Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

“But what about the lurkers?”

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

You cannot shame the shameless.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

How stupid are these people?

No one could have predicted…

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

You cannot love your country only when you win.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

We can show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

He really is that stupid.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Pity (About) the Walz Opp Researchers

Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Pity (About) the Walz Opp Researchers

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They have been reduced to coming for Tim’s dog, and metaphorically found themselves in the, uh, dog product…

Tell your dog I said hi…

Scout, (not) incidentally, is a rescue dog:

… In 2017, Tim Walz made Gus a promise. If he won the election for Minnesota governor the following year, the family could get a dog. A high-wire and stressful campaign season unfolded over the next several months. But despite the craziness, his son didn’t forget. (He wasn’t the type: Several years before, he delivered a detailed PowerPoint presentation on why they should get a cat. “To be honest, the fight for the cat was one of Gus’s premier projects,” Walz told reporters at the time. “Sold my wife.”)

Walz won the election in November 2018 with 53.8% of the vote. His children congratulated their father…and then came to collect their prize.

Before Scout was the First Dog of Minnesota, he was Gene, an abandoned rescue. At 11 weeks old, someone left him and his nine littermates on the side of a rural road in Oklahoma. Many had crawled down and gotten stuck in a ravine right before a rainstorm. A woman named Kathy discovered them. With the help of her son, she coaxed them all out before the area flooded. They knew if they didn’t get them all out now, they never would.

The litter was taken in by the Minnesota-based nonprofit Midwest Animal Rescue and Services. One by one, they gave each one a temporary name. One male in particular—described by MARS to Vogue as “very calm, slightly nervous, and well behaved”—was called Gene…

They posted an adoption listing for Gene online. Within several days, MARS had an application from the Walz family. They rechristened him as Scout. “I’m proud that Minnesota’s First Dog is a rescue dog, and I hope Scout—who has been a very good boy—serves as a reminder for Minnesotans that there are a lot of pups waiting to be adopted,” the governor said at the time.

Scout settled in well to the Governor’s Mansion in St. Paul. He played frisbee in the backyard with the governor. He drove with his family to Dairy Queen for Pup Cups. He frequently snuck cat food from the bowls of his feline sibling Afton, and later Honey. Oh, and he ate his dad’s glasses before a COVID-19 press briefing. (The Walz family tells Vogue that if Scout had a motto, it would be: “If I can reach it, I can eat it.”)…

A year later, the Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz as her running mate. As soon as the announcement broke, Matt Nelson, the man behind the wildly popular Instagram account WeRateDogs, said he was flooded with notifications about Scout. “I believe we were tagged in [or] sent this tweet no less than 200 times in the minutes after it was posted,” he says. So he reposted it on his account—and it quickly went viral among his four million-plus followers.

Nelson wasn’t surprised. Walz, a former school teacher and high school football coach, felt relatable and familiar to many Americans. His tweets about Scout only furthered that perception: “It is simply a guy having a very human, normal reaction to something their dog did. For most of my audience, they can see their dog doing what Scout did and they can see themselves saying ‘this damn dog’ in response,” he says. But Nelson also believes it showcases something else: his character. “He’s a rescue,” he notes. “I’ve been in this dog internet space for nearly a decade, and I can say that there are few better subtle indicators of character than choosing to adopt an animal in need of a home.”

When Vogue first broke this gripping story, before the DNC convention, JD Vance felt it incumbent upon himself to procure a totally not rented, much more classy professional-type dog of his own to show off. (It’s quite possible the poor thing does live in the Vance household, but I don’t think he’s had much chance to interact with JD… )

Reader Interactions

160Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    Meanwhile, “JD Vance oppo researcher” is one of this year’s strongest growing job categories. Apparently the latest is that he’s being weird again about women, saying in resurfaced audio that women teachers who don’t have children make him nervous.

  2. 2.

    frosty

    Not to give tips to the opposition, but conservatives would be far better off if they just pretended Tim Walz didn’t exist. Attacking him is a liability at this point.

    True!!

  3. 3.

    Math Guy

    Seriously, dogs are good judges of character. Let them decide who should hold office.

    ‘’Canines for Kamala”

  5. 5.

    Tony Jay

     Urgh! This guy, this weird guy, he just accosts random dogs in the park and manhandles them. Imagine that! Imagine him with the awesome power of the Vice Presidency and exploiting it to pounce on your dog and run his hands all over it no matter what you try to do to stop him. Isn’t that weird? Isn’t it? Weird? Yeah?

    Yes, Republican oddball. That is weird.

      Great! So you’re going to vote Republican to protect your dog?

    Heh. No. No, no, very much no.

  8. 8.

    hueyplong

    We’re getting to the point at which I half expect JD Vance to be revealed as a pod person a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

    There isn’t a whiff of humanity.

    Even the current political media is going to be tempted to run with this.

  10. 10.

    Scout211

    @dmsilev: It’s worse than that.  He said biological children. (Because those are the only kind of children he finds acceptable?)

    Link    In newly-uncovered audio, J. D. Vance (R-OH) said that teachers who do not have biological children “brainwash the minds of our children” and that “disorients and really disturb” him.

    He added: “She should have some of her own.”

  11. 11.

    TBone

    GUS!  💙😎 I need to see this presentation so I can persuade my neighbors to stop abandoning their cats to the great outdoors.

    …he delivered a detailed PowerPoint presentation on why they should get a cat. “To be honest, the fight for the cat was one of Gus’s premier projects,” Walz told reporters at the time. “Sold my wife.”)

  12. 12.

    frosty

    @dmsilev: Two of my favorite (and best) HS teachers were only a year or two out of college, not married, and of course didn’t have kids. I can think of one or two older women teachers who were burned out or simply mean. Having kids didn’t make them better teachers.

    I hear echoes of Phil Hartman: “These female teachers without children – they confuse and frighten me.” What a putz. Vance, not Hartman RIP.

  13. 13.

    Flanders Other Neighbor

    The man is a legend.  He’ll fix your headlight AND teach you how to get total recall from your dog!

  14. 14.

    Elizabelle

    The video of Vance in the rain w the German Shepherd is the first thing I’ve seen that  humanizes him.*  He smiles as he follows the dog up the aircraft steps.

    * Mind you, this is the first Vance video I’ve watched.  Ever.  At least it’s got a dog in it.

  18. 18.

    eclare

    @dmsilev:

    I’m thinking back over teachers that I had from elementary school to high school, and I can only think of one who mentioned that he had kids.  I have no idea about the rest.

  19. 19.

    Anoniminous

    So are these women teachers supposed to push out the rug rats in marriage or are we talking some sort of revival of the Lebensborn program?

  21. 21.

    apocalipstick

    My grandfather had five different stock dogs over the course of my life. They were all named Pup.

  22. 22.

    Falling Diphthong

    How weird do you have to be for “Dog people like to pet dogs” to not even cross your mind on the way to balls-to-the-wall DogGate, the dog is a fake, this is the lie that at long last will up-end the Democratic ticket?

  24. 24.

    VeniceRiley

    @Tony Jay: One of the first things I’ve noticed about living in Suffolk is everyone wants to talk and pet our dog(s), ask about them, etc. No dogs? People will barely make eye contact like avoiding a weirdo. It’s hilarious.

  25. 25.

    Falling Diphthong

    I think Trump can’t remember Walz’s name. Seriously.

    Though he might just be avoiding all names with S sounds after that Musk fiasco.

  28. 28.

    Darkrose

    @BR: Now I want Vance to try to copy him by getting up on a ladder and pretending he knows anything about home maintenance. “I am relatable, fellow air-breathing mammals!”

  29. 29.

    Baud

    Yes, this is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. Only problem is that these are two completely different dogs.

    Walz’s dog was taking the picture, asshole.

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    Trae Crowder had a very funny take on all these pathetic anti-Walz oppo efforts.  If someone has a link to today’s post on Twitter (or elsewhere) please share.

  31. 31.

    Tony Jay

    @hueyplong:

      We’re getting to the point at which I half expect JD Vance to be revealed as a pod person a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

    When the colony of alien lobsters animating the Ron De Santis skinsuit realised they’d messed up their world domination plot, they abandoned that vessel to a skeleton crew and went looking for another Republican rising star with sufficient empty cranial space to gestate in.

    I’ll give them some credit, they’re persistent little buggers.

  34. 34.

    hueyplong

    @Falling Diphthong: Doesn’t Trump say “Kamala” instead of “Harris?”

    So maybe he’s afraid of rain (“hair”) and the letter S (dentures?).

    And eagles. And prosecutors. And judges not named Cannon or Thomas or Alito.

  35. 35.

    Jeffro

    @Scout211: pure psycho stuff

    I’m sure JD would describe it as “teacher power x female power = my complete inability to brainwash my children as I see fit”

    (JD thinks it’s bad enough that he can’t just reproduce via mitosis.)

  37. 37.

    Jeffro

    @zhena gogolia:BR posted the greatest Walz video today, of him talking about cleaning gutters.

    that’s awesome!

    “WHAT KIND OF PERSON TALKS ABOUT CLEANING GUTTERS?  A SOSHULIST, THAT’S WHO!!” (please waste time doing this, RWNJs!)

  39. 39.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @Baud: The media portrayed Al Gore as a liar.

    Al Gore supported government investments that helped lead to the development of invented the internet

  40. 40.

    TBone

    I wasn’t gonna tell this but since dogs are the subject, here goes.  Rumpy neighbors got a golden retriever puppy about four months ago.  She’s a very sweet, very submissive girl.  It was the family patriarch’s idea, and we have been asked to puppy sit several days per week because she needs to be let out to pee, etc. when everyone is at work/school  During our convo with matriarch, it was explained why patriarch recently dropped a big, uncharacteristic Eff Bomb in the driveway – puppy has mysterious bladder/urinary and vaginal deformities and had peed in the car seat (again).  Mom said Dad wanted to “give puppy back” to wherever they got her because of the vet bills and the pee everywhere, all the time.  We are not going to let that happen!  It’s not puppy’s fault!!  So we will do our level best to help!

  42. 42.

    Jeffro

    @Darkrose: LOL

    I have a bet with a co-worker that Vance is going to try for a re-do photo/video op at a local bakery or donut shop before the week is out.

    He’ll stride in CONFIDENTLY with his order this time, yes sir!

    “I would like 3 of the strawberry frosted, 3 of the Boston cream pie…isn’t that odd, a donut named after a pie?…3 chocolate with chocolate frosting, I mean, chocolate that aren’t glazed but are instead…er…”

    <short-circuits trying to figure out how to say it>

  43. 43.

    Darkrose

    @Jeffro: Trae Crowder had a very funny take on all these pathetic anti-Walz oppo efforts.  If someone has a link to today’s post on Twitter (or elsewhere) please share.

    YouTube

  45. 45.

    Tony Jay

    @VeniceRiley:

    Its part of the Norfolk/Suffolk rivalry. Canine noses can detect Norfolkian heritage at up to three removes and react by howling uncontrollably until the threat is removed. If you have a dog, you’re not an infiltrator.

    It’s the same in Whitby. Up there all the locals seem to have a dog of some size or another. My theory is they’re the first line of defence against the reappearance of Undead wolves.

  46. 46.

    bbleh

    “My consultants told me that obtaining a dog and being photographed while holding the rope-thing attached to it would improve my image and effectively counter the unfair ‘weird’ label.  Sadly, they have been proven wrong, so I have FIRED them, because that’s the kind of EFFECTIVE MANAGER I am and that I’ll continue to be with your Hard-Earned Tax Dollars™ when I’m Vice-President!”

    Or something.

    Srsly, how did this guy get elected Senator?  I mean, I know, Tuberville, but ffs come ON Ohio …

  51. 51.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @bbleh: Damn, I had blissfully forgotten about that. These fuckers aren’t just weird, they’re psychotic.

  52. 52.

    KatKapCC

    I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone sound less enthusiastic when referencing their dog than Vance did, and I would include whoever owned Cujo.

  53. 53.

    Bill Arnold

    @Scout211:

    It’s worse than that. He said biological children.

    Is there any public evidence that JD Vance has biological children?
    By evidence, I mean multiple DNA analyses, by independent companies.

  55. 55.

    karen marie

    @The Audacity of Krope: I feel bad for Vance’s dog.  It’s obviously not being trained.  Just straight up the stairs, with Vance giving the dog no direction at all.  I give it a month before the dog goes to “live on a farm.”

  56. 56.

    Elizabelle

    @TBone:  True.  Although it was out of the limo and up into the waiting plane.

    Which is what most American dogs do, every day of the week.

    GSD makes me smile that Joe Biden will get to spend more time with his beloved dogs, excellent judges of character.

  57. 57.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @karen marie: At least there was some slack in the leash, so you know they weren’t fighting. The dog seems better behaved than the owner.

  59. 59.

    Kelly

    @BR: A couple years ago I got new shop vac with a gutter cleaning kit. A stack of wand extensions and a gooseneck. I can vacuum gutters 20′ up standing on the ground and get the 30′ gutter leaning out the windows. No more ladders or walking the roofs for this 68 year old senior citizen.

  61. 61.

    Jay C

    @bbleh:

    Srsly, how did this guy get elected Senator?  I mean, I know, Tuberville, but ffs come ON Ohio …

    Simple, actually: Undeserved reputation as an “noted author”; Red state, Republican officialdom lining up to endorse him; said lining-up financed by Peter Thiel’s money; poor campaign by his opponent.

    But even so, yeah: “…ffs come ON, Ohio…”

  62. 62.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @zhena gogolia: I’ve never owned a dog, but I learned the proper way to hold a leash when I was a child.

    It helps that they are typically designed with an obvious grip.

  63. 63.

    bbleh

    @The Audacity of Krope:

    Oh give me a home
    without Kristi Noem
    where never a gunshot you hear,
    where doggies can play
    in the sunshine all day
    and live out their lives without fear.

    Ok rather dark, but hey, spur of the moment, and it rhymes …

  65. 65.

    theturtlemoves

    @BR: ​ That freaking Menard’s jingle is a powerful ear-worm. I haven’t lived in the Midwest for almost 20 years and I can still hear that damn thing. And I can picture the former Iowa professor who used to do their commercials, too.

  69. 69.

    scav

    @KatKapCC: I’m also rather struck by the fact that his professional small talk includes asking the police not to steal his dog and asking restaurant owners what their crappiest menu item is (while being filmed for public distribution) so that he can feed it to reporters (some of whom are probably filming and most of whom are part if the viewing public).  Serious misunderstanding of what a Charm Offensive is?  Did he woo his wife by calling her utterly useless until she popped out an offspring to her face?

  71. 71.

    brendancalling

    I hope that dog bites off his tiny little dick and balls like in Desperate Living.

  76. 76.

    zhena gogolia

    @scav: We know what his Mr. Big-quality pickup line was; “Well, you’re not white . . . but I love you.”

  86. 86.

    Steve LaBonne

    One of our two greyhounds will try to eat absolutely anything she can get in her mouth. And greyhounds are champion counter surfers so we have learned (the hard way) to be very paranoid.

  88. 88.

    Trollhattan

    Every time I see this
    J. D. Vance (R-OH)
    Think it needs to be this
    J. D. Vance (RuR-OH)

  90. 90.

    eclare

    @Steve LaBonne:

    Pretty much all of my dogs have tried to eat absolutely everything.  Luckily I have a pantry with a door that closes securely, that is where the garbage can is.

  92. 92.

    The Audacity of Krope

    @zhena gogolia: I like how we can call this dude a couch fucker and no serious person questions it. It doesn’t even matter that it might not be literally true.

  96. 96.

    dmsilev

    @Manyakitty: Thanks. It’s been an …amusing few days. We had a temporary cooling system in place that keeps the buildings at least vaguely habitable and lets us run some instruments, but it was mysteriously cutting out for several hours each night. Fine for the building, Really Bad for the lab gear. Today, we figured out that it came from the rental agency with a “turn off at night to save energy” program loaded. Solution: Clear program.

    Sigh.

    A real fix, to the in-ground piping, will take weeks. Maybe several weeks.

  97. 97.

    3Sice

    IIRC the couch humper should be barking orders at the leg humper in German. Drumf fans like that authenticity.

  98. 98.

    pat

    Teachers have to have “biological” children.  Where on earth does this come from???

    I don’t think any of the women teachers I had in the 60s were even married!!   You get married, you stay home with your own kids, right?

  108. 108.

    Jay

    @zhena gogolia:

    Depends.

    Usually when walking a dog, I have my right hand through the loop, and my left hand “choked up” on the leash, keeping the dog in the heel position. Allows one to quickly do figure 8 movements when the dog stops paying attention to your walking. Also allows one to stop the dog from pulling. When the dog is interested in a scent, an object or needs to pee or poop, you just let go with the left hand to give it enough leash to do what it wants to do.

  109. 109.

    JWR

    @scav: Re professional small talk: Another weird thing about Vance’s donut shop adventure was that he asked each employee how long they’d worked there. Just pointless blather.

  111. 111.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @pat: I’ve seen it often depicted, so I assume it has some basis in fact, that in the Real America (TM) of the western frontier in the 19th century, teachers were REQUIRED to be unmarried.

    The attitudes about women needing to have borne children before they can be considered full citizens is so weird. I’ve never heard anything like that, even from weird cults. Where the hell is that coming from? Or is that his own damaged psychology, his own invention? I wonder if a C-section is allowed under his rules?​

    About the 60s: We had a couple of married female teachers in our elementary school. And a couple of instances where teachers got married and were hazed by the other teachers, with the students enrolled to assist.

  112. 112.

    different-church-lady

    Trump doesn’t mention Walz because he thinks Harris is still running against Vance instead of him.

  114. 114.

    Tony Jay

    The revelation that Vance is a ‘Friend of Davenport’ hits so hard because it’s one of those things nobody realised they already knew until everybody started talking about it. Like a plug in a socket or Stench in a diaper, it just fit.

    Of course he fucks couches. Guy is just weird that way.

  115. 115.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @JWR: Another weird thing about Vance’s donut shop adventure was that he asked each employee how long they’d worked there.

    And reportedly answered “OK” to each one. Nothing else. He was only programmed to ask the one question, not to have a conversation where he reacted to what the person said. That capability is promised in a future software upgrade, but no release date has been announced.

  119. 119.

    dmsilev

    @Manyakitty: At least we got the temporary system fixed. I was so so not enjoying having to put my systems into standby every evening. Especially because starting them up takes about 2 full days under normal circumstances, and going into standby for 8 hours causes the startup process to backslide quite a bit….

  120. 120.

    BR

    @bbleh: ​

    On the couch thing:

    Perhaps, Rick said, whether Vance actually had carnal knowledge of one or more couches is immaterial. Rick suggested Vance making love to a couch may best be viewed as what Werner Herzog has described as the “ecstatic truth” — in Herzog’s words, “a kind of truth that is the enemy of the merely factual,” encompassing falsehoods that “make some essence of the man visible.”

    https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-couch-sex-joke-author-speaks-2024-7

  122. 122.

    Trivia Man

    @BR: Menards is a known dupporter of Scott Walker and hard core MAGA, but otherwise its a solid interview

  127. 127.

    Matt McIrvin

    WHYYYYYY are all the scary articles about Republican plans to steal the election STILL propagating the false idea that a House contingent election happens if enough electors are un-certified that “nobody gets to 270”?

    It’s not true! They keep saying it! It’s like they’re all just quoting each other and nobody is taking five minutes to read the text of the law!

  130. 130.

    JWR

    @BR:

    You saw this Vance in the donut shop parody right? :)

    LoL! and no, I hadn’t seen that one. Thanks! ;)

    BTW, your “X” ETA “XCancel” link was “invalid”, but TikTok worked fine.

  133. 133.

    The Audacity of Krope

    It is noteworthy that the most significant Walz “scandal” is that his son lives him. The horror.

  136. 136.

    Josie

    @H.E.Wolf: ​
     This is so true. I was a public school librarian. When I was pregnant with my oldest son in 1975, the school district tried to make me stay home when I started to show. I had to threaten legal action (my husband was an attorney) to keep working. We needed the money so it was important to us. Then they tried to keep me from using my sick days that I had accumulated. So much for the good old days.

  140. 140.

    pajaro

    @prostratedragon:

    Of course, Randi Weingarten isn’t a teacher, she’s the head of the union.

    And yes, in the 1960’s teacher was a single woman’s job.  Obviously, that was the case in parochial schools, but it was also true in public schools.  There were places that fired teachers if they got pregnant.

  142. 142.

    lowtechcyclist

    @hueyplong: ​
     

    We’re getting to the point at which I half expect JD Vance to be revealed as a pod person a la Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

    The summer camp I went to as a kid used to show that movie every summer.

    I would totally believe that about JV Dance.

    And Ron DeSantis as well.

    And a number of other prominent Republicans, come to think of it.

  143. 143.

    Gvg

    @pat: My mother was married in college. When she got pregnant, her professors coached her on how to hide it while she passed her teachers exams and got licensed and her first teaching position. I was born in August just before another school year. Teachers in the 60’s weren’t supposed to have kids or be visibly pregnant when in front of kids. It wasn’t supposed to be mentioned or something. I never understood the logic but it’s true. I don’t know when it changed. Obviously I was brought up knowing where babies came from and that there were stupid rules some people made other people follow about talking about it.

  144. 144.

    lowtechcyclist

    @BR:

    Since this is a Walz thread, I will repost his excellent interview about cleaning your gutters and keeping your receipts from Menards. Stay for the duet he sings at the end:

    https://www.tiktok.com/@subwaytakes/video/7407837291240082718

    http://instagram.com/reel/C_LXHF9OIom

    Gutter guards, man, worth their weight in gold.  They let the water in, keep the leaves out.

    I remember having to clean the damn gutters a few times each year. I so don’t miss that.

  145. 145.

    wjca

    @pajaro: in the 1960’s teacher was a single woman’s job.

    I think that depended on where you were.  I know my 2nd grade teacher (1954-55) was Mrs. Sussman.  Also my 6th grade teacher (so that would have been 1958-59) was Mrs. Christiansen.  This was public school in suburban/rural California.

  146. 146.

    Barbara

    @TBone: ​Doggie diapers work pretty well, but you might need to experiment for the right size and fit. I used cloth with a little pad inside for my old girl.

  147. 147.

    TBone

    @Ksmiami: it took all of my fortitude not to express outrage and to instead direct my linguistic focus on positive reinforcement of love, and loving care for, the puppy they chose to make a family member.  I wanted to say “who changed the diapers at your house?” but no.  Catch more flies with honey!

  148. 148.

    TBone

    @Barbara: thank you!

    I will be offering discreet suggestions once we get a better handle on the situation – puppy sitting begins next week.  You can lead a horse to water…

    Some kind of training on top of figuring out the extent of the medical issues is what I suspect is needed.  Time will tell!

    I am grateful that they have a good vet, puppy is going all the way to State College for an MRI this week 👍

  150. 150.

    TBone

    My dad trained our Siamese to use the downstairs toilet.  All he had to do was flush.

    I’m sure we can help the doggo across the street – ALL of my cats are well trained (although I wish I’d had time enough when they were young to toilet train them, that’s the only thing they lack). They come when called, understand “No,” and generally do not misbehave. Who says you can’t herd cats?

  152. 152.

    Juliet

    As a working mother my children all did their own laundry by 4th grade. I had grown very tired of being asked if their clothes were clean yet.

  153. 153.

    cmorenc

    @zhena gogolia: Yes, hand through the loop and hold onto the top of the leash/handle with thumb over one side hand of the least hand over the other- makes it near-impossible for the dog to jerk the leash out of your hand.  Especially if the dog is large and strong, the other essential is to always keep just a slight tad of tension on the leash (not enough that you are pulling on the dog) – elsewise with that secure a grip, it can quickly generate enough momentum that when the leash does go taut, you can get dragged or even pulled over.

    We frequently dog-sit our adult daughter’s dog, a 60 lb rescue who is a sweet girl, but can sometimes have an irresistible prey-chase urge if she sees a squirrel, and so I have learned the hard way to always keep just a slight tad of tension on the leash so I can quickly restrain her if squirrel !!  Not enough that she feels me pulling on her, just enough to keep her from accelerating on me a couple of steps before the leash goes taut enough for me to begin restraining her.

  154. 154.

    Jay

    @TBone:

    Sugar, (Lab, Shep, RottieX) had a nerve clipped when she was spayed. So she “leaked”.

    Anytime she had been alone for a while, she would pee when excited, like when I came home from work,

    I learned to greet her on the porch, and make sure she had lots of opportunities to pee outside.

  156. 156.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @dmsilev: Apparently the latest is that he’s being weird again about women, saying in resurfaced audio that women teachers who don’t have children make him nervous.

    can we keep making him nervous?

  157. 157.

    pluky

    @zhena gogolia: yes. hold on the leash with the non-loop hand threaded through the fingers so one can give corrective signals fairly subtly, quickly adjust the amount of slack by pulling on the loop hand, and by tightening the fist have a grip strong enough to check lunges.

  158. 158.

    TBone

    @Jay: thank you, and I’m sorry that happened to Sugar.  First thing each day will be to leash & let her out the door!  We hope the vet finds out what is going on with her quickly.

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