Why I Stay Away From Dog Forums

There was a time in my life when I trolled dog forums. As someone who loves dog, who works with dogs, and who really, really wanted a working dog I wanted to get connected to the community. But when it became evident that it would be years before I could have my working dog, I started trolling dog forums of the breeds I did have. One thing I learned from all that trolling is that dog people are always right - even if they disagree with each other, they are both right. There is an old saying in the dog community that the only thing two dog trainers can agree on is that the third one is doing it wrong. That has been a motto of mine for years as I've slipped in and out of various dog communities and have heard many different opinions about dogs and dog training.

Recently on a breed specific forum there was a some talk about Malinois and how they are "special" dogs and how they are impossible to live with. Once some Mal owners posted proof that you can live with these dogs, people then started saying that the Mal owners who responded were "good owners" and they "got lucky" with a good dog - but that MOST Mals were crazy and reactive and "has a screw loose". The really sad thing is that what they are saying about Mals is exactly what most people are saying about the breed that they choose to live with - the Pill Bull.

In some cities pit bulls are euthanized simply because of the breed. I work in rescue and more often than not, I hear stories about pit bulls "going crazy" and "killing their owners". I hear people say "you just can't trust them" and "those dogs will turn on you". Is any of that true? Sure, some times it is true. But sometimes it is media hype and lack of education. It really frustrates me when people who live with those kinds of reactions can propagate them with another breed.

I've lived with a Mal for 4 months. Sure, he is a well trained dog, but he is also a recently neutered male and just over 2 years old. There are plenty of times when I have to correct him for naughty behavior. There are times when he gets frustrated and makes bad decisions. I've had to correct him for growling at a dog, for barking at strangers and for chasing cats. Does this make him a bad dog? No. I live with 2 chihuahuas that I have had to correct for the exact same behavior. Malinois are dogs - they make the same decisions that all dogs make - both good and bad. The one thing about Mals that I think makes them better than many breeds is their respect for their owners. They have an overwhelming desire to please and will do whatever you ask simply because you ask. This is why they are used as police/military dogs. They will run at a perpetrator that is actively shooting at them and will bite and hold until the owner releases them. You won't catch many other breeds doing that.

Sure there are bad Mals. Sure that are some good Mals that live with bad owners. Sure there are bad mals that live with great owners. But I don't think that there is an overwhelming number of any of those situations. Mals are dogs - they are high energy, drivey, dogs that need a lot of exercise, a lot of training, and a lot of structure. They are not dogs that the general public should own - but I think that is true of most breeds (including pit bulls and chihuahuas). Dogs have been bred for thousands of years to do very specific jobs. But it has only been more recently that we have asked these dogs to do something other than what they have been bred to do - and it has only been more recently that we have gotten into such trouble and have needed to re-home our dogs because that border collie pup just won't stop herding the children.  Grow up people!

Poor Abby

Something happened to Abby's ear. She came up to me at work today asking for some attention. I mindlessly petted her head and tugged on her ears. Her ears are a bit dry and scabby due to old/healed fly strikes, but today, I felt a giant scab. When I looked, I found this



I was horrified and appalled that something like this would be on my dog and I wouldn't notice it. I immediately started picking at the scab and trying to figure out what happened to her. After scrubbing and examining it I came to the conclusion that something (or some one) bit her. There is a very tiny hole on the underside of the ear that looks like it might be from a tooth. . .a TINY tooth. . . there is only one creature in the house that has teeth that tiny.



I'm lucky that Abby is so easy going and oblivious because if she wasn't I would have some major small dog fights on my hands. Pocket HATES Abby. Everything that Abby does annoys Pocket. And if I'm not watching, Pocket will growl, snarl, snap, and apparently bite Abby. In some ways I don't blame Pocket, Abby is almost 3 times her size, and Abby is goofy and bouncy and doesn't understand boundaries. It would be like us living in a house with a 15 foot tall toddler - not fun! But Pocket is still not allowed to behave like that! Biting your sister is just not allowed in this house! I guess I'm going to have to be more vigilant about watching their interactions. . .

Poor Abby. . .

Abby is A Dog

Abby has had so many amazing accomplishments since she has come to live with us; but I think that the one I'm most proud of is her becoming a dog. I know it sounds silly, but Abby has turned into a dog in the past two and a half years, granted she has turned into a very spoiled dog, but she is a dog none-the-less.

In the past few months Abby has had a few more dog-like qualities. She has started giving kisses and she also sits in my lap when I'm knitting or reading. Most people take these things for granted, and I admit that I do with my other kids, but when Abby started doing it, I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. These are things that real dogs do, and up until recently, Abby wasn't a real dog. Sure, she could do some super cool things, but the everyday-ness that makes a dog a dog wasn't there with her.

I think that all the extra work we've been doing with training has really paid off. Not only has she learned to work and to think, but she has also learned how to settle. She has learned to read my body language and has learned the more subtle commands of everyday life that we never actually teach our dogs, but we still expect them to obey anyway. She solicits attention without being overly frantic or needy about it. She can settle in a chair and sleep comfortably near me without always having to be on me. She started fussing back at me when I try brushing her or grooming her for too long. I think that she realizes that she is home and that she will always be loved and cared for here. At least, that is what I hope she feels.

In a world of throw-away pets, this one could have easily been discarded. When I got her, she wasn't social, she was terrified of everything, she was extremely destructive, she had no self-control; and if I had decided to give her away or have her euthanized, no one would have blamed me. But I didn't do that. Instead, I found a way to work with her and to manage as many problems as I could. And after all that work, two and a half years later, I finally have a dog.

One Wild Ride

My life has always seemed to be one wild ride after another, but this week takes the cake. From birth to death and from marriage to divorce I've seen it all these past 7 days. There were some moments when I didn't think life could get any better, then others when I thought life couldn't get any worse. On top of all the craziness, I got sick. And not just a little sick, but really sick. The kind where you have to talk yourself into getting out of bed, and then find any reason you can to lie back down again.

And the dogs. . . where to begin with those little buggers???

For most of the week, I thought that I had the worlds best dogs. They were forced to stay by themselves for a few days and, can you believe this, nothing was destroyed??? Nothing was eaten, nothing (inappropriate) was peed on. I received no barking complaints from the neighbors. All signs points to good dogs. Then we had to go back to work. Wouldn't you know, barking, chewing, whining, etc. Bad dogs. Then my car broke down. . . and my dogs were amazing through out it all. Quietly sitting in the car until the battery guy came. Then quietly sitting for longer until the tow truck guy came. Then not freaking out as the car was loaded onto the tow truck. Then, and this is the best part, they sat perfectly contentedly on my lap during that crazy, long, traffic-y, bumpy, ride home. They were not just good dogs, they were great dogs.

Then the rain started. . . and I got sick. . . Not only did the dogs refuse to go potty outside in the rain, they also took up the entire bed and left me no where to sleep. Don't believe that three little dogs weighing less than 30 pounds total can take up an entire bed?



Everyone seems to have a spot except me. And here we are. . . back to having bad dogs again. But as the sickness got worse and I was forced to self-medicate, the dogs were once again, good dogs. They let me sleep and didn't ask to go out too often (thank doG for the rain) and didn't ask to eat too early in the morning. But this morning, I woke up to this:



yeah. . .my dog licked a hole in his arm. This is the first time in 7 years that he has done this. Anxiety has been an on-going issue throughout our lives together, but it seems to be getting worse and worse. My initial reaction was to get frustrated and call him a bad dog, but he is my baby, and I know that the only thing he ever wants in this world is to make me happy; hell, they all do. . .even pocket. So, despite everything they did or didn't do this week, I know that I really do have some very good dogs.

Ignorant Owners

No, this isn't a rant about how some ignorant owner wronged me or one of my dogs. This is about how sometimes I wish I was an ignorant owner. OK, not really, but sort of. . .

Sometimes I wish that I didn't have as much veterinary knowledge as I have. Aside from the time I would save cleaning ears, expressing anal glands, trimming nails, and looking at limping and lumps on friends pets; I would save my self a great deal of worry about my own pets.

My kids are getting old and I see all the symptoms - perhaps magnified because I know exactly what I'm looking for. While some people wake up one day and find that their 8 week old puppy is suddenly a 12 year old geriatric dog; I see all the small symptoms along the way. I notice that hesitating to get into and out of a car is a surefire sign of early arthritis. I see that "accident" as evidence of kidney disease or loss of bladder control. I see the slowing down on a walk as proof that we are having back problems.

While many owners would ignore these small symptoms - or not see them all together, I panic and rush my babies into the vet to figure out exactly what is going on. Because of my panic I learn things about my kids that other people might not know for years to come. And while I think that it often causes me unnecessary worry, I think that in some cases it prevents the problem from becoming irreversible. Learning Abby had kidney problems through a routine blood panel (after noticing more "accidents" ) I freaked out. Once I calmed down, I made a plan and with a slight change in diet, we remedied the problem. While I know that her kidneys aren't fixed, I know that we can manage the problem for longer than we would if I had just ignored it and let it get worse.

Recently, I have noticed that Mole's back isn't doing too well. . .again. Sure he is still getting around ok, but he is slightly off. I can see it when he walks and how he stretches and how he gets up from a nap. I know he is uncomfortable, but my stoic old man tries his best to hide it from me. We've tried muscle relaxants for a few days, but that hasn't seemed to help. We are going to try NSAIDs for a few days and hope that works. He isn't bad enough to put on steroids, but we might have to go back to the opiates.

Sometimes I wish that I didn't know as much as I did and then I wouldn't worry quite so much. But other times I'm thankful for my knowledge because I can pick and choose my medications more carefully rather than relying on a standard Rx from a vet. Then again, if I was an ignorant owner, I wouldn't know any better to begin with. . .

We Don't Need No Stinking Titles

I read this earlier this week on a blog that I frequent regularly:

" What Is A Title Really?" by Sandy Mowery

Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher Title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores.

A Title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in the record and in the memory for about as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And though the dog himself doesn't know or care that his achievements have been noted, a Title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.
A Title says your dog was intelligent, and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed. And a Title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with him because he was a good dog, and that you believed in him enough to give him yet another chance when he failed, and that in the end your faith was justified.
A Title proves that your dog inspired you to have the special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a Title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return. And when that dear short life is over, the Title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of praise in one small set of initials before or after the name.

A Title is nothing less than love and respect, given and received permanently.

When I first read this I agreed completely. A title is a tribute to a dog and to the relationship that you have with that dog. It means that your dog was smart and adaptable and loved you enough to work for you. It means that you loved your dog and believed in your dog enough to spend the time and money it takes to earn titles. These are the reasons that I want titles for my dogs. And the drive for titles is why I am carefully thinking about my next dog.

But as I thought about this more, I realized that this isn't always true. There are many people who have titles on their dogs who do not necessarily do it because they love their dog. They do it because they love the titles and what having dogs with titles means for them as individuals. I think that this is a minority in the competitive dog world, but these people do exist.

I think that people like me, with dogs like Abby, is the other argument to this article. I spent a lot of time and a lot of money working with Abby in agility and we have no titles to show for it. I am spending even more time, and even more money with Abby in Rally, and we may never get a title there either. This doesn't mean that I don't love Abby enough, or that I don't believe in her enough. It also doesn't mean that Abby isn't smart enough or adaptable enough. And it sure as hell doesn't mean that I haven't worked with her enough to get those letters.

Even though I know that having titles doesn't matter and it doesn't prove my love or dedication to my dog, I still want them. I want them because of what it means to other people. A title will go into a record book, one that no one ever reads, but it will be there. And it will show that this Italian Greyhound called Abby did something special. Few people will ever know exactly how special it is or how much we worked through to earn those letters, but I will know. And while I am proud of Abby almost every day, a title will not only prove that Abby can do something special, it will prove that together, we can do something special.

Depression Sets In

I'm officially depressed. I was sad about no more agility before, but now I am officially depressed about it. I am strongly tempted to crawl in bed for the next 5 years. And the more I go about my life, the more depressed I get.

I don't think that normal people really understand how devastating this is. I have tried to explain it to some (ie: imagine if you couldn't play video games, or if you couldn't take pictures) This is my way to disconnect from my job and from other suppressors in my life. This is a way for me to bond with my dog and to have a great time. I read books, follow blogs, talk to trainers about agility. This isn't just a sport that I do with my dog, this is a whole sub-set of my social structure!

A friend asked me earlier how Abby was doing and I said that she is fine! SHE has no idea that there is anything wrong. She enjoys agility, but she has a pretty great life otherwise so I doubt that she will be heart-broken over it. I imagine that if I took her to an agility field and didn't let her do anything that she would get frustrated, but I don't think that she thinks about it regularly.

I know that Abby and I still have a lot of things that we can do together, and I am looking forward to all of that. But there was so much more that we could have accomplished in this area and I am sad that we will never get the chance. And I am sad that this part of my life is over for the time being. And I can see why some of these people have so many dogs - when there is always a dog ready to compete, you never have to give it up.

Despite my depression over it, I am still glad that we tried it. So many people told me that I wouldn't be able to do with Abby any of the things that we have done so far. But we did. And we didn't do it with a perfectly bred, perfectly socialized dog. We spent the time and did the work and got past so many fears and we did what so many normal dogs before us have done - we did agility.

The Aliens are Baaack!

Abby had a really bad agility practice this week. It looked like she didn't want to be there. She barely did anything. . .It was so frustrating I wanted to leave, but since we were one of only two people in the class, we stayed. Doesn't she know how far I have to drive to get her there every week?

She totally made up for it in Rally class on Sunday. She was happy and focused (except when she walked by the open door). Her tail was wagging and she was doing great. We actually were first (maybe second) on the course this week, I was a bit worried that having an extra dog on the course would stress her out, but she was fine. She did so well in fact, that at the end, EVERYONE in the class gave a big whoop of approval. That immediately terrified her and made her bolt for her beloved open door. . . but she recovered quickly.

My only complaints with rally were more my fault than hers 1) she practically refused to sit 2) our cone heeling was strained. As far as the sits are concerned, I think it has more to do with our constant practice of "stand". She has been rewarded to frequently in the stand position that she wants to default to that. The cone heeling is completely my fault since I can hardly walk a straight line, so walking in curves is near impossible. I don't give Abby enough space to walk with me, so she will sometimes walk around the other side of the cone. I need to practice my cone walks a bit more!!!

Found Her!!

The real Abby came to class yesterday.

There were a lot of things that contributed to Abby's poor showing in class yesterday.

1) Death of a family member kept practice to a minimal (or, not at all)
2) Due to #1, she spent a great deal of time in a crate at grandma's
3) There was a new dog in class
4) #3 also came in late
5) The instructor made all sorts of loud noises and arm motions for distraction
6) The class room door was wide open to the outside world

All of these things contributed to Abby having a difficult time in class, but I think that the biggest contributor was my attitude. After having a hard week, I didn't have the energy for a full class, and I really should have stayed home. But I was hoping that with two great weeks under her belt, that I could have an off day and Abby would still do ok. I was wrong. My being off, on top of all Abby's worst fears in one room, made for a really difficult day for the both of us.

We made up for it a tiny bit at the end by doing the course at top speed and never stopping for the stationary exercises. Her tail came out a tiny bit and I think that she left on a good note; so hopefully next week won't be as bad.

Even When It Is . . . It Isn't

We needed an easy relaxing walk after that experience yesterday. We decided to do the Oyster Bay walk between the Marina and the Airport. This really was a 2.1 mile easy walk, but the experience was a bit disturbing.

The first thing was that the park is behind the dumps. Yeah, the real DUMPS!



And then we came across all these weird hobbit-box things, but i guess they were another place to pee on.



The other thing we came across was the most disturbing, but maybe I shouldn't talk because I don't have big dogs. For the most part, we were alone on the walk, but about half-way through we came across these two un-neutered Rhodesian Ridgebacks. At first they were polite but having two 70 + pound dogs sniffing your you-know-what would be overwhelming even for a 30 pound dog. I told my well-behaved 9 pound dog to "leave it" - mainly so he didn't tell them off and trigger a fight- and he tried. But they would not leave his manhood alone. At one point I almost reached in and grabbed my dog just to save him as I could see that he was getting very overwhelmed. I tapped one dog on the head thinking he would at least look up, but he didn't. FINALLY, the owner came around the corner with a stick and smacked both dogs. I guess its easier to hit your dog than it is to train him to "leave -it" or "off". After the whole thing I was a wreck but mole seemed fine as he met a few more dogs and reacted just the same as he aways does - no cares in the world. Thank god he is more stable than I am.

More pictures from oyster bay:

UPS Hates Me . . . Again

Last year around christmas time I blogged about how UPS must hate me (instert web link to old, now deleted post) because they rerouted my package of books back to its origin. Well, now I know for sure that UPS hates me.

My goal this year was to create less waste. Its semi environmental and semi anti-consumerism. I got the idea from The Compact - a San Fransisco group who decided not to buy any new consumer goods for a whole year. They have continued the effort, on some level, and you can read about it on their blog. I have followed them for a bit now and have decided to finally take a step out - hence my goal to create less waste.

I decided that my first step would be to stop using those paper cups at coffee places (insert link to post about Peet's coffee cups dripping). I have actually been doing really well - probably because I haven't gone since that post! Ok, I have gone, but I drank coffee there in ceramic mugs.

My next step was to stop using plastic/paper bags. I have a larger bag that I use when I take the dogs out, but its more of a large purse than a grocery bag. I ordered a bunch of bags from ECOBAGS. Some were the grocery - paper bag - type and some were those fruit/produce bags. I am really looking forward to getting these bags, and have been tracking them on UPS for a week now.

Today I went on the tracking site to find that they re-routed my bags to ONTARIO!!!! Not Canada, but southern CA. I used to live near that distributorship, but not now! This is the second time that this has happened to me with UPS. The reason its a big deal is that I rarely order anything and its happened to the past two! Am I doomed to repeat this every time I use them for shipping? Did I seriously piss someone off and not know it? Maybe I did something to one of the higher-ups dogs and they are getting subliminal messages to re-route all my packages.

Its so frustrating!

Stupid Blogger!!!!

After much discussion, I decided (was talked into in my feverished state) to post in the blogger Google help discussion group about what happened to my blog. Apparently, sometimes, the paid blogger help people read these posts and will offer to help fix problems. Sometimes they even find your magically deleted blog and will restore it.

I was not one of the lucky ones.

I looked at the discussion forum and saw that 6 people read my message but not a single person helped me out. I didn't even get a "sorry, your SOL"

I hate Google & blogger right now.