Well I finally got my new computer.  I’ll let it go at that.  Have my computer friend on speed dial.

Why when you get it, is everything different.  Even though we downloaded everything from my external hard-drive, nothing is the same.  It won’t even let me send out emails.

When computers work, they are a wonderful thing in your life.  When they don’t you just want to pitch them out the window via your foot.

I have a puppy like that now.  Somehow, getting a new puppy is like childbirth.  You just don’t remember all the pain and clean-up.  There is just the joy of getting a new one until it is there for 24 hours.  Then it all comes flooding back and you buy a lot of stock in rug shampoo, or like my friend says – a lot of paper towels.

Horses can be the same way.  You just got to take the time and work the bugs out of the system.  When they are good you love them and think they are the best horse in the world.  When they are bad you just want to send them packing.  That is especially true when you’ve just lost the most perfect horse in the world.  When they die you just remember that they performed every maneuver just right.  Didn’t spook at anything.  Knew what you wanted before you asked.  Came when you called.  Respected your private space.  We never remember that we had all those years teaching him all that stuff, and that all these years later this horse will be the same, you hope.

It’s even more frustrating when the new horse gives you a problem that you have never had to deal with before.  I have one here now that is really a good boy for a Thoroughbred.  Good brain, level-headed when it comes to scary things.  Good manners.  Is in a four-acre pasture and when it comes to dinner time he runs the fence line.  Why?????  You idiot!  You’ve got all the grass in the world and you want me to serve dinner now?  Never had a horse do that before.  Back to the drawing board.

I’ve got Bob pretty much trained on waiting.  Having a little trouble with the puppy.  She is very demanding and wants to be put up on the bed and taken off the bed every five minutes if no one is with her.  Bob is spoiling her like he has never done with any other dog we’ve had, and I’m staff.  If she doesn’t get her way she gets really ugly.  I’ve seen every tooth in her mouth with her growls.  Don’t touch her while she’s sleeping unless you get permission first.  Well the other morning she decided that I shouldn’t get too close to Bob in the kitchen.  So the good trainer I am, I got the fly swatter and popped her a couple of times in the butt before she got out of reach.  Nothing else works with her.  I’ve done all the Cesar Millan methods and she just ignores me.  I thought after dealing with the two Catahoulas I had it all down pat.  The Russell is rewriting everything as to how she feels it should be handled.

So I don’t care how much you know, there will always be a horse, dog, or husband that will come up with something new.  It used to be exciting to try to figure out how to deal with this new thing.  It’s just getting old now.  Well so am I.

This isn’t how the “Golden Years” are supposed to be.  Remember when we were teenagers and we thought we knew everything, that old people didn’t have a clue.  Well we were right.

You just need the right attitude.  I laugh at the puppy when she tries her Kujou act.  She’s 11 lbs. and tiny.  I’m 120 and 5″6″ with a fly swatter.  Bring it on.