Work

"It's must be so much work;" do you know how many times that I have heard this phrase in regards to my dogs? Three dogs; you have three dogs? What is work? To me when I say I have work to do it usually means something I'm not looking forward to. It doesn't have to be horrible but something that I am consciously thinking about having to do. My dogs are not that.

As a photographer the work I have to do is work up photos, process them from RAW to usable images. I'm not a fan of this process; I do enjoy PSing (Photoshopping) images, it is a great outlet for creative energy. I love capturing the images; this is not work. But it is not work because I have found what I love to capture; if I had to be a wedding photographer or portrait photographer I would ask that you please kill me. Another one of my jobs is a dog trainer; that is not work to me either, I love it. There are things about it like the paperwork that is work; I am not a big fan of paperwork and it does tend to be put off for later if at all possible.

Exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; this is one definition and pretty much sums it up. Work for me is something I'm not longing to do; not on my "want to do" list. So are my dogs work? Nope. I have never felt that my dogs are work; although if I do get the chance to get away alone for a bit I enjoy the fact that I don't have to care for anyone for a bit. Just like any Mom enjoys a break now and again.

I know that for many people having three dogs would be work; there is alot to do to be sure that they are all cared for properly. They have to be fed, picked up after, groomed, exercised, given mental stimulation and all the little things that keep them happy. For many people this would be too much; not something they would want to do. But just like everything else in our lives; we humans are different and what makes us tick is not what makes the kind standing next to you tick.

I remember before I moved to California; I stood looking at my two huge perennial gardens thinking that no one was going to want to keep these up. It was a passion of mine and I never considered it work; they were beautiful. When I returned that following year I visited my home to find my gardens in ruins; I was right. These gardens were alot of work if you weren't into gardening, but for me it had been my peaceful time; my passion.

So when I am preparing food at the crack of dawn or into the late hours of the evening, when I sit with my dogs heads in my lap scrapping teeth or plucking ears, when my back aches from bathing three dogs or when I have to wash 16 feet once again; filled with mud from a fun but muddy walk it is not work. No this is what you do when you live with dogs; if you want to live with dogs. And this is what makes me who I am. I love dogs; and especially my dogs.

The k9 digestive system

Although many people attempt to form our dogs into little people; they are not human and our nutritional needs are very different. The way we eat is different and the way we digest is very different. First off the dogs teeth are entirely distinct from the teeth in our mouth. Our teeth are meant for grinding our food; a dog's teeth are meant for tearing and crunching and pushing food back down into the esophagus, and from there down into the stomach where the process begins. Our process begins as soon as the food is in our mouth; through the chewing process we breakdown our food and our saliva starts to predigest. Dogs don't have predigesting saliva.

A dogs mouth is made to get the food down; their bottom jaw is fused making it impossible to grind, it cannot go back and forth. So when our dogs seem like pigs and swallow things down whole, this is because it is how they work. Typically a dog will crunch their food into bite sized pieces that they can swallow down. Other times when they are far too exhuberant they may attempt to swallow down a piece of food that is far too big. This is common practice with my Jack Russell. They may choke for a bit until it goes down or throw it up and give it another go.

Once the food goes into their stomach there is a recognition of food to be digested and a dogs pH level drops down to as low as 1 becoming highly acidic; so acidic in fact that it would literally burn a whole in our skin if we were to touch it. There the digestive enzymes get to work breaking down the food into molecules that the body can use. Once the stomach has digested most of the bulk food it is passed down to the small intestine where the liver and pancreas produce more enzymes for further digestion. From there it enters the large intestine and you know where it goes from there.

Dogs are not meant to eat the way we eat; they have entirely different food requirements and luckily there are a few good dog food companies out there that are heading towards that goal. But as with anything else in our consumer driven world there are far too many just trying to make a buck and are not concerned with our dogs at all. Do your research before you grab a bag of dogfood and if you can buy it at the big box store or the grocery store, you probably shouldn't be buying it.

Wild and crazy

I was thinking about wild and crazy this morning; all my kids were home for dinner lastnight and it gets pretty wild with the bunch. And then lastnight Luke was in one of his moods when he likes to push everyone around, a poke was called for to bring him back to reality. One poke, one finger and he drops back down to the real world "oh ya Mom is the boss."

I have often been amongst a bunch of crazy dogs wrestling; whether it is a house pack or just a bunch of friends when one of the people watching will become upset. Humans tend to jump to conclusions and assume all is not well when there is alot of canine vocalizing and jumping about. Dogs can sound like a pile of grizzly bears when they are playing. And usually someone ends up on top with the other on the bottom getting the worst of it. It's all fun.

If you have ever seen a dog fight; a real dog fight, there is a big difference between overexcited playing and a fight. Having shown Irish Terriers for years which my sister bred; dogfights were very common. They are a firey breed, tenacious to say the least. And rarely does a fight break out during play, it happens but not often. Usually a fight starts out with posturing and if you were not paying close attention you may have missed the communications altogether.

But as far as playing goes; it can get wild and crazy and if you have never been witness to a good ole' brawl between dogs it can be a bit intimidating. I remember when Tilley and Luke use to play fight; doesn't happen that often anymore and if it does it is for a fleeting moment. Tilley use to be able to beat the crap out of Luke; she would run at him with full power slamming him into the couch or knocking him off his feet. He use to be quite intimidated by her strength and ability to send him flying. I often wondered if the neighbors thought someone was being killed at our house.

Dogs ask one another if they'd like to play but not the way we do; it is all body language. If the answer comes back no then they should go play with someone else. Not all dogs are great at reading communications and there are also dogs who are obnoxious in their pushy behaviors so it is important to know if you have one of these types and keep them in line. Or someone just might beat the crap out of them.

But if the answer is yes, then it's on. And there is nothing more fun to watch than dogs in full play.

Are you listening

Dinner was late tonight for the dogs; which is fine because I don't like to keep a set schedule so that they cannot veer from the norm easily. I like the dogs to be flexible and not panicked if they don't eat by say five. So it was about 8 and I got out the frozen raw turkey; it needed to be in the micro about 6 min. on thaw. Yep, should have taken it out in the morning but I had a crazy busy day today. So it was a bit of a wait for them; they know as soon as I am preparing.

Tilley took up the slip stopping rug I bought for Luke, right at the kitchen door. There she sat like a statue, not flinching. The turkey was in for 3 min. and then had to go another round. I set the timer for three minutes and head upstairs to see what my daughters were up to. They were discussing the new fish that one of my daughters and I had gone to get today, names, types etc. when I felt a poke. I knew immediately who it was and what she wanted.

It was Tilley and she was there to tell me that the meat was done and that I should get downstairs and get feeding. I said "yes Tilley I know," and then came the second poke; she was obviously very hungry tonight after her big run with Dad this morning. "Okay, okay I'm coming," downstairs and into the kitchen with three dogs herding me there. Jessie started her jumping the minute she entered the kitchen and continued through the preparations.

Raw turkey with crushed bone, brown rice, vitamins, probiotics and cranberry D-mannose for Tilley. Yep Jessie is still jumping for her dinner at this point, she is very enthusiastic. Everyone has their place and turn; Jessie first by the stove, Tilley second by the fridge and last but not least is Luke, by the coffee pot. Everyone is patient, everyone waits their turn.

Sometimes our lives are just too busy; sometimes a good poke is all we need to keep us on track. Tilley often reminds me that I need to stay focused, she always has. When she has something to say, she does and I am always listening are you?

Give and take

Good Saturday morning, it's overcast with a cool breeze which is very nice indeed. Laying in bed early in the morning and into the not so early; surrounded by our dogs is the good stuff. Jessie is once again between my legs, Luke is curled up next to my husband and Tilley is still in bed. Who enjoys this scenario more? Both.

Spending quality time with your dog does not have to mean hiking for miles, training or doing a particular sport. It can simply be the special moments when you are enjoying each others company. How many articles have been written about how good dogs are for you? Touching a dog and connecting takes all the stress out of a day. I know from personal experience that there are somedays I come home and just need a hug; a dog hug. I will go into the livingroom and lay on the floor; the troops follow suit. There we lay enjoying and drawing from each other.

How much joy do we take from seeing our dogs happy; for me it is priceless.

The mind of a dog

The mind of a dog is a great thing to waste; how great is a matter of opinion but my opinion happens to be that they are pretty spectacular. The grey matter of a canine is a complex and complicated thing and learning each nuance can take a lifetime. It amazes me how people can have dogs for years and never really know a thing about dogs; to them a dog is a dog. They are dogs yes but if you just tap into the tiniest of behaviors it can open up to an avalanche of information. And this is what I never grow tired of.

The first and most wonderful thing about a dog is that they don't play games, they don't lie. It is all out there for you to see; that is if you are looking. Often a dog can hide their emotions but to the trained eye, they can see the hidden secret. Dogs are raw emotion, their life revolves around the action/reaction system. Each and every dog has a personality; just like us. How they react to life will be specific to them. But given the opportunity to learn, they will evolve.

As I have said many many times I love all dogs; every breed, every mix, every "designer dog." The exterior is the part for me where a dog is a dog (of course I have my exterior visual favorites). It is what is inside that fascinates me and the ability that they have to connect with us, humans. How each dog faces life has a great deal to do with the human that they live with. Has that human helped them to thrive, to face the challenge of living in a human world? Dogs are simple animals; they can be very happy with very little. A soft bed, good food and a loving companion and they're good.

But if you take the time to tap into that head; you will find so much more. Dogs communicate continually; you might not think so by watching your dog but they do. Their emotions are external; some are hidden when it is essential that others not know what you are feeling. Pain is one thing that dogs can hide remarkably and if you do not know your dog really well you may miss it. Showing pain in the dog world is a sign of weakness and could get you into big trouble so it can be difficult to see.

As a dog trainer and photographer it is my job to know dog behavior. When training I don't want a dog stressing or becoming frustrated so I always watch for the first signs. When photographing a dog you want a great expression, you can see stress, anxiety, fear and insecure behaviors in a dogs eyes. So knowing how to destress a dog so to speak is essential for a great shot. Ears play a big part in communication as well and for a relaxed happy shot the ears have to be a piece of the puzzle.

Often I will say to an owner that their dog is getting stressed; they sometimes do not agree and want to push on. "They're fine," but it is the tiny signals that let me know that the dog is not fine; no they are not bolting in fear but you don't want to wait that long or get to that point. Communicating with your dog can be very rewarding, the more you learn about your dog the more you will have to talk about. The more you communicate the more you will learn, it's a win, win.

Bug hunt'n

The dogs had a blast lastnight; we have June bugs. Along with the gloomy weather of June; hence the name June gloom we get the bugs of month. The June bugs here are half the size of the ones back home, I'm not joking. These guys are tiny here but they still work to entertain the troops. While watching "So you think you can dance" lastnight we had an intruder. It zipped around the ceiling fan for a while and then was torpedoed into a wall; that's when I let the hounds know.

"BUG"............This announcement gets everyone up and running. Luke especially; and once he gets going everyone is on fire. The hunt is on; we have dogs diving everywhere and me ducking for my life. I hate when June bugs land on your head and I do my best to swat them away from me. This and my occasional shriek sends Luke into a defensive frenzy.

It doesn't matter where the bug goes; the poodles are after it. And with the poodles barking and diving everywhere of course Jessie is trying to control matters which doesn't happen; leaving her feeling like she needs to get tougher. Each time Luke runs past her she hurls herself at him trying to calm him down; doesn't work. Finally we tell her to go laydown and she begrudgingly does; with her held slung low she sluffs off to the corner.

The bug lastnight lost us for a while; taking some downtime in the plant by the sofa but it wasn't long until he was up and going again. The poodles were ready this time and when it came into leaping range Tilley made an almighty jump but missed. It charged past the couch and Luke was on it jumping over the couch, hitting the back rebounding right back into action. Everyone stood frozen; where was the bug?

It was nearly a full minute that the poodles stood waiting for the word. I always find it for them and they are patiently anticipating the bug localation. "There it is!" and the dogs are scrambling to discover where "there" is. Laying on the floor in the middle of the room laid the bug; you would think just laying there it would loose it's appeal, nope. Luke takes one mighty dive and gobbles it down, game over.

Dog bowls

I'm in the market for some new dog bowls. Over the past 30 years I've bought alot of bowls for my dogs; some I've loved, some were a big mistake. The very best bowl that you can buy for your dog is a high quality stainless steel. Ceramic are good but you know what happens when you drop a ceramic bowl. And if you go with plastic bowls then your safe when you drop them but plastic holds much bacteria on it and dogs can also chew them up. I'm all for stainless but it has to be a good heavy weight stainless. So buying a good stainless steel bowl seems easy enough right? Wrong.

When you search for a stainless bowl you will find a vast difference in prices. Some are just out there to rip you off just like anything else but often the price goes with the quality of stainless. I've had stainless bowls that rusted; this left me wondering about the whole stainless thing. So I looked into it; the numbers are what you need to know, how much chromium and how much nickel is really in the stainless steel.

18/10 means that 18% is chromium and 10% is nickel. The higher the nickel content, the more resistent to damage the product has from corrosion. Often stainless is 18/0meaning that the nickel content is 0% and likely to rust, this is the cheap stuff. Manufacturers regularly hide the content percentage and go on the "STAINLESS" tag upfront, this is to fool you into assuming all stainless is the same. Make sure you read the small print when buying a dog bowl; you may as well get a good one. If you buy a good stainless bowl it can last a lifetime.

The other consideration is the slip factor. I know I would hate it if my plate was moving all around making a ton of noise when I was trying to eat; as do my dogs I'm sure. So I like to have a rubber bottom of some kind. I've found a good one in Jessie's bowl, tiny little feet on the bottom that hold up to the dishwasher. The poodles have a rubber ring around their bowls that have not held up. So that is why I'm looking for new bowls.

I stumbled onto an amazing bowl company the otherday; and I will be purchasing several of their bowls. Some of the varieties are pricey but the ones I'm looking at seem to be both practical and nice looking. I will let you know what I think after I get them and try them out.

Puppies and dreaming

I had a strange dream lastnight; I had been out looking for a poodle puppy. I found an adorable parti colored one; sweet as can be and she came home with me. Once I got her home and was showing her to my husband I noticed she was a smooth coat with erect ears. I seemed stunned by this obvious fact and thought back about the rest of the litter............no they all looked like poodles. Weird; although I know why I was probably dreaming of puppies, right before turning out the lights I had been looking at some very adorable puppy pics (Kim).

My dogs dream; Luke dreams every single time he falls asleep it seems. The girls dream and show physical signs of dreaming every so often. What amazes me about Luke is that he can be awake and then within minutes of him putting his head down he is twitching and running. People always want to know what their dogs are dreaming about; do they have bizarre dreams like we do? Well I guess we'll never really know but I would assume they dream about their life in general as we do.

Lastnight we took the three dogs for an evening walk; we went to the park where I take Jessie many mornings as it is well lit at night. There were rabbits everywhere; Luke and Tilley were on high visual predator mode, Jessie went by sent alone. She couldn't see the rabbits unless we were right by a light, then she saw them for sure. Luke whined nearly the whole time we were there and completed his full walk on his tiptoes. Tilley on the other hand was slunk down in stalk position as we rounded the park.

Because Jessie cannot see well she used her sense of smell to it's fullest and was zigzagging back and forth to take in all that she could. All the dogs were highly aroused; there were rabbits everywhere. I was a little surprised because I think I've seen only a couple of rabbits there in the mornings. So our walk was not the quiet one I had thought we'd have but it sure was good for the dogs. This type of mental stimulation is very good for our dogs; this is dogs being dogs to spot on definition.

Once home everyone took up their position on their favorite bed and bedtime did not come too soon for all. There was not a peep to be heard overnight and even now everyone is sound asleep curled up next to me, dreaming of rabbits I'm sure.

Big heart small body

Good Monday morning all; yesterday evening I was taking some photos of my dogs. They were placed in a patio type area together so that I could get some "family" type shots. All three dogs were just sort of hanging out. Luke did try to wander outside of the boundary area as was quickly replaced. Tilley of course was like a statue and Jessie was just doing what she had to. Once done I released the dogs and you would have thought by Luke's behavior that he had been confined for a month. He shot like a bullet and he was off.

It was obvious to the dogs and me that he was in supercharge mode and going to lapse immediately into a zoom. He first charged Tilley who surprising was into it. They brawled for a while; pretty good for a 12 year old gal. And when Luke was in full swing Jessie decided that enough was enough. I've never been able to capture Jessie hurling her little body at Luke; it usually happens at the most spontaneous moments and not something I can normally set up. But here it was and I had my camera.

After shooting Tilley and Luke playing I got some great behavior shots of Jessie trying to tell Luke and Luke trying very hard to be top dog. Even though he tries; he still ducks out of the way when she comes a fly'n. Jessie has a whole lot of attitude; lots of heart in this little girl. At 13 she has been the reigning matriarch since she came into our lives and the age of 12 weeks and quickly established her position with my then 9 year old male Clyde.

Although Jessie is the boss she does need help from me which is very important. I'm not going to stand back and let them have at it; this is never a good idea. Luke has been trying for top dog status for years now but being the doofus he is; there is not way I'm letting him take on the role. In the above images you can see Luke on his tippy toes; a position that he regular assumes and you can see Jessie ignoring his attempts. But it takes but one small poke from me to deflate him.

And in the end Jessie and Luke sniff the ground together; dogs that sniff together stay together.

Sunday family portrait day

This is one of my favorite shots of Luke, caught when he was enjoying the afternoon sun beam.


It's late; another great sleep in. Luke joined us early this morning rubbing his head on me and being generally adorable. Seeing the dogs enjoying sleeping in as much as we do is great; little Jessie flopping around the bed rubbing her head and stretching out her little short arms, too cute. None of the dogs have any intention of moving or getting up anytime soon; but today I'm going to try to get some nice canine family portraits.

As you all know I do not like a posed shot; infact I hate them. Although there are sometimes when even the biggest hater of a posed shot needs to get a dogs attention. Many dogs like my own Luke will do everything in their power to NOT look at me nor look even in my general vicinity. Patience is what you need for these type guys and in the end patience always pays off with "a look."

I've shot several of these type guys lately; not willing to even give me a second glance and I have discovered that the greyhounds are very hard to impress. With all of the crazy sounds I make; yes people think I'm nuts, I don't get even an ear raise out of the greyhounds so I've been working on my sounds and experimenting. Most dogs are pretty easy to get something out of and sometimes it is the nothing that you get that is the best shot. But being a dog photographer you have to know you body language; otherwise you can get an awful shot.

A slight turn of an ear, head posture or tail position can make the difference between a fabulous and awful shot. Working for that great shot is a ton of work and I love it.

Grooming

I've been grooming dogs for over 30 years. I started out easy, with the touch up things that a Doberman gets before entering the conformation ring. A few little hairs trimmed around the ears and nails and a wipedown incase of flakes, you don't want any flakes showing up on those red or black gleaming coats. From there it was stripping and the terrier group, not something I enjoy. My airedale quickly went from being stripped to shaved.

And then I got a poodle; this is what changed the course of everything. No sooner had I learned to groom for show and it was over. Grooming a companion poodle and a show poodle are worlds apart; but what is the biggest difference is the upkeep. That hair, oh that hair. You have to watch it all the time, wrap it, take care that it doesn't fade in the sun, don't let the other dogs pull on it and attempt to keep it from matting.

As a Mom with three little kids living in the country where I was surrounded by nature, keeping my show boy in full coat was not an easy task. The brushing alone is a daunting task but before a show it's crazy. The wash, the blowout, the brushing the scissoring........................too much and I cracked. In one crazed moment it was gone and laying on the floor. I had been prepping for a big show right in my neck of the woods; when I'd had too much grooming and shaved that huge brown coat off. I stood looking at the mountain of hair on my floor wondering if I was going to regret this move in the very near future. I have never; not for a moment looked back with regret.

Today my guys are in a very small group of the shaved poodle club; they carry no pom poms and are basically poodles in disguise. No one knows what breed they are and when they find out they are always amazed that poodles can look like..........well not poodles. They still take grooming but it is a bare minimum compared to the poodley poodles. I keep their feet and face shaved clean for ease. Faces hold food stuff and feet pick up burrs and things so they are both kept with the bare minimum of hair.

Tilley getting her face shaved.

Life is a continual motion forward.

Human issues with crates

I thought that I'd talk about crates this morning. The thought of crates sends many guardians into conjuering up ideas of the prison zone "oh no I wouldn't put my dog in a cage." Well my dog; my 13 year old dog who sleeps in a crate everynight was in her crate yesterday afternoon. I didn't put her in there; she went into have a snooze. This is what made me think of crates again. Jessie sleeps in a crate at night because taking a crap in my bedroom is not beneath her. She does not let us know if she needs out and will quite calmly go to the otherside of the room, relieve herself and go back to bed. But if she is in her crate, she let's us know she needs out. She is completely housetrained and would never go in the house other than at nighttime.

I have never felt bad for putting my dogs in a crate; dogs are den animals and to them their crate is their den, if you have used it correctly that is. Yesterday while I was working on my computer I heard Jessie in her crate redecorating her area. She flips and tosses her blanket in there to make it just so, then she lay down and went to sleep. I got a photo of her in the midst of her tossing, note the door is open.

So many of my clients over the years have had crate/kennel issues. When your dog destroys items; a diningroom table leg, your favorite shoes, the tv remote, your glasses or what have you, it can cause resentment. And many a dog ends up at the shelter after having destroyed their last item in the family home. The whole idea around a crate is to protect your puppy and protect your home until they are ready to be left with the run of the house.

A crate can make the difference between loving and hating your dog. But a crate must be used properly; never in anger, never as a punishment and never for extended periods of time. When puppies are young three hours is the max time and about 5 for adults. Anymore than that and it is too long. By making the crate a wonderful comfy place your dog will grow to love their little den. I've always had adults trying to get into the puppy crates when we have a new one. Dogs love quiet little nooks to sleep in.

So the next time you think of a crate in a negative; realize that it is your issue not your dogs issue that is the problem.

Expanding on a thing that bugs me

Yesterday I stated having to explain that I have to do the holding of my dogs at the vet is a big bugger for me. One of the main reasons that it bothers me so much is that I have to do it each and everytime I visit the vet. Yes they know me; but they always seem to forget this small thing about me. The last time I went to the vet it was with Tilley, she had to have a needle stuck into her bladder to draw some sterile urine (yes, ouch). Tilley is a champ, not a flinch, not even the smallest movement do I feel from her which amazes me.

When we discuss a procedure that needs to be done like this one to Tilley, they always reach out for the leash. That is when I take a big breath and begin, once again. "I have to be with her, bring the stuff in the room and I'll hold her." I explain that we have had several very bad experiences, and I must remain with my dogs. They are much happier at ease if I do the holding. The sad thing is that this makes me look sort of a crazy instead of the caring guardian that I am. I get alot of rolling eyes, more "I'll ask," than I'd like to hear and lots of discussion behind my door.

I understand that there are not alot of people who do not want to hold their dog while a procedure is done but is it really that tough to understand why my dog will be more comfortable with me doing the holding? I mean dogs work like this;

sidenote: as I wrtie this Luke's tail
is wagging madly as he dreams, very cute.

when a dog is upset, scared or anxious and you hold them tightly so that they cannot move, more panic. Thus creating a cycle of panic; some dogs are fine with being held by a stranger, MOST ARE NOT. Why do vet offices not get this, this is a very simple fact to get. I would no more want a person to come up to me and squeeze me very tight, not letting me go when I wanted release than my dog does. So why do I get the "crazy lady" treatment when I need to be there for my dogs?

Even Jessie who is very people friendly, very non skittish will panic when some stranger tries to wrap her up and hold her tight. It is much less scarey if Mom holds her. With the latest episode with Tilley; the vet asked me several times if I was sure that I was not going to faint...................uh yep, I'm sure. I explained that we have done this many times, I'm not the squimish type. He finally agreed.

Times are changing in this world, everything is changing and so should a guardians participation in the care of their dog if they desire. If you do not want anything to do with participating in the care of your dog, then that is your prerogative. You should be allowed to hand off your dog to the vet techs and wait in the waiting room. But if you want to be there for your dog, holding and just plain being involved you should not have to go through a whole schpeel everytime.

Would you have your child taken away from you and brought behind close doors for a simple procedure? I think not.

Things that bug me

How cute is this little guy? That's my finger in the picture.

It's around the corner and I'm not happy about it. The heat, the summer heat in all of it's blazing glory, I am not a fan. My perfect weather is somewhere around the low 70s but it'll heat up here into the high 80s and 90s very soon. This means several things but one big one is that I have to get the dogs out early, sometimes before 8 or it's just too hot to enjoy. But while we have some nice June gloom still I will take advantage and enjoy.

The heat bugs me but there are other things that bug me as well;

My top 10 dog related "things that bug me" list.

People who walk their dog in the really hot heat.

People who use choke collars and extension leashes.

Non dog friendly places.

That I can't take the dogs on the beach where we are surrounded by beach.

Mean people/mean dogs.

People who DO NOT pick up after their dogs; it takes but one to ruin it for everyone else. Or worse, the ones that pretend not to notice that their dog is taking a crap.

Humans that treat dogs like little dolls and don't let them be dogs.

Having to explain why I should hold my dog at the vets instead of the tech, everytime I go to the vet.

That's my top 10 for 6:00 am Wed. June 3rd 2009. Believe me there are lots more but that's all my sleepy brain can think of at the moment. Now to finish my coffee and get these lazy butts out for a run. Have a great day.

Canine intelligence

Nothing much going on; trees and birds but then outcomes the squirrel below; see Luke's ears raise?




















Dogs are smart; really smart. They are actually far more intelligent than we think they are and even me who thinks that they are amazingly smart; am sometimes blown away by them. One of the smartest dogs that we have ever had is Luke. When I say this my kids usually laugh; yes Luke is a goof, nervous, easily excitable and a bit high strung but his intelligence is way up there.

Luke is a tv watcher, he is a watcher of most things and nothing gets past this boy. I have told many people how he watches documentary shows with us through their entirety but I'm not sure if they understand how he watches completely, he is not a casual glancers like many other dogs. Yes he looks at the tv if a dog barks but he watches the show through the lulls and the high points and his ears let me know this that he is paying close attention to the show.

Luke has his spot where he typically lays after all of his toy destruction in the evening. Once he has fulfilled his beastly wrecking mode he settles in to watch some tv. He doesn't watch shows like American Idol, House or any trivial type show he watches animal documentaries, dog shows, training shows etc. It must have animals in it or he won't watch it; very much like his Mother. ;)

The above shots of him were taken lastnight; we were watching a documentary on Yellowstone Park. He was watching with little interest until a squirrel came on the scene. His ears were going up and down as the squirrel moved around and once it was gone, ears down again. He loved the part with the Bison fighting, he watched as the wolves took down and ate an Elk and all of the other parts that had animal highlights.

I have to admit he is a remarkable dog; I am very surprised by the length of time he will watch. And every so often when the show gets really exciting he will get up and try to sniff the animal on the screen. He is the definition of a dog by my side.

Memories

We had a pretty quiet weekend; it was overcast the entire weekend with a few fleeting moments of sun around 6:00 last evening. Most definitely a different weekend here in SoCal. I'm not complaining; as you know I am not a fan of heat so I very much enjoyed the cooler weekend for a change. My husband and I went to the Dana Point boat show with him looking at the 50 footers and me scouting for the kayaks. I'm looking to get an Ocean Kayak. Back home in Canada my folks have two of these at the cottage and I love them.

There is nothing better than slipping out with a coffee in hand and a dog by your side; hopping into the kayak and silently paddling around the shore as the sun comes up. Jessie use to ride in the kayak with me always; infact we were just remembering how much she loved it yesterday. She use to stand at the very front; with her toes hanging over the front edge I'd always warn her "you're going to fall off." But she never did even when she made her much too early leaps back onto the dock as we ended out trip.

Jessie use to love to be at the cottage; she's a good little hunter. She would comb the shore all day long looking for frogs, but unfortunately for the frogs, if she found them it was one crunch and over. I remember the time right before we moved here to Southern California, we had moved out of the house and were staying two weeks at the cottage before our flight here. Two weeks at the cottage is a longtime and the dogs got really skinny, running, swimming and hunting for two weeks is sheer heaven for them.

I had three at the time; Clyde, Jessie and Tilley. Clyde never enjoyed the kayak; just too wobbly for his old crooked body but Tilley liked it and often dove off for a swim and then I'd haul her back in; which was no easy feet. But these kayaks are great for stuff like that; they aren't the tippy type, those skinny little things you roll in. These are sturdy and a lot of fun. Funny how thinking of one thing conjuers up a slew of great memories.

My sister's dog Ruby who is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (pictured above) is always in the kayak. I have a ton of photos with her riding out front, toes slug over the edge just like Jessie. And she also loves to dive off before they reach the dock. She is a fabulous water dog and as my dogs can't join me at the cottage any longer I take great joy in watching her and her family enjoy the cottage.

And as always; there is always a dog by my side in my best memories.

Guardian requirements

I find it funny that anyone can get a dog; but not everyone understands dog behavior. Many people have absolutely no idea what to do with a dog; how to teach it, what to teach it, feeding requirements, health or grooming needs. But we as humans seem compelled to have a dog, even if we have no idea; we are a strange bunch. Anyhow, what are the basic requirements of having a dog?

One of the first things should be to learn the basic fundamentals of dog behavior; that way you can sort of muddle through the communication part. It really helps to know what your dog is trying to tell you. I highly recommend a book from one of the many "positive" dog gurus. Patricia McConnell, Ian Dunbar, Karen Pryor and Jean Donaldson. These are the people I turn to, true dog lovers. You should train your dog, again get a book from these people. The minimum basics for me is sit, down, stay, come, leave it and the all important boundary training. These simple commands let you communicate just that much better with your pooch.

There is the exercise and socialization aspects of canine guardianship. These are very important; both equally but in the beginning socialization is the most important thing of all. Socialization should be done as young as possible, skip this part and pay the price. It is completely unfair not to socialize your dog; it is time consuming yes but a must. Every dog is different so how you go about socializing will depend very much on your pooch, but don't skip this step. Exercise is very important if you want a nice relaxed pooch at home. Imagine just sitting in your house all day and never getting out to see the world, pretty awful eh?

Next there is the feeding issue; please for the sake of your dog research the different foods. There is not only dog food to research but real food, raw food and every different aspect of each. There is a huge difference in quality of dog foods; buy the absolute best you can for your dog. If you are interested in better nutrition for your dog; then look into a real food diet or raw, your dog will thank you.

Grooming is an important factor as well, it is very easy once you learn how. Even smooth coated breeds need ear cleaning, the occasional brush, teeth cleaning, nail cutting and a once over every so often to make sure all is well. I scrape my dogs teeth, they are use to it and don't seem to mind too too much. At almost 9, 12, and 13 teeth are a very important part of health now. I cut nails every week or so; this is something you should start early. With my poodles; they get their ears plucked out, not something they enjoy so much but again a necessity with their breed to avoid ear infections. I pluck just enough to let the air in there.

And last but not least is health; many of the things above have a huge impact on your dogs health. But just like the other items you should research the health requirements of your dog or specific breed. There are vaccinations, check ups and blood panels to have done. There is alot of discussion now about over vaccinating; I truly believe we give our dogs far too many vaccinations and it is leading to health issues; do some reading.

And please research flea and tick treatments before putting it on your dog. Don't just believe what anyone tells you or what you read, dig in and get the goods. The more research you do the better canine guardian you will become and that my friend is a fact.

Late Saturday morning

Wow, I slept in this morning, nice. It is overcast again which I love; gives one more time to do fun things with the dogs without dying from the heat. This was a crazy hectic week and I'm thinking that gardening is at hand. First thing on the agenda though is to get the dogs out. Luke is patiently awaiting his run with Dad and the girls will go out with me.

Speaking about dogs; I was having a conversation about the age of our dogs the other day with my son, he was astonished at Luke's age. Even living with him all this time he still considered him to be a young'n; it is hard to wrap the age of almost "nine" around him. But as my own dogs age I am really seeing that age is simply a number in your head and the true age is in the beholder. I meet so many people who consider 7 or 8 year old dogs to be old. "Oh she's almost eight," spoken in a downtrodden manner; almost like it is time to give up on the poor ole thing.

Our dogs are not here with us as long as we would like; imagine if we could have our dogs as long as the rest of our family. How wonderful would that be? But as canine guardians we must come to terms that it simply is a fact that they will spend a fleeting portion of our life with us. But as long as they are here; don't count them out; don't be treating them older than their time. In my mind a dog is not old until they are 10; I just won't allow the thought into my mind. Of course different sizes and breeds have a huge difference as to how fast they age. But by keeping your dog active and not giving into the "old dog" idea your dog will be alot healthier and happier.

I remember taking Luke to the vet and having them tell me that we could go with the senior package for him. What???????????? It had not even crossed my mind that he was a senior, even at the age of eight Luke was not a senior in any way shape or form. There are things that change slowly over the years, heck we see changes in ourselves as we age all the time. But putting your dog into the "old" category before their time shortens the good years so let them be the puppy for as long as they can be.

Fleas and ticks

Engorged tick; after feasting on your dog























Ah tis the season for the dreaded fleas and ticks. I hate the little critters; infact fleas and ticks are one thing that can make me go mad and if I happen to see one of either I'm on it so fast your head would spin. Flea? Tick? get my glasses. If you suspect a flea or two or you have ticks be very aware before you reach for the pesticides. These products that came out years ago; are they safe? I don't think so.

Who knows what long term effects these products are going to have on our pets? Dogs are now coming down with more health issues than ever before; toxic products could definitely be one of the reasons. The warning labels on these products say "keep away from children, wash your hands with hot water and soap after using and do not inhale and yet we put it right on our dog to be absorbed through their skin. And what about the pill you can give your dog to kill fleas and ticks along with heartworm, yikes. The moment I heard about this product I could not believe it. Think please before giving your dog a pill or putting something on their skin. What can be in a pill that is strong enough to kill fleas and ticks that comes from within? How healthy can that be for your dogs insides?

Our dogs rely on us and us alone for their health and safety; did you know that fleas drown? That's right, a regular bath once a week or so will keep fleas in check. And one of the biggest ways to avoid fleas from hanging around your house is to vacuum, vacuum alot. Wash your dog beds and vacuum around the area where your dog sleeps. Sure it's work but in the long run it will be a whole lot safer for your dog.

And ticks, well that's a tough one. I don't know if there is a product that is safe and repels them. The problem is that the topical treatments don't repel them either. The best solution for ticks is visual inspection. Ticks drop off of shrubbery, trees and plants onto your pet so when it is tick season keep them out of the bushes. I have several hemostats, one especially for tick removal. You must grab as much of the body as you can and gently pull in the same direction they went in. Sometimes the body pulls off of the head, it is unavoidable but do your best to get the whole thing. Once out I put a match to it and flush it, wash the hemostat for the next one.

Get in the habit of going over dog with an eagle eye; you can usually feel a tick. And fleas? Well they can be difficult to catch, they always make a run for it so ya gotta be quick. Those little buggers get the scalding water routine in the sink. Fleas jump so don't let them go until enough hot water has run over them to be sure they are dead. You can see fleas and they often hang out on the stomach area; so while your dog is napping have a good look.

Pests are a part of life; extend your dogs life by not putting toxic chemicals on them. This is a great Green sit called Green Paws to check out.