Two Tales to Warm Your Heart

This morning's email brought a link to a wonderful story - a story of a life saved and a love found.

It reminded me of the very first "rescue" I took part in before our local rescue even came into existence. Not because the circumstances were the same, but because of the pup involved.

I was a real estate broker and one of my agents had gotten acquainted with an agent from a neighboring town - and it had someone come out that she was a dog lover.

One day he called to tell her that he managed a rental in a nearby town and had gone there today to check the house after the tenants left... and there was a dog tied to the tree in the back yard. Did she want to do something about it?

She told me what was going on and we set out to rescue the dog. By some lucky chance, my big "dog cage" was in the back of my pickup, but we had no blanket.

We arrived at this house to find the most miserable looking, filthy dog you can imagine. The tree he was tied to was surrounded with dust, so of course he was covered with dust. The agent had given him water but he was hungry on top of being filthy.

We couldn't decide what kind of dog this was - he had long, curly blonde hair. Could he be a standard poodle? No, must just be a mixed breed of some kind.

There was a shed filled with clothes the tenants didn't take, so we grabbed whatever looked clean enough for a filthy dog and put it in the crate for a bed, then loaded him up. I have to say that neither of us really wanted to touch him - he was that dirty! But he was friendly and cooperative - glad to have some attention, I suppose.

On the way back to our office my friend called a dog groomer friend who said to bring him right in. She'd donate to the cause. So, we fed him, then took him to the groomer.

Imagine our shock when we went after him a few hours later and found what appeared to be a purebred Cocker Spaniel!

We had him in the office and our secretary asked if she could take him along when she went to pick up her son from day care. Of course we said yes, since we still had no idea what we were going to do with him.

Well, that was that. The day care lady took one look at him and asked if she could have him. She had wanted a golden Cocker as long as she could remember. That night he slept with her son, and they've been fast friends ever since.

That story had a happy ending, as so does this one.

Thank you Carolyne, for sharing your story.

And... Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Marte

Coyote Scare Tonight!

It took a half hour before I quit shaking!

Tonight I let the dogs out for their 10 o'clock run around the yard, and within minutes I heard the kind of barking that strikes fear into a dog lover's heart. Pepper and Suzie both sounded scared - panicked, even. Ralph, who goes on a rope when I let him out after dark, sounded angry. He's the only one large enough to defend against a coyote of any size, and he couldn't reach the others.

And the other voices that joined the fray sounded ominous. I know, it could have been a small coyote, visiting all alone. But it sounded like more than one, and that can mean death to domestic dogs.

Of course I started yelling at them to come back up the hill, then started screaming just some kind of noise in hopes of scaring the coyotes. Meanwhile, I remembered my fire crackers and ran back inside to get them. By the time I lit two of them my dogs were back at the door, looking relieved, and the "extra voices" had stilled.

I think that from now on, before I let them out for the night-time potty run, I'll go out and shoot a fire cracker or two. Knowing my kids have encountered intruders in the dark is just too frightening.

A poem that bears repeating: Inner Peace

If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can get going without pep pills,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,

Then you are probably the family dog!

Dogs - learning to be properly social

Freckles is a sweet young thing - just 4 months old, and so full of silly. She belongs to our neighbor and we're all working to get my 3 grouches to accept her. Ralph, the "big guy" has decided to just sigh and let her tromp on him - as long as she keeps it down. A well said snarl gets her to back off.

And now, she's decided he's her protector. So if she gets worried, she goes and snuggles up as close to him as she can get. This evening she just laid across his back.

But Suzie and Pepper have no patience at all for a kid jumping on their heads! It went pretty well last night, and I think with a few more supervised meetings they'll all be OK together.

Our neighbor likes to get around the neighborhood on his 4-wheeler, and he's attached a rug to the space in front of him and devised a harness that hooks him and Freckles together so she can lay in front of him and not fall off. When she sits there on the 4-wheeler ready for a ride she looks like the queen of all she surveys!

Meanwhile, I had to laugh today because of a wagging tail. I was listening to Joe Vitale's Money Clearing tape and he said "Money can buy you a good dog, but only love can make his tail wag."

A few minutes later I walked up the stairs to the kitchen and Pepper was laying with his back toward me at the top of the stairs. When I spoke to him, the tail started thumping... and that made me feel super!

Gotta love these canines!

Americans Love Their Pets!

According to "Planet Dog," there are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States. And we Americans spend more than $5.4 billion on them each year.

Of that, $1.5 billion is spent on pet food - which is 4 times the amount spent on baby food.

Why do we love them so much? 94% of us say that our pets make us smile more than once a day. Also, some studies have shown that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks.

Would you say those pets are good for us?

On a shopping trip last week we visited several stores, and since we're social people, visited with the clerks who helped us. Most said that sales were down - which is what the newspapers are saying. But the pet supply store was just as crowded as ever!

So, How does one do this kind of dog training?

Looks like lots of dogs can say "I love you" but there's even more!

An unbelievable story about dog mis-identification

This morning's newspaper had a "hint" that left me shaking my head.

It seems a couple took their dog to the groomer to be shaved. The lady paid the bill while the husband went after the dog. Everyone was upset because they couldn't find the collar and leash that went with the dog, so the man carried the dog out and put it in the car.

When they got home and took the dog inside, it ran around sniffing everything and acting as if it had never been there before.

Turns out it hadn't!

Suddenly the man noticed that the dog running around their house was a female, and their dog was a male.

They had come home with the wrong dog! A quick phone call to the groomer and a trip back got them their own dog, along with his collar and leash.

The caution was to be careful, because shaved dogs all look alike.

Can you believe that?

Did their dog not act glad to see them? Did they not "know" their own dog just from its face and its attitude toward them? If you love your dog, surely you would recognize him or her.

This, to me, is like saying that you need to be careful picking your kids up from day care because they might have switched clothes!

What do you think? Would you be able to tell your dog from all others, even if he or she was shaved?

Border Collies

You mustn't believe everything you read...

Tonight I read that the Border Collie is among the 10 most intelligent breeds - She shares the top 10 round-up with Poodles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Doberman Pinchers, Shetland Sheepdogs, Labrador Retrievers, Papillons, Rottweillers, and Australian Cattle dogs.

Hmmm... They're right about the Border Collies. Suzie is especially smart. However, the only Golden Retrievers I know are very loving and kind, but intelligent? Not especially.

Then I came across another list - and the Border Collie was listed among those breeds who hate cats and should not be left alone with them. Guess I'd better tell Suzie and Tiger they can't be friends any more.

I also learned that Border Collies are type A dogs for type B humans, and that they make great jogging companions. I don't know about jogging, but Suzie makes a great "go feed the horses" companion.

Border Collie's are also listed as one of the ten clumsiest dogs... maybe because they move so quickly? I think I won't tell Suzie about this, because she'd be insulted. She thinks she's a graceful, beautiful princess... and she is!

Here's to happy critters,
Marte

Should you take your dog to obedience training?

Yep - I firmly believe it. But I didn't always think so.

Before I knew better I thought that taking a dog to obedience school would turn them into some kind of robot or something - that they'd lose their personalities. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

I don't know what caused me to take Suzie - maybe the fact that the classes were being held only a few miles away, or maybe because so many in animal rescue were going and it suddenly sounded like fun.

It did turn out to be fun, and while I enjoyed it, Suzie absolutely loved it! She would get so excited when we drove up to the building where classes were held that she could hardly contain herself. Wiggling all over, whining to get out... she couldn't wait to get to class!

We enjoyed it so much that we took the advanced class and she earned a "Canine Good Citizen Certificate." Then we took the agility class - and she thought jumping was so much fun that when I walked over to a table to look at new leashes she jumped right up on the table to help me!

The best part, of course, is that I now know how to communicate better with her, and she now minds better. It really is a safety issue to be sure your dog knows to come when called, to "leave it," and to sit and wait when told. She slips now and then, of course, and we do need to do refreshers once in a while.

Classes were no longer available when we got Pepper, but I had learned enough with Suzie's classes to transfer some of it to him. So tonight when I let him out of the car and he headed straight for the neighbor's cat he stopped as soon as I hollered "leave it." It feels pretty nice to be able to maintain neighborly relations that way.

Obedience trainers say that dog obedience school really is for the humans more than for the dogs. When we learn to be clear in our requests - and when we learn not to give one command with our voice and a different one with our body language, our dogs are much happier. They do, after all, want to please us.

If you can't get to a class, get a good book and study. Just remember to take it one step at a time so you don't frustrate yourself or your dog.

If you do take a class, be sure to listen - I was always amazed in class when the instructor told us to praise behavior with the name of the good behavior, but otherwise intelligent people didn't listen. When your dog sits on command, your role is to say "Good sit" several times and make them understand that what they just did was wonderful. But a good percentage of the humans couldn't get it. They kept right on with "Good dog" or "Good Hector."

Oh, one more thing. The classes we took were reward based and worked wonderfully. But I've heard of trainers who use fear based and punishment based methods. Maybe those are the ones that turn your dog into a robot with no personality. I wouldn't be surprised.

Here's to happy canines!
Marte

The doggie blog is Christine's fault...

She said that since I love dogs, and care very much for their welfare, I should have a blog about them. I said I already had too much to do, and I already have a web site about dogs, but...

Christine was right. Especially since there are so many things to talk about regarding dogs. Their good health, proper training, good food, and the joys of having someone around who loves you unconditionally.

I think it was Andy Rooney who said "Most dogs are better people than most people." And he was so right!

Anyway, to kick off this first post, I want to go back to an article I wrote a long time ago - How to Prevent Parvo. I just talked with a rescue worker a few days ago who was afraid one of the abandoned pups they found had it.

Luckily, "all" it had was a bad case of dehydration from being thrown out on a day in the high 90's and left to fend for itself without water or shelter for a couple of days. Once on IV fluids the little guy perked up and is now almost fine.

But that reminded me of other times when we weren't so lucky, and we lost some adorable little lives to the dreaded Parvo.

Parvo is an extremely contagious disease that attacks a dog's gastro-intestinal tract and then moves into its bone marrow. When treated at home, survival rates are .... read the rest ...

While you're there, look around. Then send me a note at writer@marte-cliff.com and tell me what else you'd like to see on that site.

AND... if you have had experience with Parvo, please share here. Too many people treat this deadly disease as if it were trivial, and of course you know it isn't.

Here's to happy pets,

Marte