Get your play on

The other day while I was at the park, the one that I shot the three legged dogs at I met a bunch of dog folks.  They were mulling around a beautiful grassy area and their dogs were having a blast.  I always ask before I shoot so I approached and was given the okay to shoot.  Two of the dogs were having the best of time and the contrasting color and types was even more fun to watch.  One was a beautiful standard poodle named Star, the other an adorable young black labrador girl named Ella.

Ella ducking as she sees the inevitable tackle coming.

I love shooting dogs having fun, and these two were in the thick of it.  The game was fast and furious and so much of it is missed by our mere naked eye.  Having been able to stop the action, you can read  more into what is going on.  These two ran so hard that you couldn't take your eyes off of them, literally.  When dogs start playing and running like this it is of the utmost importance to watch what is going on.  They can slam into you without ever seeing you.  I have several friends who have had dislocated knees because of running, playing dogs.

This may appear scary but it is all in fun.  Note the dogs tongue to the left?  Relaxed and showing no concern.  Seeing the entirety of Stars body makes it very clear that this is all just fun. 

I use to have these teeth flying in my house all the time when all three dogs would play fight hard. I don't see it anymore with the old girls.  Tilley and Jessie use to lay on a big bed, both with teeth displayed exactly like the image above just chomping each others teeth.  The clanging of the teeth made me think that someone was going to lose a tooth, but they never did.  It is all fun, and very important to know what is fun and what is not.  So this big display of teeth alone does not mean an aggression, you must look at the whole body of the dog.   I have seen humans react very badly to dog communications.  Dog's cannot speak so they must use body language.  To stop them from using their means of communication opens up a whole box of problems.

This one is a mere seconds later.  Again notice Ella's relaxed face, dogs read dogs very well.  Often it is the humans who see problems when there are none. 

Here Ella goes in for the face bite.  Note the relaxed position of Star's mouth and ears.  This shows that he is relaxed and has no concern about the face bite, knowing it is all play.

So with my camera in hand I shoot the fun and deek out of the way as they speed by just missing my knees, one chasing the other.  First Star chasing Ella, then Ella chasing Star.  And like children there comes a time to say enough.   I could have watched all day and when the owners said that it was time to stop, I think that I was more disappointed than anyone. 

Is there anything better than dogs having fun?  Well other than watching them have fun.

Tilley

Today's blog is all about Tilley, yep Kalchan's Time for Tilley.  It is her 14th birthday and one that we are celebrating bigtime because I wasn't sure that we were going to have a 14th.  But let's start way back in the very beginning.  Tilley was born on March 13, 1997 in Manilla, Ontario, Canada.  I first met her when she was only 3 weeks old.  I was only allowed a quick peek through the crack of an open door as she nursed with her brothers and sisters.  Manilla was a four hour drive, I'd made it to meet Tilley's family.  And I met a lot of them that day, Tilley's Grandmother, her aunt, uncle and a sister from a previous litter.  I was impressed with every single one of them and hit it off with the breeder.  It was on that day that I decided to add one of these little black guinea pig looking puppies to our home.

It seemed forever, I had to wait four more weeks before I could go and pick her out.  But the weeks passed and I was soon off to Manilla again.  The drive is beautiful with scenic lakes scattered almost the whole way there.  Once there it was nearly impossible to visually see a difference in the puppies, they were all various shades of black.  So with much decision making and the help of Tilley's breeder she was chosen.

Tilley came to join our family in May 1997.  Tilley has had an amazing life and she is one fabulous dog.  I call her our Lassie in poodle clothing as she is pretty much as perfect as they come.  Tilley was a water dog right off and loved nothing more than diving off the end of a dock to retrieve whatever happened to be thrown in.  Soon she was learning and excelling at diving underwater and pulling up whatever she could find down under.  She was my star obedience demonstrator for all of my group obedience classes and helped with any aggressive or fearful dogs in the class.  Tilley has  always been a very neutral dog which is very non threatening.  She once helped a little girl begin to conquer her fear of dogs.

Tilley started into Frisbee in her prime and was soon an airborne flying disc dog.  She has chase drive off the charts and it shows in her drive to retrieve.  Yet she turns it off quickly and easily and is just as happy in your lap on the couch.  Tilley has appeared on Pet Star twice and if you watch reruns on tv you are bound to see her sooner or later.  She has been the rock in our pack for 14 years.

After being stricken with Vestibular disease early in January 2010 she showed what a fighter is.  She got through the worst of it and has thrived now over a year in a crooked world.  She now retrieves her ball again, runs and generally loves life.  We had another set back in the spring, she was completely paralyzed in the front and could not even stand.  With her on the examining table at the veterinarians he explained that with this severe level of paralysis she had a 50-50 chance of recovering.   I took a bottle of prednisone, carried her back to the car and lay her down.  I told her through a heavy stream of tears that it was now all up to her.  I would help her by carrying her from point A to point B but she had to fight.   And fight she did, she was up on her feet, not steady but on her feet the next day.  And as they say "the rest is history."

So here we are today, March 13th 2011 and my girl is 14 years old.  Tilley is spending the day or at least an hour at the beach.  We will take our time walking there and bring a blanket for her to sit and take in the scene.  No doubt she will want to be up and playing in the water, and being that it is her birthday we will indulge her a small bit.  Happy Birthday my old girl.

Three legs

I headed out early yesterday.  With news of a Tsunami on it's way I wanted to see if I could get some photographs.  I considered that we might not get anything more than our normal waves but being that I was headed to the beach, that's never a waste of time.  The traffic was really light, "was it that I was just early?"    I arrived in Laguna Beach  at 8:30, I had heard it was to arrive at 8:30 am.  I got my camera and other gear and headed towards the beach.  As I walked down the path along the cliffs up above the ocean it looked pretty normal to me, except that there were a lot of people looking at the ocean with cameras. 

Well; we got nothing, even less waves than when I usually go down to shoot waves.  But on the way down I did spot these guys above.  Two gorgeous dogs, a Doberman and a Shepherd that were walking strange.  They were heading straight towards me when it hit me, they both were missing a leg.  I had to stop and ask.   Both dogs were rescues and both had three legs for different reasons.   The Doberman named Lefty, was born with a defective left front leg which was useless and amputated.  The other dog who's name I cannot remember so...... Dad of these dogs, if you are reading this please email me his name.  Anyhow, this gorgeous buff looking boy had his legged injured by a car backing over him.  It was purely an accident, but he had to have his leg was removed.

I talked to these handsome boy's Dad about the problems of having only three legs.   I asked what the biggest issue to deal with is.  "Their energy," he told me.  They are ages 3 and 4 and very much normal energetic rambunctious boys.  They can run like the wind and only a whippet can outrun the Shepherd.  The Doberman easily clears a four foot fence, amazing right?  Both of these boys were so sweet (I even got a kiss from Lefty) and seemed to be managing just fine.  Their Dad obviously has done an amazing job with them.  They were both extremely muscular, something very important if you have to hop around on three legs.

He had  adopted Lefty the Doberman first after having many Dobermans in his life.  We discussed how wonderful the breed is and how we both really liked this breed.  After having Lefty in his life he heard about the Shepherd and thought that they might be a perfect match.  "A fair fight," as he put it.  And it makes good sense I think. 

This gorgeous boy is also a three legger.  I photographed him a while back for my Rescue Greyhound book.  And he too was as sweet as they come.

I was thoroughly impressed and thought that my meeting with these boys and their Dad was way better than any big waves.  It made my day and the trip to the beach very worthwhile.

On a happy note - things that make me smile

Okay; admittedly I've been a bit down on mankind lately.  So; today's blog is upbeat, about all the good many of we humans do for our dogs and dogs in general.  Over the years I've met a lot of dog folks, between training, shooting and chatting about dogs in general there have been many.   And there are folks who I've seen but never had the chance to meet who are wonderful dog people.  Take the old gentleman I saw one day when I hit the park at an off hour.  An elderly man was very slowly getting out of his car, I watched but gave little notice.   On our trip back around the park I was startled as we came across a bridge and walked by a very long ornamental grass area.  There behind the grass sat the man in a wheel chair and beside him sat a very senior dog.  A huge smile crossed my face; "how wonderful."  They were simply sitting, enjoying one another.

All the regulars that I see on my daily outtings, they never miss a day.  The folks that make a point to fill their dogs daily lives with walks and companionship.  The people who pencil in the trip to the dog park just so that their dog can meet up with their friends and have some fun.  All the wonderful humans who attend the dog walks around the world just to raise funds for the dogs in need.

Then there are the wonderful companies, the ones who give a portion of all their profits to the dogs.  Amazing.  The rescuers, and sadly there are too many to name but you know who you are.  You inspire me, you give me hope that maybe there will be a day when people always treat animals the way that they should be treated.  How about the folks who foster the rescued dogs, that has got to be one of the most difficult tasks involving rescue.  Sometimes your foster just doesn't make it, heartbreaking.  Often they do make it and thrive, only to move onto to love someone else.  Yes this is the goal but tremendously difficult to the human who has a piece taken out of the heart with each foster that leaves their home. 

For the folks who do the little things; like saying thank you to your dog.  This may seem like nothing but the whole psychology around is right.   People around the world who welcome their dog into their home as a true member of the family, that makes me smile.   When I see little things like people having conversations with their dogs.  When I see people gaze at their dog and the dog gazes back, that makes me smile.  And when I see people and dogs in a pile asleep, that really makes me smile.  Humans aren't all bad, in fact most of us are pretty darn good.  We can tend to focus on the bad, but this one is for all the good dog folks out there.  Thank you to you all for being so great.

Oh, and to the gentleman who stopped me in the parking lot today to tell me how great my truck was, that really made me smile.  :)

Where has our compassion gone?

Is it just me or is it the fact that our modern technology has opened a door of information to us that we just see more?  I'm sure that not a week goes by that I don't get an email, call or Facebook about an old dog being turned into a shelter by their owner.  These out of all the "dumped" stories have got to be the saddest.  I just don't get it.  A family has a relationship with a dog for it's entire life and as it draws to the end, when they need support, tlc, compassion and patience it is all taken away.  It breaks my heart each and everytime I read one of these stories.  As you know I have a houseful of old dogs and as I look at them curled up in their favorite spot, warming their body in a beam of sunshine, I can't imagine what it would be like for them to be dumped into a cold concrete cage to live out the rest of their days.  Where has our compassion gone?

"I just can't do this."  Is this the reason?  Is it too much work to care for an aging canine?  Well folks, life with dogs is rarely glamorous.  Oh sure there are the ones you see on t.v. the starletts carrying around their glammed up pocket pooches in their designer bags that live in a fantasy world.  But if you are a regular type person with a dog, it can get messy.  Messy is an understatement sometimes.

All I want for my old dogs is for them to be as comfortable as I can make them.  I want to make sure that they get the best of food, love, care and above all patience and understanding.    Heck, we are all heading in the same direction.  Sadly they will beat us to the finish line but while they are here they give us their all.  Do people love their dog all their young life and then all of a sudden do a 180 and not like their dog anymore?  I think not, I think anyone who surrenders a senior dog to a shelter or rescue for that matter, never had compassion for their animal.  And I say here for all to see, shame on you.  I am appauled that humans do this and think it is thoroughly disgusting. 

It is a sad situation for all involved.  The human surrenderer undertakes a deed that is heartless and cruel.  The facility feels helpless knowing that a senior dog has little chance to leave and find a forever home.  And the dog itself, just imagine the confusion.  Many old dogs have little hearing or sight, a change can be catastrophic to their well being.  The life they have always known, gone in a flash and they are left alone, all alone to face their final days.  I'm sure that many slip away in despair, their last days spent waiting for the return of their family that never comes.  It is a heartless act.

What does it say about our race?  It doesn't look good from where I'm sitting.  We have put so much emphasis on unimportant things that many of us have become caught up in it all and have lost the way, lost any speck of compassion that we may have had.   What sort of example is this for our children?  A horrible lack of respect for life, a compassionaless act.   Life is important, any stage of life, not just the cute young part of it.

With all the people letting down humanity itself, there is hope.  There are those who are stepping up and giving these old dogs the respect that they deserve.  And for many it may be the only love and real care that they have ever known.   I applaud anyone who takes in an old dog, those who restore an old dogs dignity.  It is true, old dogs can be stinky and a lot more work than when they were in their prime.  But the care given to an old dog should come from the heart, it is not a duty but a gift we are given when we live with a dog all of our life, the gift of giving.  A time for us to give back.

Good morning

Yesterday morning I awoke to the feeling of someone pushing on my back.  That someone was a dog so I thought that it was Jessie.  Since her dementia has gotten worse my son gets up in the morning, let's her out and then puts her into our bed.  I thought it was funny that I hadn't noticed him bring her in and that she was already asleep.  She is typically restless and takes forever to settle.  I reached my arm around to feel for sure and it was a big curly body snuggled up tightly to me.  It was Luke, this was also odd because he almost always is at the bottom of my husbands feet.  But for whatever reason, he had snuggled up nice and close, what a way to wake up. 

It was then that I heard my son come in to put Jessie on the bed.  He normally puts her over beside me but that spot was taken.  I asked him to just put her on the floor, she could snuggle up with Tilley.  He did and left to have his very early breakfast.  I tried to drift off again but listening to Jessie pace around the room sort of restricts sleep.  I listened to her go down to the kitchen where my son chatted with her.  Everyone always asks Jessie what's she's doing these days and frankly I don't think she knows too often.  She must have had an almighty drink of water because I then heard the family slosh sound, nice.  Then I heard another slosh closer to our room and she came in.

"Jessie puked," my husband exclaimed, "yep."  She does this when she drinks too much and then takes off running, she has always done it.  And of course she regularly does it in the morning as you are waking up.  I lay there thinking that I should really get up and clean up the water, that's what it is just slimy water.  But I heard my husband get up, gag, say a few choice words under his breath, gag again and then crawl back into bed.  I always laugh when he gags, I never gag so I find it really funny when big tough guys gag over a bit of puke.  This morning I just smiled knowing how much he hates it yet he got up and cleaned it up.

I got up and made some breakfast for us, all 5 of us.  We always have breakfast in bed with the dogs to start off the day.  And I have to say that it is one of my favorite times of the day.  Everyone eats, and only Jessie is running around hunting for scraps.  Both Tilley and Luke remain in their comfy spot waiting for their food to be tossed to them.  I'm a really good aim now, I use to be a horrible aim and never got it where I had intended.  But with much practice Tilley rarely has to even bend for her food.  This is the life, the true meaning of a dogs life right?

Time to get up and I head to the kitchen.  The puke spot downstairs was saved for me to clean.  And of course she hit the living room carpet.    No gagging, I just cleaned it up.  I then go and get Jessie's blanket out of her crate.  She pees on it every night now, since her dementia that is.  We've tried diapers but she won't keep them on.  So that goes in the wash as well.

Then it was off to the gym for me while the three oldies sleep.  Both Jessie and Tilley were curled up on the giant dog bed set up in front of the patio door in my room and Luke was wrapped into a cocoon with the down comforter still in the spot I'd first noticed him in this morning. 

I'm not gone long, maybe 45 minutes.  When I return both poodles are where I left them.  Jessie has no doubt been in and out several dozen times but is now asleep on the bed big enough for 5 large dogs.  A little old nugget curled up in a very deep sleep. 

It  doesn't always run like clock work.  Some mornings are more hectic than others, but it's my morning and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A dog's life

A dog's life; this phrase is meant as "the good life."   A dog's life is a short one, some shorter than others.  They come into our life as a puppy, a cute, wriggly little addition to the family.  But then they can drive us mad with their puppy antics.  Some of the regular puppy antics torment us leading to the inevitable "never again, no more puppies."  From puppyhood, through adulthood and into senior years our dogs are teaching.  Every step of a shared life with our dog is a learning one. 

 

I feel very strongly that every dog that we share our life with changes us, opens our eyes so that we may see things we may have never seen before.  Take people who have never had a dog before, never wanted one, never got the whole dog thing.  If by chance they end up with a dog they are changed forever, never to be the same pre-dog person again.  Dogs are constantly affording us lessons on life and what is important.  Patience, understanding, flexibility, caring and so much more. 

How many people have not had their patience tried by a puppy?  I have.  I think patience is one of the most important things you can learn in life.  Life sometimes is just too hectic, too rushed, too busy.  Our dogs teach us to just chill, relax, don't stress about the small stuff.  Looking through the eyes of a canine we get to see the world from a completely different aspect.  We see the world one way, dogs look at it from a different direction.

Yesterday I had to use my baby gate; I don't use it often now but I'm glad I kept it all these years.  I had a guy here working and I was on my computer with the dogs in my room.  It was important that I hear the guy if he called me so the baby gate was used.  For me it was a good option, it served the purpose, not for Luke.  He was a complete stress monkey, he stressed so much about the gate that I thought he might just have a seizure.  So instead of removing the gate I altered my behavior, I got as chill as I possibly could.  We walked around, near the gate, looked at the gate and generally didn't give a hoot about the gate.  It worked, he stopped stressing and just looked at it occassionally.  Luke has taught me this, it is essential I alter my own behavior for him. 

Having a new puppy can turn our lives .upside down, but we must make many adjustments.  The prime goal is to teach our little ones how to assimilate smoothly into our human world.  This while meeting their canine requirements.  When our dogs are in their prime we need to alter our routine to accomodate their need for stimulation, both mental and physical.  We take great comfort from hanging out with our dog when they have passed the puppy stage. We beam with pride as they display their good behaviors while out in public.  And we take great joy in watching them enjoy life.  It is the little things in life that dogs take joy from, this is a huge lesson for us. 

Do our dogs care if we drive an old beater truck vs. a big shiny new SUV?  No.  Do they care if we are size 4 or 24?  NO.  Does it bother them if we stay in our pajamas all day and snuggle in front of the fire?  Heck no, they love it.  Dogs take great joy from sitting, walking, running, watching, swimming or sleeping beside us.  There favorite thing to share with us?  Our time.  And it is time that we must give to make our time more enjoyable.  When we take on the role of canine guardian we have work to do.  It starts from day one and continues for the entirety of our dogs life.

Sharing time with a dog is life altering, if you allow it to be and let them in your heart.  Once inside they surely can mess with your head and your heart.  What they give us in life lessons creates a better us for the next dogs in our lives.

Third eye lid

Luke is very awake here, no third eyelid in sight.

Third eye lid?  What the heck?  Many people have no idea that dogs have additional eyelids.   The haw or nictating membrane is found in the inner lower corner of the eye.  All dogs have them, some are more visible than others.   Often the droopy eyed breeds have much more obvious third eyelids.  The third eyelid is a protection lid.  You will see it appear as your dog starts to fall asleep.  Some dogs will even sleep with their eyes open, giving them a very creepy appearance as the third eyelid covers over the eyeball.  Tilley is an open eye sleeper.

Getting sleepy, third eyelid will be coming up soon.

Here you can see the lid making an appearance.  It is almost covering Luke's entire eye.  You can only see the very top of his eyeball which is not covered. 

Here the lid is covering the eyeball almost completely.  Luke's is very translucent giving him a creepy look as his eyeball rolls back when he falls asleep. 

The third eyelid is also used to protect the eyeball in case of injury.  It will cover over the ball and protect it from further damage.  If your dogs third eyelid goes up and doesn't come down, then they may have an eye injury or a painful eyeball.  Unfortunately the third eyelid can be damaged itself and there are many issues surrounding the third lid.  Cherry eye is probably the most common third eyelid issue.

Problems with the third eyelid

Dogs that have very prominent third eyelids can have a sleepy sort of look.  The lid itself can sit up quite high on the eyeball making it much more obvious.  If the lid is a light color it can be even more obvious.  Many people panic when they first notice the eyelid and believe something to be severly wrong with their dog.  

The lid can come up for many reasons, sleep, injury, pain and even fever.  So if you've never noticed it, watch your dog as they fall asleep.  As with everything they are all different so it may be barely visible or very visible, but it's there.

What is your leash saying?

Today I took the girls out for their snail paced walk, we had a great walk.  Tilley ran after her ball and Jessie sniffed, that's what she does.  After our walk we headed home so that I could get Luke and head out for our faster walk.  We went somewhere different today, I was needing some quiet time so I took us to the quiet path.  As I pulled up I could see a lady with her very tiny chihuahua, he was watching my car.  No doubt he wanted to see who was going to be getting out of the car.  Luke hopped out and immediately marked the place as his.

We started our walk and the little guy ahead of us waited.  He really wanted to see Luke, his owner was trying to get him to walk.  He was having nothing to do with it and headed towards us.  His tail was up, he was looking at Luke sideways so I was ready for a yank.  This dog was probably all of 5 lbs and Luke
tends to be a clod at times.  Seeing that the little guy seemed quite confident I let the leash loose but was still ready to yank Luke out of the tiny situation if I had to.  If I keep the leash tight, Luke becomes leash aggressive.  Not always in a big way but it amps him up.  So with the leash loose and me ready to pull him out they had a wonderful hello.  Both were wagging, both were quite dominant but no one was pushing the macho thing.

When I think that we should exit I call to Luke and have him follow my verbal cue.  If I pull on his leash he will again become agitated and is likely to get into it on the way out.  Often when we have sort of an iffy meeting, pulling on the leash is all that it takes to take it from just okay to bad.  When you tighten up on your leash it immediately sends a message "something is up."  Being that Luke is a reactive dog, every one of his behaviors is bigger than normal.  Although this can be a challenge to deal with it also gives me a big insight into dog behavior.  Things that Luke displays are all normal, just much more difficult to read in a non reactive dog. 

If you do need to shorten up on your leash, move up closer to your dog so that they don't feel the shortening process.  For Luke it is a cue immediately, so I've learned to be very stealth about the process of leash reining in.   Along with reining in you must create a positive association to greeting other dogs.  If you get all uptight, reining in and/or yanking the leash it sends a huge negative sign to your dog.  So just chill, loosen up but always be ready.

Don't sweat the small stuff

Switching from the ease of dog food to preparing your dogs food can be intimidating but it doesn't have to be. One of the most important factors in good nutrition both with our own and our dogs is variety. By feeding a variety of foods you have a better chance at complete nutrition. Sure there is a lot of things to learn about it; and if you really want to do it at an optimum level then get researching.


I think the best thing to think about is how you eat yourself. There are few of us that eat a completely balanced meal everyday. Sure we know what we should eat but do we all the time? Nope. In fact many people live on very poor quality food and so do many dogs who get the poor quality dog food. But when you've seen what good nutrition can do first hand there is really no going back.

I have been able to cut down Luke's seizures to almost non existent. And little Jessie grew all her hair back that she had lost over the years. My guys are 10.5, 14 next week and almost 15 and are amazingly healthy. I started out feeding real food with very little knowledge of what their diet should consist of ideally. But even the small change from dog to real made a huge impact. It is amazing what nutrition can do. 

I understand that there are many people who love the convenience of dog food.  I feed my guys dog food every so often, sometimes I run out of real, I might be just plain lazy one day and I want them to be able to eat dog food in case.   Just make sure that you are feeding the best food that you can get.  What grade would your dog food score, I'm sure many of you would be very surprised to find out.  Here is a great website that rates most of the dog food brands. 

Dog Food Analysis

The old saying "you are what you eat," is very true.

Peace and tranquility

Who doesn't love a sunset?  The warmth of the day slowly fading along with the sun.  As the sun starts to set the light changes casting a golden glow onto everything it touches.  The cool evening air drops down to surround you and your dog as you enjoy the end of another day.  I love sunsets.

Looking for a silver lining, you will find it in a dog.

When the contrast of a stark background, stunning dog and sunset work.

There is a peacefulness that surrounds a sunset.  Sitting with your dog and enjoying just being is one of the best things in life.

No flash, no man made lighting, just a sun setting.

Sometimes the natural beauty can be missed, like an amber light catching the soft spot between the ears.

The time is fleeting, we often miss it as we rush through our days.  Take a few moments out of your day to just sit.

Customer service

Customer service, this may seem like a strange topic for a dog blog but customer service is customer service no matter what you are purchasing.  I put a VERY high value on customer service, to me it is up there higher than the quality of the product itself.  Even if I absolutely love a product, think that it is the most wonderful thing ever invented I will not recommend it to others if the company has bad customer service.   If I eat at a restaurant and adore the food but the service is bad, I won't go back.  Customer service is a make or break it for me.

In my own businesses if my customer is not happy, I find a way to make them happy, bottom line.  So when I contact a company either online or on the phone and someone gives me attitude, I am not happy.  I'm not only not happy, I'm ticked off.  And I'm not a great customer when I'm ticked off, believe me.  So what is good customer service?  Being attentive to your customers, making sure that they are happy, going above and beyond to make sure they are more than satisfied with their product or service and being there.

Being there, yep, being there.  Do you know how many companies that I have contacted online or even on Facebook that I've not been replied to?  I test dog products, and much of my testing has to do with acquiring the product.  When I find a really cool new product I contact the company to see if they would be interested in me testing their product out.  Often a company will contact me, which is nice.  I have several different dogs that test products in a couple of different homes.  Once the product is tested it is then blogged about with accompanying photos.  Great advertising if we like the product.  So when I make the first contact and don't get replied to for a  month?  Of course sometimes it can be our wonderful technology that is the problem but if they don't get back to me the second time?  Hmmmm.

I have often walked into a new pet store to have a look around and am disappointed in the CS.  They aren't helpful, no one asks you if they can help you, nothing.  Then there is the extreme opposite, the sales staff try to sell you everything under the sun.  They convince you that your dog needs all these things and they won't go away.  Geesh. 

Not long ago I heard about a company that produced very quality specialty car harnesses for dogs.  The owner of the dog had bought a harness online, it didn't fit so they tried to contact the company.  They never got a return call or email for weeks and weeks.  This leaves one wondering if the company even exists any longer.  I know when I heard the story I passed this information onto others wanting to know about harnesses.  Customer service is everything.  She did eventually get in touch with the company but by then she was furious, easily avoidable.

For me if a company is not willing to stand behind their product, put the customer first then get out of the business.  Of course there are many companies who are strictly in it for the money and don't care at all if you ever come back.  But these days word travels fast, email, facebook, blogging etc gets the word out to places it would have never gotten to in the old'n days.  A faux pas which you may think no one will notice like turning down a service dog in your shop can be catastrophic.  Before you know it the world knows and you are being boycotted. 

Customer service is very important, yes even in the dog industry.  So step it up people.  Word travels fast.

BFFs

Does your dog have a BFF?  You know a Best friend?  One that they don't live with but is a dog?  Luke has a best friend and her name is Ragzz.  It's actually funny because she looks very much like Tilley, she is a blue standard poodle.  She looks the same but different, they are the same breed, the same color and they are both girls but that's about it.  I would never mix them up, their faces are very different.  We met Ragzz years ago and Luke and her are the same age, well Ragzz is a month older but we won't mention that.  Luke loves Ragzz and he treats her like no other of his friends. 

Luke is a social guy, he loves to meet new dogs but is very dominant none the less.  Not dominant like Jessie but still dominant.  He loves nothing better than meeting up with a gang of his friends and leading the way.  He always has to be out front.  You can see him beaming as he shows everyone where to go with "ya guys just follow me," written all over his face.  When he sees Ragzz at the park, heck even if he doesn't see her he gets so excited.  Often they will get there after us and if Luke hasn't had a chance to notice her yet.  I'll ask him "do you see Ragzz?"  He immediately stops dead in his tracks and scans the park.  As soon as he does see her his body posture changes, his ears drop and he charges.  She charges back and they meet in the middle of the park.  Much like one of those slow motion lovey dovey movies. 

    They are buds; and as buds he bites her all over when he sees her.  Luke is rough but Ragzz doesn't seem to mind being man handled a bit.  He gives her big face bites just like he gives me when I come home after a long time away.  He doesn't bite hard, they are affectionate bites.   She jumps around so excited to see him as well but she gives kisses instead of bites.  Once they've done their big greeting they just sort of chill and walk the park.  I love seeing my guys see their friends. 

Even if I bring Tilley who is not so social, she gets big kisses from Ragzz.  Tilley sort of holds her head up like "really, kisses, do we have to?"  She accepts them but has none to offer for anyone but her family at home.  Luke prefers girlfriends over guy friends.  He plays well with other guys but likes to make sure that they know he is "top dog."  He actually has amazing patience and even with the young obnoxious boys who have too much to prove, he will tell them over and over again without losing it.

Luke has a lot of friends, he has a little Catahoula look alike name Zoey.  A little Fox Terrier who he saw today, lots and lots of Standard poodle friends but Ragzz is his BFF.  It is just different with her, so cute to see the difference a BFF makes.

Does your dog have a BFF?

Breakfast time

Breakfast time at my house is always at a different time.  It really depends on what the morning brings.  I don't exercise the dogs on full stomachs so usually we walk first, cool off and then eat.  Of course they always eat a small snack early with us in bed so they aren't too hungry.  This was yesterday morning, Monday morning which is all the dogs day off.  So once I got back from the gym it was breakfast time. 

They had chopped chicken, salmon, apple, cabbage and eggshells.  Mmmmmmmmmm.  You'd never guess that Jessie is almost 15 and suffering from dementia when it's food time.  The dogs all have their own spot where they eat so there is never any confusion about who's bowl is who's. 

Luke has a strange habit of waiting until Jessie is done eatting to eat his food.  He's just putting in time here while Jessie chows down.

Tilley eats laying down most of the time now.  When she was a puppy she use to eat like this and since being stricten with Vestibular disease it is more comfortable for her.

This is the bed in the corner of the kitchen where Jessie must go after she finishes.  She's not so great about going there since her dementia is getting worse but once there with some help she'll stay until released.  What a cutie.

Tilley is done and Luke is just starting, now that Jessie is done.

A rare glimpse of Luke actually eating. 

Jessie waiting to be released.

After being released  Jessie cleans the place up.  Luke is a slob and does not pick up food on the floor let alone crumbs.

So there you have it; Monday morning breakfast at my house.  Feeding time is a calm and relaxed time.  With everyone understanding that there is no food stealing from anyone, there is no stress once so ever.  Nice. 

The Oscars-celebrities speaking out

Good Monday morning.  I was sitting watching the red carpet event before the Oscars lastnight when they had a piece about the amazing bags that they give to the nominees.  Like many others I was wishing I was a nominee, what a bag.  They quickly showed a canine related product by Earthpawz that was going to be in the bag.  Curious I hopped onto my laptop to have a look see.  What I found was a fairly new company with dog friendly cleaning products, impressive.  Without a second to waste I contacted them about trying their products.  I will be very excited to  try them out, and I will post my review here in the near future, so stay tuned.  And, yes it will be me trying them I don't have a cleaning service.  My cleaning lady's name is Sherri.  :)

So back to the Oscars, all the celebrities, pretty amazing to see so much put into an event.  But it is events like these that make celebrities a big deal and a big deal is sometimes a great thing.  One of the wonderful things about celebrities these days and in the past is their dedication to many charities and groups.  Celebrities have a voice, one that people will listen to over many others.  So when they take on the voice of a group or organization who is raising funds to help people or animals it is usually a wonderful boost in the amount raised.  Many celebrities choose multiple charity groups, which may encompass a dog group or two.

The more celebrities who step up in the name of animals the better.  Whether it is to raise awareness of abuse, help rescue group or just to help raise funds where they are most needed, celebrities can lead the way.  Causes that may struggle for years may quickly be rocketed into the limelight and the donations then start to poor in.  Anything that will draw attention to a good cause is beneficial to those in need.  Once a celebrity is on board it often becomes big news which is great for all the dog and animal groups that celebrities join.

Simply getting the word out and having others get on board is made so much easier when a celebrity supports a charity.   With their time, effort and goal to spread the word it of course is then in all the big news, magazines and television.  It's a win win for the dogs having a celebrity join the team.

If people don't know about a certain charity, it can be very difficult to raise funds for the group.  Getting the word out is essential.  Thank you to all the celebrities who lend their fame to help dogs around the world.

Dogs are dogs

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Okay; we are all guilty of anthropomorphizing to a degree, although some people take it to scary degrees. Last night I turned the channel to a show where human couples had adopted monkey's as their kids. No the animals were not purchased as pets; they were clearly tiny human substitutes. I watched in amazement as one woman was applying makeup to her little hairy daughter; odd to say the least. As far as dogs are concerned we all put human emotions on them at some time or another as well.


I am not into dressing dogs as humans; but I do believe in dressing for warmth. It was we humans who made the smooth coated and hairless dogs so we better keep them warm. My poodles are at this moment covered in blankets; they got a new haircut about a week ago and it was cold last night. It can be difficult not to place human emotion on our dogs but it simply is not how they work. Dog emotions are a far cry from our emotional roller coaster; they tell it like it is. Dogs don't lie; they don't play games, they don't do revenge or spite and they don't spend quality time on stupid drama. When humans think that dogs are doing some of these listed behaviors it is our mistake, not the dogs.

Dogs are very clear and when a dog is feeling; their emotions are shown in exterior body language. It is sad to see dogs clearly communicating to their guardian who in turn are oblivious to what is going on with their dog. I hate to see dogs being hauled around like a little ornaments; with no regard to the true dog wanting to be a dog. When I hear comments like "oh no she doesn't like to get dirty," or "she loves this sweater" I cringe. The list of of human emotions that some people put on their dog can lead to all sorts of issues between canine and guardian. For one; many people think that rules and regulations are mean. I see dogs who don't listen to their guardian all the time; this is probably one of my biggest irks. Dogs have to listen; yes dogs have their own mind and their own agenda but if I speak they must listen. If you have not taught your dog to listen to you; then you have failed.


Not listening and doing what they are told are entirely different; albeit the same. Not listening is simply a lack of respect and not doing as you as is very "I'll do what I want." It amazes me when people call their dog and they don't even get an acknowledgement; and they are okay with this. "Oh; she is busy right now; she didn't want to go for a walk today," or "she has to be in the mood." No; it's not cute and it could be dangerous. When you add a dog to your family you should learn about dogs; really about dogs. We are the leader; bottom line. If your dog is the leader and believe me there are a lot of leader dogs out there ruling their guardians lives. If you are not a good leader then you have failed your dog.


The term leader is getting a bad wrap these days. With regards to dogs in our home; they need a leader and that must be the human. Being a leader has nothing to do with strength, physical assertion or anger. Leadership is the act or an instance of leading; and when paired with the canine species it is our job to show them how to properly live in our very human world. But to try to mold them into little humans or misconstrue their behavior as human is unjust to them as a species. Dogs display a lot of behaviors that may be unwanted by us; and that is because they are dogs.

It is difficult to not put human emotion onto our dogs; hey I'm guilty. But to try to mold them into little humans or expect them to act like a good little human; well that is where it all goes wrong. Dogs growl, dig, mark, jump, bite, lick and steal. All of which are very unacceptable behaviors for a human; but they aren't are they?

Its raining

As I sit typing the big "storm" is just hitting.  We are suppose to have a big storm here in Southern Califonria and the temps will be dropping down to a mere 50 degrees if we even reach that tomorrow.  I know, that doesn't sound so chilly but for here it's freaking cold.  I know real cold, I lived 36 years of my life in Ontario Canada so yes I realize that 50 is really not that cold. 

So anyway, having California dogs they are not accustom to the rain so tomorrow morning they will do their look outside and go laydown until they absolutely have to go out.  Tilley and Jessie are actually from Canad but they were only 1 and 2 years old when we moved here so snow blizzards are a forgotten way of life for them now.    When we lived back in Canada both Jessie and Tilley were well accustom to rain, they've got a bit soft now much like us.  And like us they too enjoy sleeping on a rainy day.  Is there anything better than hearing the rain pouring down being snuggled in bed?

Tomorrow is suppose to be the worst of it and while my guys will be curled up in their blankets by the fire and have a few forced trips outside, many owners will be struggling with their dogs to go out.  Many dogs here just do not go out in the rain, they hate it.  Seeing them cringe as every drop falls on them you'd think that they were being tortured.  It's really funny actually but not if you are worried about your carpets.

So the big secret to get them to go out, is to go back to the beginning.  Back to square one when you treated your dog for going outside.  They don't want to go out and you don't want them to pee on the carpet so a couple of treats given for some bad weather is a very minor set back.  Hopefully you have taught them a verbal cue to relieve themselves outside so that you can call on that now.  Take them out, ask them to go and when they do they get a treat.  Just like old times.  And presto, the reluctance to going outside is gone.  A few big rain drops on their head is nothing now that they are rewarded for going out and facing the harsh California elements.  Joking of course.  ;)

I was considering hitting a dog show tomorrow to shoot some agility, obedience and rally but unless I see a sky like this one above it'll be a negative on that.  Unfortunately my camera feels much like my dogs about the rain.  Rain and cameras do no get along so well.  :)

My dogs

My dogs:  Jessie, Tilley and Luke.  I adore my dogs, who doesn't right?  Ask anyone about their dog and they'll go on and on.  I love hearing why people love their dogs and seeing that little beam of adoration in their eye.  I get to hear a lot about people loving their dogs and of course I too love to talk about my dogs.  I was stopped a couple of days ago at the park while walking Jessie and Tilley.  The woman had a cute little doxie, and I forwarned her that my little one was not friendly.  Tilley was busy with her ball so she wasn't too social right off the bat.  But after a bit she dropped the ball and came to say hi. 

The woman was fascinated when I told her that they were nearing 14 and 15 years of age. We talked about Tilley's Vestibular, Jessie's Dementia and basically how wonderful they were. Yes I was gushing. It was so cute hearing her talk to her little guy "now you don't want to go see that one," talking about Jessie. I love when I see how connected some people are with their dogs. There really is nothing like the bond between a human and a dog, truly there isn't.

And my dogs are no exception, I have a very special bond with all of them.  And they are all very different.  I have had standard poodles for 26 years and each and everyone has been very different.  Of course Jessie is quite different being a terrier, and a true terrier she is.  Jessie is very attached to me, but she is not mushy gushy like say Luke is.  But if she cannot find me she will cry.  My husband has told me often that when I'm out she runs around the house crying.  And especially now with her Dementia, deafness and near blindness it is a worry for her.  She is very dominant in the world of dogs and over the years I have helped her maintain her "top dog" status.  She is smart as a whip and has learned more tricks than any of my dogs.  She jumps through hoops, waves, spins, prays, pushes balls around, you name it she does it.  She has survived several falls that would have killed a normal dog.  And at the age of 6 we almost lost her to an auto immune disorder but here she is as almost 15 years old, crazy but healthy.  She is the most adorable little thing.

Tilley is my meek mannered girl, Lassie in poodle clothing.  She really is and if my kid fell down a well I know she would come and tell me.  ;)  Tilley always impresses people with her regalness and few have believed that she was a frisbee dog.  In fact Tilley has been on Petstar twice so if you watch re-runs you'll eventually see her performing with me.  Tilley is very affection but on her terms, she doesn't like if you hug her, unless she does the hugging first.  She adores my husband and son, she loves her men.  She is Miss Manners and my sons constant guardian, even now that he is 21 years old. 

And Luke, what can I say about Luke.  He is my mushy gushy one, he loves kissing and hugging and the more the better.  That is from his peeps, not strangers or acquaintances.  He is my constant shadow and wherever I am, he is.  He is a true guard dog and I dare anyone to bother me with Luke around.  He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen and the biggest pig in the same breath.  What he loves he loves, and he loves him some shortbread and buttered toast.  He considers himself the king of the castle and that makes him very happy.  He adores his Dad but is Momma's boy unless of course he just went on a run with Dad, then he is Dad's boy.  Luke is a reactive dog and has taught me more than any dog in my life.

So there you have it, my dogs and if you ask me?  I could literally go on for hours.  ;)

Dogs and kids

I have had dogs since the age of 18. We had two and three when my three children were born. And we had three dogs when my children were toddlers. We used baby gates a lot. And supervision was around the clock if the kids were hanging out with the dogs. But it wasn't until my son was born that the challenges started.

Both my daughters are huge dog lovers; but they weren't always interested in dogs. When they were small there wasn't a lot of interactions between them and it was not until the arrival of my son that the dogs learned about little kids. My son was different than my girls, as soon as he was mobile he made a b-line to the dogs. I remember the growling and the look on poor Clyde's face. As a Mother a growling dog is not something you want to hear but from Clyde's point of view he did not want a smelly small human crawling his way or on him.

So with work and time Clyde and my son got use to each other and learned how to appropriately interact. This is one of the most important things you can teach your dog and your child. Often when I am called in to work with a "problem" between children and dogs it is simply a lack of supervision and boundaries created by the parent.

I don't know how many times I've heard a parent say "the dog is going to bite you." If you think a dog is going to bite your child; whether it is your dog or someone elses dog then you should stop your child. It should never, ever be left to the dog to discipline your child; which is a very dangerous situation. It takes time for dogs to become accustom to children, especially small crawling children.

But even older kids can freak dogs out, it amazes me how dogs can tell the difference between a teenage human and an adult. Luke grew up with teenage kids and after a couple of years my sons friends look very much like grown men; at least in their size. But Luke could always tell the difference, he loved this age kids but grown men he wasn't really fond of. He acted differently and more guarding when a grown man would come in the house vs. a teenage boy.

It is so important to socialize dogs with children and if you can do it when they are puppies; all the better. Kids can really spook dogs and dogs can spook kids causing them to act strange with each other. Babies, toddler, kids and teenages smell different than grown humans. And they act very different at every age; to expect a dog to be okay with each you must socialize them with each.

The most important thing that I can never say often enough is to NEVER, EVER leave dogs and children alone. It is a recipe for a disaster. Of course all children and all dogs are different so at what age you allow them to be together is very individual. And as far as teaching each how to act with the other, that is the parents sole responsibility.

Never leave the disciplining of the kids to the dog, NEVER.

Submissive peeing

It sucks, yep! I'm with you on that, if you have a dog that pees everytime you come home, you look at her or raise your voice. I've talked to many people who are just fed up, they are sick of cleaning up the pee. Not only are they fed up but they are embarrassed to have anyone come over or heaven forbid someone should say "hi" to her. They'll be in for a sprinkling. I've often gone into a new clients home and had my shoes tinkled on, I don't care but the owners are mortified. So what can you do to stop submissive peeing?


The first and most important fact to deal with is when, when is this happening? Is it everytime you talk to your dog? Only when you come home after a really long absense? When anyone strange talks or touches your pooch? That is important because usually submissive peeing has very clear weaknesses. Weaknesses in tolerance. This means that your dog may be fine with people coming in your home, as long as they don't talk to her. Or she is fine with talking just don't touch. So every dog with a submissive peeing problem has their limit so to speak with regards to tolerance.

My very first dog had a problem with excited peeing, not quite the same issue but the same result. She was fine as long as we weren't gone too long. So when we were gone for several hours, we would walk in the front door, passed the dog and outside. She'd have her pee and if she got a bit excited before hand we were outside so it was okay. She quickly grew out of this as many dogs do.

Ignoring is a huge factor in assisting with the submissive pee as well. Many dogs are really happy that someone new is at your house, but it can take just one glance to push them over the edge. So your dog is dealing nicely with a new person, wagging low to the ground, dancing around super happy and then the push. "Oh no, that person is looking at me," and then the inevitable squat. As with most problem behaviors this one needs baby steps to succeed. So when someone walks into your front door, you immediately say "PLEASE, pretend I do not have a dog." All of a sudden people coming to the door is not quite as intimidating, they aren't even interested in meeting your little squirter.

Your pup gets use to the people coming and going with no problem. The next step is the hand drop, a hand dropped down to sniffing level of your dog. As she sniffs your guest, you praise calmly. The next step would be a touch, the person actually touches the dog once she has approached the hand. But still no eye contact, eye contact can be very powerful. Then give your friends a treat, have them come in, sit down and offer treats.

Now, all this is fine but you must also be practicing confidence building exercises. Sometimes nervous or overly submissive dogs thrive with structure. So we teach sit, down, stay, come and place. Place can be an amazing tool for a submissive dog. Let's say someone comes to your dog, you know what is going to happen so you tell your dog to go to her place. She runs enthusiastically over to her designated spot and waits for her treat. Beaming with pride the both of you are working through this.

You can also use a simple sit, this gives the dog a very specific activity. It builds confidence as they suceed and helps with the initial greeting process. Once people are in your home things are usually much easier for a submissive dog. That is unless you have someone over who just doesn't listen, they know dogs, all dogs love them. You know the type. I've heard so many stories of "my Brother, my Uncle, my neighbor." Some people will never listen, you can talk until your blue in the face and it will make no difference. So for these people you must take actions into your own hands.

Often a submissive dog will only pee when someone looms over them. This is a very dominant gesture from a human and if you offering it to a dog that is timid, it might just be what pushes them over the edge. People also tend to pat dogs on the head, DON'T. This too is a dominant gesture. My automatic default behavior when I meet a new dog is to bend down and turn sideways. If I am going into someone's home I often completely ignore the dog; of course I'm reading the behavior the entire time, I'm not really ignoring the dog. Many people just think that every dog wants to be pet, rubbed, hugged or have their ear scratched. They don't.

Submissive peeing can be cured. But patience is required and confidence building for the best success.  So if you have a little squirter, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you are not alone.  It is a very common issue.