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

Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Lab_adore said:
Looks like the promised rain held off which is great
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Yes! We got two days of unexpected sunshine, so I tried to make the most of it by walking and walking and walking. Today the rain comes and will keep at it until we leave, or at least that's the forecast. I'm a little concerned because rain here means snow up on the pass back to Germany and I don't have chains. I thought about staying a few days longer, but the forecast is snow and sub-freezing temps for the next 10 days, so my plan now is to try on Sunday and just go slowly, slowly over the pass. Carbon of course will be completely unaware of the drama, snoozing in his little nest in the TARDIS, as I white-knuckle it over the pass and through the Alps. Lucky señor! 😂
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
M.F. said:
As for Carbon, what a delight! e I love how he does a little jump before coming to you. He is a joy!
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He's such a happy dog and yet he looks SO MISERABLE in these photos. 😂

He's still not wild about the vaporetto because it's very bouncy, he doesn't like the motor under him and THE MUZZLE. Brogan used to love it despite all those things because there were also people to pet him and tell him how handsome he was. All that was more important to him than food. For Carbon, it's really just food, so he's not so enamoured of the vaporetto: doesn't hate but doesn't love it.

I didn't take any video, but he did have a great time playing with Liu and their new Spinone friend Bettina in the park this morning: a full hour off lead and plenty of zoomies. I was kind of hoping that would make him happier to pose for photos later, but no... the Face of Misery is once again gracing my photos. My poor Señor!

One thing he has copied from Brogan: he's learned that a vaporetto stop means less walking for him. We were both very much done after a two hour walk with Patty and Liu, including a good chunk in the rain. I was headed towards the vaporetto, but needed to go to the correct stop to take us back home. The correct one wasn't the FIRST one we passed, and Carbon did me proud by trying to pull me into the first vaporetto stop we came to. Brogan used to do that all the time when he was tired! What a fast learner Carbon is! 😁
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
What a good boy Carbon is on the vaporetta :love:
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He really is so good. Such a quick learner - sticks his head into that muzzle like a champ even though the last time we worked on muzzle training was this spring with @Boogie .

He gets so much attention here too - Italians love dogs and make such a fuss over him. I've missed that from when I lived here with Brogan. Who doesn't want everyone to fawn over their dog? 😍
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
Oh Senor Carbon, it does look dire, hope the sun soon shines again :sun:
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Forecast is rain until we leave on Sunday morning, so I'm dragging Carbon out to make the most of it. He's been so patient, but he is kind of over it all now, poor señor. I've decided for the rest of the day to find other things to photograph that don't include him. He'll still get a cookie, but no posing required. I'm also letting him sniff to his heart's content. Strangely enough, the wet doesn't bother him as much if he's got his nose in something disgusting and potentially lethal. Then it's happy waggy time! 😂
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Hola todos! Evening walkies were mucho mejor - much better. No rain and I got to run off lead in the park again. On the way home, I got to greet a Labradoodle puppy who was a little shy, but I helped him feel better. ML was embarrassed because the woman with the puppy said, "Oh, I saw your dog this morning wearing a purple raincoat and not wanting to walk. You were trying to talk him into walking and he wasn't budging: it was so funny!"

So you see, amigos, Venice is really a small town and I am already famous. Plus I am famous for my rainwear style and my imminent sense when it comes to not wanting to walk in the rain. ML should NOT be embarrassed by ME: de hecho, in fact, I am on my way to becoming the new Most Famous Gentleman Dog of Venice. Que bien!

If ML is embarrassed about anything, it should be that the same woman said she thought ML was German from her accent when ML speaks Italian. De verdad? Really? The horror!

Here are some short videos of our evening walks...


 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
Are there many other dogs in Venice, I cannot remember if I ever saw one when I was there, but saw loads in Paris.
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Absolute gobs of dogs. You see them more in the areas where people still live and there's a bit of open space - so near the park (Giardini/S Elena) or along the wide waterfront (Arsenale/S Zaccaria).

When I lived here with Brogan for 2-4 months at a time, we got accepted into the "dog club" and it's really a nice little community. One of my favourite examples was once there was (sadly) a Rottweiler attack on a smaller dog in the park. Brogan and I were picking something up in the pharmacy the next day and someone questioned whether Brogan was the one who attacked the other dog. Two people who I didn't even know came to our defence, using Brogan's name and saying how great he was and he would never do that! I was mystified that seeming strangers knew who Brogan was...but touched.

Never underestimate the power of the Venetian gossip underground - it's a really small community and they keep tabs on you once you stay long enough not to be considered a normal tourist.
 
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