Air Gromit -
A friend of ours started a little unintentional humor with us one day while we were getting ready to pressure wash the house, she said to us - "yeah, you don't want to put your hand in front of that water to see how hard the pressure is, it will take the skin right off of your hand...don't ask me how I know." There were a few other times this friend offerred us advice all of them sound tidbits of wisdom - like with a heat gun when you are stripping window trim "I think you want to be careful how long you leave the heat on one spot - it might start the trim on fire- don't ask me how I know that." Shrugging of shoulders often occurred during these lessons. Kristin and I have taken the saying as our own - "don't ask me how I know" - and it can be very helpful in a relationship when direct communication is not in your best interest - like, ahem..."you know, I think we should really pay attention to the speed limit on the parkway, the police have a speed trap, don't ask me how I know this" - ...or "you might want to put the pot roast in the microwave before you leave the kitchen, otherwise it might disappear, don't ask me how I know..." My newest one is - don't teach your dog to jump he might.....
Many people have told me that Gromit is a big dog, he is 28" at the top of his shoulders, don't ask me how I know this...I have tried to have him officially measured at agility trials just to see if my measurement would match an official one - but whenever I bring up to the height gauge at trials the judge just laughs at me - really this has happened multiple times not just one trial but three. At first I didn't understand but now I get it, it is kind of funny. I stopped worrying about the "Official Jump Height" card for CPE and NADAC. Apparently Gromit and I have no real need for it - there is no way we are going to sneak in under the wire an jump 16" or 20" instead of our normal 24" height. Now, because Gromit is fast - to clarify - not as fast as a border collie - but for a big dog and for this handler he is like a giant speedy Gonzalez - I like to keep his jump heights high, it makes him have to spend a little energy looking and gathering himself for the jumps - it gives me half a chance to give think about the next obstacle and give him directions.
Yes, well, anyway, I have been trying to generalize Gromit's agility skills - so when we go for a walk in the woods I will have him walk downed trees and jump up and land on big tree stumps. He loves to do this and is quick to try whatever I ask him to do. It makes it a little more interesting for both of us, not that the woods and the smells and the squirrels aren't enough for Gromit, I suppose.
Recently we have been putting the child gate up between the kitchen and the rest of the house to keep the boys in the kitchen until they are settled when guests arrive at the house. It just seems like a to allow Gromit or Chewie to accidentally knock over someone or interrupt a guest's conversation with loud barking. Well, Gromit has taken to jumping over the child gate - we knew he had started doing this a while back. He was staying with a friend and she caught him eating cat food when he didn't think she was home. She loved it that once caught he slunk back down the stairs and pretended to not be able to get over the gate. My friend looked at him and told him to go back over the way he came in - "over" is the word I use for jumps...hmmm...so the other day, we had a dog that was going to stay with us for a couple of days and when he was dropped off by his people I put up the gate just to keep things sane. I put the gate up about a foot and a half up above the floor inside the door frame. The front door opened and in came Wiley and his two people. Gromit was so excited he sailed over the gate - I have no idea how high the top of the child gate was but Gromit had no problem getting over it. I called him and he came running back and sailed right back over the gate.
Our friends have now nicknamed him Air Gromit - apparently this white dog can jump. So be careful about teaching your dog to jump, and by this I mean to jump over single, double triple, wing jump - and down trees and onto the bed - you just never know how they will generalize the skill - "don't ask me how I know."
Yes, well, anyway, I have been trying to generalize Gromit's agility skills - so when we go for a walk in the woods I will have him walk downed trees and jump up and land on big tree stumps. He loves to do this and is quick to try whatever I ask him to do. It makes it a little more interesting for both of us, not that the woods and the smells and the squirrels aren't enough for Gromit, I suppose.
Recently we have been putting the child gate up between the kitchen and the rest of the house to keep the boys in the kitchen until they are settled when guests arrive at the house. It just seems like a to allow Gromit or Chewie to accidentally knock over someone or interrupt a guest's conversation with loud barking. Well, Gromit has taken to jumping over the child gate - we knew he had started doing this a while back. He was staying with a friend and she caught him eating cat food when he didn't think she was home. She loved it that once caught he slunk back down the stairs and pretended to not be able to get over the gate. My friend looked at him and told him to go back over the way he came in - "over" is the word I use for jumps...hmmm...so the other day, we had a dog that was going to stay with us for a couple of days and when he was dropped off by his people I put up the gate just to keep things sane. I put the gate up about a foot and a half up above the floor inside the door frame. The front door opened and in came Wiley and his two people. Gromit was so excited he sailed over the gate - I have no idea how high the top of the child gate was but Gromit had no problem getting over it. I called him and he came running back and sailed right back over the gate.
Our friends have now nicknamed him Air Gromit - apparently this white dog can jump. So be careful about teaching your dog to jump, and by this I mean to jump over single, double triple, wing jump - and down trees and onto the bed - you just never know how they will generalize the skill - "don't ask me how I know."
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