Living with a Labrador

Big shout-out to the town of Truckee, CA – VERY dog friendly.

We stopped there on the way to, and from, a family camping trip. Brodie can recommend the following:

1. Moody’s Bistro – at least 5 dogs on their patio for a truly social experience for all of us – patrons & dogs alike

http://moodysbistro.com

2. Wine Tasting at Uncorked – Brodie was allowed to be with us in the tasting room while we purchased some wine!

http://teloswine.com/uncorked-truckee

3. Fifty Fifty Brewing Co – purchase of the “Leg Lift” brew provides a donation to the Truckee Humane Society – great beer & great cause!

http://www.fiftyfiftybrewing.com

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I pride myself on keeping my cool. No matter what reaction is happening on the inside my demeanor is usually calm (sometimes my expression gives me away but that is a rare occurrence). I think this ability to control my reactions has been instrumental in my professional success and perhaps the success of my marriage as well. Most of the people who work or have worked with me would likely comment on my ability to stay calm. There are a few people on this planet who can cause me to loose my mind; my sister (who is never on the internet, so won’t read this blog), and BRODIE.

I am a big believer in Labradors (dogs) with manners, who know how to behave in public, who do not run amuck, who listen & obey commands when given, etc… While I try, Brodie is not a testament to a well-trained dog. He does have some manners, but we are not at a state of perfect. One recent Saturday we were on the houseboat; enjoying a nice weekend. He had been for a 3-mile walk off leash on the levee and I struggled to keep voice control over him; several times had to re-leash him. When we got back from his walk I put him in his crate for a while – to give me a break and to have him rest & regroup. Later in the day he got to swim and play – for hours. He was struggling with normal commands – drop it, leave it, etc… and I didn’t like his level of agitation with the kids (he was constantly pestering them to throw his toy). I was yelling too much and my frustration was building.

When the day winds down on the houseboat we take showers, wash away the grime of the sunscreen and the river, get refreshed, and start preparing dinner. Wine is poured and snacks are placed outside. Friends come from boat to boat and visit as the twilight takes over and we all get ready to settle down. I enjoyed my shower (brief as it was) and when I emerged realized my 3.5 year old Labrador had PEED inside the houseboat. This is similar to a dog peeing in your house – a grown ass dog – peeing in your house on your carpet. I went into frantic mode; first wanted to hide it from my husband, second wanted to avoid the smell of pee inside for all of eternity. I grabbed some towels and diluted the pee with massive amounts of water and started to soak it all up. I was not successful in avoiding my husband, he came in, saw what I was doing and was immediately angry. Friends came and went as is the tradition and nodded that yes, in fact the boat would likely smell like pee for eternity unless I wanted to replace the carpet. This was my fault, not his, I am clear on that in hindsight, but during the heat of the battle things aren’t always that clear. I should have taken him to shore before taking my shower, my bad. Debate is still out on lingering smells – as it’s only been a few weeks and I am not overwhelmed with pee smells upon entering the boat.

The last straw with Brodie that day – a ride to the shore for his last potty break. It involves a paddleboat and me holding onto him so he doesn’t jump into the River (no one wants a wet dog at night). I took him to the shore, fighting him the whole way not to jump in, and then for the roundtrip. I gave him the command to jump up onto the houseboat (staying dry), and he chose to jump into the River. Are you kidding me, it is 9:00 at night, I now have a soaking wet dog and a soaking wet me. I secured the paddleboat and then lost my cool completely!

I grabbed hold of him and threw him to the deck (aka ground), covering his entire body with mine. I grabbed his neck and held it to the ground to get him to submit. He fought me, struggling to get up and to toss me off of him, I persisted and luckily I outweigh him 60 lbs. Reminder at this point – he is soaking wet, has not even had the chance to ‘shake’ the water off his coat, and I am laying on top of him. The actual part of loosing my cool was not the physical act, but the fact that I was also screaming my head off – yelling – words he mostly wouldn’t understand. After what seemed like an eternity he finally relaxed into submission pose and I held him for a minute longer before letting him up.

If not for all my screaming no one would have known that was happening. Everyone was centered around food/snacks/wine and wasn’t paying attention to me until I made them with all my yelling and crazy rants. Worse, a co-worker happened to be visiting that weekend, and saw the whole debacle. My professional coolness now in question. He has offered to see if ‘the guys’ at work can push me to that limit just so that everyone can experience ‘when Brandi looses her shit’. I have advised him that is not recommended.

For his part Brodie was submissive for the remainder of the night – which amounted to only an hour or so before he was crated for the evening (one day I will write the story of Brodie swimming alone, in the middle of the night, in the river, while Mark and I slept – you’ll fully understand why he is crated at night on the houseboat). The next day it was as if nothing had ever happened. Was it a bad day for him, a bad day for me, for both? I don’t know – but I don’t wish to repeat it anytime soon.

CAPTION: I would like to think this is shame the next day; but it is really his tired face

A few days later I was recounting the story to my hair stylist – she asked – did you bite his ear? Excuse me, No – I did not bite his ear. I had never heard of this before, so I researched it. Apparently people see that as a viable training method, but mostly for puppies that you are trying to break of the biting habit. The debate online regarding biting your own dog is interesting – there are some strange people out there – that is all I can say about it. If it had turned out to be legitimate, I might have considered it, although the thought of dog hair in my mouth is a definite turn off. As for me and my Labrador, we will continue to work out our relationship, but I don’t believe it will involve me biting his ear!

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A few weeks ago, I arrived home about 1:30 AM after a 2 hour flight delay and was promptly met at the back door by my personal greeter – Brodie Brown.

When we were looking for a dog to replace our beloved Bailey I had two requirements: 1.) a Lab to love & spoil 2. ) I needed to be worshiped, that included someone to greet me every time I walked through the door – it doesn’t matter how many times I come into the house, someone needs to be happy to see me. Each. And. Every. Time. Without. Fail.

I was happily worshiped and pleased with the homecoming that Brodie provided me at 1:30 AM.

It took a little while to settle down and I got to sleep around 2:15 AM and went into a deep sleep. At 4:30 AM my husband left for work, I didn’t move, Brodie also slept through his departure. He knew I was home, and stayed cozy in his bed knowing that breakfast and his morning walk would come later. His definition of later and my definition of later were clearly different.

The sun came up about 5:30 AM, and that was when Brodie decided we should be awake. The sun is up momma. Must. Go. To. The. Park! I am awakened by Brodie’s front paws on my bed and a big wet nose on my face. Without opening my eyes I shooed him away and fell back asleep. This exact same process was repeated at 6:00 AM. Again at 6:30 AM – this time I am unsuccessful in the shooing and he persists – more nose touching & a few kisses this time. Must. Go. To. The. Park!

I am awake, dressed quickly, teeth brushed, hat on, and travel coffee cup in hand. Brodie required a leash, a bag and a ball. We are ready to roll. Thank goodness the park is only 1 ½ blocks from the house, I walked slowly, sipping coffee every few steps. We got to the park and the retriever games were on. I checked my email on my phone and snapped this quick picture.

The picture I missed was when he found a mud hole, likely created by the morning round of sprinklers, and laid down in it. I have 4 hours of sleep, 1 cup of coffee, and 1 muddy Labrador. Fantastic.

After the trip to the park and a quick spin of the hose, his breakfast was served. I am exhausted, 4 hours is not enough sleep for me, but was up and started my day.

I guess life is all about trade offs; I got worshiped at 1:30 AM and he got to go to the park at 6:30 AM. We are even.

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I was putting Brodie’s Frontline on today and was reminded about a great tutorial I saw for tick removal. As we go into the 4^th of July holiday weekend, even with the frontline, I am sure I will be removing a tick or two…he seems to pick them up easily when running enthusiastically on the shoreline of the Delta.

 http://www.vetguru.com/2013/04/22/how-to-remove-a-tick-from-a-dog/

Image of a brown tick standard size, and then after a meal – yikes!

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Brodie tends to get bored easily. In many ways he is an only child who wants the parents to provide constant entertainment. As Mark and I both have full time jobs and have to take care of our household it is difficult to provide Brodie 100% of the attention he craves. On Friday afternoon, Mark was mowing the lawns as part of our household duties. Brodie normally lays in the driveway keeping watch over this task. As soon as the mower is silent he grabs a ball and walks over to Mark for the empty-the-bag-of-grass-and-throw-the-ball-for-the-Labrador-break. This is their routine and it is cute to watch. As Mark moves from the front to the back lawns Brodie typically hangs out front yard for an extra minute or two making sure all is well in the ‘hood.

Brodie is a neutered male; there is no carnal desire in him to wander nor search for a mate. However, given his boredom that afternoon he decided to take himself for a walkabout. The typical path he takes on his walkabouts involves a trip to the neighborhood park; but he has on occasion found himself in someone else’s garage, someone else’s kitchen (that was embarrassing) and typically with a ball in his mouth looking for someone, anyone, to play with him. Most recently he was found by some young boys who brought him home, but were also willing to play ball with him for a while.

On Friday afternoon Mark realized Brodie was missing after he had moved onto the back lawn. He walked to the park; no Brodie. He continued walking up the block that runs parallel to our house, cause Brodie has been known head that direction if the park is empty. No luck!

What was worry is turning to anger – where is that damn dog?!

Mark turns the corner and sees a man walking a dog – oh good – Brodie. Soaking-ass-wet! Mark meets the guy on the street and leashes Brodie up and thanks the man profusely for finding & returning our dog. He tells Mark the story of picking up his kids from at in-home daycare in our neighborhood and while the kid pickup was in process a dog sprints down the side yard and jumps into a backyard pool! A few points here:

1. We don’t know these people, therefore Brodie doesn’t know this people
   
2. He has effectively broken-and-entered their backyard
   
3. He refused to get out of the pool
   

The dad/kid picker-upper/saint was a great thinker; he asked the daycare provider for a tennis ball. Yep – that did it. Brodie got out of her pool for a chance at a tennis ball. He has a Labrador also and speaks will-do-anything-for-a-ball language. Once he got Boo out of the pool he was able to read his tags and start walking him home. He relayed the full story to Mark and cracked up laughing – said it was to be understood a Labrador and water are like moths to a flame.

We are rightfully embarrassed now; and we owe this daycare provider a hostess gift for hosting our dog for a few minutes in her pool one Friday afternoon. I hope homemade cookies or brownies will do…I will have to whip up a batch or two when I get home in a few days. I cannot believe my dog is a criminal and perhaps worse, he is rude! You cannot jump into someone’s pool uninvited (after breaking into their yard). I also have to work with Mark on making sure Brodie is given the stay command when left unattended. Boo will do a down-stay; but only if told to do so. Next up – baking for the extended neighbors and training the husband to give the Labrador proper commands.

Brodie loves swimming (picture was taken as an invited guest in Mark & Leslie’s pool last summer)

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I’d been MIA from my home, husband, Labrador for 3 weeks; work mostly, some personal commitments, but I had just arrived home on a Friday night. The evening was fantastic, Mark grilled, we all ate outside on a warm evening, enjoyed a bottle of wine, recapped a few highlights of the week, ended up cuddling with Brodie on the outdoor sofa as the sky turned from dusk to dark and candles created the outdoor ambience & stillness we all craved. He definitely believes he is a lap-rador, so he was curled up on my lap, but also seemed to clearly understand that I needed logistics of getting my wine glass to my mouth periodically, so he allowed appropriate space for that activity. We were all three in our happy place; except for that smell. Only a whiff here and there, but what was it, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it? Finally my mind settled, everyone was happy, so don’t focus on the next days chores, which obviously involved a bath for this giant chocolate baby boy.

Sometimes, in the dead of sleep something happens in your brain – you solve problems, have a surreal dream, gain clarity that has evaded you for days. In my sleep that night I figured out where the smell was coming from; it wasn’t rocket science; what with all the head shaking, rattling of the tags attached to his collar, and the rolling motion he kept making with his head on the carpet. Brodie had an ear infection. Two of us woke up irritable that Saturday morning; the one with the ear infection and the one who diagnosed it.

First thing in the morning; ear cleaning and an apt with the vet to get the proper anti-fungal medications. I am not a trained veterinarian – so take this next set of advice as someone who has been a dog mom to 2 Labradors and handled a few ear infections in my day. Their ear flaps coupled with a tendency to love water (or in Brodie’s case, obsess over water) can lead to fluid accumulation or dampness in their ears which can turn to overactive yeast. Same thing that happens to children when their ear cannels are too small to allow for proper ventilation and yeast grows in those deep and dark crevices. For a Lab, sometimes it can be handled simply by proper care & cleaning of the ear. I was away from home for a while; so that is the excuse I am going to use. Typically I clean Brodie’s ears every week (along with his teeth); steps are easy to follow:

1. Grab some jumbo size cotton balls and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.
   
2. Barely moisten the cotton ball, just enough to grab dirt, but not ‘wet’ because you don’t want to leave any alcohol behind in the ear. It isn’t a liquid cleansing; it is primarily dry. Again, just enough liquid to have dirt adhere to the cotton ball.
   
3. I use rubbing alcohol because it dries FAST – and swimmers use it as an at home remedy for swimmers ear – because it draws out the moisture.
   
4. Using just your fingers (no crazy tools) swipe the cotton ball into the ear somewhat – cleaning all the nooks and crannies. Repeat this procedure using a clean cotton ball with mild wetness until the cotton ball is clean.
   
5. I do NOT go too deeply, I typically use my finger tips and if I pass my first knuckle I am at the limit. And I only go deeper if on repeat cotton balls the ear shows significant ick!
   
6. Brodie’s right ear is ALWAYS dirtier than his left – I don’t know why – it’s just his biology and anatomical make up that makes his right ear collect more ick than his left. For us, on a weekly basis, there is a 3:1 cotton ball ratio from the right ear to the left ear.
   
7. Keep going until the cotton ball comes out clean.
   
8. Never, ever, no matter what use a Q-tip or other sharp object.
   

This does not cause your dog pain, and Brodie actually has come to enjoy it. He always hangs his head when I call him into the bathroom; in his mind, bad things happen in a bathroom – ears, baths, teeth. He would prefer to stay a dirt devil until the end of time – but his momma won’t allow it. However, when he leaves the bathroom he has a spring in his step and as best I can tell a smile on his face with clean ears to take on the world – or in our case his backyard.

Because his case was already severe and he was uncomfortable we took him the vet, got an antifungal to place in his ear for 2 weeks. Symptoms you can look for in your dog:

• Excessive head shaking; as if there is something they can’t shake off
  
• Pawing at their ears or scratching as if there is something on their skin
  
• Rolling their heads (particularly their ears) on the carpet or other surface
  
• They won’t cry like a child; but you can sense when it’s time to settle down for the night and they can’t get into their routine because something is bothering them.
  

Two weeks later: Brodie is fine now; the shake, rattle & roll has stopped and his is back to normal. We are also back in line with the weekly ear cleaning, which he has a hate-love relationship with. Now to torture him with his teeth cleanings…

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Brodie Brown is S.P.O.I.L.E.D – no other way to sugar coat it. It’s hard to disregard the fact that he will not sleep on a $20 Costco pet bed, insists on his membership to the toy-of-the-month club, and uncle ben’s rice & green beans augment his daily organic kibble intake. Spoiled isn’t bad per say, high-maintenance is even okay, but bad manners and misbehavior are not okay – in Labradors or humans. This flies in the face of my personal mantra – “that rules don’t apply to me”. Even with this belief at the core of my being I do follow rules that keep me civilized in a normal society and make my mother proud of my manners on a day-to-day basis. However in my Labrador I have not found these things to be true…he believes rules don’t apply to him. PERIOD.

Brodie’s bad manners & behavior irritate & frustrate me. At 3 years old, how can he NOT walk politely on a leash? Why in the hell would he think he can ignore a command when given? How and when did his ball & water obsession start and how do I stop it? Why does my cream colored duvet have mud and brown dog hair (although we have never caught him on our bed, he leaves evidence)? Why would he pee on our friend’s Christmas tree? I think it might be the last event that layered on embarrassment to irritated and frustrated. And with this holy trinity coming together – Lab Boot Camp is starting.

I start most projects with self-reflection and information gathering:

• I raised a beautiful Labrador companion once upon a time – if I did this once, why can’t I do it again?
• Read Caesar’s Way or some such Caesar Milan book…
• Read Uncle Andy’s unfailing dog training…or some such title….
• Looked long and hard at myself and the way I interact with Brodie….
• Looked long and hard at how my husband interacts with Brodie….

Brodie’s problem is us; we simply aren’t on the same page about how to discipline this dog and he is apparently in the position now to control our household. Mark seems to believe that ‘he is such a good boy’ and wants Brodie to ‘love him’ and therefore refuses to parent him or become his leader (if you buy into the Caesar Milan way of thinking). I strive like hell to be the alpha for this dog, but that is immediately undone when Mark interacts – and at that point Brodie knows he can dominate the household.

“He was a different dog in Denver” – said my friend who has known him since he was a puppy. And he was, when he was with me fulltime and Mark was a weekender, I actually was enjoying a reasonably behaved dog. He was worn out by all the playing at daycare, but we also had adopted the proper relationships. Daycare also provided him the structure he needed; routines, other alpha relationships, learning to share space with other dogs and humans. But, then I brought him back home to live as a backyard dog and he regressed. I have complained to my husband, but to no avail nor commitment for any real change.

Like a kid who learns to manipulate one parent over the other (which is by-the-way is a serious statement about a kids intelligence and perhaps a dogs intelligence), Brodie discovered that living fulltime with Mark was easier – all lollipops, ice cream, and no bed times. I just cannot allow Brodie to manipulate me anymore, create discord in what was a happy life, nor wander through life with ill manners and bad behavior.

I have decided Labrador Boot camp starts now, but first I must have a conversation with my husband!

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I’ve had dogs all of my adult life, including my first Labrador, Bailey (I’ll blog more on him in future ramblings). Brodie happens to be my second time at this goat-rodeo of Labrador ownership, I’ll likely stay an attendee at this rodeo, because the breed suits my personality and lifestyle. At the time I got Bailey I had just finish a stint as a Hallmark seasonal employee, working a second job for extra money to augment my tiny salary as a dental assistant. For some reason, I was attracted to these jingle bells, they were shinny, and ascetically pleasing, and made some great filler for my tree. I learned many, many Christmas tips at Hallmark – that I still use today: how to light a tree from the inside out, how to make a bow, and general decorating tips & tricks around the holidays. There was no way to know the purchase of these jingle bells would be with me long into the future, and perhaps the rest of my life.

Bailey was the sweetest yellow Labrador you ever met.  The runt of his litter and comparatively when I see old pictures of he and his littermates, he wasn’t the cutest. By Labrador standards he was all wrong, his pink nose wasn’t acceptable, his snout was a little longer and less square, but he was what I wanted, so I brought him home – the night of the Olympic park bombing in July of 1996 (or some reason there are events that stick in your mind and are forever tied to news or historic events). I remember this new puppy crying and whining all night long, I laid on the living room floor with him, right outside his crate, and watched the news story unfold long into the night. Believe me, it was a long night on the floor but I was committed to a crate trained Labrador.

The seasons changed, the heat of summer turned to my favorite time of year, fall. Author’s random note: if you have never experienced fall in Northern California, I highly suggest you put it on your bucket list: warm days, cool evenings, colorful extended sunsets that paint the sky with oranges, reds, pinks and purples – just perfection! Bailey was growing, and turning into that odd mix that is not quite puppy, but not quite dog. Before I knew it my puppy was 6 months old… rambunctious, all puppy, and all Labrador. I was getting the Christmas tree ready and he was beyond curious: all over me, all over the tree, all over this new adventure. The tree was very stable, yet took a few tumbles with the weight and velocity of a 40 lb puppy as he launched himself at the bright shinny objects. A funny thing started to happen though, the bells would ‘tattle on him’ if he got to close to the tree. No matter where I was in the house, if I heard bells, I would know he was close to the tree. I took off running a few times, then came to know that just a shout from me would send him on his merry way, looking for new trouble and leaving the tree in his past – the attention span of a Labrador puppy isn’t terribly long.

I have placed the jingle bells on my Christmas tree every year since 1996. Even in the years when Bailey was the perfectly obedient Labrador who then grew into an old man and had no desire to engage a Christmas tree for the sport of it. I put the jingle bells on the tree – for myself mainly; to remind me of when he was young and rowdy.

I placed the jingle bells strategically around the tree again this year; 16 years later, for my baby boy Brodie Brown. This is Brodie’s 3^rd Christmas tree, and while I know he is hitting that magical Labrador age where the mischievous and rambunctiousness turns to well-behaved; he still cannot be trusted around the Christmas tree. One move too close to the tree and the bells start ring-a-ling-ringing! So, I ask you are they jingle bells or a Labrador alarm system?

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In the middle of a rainy Saturday afternoon Mark and I decide to start a project ‘operation purge the attic’ – pretty self-explanatory. We start the project in a rainstorm, that’s okay because we are perfectly safe and dry, but both garage doors are open for the additional light and fresh air. Brodie is distraught, pacing the garage floors and in general being underfoot – in attempting to make my dog have human thoughts – I believe that he is upset when one of us ‘disappears’ into the attic for a period if time. His ability for human thought is likely not true, I know that, but it helps me make him more human. Ultimately he gives up and sulks off.

After a few hours of this project we are all bored; my personal attention span is that of a small insect, so I was happy to have made it for the few hours. I go in search of our dog…Brodie is sitting soaking wet in the middle of the front lawn, just sitting, silent, and letting the rain fall on him. Rejected by us as we worked through our project, he has erected a shrine of toys – 4 or 5 of his toys are neatly placed around him, as soaked as he is. Perhaps it is in homage to the rain – which is a precious resource – as rain fills our reservoirs and is our water supply in Northern California. He sits silently watching the rain fall. I have to wonder again – what is he thinking????

I call his name, he turns, and his deep thought is broken. He selects a toy and runs to the garage ready to resume life as a Labrador. He doesn’t care that he is wet, he doesn’t care that his toys are wet, he only knows that someone is paying him attention and he wants to play. It compels me to step out into the rain with him and toss his toys a few times for a fun game of retrieve. I can’t say I’ve ever played in the rain before, and I didn’t really this time, more of a stand-in-place-and-toss-a-toy for my dog, versus truly ‘play’. But I didn’t melt and he burned off a little pent up energy.

It did serve to remind me that a dog loves life regardless of the circumstances or weather, the day doesn’t have to be perfect to be celebrated, and a little rain shouldn’t stop us from doing the things we love.

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It was a crisp morning, temperatures hovering around 40 degrees outside. The house was cold and presenting the prefect morning to stay in bed, cuddled under my plush down comforter. I should have stayed in bed, but I didn’t. I was awake and got out of bed so that Mark could continue sleeping soundly. As always Brodie followed me out of the bedroom. He is noisy – so I was shocked that Mark kept sleeping. Upon waking up Brodie shakes his head repeatedly and his collar with tag make tinkling noises, as he goes into his downward dog position he yawns loudly to let the world know he is awake, and will finally lock eyes with me with a matching audible whine to let me know that I need to plan on making the world a better place for him today. He is loud and wants the world to know he is awake. I am not sure why I thought….meditation would be a good way to spend my morning.

Brodie and I made our way to the kitchen while I pulled on a sweatshirt to hold off the chill. He hopped up onto his spot on the couch and started watching the world go by out the window. I put on a pot of coffee and looked forward to the Zen state that I was about to put myself into.

The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 Dzyen (Modern Mandarin: Chán), which in turn is derived from theSanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as “absorption” or “meditative state“.

I am a newbie to mediation and am trying to find my Zen path in life, which is not easy given my Type-A personality, OCD-like tendencies, and “Mach-3 with my hair on fire” approach to life. I got my cup of coffee fixed just right, got my mat out, got my iPad, and settled in the living room for my meditation. I do ‘guided mediation’ because I can’t do it on my own, and while this probably isn’t part of a typical meditative state I choose to drink my coffee on occasional “meditative breaks”. I was completely enjoying my trip into meditation…and then…the sensation of a warm, wet, sandpaper-like tongue on my ear! Either I was deep into mediation or he was stealth – and my ear was his target.

I tried to ignore the ear licking until whining became its companion…I imagine Brodie’s internal dialogue was something like this “why is she just sitting there and not focusing me as the center of her world”. I choose to stay Zen…and focus, keep the mind clear. Brodie sat down on my mat; there we were, side by side, me focused on Zen mediation and he focused on keeping me from a Zen state. He decided to try a new tactic….sitting in my lap. Why not? My lap was open; I was sitting cross-legged with my arms outstretched to my knees and the traditional thumb to forefinger pose. He just knew he could make it into my lap. He tried to come in sideways, but with my arms outstretched and serving as barriers, that tactic failed. He tried to do his ‘spin’ and turn himself into my lap, but missed and landed just shy of my lap. He couldn’t figure out the spacial relationships required to get into my lap. The easiest process would have been to back-up into my lap, a straight shot, just move his entire body backwards a few steps and calculate the space between his butt and my lap to make this happen. Epic failure on his part….he cannot back up and hit a target for his butt. Impossible feat for his brain!

At this point I started to giggle but remained frozen in my pose. I certainly wasn’t in a meditative Zen state, but was having a great morning. Ultimately he never figured it out and decided instead to go back to his side-by-side approach to being near me. One more kiss to my ear and he was down on the mat, accepting his defeat, and allowing me to finish my meditation and my coffee. Later, after I was done and had moved on to reading the newspaper, he took full possession of my yoga mat. I will continue my trips into mediation and will try to keep my lap Labrador free as I make those trips!

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