Milo’s Rules

Is this too close to yr toast?

Those of you who have followed our stories of Milo the Irish Wolfhorse, know that he got himself into a bit of trouble not long ago.  We’re pleased to say, that our behaviour modification is coming along well following the program of Sean Ehler – a man with an astounding intuition of dogs, which coincides with the principals of  NILIF (as suggested to us by Shelley, thankyou so much!) and best of all, it is bringing out a side of Milo that has placed him even more firmly in our hearts and in our home.  The rules seem a little harsh, but they are what we need to do to keep Milo safe, and to be responsible within our community.

1.  Milo only gets pats when he is lying down, or as a reward for obeying commands.

2.  Milo must not play with small dogs. (Jemma Jack Russell doesn’t count, because she is the boss)

3.  Milo must sit before given meals.  He has 15 minutes to eat them.

4.  Milo must not be let off his lead (intentionally) on walks off the property.

5.  Milo must not have bones. Ever.

6.  Milo will have timeouts if he breaches or ignores commands.

7.  Milo can only walk on a ‘gentle leader’ off the property.

8.  Milo must be ignored whenever he is in an agitated or excited state.

We thought he was a great, big, dumb doggy, and we were very surprised to discover that he is a big, dopey doggy with a great capacity to learn, and a huge desire to be a part of our family…until he sees other dogs playing together and then he just wants to go and join their pack.  That’s our falling point.

The good news is that the kids have taught him to ‘sit’, ‘drop’ and ‘shake hands’.  When he ‘drops’, he does it so enthusiastically that the pictures shake on the walls.  His ‘shake’ is a very serious one: “Nice to meet you Mr Prime Minister.”

I am a terribly stuperstitious person (yeah, that’s stuperstitious) and will probably only tentatively post about Milo so as not to draw attention from the evil and mischievous forces of ‘the Eye’, but thankyou for all your support.  He’s doin’ good!  Touch wood.

Puppy Love Angst

See this fellow?  He’s breaking my heart in two.

He is an Irish Wolfhound (Wolfhorse, I say) that was dumped on a farm.  We brought him home, not knowing he was an Irish Wolfhorse.  He was the first dog we ever had as a puppy.  He is a gentle giant.

He also jumped the fence last week to play with a bunch of dogs who were visiting the neighbours. 

And he went from playing joyfully, to attacking the neighbour’s elderly dog in seconds.  We paid the vet fees and have had Milo assessed.  It seems his unknown parentage could mean he may have had the most patient and loving mother/father in the world but the meanest/pig hunting psycho father/mother in the world and we have a two week period to discover whether he can control his nature with structured behaviour modification.  By the second week of September we should be able to figure out whether or not our sweet Jekyll and Hyde can change his behaviour or be put down.

I can put all the funny photos of the world of him on the ‘puter…but it doesn’t change that he did something unpredictable and unacceptable in the place where we live, and that, ultimately we have a responsibility to protect our family and community from the possibility that he can’t change, despit our best efforts.

I’ll be spending the better part of the next few weeks trying to determine if I can help him be the best damn wolfhorse he can be.  I hope you, my blogfriends, can spare us a thought or a prayer.  Either way, send me a chuck under the chin (in your thoughts) and I’ll be back when I can get there!

Cheers.

Things my dog reminds me of

 

 

  ‘Milo’ from Murrumbateman

 

  ‘Ludo’ from Labyrinth