Lagotto Romagnolos

It's Monday evening now, and after a fun but busy weekend, I finally have time to sit and write. OK, I should have had time to write last night, but I was busy cramming information about multiple regression models into my head so I could take an exam that was due today and I had left until the last minute...oops!

So much to catch up on. I guess the easiest way to make sure I don't miss anything is to go day-by-day. Warning: this is going to be a long post!

FRIDAY
Spent nearly a full day in the office - we had dinner plans in Melbourne at 7:00 so we left uni around 4:45 to give us plenty of time. The drive down to Melbourne was actually not bad and we were in the city within 2 hours. Definitely not much traffic, even at 5:00! I guess that's one of the perks of living in a somewhat rural area.

We met up with everybody at a restaurant called Captain Melville's. It was sort of crazy out front because they have a bar/pub area, but the dining area was around the back and much less rowdy. We were meeting for a farewell dinner for one of the group members, Tammie, who has just finished her PhD and is moving to work in the UK. The other people there were Kate, Vanessa, Tiffani, and Mia. All are past/present PhD students who were under Pauleen when she was back at Monash University (before she came to La Trobe). I was especially excited to meet Mia, because she's basically a celebrity and I've been following her joint blog with US canine science researcher Julie Hecht Do You Believe in Dog? for a couple years now.

After dinner, Pauleen and I headed back up north to spend the weekend on her farm. Even though she lives between Melbourne and Bendigo, it was still quite late (maybe around 11pm) before we arrived. I got to meet one of her Lagotto pups, 6 month old Baxter, but it was too dark for good pictures. Pauleen breeds Lagotto Romagnolos as a hobby. Lagotto's are quite rare but increasing in popularity both in Australia and in the United States due to their excellent temperament and the fact that they don't shed.

SATURDAY
Saturday morning, I got to meet all of the dogs, and take them walking with Pauleen on her 300 acres of property. She basically has an enormous private off-leash dog park for her dogs to run and play and explore - though they stick close to the house if nobody goes out with them. Particularly noteworthy, I got to meet Audrey, the puppy I will most likely be borrowing from Pauleen while I'm here in Australia. Audrey has just turned 3 months old, but she is a fearless little monster and thinks she can keep up with all of the big kids. She is absolutely adorable.

Adventures!

Eddie enjoying himself.

Yeah water yeah!

Once all of the morning chores were done and all the dogs had gotten some time to run around and/or go for a swim, Pauleen and her partner, Ron decided to take me (and a couple dogs) on a day-trip to a nearby tourist town called Echuca.

The 3 lucky dogs who got to come on the adventure (from left to right):
Baxter (6 months), Eliza (8 months), and Audrey (3 months).

First car ride? Check.

This was Audrey's first car ride, since she was born on the farm and hasn't needed to go anywhere yet. Lagottos (and especially Pauleen's dogs) are pretty special. Audrey is basically fearless and even though her socialization regimen has been nothing compared to what is recommended these days, she took everything in stride - the car trip, seeing traffic, even being attached to a leash for the first time.

It was fun walking around in Echuca, even though it was a super hot day. It didn't help that Audrey had worn herself out on our morning walk and was also too distracted by all of the wonderful smells in town to do much walking on her own. Carrying a puppy on a hot summer day is like carrying a hot water bottle!


SUNDAY
On Sunday, Ron and Pauleen brought me back to Bendigo, but before leaving me at the dorms, they took me around town to see all of the major landmarks and helped to make sure I knew how to get to the train station from campus. We drove by the main lake, and found the location that the Bendigo Dog Club meets in case I want to go to the meetings and get involved with the dog community here. They even took me to lunch at a little cafe downtown. I sure was spoiled this weekend!

Ron and Pauleen also lent me a bike, so I can bike to the train station or wherever I need to go. Having a bike is nice - it's like being back in Davis again (except I have to bike on the left side - yikes!!).

Next time I go back to the farm I'll bring my real camera so I can get some good action photos of the dogs. They move much too quick for my phone camera to do any good. I might be going back this Saturday to play with a new dog training machine we've gotten for a sustained attention project.


This coming week is going to be a little bit crazy. I'll start feeling like a real grad student when I'm down in Melbourne this Wednesday leading discussion sessions for Pauleen's Human-Animal Relations class, and I even get to take an adventure on Australia's public transit in order to get there. Wish me luck!!!