Bennie turns 2!

I've said this a few times before but I think Bennie is grown up and it's been quite the journey. Adding Bennie to our home was like never having had a pup before. It had been so long and puppy training has changed so much - with our first cairn, Rufus, I training in the manner of Monks of New Skete. The only obedience exercise I didn't do well was the recall and that was because we didn't use treats.

Fast forward to Bennie and the more collaborative way of training. Where are we now? One thing identified early is Bennie is hesitant in new situations and his default is to bark. Lots. So I walk him at times there are fewer people around. Luckily he likes Cheerios so they're easy to carry. He heels when he's in familiar areas and he can be attentive even when just dragging his leash. Some days he's just wound up though so leash and quick walk it is.

I think Cairns are barky dogs so we've got someone who comes to the house to look after him if it's just a couple days. We had taken him to a local kennel for a test day and that's where he'll be going when we get to travel again.

He's certainly the most attached pup we've had. He really enjoys sitting with us but also has his spaces in the house. One thing I really appreciate is when we call his name, he comes to see what we want. The is is NEW experience for us with cairns. Not sure if it's because we're home all the time or if that's just the way he is. 

I think this is the way things will settle until he gets old. A long time in the future I hope.

COVID-19 the reopening

It seems that in most provinces in Canada the curve has been flatten enough to start resuming some activities. Where I am, only the "extra" activities were really closed down. Construction and manufacturing (including oil production) stayed working. Travel, leisure based activities and health initiatives deemed less lifesaving were closed. Now it's time to decide how much I will participate; we are privileged in being retired so we have a lot of flexibility.

• Leaving the house - we already shop at less busy time but I'm very uncomfortable going into stores right now. If I can't do curbside pickup, I will wear a cloth mask. I don't wear one outside because we can easily physically distance.

• Domestic travel - this is pretty well by car. Once group meetings for 10 people are routine with no outbreaks in the area we would travel to, we'll probably make separate trips with 2 weeks at home in between to make sure we aren't carrying anything. August for the soonest I think.

• International travel - unlikely until there is an understanding of long term effects of this disease along with medical interventions that would either the virus from infecting to any degree. This could be a vaccination or medication. Both would be preferable.

A lot of people seem very complacent about their risk and I can understand that. We go the the South Pacific where Dengue Fever is endemic; it's blood borne, there is no cure and it can be fatal but there are several controls that can be quite effective because it's known how it's transmitted - by mosquitoes. So reduce mosquito populations by minimizing standing water to, using coils (or even fans) to keep them away from areas and wear insect repellent. 

What do we know about SARS-CoV 2 in May 2020? It's airborne, there's no cure and it can be fatal. What's the viral load for infection? We don't know yet. How do we know we might be infected? A bunch of symptoms common to a lot of routine illness and some that are unusual and intermittent. What organs does it affect? We don't know all of it but at least lungs and heart in immuno-compromised people. Is there a full recovery? Seems like it. How long are you immune after you have it? We don't know yet. Can it come back in another form like chicken pox <->shingles? We don't know yet. 

I fully expect COVID-19 to become endemic. I will not get a vaccination if one is available in 2020 because I can self isolate and I don't think there will be enough time for a full health assessment. I am too old be be a guinea pig for health.

Review - 3 items

Hope you and yours are doing as well as possible as we come out of "Stay at Home" whatever that's meant for you.

Our spending habits didn't change too much but now that it's warmer out we can implement some of the changes. Blogger has changed so formatting for the pictures will be a bit different - oh well. Read ahead to see what I think of adjustable ring video doorbell mount, a silicon cookie sheet and the phone case I'm currently using.