Sammy Video

Little Samantha, now called Sammy, is doing great.  I continue to get e-mailsasking about her so I decided to add another installment to the Dogumentary.

Sammy is behaving just wonderfully.  I can stand up around her now.  Sheis playful and likes to run around the house.  I gave her a bath last week andthe tub was full of dirt.  She was so dirty.  She handled the bath verywell, and smells much nicer.

Sammy is pretty smart too!  She’s already learned how to sit, and she’s workingon stay.  She chases the ball and brings it back about 50% of the time. I’ve been taking her out on walks and she heels very well.  She keeps pace withme and doesn’t tug on the leash.  She even sits on command.

During the day she plays in the back yard or sleeps.  She follows me everywhereI go.  She’s very cute and she is always asking to be petted.  She bumpsmy hand with her little head or puts her head on my lap.  She’s likes to givehugs.  She’s always right next to me or laying at my feet.

She’s still getting used to me.  She got in trouble a few days ago for lickingmy plate while I was away.  I told her “no” and she looked as if she thoughtshe would be beaten.  She tucked her tail and cowered.  I gave her somerubs and told her she was ok.  She hasn’t tried to lick any plates since.

A couple of days ago we were playing around and I spooked her, I moved too fastor something.  She had an accident (part of submissive behavior) and thoughtshe was in trouble.  But again I gave her some head rubs and she seemed to beok.

I’m trying to teach her some good behavior.  She now understands “Sit”, “Getthe ball”, and “out of the kitchen.”  I was amazed that she learned “out of thekitchen” so quickly.  It’s a command I use when I’m cooking.  When I tellher “out of the kitchen” she leaves the cooking area, but she can still watch.

I’m also impressed that she doesn’t beg.  As a rule she doesn’t get any tablescraps (for her health).  But she doesn’t even try to get any.  It’s great.

Today I made a little video of Sammy in the back yard.  She was not a great fanof the camera, and you can see how I have to give her constant reassurance. But she trusts me now.

Click here to getthe video (2 meg - windows media). 

[note: you may need to right-click the link and choose “Save Target As…”to save the video on your local hard drive.  Once the file is finished downloadingclick “Open” to watch the video.]

 

Posted by admin Posted in: Dogumentary No Comments » December 2004

The Chips Story

This morning I’ve been e-mailing a bunch of friends about movies and I kept talking about movies that have been “chipped.”  I realized not everyone knows what a”chip” is and so I’m posting the story on my Blog.

1994
Davy Fisher, Travis Hawkins, and Mark Wallace had some time to kill.  They traveled together every summer doing camps around the southeast.  They had just finished a camp and were staying at a hotel in Chattanooga, TN.  The next camp didn’t start for two more days and they  didn’t have anything to do.

The guys decided to go to a video store and rent 2 videos each.  But not just any 2 videos.  Each person had to choose their all time favorite movie. They agreed to watch each movie and then discuss the reasons it was considered one of the best.

1995
The next summer the guys were on the road again.  This time they found themselves without anything to do between two camps in south Louisiana.

The all night movie madness turned out to be a great event.  And so the three guys decided to do it all over.  Once again they chose two movies that they thought were worthy to be called “the best”.  And once again the movie watching was a success.

1996
The brothers invited others to join the film fest.  The only condition was that everyone had to watch the 6 films that the founding fathers chose.  The party was a huge success.  About 20 people gathered in a condo at Gulf Shores, AL and rented over 60 video tapes (everyone thought they had the best movie).  The movies played 24 hours a day for 3 days.

1997
Travis, Davy, and Mark soon discovered that their rental inventory of great movies was diminishing.  And so they began to actually go to movies in theaters. Time and money prohibited them from taking in 6 movies all at once.  And so 1997ushered in an era of the summer long film festival.  They would see movies as they had time, they were also getting too old to stay up all night.

1998
It was a sad day when they realized that the summer film fest was going to have to end.  Davy had decided not to travel during the summer anymore.

But then Mark had an idea.  They would each have two “chips” to cash in each year.  If a person cashed a chip the two other guys would have to see the movie as soon as possible.  Once someone cashed a chip the others had no choice but to see the movie.

The idea came late in the year and so only 3 chips were cast.  They were: Living Out Loud (Travis), The Myth of Fingerprints (Davy), and Life is Beautiful (Mark).

What makes a move “chip worthy”??

Can you believe that no one chipped Saving Private Ryan? No one chipped Forest Gump either. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Color Purple, E.T.; all un chipped movies. Why?Because a movie should only be chipped if it speaks something personal to you.

For example, Cinema Paradiso, a great film chipped by Travis Hawkins. It’s an almost unheard of film and yet he chose to chip. Travis loves film making, he loves the theatre, he loves acting, he loves the whole process. Travis has worked in a theater, he’s also and actor and writer. Cinema Paradiso is all about those things. It spoke to Travis where he lives.

The Horse Whisperer is a long movie that most people can’t sit through. But Mark Wallace chipped it because it speaks of healing, restoration, and repentance. All the things Mark likes to talk about. It’s also filmed in Montana, the state where Mark grew up. It’s a personal film.

You may be asking why Notting Hill was chipped by Davy Fisher. It’s all about Davy. He’s a hopeless romantic. Should I say more?

So when you chip a film – don’t chip something that’s a blockbuster. Everyone is going to see it. Chip something that tells others about your passions, dreams, failures, etc. The chips were invented to expand our viewpoints and help others connect with what we feel and dream.

If you love a blockbuster movie then recommend it, but save your chips for the hidden treasures of the cinema.

Posted by admin Posted in: Movies 1 Comment » December 2004

Day 3

Bright Eyed Samantha

Many people have e-mailed to ask how little Samantha is doing.  If you missedit, I adopted a dog last weekend (clickhere for the details).  She’s been home now for three days.  The firstday was rough, the second day was much better, and we’ve made a huge amount of progresson day 3.

On day one I couldn’t get within 25 feet of Samantha, now she sleeps atmy feet.  Yesterday she learned how to use the doggy door and came upstairs tolet me rub her head.  Last night I put her in a crate beside my bed where sheslept peacefully, and this morning we actually played a little bit in the yard. Bit by bit she’s learning to trust me and I’m getting to know her.

Yesterday I got some tennis balls so she could catch them.  She ran from themwhen I tossed them in her direction.  We tried again this morning.  Herears perked up and she showed a bit of interest in the ball.  She even bit itonce.  I had to leave for work, so I put her crate next to the doggy door soshe could stay inside in her crate, or use the doggy door to run around in the yard.

When I got home from work she was not in her crate, and when I went into the backyard I didn’t see her anywhere.  I was nervous for a second, but then she camerunning around the house from the side yard.  Her tail was wagging and she waswiggling all over.  She did her little crawl up to me and let me rub her tummy. We played for about an hour and she seemed to lose her fear of the ball, she wouldtrot toward it, but not chase it or pick it up.

It was great to see her running around in a playful mood in stark contrast toher running around in terror Saturday night.  She even followed me in the house,a minor miracle.

Samantha taking a nap while I work.

This evening I introduced her to more of the house.  I’m trying to introduceher to her new home slowly.  Yesterday she sniffed around the kitchen, diningarea, office, master bedroom, and movie room.  Tonight I let her explore thestudio and family room.  In a few days I’ll introduce her to the upstairs bedrooms. So far she’s been pretty good indoors.  She had a couple of accidents yesterday,but those were from a nervous bladder (this is actually submissivebehavior).  Taking the time to build Samantha’s confidence will really helpher with this.

Samantha is now in the habit of coming into my office and laying at my feet. She’s really beginning to come around. 
As long as I’m sitting down or on the floor she will come right up to me.  Butas soon as I get up she heads for the doggy door and goes outside.  It seemsthat she’s getting used to me standing, maybe in a few days she’ll approach when I’mstanding up.

Samantha curled up at my feet.

A few minutes ago she was sleeping and I discovered that she was snoring!  That’sfunny. 

Now I’m just a bit concerned with her energy level.  She’s been sleeping a lottoday, but that may be from all the excitement she had this weekend.  I’m goingto take her to her new vet soon so she can have a checkup.  She also needs abath, but I don’t think I’m going to attempt that for a day or two.  One stepat a time…

Some tips for new dog owners:

• If you’ve never been to dog obedience school you should go. They teach you about dog behavior soyou can learn how to “talk” to you dog.
• Don’t hit or spank your dog - dog’s don’t understand that. There are ways to teach your dog what not to do, but it rarely includes hittinga dog.  “Hitting or hurting your pup signals the end of your relationship withhim. If your pup doesn’t like or trust you or your kids (and he won’t if you hurthim), he won’t trust you and won’t want to obey you. Even worse, he is much more likelyto bite you or your children if he’s been hit or hurt.”
• Positive reinforcement is the way to go!  A dog will doa lot to earn your approval.
• Learn about cratetraining.  It seems cruel to keep your dog in a cage while you areaway, but once you understand dog behavior and how they learn you’ll find that it’sactually healthy.
• Click here for Puppy101: Top 10 Puppy Points

 

Posted by admin Posted in: Dogumentary No Comments » December 2004

Dogumentary

Yesterday I went to PetSmart andadopted a dog!  We think she’s about 1 1/2 years old, but nobody knows for sure. She was found in the desert when she was very young.  She was taken to animalcontrol where she was waiting to be adopted.  They named her Samantha.  Sadlynobody adopted her and so she was going to be put to sleep.  Lucky for Samantha AZAnimal Rescue and Sanctuary stepped in and put her in foster care.  She’sbeen in foster homes ever since.  Somewhere along the way, prior to being rescued,she was abused; probably by a man.  She’s a very nervous dog and does not trustmen and won’t approach a woman until she gets to know her.

Diane and I saw Samantha at PetSmart acouple of weeks ago, and returned yesterday hoping that she’d still be there. Luckily she had not been adopted and was still there.  At the store she wouldnot let me get anywhere close to her.  Diane was able to pet her, but that’sabout all.  We stayed at the store for about an hour while we tried to get toknow Samantha and gain her trust.  We learned that she doesn’t trust anyone afterjust one hour.

With the help of Lindsey, a volunteer for AZ AnimalRescue, we got little Samantha to the car.  Once in the back seat she actuallylet me pet her and rested her head on my leg.  We thought that she was finallybeginning to trust us.  We’d later find that wasn’t the case.

When we got her to my house we took her off the leash and allowed her to sniff around. We opened the back door so she could see her new yard.  She went right out thedoor.  This was about 3:00 pm.  At this point we couldn’t get within 25feet of Samantha.  She had a lot of room to run around and she used it. We tried offering treats, sitting down, whatever.  She wouldn’t come close.

Diane had to run some errands, so I stayed outside and tried to gain Samantha’s trust. After 3 hours I’d managed to have Samantha sit about 10 feet from me.  At onepoint I got her to approach me and I tried to grab her collar - that was a big mistake. All the trust I’d built was now gone.  It was now about 6:00 pm.

Diane came over again and she tried to approach Samantha.  She had about thesame results.  The sun began to set and I really wanted to get the dog insidebefore it was dark out.  So I tried to be a bit more aggressive and walk to Samantha. This set her off and she began to run full speed around the yard.  She was notrunning like a playful dog, but in sheer terror.  I quickly gave up on this strategy.

We decided we’d leave the sliding glass door open and ignore her, maybe she’d comeinside on her own.  We put food and water outside for her.  Then we ate,played a board game, and Samantha did actually poke her head in a few times. At one point she came all the way in and we tried to shut the door before she couldget out, but she was too quick and ran outside again.  We’d broken the trustagain.

Diane trying to gain Samantha’s trust.

We waited for a few more hours while Samatha became more and more sleepy.  Shewould lay down just outside the door and begin to fall asleep.  We’d start tomove toward her and she’d run off again.  It was obvious that she was becomingexhausted, and we were too.

At 10:30 pm we decided we’d have to catch her because it was getting pretty cold outsideand we needed to go to bed ourselves.  Samantha had been responding much betterto Diane then me so we thought Diane could stay inside and I’d see if I could shepherdher inside.  Again she ran around the yard.

We noticed that she was looking toward Diane, so Diane came outside.  I wouldmove slowly toward Samantha and she’d run full speed away from me.  But she wouldslow down around Diane.  Then she began to sit down near Diane, but when Dianemoved closer she’d run away again.  This continued for a long time until shefinally became too tired.

Samantha peeks in for a second.

She finally approached Diane and stayed calm.  Diane petted her head and wasable to put a leash on her.  I was then able to slowly approach her and finallypet her head.  We got her inside and she just laid down and cuddled up to Diane. She fell asleep on the floor next to Diane.  After a few minutes I was able tolie down next to her and pet her.  We began to build trust.

Samantha slept on the floor next to the bed last night.  She was very good. No doggy accidents.  This morning I put her on the leash and again took her inthe back yard.  Once outside she became nervous again.  I worked with herfor about an hour and was able to get her to let me approach her, but she would notcome to me.

After a few hours of working with her I was able to get her to crawl to me very slowly. I would get down on my hands and knees and get very low to the ground.  Lotsof head rubs and “Good girl!” affirmation helped tremendously.  A few times shegrowled and bared her teeth at me.  I really had to be patient and show her Iwouldn’t hurt her. 

At one point I left my house for a couple hours and left her in the backyard.  When I returned she was actually excited to see me.  She would getabout 8 feet from me, but no closer.  I got down again and she eventually crawledover and let me pet her.  A major breakthrough!  I got a book and sat atmy patio fora while.  Samantha would actually come over and nudge my hand with her nose. She’d let me pet her, but if I got out of the chair she’d be gone again.

A bit later I showed her the dog door.  She was afraid of it.  So I putsome BilJac inside to see if she’d crawl through for the treat (for new puppy owners:these are great training treats).  She wouldn’t.  I decided to come upstairsand do some work.  After about 30 minutes I heard her footsteps on the stairs. She’d come through the doggy door and up the stairs looking for me.  She cameup to me slowly.  I petted her and told her what a good girl she was.  Shestayed for a bit and then ran down the stairs and out her door.

As I write this She’s coming in and out, still testing the waters.  It’s goingto take a few months to gain the trust of this little dog.  And I’ll keep youposted in this “Dogumentary”.

Updated:Samantha is doing great! Read Part II

Posted by admin Posted in: Dogumentary No Comments » December 2004

Hungry Horse Dam

I’m still way behind on blogging my adventure to Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. So here’s a little treat.  This was taken from HungryHorse Dam near Glacier, Montana.

Posted by admin Posted in: Photography No Comments » December 2004