Puppy Class - who knew it would be a test in patience?

Oh, Miles.

Miles, Miles, Miles.

The first puppy class last week went GREAT. He was an example for lots of good behavior (like "wait", all of the basic commands and such). We got GREAT feedback from the trainer, saying that he needs to work on "shush" the most, so we've really been working with him on that. It always takes consistent work, which I have been really, really trying to do.

Today's was a different story. He was a total turd the whole time - we're talking jumping all over the place, barking more than ever, and generally making it look like we're heathens who never work with him on anything, ever. But, that's to be expected, I suppose - we were working on polite leash walking. What a perfect day to cover this topic, also, because he nearly pulled my arm off getting into class, and I am certain that I've been seconds away from broken fingers at numerous points this week because the leash was wrapped around them when he suddenly decided he wanted to pull as hard as he could.

He's definitely in his adolescent phase at this point - testing boundaries, to see juuuuust how much he'll be able to get away with. I know that's what this is all about, and I'm trying to be patient, but I had a very hard time with the patience thing this morning. But, what made me feel better was that he wasn't the only one like that - there was another dog there who was being just as bratty. Must be a full moon or something.

I also know that a few things will or have happened in the month of June:

1. We moved. He was having trouble adjusting - he's basically been sleeping all week. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it has taken him almost a full week to adjust. He's been doing pretty well with it, though, considering that it was a pretty big change in space and such.

2. As of Tuesday, he will officially be enjoying the final week with his nuts. That's right, we're getting him neutered on the 28th. This will be good on so many levels, not the least of which is excited peeing. But I also think he'll be a lot easier to teach because he'll be a little more mellow.

So, once we get past those things, it will be smooth sailing from puppyhood to doghood.

Also, I realize that by and large, puppies run the full gamut of the spectrum as far as difficulty raising them is concerned, and if him being bratty once in a while is our biggest problem, then we're doing GREAT. He really is such a good boy. :)

It's time for Puh-Puh-Puh Puppy Class!

Miles is now past the 16-week-let's-expose-him-to-everything-humanly-possible window of time. He's not nervous around the cats anymore (well, sometimes), he's not nervous around people at all, nor is he nervous around other dogs. Those were really the big three things that we wanted to instill in him - that he needn't be afraid, because they're not harmful to him, in most cases...and if they are, we're there to protect him.

Lessons all learned. Check. :) I officially feel like a good puppy parent.

Except when it comes to getting him to obey me under most, if not any, circumstances.

Right.

So, it may come as no shock to any of you that Rob is the alpha of our pack, according to Miles. As such, Miles worships the ground he walks on, and everything that Rob commands, he does, right then and there. Rob can even take him outside OFF LEASH (at four months old, I KNOW! Unheard of!) and he obeys about 90% of the time.

Miles does none of those things for me.

He was even chasing Bernie this morning, and I tried to command him to come, and he wouldn't. Bernie was not appreciative.

Anywho, the woman that runs Doggy Day Care is also a dog trainer. Just from the way the dogs obey her (she can get Miles to sit at the door WHEN THERE ARE OTHER PUPPIES WAITING FOR HIM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT), she's highly qualified. So, it stands to reason that she's going to be an excellent puppy class teacher. She said that because of Miles' breed and how focused pit bulls can be to their goal (whatever it is), it's always good to bring them to puppy class, where there are distractions and he has to listen and can't touch or play with any other puppy. This is good because this is the arena in which Miles needs the most work. The thing that hooked me on this class was the story that she told me:

There was a woman who was going to start coming to doggy day care right around the same time Miles was. They were about the same age, and she was also going to start him on puppy class pretty soon after she started doggy day care. The dog ran out of the house and got hit by a car because there was a distraction and he wasn't listening, and he died. At that moment, I realized that I would be -totally- devastated if something like that happened to Miles, and as his owner, it's up to us to protect him from things like that. We already do a pretty good job, but we can do more. So, I'm really happy that we're doing this class.

She also all but insisted that I be the one to take him, as he listens to Rob, so it'd just be silly to have him there.

So, first class is tomorrow at 9am, and I can't wait to see how Miles does. He's such a good boy.

It's HOT!

Yes, Friends - first blog back in a month (and a crazy, crazy month it's been), and today we're going to talk about doggies and why they get so tired when it's hot outside.

Yesterday, Rob took Miles for a walk. During this walk, Miles got so tired that he would literally try to find a patch of shady grass and lay down. Apparently, he did this a couple of times. We took him swimming (he's afraid of the water) and when we got home, he slept.

And slept.

And slept.

Then he slept through the night, and had to be woken up this morning. When we went to doggy day care, he slept on the way. He was crazy and energetic when we got there (as he always is - he LOVES doggy day care) and when Rob came to pick him up, he was T-I-R-E-D. He's been in this position pretty much the entire night:

This got me thinking a lot about heatstroke, and ways that we'll be able to keep him cool during the summer, as I think it will be a challenge on the really hot days like the past few have been. So, here goes:

1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! 'Nuff said.

2. If at all possible, leave a kiddie pool filled with cool water outside for the dog to play in. This will have the dual benefit of being able to still play outside and to keep cool at the same time.

3. If it is excessively hot, keep the dog inside!

4. Did you know that they made cooling vests and collars for dogs that you can fill up with cool water and ice? I didn't! They're right here.

5. Watch out for signs of heat stroke. They are the following:

Excessive panting or difficulty breathing
Increased heart and respiratory rate
Drooling
Mild Weakness
Collapsing

6. Go places with lots of shade on the hot days.

7. Keep walks to a minimum (or at the very least, shorten them on the really hot days). Dogs get much more tired in the summer months, and shortening their walks not only puts less of a strain in the heat, but also minimizes the danger of getting stuck somewhere because the dog is too tired and hot to walk back, which would exponentially increase the risk of heat stroke.

The reasons to take these precautions are because your dog can't. Dogs don't sweat. They regulate their body temperature by panting. It is also much harder for a dog to regulate their body temperature than it is for a human, so they must work harder to make it so. Most of all, we'll keep Miles safe by exercising a little common sense and listen when he tries to tell us that it's just too damn hot to be outside. :)

There he goes, pressing his whole body into the cool linoleum like Rob after a party. What a good boy.

Next up? The adventures of moving with three animals (with the subtitle "Why our soon to be former landlady is a total and complete nutjob"), which is happening in t-minus eleven days. I can't WAIT. :)

The Community of Pet Owners

Since Miles joined the family, there is one thing that constantly surprises me. It’s nothing he does. Miles could stand up and give a perfectly elocuted lecture on German expressionism and I would likely just shrug and say, ‘hmm, I just though that guy’s vision was blurry.” No, it’s the other dog owners we meet that surprise me. A lot of the people we know well are aware that we have a puppy, and some will offer a little unsolicited advice or ask how things are going, which is great; a little dog talk is enough to improve any conversation. Complete strangers, though, are another story.

Here's Miles at the Concord Dog Park nuzzling up to a friend he made 

that day

Every weekend we’ve had Miles out and about to keep him as socialized as possible. He’s been walking the streets of Portsmouth, going to puppy play groups, hanging out at college campuses, hitting up huge street markets and going to dog parks. The other dog owners we meet are just amazing. Not only are they the friendliest people toward Miles, they are also the friendliest people toward us. We always strike up a conversation with these other dog lovers we’ve never met but love to talk about our shared experiences. We talk about how old he is, how training is going, the funny thing their dog did last week, rescues vs. pets from breeders, purebreds vs. the muts, and plenty more.

Ryan, and a handful of other owners at the dog park

This isn’t really surprising. If we see someone else with a dog, we instantly know that we have something in common, and therefore something to discuss. When we’re walking Miles, the same thing happens in other dog owners and soon enough we’re chatting away. No one can really deny how having a dog improves the human and animal connection, but who knew that having a pet could improve the human and human connection?

It’s remarkable how many times one person can walk by another person on the street and exchange little more than a nod or fleeting glance. Throw a tail-wagging puppy into the mix and the two people are going on like old friends discovering each other again. Usually our conversations run fairly short, but every once in a while we really get into it with someone where the dialogue just keeps going on to newer, previously unknown topics. Rob’s first run-in with this came at the Healthy Living fair a few weeks ago, but yesterday we took Miles to the Concord dog park where we got to talking with people for nearly two hours straight.

Everybody gets along when our four-legged friends are around

We could go on and on about the benefits of socializing a dog (particularly a puppy), but it’s becoming clear that the benefits extend well beyond the puppy’s life. Pets create an overwhelming community of like-minded support for all their human companions. People love to whip out their cameras or phones to show others the pictures of their pets (this happened with us and the cats for years), but more than that they love to share their joy of raising a pet with others who can return that joy. Pets provide a superb opportunity to bring people together in any relationship, from a first encounter to marriage. They create the enormous community—across all differences—of people who love animals. Isn’t it great that Miles can do that? He’s such a good boy.

Great article and Miles' first vet appointment

So, Miles has had lots of firsts in the past couple of weeks. Last Thursday was his first veterinary appointment.

We take all of our animals to Plymouth Animal Hospital, for a couple of reasons:

1. I am positive that they are the only vet in the northeast, possibly the country that will tolerate Ella, and
2. They're simply awesome. They take GREAT care of animals, and they tolerate my neuroses when it comes to the health of my animals.

No, I am not writing a blog post about Miles' first vet appointment. That would be boring.

What I am going to talk about is the fact that when they created Miles' file, I asked them to not put that he had pitbull in him. The reason for this is that if they put that Miles has pit bull in him, then there will be a whole host of landlords who will not rent to us. Our renter's insurance premiums would also likely go up, should we ever decide to own a home, and that's just ridiculous to me, as Miles is not a vicious dog, nor will he ever be if we have anything to say about it.

I try to be very open about the fact that Miles has pit bull in him. He LOOKS like a pit bull, but as we have gone over in the past, lots of people can't even identify them. Truth be told, the other day I found out that in fact his mom was a purebred lab, and the dad was the mix of pit, boxer and chow. So, he's actually much less pit than we thought he would be. REGARDLESS, that shouldn't even matter.

The reason for this today is that the subject of pit bulls came up at Easter dinner, and one of my family members said that pitbulls are bred to be killers.

It was at that precise moment that I pointed out that in fact Miles has quite a bit of pit bull in him, and they looked at me and said that it didn't matter because he is a mix. That actually totally invalidates their argument, because if pit bulls are trained to be killers, and my dog has pit bull in him, then it stands to reason that one day he is going to kill something or someone. Right. This is to say nothing of the fact that there is a big difference between breeding and training. Can you train a dog to be a killer? Yes. In fact, one can train ANY dog to be a killer. Just abuse it and make it fight all the time, and it WILL kill something eventually. Are dogs bred to be killers? Not likely.

Anywho, the other reason that this is coming up now (again) is because I came across an article today that I found to articulate my feelings better than anything I have read to date on the subject of pit bulls. It's by a woman named Gail Fisher, who happens to be a friend of my organization also. We are having a major fundraiser in about three weeks and she's going to be the speaker. She's the owner of All Dogs Gym and Inn in Manchester, and not only does she train dogs, she trains people to train and groom dogs.

So, really - does this dog look like a killer to you? :) (please also keep in mind that he's afraid of cats, which has in turn, I'm pretty sure, made him afraid of anything smaller than he is.)

Puh Puh Puh Puppy Pictures!!!

A couple of weeks ago, Miles had a weekend packed with socialization, including a Healthy Living fair with hundreds of people and animals in Concord, and some time in a puppy play group in Portland. The benefits of socialization have been shared below, but here are some of the pictures from that day:

Here is Miles doing the butt sniff test to a couple of 2-week old lambs at the Healthy Living Fair. Unfortunately, he wouldn't sit still long enough for pictures with the goats, bull, chickens, cow and big bunch of dogs. There were tons of animals there, but he was the star.

Random shot from the puppy play group at a store wholly devoted to dogs in Portland, ME.

"You guys ready? I'm coming in."

"Hey, quit ganging up on me."

All puppy golden retrievers are called 'Brandon' according to Rob (to honor Punky Brewster's dog).

Pig...err...puppy pile. That's Miles in the foreground with the red collar, but check out that guy in the upper right...his name is Thor and he and Miles could be twins.

"Get the big guy!" (It was that shepard's last day at the play group)

Here's Miles with some older boys at a local Portland dog park.

Here's Miles with his cousin Yogi and Yogi's brother, Pedro. They taught him to get knocked down and roll around in the dirt.

Miles has a thing for all things recyclable...here he is with his favorite toy of the day, an empty water jug.

And nap time...note how the little one is still awake; I thought puppies were supposed to sleep a lot.

Mmmmmm...dog face.

That's it for now. We keep getting more and more pictures of Miles, so we'll keep them coming with more stories of him being a good boy.

A cautionary tale about Pig's Ears/Rawhides/etc., plus an alternative

Back when we first got Miles (I believe I mentioned it in one of my first blog posts), I tried giving him a pig's ear. I actually gave him two, and then I gave him a cow's ear. I made two mistakes in doing this:

1. I didn't do my research on things like pig's ears and rawhides, and
2. I gave them to him unsupervised.

I will say that I have since learned, and NEVER give him anything unsupervised that can break apart, and I also no longer give him pig's ears, cow ears, rawhides (dried cow skin) or cow hooves (I had one left but threw it away when I learned the danger of them). The dangers are as follows (source found here):

1. They are a big choking hazard.
2. They are a big intestinal blockage hazard.
3. They are processed with products that are harmful to dogs, such as lime.
4. When used in adult dogs, they can damage their teeth.

Alas, once I found out the danger of all of these things, I had to find a suitable alternative. He chews pretty much constantly - on shoes, his food/water bowls, my knitting, his bandana (his current favorite), the pedals to the stationary bike, his leash, the ottoman, the underside of the bed, his countless chew toys (kong included)....need I go on? But, he's a teething puppy, so we try not to be too hard on him, all the while trying to teach him "LEAVE IT!". It's starting to work, but it doesn't alleviate his need to chew.





Enter the Bully Stick.

It's kind of gross - a dried bull p-e-n-i-s, but he LOVES it. Seriously, in the above picture, he had been chewing on it for over an hour. He chews it so much that it makes him tired! It doesn't break off into little pieces, and it gives him something to work on that he enjoys. He has already lost three baby teeth, so he's going to be teething on the bigger ones sooner than later. This seems to be perfect for him!

Also, he had his first vet appointment yesterday. She said that he is in perfect health, gave him two shots, and gave me the rundown of what his growth is going to look like. He's currently 20.4 pounds (yes, he has absolutely more than doubled in size since we brought him home), and he's just great. The vet thinks so too. :)

As far as the progression with the cats is concerned, it's coming along. They're now curious while he's sleeping. A neat thing has happened though - Ella is filling out a little bit and her coat is healthier than I've ever seen it. Pretty much, I feel like she's at peak health right now. She's still full of piss and vinegar, make no mistake, but she's physically healthier than she's ever been. Bernie has lost a little weight, but that may just be my imagination from carrying a dog around and then picking him up...he feels much, much lighter than he used to. :) His coat is also very, very healthy, and he's generally also in very good health. I was really worried about the stress that it would cause them, but they seem to be faring just fine. PHEW!

Anywho, here's another cute picture of him, probably one of my favorites. :)