Dogs and Babies

Just for future reference you never know...

Babies have been a hot topic recently for us. Is it wrong to think, I need to talk to our dog trainer (not family doctor) before we decide to have a baby?

So many people dump their dog when they get pregnant, I feel the complete opposite. I keep questioning the dogs, like...Are you ready for us to have a baby?? HA.

Blogs:
Dogs & Storks

Family Paws

Babies and Beasts

PittieBoo's Advice:

Strangers kids = not a realistic view of how your dog will be around your baby

And from what I gather, you were holding him [dog] while showing him the baby? Bad idea. You took away his ability to flee something that distressed him. When fearful, dogs have 2 natural responses, fight or flight. By holding him, he had no choice but to display his "fight" i.e. growling and snapping.

You need to work hard on:

1. Not babying him- stop holding him or carrying him if you do; this should be reserved for the bay. Best to stop now so it's not a shock to him.

2. Introduce him to older dog savvy kids who come bearing loads of treats. If at any time your dog acts like he doesn't want to meet them, do not force the issue. Slow and steady, baby steps, etc... Forcing him will only make him dig his proverbial heels in deeper.

3. Acknowledge that he is a product of his surroundings- that'd be you. Get some professional help now. Nothing you have written is that alarming to me at all. Pretty minor stuff all in all.

4. Read my blog. Yes, changing your dog's behaviors is going to require work, but everything in life does. And really, a little dog training isn't rocket science.

5. Accept the advice given here with a teaspoon of sugar, you mentioned rehoming your dog to a large group of women who bust their ass to save homeless pets. Your pet has a home and changing homes only takes away a potential home for one of the 7-8 million animals sitting on death row yearly. They are just doing their part to make you aware even if it's a bitter pill to swallow.

About to give unsolicited advice!

So my friend rescued two kittens from the shelter. Yay for rescue!

However, they were the typical adopter who just lost a older cat and let these two cats do whatever they want because they were still sad from their loss.

Last night they mentioned declawing the kittens if they get a new couch. WOAH!

So here are some links:
Declawing: What you need to know
Anti-declawing
Catsdotcom

Exactly how much "toe" they cut off...if you declaw

Cat Food Ratings

Cat Food Ratings

Signs of Bloat

I came across this today and thought it was easy to read...

Bloat Symptoms.

Behr's Weekend Visit

To the trainer's house!
I'm super excited about this boarding/training opportunity with Charleston School for Dogs.

We will hand him off this Friday and pick him up late Sunday night.
So I'm sure he will be able to set the table, do multiplication facts, and tap dance when we return! Nah, but maybe down faster, heel closer, and keep his cool around the very smart GSD's that live there!

Dinner play date!

For the first time ever, we were invited to dinner and Jade was invited too!

So it was a dinner doggy play date!
My students love hearing my dog has play dates, since that is the sort of thing they do often!

Here is Jade with Pumpkin!

I LOVE YARDS

I love yards, I love the grass, I LOVE to roll....please get us a yard!

Traveling to see Pat

...I really wanted to write Grandma, but figure that would get me in trouble!

What a smart girl, your bully stick right in the cup holder will help!

Yea I know I-26 sucks. We will be there soon!

Walking your dog

There is obviously a hole in the South Carolina Education Standards. I don't know what grade, but some grade level should teach people to walk against traffic and ride with traffic.

If I could give out tickets to idiots in my neighborhood I'd be rich!

I'm just complaining because I don't want to have to teach Buddy how to heel on the right. However, if people walked like they should I would never have to teach that skill.

Do you practice heeling on both sides?

Reason # 293,847 Not to leave your dog outside

News Article: Irmo family (someone I graduated with) upset dog put down by animal shelter

Video

Microwave=Safe

Buddy has eaten:
Furminator
Two hard back books
2.5 pieces of frozen chicken breast
2 or 3 cupcakes without icing
Toppings to a pizza
Hot pink leather glove

and now Behr's feet keep leaving the floor in the kitchen to get a better look....he's learned from the best!

No Dogs!

When we came home from the cruise, we left the dogs at the kennel until the next morning since it doesn't cost extra if you pick them up in the morning....aww, Sheena got to hang out with us downstairs again. I miss her!














Update: Even when the dogs came home, she came all the way to the bottom of the stairs with Buddy about 2 yards away from her. I freaked and yelled, so she ran back up!

My Buddy

Just playing before group lessons.

We're Famous!

Well not really, but we are on this website:

http://www.charlestonschoolfordogsinformation.com/Ourclients.html

Take me with you!

Designer Mixes

My very good friend, Mike just got a "Labradoodle" for his family. If it's from a shelter, I would do a back flip, but I'm afraid it has been purchased. I can't explain how I'm feeling about this one, my heart is racing, I just want to educate the world. I love giving out unsolicited advice, although it always falls on deaf ears.
Not a good thing!

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/poodogs.html

Designer Mutts

If you must have one, there is a specific rescue just for this type. That's how many are sadly being bred.

June Pictures

This is why you shouldn't leave your clothes in the living room!
Sheena on a brave day.

Even Better Deals!

Simply Spay & Neuter
Mount Pleasant, SC
843-856-9190

Holy cow...I just called and they have even better deals for heartworm and flea & tick!

Ready?

This example is for the big dogs (50-100 lbs):
Heartguard 1 year $75-----$6.25 a month!
Frontline Plus 8 months (buy 6 get 2 free) $81------$10.12 a month!

Now call and ask for your size prices, and you only need to bring the latest vet bill, so they can see you did have vetting done within the year! Easy!!

Doggie Deals

Okay I just called around to price check.
WOW, any friends that want me to get you some let me know!

32 oz. salmon oil squirt bottle:
All is Well $36
Costco $16.99

Frontline Plus 3 month pack:

My Vet $57.72
Costco $34.99
(this is for big dog size, little pups cost less and they have that too)

Both of these items are at costco online only. But it's free shipping!
What a deal! Now if they only sold heartworm meds.

New Bathroom Paint

Note: the most important thing in this photo....yes, KENRA!
Is this a "waste" of money?? $15 at Lowe's, I'm going to return it. WDYT?
To make this dog related....my trusty sidekicks were there the whole time I sanded and taped. Where's Jade? She not nearly as faithful as the shepherds.

Our New Bed

Costco $20 smells like wood chips, so reminds me of a hamster...but not so bad.
We thought Buddy would be the first...and I think he was, but here was the first encounter.

Yes, I was watching the Dog Whisperer, I know many of you dislike him, but we still agree with some of his ideas. Mute if you need!

After that he went to the rug in front of the door and laid down. At first we didn't quite get the hang of it.


Everyone seems to love it!

Buddy's New Love

Jade Before: Not so exciting....

Jade After: Lovin' it! Now when you look to find Buddy you will find Jade usually wrapped up in his paws. He is cuddling her like crazy, sniffin' her, and last night even humped her!She looks rather ridiculous, but it's gotta feel so much better. Although in this picture I wonder if she's cold? :-)

uhhhh

I wrote that last post before I saw the end of Marley and Me.

Uh, now I'm sitting here crying.

I just have so many thoughts that this will be us one day. The one dog I see Will carrying to the car and I think about is Behr. I know this is because he's the biggest pain in the ass. He requires the most attention. I don't think I'll ever say he's the worst dog in the world, like they talked about Marley, but we have our moments.

Gosh, I love him so much!

Lessons remembered...

While watching Marley and Me I remembered these things!

Things to do:
Adopt, don't shop
Crate your dog
Supervise outside play
Use a leash
Use a leash, especially in the car or at the beach
Tether your puppy when potty training
Exercise your dog before going to group lessons
Expect respect
Treat for all four paws on the ground
Prong collars can be your friend
Correct for excessive barking and whining
Hire a confident dog sitter or a great kennel
Feed on a schedule
Train your dog prior to having kids, so you don't ever think of re-homing him
Feed something other than puppy chow/alpo/science diet

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. But it was kind of like watching a train wreck.

Woo Hoo! GO Behr!

After group lessons in the rain yesterday with quite a few other dog-crazy folks with us...

The trainer emailed me this,
"I thought Behr did well at class yesterday…."

Woo Hoo!! I love you, Behr.

I did show off a bit. He called us down to show how Behr heels and he goes around me to the heeling position. Then he was saying that is one way, and he was going to tell about the other way...and I said oh, we can do that too. We say left, and that way Behr comes to the side and heels, not all the way around us. I did a little jump and got a laugh from the crowd. I loved it! I was really proud.

Tree Climbing Mutt

Tonight at the dog park, AKA KC's and Bobby's backyard, Jade decided to climb this tree. Will said for no reason at all. There wasn't even a squirrel....go figure?

Success!

Brandy made it to her foster Mama, Heather.

She was very skinny, matted behind the ears, the hair was just falling off by the clumps. She is a 10 month old owner surrender.

She was starving for attention, I thought she was gonna end up in DH's lap for sure, or he was gonna crawl to the back to love on her. Very sweet, gentle, and didn't jump at all.

Oh and tonight I got an email from the rescue (North Carolina SBR) and they wanted to reimburse us for gas! Does that happen often? We said no way, we loved doing it.

Transporting Tomorrow

Will and I are transporting a 10 month old female Saint Bernard tomorrow. She is coming from Charleston Animal Society, which is a kill shelter.
Her name is Brandy. I'll upload pics later. I can't wait to meet her.

A House in not a House without a Dog

Furminator Power!

But don't leave it on the floor, someone may eat it!

Before You Were Mine

Before You Were Mine
A story about a shelter dog's life before they came to live with you...here is the front flap.
READ it!

Hot Days=Tired Dogs

It was really hot here this weekend. So hot when I took the dogs to run, they got back in the car!

They also just laid around...


Just in case the Orbee ball is hot too!

Tired Pups

I just took Behr and Jade on a walk. They both wore their bookbags and we got many looks!
Behr's bag has a bottle of unopened Ranch and powerade. Jade's bag has two bottles of water, and I made her carry Behr's poop, her pockets were easier to quickly open.

I'm quickly learning that it sucks to walk Jade. She won't run, walks very slow, and lags behind. So I have no clue why I put a bookbag on her! She was slowing us way down.

We passed many pups and there was no barking!

Trainer Called

The trainer called tonight to ask how Behr was doing. I was happy to report I've been walking both him and Jade at the same time without any problems.

The trainer was very nice, but in short he said Behr will fail the Canine Good Citizen Test tonight, so you don't have to come. I told him I wanted to. I talked to Will and then I called the trainer back to tell him thanks for saving me the gas across town and that we won't come.

I'm bummed. Even though I knew he couldn't accept a stranger or another dog. I was still hopeful and looking forward to going, even just to see him pass a few items.

I think it just kinda hurt my pride, or my hope for Behr. We have grown so much closer just from taking this class, which makes me very happy just getting that from the class, no CGC is okay.
I didn't want to lose this, so I'm adding it here.
A great internet friend, that I've also met IRL wrote this to me about this post:

I know I don't know Behr like you and Tommy do, but from an outsider's perspective, he really is a good dog. You guys just have very high expectations (which is awesome, because you are working towards getting him where you want him to be) but you should know that when I look at Behr I see a good, intelligent, very well behaved typical young GSD with energy to burn. He knows more commands than my Maggie who I've had for almost 7 years now- he's just very clear letting other dogs and people know that he sees them when he's on leash!

I've walked Behr and Buddy with you before and I remember being shocked because I thought they both behaved so well! Sure, they tugged at the leash and barked sometimes, but that's no worse than Maggie constantly getting underfoot and coming close to killing me except that she doesn't frighten people when she does it. And you and DH are awesome for spending the fortune you're spending on getting him to the level you want him to be at. Other people might be afraid of him but honestly I think that has to do as much with his breed and size as his behavior- when I've seen him bark at things, it's not in an "I'm-going-to-eat-you" way, it's just an alert bark. We took Maddie to Ben and Jerry's free cone day yesterday and people moved away from us downtown and gave us the side eye, and she's not even close to as big as your boys! People associate GSDs with police dogs and they can look imposing, especially when they bark at things.

So anyway, Behr isn't ready to take his CGC. He will be someday, though, and in the meantime, I'm sending a virtual Pet Owner of the Year award for spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours training your dogs to be well behaved citizens, even though you guys are totally diligent enough that I really don't think you ever have to worry about someone getting bitten. You could just have the attitude "meh, my dogs scare you but they're on leash and not hurting anyone, so I'll let them be free to be who they are." And I really wouldn't condemn you for it. But you have gone above and beyond to try and make your dogs as non-threatening as possible even though they likely will never hurt anyone in their lifetimes even with no training! So you guys are awesome. And Behr will get there eventually.

*HUGS*

Couch Potatoes

Buddy won't usually do this, but Behr looks for the invitation at all times!

Betty needs a home!

We heading to Charleston Animal Society to pull Betty.

The German Shepherd Club sent this email describing her:
”Betty” female GSD. About 1 year old and weighs 57 pounds. Abandoned. Low HW positive. Betty has a very sweet disposition, a little shy, but warms up quickly. Time Up 4/17

They held her overnight and we are going to get her now. No she's not living with us....this time I'm truly taking her straight to Michelle's house to be fostered there.




UPDATE: We just dropped her off at Michelle's house. Ends up she was in heat when she came to the shelter, but was fixed yesterday. She is super skinny but very mellow and sweet.

Update: Michelle reports she has littl manners, has never seen a leash, but loves to lay on the couch.