I know you get tired of me bitching… I know you do… I feel for ya… but it’s not gonna stop. Its what I DO. It’s why I have this damned thing - so that I can use it as a forum where I vent.
Before I get started here is a picture of 16 week old Sharkey
Yes, he’s big. Yes, his paws are the size of my fists… Yes, he goes through 30 lbs of pup food every two weeks, PLUS a case of wet food. However, he is one of the smartest, easiest going dogs that I have ever owned. When I say ‘No!’, he doesn’t question it. He may not like it, but he stops doing whatever the offending action is. I’m very proud of his attitude and how I can take him anywhere and know he’s not going to act out. I credit a lot of that to his older sister, who, in his first few weeks at this house, was all “Awww, hellz no. You don’t bring that sh|t into my house.” Trust me… Mags laid down the rules and enforced them with a few body slams.
When I say this next part, I don’t mean to sound all self-righteous. BUT - because I have taken the time and effort to make sure that my dogs are fairly well behaved - not to mention invested money into at least Shark’s education, I’ve grown intolerant of those that just think they should have ‘instadog’ or think that their animal’s obnoxious behavior is cute to me or anyone other than themselves.
I have a few examples:
#1 - Taking Sharkey up to PetSmart to get his food. We walk in - he’s got his new head collar on. Because Sharkey has started to pull and jump at people, I got one of these a few weeks ago. This collar yanks his head down every time he pulls ahead and makes him pay attention to me as the lead. If I could rave about any one product that I’ve bought for Sharkey since we got him, it would be this little set-up. It’s so much more effective than the pinch or choke (both collars that I feel dogs eventually grow immune to).
I digress..
I go to the food aisle. Lug a bag of his food into the cart and move on to the treat section to pick up some chews. Round the corner and there’s this HUGE pit bull. Now, I’m not afraid of pit bulls - but when your dog suddenly starts lunging at mine and frothing at the mouth - I freak out. I mean the dog had EASILY 30 pounds on Shark and probably more when I think about how the dog was SOLID muscle.
Sharkey reads the pit wrong at first and thinks he wants to play - I yank him back and say to the owner “You really should think about bringing your dog into places like this when he reacts to others in this way.”
He laughs as he struggles with pulling the beast back and says “Oh naw… he don’t mean nothin’. He’s fine.”
Right… I suppose the saliva and the baring of teeth are just his way of saying ‘hi’.
#2 Neighbors dog. A miniature Schnauzer named Elvis. Elvis barks like this: YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP YIP over and over and over and over. Elvis does this all times of the day. Evidently, neighbors are not bothered by Elvis’s constant yipping. Not sure how this is possible, as I have been unable to find anything to drown out Elvis and his yips. So I see the neighbors out in their front yard one day, pull over in my car, and introduce myself.
“I hate to bring this up...” I start out. “But, your dog… barks… a lot.”
The lady smiles and laughs and sort of waves her hand around. “Oh yes… Elvis… he just gets so excited!”
Uh-huh…
“Yeah… but you know, last night he was really excited at about 10 o’clock and I’m trying to get my son to go to bed...”
“Oh yes - that’s when he goes outside for the last time.”
Uh-huh…
“Well yeah… but so can you make sure he doesn’t bark at that time...”
She looked confused for a moment and then replied “Yeah I guess...”
Umm… you guess? No you will. Because if you don’t then I will call the cops. I’m not kidding. I don’t let my dogs sit out in the backyard and yap yap yap incessantly at a leaf that is blowing across the street. Give me the same consideration. Sweet Jesus.
#3 Walking Mags and Sharkey. Got my poop bags ready. Walking along the lake. See another dog approaching - other dog stops about twenty feet from us and decides to take a load off. The owner watches him, and then proceeds to just walk away after the dog is finished.
Are you fuckin’ kidding me?
Dude, pick up your dogs doo. It’s not hard. Plus there’s a garbage can at the lake that you can conveniently dump it in when you are finished. What about the other dogs that come to the lake? What if we just let them all take their dumps and not pick it up? Especially right now in the middle of 90 degree heat. Want to see how much fun that could turn into?
Ugh.. it just makes me mad. I don’t blame the animals - but the people, yeah… you suck.
Let’s go from talking dog crap to shrimp quesadillas.
This weekend I decided that instead of dropping close to $50 at the local Mexican place, I would attempt to make the dilla’s at home.
Here’s what we did:
Mix up your shrimp with the chile, cilantro, green onions and lime juice. We marinated for about 20 minutes.
Shred your cheese (we used Chihuahua cheese).
Heat up your tortillas in some oil and flip it a few times.
Top with your shrimp and cheese and fold the tortilla over and flip a few more times.
T-man and I enjoyed these so much. They had so much more flavor than the ones we get at the restaurant. Now, if only I could perfect my margarita.