Nov
A collection of pictures of Motley… Who I miss so much. There is a picture in this collection from the day I brought her home, to the last day we spent together before she went to her new home. I wish I never had to lose her.
Nov
Another collection of mobile uploads of Sammy over the last couple of years… Again, with my crappy Blackberry Curve.
Nov
Here’s a collection of mobile pictures of Sammy over the last couple of years (taken with a Blackberry Curve).
Nov
I got a new dog today. She’s a Australian Shepherd, and soooooo adorable! <3
Aussies are beautiful dogs. :) Congratulations!
Oct
The dog park isn’t the same without Motley.
May
Sammy waiting for a treat.
May
Updated List of Dog Blogs
- Sammy, Motley, and Helo
- Wrigley, Eskimo Jo, Cubby, and Mojo
- Floyd and Marley
- Eddo and Emma
- Huey and Jelly
- Bentley, Loki, and Mowgli
- Reilly and Addie
- Chloe and Oscar
- Dylan, Indie, Bogart, and Penny Lane
- Roxy and Shorty
- Piper and Bruce
- Liz and Mei
- Ollie and Kiva
- Belle, Sadie, and Akaila
- Fin and Tuhi
- Osiris, Isis, and Indy
- Oby and Jasper
- Thor and Freya
- Gigi and Gaston
- Emma Bean
- Conney
- Waffles
- Yoshi
- Rainy and Sandy
- Pudge
- Ed and Ghibli
- Marie Curie
- Piper
- Einstein
- Roxy
- Gizmo
- Luna and Twinkie
- Ninja
- Cricket
- Sheldon
- Brick
- Trinket
- Roosevelt
- Winston
- Mahalo
- Zombie
- Kiki
- Winnie
- Bruce
- Starbuck
- Cash Man and Zig Pop
- Reuben
- Kipper
- Dexter and April
- Riley
- Penny
- Jens Peter
- Watson
- Tesla
- Lucy
- Newton
- Benny
- Sweet Pea
- Watson
- Brody
- Washburn
- Maximus
- Newton
- Darby
- Watson
- Sookie
- Steve
- Herbie
- Carlton
- Percy
- Corbin Dallas
- Cosmo
- Gambit
- Penelope
- Ein
- Pickles
- Maestro
- Desmond Tutu
- Grissom
- Holly
- Charles
- Penelope
- Lola
- Otis
- Hambone, Cupcake, and Wolfgang
- Ruby
- Augustus
- Izzie
- Chubby
- Wiley
- Reddington
- Ollie
- Mochi
- Taziki Ridilla
- Chewie
- Charleston Chew Bearz
- Mowgli
- Ventus
- Gus Gus
- Gatsby
- Snarky
- Berry
Apr
Motley catching some sweet air at the dog park!
Apr
Helo’s First Block Party
I am so freaking proud of my boy. Helo went to his very first block party tonight and did amazing! I expected a lot more howling out of him, but he only barked at the strange dogs. He also wanted to run and play with the kids who were running circles around us. Helo is not quite six months old, so obviously if he sees objects moving fast (kids, squirrels, balls, whatever) he’s going to REALLY want to go play with it. People (parents especially, with good reason) are usually freaked out by this behavior, whether it’s a puppy or full grown dog wanting to lunge after something. The immediate thought to most people is, “Oh my God, that dog is aggressive!” But what people fail to realize is that canines lunge for a number of reasons. Most of the time it’s out of playfullness, sometimes it’s out of fear, and in certain circumstances it is aggression.
In Helo’s case, he usually barks and lunges when he is afraid. One good example is the Boxer I blogged about in my last entry, who kept antagonizing Helo because he was the only dog to react to her (she likes it when dogs react). Some dogs who are afraid or uncertain of a situation simply separate themselves from the problem. Helo will initially retreat from whatever makes him uncomfortable - in this case, it was the Boxer. But since she was very persistent and continued to harass him, he had to move on to step two: barking. This didn’t seem to scare her off either, so he began to growl and bare his teeth in a way that clearly states to another dog, “Leave me alone.” This behavior can look very threatening to a person who isn’t familiar with dog behavior. Helo eventually turned to pursuing the Boxer in order to scare her away.
While the behavior looks scary, it’s actually his way of trying to stop the other dog from frightening him because he is actually the one who is afraid… Since people often mistake this as aggression, they don’t take steps to help their dog become more comfortable. In my case, the Boxer’s owner should have corrected her dog’s behavior. But since she didn’t, I had to take Helo away from the situation. If you leave your dog in a situation he’s not comfortable in, there are bound to be consequences! This is usually how accidents happen - dog attacks in particular.
Aggression often stems from fear. A great way to try to prevent fear aggression is to socialize your dog as early as possible. This is why it’s very good to get Helo out and about. The dog park is great, but every dog owner should realize that accidents do happen at dog parks - they can actually be the worst place for a dog. Fortunately my dog park is pretty good, with only a handful of “bullies” who come to play at the park. Pet stores and pet-friendly events are the best way to socialize your dog in new and scary situations.
Every year my dogs go to dog festivals like Paws for a Cause, or events like the Christmas parade (we walk with the Lighted Dog Brigade in the Hampton Holly Days parade every year). Every Summer they host a block party in Downtown Hampton on Saturday nights which is also pet friendly, and Helo will be going almost every weekend because it’s such a great experience for him.
You can’t expect a dog to know how to behave in every situation without being introduced and taught how to react. Tonight I showed Helo that the block party isn’t scary. The more he goes, the more likely he is to become comfortable in such chaotic environments. Once his confidence builds up, he won’t be afraid of his surroundings and won’t feel the need to bark at things that frighten him. It just takes time.
Look at Sammy for example. She is a herding breed with extremely strong herding instincts. Unfortunately people see this type of dog nip at a person and they immediately conclude that the dog is aggressive and it’s better to stay away. You can really tell when you’re around dog savvy people or not, because the dog savvy people aren’t afraid to come up and offer to be apart of the training process by interacting with the dog slowly. I’ve learned that Sam nips for two reasons - she has a drive for it (that’s what these dogs are bred for, after all) or because she feels that someone is a threat to me. She is protective of me and if a person (particulalrly a stranger) makes a sudden movement towards me, she will go in for a nip on the leg (I always correct her immediately if she does).
Then if she sees fast moving objects (like children in particular) her instincts kick in and scream, “CHASE!” It’s a lot like dangling a feather in front of a cat! Over the course of the last year that I’ve had her, I’ve been able to gain more control over her natural behavior. She is not the kind of dog you should leave alone with a child (no dog should ever really be left alone with a kid), but she has learned to control herself around jumpy children (which is difficult even for non-herding breeds since its so darn fun to chase kids). When I first got her, it was nearly impossible to have any kids near this dog, but now they can come up and even hug her around the neck (which is extremely intrusive and threatening in canine language).
People just forget that they ARE animals, not accessories made for our convenience.
