Menagerie Mayhem

Desensitizing a Dog to the Bike for Jogging

2011-09-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered the joys of biking with my dogs, through use of a Walky Dog. As I have herding dogs, this tool has been a blessing for me - I never realized how much exercise they WEREN'T getting until we began jogging regularly. My dogs are all happier, I feel less like a lazy person, and I've seen health improvements in my older dog as well. Walking is a wonderful form of exercise, but I have a cattle dog, who I was walking 3-4 miles a day, and no matter how far or how long I walked him, he had scores of energy to spare, and I never felt like he got all he needed, and it took SO much time!

Getting your dog to the point that they can jog comfortably beside your bike on the Walky Dog might be a bit of an issue, particularly for fearful dogs. I took a few steps to ensure that my Dax would have a successful introduction to it before I even received it, so I'd like to share that information for anyone else who might have a similar issue. Most dogs you can just hook up and go, but it never hurts to slowly introduce something totally new, particularly if you think there might be difficulty. This is intentionally a very gradual process I outline below.

Step 1 - Introduction to the bike
For this step, simply wheel the bike into the backyard, park it, then let your dog come up to it. Stand or sit beside it, not on it, and whenever the dog shows interest in it, reward. If you use a clicker, click when the dog is even looking at the bike. When the dog is clearly comfortable with the bike, not moving, go to the next step.

Step 2 - Sit on the Bike
With the bike not moving, sit on it. Reward dog for interest. It's amazing how simply sitting on the bike can totally change the dog's emotions toward it. Again, if clearly uncomfortable, go back a previous step. Be very casual about sitting on the bike - it's a nonevent, no big deal.

Step 3 - The Moving Bike
For this exercise, you are simply walking the bike slowly around your yard. As with the first exercise, treat the dog whenever s/he is close to you. Don't give any commands, let the dog approach at their own speed. If clearly uncomfortable, go back to the first step and reward heavily for interest in the bike.

Step 4 - Ride the Bike
Get on the bike and slowly walk it (with your feet) around the yard. Reward dog for interest. Do not reward for any tire biting or barking. Once the dog is comfortable or indifferent about it, try pedaling very slowly around the yard. You might find it hard to treat your dog while going very slowly - put some cheese or something your dog likes in your mouth and blow it out into your yard for your dog, if necessary. You can also stop and reward, but we don't want the dog to get the idea that stopping the bike is what's getting them the reward.

Step 5 - Hook the Dog to the Bike
Now, for this step, you actually need the bike jogger. Hook the dog up, with a harness, to the bike, and reward heavily. When comfortable, begin walking the bike around the yard, rewarding the dog for being calm and walking with the bike. Mount the bike a few times and reward, but don't actually take off until the dog is clearly comfortable. You might have to mount the bike from the same side the dog is on, sometimes swinging your leg over towards the dog can be scary for them. We don't want bike riding to be scary, it should be lots of FUN!

Step 6 - Riding With Your Dog
This is the step you've been waiting for - hook up the dog, walk beside it for a little way, and when your dog is comfortable, get on the bike and pedal. You may want to add periods of getting off the bike and walking it if your dog is especially timid. As you bike more and faster, remember that your pooch needs a warm-up period and a cool-down period on each ride. The ideal speed is a fast trot for your dog.

I don't recommend any sort of shifting with a fearful dog. Even now I ride in first gear, only very occasionally shifting to second. The noise of the chain moving around can be quite traumatic. Only try a shift after you've gotten your dog extremely comfortable with the bike. Make sure your bike is adjusted correctly so it shifts quickly and smoothly.

I hope you have great success with these steps, this is what I used to get my own fearful dog Dax comfortable with a bike jogger, and now we very much enjoy our time biking together. The important thing to remember is to not push your dog too fast, or it may take even longer to get them used to it, as you'll have to start all over again!

As with any exercise regimen, ask your veterinarian before you begin if bike jogging is right for you and your dog. It's not recommended to bike a dog under one year of age or under 20 pounds.

A fun Dax walk

2011-03-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

Fun Dax walks are few and far between, I'm sad to say.

He's incredibly fearful and reactive towards people (the main issue) and dogs (less of an issue to me since I have another one like that (but not quite that extreme) and I'm used to avoiding dogs on walks). Whenever we get within sight of another human being, Dax goes into frenzy mode. Bark bark bark bark lunge bark bark insanity bark bark bark. And by sight, I literally mean sight. His threshold for strangers on walks can be as far as the eye can see, when they're coming towards him. He actually is LESS reactive towards dogs. If I walk him with Popper, he can actually get closer to people (around the neighborhood), but I can't really work on anything when I'm walking him with another dog because my hands are tied up with two dogs.

My friend Trish asked me last night, as we walked Dax with his best buddy Raleigh, why I don't click Dax as soon as a person comes into sight, and just rapid fire click-treat until they're gone.

The answer is simple and sad: because when he's out on a walk, he's already over his threshold. He won't take treats, he's not interested in them even a teensy bit. Steak, hot dog, even his favorite duck - they're not important. I can't *not* walk Dax. I suppose I could continually drive him to my parents' big yard to play lots and lots of ball for exercise, but right now it's muddy so that's off limits. Dogs over their threshold aren't supposed to be "training" because they won't learn anything. I can vouch for that. But I can't stuff a young cattle dog in my house and tell him he has to be a perfect angel with no hope for exercise, either. A little bit of cat teaser isn't going to remotely tire him, or some Nina Ottosson games. He needs simple, sheer exercise to be satisfied. He'd also never leave the house if I waited until he took treats from me.

The reason I mention it is because today, for the first time ever, Dax was so entirely relaxed that I was able to train correctly on a walk (no half-assing it today!!). I met with my parents and their two confident cattle dog mixes for a walk in the park. It took a mile in, but Dax starting responding to clicks, looking for treats (has NEVER happened on a walk, I usually have to shove them in his mouth), offering behaviors. He was a different dog. And it enlightened me to how freaked out he normally is on walks. Which makes me sad. Because walks should be fun for both of us, not torturous. Not scary.

Dax was able to confidently walk past strangers (except for one jogger who was too too close - next time he came by I moved Dax over four feet and Dax didn't even pay him any attention) without barking at them at all. He was still pretty barky at other dogs, but I felt like if I really wanted to press the issue (and I didn't at that time, I was thoroughly enjoying the stranger-barking-free walk) we could have had some success to build upon in the future. And I've never felt like he could have that issue in control.

I wanted to go on forever, but my parents are old and their dogs are fat, so we called it quits after a couple of slow miles.

I've discussed this weird reaction with my friends and trainers before.. Why does Dax NOT bark at strangers when walked with my parents and their dogs? Everyone suggests that the two dogs are confident enough that Dax doesn't feel like he needs to go into berserker mode. I wonder something else entirely, and a bit more ominous.

Dax has never been walked with another man that I can recall. He's slightly spooked of all men, even my husband. I kind of wonder if it's my dad that Dax is responding to, and not the dogs. Because when I walk Dax with Raleigh and Trish, I don't get the same reaction. And Raleigh is fairly confident around strangers and other dogs (at least, his threshold is a good deal higher than Dax's).

Easy enough to test, I suppose. I'm going to haul hubby out with Merlin the corgi for a short walk with us to see what happens, clicker and treats at the ready. Unfortunately it's going to rain for the next few days, but I really want to see what happens. Maybe it is the two older, wiser, secure dogs sending him good vibes. Or maybe Dax is afraid to "misbehave" in front of Grampy. I don't know. Maybe I'll never know for sure. But I'd love to know what secret ingredient it is, so I can be sure to include it on all our future walks!

Making Nail Trims Fun

2011-03-01T16:09:00.000-05:00

Well, at least "less likely to have gaping bloody wounds after angry cattle dog mix ravages your hands."

That's a pretty good intro. :D

See, when I got Popper at 6 weeks old, he was insanely insane about his feet. Insane. Being the good little dog owner, I massaged his little tootsies daily so he'd learn that it was okay. I also daily was chomped, bitten, and maimed. Usually, I am sad to say, with broken skin. He was a very small puppy. With very sharp teeth.

As time wore on, I had my husband wrap him up like a mummy in a blanket, and then we put a muzzle on him. He turns into little Cujo and froths at the mouth, but I get all his toenails cut and dremeled. If he were any bigger (he's only about 26#, keep in mind) and he acted this way, I have NO idea how we would trim his nails.

Then my friend Trish shared this video. It was a similar story (except I am not intimidated by Popper - I am bigger, I am stronger, and daggonit I'm smarter!) though it didn't sound like the dog had nearly the foot aggression that my dear little buddy does. I've seen a lot of clicker videos for the issue, and this particular one struck a chord with me. Everything was sooo slow. I decided to give it a shot.

So today, I took 30 minutes and played the nail clicker game.

First off, I discovered that Popper is indeed much, much worse than the dog in the video. If I would try to get my hand REMOTELY near his feet, he skittered off instantly. I could get about 8-10" away, and that's it. So we had to try a new tactic just to get to the first part of the training.

Popper loves to play. Popper loves to target. And Popper love love LOVES food!! So I would throw my hand down beside him (palm down), and he would POUNCE on it. If he pounced with his paw, click treat. He loved the game. So after he was awesome at it, which didn't take too long, I changed to slamming my hand down palm UP. He handled the switch just fine. The key here is that he is GIVING me his paw. He WANTS to play. The next step was to just lightly grab his paw, starting with a little thumb stroke and working up to a full grab. He was shocked. Mom grabbed his PAW. Click treat. :) Oh, wait... I got a treat. So we played that game for a looong time, just getting him comfortable with me grabbing his foot for an instant. No toe playing, no massage. Grab and go. He started rolling on his back and batting at me - honestly, any foot grab was my goal. I'd grab, click treat, and he'd bat me again.

That took quite a while. When I left the game, after 30 minutes (and Popper's tail wagging madly once he understood the "rules"), we had worked up to grabbing AND holding his paw for 2-3 seconds. Without rolling over. Popper discovered that he could just lay there and let Mom do all the work and get a click treat. As he is always looking for shortcuts, he was perfectly fine with the new way the game was going. With his right foot I can even massage it a little bit. Unfortunately, I kept playing with one foot more than the other, so his left foot he is still kind of dodgy on, but I CAN grab it. Without so much as a snarl. Which I can tell you I never thought was remotely possible.

So we are not going to progress at the same rate as the dog in the video. But that's fine. I never thought Popper would willingly give me his paw, so I am willing to be unusually patient with this new game. :)

Dax Breaks Out - Again!

2011-01-11T10:25:00.000-05:00

Dax broke his crate. Again. Pulled the front wire off from their supports. While it's not really a "necessary" wire, and a major flaw in the Midwest Lifestages crates, IMO, he pulled off the weld with it too so there are sharp bits, so I have to have my dad weld it back. Again.

This is the second time he's broken this particular crate. I had him in Roofus's old crate before, to give him more room - but it just gave him more leverage, apparently, because he broke out of that one pretty quick, and it was a crate designed specifically for large, powerful dog breeds. Ripped the entire front panel off, including many welds.

My dad sees this is a challenge to his intelligence, taking it personally that Dax has yet again broken a crate, and swears that he's going to weld a 2" bar of steel there so he can't mess with that particular weakness again.

Dax doesn't break out of his crate because there's nothing to do in it - I leave all his favorite toys in there, at least two different nylabones, at least one thing freshly stuffed with peanut butter, a dog bone... but he won't play with them. At his ex-owner's house, he was abused while in his crate, left in it for extremely long periods, and he also has separation anxiety. We don't have these issues at night - he trots in happily and starts chewing on a bone or toy. He doesn't try to escape. But then, I'm right there beside him too.

I've tried working with him by putting him in it randomly for short periods, with a chew or a peanut butter stuffed toy. He's fine with that. But if I leave the house, he doesn't play with anything, doesn't chew on the peanut butter toy... he grabs the front of the crate and tugs backwards as hard as he can to escape. I've tried DAP collars, calming music - but he panics and wants out. NOW!

If he weren't an insane puppy, I'd have no problem leaving him out while I'm not at home. But now that I've seen what he's capable of doing to his crate, I'd hate to come home and see what he's done to my house!!

Don't mess with my stuff!

2011-01-09T17:16:00.000-05:00

Today, I started giving my bedroom a much needed going over, throwing lots of stuff away, organizing, and otherwise leaving my room looking like a hurricane went through it.

Merlin, our Pembroke Welsh Corgi, always gets a little freaked out when we clean or move things, and will usually find a "safe spot" to hide until we're done.

Dax, our Australian Cattle Dog, well, gets more than a little freaked out. But he was handling it remarkably well.

First, he dashed in and out of my room looking at everything I was tossing. Then, he decided the best place for him to be was in the center of my bed, snuggled around all the piles of junk I was throwing out, and watching me carefully.

That bit was fine.

Then I had to move his crate for a few minutes. I think the little dog went into full-out panic mode. First, he kept slinking in and out of the cage. Then he began sneaking out all his toys (I keep his crate well-stocked with his favorites) and piling them up near the door. When I put his crate back in its original position, he started moving all his toys back in, and settled down inside to chew on his nylabone, keeping an eye on me while I tidied up a few last things.

While I don't follow his logic, thankfully I am finished for now with my cleaning. He's tired from being watchful and worrying, so he's napping comfortably beside me on the sofa.

Playing Agility with Roofus

2011-01-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I took Roofus, my Old English Sheepdog, outside to see if I could get him started in agility. He's freaking humongous (30" or so at the shoulders) so I don't really want him doing most things in agility. Like contacts. Or weaves. And if I run him in CPE, he can do 16" as a specialist, so the jumping part isn't too bad. The only thing left that I don't really like is the tunnel - it's 24" tall, so giant dogs like Roo have to literally crawl through them, while every other dog can take them at a run. I'm still waiting for a "Giant Dog Breed Agility Association," but one does not look forthcoming. :( They have teacup dog agility, why not giant breed? Lower jumping heights (it is NOT necessary to jump a dog at 24", I'm sorry), bigger tunnels, wider dog walk and teeter, 30" weaves, and maybe a lower a-frame with a longer contact.

Anyhow, Roofus can be a dim bulb. And I say that in the most loving way imaginable. I wouldn't change a thing about him (except his recent leash aggression issue), I picked the breed knowing he was not going to win any IQ tests.

After he got used to the first jump back and forth a few times, I tried to step it up by running beside him. Going from one direction, that was fine. But going the other direction, he would run around the jump, no matter how nicely I lined him up or made it so the jump was impossible to run around. I started laughing because he's just a big fluffy goofball and he was having a great time running around the jump. :)

Eventually we worked it out, and I added in a tire jump, because I don't currently own more than one 16" jump (my other dogs jump 8" and 12"). Santa brought me a competition tire jump for Christmas, but it is at my in-laws, and alas, I had to use my cheesy, piece of crap tire jump that is roughly the same size around as Roofus is.

Our sequence looked like this - an enormous bunny butt running at the first jump, doing a tiny little hop, galloping towards the tire jump, EEEERK, slamming on the brakes, and walking daintily through the tire jump one leg at a time. :)

I love my Roofus!

One step forward... two steps back.

2011-01-04T11:49:00.000-05:00

Now that the holidays are over, I'm hoping to blog a big more.

They are doing construction down the street from my house, in this lovely, big field that will now be filled with cookie cutter, overpriced houses. Joy.

The best part is that I can clearly hear all of it from my house. We had a nice hiatus with the holidays, but they're back in full-swing, and Dax is going nuts.

We had finally gotten to the point where he might stand on my chair once or twice in the morning, and a repeat in the afternoon, just as a little "check-in." He'd lay quietly or entertain himself, and then when work was over for the day, happily participate in whatever was planned (or happened).

Now with all the machinery moving around, he's nervous and hyper. He continually stands on my chair and slurps me in the head. He's bringing me all his favorite toys, dropping them into my lap or nudging me with them. Whether he's trying to bribe me to get the noises to stop, or just get me to play so he can forget his troubles, I've no idea.

Hopefully he can adapt to the new noises (which irritate me as well), otherwise it's going to be a very long year until those houses are built.

First Snow!!

2010-12-02T09:50:00.000-05:00

Dax: (while pawing at my arm while I work) Mooooooooooooooooom, I wanna go outside! Outside! Outside! Outside! Now! Wanna go outside Now! Now! Now! Now! Mooooooooooooooooooooooooom NOW! Outside! Mom Mom Mom Momma Mommy Mom Mother Mum Mummy Mooooooooooooooooooooooom PLZ!!!!

Me: OMG!!!! OK!!!!!!!!

(lets dog out)

Dax: What, you're not coming too? Let me in!!

Me: GAH!!!!!

(repeat scene fifteen million times)

Dax... unleashed!

2010-11-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

Today was Dax's beginning agility class.

Today, he performed obstacles off leash.

Today, I had to trust a dog that I've only had for a little under 4 months.

He actually wasn't bad at all. He's fairly obedient, and since he is very people-shy, the fact that every dog had a person beside it helped tremendously, I'm sure. I just called him whenever he ran off (which was only a few times, and not very far) and he came back and sat like a good boy. :) I was pretty proud of him, because I expected much worse!

The dog walk was an interesting experience - I've never run him off-leash over it before, and I do control him a bit better with a leash ON since he thinks the dog walk is a race. Switching from physical control to voice control is always an issue with me. :) Especially when you don't fully trust your dog yet!

We had much more serious issues, like how Dax loves to jump up and bite me in-between obstacles. Or how he'll go on and perform obstacles without me.

I actually think part of his biting issue is that I'm not keeping him occupied enough. What I mean by that, is I'm slow. I'm chunky, short, and I am not a marathon runner. I have a slow amble that doesn't sit well with cattle dog darting. So as I catch up to him, he turns around, and he jumps up, grabs my shoulder, my sleeve, whatever, and then I have to stop, regain control, and continue on. Now, if I set up a series of jumps fairly close together, so he's continually busy, I don't have that problem. Until the end anyway.

Unfortunately, however, I will never be as fast as Dax. So in the meantime, when he bites, I stop, until he controls himself, and then we continue on. The fun stops when the biting begins, fun resumes when it ends.

Every day I am irritated at his ex-owner for not teaching him bite inhibition. I love Dax to pieces, but my next cattle dog WILL be an 8 or 9 week old puppy so I can stamp these issues out from the get-go, because they're almost impossible to get rid of in an older dog.

Menagerie Mayhem Black Friday Blowouts!

2010-11-25T10:06:00.001-05:00

Our Zazzle store is having a HUGE Black Friday sale that you won't want to miss! Now's the time to stock up on your doggie Christmas Cards, dog lover apparel, and other great pet gifts!

Note that the times are in PT!

Time	Deal
12:01 AM	Half Off All Mugs
2:01 AM	$10 Off All Avery Binders
4:01 AM	75% Off Harry Potter T-Shirts
6:01 AM	70% Off Holiday Cards and Invites
8:01 AM	50% Off Ornaments
10:01 AM	$20 Off iPhone & iPad Cases
12:01 PM	75% Off Business Cards
2:01 PM	65% Off All Posters
4:01 PM	$8.80 Off $0.44 Postage Sheets
6:01 PM	Half Off All T-Shirts
8:01 PM*	Friday's Favorite Deal Repeat
10:01 PM*	Friday's Favorite Deal Repeat

Friday's Favorite Deal will be a repeat of the two most popular deals of the day!

Remember, this is only good at our Zazzle store!

School Spirit - And the Consequences

2010-11-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

We got spirit, yes we do, we got spirit - oh crap, run before we get suspended!

It's amusing, yes, but recently happened to a high school student.

One high school in Massachusetts recently suspended a student for riding a horse to school.

I would love to say there's more to the story, but really, there's not much. The school was having a "spirit week," and each day was a new thing to get the kids revved up about high school. One day, they encouraged everyone to dress like a knight. Now, who's a knight without a noble steed?

One kid got permission from (and was accompanied by) his parents to ride to school, dressed as a knight, on his family's horse. After an impressive entrance, the principal suspended him on the spot. Why? Because according to this deluded educator (this guy is teaching our children, mind you), riding a horse to school is the equivalent of bringing a loaded gun into a classroom.

I'm sorry. It's not. You are massively mistaken. I'm not aware of anyone stuffing a horse in a backpack, pulling it out in homeroom, and massacring all his fellow students. Please, if I've made an error there, and someone has snuck a horse into school and performed a mass homicide, let me know. I actually think this would be offensive to anyone who has been victim to a gun in the classroom, and I feel the guy ought to apologize for his stupidity.

There are, I have been informed, still many places in the US where kids can legally ride their horse to school, particularly in rural areas. Not one of those children have been suspended for going to school. Nor has anyone found a rule that says this teenager is NOT allowed to ride a horse to school. It appears his parents were going to take the horse back home after he arrived, so it's not even an issue of a horse hanging around all day at school.

So apparently, students, you should not go "above and beyond" in anything at school, particularly school pride, because you may end up on the wrong side of the horse.

Parents can breathe a deep sigh of relief, even though we are suffering through falling test scores, incompetent teachers, and increased use of drugs, our schools are being kept horse-free. Isn't that a comfort?

Blossom Goes Raw

2010-11-02T11:10:00.000-05:00

Blossom is my dalmatian/border collie mix. When I adopted her nearly eight years ago (she is now almost 15 years old), I took her to the vet several times because I couldn't put weight on her. She was perpetually skinny. After numerous tests and exams, the vet told me that she'd never be a chubby dog. The mix of two hyper dog breeds had made her a nervous, picky, energetic dog who would always be thin.

Two or so times a year, however, she'll go through a period of time where she doesn't want to eat. Anything. I'm one of those people who tell customers that they just need to wait it out - eventually the dog will eat, because they won't let themselves starve to death. Blossom would. When this happened the first time, I served her the same bowl of kibble for four days - and she didn't eat a single piece. She got nothing else at all - she simple refused food. On the fifth day, I caved in and gave her canned food, which she daintily lapped up.

Since that time, when we have these periods, I'll go out and buy her whatever she'll eat - which usually means going down in quality. Blossom tends to prefer the most disgusting, crappiest dog foods on the market, and as a rule, in canned form. I cringe when I feed her this disgusting smelling crap that I wouldn't even give to a stray dog. This will continue until she's no longer interested in the junk, and I switch her back to what everybody else eats.

This time, however, Blossom wasn't very interested in horrible food either. She'd pick out a piece or two, and leave 9/10ths of the bowl behind. All the weight I painstakingly put on her melted off, until her hips stuck out. She'd never been this scrawny. It was time for action.

One of my agility instructors feeds a raw diet called Honest Kitchen. It's human grade, and weirdly, it's dehydrated. I figured I'd give that a shot - I could just mix it in with her kibble like canned food, and since it was such a high quality, maybe she'd like it. I ordered two different kinds, and when they arrived, I mixed her a large bowl and happily set it in front of her. She looked at it, and she looked at me. She poked it with her nose. Blossom let out a huge, exasperated sigh, and left the kitchen. And that was the end of Honest Kitchen. She did eat a mouthful of the other flavor I prepared later, then kicked her food bowl as she marched away. Clearly, this food wouldn't cut it.

I then got the brilliant idea of feeding her raw. I'm not too terribly into raw foods, for one, because with six dogs, I'd have to get another full-time job to pay for it, and for two, I would be absolutely terrified of forgetting some key vitamin or something that the dogs would need for good health. However, Nature's Variety makes a frozen raw food so that you don't have to remember anything. Defrost, serve, you're done. It is, however, insanely expensive. I calculated that for the weight I would LIKE Blossom to be, she'd need to eat around 8oz a day of the raw diet. That would cost roughly $64 a month. While I do buy premium dog food for my dogs, all six of them together can live on their kibble for that same price. That's quite a cost issue.

I bought her the food, defrosted it, and decided to use a few less patties and stick them over top of a small amount of kibble, hoping she might eat the kibble so I could at least save a few dollars by not going totally raw. Normally you would want to slowly switch a dog over to raw, but when your dog isn't eating ANYTHING, you don't have much of a choice.

Blossom had that meat gulped down before I had gotten more patties out to defrost for the next meal.

Today, a few days after starting, she actually licked her bowl completely out. I can't recall the last time that has happened. She is eating the kibble (I put 1/2 cup in with each meal, and 3 medallion patties) without a problem. I really don't want to stop feeding the kibble, I want her crunching up stuff as long as she has teeth. I do squash it around a bit so the raw stuff touches all the kibble.

It's too early to see many benefits of a raw diet, but then, I didn't switch for any of those reasons. I just wanted my dog to eat. And if she wouldn't eat raw meat, I had very little hope that she'd eat anything else, either. I will say that she made the switch without any digestive problems, amazingly, and her poop is now roughly the size of rabbit pellets, which is fairly impressive. It would be nice if she gets better smelling breath.

So hopefully she'll start putting on some weight, and stop looking like Skeletor. It's pricey, for sure, but if she'll eat it, and KEEP eating it, it's worth it.

Roofus + Rally = Success!!

2010-11-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

Day 1 Success!

Roofus, my Old English Sheepdog, had an APDT Rally Obedience trial this past weekend. It was the second time he has trialed, and after the disastrous first one, I was pretty nervous. I'm an extremely competitive person, and when it comes to dog sports, it takes a tremendous effort on my part to stop, realize that the whole point is to have FUN, and shake off setbacks. At first, my goal for the weekend was to get one Q (or qualifying score), but after some serious thinking, I decided a more reasonable goal was to have at least ONE run (he was signed up for four) where I did not haul out the treats and NQ.

It's not that Roofus doesn't know the signs, or that I get nervous and he doesn't listen - it's that Roofus is new to the world of trialing (he does not do agility or anything like my other dogs), and that he's an Old English Sheepdog. Roofus does rally to please me, not because of any personal desire to be a particularly obedient dog. There are a lot of new sights, sounds, and people at trials, and Roofus does not yet have that "ring mentality" where he focuses on Mom instead of wanting to go check out everything.

Our first run, well, I was having a tough time getting his attention even outside the ring, with chunks of hot dog. When it was our turn, he discovered that one of the ring crew, right outside the gate, had a breakfast sandwich. It took a long time for me to get him at the start line, sitting, and ready to go. Amazingly, we walked out of the ring with a 187 - which is a Q - and a 3rd place. The second run of the day went similarly - except I felt I had his attention more. We again scored a 187 and grabbed 3rd place. Roofus had already doubled my expectations for the weekend. One more Q and he'd have his level 1 title - but was I being unrealistic to hope that we could get it tomorrow? Was I jinxing myself to dare to hope? I decided a more reasonable goal was to simply break the 200 score barrier.

Apparently not. The first run on Sunday, Roofus marched into that ring like a pro. He was extremely attentive, to the point that I became a bit unnerved by his focus. It was a beautiful run, though, and my handsome boy walked out with a 201, second place, and his level 1 title - RL1. I actually jumped up and down with joy, the judge snickering at me. I didn't care. MY Roofus, the one everyone calls slow, dumb, unable to learn (I unfortunately sometimes fall into the habit as well) - he had just achieved what none of my other dogs have - his first rally title.

After that run, it became clear that Roofus wasn't amused at being crated any more, and he would much rather go home. He had only one more run, and the trial was moving pretty quickly, so we waited out for his first level 1B run.

It wasn't pretty. Roofus's attention was gone. There was no focus. Every once in a while he paid attention to me, but boy, was it dirty! He eeked out a 185, ironically having our lowest and highest score on the same day.

And so our Rally Obedience weekend ended - Roofus had a perfect weekend, going 4/4, and far exceeding my expectations with his performances. While I dare to dream what may happen at the next trial, I have made up new goals for him: I want to score consistently in the 190s, and I want to get his RLX title. Roofus, of course, doesn't care - as long as he is provided with plenty of hot dogs and bear hugs.

Roofus Goes to Jail

2010-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, I took Roofus, my Old English Sheepdog, to jail. But not because he was bad.

Roofus is part of a new program called BARK - Books And Reading for Kids. The program sends dogs and their handlers to a local juvenile detention facility, where the kids (usually teens) read to the dogs. The goal is to promote literacy and confidence in the kids, and as we all know, doggie therapy is also extremely beneficial.

Last night was the first night of the program, so we had a lot of "get to know you" time. I had actually wanted to make Roofus a therapy dog, because he has the most wonderful temperament, as well as being extremely fluffy, cute, goofy, and extremely eager to love everyone. Unfortunately for him, he is a little overenthusiastic about sharing his affection, so comforting the sick or physically injured is something I decided it would be best to put on hold. However, showing these kids that he loves them regardless of where they come from or what they might have done is right up his alley.

He was amazing. Roofus does have a leash aggression problem, but he did not bark at a single dog all night. He even met his old friend Magnum, a yorkie, whom he has not seen in quite a while, and was a perfect gentleman. Two shelties came within biting distance, and while he was interested in them, he said not a word, nor showed any signs of displeasure at their closeness.

When we got our first kid, as soon as she sat down, Roofus climbed onto her lap and washed her face for her. That was pretty much the trend for the evening. At one point, he had several girls hanging on him - bear hugging him, scratching him, squeezing him - he looked up at me, absolutely ecstatic, like his most wild dreams had finally come true. No one was allowed to walk by Roofus without giving him a scratch or a pat. He simply didn't allow it. The one thing this dog has in scores is love - and he made sure everybody got some. Everyone laughed at the gigantic "lap dog" - but who wouldn't want a giant, living teddy bear smothering you with adoration?

The night was over much too soon for Roofus. You could tell he was walking on cloud 9 as we returned to our car. I thought that all that love and attention might have worn him out, but he sat in the back seat all the way home with the silliest grin on his face.

Dax Goes Hiking

2010-10-23T20:55:00.000-05:00

Are we there yet??!

Today I decided to try out a trail someone recommended to me, with Dax, my pint-sized Australian Cattle Dog. I wanted to also try out Merlin's pack on him, in a rather feeble attempt to tire him out, as well as give him a "job" to do while we walked. He's not quite 13 months, and the pack doesn't hold much, so all he carried was one liter of water.

Dax loves walking of any kind, so I knew that no matter what the day would be a success. We drove to Darby Creek Metro Park. I didn't have a map, of the park, so we walked around it at first just finding out where all the trails were. For some odd reason, every single trail said "No Pets." Oooooooookay. I knew there was a pet trail somewhere, so we kept walking. And kept walking. After almost a mile, we found it. And I don't think it can legitimately be called a trail. It's a path. A gravel path. About 10 feet wide. In its defense, it is over four miles long. Unfortunately for us, I realized about 1/3 of the way in that I forgot to wear my walking shoes, and I that I drank way too much water with lunch.

We did end up doing three and a half miles in all. Dax did go into a "working mode," where he was quite obedient (not that he isn't always), kept his ears pointing back at me (normally he does not - so he's finally paying attention to me!!), and did exceptionally well at a totally new place without a "comfort dog" of any kind. He did bark at one set of strangers, avoided some others, but the majority of them, he'd wait until they walked by, then run up behind them and sniff their shoes. Then come back to me and expect a treat.

Dax's tiredness usually only lasts 10-15 minutes.

What I especially love about his backpack is that I don't see how he could squirm out of it. He can get out of his collar without batting an eye, and a harness with barely any effort. The pack fastens a bit more securely, so I imagine it would take much more to squiggle free. The only time he tries to escape is when he sees other dogs. Being a bit more proactive than normal, when he would start his "frenzy fest" when he saw a dog, I would grab the handle of the pack (ironically, placed there so you can easily help the dog up the trail), and if he started trying to slip free, I'd raise him off the ground slightly. Now, I'm positive that does nothing for his doggie body language. But it keeps him safe and secure, because he can't even try to get out of it if his legs aren't touching the ground. :)

Another interesting thing of note is that he apparently wears a smaller size than my corgi. I had to tighten everything to its smallest, and the chest was still too large for him.

Chlamydia and other Zoonotic Parrot Diseases

2010-10-21T10:10:00.001-05:00

Some of us may remember a few years ago with PetSmart birds suffered an outbreak of Chlamydiosis. One of the more alarming pieces of information about this disease is that it is zoonotic, which means it can be transferred from animals to humans or humans to animals. The elderly, and the very young (infants, toddlers) are most susceptible, and therefore it is extremely important to have your bird(s) tested before they are brought home. A responsible bird breeder should already have done the test. before you purchased the parrot. Even scarier, birds may not show symptoms of the disease themselves, but simply be carriers - giving the illusion of a perfectly healthy bird that can infect people. Chlamydiosis may also be referred to as Psittacosis, or parrot fever.

This particular disease is shared in any number of ways - with dusty birds like Cockatiels and Cockatoos, most humans inhale the particles from feather dust. The symptoms in humans are similar to that of the flu. It can be treated for both parrots and humans with a trip to the doctor or avian vet, but prevention is the best policy. Have all new stock tested and quarantined (we recommend at least 45 days) before adding to the aviary. Keep cages clean, keep an appropriate ratio of bird to cage space, feed a healthy diet, and see your avian veterinarian regularly, especially for breeding birds. The incubation period in birds for Chlamydiosis can be years, so simply quarantining a bird is not an adequate step by itself.

Another zoonotic disease parrots have is Salmonella. It's much more common to obtain Salmonella from eating an infected bird than from your personal pet bird, but there is still a risk, so it's worth mentioning. And it's not an unusual disease in pet parrots like you might think. Salmonella is treated with antibiotics, and can be difficult to diagnose in parrots, because you won't find it in every dropping. That just reiterates the idea that you need to regularly see the avian veterinarian, to establish baseline readings and to keep checking for diseases that may not show up the first time. Birds can and do die from Salmonella, and symptoms are similar to a human's, with diarrhea (bloody or not), vomiting, lethargy - pretty much like food poisoning.

One zoonosis I've had experience with is Colibacillosis, or E. coli. People tend to get themselves worked up about E. coli, but E. coli is found in the intestinal tract of animals. Including humans. It's completely natural. The problems begin when you have an overabundance or an infection of E. coli. Symptoms in birds and people generally start with diarrhea. Of the diseases I've listed, this one is probably the most common, and frequently overlooked as so many bird breeders don't properly check their stock.

Other zoonotic parrot disease of note include:

Avian Tuberculosis
Campylobacteriosis
Newcastle Disease

Most of these diseases are easier to simply prevent in the first place - checking all new stock, quarantine, routine vet visits, sanitary conditions, and avoiding overcrowding are all key in prevention. Unfortunately, mass breeders, backyard breeders, and on more than one occasion, pet stores, are unlikely to responsibly test their birds for overall health, let alone specific diseases, particularly in the case of "low cost" birds like budgerigars, cockatiels, lovebirds and canaries. It is therefore the smartest course of action, whenever bringing any new pet home, to have it thoroughly examined by a proper veterinarian, which in the case of birds, is a certified avian vet.

Gone Hiking!

2010-10-20T13:14:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, my husband and I took our Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Merlin, and our Old English Sheepdog, Roofus, to Hocking Hills to do some hiking. We've never really taken the dogs hiking before, but we were excited to find a pet-friendly cabin (Good Earth Cabins) and happily spent three days exploring various caves, cliffs, and woods.

I was truly surprised by our corgi. I've always said that they can do anything big dogs can do - but Merlin went above and beyond that. There were plenty of spots where my own short legs had trouble, and as I turned around to tell my husband to grab the corgi by his handle (he wears a backpack like any respectable hiker), there would be a blur of red as Merlin ran past me and on up the trail.

In fact, because Merlin does agility regularly, and Roofus's sport is rally, he was much better suited to all the jumping and strenuous conditions than Roofus. That's not to say Roofus had any trouble - but Roofus was much more tired each day (and is still sleeping soundly, as a matter of fact), than the corgi was. And I would say that Roofus has a higher stamina for exercise than Merlin. That just goes to show how much an active dog sport like agility can condition your dog for activities like hiking. Roofus is no slouch in the exercise department - but being a giant breed dog, I do not do much jumping or climbing with him. However, I believe that some light agility-type of exercise would probably benefit most dogs (always check with your vet first), especially if they do a lot of hiking. The trick is to determine how much is the "right amount," so you don't overdo it, particularly with giant breeds and dwarf breeds.

Pet Ownership versus Pet Ownership

2010-10-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today, I wanted to blog about the different types of pet ownership, and how some folks hide behind this idea to try to cover up irresponsible pet ownership.

I am the type of pet owner who takes their birds to the vet. I don't see that as super responsible, I see that as the bare minimum of owning a bird. See, birds naturally hide illnesses, often until it's too late to do anything about it, because they have evolved to hide their illnesses to avoid being picked off by predators. So, it just makes natural sense to take a bird to the vet regularly, particularly if it's a brand new bird. Head off problems before they start, ya know?

Unfortunately, then there are people who don't take their birds to the vet. The little birds are fairly inexpensive, and avian vets are pretty darned expensive. I'm not sure if these people think that it's not a good "investment," if they don't see birds on the same level as dogs, or if they just don't know any better. There aren't a whole slew of avian vets out there, after all, and a lot of the older generation didn't take their dogs to the vet, let alone exotic pets.

To me, not taking a pet to the vet (especially when you first get it, regardless of age), is tantamount to neglect. Why *wouldn't* you want to do what's best for the pet? If it's a matter of affordability, I've always been part of the "if you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet" crowd. A brand new animal should always go to get checked out, for peace of mind if nothing else. It's definitely not "throwing your money away," and it should be within the budget before the animal is ever bought or adopted.

Click, Click, Click Away!

2010-10-09T13:56:00.000-05:00

With the addition of Dax, I recently began clicker training most of my dogs. Previously, I had scoffed at this training method - I mean, come on, you can use the word "good" or "yes" as a trigger even more easily, without having to know where your clicker is constantly. However, it does work extremely well. I believe it's likely because you use your voice to talk to, and talk around, your dog every day, so you saying "good" is nice, but the clicker is ONLY ever used when the dog is about to get a treat. That makes the clicker a higher value, regardless of the treat used with it. No wonder you can find greater success with a clicker than without.

I've also become a huge fan of kikopup on YouTube. Her videos are awesome - she shows you exactly how to teach tricks and behaviors, from the beginning to proofing the behavior, all with the clicker.

The only dog that's not very "clicker friendly" in my house is Merlin, because he doesn't like being clicked at, no matter how many treats he gets for it. Previously, he was terrified of even being in its presence, so this is a huge step up for him. Today while I was training the other dogs, I was click/treating him with the clicker behind my back, and he was fine. So we may be down to being afraid of the visual of the clicker. I do mute my clicker with copious amounts of masking tape, because clickers are naturally obnoxious and I just don't think that's necessary. :)

Some things my dogs worked on today with the clicker -

Popper - Heel, stay, go touch a target, leave it

Roofus - Heel, sit from a down, leave it, distance downs

Dax - Heel, stay, touch with paw, four on the floor (he jumps and bites when he gets excited), nose targets (for agility), roll over

The girls, of course, do not do training, and couldn't hear a clicker anyway. :)

Clicker training has been especially beneficial with Dax, because he's hyper. Sometimes he'll only perform a behavior for a second, and I can click it before he stops doing it. He's improved DRAMATICALLY in heeling and four on the floor, because I can capture the behavior so quickly.

I don't know if clicker training has helped Roofus at all, he is extremely stubborn and can be difficult to train - indeed, it usually takes him a lot longer to learn things than the other dogs. I try not to use the clicker while we are doing Rally Obedience, because I cannot have a clicker on me during trials, but I can use my voice.

Fido Fest

2010-10-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

Today was Worthington's Fido Fest. It sounded like a great time, and they had microchipping for $15 from RASCAL unit, so I packed up Dax and Popper and away we went. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy, so I ran past most of the booths. In fact, the majority of them were for services or rescues, and I don't need any services, and six dogs is more than plenty.

I did need to get Dax microchipped though, because he is the type of dog that might get out and then get lost looking for me. I took him over here and back, but he was really quite nervous and I feel like a huge jerk for taking him. He's been clinging to me the entire night, more so than usual, and not his normal insane self.

Popper had a great time. I brought the clicker, and after I got him calmed down and he realized I had treats, he did marvelously. He got to sample some treats, and I bought him, Dax, Blossom and Merlin new bandannas. Merlin's has Brutus Buckeye on it. :)

Doggie Nicknames

2010-10-01T14:13:00.000-05:00

I have a LOT of nicknames for my dogs. While it would be impossible to think of every single one, here's a list for each. Some are amusing :)

Dax - Daxall, Daxall Pie, Dax Dax, D Man, the puppy, the annoying one, white speckle, the cattle dog, the insane dog, ants in his pants

Popper - Pop, pop pop, poppy, the baby, rusty, squeakers, bipolar dog, poppity pop pop, da pop pop, mean butt, battle dog

Merlin - corgi, corgs, lin lin, win win, short butt, snuggy wuggy poo, merby, merwin

Roofus - Roo, Boo, Roo bear, Boo bear, Mt Dew Bear, Ruby, Ruby Tuesday, da boo boo, mommy's boo bear, woo boo, fuzzy butt, bear, Roofus Bob, Mommy's big bear, fuzzy wuzzy (his name just rhymes with everything :) he LOVES being called anything but Roofus - usually we only call him Roofus if he's in trouble!!)

Blossom - B, B dog, spots, annoying old dog (she is deaf so we don't usually call her anything as she can't hear it!)

Murphy - murph, smurph, murphy brown, smurphy, the old dog, old butt

Smoochie smoochie!

2010-09-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

Dax has this annoying habit of standing on my center console while I drive, the one in between the driver's and passenger's seat. It is irritating not only because he randomly sticks his big wet nose in my ear as I drive, but because he's tall enough that I can't see over him, so we could potentially die in a 60mph fireball of death.

Normally I keep him crated in my car for this very reason. He knows that "off" means to get off of what he's standing on, but being a young, bullheaded cattle dog, he may or may not actually oblige depending on his mood. He's a fairly anxious dog in the car anyway, and repeatedly telling him "off" every thirty seconds in an increasingly exasperated voice doesn't really induce a calming sensation.

He's learned that he can avoid the center console completely, and get into the passenger seat, by shimmying himself between the seat and the car door. Today he did just that, and then proceeded to stand on the center console again, except his back feet were in the front seat (say that five times fast). I opened my mouth to chew him out, when he looked at me, and gave me a big, fat, wet slurp all the way up the side of my head. I was so stunned, I remained silent. He then jumped down into the passenger seat, sat down, and stared at me.

Well played, Dax. Well played. I'm pretty sure a cattle dog just gave me the doggie raspberries.

New Breed Specific Address Labels

2010-09-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

We are proud to announce the addition of dog breed address labels to our Zazzle store! A fantastic selection is available, from silhouettes, to kawaii cartoons, to photography! Agility, flyball, Christmas, and just plain adorable doggie return address labels. Below is a small sampling of the enormous amount currently available - and we're adding new ones every day.

Beagle Silhouette by MenagerieMayhem
Awesome monochrome Beagle address labels for the modern dog lover. A gray breed silhouette stands stacked in front of a silver paw print, with a squiggly background.

Kawaii Pink Gingham Boston Terrier by MenagerieMayhem
These adorable Boston Terrier address labels have a pink checkered background. A cartoon Boston Terrier is on the right, and you can instantly personalize the name and address found on the right. Very cute pet lover products at Menagerie Mayhem.

Winter Cartoon Fawn Bullmastiff by MenagerieMayhem
These original Bullmastiff address labels are perfect for not only the Christmas season - but all winter long! The background is blue with big, puffy snowflakes falling everywhere, and to the left is a fawn cartoon Bullmastiff. Awesome breed-specific holiday address labels for dog lovers, but can be used any time it's cold outside (or you wish it were!).

Kawaii White Bull Terrier (Eye Spot) by MenagerieMayhem
Cute White Bull Terrier return address labels for dog lovers! Sparkly blue design has a cartoon of the white dog breed with an eye patch on the left, and you can instantly add all your own information, printed on the right. Other coat colors are available.

Brittany Spaniel Reindeer Christmas by MenagerieMayhem
Fun Brittany Spaniel Christmas address labels have a dog breed silhouette, with reindeer antlers and a bright red glowing nose. The background is a cheery holiday plaid with reds and greens. Personalize the Name and Address easily with our customizing tools.

Santa Old English Sheepdog by MenagerieMayhem
Adorable photo of an Old English Sheepdog wearing a Santa cap in front of colorful Christmas lights. Excellent Old English Sheepdog address labels for the holidays! Instantly personalize the information to your own.

Dax Goes to an Agility Trial, Merlin Conquers All

2010-09-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a Flashpoint CPE trial - an outdoor event, which is a fun time for everyone in dog agility! Happily, the ring is completely fenced in, or I might have some doubts about running my dogs there. :)

In addition to my agility dogs Popper and Merlin, I brought along my Roofus and Dax. Roofus has an APDT rally trial coming up, so he needs to get used to the atmosphere, and Dax just needs to get used to being around people, dogs, and, well, trials. :)

This was Popper's first time in Level 3 Jumpers and Colors, and he was absolutely amazing - even though I forgot the course halfway through Jumpers, I managed to save it and Popper got not only Q's for those runs but first places as well! His last run was Level 2 Wildcard, which was NOT very inspiring, particularly when he stopped on the dog walk and began admiring the judge. His tail was going a mile a minute - not sure of the attraction of this particular judge, Popper has trialed under him before with no problems. He managed to Q, but his "fan club time" cost him first, and he netted third.

Merlin was entered in only two runs, and he managed to Q in both of them. He ran with a spring in his step and a smile on his face, so really, he could have not Q'd and I wouldn't have cared in the slightest. :) He was the only dog in his level and height class so he obviously got two first places. Merlin, unlike Popper, did NOT like the judge, and he too stopped on the dog walk - to shoot the judge a look full of hatred. Good job, corgi.

I was unable to get anything at all out of Roofus, except for a couple of distance downs. He just refused to work, he was too full of excitement. I'd excuse it if it weren't for the fact that I always bring him along to outdoor trials, and always work on rally stuff in-between dog runs. This is the first time he has refused to work at all. It doesn't bode well for our October rally trial. :(

Dax had all kinds of positive experiences! He met lots of people, who had lots of mom-supplied steak for him, and he met a lot of dogs. I made sure he met one of my agility pal's big black dog Oscar, who is as mellow as mellow can be, to help him get over his fear of big black dogs. Dax was terrified of him, but at the same time, wanted to play with him. Throughout the day, Dax had happy tail, and to me that was better than all the Q's and first places we could have gotten.

Curiously, people keep mixing up Popper and Dax. Popper has drop ears, Dax has prick ears. Popper is a deep red with white speckles, Dax is white with light red speckles. Popper really wants to see you and give you kisses, Dax would rather sit nearby and be ignored. Granted, sometimes I'll confuse them if I glance quickly, or can only see their legs or snouts, but seriously? Not sure how everyone keeps confusing the two. :)

Dax Meets a Borzoi

2010-09-08T15:25:00.000-05:00

Today one of my agility pals brought her enormous Borzoi to the play yard to meet Dax, and show him that big dogs can be perfectly nice companions. When I saw enormous, I mean he made Roofus look like a normal sized dog. He must have been 36" at the shoulders. I'm not familiar with the size range of Borzoi, but this boy was easily the size of a regular pony.

However, Dralion has a nice gentle spirit, with very good doggie manners and calming signals, and while his size intimidated Dax at first, Dax was soon quite comfortable running around him and sniffing at his leisure. Once, he ran up to Dralion in a move to initiate play, which Dralion would have been more than happy to comply with, but as soon as he stiffened up to pounce, Dax took off like a chicken. LOL Can't say as I blame him, that is a lot of dog to play with! :) Dralion was very good at giving Dax space so he didn't feel pressured or stressed.

I had Merlin in there too, and he's iffy about giant dogs, so it was a great experience for him as well. Hopefully we do it again soon!!

Playgroup, Fearful Fido, Training

2010-09-06T14:16:00.000-05:00

Friday I took Dax to a playgroup with Merlin da Corgi, as a comfort dog. Things started out a little rough, with Dax having a definite case of the "OMG!!"s and zooming everywhere. Then came the butt biting.

It didn't matter if the dog were running or standing still, Dax decided all butts looked tasty and sunk his chompers in. It wasn't an aggressive action, so much as a "play with me I'm an outta control puppy and you've gotta play with me and I'll keep biting you until you do!!!" Needless to say, he got ejected from the small dog playgroup, and we decided to give him a shot in the big dog playgroup, as none of the small dogs would correct his behavior. (Merlin would rather let Dax crash and burn)

Big dog playgroup was a bigger disaster - entering a play yard where there are already a dozen or so dogs, all of which are bigger, and all who wanted to sniff Dax at the same time, was just a bad scene for him. Tail tucked, running in circles, and as his last resort, showing the teeth. So, that ended Dax's night of playgroup. I walked him outside along the fence and gave him a ton of treats to try to end on a positive note.

The next day we had Fearful Fido class, just for dogs with fear/anxiety issues. I'm happy to say that Dax was one of the least fearful in the class - but he was very much like the most fearful one just a few weeks ago! He has more issues with men than women, usually allowing women to at least feed a treat without shutting down, sometimes even a neck scratch. I don't know if he's scared of big dogs, black dogs, or big black dogs, but so far all the big dogs he's met besides my own have been black also. He really, REALLY wants to see these dogs, but after a sniff or two, darts away, then squiggles back in for another sniff, darts away, etc etc. Maybe he likes to scare himself, or maybe he's just playing it safe. One of my doggie pals is bringing her large Borzoi on Wednesday for Dax to interact with (very, very calm dog), and as he's mostly white, we'll see if it's big dogs or big black dogs. At any rate, it should be a positive experience.

Today I was working with Roofus and Popper on their Dog Scouts stuff - stays, leave its, heeling, and some distance downs with Roo. I decided it would be a great time to start some more intense training with Dax, rather than the casual "down" I tell him every once in a while. :) I read that crazy dogs should be kept moving, so I started by teaching him to weave through my legs, which amazingly, I thought he'd be hesitant doing, but he has no qualms about it at all. Then we moved on to heeling.... which is a bit trickier. He gets really nuts and starts jumping up and biting/mouthing, and no amount of "crying" is going to deter him from it. I only treat for all four feet on the ground, and when he starts biting, I simply turn away. Sometimes I get dizzy, because he can go on for a while. We also worked on stays, which are sooo hard for puppies, and hard for cattle dogs too! He's up to about 5 feet, in just one session. :) I also introduced the tire jump, set at about 6", which for him means he can just step through it. He didn't seem overly thrilled about it. Probably because stepping over things isn't too exciting. I'll raise it up a bit, but he is still a puppy so I don't want to go too high. Just a short session doing this outside (about 10 minutes total), and he's taking a nap. :)

I'm strongly considering switching Dax to clicker training, especially with his jumping up and biting issue. I've tried every method known to man - even scruffing him, which was slightly more effective than the obnoxious crying thing you're supposed to do. He thought that was a fun game - bite Mommy, she cries! What a great toy. Look, I can make her cry again! And again! And again! He is not very treat motivated, but I think he'll "get" the clicker much more quickly.

New Places for Dax

2010-08-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

I try to take Dax to one new place every day. Eventually, I'm going to run out of new places. :) But today Dax got to go to TWO places - the Grove City Farmer's Market, and the local PetSmart.

The farmer's market I used primarily as a place to get Dax used to a lot of people milling around. It wasn't as awful as it sounds - I had Dax with Popper, and we just stood on the corner, about 30' from the very last booth. Dax was treated heavily the entire time with hot dog and ham. A very nice woman and her granddaughter were kind enough to pet on Popper and completely ignore Dax for me, and the result was that Dax was free to sniff all over them without having to give them anything in return or feel threatened in any way. When he was done sniffing, he came to me for his treat. A very positive interaction!

The next stop was PetSmart, because I wanted to buy Dax a DAP collar. PetSmart was a much more positive place for Dax; he had "happy tail" the entire time, and went up to all kinds of people. He even allowed several of them to pet on him. In fact, he did so well, I think I may take him there every single day so he can have a positive experience like that. It was decently crowded in there too, and he acted like a fairly normal dog, who just was picky about who could touch him. :) After every interaction he came back to me wanting an ear rub or a treat. He understands the game perfectly. He also really likes the dog toy aisle. :)

I put the DAP collar on after we checked out, while my husband made a new dog tag for his corgi, and after only a few seconds it had already made a difference. Dax likes to randomly bark, and with the collar on, he stopped barking for a good three minutes, and after that, he rarely barked at all.

Wherein Popper becomes a Security Blanket and Dax becomes a Real Dog

2010-08-27T16:40:00.000-05:00

I nearly sat down on the grass and cried today.

Not the "oh no, life is awful," sort of cry, but the "oh my God, I am so relieved, comforted, and happy" sort.

Today I took Dax to the human park for the first time. I picked a time where it wouldn't be too busy, but that there would be some people around to provide opportunities for rewarding. I also brought along Popper, who is a veritable social butterfly around humans. My heart swelled with glee when Dax bounded out of the car, tail wagging, and proceeded to dash around furiously, splash through creeks (the water phobic dog!), chase squirrels and bark merrily at cats. You would have thought he was a normal dog. Surely this was not the anxiety-filled, scrawny mess of a dog who jumped twelve feet at the smallest sound just a few weeks ago. Dax was playing and frolicking like the puppy he is. He boldly bounded into thickets, bounced his way across fields, and in general, behaved much like any other ten month old. He had happy tail the entire hour and a half we spent at the park. I feel like we sailed around the world.

I don't mean to say he's "fixed." He's not. While new places aren't so scary (particularly those outside), he's still pretty wary of people. And I say wary - because we've stepped up from terrified. Yes, we had a few woofs, and he did start chasing a little kid who was running by (quite motion responsive), but we approached or walked much closer to people than we have been. Indeed, Dax turned it into a game, where he would run up to a person, sniff their shoes, and then dash back to the relative safety of Mom. Did I reward the heck out of him? You bet. He particularly loved this two year old who was walking with his mother. He kept going up to the child again and again. I asked the Mom if we could follow behind them for a while since Dax was so taken with the little boy, and we spent an enjoyable time where Dax was STRAINING to see someone. That has never happened before. Dax has begun to have more and more "mild" reactions where he "freezes" momentarily when he sees someone - and then we continue on. The barking is becoming less, the dashing madly away at any reaction on the stranger's part is becoming more of a trot.

I'm pretty sure we can get Dax over "stranger danger," to a degree - he is a cattle dog, after all, not a breed known for being overly affectionate to those they are not familiar with. He is intensely curious in people, and as long as they ignore him, he feels much more comfortable to go check them out. But poor socialization, being yelled at often, and God knows what else have made this little dog a wreck about new folks. If I'm not careful with his interactions, he'll get diarrhea from being so worked up about it.

Popper was actually one of my last choices to walk with Dax. He barks at anything and everything, and he's a NIGHTMARE on the leash if I walk another dog with him. In fact, all of his own personal issues are amplified if I don't walk him solo. However, two things Popper does have, unfailingly, and in huge scores, is fearlessness and a natural joy for life. I walked the two together last night just to try it, and the effect it had on Dax was instantaneous and remarkable. I could see that dog swell with confidence as surely as if he were playing in his own backyard. We were a bit lucky we did not run into other dogs though; while Popper is dog-friendly, he is not quite as reliably so when he's on leash and will bark incessantly when he sees one.

I have since decided that Popper and Dax will be regular walking buddies, and Popper will accompany Dax on all future visits to parks, pet stores, and everywhere else we go. Sure, it's a crutch. But you bet I'm going to exploit the heck out of it. If one day Dax decides humans are as awesome as my other dogs do, I may wean him off of Popper so he can be confident on his own. But that's a long time away. For right now, I'm going to do whatever it takes to help Dax feel like the "real dog" I saw at the park today. Because he deserves it.

Dax Progress Update

2010-08-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

   Dax has been progressing along like a fireball with his anxiety issues.

   Last night, I took him along with me to BRAG while Popper had class, his second time at the building. He was relaxed in his crate the entire time, and amazingly, was taking hot dog treats. He went through the door much more easily, and was quite happy to receive some hot dogs as a reward. He approached several people and dogs, took hot dogs from a few people, and did his Mom proud. I even had a friend hold his leash and walk him out to my car.

   Today, we took our daily walk along the same route, except I brought Merlin along as well. Merlin's been "vengeful" pottying, no doubt due to Dax, so I figured he could use the quality time with Dax as well as some extra exercise. As an alterior motive, I think having Popper along last night was a huge confidence boost to Dax, and I was craving some more success. :)

   And success is exactly what I got. Dax finally, for the first time ever, went potty on a walk. He's never gone anywhere except in the backyard. That probably doesn't sound like a huge thing to most people, but trust me, it really is. After his potty, he walked down into the marshy area that runs along the sidewalk (I walk dogs on long flexis usually) and explored quite happily. When we rounded the marsh with the forest on one side, he was noticeably less freaked out about the trees, and even started flushing out birds! :D I was so happy with his progress that I decided to push it up a notch, and we did one extra block of unfamiliar territory.

   Piece of CAKE! He wasn't throwing out any calming signals at all. He was trotting around like he'd been walking the neighborhood all his life. He didn't even trip me ONCE on the whole walk; normally he'll dart back and forth right in front of my feet, so I have to stop, stutter step, or fall on my face. He even LOOKED happy. The one single problem we had on the whole walk was in the first two minutes, along the familiar route, when we were waiting to cross the street. There was a bit more traffic than usual, and Dax dropped to his belly while a couple of obnoxiously loud cars passed by. That was literally the only noticeable calming signal I saw from this dog.

HUGE improvements in such a small amount of time! I'll continue to take Dax with me wherever I go (when appropriate and feasible), and hopefully he will do a complete 180 from when I first met him!

Dax's Great Escape

2010-08-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night, two days after Dax was fixed, I ended up taking him to OSU Veterinary Emergency Services... All his stitches were gone. Just plain gone. They put four staples in him, yelled at me for a while, put a cone on his head, and we were good to go.

And I was very good at keeping him coned and crated for five very long days.

Last night, however, Dax had apparently had enough.

I came home from Merlin's agility class, opened my bedroom door, and Dax pranced daintily past me. Ummmm.... I walked into my bedroom, and the front panel of the dog crate was torn off. Literally, torn off. He broke two welds in his escape. It was a very large, heavy-duty dog crate, too, I had actually borrowed Roofus's wire crate, which is humongous, since the poor dog had to spend most of his time confined, as well as with the cone.

After I got over the shock, and called my Dad (who can weld anything), I had a good laugh about the little cattle dog who just refuses to be contained. All day long he was whining and whimpering about being stuck in his crate (normally he is completely silent), and I suppose he just couldn't take it any more.

Today I'm not crating him unless I have to leave, because his incision looks pretty well healed (guessing antibiotics helped there) and the staples still look just fine. We'll just hold off on the strenuous exercise until the weekend. :)

Agility Weekend and Dax Gets Fixed

2010-08-09T16:54:00.003-05:00

Saturday we went up to Flashpoint Agility's CPE trial. Popper and Merlin had three runs each, in Standard, Fullhouse, and Wildcard.

Fullhouse started out well enough. Popper was a bit all over the place, typical in the first run and typical for an outdoor trial. I had plotted a run that allowed something like 38 points though, so we were okay. Took first place by a mile, had the table perfectly planned so the buzzer rang about 1 second before he jumped on it. Merlin was distracted, nervous, and aware of everything. Even things that don't normally bother him. He missed a Q by 2 points, because he simply refused to do most things.

Standard was nerve wracking because it was my first time running in Level 3, and it was with Merlin, who was demonstrating that today was not going to be a fun day for him. And the streak continued... but got worse. He just stopped doing tunnels entirely. Most jumps I had to zip around behind and call him from, so he HAD to jump over it. I will say, he did the teeter perfectly. Sometimes when he's spooked, he'll jump off the teeter midway. He also entered and performed all six weaves absolutely perfectly on the very first try. He refused to do the last jump. Not that it mattered at that point.

Popper did great - well, I did not LOL. I started running Popper on Merlin's Level 3 course - luckily, after the first off course, a light bulb clicked in my brain, I laughed, apologized to Popper, and we went off - correctly this time. He did miss his weave entry, which is TOTALLY unlike Popper!! However, he did manage a Q.

The third run, Popper did awesome. Easy Q. I decided to run Merlin FEO. We did two jumps on leash, which he did happily, and then we jogged out, where Daddy was waiting with a ton of treats. The crowd cheered and clapped, and Merlin looked as happy as if he'd just successfully run a full course. I'm glad I did not try to run Merlin off leash. The very instant the leash comes off lately, he becomes Mr Scared of Everything. Unfortunately, you can't run agility on leash....

I took Merlin to Roofus's rally obedience class today, and she had the rally course set up around the agility equipment. Merlin was extremely confident and clearly enjoying himself. But of course, he was also on leash. :(

Today I took Dax to the vet for his shots and to be neutered. He had a super freak out in the waiting room when some yorkie-schnauzer thing started yipping at him non-stop. Luckily the owner saw how spazzed his dog was making Dax, and took the thing outside, but the damage was done. Dax spent the rest of his time hiding under my chair.

When I went back later to get him, he didn't even acknowledge me. Wouldn't look me in the eye. :( Then he proceeded to vomit twice all over my car, and once home, to vomit two more times. I deserved it, I guess. He's been snoozing off and on, as much as a nervous cattle dog can.

Plus One!

2010-08-05T15:02:00.002-05:00

There's a new Menagerie Mayhem dog - introducing Dax! Dax is a ten month old red Australian Cattle Dog that we rescued today. He is simply irresistible, and his only "bad" habit seems to be that he is extremely shy of new people and situations. With all the doggie classes and competitions we go to, we're sure this shyness will go away very quickly!

Isn't he cute? He thinks so too!

Popper Update

2010-08-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

Popper had his vet recheck, as well as an agility workshop on Friday.

The vet said he couldn't look better, everything was completely healed. We still have to watch his other sideways tooth though, and she said eventually it will need removed as well. But for now, it's fine.

Popper's teeth definitely were hurting him, because when we ran agility on Friday night, he was zooming like a demon. Ironically, that's his middle name. He hasn't run that fast for me in probably a year. He never slowed down, either. THAT is more what I would expect from a cattle dog mix! Thank goodness we got those teeth pulled!

Popper's Tooth Extraction

2010-07-22T13:24:00.002-05:00

Popper had his canine tooth extraction on Monday.

He was pretty angry that I didn't feed him breakfast, so he was being snarky and rebellious (although he is always a bit of each!). I reminded the vet that a muzzle might be in order.

I came back to pick him up, only to discover that TWO molars had been removed. The vet wasn't available to chat with, so I took the poor dog outside. They'd given him IV fluids, and he really, really had to go. I have to commend him on his superb bladder control! I had assumed he was doing his beagle squeak inside the vet because he has separation anxiety - it seems more likely they just hadn't let him out to potty. :(

Popper was pretty out of it, he didn't protest at all when I put him in his crate, but curled up and went to sleep right away.

The next day the vet called, and I found out that the extra tooth she removed was actually right next to his cracked one. See, Popper is rather "special," and has the same molar on each side that has grown in sideways. It's pretty interesting. She discovered that the root was bad in one of them, so she had to extract that tooth as well. Unfortunately, the root had grown into the soft pallete, and she wasn't qualified enough to remove it, so she ground it down as much as she could. She hopes that the root will naturally be expelled by his body, or reabsorbed. If neither occurs, and it is irritating him, we'll have to see a specialist and have a pallete resectioning done. I hope he just rejects it naturally. His dental surgery was over $500. Quite a hit in the wallet.

He's into day 3 post surgery now, and he's doing great. Just yesterday he was almost 100% again. He was showing some bloody spittle on his tennis ball, so I gave him a smaller ball and I haven't seen any since. I'm very glad I had the tooth extracted when I did, she was pretty sure, after she removed it, that it probably was bothering him a bit. I'm REALLY hoping that it makes a difference when we do agility class, because he's been slightly "off" lately. He's been having allergy issues too, which he has never had before, and she said that the tooth could actually have irritated the sinuses, because of the one it was.

However, after this experience, I've decided I will never have my dog's teeth cleaned unless they're getting something else done at the same time. This was extremely nerve wracking!

Popper's First Teacup Trial

2010-07-18T19:52:00.003-05:00

After trying out teacup agility this previous winter, I entered Popper today at a local Teacup Dog trial. We entered Near & Far, and two rounds of Standard.

Near & Far is kind of like jackpot, except that there are TWO gamble lines, one near, and one far. Jackpot is super hard for Popper, the biggest reason being that he has some nasty separation anxiety. However, he performed flawlessly, earning a Q and a 1st place. The building had one of its bay doors open in the course area, which was distracting (to put it shortly) to a beagle mix. However, I found that yelling "TREATS!!" is quite effective. :)

Standard was a bit of a surprise. Popper was distracted running off the teeny a-frame, and ended up doing a back jump. I later discovered that in Teacup, you aren't allowed ANY faults at all in Standard, which is different than I'm used to with CPE. :) So no Q in the first one, but he did Q the second round. Of course, there was a different table behavior the second time (first one was stand) but nobody told me! So after I had him stand, the judge told me it was supposed to be sit. Okay, no problem. He sat for about three seconds before he turned it into a beg. The judge started laughing. The crowd was laughing. I was laughing. He was trying his darndest to get a treat, LOL. Eventually we got it worked out so he sat for five seconds (four paws on the table!!), then we continued on. :)

And that ended our day. 2 Qs, 3 1sts, and a very, very happy dog. The judge actually pulled me aside after our second run to tell me what a neat little dog Popper is. The whole time she was talking to me, Pop was happily slurping my face, LOL. I think next time I may do an entire weekend - which I've never done in any venue before, but Popper may last the course in teacup. I think Popper enjoys teacup more than CPE, and I imagine it has something to do with the cute little equipment, him getting to be a "big dog," and the fact that the course size is so much smaller, so he's doing stuff more often. We're trying to earn a TBAD title before the next BRAG dinner in January (or is it Feb....).

Tomorrow is Popper's tooth extraction, and I'm pretty freaked out about it. I had a weird nightmare last night that had nothing to do with anesthesia or teeth, but the dogs were in it and were in danger all the time, and it was only my constant vigilance that kept them safe. I tell ya what, I will NEVER have my dogs' teeth cleaned. It seems silly to go through all this for such a thing. If it weren't for Popper needing his tooth removed (his molar is cracked), I wouldn't have them cleaned at all. I've been hugging the little guy all night. And of course he's eating it up! We'll see how he does tomorrow morning when he finds out he isn't getting breakfast...

Outdoor Agility Trial!

2010-06-29T13:35:00.002-05:00

Sunday, I entered both my agility dogs in an outdoor trial held at Flashpoint Agility in Marengo, Ohio. I'm always a bit wary of entering Popper in any outdoor event, because he is half beagle, and where the nose goes, the body follows! Luckily, this venue is fenced in, or I might have some more serious reservations. I actually don't know why more outdoor trials don't use fencing... you can buy super cheap reusable plastic fencing quite readily, and more handlers would 1) enter the trial and 2) be more comfortable at the trial.

I entered both dogs in the same levels and classes, the only difference being that Merlin the corgi is 8" and Popper and Beagle/Cattle Dog is 12". It really makes it fun, what with being in neighboring height classes, because sometimes I only have a couple dogs in-between runs, so it's a mad dash to the crates, and a mad dash back to the starting gate! We ran in Level 2 Jumpers, and two rounds of Colors.

I've been concerned for Merlin because he hasn't been trialing normally, ever since he was in a dog fight at his last agility training facility. He has JUST recently started running normally in class, which is basically an all-out crazy dog run that may or may not be where you want him to go. :) He was still sluggish this weekend, but whether it was because he's still not "over" it, or because it was insanely hot and humid (92 - eeep!), I do not know. I suspect he still harbors ill will, myself.

However, long story short - both dogs did beautifully. Both dogs back jumped one run each, and both dogs got distracted by little dumb things. Both dogs always came back to me, and both dogs managed to Q in all of their runs. I've never had so many Q's in one day before! 6!

So Popper has finished CPE Level 2 Jumpers and Colors, as well as his Fun Games title, and Merlin finished Level 2 Colors (he's not a huge fan of jumpers so he's more behind). We're slowly but steadily making our way towards a C-ATCH, but I honestly don't think we'll ever get there, because we just don't trial enough. Money is always an issue, as well as time, and the fact that Popper in particular just can't handle an entire weekend of agility, or even five runs in a day. I usually only do three with him, and four is really pushing it. So we'll continue our little bunny hops towards our goal, keeping in mind that the dogs really don't care if they get any titles or not - they do it simply for the joy of doing it. And that yummy cheeseburger on the way home.

Agility Practice

2010-06-24T09:54:00.003-05:00

Last night it was waaaaay to hot to go to Popper's agility class. We have a trial this weekend, so I really hated to do it, but it was still 91 degrees a half hour before his class, and it's in an unconditioned building. So I made up for it this morning in my backyard while it was still cool!

I searched all over for simple dog agility exercises, but everything I found was either extremely basic, or required a lot more equipment than I have. So I'm posting the "mini course" that I ran with Popper. There are many, many more fun combinations you can do, and we made up probably a dozen different "courses" with just these five obstacles. However, that course map would look quite confusing. So I've drawn it up with only two different paths, the purple is easier with front crosses, the green is harder and there are some rears in there too. :) Popper and I had a blast playing with this configuration. You can do the weave poles first to practice weave exits too. Our goal was to work on tight handling and weave pole entries.

I think my favorite part is the green, 3-4-5-6, because if you're not careful you'll get insanely dizzy. :)

Rally Class Today

2010-06-21T13:46:00.002-05:00

Roofus has been going to Rally Obedience class, with a trial last month... which didn't go too well LOL. I only entered him in two runs, and the entire atmosphere was so different for him that I had almost zero attention from him in the ring. We NQ'd both runs because I pulled out the treats to get him back.

However, I've been trying to get away from using treats ALL the time. Today I finally managed to do an entire course in class, off-leash, and only treating according to APDT rules. I almost lost Roofus a couple of times, but I think only feeding him half his breakfast this morning made him a little more willing to pay attention to me. :D

Hopefully, at the next trial in October, we'll get one Q at the very least. :)

Blossom tries rally

2010-06-18T08:26:00.004-05:00

Okay, it's been awhile... but I was planning a wedding, and then I got married, so there was the honeymoon, and then all the post-wedding wrap-up that goes on. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :D

Last night, I tried my 14 year-old, deaf, dalmatian-border collie mix in a Rally-o workshop. The thing about Blossom is that she's not particularly eager to please. If her goals and your goals happen to overlap, then all is well. The problem with that, is it doesn't happen very often. Add into that some fairly severe leash aggression, and you've got yourself an interesting night.

The hardest part with Blossom was getting and keeping her attention. She has never done a formal class with me, although she knows all the obedience commands. I can't verbally connect with her because she is deaf, which limits trying to get her attention to shoving food right in front of her face (and she's not a foody dog - look how skinny she is!) or leash tugs. I don't like shoving food in her face because it startles her, you can see her recoil whenever something suddenly appears in front of her.

After a few rounds of Blossom trying to wander off wherever she wanted, it dawned on me that we brought the Gentle Leader. Blossom spent a lot of her time on the Gentle Leader the first few years I had her, and that seemed like a great way to get her attention, (and keep her from barking at the other dogs) so I slipped it on. Ohhhh, we did so much better! She couldn't lunge as far in front of me, so it was a LOT easier to get her attention. She did pretty well on the last exercise, which was a little "mini" course, putting together the signs we had practiced. She still refused to "down," but I was pretty happy with her last performance.

I mean heck, not bad for an ADD, 14 year-old deaf dog that's not interested in pleasing you in the slightest!

Roo's Bad Dream

2010-02-15T12:13:00.002-05:00

Last night, I was trying to snooze when I heard a little "yip" from Roofus, having a bad dream. Normally I wake my dogs up when they're having bad dreams, but I was pooped so I just went back to trying to sleep. He let out a couple of big yelps, and I saw Popper get up, go over to Roofus, and poke him with his nose a couple of times until Roo finally woke up.

Knowing Popper as I do, I am pretty sure he just didn't want his sleep disturbed by a yipping dog... but I'd like to think he was lovingly helping out his big brother so he wouldn't have to be chased by giant squirrels or whatever it is they have bad dreams about. :)

Playing Ball with Roofus

2010-02-04T15:42:00.003-05:00

I went out to run the dogs a bit in my backyard. The best way, since it's a small yard, is to throw a ball. Popper and Merlin have great "drop its," but for some reason known only to Roofus, he has never been interested in dropping the ball, but instead mashes it into your stomach repeatedly and looks bewildered that you're not throwing it.

Needless to say, I try to keep Roofus from ever getting the ball. He chases it like everybody else, and doesn't get tired of it. But I get tired, especially if it's a bit muddy out, of not only the incessant bruising and drool in my midsection, but of the mud all over my clothes. If he can't drop it, he can't play.

My solution to this is to just give him his own ball. Before I start throwing the ball, I give Roofus a tennis ball. He then proceeds to chew on it while he chases Popper and Merlin around the yard, and because the other two have very quick drops, he never gets a chance to smash into my stomach. He still gets his exercise, he got to have a ball the whole time, and I'm mud, drool, and irritation free.

The only bad part is when we're done, and he finally drops the ball. It's so disgusting; it's covered in foamy drool, and it DRIPS! Just look at that picture!!

Fun New Game!

2010-02-01T12:28:00.001-05:00

Pickle, my quaker parakeet, has come up with a fun new game. For him.

He jumps or climbs onto my head, and when I reach up to remove him, he bites me.

Typical quaker parrot!

Trying my hand at teacup...

2010-01-25T08:43:00.002-05:00

Our BRAG building had a TDAA trial in it this weekend - hosted by Central Ohio Dog Sports. One of my agility pals was running her dog, so I dropped in on Saturday to watch.

I'm pretty sure TDAA stands for "Tinies Doing Adorable Agility" because that's what it looked like to me!

The next day I came back with Popper to give him a run. First thing in the morning is a "familiarization" time, so your dog can get used to the (much smaller) obstacles. Popper had no problem or hesitation with any of it. In fact, he REALLY seemed to like the smaller tunnels. A lot. He's never been a tunnel sucker, but I'm pretty sure if we did teacup regularly, he would fast become one. The only time he was a bit taken aback was over the a-frame. His expression clearly read, "is this IT?!"

We did a Beginner Standard run, very similar to a Level 1 CPE Standard, except there was a teeter. Unfortunately, I had forgotten, since Popper hasn't trialed in a long time, that he was starting to do "daddy checks." He doesn't actively LOOK for daddy, but when he sees him, he tries to go to him. Only at trials.

So he ran away I think four times, but we did manage to complete the run, and when he was paying attention to me, he was awesome. Focus is a HUGE issue with Popper anyway, and so daddy has now been banned from watching both of our dogs run agility LOL!

I decided that I'm going to register Popper with the Teacup Dog Agility Association, and a couple times a year, we'll have some fun on the teeny tiny equipment. It's a great, relaxed atmosphere, and since I get stressed at trials, I think it'll be really nice for Popper to have some runs that are stress-free for him AND me!

Working on a few things...

2010-01-18T15:29:00.001-05:00

Updates I've made recently include: new silhouettes for the Otterhound, Australian Cattle Dog, and Portuguese Podengo (smooth), and the Zazzle store now carries the Berger Picard (Picardy Shepherd), Black Russian Terrier, Barbet, and American Water Spaniel. Right now I'm working on going through all the dog breeds and making sure each one has all the designs it has supposed to have, including embroidery.

Quite ambitious, as I've only got about six completely done LOL. It may take me all of 2010 to get this one done!

AKC throws out "Separate but Equal" Garbage

2010-01-16T09:02:00.002-05:00

Apparently, having received tons of negative feedback about mixed breed dogs being "inferior" and receiving "separate but equal" titles in dog agility, rally, etc, the AKC has nixed that practice, and mutts can now compete against purebreds for the same titles.

I mean, DUH AKC!

Read the letter here.

Awful Merlin Nightmare!

2009-12-28T08:08:00.002-05:00

I had a long nightmare about Merlin again last night... I don't know why I keep having them!

I was sitting on a building rooftop with Merlin, drawing the phases of the moon, when my brother came up, and I confessed I was terribly worried that Merlin would fall off the building. It started to rain, so I grabbed my umbrella and opened it up. This scared Merlin, and he backed away from me, right over the side of the building. My brother sort of half-chuckled, and said something like, "Well, there he goes."

I was absolutely TERRIFIED. I was sobbing, heartbroken, and the sense of loss was completely real.

A bit later in the dream, I found Merlin's body at the foot of the building, completely stiff like you see in cartoons, with his legs straight up - it looked like he landed on his head. Then all of the sudden, he started moving a bit, though clearly severely injured. I grabbed him up and drove like a maniac to MedVet.

The dream ended while I was waiting at MedVet - except suddenly Merlin was fine, and I had Popper and Roofus there with me too. There was some sort of play area for dogs, so I put those three in it. Apparently, I had driven to MedVet for my tortoise, who wasn't eating.

Completely bizarre dream. Merlin is getting lots of hugs!!!!

Wild Weavers CPE Trial

2009-12-21T07:51:00.003-05:00

Saturday, the day after Merlin the corgi's birthday, we went to the Wild Weavers CPE Agility Trial. Merlin was entered in level 2 Fullhouse, Standard, and Snooker, as well as Level 1 Wildcard. We were both really working well together, and Merlin earned himself four Q's in four runs! He had two exceptional runs in which he got first place, one of which was Snooker (I really love snooker!).

The best part of the whole day was how well we were meshing, something that I was wondering when would start to happen. Merlin has almost totally stopped skipping obstacles, and while he can't seemingly "read my mind" yet, I can catch him before his attention starts to wander and get him back on track. His daddy managed to hide quite well for all four runs, so Merlin never did a Daddy check, which is awesome because we've lost many a Q to daddy checks!! That doesn't mean he wasn't scanning the crowd for him, because he was - but he didn't run out into the audience, nor did he run and sit at the gate searching for him. HUGE improvement!

So now all Merlin needs to complete his level 1 CPE title is Jumpers. This is his "cursed" class, because the last two times we attempted it, we didn't Q because of a single jump. The first one, Merlin ran and did a Daddy check right before the last jump and would not return. The second one, which was the last trial, I either totally forgot to have him take a certain jump, or I directed him to it and he didn't take it. The next trial, we are entering him in Jumpers both days, so hopefully we can finish it out. :)

Popper's Eye Appt and Happy Birthday Merlin

2009-12-18T10:08:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Popper's ophthalmology appointment at MedVet. Long story short, he does NOT have progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), thank God! He does have some small cataracts in his left eye, which the vet did not think was impairing his vision, but we have to keep an eye on. She said those were inherited, and he'd probably had them since birth. He's four years old - why hasn't a vet seen them before now? So we're going back in six months for a recheck. If nothing else, the visit was worth it to discover those.

After the dilation, she had another test to see if he truly did just have bad night vision. Not only does he not have bad night vision, he has AWESOME night vision. So his nastiness to the other dogs at nighttime is not eye related. At least now I know how to react when one of these incidents occurs... I can probably curb the being a jerk, but if it was PRA, there was nothing that could be done for him. So his agility career is still safe. :)

I've been sleeping with my fish tank light on for him, though, and he hasn't attacked Blossom when she jumps on my bed in the middle of the night. Which is weird. Maybe he's just afraid of the dark?

Today is Merlin's birthday! He turned 5 years old today. We're going to go to PetSmart to buy him a birthday treat, and maybe stop at the ice cream place too!

Roofus, Rally, and Popper

2009-12-16T20:28:00.003-05:00

Monday Roofus went to a rally class at Anything Goes for Dogs. He's enrolled in the next class, next year, but she wanted to make sure that we were familiar with all level 1 signs first, because the next class focuses on level 2.

First, I was uber impressed at the new facility. SO much bigger! She even has a separate area for crating and "massage." It's like a doggie heaven! I went ahead and made a private lesson after our next class for Popper. He's ready to return to agility (Thank God!) and I really needed somewhere, supervised, to do it. A nice gentle reintroduction after his, what, seven week hiatus? It's only a half hour, which should be perfect.

Roofus was great at Rally. He really, really likes it. He is probably the most eager to please dog I've ever seen, and definitely the most ETP dog I own! Once he understands what I want, he is happy to do it. He's such a goofball. :) There were a couple new signs that we didn't know, but Roo handled them very well! We need to work on 90 degree left pivots, though. Nobody could do those - they're super hard!

Today, I set up a series of three jumps in the backyard for Popper, and ran him over them a few times. He was so, SO happy that I was letting him do agility. I thought that he was handling no agility pretty well, and then I saw how excited he was to be running again - an expression of pure bliss! We started off rocky, because he would do a jump and run straight back to me and sit, waiting for a treat. After he got comfy again, he was amazing. I'd point and tell him to go away from me (VERY hard for Popper!) and he'd zoom away like a pro. On our last run (I kept it very short since he hasn't done it in a while, and the ground is frozen solid), I threw in all kinds of crosses and directions and he was PERFECT. I can't WAIT to get back into the agility ring with him!

CPE Trial this Past Weekend!

2009-12-07T14:45:00.002-05:00

This weekend was a BRAG CPE trial. I had originally entered Merlin AND Popper, but I pulled Popper out because of his groin pull. As a result, we had some really long wait times with Merlin on Sunday.

Saturday we had runs in Jumpers and Fullhouse. In Jumpers, either I completely missed a jump, or I had assumed Merlin jumped it and went on to the next one. So that was an NQ for us. He did very well on that run, though! Jumpers is Merlin's "cursed" class, just like Jackpot is for Popper. For some reason, we find it DEVILISHLY hard to get a Q. In Fullhouse, we had all the points we needed, and one of the tunnels ran Merlin straight at the gate. Merlin ran over because he saw Daddy, and when Daddy moved off, Merlin moved with him - right out of the ring. I called and called, and eventually the crowd shepherded him back into the ring. Well, I wasn't about to let Merlin do more agility as a reward for running out of the ring. I mean, he didn't even come back because HE wanted to, everyone pushed him back in. So I ended it. It's not a big deal, we already have a few Q's in Fullhouse, and I'd rather he learned that running out of the ring means no more agility. He really loves agility, so I think it's an effective lesson.

Sunday was the opposite, and we went 3 for 3. Snooker, then Standard, then Colors. So now we've moved up to Level 2 in Snooker, Standard, and Colors. Merlin even did the tire flawlessly, an obstacle he continues to have problems with. He also earned his first ever blue ribbon! I mean, he has blue ribbons from being the only dog that Q'd in his height class, but this is the first time he ever beat another dog. He got lots of cookies, hot dog, and we stopped for a hamburger for him on the way home. :)

In the Colors run (last run of the trial), he ran to the gate for a "daddy check," but couldn't see Daddy - and came back when I called.. eventually. That's the run we got first place on. :D

We've got another trial coming up in a few weeks, but thankfully it's just one day. This is the first time we ever did both days of a trial, and it was to try to get both dogs to finish their Level 1 titles before the end of the year. Without Jumpers, there is no way for Merlin to earn his... I'd signed him up for another Snooker and another Standard, but not the Jumpers. Oh well. :) If he gets his Wildcard at the next trial, he'll be like Popper - just waiting on that one devil of a run to finish out level one!

Cyber Monday Specials!

2009-11-30T08:32:00.004-05:00

I've got TWO great deals for you today - but each one is ONLY good for today, in honor of Cyber Monday shopping! Traditionally, Cyber Monday is the Black Friday of online gift buying. So we made sure to round up some great deals for you and your holiday shopping.

At our Cafepress Store, you can get FREE shipping off orders of $75 or more! Just use the coupon code GO4CYBER. Our CP store URL is http://www.menageriemayhem.com

At our Zazzle Store, you can get FREE shipping on ANY size of order! Just use the coupon code FREESHIP2DAY. Our Zazzle store URL is http://www.zazzle.com/menageriemayhem*

Happy Shopping! Don't forget, in addition to fun dog agility gifts and breed specific t-shirts, we also have an awesome selection of parrot apparel, reptile gear, and ocean/aquarium gifts!

Action Packed Weekend!

2009-11-23T08:17:00.004-05:00

Saturday, Merlin had a CPE Games Workshop held at BRAG, the local agility club. We were in for six runs: Fullhouse, Jackpot, Nontraditional Jackpot, Colors, Wildcard, and Snooker. I had taken the class last February with Popper, but desperately needed to work on handling skills with Merlin, so we signed up.

Merlin was amazing! I got compliments from many folks on his stamina (all six runs full throttle), focus, and drive. Popper didn't get a single "fake Q" when we participated previously, but Merlin Q'd in every run except the two Jackpots. The second Jackpot Q was my fault when I picked a poor path, but the first one was Merlin's obsession with the a-frame and running to it when not directed to (repeatedly), and on the Gamble, the jump bars weren't set for his run. At all. So he ran around them (he's weird like that). Oh well, no biggie. :) I was very pleased with Merlin's performance! He had some awesome entries into the weave poles, something Popper has still never pulled off in a trial-like atmosphere. It's hard for me to run Merlin because he has an extremely different running style than my other dog, Popper. Basically, everything he does is opposite - he wants a lot of distance from me, he wants to go at the speed of light, and if I'm slow to make a decision, he'll go on and perform without me. Popper likes me close, tends to not run as fast as doggly possible, and if I slow down or stop, he'll turn around and start sniffing everything. Popper also needs constant interaction, eye contact and attention throughout the run, or his attention drifts. Merlin has a great work ethic and doesn't need the "good boy, yes, great" throughout the whole run.

Popper's main action of the weekend is that he is getting crated from now on when I leave the house, even for a few minutes. I'd noticed that things I'd put on the stove would mysteriously end up on the floor. The last straw was yesterday when I took Roofus for a quick walk. I had a small bag of pumpkin muffins that I set on the back of the stove, and when I came home, there was just an empty bag shredded on the floor. He would have had to jump ONTO the stove to get those muffins! I've also noticed small doggie footprints in the dust on my piano. He apparently walks on my piano when I'm not at home. So Popper clearly cannot be trusted to be loose in the house when there is no one to supervise, so back to the crate for him. He actually really does love the crate; I stopped using it years ago because he became quite aggressive about anyone near "his" crate, whether he was in it or not. The crate is in my SO's room, and his door is always shut, so it's not a concern now.

Last night, I was cutting away a clump of fur from Roofus when I discovered that underneath it was an open wound, roughly the size and depth of a small dog tooth. After shaving the area, cleaning it, and applying antibiotics, I believe it was an injury sustained a few days ago when Merlin got super excited when Roofus ran out of the kitchen suddenly. He attacked Roofus, and Popper got into the fray as well. I'm pretty sure one of the two sunk a tooth into him (grr!). I had assumed it was another hot spot and did not put two and two together until I saw the wound. It's looking much better this morning, although Roofus is pretty sad in an e-collar.

A lot of dog action this weekend at my house! I'm counting the days until I can take Popper on a three mile trek, run Merlin in a real agility trial, and take the stupid e-collar off my poor sheepdog!

Popper Gets Benched

2009-11-18T12:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I received news awful enough that I wasn't able to blog about it until today. Now, with a good night's sleep and time to mull it over, I'm just happy it wasn't worse.

We believed Popper had injured himself in some way, when last Wednesday I told the lead agility instructor about his sudden refusal to do weave poles. She had me feel down his spine, and when I got to his lower back, he jerked away from me and would not allow anyone else to even look at his back. She suggested a visit to the chiropractor.

Yesterday was his appointment. As it turns out, he has pulled his groin muscle on the left side. Apparently, that's a fairly common injury in dog agility dogs, but it takes a while to heal. She suggested 6-8 weeks at least, and estimated the injury occurred a couple weeks ago. Since we've already had a week of pretty much nothing except some short little walks, I'm counting that into his recovery time and anticipating that we'll be able to return to agility class in early January. I had to pull him out of two upcoming trials, as well as the class he's currently enrolled in.

I had been trying desperately to finish his Level One title before the year is through - we had only needed a single qualifying run in Jackpot, and we were finished. After I got over being selfish, and being ashamed for being selfish, I'll wait with Popper as long as it takes for him to get back to 100%.

This 6-8 weeks of rest entails NO running whatsoever. He can't even play ball in the backyard. This, alone, may kill my dog. Watching his brother Merlin go to classes while he has to stay at home - this also, may kill my dog. Walks cannot be longer than 25 minutes or so, and that's assuming there's no running and no PULLING! It's going to be extremely rough on Popper to participate in absolutely nothing. He's an extremely active and athletic dog, and being a cattle dog mix, if he gets bored (or angry, for that matter), he starts destroying things, barking incessantly, and other bad behaviors that are normally cured with exercise. Agility has been huge - HUGE - in controlling his bad habits. To say that he enjoys it is an understatement. Therefore, if we can only manage to go to class and walk beside the obstacles, I want to do that. I certainly won't push him into doing anything he is not 100% healthy enough to do, and I'm sure come January I will make the call whether we go to class or not. He's going to go to the chiropractor with Merlin regularly now, and she will monitor his progress.

However, Popper is a very healthy, young dog, and as I intend that he will get the long rest he requires, I'm sure we'll be back in agility class for the next session, in one format or another. Even if we need to skip the first class or two.

Stupid Cats

2009-11-17T12:30:00.003-05:00

It's not a big secret - I don't particularly like cats. In part, because my dogs will eat them, and cats will eat my birds. Also partly because I am deathly allergic to the buggers. If you own a cat, I can only stay in your house for a few minutes before I need my inhaler.

I'm very, very tired of cats coming into my backyard and using it as their litterbox. My dogs go outside, sometimes all day long, if I leave the back door open, and of course, they find it. And then they roll in it. I'm an avid pooper scooper - in the summer months, I'd scoop twice a day. This time of year, it's once a day. Popper has a chiropractic appointment this afternoon, and guess what he did?

Yup. Because some irresponsible fool can't keep their kitty inside, yet again, I have to give Popper a bath. And he'll arrive at the chiropractor wet. No doubt I'll attract stares for being a "mean mommy."

I've gone off on this tangent before - all cats should be indoor cats. Unless you've got this marvelous animal that you can let outside, it'll stay in your yard, potty in YOUR yard, and come back inside a few minutes later, your cat has no business being outside. If my dog pottied in your yard, I would certainly clean it up. But if you have no idea where your cat is while he's outside, you're not returning the courtesy. That's just rude. You're certainly not going to come over and bathe my dogs. Even though your cat caused the problem.

Someone told me that their indoor/outdoor cat absolutely never potties outside. I don't even think I can comment on the ridiculousness of that statement. Unless you're following the animal around 24/7, you have no idea. I can assure you the animal is using other peoples' yards as a litterbox.

Not to mention all these roadkill cats all over my neighborhood. It's a rare day that goes by when these kitties aren't found on the side of the road. How could someone let something they love so much roam around where they can easily be killed by traffic?

I've also heard that "cats aren't content to live indoors" and that "it's mean." If your cat is not happy to be an indoor cat, your cat is too feral to be a pet. It's utter nonsense. I would rather have an indoor cat than one that craps all over my neighbor's lawn, pees on their roses and sharpens its claws on their trees. Oh, and did I mention that the indoor cat lives a lot longer, since it's not smashed to death on the side of the road? Nor is it off creating more problem cats.

I think 90% of Popper's baths this year have been caused from cat poo in MY yard. I don't own a cat. I don't want a cat. Please keep your pets in your yard.

Oh, she NEVER crosses the street!

2009-11-14T22:35:00.002-05:00

Today, I was walking Popper around by himself to practice not pulling. He's gotten really good at it, to the point where if he starts to pull, he'll stop, turn around and look at me. We can even go on regular walks now, although I'd be lying if I didn't admit sometimes it takes us a long time to get to our destination with all the turning around we have to do. Still, he is improving dramatically, and I'm so proud of him!
We were on the last leg of our journey home, when I saw this fat boxer-thing sitting on the sidewalk, no leash - but her human was standing in his lawn. Naturally, I crossed the street to get away from her. As Popper and I were passing her on the other side of the street, the owner called out, "Don't worry - she won't cross the street." Exactly one fraction of a second later, guess who comes barreling like a bullet across the street? Yup. Strange dog. As she's approaching, the guy yells, "Don't worry - she won't be aggressive." Okay, you were wrong the first time, why should I believe you now?
Luckily, it turns out she was kind of a big baby - which is fortunate, because Popper did not appreciate that he was walking along, minding his own business, tracking bunnies, when this huge behemoth comes up full throttle out of nowhere directly into his face. He tucked his tail, showed her every single one of his teeth, and tried to bite her face.
The guy kept calling that she was friendly as he ran across the street to retrieve her. I said, "My dog is EXTREMELY insecure on walks, and he is going to hurt your dog." That, and a strange dog just suddenly appeared in his face. The dude apologized about fifty times, but honestly - I'd like it if he just kept his pooch on a leash.
This perfectly illustrates the reason why I HATE when people think they can trust their dog 100% of the time. Walking their dogs off-leash, or letting them roam the front yard off-leash. There is ALWAYS a chance your dog will take off, no matter how well trained the animal is. At least once a week, we encounter this situation. Is it any wonder that Merlin growls at strange dogs, or that Popper gets so excited when he sees a dog? Not to mention, of course, all the loose dogs that run around in our neighborhood.
Sigh. Up until that point, it was really quite a peaceful, pleasant walk - which I've never been able to have with Popper before. I'm hoping to be able to introduce one of the other dogs into the walk sometime soon - probably Merlin.

Agility Class Recap

2009-11-12T09:57:00.004-05:00

Gee, I really wish Merlin were in the group with the other small dogs instead of being with a border collie, wolfhound, and a big ridgeback-ish mix. Maybe then I could focus on agility instead of Merlin's aversion to large dogs. I almost think it was intentional - last night the little dog group only had 2 dogs in it, and one of them (and sometimes both) jumps the same jump height as Merlin. While it may be good for him to be forced to deal with the problem, I feel like I'm stressing out about it and it's affecting how Merlin learns and performs (and focuses). Last night he reverted back to growling and not focusing on me at ALL - like all our hard work just went down the drain. I think working that closely to these big dogs was too soon for him, and we may get thrown back to square one. And I'll have to go back to recreational agility again to de-stress.

Last week at class, we were working on weave pole entries - Popper did the set exactly once, and then would not even attempt the poles again. He normally loves the weave poles. He may skip a few poles, he may enter wrong - but he loves to weave. I figured he was just burnt out, and one of the instructors told me to take him back to channeled weaves instead. I worked on channeled weaves at home, but his work was sloppy and awful: he'd pop out a lot, and very, very rarely did I get a run-thru that was passable. I was discouraged.

Then this week, my other instructor found out about it, and feared he may have sustained some kind of strain or other injury in his back, since he just suddenly stopped weaving. She had me pat down his spine, and when I got over his very lower back, he flinched and backed away from me. She went to feel for herself, but Popper had wised on to us, and sat on my feet with his spine pressed into my legs. So, the chiropractor, who was JUST at our building the day before, and whom I had JUST seen to get Merlin's back adjusted, is being located at one of her many stops so I can make an appointment to get Popper's back possibly adjusted.

Hopefully, that's all it is. Both on the weaving front, and on the injury issue as well. We already take Merlin to get adjusted, so taking Popper too isn't a large problem (other than he is very excitable and clingy while we're there). However, if I continue to have problems with Popper's back, I may remove the weave poles entirely from his agility life and we'll just do level one forever. :) I don't anticipate this will happen, but then I never thought Popper would strain his back either. He was perfectly happy jumping, leaping, climbing, etc last night. Just would not weave. He did exactly one pole, and then ran alongside them.

Weird dream...

2009-11-09T13:42:00.004-05:00

Last night I had a really strange dream...

I was playing paintball with some friends, but instead of a regular paintball field, we were playing above a huge indoor swimming pool. I don't think they make pools as large as this one was, LOL. There were metal railings everywhere to walk on, so footing was treacherous. As I progressed along, tagging more people, I would find my dogs, swimming in the big pool. First there was Roofus, who was pretty happily treading water, and then I found Popper.

The next dog was Merlin - but he was underwater and not moving. I started screaming, jumped in the water, and began to pull him out. Even as I did so, I realized, it wasn't Merlin, but some other corgi, a female, that had a tail. After she was free of the water, she started sputtering and moving around again. I found her mom, who was nearby, crying, and so happy I'd saved her dog.

And that was my dream.

And I've been hugging Merlin and watching him very carefully, as if he'll somehow wander into some water. In November. Inside my house.

Corgis are NOT strong swimmers (legs are too short!) so be sure to carefully supervise your pooch any time they are in or around water.

And no, I have no idea what my dream means.

It sure is cold... hey, wait a minute!

2009-11-06T12:37:00.003-05:00

The past few nights, I've been waking up in the middle of the night, shivering. I curl into the fetal position, grab my fleece blanket I have on standby just in case, and go back to sleep. When I wake up for the day, I only have a vague recollection of being cold at some point.

Two nights ago, I figured out what's happening.

Popper is the only dog that sleeps on my bed all night long. He has super short fur, and it's kind of thin, so he usually wears a sweater in the winter. Apparently, he's been dragging my comforter off of me and nesting it into a cozy bed. Last night, I got the hint, and turned on my heating blanket before laying down for the night.

This morning, my comforter was where it was supposed to be, and I was toasty. Apparently Popper was too.

Now I just need to remember that when Popper begins stealing my blankets, it's the time of year to turn the electric blanket on!

Rally and Agility

2009-11-05T12:58:00.003-05:00

Roofus had a daytime rally class this morning. It went even better than the last one! He seems to be picking things up very quickly (unusual for him), which is no doubt because he is extremely eager to please. The only problem is that I have to have a treat in my hand the whole time, because he is very easily distracted at this stage. He saw we were being followed by a "judge," and proceeded to go visit her and root through her pockets looking for treats, LOL. He also doesn't like the door opening and closing at the building... He has a very strong flock guardian instinct, and he constantly has to know where everyone is. When people come or go, he feels like he needs to bark at them. I figure he's a bit annoyed that they didn't announce their plans to him beforehand.

One of the teachers told me Roofus is an awesome working dog and that he's going to do really well in Rally. I think he is too. :D In January, I'm going to sign up for Rally classes with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs in addition to the informal classes at BRAG. She has such a positive, upbeat training style and Roofus responds really well to it!

Last night was week three of Popper and Merlin's agility classes, and they swapped good nights again. I'd love to have a good night with both of them, but apparently that's not to be. Last night was Merlin's great night. He had a crappy contact on the a-frame, but he did really, really well overall. Several instructors told me I need to trust Merlin more and give him some space. I'm really working on it, and I know I CAN trust Merlin, but I don't have quite the same relationship with Merlin that I do with Popper, so it will take some time on my part. I've also got to remember that while Popper may like me super close while he runs, Merlin would prefer I just let him do it without breathing down his neck. It's kind of hard to have dogs with such differences!

Popper's night was almost miserable. The highlight of his class was his beautiful rear crosses into tunnels. He used to be absolutely terrified of them, but I took a private lesson with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs and we drilled them with tons of treats. I practiced big time at home, and they're just gorgeous now. He has no hesitation at all. However, that's pretty much the only time we can do a rear cross. I'd say 75% of the time, he's very scared if I try such a manuever with him. He'll stop running, put his ears down, tuck his tail, and look for all the world like I just beat my dog. Everyone tells me that with time he'll gain confidence and those reactions will fade. I sure hope so.

Popper also completely died on the weave poles. We've been having this problem, with 12 poles specifically, where he will speed up towards the end, and end up skipping poles. I've been working with him, but I can't seem to fix it. We got to class last night, and he did the poles once and absolutely refused to do them again. One of the instructors told me to reteach the weave poles, that it happens to everybody at some point. Sigh... I wish I had twelve poles of a matching set. Right now I have 2 sets of six - one is a very nice channel weave set, the other is a cheapo PVC set that doesn't channel, but bends. So I can't run 12 channeled poles at once, they have to be straight. And I think that's what I really need to do. I also wonder if having some word I can say while he is weaving would keep his spirit up and keep driving him. He has to CONSTANTLY be reassured and complimented while we run, or he loses interest and starts sniffing. Disengages. I think 12 poles may be too long for his beagley mind to go without something from me.

So, to sum up - Merlin's doing great, Popper's having some setbacks, and Roofus loves Rally. :)

Rally Class

2009-10-26T07:04:00.003-05:00

BRAG recently started offering an informal Rally class (that's rally obedience, if you prefer), and yesterday, Roofus went to his first one. It was a bit disorganized at first - the first half hour we pretty much just stood around and watched the instructors' dogs do the signs. After that, though, they gained momentum as they fell into a stride, and we practiced several signs. The last hour was spent doing a run-through, which was a new experience for me.

Roofus did a Rally Workshop at Anything Goes for Dogs, and we loved it, but the facility was a little far away. She's now moved quite a bit closer, so we are looking into classes there for the new year. It's been a while since I've done a dog class with Roo (shame on me!), and I'd forgotten what it was like to work with a giant breed dog. While Popper may be able to spin on a dime in agility, Roofus needs quite a bit more room to turn around. Popper is at my side leaping into the air as we run, Roofus pokes my shoulder with his chin!

So it was good to get out there again and get Roofus involved. He had a really fun time (but honestly, he has an awesome time doing ANYTHING - he's an Old English Sheepdog, after all!), and I even began to hope that maybe we could compete early next year, just to see how he does. One problem we have to really work on is moving downs. He just doesn't get it. Another OES issue. Once he figures out what I want, though, he'll never forget it. Another OES thing, and thank goodness, a positive trait! :D

OSU Demo and Classes

2009-09-24T07:52:00.002-05:00

So yesterday, we had the OSU agility demo at the vet school. I elected to take Merlin and not Popper, because last time I took Popper, they had grills going, and it just overwhelmed his poor beagley senses. Merlin has only done one other demo, so I figured it would be good practice.

The ground was really soggy, and I guess there were all sorts of good smells coming out of it, because Merlin went nuts sniffing and pawing at the ground, and ignoring me. He never does that in agility. I was getting frustrated when Joanne, who owns Irish Wolfhounds, asked if I wanted to try some Captain Crunch. At that point, I'd try anything. It was instant success with Merlin - I gave him one, and he became fixated completely on the bag - which Joanne still had. So she gave it to me, and BOOM - instant and flawless attention. If he started to drift on a run, I just touched my pocket so the bag would crinkle, and he would switch himself back to me right away. Even later that night, when I showed it to my fiance, Merlin's eyes were large and attentive on that bag. I afterwards referred to it as the "Magic Bag of Noms."

It truly was magic - I took it to class with us, and Merlin managed to fix all the issues he's been having problems with.. He took the weave poles perfectly after other obstacles; he corrected himself when he was about to jump through the space between the tire and the frame, to go through the tire itself... I was SO PROUD of the little guy! He was awesome. I was even more proud when they told us he was cleared to go on to the next level of agility classes. Way to go, Merlin!

I kept the Magic Bag of Noms out for Popper's class too - and I was not disappointed. We were doing threadles, which were previously our downfall, and Popper ran them like a champ. I was astonished, pleased, thrilled - all those and more. Popper wasn't as obsessed with the Captain Crunch as Merlin (Popper is a hound - he just likes food, period), but I swear that bag was magic. He ran everything well, and ran the whole time, which is unusual for him because he doesn't do well in the heat/humidity normally. We had a bit of trouble with the weaves, but that was my fault because I have not been diligent in my practice at home. Popper was also promoted to the next level, which caused no end of joy for me, because we had already done that class once together, and I became so frustrated and upset with it that I had vowed to give up agility. We worked really hard, and took a recreational class to get the joy back into the sport, and that worked like charm; it was exactly what we needed to keep going strong. :)

We celebrated the awesomeness of the little boys with ice cream cones!

And yes, I have Peanut Butter Captain Crunch on my shopping list - never again will I underestimate the power of the Magic Bag of Noms!

Saved by Leashes - Twice!

2009-09-17T11:21:00.003-05:00

I packed up Roofus, Popper, Blossom, and Merlin, and headed over to my parents' house for a few hours of fetch and frisbee. When I was a few houses away from theirs, there was a "Road Closed" sign. Not to be deterred, I turned around and went the back way.

The back way was blocked as well, and there were all sorts of people milling about. I rolled my window down to ask a man, who happened to have a large dog, why the road was closed. "Gas leak," he said. I thanked him, and in that instant, Popper bolted from the passenger side seat, through the driver's side window. I managed to snag his leash as it trailed out the window. The next second, Merlin got it into his head to go tumbling after him, but I was prepared now, and I got him before he had two paws on my seat, and stuck him on the passenger side floor. I got Popper back into the car, and away we went.

That has never happened to me before. I am very upset at Popper for having so little self control that he felt the need to fly out my window to go visit a dog. Merlin is reactive so I am not surprised at him, although he has never tried to jump out the window before.

When we got home, I put my dogs in stays, and opened my door. I grabbed Popper's leash, when Blossom decided it was her turn to bolt out of the car, and goes running down the sidewalk. Blossom is deaf, so the only way to get Blossom back is to capture her, praying the entire time she doesn't see you, otherwise she'll RUN. I shut the door, took off with Popper after her, and stepped on her leash. Thankfully she always wears a harness, so the jolt of a sudden stop wasn't too bad.

At this point I was pretty happy to get back into my house and stuff all the dogs inside it.

Twice in one day! I don't ever have a problem with dogs in my car. I think it may be time to reintroduce Popper to the doggie seat belt, and I believe I need to get Blossom one as well, since she is deaf now and a PITA to catch if she can slip out the door. This was quite an eye opener - just because your dogs don't normally do something, or have been trained not to do something, does not mean they will not do it at some point! I always fear the off-leash dogs that are "perfectly trained," because it only takes a second for something bad to happen. We all were lucky this time.

Roofus, I will note, was an exceptionally good boy the entire time and the only one I am not annoyed with at the moment.

And my dogs are still full of energy and have not gotten their exercise yet!! :( We're going to try back later.

Agility Run-Thrus

2009-09-11T20:19:00.002-05:00

I was super eager for BRAG's agility run-throughs tonight.... I wanted to see if Popper's attention disorder really was an outdoor-specific thing, or if he was just totally ruined at trials.

It's an outdoor thing.

It's a huge obstacle to conquer. I don't know if we can do it. We're sure going to try - at least one of the games every time Merlin does an outdoor trial. So I will focus on the indoor ones and hopefully we can finish our level 1 title before the year is out.

Merlin, on the other hand - freaking amazing. I think Popper started out amazing, too, but I can really see Merlin going all the way.

Flash Point Agility Trial Sept 6th

2009-09-07T08:49:00.002-05:00

Both my little boys participated in Flash Point Agility's CPE trial yesterday. They both did the last one, as well, which was last month, but it was at their facility. This one was held at the Morrow County Fairgrounds in Mount Gilead.

I'm pleased to say that Merlin obtained his first ever Qs this weekend! He Q'd easily in both Jackpot and Fullhouse, and unfortunately a bit of trouble with the tire in standard caused us to be over time, so we did not Q in that one. His first run out, he was absolutely amazing, incredibly responsive and FAST. We probably could have gotten first place if I hadn't been more worried about getting the jackpot and getting to the table immediately. We had plenty of time I could have used to get more points, the whistle hadn't even sounded for the "get to the table" warning. The second run was also very, very good. The third run (standard) he kind of lost it. I think me making him do the tire correctly (took quite a bit of time) really took a lot of the fun out of it for Merlin, and his focus just got all out of whack from it. That tire is really becoming a PITA to me. I'm not sure why my dogs hate it so much.

Popper, on the other hand, was completely out of it. A lot of it, I think, has to do with being outside, and also that we were at a fair, with a LOT of livestock close by, and manure everywhere. The beagle part just takes complete control. I was so happy because it was a nontraditional jackpot, I thought Popper would finally get his elusive Q in that game. Instead, he spent his time staring out of the fence, and bounding happily wherever he felt like it. I will give him the positive that his "GO TABLE" is awesome, I can tell him that from the other side of the ring, and he will zoom full blast to it, wherever it may be.

His second run, after I couldn't get his focus back, I said, Okay, goodbye! and started walking away (not out of the ring - I can't bring myself to do that *yet*) - and guess who comes running onto the dog walk? He stopped, looked at me, wagged his tail, so I ran over and we did the dog walk. I had his focus for two more obstacles after that, and then we had to go to table. I think this is what I'm going to have to do at outdoor trials from now on, until he gets the idea that in the agility ring, he has to focus on me and the obstacles. We don't have this issue at indoor trials or in class, so it's something I have to work on entirely at a trial. I'm not made of money by any means, so whenever Merlin has an outdoor trial, I'll just enter Popper in either fullhouse or jackpot and use that time to get my point across. That way, it's not a huge financial burden to me to at least attempt to get his outdoor attention loss under control.

Popper's Ball Obsession

2009-09-01T15:11:00.003-05:00

We always thought it was Merlin with the neurotic ball obsession - but he's got nothing on Popper.

Before storms, Popper will always go outside, find his ball (which has been slyly repurchased and replaced over and over again - he's rather hard on balls), and put it on my windowsill inside the house, presumably to "watch" the thunderstorm from the safety of inside.

Since it's been cool out, I've just been leaving the back door open for the dogs to trot in and out at their leisure. Popper immediately gets his ball every morning (I keep it outside because it's disgusting, and he can be ball aggressive), brings it into my bedroom, drops it on the bed, and cuddles with it the rest of the day.

Yes, in this one respect, I think Merlin is definitely the less weird dog.

New Sponge!

2009-08-31T10:12:00.002-05:00

I went to Phishy Business on Saturday and picked up a new sponge - it's a Vase Sponge (also called a paddle sponge, mine looks more like a paddle, I guess). I figured that bright orange would look awesome in my tank, but it does seem to draw attention right at it LOL! I still need to find a permanent spot for it, it is too close to the top of the tank right now for me to do water changes. These guys can't be exposed to air or they'll die, so I need to get him somewhere lower, where he's not in range of my nastier corals, either.

If anyone is wondering what to get me as a gift for my birthday/Christmas/wedding, feel free to pick up a Phishy Business gift card. :D I have to buy my water from there anyway, I love going in, not spending any of my own money, and coming out with lots of stuff!

I also picked up this weird orange sand sifting snail, whom I have never actually seen down in the sand - he's always on the glass.

Cute puppy dog!

2009-08-25T11:46:00.002-05:00

I got to baby sit this a few weeks ago. She's a beagle - pug - dachshund mix. Basically, the "puggle" but with short legs. Don't let her cuteness full you - she was absolutely full of the devil himself.

I found myself being rapidly cured of my "gotta have a puppy" illness.

The Alarm Clock Fish

2009-08-18T07:06:00.003-05:00

I've got a clown loach that's decided when he wants fed, it's time for me to get up.

I've had Krusty the Klown loach for roughly 7 years or so, and he's about 6" from nose to tail tip. He lives in a 30 gallon aquarium right beside the head of my bed, and I leave the light on all night long. I woke up this morning to him making this awful noise at the surface of the water, and then staring at me to see if I was up yet. He has never made this noise when I'm not lying in my bed. I'm fairly certain he has figured out that the first thing I do when I get up each morning is turn off the aquarium light and feed the fish.

It's extremely annoying (I don't like being woken up - and sometimes he does it at 3am!) and I strongly considered selling him, since he has long eaten all the little snails that once plagued my planted tank.

However, I've been leaving the light on during the day, and off at night, and that likewise seems to have solved the problem as he can't see me anymore in the pitch black.

Unfortunately, I no longer have a nightlight. :(

New YouTube Videos!

2009-08-12T14:44:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to record the boys more while we practice agility, and of course promote my sites a bit in the meantime. :)

Today we were working on "send to the tunnel," which Popper can do from a greater distance than Merlin (although Merlin will do it at a trial and Popper won't).

I hope to get some weaving videos online soon. :)

Tips for your First Agility Trial

2009-08-01T13:52:00.004-05:00

It was only in February that I first began participating in agility trials. I remember the first one clear as a bell - because I was completely, totally, a nervous wreck. I don't like not knowing exactly what to bring or what to expect. So I have formulated this little article with some helpful information for anyone planning on competing in their first agility trial.

What to bring
Keep in mind that this is by no means an exhaustive list, but merely suggestions on things you should plan on taking!

Dog Crate or Exercise Pen (some trials do not allow X-Pens - read the premium)
Water (you AND your dog) and water bowls
Treats. Stinky, yummy treats to keep your dog's attention away from the ring when you're getting him out of the crate, as well as to reward when you're back at your crate after a run. Don't forget snacks for you!
An extra leash and collar. Because something could happen to yours. It has to me!
Crate/xpen mat. Some trials require them. Read the premium.
Rule book for whatever organization you are running in. Folks are always asking me to borrow my rulebook. And it's good to make sure you know the rules before you run.
Notebook and pen/pencil to record how your dog did.
Poop bags
Toys - either for a quick game of tug/fetch well away from the rings, or to play with in the crate.
Chair - it's a long day.
Blanket - for covering your dog if he's a barker, or if there is a draft in the building.
Portable battery fan. Don't bother with those tiny crate fans. Get a big one that takes about $10 worth of D batteries. These are awesome for the summer.
Hat/Sunglasses/Sunscreen/Hair scrunchie - must haves for outdoor trials!
A book, crossword puzzles, etc. You probably won't want to sit there watching the other dogs all day long. It's good to have something else to do as well.
A good attitude! No matter how you and your dog do, have fun doing it

Other Tips
It's always a little scary taking your pooch to a trial for the first time. Here are some more tips for your day!

Get there as early as the club will allow you, so both you and your dog can settle in and get measured.
You may be able to have your stuff already set up - some clubs allow you to help set up the night before, and workers are rewarded with setting up their gear that night.
Relax. Even if you run into an obstacle, trip and fall, or misdirect your dog - everyone has seen it before. It's probably even happened to them. Laugh heartily and finish, if you can, or take a breather.
Talk with some of the other folks at the trial. There is plenty of advice to be had if you want it!
If someone from your home club is there, they may be willing to walk the courses with you (if the organization permits it - CPE does).
Walk the course until your time is up or you feel comfortable on it. Even if you're the only person left out there walking.
Your dog will probably react differently at a trial than at training class. Popper has a very nice and reliable sit stay in class. At a trial, he has no idea what that means, making lead-outs impossible. Merlin is a leisurely trotter in class, and a full-out marathon sprinter at a trial. Be prepared to react on the fly to whatever happens.
If someone can video the run for you, it's always fun to have. Even if you don't like watching it to see how you did (and possibly explain why Fido went through the tunnel instead of the tire), it's a great memento to have of you and your dogs' first trial run together!
The judges are generally very nice, especially to folks new to the sport.
You can tell when your dog has had enough. It's probably a good idea to only enter your dog in 2 or 3 runs unless you have this energetic ball of fur that can run and run and run without ever getting tired. If you enter in too many runs, and your dog is mentally *done*, you could do more harm than good by trying to do "just one more run."
Don't get upset at your dog or yourself! If this is your first trial, you're still very new to agility, and the more you compete, the more relaxed and better you will get at it. You started in agility to have fun with your dog - so go have fun, whether you Q or not!

I hope you have fun at your first trial! It was a fantastic learning experience for me, and even though they still scare me senseless (generally, right when I enter the ring, LOL) they are a lot of fun and the dogs really enjoy it!

9 Dog Park Tips

2009-07-30T10:32:00.004-05:00

9 Dog Park Tips from Menagerie Mayhem

1. Offer a ball to the dog park Gods.

Everyone plays with the balls just laying around at the dog park - but what happens when they're all chewed to pieces, completely mucky, or all gone? Tennis balls are super cheap, and if your dog park is free, it's all the more reason to bring a ball with you and leave it behind when you go, so others can enjoy it too!

2. Pick up after your dog.

This should go without saying, but there are always a few folks that forget. Keep an eye on your dog so you can pick up its waste. Generally dogs go potty in the first five minutes, and they'll usually run clear to the other end of the park to go. Always have a bag handy so you can focus on where your dog is - it's very easy to lose sight of the poop! If your dog digs holes, fill them in immediately, as they are not safe for running dogs, or humans.

3. Leave the choke and pinch collars at home.

Aside from the fact that every dog park I know of does not allow these collars on while in the park, they are hazardous to your dog. Many dogs love to grab their canine pal's neck in play, and they could easily injure a pooch wearing a choke collar. Prong collars have the additional danger of flipping outwards and injuring another dog. You're not going to do any training in the dog park, so leave it off your dog(s) and let them go play safely.

4. Bring water and extra bags.

If it's a dog park that has running water and an endless supply of complimentary poop bags, you probably don't have to worry about this. But some dog parks do not have water, and rely on volunteers to bring it in gallon jugs. Likewise, they may have "bag stations" but again, need folks to keep it well stocked. Even if there aren't bag stations, you should always bring a couple extra to help out that one person who inevitably forgot to bring them.

5. Don't bring aggressive or semi-aggressive dogs.

This should be a no-brainer. If your dog is the type that can't play well with others, then the dog park is not the place for him. If you are trying to train your dog to not attack other dogs on sight, the dog park is still not the place for him. Only dogs with good social manners should enter the parks.

6. Don't go inside until your dog's energy is right, and keep him/her away from the entrance once inside.

One of the biggest causes of dog fights at the dog park is new dogs entering the park. Either a dog will come in obviously overstimulated, and go nuts, lunging at all the dogs around it, or a new dog will come in and be immediately overwhelmed by twenty dog noses poking and prodding him before he's even completely in the gate. The solution is simple - if your dog is barking, salivating, lunging towards the entrance, don't go inside. Keep your dog(s) outside the park until it has calmed down sufficiently. Yes, it may cut into your dog park time. But letting a dog inside when it is overexcited will only make its excitement grow each time, until you really wish you had just left your dog at home. Once the dog(s) is inside the park, move away from the entrance/exit and make sure your dog does too.

7. Watch other dogs' body language.

Just because a dog "seems nice" does not mean the dog plays nicely, or has good doggie manners. I have noticed, particularly when playing with my dogs, that other dogs will come over and become fixated on a certain one of my pack. When this happens, I stop throwing the ball, stick, or whatever I'm doing. You don't need to get nervous or ansy, just let your dogs run around a bit instead of throwing stuff, until the dog is obviously no longer fixated, or has wandered away. You can also tell if a dog is going to play too roughly with your pooch by observing its behavior as well. Even though a lot of dogs give clear signals about how rough they want to play, the other dog may not understand or even care. It is just as important to watch the other dogs at the dog park as it is to watch your own.

8. Always be extra observant and careful around water.

If your park has a pond, you need to be even more vigilant of your dog. When water is involved, everything becomes more hazardous - the play, the surfaces. Make sure your dog is not harassing others and being a good dog park pooch. If the area is too slippery for your pet, or your dog is getting unwanted attention from another dog, it is best to just leave the pond area altogether.

9. Have FUN!

The whole point of dog parks is to have a safe, secure area for your dog(s) to run off leash and play with other dogs. Some use the area to play ball, some to throw frisbees, and some just come for their dog to run around and socialize with other dogs. Whatever you choose

Private Agility Lesson

2009-07-16T11:34:00.003-05:00

I had a private lesson in dog agility at Kym Jarvis's Anything Goes for Dogs yesterday morning. I was a bit sore from having a horrible stomach problem the day before (possibly an ulcer?) but I sucked it up and learned a lot!

I took both Popper and Merlin, though when I scheduled the lesson I had really intended it for just Popper. I wanted to work on distance, rear crosses, and general handling. I will tell you right now, the biggest problem for me is handling. I have two left feet and my arms just sort of wave all over the place. I am not a coordinated person and I doubt I ever will be.

It was pretty hot, so it worked out very nicely that I brought two dogs so I could trade them off. Merlin is an extremely green dog, having not trialed yet, so I wanted to give him the opportunity to perform in a different setting. At first, he was heavily distracted by everything, and I couldn't hold his attention for very long at all. But towards the end he started behaving more like the awesome agility dog that I KNOW is lurking inside him! Popper also did marvelously; he was not as distracted as Merlin, but it was too hot for him and I spent a lot of time wetting him down and trying to keep his enthusiasm up.

Kym showed me a way to start making Popper deal with rear crosses into tunnels. A horrible thing about having a separation anxiety dog, when you're doing agility, is that they don't want to let you out of their sight. Popper was particularly freaked out with me rear crossing him into a tunnel, and then being on the side he didn't expect me on. He'd go 1/3 of the way in, and pop back out to see where I was. Front crosses were fine - rear crosses were evil. Well, we worked on it, and he's improved 200%! He even seems to really like tunnels now - he started getting "sucked" into them whenever he was walking by one. :)

Overall, it was a great lesson and I'm glad I took it. I feel better prepared for the upcoming Flash Point trial, and I understand what I need to do to correct some issues we've been having.

Walking, Walking, Walking!

2009-07-13T12:00:00.004-05:00

I've been walking so much the past week or so that my poor feet are blistered and hurty, not to mention my shin splints are screaming bloody murder. I've re-embarked (for the third time) on daily dog walks. This time with a twist - I get up an extra 45 minutes early, so we can get our walk in before the day gets too hot. So far it's worked pretty well - particularly considering that I'm by no means eager to start the day or hop out of my nice, comfortable bed.

I've been trying to take only one dog at a time. Each dog, by itself, is a rather pleasant walking experience. But when I start adding them together... well, that's when the stress comes in and it's no longer enjoyable. There are exceptions. For instance, my two larger dogs walk fairly well together, and the two little boys do decently as well. Not great - but usually tolerable. I try to do at least two miles each morning. And now my fiance has told me he'd like to start walking with me in the evenings as well! So it looks like the dogs will be plenty well exercised without me feeling guilty all the time.

The other day, I took the boys over to the middle school, where there are acres of fields to play in, far away from anyone, and set them free inside a baseball diamond. Normally, Popper is quite good off leash, but Merlin totally schooled him in obedience! Merlin could be 300ft away, I'd call him, and he'd come tearing across the field to me (and get a cookie). Popper just didn't care. In his defense, he is half beagle, and I'm pretty sure all sorts of wildlife crawls over that area. He was tracking the entire time, and a hound on a mission - they tend to have selective hearing to the extreme. I've never encountered such a blatant disregard to my calls before with Popper, and I hope I won't ever again. But it's yet another lesson, I suppose, in owning a hound. Even half a hound.

I need to get new insoles for my sneakers (or new shoes altogether) to walk this much. I'm already feeling the shin splint pain intensify, and I have an agility trial coming up that I would be VERY disappointed if I couldn't do!

I Can't Find Scruffy

2009-07-07T11:39:00.003-05:00

I haven't seen Scruffy since last Thursday. I haven't see her body in the road, so I can only assume she's terrorizing somebody else now. I'm pretty sad, I was intent on catching the little beastie. :(

Not a day goes by that I don't see a dog in my neighborhood, running loose. And 9 times out of 10, it's a dog wearing a collar but NO TAGS! What's the point? In this county, it is illegal to have a dog that's not wearing a dog license. Besides that, how am I supposed to return your dog to you? It's all well and good if you have your pet microchipped, but think about it - most pet owners don't have a scanner to detect them. I certainly don't. Put your phone number at the very least on a dog tag, so I can call you to let you know I've got your pooch safe and sound in my backyard.

Merlin's being amazing with our agility training. So far, he's doing *some* work in the backyard. He'll do weave poles, and he'll teeter, and he'll do a jump or two. It's a HUGE improvement from where we were a few weeks ago, when he refused to do anything but the teeter. We even made it through a very boomy fourth of July weekend. He's doing straight-up weave poles consistently, without any problems. I started adding a jump before the poles, since that's a problem I STILL have with Popper, and he's doing marvelously. Now, how he'll perform in class is another issue entirely....

New Flu Vaccination for Dogs

2009-07-01T08:20:00.002-05:00

Apparently, there's a doggie flu going around, and it kills about 5% of the dogs it infects. The dogs most at risk are the brachycephalic breeds, like pugs, pekingese, and anything else with a mashed up nose.

There's now a vaccination for it!

Read more at the New York Times.

Scruffy has a friend

2009-07-01T07:10:00.002-05:00

Every morning on the way to work, my SO sees Scruffy playing with a yellow lab that's let into their front yard early in the day. He's spotted him three days in a row, and that's about where I look for the dog every day.

Today I packed up my leather gloves, a noose leash, and some stinky bologna. I hunted all over the neighborhood in all his usual haunts - no Scruffy. It's pretty dark out and going to rain, I can only assume he's bunkered down somewhere waiting it out. So I came home empty-handed and a little bit wet, but I did get a nice walk in before I even started work. I imagine I made my neighbors nervous, walking around wearing work gloves, carrying rope, and anxious scanning every house I passed, LOL!

Tomorrow I'm going to get up and leave the house at the same time the SO does, to see if I can catch Scruffy while he's playing with the yellow lab. And of course, I'll do my afternoon scan of the neighborhood to see if I can spot him. I'm thinking of using the corgi as bait, because Scruffy loves to come tearing out of wherever to bark at passing dogs.

Another Scruffy sighting...

2009-06-30T15:51:00.003-05:00

On my way to the dentist this morning, I spotted Scruffy having a good sniff about five houses down from mine. Unfortunately, I had to head on to the dentist but noted that he's sticking close to this area.

When my SO got home from work, he told me Scruffy was out and about again, and off we went to capture him. That dog knew exactly what we were doing. We slowly stalked him in our car, and threw some Cheez-its out the window when he laid down in the shade to keep an eye on his. He got up, sniffed those, tossed his little nose up in the air at them, and proceeded to zoom down the sidewalk. I jumped out of the car and gave chase, but he was just a HAIR faster than me, so it seemed pointless to continue to run after him. We followed him around the block, but he went in someone's backyard and escaped into the woods behind it.

So there goes my "run really fast and grab him" approach. I'm too slow.

I think I'd like to sort of herd him towards my house, with my gate open, get him inside, and shut the door. At this point, I think it's the best I could hope for. I really need a few extra people to help shepherd him where I want him to go, though.

I did get close enough to him that I determined he's a poodle mix. As his name implies, he really does need groomed in a bad way.

Catching Scruffy...

2009-06-29T13:04:00.002-05:00

Scruffy is this little black ball of matted fur that I occasionally see on my dog walks. He loves to get within a few feet of my dogs and bark ferociously at them, but is smart enough to run for the hills if anyone gets too close. He's been loose in my neighborhood for at least a year.

This past week, he's started hanging out on my street, close to my house, as opposed to a few blocks away. One day I pulled over and tried to nab him, but he took off. I am fairly confident I could overtake him because he's not very fast, but I'll have to make sure I have a blanket with me in case he's bitey.

Until that time, I've come up with a plan that will likely be affected by the millions of loose cats that run rampant in my neighborhood.

Stage 1 - set out food for Scruffy every day and watch closely for Scruffy sightings.

Stage 2 - when Scruffy seems to be coming regularly, open backyard gate at night and put dog food in it.

Stage 3 - either shut gate while Scruffy is inside, or set up the live trap and try to get him that way.

Hopefully, he's not so feral that he's an evil little SOB. He's only about 10# or so, so I wouldn't mind him in the household as it wouldn't make much difference.

World's Ugliest Dog Named

2009-06-29T08:46:00.003-05:00

Every year, there is a contest to see who is the ugliest dog. Sometimes it is televised, and I must admit that I do watch it whenever it's on. I just can't help myself. Generally, the competition is overrun with Chinese Crested Hairless dogs, who, because of rather poor breeding, tend to become quite hideous in their older years, losing their teeth, getting clouded eyes, and in general, looking like something you would only want to touch wearing a protective suit while having a chemical bath nearby.

This year's dog isn't even that ugly. Heck, I've had a dog with an underbite and cloudy eyes before.

Do you think he's really worthy of the Ugliest Dog Crown?

My New No Soliciting Sign

2009-06-26T14:45:00.002-05:00

I get a lot of unwanted folks knocking on my door all day long. In the spring, it is next to impossible to keep my door open for a breeze, because within ten minutes, someone will come along rapping on it and stir all my dogs into a frenzy. It's annoying!

I do have a no soliciting sign on my door, but I'm writing a new one now -

NO SOLICITING
This includes selling: magazines or subscriptions,
long distance phone service, cable television, satellite
television, religion, meat, or anything else you want to
bother us with. We may open the door for cookies and
candy bars, especially when sold by little kids, because
they are tasty. The candy bars, not the kids.
NO SURVEYS
We are not interested in taking your survey. If you
insist, we will answer every question with "your mom" or
"that's what she said."

Thank you and have a great day!

I doubt it will work though... seems these folks can't read. :(

Mommy and Roo Day

2009-06-26T13:20:00.003-05:00

So, once a week, I try to do an activity with just Roofus and I - no other dogs are invited! The other two boys are in agility, so they get to hang out with Mom for a couple hours just by themselves once a week, not to mention all the time we spend practicing. Roofus doesn't really have a "thing," unless there's some special workshop I've signed him up for, so I like to have a time where we just do something enjoyable together without the other dogs.

Today we went to the local park (human park, not dog park). It stormed a lot yesterday, so I figured the creeks might be high enough to swim in for him. Well, they only came up to his chest since he's so large, LOL. But the first creek we went in, he flushed out a mama duck and her dozen or so babies. Roofus has taken herding classes, so I know he's okay with ducks. I let him practice herding (in the water!) for a little bit and then "that'll do," and we went on our way. Mama was getting a bit anxious because her kids were starting to get washed away downstream!

That was pretty much the norm for our time at the park. We'd do a half mile or so, then into another creek... At least half the time there were more ducks (though I did not let him bother baby ducks after his first time), so we practiced our "walk ups" and come with distractions. He did really well, though trying to herd, in a creek, on a 16 ft flexi leash is probably not ideal!

I got him back home, gave him a quickie bath, and he's happily snoozing on my bed now, no doubt dreaming of keeping those ducks all together in one bunch.

Free Shipping till the end of June!

2009-06-26T13:16:00.002-05:00

If you visit my Zazzle store, you can get FREE shipping on orders over $25 till the end of June! That's an awesome deal, I love it when I don't have to pay for shipping.

The code is FREESHIPON25 and it expires June 30th 2009.

Start Shopping Now!

The fine print:
To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased with an order subtotal of $25 or more. The coupon code FREESHIPON25 must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. Free shipping offer does not apply skateboards or photo sculptures. The free shipping offer is for standard (or economy if standard is not available) shipping. Shipping offer is for shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis. Offer is valid from June 19, 2009 at 12:01am PT through June 30, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Keep your dog cool!

2009-06-26T08:43:00.003-05:00

There was an interesting post on the BRAG group about keeping your dog cool... as canine athletes our little four leggeds tend to heat up very quickly, and heat stroke is never a good thing! Apparently dogs don't cool *quite* the same way as people do. Last night, Popper had agility practice, and I put a couple of things to the test. He absolutely HATES the heat (and the cold, for that matter), and will shut down and refuse to work. He was panting rapidly before we even started doing anything, he is that sensitive to heat.

Firstly, getting your dog wet does help. I took Popper out after every run and just dosed him with a gallon of water, which I rubbed in to make sure it got down in there. I have read that you want to do that right before a run, otherwise it can actually insulate the heat IN and make them hotter.

Secondly, if you get your dog wet, don't stick them somewhere with poor air circulation. If you put your dog in a crate (which we all do at trials) then stick a huge fan right on it. The evaporation of the water is what's going to keep your dog cool. If you just crate them, chances are, you're going to see your dog's temperature rise. Those little crate fans aren't much help - go buy a huge one. They do make large ones that are battery operated or can run on your car's power.

I've also heard good things about those cooling mats, if you can get your dog to lie on it, and those reflective coats/tarps.

On the way home from agility, Popper was soaked, and I turned the air on in my car and directed a vent full blast on him. After a minute or two, he was relaxed, comfortable, and not panting - I, on the other hand, was still hot, sticky, and panting!

And, of course, all my advice comes at a "use at your own risk." Always consult a veterinarian if you are unsure about how to keep your pooch cool in the summer heat and use common sense.

Firefighter Kills His Dogs

2009-06-25T11:00:00.004-05:00

Okay, I am one of those people who are firmly into "eye for an eye." I believe murderers should get whatever they did to their victims, done to them. I believe child rapists should be lynched, drawn, and quartered. But today I am absolutely INFURIATED by this story, which sadly takes place in my hometown -

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090625/ap_on_re_us/us_firefighter_dog_deaths_1

Essentially, this guy killed his two mutts because he didn't want to board them while he went on vacation.

And what, you may ask, was his punishment for this completely heinous crime??

90 days in jail. 90 freaking days.

The guy was bragging to folks about how he offed his dogs (tied them to a pipe in the basement and shot them with a silencer) and they're going to let this maniac out in the streets after 90 days.

It's not right.

People like that, who have no regard for life, do not belong in society. Nor should they be a drain on society's resources - in other words, we shouldn't have to pay for Mr. Idiot to sit on his butt in prison while I have to go out and work a 9 to 5. Is he learning his lesson? I doubt it. I also firmly believe that his genes should not be passed on, either. My conclusion? Euthanasia. Now, I'm willing to compromise, don't get me wrong. While it would be pleasant to see this man tied to a pipe in a basement and likewise shot, and tossed in a garbage bin, I am fully willing to settle for less.

Castrate the bastard, tie him to a pole, shoot him in several places that won't kill him, and don't give him pain medication. I think that would be far more effective than a 90 day stint in jail. When he's sufficiently recovered, he can perform supervised volunteer work at an animal shelter. Not to have any contact with the dogs - he can clean out the kennels.

Too bad I'm not a judge.

General Agility Update

2009-06-23T14:49:00.002-05:00

Weeeeell.... I took Merlin to my parents' house. Absolutely no problem doing agility there. I'm stumped. Something must have scared him in the backyard one day so that he won't do agility at my house. The only thing I can really think of is the woman next door's grandkids.. Merlin is scared of kids (we're working on it), and her grandkids HANG on our privacy fence and bark at, howl at, and make monster noises at my dogs. I chase them off of there when I see it, but I'm relatively certain the last instance is probably what did it.

If that's truly what it is, it boils my blood. Here I am trying to get this timid little corgi a little more secure and outgoing, and little asshats like that go and blow months of work in a few moments. These are people that do not interact with their dogs at all - no walks, no doggie sports, no trips to the park - they shove them outside each morning regardless of the weather, and let them back in at night and shove them into crates. They are little 20# dogs too.

So for now, we're going to work at my parents' house when possible. One of the guys at BRAG said Merlin and I could come over to work in the building one day in July before our trial, so Merlin could run a course before he has to do it for real. A FABULOUS offer, and idea! So I'm pretty happy about that.

Popper is doing really well in our fun class (and so am I!). I think I understand now what he expects out of me, and I'm trying really hard to provide it. It's just a lot to remember! He wants me to constantly keep moving, I have to let him know at least one obstacle ahead what's coming up next (and position myself appropriately), and keep in mind the little stuff, like if it's too hot for him, and rear crosses into tunnels is still a huge challenge... but we're getting there. The problem with teamwork is we each have our own mind LOL! The hardest part yet for me, though, is where my body position is. I am just not an "aware" person, so it takes a lot of effort for me to try to make it happen. I think that's why I got so frustrated in the handling classes. It's really quite foreign to me to be aware of what every single part of my body is doing at any given point. But I HAVE to get this down, Merlin is far worse than Popper about what a stray hand may be doing, or if I am leaning too far one way... :D

Agility Woes and Yays

2009-06-18T14:03:00.002-05:00

So, as you may have read, I'm doing a "fun" dog agility class with Popper this session instead of repeating the handling class we were in. I was having absolutely zero fun, dreaded going to class, and Popper felt my reaction and started being less cooperative and joyful in his runs. I could get maybe one run out of him, and then we were done.

This is our third week in the fun class, which is zero pressure, and after the second week I saw a huge difference. Popper works for me the entire time (although he wouldn't call it work, I'm sure!), and I'm actually sad when class is over. His response to my directions, garbled though they may be, is phenomenal. He's so amazing that I find it hard to believe we've only been doing agility for a year. At our last trial, he only went off and visited during one run instead of both of them. I think before he was getting so stressed (because I was getting so stressed) that he would run off to visit folks. He always comes back, it's just annoying when you're on a speedy course. :) I'm really glad we're taking the class, because there's no point in doing agility if it's not fun.

Merlin is in the "weaves and teeters" class. He could do a full height, ground to ground teeter before even entering the class. I just started him on upright weave poles, too. So passing the class shouldn't be a problem. The problem I am having is, right after we decided he would make his debut at an agility trial in August, he suddenly decided the backyard is an evil place to practice agility in. The inside is fine, but the backyard - no. He'll do the teeter, and anything else is like pulling teeth. He's very intent on agility in class, very aware of my body positions, very eager to do whatever obstacle I tell him to, handles everything like a more seasoned competitor - but in the backyard, he's like a lost little dog that's never seen agility equipment before. I have no idea what happened. I suppose I have to start back at square one to see if I can get anything out of him. I want to pack up some obstacles and take them over to my parents' yard to see if he'll do agility there. The trial is an outdoor one, so I really need him to work outdoors. I'm not expecting much out of him for the trial, being his first one and all, but if I try to run a dog that looks like he's terrified, well, I'll probably get kicked out of the competition. I'll keep updating what's going on with him and our progress...

FDA Suspends Evanger's Dog Food Permit

2009-06-16T09:13:00.002-05:00

From the FDA Website:
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/ucm166265.htm

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today it was suspending the temporary Emergency Permit issued to Evanger's Dog & Cat Food Co., Inc.

Evanger's, operating in Wheeling, Illinois, deviated from the prescribed process, equipment, product shipment, and recordkeeping requirements in the production of the company's thermally processed low acid canned food (LACF) products. The deviations in their processes and documentation could result in under-processed pet foods, which can allow the survival and growth of Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), a bacterium that causes botulism in some animals as well as in humans.

In April 2008, Evanger’s was issued an “Order of Need for Emergency Permit” after the agency determined that the company had failed to meet the regulatory requirements to process a product that does not present a health risk. In June, 2008, FDA issued Evanger’s a temporary Emergency Permit. During inspections conducted between March 2009 and April 2009, FDA determined Evanger’s was not operating in compliance with the mandatory requirements and conditions of the Temporary Emergency Permit.

“The FDA is stopping Evanger's ability to ship pet food in interstate commerce,” said Dr. Bernadette Dunham. “Today’s enforcement action sends a strong message to manufacturers of pet food that we will take whatever action necessary to keep unsafe products from reaching consumers.”

In order for Evanger's to resume shipping in interstate commerce, the company must document that corrective actions and processing procedures have been implemented to ensure that the finished product will not present a health hazard.

Botulism is a powerful toxin that affects the nervous system and can be fatal. The disease has been documented in dogs and cats. Signs of botulism in animals are progressive muscle paralysis, disturbed vision, difficulty in chewing and swallowing, and progressive weakness to the body. Death is usually due to paralysis of the heart or the muscles used in breathing.

While FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is responsible for regulating all human and animal LACF processing, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine has authority over animal feed and foods. The two centers are collaborating on this enforcement action.

I buy Evanger's canned food on occasion, because my dogs love it and it's a great food. It just goes to show that nothing is safe these days - but I'm awfully glad the FDA is now keeping tabs on all these pet food companies!

There's hope for Merlin yet!

2009-06-04T15:11:00.003-05:00

I managed to cajole a little session out of one of the trainers (a HUGE thanks!!) and we've discovered that Merlin will perform like a pro on those teeters - as long as my hand is on his collar. So, like a daddy teaching his kid to ride a bicycle, I'll hold on for now - and then gradually let go and see how he does on his own.

We've started moving the teeter all around the yard to get him used to change (he's not really big on anything being different!) and so far, so good. I kind of wish I had a second teeter, because it would have a different pivot point than my current one, and he'd get the idea that they're all different.

But we're improving, and I'm happy that I've been shown a way for him to succeed.

I haven't decided if I'm going to take him to Popper's class tonight so we can work beforehand... he was just there yesterday and the day before...

Merlin Loses his Mojo

2009-06-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

Poor merbutt. :( We started a new dog agility class last night, it's pretty much just weaves and teeters. I started Merlin on the teeter months ago, if you read his blog, because I knew it would take such a long time to teach it to him. And it did. Lots of time, lots of treats, and a heck of a lot of patience. But he's been doing a full 24" teeter ground to ground for about 3 weeks now, fairly confidently too.

When I sent him up on it in class, he ran straight off it before it hit the ground, and then was scared of it. I'm fairly certain it's because he's never done the teeter there, just the dog walk. And if I recall correctly, Popper did the exact same thing first time he did a teeter there too. We worked through it a bit, and at the end, he was much improved, but still not 100% comfortable on it.

So now I have to somehow get his confidence up to do the teeter in class, because he's still fine with ours at home. I'm just bummed we put in all that hard work, several times a day for MONTHS, and then something like that happened. :( I'm not bummed at Merlin. I feel like there's something I could have done different when we did it in class.

Dog Agility Brag!

2009-06-01T08:32:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, Popper and I participated in the Wild Weaver's Agility Trial at the BRAG facility. It was very well run and we had a great time!

Popper ran in both Snooker Level 2 and Jumpers Level 1. We've been having issues with "fun" lately, so I was worried about Popper's performance. In our first run, Snooker, Popper had his best run EVER! He was FLYING around those jumps without a problem, not even hesitating at any of my commands. We did have a slight bobble on one weird angle, which was completely my fault because I forgot to swing him out to take it properly. Popper realized what Mom did and corrected for it. :D We got a first place for that run! (I think it may have a lot to do with the fact that I *love* snooker!)

Our second run, Jumpers, Popper did run off to visit twice. But he came back each time, and we still had fun and we still got our Q. Many folks came up afterward to tell us it looked like we were having a blast out there and what a great job we did. I am so extremely proud of Popper I think I could just burst.

We just need Fullhouse and Jackpot to finish off our Level 1 CPE title. Our next CPE trial is at Flashpoint in August.

Startling Discovery

2009-05-27T16:04:00.002-05:00

I realized a week or so ago, in light of our recent loss of my beloved Pandora, that Scamp's anniversary of both his birthday and euthanasia have come around, and for the first time, I had forgotten it.

That's not to say I've forgotten Scamp, my childhood Shih Tzu who trooped along to the admirable age of 17 - no, his picture is hung right by my door so I see it every time I leave. His quilt, that I made by hand just for him, that he and only he has ever laid on, is hung over the headboard of my bed. I think about him daily. And here it is, five years later, and I completely forgot two extremely important days in my life.

And I'm thrilled.

I take the loss of every single pet extremely hard. My mom, when I was younger, told me "no more pets," simply because I become a wreck. This rule, I might add, did not stay around long. ;) Because even in the severe, heart-wrenching pain of losing an animal, you still have those years and years of joy that they have brought into your lives. I do not want to live in a world without pets. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

I see my oversight as proof that I have finally moved on. Yes, five years later. I had Scamp from the time I was 6 years old, until I was 23. We grew up together. He knew all my secrets. He was my first baby boy, and he will always hold a very special place in my heart. Worst of all, I had to make the decision to euthanize him - quite possibly the most difficult decision I have ever, and will ever, have to make. To this day, even though he was suffering terribly, I feel as though I killed him, because, essentially, I did. For at least a year it plagued me daily what I had done to such a trusting little dog who had done nothing but offer me his entire heart without hesitation. Every year for four years on his birthday, I ached for him. He was euthanized the day after his birthday, so the next day would be even worse as I relived the visit to the vet's. Over. And over.

I still get emotional and choked up thinking about it. And to me, that's good. It means to me that he made an impression upon the world, that at least one person is sadder for him having left it. I think of my little baby boy often, and how, wherever he is now, he's moving along without pain, with perfect vision and hearing, and wondering what's holding Mom up. I hope he doesn't get too irritated with any other pets that are waiting with him, because he'll be the first one to get a great big squeeze from me. But until that day, I remember all the pets I have lost, with a tug in my heart, and the knowledge that no matter how badly their deaths may hurt, they brought me endless love and joy while they were alive.

Tragedy at Menagerie Mayhem

2009-05-27T16:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, we suffered the loss of our long-time birdie friend and avian companion, Pandora. Pandora was a whiteface lutino cockatiel hen, an extremely endearing little bird that behaved more like her bigger cousins the cockatoo than a 'tiel. Pandora's life was long haunted by illnesses and maladies (hence her name) and at last succombed to a sudden and severe respiratory infection.

She was laid to rest in our rose garden, and no doubt is busy bossing other family members that are also resting there. She would have been 8 years old on June 3rd. She is missed terribly.

Owning an Old English Sheepdog

2009-05-07T08:26:00.002-05:00

Because the Old English Sheepdog isn't extremely common where I live, I get a lot of questions about what the breed is like. Now, granted, I've only ever owned one - Roofus - so I can only tell you what it's like to own Roofus. :)

It's definitely an experience! LOL

Roofus is much heavier and taller than the AKC breed standard calls for, but his size is actually not uncommon in the breed. He stands approximately 30" tall at the shoulders, whereas the breed standard is 24", IIRC. He weighs 99# in the winter, full coated (take five pounds off for the summer!), and the high end is more like 70# in the standard. So, he's pretty much a giant breed dog. So you get all the issues that come with that size of animal - the ability to drag you down the road if he sees a squirrel, nicking stuff off counters, putting his head on the table while you eat - all that. He also has a problem with his front right leg because he's so large and active. The vet believes it is arthritis, which he sees a lot in giant breed dogs.

As far as the coat goes... It's not that bad. You can keep them in a puppy cut year round, but most of us grow it out all winter and then shear them in the spring. I brush his coat once or twice a week completely in the winter, and I bathe him at least once every two weeks as well. I find a nice double rake gets out EVERYTHING in his coat (and he picks up weird stuff - once, in a bath, I found a live spider in his coat!!), but you may want to use a single rake to get all the mats out first. My Old English Sheepdog does not shed, but there are some that do, and you'll love having the rake.

Food-wise, he doesn't eat much. I give him three cups a day of Premium Edge Lamb and Rice adult. He's not a voracious eater. Sometimes he doesn't eat for a day or two at a time. When he was younger, he had a lot of digestive issues, which is common for the breed. Keep this dog crated for at LEAST the first year if you don't want your home decorated in liquid poo. He stopped having these "attacks" when he was about two years old. Pepcid helped tremendously.

Personality-wise, he has the best personality ever. I love this dog to death and with good reason. He loves EVERYBODY. Even dogs or people he doesn't care for, he still loves them. He adores children, but because of his size there is a very likely possibility of knocking them over in his enthusiasm. And here I should note that Old English Sheepdogs stay like puppies for their entire lives, until shortly before they die. They are always exhuberant, always happy, which makes it pretty easy to tell if they're ill. Roofus is a lap dog - you read that right. He lays in my lap while I'm on the sofa. I encourage it. He loves to snuggle, cuddle, spoon - anything to be close to his person.

Old English Sheepdogs are great watchdogs, too, and are wary of folks that invade their home or approach their family. This doesn't mean they're aggressive - Roofus just barks to let me know someone is around the yard or coming near. They can be quite protective of their owners and families. This is a natural sheep herding mentality, but you have to keep it under control so they don't become aggressive.

OES are also known for being stubborn and bullheaded. If Roofus thinks he knows better than you, he won't listen to a word you say. They need a strong pack leader, and honestly, I let him walk all over me a good deal of the time. They seem to be trained best with lots of love and affection rather than treats. It's quite difficult with Roofus because of his size - a gentle leader is a godsend for helping to control him, particularly on a walk when he wants to go and visit with every man, woman, child and dog. My sheepie also has a jealous streak. He doesn't like it when my SO hugs me or gets too close to me. If other people do that, he may or may not care (usually nudges me), but he does not like my SO stealing his mommy. He also is quite reactive if I see a shady character while we're out and about (I don't live in the best of neighborhoods). He gives that person the evil eye, and may even softly woof or huff if that person approaches. He goes into "protect" mode, and I have no doubt he would attack someone that was trying to injure me.

Sheepdogs aren't terribly bright, either. They're smart in their own special way, but if I had to rate their intelligence, as far as learning tricks, etc, I'd put them rather low on the scale. They're GREAT at herding - they herd with their muscle, pushing the sheep around with their shoulders. But because of that stubborn streak, you may have a heck of a time getting them to do what you want them to. They just want to go out and have a good time. That may or may not include driving the sheep where you want them.

My Roofus has done a few dog classes, included advanced obedience and rally-o. He is also great at frisbee, but remember what I said about giant breed dogs.. they are definitely not made for high-impact sports like that. He would, however, die if we did not play it occasionally, so I try to throw it low so he doesn't do his big air acrobatics.

Old English Sheepdogs are also HUGE chick magnets. I have never taken Roofus on a walk or to somewhere that there hasn't been at least two people that stop and talk to me about him. Usually it's a lot more. There's just something about them. True, he doesn't get near the admirers as when he's full coated, but if I turn around and walk, say, the corgi on the same path, I generally get no comments whatsoever. Everyone wants to pet Roofus.

Roofus also gets mistaken for other dog breeds quite often. I think two people in his whole life have correctly identified him as an Old English Sheepdog on the first try. The most common ones I've gotten are: irish wolfhound (when he's shaved, he gets this a LOT), labradoodle (when his coat begins to grow out), saint bernard (oh come on people, that one's ridiculous), bearded collie (i can see that, even though he has no tail and is much, much larger than a beardie), giant schnauzer, bouvier des flandres (seriously, you guess bouvier but don't see OES??). I'm sure there are others, but those are the most common mistaken identities.

So, to sum up, I love this breed. I'll probably always own one. They are active dogs that aren't the brightest crayon in the box, but are snuggly, adorable, and always ready to have some fun with their family!

Popper And his Insatiable Hot Dog Cravings

2009-04-20T09:03:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, I took Popper to the BRAG Agility Demo at the OSU Vet School. It was his first time he'd been outside in an unsecured area off-leash, and I was pretty nervous. I had a TON of dog treats on me to try to keep him with me. But he was very good! We did several demos with no problems at all. It was good practice for our first outdoor USDAA trial in June.

That is, until they hauled out the grills and started cooking hamburgers and hot dogs right next to where we were. That beagle nose flipped up into the air, and he started licking his chops and looking around feverishly for the source. The first incident happened when we were practicing between demos - Popper heard a man sitting right on the edge of the grass open a bag of cookies - and off he went to beg.

The second time, Popper ran off and followed his beagle nose all the way to the nearest grill, where he promptly sat down and gave all the folks in line big puppy dog eyes like he's never had a meal in his life.

The third time didn't actually happen for a long while... we were doing relay races, with big dogs versus small, and he never ran off. He did consistently lose it for the small dog team, though, because he's not good yet with weave pole entry from another obstacle so we had to keep starting over. He's a green dog so I'm not terribly worried about it at this point. :) I should note that on the next demo, he entered and did the poles perfectly! LOL!

So at the next demo, I took Popper over to the teeter, which was kind of far out and right next to the crowd - big mistake. Everyone was sitting on the ground around the edge, with their hot dogs and hamburgers... You can imagine what happened. Bye bye, Pop pop! I yelled to everyone to cover their plates but not everyone was fast enough (or listening). At that point Popper became out of control so I snapped his leash on and that was the end of Popper's agility day.

He was so exhausted on the way home his head was hanging off the seat. And his extremely full tummy looked like it was going to explode.

Yes, it was altogether a very eventful day!

Shaved Roofus Yesterday....

2009-04-20T08:58:00.002-05:00

It was a bit overdue, but I kept him shaggy as long as I could because I ADORE fluffy dogs... but yesterday I broke down and shaved him :( He was extremely happy, because anything above 65 degrees (assuming the dog is not doing anything like running) is just too hot for a full coated Old English Sheepdog. I always leave his ears full-length whether he is shaved or not, which gives him a rather odd appearance... I'm usually quite happy to get rid of his beard and part of his mustache, because they always smell like sewer, as he's always dunking his entire muzzle in the water bowl.

This is the first year I didn't shave him down to the skin, though, because I now work at home I had the time required to keep his coat extremely well-groomed and mat-free, so it wasn't a big deal to slip on a blade attachment and go at it that way. This year is the first year where I wasn't shaving his coat because I couldn't keep up with it. That makes me pretty happy. :) I will miss my fluffy roobear, but it will grow back this winter!

Also - this is the first year I did NOT shave him into a funny hairstyle before shaving him for real. ;)

AKC Announces new Program for Mixed Breed Dogs

2009-04-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

Well, folks who own mixed breed dogs and participate in dog agility, rally-o, obedience, and other dog sports will be pleased to know the AKC has decided to allow mixed breeds to compete.

Or will they be pleased after all?

AKC's proposal leaves many a bit dry in the mouth, a tad sick in the stomach, with its comparison to the racial integration of schools back in the 1960s.

Or particular note, from the AKC Program details:

2. Mixed Breed classes can only be held at standalone AKC Agility, Obedience, and Rally Events. The class could not be offered at All Breed Shows, Group Shows, or independent specialties, even if Agility, Obedience, or Rally events are being held.
a. The definition of standalone AKC Companion event is an AKC Agility, Obedience, or Rally event that is not held on the same date AND show site as an AKC all-breed show or independent specialty.

Heaven forbid our mutts are REMOTELY near a purebred dog show. We can only showcase purebred dogs, folks - mutts are shameful things we must keep swept under the rug.

3. Mixed breed dogs will compete in separate class divisions from AKC purebred dogs.
a. The club is not required to hold the classes in separate rings under separate Judges. The purebred classes can be held in the same ring, under the same Judge, as the mixed breed classes. Placements and titles will be scored and awarded separately.
b. For example, in Agility in the Regular class, all purebred dogs entered in the Regular 16 inch class will run, followed in the same ring by the mixed breed dogs entered in the Regular 16 inch class

My favorite part in this bit is that they will "allow" purebreds and mutts to have classes in the same ring (quite generous) but not at the same time. We don't want our precious purebreds getting any of those nasty mutt germs, after all.

5. Mixed breed dogs will earn different titles from purebred dogs.
a. Mixed breed dogs will earn titles with a Mixed Breed suffix (i.e. NAM-Novice Agility Mixed Breed)

I am just at a loss for words on this one. Now, in CPE agility, for example, which allows both purebreds and mutts to compete against each other (gasp!), dogs at a lower jump height that they measure into do get a slightly different title. That makes sense, because they aren't doing the same amount of work/effort as the other dogs who are in their proper jump heights. But why, oh WHY do mutts get different titles? Didn't they do the exact same thing as a purebred? Give 'em their yellow star of David! They must be singled out and kept separate from the purebreds.

And we can't have mutts competing against purebreds - because what would happen if a muggle born totally showed up the pure blood, I'm sorry, Harry Potter slip of the tongue there - what would happen if a mixed breed showed up a purebred? GASP!! Folks might go to shelters and ADOPT MUTTS to compete with!!

6. Dogs competing in the class will be eligible to earn similar (but separate) titles as purebreds, including MACH-M (Master Agility Champion Mixed Breed), OTCH-M, and RAE-M.

Again, if a dog earned a MACH, it shouldn't matter if it's a mixed breed or a $5,000 purebred. A MACH is a MACH is a MACH.

On a group I'm in, one of the members sarcastically raised the question if, at these new AKC events, the mixed breed dogs were going to have a separate bathroom area from the purebreds.

I think it's a legitimate question.

And for the record, I own two purebred dogs and three mixes. One mix does agility, as does one purebred. I had never considered doing AKC agility before (higher jump heights than CPE) and now I wouldn't touch them with a twenty foot pole.

The Case of the Popping Pop Pop

2009-03-23T15:59:00.002-05:00

Went out last night to look at a wedding venue....

Came home to find shredded baggies that used to contain dog food on the floor. The dog food was from Roofus's recent kennel stay, so there was 4 cups of dog food in there.

Laying passed out next to the bags, with his tummy obviously full and with a sleepy, self-satisfied grin on his face, was Popper.

He normally gets 2/3 of a cup a day. He got his punishment today - pooping all that massive amount of food out. But he was awfully cute with his fat belly last night. :)

Another day, another dog...

2009-03-21T15:44:00.001-05:00

I skipped yesterday for dog walks (I know, I feel horrible that I did) and only walked Roofus today since the other boys had a long "dog tricks" workshop this morning.

Yep - another dog. This time a yellow lab who delighted in zooming all over, often into the street. His owner was quite incompetent - she'd have him caught, and *somehow* he'd get away again.

Luckily I was watching for it so I slipped Roo's gentle leader on him right away before we got remotely close to the dog. I had been using only a regular harness because Roofus does seem to enjoy the walk much more and I don't worry about breaking his neck!

Come on, people, be responsible for your pets and keep 'em inside where they belong!

I just want to walk my dogs...

2009-03-19T14:22:00.002-05:00

Spring is well on its way, and with it those warm temperatures we've all being longing for since mid-October.

For me, spring means a chance to get out and walk my dogs regularly again.

Honestly, I think every year I romanticize about how great it is to walk the dogs. So relaxing, so healthy... yeah, really, it's a nightmare.

I can overlook the fact that my dogs aren't the easiest animals to walk. Several are reactive and go nuts if they see another dog. One is extremely protective. One is leash aggressive. One pulls me down the road regardless of gentle leader, sporn harness, or any other training device and method. One dog teaches all the other dogs that walk with her that walking on the sidewalk isn't a necessity. One dog ONLY eats poop on dog walks. One dog barks furiously for the first five minutes of the walk before calming down.

I can deal with all that. I've even adjusted so that I walk my dogs in shifts - usually three or four walks - no more than two dogs at a time and sometimes just one. Heck, I even figured out who keeps their dogs outside all day, or on a tie-out, and I plan my route to avoid those houses.

What I can't deal with, is folks in my neighborhood who can't keep control of their own dogs, so I'm always encountering off-leash pets.

Yesterday, I was walking my Old English Sheepdog down the road for a 2 mile jaunt. Next thing I know, this rottweiler mix bolts out of his house and heads straight for my dog. Roofus is EXTREMELY social, loving, and friendly to other dogs - but he's also very protective of mommy, and running madly up to a dog out on a leisurely stroll is not good doggie manners. Roo was all riled up, jumping, barking, but thankfully on a Gentle Leader. I was wary because the dog was too big for me to punt if he wasn't friendly. The woman came up pretty quick though, apologizing, saying he just slipped out when she opened the door. Sigh...

Today, I was walking Popper and Blossom. A little background on my Blossom... she's a 14 year old dalmatian-border collie rescue dog, who is almost completely deaf and is very leash aggressive. Leash aggression is different from dog aggression, to an extent - she only dislikes strange dogs when she's on a leash. It's weird, I know. She came that way. She was also quite a scrapper when I first got her, so I know she can inflict damage when she wants to, which is also a problem.

Of course, we encounter not one - but TWO offleash dogs. This time, a pair of bullmastiffs. Now, they did seem to be the friendliest bullmastiffs known to man. But that doesn't matter when I'm walking a leash aggressive dog. The woman, who was chasing her dogs around (ironically right across the street from rottie lady) called and apologized about her loose dogs (one wearing a leash, one not) and tried to recall them. I said, "That spotted dog is dog aggressive! There's going to be a dog fight!" I don't know if that sped her up or not, but Blossom chose that moment to snap and snarfed at the mastiff who was sniffing her. Normal dogs do not like being snapped at. This particular dog was no exception. It began snarling, growling, and starting to lunge at B - I was pondering what action I was going to take to keep the two dogs apart when the owner grabbed the dog from behind - no small task with a large, angry dog - and I had my two gone lickety split from the situation before anybody got hurt. Blossom may not be the best behaved dog in the world - but she was on a leash and thus under my direct control. We shouldn't have to worry about being accosted by strange dogs.

That's TWO days in a row we've encountered large, loose dogs. It's aggravating that I'm trying to enjoy the time with my dogs, as well as the sunshine and fresh air, but I can't - I have to constantly be searching for loose dogs. I'm going to have to buy a can of doggie pepper spray... there's one called Direct Stop I'm going to try. It's amazing how many people in my neighborhood can't keep their dogs in their houses... I've never had my dogs slip out like that. And my dogs come when called. As Mad-Eye Moody would say - Constant Vigilance!

Havoc's New Shower Perch

2009-03-17T07:45:00.004-05:00

I have wanted a new shower perch for Havoc, my severe macaw, ever since she discovered how much fun it was to rip the suction cups off the wall and go crashing down.

At the Mid American Exotic Bird Society Fair, I found these "activity gyms" that are actually meant to go on your window. They keep the bird occupied enough that I figure she'll be too entertained to gnaw on the suction cups. The price was a bit steep ($45), but after a year of waiting and wanting, I purchased one last week. I call it "the monstrosity."

The perch is roughly 30" tall, and it sticks out at least 20". If you know how large a severe macaw is, you can appreciate how big that perch is from the photos! It makes showering with Havoc a bit precarious, because she's the type of parrot that waits for an opening, and then attacks. Luckily for me, she seems to be more fascinated with biting the shower curtain than me... at least for now. She absolutely loves those little chains. She'll put one foot on them, one on the perch, and dangle off, flapping her wings madly and screeching with joy as she gets sprayed.

I really like that the perch is of a size I can use with my other, smaller birds. And, because it's so big, I can shower with multiple of the littler parrots, like both my plumheads at the same time. Even my quaker and the two plum headed parakeets all at once. I have four cockatiels, and they would all fit on there comfortably as well.

The bad thing about having a parrot shower playgym is that it takes up a lot of room and is a storage problem. The normal, pet store collapsible parrot shower perches just fold back into the wall. This one takes up about 1/3 of my shower. It's great that I can put it in the birdroom when the blinds are up, and it's another parrot playgym for the birds to fly onto and look out the window.

So far, though, it's really great. Havoc hasn't gotten hold of those suction cups yet, and really likes having more room and more things to do while she's showering.