when he bottles the wine from the large vats he uses to ferment it. Since dinner is outdoors, I had hoped to show Olive off, but it seems that a few of my relatives in attendance would have been uncomfortable with a dog around. I respected their wishes, though I have trouble understanding why anyone would  have a problem being around dogs.

I took Olive to the dog park again this morning. There were a number of people and dogs there this time. The dogs were quite friendly, though Olive is a bit shy with groups of dogs. She seemed to want to get away and chase tennis balls, which we did until she showed signs of being tired. In all, I thought she was every bit a lady with the other dogs and was quite pleased with her behavior.