The Big Ragu

Boy oh boy, time has flown by and my apologies for not writing. I have been way pre-occupied with Carmine and re-training him. Or rather training him further.

He’s at that age now — 16 months — where he’s feeling confident and rather like a “man” instead of a boy, so I’ve been hyper-sensitive watching every move he makes. And I’ve been working with a trainer as well to combat his walking stubbornness (he’s SUCH a bulldog!) and just wanting him to really be attentive to me, regardless of the situation.

And I’m happy to report that things are going well: I re-hired a dog walker and for the past two weeks, Carmine goes out three times a week for a full hour walking with someone other than me!  Hurray!!!

I’ve also been giving him both good and bad time-outs: good so he learns patience and not always craving my attention and “bad” ones for when he does something wrong even though he’s been told “No!”  (Carmine has selective hearing as most children and men do LOL)  I was a bit concerned about Easter (last Sunday) as my whole family, including my 18 month-old great-nephew, was coming over for dinner. Carmine’s been pretty good with crowds when I’ve had parties, plus he’s always great with children we meet on the street. But this was going to be the constant presence of a small child in Carmine’s domain. My trainer told me to leash him when we ate and he would be fine.

I was still a bit apprehensive.

Being a dog (and a large one), Carmine table-surfed as soon as everyone sat down for dinner. So I leashed him and gave him a bully stick to pre-occupy. He actually wound up being leashed most of the day ( he was in the same room with us) and I’m happy to say he was a very good boy. He barked twice: The first time I realized he was telling me he had “to go” because the leash didn’t reach the front door (he rings bells when he has to go outside) and the second time was just to get my attention.  I turned my back and walked away……he stopped barking and laid down to rest!
What a good boy!

And his reaction to my great-nephew?  Every time Jack came over calling him Bow Wow, he would gently pet Carmine’s wide body. Carmine would lick Jack and Jack would turn away giggling. It was just precious. Thankfully, my niece (my nephew’s wife) grew up with a lab and “gets” dogs.  She loved the interaction between her son and Carmine.

So all in all the day was a success. I didn’t poison my family with my cooking and Carmine proved that he is truly (and finally!) growing up.