Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Silent Fireworks – It’s a Thing!

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Did you hear about the town in Italy that banned noisy Fireworks and began using Silent Fireworks instead? Yes, Silent Fireworks are a thing!!

Realizing how many animals were stressed out and how many ran away during celebrations,  the town of Collecchio (in the province of Parma) passed an ordinance requiring citizens to use Silent Fireworks. Settee Fireworks the manufacturer of the silent fireworks, tailors the fireworks to fit the venue.

Oh how I wish it would catch on here in the states.

Truthfully, we live far enough from the town celebration so the booms are very faint. If I put the air on and the TV up loud, Sampson doesn’t even notice.

No, it’s not the town celebration that I worry about. It’s the neighborhood fireworks that really does my puppy in. Even with the air on and TV loud, he’s a panting stressed out mess.

We have one neighbor, two houses up that usually has a party on 4th of July and right around 9:30, he starts with the fireworks right in the street. Which can sound SUPER loud when he’s a bit farther uphill from us. Luckily for me, his neighbor across the street will call the police if the noise goes one minute past 10:00 PM.

Recently a friend shared that Melatonin can help dogs with separation anxiety. After speaking with my Vet she suggested it for thunder storms and I figure it might help with the fireworks as well.

And animals aren’t the only ones who suffer from noise phobias. Many of our veterans are suffering from PTSD and loud and sudden noises can send them into a panic.

I know, I know. It’s not 4th of July and I know (at least around here) that many people don’t celebrate with fireworks for Memorial Day weekend.  AND I know you all are careful and considerate when celebrating the holidays, but not everyone is.

Pets and War Vets

This has been a public service announcement on behalf of animals and veterans everywhere.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend, from all of us at Heart Like a Dog.

Free To Good Home

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Free to good home. We just had a baby and I don’t have time for the dog.

You’ve seen the ads on Craig’s list or the local papers.  And if you’re a dog lover it raises your blood pressure, gets you all kinds of pissed off and spouting lines like, “Are you going to get rid of the first child once you have your second?”

The sad reality is people get rid of their dogs far too frequently when they have children. Or the dog simply becomes a nusiance, just another responsibility in a busy and overwhelming life.

My darling AJ (Pup Fan to you, Thelma to my Louise) sent me a message on Facebook on Monday with a link she’d read that fired her up.  (I don’t wish to provide the link as I don’t want to give this blog any more traffic.  Pup Fan has some awesome quotes and summarizes the post quite well in hers.  Go read that.)  In this post the woman who absolutely adored her dog had children and her poor little Velvel fell by the wayside.  He became somewhat of a thorn in her side.

Pup Fan wrote a beautiful post, “Do you have to choose between having a dog and having kids .”  There is some great discussion on this post and I encourage you to read the post and comments.

Pup Fan asked me to weigh in, as a person who has had a dog and children.  The sad thing is, I could see so much of myself in the post.

Remember yesterday’s post where I said to Sampson, “Before there was you, I wasn’t me”?  Sampson changed me from a dog owner, to a dog lover.  And yes, there really is a difference.

Before I had Sampson I owned dogs.  Now I am owned by dogs.

I’ve had dogs my entire life.  As an adult I’ve had four, Buffy and Roxanne (at different times) and Sampson and Delilah.  And if I could turn back time, I would want do-overs for Buffy and Roxanne.

There is no nice way to say this.  I was a shitty dog owner.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 The last picture of Roxanne.

Hubby always said she was a stupid dog.  But I say we were the stupid ones.  We had three kids with active lives and we put absolutely no time into Roxanne.  She was loved.  Yes, she was.  But she didn’t have the life she deserved.

And poor Buffy.  We were kids having kids raising a puppy on old school traditions.  I don’t need to say anymore.

After reading the original post my heart broke for Velvel and it broke for Roxanne and for Buffy too. And if it’s any consolation to Pup Fan, some day AB will feel badly too.  Because there are many times I cry for Buffy and Roxanne and for the lives they could have had.

I’m past my child-bearing years now (thank God!) but we do have grandchildren.  And our grandchildren came after Sampson and Delilah.  Our grandchildren are being raised around our dogs and our grandchildren will know Sampson and Delilah are part of our family.  As our grandchildren grow and develop interests and participate in different activities our lives will change.

But not our love for our dogs.

I see Pup Fan’s post as well as the original post as a good thing.  It is encouraging great conversation.  People are thinking.  Adding a dog or a child to your life is a big responsibility.  It is a life long commitment and one that you should have discussion about! How will things change for the child/dog when the dog/child arrives?  Who will assume what responsibilities and for whom?  These are important questions people.

Yes you can have children and dogs, but it requires time and commitment on your behalf.  But I can assure you, it is time and commitment well invested.

Did you read the original post?  Pup Fans?  Is there anything you can add to the conversation?

Approaching Fearful Dogs

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Neither of my dogs are fearful dogs in the traditional sense of the classification.  I say this because I think any dog faced with a new situation can be a little fearful.  Remember the pallet incident at the Mellow Mutt?

My point is I have no real experience dealing with fearful dogs.

Oh sure I’ve read about them.  In fact, I even follow some bloggers who have fearful dogs, but that doesn’t mean I know how to deal with them.

Which is why when I saw this posted on the Bringing up Bella facebook page yesterday I thought it would be good to share with others who may be in a similar position as myself. (FYI, Leslie was quoting Debbie Jacobs at Fearfuldogs.com)

“Words of good advice for anyone entering our home…

Meeting a shy dog?  Ignore them.  If a shy dog comes up to you for a sniff…ignore them.  Want to feed a shy dog a treat?  Drop it and ignore them.

First impressions matter.  If your first interaction with a dog does not create a fearful reaction you won’t have to put the time and effort into changing it.”

I wouldn’t have known this.  Yes, I would certainly know to let the dog approach me, but once a dog has sniffed me my instinct is to reach out to pet them.

How many of you have the same instinct?  Would you know not to reach out and pet the pup?

Our current house has a screened porch off the back door.  Shortly after we moved in Hubby changed the hinges so the door will swing either in or out.

During the nicer months, the back door (while we’re home) remains open so the dogs can go in or out as they please.  During the colder months, all we have to do is open the back door to let them out.

We’re lazy, what can I say.

When we first modified the door, both dogs, especially Delilah were afraid to push it open themselves.  We had to go out and open the door for them.

But after a week or so adjusting to the door swinging behind them, they realized it wasn’t THAT scary and they could push it open for themselves.

If we hadn’t been patient and let them adjust to it at their own pace, we could have dogs terrified of that door.  They’ve even learned timing when coming in one behind the other. 🙂

"Pssst....Hey Bob"

You’re right, it’s not that scary.

Do you have a fearful dog?  If so, how do you deal with the situation when introducing new people/experiences.  If you don’t have a fearful dog, did you know the proper way to greet them?

 

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