Saturday, March 19, 2016

fence



The fence wouldn't keep Stella in the yard even if the slats did follow the hill and weren't shortened to keep an even top. The fence is too short at its tallest. Stella could jump a lot higher than that. He's got an athletic dog there.

Dog: Yay! Love your American Ninja challenges. Got any more? 

He should be happy about having such a fine dog, not cross. Don't you think? 

This dog could be so much fun if presented with challenges like this. This is not a lay about dog. The things this dog would eagerly do for fun are amazing, say, find his toy in some ridiculously difficult place, put there with a good trail. 

I've been watching videos of Belgian sheepdogs running. Some in slow motion. The dogs' movement has always impressed me tremendously, mesmerized me actually, as poetry in motion, But these videos disappoint. They're shot in the wrong places. Icy surface, wooded areas with uncertain sharp and slick surfaces, They don't show the mid-air turns with landings that stick their nose on target, different natural gaits they do ranging from a positively evil looking lupine loping, equestrian type prancing, crouching, stalking, darting, spinning. Their square stance is bred for maneuverability on rocky mountainous terrain. Different from the German shepherd usually shown with powerful hind leg stretched far backward. A German shepherd can knock a large man off his feet. A Belgian can leap graceful and spin into his arms. They both can do both of course but I'm trying to make a point here.

As it turned out the best video of dog-movement that I saw was a fierce and enthusiastic and happy short-haired hunting dog, a retriever or pointer, muscular, more like this dog. They need a lot of attention and direction.