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

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Are all dogs in Germany allowed to ride the escalator? In SA, there are signs: No barefoot, no prams, no dogs. I’m guessing for safety.

That's a good question. There are signs on escalators that small dogs should be carried. However larger dogs actually riding the escalators are a very common sight here.

Riding escalators was part of Brogan's service dog training. The school recommended that he wear boots at least on his back paws while doing so. In real life that proved impossible, unless he was simply always going to wear boots, which would have driven him batty. My fix was to have him jump at the beginning and end of the escalator, completely clearing the point where the stair goes back down into the mechanism, if that makes sense. I checked this with our trainer at the school and her opinion was that this was a safe way to do it. Even as an oldster, he never failed to give that little hop at the ends of an escalator.

For safety's sake for Carbon, I'll dig out his boots again and we can practice with those.

Some people may even be wondering why teach this to begin with. Normally, I'll always choose first a disabled ramp - if available - then stairs or an elevator. Sometimes, however, an escalator is either the only option or the only practical option. When we were in Rome in October, my friend's husband had to carry Carbon on the escalator in the Metro because there were no other stairs and the elevator was broken. The only other option would have been to walk back across Rome to the train station - a dog-friendly taxi in the centre of Rome being a very long shot.

Other places I've visited/lived where escalators were nearly unavoidable were the London Underground and hillside escalators in Perugia. Even just simply an airport, you often have to walk forever to find an elevator and then it can be very difficult to convince other people waiting for the same elevator that you'd like to get on with your dog.

So escalator riding is a very useful skill, even if it only gets used in emergency. I do get the controversy, though, and wonder how other service dog or guide dog schools handle it. Any comment @Boogie ?

Maybe I was simply lucky, but I never got an ounce of guff for Brogan taking an escalator - quite the opposite, I can remember on the Underground getting positive comments from workers saying how good he was on those mega-escalators. I got the impression he thought those were FUN.

 

[Boogie]

Good morning Emily - glad you survived the visitors!

I’m back home with Spencer and it’s great to see him - he’s grown! We have more visiting to do this afternoon to Boggielet2’s wife’s twin sister’s farm, where they have spent Christmas, so we are picking Tatze up on the way home.

Guide Dogs only go on escalators with special training, so they usually aren’t escalator trained. Most London dogs are ‘tho as the tube is almost impossible without using escalators. I think they have special paw-hair trimming too.
.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Guide Dogs only go on escalators with special training, so they usually aren’t escalator trained. Most London dogs are ‘tho as the tube is almost impossible without using escalators. I think they have special paw-hair trimming too.

Glad you've made it home and have gotten monster boy Spencer back. Next Tatze!

Interesting about the London dogs and the paw hair trimming. You are right, I really don't know how you'd get around the Tube without the escalators!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Going to get a little timey-wimey and dig back into the photo archives, which merits an appropriate intro in honour of my very own TARDIS:

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Hola todos! Your very favourite Spanish gentleman dog here (vale, along with @Aitch's Alex who is also a Spanish gentleman dog). Now because foster lady is so BORING and only wants to stay inside where it is warm, I have no new adventures to share. Entonces I will share with you some of my past adventures. Que bien, no?

First stop in the Labrador time machine is June when we drove in the leeetle blue coche from Eeeengland to Germany. We stopped in a place near the big train tunnel called Cap Nez-Gris, that's in France.

Of course we went to the beach, 'cause foster lady and I both love the beach lo mejor (that's the best), but near the beach I met some new amigos. They were kind of funny looking, but so simpatico. We had a nice little chat because I am that kind of dog.

Oh hello, chicas guapas! Come over here!


Here is a friendly one...


Besitos!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Before I forget, here are all the photos, even those boring scenery ones that foster lady likes: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmvXrtpP

Mmm...donde estoy? Where am I? Oh si, at the beach!



Oh, I love to have what you eeeenglish people call 'zoomies' and the beach is lo mejor for that. Here I am in my zoomie glory.






And in case you think I cannot be dignified, here I am looking very stately.


This was something from a war that is now just a fun thing to swim around.


Doing some excellent super-guapo head-tilt modelling.


And giving you a little early Señor Grumpypantalones face...


And finally some shots of me leading us on our hiking trail near the lighthouse. I am a very good tour guide, no?




Vale, that is all from our day in France. I shall return with more time traveling LabraTARDISness!

 

[Stacia]

What amazing adventures Carbon has had and what super photos, particularly the close ups of Carbon and Carbon and the sheep. You really must write a book!

 

[Jacqui-S]

Fantastic photos. Loving some blue sky in my life. Thank you Senor C.

 

[Ashley]

That beach is a dog dream!

 

[M.F.]

Exquisite pics of Carbon!

Just remind me: why isn’t he good for you? (Asking in all seriousness.). And if your decision is final, do you have a plan to have him adopted? Sorry, not meaning to take away from this thread of stunning pics and engaging stories, but I am intrigued.

 

[Rosie]

Going to get a little timey-wimey

Ahhh…...you know how to make me happy don't you?
Lovely lovely photos. I keep on missing this thread because for some reason it never pops up in my "watched" alerts. I just love your updates (and of course Carbon's contributions too....)
Happy New Year when it comes, to you and Snr Grumpypantalones!

 

[Granca]

Wonderful photos! Carbon is very photogenic - and the scenery is stunning too!

 

[Cath]

What a wonderful life Carbon has with you.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Loving some blue sky in my life.

I think we could all use some more blue skies about now...except our Aussie friends who maybe have too much of a good thing?

That beach is a dog dream!

Isn't it great? I stumbled on it by accident when I was taking Paul and Carbon over to the UK in June, then made sure we stopped again when Carbon and I were going from the UK to Germany. It's just near Calais and the Eurotunnel, so a great stopover for Eurotunnel travelling doggies.

Just remind me: why isn’t he good for you? (Asking in all seriousness.). And if your decision is final, do you have a plan to have him adopted?

While I'm normally what can only be called an 'oversharer', I'm going to be uncharacteristically obtuse and say, "It's complicated". However, I do fully realise that Carbon is good for me. Hopefully I'm also good for him, no matter what happens. As for the adoption question, I'm going to be again frustratingly vague and answer by saying that Carbon has had his guardian angel(s) here on the forum from the very beginning, for whom I'm very, very grateful.

Ahhh…...you know how to make me happy don't you?

Doctor Whovians unite! And a Happy New Year back to you and lovely Pongo. Señor Grumpypantalones could use a good wrestle with his favourite BIG yellow friend.

And maybe some bread from Paul. Freshly baked and waiting on your kitchen counter, please.

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

The best thing about being away from the forum for a few days is getting to catch up on this thread!

Fine, oh Fine, I love her.

That restaurant looks really fancy. Are dogs really allowed in fancy restaurants too? Or do really fancy places say nein to dogs?

Carbon's zoomies give me life! You capture them so well! I can't wait to browse the flickr album later.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

That restaurant looks really fancy. Are dogs really allowed in fancy restaurants too? Or do really fancy places say nein to dogs?

It's really pretty, mainly because of the old building it's in that still has all the original plasterwork plus for Christmas they really do it up. Also my favourite just for the fab food. It's not an expensive place, though...pretty typical for Bavarian restaurants, so mains EUR12-20 for example.

I don't know of any Bavarian restaurant or beerhall that wouldn't allow dogs, it would be considered anti-Bavarian and bad form. There's an Italian restaurant around the corner that has a 'no dogs' sign and we tried an Irish pub once that didn't allow dogs, but in the past with Brogan and Fine we've been to Indian, French, Spanish, vegetarian, burger places, etc. that were all very welcoming. Dog-friendly is definitely the rule and not the exception.

There's a rumour that the super-posh Michelin-aspirations place up in one of the medieval towers - EUR275 prix fixe per head, thank you very much - doesn't allow dogs, but no one I know has been up there to find out and I certainly don't have any desire to make the trip...so we don't worry about that.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Had another interesting weekend morning walk with what I now (somewhat) fondly call the Hooligan Crew. This consists of one friend with five dogs (yes FIVE and yes she does rescue) and one friend with three. Then Carbon.

Today a woman with a young (10-14 month) Doberman was also on the walk when I joined. Her dog is lovely, gets along very well with Carbon and we've met her on the dog beach several times dating back to last summer. She's very strict with her dog and mixes a lot of training in with the beach walks. Nothing wrong with that at all. I know from experience when you have a "Kampfhund' - a legally classified dangerous breed dog - your dog needs to have better manners than anyone else as public opinion can be harsh.

However today Carbon ran up to the Dobie girl to play and the woman brings her back to heel, then gets out a Kong on a rope. She says, "I don't want her to play with him so I'll just throw this."

What the .....? Throw a Kong rope toy right in front of an adolescent LABRADOR and expect him not to run after it? Carbon was no where near me as he was already having a romp with the Dobie, so of course I didn't even try to recall him when they both dashed after the ball. All that would have accomplished was 'broken' my recall. So I didn't. And Carbon and the Dobie had a blast chasing the darn Kong. The Dobie got it - she's faster - and then Carbon started playing tug with the other end of the rope, much to the delight of the Dobie.

The woman looked like she was going to have a coronary at the sight of her dog playing with Carbon. So maybe after 20 seconds of tug when I caught Carbon's eye, I recalled him. He came nice as could be and got his treat. I leashed him - and treated him again - so that she could get her Kong and go on her way.

I was proud of Carbon coming off the tug game so nicely - as I was earlier in the walk with his check-ins and whistle recalls - but the woman turns to me and says down her nose: "He's very DOMINANT, isn't he? I guess you'll have to start training him."

Ugh, ugh, ugh and UUUUUGHGGGG!

Is he perfect? No. Are we working on it? Yes. In the meanwhile he is a completely harmless goofball who just wants to play at the place the whole town goes to take their dogs to have a free run. Oh well...

...on the bright side, for the rest of the Dobie-free walk, I was very proud of Carbon and how he continued to check in with me. There was even a moment when the eight other Hooligan dogs hared off after another dog further along the river and Carbon started to run, stopped, and looked back at me. I gave him two pips right then and he came barreling back for a cookie instead of glomming on to the group running to bark at the other dog.

What a good boy!

 

[Selina27]

I gave him two pips right then and he came barreling back for a cookie instead of glomming on to the group running to bark at the other dog.

Yes, what a very good boy

"He's very DOMINANT, isn't he? I guess you'll have to start training him."

What is it with other dog owners that they feel they can make such judgements and give unasked for "advice". Ignorance, I guess.

 

[Aitch]

It sounds like a classic case of idiot dog owner in the woman with the Dobie. I'm sure you know that Carbon is a normal Lab and that we all love him.

 

[Stacia]

He is a good boy. I have met him and I couldn't see one ounce of dominance in him. I can understand the woman not wanting her dog to play, but she should have leashed her dog and walked on, not thrown a kong, just show me one dog who wouldn't have run after it