Sweet Vindication

I have long been fascinated with The Dog Whisperer. I mean, seriously, who hasn't owned a spoiled or strong-willed dog and thought, oh yes, I am the master of you, dog, and no, you will not jump on the couch and no, you will not sleep in our bed, and no, I will not feed you from the table. And two weeks later you are sleeping on the couch because the dog has taken up permanent residence on your pillow and ate half of your dinner four hours earlier.

So watching Cesar and his alpha-dogness fascinates me. I even read his book when we got Ripley and thought, oh yes, I will be the master of this dog. And then I got lazy and Ripley's ADHD overtook my good intentions. 

But this weekend, I saw the absolute best episode of the show I have ever seen. Cesar was called in to deal with two hyperactive but sweet golden retrievers who welcomed everyone they saw by basically hurling themselves onto the person and continuing to jump, to jump, to jump, to jump . . . you understand. They had no perception of personal space. It was the only time I've ever seen Cesar flustered. The man who routinely rehabilitates aggressive pit bulls and makes them putty in his hands. His resolve was significantly diminished by two GOLDEN RETRIEVERS.

I thought it was hysterical. He sat and worked with them for an hour and a half as, like a seesaw, one would get up and the other would lie down. And then the other would get up and the other one would lie down. Constant motion. Coupled with smiling, licking cuteness. And there was Cesar, making them lie down and two seconds later they would get up again, over and over again. He looked into the camera and said, "They are driving me crazy. I need a glass of wine."

Amen, brother. I will join you for that glass of wine and we can swap war stories.

Soundtrack: Sugar Hill Gang, "Rapper's Delight"