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<\/p>\nSome look askance when they discover I let my dog inside, then are jaw-droppingly horrified to hear he sleeps on my bed each night.\u00a0 But if you own a dog, you will understand. \u00a0The expression \u2018top dog\u2019 didn\u2019t come from nowhere, and one thing dog owners instinctively know, or quickly learn, is that \u2018top dog\u2019 doesn\u2019t refer to the human half of the relationship!<\/p>\n
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Since Susie, my wife and life partner of 50 years, died some four years ago, my feisty little border terrier, Blighty, has become my constant companion. \u00a0He is my sounding board, my personal trainer who demands a beach walk every day\u2014rain, hail, or shine, and tidal cycles notwithstanding\u2014and, without peer, my best mate, too.<\/p>\n
At times frustratingly disobedient, he always seems to sense the moment\u2014just before I am ready to berate him\u2014to become meek and compliant, fix me with his soft-eyed look that clearly says \u2018… sorry, I was<\/u> being a bit naughty, wasn\u2019t I \u2014 but I just know<\/u> you\u2019ll forgive me<\/em>\u2019, thereby thwarting my exasperation.<\/p>\n Above all, he is playful. \u00a0He can\u2019t get enough of \u2018play-time\u2019\u2014it\u2019s his obsession during every waking hour. \u00a0If I won\u2019t play [spoiler alert: more pleading eyes], he simply invents a game for himself. \u00a0The house and garden are literally littered with balls and cotton toys, shredded and tooth-marked from constant attack. \u00a0Not content with capture, he seems to attempt a toy-kill as well, rolling endlessly over his favourite orange and blue balls\u2014he has several\u2014in an effort, presumably, to crush them into submission and absorb their scent. \u00a0Then, after a moment\u2019s rest, the ball is tossed in the air, pounced on for the umpteenth time, then rolled and crushed all over again.<\/p>\n But when it comes to ball games, Blighty has a blind spot! \u00a0After I have thrown the first ball, he fetches it back with undisguised pleasure, then props it, wags frantically, but resolutely refuses to return it any further. \u00a0The game suddenly becomes one of \u2018keepings off<\/em>\u2019 as he ensures that he and his precious prize remain just beyond my arthritic reach, defying all my efforts to retrieve it. \u00a0Talk about frustrating! \u00a0As I jealously watch others on the beach, their dogs obediently returning their balls for another throw and fetch, Blighty flashes a toothy grin, wags his tail in triumph, and stays half a metre out of range.<\/p>\n After hip surgery a couple of years ago, I took my physiotherapist\u2019s advice and bought a grabber [effectively a set of BBQ tongs on an extended stick], which I used only a few times before finding that bending and picking up by hand was both easier and a better exercise. \u00a0Aha, I thought, I\u2019ll use the grabber. \u00a0That\u2019ll flummox him!\u00a0 But no such luck. \u00a0In a blink, he had added the grabber to his version of the game.<\/p>\n Now, the nifty device sits atop my bins, ready for use when the cockies defeat the latest in the council\u2019s chain of failed devices to solve the cockie problem, and my garbage [or, more often, that of my neighbouring BnB] is strewn across the street on bin night.\u00a0 Though the Men\u2019s Shed bin aprons have provided a brilliant and final answer, their roll-out is proving agonisingly slow\u2014for reasons I find hard to fathom\u2014and the grabbers will continue to serve their adapted purpose for a while yet.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Blighty sits on his haunches at a safe distance, ball clamped firmly in his jaws. \u00a0I can almost imagine him mentally replacing Margaret Thatcher\u2019s famous line, \u2018… this lady\u2019s not for turning<\/em>\u2019, with a smugly reworded Blighty equivalent: \u2018… this ball\u2019s not for taking<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n Later each evening, when Masterchef is done for the night, another Netflix episode has concluded, the fire is dying to embers, and it’s time for bed, Blighty takes a last turn around the garden.\u00a0 With an adversarial goodnight bark at our resident bushytail possum, he sniffs the succulents, waters them, then comes back inside to leap onto the bed and imperiously take up residence in the best spot.<\/p>\n Adopting a now-familiar expression that brims with innocence yet carries a hint of bravado, he makes his message clear: \u2018… It\u2019s OK, Codger, you\u2019ll manage \u2014 just fold yourself around me\u2019<\/em>. \u00a0Then, with that thought clearly conveyed\u2014or implied\u2014he settles down for a good night\u2019s rest, while I lie semi-suspended in the air over the side of the bed.<\/p>\n The latter decades of the 19th-century saw an explosion of interest in behavioural science, led by Wundt in Leipzig [widely regarded as \u2018the father of experimental psychology\u2019] and Freud in Vienna [whose \u2018Interpretation of Dreams\u2019 and theories of the subconscious mind established psychology and psychoanalysis as a specialty\u2014and, incidentally, as a must-have accessory … especially for troubled Americans].\u00a0 Another of these mind-expanding giants of psychology was Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist who conducted a set of ground-breaking experiments in the 1890s with dogs\u2014work that opened the window onto the behavioural psychology of \u2018conditioning\u2019. \u00a0By ringing a bell each day at feeding time, his dogs learned to associate the bell with food and would come running at its sound, whether or not food was present.<\/p>\n Blighty constantly reminds me of Pavlov. \u00a0Whether at meal times [food], when I am about to go out and reach for my vest [walkies], or when we are walking on the beach and I hold my arm out at a recognised angle [signalling a \u2018come to me<\/em>\u2019 treat]… all are examples of conditioned behaviour that every dog owner [and their dog] will recognise. \u00a0Training, conditioning, and cueing\u2014all are taught at puppy school and are central planks of an effective human + dog bond.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just dogs that respond to conditioning. \u00a0Farmers rely on similar behavioural traits to lead their cows, unbidden, to the milking shed, or to encourage them\u2014or other domesticated animals\u2014to do \u2018smart stuff\u2019 like pressing a lever to release food or access their drinking water. \u00a0Moreover, we constantly condition ourselves and our children to respond to stimuli that reward or benefit us, such as the wakeful scent of coffee in the morning or familiar logos that make us crave particular foods.<\/p>\n I suspect I could interpret \u2018B\u2019s theft of the warm spot on the bed as a conditioned response, but no! \u00a0While sheer bloody-mindedness briefly comes to mind, I think it is actually a simple and rather endearing extension of his desire to play, and one I commend him for. \u00a0Long live my little mate, for all your playful idiosyncrasies.<\/p>\n John Agar<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Feature Writer<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Hello<\/p>\n Last Sunday, representatives of many Lorne community groups attended a Community Emergency Relief Workshop. \u00a0The workshop, prepared and facilitated by our own Carly Stafford and Karen Stribling, also included representatives of Surf Coast Shire (including our three ward councillors), VicPol, CFA and SES (31 people in all).<\/p>\n The purpose of the workshop was to gather what we had collectively learnt from the January floods and to work towards a framework for dealing with emergency events that may occur in the future. \u00a0While Lorne was not as badly affected as some of our neighbouring towns in the floods, it quickly became a relief centre with many volunteers jumping into action even before the Shire could martial resources and get to Lorne. \u00a0An underlying theme was that events may occur (such as bushfire or road closures) which may prevent outside resources from getting to Lorne in a timely manner. \u00a0This means that Lorne needs to have a degree of self-sufficiency and a plan to deal with emergencies until help arrives.<\/p>\n It is understood that this is not a substitute for the role of the Emergency Services, and that any activities would be under the direction and control of the Emergency Services. \u00a0The role of the community relief team is to provide shelter, food and comfort to the victims of natural disasters in our town and our vicinity. \u00a0The workshop produced a bounty of good ideas which will form the basis of a Community Emergency Relief Plan, including identifying available resources such as people, facilities, equipment and supplies. \u00a0Congratulations to all involved and especially to Carly and Karen for their commitment to this important initiative.<\/p>\n ******<\/p>\n Driving the Great Ocean Road, and many other country roads, is a game of pothole-dodging! \u00a0More than half of the serious road crashes in Victoria happen on regional roads and many occur on roads that have been identified by RACV as high-risk due to their design and crash history. \u00a0RACV is conducting a survey to give you the opportunity to have your say about our roads. \u00a0Your responses will help RACV better understand which roads are causing the greatest safety concerns and support advocacy for safer road design and investment in improvements. \u00a0The survey at \u00a0https:\/\/racv.research.net\/r\/My-Country-Road-2026<\/a> takes around five minutes to complete and your responses are anonymous.<\/p>\n ******<\/p>\n This is a final call for nominations for the 2026 Doug and Mary Stirling Cup. \u00a0The Cup is a very important award in the Lorne community, named after two of our most esteemed and respected citizens (and the first recipients of the award). \u00a0The award honours outstanding service to, and leadership in, the Lorne community and is awarded biennially. \u00a0Nominations are confidential and forms can be obtained from the Visitor Information Centre, Lorne School, the Post Office or online here – https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/stirlingcup<\/a>. \u00a0The award will be presented at a Committee for Lorne lunch to be held on 30 October 2026.<\/p>\nA word from the chairman<\/strong><\/h2>\n