Archives for March 2016

What Do Dogs Fear? Keeping a Calm and Happy Pack

March 16, 2016 by janet

Puppy plugging its ears Most dogs have little to fear in a loving home. But some have serious issues with a few select things, despite their happy and secure circumstances; they involve going to the vet, going to the groomer and traveling. All of these mean leaving home and familiar surroundings.

If your dog doesn’t get out much, and the few times he does he goes to the vet for shots or bloodwork (things we humans often dread), he may begin to fear leaving the house and even going for rides in a car. Dogs need a variety of experiences or they become like shut ins, afraid of new experiences and blinking at the sunlight.

If your dog goes on fun trips to the dog park, exciting visits to the local pet store and adventurous hikes in the forest, he may associate leaving the house with positive experiences more than negative. Breaking up the routine is a good lesson as it teaches your dog to be adaptable and not fear what is new or uncommon in his or her life.

We’ve tried a new tactic with going to the vet – packing a few hamburgers in my backpack… We bring a few fast food hamburgers with us and give them to the vet to dole out during the visit. It raises the level of excitement in a positive way. Our dogs never get hamburgers any other time, so the vet is associated with something very special indeed.

It’s so important for dogs to be comfortable with their vet. The more comfortable they are, the better the care they can accept. If a dog is fearful, it is not easy to examine him and get the routine care which is vital for detecting health issues early on. Our boy Lobo is still somewhat fearful but he is getting more relaxed every time we go to the vet.

Home Is Where the Pack Sleeps: Pup-cations in the Travel Trailer

March 15, 2016 by janet

Spring is right around the corner and we are very excited to begin traveling with our three woofuses. Rob and I have talked about getting a travel trailer for a few years now, and this year it has finally happened. We did some research at our local Camping World and one week later found ourselves driving home an adorable new vacation home on wheels. It’s perfect for pup-cations!

Our Coleman “Lantern Edition” lightweight travel trailer is large enough to be comfortable yet small enough to be towed by our jeep liberty. We walked into the model on the lot and instantly knew it was the right one for us.

This little recreational vehicle has everything we need to travel comfortably with the pups, in miniature. A tiny kitchen equipped with a small fridge and freezer, a double sink, a three burner stove with a half sized oven (it fits half sized cookie sheets – hence my term of measurement), a functional bathroom equipped with toilet, sink, medicine cabinet, shower and small bath tub, and a cozy but sizeable bed nook. There’s a small dinette area with booth seats and a table (it’s like always getting the cool booth at the diner) and a mini fake leather couch which folds down to a bed (aka dog bed). The fake leather upholstery was actually a big selling point for us, as dog hair sweeps off easily, unlike cloth seats. There is an electric canopy out front with a string of LED lights, providing substantial daytime shade for people and pups, and fun ambiance at night. When the weather is cold, we have heat and when it is hot, we have air conditioning (very important for snow dogs).

We hung a small TV on the wall by the dinette so we can enjoy movie nights (with home made pop corn popped on the tiny stove, of course!). The first movie we watch will be Star Wars. This is a tradition of long standing.

Years ago when we started traveling with our first husky Sabrina, we went tent camping. We had a small tv with a VHS player built in which Rob’s mother had picked up for us at the thrift shop where she volunteered. As crazy as it sounds, we brought it along and watched Star Wars in that tent on that tiny, second-hand TV. We still remember it as a magical moment in time, watching one of our favorite movies from childhood, in a tent in the middle of the woods. Some may regard watching a film as anti-camping but I say to each their own – it gave us joy and the woods were not insulted by it!

Sabrina curled up on the floor of the tent right in front of the TV and fell asleep watching Star Wars with us. That dog was born for travel! She took to it like a champ. And thus two unique traditions were born – traveling with pups, and watching Star Wars on the road.

This past weekend we slept in the travel trailer, in our driveway at home. We were so excited and wanted to see what it would be like to spend the night there in our new little vacation home. We leashed up the dogs and walked them into the trailer, locking the door behind us. When we went to sleep, all three dogs piled onto the “short” queen sized bed with Rob and myself. After a little while, Lobo jumped off and onto the floor.

The bed is tucked in to the right of the doorway as you enter the trailer, with walls on three sides, one of which sports a small window. There’s no walking room around it, which provides a snug, cozy feel. I’m not sure why, but it reminds me of the loft beds in the Little House on the Prairie books. We live in a quiet cul-de-sac so all was silent in our neighborhood. We slept well with one major exception….

What we discovered was no surprise as we’d been forewarned by a number of reviews. The bed was horribly uncomfortable! Hard as a rock. We are planning to add a foam mattress pad on top – we’ll report back on that later. I am very glad we did this trial run at home before we spent an uncomfortable weekend on the road.

I love the book Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. The famous author travelled in a pick up truck with a small camper built on top of the truck bed. He lived in this cool camper with his large standard poodle Charley while they travelled across the USA. Together they rediscovered the grass roots United States which Steinbeck had immortalized in books like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden.

Do I seek to emulate this book-worm inspired journey? Heck yeah! It’s the coolest travel book I know. Onward, ho, to the pack and the peeps. Stay tuned for our journeys when we sally forth in the spring, leashes in hand, bikes on board, and adventure in our hearts. Home is indeed wherever the pack sleeps.

Do You Speak Woof? Learn the Meaning of Your Dog’s Bark

March 10, 2016 by janet

When we first fostered Lobo, he was a very barky dog. It was the main reason he was having trouble finding a forever home. He would tilt his head, look you right in the eye, and bark loudly at you. It almost seemed aggressive, except it was often accompanied by a wagging tail. Lobo has a long, thick, curly tail and each wag is a noticeable swish. At 75 pounds, he is the biggest dog I’ve every lived with. His bark was a bit intimidating.

I remember sitting down to do some work at my computer and Lobo came up to me and barked and barked and barked, pawing at me with his big, lion-like paws. I thought to myself, I’ll never get any work done. This won’t do. He doesn’t like me working at my computer. I emailed the rescue group and asked about it. Patience, they wisely counseled, patience; this is an adjustment period – give it time.

The rescue group was, of course, so right. All the barks sound the same, but the situations vary. Slowly we figured them out, one by one. If you ever saw the movie about Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker, it made me think of when Helen understood the word for “water” for the first time – light breaking through the darkness, sound through silence. Each discovery with Lobo was a eureka moment, when the light bulb went on in our brains, and Lobo wagged happily because we had patiently learned another few words of his rather loud language.

It seems that one bark means, I need water. And another very similar bark means, I need to go outside and do business. And another means, it’s time for food. And another means, it’s time for bed. And yet another means, I need love and pets. A few barks were as yet undefined.

When a dog first comes to your home, he has no idea what the routine is – will you feed me on a regular basis? Will I have regular bathroom breaks or walks? Once we established a familiar routine with Lobo, we generally anticipated his wants and he had very little need to bark for our attention. We’ve learned that when Lobo does bark, it’s usually for a darn good reason. One time he barked because I’d turned on the oven and forgotten I had left a pan in there which had begun to smoke – thanks, Lobo, you’re a life saver!

The barking incidents went from 100% mystery, down to about 10%. And there it remains. A dog deserves some air of mystery! The small percentage of undefined barking incidents are easily diffused by distractions like hugs. Barking is after all, his language, and we have no desire to silence his speech entirely – just keep it to reasonable intervals, and decibels.

Lobo and his sisters relax under my desk.

We have since adopted Lobo. His favorite spot to relax is lying under my desk while I work at my computer! We’ve come a long way since those initial barky bark moments. The beautiful thing is we are closer now, Lobo and his people, for having taken the time to get to know each other.

Incredible Runners Save Shelter Dogs by Taking Them Along for Jogs in the Park

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