Heart Like a Dog

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

Follow-Up Friday

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For those new to the blog, my follow-up Friday provides me with an opportunity to update or revise a post from the previous week.

You know sometimes you post about something and you need an update but it doesn’t warrant a whole blog.  Or sometimes someone made a comment that really resonated with you.  Yup, Follow-Up Friday baby!

Please feel free to grab the badge and join me in recapping or wrapping up your week.   It doesn’t matter if you do it every week or just once in  a while.

This week’s posts have been largely focused on training.  If you have a dog you understand some part of your life will always include training.

I’d like anyone who’s struggling with a challenging dog to know that there is hope.

Don’t give up, check out new trainers, new sports, new groups.  Find something that works for both you and your dog.

Practice Makes Perfect –  Update:

On yesterday’s walk I took Delilah off-leash again.  As soon as I took her off, I called her back.  Anytime she got too far ahead of me, I called her back.  Most of the time she kept coming back to me on her own, or kept looking back at me, as if she wanted my approval.

I gave it to her, along with lots of treats.

Again I kept her off-leash time to a limit, then back on leash she went.

It is the small successes that add up.

Passive Aggressive – Author’s Note

I think I could write another full post on this particular topic.  There is so much I want to say, about the way people around me train and take care of their dogs.  Look for me to come back to this topic at a future date.

WTF/Whoo Hoo Wednesday – Update

Pamela was kind enough to point out that I missed a great big Whoo Hoo.  And that would be to the eight strangers who banded together to get the GDS, Misty down from the mountain.

That was my bad.  I was trying to shorten my post and get it published in a timely fashion.  And truthfully, sometimes the WTF really brings me down.

My friend at 2 Brown Dawgs blog mentioned in the comments that she read the entire thread regarding Misty’s rescue.

I didn’t.

Apparently the dog’s plight was posted on the message board and a group of people got together and went in and rescued Misty.

Then her owner came forward.

Which once again is a topic for an entire post, but only after I read the entire thread. 🙂

That’s it for me, hope you have a great weekend!

Most Improved

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Well hello, most improved the instructor said in a high-pitched meant-to-praise-and-reward-your-dog tone of voice.

It worked.

Delilah lifted her head up as Jackie our instructor reached down and took Delilah’s face in both hands, bringing her own face down to deliver a kiss on the end of Delilah’s nose.

We had just completed the last class of our Intermediate Dog and Handler class put on by Pet Education and Therapy.

Jackie looked up at me and we shook hands.

Thank you, I said.

Thank you very much.

It was my pleasure, really.  You know you could title her in Rally with no problems, Jackie said.

Really? I may have sounded slightly incredulous, I mean this is Delilah we were talking about after-all.

Oh yes, no problem.  She’d pass first time in the ring.

If she did as well in the ring as she did in Tuesday night’s class, yes she could pass in a Rally ring.

Our class was held outside.  We started with a quick recap of sits, downs, looks and stays.

Then we went advanced.

We did Figure-Eights.

Using two cones and starting in the middle, work your figure-eight with your dog in a heel position.

We worked on recalls.

Jackie had us line up and then she walked up to the first dog, took the leash from the handler and the handler crossed the field and recalled their dog.  She did this super quick, so we were running.  On the second pass she didn’t tell us, but she was holding a handful of treats.

I had to call Delilah twice, the first time she didn’t even look at me. 🙁

Using a jump, we practiced our wait command.

This is Mopar, he is nine months old; waiting was hard for him.

We then worked our stay commands.

Delilah was the one of only two dogs who did a three-minute down WITHOUT breaking.

Three minutes, that’s nothin! What else ya got?

She was the ONLY ONE who did a one minute sit.

Jackie says the sit stays are really hard, because some dogs want to just lie down.

Lastly we walked past another dog, making sure we had a loose leash.

I think this class was really good for Delilah and me.  I really do feel like we have formed a bond.

And I’m really grateful that Sara has no problem with me checking out another trainer.  Sometimes I think it’s good to hear the same thing from someone different.

I know there are things that Delilah and I learned in this class that Sara has tried to teach us.  Maybe it’s because I’m so comfortable with Sara that I don’t pay attention enough. :-0

Surprised, eh?

Me too.

What surprised you the most, that Delilah and I were most improved or that I don’t pay attention? 😉

WTF/Whoo Hoo Wednesday

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Please note this post is not meant to make light of the deeds described here, only to make fun of, ridicule, bully and just plain beat the shit out of the idiots who commit these stupid acts.

Town wants family to get rid of pet bunny, New Haven, CT

Yeah, apparently New Haven has a zoning law that says rabbits are not allowed on properties if the property size is less than 2 acres.

I have one question.

WHY?

What’s the reasoning behind not letting a seven-year-old keep one little rabbit?  I can understand why you wouldn’t want tons of bunnies hopping about but what’s the harm in one?

What can I say about this?  It’s a bunny people, it hops around, chews wires and leaves little pellets of poop.

Oh and once a year it delivers eggs.  (Why does a bunny deliver eggs?  Wouldn’t that be better from a chicken? I guess here comes the Easter chicken just doesn’t sound right.)

I’m a little nervous for New Haven’s Easter Egg hunt next year.  I hope the site they choose is over 2 acres.

Dog Abandoned in Mountains, Colorado

I first saw this post on My Girlz Got Paws, and followed her linkage to the LOST AND FOUND page.  I’ve had this song stuck in my head all day.

Rocky Mountain High.

Yeah, someone is high in Colorado all right.

You don’t take your dog hiking, let it walk to the point that its paws get torn up and then leave it on the stinkin’ mountain.

You’ve been hiking too long and the altitude has gone to your brain.

Have you ever seen the picture of the person wading waist deep in water with their dog on their back?

Grab a vowel Vanna, there are ways to move your dog if you need to.

I often think about this while I am out in the woods with my dogs.

What if one of them became ill or were injured?  How would I get them home?

Yes, I’ve actually thought about this.  I would remove my shirt or pants if necessary and drag my dog if need be.

Relax, I’m pretty sure Hubby would be able to help me to prevent that, but I reserve the right to keep my options open. 🙂

Puppy Stuffed In Bag Thrown Out Of Moving Car In Brentwood, West Islip, NY

A three-month old puppy was thrown out in a plastic bag from a moving car.

The puppy named Joey, broke his neck, bruised his lungs and has chest trauma.  The vets are not sure if he will ever be able to use his front legs again.

The puppy also showed signs he may have been used as a bait dog for dog fighting.

Honestly what kind of sub-human species does this?

I hope they find these sick SOB’s and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

Better yet, I like the idea of a Bully Beatdown.

Have you ever watched this show?  It’s on MTV.

I know who watches MTV anymore?

This former UFC fighter takes on people who bully others and puts them in the ring with professional fighters.

Yup and then they get their asses kicked.

Oh to live in Jodi’s world. 🙂

 Miami-Dade Residents Vote to Keep Pit Bull Ban Tuesday, Miami, FL

I had hopes that Miami-Dade would be my Whoo Hoo segment but sadly ignorance still abounds in Miami.

Tuesday just over 63% of the voting population chose to keep the 23-year pit bull ban in place.

Disappointing?  Yes.

Surprising? No.

Unfortunately even though we live in the information age, many people are misinformed about this breed of dogs, mostly because of the ignorance and cruelty of a small, select group of individuals.

Let’s not take this as a defeat but as a lesson learned.

Educate and advocate.  That should be our battle cry.  Together we CAN defeat BSL.

Whoo Hoo

After all that awful shit I had to leave you with something beautiful.

John Unger and Schoep, Bayfield, WI

You’ve all seen the photo on facebook.

A man standing in the water cradling his dog.

A dog that has been his companion for 19 years.

A dog old-age is creeping up on.

When John carries Schoep into the water, Schoep finally gets relief from his aches and pains.  The comfort of his human, the rocking of the waves and the lack of pressure on his joints allows him to finally get some sleep.  Sometimes they stay there for hours.

After all the ugly and sad WTF stories, it restores my faith in humanity to see someone taking such care of their geriatric dog.

How was your week?  Anything exciting to add to this Woo Hoo post?

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