I started reading "A Dog's Purpose" by W. Bruce Cameron this week. I was sobbing by the end of the first chapter - on an airplane no less, a little airplane, the Embraer ERJ 145. One where a sobbing person is noticed by all 49 other people packed in the sardine can. Albeit a wonderfully designed sardine can with awesome propulsion power.
Sobbing is a sign of a highly engaging book - but not wanting to appear emotionally distressed on the plane, I put it away and began to watch a movie on the Ipad.
But for some reason, I really wanted to a dog movie at the time. Actually I wanted to watch "Turner and Hooch." with Tom Hanks and the gorgeous Dogue de Bordeaux. I haven't seen that movie in years. Or maybe "The Sandlot" (another awesome mastiff) or even some "Best in Show." Might have to watch a movie or two this weekend.
So I thought I'd ask:
What's your favorite dog-themed movie or book?
Post your answers in the comments, I'd love to find out what you would watch over and over.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Obie and Envy - Back to School
Lots going on and spending time enjoying it. And so happy that spring makes a sporadic appearance in Indiana. Now that it's April, can we please quit with the snow?
We are in the middle of our 8 week Novice Training class at First Friends K9 Training. The dogs have completed their second full class and as always it is so worthwhile. We've gotten tons of compliments on how good Envy is on the leash and they've both been "staying" well. Sit stays with distractions this week and random "come" commands when we're out walking. Obie did well in class too. His main distraction is my husband and Envy - so they are far away from us during class. I think there are at least 40 dogs in our one class. This isn't your pet store dog training class.
Fun time at the Bark Park today. Apparently Sunday is little dog day because other than about 2 other Labs and one Shepherd, there were about 20 snack sized doggies. They were cute and full of little dog attitude. Envy was afraid of the five pound blind Yorkie who chased her away anytime she came near. Then there were two of the cutest Dachshund/Pit mixes. Dach legs and Pit heads - too cute. Envy thought she was about their size and ran and played with them. They all rolled around on the ground.
After all that romping, she came home for a bath, brush out, a good nail trimming, and tooth brushing. Chicken flavored toothpaste is the clear winner in this house.
After all that romping, she came home for a bath, brush out, a good nail trimming, and tooth brushing. Chicken flavored toothpaste is the clear winner in this house.
Since Spring may have finally sprung, don't forget to treat your dogs for fleas and ticks. Also if you aren't doing it regularly start treating your dogs year round for heartworm. Heartworm is on the rise in the midwest but is easily preventable. Our doggies get their pills on the first of the month.
Random number fact: I just figured out that I drive 34 miles ONE WAY to our dog training class (544 miles for 8 weeks). That's got to be a good class.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
No, I'm not Italian (and answers to other Corso questions)
All of these questions in this post are actual questions from real people. Most of the responses are really what I've said, except for the green italicized phrases - those are just what I was thinking at the time when asked.
What is a Cane Corso?
A Cane (Kah-Nay) Corso is an Italian Mastiff dog. The other Italian Mastiff that most people would be familiar with is the Neopolitan Mastiff (aka Fang the Harry Potter movie dog). The Cane Corso is the more athletic of the two mastiffs. They are both descendants of the Roman the canis Pugnaces - a legendary dog of war. The breed was near extinction in the 1970s. They were first brought to the US in the late 80s. They gained full recognition by the AKC in July 2010
Aren't they mean/vicious/attack dogs? (This question always invariably would come on the heels of the "what is a cane corso?" question)
You mean the dog you didn't even know existed and never heard of 30 seconds ago? No. However bad people can do bad things with dogs and mastiff types get that kind of reputation regardless of their true disposition. They are guardians and protectors and even that trait can be used against them. They can be fierce looking especially with cropped ears, but look at the mug on my pup and you'll likely experience "envy." (See kids - that's irony!)
Are you Italian?
No, I'm not. I wasn't aware that I needed to be. If it makes you feel better, I can get a German short hair, Irish setter, English springer spaniel, and throw in a Polish lowland sheepdog next time for good measure to fulfill my obligation of owning only those dogs that fall within my /our heritage.
How did you pick a Cane Corso?
See my first post: The Story of the Cane Corso and Us
Did you know that envy is one of the seven deadly sins?
Yes, I'm Catholic, so I'm familiar with the concept of sins and types of sins. Did you know that envy is just a word? It's also the emotional verb that we felt when we first saw her newborn pictures and thought she wasn't ours. Our next dogs will be Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride - not Lust though, that name is just too difficult to imagine saying out loud at the Dog Park. Of course, we could always go with the more virtuous - Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Patience, Kindness, Humility, or Diligence. See Sr. Rita - I do remember.
How fast do they grow?
Almost fast enough to watch it happen. Overnight, sometimes.
How big will she get?
Females are generally 80 to 100 lbs from what I've read. The males are bigger. We think/hope she will be an 80 pounder with a ginormous head.
What is a Cane Corso?
A Cane (Kah-Nay) Corso is an Italian Mastiff dog. The other Italian Mastiff that most people would be familiar with is the Neopolitan Mastiff (aka Fang the Harry Potter movie dog). The Cane Corso is the more athletic of the two mastiffs. They are both descendants of the Roman the canis Pugnaces - a legendary dog of war. The breed was near extinction in the 1970s. They were first brought to the US in the late 80s. They gained full recognition by the AKC in July 2010
Aren't they mean/vicious/attack dogs? (This question always invariably would come on the heels of the "what is a cane corso?" question)
You mean the dog you didn't even know existed and never heard of 30 seconds ago? No. However bad people can do bad things with dogs and mastiff types get that kind of reputation regardless of their true disposition. They are guardians and protectors and even that trait can be used against them. They can be fierce looking especially with cropped ears, but look at the mug on my pup and you'll likely experience "envy." (See kids - that's irony!)
 |
| So Sleepy |
Are you Italian?
No, I'm not. I wasn't aware that I needed to be. If it makes you feel better, I can get a German short hair, Irish setter, English springer spaniel, and throw in a Polish lowland sheepdog next time for good measure to fulfill my obligation of owning only those dogs that fall within my /our heritage.
How did you pick a Cane Corso?
See my first post: The Story of the Cane Corso and Us
Did you know that envy is one of the seven deadly sins?
Yes, I'm Catholic, so I'm familiar with the concept of sins and types of sins. Did you know that envy is just a word? It's also the emotional verb that we felt when we first saw her newborn pictures and thought she wasn't ours. Our next dogs will be Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride - not Lust though, that name is just too difficult to imagine saying out loud at the Dog Park. Of course, we could always go with the more virtuous - Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Patience, Kindness, Humility, or Diligence. See Sr. Rita - I do remember.
How fast do they grow?
Almost fast enough to watch it happen. Overnight, sometimes.
How big will she get?
Females are generally 80 to 100 lbs from what I've read. The males are bigger. We think/hope she will be an 80 pounder with a ginormous head.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Story of Obie
He's definitely part hound. We think he's part Staffordshire terrier - but when others see the big broad chest and the overall muscle on our little guy, they see pitbull.
I personally believe that bully breeds have gotten a terrible rap. Yes, a number of news stories have shown the devastating impacts of dog attacks and when they occur with strong jawed and muscled animals, they are terrible and devastating.
But the biggest problem is the owners.
There I said it. The owners are the biggest issue. More and more people treat their pets like baby dolls. They play dress up and buy cute collars and outfits. They buy presents at Christmas. They love to baby them. But they don't exercise or discipline them. They don't take on the dominant role in the pack (the human and animal pack). Then, after the puppy or dog is not so cute and cuddly anymore. After they take over the dominant role from the humans. After they growl, bark, bite, show aggressive behavior - then they are abandoned, neglected, shoved in the basement, left at the animal shelter.
65% of all puppy owners give up their puppy within the first year. Last year, 11 million dogs under the age of 1 were euthanized in shelters across the United States. Grow up people! Take responsibility for those who depend on you. Take accountability for your behavior and their response to your behavior. Be the grown up in the relationship between you and your pets.
But, alas, I've digressed from the the topic. This is Obie's story. A less than perfect dog who has been given another shot at life.
On July 5, 2006, my husband Chris found a dog in a cornfield on his way to work. Yes, we stop for animals on a fairly routine basis - it's a wonder we've never had 100 or more animals. This dog came right up him and while he was very skinny, he appeared to be in good health. He brought him home and for some reason I was home that day. He told me that there was a dog in the backyard and not to let our other dogs out back.
Our three other dogs were elderly females ranging from 11 to 13 years old. I did NOT want another dog at that time, and we already had the two cats as well. So while I was working to find out if this little bugger was lost (not likely, he was more likely dumped) and then worked to find him a new home. He worked on my 4 year old daughter to get the sympathy vote to become ours. My daughter is a bit of a dog whisperer. She has loved animals dearly since she was a baby and this wild boy somehow knew that he should buddy up to her.
He was dominant, wild, and aggressive to everyone but Audrey (and sometimes Chris). I remember her hugging him around the neck and he was cuddled up next to her while I worried that he would turn on her.
He stayed. She loved him. Our oldest dog Lady loved him. He wouldn't listen to me, but he stayed anyway.
It was about a year later when I finally bonded with him. Our dog Lady had been put down. She was my baby, my dog, my cuddler. I went out for a walk with Obie and we ended up walking for hours. He knew she was gone. She was the only other dog that loved on him. The other two dogs pretty much ignored him. He and I walked a lot at night after that.
But he was still wild, and aggressive, and dominant. Something had to be done. Fence fighting, chasing bikes, the children would run by our house as fast as they could. We only had a 4 foot fence and he would run around the yard with his hackles raised and his ears back. He was a pretty fierce sight.
We did a lot of research and knew that a regular training class wouldn't work. We really wanted Cesar Millan, but hey we're Hoosiers, so that wasn't going to work. So we started looking for options. We finally found an in-kennel training facility that addressed behavior issues. It wasn't a close drive and it wasn't cheap. But we were going away on vacation and would have boarded the dogs for 2 weeks anyway, so we took that cost into consideration. We went to First Friend K9 and Obie was trained on site for a month. That was hard, we didn't really see him until it was over, but we talked to his trainer every few days. He has/had a lot of fear aggression, but he also thinks nothing of going up and trying to attack the biggest dog in the place. After four weeks, we went to pick him up. He was a brand new dog! Wow, what a change. They spent a few hours training us. We had to learn all of his commands and what was and was not acceptable. Then Obie and I were off to their Novice Training class as part of our continuing education. We finished our eight week class and he changed. And I am a changed human being. We bonded as owner and animal. We loved our experience with Bruce and his trainers at First Friend that we've even taken Envy there for puppy class and we are all going back for Novice class (Obie gets to go too, so he can go along for the car ride and work on his socialization issues).
He isn't by any means perfect. He does need an e-collar for correction, although he no longer wears it all day. He still has significant dog-aggression issues and because we rescued him, we will never know why. But that is going to continue to be work in progress. Obie will always be a work in progress and amazingly he does continue to progress. He even eventually came around to having Envy in the house - albeit with lots and lots and lots of cookies.
Maybe one day he will actually be a Canine Good Citizen, likely not, but I won't stop trying. We owe it to him to have a good life. For the 11 million dogs this year who won't.
He was dominant, wild, and aggressive to everyone but Audrey (and sometimes Chris). I remember her hugging him around the neck and he was cuddled up next to her while I worried that he would turn on her.
He stayed. She loved him. Our oldest dog Lady loved him. He wouldn't listen to me, but he stayed anyway.
It was about a year later when I finally bonded with him. Our dog Lady had been put down. She was my baby, my dog, my cuddler. I went out for a walk with Obie and we ended up walking for hours. He knew she was gone. She was the only other dog that loved on him. The other two dogs pretty much ignored him. He and I walked a lot at night after that.
But he was still wild, and aggressive, and dominant. Something had to be done. Fence fighting, chasing bikes, the children would run by our house as fast as they could. We only had a 4 foot fence and he would run around the yard with his hackles raised and his ears back. He was a pretty fierce sight.
We did a lot of research and knew that a regular training class wouldn't work. We really wanted Cesar Millan, but hey we're Hoosiers, so that wasn't going to work. So we started looking for options. We finally found an in-kennel training facility that addressed behavior issues. It wasn't a close drive and it wasn't cheap. But we were going away on vacation and would have boarded the dogs for 2 weeks anyway, so we took that cost into consideration. We went to First Friend K9 and Obie was trained on site for a month. That was hard, we didn't really see him until it was over, but we talked to his trainer every few days. He has/had a lot of fear aggression, but he also thinks nothing of going up and trying to attack the biggest dog in the place. After four weeks, we went to pick him up. He was a brand new dog! Wow, what a change. They spent a few hours training us. We had to learn all of his commands and what was and was not acceptable. Then Obie and I were off to their Novice Training class as part of our continuing education. We finished our eight week class and he changed. And I am a changed human being. We bonded as owner and animal. We loved our experience with Bruce and his trainers at First Friend that we've even taken Envy there for puppy class and we are all going back for Novice class (Obie gets to go too, so he can go along for the car ride and work on his socialization issues).
He isn't by any means perfect. He does need an e-collar for correction, although he no longer wears it all day. He still has significant dog-aggression issues and because we rescued him, we will never know why. But that is going to continue to be work in progress. Obie will always be a work in progress and amazingly he does continue to progress. He even eventually came around to having Envy in the house - albeit with lots and lots and lots of cookies.
Maybe one day he will actually be a Canine Good Citizen, likely not, but I won't stop trying. We owe it to him to have a good life. For the 11 million dogs this year who won't.
 |
| I love this picture of Obie and Oscar above him. He's a good boy. |
Envy and the Bark Park
So what to do on a beautiful muddy day in early March with a pup who wants to play? Go to the bark park of course. We're lucky to have such a place a few miles down the road.
Eagle Creek Bark Park
Today was Envy's first visit and she loved it. At first, she was a bit nervous and overwhelmed. There were other dogs there and they all came over to see her, smell her, and get nosy. After a few minutes, she settled right in and we let her off the leash to run. And run she did.
There's a nice big open space with benches around. There's one area to do some agility work on, but the rest is a dog's dream - big open field and lots of other dogs and smells.
We learned a thing or two as well. Bring water because a playing dog is a thirsty dog. Leave the cookies at home. My eight year old daughter was VERY popular as she wandered around with cookies in her pocket. Lots of nosy dogs checking out her pockets and one elderly female dog who decided that Audrey was her best friend. Of course, she loved that - the little dog whisperer she is.
We met some new friends and lots of beautiful dogs - the labs, the husky, collies, the doberman, the little white mix puppy with bright blue eyes, her brother the bully mix who was the nicest dog in the park. Lots of fun.
Came home to nap time. All in all a good day for the Wonder Pup.
Someday, I hope we can take Obie with us to the Bark Park. Someday, maybe he won't be dog aggressive. He's a work in progress. Aren't we all?
Eagle Creek Bark Park
Today was Envy's first visit and she loved it. At first, she was a bit nervous and overwhelmed. There were other dogs there and they all came over to see her, smell her, and get nosy. After a few minutes, she settled right in and we let her off the leash to run. And run she did.
There's a nice big open space with benches around. There's one area to do some agility work on, but the rest is a dog's dream - big open field and lots of other dogs and smells.
We learned a thing or two as well. Bring water because a playing dog is a thirsty dog. Leave the cookies at home. My eight year old daughter was VERY popular as she wandered around with cookies in her pocket. Lots of nosy dogs checking out her pockets and one elderly female dog who decided that Audrey was her best friend. Of course, she loved that - the little dog whisperer she is.
We met some new friends and lots of beautiful dogs - the labs, the husky, collies, the doberman, the little white mix puppy with bright blue eyes, her brother the bully mix who was the nicest dog in the park. Lots of fun.
Came home to nap time. All in all a good day for the Wonder Pup.
Someday, I hope we can take Obie with us to the Bark Park. Someday, maybe he won't be dog aggressive. He's a work in progress. Aren't we all?
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