Dog literature and inspiration

The last few weeks have been typical January weather. I believe it may have snowed every day for as long as I can remember, and my dog Rocky’s agility equipment is buried beneath that volume of white powder. Rocky doesn’t seem to mind the cold and snow. He’s happy to run through the deep pasture, sniffing and finding frozen specimens to tunnel after.
As a human, I prefer to spend my time huddled next to the wood stove in my Bear Den with a good book. Training may have to wait until spring, but it hasn’t been forgotten.
Recently, I’ve delved into literature that has kept the fire of dog training alive thanks to Cisco, Peck and Slugger.
I started with “Smoky Mountain Tracks” by Donna Ball. In this novel, the heroine is part of a search and rescue team with her dog Cisco. Cisco and his handler are on the tracks of a kidnapped child in the mountain wilderness. Cisco is new to the game, though he proves to be under-rated by his owner. Cisco knows the little girl is hidden under the floor boards of the mountain cabin, but his owner can’t seem to understand his barks, so he turns to licking out a discarded can of beans instead. True to all good novels, dog finds child in the end, all are safe and happy.
From there, I went to “Search” by Nora Roberts. Roberts is well-known for her romance novels, so I was surprised at the depth of knowledge displayed in this story of a woman who survived abduction from a serial killer only to find the killer’s apprentice has her in his sights. The story begins with our heroine, who is a search and rescue dog trainer. She and her dog, Peck, are out on a search and rescue for a three-year-old boy who wandered away from home, now lost in the woods. Roberts’ description of the bond between dog and handler, and the terror of the little boy brought tears to my eyes.
Not only was it a good story, it gave me training tips along the way.
Could my dog Rocky be a search and rescue dog? He has the nose for it. He has the energy for it. He is trainable and loves people, treats and attention. Sounds like a good candidate, except ... he needs to come when called.
All the search and rescue dogs in these books are excellent at come when called, sit and stay, and keeping focus with distractions. Rocky is good at sit and stay, sometimes even with distractions. But come when called is still our sticking point.
I tried to explain to Rocky, “I know you like your freedom, but if you can learn come when called, it will allow you more freedom, not less. You won’t have to always be on a leash. You can run free in the yard without supervision if we know you will stay home and come when called.”
Rocky focuses his deep, brown eyes on me, as if to say, “Huh?”
So much for search and rescue.
My next book was “A Dog Named Slugger” by Leigh Brill. This is a personal account of the author’s journey with Slugger, her service dog. Brill has cerebral palsy and relies on Slugger to help her with balance, pick up dropped things, close or open doors, and keep her safe and secure in all situations. Who wouldn’t like to have a dog with that kind of training?
Even though I am not disabled, and don’t plan to become disabled, I’d love to have a dog with those talents.
“Rocky, bring me my socks. Whole, please.”
“Rocky, can you open the door for me.” (while I carry groceries in from the car).
“Rocky, is the person at the door friend or foe?”
There’s one problem. Slugger comes when called.
Perhaps Rocky could be a therapy dog, sitting quietly while small children read to him and elderly residents stroke his silky hair. He’d be like the therapy dog Pooka, whose picture has been in The County Journal, visiting local schools and libraries.
But, Pooka probably comes when called.
So for now, I remain by the woodstove, devouring books about well-behaved dogs doing great things, while Rocky dreams of running free and rolling in things that smell.
When the warm winds blow again, I’ll be ready.

Perfection

“I am learning that everything is perfect and to not be a perfectionist.” — From “Wokini” by Billy Mills

These words about perfectionism are good to remember when learning new things. On Saturday, I was at Pine Needles Yarn Shop in Cable for a Navaho Tapestry Weaving course taught by Laura Berlager.
Berlager began learning the method in 1998, when she was 13 years old. She is currently attending Goddard College in Vermont pursuing a masters in fine arts in interdisciplinary arts.
Our class began with receiving our portable looms, along with a shed stick and beater. Berlager made the looms and shed sticks and had a local craftsman make beautiful handcrafted beaters for each student.
Though I already own five different looms, I was happy to receive a new one for this new endeavor.
Next, we chose two colors of wool, one light and one dark, as well as a contrasting yarn for our edge work. I found a beautiful gold wool as my light yarn. I held it up to the other colors to find a dark yarn and my eye was drawn to a dark green. When I held the two together, I realized my woven project would resemble a Green Bay Packer’s theme. I let the gold go and substituted a lovely off-white heather. (Don’t get me wrong, I always cheer for the Packers, I just didn’t want to weave a jersey.)
We warped our looms with a continuous strand of cotton, chosen for its strength and ease of use. The sampler pattern began with an inch of plain weave, over and under. Berlager taught us how to incorporate the edge work twill into our woven edges. This process developed the first inch of our pattern.
I learned Navajo weaving is a long process. Each row needs to be tight so the warp yarn does not show through. This is where our beaters come in. Each woven row was beaten down with our lovely tool.
“Don’t be afraid to beat it like you mean it,” said Berlager. “Let it know who’s boss.”
We beat our yarns, not to be violent or cruel to them, but to create the proper tension.
“A loose weave will cause trouble as you get farther into your pattern,” said Berlager.
One woman lamented that she had made a mistake in her weaving.
“The Navajo have a story about that,” said Berlager, who is an accomplished story-teller as well as weaver.
“Spirit woman taught the Navajo people to weave,” she began. “One woman spent all the time she could at her loom and she was a perfectionist. She was about to finish the most perfect weaving she had made when she suddenly disappeared. The other women looked for her and could not find her. They called Spider Woman to help them find her. Spider Woman looked at the weaving, examining it closely, and pulled one strand out. The lady re-appeared.
“Let this be a lesson to all of you, she said. You must leave a doorway open in your weaving or you will weave your soul into your weaving. If you have a mistake here or there, don’t worry, you won’t get woven into your weaving.”
One in our group added, “I heard that the Amish have something similar. They always leave at least one mistake in their crafting because they say only God can be perfect.”
Whether you remember the Amish tradition or the Navajo legend, learning to not be a perfectionist, and being able to see the perfection of all things, is a good lesson. Having the patience to take your time and create a thing of beauty is a virtue. Causing stress to enter your life by demanding that it be perfect can take away the happiness generated from the creative process.
I’ve done a lot of knitting, weaving, and other fiber arts, and I’ve learned that a mistake can often lead to a new pattern, or an original design element in my work.
During our class, we talked about the many different reasons why people weave. Some weave to get the job done. Some weave because they like to socialize with other weavers. Some weavers may work on a project for five years or more, before completing it. Some may never complete their project. It doesn’t matter.
All are perfect, and each project is perfect, not because the result is perfect, but because of the lessons we learn and enjoyment we get from the process.
Winter is a good time for contemplative fiber work. The new exhibit at the Washburn Cultural Center is textile and fiber arts. I have several pieces in the exhibit including weaving, felting, knitting, spinning and quilting. Feel free to see if you can find the ‘doorway’ in any of my work.
May we all see the perfection of our lives.