‘Chicken Soup’ For The Dog Lovers Soul

I’m sure you all know the feeling… sore and scratchy throat, cough, headache! It seemed to be a weenie of a cold and travelled quickly from my head to my nose down to my chest within a few days. Other than a tickle in my throat, I thought I had it licked. A few days of feeling bad and coughing like crazy and it was gone! Woo Hoo, Cold 2013 was a minor event, in and out before spring even started!

Yesterday I woke up and was so congested and weak, every breath I could take followed with about a 30 second coughing fit!!! I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. I felt it creeping back over the weekend but didn’t think anything of it since it wasn’t so bad initially. Cold 2013 came in like a lamb but surely was going out like a lion. UGH!

Well, if there is a positive to being sick, it’s my furry buddies who didn’t leave my side.

I spent the entire day on the couch and they were right there with me, one at my back/feet, the other in front in ‘spoon’ position!

Almost makes not feeling well worth while, ALMOST!

Here’s to hoping Cold 2013 doesn’t hang around, hubby started with the same symptoms today! Let’s see if the puppers are into snuggling with Papa too!

Forget the Pibble knees…

I had intended on having this post be a part 2 of Whats With Pibble Knees and how breeders of all dogs, not just pitties, are ruining the quality of ALL breeds!  They don’t care about what the outcome is, they just want numbers.  The more in the litter or the more litters per year, the more dollars they get, whether its puppy mills or dog fighters.  In a perfect world, EVERYONE would just go to a reputable breeder to get their dogs.  Shelters would be extinct!  It would be an honor to breed dogs, create life and get quality living, breathing beings; they would care what was produced!  They would go to wonderful homes and would be taken care, as family members, until they die!  Teaching their human children the right and wrong way to treat animals so that when they had their own homes, the process would start all over again. OK I’m back from Lalaland!

Every time I started writing or thinking about the direction the post would take me, I found myself getting angry, sad or disgusted just thinking about what happens to animals in puppy mills, basement cages or secluded dog fighting ‘arenas’.  That’s one of the reasons I started fostering!  I couldn’t stand going to the shelters, seeing the animals in cages, barking like crazy, pleading with their eyes to get out.  Maybe I’m a weenie, I don’t know!  It broke my heart!  On the other hand, I’m not a person who would do well in a customer service job because I would most definitely give you my opinion and it was surely coming out when I was thinking about backyard breeders, puppy mills or dog fighters!  It would not have been a positive post!  Anybody interested in reading these posts are more than likely dog/animal lovers, have dogs/animals of their own or volunteers with dogs/animals/shelters and they already know what comes and goes, the horror stories about shelters/abused animals and how dreadful people can be and feel the same as I do ANYWAY!!

There is probably not, in recent history, a more prominent backyard breeder, dog fighter, animal abuser than Michael Vick and his Bad Newz Kennels!  After Michael Vick’s 51 pit bulls were seized from his property in April 2007, two rescue groups took most of them in — Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah, and BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls) in San Francisco. Don’t get me started on this topic!

Finally, the positive and the direction this post SHOULD go…

Although the Vicktory dogs don’t have perfect stories, most have perfect, positive endings!  If you follow any of them on Facebook (and if you don’t, I suggest you do), you can see that although they still have some issues and health problems, they are wonderful dogs, in fantastic homes with loving families who are willing to do the work that they needed, not only for the Vick dogs but for many other fosters as well!

Today, instead of beating a dead horse and  bashing people who do everything wrong when it comes to animals or pitbulls, read about where a few of these dogs are today, 5 years later!  All because of the work of loving people who didn’t think these dogs should just be discarded.  They knew they deserved a second chance and, OBVIOUSLY, rightly so!

Good Newz…

…and a smile

Darwin sez ‘How you doin’?’
Way to go Vicktory Dogs!

What’s with Pibble knees?

Our experience started with Dixie at about 4  – 6 months old.  She had been going to the dog park since she was 12 weeks old but one day, she started limping and it seemed that she didn’t stop for 3 years!  She had her first ACL surgery when she was just about a year old.  Dixie is a pretty lazy dog but when she wants to run, she takes off like a shot! When the limping started, our minds wondered, going over all the possibilities of what it could be.  Just cold from the snow?, a sliver in her pad; maybe she stepped on something?, a sprain?, maybe something got pulled?!  You start at the least painful and travel to the worst case scenario.  Finally, the decision to seek veterinary advise!  The routine is to rest the dog for anywhere from two weeks to 6 months along with anti-inflammatorys to see if that helps!  For Dixie it was a no go.  X-rays of her knee showed she had torn the ACL, the meniscus and had some arthritis.  She was only a year old!!  It would be surgery for her! 😦  Now if trying to keep a dog at rest for two weeks (give or take) isn’t hard enough!  Try keeping even a lazy dog from no running, no jumping, no stairs, no couches, no beds  FOR 6 WEEKS!  If any of you know little Miss Lazy Dixie Doodles, stairs may be ok but jumping, couches or beds?  BE SERIOUS!  She was not a happy camper – although she did like being picked up to get on the couch  AND it was a little funny watching her figure that cast out (especially when it came to potty breaks) but you could see she was miserable and it was hard just to lay down!

The one word of advise that came from the orthopedic surgeon when Dixie had her surgery was, if she tore one, she will more than likely tear the other!  ‘Sure Doc, what’s the likelihood!?’  Well, let me tell you that the likelihood is very high!  Not only did Dixie have to have yet another surgery, she tore #2 in less than a year.   Keep in mind that even though her cast came off in two weeks, the no jumping, no stairs, blah blah blah goes for 6 weeks and they REALLY don’t completely recover for  quite a few months!  Dixie barely recovered from #1 when we came to the realization that she would need #2!

I remember my husband giving me that look when he heard the cost of the surgery!  My response was, ‘What?  You think if it was Duke we wouldn’t be footing that bill?’  Of course we would!  Well, this post is dedicated to anyone who has had to rest their dog; restrict activity; take short,  slow walks; carried their dogs up and down stairs umpteen million times just to go to the bathroom OR who have had to pay for ACL surgery!  Talk about OUCH!   Brandon didn’t even have #1 paid for before she needed #2. (Thank you CareCredit)

So Dixie had two ACL surgeries, one year apart.  One of my past fosters that I still get updates on, Zoe, had double ACL surgery this year!  Like back to back isn’t bad enough, have them both done at the same time! DOUBLE OUCH (note the pain patch on her hiney)! Poor Zoe!

Yesterday, Delilah was told she has a luxating patella!  Actually, both her knees ‘luxate’ but the left one is pretty obvious where the right isn’t so bad!  For those of you who don’t know what a luxating patella is:  basically her knee slips out of the socket or grove that it is supposed to sit in/on and it causes her lameness!

 She had been coming in from the back yard holding her left hind leg up!  She wouldn’t put weight on it but then would walk it off and be fine!  One time this even happened on a walk WHILE she had her puppy Uggs on!  Here come all those from minor injury to worse case scenario thoughts!  Since she would need to be sedated for removal of a cyst from her hind right paw that kept growing, popping and bleeding, we thought we should see if the vet thought an x-ray was in order!  Good thing we did!  Although, it’s not the worst case possible and surgery is not necessary at this point, WHAT’S WITH PIBBLE KNEES!?!?!?!?!?!?  I hear so many dogs having to have these types of surgeries lately that it makes me wonder.  Actually it makes me mad because I have another thought as to why this happens but we will save that for another post!

And on second thought, I think the hardest part for the dogs is the cone!

Share on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/EnlightenedByADog photos of your dogs after surgery or cone pictures!

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My dogs crack me up!

I’ve always said that I don’t trust people who don’t have animals in their homes, or at least the ones who choose to NOT have them. There are valid reasons why people don’t have an animal; cost, medical, time, space…but the people who actually make that decision to not have an animal kind of makes me suspect! I am also leery of anyone that my dog doesn’t like! There is this apparently friendly, pleasant gentleman that I sometimes pass while waking my dogs; he lives on my block, always say ‘hello, good morning and/or have a nice day’ on his way to church! DUKE DOES NOT LIKE HIM! I trust my dog!

Although our household went eight years without having a dog in he house, we still had cats! Now, don’t get me wrong, cats are hilarious! Kitty Meow Meow has the loudest meow when she gets a milk ring in her mouth and walks around the house as if she just caught the best tasting mouse!  She is also the first animal that came back in our house after we had to put down long time animals back to back due to illness, therefore, she is the oldest.  She has seen many a dog and cat come and go!  When she sees a new one come through the door, she gets this look on her face like “Another one?  What am I not GOOD enough for you!?”

Kitty Meow Meow

Picasso  loves to climb into plastic Jewel bags and get picked up while he bites holes in the bag! He also knocks the plays with the alphabet magnets I have on my fridge for my nieces.  I’m not quite sure how many are under the fridge at this point.  I also say that Picasso has middle child syndrome because he is the one with the most ‘issues’ (his nicknames are Piggy-fatso because he is first to the food bowl, scarfs the food down and then pukes unchewed food, or Sissy-Casso because EVERYTHING scares him)  but he is still my baby boy!

Picasso

Thumper came into our home after Katrina and completely took over the house.  He was the cocky new kid on the block and would attack your legs, bite you and ‘flick’ you off with his hind legs!  I actually had to ‘Cesar Millan’ him once or twice.  He has since become one of THE most loveable cats with the longest fangs AND has his own stuffed pet frog (we will keep secret what he uses it for)!!

Thumper

Kurly Q is Ryans’ girlfriends cat and has only been with us for a short period of time but made himself at home immediately and fits in perfectly!  Kurly is quite the lover to all, human, cat or dog!  He walks around the house and rubs up against anyone around just to get some attention.  He is very vocal and sometimes looks for Delilah, rolls on his back when he finds her for a kitty/puppy wrestling match, then proceeds to meow like crazy as if Delilah is killing him!  We would yell at Delilah for being too ‘ruff’ but then realized Kurly kept coming back for more and can truly hold his own against a dog!  Truth be told, I think Kurly would kick Delilahs butt!

Kurly Q or Mr. Q as I sometimes call him!

Dogs on the other hand are not as predictable as the cats! Awhile back we heard Duke whining while staring at the couch, this went on for some time.  I finally put a blanket on the couch and he happily jumped on the couch, gave that nesting spin, a plop and a satisfied sigh!  (REALLY?  Who is training who here?)  He thinks he is a lap dog even though he is 65 pounds and passes gas when he sits down and turns to look at the closest butt to see where that sound came from! I swear he sometimes looks at another dog, rather than he own rear end, as if pointing a finger!

Did I do that?

Delilahs nesting ‘dance’ looks like she is a bucking bronco.  She puts her nose down as if sniffing the blanket, quickly bucks her head up and spins around, never moves a blanket with her paws or anything like a normal nesting routine goes (maybe you have to see it!)  She has OCD and chews on soft things like pillows, blankets or clothing when you scratch her neck or when she can’t play with Darwin. Not to destroy them, it’s that itchy chew that dogs do when they are scratching themselves in sensitive areas using their front teeth!? Or she barrels back into the house from outside when it’s cold or wet and does this backwards scoot along the back of the couch either drying or scratching herself, we haven’t figured out which yet.

Today, Daisy walked around the house with a large Milk Bone in her mouth while Delilah followed her around hoping she would drop it. This went on for, no lie, almost two hours before Daisy finally laid down and fell asleep with the biscuit still in her mouth. She busted me taking a picture of her though!

MY milkbone!

My dogs will play with a ball and when it rolls under a couch will whine to get it, even when there are 2 others laying right behind them,  they get the biggest kick out of tossing something in the air just to chase after it or get this confused ‘where did it go?’ look on their faces,  look for items that they think you’ve thrown, bury raw hides just to dig them up later because they are better in their soggy state or choose the sparkliest cat toy over the longest doggie rope!

If you are reading this, you are more than likely an animal owner so you see why I don’t trust people who choose not to have animals in their homes?  How could you love (wow an honest typo) LIVE without them!?  Share the funny things your animals do!!!!

Pittie Pride

Something happened with a previous post, so I deleted it and reposted. Sorry if you received any duplicates.

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Plain and simple, people who own pitbulls LOVE PITBULLS and aren’t afraid to show it!!! Just like when I had babies and wanted the world to know that I had a ‘baby on board’, now you know what my precious cargo is!!

Along with my, not yet personalized Pet Friendly license plate, I am not afraid to advertise my other ‘passions’!

Of course I am not alone in the pride I have for my pitbulls! I think pitbull owners are a pretty vocal group!

I find myself looking at the backs of vehicles to see what others are promoting!

Feel free to share with me YOUR passion!

The Important Things…

Wow, talk about procrastinating!  I thought I would blog more often but it seems that more and more time passes between each post!  With the holidays quickly approaching, time seems to be one of the many things I am in short supply of.  Today is Cyber Monday (when I started writing this post it was anyway) and I have not even gotten half my shopping done; I am THAT person who is normally starts in July and is done in October!  I would normally have all my decorations up already (in and out), the tree would be up and decorated, the presents would be wrapped and I would be working on the menu for Christmas dinner! Oh well, ain’t happenin’ this year!  Sometimes lifes curve balls just don’t allow for the same old routine when it comes to the holidays!  There are, however, a few things that we ALWAYS make time for:

BULLY STICKS!!!!!

In our house, food is love!  If I’m feeling bad, sad or angry; my husband wants to cook me something, go get me a treat or give me something to snack on!  Our birthdays or accomplishments are celebrated by going out to eat to a location chosen by whomever is being honored!!!!   A puppy in our house always knows they did a good job when the treats come out but when they get bully sticks, WOO HOO, LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!  Dixie says NOM NOM NOM!

Where did that mouse go! It’s in there somewhere, I just know it is!

Me luvz tennis ballzzzzz!

You can never have too much play time!  Even with the cold weather and those darned ‘curved balls’, whether it’s a trip to the dog park, PetSmart for a new toy or just running around the back yard, we always find a way to have some fun!  Sometimes Momma even lets some of the neighborhood doggies come over to run around with us or she opens the gate to the shore by the creek so we can get our zoomies out!

Can you say Three Stooges?!?!?!?

Most mornings for us start with a walk! Not one of those leisurely, stop and smell every tree, bush or leave kind of walks (OK sometimes we take those kind) but a disciplined, follow my pack leader, obedience filled walks!   When it comes to dogs, most owners try to get their dogs tired so that they are not so crazy by taking them for long, unorganized walk or dog park trips, not realizing that you don’t need to run a dog ragged to make them tired!  Slow down, get the dogs attention and make them understand what it is that you want from them!  Mental exercise can be far more draining than a 3 mile walk or a free run sprint for a dog!  AND you get a well mannered dog out of it!

Rest, relaxation and snuggles are of utmost importance.  At this time of the year our daily lives, already overwhelmed and overscheduled, are becoming even busier!  There are parties to attend… gifts to buy… greetings to send… and decorating to do. The hustle and bustle of these weeks before Christmas do not seem to offer us any chance to be still.  Take a moment, clear your mind and enjoy a few warm snuggles!!!!!

Catnaps! (no pun intended)

Taking a break

On Monday, my husband and I will be boarding a plane to take a trip that we both have wanted to take for some time. The kids are grown, tuitions are paid and, thanks to the economy, vacations are cheaper than ever. This gives us the opportunity to travel out of the USA and to a country other than Mexico or Canada! For 8 days, we will be enjoying pubs, castles and, what I am dreaming are the most beautiful views you can imagine!

For as much enjoyment, relaxation and excitement this vacation will bring, it also brings a tinge of sadness and a bit of guilt! As we take off to a far off land, 7 animals, not including fish or chickens, will wander through my house and wonder what happened to their routine! OK, 4 of those animals are cats and are probably not even going to notice we’re gone unless the food bowl empties before it can be refilled! Dogs, on the other hand, are creatures of habit! I’m reminded of that any morning I try to NOT take Duke for a walk! The mere mention of the word sends him into a tail wagging frenzy toward the front door! (Who says dogs don’t understand English?)

Sure, I have 2 legged children old enough to ‘take care’ of the 4 legged children and, deep down, I know they will do a fine job! Still, all I see in those eyes are the words ‘Please don’t leave us!’. As they lay quietly on the couch, I wonder if they are dreaming of chasing after us on our way out the door as their paws twitch and their muffled barks barely squeak out!

While away, I will wake up each day missing the morning walk I DON’T have to take and wonder how much they are missing me, knowing they are still sleeping tucked warmly in their beds; more than likely not even realizing the time we will be away! I’m sure I will miss them more than they miss me!

SO, although I am extremely excited to take this trip, I am just as excited to return home because there is just no better welcome home as one that is given by a dog, or two, or three!!!!

Where does the time go!?

This summer for us and the dogs has just gone by SO fast that I am having a hard time even remembering the fun things we’ve done let alone posting things to this blog.  My initial intention was a daily post of dogs and fosters and the things they do, maybe a training tip or two!  It turned to weekly, then monthly and now they are just random!  Between the ungodly weather and hospital visits, time really has just flown by! So here is, hopefully, a quick synopsis of what has been going on other than normal doggy antics, walks and funnies:

The most important, for me anyway, is that Mom is doing MUCH better!  Although she still needs ‘drainings’ about every 5 days or so, it seems to only be the lungs and not both, belly and lungs!  Medications are still being adjusted and we are keeping our fingers crossed that she will not need any permanent procedures that could cause more damage than do good!  We shall will know more tomorrow!

For those of you who don’t know Oscar and I on a personal level, we have been together for 30 years this past May!  It’s safe to say that we don’t ‘date’ that much anymore!  Well, on August 18th we got casually dressed up, hopped in the car to have a bite to eat and went downtown to see a movie called Beyond the Myth!  It’s a film about Breed Specific Legislation!  Anyone who owns a bully breed or pitbull type dog knows this discrimination, even if you have just gotten a strange look from a passer by or someone who has crossed the street when walking another dog!  That is bad enough and hard to NOT take personal!  This movie shows the real statistics, media bias and first hand accounts of family dogs unfairly taken from families for no good reason and destroyed simply because of their looks!  For anyone who followed Lennox in Belfast or Wicca in Canada, it’s a must see!  Yes, a tear jerker at times but eye opening as well!  We got to meet Fifty, the 2-legged pitbull!  What a ham and talk about ‘enlightened by a dog’!!!  A sad story, injury to the dog caused by human fear or ignorance and NO grudges held!  This is one of the sweetest dogs you’ll ever meet!  LOVE HIM!!!!

Delilah signed up for her PAWS pit-bull required basic obedience class!  I think she is a quickly becoming a Daddys girl because Oscar took Delilah for all her training classes while I kept Duke in a ‘sit-stay’ outside the rink!  We would purposely get to class early, before all the other dogs, so he could practice his ‘leave it’ while all the dogs paraded passed him to enter the rink!  He did very well and it’s starting to show on our walks!  Delilah did FANTASTIC in her basic classes learning heal, about turns, sit, stay, down, stand and leave it!  I am a proud Momma, she GRADUATED FIRST IN HER CLASS!  Not that I want to brag (ok, I want to brag) but that is 4 dogs, 4 basic obedience classes and 4 blue ribbons!  Woo Hoo!  It would be nice if that was the end of dog training but we all know different!  I’m sure Delilah will be signed up for an advance class soon and the training will continue…

Sometime before we got Delilah, we signed Duke and Dixie up for a dog walking group called Chicago Sociabulls.  It’s a ‘dog walking group founded in 2011 to provide an opportunity for socialization and exercise through an on-leash pack walking experience for pit bull-type dogs and their allies.’  With the summer months and the popularity of the group, there was a waiting list.  Our turn to join the walk finally came up two weeks ago!  We did our first required dogless walk and then got our registration to signup for events!  Their site is a bit like a Facebook friends page for dogs!  The new member coordinator wanted to make sure I ‘friend-ed’ her dog, which I did!

Boy that dog looks familiar!  O M GEEEEEEEEEEEE Could it be?

Merci?  Is that you?

I couldn’t type fast enough to send an email to the coordinator of the group to find out if she adopted her dog from PAWS!  Yes, she had adopted her dog from PAWS and yes, it WAS Merci!  I was overjoyed!

Being a foster family, the joy comes from taking care of the animal while they are in your home.  We treat them as if they are our own!  You feed them, clean them, walk them, discipline them and love them!  Then you cry your eyes out when it’s time to take them in for their surgery and transport to the adoption center where they will meet their forever families!  Job well done!  Normally, I stalk the website to see when they post their ‘recent pet adoptions’ just so I can get a glimpse of the new Mommy and/or Daddy!  I smile and cry a little more!  Now bring me the next puppy!

Mercis’ new mom was just as excited as I was which also made me ecstatic!  Long story short, I would have been happy with a current photo of Merci but her new family was willing to come over to my house for a play date and I was able to get a few more smooches!

She and Delilah became fast friends and I believe she even remembered Papa Oscar and the pond!

(All foster puppies end up curiously falling into the pond and get their first swimming lesson!)

We even got to walk together on Sunday at our first SociaBulls walk !

As if that isn’t ‘exhaustingly exciting’ enough!   In showing Mercis’ new Mommy the collage of photos I have of all my fosters, she notices that one of my other fosters looks familiar! From afar the dog looks more like an American Bulldog rather than a Pibble so I discount that it could happen twice in one week! I happen to be viewing pictures from previous SociaBulls walks and I notice a familiar GUY!  Yep, the guy not the dog!  (Remember I said I stalk the website to find the recent adoptions photos?) I compare the photo of the guy and his dog to the photo I stalked from the past adoptions!  I squeal!

Those ears on that dog have spots!  I didn’t notice that before!

OH MY, NOT AGAIN!  Is that my lipstick wearing pitbull China Girl!?

I do believe I may have a heart attack!  Confirmed via email!  That is China Girl!

 More emails flew back and forth with photos included and, by golly, another foster found!  As I said to both adoptive families, never in my wildest dreams could I imagine having any knowledge of one of my fosters and yet, I’ve found, by chance, two in one week!

Thank you Chicago SociaBulls for creating a group that led me to two of my past babies, both adoptive families for being receptive to the small role I played in their animals life and to my husband!!!  I could not foster if not for his help!!!

A little cooperation PLEASE!

Maybe I shouldn’t have Delilah out on leashed walks just yet!  There are MANY distractions and sometimes I feel like I take ten steps backwards in training when we have a unproductive walk!  Most of the times its my own fault!  I may be in a bad mood, easily agitated (like today) and a dog just doesn’t respond well to anything less then a positive, calm, assertive energy!  I may have started out on a good note and pushed a little too fair not realizing that we still need to get back home on that same good note!  On the other hand, I feel that keeping a puppy ‘secluded’ from the world could be worse then having her chase a leaf on a windy day and completely dismiss my “leave it” command.  I also think it’s a good opportunity to show a puppy how she should sit nicely and relax when greeting people, that she isn’t supposed to jump at joggers, cyclists or skateboarders or the big buses and loud cars aren’t scary!  Plus, when I include Duke on our walks, she learns from him (hopefully only the good habits) and the commands that he already knows are reinforced!

Why is it that people absolutely loose it when they see a puppy!?  Don’t get me wrong, I am the worst example when it comes to meeting a puppy.  I can get the high pitched baby talk going and I’m tickling bellies and practically rolling in the grass with the best of them!  However, if you can see that I am training her and I’ve asked you to assist me in a training exercise, please don’t do the opposite because I can’t train her and you at the same time! Grumble grumble grumble – I told you I was easily agitated today – deep breath in – slowly exhale – much better!

So on that note, here are a few guidelines when greeting a dog or a puppy on the street to help insure that the dog will learn to not jump on you, lunge at you or become afraid of strangers which could potentially cause them to bite; and just have plain ol good manners:

• First and foremost, you should ask the owner first if it is ok to pet their dog!  PUPPIES INCLUDED!
• Offer your hand for the dog to smell and allow the dog to approach you. Do not approach the dog first.  Puppies need to learn that they need to sit and be calm when greeting humans and older dogs could potentially be fearful which could lead to a bite.  If the dog does not want to greet you then leave it at that and do not approach.
• Although this may not apply to puppies, don’t stare at the dog, instead it is better to look at the dog and then look away. When you take your eyes off the dog you are signaling to the dog that you are not a threat to them.  Cesar Millan says “No Touch, No Talk, No Eye Contact” and I believe there is truth in that!
• Do not approach the dog from behind, scream or make fast movements; stay calm and quiet.
• Do not put your face near the dogs face.
• Always observe the dog’s body language and watch for signs that the dog is uncomfortable.  For puppies, excitement is normally the problem.  If you go to pet the puppy and it starts jumping or getting nippy, it’s best for you to stand straight up and ignore them.  This will help teach them they need to remain calm.
• Remember that touch or petting a dog is a reward.  If they are doing an unwanted behavior while you are petting them. you are basically approving of the unwanted behavior!

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated by anyone who is trying to make their dog a good canine citizen!  Anyone who walks past a pibble with manners will appreciate it too!

Look at how nicely they sit patiently waiting to head out for a walk!

Or how lovely they sit waiting for approval to eat their food!

The other side of the front door~different story!

FOR NOW! 🙂

Old Friends

This past week we had a unexpected old friend come to visit! My Mom was admitted into the hospital for about four days and her dog, Daisy, came to stay with us!

‘Training’ this week was fairly simple for Duke and Dixie. They instinctually knew that Daisy is an old girl and didn’t want to be bothered! They gave her the appropriate space, let her go up and down the stairs first and didn’t bother her in the yard! You see, Daisy is about 14 years old, her back legs have always been bowed and she has a hard time walking let alone climbing stairs! We believe she may have had a stroke also.

Delilah on the other hand just wanted to run and jump and romp! Daisy wasn’t having any of that! She may be a old girl with some health issues but she can still put a puppy in its place! Needless to say, if Delilah and Daisy were in the same room, Delilah was on a leash. She was getting the hang of a submissive greeting with an old dog but Daisy didn’t stay long enough to teach her completely! She got a good first experience though! Eventually, Daisy got comfortable and trusted that I had control of Delilah and would actually try to sniff Delilah when she wasn’t looking! Daisy preferred to watch me wherever I went or find a cool spot in the kitchen!

The funny thing about Daisy, for as bad as you think she looks or feels, she still had her moments of youth when you would take her for a walk! Or should I say, when she would tell me where to walk her! She would sometimes even skip! Or when the people food came out! Daisy likes her snacks better then her meals! She was buddy buddy with Oscar because he would slip her a table scrap now and again!

As of Thursday, Mom is out of the hospital and Daisy is back where she belongs! At home where there are no puppies to chase her back legs!

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads, whether to two or four legged kids!