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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Recent Happenings and A Post about the Human-Canine Bond

So! It's been a while. Recent happenings:

1. I got my hair cut. A lot. Three times, actually, before I finally felt like it was right. That's never happened before. My hair now looks like this:

2. Miles has hit the 60-pound mark. He will also be eleven months old at the end of the month, and you know what that means: BIRTHDAY PARTYYYY!

3. Miles destroyed every fitted sheet that we own at some point of the past two months. You see, what we started doing was leaving him out of his crate but double-baby-gating the door so that he can't jump over (that's one thing that the cats were willing to teach him - how to jump over a baby gate - so we had to make alternative arrangements), and taking everything that was potentially dangerous out of the bedroom. So, that made for a fitted sheet, and the curtains (and he ruined the curtain rod on the first day of this), and my side table. He'll learn, and it was my fault as well, because I didn't give him anything to occupy his time, so he was all "HEY! A TOY! I'M GOING TO DESTROY IT!"

4. We put up our Christmas tree in an unwittingly smart way - tree first for one week (which we couldn't really help - Rob put up the tree and it was a week before I had time to help put all of the fixings on), then decorations. He only plays with the tree skirt from time to time, and the cats are more of a danger to the tree than he is. It hasn't even fallen down once this year, which is an enormous victory.

5. I think that the cats are going through the "Just this one last push of meanness to the dog before we finally accept that he's going to be around, likely for the rest of our lives" stage. They have been so mean to Miles the past few days that it's not even funny. He is now legitimately scared of them, and I feel terrible about that.

6. I took a long hiatus from knitting - about a month. It was necessary, I think, and the project that got me back into it, and the subject of today's blog? This one:



My doggy day care woman, who I have come to really enjoy being around, had an akita. It's a very long-haired breed of dog, and when she brushed him, she saved his hair. When he died, it was really, really hard on her. People just get these bonds with their animals, and I completely get it. So, with all of this dog hair, her husband took it to a company called Hair of the Dog, and had it wound into yarn for their anniversary. Totally sweet, right? She asked me to knit her a scarf out of it. It still smelled like him and everything. I brought it to her and she was occupied, so her daughter took it. I was able to catch up with her the next day, and she was getting emotional just talking to me about how happy she was with it. I love that the things that I'm capable of doing have the ability to comfort someone just when they need it. At that moment, I realized that that's what the act of knitting was doing for me - giving me comfort exactly when I needed it. I don't do it as much as I used to, but when I need to work something out or just sit quietly but still want to be occupied, that's what I do.

Miles serves much of the same purpose for me - it's been a tough few weeks for me, emotionally. The holidays always are. On my hardest days, Miles has been there with his adorable puppy smile, just happy to be around. Every once in a while, I look at him and think "MAN, are we lucky to have this little man in our lives." No matter how bratty he can be sometimes, it always comes back to that.



Miles is such a good boy. :)

Running with your dog and what to do when it's raining

I've heard numerous things about running with dogs - namely:

1. Never, ever run while your dog is still growing.

2. Wait until the dog is at least a year old.

3. Wait until the dog is at least two years old.

4. Never run on pavement.

5. Always run off leash.

I have come to realize that there are as many opinions on this subject as there are breeds of dog. Also, a lot of the suggestions that I've read are downright impractical. Off-leash? Right. When my dog sprouts wings and learns to fly is the day he will be taken off leash.

We have decided to use the one-year rule, mostly because Miles has pretty much stopped growing. He'll get wider, to be sure, but his paws now fit his legs. I'm not that worried about it. I read this article and found that it made the most sense. There are two main reasons not to run with a dog before they're full-grown:

1. Their growth plates haven't closed. If you run with them for long periods of time on things like pavement, it will cause irreparable damage to their joints, which has obvious implications.

2. Their heart could become enlarged from being worked too hard while it was still growing.

Both of these things make sense, and now that Miles is a ripe 9 months old, I've really started thinking about just jogging with him a little bit. So, for the past two days, I've jogged -very- short distances with him. Yesterday I tried it with the collar - no dice. He pulls way too hard, because he thinks I'm chasing him and is trying to get away. Not only is that teaching him to pull, it's also teaching him that he should run away from me. No thanks on either count. Today, I tried it with the easy walk and had him run next to me (and when I say "run", i mean quick trot. This dog has large legs.). It really, really worked. So, Miles will start training with me and it will be awesome. Being that I'm still getting over the Ebola of The Century, my lungs still cannot support running long distances, which is perfect, because Miles' can't run quickly yet, either.

What else did I want to talk about? Oh, right. What to do when it's raining, like it has been for approximately 4,000 days.

So, the past few days, I have not wanted to take Miles outside.

"It's raining."

"He hates the rain."

"I hate the rain."

"It's raining. I don't want to go anywhere."

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I woke up feeling awesome this morning (by comparison, I had barely been able to get out of bed for the past two weeks, I was feeling so gross) and went to the chiropractor, which made me feel even MORE awesome. So, it was decided - no matter what it was doing outside, Miles and I were going for a walk. He needed exercise (so did I, for that matter) and I just wanted to get him outside.

We walked/jogged for approximately two miles, and it was awesome. Because of the rain, he was a bundle of energy, even when we got home (where he usually flops on the floor and sleeps for hours).

What this taught me is that dogs need exercise, regardless of what it's doing outside. I mean, really - what are we going to do when winter comes? Not take him out to exercise? Just leave him inside all day long every day? That's really unfair to him and will make him both bored and destructive, as well as make him really, really unhealthy. So, as winter marches closer, that is the pledge I'm making to our dog: to exercise him no matter what the weather. Plus, the close second on my List of Favorite Things to Do is walking Miles - it gives us bonding time, and lets me praise him all the time, which he so loves and deserves, because he's such a good boy.