Pandora's Box

No sooner did I change the name of this blog than I pulled my dusty skateboard out from where it had rolled beneath my bed and went for a ride.

Not only did I go for a ride, but I was filmed going for a ride.

No, my boarding talents are far from being worthy enough for immortalization onto celluloid for their own merits. Instead, our dog trainer wanted to get C-dog riled up so we could train her out of some of her bad habits. After waiting and waiting and getting no response as numerous traditional triggers went by:

-joggers
-homeless folks pushing shopping carts
-dogs
-bikers

We decided to get serious. What is her most intense trigger?

Skateboarders.

And who volunteered to be C-dog's victim? You guess it - me! Now what are the risks, you might ask. Well, primarily C-dog's response to skateboarders is to growl, lunge, and then chase. We have only seen her catch up to a skateboarder once but he was wise enough to jump off the board once she caught up to him. So, what might she do? Well, who knows.

I tried skateboarding with her once and she mostly just tried to chew the front of the board as it glided along the sidewalk beneath my feet. But I suppose if excited enough, she might have knocked me off the board. But then again, I fall enough on my own, so hitting the pavement in and of itself wouldn't be too terrible.

So, what did she do today then?

Fortunately C and our dog trainer took turns keeping her on leash, so I never had to find out. But we certainly found our faithful trigger. She unabashedly barked and lunged and tried to eat me - well, more likely eat the skateboard. They were able to eventually train her so she would look at me, get excited, but then turn to look at C, hoping for a more easily digestible treat.

When all was said and done, I think we all had fun. I suddenly see a necessity for some further training with C-dog. So maybe I'll keep on ridin' after all. ;-)