My blog has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit
http://www.terratoby.blogspot.com
and update your bookmarks.

Training Toby is moving!

Training Toby is moving to Terra Toby. Come and visit!

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Thinking in Pictures

Note: Yesterday I took Toby and our grandson Mareto to the beach for a walk. You may not know that Mareto is autistic.  What does he think about, and how? For now, he cannot say. 

"If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not - because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am."
Temple Grandin as quoted by Oliver Sacks in the foreword to Thinking in Pictures


"To have feelings of gentleness, one must experience gentle bodily comfort...After I experienced the soothing feeling of being held, I was able to transfer that good feeling to the cat...this helped me understand the ideas of reciprocity and gentleness."
Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures


"The teachers [at nursery school] knew how much to intrude gently into my world to snap me out of my daydreams and make me pay attention. Too much intrusion would cause tantrums, but without intervention there would be no progress. Autistic children will remain in their own little worlds if left to their own devices."
Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures

Mareto is feeling the texture of a broken shell.

I hope Mareto will have many fine and sensitive teachers in his life. He has enormous potential.
Yesterday he pointed to the sky as two Navy jets roared overhead from nearby Oceana Naval Station, and I said "airplane". After a few tries, he said it too. 
At one point he lay on the sand, looking at the sky and resting. Suddenly he pointed and said "Airplane!". Sure enough, two passenger jets - small white specks - glided silently far above. 
Posted by at 2:52 PM 14 comments

Thinking in Pictures

Note: Yesterday I took Toby and our grandson Mareto to the beach for a walk. You may not know that Mareto is autistic.  What does he think about, and how? For now, he cannot say. 

 "If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not - because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am."
Temple Grandin as quoted by Oliver Sacks in the foreword to Thinking in Pictures


"To have feelings of gentleness, one must experience gentle bodily comfort...After I experienced the soothing feeling of being held, I was able to transfer that good feeling to the cat...this helped me understand the ideas of reciprocity and gentleness."
Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures


"The teachers [at nursery school] knew how much to intrude gently into my world to snap me out of my daydreams and make me pay attention. Too much intrusion would cause tantrums, but without intervention there would be no progress. Autistic children will remain in their own little worlds if left to their own devices."
Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures

Mareto is feeling the texture of a broken shell.

I hope Mareto will have many fine and sensitive teachers in his life. He has enormous potential.
Yesterday he pointed to the sky as two Navy jets roared overhead from nearby Oceana Naval Station, and I said "airplane". After a few tries, he said it too. 
At one point he lay on the sand, looking at the sky and resting. Suddenly he pointed and said "Airplane!". Sure enough, two passenger jets - small white specks - glided silently far above. 
Posted by at 2:52 PM 14 comments

Monday, February 25, 2013

Monday Mischief - Eels!

Last week was a banner week for eels, in our (limited) diving experience. I am especially fond of eels. I kept a class pet American eel in a large tank when I was teaching high school. Once I put about two dozen periwinkle snails in his tank because the water was brackish*. That's when we found out that eels like escargot!

They do look mischievous, don't they? Snakelike shape, wolfish teeth, unblinkingly sinister eyes... 




But as you probably know, eels are not snakes, they are fish. Eels are surprisingly docile and curious. They rarely behave in an aggressive way, and only if  they are feeling threatened. 

Here's a video of me and a large green moray checking each other out. He got bored before I did and swam away.



Eels touch my heart because they are such a unique and diverse group. Their serpentine* swimming style is so graceful, their colors dramatic and often bold. They like to have a small den or hole to peer out of as they watch their underwater community go by.


Green morays are probably my favorite eels. They have sapphire blue eyes and their skin is bright grass-green. We saw several of them in Roatan last week. They are unafraid of people and usually take a good look at divers before swimming on. I chased one with the camera for perhaps 30 seconds and can testify to their speed.They may look like lazy swimmers, but they can go fast when they want to.

We also saw two spotted morays. They are smaller but just as curious.
Not really a mischief-maker!

At the end of a dive as we neared the platform where we remove our fins and stand up, we were surprised to see a sharptail eel! This was the first time we'd seen one and we watched it for a long time. It crept sinuously* through the turtle grass in about 4 feet of water, so we had plenty of sunlight for observing its color pattern. The eel was small, only about 2 feet long, and more timid than the larger eels. He seemed to care only about escaping from all of the attention!

Now you see me...

...soon you won't!

Eels are wonderful fish. The only mischief would be not liking them because of their scary looks!

*VBP
Posted by at 7:50 PM 8 comments

Monday Mischief - Eels!

Last week was a banner week for eels, in our (limited) diving experience. I am especially fond of eels. I kept a class pet American eel in a large tank when I was teaching high school. Once I put about two dozen periwinkle snails in his tank because the water was brackish*. That's when we found out that eels like escargot!

They do look mischievous, don't they? Snakelike shape, wolfish teeth, unblinkingly sinister eyes... 




But as you probably know, eels are not snakes, they are fish. Eels are surprisingly docile and curious. They rarely behave in an aggressive way, and only if  they are feeling threatened. 

Here's a video of me and a large green moray checking each other out. He got bored before I did and swam away.



Eels touch my heart because they are such a unique and diverse group. Their serpentine* swimming style is so graceful, their colors dramatic and often bold. They like to have a small den or hole to peer out of as they watch their underwater community go by.


Green morays are probably my favorite eels. They have sapphire blue eyes and their skin is bright grass-green. We saw several of them in Roatan last week. They are unafraid of people and usually take a good look at divers before swimming on. I chased one with the camera for perhaps 30 seconds and can testify to their speed.They may look like lazy swimmers, but they can go fast when they want to.

We also saw two spotted morays. They are smaller but just as curious.
Not really a mischief-maker!

At the end of a dive as we neared the platform where we remove our fins and stand up, we were surprised to see a sharptail eel! This was the first time we'd seen one and we watched it for a long time. It crept sinuously* through the turtle grass in about 4 feet of water, so we had plenty of sunlight for observing its color pattern. The eel was small, only about 2 feet long, and more timid than the larger eels. He seemed to care only about escaping from all of the attention!

Now you see me...

...soon you won't!

Eels are wonderful fish. The only mischief would be not liking them because of their scary looks!

*VBP
Posted by at 7:50 PM 8 comments

Monday Mischief - Eels!

Last week was a banner week for eels, in our (limited) diving experience. I am especially fond of eels. I kept a class pet American eel in a large tank when I was teaching high school. Once I put about two dozen periwinkle snails in his tank because the water was brackish*. That's when we found out that eels like escargot!

 They do look mischievous, don't they? Snakelike shape, wolfish teeth, unblinkingly sinister eyes... 




But as you probably know, eels are not snakes, they are fish. Eels are surprisingly docile and curious. They rarely behave in an aggressive way, and only if  they are feeling threatened. 

 Here's a video of me and a large green moray checking each other out. He got bored before I did and swam away.

Eels touch my heart because they are such a unique and diverse group. Their serpentine* swimming style is so graceful, their colors dramatic and often bold. They like to have a small den or hole to peer out of as they watch their underwater community go by.


Green morays are probably my favorite eels. They have sapphire blue eyes and their skin is bright grass-green. We saw several of them in Roatan last week. They are unafraid of people and usually take a good look at divers before swimming on. I chased one with the camera for perhaps 30 seconds and can testify to their speed.They may look like lazy swimmers, but they can go fast when they want to.

 We also saw two spotted morays. They are smaller but just as curious.
Not really a mischief-maker!

At the end of a dive as we neared the platform where we remove our fins and stand up, we were surprised to see a sharptail eel! This was the first time we'd seen one and we watched it for a long time. It crept sinuously* through the turtle grass in about 4 feet of water, so we had plenty of sunlight for observing its color pattern. The eel was small, only about 2 feet long, and more timid than the larger eels. He seemed to care only about escaping from all of the attention!

Now you see me...

...soon you won't!

Eels are wonderful fish. The only mischief would be not liking them because of their scary looks!

 *VBP
Posted by at 7:50 PM 8 comments

Friday, February 15, 2013

Scuba Dooby Do!

Just so you know - I'll be on vacation till 2/23 - 

Haha! Not the DOG, silly!
Me and Ted - In Roatan, Honduras!
CocoView here we come!
Posted by at 4:52 PM 3 comments

Scuba Dooby Do!

Just so you know - I'll be on vacation till 2/23 - 

 Haha! Not the DOG, silly!
Me and Ted - In Roatan, Honduras!
CocoView here we come!
Posted by at 4:52 PM 3 comments

Bonding: Open Letter Campaign

Dear Lauren,
What a great idea for a new Friday blog hop - write a letter to anyone, as serious or silly as you want, on any topic, and then link up!

I had a hard time choosing a topic, especially since your blog Traded Dreams is about your family and mine is a pet blog, so my followers might not get the connection. But then I realized that the pet bloggers are interested in supporting pet adoption and a lot of your readers are interested in issues around foreign or domestic adoption of children. It's kind of a no-brainer that talking about how we bond as adopter/adoptees might work for this first post.

You were so worried about how Mareto would bond to you and John when you brought him home from Ethiopia! Some of the advice you got seemed a little extreme to me and I was relieved that once he was really here you let us hold him. Once you even handed your Dad the bottle and let him feed him. 

Which brings me to oxytocin.

Yes, that's the hormone used to induce labor. When mothers give birth they are flooded with oxytocin and scientists now know that this is the bonding hormone too.  New mothers have a natural drug pushing them to start caring for their newborns.  And it isn't just people that release oxytocin and bond to babies, mates, and group members as a result!

It turns out that many mammals produce extra oxytocin when they are touched, held, and stroked. Then oxytocin starts a positive feedback loop in the brain by causing emotions of love and attachment, which of course leads to more touching and holding. How cool is that?
Bonding with your brother.

So because you ignored the advice to not let anyone hold your new baby, you helped us bond to our new grandson! I wasn't really worried too much about it, because I've always loved our new dogs from the day we adopted them, so how hard could it be to love a sweet baby boy? But credit nature for helping accelerate the process. Puppies and babies - who can resist petting and holding them? And when we stroke our pets or touch other humans, we get other benefits like calm feelings, lowered blood pressure, and lowered cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

One other thing about oxytocin. Since Mareto is autistic, it's interesting that there's been some research on autistic children and animals. The scientists found out that autistic kids get a big oxytocin boost from spending time with animals, even if they don't like being touched by other people (thankfully Mareto isn't averse to being held). The oxytocin helped the children feel calmer and focus on learning. The children who had time every day being taught to care for a pet made more progress over time than the ones who just kept to their normal school routine. 


As far as I know the researchers didn't look into how much the animals in the study learned :D!

I hope your hop has a successful launch today and that you get lots of visitors to all the blogs who join in -
Love, Mom

Open Letter Campaign
Posted by at 12:08 PM 2 comments

Bonding: Open Letter Campaign

Dear Lauren,
What a great idea for a new Friday blog hop - write a letter to anyone, as serious or silly as you want, on any topic, and then link up!

 I had a hard time choosing a topic, especially since your blog Traded Dreams is about your family and mine is a pet blog, so my followers might not get the connection. But then I realized that the pet bloggers are interested in supporting pet adoption and a lot of your readers are interested in issues around foreign or domestic adoption of children. It's kind of a no-brainer that talking about how we bond as adopter/adoptees might work for this first post.

 You were so worried about how Mareto would bond to you and John when you brought him home from Ethiopia! Some of the advice you got seemed a little extreme to me and I was relieved that once he was really here you let us hold him. Once you even handed your Dad the bottle and let him feed him. 

 Which brings me to oxytocin.

 Yes, that's the hormone used to induce labor. When mothers give birth they are flooded with oxytocin and scientists now know that this is the bonding hormone too.  New mothers have a natural drug pushing them to start caring for their newborns.  And it isn't just people that release oxytocin and bond to babies, mates, and group members as a result!

 It turns out that many mammals produce extra oxytocin when they are touched, held, and stroked. Then oxytocin starts a positive feedback loop in the brain by causing emotions of love and attachment, which of course leads to more touching and holding. How cool is that?
Bonding with your brother.

 So because you ignored the advice to not let anyone hold your new baby, you helped us bond to our new grandson! I wasn't really worried too much about it, because I've always loved our new dogs from the day we adopted them, so how hard could it be to love a sweet baby boy? But credit nature for helping accelerate the process. Puppies and babies - who can resist petting and holding them? And when we stroke our pets or touch other humans, we get other benefits like calm feelings, lowered blood pressure, and lowered cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

 One other thing about oxytocin. Since Mareto is autistic, it's interesting that there's been some research on autistic children and animals. The scientists found out that autistic kids get a big oxytocin boost from spending time with animals, even if they don't like being touched by other people (thankfully Mareto isn't averse to being held). The oxytocin helped the children feel calmer and focus on learning. The children who had time every day being taught to care for a pet made more progress over time than the ones who just kept to their normal school routine. 


 As far as I know the researchers didn't look into how much the animals in the study learned :D!

 I hope your hop has a successful launch today and that you get lots of visitors to all the blogs who join in -
Love, Mom

Open Letter Campaign
Posted by at 12:08 PM 2 comments

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Biophilia for Valentine's Day

Photo Credit: Rick Friedman/Corbis

Humanity is exalted not because we are so far above other living creatures, but because knowing them well elevates the very concept of life.

  Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984, p. 22

Entomologist (VBP) and award-winning author 

Edward O. Wilson's Biophilia (VBP) hypothesis states 

that humans evolved in close contact with nature, and 

a need for and love of nature and other creatures is 

enmeshed in our very genotype (VBP) as humans.

I greatly admire E.O.Wilson and his books. If you are 

interested in learning more about his career and the 

biophilia hypothesis, click here or here.

Biophilia. Love of life. Love for other living things.

"Unless we preserve the rest of life, as a sacred duty, 

we will be endangering ourselves by destroying the

 home in which we evolved, and on which we 

completely depend.”  

Edward O. Wilson

Our Valentine Gift - Love to All Creatures!


So, in the spirit of biophilia, on this Valentine's Day I'm 


sharing an invitation I received to send an e-valentine with 


the photo of an endangered species. I chose to send the 


Hawaiian Monk Seal to some of my favorite valentines.

Sealed with a Kiss!


Click here to visit the valentine site of the Center for 

Biological Diversity and help raise awareness of some 

endangered species - some ravishingly lovely, some so ugly 

they are cute, and all precious! 

Happy Valentine's Day!




Posted by at 10:21 AM 4 comments

Biophilia for Valentine's Day

Photo Credit: Rick Friedman/Corbis

Humanity is exalted not because we are so far above other living creatures, but because knowing them well elevates the very concept of life.

  Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia, 1984, p. 22

Entomologist (VBP) and award-winning author 

 Edward O. Wilson's Biophilia (VBP) hypothesis states 

 that humans evolved in close contact with nature, and 

 a need for and love of nature and other creatures is 

 enmeshed in our very genotype (VBP) as humans.

I greatly admire E.O.Wilson and his books. If you are 

 interested in learning more about his career and the 

 biophilia hypothesis, click here or here.

Biophilia. Love of life. Love for other living things.

"Unless we preserve the rest of life, as a sacred duty, 

we will be endangering ourselves by destroying the

 home in which we evolved, and on which we 

completely depend.”  

Edward O. Wilson

Our Valentine Gift - Love to All Creatures!


So, in the spirit of biophilia, on this Valentine's Day I'm 


 sharing an invitation I received to send an e-valentine with 


 the photo of an endangered species. I chose to send the 


 Hawaiian Monk Seal to some of my favorite valentines.

Sealed with a Kiss!


Click here to visit the valentine site of the Center for 

Biological Diversity and help raise awareness of some 

endangered species - some ravishingly lovely, some so ugly 

they are cute, and all precious! 

Happy Valentine's Day!


Posted by at 10:21 AM 4 comments

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Young Dog, New Trick

One of the items on my "Retirement To-Do List" is getting Toby into a new class. I'd love to try agility with him but he would also benefit from the challenge of an advanced obedience class.  

Well so far, no luck. I know, I know. How can this be in a large metro area? Well, the agility class that looks great is on Saturdays at 2 PM.  That's not going to work for us... as Ted says (with just a hint of bitterness): "Some of us still know what a weekend is!"  

The closest agility class is out because we've had problems with the daycare (Toby) and boarding (Kasey) there. Sorry, two strikes is out in this game. 

The advanced obedience class I tried didn't "make" - not enough students.

 I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I've been checking out videos on YouTube. One that looked interesting showed how to teach your dog to "wave".  I decided to give it a try.
Yeah, not my idea of a treat either, but I'm not the one being rewarded...

First, and most importantly, the reward treats. I used a Pup-er-oni because it's Toby's favorite treat. In fact we call it "doggie crack" because he will do ANYTHING to get to them. (Two weeks ago I accidentally left the pantry door ajar. Toby noticed. He snuck the bag out without making a sound, stole into the living room, and left the empty bag under a chair.)

 The treat is torn into teenie-tiny bits because Toby's is gettting too portly and has been put on a diet. By the way - It isn't working. Some of us spell diet P-E-A-N-U-T-S.

"I must have done something, something good!"
Step 1: A good solid "SHAKE". We're all set there!
"Which paw? I'm ambidextrous!"
Step 2: Say "WAVE" while holding hand out, then say "YES!" to mark it when dog raises paw. Let paw brush hand but do not hold it. Give treat. Repeat several times. I interspersed "SHAKE" a few times too, to show Toby the difference.

"Well, hello to you too!"
Step 3: Gradually flip your hand to change the signal to a wave. 

That's it! Toby got it the first day and showed his new trick to his friends in Physical Therapy during his TherapyDog visit on Monday to lots of oohs and ahhs :)

Here's a preview of coming attractions: next project is FETCH! 

Goodness knows he needs the exercise. A 2-mile walk every day just isn't burning off enough calories from what some people call Toby's "dieting". Yes Ted I'm referring to you!
Posted by at 9:03 AM 10 comments

Young Dog, New Trick

One of the items on my "Retirement To-Do List" is getting Toby into a new class. I'd love to try agility with him but he would also benefit from the challenge of an advanced obedience class.  

 Well so far, no luck. I know, I know. How can this be in a large metro area? Well, the agility class that looks great is on Saturdays at 2 PM.  That's not going to work for us... as Ted says (with just a hint of bitterness): "Some of us still know what a weekend is!"  

 The closest agility class is out because we've had problems with the daycare (Toby) and boarding (Kasey) there. Sorry, two strikes is out in this game. 

 The advanced obedience class I tried didn't "make" - not enough students.

  I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I've been checking out videos on YouTube. One that looked interesting showed how to teach your dog to "wave".  I decided to give it a try.
Yeah, not my idea of a treat either, but I'm not the one being rewarded...

 First, and most importantly, the reward treats. I used a Pup-er-oni because it's Toby's favorite treat. In fact we call it "doggie crack" because he will do ANYTHING to get to them. (Two weeks ago I accidentally left the pantry door ajar. Toby noticed. He snuck the bag out without making a sound, stole into the living room, and left the empty bag under a chair.)

  The treat is torn into teenie-tiny bits because Toby's is gettting too portly and has been put on a diet. By the way - It isn't working. Some of us spell diet P-E-A-N-U-T-S.
"I must have done something, something good!"
Step 1: A good solid "SHAKE". We're all set there!
"Which paw? I'm ambidextrous!"
Step 2: Say "WAVE" while holding hand out, then say "YES!" to mark it when dog raises paw. Let paw brush hand but do not hold it. Give treat. Repeat several times. I interspersed "SHAKE" a few times too, to show Toby the difference.
"Well, hello to you too!"
Step 3: Gradually flip your hand to change the signal to a wave. 

 That's it! Toby got it the first day and showed his new trick to his friends in Physical Therapy during his TherapyDog visit on Monday to lots of oohs and ahhs :)

 Here's a preview of coming attractions: next project is FETCH! 

 Goodness knows he needs the exercise. A 2-mile walk every day just isn't burning off enough calories from what some people call Toby's "dieting". Yes Ted I'm referring to you!
Posted by at 9:03 AM 10 comments

Friday, February 8, 2013

See Beautiful - Anticipation

"All mammals and birds are curious about and interested in their surroundings, and they really look forward to good things happening. You can see how much fun the state of anticipation is for an animal anytime you're getting a dog's food ready...Getting-ready-to-eat is always a happy moment in a dog's life." 
Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation


DINNER! Looks BEAUTIFUL!

Dr. Grandin calls the part of the brain that is activated by happy anticipation the SEEKING circuit. It is rewarding...and necessary...to SEEK OUT what is required for survival. This common link to our mammalian relatives, including our dogs, means that we can easily translate and relate to the emotion of anticipation in our furry friends.

What does your pooch anticipate? Walks, treats, brushing, food, car rides, playtime with friends? The SEEKING circuit ensures that the prospect of any of those looks BEAUTIFUL!

What do YOU anticipate? New shoes, travel, a holiday meal, date night, flowers, visits with family? Do you feel pleasure at the prospect of these things? Excitement?


NEXT WEEK HONDURAS! Looks BEAUTIFUL!

Doggone, don't you just wish you had a tail to wag sometimes???

Whatever activates your SEEKING circuit this weekend, take a moment to notice how much happiness the anticipation brings. (Sometimes it's even more pleasurable than the event itself.) If you don't have any plans to anticipate, plan just ONE small thing. Then, SEE BEAUTIFUL as your happy time approaches!
Happy See Beautiful Friday!

Posted by at 5:20 PM 7 comments
Subscribe to: Posts ( Atom )
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...