T-minus 5...

Just chewing on an old trumpet vine pod

Contented dog days of autumn

How can you help not wonder what is going on behind that stare?

Tuesday afternoon and the south wind has a bit of a breath on it. Patchy clouds allow enough warming rays through to make puttering around the yard comfortable with a long-sleeved flannel shirt.

Opal Hound bounds through clumps of leaves collected by the wind, searching for a communal, ratty old tennis ball. She brings it to me, hesitates only slightly before releasing the ball when told to "let go", then leaps expectantly for me to toss it across the yard. Once launched, she is off like a shot to beat Beano to it!

A couple or three rounds of the ball usually is enough for her. She takes it to a spot on the grass and begins gnawing on it, holding the ball between her over-sized front paws.

Two and a half weeks isn't much time to teach a rambunctious pup, even if you know what your doing and have all day,every day to work on it. We are not professional trainers. Our goals--make that GOAL--were simple; get Opal comfortable enough being in a crate for a 5-days road trip.

I think we're there. Just now, as I type, Opal silently slipped onto Beano's crate beside our computer station. She's now snoring softly. Nor is this new behavior. Still somewhat reluctant to enter her borrowed transport crate at bedtime, she will take short naps in Beano's two or three times in a day.

Sometimes you just feel compelled to gnaw on a stick.

We have played some with the leash. Opal is less than enthusiastic about being collared and tends to roll onto her back, refusing to cooperate. Once collared and out the door, however, she is eager to explore.

Opal is curious about other dogs and people encountered along the way, but we keep her a cautious distance from strangers, canine and otherwise.

We also have worked with two simple commands, "sit" and "let go." Appropriate responses to either is spotty, at best.

Again, I'm aware the fault lies with the trainer, not the trainee!