19 kilo, that's what Boyo weighed this morning when he got weighed at the vet again now. He has gained almost two kilos since the last time. Totally ok weight gain, I think. In about two weeks when we go next time, he should probably weigh around 21 kilo, whether to follow the weight curve. Incidentally, it is less than ten kilos to Ella's lowest adult weight (she commuted between 27 – 31 throughout his adult life), and about six kilos to go until he weighs as much as Lilo.
Before I give getting into this with plans, I'll just briefly summarize Boyo's day. SMHI stated that it would be hot today, so I decided to trudge off to the vet this morning to avoid going in the heat. It was quite a long detour to the wave, because we meet Lilo at about a quarter to seven in the morning, and the vet opens at eight. But we walked slowly and rested somewhere in the middle, so it went well.
In the afternoon we had visitors, and that is also both fun and hard for little ones (hehum) puppies. Then we handed Lilo off to her mother and practiced not rushing out the full length of the leash to mischievously attack Lilo. An hour later Lilo's mother called and was going out for a walk with her friend the dog trainer and her dog – I wanted to come along? And, jo, if Boyo hadn't just fallen asleep and I hadn't been so tired myself. We stayed at home, but went out and met them on their return.
It ended with that Lilo's mother took Boyo with her when they went for another short walk, and I stayed and waited. Boyo had behaved well, and it had gone well – so a big pat on the back to both Boyo and Lilo's mom.
Then we left and met Mozart, who is now finally free of his giardia (I wrote it yesterday, moon faith?). They played loose for a while, but by then it was relatively late and it was actually time to go inside. For the moment, Boyo is quite knocked out, which is right for him. 😀 He has spent time with a whole bunch of dogs today and learned a lot – then you deserve to be tired. ♥
Plans
I have many plans for a few different things. I collect most of them under an umbrella domain – keyoflife.se (English speaking). A couple of the plans are about dogs, and I thought I'd tell you a little bit about that one.
One of them recurring project I thought I would devote myself to is producing some kind of intermediate between newsletter and e-zine (digitalt magazine). My working philosophy is that each issue should have a theme. I was thinking of releasing the first issue by September or so, and I was actually going to devote it to – guess what. DOGS! 🙂
I have yet have not succeeded in formulating exactly what the theme should contain other than just dogs. But after what I myself have thought about recently, then it will be about the approach to the dog. How people dealing with different dog-related things see the dog's task, own relationship with the dog, to train a dog – and so on. I haven't really managed to find a good wording for it yet, but it will come.
I have in all of them at least two people that I will meet and talk to, who have quite diametrically different views on dogs. At least in how to train and manage them. I have been recommended another category that works with dogs, and I can think of a few more. No matter which ones I choose – if I select a couple or drive right into the tile as some express themselves, so I think it will be insanely interesting.
Now that I think on that, I think I might find a way to formulate the question that the whole theme should focus on. It should be obvious by now what I think about the meatball method and that I have strong opinions about positive reinforcement as it is talked about and written about by most people I have found who run dog classes. I have also realized that the attitude towards this probably depends on the type of dog you are interested in, and live with.
I think this first issue maybe (if this is the correct wording) must be about how you look at positive reinforcement in relation to the type of dog you have, and how positive reinforcement compares to demands – but also to things that you don't necessarily train with a dog. For example, a dog that demands space in a way that is uncomfortable for humans, or a young dog that tests the limits of absurdity, or something else.
I'll figure it out a bit on how I should formulate my question about this, because it is not quite easy. But no matter what the wording will look like, the result will be crappy. I strongly recommend checking out keyoflife.se and following me above all on Facebook. Then you will find out what is happening with this, and when the first issue comes out.
Who knows – it might turn out that every issue will be about dogs. 😀 It really wouldn't be surprising if that happens.