Killers Among Us
We live with killers. Did you know that? Likely all of you reading this are sharing your home and possibly your beds with a known assassin. Even the sweetest among them are lethal and don’t you forget it for a second.
Today I saw first hand, the violence in action. My sweetest of all dogs, Bella is ruthless when her prey drive is in 5th gear. She has been hunting a nest of bunnies in our big yard for a week now. Well, actually, she hunted for a day and then has spent the rest of the week inside. I had hoped that the bunnies would be old enough by now to get away, but I was wrong. I heard the squeaking while I was moving large rocks. I started running while holding a rock, didn’t get far, stopped to drop the rock carefully and ran to her, the whole time yelling at the top of my lungs “LEAVE IT!!!” (which didn’t work, even for me, by the way). I thought I had saved it, it looked unharmed and wiggled in my hand, but then slowly, I saw it’s neck moving strangely and, well, I’ll save you the details. The bunny just slowly died. I stood there for some time, marveling at the beauty that goes so largely unnoticed by us – those velvety ears, the tiny nose, the beautiful fur, the perfect little face. It made me so sad, so very very sad, the waste of it, the loss of such a young life. I walked with it to the edge of the yard and gently slid it to the other side of the fence. Maybe some wild thing will eat a meal today. Maybe the life won’t be lost for nothing.
But then I realized the hypocrisy in me – I nearly rejoice when they kill chipmunks – the critters that ruin my gardens and my morning sleep – why do I have such an arbitrary view on the value of life? And as I turned to walk back to the house, Hermes joined me with a low head, sweeping tail and a smile that said clearly, “wasn’t that COOL? Dude, SO cool!” And I saw Bella in the distance, looking for more. They do what they do without all the stories in mind – they just do what they know to do – chase little furry things that move fast, but not fast enough.
Furminator Love
Today I ran my hand down Lollie‘s back and got a literal handful of loose hair. Yuck. The best thing to do when they shed like that is to get out the brush, and not any old brush, but the mother of ALL brushes – the Furminator.
I love the Furminator for many reasons and the main one is that once I furminate my dogs I don’t have to do it again for at least a week, usually more like a month. Really it is that effective. With ordinary brushes I would brush and then that night it would seem like they were still shedding just as much. Now I really see the results (gobs of hair coming out on the brush) and these results last.
So, if you haven’t explored the wonders of the Furminator, I encourage you to check it out. It is one of my all time favorite dog related tools.
 Pile o' fur 10lbs of hair lighter! |
 10lbs of hair lighter! |
Dogs teaching dogs
Otis likes the treadmill
We’ve had a busy week – Otis visited us for a week and overlapped with Teddy who is still here and now Jackson has joined him! So many male dogs … but everyone has gotten along great.
Otis is a hard worker and while he was here he asked for treadmill work every night. He asked by running around the basement, pushing the heavy leather furniture around with his head and then jumping on the treadmill and looking at me longingly. Every night he’d run for a half an hour – at 7.0 mph. I can’t keep up that pace myself, but he did. And little Teddy, nearly 5 months old, watched him. So, Otie has left and I miss him. He is a sweet, simple, joyful and accepting spirit. And I think Teddy misses him too.
Teddy watching Otis on the treadmill
Tonight Teddy got on the treadmill all by himself. I ran to get his leash and some cheese and turned on the power. Ever so gingerly, Teddy started to walk, almost on tip toes. He did fantastic! It seemed to me that he had learned how not only to do it but to not be afraid of it from watching his buddy Otis! I was amazed.
A day at Doggie Boot Camp
From time to time, some of the dogs we have fostered or trained will come and stay with us for a ‘doggie boot camp’ of sorts. This weekend we’ve hosted Otis and Teddy – here are some photos of their day today…
Otis, enjoying the beautiful day
Teddy visits the windy park
Otis works off the highlife on the treadmill
Teddy finds some shade
A puppy with a biting problem
Most puppies are mouthy but they rarely bite to draw blood.
I’ve been working with a very sad case of a puppy who bites when frustrated. Ordinarily, that isn’t that unusual as all puppies need to learn (and therefore be taught) to tolerate frustration. They need to learn patience and self control much like people need to learn those skills. They are the foundation of what we consider “manners.” When young puppies are very frustrated, it is normal for them to bite. However, all puppies who are healthy and have been raised with their mama and littermates have a natural respect for those in charge. And they all learn something called “bite inhibition.” They learn to hold back from biting full strength, and to use a bite only as a last resort. Their mama teaches them by her reactions when they do bite too hard or too quickly – she swiftly puts them in their place, usually by a nip of her own and a hard growl. And as puppies play together they learn that a hard bite stops play and that a soft bite lets it continue. Through these daily interactions all puppies raised well learn this important social skill.
Puppies learning how to inhibit their bite so that play can continue.
Not this little puppy. At 2 months of age this puppy would bite hard enough to draw blood, whenever it was even a bit frustrated. By the time I saw him at 4 months of age, he was confident in his ability to boss people around and bit frequently and with very little provocation. He bit me three times before I even knew what had happened, and that isn’t a common occurrence for me! What is so sad is that this sort of behavior in a puppy so young is highly unusual – to the point of being considered abnormal. It suggests that something has gone very wrong in this puppy’s neurological development or upbringing. I suspect that a large piece of the puzzle is that this particular puppy, even though he is registered with the American Kennel Club, was purchased at a pet store. It is likely that he wasn’t a product of one of the notorious puppy mills, but he could have been. It is more likely that he was taken from his mama and littermates far too young – I’d guess at about 3 or 4 weeks. And his mama is likely mentally unstable herself. It is such a sad story. The family who owns him loves him dearly but the pup has bitten everyone, and there are young children who live in the home. It is my strong opinion that this dog should be rehomed, if there is a home who could work with him. But I strongly suspect that this pup will likely have to be euthanized.
So, please, I cannot stress this enough, please do not purchase puppies from pet stores. Adopt a homeless puppy from a shelter or a foster home (H.E.L.P. is a great resource!). If you must, use a reputable breeder. Make sure they insist on keeping their puppies until they are at least 8 weeks of age. Make sure they keep them in such a way so that they have frequent contact with their mama. And make sure that they are willing to (and interested in) making any problems like this one, right.
Not just a vacuum, a Kirby
a Kirby vacuum
Tonight I did something that I wouldn’t have thought I would ever do. I bought a Kirby vacuum (they call it a Home Maintenance System)! I got a “free” room shampoo (which really means a HARD CORE sales call) from the family who adopted our foster mama, Annie. It was a nice gesture and I had been wanting to get my area rungs cleaned. I figured, “I’m good at saying ‘no’, no problem.”
Well…the guy was funny and charming so I was really enjoying myself, not feeling at all like I was going to be buying a vacuum that costs almost as much as our recent camper purchase. Boy was I wrong. First he vacuumed our area rug with our Dyson.
Brandon demonstrates the Kirby
Now, I believed that Dyson was a top of the line vacuum. We bought it because of how much hair and dirt the dogs just naturally bring into the house. I figured that we were set. When I saw how much DIRT and HAIR the Kirby vacuumed picked up, after our Dyson had already done the job, I was shocked. I hate carpets because they hold dirt. But area rugs are nice and cozy so I have two nice ones I use. I have often wished we had a carpet cleaner for them but I figured they were getting good and clean with our Dyson. Nope. Lately, I’d been saying to Mike that the carpets felt “slimy” and looked dirty. In fact, I was increasingly unhappy with the vacuum job he was doing (yes, my loving husband has taken on that task as his contribution to our house hold maintanence). I guess I thought it was him, being lazy. But long ago I decided to stay out of his contributions to the household. Also, have I mentioned that I really never liked my Dyson? It was so HEAVY and clunky and difficult to manage and just wrong. Anyway, the guy sold that Kirby SO HARD. Like his life depended on it! It was like watching a sporting event: he was sweating and jumping around so much I was afraid he was going to trip and fall out of our large picture window! But what really sold me was how dirty everything really was, and how clean the vacuum got it. With our son’s allergies, it seemed to me to be a good investment. So, anyway, now I own a vacuum that Mike equates to owning a Mercedes…which is sort of nice actually.
Dirt caught by the Kirby after the Dyson
So, for all you dog lovers out there I have a proposition – if you’d like to see the Kirby in action AND get a room carpet cleaned (or up to 6 items if you’re like us and have all hard wood floors) call Brandon on his cell at (252)548-9319. Tell him you got his number from us (from Kristin and Mike) and we’ll get a free bottle of carpet cleaner. He is a funny, entertaining guy and you’ll get a nice clean room Just make sure you’ve got about 90 minutes to give it. You won’t be sorry. Just practice saying “no thank you, just clean my carpet please.” Over and over and over…and then write in and tell us your experiences!
