Yeah, I was surprised and then impressed when he paused his training to wait for the dog to finish certain moods. As a kid, I think you kinda just have a sense of feel for the animal. There's that raw connection. It's still there as an adult, but it's just not the same. As for having my own little 4-legged buddy: I also can't have one atm. My parents have 2, though. I just love animals and enjoy learning. I'll pick something random and dive full into for an hour, day, week, month...what ever, especially if they're one of the best at what they do. So, when I found the Dog Whisperer and saw him at work, I was hooked.

i cracked up laughing when you mentioned catching frogs. Salamanders too! We lived on a mountain with a nice view of the valley. I had a hamster when I was small, whom I considered my friend. I brought him and my toys up the hill, just above our house and near a creek, and I'd play there for hours! Made him a little home there, too. He was the living toy who walked among my other toys. Anyway, the day progressed and I was called inside for lunch or dinner and so I left the little guy there in his base while I ate. In intended to return after filling ma belly but, unfortunately, I forgot about him there... and then it came time for bed... As I lay there looking up at the ceiling, rain drops coming down, I heard thunder and immediately thought of my hamster (still can't remember his name). I was so worried for him, so my mom and eldest brother braved the oncoming storm and went out in search for him, with lightning coming down. I was too small so I wasn't allowed to help, even though I protested. But they gave me a solid promise to find him, so I calmed down. It felt like forever (they were gone maybe an hour or 2)! But they both returned with my little friend. He was safe, and so I could finally sleep. Sooo many stories! It's funny how the generations prior often tell the current generation of how they're missing out on so much. And now, Elon Musk says within just a few years we will have humanoid robots that will unlock our economic potential, making humans have want for nothing since the robots will eventually take care of things. He aims for life with robots to be like star trek, rather than like iRobot. Safe, where we explore the stars...not running for our lives in fear. Yep...the world changes quickly. Experts in their field can't even keep up. They're designing for a future where we send our driverless cars to pickup our friends, or collect our groceries from robots who load them into the vehicle. Computing power is rapidly increasing. The entire ocean has been mapped out, apparently, too. With so many interesting things in this world, it actually amazes me how any of us spend our time playing Destiny 2. But then I shoot a cabal in the face, and all is right in the world....muahahahahawaffles :p Anyway, sounds like you had a rather large pond if you could fish in it and kayak around. Almost a tiny lake. Being able to see the stars with waters reflection is something city folk miss out on every night. That and the sound of crickets chirping and owls hooting. Did you ever have any loons on it? They make one of my favourite sounds. Heck, I've come face-to-face with a grey wolf and a black bear. Had a cougar in our tree right outside our bedroom window, too. The bear came up right over a bank just 5 feet from me. I had bear training but I took off running so damn fast! I was just little and walking home from school. While on all 4's, it's shoulders stood taller than me. Training went right out the window lol. Thankfully it never chased me but just casually continued on its way. As for the wolf, my younger brother and I were waiting for the school bus in the morning when it appeared, jogging down the road toward us. I life my brother onto the boulder beside us and I stood at the base (not because I was brave but because I was unable to climb it in time). The wolf came close, maybe 10-20 ft (can't recall)). We yelled and our dog came running. The wolf left. The scariest, though( I was petrified and actually couldn't move), was seeing my first ever moose. A giant massive bull moose. I must have been 4 to 6 years old. It's crazy how big they can get! You should watch [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE_xGnkIs1M]The Adventures of the Wilderness Family[/url]. It's a great movie series. Rather intense if you're a kid! 3-toes, the grizzly, is terrifying.