Monthly Archives: March 2012

Chix-A-Lot Friday: My new thundershirt

March 16, 2012 By in Uncategorized 43 Comments

I got a new thundershirt, and I’ve got it on under this here blanket in this photo:

If you look real close, you can even see it:

That’s right, it’s not an actual thundershirt, it’s my brother the Doodlebug!

I turn into a little trembling fraidy-dog when the sky goes rumble-rumble and crackly-split, but my Dude is solid as a rock. He doesn’t care about the thunders at all! I used to jump right into the bed with mama and dad when the sky got angry with me, but now I have a new solution.

I convince the Dude to dig up the blanket that normally covers the Dora, and then we start wiggling our way underneath so we can be protected by its soft, blue wonderfulness. Normally we don’t really get the whole way there — our heads get under, but our butts and matching tails and little hind bunny-legs stay sticking out. Sometimes mama walks in at that point, and after she’s done laughing, she will sometimes take pity and cover us up.

And I gotta say — ever since the Dude came along, I’m not so dready about the thunders anymore!

Has anybody else tried using their brother as a thundershirt?

The mower

March 15, 2012 By in Chick, Snickerdoodle 18 Comments

The other evening, the boys were outside in their natural habitat, hunting for bugs and eating the tall prairie grasses in our yard . . .

But then, just as they were getting the most satisfying of nibbles on the most succulent of prairie grasses . . .

A jarring disruption occurred . . .

It was the daddyman, celebarting Daylight Savings Time with his new reel-mower:

The newly mowed grass sure looked nice, but it made for some sad, sad Chickerdoodles!

Published! Our cover piece in the Virginia-Maryland Dog Magazine

March 14, 2012 By in Uncategorized 21 Comments

We’re excited to share our first real publication — the cover story for the up-and-coming regional pet mag, The Virginia-Maryland Dog! The publication is in its first year, but is already distributed to thousands of dog-loving households in the greater Maryland / Virginia region, and it’s gaining momentum as it goes.

I was wicked-flattered when I was asked to write a story about dog rescue in the DC area and our own personal involvement, and got chills when I learned that the article was to be a cover piece. Holy cow!

Handsome formerly-adoptable Baxter of MCHS and Jasmine’s House got to be the cover boy, but our very own first foster — Lollie Wonderdog —  also got her moment in the sun:

Naturally I focused the piece on the stories of three fantastic pit bull type dogs, even though it was meant to be about rescue in general, not pit bull dogs in particular. What can I say — I just can’t help myself. Luckily, the magazine editors didn’t seem to mind, and our story ran.

For those who don’t live in the DC area and can’t immediately go scoop up their own print copy, here’s the intro to the piece:

When Catalina Stirling of Jasmine’s House Rescue heard about Baxter, she knew he was coming with her. Baxter had arrived at the Montgomery County Humane Society last June with a body covered in bruises and bald patches. He was emaciated, his eyes were bloodshot, his ears were swollen and red, and there were scars all over his body. He had gingivitis, irritated skin, and a serious case of Demodex mange. He was too weak and frightened to even stand up on his own. In short, he was hardly the average person’s idea of a ready-to-go adoptable pet. But that was exactly why Jasmine’s House wanted Baxter.

Every day, rescue workers across the country comb shelters for dogs like Baxter. To the trained eye, they are easy to identify. Gentle and uncertain, they are staff favorites who are often branded with the tell-tale physical and behavioral signs of a difficult life left behind. The average adopter passes by these dogs in favor of the springy, effervescent dogs in neighboring kennels, but rescue workers are in on a little secret– the dogs hiding in the shadows at the back of the kennel, too uncertain to make eye contact, can be exceptional family pets.

For the whole story, visit the Virginia-Maryland Dog magazine website and click on “digital edition” on the righthand side. We’re on page 12!

School Days: Doodlebug’s quest to be basically obedient

March 13, 2012 By in Snickerdoodle, training 20 Comments

Last Tuesday, the Dude began his quest to become basically obedient — that is, he had the first session of his six-week basic obedience class.

Although I might have been able to teach the Dude most of the skills covered in a formal class, I knew it would be good for him to learn in a more formal environment and practice being calm around other dogs — a bit of a challenge for the Dude, who gets excited at the sight of another four-legger. Plus, taking two dogs through the basic obedience class is part of my trainer’s training requirement, so the Dude’s participation is a natural fit.

So we headed over to the Center with low expectations — the Doctor’s orders are for the Dude to refrain from participating in any exciting activities for another three weeks due to his heartworm treatment. So we were fully expecting to be parked far from the other seven dogs, in a quiet corner of the field where he would be far from all the excitement. Per our head trainer’s suggestion, we prepared him a kong stuffed with kibble, peanut butter, and cheese to keep him busy and calm during the first half of class, which would be mostly conversation and little activity.

But we shouldn’t have worried. The Dude did a little bit of quiet whimpering as we approached the broad agility field where class would be held, but quickly plopped himself down in the mulch to relax and observe the goings-on, as though he were just lounging on the bed at home. He was a perfect gentleman the rest of the evening, and we were his proud, beaming parents.

The first lesson covered some fundamentals that the Dude was better than the other dogs at had already been practicing at home, like sitting for food and sitting & relaxing for attention. The latter is especially critical, and we feel so lucky that we made it second-nature years ago with Chick — it seems to not come easily to so many families with dogs. The basic principle is this: we should be giving our dogs attention for displaying behaviors we like (sitting quietly and calmly, for example), and ignoring the behaviors we don’t like (jumping and barking, for example). It’s easy to be tempted to push a dog away when he jumps, or say “Doodlebug, NO!” or “quiet!” when he barks for attention. But in doing this, we’re actually giving the dog exactly what he wants. To a dog — especially a pushy one — attention means being looked at, talked to, or touched — doesn’t matter if it’s positive or negative in our eyes. If we are consistent, a dog can quickly learn that barking will not earn him that treat, and jumping will not get the visitor to look at him. The behavior will eventually extinguish. For dogs whose unsavory habits are long-ingrained, it can take some time. For dogs who are just learning the rules from scratch, change happens pretty quickly.

The Dude was lucky to learn this from scratch in our home. It’s our hypothesis that he had never been trained at all before living with us, so in his mind, there were no rules. Lucky us: within three days of coming into our home, Dude was consistently planting his butt firmly on the ground and looking at us with those giant doe eyes of his when he wanted a pet or a scratch, not punching us with his paws or face or barking obnoxiously.

The first week’s homework? Practicing sits and releases in progressively more challenging locations in / around the house, sitting for the food bowl, and tiedown approaches. The Dude aced ’em all.

Stay tuned next week for an update on tonight’s session two!

When it’s time to say goodbye

March 12, 2012 By in Uncategorized 45 Comments

We lost a good friend this weekend.

On Saturday morning, our dear friends Amanda and Jon said goodbye to Sierra: their fourteen-year-old elderbelle, cancer survivor, mind-changer, and beloved pet.

We came to know Sierra a few years ago when we moved into her neighborhood, and Amanda and I bonded over our mutual love for pit bull type dogs, and our own beautiful white beasts — her Sierra and my Chick. Back then, Sierra was an energetic, beautiful elderbull on three legs. She could go for walks and play with her human brothers, always sharing a big Sierra smile and a friendly wag with anybody who would look in her direction. The neighborhood kids all knew her and loved her. With her mama Amanda, she taught more than a handful of children how to properly greet and love a dog — and how to not judge a dog by it’s appearance.

But over the past year, Sierra’s physical health and mental lucidity had been in a slow decline. First, she stopped being able to get up and down the stairs on her own three legs. Then, she started slipping and falling on the wood floors in the house. Later, she stopped being able to get back up on her own. Then she became unable to go for walks, because she would grow tired just a half block down the street. And recently, she started to seem confused more frequently, and eventually it seemed that she just stopped enjoying everyday life.

For Amanda and Jon, this was the first clear sign that Sierra was ready to move on. At fourteen years old, her health was not going to get any better, and her frequent falls, spells of confusion, and rapidly declining energy and positive spirit — what made Sierra so Sierra — were a reminder to them to ask: are we holding on for ourselves, or for her?  Amanda and Jon quietly realized that even though they will never be ready, Sierra was ready to leave this world. She was tired of struggling, and they were tired of asking her to struggle.

It’s hard to deny that end-of-life care is one of the hardest parts of pet ownership. The financial costs of treating ailing pets can be significant, but the emotional costs are probably even greater. Watching the physical and mental decline of an animal who seemed so recently in her prime is hard on a family to be sure. And in many cases, it’s later up to the family to make the ultimate call on when it’s time to say goodbye.

Unfortunately, the decision is not clear cut, but rather deeply personal — almost spiritual.  For Amanda, it went like this: “I read a suggestion to sit in meditation with your dog and just ask, heart to heart. I thought that was so sweet. And when I did quiet myself and listened to her, I knew she’s ready…”

So last week, they bravely made an appointment with their vet for Saturday morning, and went — as a family — to see her off.

Sierra started her life as a homeless, frightened, deaf pit bull puppy. But in the loving arms of Amanda and Jon, she blossomed into a dynamic, confident, gentle ambassadog. Fourteen years later, she left this world in those same loving arms. A dog could hardly ask for anything more.It rained all weekend in Austin, but at one point on Saturday morning I glanced out the window, and through the stormclouds I glimpsed a little slice of blue sky and sunshine . . . Sierra?

More about Sierra’s life and impact are available via StubbyDog, here.

Chix-a-Lot Friday: Who you callin’ grumpy?

March 9, 2012 By in Chick 33 Comments

Well apparently it’s come to the attention of certain people that I can be a bit of a grump. Humph.

Well I may be a little grumpy now and then, but I know who my friends are. My friends are the people who, rather than thinking of my moodiness as a flaw, celebrate it. Like my friend Burns. She loves grumps, including me. She loves them so much, in fact, that for the past couple of years she has taken to knitting these cute little dinosaurs called Grumpasauruses. My mama and I love them because they are both cute and grumpy, just like myself.

Well Burns must have known how well I identify with her Grumps, because the other day we got a package in the mail from her, and what was inside? A mini-me, a Chick Grumpasaurus! Isn’t he awesome?

The minute he arrived, I had to check him out thoroughly, and I was impressed.

He’s got my spots, my brown tail with a white tip, my grumpy expression, my squinty eyes, and even my famous Chick ears! Just look how much we are alike:

I asked mama if I could keep him for myself — since obviously he was a gift for me — but she said no, that she was afraid that the Dude and I would want to play with him and accidentally hurt him. Well what she didn’t realize is that she hurt me by accusing me of such sad things! I told her as much, and we compromised — she let me take a little nap with him and practice balancing him on my head, and then he retired to his very own spot on our mantle, where he will watch over us every day. Mama says we can even feed him my potato and duck kibbles every now and then so he doesn’t get hungry up there!

Thank you for loving us grumps so well, Burns!

Leash walking: Lollie Wonderdog’s story

March 8, 2012 By in Lollie, training 43 Comments

Yesterday we posted a lengthy account from our first foster’s forever-mama about Lily’s tough transition from our foster home to their forever-home. Our hope was that Jen’s very honest story would help others feel less alone — that transitions can be rocky and outcomes can still be good in the end. Some patience, love, and work with a dog who doesn’t understand what is expected can come a long way.

Below is the second half of Jen’s story, about teaching Lily how to relax around other dogs when out and about. Many dog people struggle with this issue — where their dog is too nervous or too excited to act cool when other dogs are around. Jen used a creative strategy to countercondition Lily to other dogs’ existence — she brilliantly took advantage of a dog park fence line to provide a steady supply of unfamiliar dogs at a controlled distance, so that she could work with Lily and not worry about the other animals at all. Read on for more:

To work on her excitement about dogs outside the house, I took her to the dog park. But no, not in the way that you’re thinking!

First we sat in the car a distance from the dog park. When we saw a dog — JACKPOT! Begin the string cheese stuffing in the slobbery dog’s mouth! We’d spend about 30 minutes each visit, eventually getting closer and closer to the actual park, WHILE SITTING IN THE CAR!! This was fantastic fun on beautiful spring days, jackpotting all the way.  Soon we were ready to get OUT of the car…. (I was no longer the weird girl stalking dogs at the park…) We would sit about 30 feet away from the fence and I would give her a bunch of treats for LOOKING at the dogs and not barking….after she calmed a bit we would practice some basic obedience commands that she could do easily.  Again, we would get closer and closer to the fence, jackpotting for looking at the dogs and remaining calm…after a few visits, we WALKED UP TO THE FENCE!!! I’m not going to lie, I was stressed, and of course a feisty little chihuaha came right up, barked at us and set us back a bit . . . but eventually Lily got to where she could sniff through the fence at the dogs IN the park.  I was kind of feeling like the local predator at the playground, lurking and peering in at the dog park dogs, since we never went into the dog park, but it was a great place to practice her tolerance around other dogs.

During this period, I would use the “turn around” technique while walking her. If we saw another dog, we’d just turn around to avoid any overexcitement. As we got closer to the fence at the dog park, we progressed on her walks. When other dogs came our way, I would have Lily sit and just feed her a constant stream of treats, while the dog went by. It forced her to focus on me, and she got something good for sitting and ignoring them.

Like many dogs, Lily didn’t great well nose-to-nose on leash, and I had no idea at the time how stressful this could be for dogs. I did a little research, and learned that some dogs just can’t sit while other dogs are going by, because sitting still is too stressful in social situations. Luckily Lily is food motivated enough that all her concentration was on the string cheese. It was at this point we suspected a bit of lactose intolerance on her part — No wonder Chick remembers her as “farty pants!”

When she seemed to be doing better we went on a parallel walk with our little friend Kipper. Kipper is a super feisty, high energy, Jack Russell/weiner dog mix. It went well! Lily no longer viewed Kipper as a snack. They began to play, and then slowly Lily started welcoming other dogs.

Back in December, we took Lily for her “Santa” picture, an annual fundraiser for the Montgomery County Humane Society. Lily slobbered like a maniac all over her old friend from the shelter, Santa Dave, and we were lucky enough to meet Juliana, foster mom to another MCHS dog, Baxter. We arranged a walking “date” to work on both dog’s issues and from there our dog hiking club, “Pittie Trails,” was born! 

photo courtesy Peace, Love, & Fostering

To help some of her still existent pulling-on-the-leash issues, we attended a drop in “leash manners” session recently. We spent some intensive time with a most wonderful trainer who gave some more great tips for walking — the ever frustrating but effective “stop and go no further when pulling,” and then the call her attention and go in a different direction when she is pulling. I learned to treat her for good walking and to reward her by letting her sniff things she wanted to “fire hydrants, random dog poo etc”….But best of all, Francine (of Francine’s Fun Walks,) emphasized that there are “training walks” and there are “exercise walks.” Essentially, it’s okay to put the gentle leader (the horrible looking head collar that she walks WONDERFULLY ON — thanks for the tip, Running with Squirrels) and take some time off of leash training and just walk! We’ve made a lot of progress by finally buckling down and doing the “no further progress” walks and I’m back to reeking of hot dogs, but we’re doing well!

I’m not by any means, saying any of this was easy.  Lily is a 60 pound hunk of muscular love. While we were working on the dog reactivity issues, we (sigh) haven’t worked on her people greeting manners.  She thinks that all people on the planet exist only to give her love and snuggles, and that every person wants her to jump up on them. I’m still a little embarrassed to have people come in the house still because she’s SO exuberant. I try to point out to people that isn’t it amazing that a dog that was tossed in a dumpster still LOVES people, but most people don’t see that, they simply see a spotted beast flying at them!

Through this work, I think we have curbed her desire to jump over our BRAND NEW 7 foot fence, which is a good thing, as I was going to have to bring some barbed wire home from work and coat the top of our fences . . . JUST KIDDING!!

Lily is a big huge, licking, stinking butt, monster commitment, but we adore her. And she has come a long way: Just last week she was attacked by a miniature schnauzer — yes, a 20 pound schnauzer attacked Lily on a run. The dog was off leash and came charging at us. I stopped running and panicked! Lily immediately sat down. The dog was baring her teeth, growling and then jumped on Lily. As this happened, I immediately saw headlines written all over this, if Lily reacted in any way to this off leash dog . . . The dog jumped all over Lily and she just sat there looking at me like an angel. After what seemed like forever, but was probably just a minute or two, the owner came flying out her door, yelling “OH MY GOSH! IS THAT A PIT BULL?!?!”  She came up to pull her schnauzer back, and as she did, the dog nipped her hand.  I suppressed a smile and said “yes, she is,” and led my well-behaved dog away.

A Hard Transition: Lollie Wonderdog’s story

March 7, 2012 By in Lollie, training 49 Comments

We’re so excited to share this very personal, intimate story from our dear friend Jen, adopter of our very first foster, Lollie Wonderdog (now Lily). We try our best to portray each of our foster dogs in a fair and honest light, while highlighting the positives more than the negatives. It’s both how we naturally see our dogs, and a better way to find their forever-homes than focusing on their “areas of opportunity.”

In the case of Lollie Wonderdog, we did this too. The truth is, Lollie/Lily was always a wonderful dog. But, a lot of readers will understand what I mean when I say that she is a lot of dog. She has a big personality. She is full of passion, and as a result, she was somewhat reactive. Not aggressive, just excitable and explosive — reaction types that can, unfortunately, lead to the same result as aggression in some cases. In the coming weeks we’ll be exploring the concept of reactivity and dog communication — but for now, we want to share this account of Jen’s first weeks with Lily. We think this is so important because it’s a glimpse into how challenging a dog’s transition can be into a new home. Many families adopt a dog expecting the dog to fit seamlessly into their life right away — but that’s asking an awful lot of the dog, who has just lost everything familiar and been plopped into all new surroundings with new people and new rules. Some dogs take this in stride, while others have a harder time.

We realize now that our environment was great for dogs coming out of a shelter — our home is calm, we don’t have any kids running around, and our neighborhood is quiet with relatively little car and pedestrian traffic. It’s a great place to recuperate from a stressful journey. But on the flip side, it’s a fairly low-stimulation environment compared to the homes of many of our adopters — we learned this through hearing about Lily’s transition.

I commend Jen for sticking with Lily and working so hard to acclimate her to her new home, family, and neighborhood. And I thank Jen for typing up her experiences for us to share — she writes with great frankness. We hope that rather than discouraging folks from bringing home a dog who needs work, Jen’s tale will help folks who are in similar situations feel less alone. Please keep in mind that Lily’s transition into her new life was the most challenging of all of the eight dogs we’ve placed into homes. And you should also remember that despite her rocky start, Lily is now studying for the CGC, and is on track to become a “warrior companion” dog at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

Without further delay, here’s Part 1 of Jen’s story:

My heart broke when I read that Nutty Brown has been returned. It hit me right in the gut. All I could think of was that it could have been the same for Lily . . . She was so close to being an adoption return.

About 2 months after we adopted Lily, she nipped my son. She didn’t hurt him, but I freaked out. I frantically told Aleks: I couldn’t do it anymore. I needed to find another home for her. I was desperate and heartbroken.  Might Aleks take my kids and I keep Lily? I didn’t want to let her go, but I was worried about whether it might happen again?  My son, being a 10 year old boy with some impulsivity issues, wants to love her and squeeze her and hug her ALL the time! Try as I might, I was worried that I would turn my back and he might not follow the rules and stress Lily out. Lily had had a difficult time transitioning from quiet Foster Casa to the madness of two working parents and a herd of kids! It had been weeks of frantic barking throughout the house, barking through the night, running out the front door at any opportunity and setting off panicked “ there’s a loose pit bull in the neighborhood hysteria”, and lunging at other dogs on the leash.

I had fallen for Lily….Her big brown spots, her giant tongue, her white spotty tail…and I felt like I had failed her.  Lily’s transition from foster home to our home was a difficult one.  Unaccustomed to a loud street, she barked at all the cars going by ALL THE TIME.  We have huge floor to ceiling windows with views of the street with a non-stop dog walking parade past our house that she barked at ALL THE TIME…It was a nightmare! Lily would look out one window, bark and race from window to window, running through the house at top speed….She’d throw herself against the windows barking at dogs, birds and squirrels! Oh, the squirrels drove her nuts! And walking her was a nightmare, she would bark and lunge at other dogs, nearly rip the leash out of my hand going after squirrels…I came to dread walking her and tried to do it early in the morning or late at night to avoid the madness….

The day she told Isaiah to back off, it all came to a head. Aleks and I traded many frantic emails that day. I just couldn’t pick up the phone and say that I couldn’t handle this dog, that I was ready to give up… All I could think was “where would she go?” If she went back to the shelter, surely she’d be overlooked. I realized in talking to Aleks, that the problem wasn’t Lily, it was her humans! I either needed to recommit to taking care of her, or hope for a better home for her. As a huge, muscular pit mix, we realized her chances for a good home were slim. We decided to start to really work on things . . . 

First, we had to change her environment. We bought some “frosted” film to put over the lower parts of the windows so Lily couldn’t see out. An amazing barking reduction! After all, she can’t bark at what she can’t see, right? A trainer explained it this way: Lily thinks her barking is scaring off the dogs.  She follows them from window to window barking and eventually she “scared” them away (when really they went walking down the street). After we covered the windows, we started some serious retraining to reduce the barking at other dogs.  Whenever I saw a dog walking by, I opened the front door and sat with Lily watching the dogs go by through the storm door.  When the dog came into view, I “jackpotted” Lily.

Essentially, from the second the dog came in our view, I fed her a constant stream of “super” treats. For Lily, this was pieces of chicken, string cheese, hot dogs — the good stuff. If her mouth was full, she couldn’t bark.  The second the dog went out of view, the treats stopped, we closed the door and went on our business.  On the weekends, I could do this 7 or 8 times a day, maybe more. I was great fun to be around! Weekends would find me ripping the front door open, ignoring the neighbor walking by and frantically stuffing hot dogs in Lily’s mouth. I smelled fantastic!

Pretty soon, Lily was anticipating treats instead of getting upset when dogs walked by the house, and our frantic window barking was fading away. Then it was time to work on seeing and meeting dogs out in the neighborhood . . . “

. . . to be continued

Back to School

March 6, 2012 By in Snickerdoodle 26 Comments

The Doodlebug is going to school . . . and mama’s going too!

Doodlebug could barely sleep last night from anticipation about the first day of basic obedience class tonight. He’s nervous and excited! He’ll be joining a small handful of fine canines for a six-week adult basics class under the cedar and oak trees at the Canine Center for Training and Behavior. Under the mentorship of his trainer, we hope he’ll learn how to be confident and focused in new settings, solidify and refine his basic commands, and finally learn the loose leash walking that mama has excused him from during his heartworm treatment. He’s nervous about all the homework he’s going to have — it will not only include practicing basic commands, but also establishing and reinforcing house rules about polite behavior and building a stronger relationship with his people.

But the Dude isn’t the only one going to school — I’m in school too. At the beginning of this year I joined the Center as an intern/apprentice, and I’ve immersed myself deeply in the world of dog behavior and learning. On top of observing and assisting in group classes, behavioral evaluations, and private lessons dealing primarily with reactivity, anxiety, and aggression, there’s mountain of reading around here and enough writing assignments and other homework to keep me busy for months.

Luckily, the boys (especially the Doodlebug) are totally committed to helping mama succeed!

The Magic Sofa B&B

March 5, 2012 By in Uncategorized 29 Comments

When it comes to The Dora, our boys just can’t resist climbing up on her and taking epic naps in the sunshine that streams in through the windows and bathes her in warmth. They’re drawn to her velvety grey upholstery and the fuzzy teal blanket that drapes over her cushions and leaves bits of blue fuzz embedded in their paws at the end of the day. She’s a true luxury.

But this weekend The Dora outdid herself: when Chick’s our dear friends from DC — M&M — came down to meet our Dude for a long weekend visit, the Dora shed her cushions and unfolded into a spectacular expanse of soft, springy wonder. Although they’d never seen it before, the boys immediately knew that the unfolded surface was made for one purpose and one purpose only: for laying on top of and requesting rubs and scratches from their visitors the Ms.

Clearly, the boys were not mistaken — their guests the Ms understood the task at hand and got right to work — not being put off by the boys’ ungentlemanly postures:

While Sir Chick is well accustomed to being fawned over by friends and strangers alike, this was the Dude’s first opportunity to be truly spoiled by overnight guests, and he really basked in the attention of his new devoted fans friends:

After the Ms’ visit, the boys have decided that overnight guests are so fun that they are going to open up their own B&B in our guest bedroom — in which the boys provide the bed and the guests provide the breakfast. They’re now taking reservations for this spring and summer!

In love with our boys and want your very own? Check out Love-A-Bull’s lovely adoptable dogs here.