Pearls of Wisdom

"Be the change that you want to see in the world."

~Mohandas Gandhi

Temperament

From the official Pekingese written standard regarding temperament:

A combination of regal dignity, intelligence and self-importance make for a good natured, opinionated and affectionate companion to those who have earned its respect.

That is accurate.  So say Sensei....

Clean

Full comb out, nail trim, feet trimmed, shampoo, condition, towel dry.......dreadful, abominable, loathesome.......

but, clean

Goodbye

This morning Slater passed away.  He was nearly 15 years old.  He was a fine dog and a good friend. 

Goodbye my friend....

Visitor

You may have noticed I have been fairly quiet recently.  I do apologize, but I have been quite busy and have had my hands full.

A few weeks ago my student decided to accept a "visitor".  Dickens, a young Cavalier pup has been here since for training.  He has been quite a lot of work for Sensei.  Young and active with little self control.  However, he IS black and tan, so I decided there was hope.

Actually, he has been doing quite well.  Initially, he would bark a lot, which we all found quite obnoxious.  Now, he is relatively quiet.  He lies down and waits to be released to eat.  He can leave it even when food is tossed.  In fact, I quite like him now.  Sensei has even been playing with him a bit.  He is hardly threatening and plays really nicely, so I allow him some play with Sensei now and again which he seems to love. 

Dickens will be leaving this week and his sister will be coming for 7 days.  Let's hope Sensei doesn't have as much work to do with Lilah Mae....

Pearls of Wisdom

"A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. "

~John Muir

Photo Shoots

My student has been speaking about taking Sensei on a photo shoot in the near future.  It seems one of her clients has offered to photograph Sensei and possibly Chico, one of the others.  I am quite dreading this event. 

First, I absolutely detest car rides.  I cannot imagine spending the morning driving to some distant location for this "shoot".  Surely, I appear quite as striking regardless of the background so I can't see any reason for all this fuss about the location.  Second, I abhor being pressured into posing for photographs.  I wish not to be portrayed in an unrealistic light.  I loathe posed pictures of animals and I will not agree to be photographed in this way.  They must allow Sensei to be photographed naturally and comfortably.  If they are willing to do this, I may allow a few candid shots.  Perhaps the only positive thing is that another photo session will mean that she will have even more photographs of Sensei hanging around our home, which I quite like. 

Thankfully, the photo shoot was planned for today but cancelled due to the rain.  Ah, how I love Mother Nature......