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They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
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But he’s so cute…and cuddly…and charming…
“cute…and cuddly…and charming…” In terms of continuing survival that’s about all that Laddie has going for him, yet it seems to be plenty enough.
1/2048% Alpha timber wolf.
😉
I think he likes you, Joel.
REALLY likes you.
And he seems to like having his picture taken.
Especially if he gets a treat afterwards, coloradohermit.
😀 You guys got your adjectives wrong.
Well we’re hoping you don’t accidentally step on him whilst he’s slumbering and prove that he actually is “squishy”…
I think he is in attack mode and you nearly missed tragedy. The look in his eyes tells me he needs steak soon or he will turn quicker than a zombie!
Funny you should put it quite that way:
http://cowboybebop.wikia.com/wiki/Ein
Joel – I’ve had the pleasure of knowing several people – and dogs (usually some variant of Heeler, Aus. Shepherd, or Border Collie) – who had impressive working relationships. I’m talking about dogs who might appear smarter than some people you meet!
Laddie, or TB – is of bloodlines that should be quite capable, and you two’ve only been together a month or so. A lady who had a very capable Border Collie once told me that he was of a working breed and needed a job – and that if she didn’t provide one – he’d find/make his own. That dog managed the heck out of a 5 acre yard with a large garden, goats, turkeys, and chickens. The lady told me the dog even tried to manage the wild birds that landed there.
Working dogs appear to find some ‘joy’ in their jobs and strive to please – they do not appear put-upon. I suspect TB’s bloodlines could be evoked with that notion of a ‘job’ – if you as a handler present it to him adequately. He’s ‘reading’ you all the time – I encourage you to do the same.
I taught my last dog some basic commands delivered by sound vs. word. One was “stop/pay attention” and the other was “go ahead”. The first was an audible exhale across the upper teeth – a low, short “shhht” and the latter the double tongue click that you’ll hear horse riders use. Get an animal trained to that and everything else just flows from there. You could just as well use a word or phrase – but the sound works better when you want to be discreet.
From what you’ve said so far – TB could use to learn the “stop/pay attention” signal first and soon. He’ll appreciate it – it’s part of him ‘reading’ you. I hope to be reading this blog years from now and marveling at how well you two work together!
PNO, there’s probably a lot to what you say but consider the present circumstances. Literally the first line I read when directly communicating with one of the guys caring for him after ML died was “No offense to (ML) but this dog hasn’t been trained at all.” We’ve been together for two months now and I can only agree with that assessment.
He’s no puppy, he’s 7 years old. He spent his whole life with ML either in a house or a safe fenced yard. He does indeed try to involve himself in the life of every rabbit, elk, wasp and small bird he meets and that would be a lot more amusing if we didn’t live in the wild desert. If I just let him do his thing in hopes of training some structure into his behavior, he will absolutely die. He is not capable of defending himself, and probably (I missed my first chance to confirm this two weeks ago and it’s probably too late in the year now) isn’t at all snake averse.
Add to that the fact that I don’t really know how to train a dog in any structured way, and we’re probably stuck with the leash.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about his behavior. We’re communicating better, some early misunderstandings are being resolved, and he really is an absolute sweetheart. And while I have no doubt that he’d be very happy to learn how to rule over the creatures in his *new* fenced yard, the best I can do in that regard is a safe kennel I haven’t yet introduced him to. But he doesn’t seem particularly put out over it. He’s not especially high-energy and is mostly content to hang out wherever I am.
“content to hang out wherever I am.”
One of a dog’s best traits, imo.
Joel, I wasn’t suggesting that you let him off the leash, or allow him to try to ‘manage’ the local wildlife. I just thought that understanding more about the thinking of a working dog would help him adapt better to his new environs. His ‘job’ can be as simple as his life, his environment, and you. As leader – he looks to you to define that job – and if you don’t – that’s when problem behaviors can come up. All that is assuming he likes and trusts you and wants to please you. Since his life has been jumbled over the last several months – it’s actually a good opportunity to give him some gentle training – or guidance. Whether he likes it or not – he’s out of any ruts he’s gotten into up til now. And yes – I did take a quick look at his certificate to see his age. 7 is a bit old for serious training. Just the basics of “stop/pay attention” and “go ahead” – applied as you guys go about the daily routine would be good – it might save his life someday. He’s not likely to get it the first day – but over time he probably can.
As example – when my dog was 6-9 months and I started working the sound training – I might make that “shhht” (pay attention) sound every 15-30 seconds when we were out. He had ‘puppy brain’ – too many free-floating impulses racing thru his brain and body. But once he got past the puppy stage he did know exactly what that sound meant. I was just laying groundwork that paid off in the long run – but it took some constant repetition to establish it.