Tired Zoe out

[bill_schubert]

We typically drive down to the trail head and do our Zoewalk which works out to be about 1.4 miles.  But I've been wanting to extend it and walk the whole way.  Zoe is one of those dogs who can walk off lease in safety on the sidewalk with me.  She is very responsive and won't even think of going into the street.  So we did that.  It extended the walk from 1.4 to 2.1 miles (according to Google Maps).  It would have been more but she told me it was time to turn around and we had the uphill return so I obliged her.  She immediately hit the pool on our return and is now lounging on the bed cooling off before her nap.

Drying off and cooling down

Tomorrow we'll try again and see if we can get the rest of the walk in.  The total is 3 miles with a fairly large hill on the way back.  Definitely an early morning walk.  

Not much else on the schedule today.  I may get some grass seed out now it has dried up some and the weather is still not too hot.  We have some patches and I'm going to play with it and see if I can get it to grown in.  

And maybe bake some more bread.  I baked some yesterday and the gluten did not develop at all so the bread is more like cake.  Either the flour is old (???) or I got my proportions off.  The bread I was making was one that kind of goes towards cake anyway since it has sunflower seed in it.  So I may just do a very simple french bread just to prove I can.  Get my gluten working again.  Or, if that fails, throw out the flour.

Comments

[seattlejo.livejournal.com]

She looks so happy!

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

She is a happy dog. Keeps me grounded.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

I took for granted having a dog that was leash-trained, but Bella is making progress. I've become more persistent. I want to travel with her, so she has to become used to a leash. The only place where I live where she can be off leash is our outdoor dog run. Tomorrow is 7 weeks she's been with me.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Zoe went to boot camp when she was very young. Best money I ever spent. She has a training collar (chain with rings) that she was trained with and I've used it ever since. She does forget that I'm there sometimes and just a quick jerk and a word gets her attention. But recently I've been able to do it without any lead (totally illegal in our community). There are two other owners that do that and we run into each other occasionally. Other than those two I immediately put her on a lead if we see a dog. In fact if she sees one she will stop and wait for me to put her on a lead. There are rules and she knows them.
The biggest thing any dog can learn is to recall back to the owner. Not bring something but just return. Immediately. Even if there is a squirrel. She does that. She will take the first couple of steps and I say commandingly 'no' and 'here' and she comes back. Almost always. Sometimes the synapse has already closed and she just has to chase. But not usually. If I were to train one thing it would be that. Solves a lot of problems. Something like this:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/reliable-recall-train-dogs-to-come-when-called/#:~:text=Start%20your%20training%20in%20a,%2C%20here%2C%20etc.).

[taz-39.livejournal.com]

What a good girl! Sometimes I wish I had a dog to walk on hiking trails with me. But not in this Florida heat. Good god!

If the flour is old, and you'd rather not throw it out, you could use a bag of vital wheat gluten maybe? Idk, just a thought, but sorry the bread didn't develop like it was supposed to :/

The next loaf will be better!

[howlin-wolf-66.livejournal.com]

Tired girl. Glad she got a swim in! :-)

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed that Zoe knows when she wants to turn around! I thought dogs would go forever if you let them. Has she always done this, or is it since she's become older and wiser?

I don't think old flour is likely to be your problem, so I wouldn't rush to throw it out. I've used years-old flour with no problems at all.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

I think she's got arthritis too. We went on the shorter walk today and then I went for a bike ride. Tomorrow I'll take her on the longer walk again and see how she does this time. She's a little overweight.... too... so more walking, less weight, better on the arthritis.

One other thing I did differently was measure the flour on a scale. I usually scoop with a spoon and then put it in the measuring cup but I decided to go with 120 Grams / cup and I think I needed more flour. It was just too wet.

Today's french bread came out ok.

[msconduct.livejournal.com]

Sad to hear about the arthritis , but hopefully the extra walking will help her all around.

You obviously know lot more than me about measuring cup problems, as I only recently discovered what a difference scooping versus spooning makes to the weight. But different flours can behave differently too. I often have to add extra liquid to recipes not based on local flours, for example, and it varies at different times of year as well. Before I started making sourdough I was terrified of the handwavy nature of it, but once I'd mastered it I find it's a big advantage as I'm easily able now to tell if a dough is too dry or wet rather than relying on a recipe. I do use the dreaded measuring cups for bread most of the time, but I adjust the dough as necessary.