Tagged “rudy”

On this morning’s park walk with Rudy, he had an anxious bark at a passing dog. I was caught in the crossfire and got a wee bite to the leg. Now, a while back that would have been unremarkable – he’s had long-term lead anxiety which appears aggressive and has given me some cuts and bruises. But, we’ve worked hard on it and he’s been doing brilliantly, so it was a surprise and a disappointment.

But since my initial reaction, I’ve come to realise a couple of things and wanted to reflect on them here so that I can understand them and progress.

Firstly, a word on how it felt. The small bite itself ain’t much fun but I think what’s sorer is that I love that wee guy and put a lot into him and it feels like a harsh return. I also feel disappointed in myself for allowing it to happen. Okay, it feels good to have noted that!

On reflection I think I can be a bit less hard on both of us. While I’m really confident these behaviours will continue to become rarer, they’ll occasionally happen… and that’s okay. I’m happy that me and my dog-pal are both doing our best!

With that said, I have some good ideas about why this particular one happened and how to improve things.

Recently I’ve been particularly vigilant when Rudy passes the first other dog on the walk. And I’d been sure to give him a small pre-emptive lead and vocal correction when he shows too much interest. Importantly that’s before it has a chance to develop further. This comes from the training we did and has been working really well. It also serves a dual-purpose by setting the tone for the rest of the walk. I realise I had forgotten to pay particular attention on that first doggy drive-by and now know I can fix things by incorporating it again.

I also realise I was distracted – a work issue was preying on my mind. Slightly different territory here, but the lesson is for me to literally say aloud “I’m annoyed at this thing and I realise I’ve let it frustrate me and hog my concentration even outside of work. That’s pointless and I’m gonna let it go.”. I did that today and immediately felt better and more relaxed. Not only will that help with my concentration, I’m also pretty sure that “calm Laurence” is gonna promote “calm Rudy”.

The last realisation is that during his best behaviour he’s been sleeping elsewhere but last night I gave in to the puppy-dog eyes and let him sleep on our bed. Time to stop that one. It’s not just that i get a better sleep minus the furry hot water bottle. Importantly, when he sleeps and relaxes on his own (in his own space) it’s better for his all-round confidence and behaviour.

It was helpful to reflect on that. I’ve been enjoying a lot of blissful, peaceful walks with the wee guy recently and long may they continue.

The last week was challenging at work. A minor restructure is underway and with it the possibility of redundancies. My job isn’t at risk; it affects team and group managers rather than me directly. But it will impact upon people I know, like and respect. It may also lead to teams merging or disbanding altogether so there’s an air of unease.

To unwind after that week, Friday night consisted of watching Scotland play Finland at Hampden. A 2–2 draw to send Steve Clarke’s men off to the Euros.

On Saturday morning I headed to Cathkin Braes for a walk with Rudy. What a view you get up there! You can see pretty much the entire city, and even beyond as far as Ben Lomond.

Later that day I visited Davie at his mum’s place in Troon. He’s over visiting from the U.S. following George’s death. I spent a little time chatting with Marguerite. Her garden is really beautiful.

Davie and I went to River Garden Cafe, Auchincruive for a lovely lunch and walk. We chatted about family and life in general. From there we had a drive around some of his old haunts in Ayr including a stop at Renaldo’s for ice cream before a walk on Ayr Beach.

While I was in Ayrshire I got the bad news that Linda, a dear friend of Clair’s family, had passed away. It must have been a real shock for poor Mel.

On Saturday evening Clair and I had a lovely dinner at Maison by Glaschu.

On Sunday we dropped Rudy at “his gran’s” (he’s a dog but anyway, it’s his gran!) then we headed for Bridge of Allan for Alexander’s first communion with the charismatic Father Louis at the controls. Mick and Laura had us back at theirs afterwards and it was nice to chat to a few of the other guests.

A busy one, but a good’un.

On Friday night Clair and I went for pizza at new joint in town, Frank’s Pizza. It turns out that friend of the family Peter works there and he showed us to a table at just the right time before it became really busy. I went for the sausage and peppers pizza, we shared a portion of Frank’s fries and Peter hooked us up with a new honey dip flavour to try too. Everything was really tasty!

On Saturday morning I made the hour-long drive to Biggar and enjoyed a walk with Rudy on Tinto Hill. It’s a medium-level climb and the weather was decent. Although there were lots of other dogs they mostly gave us space.

Later, Clair and I went to No. 10 down the road to meet Mark, followed by Sophie and Anya. I had an interesting chat with Sophie where it turns out that some of the coaching techniques I’ve been learning at work (active listening, asking questions rather than offering solutions) are things she does all the time in her job as an educational psychologist.

We continued on to the Stag and Thistle where we were joined by Tom, Lou and wee James, up from London. They’re still having bother finding a flat here but hopefully not for much longer. Craig F and Alan M soon joined. I couldn’t chat to them for long before leaving but it was nice to see them.

Having a lovely Sunday morning stroll with Clair and Rudy through Crawick Multiverse, a land art installation. Here’s a bit about this interesting place:

Nestled within the rolling hills of Upper Nithsdale in Dumfries and Galloway, this major land restoration project has transformed a former open cast coal mine into a spectacular artland and public amenity.

A renowned cultural theorist, land artist, architectural historian and co-founder of the Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres, Charles Jencks was commissioned by the Duke of Buccleuch in 2015 to design an inspiring landscape on the former open-cast coal mine near Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway.

We made our way through the Amphitheatre and between “landforms” with names such as Andromeda, Supercluster of Galaxies and Omphalos. And we stopped to enjoye a lovely wee picnic atop The Milky Way. Most definitely something different, and Rudy seemed to enjoy his first spacewalk too.

Prior to Christmas we’d been talking about giving ourselves the present of a trip to London. However the train prices were pretty offensive so we opted for a different type of weekend trip – one that was rural, cosy and Rudy-friendly.

Me, Clair and Rudy just enjoyed a lovely weekend break. We stayed at Drinkbetween cottage on Banchory Farm. While only 70 minutes drive from home it provided some lovely countryside isolation, with the bonus of nice nearby towns to visit nearby too.

Our wee Border Terrier, Rudy, is six months old. It’s funny to think how far he’s come since needing carried everywhere just a short while ago. In this weirdest of years, the wee man has been a constant ray of sunshine. Love ye, Rood!