Good Friday: The Good Stuff

If you've never heard the song The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney or don't like country music, that's okay because the message is universal: appreciate the good stuff in life. Today is Good Friday so I want to just take a few minutes to think about some of the good stuff about my furbabies. Regardless of what day it is, it’s always good to remind yourself to be grateful for the good stuff you have. Good Friday seems like a perfect day to highlight my little zoo’s good qualities.

Piper will always hold the title of being my first furbaby. She’s a very pretty cat and although I may be biased, it seems to be a general consensus. Her blue eyes, unique coat and bob tail make her look the complete part of the princess she knows she is. Piper is also very feisty and while this may be a turn off to some, I love that she holds her own against all the boys in the house. I giggle every time she lets them know they are doing something wrong and never backs down. I also find it so sweet that although she’s s tough girl, she has a soft spot for Chris and always wants his attention.

Ares is my goofy little guy. Sometimes I just look at him and laugh. He make the silliest faces and does the funniest things. And if you add him snorting into the mix, it’s too hilarious not to at least smile. I also love Ares’s confidence. It can be a hindrance with training but I admire that he just thinks he’s awesome all the time. My dad always says if you don’t know where you’re going, just walk around like you own the place and you’ll fit right in. Ares is always walking around like he owns the place anywhere we go and I have to give him props for being so bold. My AreBear can also be very cuddly when he’s in the mood and I just have to kiss his nose when he looks at me with those big bug eyes, snorts and licks my face.

Chaos is such a sweetheart. He’s just a big old softy always wanting to be petted, cuddled, kissed and hugged. There is a sensitivity he has for others’ feelings that I didn’t know a dog could understand. When he’s being playful he rolls around on his back and flails his legs around and it resembles what I would call “air swimming”. When he is sad or he feels upset because someone else is upset he will melt your heart with his mournful eyes that seem to look right into your soul. Our resident pittie is also a teacher’s pet so it makes training much easier!

Last but certainly not least is Little O the wild man. He is always running around and jumping from surface to surface, although not as gracefully as you might think a cat would. Curiosity is definitely one of the traditional cat traits that Little O has so he’s always getting himself shut in cabinets or closets because ran in to investigate without anyone seeing him. I was making dinner one night and all of a sudden the cabinet door popped open and out came my little orange fuzzball. His antics are always keeping us entertained but he is also very friendly and sweet. We joke that he’s our Walmart greeter because he greets people whenever they come over. And of course my favorite is when he curls up in the crook of my neck to snuggle.

What's the good stuff about your furbabies? I hope there is a lot of good stuff you can be appreciative of in your life. I wish you all a very Good Friday!

Pit-i-ful Things: My Pit Bull Shaped Shadow

We joke around that when I’m home I have always have a Pit Bull shaped shadow following me around. Ares is always happy to see me but then he’s off to play with Little O or his toys or whatever other Ares business he needs to attend to. He only follows me when he knows it’s time to eat or it’s time to go somewhere. But Chaos is like a suction cup on my side.

He waits outside the bathroom door.

Stands guard while I get ready for work.

Lays on top of me if he’s invited to.

Or lays at my feet if he’s not.

He crunches himself into my lap if I’m on the floor.

Gladly shares any of his beds with me.

Hangs out just outside the kitchen if I’m cooking.

And is immediately up and following me room to room if I’m walking around.

Although we joke about it and it seems very sweet, I have to be careful to not let him be too dependent on me. Most people that know Chaos or have met him before would not label him as shy. He’s very friendly and excited around new friends but he’s almost always with me, Chris or Ares. If you take all of us away and throw him into a new situation, he’s not all the comfortable at first and can be timid. We found this out the first time he went to his new daycare.

 

The daycare/boarding facility we’ve come to love has a very specific way of grouping dogs for playtime. Ares and Chaos don’t fit into the same group so they were separated and Chaos’s lack of confidence on his own came through. He just got overwhelmed and unsure at first but slowly came around to being out and about on his own. The handlers gave me a few tips to help boost his confidence by doing things at home but at first I was hesitant.

 

Chaos has been a mama’s boy since he was young and I let that role become defined. It was hard to hear someone tell me to stop letting him cuddle on my lap or lay at my feet all the time and tell him not to follow me around. I had thought I was making him happy but really I was allowing some of his self-confidence to dissipate because he was so glued to me. So once I understood that taking my shadow away was only temporary and would only benefit him in the long run, I was on board.

 

They said it would be more difficult for me than for him, but I think it was just as hard for both of us. The first couple weeks he would just look at me with these horribly sad eyes and cry like he lost his best friend when I forced space between us. This of course made me feel terrible and all but broke my heart.

 

But then I could actually see the turning point when he realized he could go lay on his bed a few feet away from me and he would be just fine. He could wait for me in another room and chew his toys and he would be just fine. If I was in the bathroom taking a shower he could play with Ares instead of laying outside the door and he would be just fine.

 

So now Chaos is allowed to be my Pit Bull shaped shadow again, but only as long as he understands he will be just fine if he’s not. He’s still not allowed to snuggle on the couch unless he is invited or lay in my lap on the floor unless I give the okay. He can follow me around as long as he isn’t getting in my way and if he is, he has to listen when I tell him to go to his place. Our bond hasn’t been broken in the slightest, and if anything, it’s only gotten stronger. Now Chaos can be my Pit Bull shaped shadow and a confident boy on his own.

 

 

Ares the Genetic Bomb: Luxating Patella

It was the beginning of summer last year and we were planning to take the dogs to a park with a little lake. Chaos had proven he could swim pretty well but Ares had never been in the water. We figured we better be safe and get him a life jacket, so off to the pet store we went to pick one up.

We walked into the store and headed toward the aisle we were looking for and all of a sudden Ares let out a blood curdling yelp that stopped us in our tracks. I knelt down to him and immediately saw that his hind leg looked weird and he wasn’t putting any weight on it. Naturally I panicked and picked him up thinking something was horribly wrong. The store we were in had an onsite vet clinic so we rushed over and asked if we could be seen. Luckily there was a doctor available so we brought Ares in and set him down and magically he started walking normally. So at that point I was thinking maybe I was going insane.

 

The vet felt around his leg and told us that most likely I was not insane and Ares had a luxating patella. What the heck is that? Yea, that’s what I said. It just means that his knee cap popped out of its socket. Cringe. Well to us humans it sounds a lot worse than it is.

 

Many small dogs, including Boston Terriers, are prone to this happening. Essentially the grove that the knee cap sit in is too shallow which allows for the knee caps to slide out of place if the dog moves just the wrong way. Ares naturally squealed when this happened because it doesn’t feel good, but the pain quickly subsides and the dog is actually able to pop the knee cap back into place on his own.

 

The vet suggested x-rays and anti-inflammatories because the joint most likely swelled from the trauma, increasing chances of the patella luxating again.  We don’t cut corners when it comes to the health of our dogs but as the vet was giving us the prices I realized two things. One, that the prices were outrageous compared to our regular vet (nearly double), and two, he was referring to the wrong leg! So we declined on both and decided to just take Ares home to rest and talk it over with our regular vet.

But rest is generally not in Ares’s vocabulary too often. He sleeps at night and he does take naps if we are home but they are short and always on his terms. So expecting to get him to rest on a nice Saturday afternoon is like trying to nail Jello to a tree; pretty much impossible. Of course he had to start romping around with Chaos and then that horrible squeal sounded through the house again. He limped for a minute or so and then just started walking normally again like it never happened. Unfortunately it did happen again the next day so we took him to our regular vet.

 

After examining Ares thoroughly and having us explain what was happening, she concurred that it was luxating patella. But she said x-rays were not necessary and recommended a few anti-inflammatories for a few days to get the swelling down so it would not keep happening. But if it did continue to happen we would have to talk surgery.

Well, Ares being Ares, it did happen a few more times. Our vet was concerned because he was so young and generally luxating patella is something that happens more frequently in older dogs as the ligaments stretch and become looser and less able to hold everything in place. Of course some dogs are just born with a very swallow groove for the knee cap and therefore genetically predisposed to luxating patella. And it could very well be the case with Ares. She sent us home with a few more anti-inflammatories and our fingers crossed that it just needed a little more time to heal from the initial injury.

 

Surprisingly, no more luxating patella after about a month from the first time it happened. Ares hasn’t slowed down one bit but at least he’s not getting hurt anymore. It’s nice to be able to check one thing off the worry list but Ares is our little genetic bomb so you know this isn’t the last you’ll hear of his medical issues.

Training Diaries: Focus

Focus the mind and the body will follow. That seems like a pretty simple statement but it’s very powerful. This is the premise of good dog training.

Dogs are intelligent animals and have been domesticated for thousands of years. They work well with humans and are able to learn our ways of communication if we take the time to teach them. But teaching can be frustrating, especially when you are dealing with a different species than yourself.

You can’t reason with a dog. They don’t speak with words or explain things. There are no shades of grey. Everything is black and white in the dog world. So in order to have our dogs learn our human ways of communication with words and hand signals, we have to get them to understand what it is we are actually asking. And for that, we need focus.

When trying to teach a dog something new I think we tend to put too much emphasis on the body, myself including. I have seen people trying to teach their puppy to sit by physically pushing their butt to the ground and forcing the sitting position. Sure, this may eventually work, but it’s really not an effective method of training. We want to ask the brain to sit, not the body.

How do we train the brain? If you’ve taken a dog to basic obedience you’ve probably learned some different tricks for training your dog standard commands like sit, down and stay. When you just use words and hand signals you are training the brain and establishing yourself as the pack leader. But whether it’s been your own dog or just someone else’s you have observed, it’s obvious it’s not always easy to get the dog to pay attention enough to do the command. It’s not that they are being blatantly disobedient, it’s just that there are so many other scents, sights and sounds to pay attention to, they aren’t worried about a faint voice in the background saying “sit”.

If you are a parent or you’ve been an authority figure to someone, you’ve probably said “look at me” before asking an important question or discussing something. You do this because you know if your kid is watching TV or running in circles, he might hear you, but  the words just probably aren’t going to sink it. This same principle applies with dogs. If you want Sparky to do something, you need him to pay attention to you first.

Teaching the “focus” command is very simple but incredibly helpful for a variety of situations. If your dog understands to block out everything else and only pay attention to you when you give this command, her mind is yours for whatever you need to say next. Maybe you are teaching a new skill in your backyard and your dog is too busy smelling dandelions to give you the time of day. Or your dog believes every person walking down the street should be his friend so he tries to go up and introduce himself. Or you’re the person essentially being walked by your dog through the pet store because she’s just so excited about being there. In any of these situations or countless others I’m sure you’re thinking of, being able to get your dog’s attention quickly is important.

Ares and Chaos are of the school of thought that every person we encounter on our walk is a long last friend or dying to meet them. We want them to know that walks are not for socializing, we give them plenty of other time for that. Even though they’ve been taught this rule, many times their manners fly out the window when we pass by a giggling child, someone in brightly colored clothes or a runner while out walking. Instead of waiting for this to happen and the inevitable embarrassment from trying to reign back in my bouncing boys, it’s much better to be proactive in my approach.

When I see someone coming I do not change my grip on the leash or my pace, I’m just aware. As we get closer and are ready to either pass by someone going the opposite direction or pass in front of someone going a slower pace, I ask my boys to focus. When they hear that word they know to look at me immediately. Once I have their attention I can then just direct them around the person or people and continue on our way.

As with all the other training subjects I’ve talked about and will talk about, my dogs aren’t perfectly trained to focus. We do work extra hard with this one because it’s so important for us, but my dogs are just like other dogs and they get distracted or don’t always listen and obey. I will give them credit that 9 times out of 10 they are going to stop what they are doing and look when we say “focus” but sometimes those dandelions are just too much fun. Training never ends so it’s just something we keep reminding them of.

Step 1: Get Your Dog to Look You in the Eyes

-          Take a treat and hold it at eye level. Your dog with naturally look there because he’s looking at the treat, but that’s okay.

Step 2: Understanding the Concept

-          At first, give your dog treats every time she makes eye contact. It doesn’t matter what her body is doing as long as she is looking at your face.

Step 3: Add the Command

-          Start saying “focus” when your dog looks at you and then give him treats. You can still use the treat at eye level to help him look at your face.

Step 4: Demonstrate the Command

-          Now that your dog understands looking in your eyes and giving you his attention = “focus”, you can ask him to do it.

-          Say “focus” and if your dog looks at you, give him treats and praise.

-          Start using a hand signal instead of a treat. We just hold a finger to our temple but you can do whatever you feel you’ll be the most comfortable with.

Step 5: Make it Harder

-          Instead of treating your dog right after you say “focus” and she looks at  you, make her keep looking at you for longer periods of time before she gets rewarded.

-          If she looks at you when you give the command but then looks away, say “no” firmly or make a sound and then try again.

-          Increase the length of time very gradually. You may only be able to go up another second or 2 each session and that is okay.

Step 6 – Add Distractions

-          Once your dog has learned to focus on command and can do so consistently, add things that might distract him.

-          Go outside but only on your porch, driveway or backyard so you don’t add too much too soon.

-          Practice focusing with the sights, sounds and smells outside until she is consistent and then take it on road so to speak

-          Ask your dog to focus while on a walk, but only for short periods of time so you can both pay attention to where you are going

Saying “focus” and having your dog look at you seems so simple but the impact it has is strong. Focusing is key to understanding any concept, no matter who or what is involved. Focus the mind and the body will follow.