Greyhounds, Art & Art Making in North Dakota.

Loaded up the Element for our daily dog park run.

When I say “run” I mean leisurely-stroll-around-the-bark-park-sometimes-running.

Unless the poodle shows up. Then we run.

And when I say “we” I mean: Winchester and the poodle. Apollo and I conserve our energies.

Today the pups were out at the park too. The older dogs pretty much ignore the pups at the park.

So they play with each other. Using whatever they can find…

Northwind leads are very durable.

After awhile everybody is done playing/sniffing/peeing.

Even Apollo is exhausted by this time. Time to go. Be back tomorrow…

I’m going to rant a bit. And then more art. Promise.

I hate kibble. Hate isn’t really the right word but it will have to do. Let’s just say that even when I consider the inconvenience of feeding a raw diet to the hounds, I much prefer it to a grain-based, pellet-processed diet.

Why? I hate:

• Cleaning up stinky kibble poop
• Searching for the “right” kibble with the “right” additives so that nearly all of the dogs do well on it.  And let’s not even go into the availability of that decent kibble in my area.
• The feeling that I cannot trust the dog food manufacturers - are the contents listed on the bag, the contents inside the bag? Will their product kill my dogs?

So why don’t I feed raw?

#1 - Puppies. Although I have fed a raw food based diet to my adult greyhounds, feeding puppies without a proven diet scares me.

#2 - Lack of consistent sources for ingredients. My source for turkey necks, chicken backs, etc. dried up — I can’t find another grocery store within 100 miles who will order cases of meat for me. The meat guy here helps some and I can find all the pronghorn and venison I can handle, but Winchester won’t eat either.

The alternative to to feed from the meat counter at the grocery store (i.e. Not Buy in Bulk) but feeding four big dogs on $2.59/pound hamburger and $2.00/pound chicken is not my idea of fun.

Argh! Frustration.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but we call Apollo, “White dog.” Terribly creative. I know.

Yes, he comes to this name.

Apollo — “White dog” — hates the fireworks. Barks. Whines. Hides in the basement.

This time of year gets…. very…. long.

Poor dog.

I’ve never tried giving him drugs or herbal concoctions other than maybe a Benedryl years ago. Just as many safe places as I can provide. Mostly we leave him alone, don’t force him to go outside if he doesn’t want to, and make sure he has access when the world has stopped exploding.

But there is the longing question — should I have worked on changing this behavior when he was younger? Did I do this dog a disservice by managing his fear rather than challenging it?

I wish I knew. I probably should mention that he has many, many fears- brooms, the vacuum, cords, ropes. He won’t eat if his dog dish is nearing the edge of the rug or if it is too close to a doorway. He won’t come in, on his own, any rooms that are smaller than 10×12 feet unless they are totally empty. The dog door is an absolute “no way” — we barely bothered trying to get him to use it. He is afraid of baby gates and will refuse to come into the house if he knows there is a gate inside. He gets wigged out by objects moving in the wind. I know there must be other things too.

We just manage him. I guess it is one way to deal with the problem, but should I have done it differently?

Before he arrived. Photo by Grimner Greyhounds.

And yesterday:

Today’s loss.

(At least the teeth I found on the rug after a marathon play session.)

ew. but good.

i.e. the ongoing “no” project. Follow the comments on this aforementioned post on Alyson Stanfield’s Art Biz Blog.

Mike hits it:

One question to ask yourself is “Is everyone getting paid but me?” You might find that organization staff are being paid, advertisers, caterers, designers, printers, the venue is being rented, etc.

I don’t have any problem stating my fees when non-profits send requests for services and I often reduce my fees in those cases that merit it, but select my pro bono work carefully.

I love to be asked to give for fundraisiers and special projects. Especially when they are for organizations who support causes I believe in.

I love to hear about a piece of work that I have donated that has raised bunch of money - way over the retail price - with the proceeds going for a good cause.

I love it when people who have won a donated piece come up to me and share their enthusiasm after winning something via a raffle ticket. They say, “I couldn’t afford to buy this but I won it and will treasure it.”

It isn’t about the money. It *is* about value.

I want my work to be valued.

Don’t ask me for my seconds for your tile project. Don’t say “if you’ve got a sculpture that won’t sell, could you send it to my organization?” Would you ask a writer for the drafts of her novel so you don’t have to pay anything for it? Why would you think that I allow my seconds to leave the studio? Your 501(c)3 number means nothing to me. The tax laws do not permit me to deduct the retail price of anything that I make and send to your organization.

Tell me what your project is. Tell me your budget. Tell me your goal(s). Lay it on the line. Let’s come up with something together.

If you hang around the big Greyhound email list or Greytalk you will run across a post written by someone who has a Greyhound that does this weird thing, can’t really describe it, but he/she rubs against low hanging branches (or something similar) and gets a strange look on his/her face. And moves really slowly. Gotta’ have that part.

Greyhound folks call this trancing.

And, ten years into Greyhound ownership, I finally got a dog that does this. Oh sweet Winchester. Weirdo of my heart.

See, the house is covered with many, many vines. And the deck too. Winchester’s favorite spot to trance is on the vine-covered desk railing.

It begins something like this: Walk very, very slowly into the vines as if you are stalking a bug? a giant cat. Allow the vines to barely touch you. Get a strange, far-away look on your face. Be impervious to human generated calls.

The behavior is so bizarre that, even though I’d heard about something like this for years, I didn’t know it when I saw it. So for informational purposes only, I give you a short video.

I don’t know what she weighs. She’s got to be hovering around 42+ pounds.

The bed in the photo is a 48″ round Victoria Peak dog bed.

The puppy in the photo was born 1 February 2008.

That was 20+ weeks ago….

My little girl is growing up.

Recently mentioned a project I’m working on (saying “no”) and wouldn’t you know it, Alyson Stanfield writes about the trouble with this very thing in her newsletter and blog.

I especially love the part “However, because the current U.S. tax laws are unfavorable to artist donations, I am able only to donate $x of work each year and that work is already spoken for. . . . “ I *know* this. But every time I attempt to explain this, I dislike what I hear — I sound like one big negative excuse maker. I hate excuses. I like Alyson’s wording.

I recommend subscribing to the newsletter — it is a gift that shows up in my email inbox. Pretty cool. Thanks, Alyson.

Remember, way back when, when I mentioned I was applying for a grant?

I got it.

Cool.