Those Eyes Though

If Banjo was shooting for the regal look with those eyeliner eyes, I'd say she nailed it.  Keeping her regal eyes focused on a task is a different story. She came to us knowing only the command, "sit." The first thing Mi Miguel and I taught her was to do her business outside never inside. So far she has had no accidents. 

When were outside everything around her has her attention. A bug, a stick, a leaf. I've seen her squat, pee then stop midstream just to chase a butterfly. If we're inside anything she sees through the window is a distraction. Any speck on the floor or carpet is a distraction. Every noise is a distraction. Keeping those eyes focused on me has been more difficult than getting her to stop pulling on her leash.  

Each and every day, little by little, I can tell that I'm getting through to her. And I have to say, she has been teaching me how to understand her too. The puppy training process has taught us both to have patience. There are times that we both just look at each other, tilt our heads and try to figure out what the other is trying to convey. 

When she gets bored with trying to figure out what we're learning today, she can easily do the puppy dog eyes with the black markings and the wrinkled forehead. It truly does melt my heart and the training session ends. Like I said, she does pull on her leash when we go for walks. 

The concept of having a non-pulled loose leash just doesn't interest Banjo. She'd rather pull and pull with those strong neck muscles. I was just telling a friend, "Banjo could plow an entire field with those neck muscles." It's hard to teach a hound dog to stop sniffing the ground. She is constantly on the trail of a squirrel, a June bug, another dog, a wasp, a worm...just about any scent or movement brings her nose to the ground and the impulse to chase whatever has her attention usually overrides the importance of having some slack in her walking leash. 

Banjo is always on the alert. She has learned to sit, stay, heel, walk on command, run on command, stop on command, jump on command, do a group hug, shake her paw, lay, get in her bed, lay on her rug and look me in the eye when I say, "Look." I've learned that her wrinkled forehead usually means she doesn't know what you're talking about or she doesn't understand something that is going on around her.

One command Banjo has learned without much prodding at all is sitting at the helm. In fact she did this trick all on her own. The minute we got our new pontoon, she immediately had her eye on the captain's chair.  

One of Banjo's favorite things to do is sit along the seawall and watch the boats go up and down the canal. She also likes to wag her tail at other people and other dogs that are sitting along their seawall watching and waving at everyone. 

We didn't realize when we bought this house that everyone would be so kind and welcoming. This month I want to give notice to our great neighbors, all of them.  

We've definitely met some fabulous people right here in our own neighborhood.

We literally talk over the fence with our neighbors. We visit them, they visit us and we try to knock on each others door rather than text or call. It reminds me of the neighborhood where I grew up in Indiana. Back when everyone was friendly and knew that reciprocating kindness is what makes for a perpetually great neighborhood.