Saturday, August 28, 2010

Where's Waldo?

Saturday Pet Blogger Hop!



  • Add your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. Add your name once and be seen on ALL participating Blog Hops for this week!

  • Grab the “Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop” button at the upper left of Life with Dogs (a blog you'll definitely want to follow if you're not already!) and include it in your Saturday Blog hop post so that your readers will know what is going on. *Note – posting is optional. Feel free to just link and follow.

  • Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool.

  • Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you’d like.

  • Comment on the blogs listed telling them you’re from the blog hop.

  • Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop!

  • Have fun! (This is the important part!)


  • Saturday, August 21, 2010

    Saturday Pet Blogger Hop!



  • Add your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. Add your name once and be seen on ALL participating Blog Hops for this week!

  • Grab the “Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop” button at the upper left of Life with Dogs (a blog you'll definitely want to follow if you're not already!) and include it in your Saturday Blog hop post so that your readers will know what is going on. *Note – posting is optional. Feel free to just link and follow.

  • Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool.

  • Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you’d like.

  • Comment on the blogs listed telling them you’re from the blog hop.

  • Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop!

  • Have fun! (This is the important part!)


  • Wednesday, August 18, 2010

    Tuesday, August 17, 2010

    I am Strange and Here is the Award to Prove It!

    My friend Tilly presented this award to me, and I must say that I am most honored to accept it! In my eyes, Strange is a very good thing!

    Some background regarding this award:

    "The 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits' award is given to only the strangest of folk, and as the recipient of such you are deemed very strange indeed. Congratulations.
    Now you must go forth and celebrate the strangeness of friends (and strangers - strangers are always allowed) by nominating blogs run by strange folk. *Beware, some people don't like you to refer to them as strange…Try to avoid them if possible."

    Of course, as with any award, there are some rules:

    1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.
    2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (don't mess with strange people).
    3. Nominate seven other blogs telling us why you think the recipient is strange enough to deserve the award.
    4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs. 
    5. And, if you email catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you've received the award for your strangeness, she'll enter you in the biggest kick-ass Strange Men competition ever. Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits.com (click on the award link on the home page).

    Pretty cool, don't you think? You win an award AND get to enter a contest to win other stuff!

    So, here are the seven blogs that I think are as strange as we are.









    Remember, Strange is Good!

    Well, I'm off to tell everyone about their awards. Have a great night!


    Trouper...

    ... wanted equal billing, too.

    Fool kids think they can take over. Just because they have a blog? Pffffft!

    Monday, August 16, 2010

    An Award!

    My very new friends at The Blab Labs (don't you love that blog title!) Emerald and Tierra, have given me an award!


    Wasn't that awfully nice of them??

    The first thing I'm supposed to do is write seven things about us:

    1) Oliver isn't afraid of ANYTHING! Anything except... The sound of motorcycles. Loud ones and quiet ones. Go figure! He even gets nervous if you blow a raspberry!

    2) Charlie likes to sleep under the comforter. Summer, winter - it doesn't matter. And when she'd ready for bed, she lets me know by sticking her head under the blanket!

    3) In this post, a lot of people mentioned Charlie's beautiful pawdicure. Unfortunately, she won't let me near her sweet little feetsies without biting and growling (sure, she looks sweet). She manages to let her nails get nice and long and they often break off on their own. Not very pretty, and certainly not very comfortable, I'm sure, but that's the sad truth! I usually bring her to the vet for her pawdicure.

    4) Both Oliver and Lucy snore... Loudly! I'd expect it from 12-year-old Lucy, but not 8-month-old Oliver! And when he grooms himself, he often sounds like a pig!

    5) Trouper is probably the smartest dog I've ever had. He's an obedience dream. I've taught him to sit - lay down - sit - lay down - left paw - right paw - both paws... You get the idea. He's got perfect eye contact, too. But agility? He's the only Border Collie on Earth who doesn't care about it. One night during agility class, he got halfway through the tunnel and stopped to eat the cookies that he found. He looked like a mouse in a snake's tummy.

    6) The minute Buster hears the ice dispenser filling a glass, he's in the kitchen. Like he has jets on his paws. Toss Buster an ice cube and you have a friend for life. Please don't tell would-be burglars. I would guess that a tray of ice cubes would be plenty to keep Buster busy enough while they emptied the house.

    7) There's no place I'd rather be than snuggled in my bed with all five of my dogs smushed around me! Sleep is so overrated!

    My other task is to pass this award on to 15 other bloggers. FIFTEEN!! I follow so many of you and I think you're all fantastic, wonderful, teeeee-riffic! How can I choose just 15? 

    So, I hope Emerald and Tierra don't mind, but I'm going to award it to all of you. Each and every one! Congratulations!



    Lucy

    She wanted equal billing. Something about the boys always being featured.

    Saturday, August 14, 2010

    Saturday Pet Blogger Hop

    It's a beautiful Saturday in Connecticut! 
    Oliver says stop what you're doing and make some friends today!






  • Add your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. Add your name once and be seen on ALL participating Blog Hops for this week!

  • Grab the “Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop” button at the upper left of Life with Dogs (a blog you'll definitely want to follow if you're not already!) and include it in your Saturday Blog hop post so that your readers will know what is going on. *Note – posting is optional. Feel free to just link and follow.

  • Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool.

  • Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you’d like.

  • Comment on the blogs listed telling them you’re from the blog hop.

  • Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop!

  • Have fun! (This is the important part!)




  • Saturday, August 7, 2010

    Saturday Pet Blogger Hop

    It's another gorgeous Saturday in Connecticut! 
    And Charlie says it's time to make some new friends!


  • Add your blog name and URL using the Linky Tool below. Add your name once and be seen on ALL participating Blog Hops for this week!

  • Grab the “Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop” button at the upper left of Life with Dogs (a blog you'll definitely want to follow if you're not already!) and include it in your Saturday Blog hop post so that your readers will know what is going on. *Note – posting is optional. Feel free to just link and follow.

  • Follow your co-hosts listed in the first 3 slots of the Linky Tool.

  • Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you’d like.

  • Comment on the blogs listed telling them you’re from the blog hop.

  • Follow back when you get a new follower through the Saturday Pet Bloggers Blog Hop!

  • Have fun! (This is the important part!)


  • Thursday, August 5, 2010

    New Show: Judge Oliver

    I don't normally see defendants in my chambers.
    I'll hear you out just as soon as I'm finished with my cookie.

    Wednesday, August 4, 2010

    Dog Shot and Killed by Owner's Boyfriend

    Buddy, a five year old German Shepherd, was dead within 48 hours of setting paws in his new home.

    I want this story (another write-up available here) to reach as many ears as possible, because this is nothing short of premeditated murder. Just because the victim was a dog shouldn't mean that the man who pulled the trigger should be allowed to walk away without paying for his horrible crime.

    Buddy was recently fostered out to a home in Middlefield, CT. Allegedly, the dog bit his new foster mom. Both the police and the animal control officer were called, and the dog was quarantined. Arrangements were made for the rescue who fostered the dog out to pick him up as quickly as possible.

    Apparently, the rescue wasn't fast enough.

    The owner's boyfriend retrieved the dog from a friend's home where it was being quarantined. Boyfriend went to the friend's house, got Buddy, brought him home - again, Buddy was so dangerous that Boyfriend could accomplish all of this - and shot Buddy dead in cold blood.
    #1: In Connecticut, if a dog bites, the owner can quarantine it at his home or he can choose to have it quarantined at the local animal control facility. Why was the dog at the home of a third party? That's against CT law. The ball was dropped by the ACO, therefore Buddy had no protection.
    #2: In all of the stories I've read, there have been no reports that the bite required medical attention, emergency or otherwise. Nothing. So how bad was this "bite"? Or maybe the question is how whacko is this gun-toting yahoo.
    #3: The new "owners" hadn't signed a contract yet. They had agreed to foster Buddy to see how things worked out. Therefore, the ACO should have taken Buddy, period, to comply with CT law. 
    Ironically, that last issue may be what gets Buddy justice.

    In Connecticut, if you kill someone else's dog, you could face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. If animal cruelty can be proven, the jail sentence can be increased to a year. Make it five years in jail if malicious intent can be proven.

    At this point, the Chief State Animal Control Officer has ordered an investigation, and a state representative is involved in the probe as well. For Buddy's sake, I hope this case lands Whacko Yahoo in jail for a good, long time. I hope it sheds light on the animal cruelty and abuse that happens in Connecticut daily, and I hope and pray that it helps to make a difference in the quality of the lives of animals across our state.

    Tuesday, August 3, 2010

    Monday, August 2, 2010

    Alpha Roll, Be Damned!

    The battle between Cesar and Victoria, or quasi-dominance/compulsion vs. positive training methods, has been going on for a while now.

    This recent article in Time magazine talks about being a leader to your dog rather than being your dog's alpha, a change from what we've been told for decades now. In my training internship classes, we had always been taught to be "leaders" rather than "alphas," and it made so much more sense when looking at the big picture. We never - ever - did alpha rolls on puppies or dogs. We'd be stricken from the class for life if we did.

    I'm not a huge fan of Cesar. But I don't out-and-out hate him either. I think you have to look at the dogs that he's saved, take them in context, and thank Cesar for the great work he's done with them. Many, if not the majority, are dogs that shouldn't be adopted to the Average Joe. They're dogs that wouldn't be considered adoptable for a variety of reasons, primarily severe behavioral and social issues. There's no doubt that these dogs would have been euthanized. I'm glad beyond words that he is able to save these dogs from death and give them a decent quality of life in a socialized pack. If I could spend my life plucking these "red flag" dogs from the jaws of death and rehabilitating them - I would, I truly would.

    But, his techniques with those red flag dogs aren't necessarily appropriate for Jane and her Maltese or Bob and his Heinz 57. That's where I think his show is dangerous and fails the masses.

    When people worship a celebrity on television and decide that "if he does it, it must be okay," that's when we see trouble. Hanging a dog from a choke collar is not okay. Alpha rolling a dog isn't okay, it's not even a smart move and could prove dangerous to Bob the Heinz 57 guy, setting up Heinz for a trip to the vet for the Final Injection. If you know what I mean.

    Call me crazy, but I've managed to get a lot more successes from a mutually respectful relationship with a dog rather than an I'm-gonna-dominate-your-butt relationship. When a dog fears you, that's not obedience. That's fear. When he sits because he's being rewarded and not because he fears what you're going to do to him - that's a treat for the human. And I love treats!

    What are your feelings about positive training versus compulsion methods?

    A Reunion

    On Friday night, Oliver had a chance to see his brother, formerly known as Preacher, now known as Ike.

    Oliver is on the right. I was shocked to see how relatively docile Oliver was toward Ike! At home, Oliver is King to Charlie's Queen, and plays fairly roughly. At the shelter on Friday night, however, he played the role of Poor Thing to a tee, practically hiding behind me. 

    However you look at it, they were awfully cute to see together.




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