DADDY'S DOG THOUGHTS

Have you ever had a day where you wondered how you were going to make it through?  Or why the world is the way it is with so many bad things going on?  I had started walking the dogs, beginning with Brut and for the first part of it I was thinking about all of this and a project I had the next day.  It made it hard to remain on the positive side.  About half way through I stopped and had a talk with Brut.  I apologized to him because my mind was elsewhere and how unfair that was to him.  After our talk I began to focus on the woods we were exploring.  I felt so much better afterwards.

After I walked Brut, Zappa and I had a great walk as well.  No thinking about anything except, dog thoughts.  I did the same with Fiona, Silver, Chance and Blaze.

What a difference it made to get back in touch with my dogs and the purpose of the walk, which is our time together. I am able to talk with them and I don't have to worry about them fighting or arguing with me.  I don't have to worry about being criticized for being silly or not doing things the right way.  I am free to be myself.  During our walks I have the freedom to let go and not think about my worries.  I am so blessed to get that quality one on one time while witnessing their individual quirks and the way they attack life so full of curiosity and meaning.  No matter the length of the walk, they let me know that this is always the best walk ever.  The dogs and our walks are something special and I want to treasure each one, not waste it on my problems.

I'm so glad for our family and that I have the 24 Paws of Love.  When I want to escape reality and the world today, I just have to take a walk with my dogs and I can be free and in our own world of dog thoughts.

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THE GARGOYLE LOOK

SILVER AT HER FINEST

PUPPY LOVE

I will always have to clean my eyeglasses a hundred times a day because of sloppy kisses.

I will always have dirty paw prints on my counter tops.

No matter how much I vacuum there will always be fur embedded in my carpets.

But I will always have a messy house full of puppy love!!

Dear Zappa,

The mystery in your eyes shows a world I can not begin to know.  The depths of those eyes mystifies me as if you hold the secrets of heaven and I realize how much I do not understand you.  Secrets I can not begin to unlock and so we dance.  We dance silently around each other, never really know who you are. 

I find myself still in the puppy love stage of our relationship.  The sweet loving puppy, full of kisses and life.  You still shower me with those kisses and prove we are still connected.  I cherish those moments when you seek me out.  When I search your eyes, I still get lost in the questions that surround your soul.  Truths that are beyond my years and an aloof love that bewilders me.  As if it is not time for me to know all that you hold so dear in those open pools of love.

As I slowly wade into those pools, feeling the comfort and peace that you are there, I find an uncertainly of such an enigmatic creature who seems to hold all keys and the secrets that you have to bestow.

And the mystery contiues...

 

The Surfers

 Do you see what I see, Blaze?

Have you ever had a dog that counter surfed?  OMD!!  I not only have one, but two, the Dynamic Duo of Blaze and Chance.  I have never dealt with this issue before in my life and now I have Double Trouble.  Both Blaze and Chance were returned to us as a couple of experts surfers.  The second I left the room, they were on the move.  They had master the moves so well, I could never catch them and that meant I had to use prevention.

Since the kitchen is Chance and Blaze's half of the house it meant that it was going to take a little more than just blocking them out.  First, I had to get this overly forgetful mind to remember not to leave things out that they could get.  Since they both liked to grab ANYTHING off the counters, not just food, I couldn't just throw whatever I felt like on the counter and table and walking away from it.

As I worked on mastering that painful technique, I began to teach them 'Leave It,' while I when I was fixing any food.  Since I was practically tripping over them while preparing my meal, I would tell them "Leave It," walk to the frig, come back click and give them a treat and praise them.  When we had mastered walking to the frig, I began to walk to the dining room and bathroom, (all part of their area) moving further and further away for longer periods, until I walked into the Back Dogs area and would come back.  The separation door between the two packs was always a trigger and here Chance and Blaze were sitting pretty, without moving a muscle.  I have even made trips to the basement with great success.

  We dare you to step away from the plate, Daddy!!

Cheese is probably Chance and Blaze's all time favorite food.  Whenever I am having it, I  would grate some on the floor for them.  Recently I've been putting treats on their paws and the floor and asking them to 'leave it.'  They quickly responded to that.  Well, to really put them to the test, I had them both sit, told them 'leave it' and began to grate the cheese on the floor.  This can be rather tricky as it takes both my hands to grate the cheese and I have to act quickly if they start to move and need to block them.  I have done this maybe three times and they are doing fantastic!  This is like the ultimate test for them since before they could sit and start eating the cheese as it falls, now they have to wait until I give them the OK signal to eat.  It is so cool!!  Today I tried it again and they both did great and when I spilled my chips on the floor, I immediately told them to 'leave it' and while they both a little confused, they didn't make a move for the food, until I gave them the OK.  It is so cool that they are listening and learning and so am I.

  It's raining cheese!!

The counter surfacing has greatly decreased over the the last couple of years.  The motto is if I don't give the 'leave it' command, it is fair game, but the funny thing is I don't know how many times I have forgotten to use it and they still don't grab the food.  That's a miracle.  Funny how a little bit of training can have such a great impact.  What's also amazing is that really I didn't put a great deal of effort into it.  I've been using mealtimes for all different sorts of training time, so working on 'leave it' was mixed in with everything else.  Combine that with the leash training, sled pulling, playtime, and the consistency of love and I've got myself two fantastic dogs that keep on learning with me how to heal and grow.  Considering I thought I was doomed to have dogs surfing my counters, I'd say we're doing pretty good!!  :)     

Monday Memories-Ice Cream

When Blaze first came back, it was quite heartbreaking and very difficult to say the least.  Witnessing the aftermath of this sweet little girl who'd been beaten and shot at was devastating.  She had become a shell of herself.  How many nights and days I wept over this tiny girl who I watched be born and grow with so much love, only to have it all shattered. 

Blaze was and is very strong willed.  She is defiant in every sense of the word.  She didn't survive her nightmare by being mild mannered.  She had an inner strength that she had no problem expressing.  She had been locked up before by her previous owners for hours on end, where she learned how to bark non-stop.  A high pitched, nervous bark that normal ears couldn't possibly survive through and that sent my sensitive ones through the roof.

Since Blaze was separated from the other dogs and we were just starting to introduce her to Zappa, she was alone when I would spend time with the Back Dogs.  She would get on the kitchen island and bark with persistence until I would come back where she would wag her tail and jump down with this huge smile on her face.  Trying to operate with our new addition to the family and the special circumstances that ensued was quite trying to say the least.  My nerves would be on end, I would be exhausted and wore and Blaze didn't make it very easy.

My husband and I took turns sleeping with Blaze every other night, so she didn't have to be alone.  One night it was my turn with Blaze and it had been another raw day with all the dogs.  I was at my wits end with Blaze and the situation, I got out the ice cream, grabbed two spoons, sat on the floor and Blaze and I had a traditional girls night together.  Together we let the cool sweetness melt away all our problems for those moments.  We had a heart to heart talk in between spoonfuls and let go of all of our troubles and differences.  As we finished the last of our desert, I think we both felt a little better and a little closer as we headed off to bed together. 

There was something special about that secret girl time together and now anytime it's been 'one of those days,' I pull out the ice cream and a couple spoons and Blaze and I have a little girls getaway.

The Throw Away Dogs

I have a few friends who have dogs, but are not dog crazy like I am.  One in particular is an older lady who has a couple of small dogs.  She doesn't like big dogs and hasn't said it outright but has made it obvious she doesn't approve of our dog insanity with six large dogs.

Out of politeness she always asks how the dog are.  I simply answer fine.  Usually that is the end of our conversation, but today she asked me a couple of questions.  We talked for a minute and got on the subject of heartworm pills.  Which I truly believe in.  She stated that she didn't bother with them and said, " If one of the dogs gets sick, I can always replace a dog."

The words don't surprise me coming from this woman.  Doesn't even shock me.  It's the utter disgust she has for me about the dogs that I find so amusing.  My husband and I are completely invested in our dogs.  Their relationship with us means the world.  We couldn't have better friends and they are our family.  What I find so humorous is that this abhors her to her very core.  She believes we will never get financially ahead with all 'those dogs.'  In no uncertain terms she lets me know of her disapproval.  Winters around here are tough, jobs are hard to find, it was especially rough for us this year and her answer to our troubles is to get rid of some of the dogs.  When did throwing away your best friend become an option to getting rich?  I don't know how many people have hinted at this answer.  It's never been an option.  It isn't even a conceivable thought.  I can not even begin to think of getting rid of one our dogs, or the cats, or the duck.  How would that make my life better?  It's like throwing your kid in the trash.  I know not everyone believes that, but we do.  Our dogs are the heart and soul of who we are.  Everything we do is centered on them and their well being.  Read one post, any of our post and it doesn't begin to scratch the surface of the meaning and unconditional love that surrounds us.  There is so much balance and harmony in our home even with the separation between the two packs, and you expect me to destroy that to save a couple of bucks?  Dogs have been saving my soul from the time I was born, how can you put a value on that?  I wouldn't be alive it if wasn't for the animals I have had along the way, giving me a reason in this cruel world to keep on going and because we're a little short I should just toss them to the curb?  We have sacrificed everything for our dogs and just because we hit a rough patch you think I should just fling them to the side like a wrapper to blow in the wind?  Come on!

No, people may never understand the love we have for our dogs and I don't ask them to but give us a little respect.  It's like telling someone to put the horse down because the cows ran out of milk.  It doesn't make any logical sense.  How do they think that getting rid of the only thing that matter most to us is going to make anything better?  Really?  That's your answer?  Throw them away?  Not in my house.

  

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Trash Talking Daddy

I am entering my 3rd month of walking the 24 Paws of Love every other day.  We have notice as the snow has been melting that the trash has been growing.  I was talking to the dogs while we were walking and we all agreed we had to do something about it.

So today, Brut and I decided to start cleaning up as we walked together.  Of all the dogs Brut is the one who has to stop the most because he has to mark everything he can.  Most of the time he would do his marking while I was picking up trash.  Everything from paper cups, empty pop bottles, beer cans etc.  It went really well.  Although Brut wondered why I was going off our path in a different direction to pick up something, until he realized he had a fresh place to mark.  We filled our one and only bag in the first half of our walk.  So I decided Zappa would have to pick up where his dad left off.  After my testing out trash collecting with Brut, I was beginning to learn this is going to take a lot of practice.  Since I was the one who was picking up everything and training the dogs isn't my forte.

Zappa and I followed the same path that his dad took and when I walk him, he sweeps back and forth from left to right, throwing in a zip to the left and then to the right.  Which is really a good way to pick up trash, you can cover more ground.  It was obvious where Brut and I left off on our trash collection and it took Zappa by surprise when I went off our path to pick up a paper plate.  He didn't say anything but just enjoyed the detour for some extra sniffing. 

We even walked across the street so Zappa could see the horses that live on the corner.  The horses just looked at Zappa and Zappa looked at them, without barking.  I have a strong feeling that the horses knew what we were doing and it made them happy to know someone was finally cleaning up the neighborhood.

Picking up trash is hard work.  Halfway through Zappa decided he needed to take a break and a good back scratch.  Right then and there.  He just rolled over on his back and wiggled his little heart out but then it was back to business.  We had a neighborhood to clean up!

Zappa and I had a few tug of wars with each other.  He wanting to go sniffing one way, while I needed to go the other way to pick up another water bottle.  We got tangled a few times around trees and around each other, but all and all we got as much as we could into our bag.  Zappa felt good because he got a longer walk out of it and I was happy to have picked up two bags of trash for the day.

I decided I had a good start on our trash collection and that I would break it up between the rest of the dogs on our other walking days.  I will have Silver and Fiona do trash duty the next time we walk and Blaze and Chance will do it the time after them.  So that I and the 24 Paws of Love will be able to pick up our path three times a week.

On a more serious note, I'm wondering how long is it going to take to train the dogs to pick up the trash instead of me doing it?  I guess I will find out soon enough!!  :)