A Little Rusty . . .

On October 19, Cura and I went back into a face-to-face classroom.  It has been about five months since she had to be in class and that first night was certainly a lesson in 'use it or lose it'.  Now, I am not saying that Cura was completely out of control, but she had certainly forgotten that when we are in class and I am up front, standing and/or walking around, her job is to lay quietly and pretend she is not there (unless, of course something goes wrong and she needs to perform some of her more active duties).  Instead, every time I moved -- and sometimes when I didn't -- Cura stood up and came by my side.  So, she was quite fidgety that night.

The whole experience gave me great multi-tasking practice.  By that, I mean it gave me an opportunity to practice getting Cura to behave in a desired way while having much of my attention directed at something else.  If I am honest, I would say I was only moderately successful on Monday, but the next class was much better.

One of the things that I try to do, no matter how successful we are in the situation, is to reflect on different experiences.  I try to figure out what may have affect both my and Cura's behavior in that situation and what I can try next time to help things to go more smoothly.  As I was driving home that night, I did just that.  I guess I had gotten a bit spoiled since Cura was doing so well in the classroom at such an early stage (after all, by the end of the term, she had not even been going to class for two months).  So, I suppose I figured that if she had mastered that so quickly, going back to class would be a piece of cake for her -- like riding a bike . . .

But, as I was reflecting, I realized a few things.  First, one of the people in the classroom is on oxygen.  The noise from the tank was not only new but, as Rick and Heather later pointed out, it sounds very similar to the noise made by Hot Air Balloons (although much shorter and not as loud).  Cura still dislikes Air Balloons -- need I say more?  That person was absent the next class and she was much better (I don't think that was the whole challenge because she did well when that person returned in class 3 -- but it probably had something to do with it.)

Second, it had been months since I stood in front of a classroom and I believe I reverted back to pre-Cura techniques.  What are those, you ask?  Well, it was kind of like revving up a car engine.  In order to keep things interesting and energetic, I tended to increase my internal energy levels.  But, I soon learned that this only caused Cura to behave as if she expected something to happen -- that we were going to 'do' something.  Well, I was -- I was going to teach -- but SHE wasn't.  Here I was projecting all of this 'let's get ready to do something' attitude and she was responding in kind.  So, I had to develop ways to keep that energy going for teaching purposes while conveying to Cura that we were not getting ready to move.  Since I had only been doing that for a short time before the term ended -- I slid into old habits that first class back.  Ooops!

Actually, when you think about it, 2.5 hours is a pretty long time for her to just lay quietly in one place -- even if she gets up a couple of times, that is excellent (provided she is not completely disrupting the class) -- after all, I have to move around once in awhile or I start to get stiff and uncomfortable . . . 

Finally, regardless of how hard one tries, a Service Dog is still a novelty and I am sure that she was getting more attention from students that first night than she was comfortable with.  As I mentioned, days two and three were much more in keeping with her stellar performances toward the end of Spring semester -- but since I am doing so much teaching online lately, I need to keep in mind that entering the classroom after a significant break may just involve a bit of a refresher course.

So, What IS Cura's Recipe??

IT'S ABOUT TIME!, you say?  Well, yes . . . that last post was a bit of a teaser.  But, at long last I am posting Cura's DNA Test results.  I debated about whether to explain the test and THEN give the results but decided that everyone has waited long enough so, first the results (then the explanation).  Anyone who read the last post, has some idea of what Cura is NOT . . . here is what she IS!

Primary Breeds: None

Secondary Breeds: 

English Coonhound






 Viszla




In the Mix:

Golden Retriever






Chow Chow






Clumber Spaniel




and Bloodhound (trace)




So, apparently most mixes will have nothing listed in the primary breed category unless one of their parents was a purebred.  So, Cura is a product of mixes on both sides.  Secondary breeds are the ones that are present in high enough quantities that they will likely 'show' in the dog by manifesting as either physical or behavioral characteristics.  In this case, Cura just has two.  Nona Ear Rubs was pretty close when she picked Plott Hound -- they are very similar to Coonhounds.  Finally, the In The Mix category lists those breeds that have contributed to the DNA recipe, but probably do not obviously manifest in the dog begin tested. 

So, the suspense is over -- when people ask if Cura is a black lab I can -- with certainty -- say 'No, she is an English Coonhound/Viszla mix!  I have been reading up on the two breeds -- in many ways, I can definitely see it!
Bye for now!

DNA Test Has Arrived!

The wait has ended!  Tuesday the long awaited DNA test results came in the mail.  But, before I spill the beans, I would like to share some of the breeds that some people thought might be in Cura's make-up.  All of the guesses come from people who have frequent contact with Cura so they have quite a bit more to go on than just pictures. Unfortunately, there were no guesses from anyone who was only going by the pictures -- or maybe I should say fortunately, because you would have been at a SERIOUS disadvantage given the results of the tests.

Watermelon Mountain Ranch listed Cura as a Black Labrador Retriever Mix.  I suspect that this was not their determination, but the classification that came with her from the City Animal Shelter that she was (fortunately for us both) whisked away from in February of 2008 -- thank you AGAIN Lady Liberator!  And, she certainly IS Black -- well sort of (more on that later).  She has the folded/V-shaped ears that are associated with Black Labrador Retriever, webbing between her toes, short, straight and wiry fur, and a tail that could beat the living daylights out of you if it didn't curl.  If her tail was straight, I might have welts on my thighs -- as it is, it tends to move in the canine equivalent of the traditional 'Float Wave' (elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist) when she gets particularly happy.  Even so, she did manage to knock over a wine glass at a recent dinner party we had -- fortunately, the glass was mostly empty AND she knocked it over onto a tray, making clean up VERY easy!  My Sychic Syster was one of those lovely souls who voted for the Black Lab -- well, to get to the point -- according to the DNA test NO Black Labrador Retriever (or Yellow Labrador either)!  Am I surprised -- nope!  Why?  She is too tall and slim and the characteristics that were being identified with Black Labs were not UNIQUE to that breed -- though I will admit that I also would not have been surprised if Cura DID have Black Lab in her make-up, I just had a hunch that that was not what was giving her the characteristics that were associated with Black Labs.  Now, take a look at some of Cura's pics (sorry, blogspot is being persnickety - you will have to check out various photos that have been posted on the site and in past blogs) -- while I do not yet have a picture of her in a similar pose without her equipment -- she is simply not as 'compact' and 'bulky' as a Black Labrador Retriever tends to be.  

So, what were some of the other attempts at identification?  Greyhound (that was me because of the way she runs), Plott Hound -- this actually was a pretty good guess -- take a look (photo to the left)!  Cura's tail is more curled and her ears are not quite as long, but she has the long legs, deep chest, and general facial features of a Plott -- but, there was no Plott Hound listed in the Cura Recipe (BTW: Plotts also have the long toes and webbed feet that Cura has -- though you can't see it in this photo).

Doberman Pincher was also put forward as a possibility -- you can't tell from the pictures, but Cura has a brown undertone to her Black fur -- especially on her legs (hey, and notice that the above shown Plott has a kind of Black and Tan coat -- how deliciously CELTIC is THAT!?).  Another suggestion was a Boxer -- again with the whole Black and Tan motif combined with Cura's tendancy to use her front paws when playing/wrestling (no, she doesn't wrestle with me).  Surprise, surprise -- neither of these were identified by the DNA test either!  

SO WHAT IS CURA, you ask!?  Well, as annoying as it may be, I have it on good authority of someone who has managed to have a successful blog that brevity is the key -- so, tune in later for Cura's ACTUAL  results!

Luv to you -- official, unofficial and frequent, AND occasional visitors ALL!

Check back soon! You will be amazed at the way genetics can blend!