IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of August 24, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS, WALLS, WALLS! You have said with almost every issue of The Town Line that Maine is the very best to live in, but surely our faithful readers are agreeing with you BIG TIME now! True, we live in an ugly world, but surely our little corner called Maine is truly a wonderful place to call home in August 2017!

Surely we all have our ideas of ‘why,’ but, frankly, after living in places that are having so many problems, I am happy that my family has come back to Maine twice. Oh, surely East Madison has lost much. This very small community used to have seven industries from Cumming’s Woolen Mill to skate making and lots of employment opportunities in between. Yes, we had Perkins’ Store, too, plus boat rentals and swimming beaches. Yes, before the days of Madison’s, now gone, paper mill, East Madison had it all, including writer Florence Burrill Jacobs.

Now, the wonderful thing about East Madison is that folks here have kept hope alive with smiles and busy thoughts of making East Madison and Lake Wesserunsett the best it can be. We all are proud that young folks who went to Madison schools and graduated from Madison High School, have
returned to East Madison and ‘home.’

Today, TV has been the swamp that we were promised would be cleaned-up, but, instead, our world has shown how truly ugly people who live in some parts of our U.S.A. have grown to be full of hate, instead to being grateful for our land of the free.

Well, one thing I am sure of. You won’t find ugliness in The Town Line. Maybe our TV and news and programs and movies and, yes, even advertising has too much ugliness any more! We, who live in Maine, are truly fortunate and we have our parents or our employers to thank for our environment. True, we may not have everything that we want, but we have the love of people. People that we meet, on the whole, have ‘happiness’ in their walk or smiles on their faces. We are truly fortunate, faithful readers. Surely you agree.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of August 24, 2017

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

There is a bag sale ($1 regular size and $2 for larger bag) ‘til August 26 at the Embden Community Center Thrift Shop. The Thrift Shop is open: Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Lending library is open when the Thrift Shop is open. There have been over 35 books donated to the Neighbor to Neighbor Thrift Shop to be sold at a very modest price. There are a few that are first edition and are signed. They are almost all hard cover with dust jackets; many on the Best Seller’s list. Many of the books for example are by a familiar author, Nicholas Sparks. The Embden Thrift Shop is open Wed., Fri. and Sat. from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Lending Library is also open when the Thrift Shop is open.

Just to let you know that dues are due in August. Dues are $3 per person payable to the Embden Historical Society. You may mail your check to Brainard Tripp, Treasurer, 445 East Shore Road, Embden, ME 04958 (566-7384

Was also very pleased to receive the letter from Charlotte Withee, of Anson, about the 67th Smith Family Reunion. The family of the late Henry and Gertrude (McLaughlin) Smith held their 67th reunion on July 30, 2017, at Lake George in Canaan. The descendants of Clarissa (Smith) Paine were the host.

There were 69 members and three guests present. Elmer’s family: Bert and Eileen (Weston) Cyr. Robb and Stefanie (Cyr) Wainwright. Harry’s family: Lester and Gail Smith, Sylvia Brennau, AmyBrennau, Madeline Therault and Jackson Theriault.

Agnes’ family: No one attended. Oliver’s family: David Smith, Judy Smith, Craig Smith, Anthony Laney, Chris Laney, Rachel Laney, Nick Krajewski, Arianna Krajewski, Chris Gorman, Beth Gorman, Tyler Badershall and guests : Rebekah Powell, Jacob Trauy, Linda Smith.

Gertrude’s family: Ethan, Emily, June and Sam Knox, Diana Michaud (Merry) , Rosemary Merry, Sharon Mellow, JohnZiacoma, Jennifer Withee, Andrea Smith,Nathan Merry, Monica (Atwood) and James Wetzel, Shirley Mellows, Dillinger Mellows, Mary Mellows Marin Celmer, Charlotte (Mellows) and Ralph Withee, Jessica Merry, Brooklyn Johnson and Ava Merry (Michelle,s Daughter.) Cecil’s family: None attended.

Clarissa’s family: Susan Paine, Joan Steele, Darrell Gerrard, Nancy Smellie, Danielle, Jake, Alli, Krish, and Jaxson Gerrard, Daniel and Robin Gerrard, Rebecca Pessy-Weeks, Melissa Perry, Becka Coryell, Caleb, Caitlyn, and Lienna Vinson. Deana Tardiff, Troy Beane, Erik Vinson, Darcie Verrill, Kelli and Christopher Coares, Indie and River, Diana Gerrard Tardiff, and Norma Gerrard. Vincent’s family: None attended.

The oldest member was Rosemary (Mellows) Merry, age 84. Youngest Was Marin Celmer, age 1 month; daughter of Mary Mellows and Brian Celmer.

The weather was blue skies, white clouds and at times a little chilly, a beautiful day.

Somerset Woods Trustees 2017 North Country Challenge will take place September 30. Walk, Run, Canoe, Kayak, or Bike the Bingham to Solon Trail. Rain or shine. Discover the beauty of Maine’s North Country along the Kennebec River and along the future Maine Long Trail.

Challenge begins at North Country Rivers, in Bingham, (7 – 10 a.m.; Breakfast at North Country Rivers (optional).

If you register by September 13, the 2017 North Country Challenge T-shirts will be available for only $14 each. You can register between September 14 – 30, but T-shirt supplies will be very limited or not available.

Registration forms available on SWT’s website: or if you don’t have a computer you can reach them at Somerset Woods Trustees P.O. Box 833 Skowhegan, ME 04976.

And now for Percy’s memoir entitled A Smile… “A smile can mean fulfillment Through most any stage of life Or finding peace with nature Far away from crowds and strife. A smile may be approval Or a hint that one may care; A smile may be the start of Two lives that want to share. A smile can be just passive Or a pleasantness self-styled; A smile can show contentment In both mother and her child. In taking on life’s hurdles, There’s strength for every mile In the hope of each tomorrow And another chance to smile.” (words by Irwin William Kaiser.)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Why don’t deer and moose get their antlers caught in trees?

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

Last week, I received an email from a colleague, and follower of this column, asking the question, “Why don’t deer and moose get their antlers caught in trees?” Well, it isn’t uncommon to find deer with their antlers caught in trees. But it usually occurs following adverse conditions, especially from flooding or being frightened into a desperate retreat.

Well, actually, that was a question I always wondered myself. I always thought that maybe their antlers were like whiskers on a cat, using them as feelers to determine whether they can pass through an opening.

Moose antlers in velvet.

It turns out I probably wasn’t far off with my assessment.

I turned to my contacts at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for an answer. According to the state moose biologist Lee Kantar, “As the moose antlers grow, the moose ‘develop’ a sense of their width.” I can only deduce that the same holds true for deer.

Following the fall rut, male deer and moose will shed their antlers. In spring or early summer, March or April, the new antlers begin to form, growing out from a pedicel bone, a bony stalk situated on the frontal bone of the skull. The antlers begin to grow at a rapid pace. During growth, they are covered with a skin, called the velvet, a living tissue, which contains many blood vessels for the nourishment of the growing bone tissue.

“During antler growth,” said Kantar, “the antlers are highly vascularized and the moose can feel where those antlers are, touching other surfaces during the growth phase.”

When the antlers have reached the size and shape characteristic for the particular species, the blood circulation in the velvet is stopped, the velvet dies, and the buck or bull then rubs off the dead skin against branches,

In the case of moose, “During antler growth this velvet layer of hair that covers the antlers are the ‘feelers’ for the antlers,” the biologist continued.

“At the end of August into September the antlers essentially harden into bone and the velvet is rubbed and sloughed off as the bull thrashes and rubs against vegetation. By this time, the bull has essentially ‘learned’ the dimensions of his new antlers for his travels.”

Deer and moose have played a very important role in the history of our country, especially deer. The American Indians and European settlers depended on deer for food clothing, implements, ornaments, ceremonial items, tools and weapons. The hides provided shelter and protection from the weather.

Did you know the term “bucks” when referring to money comes from the American Indians. Deerskins were considered valuable for clothing and the skins were called “bucks.” They were traded for various other articles.

Lewis and Clark might never have been able to finish their journey from St. Louis to Oregon if the hunters they took along had not furnished them with deer meat along the way. For the four months they wintered in Oregon, they had little to eat other than deer meat.

Have you ever seen a set of deformed moose antlers on a mount, and wondered why? Well, if a bull moose is castrated, either by accident or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers and then immediately begin to grow a new set of mishapen and deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again.

I know I wandered off the initial subject, but I found all this information fascinating. I hope you did, too.

I’m Just Curious: More T-shirt sayings

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by Debbie Walker

I knew one day I would do another column about T-shirt sayings but I never figured it would be this soon! I do get a kick out of some of them. I really hope you do too.

So here goes:

It clearly states PRINCESS on my birth certificate.

Sometimes when I open my mouth my mother comes out…(Honest Mom I would be proud!)

My alone time is sometimes for your safety.

I could be a morning person if morning happened at noon. (Oh yeah, that one could be me!)

I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you.

Wait! I do not snore! I dream I’m a motorcycle!(That would be Ken, he swears he does not snore but he fibs!)

I’m just going to put an OUT OF ORDER sticker on my forehead and call it a day!

Never laugh at your wife’s choices, you are one of them!

The relationship between a husband and wife is psychological, one is Psycho, the other is Logical!

Just remember if we get caught, you’re deaf and I don’t speak English.

Back off I have a SISTER and I’m not afraid to use her! (I may be guilty of saying ‘you don’t want to meet the wrath of _____!)

I’m going to stop asking How dumb can you get? People seem to be taking it as a challenge.

I turn BEER into pee. What’s your superpower?

DON’T GROW UP It’s a trap! (I’m lucky; my Grammy warned me about this growing up business!)

The best thing about the good old days was that I wasn’t good and I wasn’t old.

Sometimes I meet people and feel bad for their dog.

You are about to Exceed the limits of my medication!

Don’t judge my dog and I won’t judge your children.

You don’t have to be crazy to hang out with me… I’ll train you!

No I don’t need anger management, you need to stop –issing me off!

When I die, the dog gets Everything!

So if a redhead goes crazy, is it called Ginger Snaps? (Don’t even think about it Ken, it wouldn’t be healthy!)

No need to repeat yourself, I ignored you just fine the first time! (That is the kind of stuff going through Ken’s head!)

I may be Left handed but I am always Right!

A little gray hair is a small price to pay for all this Wisdom! (there is always hair dye, it might be true that hair dyes kill off brain cells!)

I should come with a warning label!

When I was a kid I wanted to be older… this crap is not what I expected!

As far as I know I am just Delightful!

Some days the supply of curse words is insufficient to meet my demands!

Does running late count as Exercise?

Okay, that’s enough of that! So how many of those sound familiar? Questions and/or comments appreciated. Find me at dwdaffy@yahoo.com Sub line: t-shirts. Thanks for reading and don’t forget our online version!

REVIEWS: R&B performer: Roy Brown; Singer: Billy Joel; Pianist: Valentina Kamenikova

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Peter CatesREVIEW POTPOURRI

by Peter Cates

Roy Brown

Roy Brown and New Orleans R & B; JSP Records JSP7756, four CDs, Recordings from mid-’40s to early ‘50s.

Roy Brown

Three New Orleans musical legends are given major representation in the above collection. They are Roy Brown (1920 or ’25-1981), Dave Bartholomew (1918-), and Professor Longhair (1918-1980), each of whom contributed songs, vocals and instrumentals, and troubleshooting mentoring to the rich soil of rock, rhythm and blues, pop soul, and other elements still influencing a specifically American music and the more famous men and women of splendid talent who have shared it through concerts and recordings.

Singer Roy Brown wrote one song, Good Rockin’ Tonight, that didn’t take fire in his 1947, 78 rpm, but did well for Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, Springsteen, etc.

Dave Bartholomew, the only one of the three still living at 98, was a producer for Imperial records, where he wrote Fats Domino’s megahit, Ain’t That A Shame, but left in a huff after falling out with the owner.

Pianist and singer Longhair wrote many songs for others and would be remembered for them, but more for his uniquely funky performances.

Two CDs contain 50 sides of Brown; one CD allotted to 25 Bartholomews and one to 26 Longhairs.

Billy Joel

River of Dreams; Columbia CK 53003, CD, recorded 1993.

Billy Joel

This album was put together during a period of upheaval for Joel – including dealing with an embezzling manager/brother-in-law. It would also be the last studio recording of original material.

I have never been an avid Joel fan but I respect his gifts as a singer/songwriter/musician. Finally, I am deeply moved by three of the songs here – the title one, Lullabye and 2000 Years, each a genuine beauty.

Tchaikovsky

Piano Concerto No. 1

Valentina Kamenikova

Valentina Kamenikova, pianist, with Jiri Pinkas conducting the Brno Philharmonic; Supraphon 1 10 1043, twelve inch stereo LP, recorded 1970.

Those who have read me in these pages since I began nine years ago, especially with any interest in classical music, know by now of my sometimes voracious interest in collecting different recordings of the same piece and the Tchaikovsky 1st Piano Concerto being one of my favorite collectibles. I have even lost track of just how many I own.

Valentina Kamenikova (1930-1989) was born in the Ukraine, but ended up spending most of her life teaching in the former Czechoslovakia and concertizing behind the Iron Curtain. Although she was barely known in the West, she had a large following in Eastern Europe. One facebook friend, who is also a pianist and lives in Prague, has texted about Kamenikova with admiration.

Her playing was more self-contained than that of more famous virtuosos, such as Horowitz, Emil Gilels, Rubinstein and Shura Cherkassky, each of whom applied the grand, sometimes barnstorming approach, but it was quite elegant and connected in a most personal manner with each note (I admit to loving this piece so much that I have found every recording that is on my shelf at least containing some interesting quality, even if it’s just a few minutes.).

Unfortunately, it has been out of print for several years and may be hard to find but copies do show up on Amazon and Ebay and in more unexpected places. I found mine at a Maine barn sale.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of August 17, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

Faithful readers, WALLS just looked down at the footstool in front of the chair that is placed at the window from which we can watch the birds at the bird feeder or from which we got a surprise the other day when a young deer appeared. Yes, the birdfeeder had a visitor. Then, another surprise came our way a few days later. We had a new visitor by way of a woodchuck! It was more interested in sleeping on a big rock that trims our backyard. Unfortunately, we have seen neither one since.

Well, WALLS, it is time to get back to the footstool. There was a headline about ‘How we see the poor’ and you read it, but I’m about to step into this discussion. You faithful readers know that I am now 87 years young, but, admittedly, I was a Depression baby, born in 1930. I guess people had already jumped out of their office windows in New York City when my birthdate came along, but, WALLS, I know what it was to live during those hard times, even as a growing baby. Now, we all read today about people in Maine getting older, but I’m now going to take you, faithful readers, back to the days of poor folks. Granted, some people are truly poor-in-spirit (even the rich folks, so to speak), but WALLS, tell folks about what poor meant during that era of Depression in the USA.

You’ve told faithful readers about living in a three-family house (grandparents, my mom and dad and me). And you’ve told about my mom’s working in the, then, selectmen’s office, in Skowhegan, and giving food orders to folks and their pay-back ten-cents at a time and grocers carrying ‘folks names on a tab,’ also waiting for payback.

But, WALLS, it is time to tell what you learned about poverty. Yes, you’ve already spoken about lots of money sometimes leading to depression, but in those days of The Depression, there was a town nurse. The schools had a doctor and health examination days. Insurance? Well, folks had life insurance and some of you faithful readers may remember the insurance man collecting 50 cents at your house every week. Kids worehand-me-downs and only the older kids got ‘new clothes’. Lunch at chool? Well, if you were lucky enough to be poor! Otherwise, school lunch happened to be what was put in your lunch bucket! Credit cards? WALLS, our faithful readers must to told there was no such thing for shopping and every day the word was “saving.” We wereurged to save, save, save our pennies, which were, in our house, kept in a jar. Yes, some of us did get a reward for ‘whatever’ was important to parents. Y’know, WALLS, I was rewarded for eating everything on my plate…scraping the plate clean! I learned so well, I still scrape my plate!

Well, faithful readers, there probably will be more about growing up during the Depression, but if anyone considers the family poor, it would be wise to think about those days of the 1930s and live with leftovers and without credit cards.

SOLON & BEYOND, Week of August 17, 2017

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

Good morning, dear friends. Don’t worry, be happy!

Was very pleased this morning when I turned my computer on and discovered the August letter from the New Hope Church, my many thanks for that.

There was a great turnout for the benefit supper for Zack Corson, which was held at Solon Elementary School. Zack has been struggling for years with kidney disease and related complications. Nearly $5,000 was raised that evening.

Since their last letter, several in the shelter have been saved, which Pastor Tim said, “This is what it’s all about!”

The property in Windham that was offered for use as a women’s shelter is on track. The parties involved have gotten together and are making arrangements to set up and use the property as a shelter to be patterned after the one in Solon.

In May, Pat and Tim were able to take their first real vacation in a very long time. The church had taken a collection and had purchased a gift certificate to a B-B in Bar Harbor right close to the waterfront. They spent a few days in early May there and had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful area and just plain relaxing.

Because of a grant given to the church for staffing, they are pleased to announce the addition of a new position at the shelter and the hiring of a wonderful lady from their volunteer pool to fill that position.

They have also added two new members to the shelter board; Brent Small, who is an associate pastor at Faith Evangelical Free Church, in Waterville, and Charlie Pratt, a member of New Hope who has been greatly involved with the shelter from its beginning.

On July 30 the New Hope Church was blessed to have Temple Veil in concert.

They have started a landscaping project around the shelter and have set out some shrubs and plants. Again, my many thanks for sharing your news with us.

Had been dreading last weekend for a month or more, but as usual, I shouldn’t have worried! Lief and my family were each having a reunion on the same weekend, his was on his mother’s side was to be held in Massachusetts and mine was to be held up at Dave and Pete’s camp at Flagstaff as always, on the second weekend in August. Lief and I had talked it over and agreed that we should each go to our own family reunion. Both Lief’s father and his mother had come from very large families. His mother’s family had come over from Norway and settled in several states in the U.S. so there were family members who came from shore to shore at his reunion, he thought there were around 200 people at the Massachusetts reunion. Feel really bad that I missed meeting all of them, but I haven’t yet figured out how to be in two places at once!

There were 29 of us at the Rogers reunion up in God’s Country where peace is beyond understanding. This was to be more special than usual if possible, Jeremy and his family were to travel from North Dakota for the reunion, and hadn’t seen them for several years.

As always, Peter and Sherry brought up their portable breakfast wagon and served everybody delicious breakfasts. Dave had built another bunk house, and there are five bedrooms, a spill over room, a screen porch and a tenting place for sleeping. Dave had set up his smoker for delicious ribs, Pete had cooked a huge pot of chili and everyone attending had brought lots of food, so we enjoyed feasting. Again, Mark and Karen had come up with designing another game which everyone always looks forward to. There were four different groups competing, and I happened to pick the winning team and we all received a medal.

There was so much laughter and love shared on this special wonderful weekend, but several people commented on how much they missed Lief, as did I.

The days at camp were beautiful skies of blue and so Percy’s memoir this week is entitled, Master Artist; “God paints countless pictures For his children to behold, From the lovely sunrise To the sunset tinged with gold. He made this earth His canvas While the brush is His great hand; With true and glorious colors Every landscape He has planned. The artist can but copy From God’s own masterpiece … He paints the perfect pictures, His glories never cease.” (words by Lois Anne Williams.)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: An unexpected late night concert

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Roland D. HalleeSCORES & OUTDOORS

by Roland D. Hallee

Last Thursday night my wife woke me from a sound sleep to listen to something outside our camp. Well, being somewhat groggy, I didn’t hear anything, and went back to sleep. It wasn’t long afterwards that she woke me again.

“Can’t you hear that?” she inquired sounding a little frustrated – You see, my wife tells me I’m going deaf.

I sat up, and listened attentively. “OK, I hear it, it’s a Barred Owl,” I told her.

She persisted. “Listen carefully.”

What I then heard made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was at least two, maybe three, barred owls caterwauling to each other. This was at about 11 p.m. I had heard Barred Owls behind camp a thousand times, but never anything like this. It was almost as intriguing as listening to loons calling to each other.

The “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all” call was unmistakable. But, I think it was a strange time of year for them to engage in this activity. This is usually done during the spring courtship, when one will vocalize to its mate, and vice versa. There were times when it was so loud and sustained, it almost sounded like a barking dog.

These calls are most heard at night or in twilight, and especially during the breeding season. However, calls can be heard year round since these birds do not migrate. They are very territorial, and will chase away intruders with loud hoots. These vocalizations become more frequent during the mating season, where female birds make invitation calls to mate with males.

Scientists, however, have debated that the calls of Barred Owls are much more diverse than we think. The research indicates that more needs to be known about the Barred Owls before they can deduce more about its behaviors in and out of the breeding season. Owls in general can be a difficult species of bird to study since they are mainly nocturnal and are not incredibly active until the breeding season.

Barred Owls, Strix varia, are easiest to find when they are active at night, but they are easier to hear than to see. From a distance, their calls can sound like a barking dog. They prefer mature forests, and their main diet is small mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

Since the 1960s, Barred Owls have expanded their range to the Pacific Coast where they are considered invasive. That is because it is believed they are partly to blame for the recent decline of the northern Spotted Owl, which is native to British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. When Barred Owls and Spotted Owls occupy the same space, the Barred Owl is more aggressive and will out-compete the Spotted Owl. Barred Owls have even been known to kill Spotted Owls. Interbreeding is also suspected.

In 2007, White House officials announced a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to shoot Barred Owls in order to reduce the threat to the Spotted Owls. If implemented, it was estimated 2,150 to 2,850 Barred Owls should be taken over a five to 10 year period. It is feared that increased populations of Barred Owls could eventually render the Spotted Owl extinct. Environmentalists fear increased blame on Barred Owls for declining Spotted Owl numbers will result in less attention being paid to territorial protections and resumption of logging in protected Spotted Owl habitat.

According to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, the experiment is ongoing and results are still being studied.

An adult Barred Owl can be anywhere from 16 – 25 inches long and weigh 1.1 to 2.3 pounds, with a wingspan of 38-49 inches. The Barred Owl is the only true owl of the eastern United States which has brown eyes. All others have yellow eyes.

The upper parts are a gray/brown, the underparts are light with markings. The chest is barred horizontally while the belly is striped vertically. The legs and feet are covered with feathers to the talons, and the head is round with no ear tufts.

Even though they are primarily nocturnal, they generally hunt near dawn or dusk, swooping down from a high perch, to take their prey.

Dogs must choose and want to give us attention and focus

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

Focus, Attention, Engagement, Cooperation. Focus. Attention. Engagement. Cooperation. We hear these words all the time, but what does it all mean? How do we obtain it and how do we keep it?

In the beginning stages of training, we use food or toys first as lures and eventually as rewards to pay our dogs for performing certain tasks. This approach works very well with most dogs. Problems arise if you want to progress beyond the venues where you can use food as a lure or carry food with you and reward with it. If your performance is based upon your dog believing that food is present and will be forthcoming for certain behaviors, you will be limited as to how much you can achieve.

Dogs must choose and want to give us attention and focus and be willing to join us and cooperate with us because it is a good deal and an enjoyable experience.

Focus and attention to you can be enhanced in every day life with your dog. Every time your dog looks at you or chooses to engage with you, acknowledge their attention and enjoy them. Work on building your relationship with your dog wanting to give you attention, not your pursuing the dog to get their attention.

Consider whether your dog is stressed, anxious or fearful of the environment or is the stress coming from you? Or perhaps some of each. Is the environment overwhelming to your dog because your dog is extremely curious and has not developed the ability to concentrate on a single task but just flits from one environmental distraction to another. Your dog’s breed and temperament will influence whether they are stressed or wary of the environment or want to engage with every smell, sight or noise they encounter. Some dogs are more introverts where others are extroverts. You need to understand and work with the dog you have.

Some dogs need quite a bit of emotional support, whereas others are quite independent. You need to understand your dog’s emotional make up when you plan a training session.

Sometimes your dog’s inability to focus has nothing to do with the dog or environment. It has to do with poor training. Poor training and lack of clarity in training will cause a dog to be confused, anxious, frustrated or just shut down or leave.

Training, when done correctly, should strengthen your relationship and training should be an enjoyable, rewarding session for both dog and handler. The dog understands you will be fair and clear in your teaching and therefore will be willing to try and solve problems and enjoy putting forth effort. The handler in turn will be patient, fair and supportive of the dog’s efforts. The more you build your relationship, the more your dog will focus on the tasks and engage with you because work is fun for both of you!

Remember, every time you set up a training session, go to a class, a show and go or a trial, you set an emotional tone for the event. If these experiences are not pleasant and confidence-building for your dog and enhancing to your overall relationship, you will be undermining the foundation of trust you need to have with your dog. No amount of food can substitute for poor training.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

IF WALLS COULD TALK, Week of August 10, 2017

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Katie Ouilette Wallsby Katie Ouilette

WALLS, this just has to be ‘summer celebration time’ throughout Maine! Faithful readers, you surely have had a lot of reading to do with The Town Line and every newspaper telling about a celebration for something in towns throughout our grand state of Maine.

Yes, thanks, too, to our television stations telling us about each one at some time of the day. Certainly, we can begin with Portland and the Tall Sails Regatta. You know. WALLS, that it was also identified as a ‘learning experience. So Portland can be praised for teaching, as well.

Driving to Central Maine, one could also learn at Skowhegan’s Kneading Conference. That event surely has grown from its start at the parking lot of Federated Church on The Island. Now, the Kneading Conference has its new locale at the Skowhegan Fairgrounds. Yes, WALLS, the, now, Tewksbury Hall, behind the Federated Church, welcomed folks to the pancake breakfast, which was held at that hall on August 5. Now, WALLS, add to all that daytime and evening chicken events hosted by Skowhegan Lions, the widely anticipated lobster dinner by Skowhegan Rotarians, the bed races, animal zoo, bands playing, and Sally’s School of Dance performing, plus the long-awaited parade. Then there was a golf tournament at Lakewood Golf Course.

Oh, WALLS, surely there is much more activity for all ages on the River Fest program that everyone received by way of Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce.

But, maybe you who are on the road north, will soon find that Aroostook County is about to celebrate the Maine Potato Festival. Whatever your time or calendar allow, The Town Line says “ENJOY”!

Yes, WALLS, you are so right. Our summer seems to have been short, but certainly, not so short that planning has taken place since last year’s events. Do you faithful readers know how much planning goes into these events? You, WALLS, know very well how many of us have said that, as long as I am ‘fine’ from the shoulders up, I will be o.k., and I still say it. Oh, there’s no question that Lyme Disease has taken its toll, and certainly I’ve visited Skowhegan’s Redington-Fairview General Hospital a couple times, but I can still hear, think right, and talk! Oh, well, I may not play the game, but I can ride in the golf cart and see Lew’s golf ball……and he sure can hit it a long way!

Hmmm, not bad for two old duffers at 90 and 87 years young, respectively! Yup, Skowhegan State Fair will begin and we’ll see you there!