A stimulating environment


Environmental stimuli are everywhere; they are everything in the environment that surrounds us, anything that we perceive.

Perceive: to become aware of, know, or identify by means of the senses.

So basically; if your dog is aware of their surroundings then everything has an impact on their brain. Some dogs are much more aware than others; some sort of go through life whistling and wagging, perhaps not taking much in as far as sensory information goes. Then there are the average guys who notice material objects and actions going on around; they take in the information, process it and act accordingly. Accordingly meaning that it will be in accordance to their life experience; how much environmental stimulus they have been subjected to.

Then there are the dogs that don't miss a thing; these are the guys that can be more challenging. They see things that other dogs may pass by. This is all very interesting but the big factor in the level of perception is the end result which is action or reaction. How a dog reacts to stimulus is what we are given as feedback. This is our heads up so to speak. Nothing in life is truly scarey unless you perceive it to be so. Same goes for everything else; this is where fears, likes, dislikes and phobias come from; a basic perception.



So a stimulus is pretty much anything that our dog can hear or see; auditory or visual. Dogs who already have a perception of a certain stimuli can be reprogrammed to change their perception. This is done using counter conditioning which is done by creating a new association to a stimulus. And generally counter conditioning is done slowly to achieve the best results. Flooding is not recommended for canines as it can have negative results.

So by systematically breaking down a reaction by the introduction of a new associated response you can achieve great results. Everything is done by positive application; there is no anger or lack of patience involved. Because both; a lack of patience and growing anger lead to a crack in the building blocks you are stacking towards a new goal. No success can go unrewarded; each and every miniscule step forward is a success and needs to be marked with reward.

Dogs are so much more complicated than many think. Ah; canine psychology, I could go on forever but I must make dinner for the hounds. ;)

Turkey debate


















Recently there has been a lot of talk about how dogs should not eat turkey, I even heard it at the vets the other day.  Curious, I did a great deal of looking around.  What I have discovered is that the problem is not the turkey but the trimmings so to speak.  Often the dogs that have issues are the ones that have a regular diet of commercial dog food, who's owner decides to give them a treat for the Holidays.  Well, turkey with gravy and maybe some skin is enough to send anyone who eats dry food all the time into an intestinal war zone.  Dogs can eat turkey.  If you regularly feed them dry dog food, leave it at a few pieces of just the white meat.  My guys will eat it all because they are accustom to a widely varied diet of cooked and raw.  

Having got two turkeys at the grocery store yesterday for a quarter of the regular price; I cooked them both today. I barbequed up the liver early this morning and got the turkeys into the oven. The dogs had liver this morning and a huge turkey dinner tonight.

After cooling the turkey I picked the meat off both and prepared their dinner. They had brown basmati rice, yellow pepper, chopped dried cranberries, turkey and liver, ground egg shell and probiotic powder. As you can see from the image above; they were more than anxiously awaiting their turkey dinner.

I was surprised and very happy to see Luke so into turkey. Often I will give Luke and the girls an appetizer to get (Luke) them prepared for dinner. Often if Luke has a few bites before dinner he will actually eat better. He ate all of his dinner but a few pieces of pepper and a tiny bit of rice.

The big secret with Luke is to mix well; the easier it is to pick out pieces the less chance Luke will eat it all.

Recently I was also asked about Mayonaise for dogs; someone with a sick dogs just needs them to eat. Just like several weeks ago when Luke wouldn't eat anything; I tried everything. Like us when we are sick; whatever goes down, works. Mayo is fine; you have to watch the fat content, fat is the worst culprit for diarrhea so take care when giving high fat foods. Consider where you will be the day after. ;)

Turkey eating myth



Canine interactions


We are just back, Luke and I.  We  had a wonderful walk this morning, it was chilly and only two other dogs and their people were there.  That meant ball fun for Luke.  We did a full round of the park then he got lots of ball tosses or kicks I should say.  I have a shoulder injury so I have to kick the ball.  He doesn't care, nor does Tilley.  After that we did another round of the park where we came across a female Springer Spaniel and her Dad.  I always rely on my daily outtings to inspire my blogs and this morning didn't let me down. 


The first time around the park we just gave them some space as I could see that she was not wanting to meet Luke.  The next time I asked if she was friendly.  The gentleman said "maybe."  Hmmmmm, maybe.  Luke really wanted to meet her so I took my time and read all the signals.  The man told me that she was shy, I told him shy was fine.  She gave off all signals of having a large personal space.  I told him that Luke was very friendly and not shy at all.  He demonstrated this by pouncing over to the Springer girl which made her bolt away.  Luke was clearly friendly in an in your face sort of way.  "Hey, my names Luke, this is my Mom Sherri, we're on a walk, wanna play?"  She gave him a hmpf look out of the corner of her eye.  But she gave me a tiny wag. 



I bent down while holding Luke's harness so that she could say hi to me without being bombarded by Luke.  No sooner had I opened my mouth to say hi, when Luke smacked me in the face with a big kiss.  "This is MY Mom, right MOM?"  As friendly as he is, he wanted it very clear that I belonged to him.  What a guy.  After he established this with a big face kiss, he looked at her.  She immediately showed him her full set of pearly whites and snapped them at him.  His ears went back and we moved away.  The man was a bit upset so I told him that it was nothing and not to worry.  She was discussing space with Luke and he clearly understood.  He was still wagging, he seemed a bit smitten with her.  We said our good-byes and went on our way.

We wandered around the park for a little while longer enjoying the nip in the air, zig zagging back and forth across the fields.  We did a pile of glorious recalls, where Luke came bounding seemingly in slow motion into my arms.  This followed with some major snuggle action.  We worked on obedience which Luke was in the mood for, we did heeling, direction changes, finishes, stays and recalls with interuptions.  All in all a wonderful morning, and walk.

Bark matters


Bark matters, yep a barking dog can be a wonderful thing.  I know, I know, I'm typically talking about how to stop barking, but that is annoying barking and all together different than good barking.  Last night I was wandering around flipping all the Christmas lights on when I had a knock at the door.  Thinking it was my son I swung open the door, only to be very dissappointed that it was a sales guy.  He was in his early 20s and standing very far from the door, which I like.  He rambled about doing renovations to the house when Jessie let out one of her almighty scream barks.  He took a very large step back, and I was pretty impressed.




Then Tilley heard that there was a stranger and not Brad at the door.  She did her best impression of a Grizzly bear and the guy said "okay good, see ya."  There was no lingering, no convincing............presto, he was gone.  Nice!!!!!!!!  When Tilley did bark I sort of laughed under my breath as she has a very muffled old dog bark now.  But in her day she had the biggest bark out of all the dogs I've had.  I remember hearing her bark for the first time as a puppy and I was shocked.  Luke didn't bark last night, we're working on the barking at the new puppy next door issue so he was being on his best behavior.  But he was there as back up if need be.

Most people have no idea where a bark is coming from behind a door.  Barks can be very deceiving, big barks can come from small dogs and vice versa.  This guy was not taking any chances and "quit while he was ahead."  :)  Unless you can see a dog it is very hard to know what the dog is really like.  Most dogs will bark at a doorbell or knock.  Some are just letting you know there is someone there while others may be the security system. 

A little known fact about Standard poodles is that they are serious guard dogs.  As many of you know I started my whole life in dogs with Doberman Pinchers, so I know guarding type dogs.  When I tell people I have poodles they may conjure up a fluffy white little thing sitting on a pillow eating bonbons.  When they come face to face as a stranger in my house, things are very different.  Even my Miss Princess Tilley get's very protective of her home and family.  And Jessie?  she's just born tough.  You don't mess with Jessie. 



So yes, I like when my dogs bark.  A couple of barks, I will thank them and let them know that I'll take it from there.  I am the Top Dog and I will assess the situation at the door and they all know this.  How many times have I watched movies where there is an intruder as I scream "this wouldn't happen if they had a dog."  True in most cases.   I never doubt for a second who's got my back.

New issue

I'm having an issue, it's a very new one so I'm not quite sure if it is yet to be cast in stone.  But as someone who needs a solid 8 hours of sleep, it is not a good issue.  The issue is with Jessie, this past weekend she woke me each morning at around the 4 o'clock hour.  She is accustom to getting up around 5 a.m. which is when we normally get up.  Five o'clock is more than early enough for me I have to admit.  I once heard a saying at a huge convention, the speaker said to the audience "how would you like to be able to sleep until you're done?"  I thought about it for a long while, pondering this idea.  YES, we should sleep until we are done shouldn't we? 

Anyhow back to my issue, I was awakened by Jessie again last night with a tap, tap, tap on her crate door.  You see Jessie sleeps in her crate, she has for years.  There were many years when she slept on our bed, tucked under the covers but after several incidents of getting off the bed, crapping and getting back on the bed without batting an eyelash she was crate bound.  My other two dogs will alert us that they need out, not Jessie.  She simply goes to the other side of the room, far enough for her and relieves herself.  Never, ever during the day, just at night when the option of going out in the cold is not one she would choose for herself.  She loves her crate and goes in by herself at night and often during the day.



So, she has taken to getting up very, VERY early.  Last night she was restless, flopping around her crate making just enough noise to stop me from slipping into a deep sleep.  I'm exhausted, and Jessie?  Jessie is snoring on my bed and will be snoring all day long I would presume.  I on the other hand have a very busy and full day ahead of me.  As I type away I am feeling very much like sliding into that bottomless sleep that eluded me all night, I could easily go there now.  But alas I cannot, I have things to do while the little old lady's agenda for the day is which bed to sleep on.  Hmmmm; a dog's life.

Acting the part


Act the way you want your dog to act.  That's right.  I was thinking about the importance of our behavior with our dogs the other day as I moved in to do Luke's nails.  He is a nervous ninny type, very suspicious and needs to know exactly what I am doing all the time.  He was laying out on the big lounge and I thought it was a good place to do his nails.  Problem was that he has never had them done there before, an issue for Luke.  So I calmly picked up the dremel and walked non-chalant like over to him and sat beside him.  He sniffed the nail tool, sniffed me, sniffed the air and then relaxed.   I ask him for his feet and he obliged, he sniffed me again looking for a reading of mood.  Finding a calm Mom he thought this might just be okay.

A week ago in a shuffle at the door, it was a big hub bub before a walk.  We had decided to take all three, Jessie was literally under everyone.  Luke was knocking into everyone like the whirlwind he is and I accidentally stepped on him.  I got the immediately eyeball,  his whole body in a submissive state he looked at me as if to say "why?"  He again is sniffing me, and with no anger reading I roughed him up a bit and all was forgotten.   I don't make a big fuss, if I did he'd think that something was up.  It is all how we act. 



Our dogs are always watching us, reading us, and looking for signals.  Of course there are dogs who watch more closely, like Luke, he doesn't miss a thing, ever.  But all dogs watch and read.  When you think about it, this is how they communicate with each other so it is the same way that they communicate with us.  When you watch dogs interact they throw signals fast and furious, so many that it is hard to keep up with everything that they are saying. 

This is why our dogs often lunge and bark at other dogs and we have no idea why.  They've probably had a lot to say before we even notice, sometimes it's not such a great conversation and both dogs can erupt.  So when we interact with our dogs we must be very aware of our own actions.  Are we being calm, solid and reliable in our communications?  Or do we fly off the handle, yelling, stomping or sending mixed signals?  Yep.  We humans are a strange bunch for sure.



I often experiment at home, I will change my posture, send signals both large and minute to see who's paying attention.   Typically they are all paying very close attention and know exactly what I am doing.  So when Luke started barking regularly in the yard because the neighbors got a new puppy I knew I had to stop it before it got worse.  If I yelled at him, he looked at me then barked more.  So I calmly but very seriously went out with a big posture, thanked him for telling me there was something out there, then told him to stop and go inside.  All was quiet for a long while and the next time I simply had to look at him and he came in and got a very big "you are the best boy."

If there is a situation where a dog might be fearful, our actions are the most important.  In a pack of wolves, it is the adult mature members who will be teaching the younger dogs.  The young ones will watch how the adults react to certain situations and learn how they should react.  When to be scared and run, when to very "whatever" about something and when to be slightly concerned and keep an eye out is all learned by watching.



So when something is going on, somethings up or something needs to be done remember that there are learning eyes on you watching your reaction, being educated on how they should act.

Restaurant Etiquette


Restaurant etiquette 101, that's right.  On Thursday I was out to lunch (ha ha) with my daughter down in San Diego.  We were at Corner Bakery, a great place with yummy sandwiches.  Anyhow we were sitting outside in the patio area, it was a glorious day.  As we sat to enjoy our meal I immediately noticed the tiniest of munchkins, a very small yorkie who was sporting an adorable moss green t-shirt and matching harness.  He was very cute but not well behaved in the least.  He was being a dog, his owner was being rude. 

The first error on the owners part was that she had her pocket pooch on an extension leash.  Ahhhhh, and........................she was letting him run to the very end.  In between all the table legs and nearly taking down several waiters as they tried to pass by his table.  He was barking his head off and................she was smiling.  Okay, as you know I am like you a huge dog lover so he wasn't annoying me but I was thinking about how much he must be annoying some of the other people who were trying to enjoy their lunch.  Even though the little monster was not bothering me, his Mom sure was.  All I could think was how rude she was being by not considering the others at the restaurant.

If you do bring your dog to enjoy a meal with you at a restaurant, be sure that they are well mannered.  I think our dogs should join us most definitely but not if they are going to bother others.  They should know how to sit or lay down by your side and stay there.  I highly recommend bringing a small mat or rolled pad for them to lay on.  Most patios are concrete, not comfortable to lay on for any dog.  As well as adding comfort while they join you, a mat gives them a clear place that you would like them to stay.  I've often brought my guys to restaurants and I always bring one of my many rolled quilted pads for them, it works great. 


If you were at a restaurant trying to enjoy a meal, would you enjoy me running around your table?  Add with that some shrieking, not so much eh?  It is very distracting as well, I was having a hardtime concentrating on what I was saying.  I did smile knowing that I had yet another topic to blog about though.  Like anything where we want our dogs to be allowed to join us, it takes one to ruin it for the rest of us.  As small as this little cutie was, it was still enough to bother people and it's not proper restaurant etiquette for anyone, human or dog.

Step away from the cell phone

                                                              Luke, Jordi & Ellie on a canyon walk

Walking at my snail pace I hear the sound of Tilley's feet catch up every so often.  She starts to pant easily now and staggers off the path now and again.  I am very aware of the sounds of my girls, we are on our morning walk while it's beautifully chilly out.  I glance across the field to see a regular, and like always she's on her phone.  An hour earlier I was at another park with Luke, he was being very googly.  Lot's of eye contact and sticking close.  We chat a lot, well, I guess I chat a lot and Luke listens.  It's generic chit chat, we talk about the weather, the other dogs at the park and life in general.  We are doing our morning walk.  Again, I glance across the park and there is another regular, and she is on her phone.

There's a guy we see often too, he's always on his phone.  Okay, I'm just going to say it "step away from the cell phone."  Leave it in your pocket.  As I watch the owners who are walking their dog while on the phone I realize that they are not on a walk with their dog, they are actually involved in a conversation and their dog just happens to be attached to their hand.  Are you present on your walks?  I sometimes have my phone on me, normally I leave it in the car.  But of course it depends on the park and how far we are going.  If I get a call I might answer, probably not unless it's one of my kids.  I'm on a walk, with my dogs.


My poodles and I at the beach

Walks are one of the most enjoyable parts of the day, you should enjoy them.  I mean the walking with your dog part, not just putting in your time doing your duty.  Walks should be interactive.  I talk to my dogs the whole time we are walking, not so much Jessie because she can't hear me anymore unless I scream at her.  I listen and I watch, and now when I walk the girls I crawl at a snail pace.  As I've said before it took some getting use to but I love it now.  I am blessed to have my dogs still with me in these very senior years, I'm enjoying every second of them.  And that goes for our walks.

Walking is such a great bonding time, it is a time you take your dog out just so that they can have fun.  Although it is primarily for them, we take just as much as they do from a walk.  We can see how our dogs are dealing with some issues, how they are feeling emotionally and physically and work on training.  What a time set aside for just the two of you, or more of course.  So put down that phone, get involved in walking your dog.  Take time to smell the roses so to speak.  Or at least to watch your dog read their peemail.


My daughter and Luke

It's all about the connection, and I don't mean with Verizon. 

Jump, jump, jump, jump...............HELLO


Ah..............the canine greeting, not so joyous for many.  Countless owners deal with the onslaught of an over exhuberant pooch greeting on a daily basis.  After being hit repeatedly everytime you walk in the door, many learn to live with it.  But when it comes to guests, it is not dealt with in the same "oh well," manner.  Do you have a leaping, projectile greeting dog?  If so there are a few steps that you can take that will assist in keeping their four on the floor. 

The first thing to remember is that kneeing a dog in the chest is not the way to stop them from jumping.  Kneeing is really a mean thing to do and a waste of time.  That and pushing them off of you each time they jump, this action can actually encourage jumping.  If you have a boisterous type, then each time you touch them it is enough of a reward for jumping.  It can become a game, they jump, you push, they boing back for another jump and it continues.

If you have a dog that is already conditioned to jump, you must take babysteps to non jumping.  The first thing you will reward are the short moments of non jumping.  The best way to reward with food is to drop it on the floor.  Use food that makes noise when dropped and try to pick a hard surface.  Drop magically, like the treats are appearing on the floor on their own.  When you drop the food on the floor instead of handing the food to your dog you stop the need to jump up for food.  After a while your dog will stand back and wait for the dropped treat, it is truly amazing how it works.   You also need to make yourself very boring and non inviting.  If your dog does jump up, simply withdraw.  Turn your body away and become like a tree, offer no attention.  Wait for them to get off and drop the food.

Once you have your dog primed for the food drop, you can continue with this working towards longer non jumping for a food drop.  Or you can add a sit, then only dropping food if they sit.  Once you start asking for longer sits before rewarding you can then move onto hand delivery of treats.  You can also teach a "place" exercise, this works amazing as it gives the dog a job to do.  When you come in they must run to a certain spot or bed and wait for their treat. 



For those dogs who are over the top crazy jumpers, they are typically wound by the whole process of yelling and pushing them down.  These guys need the withdrawal routine even more.  Dogs need alternatives, you cannot just say "don't jump."  If you say keep four on the floor and I will reward you, or sit and I will reward you then they have an alternative. 

Also, make homecoming a non issue.  This is probably the biggest thing that we do to fuel jumping, you walk in the door and throw a party for your dog.  Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Mom and Dad are home.  Spin, jump, bark, dive and catapolt at you.  Sound familiar?  So, in the door and past the dog without a word.  When they calm, then you can say hi.  Even if it is 20 minutes from when you walked through the door.

Like many behavior issues, the best attack is for you to remain calm and in control.  Hands off, mouth shut and wait, wait for that split second that they stop leaping on you and drop the goods.  It works. 

The Christmas Tree

                      
The day is drawing near, for many it is the dreaded day of putting up the tree.  Although some of you may  already have your tree up already.  Trees are being erected only to be torn down or dismantled by the canine helper in the house.  I know that many of you will only put decorations from out of reach and up, others have gates around the tree or forgo the whole tree thing completely.  Don't despair, you are not alone.  There is a way around this and you can have your beautiful tree with decorations from top to bottom.  It is work, nothing is free but it's worth every second and no training is ever a waste.

So basically what you are going to do is to do a giant "leave it."  "See this tree, decorations, water under the tree and the skirt?"  "You can't touch any of it."  Bottom line.  It really helps if you keep your pooch around for the decorating, this gives you a chance to start right from the beginning.  As you pull out the decs, put the tree up etc. no touching!!!!!!  Tell them to "leave it" and mean it.  If they back off in the least, reward them.  The biggy is rewarding them for not touching the tree.  This can take the form of food treats or their own toys and stuff to play with. 


A new toy can help to keep a pooch's mind where it should be.

I cannot say how extremely important it is to reward them for not touching the tree.  Perhaps put a bed in the room with the tree and have them go there and play with some toys.  You can use a down stay as well as the "leave it."  Don't just reward them everytime you have to shoosh them away, best to reward a good behavior rather than a corrected behavior.  In other words, catch them doing it right.  Don't be cheap, treat them like crazy, it is a big deal that they are not single pawedly destroying your tree.  Afterall; why shouldn't they wreck the tree?  You need to give them a reason not to, because wrecking the tree would actually be a great deal of fun for them. 

I would highly recommend not chancing leaving them alone with the tree until you are 99% sort of sure.  With dogs there is never a true 100% sure.  After years of living with dogs you learn to never say "totally" or "100%."  By allowing your dog to spend time near the tree you take away the mystic of it all.  If you keep them away from it entirely in hopes of saving your beautiful tree and decorations, then there is a better chance that if they get to it, it won't last long.

Go ahead and put up that tree, dogs and Christmas trees can co-exist nicely, really.

The Big Dog, YOU!!!





I wanted to discuss "issues" today.  Many people I talk to have issues with two of their dogs, disagreements, spats and all out fights.  Others have a "tough" dog at home but would love to add a second and really don't know how to go about doing it right.  The most important thing about living with dogs is guidance and leadership.  Now; when I say leadership in no way do I mean physical leadership.  I am a very strong leader and never slap, hit or alpha roll my dogs.  I have strict rules, the dogs must abide by them, simple really.

So what exactly does being a leader entail?   If you are dealing with soft type dogs, meaning that they don't challenge you or anyone else.  They are easy and never do anything that would be considered rude even in the world of dogs then leadership is very easy.  Tilley is much like this, I call her my Lassie in Poodle clothing.  She would never step out of line or push.  Now, if your dog is more typical or dominant in personality then you need to have more structured rules and enforce them. 



Enforcing is another one of those very important things.  If you have rules but never enforce them, then you may as well forget about the rules.  The common heard phrase "rules are made to be broken," does not pertain to dogs.  Besides I'm pretty sure that phrase is strictly a teenager thing, I know I heard it many times when my kids were in their teens.  So; the rule is:  if you do not intend to enforce, don't ask.  It is much better to not ask then ask and let slide. 

If you have a couple of dominant type dogs then you have a lot of work to do.  You have to keep on top of them at all times.  You need to make up rules simply so that there is a great degree of structure within your home.   This doesn't mean that you have to be on guard at all times, just on your toes.  You will be enforcing the no nonsense rule, this is an important one.  With dominant dogs nonsense can lead to trouble.  Once dogs start fighting things can snowball quickly, sometimes out of control. 

There are times when it is not going to work, two very head strong dogs who are both struggling for top dog status with a history of physical violence may not be able to turn it around.   It is sad but there are times when placing one of the dogs is the safest and best thing for all concerned.  I know many people who live a life of rotation, dogs in different rooms of the house, but it's not a great option.  Of course many of the situations can be turned around with structure, rules, enforcing and training. 

We just had a great example of a pushy dominant dog just a few minutes ago.  My husband and I were play fighting when Luke decided to tell us to stop.   He dove onto the couch growling his toughest growl, not directed at anyone in particular, he was pushing his weight around.  This is when timing is everything, he was kicked off almost before he even landed on the couch.  Statement made.  He is now lying on the floor with his head down very moopy, he got the message.   He doesn't try it often but every once in a while he gives it a go.  This whole situation could have been directed to another dog or dogs and the same feedback would have been appropriate. 

Many folks are not the leader type, that's fine in our human world.  But when you have a dog you must be the leader:  a guiding or directing head.  If you allow your dog to be the leader, your life will be drastically different, and not in a good way.  So if you are looking to add to the family and have a pushy type, look for a mellow dog that won't push back.  If you have two hard headed canines at home; pull on your "top dog" outift and play the part.

URGENT

PLEASE HELP!!




EUKANUBA TRAVELERS!! A VAN WAS STOLEN IN LONG BEACH AT THE MOTEL 6! THERE ARE SHOWDOGS IN THE VAN: 2 AKITA’S (BIS DOG AND A YOUNG DOG) & 2 CORGIS.. IT IS A FULL SIZE WHITE CHEVY VAN WITH A BLACK BOX ON THE BACK.. THERE ARE 3 DOG STICKERS ON THE BACK WINDOW (AKITA, BRITTANY & PARSON).. CA LICENSE PLATE 8D50252.. IF YOU SEE THIS VAN, CALL 911!!!!


CONTACT THE POLICE OR DAVID PEEK (530) 917-6846 IF YOU SEE THIS VAN!

Baby it's cold outside

Tilley as a one year old

Okay, it's not really cold but it is cold for California standards.  Yesterday was a high of 60 with blustery winds, it was glorious and I enjoyed every moment.  We are suppose to stay in the 60s except for Wed which will reach the low 70s.  I'm loving it, since moving from Canada to California it has been tough doing Holiday shopping in shorts and flip flops so I'm stoked.  For all of you who live where it actually gets cold and you get snow, this blog is for you. 


Photo courtesy of Poodleit

I lived in Ottawa, Canada most of my life, I know cold.  While in Canada we had several dogs, an Airedale Terrier, Jack Russell and Standard Poodles. Both the Airedale and poodles suffered from snowballitis.   The only one who did not suffer from snowballs was Jessie our Jack Russell.  We actually had a melting area in our home at our back door.  A big gated in area with a side heater and carpet where the dogs would come in and drip dry.  I was fine with them coming in once their snowballs melted but hated if they distributed their snowballs around the house.  Do you know how many times I had to change my socks?  So they would come in, melt and then come in the rest of the house.


Photo courtesy of Poodleit


Seen here is a Dachshund in a full suit, I know my little Jessie would have been happy to wear this in the deep snow as she literally disappeared from sight hopping into the deep snowbanks.




I stumbled upon this wonderful site the other day, Poodleit .  I surely don't need them for snow now but could most definitely use them for burrs and other things that like to stick onto poodle coats.  Of course it would have to be cooler weather for them to sport the full coats but for sure nice to keep the burrs off the fur.   My standard poodles are much like giant pieces of walking velcro so anything that keeps the burrs and sticky things off is great.  For those of you with furry legged dogs; these are amazing for the snow.


Photo courtesy of Poodleit

And even if you aren't into the full on snowsuit look, the Splash guards would be excellent to save the hardest hit area.  Snowballitis targets the bottom of the leg first then depending on the amount of time spent playing outdoors and how small the dog is or how deep the snow is will factor in how far it spreads.   I remember many times; pulling apart baseball sized snowballs from my Airedale and poodle. 

Just a few breeds that might benefit from this type of weather protection would be:

Bouvier
Doodle
Afghan
Spaniels
Portuguese Water Dogs
Wire haired terriers
Big and small fuzzy mixes
Schnauzers and anyone else with furry legs
Grab a blanket and snuggle up with your favorite pooch, it's cold outside.

Cookies - repost






































Having been known as the cookie lady (for humans)for years; it seems only fitting that I make dog cookies. I've made several different kinds over the years and have come now mixed up one that is pretty good. 
Most dog cookies are very bland; even the "organic" type. And then there are the ones that taste like cardboard; they sure smell like cardboard. I want something that my dogs want to eat. Lastnight I was making shortbread; a big hit with all the dogs, Luke included. Shortbread is great for adding calories which is what Luke needs but I don't want the sugar in them. Not that shortbread has a ton of sugar; what makes shortbread really amazing is the butter. And  Luke loves butter.

Tilley was my constant companion as I baked lastnight. I was using a cookie press so there is alot of random bits and pieces that fly off the counter; she was there to clean up the mess for me. ;) So now I have to put on my thinking cap and come up with a recipe that taste good and is good for the dogs. Calories are not a concern; if they are high in calories then the girls only get a small piece and hopefully Luke will put on some much needed weight.

This is one recipe that I've come up with that is pretty darn good. 
























Tilley is my floor cleaner; very vigilant about her job.







 They taste sort of like Cheese crackers.

1/2 Cup butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup grated sharp cheddar

I used my KitchenAid mixer for 3 solid minutes. Hand knead for 1 min to make sure all the cheese is blended in nicely. Roll out to 1/4" thickness using flour on your surface and top of dough. The dough is really nice to roll.


Bake large cookies 2 1/2" size for 20 min. Leave in for 25 min again at 275 to dry.
small size 1 1/2" for 15 min. Leave in for 15 min again at 275 to dry.

Dogs in truck beds, honestly.



Okay; I took the plunge today, I never do, I say I never will but I went shopping on Black Friday weekend.  I'm actually almost done my shopping, it was me I wanted to get some things for and do lunch.  So we head out, it is much less stressful when you aren't really shopping, or at least not panic shopping.  We hit the 5 freeway and were nearly there when we drove by a truck hauling a fifth wheeler.  It was a big fifth wheel and as we came up to the truck I noticed a dog in the back of the truck.  Turning my head as we passed until I had to completely turn around to indeed prove that what I was seeing, I was really seeing.

There was an Irish Wolfhound, behind the cab of the truck in front of the fifth wheel.   It was much like this set up and I could not believe my eyes.  The dog stood sideways and I could not see if there were any ties to speak of keeping the dog in the truck.  What I do know is that the dog had a look of bigtime stress on his face.   I wish I'd had my camera on me but I did not.  Imagine a dog so tall standing sideways riding on the freeway?  If you've ever seen the crazy traffic in Southern California, there is no question that at one point you will be jamming on your brakes.  Why on earth would this dog not be either in the truck or at least in the camper?  I know that people are not suppose to ride in fifth wheel in some States, although California does allow it.  And if my dog were to ride in a fifth wheeler I would definitely have them crated.  It would at least be a far cry from being wedged into a small spot in the bed of a fifth wheeler hauler.



I have huge issues with dogs riding in the bed of a trucks for any reason.  Dogs that are tied often in a truck bed can fly out and be dragged and if not tied they just fly.  Dogs should be inside the truck with you, bottom line.  And if they don't fit, either put them in the fifth wheel, get a full cap for your truck with ties or get a new vehicle.  Imagine the things that could hit your dog while they are in the back of a truck?  I don't even drive with my windows down on the freeway because there is always random things flying through the air.  And I never allow heads out the window unless we have arrived at our destination.



Dog days of summer

Truck beds are for hauling stuff, not dogs.

Little Jess



Everyone in the family has been commenting on Jessie lately, there are changes that we are all seeing.  Today was a busy one, lots of in and out, hustle/bustle.  Some of our power was out for the day so we had our neighbor in having a look, then the electrician who luckily fixed our problem and Jessie slept away.  When she is up she is looking, looking for me always.  Or standing face in the corner or towards the wall, this is the really change behavior.



I was making dinner and went to check on Jess, she'd been sleeping on a pile of two dog beds by the fire.  When I went in the living room she was no longer there, immediately I worry "where is she?"  I headed to go upstairs and there she was at the landing, looking up and down the stairs.  I called to her loudly, her ears went up and she bolted down the stairs.  I'd been standing only 10 feet away at the time but the slight sound that she could hear gave her no directional information.  This is a tough transition for our little one, she is seeming lost more often and needing to check in.


When she goes down for a nap, she's gone to the world.  The type of deep sleep when nothing can shake you out of it.  She is startled regularly, even when she sees that you are standing there.  I'm not sure how much she sees but I know that she cannot see an arm coming down to touch her.  Later during dinner preparation I turned to see her standing, looking out the French door in the kitchen.  It looked like she was looking at something, I called to her and she tried to get outside.  I called again sending her into a panic to get out the door.  I then realized that she could see my reflection in the door but standing a foot behind her she could not tell where the sound of my voice was coming from.  I reached down and gently touched her, grasping her firmly I lifted her to my face "Mommy's right here Jess."


I talk to her when I know she cannot hear, and I try to check in as often as I can with her.  This is a scary time for all of us, losing sight or hearing alone can be very difficult but both at the same time is very challenging.  Communications are extremely difficult.  Jessie is displaying some very unusual behavior that I cannot explain and believe her age to be the cause.

Jessie just had her vet check with a full blood panel which came back great.  At 14.5 it is not her body that is failing her in these years, Jessie is losing her senses.  But with a little adjustment in the communication department, hopefully that little tank body will carrying her on for many more years to come.  After all, she is a Jack Russell Terrier.

Longevity


















The lifespan of a canine is far too fleeting; ask anyone who has lost of loved companion. In terms of mammal longeivity the lifespan of a dog is relatively short. Although not as short as some mammals; the pocket gopher is the shortest lived with a life expectancy of only 20 months. Some whales and tortoises can live up to 200 years. It is surprising that within the dog species itself there are large differences in longeivity of individual breeds.

The breeds with the shortest lifepans are the Dogue de Bordeaux, Bloodhound and Irish Wolfhound with the average expectancy being 6-7 years. And the longest living breeds are the smaller guys; the chihuahua, Tibetan Terrier and Border Terriers. So in the big picture, some of the largest mammals live the longest and the smallest have the shortest time here on our earth. So why then does it seem that the larger the dog the shorter the lifespan?

There are alot of factors that play a part in lifespan. The skeletal system is a major one and those of very large and giant breeds suffer wear and tear on their joints early on. The body of a very large breed of dog has a great need for oxygen which is pumped through the body via the heart. This puts a great strain on the heart. The small breeds just don't have the stress on their body that the very large and giant breeds do.



There is no other species that has as many variations as the dog. There are many differences in coat type, size and structure. Dogs as a whole evolved from the wolf, but from there we humans designed what we wanted in a dog. It is the morphing that gave our dog more or less life so to speak. The wolf lifespan is approximately 13 in the wild and markedly more in captivity. So to generalize the average lifespan our dogs started off with was somewhere around 13ish.



All of my dogs have left me at the age of 13. This seems to be a ripe old age for our dogs to live to. I have known several giant breeds who were the smaller version, not so giant and they lived a good long 12 years. Sizing down seems to be a good idea for our dogs.   My guys are 13.5, 10 and 14.5 and all going strong, seems that dogs can and are living longer these days which is great news.  With advanced medical care and more emphasis put onto proper nutrition; we may be able to increase these years for all sizes.

Thankful for



First let me say Happy Thanksgiving to you all, I am so glad to be able to share my blog with each of you.  I am so thankful to be able to write this blog and have your feedback, sharing the love of dogs with you all.  Dogs bring such joy to all who truly share their lives with one or more.  Even the dogs that may not live with you but simply pass through your life on perhaps a brief encounter can bring much happiness.  Tuesday brought to me an hour of sheer bliss as I spent time with a five month old Borzoi.  I did a shoot with the young pup as we meandered through the woods with her Mom.  She was probably one of the sweetest puppies I've met in a while.



I am thankful for so many things in my life, of course my family; my wonderful husband, my three amazing children and yes my dogs.  My life revolves around dogs and I am thankful each and everyday that I get to share it with my three.   As I lay by the fire last snuggled up with all three on the giant dog bed I thought to myself  "how lucky am I?"  



And it is not only my dogs that I am thankful for, all the dogs that I get to meet and interact with throughout my days add so much to my life.  I am always honored to have met them and been able to either help in their education or photograph them.   Often I am privy to their affection which of course is just added bonus.  There are times when  a client dog gives me a snuggle or face touch, it just doesn't get any better.    I also love to hear about others and their dogs; their stories of an amazing life shared.  And yes, I love to see your images of all the dogs that you spend your life with, the loves of your life.

On this Thanksgiving day, give thanks to that four legged family member.  After all how lucky are we to spend our lives with dogs?

Crazy for a leash

Okay I want a show of hands; how many of your dogs go spinning out of control when they see their leash? I thought so. Over the years I've seen so many dogs who just loose it at the sight of their leash in the guardians hands. Sometimes even the meer opening of a closet, the leash closet is all it takes to send your dog into a whirling tornado. This usually starts out small and over the months grows into a huge uncontrolable issue. And why does it grow? Because we fuel it.

Leash desensitizing is one behavior that is very easy to stop. It may take a while and needs commitment, consistency and dedication for the long haul if you want to accomplish the task at hand though. Desensitize: To render insensitive or less sensitive. To make emotionally insensitive or unresponsive. How nice would this be? Imagine picking up your dogs leash and seeing only a slight reaction, maybe raised ears instead of having your dog launch themselves at you? So the goal in desensitizing the leash is to stop the craziness, correct?



Like I said, it's easy. So what do you do? Pick up the leash, at different intervals during the day. In the beginning you put the leash on the floor in a room, leave it there. After a couple days when your dogs stops staring at the leash, kick it when you go by. Once your dog has stopped responding to the kicking, you pick it up and put it back down. Next you will pick up the leash and move it somewhere else, put it on the floor. Perhaps put it on the couch for a couple of days or pick it up and carry it around for 5 min. or so then put it down.

The big secret is the unknown. You are changing the association that your dog has with "the leash." "I might just be moving the leash, or maybe just putting it away." This really helps your dog in the "control" department.  Once a leash means walks and only walks; and if your dog LOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS their walks then it's pretty difficult to calm them. But if the leash movement means lots of different things then your dog is always guessing.

Now here is the icing on the cake; hook your dog up onto their leash and take it off. That's correct; go to your dog, put on the leash and then take it off. Walk away like no big deal. Then put the leash on and let them drag it around for a while, that sure takes the umph out of a leash. What you are doing is taking the almighty power out of the leash. You can even hook them up, walk out the door, and walk right back in taking the leash off and dropping it.

Mix it up, you will be doing your dog and yourself a big favor. Oh and don't get crazy excited about telling them they are going for a walk either.

Quit while you're ahead



I have several sayings that I try to stick to throughout my life, and as a Mom I have taught these to my children over the years.  I guess one could say that they are my guiding principles, my husband calls them this.  They pretty much can be used in any situation, any circumstance, time or place.  One is as the title says "Quit while you're ahead."  When would this ever be a bad idea?  I often hear myself saying it when we have been at the park for a good while, best to go home now.  Everyone is happy, healthy and nothing bad has happened.



In training, this statement is very wise indeed.  Always end on a positive which can be loosely translated to "quit while your're ahead."  Had a good training session? stop.  Been at the dog park for 1/2 an hour of fun?  Quit. I often see dogs at the dog park who have obviously been there far too long and like small children, they are tired and cranky.   Stranger had a nice greeting and visit with your pooch?  Quit.  Pushing it can often lead to a negative; it is always best to quit while you're ahead.  Even when tossing a ball, frisbee or stick I will after a good amount of tosses say "let's quit while we are ahead." Luke tends to tweak himself when he goes after a ball.  Poor ole' Tilley will sometimes stumble and hurt herself so if none of this has happened and we've had fun, quit.

Many activities or interactions can lead to negative association if they go on too long.  So think about length of time and degree of enjoyment, quality is often much more preferable than quantity.  And just maybe "quit while you're ahead."