The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Yikes Senor Carbon, I hope ML's nerves are ok!

ML hijack:

Nah, it was ok. I questioned the wisdom of getting him in the water at all as the river is really high at the moment, but where I stuck him in was the best spot and I talked to someone else (a local) first to ask about the water safety. I WAS surprised at the speed of the current in the middle of the river and as I saw the ball get swiftly picked up by the current, I assumed Carbon would do what he's done in the past: simply let the ball drift away. I have a dozen balls in stock, so I wasn't worried about that.

The fact that he doggedly (heh, heh) went after that sucker was a shock. Then my real concern was that he would try to try to swim back upstream against the current to try to get back to where I was, potentially tiring himself out. That's why I ran along the bank of the river and encouraged him just to come in where he could. There is a big stretch of bank (most sandy beach) before he would have gotten to the dangerous part of the river (about 2kms further down), so I was pretty confident he could safely get in.

I was really proud of him. He's gotten really strong with all his 'surfing' - he LOVES big waves - and he not only stayed calm as a cucumber (me, not so much ) and was ready to go in right away. For my own nerves, I then tossed the ball closer to shore and further upriver, so that it wasn't so far away from him when he jumped in. We ended on a positive note with him tired out and my nerves intact.

Still, I think I'll wait to toss him in again until the river calms down a bit, or take him up to the Regen this weekend, which is a quieter, smaller and calmer river that joins the Danube at Regensburg.

 

[Selina27]

We ended on a positive note with him tired out and my nerves intact.

That's always such a good feeling Sounds like you both really tested out your limits and all ended well.

 

[Oberon]

Now I get it. Regensburg means RegenBRIDGE. Over the river REGEN.

Does it? I have no idea really.

Or Regentown….?

What does burg mean anyway?

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Now I get it. Regensburg means RegenBRIDGE. Over the river REGEN.

Does it? I have no idea really.

Or Regentown….?

What does burg mean anyway?

A "Burg" is a castle, usually a medieval fortified-type castle. The later-era kind of palace (also sometimes called a castle just to make things confusing) that was more to show off thew wealth of the fancy-schmancy rich the aristocracy is a "Schloss". For example Edinburgh Castle is a "Burg" and Buckingham Palace is a "Schloss".

To add to the confusion in the case of Regensburg, there is a Schloss but no Burg. At least not anymore.

Regen is the name of the river that meets the Danube. Regensburg started as a Roman fortress town, which is probably where "Burg" came from, and is technically built on the Danube, but in the olden days it was the only place to cross the Danube in the entire region, and that point was on the Regen...so the name. The old Roman bridge, which still exists, was THE most important place in the region as it was the hub of trade. If you wanted to get your goods to south from north, this was the place to do it, and they made you pay. So you're right about how important the bridge is, even if that's not what "Burg" means. Bridge in German is "Brücke".

I always get confused with "Burg" and "Berg". For example, Heidelberg and Nuremberg are both with "-berg" which means mountain...even though both those cities are not on a mountain (at the outside, they each have a small hill) but they do have very famous fortified castles, or "Burg"!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Old Roman Bridge

 

[Oberon]

Fabulous, thank you!

 

[Cath]

Wonderful Emily

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Those photos are just Googled which is a bit silly as I have so many of my own. I need to somehow dig out my hard disk with all my pre-Carbon photos. I took so many great shots of Brogan in Regensburg. Or maybe new ones of Carbon in Regensburg...why not?

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Mi amiga Fine has been here ALL day. It was fun at first because she is a muy guapa chica and I love having another dog with me in the house. Pero...but...then ML decided we needed to have an afternoon cuddle and Fine took her lap and then she took my special cuddle spot! I was reduced to laying behind ML and putting my head on ML's backside. This is NOT my place in the world, no, no, nobody puts the Spanish Gentleman in the corner!. Fine's ML is not coming to pick her up until midnight. We will have to have another serious charla, discussion, on appropriate guest cuddle positions when we wait for midnight on the bed.

Can you see me? I am the black blob on the upper right. Pfft!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Hola todos! ML has por fin...finally!...let me near a keyboard. That is because she is taking a day off from all things (más o menos, more or less) after our big day yesterday. We went to a place called Weißenburg, which was meant to be a short stop on the way to someplace else (another place with a German name that sounds the same, so do not worry about it). However ("however" is a very big word for a dog, no?) ML and I both liked Weißenburg so much that we just stayed there all afternoon. Porque no? Why not?

Weißenburg is similar to many of my favourite towns because it is a circle with an old wall all around it. I like these because first, I can wee on the wall (What? Did you forget that I am a dog?) and second, ML does not use a map and we just wander around. You cannot get lost in a circle town because eventually you run into the wall again and then just follow it back to your car. Fácil, easy!

I did a lot of excellent modelling and did not have a single Señor Grumpypantalones moment. No, no, I am a cheery gentleman these days. This is mainly because ML never forgets to bring the cookie bag for me anymore (What? Did you forget that was a Labrador?) and also because ML can take long walks now without getting sore and grumpy. I was thinking of bestowing my Grumpypantalones title on her there for a while, but amigos, things are looking up!

Here I am on the inside of the city wall. Most parts of the wall are now made up of houses built into the original wall, but here you can see how the wall was first built, with a walkway and lookout slots.


And look what is on the other side of the wall!


Que lindo soy!



The town had many adorable squares. And this old Volvo: ML took a photo for Cookie Man, because he likes old cars.


There were many old-timey signs, too.




Here I am taking a rest outside a pretty house in town.


The main entrance to the walled town. ML did not let me model here as there were cars going in and out.


Having a rest in the sun on the church steps.


Eso es yo! This is me! Enjoying the sights at the market square.


That is all for today. Now it is raining in Regensburg. ML and I already had a big walk and now we'll have a big siesta. Hasta luego, mis amigos!

 

[Selina27]

Carbon your modelling career is coming on a treat, you are looking verry verry handsome.
What a fascinating place you visited and please thank your ML for sharing them with us

 

[Cath]

You are wonderful Carbon and your ML takes great photos too

 

[Stacia]

Thank you Señor Carbon for taking your ML to such a fascinating place, so good to see it. You are one handsome young man.

 

[Oberon]

Loved reading your update and seeing your fantastic pics, Carbon!

 

[Lisa]

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Hola todos! Today ML had the attention span of a flea. I do not understand this expression because MY Flea has a rather amazing attention span and is muy intelligente, no? But today, ML says she had the attention span of a flea which I take to mean muy poco, very little. How do I know? Instead of sitting on the sofa and working all day, this afternoon she took me outside and made ME work! Pero todo bien, it is all good because I love to work: we meet nice people and I get COOOKIES!

We are working on a video project to prove that I am a muy bueno caballero (a very good gentleman dog) who has learned his many assistance dog lessons well. We cannot do the test officially now, but ML wants to have a video to show anyone who wants to see that I can really do everything. If only I could speak English as well as I write it, I could just tell them all myself!

There are 40 tasks on the British Columbia Service Dog Assessment Test and it will take a while to film them all. This is just the first version of the video as I have many more tasks to film, but it is a good start, no?

 

[Jacqui-S]

Well done Carbòn your ML training looks brilliant!

 

[Selina27]

Well done Carbon A Maze Zing

Cassie says a massive well done on "not soliciting public attention" and " behaviour in a restaurant". She finds these particularly impressive

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Well done Carbòn your ML training looks brilliant!

She is coming along nicely but of course that is mainly because I am an EXCELLENT trainer, claro qui si!

 

[Stacia]

Carbon looks so happy being such an obedient dog, what a great partnership. Carbon must write a book, what a dog he is, what a bad beginning to such riches, the original owners would not know what a fascinating and rich life he now lives.