Win Some, Lose Some

by annemariedemyen, posted in July 2022

Molly and I completed yet another walk this morning. It was not as challenging as yesterday’s but it is still a work in progress.

We went to the ball diamonds first and that was not too bad. Molly tried to grab the leash a few times and leap up on me when I refused to wrestle her for it. Because I had solid fencing for support, I was able to maintain balance and ignore her until she decided to give it up (at least for today). She turned her attention to any litter she found, but lost interest in that soon enough. She did find a couple of empty pop bottles that entertained her for a while. Finally, she discovered that the grass was alive with grasshoppers and butterflies. She did catch a grasshopper but the butterflies managed to elude her. Maybe if she hadn’t been dragging me along on her leash…. Anyway, once she tired of chasing insects and checking out weeds, I led her over to a big puddle of fresh rainwater where she enjoyed splashing around and quenching her thirst.

From the ball diamonds, we headed over to Regent Park. On the way we crossed paths with Bike Lady and her two small dogs and a young man exiting the park. Fortunately, I had my new secret weapon with me..

A clicker and a treat work like a charm for getting and holding Molly’s attention.

We made it through Regent without any incidents or unruly behaviour, despite coming across a woman with a small child and several trees and boulders that were calling out for Molly’s attention. We even made it home and past a few yard dogs no worse for wear.

So Molly was the win today! I am not trying to break her spirit. My goal is just to get her to a place where I am confident that we are both safe and that she has the social graces to wander further afield – to bigger, busier city parks and to country trails around Regina. That would be great!

Now for the Loss… We got home and Molly settled down. I had my breakfast and my beet juice, and relaxed for a bit. Then I set out to do my daily workout. I got cocky and started to think how great I was doing. I have been keeping up with these Monday through Saturday workouts for months AND seeing every one of them through to the end, even on ‘bad’ days. Yay! Then I did it. I swung my arm out and smoked a Hornet with one of my fingers. He/she did not appreciate the smack.

Well that stung!

My finger felt like it had been jabbed with a red hot needle and my hand started to tingle. I considered working through the pain but decided it might be better to slather some Benadryl on it and take a break. The pain is not as sharp as it was, but my hand is still sore so will see how this goes.

Other than that my only news worth noting was a text from granddaughter Prim and a new picture from her yesterday.

Another budding artist in the family.
Prim 💞

Up until a few years ago, Prim and her sister Maddy spent a lot of time here with Dan and I. Other than swimming, their favourite pastime was Arts & Crafts. It is so funny that now, they have totally swapped their artistic styles. Maddy is all about delicate and detailed, while Prim is big and bold. The total opposite of what they were.

That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗

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26 thoughts on “Win Some, Lose Some”

  1. Ouch, I hope your finger won’t swell up anymore, AnneMarie! I’m glad that Molly was a better dog today too, the clicker and treats are great solutions. Your girls are really changing it sounds like, such is life!

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  3. When John was stung by a wasp he soaked his finger in apple cider vinegar , it drew out the stinger and pain was gone

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  9. I can sympathize with you about the bee sting. I got bit, right directly in the center of my left leg a week or so ago. Wow! Did that sting and stung for several days. Then it started to itch. Weird. Always fun to see the grand kids!

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  10. I am sorry about your sting! I stepped on a bumblebee one time – in bare feet. I was walking on a baseball size lump for a while! This bite doesn’t seem too bad since the burning went down. And I just saw the hornet so went and squashed his sorry butt. That made me feel better.

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  15. Ouch! Hope that sting is gone soon, they can be painful for sure. Glad to hear your walk with Molly went better than the last one. I enjoy seeing the artwork from your granddaughters.

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  16. Thank you, Mags. My hand is feeling better. I enjoy seeing my granddaughters’ artistic efforts. Their mother, my daughter, is very creative as well. None of them got it from me. The only thing I could ever draw was a stickman and you’ld never know it was a stick. 🙄

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  18. It’s ok Mags. Everyone laughs at my creative efforts. I sketched a couple of rail layouts at work one day for my boss and asked him which way he would build it. He said he wouldn’t build anything that looked like either of my sketches. 😂

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  19. Hornet stings are the worst! I hope it is better by now. I like the new picture also–that is either some serious hair-do or a very fluffy boa! We used clicker training, and it does work–and prepared with treats is always a good back up plan.

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  20. I just got the clicker on the weekend so the treats are to reward her for coming to the click. I also ordered a head harness for her to keep her from pulling hard enough to pull me off my feet. Will see how that works. I know she is going to keep bigger and stronger and I just want to make sure I can keep both of us safe. If she freaks out to bad, I may have to resort to bigger treats. 🙄

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