Lily, as her name suggests, is a white dog. Well, usually she is white, but occasionally some other colours creep in to add a little variety…
Last weekend John gave the lawn what was hopefully one of the last cuts of the season, but the grass was terribly wet and the mower left clumps of wet cut grass all over the lawn. The dogs were all very excited about the fact that we were in the garden and decided to have a very mad game of chase. When Lily came in, her feet were a bright, fluorescent green… Another of Lily’s passions is coal – for some reason she adores it and can’t resist eating small pieces from the coal bucket (quite a feat if it’s a bit empty – she’s a small dog – we’ve just never had the heart to stop her!). Always a bit of a giveaway, however, when she wanders innocently into the office – with black whiskers and black tips to her ears… Lily’s teachings:
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Theo the schnauzer has to be one of the most ebulliently joyful creatures with whom it has been my pleasure to share my life. His sheer boundless enthusiasm and wanton curiosity for just about anything in his universe is a lesson in itself. He’ll be gratefully appreciative of any gift you care to give him (even if you personally wouldn’t consider it a treat – raw potato or spinach accidentally dropped will be happily accepted) and gives in return his abundant happiness and pleasure in your company. He also knows everything there is to know about relaxation and makes the best relaxing noises I’ve ever heard… his favourite place to be is cuddled up on the sofa with as many of his friends (human and canine) as will fit.
Theo’s teachings:
I learn a lot about rapport and tolerance from watching our five dogs, and I wanted to share some of my learnings with my Blog readers.
The first in the series comes from Poppy – a diminutive Lhasa Apso of endearing temperament and enormous character. When she first came to us she had very sore feet due to a chronic infection. After the dogs have been out in the garden, if their feet are wet and muddy then we dry them on a towel before allowing them out of the kitchen, but Poppy could not tolerate this at all as she found it too painful. However, she didn’t like having wet feet, so she worked out a way to solve the problem… Now, if we put the towel down on the floor, she will dry her own feet by scratching around in the towel (which she also finds great fun!). Poppy’s teachings:
A new family member is soon to be arriving in our midst – our three canine members of staff are shortly to be enhanced by the addition of Poppy; a small Lhasa Apso of endearing temperament. The dogs teach me a lot about happiness; living in the moment as they do, they have an amazing talent for it. Even if they fall out with each other (and they occasionally do!), five minutes later they can be curled up in a basket together, oblivious of whatever it was that caused the disagreement. They accept each other, and us, completely unconditionally and it is without question a wonderful thing to have somebody so enthusiastically delighted to see you each time you walk through the door – even when you have only been gone a few minutes!
Everyone who comes into our life has something to teach us. Spend some time as the student of your dog and discover what can happen when you live in the moment; experiencing the world through the filters of boundless enthusiasm and unconditional acceptance! |
Joanna Taylor
...and the Canine Members of Staff Archives
June 2023
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