Dog interactions

Something happened Friday that made me very thankful for my experience as a dog groomer. I have had experience working with dogs of all sizes and temperaments.

On Friday afternoon I take my dog for a walk at a near by park. My dog is a 5 year old Maltese Bichon mix. He may look like a foo-foo dog, but he doesn't take shit from other dogs. As we were coming to the entrance of the park, there was an older man at this car with his dog by him. I'm not sure what breed his dog is, but it looked like maybe a Labrador Husky mix. His dog saw my dog and I approach, and came trotting towards us. He had a collar on, but no leash. His body language didn't read aggressive; all signs read relaxed. I assumed he just wanted to greet my dog. As he got closer, he rushed toward my dog, and stepped over him. I think he attempted to dominate my dog. My dog didn't like it, so he turned to growl to tell the dog to stop. That dog growled back, and needless to say, a fight began. They were circling around each other, and the leash I had on my dog started getting tangled around the two of them. As soon as I saw that it was escalating (not all growls lead to a fight; some dogs back off as soon as the other show his disapproval of the interaction), I went to separate the two. I shouted, pulled the other dog off my dog by the collar, and held my dog's leash tight and far away to keep him away from the other dog. The owner of the other dog made his way over to his dog, and apologized for his dog's behavior. Upset, but not wanting to give the man shit for his dog (he's older, and slowly limped his way towards me, and he had apologized) I just help his dog by his collar towards him, and said, "here!" Then my dog and I continued our walk through the park. My dog was a little shaken up, but he wasn't injured.

I'm thankful for  my experience as a groomer, especially my experience at my previous work place, because it gave me the experience of handling dogs that I don't know. I had no hesitation going after the dog that was on top of my dog. I'm sure it doesn't sound like anything big to some people, but I've seen and heard of people freaking out and screaming without doing anything when their dogs get into a fight, especially when it's with a dog they don't know. I told my brother about what happened, and he said he would have attempted to pick up my dog and leave. That isn't a very smart move though, since the other dog is taller, and he would have to reach under him to get to my dog. In that scenario, he could easily get bit.

On a sad note, my dog is now not as excited to see big dogs as he used to be. Before this interaction, he wouldn't hesitate to go up to a dog larger than him. He was the one to initiate the greeting, and initiate play. After this experience, he now hesitates when he see's a big dog. It's sad. I hope I can fix this. I plan to take him to one of his favorite dog parks in the near future for some positive interactions with big dogs. There are many friendly big dogs there, and he always has a good time at that park.

New Beginnings

I'm starting this blog space all over again.
The previous posts have been deleted and/or hidden.
 
It's been at least a year since the last time I typed an entry here.

I've been feeling the need to get my thoughts and feelings out. I do have an actual journal that I sometimes write in, but I want to start this up again because I've been missing typing on a keyboard. I'm no longer in school, and my job doesn't require very much typing.
I used to love typing. Mostly because it made me feel very productive. In high school I typed to chat, to write up homework, and to make my own website. There were so many free website servers back in the day, in the 90's. In college I typed to keep in contact with others, email professors, classmates, write essays, and research papers. It was fun times. Stressful, nerdy, fun times. I miss that feeling of being productive on the computer.
These days, I mostly use the computer the watch shows online via services such as Netflix and Hulu. I check a few websites, sometimes type up some responses, and check my email from time to time. Needless to say, I don't use the computer in a productive manner any more. It has become more of an entertainment source. I'm a bit ashamed of that.
I hope that restarting this again will help me to feel a bit more productive in my life. Perhaps not just more productive, but mayhaps a bit more intelligent as well. My current occupation doesn't require that type of intelligence; the type required to write a research paper, to use my brain in a scholarly intellectual way. My current occupation is more about building and using a physical skill, building a mental and physical tolerance and calmness, coming up with creative solutions to difficult situations and/or circumstances, and competently communicating with people. The communication part gets tricky when I have to tell people things they don't want to hear, or don't want to accept. I have found that the truth is always the best in those types of situations. Sometimes a blunt truth is the only way to get someone to hear me, though I'm sure it is rarely appreciated. Curious as to what my occupation is? Can you guess? Any guesses at all?

I am a dog groomer.

I'll type more about that at a later time.
And I'm sure that I will end up sharing many grooming stories if I can continue to post entries to this blog on a regular basis. Lets be honest here, I'm not very good at keeping up a blog. I've restarted this thing 3 times now, and I think I started this blog about 3 years ago.
As for now, I will be signing off. It's 3:36am, and I really should be sleeping.

Good night.