"I mean, Jesus, we may as well have a kid, we're already parents!"
(from a conversation with a friend last week)
(It is also worth noting that kids are nowhere in our future, for those who might have looked at that quote and gasped *ahemMOMahem*)
So, a couple of things have gone on in Miles' doggy world in the past few weeks.
His daycare closed because of many different issues, mainly family. This left us kind of scrambling for a new place to take him, which we finally landed on. I don't think it would have felt nearly as stressful (and to be honest, it really WASN'T that stressful) if I weren't about to undergo Major Life Changes. Anywho, we found a new daycare for him and all is right with the world. Except that the woman who has become a good personal friend of mine has moved to North Carolina and we likely won't see her again for a very, very long time. Happy trails to her and her family, but I will miss them.
The other thing is that we probably won't be able to use the Easy Walk anymore when we walk him. It has started to cause sores in his little doggy armpits, and while it doesn't cause him any pain (or appear to, anyway), we can't keep using it if it's going to cause him a negative experience while walking.
I found it interesting that it was doing this to him, and so I decided to look it up and see if anyone else had a similar problem.
Holycrap, the first two pages of my google search were of other people who've had these issues, and others, with the Easy Walk. It's not a matter of fit, it's of where it lands on the body and it forces a dog to alter its gait in order to not become uncomfortable, and I also learned that there's actually a pretty significant risk of a dog just flipping itself over while in it, which can cause all kinds of damage to tendons, muscles and bones. Really interesting reads. So, I think that the days of the Easy Walk are done, which is fine - he's not a huge puller anymore, and if he is, then we just continue to work on it.
My boss at the SPCA has two dogs as well...a beagle who's about 4, and a yellow lab who's about to turn a year. She said that her beagle didn't calm down until she was a solid 3 years old, and that's about the age that most dogs start to calm. After that, he'll be a breeze. He kind of already is. Minus the destroying of stuff (our fault, really) and the pulling and the occasional toy aggression, he's pretty much the best dog ever. I think that once things pan out by the end of the summer, we may even look at the possibility of getting a second dog. I would certainly love one, and I'm sure Rob would too. But we need a bigger place first, and that will likely take some time. We'll see. :)
For now, Miles is plenty of dog for us. He's such a good boy.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
It Only Takes One Time.
"It only takes once" is probably the most-uttered quotation of any dog caretaker that I've ever heard. It's only in reference to bad habits/inadvertently undoing good habits, and until it happened with Miles, I didn't believe it for a second.
Flash back to about a month ago. We like to play frisbee with Miles at the dog park in between his bursts of playing with other dogs. And really, what's better than a dog who can catch a frisbee? Nothing, really. He's generally ok playing with other dogs, with the exception of a couple of them, who are either hardly ever there, or if they are, we know to leave.
Without exception, the dogs that he has trouble with are bigger than him, but that's a whole other issue. The issues that I'm referring to now is aggression.
It can come in any form - toy aggression, other-dog aggression, people aggression, food aggression...you name it, and a dog can become aggressive either toward or in protection of it. Miles developed toy aggression on this particular day at the dog park. We've gotten some advice on how to fix it, and I think it's working, but we have to keep trying to not reinforce the bad behavior.
As I said, we like to play frisbee with Miles at the dog park. We have a great indestructable frisbee, and he loves to play with it and has FINALLY learned to catch it. Kind of awesome. So, there were other dogs that were playing too, but most of them knew to back off when it was time to catch it and bring it back, because it is Miles' toy, it smells like him and us, and he's the one that gets to bring it back. One such dog did not understand this and went after it.
Wrong move.
Miles went after that dog, teeth bared, barking the "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY STUFF" bark that I had never heard before that day. We decided to (obviously) stop playing with the frisbee and let him calm down for a while. Of course, at that very moment, the owner of the other dog decided that it would be a brilliant idea to play fetch with her dog with a tennis ball and one of those chuck-it things. Miles would NOT let the other dog get to it without getting totally aggressive again. No one got hurt, but Miles was so upset with this particular dog that we had to leave.
I asked my daycare lady what we should do, and she said a few really interesting things, namely:
1. She never plays with toys with the dogs in daycare unless they're by themselves, and even then, she's hesitant, because the dog's toys are not their toys. She doesn't even give them the opportunity to be aggressive about toys, because toy aggression in dogs is so common.
2. At a dog park, it should be the same rule.
3. All it takes is once for a dog to become aggressive. It should be prevented whenever possible, and if you try to do something that may cause it after a while of not doing it (playing with a toy in a dog park, for example), then if it happens again, take away the cause of the aggression.
She also told me a story of a woman at daycare who fed her dogs from the same bowl once. As in, one time. They were sharing it, and all of a sudden, one of the dogs got incredibly aggressive with the other dog. Now, both dogs are food aggressive. It only takes once.
Now (previous situation excepted), if there's an owner playing fetch with their dog, Miles does not interfere. He's an incredibly socially adept dog, and knows that when it's his turn to play fetch, it will be either Rob or me throwing the projectile to be fetched. He doesn't generally go after other dogs' toys, and doesn't let anyone go after his, either.
However, I'm now nervous about his toy aggression, and it shows when I bring him around other dogs. We went to the Dover dog park yesterday and there was a guy playing fetch with his dog. Miles would get near the toy, not even touch it, and the other dog would go BERSERK. I never, ever want Miles to get to that point. I didn't like the general mojo there yesterday, so we went into a fenced-in area by ourselves and played frisbee, which he loved and got nice and tired doing. I had a real fear that a huge dogfight was going to break out in the main area, so we didn't stay there.
We went to the Concord dog park this morning, and we decided to bring the frisbee, just to see how he would do. There's a greyhound that's there every weekend, and they're not besties, but they'll co-exist. We decided to try the frisbee, and Miles got aggressive with the greyhound! The greyhound wasn't backing down, and so we separated the two and took away the frisbee. Miles was disappointed, but I felt like he connected his actions with the taking away of the frisbee. There are times where I think Miles gets it. Today was one of those days.
So, I'm hoping we can overcome this little stumbling block. Regardless, he's still my good boy. :)
Below, is a video of Miles playing with the laser pointer, one of his favorite toys. Ella will even share it with him!
Flash back to about a month ago. We like to play frisbee with Miles at the dog park in between his bursts of playing with other dogs. And really, what's better than a dog who can catch a frisbee? Nothing, really. He's generally ok playing with other dogs, with the exception of a couple of them, who are either hardly ever there, or if they are, we know to leave.
Without exception, the dogs that he has trouble with are bigger than him, but that's a whole other issue. The issues that I'm referring to now is aggression.
It can come in any form - toy aggression, other-dog aggression, people aggression, food aggression...you name it, and a dog can become aggressive either toward or in protection of it. Miles developed toy aggression on this particular day at the dog park. We've gotten some advice on how to fix it, and I think it's working, but we have to keep trying to not reinforce the bad behavior.
As I said, we like to play frisbee with Miles at the dog park. We have a great indestructable frisbee, and he loves to play with it and has FINALLY learned to catch it. Kind of awesome. So, there were other dogs that were playing too, but most of them knew to back off when it was time to catch it and bring it back, because it is Miles' toy, it smells like him and us, and he's the one that gets to bring it back. One such dog did not understand this and went after it.
Wrong move.
Miles went after that dog, teeth bared, barking the "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY STUFF" bark that I had never heard before that day. We decided to (obviously) stop playing with the frisbee and let him calm down for a while. Of course, at that very moment, the owner of the other dog decided that it would be a brilliant idea to play fetch with her dog with a tennis ball and one of those chuck-it things. Miles would NOT let the other dog get to it without getting totally aggressive again. No one got hurt, but Miles was so upset with this particular dog that we had to leave.
I asked my daycare lady what we should do, and she said a few really interesting things, namely:
1. She never plays with toys with the dogs in daycare unless they're by themselves, and even then, she's hesitant, because the dog's toys are not their toys. She doesn't even give them the opportunity to be aggressive about toys, because toy aggression in dogs is so common.
2. At a dog park, it should be the same rule.
3. All it takes is once for a dog to become aggressive. It should be prevented whenever possible, and if you try to do something that may cause it after a while of not doing it (playing with a toy in a dog park, for example), then if it happens again, take away the cause of the aggression.
She also told me a story of a woman at daycare who fed her dogs from the same bowl once. As in, one time. They were sharing it, and all of a sudden, one of the dogs got incredibly aggressive with the other dog. Now, both dogs are food aggressive. It only takes once.
Now (previous situation excepted), if there's an owner playing fetch with their dog, Miles does not interfere. He's an incredibly socially adept dog, and knows that when it's his turn to play fetch, it will be either Rob or me throwing the projectile to be fetched. He doesn't generally go after other dogs' toys, and doesn't let anyone go after his, either.
However, I'm now nervous about his toy aggression, and it shows when I bring him around other dogs. We went to the Dover dog park yesterday and there was a guy playing fetch with his dog. Miles would get near the toy, not even touch it, and the other dog would go BERSERK. I never, ever want Miles to get to that point. I didn't like the general mojo there yesterday, so we went into a fenced-in area by ourselves and played frisbee, which he loved and got nice and tired doing. I had a real fear that a huge dogfight was going to break out in the main area, so we didn't stay there.
We went to the Concord dog park this morning, and we decided to bring the frisbee, just to see how he would do. There's a greyhound that's there every weekend, and they're not besties, but they'll co-exist. We decided to try the frisbee, and Miles got aggressive with the greyhound! The greyhound wasn't backing down, and so we separated the two and took away the frisbee. Miles was disappointed, but I felt like he connected his actions with the taking away of the frisbee. There are times where I think Miles gets it. Today was one of those days.
So, I'm hoping we can overcome this little stumbling block. Regardless, he's still my good boy. :)
Below, is a video of Miles playing with the laser pointer, one of his favorite toys. Ella will even share it with him!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Why I will never buy from a breeder, but I will never judge someone who does
So, because I work at the SPCA, I run into a lot of dog owners. I often ask where they got their dog, and they will sometimes say to me, "I got him/her through a breeder..." and then look at me with those Guilty Eyes. You know the ones I'm talking about. The "I did something that you probably think is bad and you're secretly judging me, I KNOW IT" eyes.
Right.
There are two fundamental differences to me between having a dog from a breeder and a dog from a shelter:
1. Shelter pictures are sadder.
2. Purebred dogs statistically have more health problems.
The second one is why I will never buy a purebred. But I would never, ever judge someone who chooses to. Why? Because a dog, regardless of where it comes from, needs a home. I'm not saying that a breeder will take any extra puppies that they can't sell and then go drown them in the river or anything, but those dogs need homes too. If you buy from a breeder, it's the same end result as if you adopt it from a shelter: you are still giving the dog a loving home. Mission accomplished. Now, I imagine that breeders are much less rigorous in their screening of potential dog owners than a shelter would be, but with good reason - they don't deal with the backlash of dog ownership gone wrong unless they take the dog back if it doesn't work out. And let's face it - most breeders don't do that. If they did, then animal shelters would probably have a whole lot less work to do. And, there's definitely a fine line between breeder and puppy mill, but the reputable ones never even think about crossing it.
So, people who buy from breeders - be easier on yourself. You've done exactly what you set out to do, even if you didn't do it through a shelter. Go spoil the crap out of your sweet dog.
I'll do the same.
Miles, you're such a good boy.
Right.
There are two fundamental differences to me between having a dog from a breeder and a dog from a shelter:
1. Shelter pictures are sadder.
2. Purebred dogs statistically have more health problems.
The second one is why I will never buy a purebred. But I would never, ever judge someone who chooses to. Why? Because a dog, regardless of where it comes from, needs a home. I'm not saying that a breeder will take any extra puppies that they can't sell and then go drown them in the river or anything, but those dogs need homes too. If you buy from a breeder, it's the same end result as if you adopt it from a shelter: you are still giving the dog a loving home. Mission accomplished. Now, I imagine that breeders are much less rigorous in their screening of potential dog owners than a shelter would be, but with good reason - they don't deal with the backlash of dog ownership gone wrong unless they take the dog back if it doesn't work out. And let's face it - most breeders don't do that. If they did, then animal shelters would probably have a whole lot less work to do. And, there's definitely a fine line between breeder and puppy mill, but the reputable ones never even think about crossing it.
So, people who buy from breeders - be easier on yourself. You've done exactly what you set out to do, even if you didn't do it through a shelter. Go spoil the crap out of your sweet dog.
I'll do the same.
Miles, you're such a good boy.
Friday, March 16, 2012
The Adoptiversary
So, at the end of the month, on the 31st to be exact, was our one-year adoptiversary. I see this as a much more momentous occasion than his birthday, because when he was born, he was not wanted. He had no home, and then he went into foster care. The good, spoiled life that this dog so richly deserves started on March 31 of last year.
In the past year, I've had the boundaries of my patience pushed by this dog a few times. But mostly, he's taught me more about myself and happiness and love than I ever expected. We taught him a few things too, but he's definitely the teacher in our role as dog and owner, whether it was intended that way or not. :)
So, these things are in no particular order, and some are about dogs generally, but most are about just Miles and me. This is also by no means a comprehensive list. Drum roll, please! The things I've learned about dogs in the past year:
1. I will never, ever have a nice car again as long as I own a dog. Ever. Oddly enough, that doesn't matter all that much to me anymore. It did at first, but now I just don't care.
2. Speaking of cars, no car is complete without dog toys and a portable water bowl. Also, just leave the nose marks on the window. They leave for maybe a day, but then they just come right back. It's best to just not fight it.
3. Also, the cut-off bottom of a water bottle doubles nicely as a little water bowl. But that doesn't mean that the dog shares this feeling.
4. Introduce a dog to another household pet slowly. Don't just bring them in the house, thinking they'll instantly get along. Especially when one of your cats is satan.
5. If you leave cat food out and you haven't taught your dog to wait, or to leave the cats alone, he WILL eat their food. Repeatedly.
6. There is only so big that a dog can get and stay tethered to the stationery bike while the cats are eating. That amount is approximately 25 pounds.
7. Puppies, baby puppies I mean, gain approximately four pounds a week in their third and fourth months of life if they are destined to be a medium-sized dog.
8. Puppies sleep pretty much constantly until they hit about five months old. Then it's impossible to stop them, so don't even try.
9. It is impossible to completely puppy-proof a house. Also, it's nearly impossible to keep your house clean when you have a puppy.
10. On a related note, don't leave your packages of toilet paper on the floor of the bathroom. Why? Because you'll finish cleaning and turn your back, only to turn back around and see that your toilet paper is in shreds all over your formerly clean floor.
11. Teach your dog "easy" and "leave it" as soon as humanly possible.
12. If you can take your puppy off leash in the first few weeks of ownership, that's great - but it won't stay that way. Generally that only happens because they can't run away from you very fast, being that they're about 10 pounds. Also, they're still in the honeymoon period, so they'll do anything to please you, including staying right by your side.
13. Puppy ears are the first things to stop growing on a dog, which is why so many puppies have floppy ears and then don't anymore.
14. Puppy yawns remain the funniest things I've ever seen/heard.
15. Your puppy is happy when you're happy. He's also sad when you're sad and upset when you're upset. Always try to be as happy to see your dog as they are to be your dog.
16. When you're sick, puppies are just about the most understanding creatures on the planet. Never have I been sick and been left alone by my cats, but even in the height of his adolescent antics, when I was sick, he found his own thing to do and loved me anyway even when I couldn't walk him.
17. Dogs need exercise or they will destroy things. Doggy day care is perhaps the best invention known to man for this purpose. Walks are good too, but doggy day care is awesome.
18. Guilt is a natural feeling when you leave your dog alone. In case you're wondering, no, it doesn't go away, and some days it's worse than others.
19. If a dog destroys things when you're not home, get him things for the sole purpose of destroying them and leave him lots of marrow bones. That should help with the separation anxiety, which is why it happens.
20. A dog will destroy things in the first 20 minutes you're gone, and that's it.
21. When you are trying to teach a dog not to bark, you are working against one of their most deeply ingrained instincts. Resist the urge to do inhumane surgery or get a bark collar.
22. Also, it's pretty much the funniest thing ever when you tell a dog "quiet" after barking, and they just bark quieter. This makes it much harder to train your dog to stop barking, because you're too busy laughing.
23. Neutering does nothing to calm down a dog. Absolutely nothing. It also does not alter their personality in any way. I am endlessly thankful for both of these things.
24. They call my dog "the tornado" at day care. Hilarious? Yes.
25. Dogs get tired much more easily during the summer. During the winter, when it's cold out and they don't have to work as hard to cool off, they more than make up for lost time.
26. The laser pointer is by far the best investment we've ever made in terms of entertaining our dog. This may or may not be because that's the only time that our satan cat will go anywhere near Miles, because she has an equal affinity for the laser pointer.
27. If the temperament of the cat is gentle, it takes approximately eight months for a cat to adjust to having a dog in the house.
28. If the temperament of the cat is satan, just give up. It will never happen.
29. Dogs have nothing but the best intentions and the desire to make you happy.
30. DOGS ARE BEDHOGS.
31. When your dog graduates from puppy kindergarten, so do you. Training is about training YOU, not necessarily training the dog. Be as proud of yourself as you are of them.
32. Training, in class or individually, is the best investment you can make in your dog.
33. Miles loves bellyrubs. He didn't learn this until we taught him "roll over".
34. Perhaps the funniest moment in dog ownership happened when I turned around and saw Miles sitting on the back of the couch with one of the cats.
35. Let your dog make you laugh, even if he's causing trouble (please note the difference between "trouble" and "harm").
36. Let your dog discover new things. The more they discover, the less afraid they are of normal things.
37. The Easy Walk is perhaps the best invention for walking a dog. Ever.
38. Puppy smiles are the best cure for any kind of negative feeling, ever.
39. Need to give your dog a Heartworm preventative tablet? Don't worry about mixing it in his food or hiding it in peanut butter. Pretend it's a treat. Easy peasy.
40. Peanut butter bones are a great way to occupy your dog for a long time. Also, when they lick their lips for a long time afterward, it's pretty darn funny.
41. It takes a dog one time to get out of a confined space to know that they can do it again (and they will). Examples? Jumping over baby gates. Playing with the latches on the crate.
42. Nothing beats coming home to a happy, excited dog at the end of a hard day. Absolutely nothing.
43. Nothing is cuter than watching your tiny puppy sleep on a human-sized pillow and not take up the whole thing.
44. Having a dog changes your entire routine...it may seem for the worse at times (like sunrise pee sessions when it's cold), but it's always for the better.
There are many, many more things. I'll probably edit and add to this list from time to time as I come up with them.
In the past year, I've had the boundaries of my patience pushed by this dog a few times. But mostly, he's taught me more about myself and happiness and love than I ever expected. We taught him a few things too, but he's definitely the teacher in our role as dog and owner, whether it was intended that way or not. :)
So, these things are in no particular order, and some are about dogs generally, but most are about just Miles and me. This is also by no means a comprehensive list. Drum roll, please! The things I've learned about dogs in the past year:
1. I will never, ever have a nice car again as long as I own a dog. Ever. Oddly enough, that doesn't matter all that much to me anymore. It did at first, but now I just don't care.
2. Speaking of cars, no car is complete without dog toys and a portable water bowl. Also, just leave the nose marks on the window. They leave for maybe a day, but then they just come right back. It's best to just not fight it.
3. Also, the cut-off bottom of a water bottle doubles nicely as a little water bowl. But that doesn't mean that the dog shares this feeling.
4. Introduce a dog to another household pet slowly. Don't just bring them in the house, thinking they'll instantly get along. Especially when one of your cats is satan.
5. If you leave cat food out and you haven't taught your dog to wait, or to leave the cats alone, he WILL eat their food. Repeatedly.
6. There is only so big that a dog can get and stay tethered to the stationery bike while the cats are eating. That amount is approximately 25 pounds.
7. Puppies, baby puppies I mean, gain approximately four pounds a week in their third and fourth months of life if they are destined to be a medium-sized dog.
8. Puppies sleep pretty much constantly until they hit about five months old. Then it's impossible to stop them, so don't even try.
9. It is impossible to completely puppy-proof a house. Also, it's nearly impossible to keep your house clean when you have a puppy.
10. On a related note, don't leave your packages of toilet paper on the floor of the bathroom. Why? Because you'll finish cleaning and turn your back, only to turn back around and see that your toilet paper is in shreds all over your formerly clean floor.
11. Teach your dog "easy" and "leave it" as soon as humanly possible.
12. If you can take your puppy off leash in the first few weeks of ownership, that's great - but it won't stay that way. Generally that only happens because they can't run away from you very fast, being that they're about 10 pounds. Also, they're still in the honeymoon period, so they'll do anything to please you, including staying right by your side.
13. Puppy ears are the first things to stop growing on a dog, which is why so many puppies have floppy ears and then don't anymore.
14. Puppy yawns remain the funniest things I've ever seen/heard.
15. Your puppy is happy when you're happy. He's also sad when you're sad and upset when you're upset. Always try to be as happy to see your dog as they are to be your dog.
16. When you're sick, puppies are just about the most understanding creatures on the planet. Never have I been sick and been left alone by my cats, but even in the height of his adolescent antics, when I was sick, he found his own thing to do and loved me anyway even when I couldn't walk him.
17. Dogs need exercise or they will destroy things. Doggy day care is perhaps the best invention known to man for this purpose. Walks are good too, but doggy day care is awesome.
18. Guilt is a natural feeling when you leave your dog alone. In case you're wondering, no, it doesn't go away, and some days it's worse than others.
19. If a dog destroys things when you're not home, get him things for the sole purpose of destroying them and leave him lots of marrow bones. That should help with the separation anxiety, which is why it happens.
20. A dog will destroy things in the first 20 minutes you're gone, and that's it.
21. When you are trying to teach a dog not to bark, you are working against one of their most deeply ingrained instincts. Resist the urge to do inhumane surgery or get a bark collar.
22. Also, it's pretty much the funniest thing ever when you tell a dog "quiet" after barking, and they just bark quieter. This makes it much harder to train your dog to stop barking, because you're too busy laughing.
23. Neutering does nothing to calm down a dog. Absolutely nothing. It also does not alter their personality in any way. I am endlessly thankful for both of these things.
24. They call my dog "the tornado" at day care. Hilarious? Yes.
25. Dogs get tired much more easily during the summer. During the winter, when it's cold out and they don't have to work as hard to cool off, they more than make up for lost time.
26. The laser pointer is by far the best investment we've ever made in terms of entertaining our dog. This may or may not be because that's the only time that our satan cat will go anywhere near Miles, because she has an equal affinity for the laser pointer.
27. If the temperament of the cat is gentle, it takes approximately eight months for a cat to adjust to having a dog in the house.
28. If the temperament of the cat is satan, just give up. It will never happen.
29. Dogs have nothing but the best intentions and the desire to make you happy.
30. DOGS ARE BEDHOGS.
31. When your dog graduates from puppy kindergarten, so do you. Training is about training YOU, not necessarily training the dog. Be as proud of yourself as you are of them.
32. Training, in class or individually, is the best investment you can make in your dog.
33. Miles loves bellyrubs. He didn't learn this until we taught him "roll over".
34. Perhaps the funniest moment in dog ownership happened when I turned around and saw Miles sitting on the back of the couch with one of the cats.
35. Let your dog make you laugh, even if he's causing trouble (please note the difference between "trouble" and "harm").
36. Let your dog discover new things. The more they discover, the less afraid they are of normal things.
37. The Easy Walk is perhaps the best invention for walking a dog. Ever.
38. Puppy smiles are the best cure for any kind of negative feeling, ever.
39. Need to give your dog a Heartworm preventative tablet? Don't worry about mixing it in his food or hiding it in peanut butter. Pretend it's a treat. Easy peasy.
40. Peanut butter bones are a great way to occupy your dog for a long time. Also, when they lick their lips for a long time afterward, it's pretty darn funny.
41. It takes a dog one time to get out of a confined space to know that they can do it again (and they will). Examples? Jumping over baby gates. Playing with the latches on the crate.
42. Nothing beats coming home to a happy, excited dog at the end of a hard day. Absolutely nothing.
43. Nothing is cuter than watching your tiny puppy sleep on a human-sized pillow and not take up the whole thing.
44. Having a dog changes your entire routine...it may seem for the worse at times (like sunrise pee sessions when it's cold), but it's always for the better.
There are many, many more things. I'll probably edit and add to this list from time to time as I come up with them.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Dog Shaking and Miles' First Birthday!
Well, readers, Miles turned one a little bit ago. It was fairly anticlimactic - we'll probably have a party at some point, but not tons of pomp and circumstance. Our cat Ella turned nine the following day (and can I just say that I find it absolutely hilarious that they have nearly identical birthdays?), and so we celebrated that day by giving ella treats and a fun toy and by doing the same for Miles. Poor Bernie felt left out, so I threw him a couple of treats also (his birthday is June 4).
Anywho, something interesting has happened twice now, and even if it only happens once, my "RESEARCH IT!" button is pushed.
Miles is not generally afraid of loud noises. This past summer, we had fireworks close to our apartment (sometimes literally in our driveway...yeah, our neighbors are that kind of awesome), and he was totally fine. However, when the smoke alarm goes off, he shakes in fear, tucking his tail and showing every sign of doggie fear. He is so afraid of that thing it's almost comical, but I start to laugh and then I feel bad.
It turns out that shaking is how a dog's body responds to adrenaline pumping through it. It's generally a fear response, but if a dog gets really excited over something, it can also happen then. We've never seen him shake out of excitement, only fear. Both of the instances that Miles has shaken, I succumb to my instincts (a bad thing in this case) and console him while he just sits there and shakes. It's a bad idea to do this because it reinforces the fear. But we also bring him outside right after it happens, and he's fine when he gets outside, but immediately starts shaking when he comes back in.
So, the key, I have learned in my research, is to not reinforce the fear. Ignore the dog, and if you want them to do something, then give commands, but don't be too stern. I need to learn to treat him as I normally would. I have also learned that wrapping an ace bandage around a dog's torso will squeeze him - it's supposed to calm dogs down.
With this newfound knowledge, we'll have to see how this summer goes. There's this great thing that's made for dogs called the thundershirt, and I have both read and heard excellent reviews on how much it calms dogs down during things like thunderstorms or fireworks. If he continues with the shaking, we may have to invest in one.
In the meantime, we'll try not to start fires in our apartment. Harder than it seems with the way Rob cooks ("Excuse me? ME? The way IIIIII cook?" Says Rob). :)
I know - I keep posting pictures from when he was a little baby puppy. We're going to have a fun photo shoot soon, because his cuteness lately has been about a 25 on a scale of 1-10, but he absolutely will not let me take a good picture of him lately - he does something cute and sees me pick up my phone or the camera and he's all "UM, NO." Sigh. He's such a good boy.
Anywho, something interesting has happened twice now, and even if it only happens once, my "RESEARCH IT!" button is pushed.
Miles is not generally afraid of loud noises. This past summer, we had fireworks close to our apartment (sometimes literally in our driveway...yeah, our neighbors are that kind of awesome), and he was totally fine. However, when the smoke alarm goes off, he shakes in fear, tucking his tail and showing every sign of doggie fear. He is so afraid of that thing it's almost comical, but I start to laugh and then I feel bad.
It turns out that shaking is how a dog's body responds to adrenaline pumping through it. It's generally a fear response, but if a dog gets really excited over something, it can also happen then. We've never seen him shake out of excitement, only fear. Both of the instances that Miles has shaken, I succumb to my instincts (a bad thing in this case) and console him while he just sits there and shakes. It's a bad idea to do this because it reinforces the fear. But we also bring him outside right after it happens, and he's fine when he gets outside, but immediately starts shaking when he comes back in.
So, the key, I have learned in my research, is to not reinforce the fear. Ignore the dog, and if you want them to do something, then give commands, but don't be too stern. I need to learn to treat him as I normally would. I have also learned that wrapping an ace bandage around a dog's torso will squeeze him - it's supposed to calm dogs down.
With this newfound knowledge, we'll have to see how this summer goes. There's this great thing that's made for dogs called the thundershirt, and I have both read and heard excellent reviews on how much it calms dogs down during things like thunderstorms or fireworks. If he continues with the shaking, we may have to invest in one.
In the meantime, we'll try not to start fires in our apartment. Harder than it seems with the way Rob cooks ("Excuse me? ME? The way IIIIII cook?" Says Rob). :)
I know - I keep posting pictures from when he was a little baby puppy. We're going to have a fun photo shoot soon, because his cuteness lately has been about a 25 on a scale of 1-10, but he absolutely will not let me take a good picture of him lately - he does something cute and sees me pick up my phone or the camera and he's all "UM, NO." Sigh. He's such a good boy.
Monday, January 30, 2012
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, so just bear with me.
Tomorrow is my dog's birthday, and it will be a happier post, I promise. I saw something today that made my blood boil so badly that I can't NOT say something. I have to purge these feelings before I explode.
So, readers, as you know, I work in an animal shelter. I do not do the everyday things, like cleaning cages and taking in (or adopting out) animals - I'm the development director, and as such, I don't see many horrifying things. I know that they happen, but by and large, where I live, there are not as many terrible things that happen to animals - there are lots of resources for a fairly small area, and the impact of my organization is big and far-reaching. We're some of the lucky ones. I'm fairly closed off from the bad things that do happen - I hear about them, and sometimes see the animals that are affected, but that's about it. However, the amazing women that work in the shelter directly see all kinds of things that I'm sure I couldn't stomach on a day-to-day basis. They do it every day. At first, I couldn't figure out how they did it, some of them for many, many years. Then today, I figured it out.
It took seeing the picture associated with this story to get it. Warning: that link contains an extremely graphic picture of an animal who had its face blown off by a firecracker. It also has the story behind it, so read it if you must. You've been warned.
Since I started working at the shelter, I had felt like others had this X factor that made them satisfied and happy in their jobs and feeling like they were making an impact that I just wasn't getting. It wasn't just the ladies that work in the shelter - it was all of them. Except me. I couldn't identify it, and because of that, I couldn't quite tap into it or relate to anyone that I was working with.
Today, I was able to identify it: Rage. Unadulterated, unending rage. Rage that makes you want to vomit, or cry, but instead, you take it and put it into stopping whatever it is that's causing it. Every single ounce of your energy. It's bubbling there under the surface of every single person that works there, but they don't use it to do bad things. They use it to make an even bigger dent on the terrible things that happen to animals. They use it to do more good than they were before.
I saw that picture and became filled to my very core with the kind of rage that I'm talking about. Now that I know (instead of just suspect) that it was drunken teens doing it for sport, I can't even wrap my head around that kind of cruelty.
I don't believe in the death penalty. I believe that in the end, we are judged by how we treat the least among us, and karma will get the best of us if we do terrible things. If I did believe in the death penalty, I would reserve it for three groups of people, and three groups of people only: Murderers, rapists and animal abusers. The kind of cruelty exhibited on that poor dog is absolutely unspeakable, and I feel like an eye for an eye is not enough. The rage of every individual that has ever loved an animal or been forced to bear witness to the kind of cruelty shown to this animal should be rained down on the individuals who did this. Then they should be locked away and have to suffer the consequences of what they did for as long as they live. They should suffer for the rest of their lives as this dog did for five days before it was mercifully euthanized.
To cause that kind of suffering in another living being is completely unspeakable to me. I'm not sure where I'm going with the rest of this, but I just needed to get this out there into the universe. I need to do some serious meditation and reflection about my feelings in order to begin to reconcile them about this, but for now, this is all I have.
Rest in Peace, Vucko. I'm sure you were an amazing dog, and while I am so sorry that you suffered for so long, I'm glad that you are no longer in pain. I'm so sorry that there are people in this world that would do something like that to you, and I hope that you know that your plight won't be in vain - I'm positive that many, many people will make sure of that. If not many, many people, at least one.
PHEW. Thanks for reading.
So, readers, as you know, I work in an animal shelter. I do not do the everyday things, like cleaning cages and taking in (or adopting out) animals - I'm the development director, and as such, I don't see many horrifying things. I know that they happen, but by and large, where I live, there are not as many terrible things that happen to animals - there are lots of resources for a fairly small area, and the impact of my organization is big and far-reaching. We're some of the lucky ones. I'm fairly closed off from the bad things that do happen - I hear about them, and sometimes see the animals that are affected, but that's about it. However, the amazing women that work in the shelter directly see all kinds of things that I'm sure I couldn't stomach on a day-to-day basis. They do it every day. At first, I couldn't figure out how they did it, some of them for many, many years. Then today, I figured it out.
It took seeing the picture associated with this story to get it. Warning: that link contains an extremely graphic picture of an animal who had its face blown off by a firecracker. It also has the story behind it, so read it if you must. You've been warned.
Since I started working at the shelter, I had felt like others had this X factor that made them satisfied and happy in their jobs and feeling like they were making an impact that I just wasn't getting. It wasn't just the ladies that work in the shelter - it was all of them. Except me. I couldn't identify it, and because of that, I couldn't quite tap into it or relate to anyone that I was working with.
Today, I was able to identify it: Rage. Unadulterated, unending rage. Rage that makes you want to vomit, or cry, but instead, you take it and put it into stopping whatever it is that's causing it. Every single ounce of your energy. It's bubbling there under the surface of every single person that works there, but they don't use it to do bad things. They use it to make an even bigger dent on the terrible things that happen to animals. They use it to do more good than they were before.
I saw that picture and became filled to my very core with the kind of rage that I'm talking about. Now that I know (instead of just suspect) that it was drunken teens doing it for sport, I can't even wrap my head around that kind of cruelty.
I don't believe in the death penalty. I believe that in the end, we are judged by how we treat the least among us, and karma will get the best of us if we do terrible things. If I did believe in the death penalty, I would reserve it for three groups of people, and three groups of people only: Murderers, rapists and animal abusers. The kind of cruelty exhibited on that poor dog is absolutely unspeakable, and I feel like an eye for an eye is not enough. The rage of every individual that has ever loved an animal or been forced to bear witness to the kind of cruelty shown to this animal should be rained down on the individuals who did this. Then they should be locked away and have to suffer the consequences of what they did for as long as they live. They should suffer for the rest of their lives as this dog did for five days before it was mercifully euthanized.
To cause that kind of suffering in another living being is completely unspeakable to me. I'm not sure where I'm going with the rest of this, but I just needed to get this out there into the universe. I need to do some serious meditation and reflection about my feelings in order to begin to reconcile them about this, but for now, this is all I have.
Rest in Peace, Vucko. I'm sure you were an amazing dog, and while I am so sorry that you suffered for so long, I'm glad that you are no longer in pain. I'm so sorry that there are people in this world that would do something like that to you, and I hope that you know that your plight won't be in vain - I'm positive that many, many people will make sure of that. If not many, many people, at least one.
PHEW. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Dogs vs. Puppies
I work at an animal shelter. As such, while I do not work directly with animals, I do get to hear stories. Something that is all too common (and makes me sick to think about) is the idea of people returning their pet once it gets to not be a baby animal anymore. Puppies and kittens are the cutest things ever, and some people just don't want to take care of a grown cat or dog.
I was never concerned that I would be like these people, but I always had a lingering concern that once Miles was full-grown, having a dog would lose its luster. I feel a little ashamed admitting that, but there it is. But then a funny thing happened. As our bond developed and our relationship started to mature, while his puppy hijinks were hilarious to be sure, the things he does now are WAY funnier, and I have such an appreciation of where he is developmentally. He still surprises me almost every day with how brilliant of a dog he truly is, and I have to say that I think I was worried that the learning and surprise would go away as he got older. It doesn't go away, it just changes shape, is what I've learned. It's way more exciting when he learns a new thing, because we're not just teaching him sit and high five anymore. I've started working on "roll over" and my favorite? "Where's the kitty?" It usually results in this:
Yup, he's sitting on the back of the couch, looking for kitties. I also went "Miles! Go get Bern!" the other day and he found Bernie and licked his bum for a little while. Bernie was not impressed, but Miles understood! So I was really excited. His favorite spot in the whole apartment has become the back of that couch, so I have started to call him my dogcat.
So, while reminiscing on hilarious puppy pictures every once in a while puts a smile on my face, things like that above picture do it more, because we're finally starting to understand each other. He makes me laugh literally every single day. For instance, today I laughed at him because the times where I have brought him outside, he stuck his nose directly in the snow and just loves digging around in it. He is a hardcore snow lover, and it's so fun to bring him outside in it because he just is so excited to be there.
I think I'm just sentimental because Miles is about to turn one, on January 31, to be exact. I still can't believe that we've had him for almost 10 months, and he's not only alive, but he's also an awesome, awesome dog. He's such a good boy.
I was never concerned that I would be like these people, but I always had a lingering concern that once Miles was full-grown, having a dog would lose its luster. I feel a little ashamed admitting that, but there it is. But then a funny thing happened. As our bond developed and our relationship started to mature, while his puppy hijinks were hilarious to be sure, the things he does now are WAY funnier, and I have such an appreciation of where he is developmentally. He still surprises me almost every day with how brilliant of a dog he truly is, and I have to say that I think I was worried that the learning and surprise would go away as he got older. It doesn't go away, it just changes shape, is what I've learned. It's way more exciting when he learns a new thing, because we're not just teaching him sit and high five anymore. I've started working on "roll over" and my favorite? "Where's the kitty?" It usually results in this:
Yup, he's sitting on the back of the couch, looking for kitties. I also went "Miles! Go get Bern!" the other day and he found Bernie and licked his bum for a little while. Bernie was not impressed, but Miles understood! So I was really excited. His favorite spot in the whole apartment has become the back of that couch, so I have started to call him my dogcat.
So, while reminiscing on hilarious puppy pictures every once in a while puts a smile on my face, things like that above picture do it more, because we're finally starting to understand each other. He makes me laugh literally every single day. For instance, today I laughed at him because the times where I have brought him outside, he stuck his nose directly in the snow and just loves digging around in it. He is a hardcore snow lover, and it's so fun to bring him outside in it because he just is so excited to be there.
I think I'm just sentimental because Miles is about to turn one, on January 31, to be exact. I still can't believe that we've had him for almost 10 months, and he's not only alive, but he's also an awesome, awesome dog. He's such a good boy.
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