Saturday, February 11, 2017

Shrek 2


Shrek 2 is one of the only sequels that I think is just as good as the original.  Previews for Shrek made me expect the movie to be what Shrek 2 turned out to be.  It took a lot of time for me to come around to what Shrek was and was not, and to appreciated it.  Especially not knowing that Shrek 2 would exist, or fulfill my expectations.  Shrek was so popular with the resident kid and everyone else that I was sort of forced to.  (Whatever mold made Shrek was broken.  Don't bother with 3+.)

Max is in many ways the dog I imagined I was going to get when Jory jumped into my heart instead.  

It's weird.  As soon as I feel happy about some of the changes, I feel guilty.  But I'd be lying through my teeth if I said that Jory's disinterest in toys 95% of the time didn't frustrate and even disappoint me.  (Granted, after seeing tennis ball crazed critters at the dog park, I was happy not to be living in THAT extreme either.)  I run out of treats.  Training with a toy is an awesome, awesome, awesomeawesome thing.  If I could coax Jory into some hard play---something else got hard, and he'd wind up curled on the ground pleasuring himself.  Seriously.  It was inevitable.  Arousal from games or nerves = "Oh me, you dirty slut."  Max keeps his head in the game.

Jory almost wanted to "play basketball" with Alpha Male, but I think he let a basket crash down on his snout, and that was the end of it.  Before Pokemon Go, hoops were about the only thing Alpha Male did outside.  So Jory and I still came along, but he didn't really like it.  There were better things to do.  Sometimes when I really wanted to just play with A.M. Jory even had to stay home, because the court was hot and he would stick to the sun-blasted gates, whining.

Max is a dark and handsome Air Bud.

Game, Set, Match-Made-In-Heaven
He's so into it!  Even when he's done, the ball eventually pulls him back on the court.  "Dammit ball, I just can't quit you!"



Sometimes, things got a little heated.  And by 'sometimes' I mean... "Is he biting you??" 
"YES!  He was biting me the whole time!  If the first time he tried to get the ball didn't work, he'd go after me." 
"Whoa, he looks serious there." "He was!" 
Serious in a happy way.  :)  That last one was a random still.
I was surprised because at home Jaren is a huge stickler for NO TEETH ON ME.  What happens on the court, stays on the court, I guess.
Unless it makes it to my blog!  #D-Fence
So sweet, yeah?
Nip-nip-nip-nip-nip!
Max needs to learn to focus on the BALL.  "Don't hate the player, hate the game!"


We both thought this was a funny image of our little land shark.
"I'm watching you."me  "Do you see what I see???"AM
They look like PARTNERS!  <3

Stealth arm to ward away puppy mouth.


"GIMME THAT!  I have it FIRST!"

Whoa-- over-shot it.

"Mine!"  gnaw gnaw.
 I treated ball-focused mouthing with some hot-dog.  He turned into a fierce food hound for 30 seconds or so after.  "Go play with the ball!"  Don't wanna.  "Come on Max, getitgetitgetit!  Yaaaaaaaaay!  GOOD BOY."  Treat?  "I got nothing for ya." (Cuz I'm the one training-not you.) I'll wai---ooooh, it's moving!  GIVE!  MINE!  (Yes.  YES.  Mwahahahaha.)
No fear.

You see, he catches it with his cute little arms.

A peace offering after hard play.
 
They still had a lot of fun together.  Pretty picturesque, I think.  :)

And it helped them bond.  Max doesn't think teeth are 'mean' after all.
Just that we're melodramatic weirdo's about being used as pacifiers.

"I LOVE this!"
Max did take a longer break to potty a few times, eat some snow, and explore the school grounds.  I used my last treats to coax him onto a playground.  He did GREAT!  :)  Those photos are on my phone.  I'll get them added soon.  Can't put in captions, though.  : /  A huge bummer for me.

Hypochondriac

Not for me, it's for my dog.
Almost a perfect silhouette of Maximus

Max doesn't frog-leg.  And his gate almost looks like a limp, his left back in front or below, not stretched behind him.  ALMOST.  It could be growing pains, he's pretty accelerated with his Big Boy Genes.  (See what I did there?)

Jory sleeping with Frog Legs.  Very common. 
Of course, he did have large balls....
BE POSITIVE, SHANNEN.  Tell Google to show you the forum and info page equivalent of a three star review.  Thus I did not search "how to tell if my puppy has hip problems?"  (One star pessimism.)  I instead entered "puppy gait."  Just tell me about it, world.

Well lo and behold I am not the only paranoid one.  Unless my google algorithm has me staked as a pessimist, this neutral search still returned two solid forums asking about it in one way or another.
And they were very hopeful! 

TL;DR Lots of large breed puppies have funny walks as their sets of legs can grow at different rates.  No signs of pain in play is good.  Beware push up behavior off the floor and the bunny hop, otherwise NP.  Gallops are not bunny hops.  

This link is seriously cool.  I wonder if I'm just seeing a transverse gallop and freaking out over nothing?  Likely.

Here they are for the curious.


I think that the different sites used the same forum plug-in to operate.  They sure look similar.


Someone also mentioned that ester C helps build collagen and stabilize the hips.  Must verify safety of vitamin C suppliment in LBP.


Here is Max with no signs of pain.
hindsight LIKES this stride!
Look ma!  One hind leg!
I will pull ALL of the lines!
Wheeew!