July 4th this and that

Well, it is 3 days since my first Newsletter went out and I'm already working on #2. I really enjoy writing about dogs so a Newsletter is a resonable extension of my blog. If anyone is interested please email me at sherri@justdogswithsherri.com and put newsletter in the subject line.

Today is hot, not too hot until later maybe 3 but then it hit. The air has now been on for several hours and will be off again soon. Luckily we typically get much cooler weather in the evening so we don't die overnight. The dogs are very bothered by the heat now; especially as they age. My house honestly is so quiet during the hot days that no one would even think that we have dogs here. Bring on the cooler evenings and everyone starts to move.

Tonight will be a big one for Tilley, she is fearful of fireworks. She got much better last year because we worked the whole night with her. This meant exposing her to the sounds but not reacting to them. We sat on the balcony with the dogs watching the show, they could not see them as they are too short. They could hear the booming in the distance and with every boom Tilley shook and shuttered. By the end of the evening of our non reacting and the other dogs not reacting she was much improved. This is a great example of how dogs watch us and how we react to things around us.

Tilley is at my side right now, no doubt she has heard the few neigborhood fireworks already. We are heading out for dinner so they will be locked in so to speak until we return. All doors, windows and dog doors will be shutdown. The tv will be on high volume and the air running for extra surround sound.

Have a great on everyone and I'll be back tomorrow.

The Breeder

I have literally talked to hundreds of breeders over the years and from one to another there are vast differences. What makes a good breeder? This is one of the most perplexing questions that prospective puppy buyers will ask themselves. There are so many; how do you find the right one? A good breeder is hard to find so when you do find one, hold onto them.

A list of what is important to me:

1. A compassionate and caring person; afterall if they don't care about their puppies or you why are they breeding? A breeder who puts the right dog with the right people.

2. Someone who does not just breed; but researching all the genetic health issues concerning breeding.

3. I want a breeder who puts temperament up at the top of the list. Temperament can make or break a dog; this is hugely important. A good breeder will alter any dog with a borderline temperament.

4. Structure; no matter what is "in style" will breed for sound structure.

5. Believes that dogs are a part of the family; their dogs live in the house with the rest of the family.

6. Communication; not all canine guardians are knowledgable on dog behavior. You want someone you can talk to; the sort of person who believes there is no stupid question. If you need guidance; you should be able to turn to your breeder.

7. Good breeders will take back their dogs whenever and for whatever reason; afterall it is their offspring (well their dog's offspring).

8. Recommendations; a good breeder will refer you to other good breeders if they do not have what you are looking for.

These are the most important things to me; there are other things that I consider but this is the top of the list. It can be a daunting task to find a breeder that you mesh with personally as well as having the similar ideologies as you. With time and effort you'll find what you looking for, be patient.

So deep

It's a deep sleep; so deep that one does not easily awake from. Jessie is sleeping sound; I mean so sound that when I shook her lastnight it only added to her dream. I quickly removed my hand and called her; and then called her louder. It took her a long while to react; this is deep. This is not the type of sleep that younger dogs have; this of very deep sleep is reserved for the golden years. And well deserved I might add. Our dogs are always on guard; okay maybe your dogs are not, some dogs just do not have a guarding instinct at all, nada.

It has always amazed me how a dog can be completely asleep and up and running in a mere second. Can we do that; nope. There have been many times when I've heard something at night; flown out of bed and I'm going but my senses are not all with me at that point. I more than likely stumbled several times, may have even ran into a wall as well. We are just not capable of instant action like our dogs.

There have been many changes in our home as of late. This deep state of relaxation is one; another is that Tilley has taken up sleeping at the front door throughout the day. It is odd; she has only lay there a couple of times in two years but now it seems to be a regular spot. I was trying to figure it out yesterday and the only reason I can come up with is that she is not hearing as well. There are times when I come home now that both Jessie and Tilley don't hear me come in. This is another strange change in a house where the dogs typically explode at the smallest of door sounds.

I think laying at the front door; Tilley is hoping to not miss anything. It is a great spot; you can see almost everything from the vantage point, or at least anything that matters. Like anything else in life you have to roll with the changes; I don't like to see my dogs age but I do enjoy watching them enjoy the small things like enjoying a great sunbeam in the afternoon. Or having them all dreaming on my bed; that is a little piece of heaven.

Canada Day

It is Canada Day for those of you who are not aware; this is our equivalent to July fourth. It is a day of huge celebration and a sea of red and white; wish I could be home for it. So to stay along the lines of the day I will discuss Dogs in Canada. First the actual publication Dogs in Canada was a staple throughout my younger years. It was where I turned to see who was who in the dog world.

There are several breeds of dogs that originate from Canada:

The Newfoundland
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever I know alot of Tollers and actually had a four page pictorial in Dog World 2 years ago featuring the Toller.
Hare Indian dog
Labrador Retriever (yep, the #1 popular American dog is Canadian)
MacKenzie River Husky
Seppala Siberian Sleddog
Tahltan Bear Dog
Valley Bulldog

See you learn something new everyday. Have a wonderful Canada Day.

Chow time

First, a reminder that my Newsletter is coming out tomorrow. If interested email me at sherri@justdogswithsherri.com and put Newsletter in the subjtect line.

I've been feeding "real food" for a very longtime. I started way back when my pack consisted of Clyde, Jessie and Tilley. That is back now 10 years ago; I miss Clyde, what a wonderful guy he was with just the best temperament ever. It was his health that got me started, it was declining so I started my research. Things have changed over the years, I've tweeked and adjusted what I feed and occassionally feed the best kibble I can find just for ease sake.

This whole feeding "real food" to dogs is a big adjustment. When asked what I feed my dogs some people shake their head in dismay; others are quite interested. When you have more than one dog to feed; getting it just right can be a challenge. What works for one may not with another, what one likes the other two may not. And one of the biggest considerations is taste, not everyone has the same likes and dislikes.

In my house I have one who will eat anything, one who will eat almost anything and then there is Luke who will eat next to nothing. He is the one of the fussiest dogs I have ever met in my life; but we're getting it. Slowly but surely I am figuring out this very complex boy. Recently I purchased what is called beef trim; it is the meat that is the outer dry meat cut off after hanging and before butchering. There is alot of grissle and such on it, and Luke loves it. He tends to really like the chewy challenge so I will be getting more.

Variety is the most important thing; just like we should eat a large variety of foods so should our dogs. Often we are told that our dogs should only eat one type of dog food, no treats, no variety and definitely no "people food." I don't use the term "people food" for what I give my dogs. For me; people food is stuff like Pizza, burgers, souffle, you know things that I had to make. So to give you an idea of what my dogs eat. Lastnight they had raw beef trim, green beans which they all really like, apple, green pepper, probiotics and Tilley had her cranberry d=mannose.

This morning will be different, perhaps some ground turkey with bone, arugula, oatmeal, wheat grass and egg. It is a big step to go from your comfort zone of dog food to preparing food for your dogs. There is alot of research to do and every dog is very different. There is alot of trial and error that goes with feeding a pack of dogs and along with watching what goes into your dog you must watch what is coming out. Some foods just don't sit well with certain dogs, just like some foods don't agree with us.

And just like for us; food is best cooked as little as possible for our dogs. Although our dogs have very different digestive tracts and must have their veggies and fruit either partially cooked or cut very tiny to aid in digestion. I know lots of people who would never consider preparing food for their dog; they don't even prepare food for themselves and that is perfectly fine. Dog food has come alongway and there are some great foods to choose from. When I do reach for a dog food bag it is Orijen or Stella and Chewys.

I need a ramp

I need a ramp, a dog ramp and I'm out to find a good one. I saw a couple with one the other day but as they pulled away from the park it was hanging out their back window; not what I'm looking for. I want a ramp for my xterra; a midsized suv. Tilley has not jumped in nor out of the car for a longtime now and I'd like to spare my back. I can easily lift her in and out but I'd like Luke to use a ramp as well. He is more than able to do the jumping and it is not the in I'm worried about; I don't want his shoulders to take the impact of the jump out.

So I'm on a hunt; being that my owns dogs do product testing along with two other dogs I have enlisted to test; I'm hoping we can get several products to give a try. There are many things to consider when getting a good suv ramp, ease of use, steadiness, quality and cost. So if anyone has a good ramp that they would like to tell me about I'm all ears.

The product testing on my website is just in it's fledgling stage. We've had some excellent products so far and I look forward to trying out some other great stuff.

Have a great short week everyone.

Hot hot heat

Okay, it is officially upon us and as one person put it; I'm in reverse bear mode. I hybernate in the summer. I hate this heat; I truly do. To me the only good thing about the heat is that it heats up the water that we want to swim in. The dogs don't like the heat; Tilley will spend most of her time laying on the tile floor in the kitchen and the other two just wiped for the day.

These are the days that I have to get up and get going. You have to get the dogs out really early if you want to give them a good run. If you get out just early then it will be a medium impact exercise and then if you leave it until not early; well you missed the boat. Both you and your do will suffer the consequences. It is summer folks and with that comes an added responsibility to keep our dogs safe from the heat.

LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME; is the first rule of summer.

If you are planning on walking your dog later than say 10am then first take off your shoes and stand on the pavement which you plan on walking your dog on. Is it freaking hot? Then forget the walk until later. Also take into account that your dog is much closer to the ground, the ground which is more than like asphalt. Asphalt gets hot in the sun and throws an enormous amount of heat upward. The lower to the ground that your dog is the more heat they will feel.

Do your dog a favor and get up and at it early. Get a nice run in while it's cool and be done for the day. Let your dog chill during the hottest hours of the day.

Walking the dogs

This morning I head over to a school yard very early with Jessie; she is very allergic to grass so schools are great over the summer vaction time to walk her. There are tons of rabbits and lots of smells for her. This morning she saw squirrels, rabbits and smelled rats. She was so full of energy this morning it was wonderful to see. She was darting and charging around like a 2 year old. There was an extremely noticeable change in her; could it be all the great food she's been eating lately? Perhaps.

And in comparison, after bringing jessie back from her walk I head out with the poodles. We met lots of dogs to talk to and Luke was his usually "joe cool." Tilley was really lagging this morning; I'm not sure if it was the fact that she knows there are rabbits at this park or if she is really slowing down that much now. And I did notice that she tripped several times. This getting old thing sucks; especially when it happens to such an amazing athlete.

TGIF

An off day

Today is an off day for me; you know one of those days where you're not quite sure what you are doing and when the day is done you are not sure what you did do. I'm out of whack for some reason; could be the latenight lastnight. Well for whatever reason; here I am writing my blog at 2 in the afternoon. Right now I am waiting to head out and pick up my cartilage. Sounds wonderful doesn't it?

I am hoping that it is what I'm thinking it is. I have not ordered it before so I'm not sure what to expect. Cartilage is a great natural source of glucosomine and chondroitin it is like a soft bone and entirely edible for the dogs. Or for anyone who would like to munch on it I guess. What I am hoping is that it is a good length; Jessie needs some really good chewing and she tends to just swallow if she can, so her very back teeth need some work. For some reason it is very hard to get back to hers. I can clean the poodles quite easily but it almost seems like Jessie has too many teeth for her little mouth.

The order is coming in just a few moments; this might be a regular purchase if I really like it and if I'm not too gross out by it. The last stuff I ordered was great, ground turkey with bone. The dogs loved it but it took me a while to get use to hearing the crunch as they ate. I have opted to give them meat and bones separately now, I feel I can better regulate the bone consumption if I give them a big bone to chew on.

Well I must be on my way; will let you know when I get it.

Anesthesia free dental cleaning

Doesn't anesthesia free sound wonderful? No need to have your dog put out for a teeth cleaning. With anesthesia there is always a health risk that you should know about. So; many are turning to anesthesia free dental cleaning. I scrape and clean my dogs teeth; so last week as I was holding Jessie scraping her teeth I was thinking about how someone else could do this without causing Jessie great stress. Not only was it hard to consider how this could be done but I couldn't even contemplate Luke having his teeth done.

I have serious issues with the whole practice of strangers holding down my dogs. It is not really my issue but one of my dogs; most dogs are not comfortable having a stranger hold them tight. They don't care that it is a vet tech or a dental assistant, they don't know this person and the more they struggle the tighter the strangers grip becomes. This is a hugely stressful occurance and one reason that I insist on doing the holding when my dogs go to the vet. If a guardian is comfortable doing the holding it should always be the first choice.

As far as anesthesia free dental cleaning; I don't get this at all. California law states that dental operations must be performed by a licensed veterinarian or under the strict supervision of one. But as I see these signs everywhere, grooming shops, training facilities, boarding and pet stores who are holding these anesthesia free clinics. There is no regulation of these services; no certification or registration boards to verify the person cleaning your dogs teeth knows what they are doing.

What I want to know is how they control the dog? When I tell people that I clean and scrape my dogs teeth they are astounded? They don't know how my dogs just lay there and let me do it. So if I was unable to get into my dogs mouth without them having a fit, if they were not okay with me going in a scraping; how could a stranger do it without totally freaking out my dog? I don't think they could. I'm thinking that it would be extremely traumatic for them. I would actually like to watch one of these teeth cleaners for a day and see how the dogs react.

So what are you to do? First; like anything else there is a huge spectrum of experience in any service business; there are good cleaners out there. What I would recommend is that if you are asked to leave, don't leave your dog there. In my opinion if you cannot watch what is going on, there is a reason. Next get your dog use to having someone in their mouth, even if you are not going to clean the teeth yourself it will help them in the longrun.

Give your dog a bone; that's right a big raw knuckle bone to chomp on. It is amazing how Mother Nature works. Giving a dog a bone to chew on is exactly how wolves stay away from the dentist.

The wolf inside

I have often written about Luke's lack of desire to eat; it is at times frutrating and not something I look forward to in any of my future dogs. Feeding a dog who eats well is a joy as is feeding a big strong growing boy. I like feeding people and dogs who like to eat; I guess I fall into the Mom category for enjoying to feed for sure. But Luke has given me pause to think about the whole "I don't want to eat" issue. What is it in Luke that makes him like this?

There are times I have put raw meat in his dish and he walks away. What I am finding and you will no doubt be laughing when you read this is that if I take his food and entice him with it; he will eat. So this leaves me to ponder. Lately I have been making him work for his food; taking a piece of meat and keeping it at a distance, winging it around like the proverbial airplane so to speak. Mmmmmmmm look at this, looks good eh? Giving him a little nibble but making him really want it by keeping it away for a bit*. This is really working, the more I keep it away the more he wants it. When I do give it to him he must pull it away from me which seems to trigger his prey drive, interesting.

So is Luke's low level food desire a problem caused by humans? Caused by the simple fact that we have over the years made eating out of a bowl the way we feed our dogs? Eating out of a bowl is a very unnatural thing for a dog; normal now after years of being fed in a bowl but genetically it is radically different from hunting down and ripping into their meal like a wolf would. Luke seems to eat just fine if his prey drive is tapped into. For us it is quite normal to sit down at the table and eat our food very civilized like; for dogs not so much.

Luke is a different dog; he is like the "big book of dogs" for me and has taught me much over the years. He is reactive and very instinctive although many onlookers would think not so. There is clearly a wolf very near the surface of his poodle exterior. More often than not we humanize our dogs; I try very hard not to do this myself but as a human it happens and luckily for us many of our dogs have adjusted to our weird and strange human ways.

Life is an evolution for all involved.

*For many dogs; keeping their food away will trigger a guarding behavior. I can barely get Luke to eat let alone guard his food; so I can use this to entice eating. I do not recommend using this for the average dog guardian.

It's all association

Luke lizard hunt'n

This video is cute but the reason I have it on here is so that we can discuss association in dogs. Dogs learn through association. Yesterday Luke found a lizard under the wood pile; yep there is a lizard in there. The way that you can tell that there is indeed a lizard in the wood is to watch Luke's tail, he is in a very high state of excitement.

The dogs rarely catch and kill the lizards; they are pretty darn quick and sneaky. But unfortunately this guy got caught. What is interesting is that once the lizard is caught and killed thus stopping all movement, there is no more interest. The dogs don't eat the lizard; don't think they taste that great because Jessie does eat other things. Luke not only ignored the dead lizard he went back to the pile thinking that his flushing technique would bring bag him another.

Throughout the evening he went back to the same pile, did a few stomps in hopes that there would be another lizard in there. Association is so important in the whole world of dogs, it is everything. When you see a behavior; perhaps new or strange it is caused by some sort of association. Luke has a bad association with doors that move on their own, he doesn't like when my bedspread blows up from the wind and he will immediately look at the door. He knows that if the spread is blowing there is a good chance that the door will slam which is something he hates.

The dogs know that the lizards are not out when it is overcast, you will never see them standing at the window on a cloudy day. But, when the sun it is out they are often seen checking their backyard for lizard though the back window. It is not a whole thought process like ours, although we do use association just not quite to the degree that dogs do.

By dissecting a behavior and being a detective you can often figure out where an unwanted behavior comes from. There was an association somewhere. Jessie has a tendency to go after little furball dogs. She has been attacked several times by them so I don't blame her. She figures get them before they get her. Tilley also associates the sun with shadows; she will not stand out in the yard on a cloudy day either.

Not all associations are simply; they can be very complex and take alot of work to figure out.

It's in the blood

Jessie loves nothing more than to hunt critters. Jack Russells were originally bred to hunt foxes with their owner and anything else that moved. They were kept by many to keep vermin away from the farms and their ability to hunt and kill small animals is not to be matched. The Jack Russell and the Fox terrier were once the same dog. One dog and a fork in the road, one Jack Russell continued down the working road and the other down the opposite road slowly evolving through dog shows into the Fox terrier of today.

Terriers in general are a tenacious group; and until you have had a terrier of "true" temperament you cannot fully understand these little dogs. Just yesterday as I was walking my poodles in the park I passed a gentleman with a Scottish Terrier. Each time we walked past him he veered off of the path and distanced himself. The last time round the park I shouted to him "feisty scottie eh?" He grinned as I told him that I had a Jack Russell Terror at home and fully understood.

This morning I took Jessie over to the school for a run; she loves it. The entire time she is in the "zone." Her body posture oozes that she is "on a mission." She is on high alert as the squirrels (stupid that they are) alert her to their presence. She knows she cannot catch squirrels but every once in a while she will charge one; you can see her beaming. You simply cannot see more joy in a dog than a Jack Russell hunting for critters.

We walked the school yard where all the rats hang out; yes rats. I was mortified the first time I saw them but it is a fact of life; there are lots of rats around here. And Jessie's favorite subjects to hunt are rats. She can smell their little footprints everywhere but it is only when she knows that they are actual present that she goes into crazy mode. Today she found a fresh scent in a sort of underground drainage thing; it had a steel plate running over it with gaps every so often. She checked each and every gap and soon knew exactly where they were. With her tiny little legs she attempted to extract them from their hiding spot; we moved on.

By the time she is done her walk she is exhausted; I know she barely realizes that I've been with her the whole time. I love letting her do what is in her blood, it is what makes her tick. She is afterall a Jack Russell Terrier.

Dominance and confidents

There is no misunderstanding this communication; ears forward, tail held high and a hard stare.

Dominance has become a very "in" word and one that is quite misunderstood. For many the word dominance alone is a bad thing. The dictionary meaning of dominance is:

position especially in a social hierarchy.

Dominance in a dog means that status ranking is more important. A dominant dog is more apt to push with status seeking behaviors to maintain a higher position in a hierarchy. There are many levels of dominance from slightly dominant to fat headed over dominance. During temperament testing when puppies are 7 weeks of age I test for dominance. Along with other tests which are done; findings are recorded and that puppy should be placed accordingly. The time when dominance can go wrong is when a puppy is placed in the wrong home; a dominant dog needs someone who understands it and is a strong leader.

A dominant dog placed with a very submissive human can go wrong quickly. If a dog pushes and gets no resistance; then even a great dog can turn bad. But it really doesn't matter if you have a dominant dog or not; you must be a leader. I have seen even the most meek of dogs quickly become dominant accompanied by big issues which was entirely created by having a weak leader.

Dominance is just an explanation of personality type; not a doomsday evaluation. I have had to change my terminology sometimes when speaking to guardians because they get stuck on the word "dominant" and cannot move past it. My boy Luke is quite dominant but not very confident so easily controllable. My Jack Russell is a highly dominant female; very typical for the breed but with strict rules the only dominance shown in our house is towards the other dogs. And even that is kept for when things get a bit out of control. She is a very good leader; she is not neurotic about her position. She is serious and factual which are good traits for a good leader.

Tilley is a very non dominant dog; I would class her as a very level and highly confident dog. She in no way seeks status in our pack and is happy hanging out in the middle. She is submissive only when needed and fits like a glove into our pack. It is of the utmost importance that I run the pack; I am the leader and I make the rules. I will not let Jessie and Luke hash it out for top dog status; I just won't allow it. And because of this the dogs know who is the boss here.

Where the wires have become entangled with the whole dominance thing is when aggression is added to a dominant dog. Dogs who are highly dominant will use aggression to keep or maintain their status. A dominant dog carries themselves as such and it is a clear message to all who they are. Dominance aggression is the act of maintaining status and can lead to big trouble. It can be in the form of a challenge to another dog; resource guarding or bullying. Just like in humans bullying is unwanted and should be stopped always.

The best type of dominance is when it comes with confidence. A confident dominant dog is a joy to watch. They are typically wonderful leaders; never getting flustered and only using "reasonable force" to solve issues within a pack. In all my years of dealing with dogs in some form I have met very few "amazing leaders" but when I do I could watch them from sun up till sundown. One such dog was a mix I had the honor of meeting. He had been a stray street dog in LA and now lived with a wonderful woman. I got to witness this amazing dog in action one day at the dogbeach. His presence on the beach was immediately understood and I could not take my eyes off of all the behaviors that were unraveling and falling into place. It is something to see when there is a true leader in your midst.

So dominance in itself is not a bad thing; it can and often turns bad by an uneducated human.

Canine products

Good Friday morning; same ole here, overcast. Gotta love June gloom in Southern California. I wanted to disguss canine products this morning. I love a great dog product but I am not a big consumer of tons of dog stuff. The things I do like are the necessity type things; leashes, collars, bowls, beds and pretty much anything else that will make my life living with dogs easier. But a whole lot of the stuff out there today is crap; useless to throw your money at.

It is not often that I venture into a big box petstore; I much prefer to support the small specialty ones who care. The guys who carry the "good stuff" not the products that Walmart carries. And surprisingly enough there are alot of little guys out there and doing really great; they have a very big fan base. I love learning about new great places to buy very cool dog stuff.

I have been to so many Pet expo type shows where I walk aimlessly down the isles shrugging; who buys all this stuff? But every once in a while I will come by something that triggers my "hmmmmm, this might be good" sense. This is why I have a box full of harnesses, both body and face, collars and leashes in my garage. And the ones I use on a daily basis? These. I started using these leashes at the age of 13 when I was training and have stuck with them. I like the 5/8" width and 6-8'length. Plain and simple.

Infact I have a new section on my website where both my dogs and "official" test dogs are testing and reviewing canine products. I reserve the right not to test and review any product which I think not good for dogs. There are alot of things out there that have become a staple in many guardian shopping carts that I feel very strongly against. And I cannot stand when a product uses catchy marketing terms to make you think that you are giving your dog a great product; words like green, natural or fresh.

We have a good panel of testers at Just dogs with Sherri, just my dogs alone offer a huge varied personality of likes, dislikes and different destructive levels. We can give a product a great test but we also added a nice big ole Labrador and a little one. You can read about the others and my guys here.

So I hope to get some cool items in for testing and we will weed through the good and bad.

The big one

It was just another show; I was handling in the junior showmanship ring again. Junior showmanship is different than the regular breed ring; this is where you the handler are judged and not the dog. So all eyes are on you. We had decided which of the dobermans I would take into the ring and I was ready. I'd been in so many competitions at this point that it was old hat, I wasn't nervous at all until I found out who our judge was to be. She was a bigtime pro handler and author of this book I can't find an image of the book but I use to have my own copy; I may still have it somewhere in the mass of dog books that I have. Anyhow she was big and then the nerves kicked in. Wow, Martha?

I managed my nerves and was soon chill about going in the ring again; and then a glitch. I found out that "my dog" was to go into another ring and I had no dog to handle. I frantically ran around looking for a familiar face; what dog was I going to use? Finally at the very last moment possible; standing at the edge of the ring and going in that ring momentarily I asked a nice couple with their beautiful Airedale if I could use her. They agreed and handed her over to me; they stood on the sidelines watching.

Having never met this dog we did our quick "hi" and away we went. There were several different age groups and then the "best in show." I had won my age group so I was going in again; I had never handled an Airedale up until now, who knew that I would have my own airedale (which my very first dog) in a few short years? We went in; did our thing and won the big one; the trophy, the rosette ribbon, the huge bag of Purina dog food; which at the time was great a big win. I won it all; but the biggest win for me was what Martha whispered to me as she handed me my trophy. "My dear; never stop handling, we need more handlers like you in the ring." I was beaming.

Looking back at that one small phrase now; that alone stands out in my memory. Not that I won, not the ribbons, the trophies or the other prizes which are all long gone now; but the fact that she had noticed my ability with dogs. And although I don't handle in the conformation ring anymore; infact I haven't for many many years I still handle dogs on a regular basis and will forever. It was always to be me and the dogs.

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?