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

Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
snowbunny said:
SIT DOWN FOR A MINUTE, DAMMIT!!! :cwl:
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Good point! :wasntme:

M.F. said:
How many hours did you drive today??
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Seven. I was going to take a break half way through and visit Würzburg, but it was just too darn hot so it was actually a pretty short day.

kateincornwall said:
Eat and relax , cuddle the boy and sleep well tonight xxxx
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M.F. said:
Welcome “home” and sweet dreams and a wonderfully restful sleep tonight.
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Thanks! We're all in for the night now, potty run and shopping done. Carbon is VERY chilled out and waggy. He knows he's 'home'..or at least at one of his homes. ;)
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
Do you have wanderlust Emily? Or is there a reason to do all this driving? Carbon must be the most travelled dog there is, he is such a lucky boy to have the most amazing life he has now.
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My dad calls me a gypsy. Technically the term these days is "digital nomad" if you work online and live in various places. Though not sure that applies now that I'm unofficially retired. ;)

I do all the driving now because I have the car. Prior to three years ago, I did just as much traveling but by air and train. Driving is a LOT easier, though more costly. I also get to see different things than when I didn't have the car because a lot of places aren't accessible by public transport. The advantage of not having the car was that I could rent places in city centres and not worry about parking. Venice, Florence, Rome, Paris, London: all amazing on foot but a complete pain with a car. But that's ok, I had my chance to experience them and now I prefer the countryside more anyway.

I've moved every 3-5 months for the last nine years, so this is just normal for me. Before that, the longest I've been in one spot since 1998 was 1,5 years and even that included a couple trips to Europe from Calfornia. I usually start to 'itch' after about three months and am ready to move on.

These past 12 months have been a bit odd due to my immigration woes: I wasn't able to block out large chunks in any one place due to uncertainty. I don't reserve big chunks unless I'm 99% sure I can honour the reservation: to do otherwise isn't fair to the livelihoods of holiday rental owners. If you don't reserve 6-12 months ahead of time it is impossible to rent a place for more than a week or so at a time. That's a big reason why I moved so much from September 2018 until now.

At the moment I'm a bit of sick of moving and need a spate of being in one place, but come September I'll be chomping at the bit to go again. :sneaky:
 
Stacia

Stacia

Location
Malvern Worcestershire
@Emily_Babbelhund, fascinating. We are polar opposites, I am very much a home bird, live about 2 miles from where I was born and apart from 3 years away from home (horrible boarding school, then living with two ladies on the wilds of Cranham Common in the Cotswolds) I have stayed put. However, I do envy those that do travel, my sister lives in America and has travelled over Europe, China, left home about 17 years old! I wish I was different.
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Jelinga said:
@Emily_Babbelhund, fascinating. We are polar opposites, I am very much a home bird, live about 2 miles from where I was born and apart from 3 years away from home (horrible boarding school, then living with two ladies on the wilds of Cranham Common in the Cotswolds) I have stayed put. However, I do envy those that do travel, my sister lives in America and has travelled over Europe, China, left home about 17 years old! I wish I was different.
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There are positives to being a home bird: I really admire people who stay in one place and build lasting friendships with people who they can see on a regular basis. I'm always doing the 'hello/goodbye' dance, which can be sort of sad sometimes.

So I wish I was a bit different too. :hug:
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
It's been a sweaty couple of days for Carbon and me, though considering what @snowbunny is facing down in Spain, I'll take a humid heatwave any day.

The switch from countryside and beach to city life (albeit a small city) is always a bit of challenge and this year isn't any different. Part of me is quite glad to be back in Regensburg - mainly because it means no more moving for a couple months - while part of me thinks, "Oh please can I just go back to the coast? Any coast?" But this is summer in Europe: far better to hide out in the interior until the tourists gradually disappear from the beaches towards mid-September.

Carbon has handled the transition rather amazingly well. When we returned to Regensburg last December, he was a growly mess when it came to seeing other dogs in the tight quarters of the medieval lanes of the old town where we live. This time he's slotted right back in with no discernible backsliding in progress regarding reactivity: he's still not conquered it entirely, but it appears the lessons he learned in the "Padstow Gauntlet" have stayed with him.

The most difficult thing for him is our relative lack of activity since we landed. Since my job ended over a month ago, we've been enjoying two plus hours a day of walks. For the last two weeks, he not only got all the walking but also got to play with his special MLF friends and hours a day of tourism, even dipping his paw into a bit of actual SD work.

The last two days, he's gotten short walks - it's too hot to do anything else - and a lot of watching me organise the apartment and fall into my usual post road trip sofa coma. Poor guy, when I do take him out he's so thrilled, but then five minutes outside he looks at me as if to say, "Could we PLEASE go back in now?"

On the bright side for both of us, I've had my two days of 'meh' on the sofa and it's now time to get back in the saddle and kick up our SD training. Our trainer has agreed to do two private sessions a week with us in July and August and next week I'm adding a third class to his curriculum: Public Access. I think Carbon is going to LOVE public access work and it's definitely my favourite part of SD training.

We also get to host Chihuahua Fraulein Finchen all day Sunday which I'm so looking forward to. She won't play with Carbon: hélas, she just gives him the stink eye most of the time, but we both still love having her around. If it hits 35C as planned, however, I doubt she'll take up her usual spot perched on my lap!

Bonus hanging at the beach photos :D
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Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
Poor Carbon. Not only has he had to put up with SLOW and short walks since I broke my foot, but tonight somehow I've managed to slip him my nightly dosage of the two medications I take. We share the same pill organisation box but my nightly meds are in a separate compartment. Just went to take them and...not there! Oh my.

I've looked up the meds and both are used safely for dogs with the recommended dose about half of what Carbon got. One is a diuretic and the other an antidepressant, so I'd say tomorrow he's going to wee like a racehorse and be quite cheerful. Which means no change from the norm.

As for me, I'll be reviewing my medication delivery and storage system. :facepalm:
 
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