Holes in the back yard

Yes I know, it’s been 6 months. When I don’t have a camera handy, I don’t think to take photos – and there hasn’t really been that much to add. Kai’s life is a happy one full of sleeping, eating, playing with Sandy at the park and playing tug of war.

He’s decided that being outside at night time is boring, and so now the back yard is full of holes! I know he’s been up to no good when he’s got sand all over his nose.

Nevertheless, training is going really well. The Mornington Dog Club on Cobb Rd is really good – the hour is fast paced, the expectations on you and your dog are high, and they’re happy to politely tell you when you’re not doing something quite right. Kai will now consistently stay at heel, sit, drop, stand, stay, do weaving, figure 8′s, military style left-turns, you get the picture. His weakness is in his desire to play with Gemma, my Mum’s dog, as she often trains right next to me. And he still doesn’t hear me when I call him if he’s off playing with another dog. Still, he’s only just over a year old now.

As you can see, his face has filled right out, which gives him a very noble look. Right up until his lip gets caught on a fang, and that gives him a very silly look!

Still growing…

It’s a bird, it’s a plane…

No coal for Kai

Merry Doggie Christmas

I dig and I WHAT?

OK, so it seems people just aren’t getting Kai’s bumper sticker joke. Look at this link. It’s a way of showing support for whatever it is that you do by saying that you’ll vote for whoever supports your interests most. Oh never mind.

On the topic of voting, here’s a 2 second breakdown for those of you whose interest in the election peaks at “why is it called a donkey vote”?

First, VOTE MINOR PARTIES FIRST. When they inevitably get knocked out early, your vote goes to one of the two major parties ANYWAY depending on which you put before the other, but every vote is worth about $2 to a minor party. If they get even one seat, they get resources to fund their campaign. So VOTE A MINOR PARTY OR TWO FIRST.

If you’re bored already, just skip to the Kai How to Vote Card at the bottom.

The Greens. They love the environment, so much so that the number one saviour of greenhouse emissions (nuclear power) they are 100% against. In every other aspect they’re a pretty good choice though. They’re progressive because they support pro gay/lesbian marriage, they’re pro-choice, they want to increase foreign aid, and they support drug harm minimisation.

Citizens Electoral Council. They’re mostly anti-globalisation, anti-GST, pro-union. They have a strong zero tolerance on drug use position, which seems a bit short sighted, and they seem to have an anti-gay sentiment. In other words, tending towards conservative.

Democratic Labor Party. Only one step up from the Family First party. Religious zealots, anti-gay, anti-everything really. GST. Choice (abortions). Globalism. AWA’s. Drugs. The upside is that they’ve got an interest in making better educations more available.

Democrats. My choice, sure they were anti-GST and ended up backing which allowed it to go through, and Cheryl Kernot kinda stabbed them in the back, but hey, even though they’re anti-nuclear (even uranium mining which is a great export for Australia), they’re socially progressive enough to tip the balance. The other downside is that all their policy documents are in PDF, and for that they should all be shot. So what makes them great? Well for one, they’re balanced, they’ve got a policy on EVERYTHING, not just a few key issues. 25 steps to a healthy environment. 25 steps to a great health system. Equality for women. Better access to justice. They’ve even thought about people with disabilities – perhaps the most neglected of our population. Oh and they put Family First second last on their how to vote cards, “There are too many Christians in parliament and they don’t reflect the make-up of modern Australia, Democrats leader Lyn Allison said today”.

Family First. This cracks me up: “FAMILY FIRST is alarmed that no one in the Government is responsible for what our children see on television.” Really? Well, perhaps parents should enforce their own standards rather than expecting the government to cram their own agendas down everyone else’s throats. “FAMILY FIRST believes we should be doing everything possible to ban Internet Pornography and protect our children from this vile material”. Yes, because every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten. It’s porn, BIG DEAL. It’s not anywhere NEAR as evil as telling gays that they’re going to hell. You can’t BAN anything on the Internet anyway unless you want to live in a fascist country like China. Why does Family First hate freedom?

Labor and Liberal. They’re mostly the same really. If you’re sick of John Howard, vote Labour – at least you’re not going to get Beazley this time around. If you’re worried that Labour will pull their usual trick of flushing the surplus down the drain with less-than-effective projects, then vote Liberal. Whoever you vote for, you’re going to wish the other party won in 3 years anyway.

Kai’s suggestion for upper house voting in the seat of Hotham:

1. Democrats
2. Greens
3. Labor
4. Liberal
5. Citizens Electoral Council
6. Democratic Labor Party
7. Family First

And in the Senate, just do a single 1 for the Democrats unless you want to number every one of the 414 boxes below the line.

Lastly, Kai’s not anti-Christian. True, they can stare scientific evidence in the eye and say “nup, the world is so not more than 3000 years old”, but that makes them happy and so that’s OK. Just don’t take faith and try to pretend it’s got scientific method behind it by calling it “intelligent design”, and don’t try to legislate people’s freedoms into the ground, because that stuff pisses Kai off more than trying to get the last bit of vegemite out of the bottom of the kong.

I dig and I vote

Kai’s getting mischievous

First of all, last night he had an accident. First time in months. I decided to let him loose in the rest of the house, which he’s done a few times before, while Jessie (the cat) was in the laundry. Right smack in the centre of the lounge room too. He just looked at me with sorry eyes while he was squatting.

Today I took him to the beach. First we tried him running next to me while I rode my bike. Problem is any more than about 6 km/h and he would have had to RUN, and clearly he had no intention of doing that. We got 3 blocks before I realised I’d left the front door unlocked, and we had to come back. He was so hot and bothered that I bailed on that idea. Instead I called the taxi company, who told me that while carrying dogs other than for disabled people was illegal, they would send a cab anyway. The cabbie was a nice lady who kept patting him and saying “awww” so I don’t think she minded.

Once we got to the beach, which was packed, I swam out and Kai went all the way in out of his depth for the first time ever. He was ok with that, right up until a wave hit him in the face. So when the next wave came he tried to jump it, but that just sent him tumbling. He wouldn’t go in past his chest after that. Who would have thought there’d ever be a Labrador that was scared of water?

I’ve also been trying to teach him that he’s not allowed out of my room unless I tell him otherwise. So far he’s been really good. He’s perfect when I’m in the room myself, he’s not interested in going anywhere – it’s only when I leave that he wants to follow me. But just tonight, Ben got a bit narky because he wandered out while I was cooking, bailed Jessie the cat up in a corner and started licking her. No points for making oral sex jokes. She got a fluffy tail and hissed a bit – so between the accident in the lounge room, and leaving my room, it’s back to keeping my door closed.

As you wish Seah

Kai’s rites of passage

Last night, Andrew Browne – Vet on the Move, picked Kai up for his little operation. Given the bouncing and the tail wagging, I don’t think Kai quite comprehended what the word castration means.

I gave Andrew his chicken-rooster-duck rope toy, that these days is nothing more than a rope with a bedraggled felt end (Kai ate the stuffing) – that way when he woke up he’d have something familiar with him. I think the vet found me amusing.

First thing this morning, Andrew brought him back – and other than some swelling and a little bit of dried blood, he seems none the worse for wear. He was still so excited to see me that he could barely contain himself.

So at 5 months and 2 days old, Kai became a dog. Or not a dog. I don’t know what he is now, but whatever he is he’s no longer a puppy.