There’s always room on the bed for your buddy.
I guess the whole Koda/Lovey thing is working out ok.
by John Cole| 44 Comments
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Pet Rescue
There’s always room on the bed for your buddy.
I guess the whole Koda/Lovey thing is working out ok.
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Daydream Believers
(via Upworthy)
If that put you in a sharing spirit, here’s a suggestion from commentor SuperHrefna:
Con or Bust auctions raise money to help non-white people attend science fiction and fantasy conventions. So not only might you get a cool prize, you get to help increase diversity in SFF and cock a snook at the sad/rabid puppies…
There are lots of cool items up for grabs: lots of signed books (including books signed by Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett), lots of ARCs [advance reading copies] (including Charlie Jane Anders’ debut novel that isn’t out til next year), lots of limited editions (including the new, completely sold out Mira Grant, luckily I have a copy or I’d bid scarily high on that one) lots of cool extras (a card game and stationary for Mary Robinette Kowal’s books!) and loads of cool everything else including jewelry that looks like ticks and handwoven scarves with their own short stories…
Also up for bid, I notice, are memberships (admission passes) to a varied bunch of sf/fantasy conventions. Diversity in fandom has come a long way, praise goddess, since I first encountered it in the early 1970s, but there’s still nasty pockets of angry resistance. If you’re a reader, take a look at the Con or Bust auctions; if you’re a person of color & a sci-fi fan, hope this information is helpful!
Apart from being grateful for our blessings, what’s on the agenda for the day?
by John Cole| 62 Comments
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads
I have a full schedule and will not be back until tonight sometime, but in the mean time, I thought I would let you in on Thurston’s late night antics last night.
This time of year, even though it can get cold, I sleep with the window open, because the combination of the crisp fresh spring air and the some coming through the windows in the morning makes me feel 20 years old when I wake up in the morning. I don’t get cold because I have three dogs and sometimes a cat and a down comforter, so why not?
At any rate, apparently, Thurston got chilly, and somehow managed to get in between the duvet cover and the comforter, which was fine for a while, I guess, but when he decided he wanted to move to another spot, he learned he was trapped. He started squealing like a stuck pig, thrashing all over the place, kicking, wailing, he rolled on top of Rosie who promptly bit my foot, Lily ran across my head to unass the AO and get the hell out of there, and basically gave me a heart attack. I leaped out of bed, knocked my glasses off the stand while trying to find the light switch to see what the hell was going on.
At that point, I was naked, blind, it was three am, I had chaos in my bed, and I had to get down on my hands and knees to search for my glasses so I wouldn’t step on them. Finally found them, figured out what happened, and by then Thurston had himself in such a lather and the comforter and duvet so knotted up and tangled I had to just take the whole cover off to find him.
So yeah. Tuesday in the Cole household.
This post is in: Dog Blogging
First things first- thank goodness spring is here. Popped out of bed at 6:30, the air was crisp, the sky is blue, and the sun is out and I feel like ten bucks.
Here are some pics of Lovey, and I just chatted with Geg6 and she is going to come by and comment on how things are going and I will then move the commentary to the main post.
I really, really miss that little girl. She has such a distinct energy, and really brings a swagger and some electricity to the environment. Steve, Lily, and Rosie are all laid back animals, and Thurston has really calmed down a lot since she left. She is just a special little lady.
by John Cole| 84 Comments
This post is in: Cat Blogging, Dog Blogging, Open Threads
And then there were four.
My sister came and picked up Ginger and took her to another foster home. Ginger had a few personality issues that we’ll leave undisclosed, but suffice it to say, I had spent the last month and a half trying to get rid of her and not to someone I liked or knew. We’ll just leave it at that.
So now we are down to a very manageable brood of Lily, Rosie, Steve, and Thurston. When you really think about it, that’s really only about 1 1/2 animals I really have to take care of, because Lily is just an angel and requires nothing but love, and Steve basically takes care of himself once you give him his morning and evening suppers. We have not changed his litter box in the basement in over a year (except to put fresh litter in because the other stuff was getting old) as he goes to the door looks at it and paws at it, you let him go out back, and he digs a cat hole in the pine needles, does his business, covers it up, and comes back in. Even in a foot of snow and in the rain. It’s really awesome, to be honest. All he really needs is some brushings, a lap, and some alone time in his tower away from Thurston, and he is rock solid.
So that leave the two who take up the most time and energy. Thurston, because he is a puppy and just requires a shitload of attention and corrective action and positive reinforcement, and Rosie, who just gets bitchy every now and then. It’s hard to even get mad at Rosie, too, because what she gets bitchy about is that her arthritis bothers her and so when she lies under the desk or at my feet, gets growly when I move my Fred Flinstone feet too fast and thinks she is going to be kicked. It’s annoying as hell because it always startles me, but how do you get mad at a dog whose only fault is wanting to be too close to you? Other than that, she grumps when she is staking out her position in the bed or if I accidentally kick her in my sleep, but again, who can fault her.
So now we are settling into the long term new normal, and Lily and Rosie are very happy that the red menace is gone. Thurston doesn’t notice she’s gone or seem to care and Steve is, well Steve. Nothing fazes the Steve.
As an aside, I read this and all I could think of was sweet, sweet Lily:
Those big brown eyes gaze at you, deeply. Your heart leaps. You caress, murmuring sweet nothings. And as those big browns remain fixed on you, the tail wags.
Devoted dog. Besotted owner. That continuous loop of loving reinforcement may begin with the dog’s gaze, according to a new report in Science.
Japanese researchers found that dogs who trained a long gaze on their owners had elevated levels of oxytocin, a hormone produced in the brain that is associated with nurturing and attachment, similar to the feel-good feedback that bolsters bonding between parent and child. After receiving those long gazes, the owners’ levels of oxytocin increased, too.
And when researchers gave dogs extra oxytocin through a nasal spray, the female dogs (though not the males) gazed at their owners even longer, which in turn boosted the owners’ oxytocin levels.
That is Lily in a nutshell. We’ve even sat around joking what was going on in every animal’s head, and when it comes to Lily, we’re pretty sure the only thing she is thinking is “love love love love love love love.” She’ll spend hours on your lap just looking you in the eye while you pet her. Such a good doggie. Thurston gives good eye, too, which is why he stuck around even though I planned on homing him like Lovey.
Speaking of, has GeG6 peeked in to update you all on her royal highness Lovey? I call or text every day to check in on her (and GeG), but I’ll let her fill you all in on the details.
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Science & Technology
The NYTimes “Well” blog reports on “The Look of Love“:
… Japanese researchers found that dogs who trained a long gaze on their owners had elevated levels of oxytocin, a hormone produced in the brain that is associated with nurturing and attachment, similar to the feel-good feedback that bolsters bonding between parent and child. After receiving those long gazes, the owners’ levels of oxytocin increased, too.
The dog’s gaze cues connection and response in the owner, who will reward the dog by gazing, talking and touching, all of which helps solder the two, the researchers said. They suggest that dogs became domesticated in part by adapting to a primary human means of contact: eye-to-eye communication…
Dr. Chang, who studies oxytocin in animals, noted that through domestication, dogs came to regard humans as their “key social partners,” while humans also came to view dogs as social partners.
“In a way, domesticated dogs could hijack our social circuits, and we can hijack their social circuits,” he said in an email, as each species learned how to raise the other’s oxytocin levels, facilitating connection…
… Evan L. MacLean, co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center and a co-author of a commentary accompanying the study, said, “We don’t know what the dog’s gaze means. When you look at a human baby, it feels good. Maybe dogs gaze at you because it feels good. Maybe the dogs are hugging you with their eyes?”
But Dr. MacLean, an evolutionary anthropologist, said that fundamentally, for dogs, human behavior is “the telltale of everything that is about to happen.” Are we going to stand or sit? Leave the room? Bring food?…
“If I was dropped on Mars,” Dr. MacLean said, “and everyone was speaking a language I didn’t understand, and I knew I could never acquire their language, I’d just give up. But dogs don’t. They’re not reluctant to tune in to us at every moment.”
Much more detail at the link. The feedback loop doesn’t work with wolves raised with humans; among pack-based predators, a fixed gaze is liable to be perceived as a challenge — a threat. Maybe our protocanine companions were domesticating us pack-apes in parallel to our domestication of them. And maybe, when we go forth in search of Martians, we should take them with us, to help explain our pecularities?
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Apart from gazing with love at our personal wolf-analogs, what’s on the agenda as we wrap up another long week?
Friday Morning Open Thread: Domesticating Each Other, with LovePost + Comments (49)
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Pet Rescue
So things went pretty well today, I think. Devon came down and we started by giving Lovey and Thurston and Ginger baths, then we had a family photo:
Got Lovey and Thurston loaded in the car, and stopped at the General Store to pick up some beverages for the ride. Lovey (the smart one of the two), was excited and raring to go:
We stopped by the farm to see Harry and Chatman and the gang, and everyone was there (except Holly, who is in NYC for yet another minor surgery, the poor dear) for a farm clean-up day. They have one every year, where all their friends come and chip in and help clean up the brush and get everything pretty, and then they have a bonfire and a regular old hootenanny with live music and what not. This year is an important clean-up, because their Bed and Breakfast is opening in a few weeks (Barn With Inn– check it out). If any of you ever stay there, make sure you shoot me an email, and I will make sure that Lily, Rosie, and Thurston stop by for a quick cameo.
Took about 15 miles of winding roads to get to the interstate, and about 3 miles in to the ride we learned that car riding is not in Thurston’s skill set. Devon screamed “He’s going to puke” and then held him up pointing at me as if I didn’t believe her and I reacted like anyone would when someone is pointing a projectile vomit gun at them “AIM HIM AT THE FUCKING FLOOR MAT ASSHOLE.” Pulled over, let him finish, got driving again. He then salivated so much that Devon was completely soaked, and threw up four more times over the next 35 minutes. We had to stop and get wet naps and paper towels beforewe got to Geg6’s pad.
Like I said, Lovey is the trooper of the duo, and our heroine knew something was wrong with her big brother, and tried to console him:
They got a little dandruffy from the shampoo, which is organic but I guess still a little tough on the wee ones. got to Geg’s. went in and met Koda (who is a big ole sweet and calm lab, and I stayed for a while and chatted, but Lovey kept comingoverto my lap, so I went outside to the car to let Lovey acclimate to her new mom and dad and sister, while my sister did the adoption contract stuff. Tried to leave Thurston inside for that, but he followed me to the door and started crying so much that Devon had to bring him out to me.
They wrapped up, Lovey and mom came to the door to wave goodbye, and this happened soon after we left because GeG texted it to me within five minutes.
Dropped Devon off, picked up some Thai food, and drove home. I put Thurston in the crate for the ride home, and somehow he still had something in his stomach and puked 3-4 times more on the way home, so I had tobringthe carrier to the sink and just dump him in it and hose him off. He’s such a hot mess of a wimp. About a month or so or more when GeG said she was interested, she wanted the one who would do better with another dog, and I didn’t hesitate. Lovey is independent, smart, curious, speaks with her eyes, and she has really developed into a sweet little dog. I think it won’t be long before GeG is sending us pictures of the two spooning.
At any rate, I’ll let GeG send me some more picture, but I will be calling again tonight at around 9 and again sometime tomorrow. I think I am the one with the separation anxiety now.
I haven’t rattled the tin cup in a while, but if you would like to chip in to help defray the costs of the rescues and medical care of some of the dogs my sister and her group rescue, feel free to hit the tip jar and I will forward it to them.