No you be the leader

All too often nowadays people are obsessed with becoming the 'pack leader'
Always suppressing our dogs and seeing a challenge to their status in every little thing the dog does.
This is all unfortunately because of flawed research done years ago in wolf packs.
The researchers thought they saw packs of wolves with an alpha pair who were the bosses leading with paws of iron





and the rest of the pack was made up of lower ranking wolves all trying to climb the social ladder to be the alpha dogs.
The alpha wolves were the only ones to mate.
People assumed this meant that only the strongest in a pack ever got to mate and submissive animals never got the chance to pass on their genes.

More recently researchers have realised that view was wrong.
A pack is not a group of individuals fighting to get to the top


A pack is a family. The alpha pair are the parents.
Wolves do not become sexually active till they are at least 2 so the other wolves in the pack are older cubs of the alpha pair.
There is no point in the younger animals striving to reach the top - that would mean them breeding with their parents.
When wolves become mature they go off and find their own mate and create their own pack - even the submissive ones.




So rather than the pack leader we should think of ourselves more as a 'parent' role.
Yes dogs need rules, guidelines and training.
But letting your dog on the sofa will not mean he will chase to postman.
Making them wait to eat after you will not make her recall when called

If you have a training problem address the actual problem rather than making up rules that make no sense for the dog



So for today's walk I let Mia be the leader. She found us a wee path to walk along - it seemed like a wee deer path - but I gave it a go.
Then it opened into the most lovely park and then a forest walk

and even me letting her 'lead' she still stayed when I asked for a photoshoot and she recalled when I called.

So I guess all this power hasn't gone to her head and she isn't going to steal my credit card just yet

A little felting change - a lil family

I decided on a wee change from animals.

Kokeshi dolls

I am learning all the time while I am making them - the one on the right is the last one I made and I am much happier with her than the others.

They are around 2 - 3 inches tall so it is fiddly but good practise to get all the tiny tiny detail in.

In the garden - Lavender

As you all may have guessed now my fingers are not the greenest.

Infact my parents used to drag me out of garden centres incase I could kill Bonsai trees just by being in the same room as them

I love them but they dont last long with me!







So in the past few years I have tried to only plant useful plants, herbs and veg,

I built myself a little raised bed outside my kitchen door and loaded it with herbs.









and I left them too it

Gardening by Darwinian principles

One of the winners in the battle of the herbs has been Lavender.

This really is the king of plants.

Not only a stunning purple colour but loved by bees.




I always have some essential oil lavender in my house as it has so many uses
Helps you sleep
Sooths and heals cuts and burns

and it zonks crazy puppies out totally.

What better plant to have outside your door??

ROOOARRR!!

Careful Ben
Theres a lion on the prowl!!










My latest felt critter

I had splatted a Lion so I thought I would have a go at another 3D one












I did get a little carried away with his mane, couldnt help myself he just wanted a big fluffy mane :D











He took about a week to create but I just wanted to make sure he was totally solid with plenty of detail.








I was thinking of a teenage Lion here, mane grown in, strutting his stuff but still not grown into his paws yet.

Now to think of a name!

Eeeppp Blood!!

I was tending to the garden and letting the dogs play about in the garden
When out of the corner of my eye I spotted red on Bens fur

Mind racing - who is hurt?? What did they get hurt on??








Then I looked closer at what the dogs were up to

I had been leaving the mushy strawberries on the grass for the birds or whatever.

Normally my pair dont like fruit








Today there seems to be a little more interest.

Ben grabbed a nice fat strawberry, happily rolled on it and then munched it down

So Mia had to try too










Then Ben cleaned the 'blood' from his fur

Whew - they do worry you!!