@ThinkGeek Dog Toys

I was browsing Think Geek because I heard they had a selection of interactive ‘intelligence games’ for dogs. Bean has figured out how to dump and/or open almost all of her toys, so it’s time for something more challenging.

But look at this. No, just look.

Humunga Stache @ Think Geek

I giggled for about ten minutes straight. Then, of course, there is also this:

Humunga Tongue @ Think Geek

I mean really. Really? Dogs are already pretty funny. This is putting it into overdrive, and threatening the sanity of us all. I can’t even. No, I really can’t stop laughing. Hilarious!

Want even more pet toys? Check out the selection at ThinkGeek.com!

Ruff Reads

In life, I have two passions: animals and books. When they combine? Magic.

Since I’ve learned to read, I don’t think there’s been a day of my life where I have not read. I still remember reading White Fang when I was eight years old. It was the first book that made me cry, and yet, I loved it. From there, I began reading James Herriott’s books, and Jim Kjelgaard’s excellent books for young readers.

All of them, of course, had one thing in common: animals as a central theme.

I’ve broadened my horizons, of course, since those years, but I enjoy a good dog-centric book – even if it’s a training manual (okay, especially if it’s a training book about dogs – you can never know too much!).

My top 3 books on rotation at the bedside? These three: Lucky Dog, When Pigs Fly: Training Success With Impossible Dogs, and All Creatures Great And Small.

1. All Creatures Great And Small, by James Herriot.

All Creatures Great And Small by James Herriot

I read this book about twice a year, especially when I’m feeling not-so-great about life in general (like when the Michael Vick thing broke – I dragged out my dog-eared copy of All Creatures Great And Small because it made me feel better, like a security blanket). I know every word by heart, but I love reading it all over again. Herriot’s luscious treatment of the Yorkshire countryside and loving (and sometimes humorous) way that he writes about his clients is unsurpassed, in my view.

From Amazon.com:

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. From caring for his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

You just can’t get much better for a feel-good book about animals. If you haven’t read it, I’d ask you seriously, what are you waiting for?

Update: Thunderstorm Therapy

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Bean, her fear of thunderstorms, and how Through A Dog’s Ear: Calm Your Canine Companion Vol. 2 worked.  Since then, I’ve tried several different configurations between the Thundershirt and the CD to find out which worked most effectively.

By and large, the CD, Calm Your Canine Companion, worked the best.

I know, I know – it’s a little incredible. Just music, you say? Yes, really. I’m serious. Bean has started going upstairs to my office, where I play her music on my computer speakers, any time she feels stressed. When I see her heading upstairs with her tail down and ears pinned back, I go up and turn her music on. She’ll lie on the floor and eventually go to sleep.

Way better than a panting, drooling ball o’ terror.

The more awesome thing about it is that since I’ve been using the CD nearly anytime she gets stressed out, she’s been having an overall more relaxed response to stress triggers. It’s not 100% yet, but she no longer goes into Velco-dog mode every time she thinks she hears something that sounds like thunder. It used to be instantaneous – she’d freeze, then start panting and drooling and shaking. The last few times we’ve had thunderstorms – notably, last night – she’s just followed me upstairs and laid down on the floor while I start the music. No shaking, no drooling, just a calm response.

One of the biggest problems I’ve had with her in the year and some she’s lived with me is her instant shut-down in the face of stressful situations. You know that look – they stare at the wall and just kind of shut down. No outside response to anything. You could wave a live squirrel in front of her face and she wouldn’t be interested. Since I’ve been using music therapy for her in stressful situations, she hasn’t been so locked into her fear that she can’t respond. She hasn’t once gone in to a shut-down mode.  In fact, after four ‘treatments’, she has had an overall calmer response to stressful situations (weird outside noises, thunder, people honking car horns outside, people yelling).

For a dog that was in some kind of stationary panic mode anytime something loud and unexpected happened, that’s a pretty big leap.

The fact that this has worked so dramatically has just amazed me. It probably won’t work 100% for everyone, but I’d urge anyone with an anxious dog to give it a try. I was a mere scrip away from getting a prescription drug for her when I tried this, having tried everything else that was available to me, and I can’t be more thankful I tried Through A Dog’s Ear. I hope it works for your dog, too!

Bean taking a nap during a storm

PS: Woof! This is Bean, here. Mom plays me this piano music when I get stressed out, and she thinks it’s all for me! Little does she know, she relaxes too when she puts on my music. Dog AND people-friendly, like ham sandwiches! Woof!

Sanctuary Sunday – A Chance For Bliss

(It’s a little belated, but better late than never, I say!)

A Chance For Bliss

Most people have a plan for when they grow old. Either their children will take care of them, or they have a back-up government-sponsored plan, or they’ve made enough money to retire with the assurance that they will be well taken care of in their golden years.

But what about animals?

Too often, elderly and special-needs pets get dumped at a shelter for being old and sick, with no hope for a forever home. Senior animals are often the last ones to be adopted, and the first to face euthanasia.

One California based charity is trying to change that. A Chance For Bliss is an animal sanctuary focusing on senior and special-needs animals. Their inspirational rescue statement says it all:

What is A Chance For Bliss?

A Chance for Bliss, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) California corporation committed to the care and welfare of animals on an extraordinary scale, particularly canine and equine, with strong emphasis on seniors and those with special needs.

A Chance for Bliss, Inc. is a Sanctuary and any being which finds his way to us becomes a permanent resident, benefiting from the comfort and security of having a loving, caring Forever Home.

A Chance for Bliss, Inc. promotes the Truth of the inherent worth of all beings, regardless of age, condition, or any other factor.

A Chance For Bliss changes that and gives them a forever home. David and Deanna Bartley focus on caring for these animals and giving them a truly wonderful forever home where they are fed and taken care of in peace and freedom. Not many people have the time and heart to devote to such an enormous undertaking, but these two, along with a corps of volunteers and generous donors, make a final forever home for many pets. Right now, according to their website, they have over 90 dogs, cats, horses, cows and pigs that they are providing a home to.

How can I help?

Recently, A Chance For Bliss was in the news because they were in danger of foreclosure, but through the actions of generous donors, they were able to keep their farm and ability to provide a loving home for their animals. However, their costs of providing for senior animals are high – as Deanna notes on her blog, their monthly cost for maintaining the animals is around $20,000, which includes special medications and food.

They created a $10 per month sponsor program that they hope will give them a steadier source of income. You can sponsor an animal or a group of animals (currently, I’m sponsoring “The Horses”), or just give them a one-time donation through Paypal. They also have a bunch of different ways you can donate to them – by getting a Visa card design that benefits their charity, donating items or food that they need, buying items with their gorgeous logo from CafePress or Zazzle, donating books, or volunteering (if you’re in California).

Visit A Chance For Bliss to find out more about this charity, or check out some of their awesome media coverage. We all deserve to be taken care of in our old age, and that goes for dogs (and cats, and pigs, and horses, and cows!) too.

Living with dogs

Having a pair of dogs is like having two hyperactive footstools that move around with the speed and precision of a couple of large, blind rabbits. Even when they’re not actively moving, they’re milling around like teenagers at a McDonalds, or conveniently sleeping somewhere directly in whatever path you may take. They’re not particularly messy, but Moving with the Herd is something that I still cannot always get used to.

This is what a trip to the kitchen is like, on a Saturday while making lunch:

Dogs: Is she going to get up? AHA! She’s moving! I shall trundle along aside thee, O Joy of my Face, because you are going to the room with the food box! Dogs, I LOVE the food box! This is SO AWESOME I might PUKE! Oh wait, that was just a loud cough. But wait – what’s she doing? WATER? I LOVE WATER! THAT IS SO UTTERLY COMPLETELY MIND-BLOWING! Wait… what now? What’s that? SHE’S GOT A CRINKLY THING! OH MY GOD IT’S CRINKLING! But what is it. She’s putting it into a round thing… A BOWL! Is it FOR ME? Not for me, okay, okay… It’s… it’s CHIPS! CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS CHIPS!!! *wild dancing and bowing* She’s giving it to the other human. Dammit. His Sourness never gives us any chips. But she’s traipsing back into the room with the food box! What’s that? OH MY GOD LUNCHMEATTTTTTTTTT!!!! I am going to die if you don’t give me any lunchmeat! I will surely perish, right here on this floor, see my ribs stick out, my hopeful glance, oh maiden of the meat, PLEASE GIVE ME THAT TURKEY! See, I will dance for you, I will *nom nom nom nom!*”

 

It’s a never-ending super-fantastic adventure with them.

The Semi-Epic Road-Trip-With-Dogs Post

Once a year, I usually end up taking some kind of road trip with the dogs (summer feva and all that jazz). I check the leashes and collars to make sure that I’m not going to be running wildly down the highway after one of the dogs because they’ve gotten loose. I pack everything neatly in a big canvas bag. I take a cooler for water, and make sure it’s accessible while we’re on the road. I pack all the other bits and pieces neatly in a separate knapsack. I make sure everyone has enough room to travel comfortably. I make sure I have the vaccination papers and microchip info stowed away.

Inevitably, I arrive at our destination with dog-things strewn all over the car, water spilled in the back-seat because SOMEONE is a messy drinker, leaking water bottles because SOMEONE pushed them over while rooting around trying to find the treats, tangled long-lines and probably an empty plastic bag with a hole in the side where someone has taken unauthorized liberties with the snacks.

This year, I told myself, I will plan. I will think AHEAD and not attempt to pour water into a bowl on the front seat while I’m driving 70 miles an hour down the highway (yes, highly unsafe, I know). I won’t try to dig around in my car trying to find a plastic bag for poo, I won’t make a scene of myself trying to juggle two dogs on two leashes that have to pee and one’s going north and the other south and I happen to be trapped in the middle. I will be ORGANIZED.

So I tell myself.

I’ve begun researching items that will hopefully Make My Life Easier While Traveling With Animals. And because I’m giving like that, I want to share this list with you (in hopes that someone, SOMEONE out there suffers from the same kind of dog-related disorganization I do and understands the pain).

Number one on my list:

Gulpy Water Dispenser

This Gulpy Water Bottle that was recently featured on Dog Milk.

How neat is that? Dish and bottle and water, all in one. No more trying to pour water into a bowl at high speeds!

Dog Is Good

Okay, so I’ll admit it: I’m one of those people that buy goofy dog-themed tee shirts. Not usually the ones that have big realistic images of a breed, but ones like this from Dog Is Good:

Its All Fun and Games Until Someone Ends Up In A Cone

Seriously, how can you not love that? It’s so true.

They have something for everybody with a variety of dog-themed apparel (including plus-sizes!), hats, water bottles… and all of it either has their logo or something like “I like Big Mutts and I cannot lie”. Or the ever-popular Dogvergnügen (“The unique joy you feel in the presence of Dog”). I happen to adore their tees (I have two – one of the Cone one above and a plain Dogvergnügen), and not only are you providing yourself with a tee shirt that is stylish and that proclaims your love of dogs, but they also donate some of the proceeds from some of their shirts to worthy charity organizations. Go check it out!

Meet Sam, Professional Couch Tester

Age: Ten or eleven years old
Breed/s: Chow/Australian Cattle Dog
Nicknames: Ol’ One-Eye, Samburger, Hobo
Arrival Story: I was looking for a second dog to add to the family and keep my other dog company. I went to Richmond Animal Care and Control to look at a German Shepherd, but he was way too high-energy for our laid-back home. While I was there, one dog just sat in his kennel, staring up at me mournfully, and when I knelt down, he pressed his face up against the metal grate for a cheek-scratch. I was sold.
Favorite food: Donut holes
Special talents or skills: Cheering anyone and everyone up, speak LOUDER!
Biggest fear: Losing prime real-estate on the couch
Most annoying habit: Barking in his sleep
Arch-nemesis: Ricky, the big white dog at the park that won’t stop sniffing Sam’s butt.
Favorite toy: Squeaky Pig
Hobbies: sleeping on the couch, getting chin-scratches, fiercely defending the backyard fence
If Sam was a movie star, he would be… Robin Williams. He loves loves loves kids and is always doing something silly to make you laugh.

Sam is the goofiest dog I’ve ever had. He just came that way. He’s blind in one eye and half-blind in the other, but you’d never know it. He LOVES having his photograph taken and seeing new people, though he has a one-track mind when he’s in a new place and sniffing around. He loves anything squishy – pillows, couches, beds, fresh laundry, you name it – if it’s comfy, Sam is SO there.

Dog Aware Liver Treats: like doggie candy

My name is Mel, and I used to believe that my dogs loved Bil Jac Liver Treats and wouldn’t perform for anything else.

That is, of course, until after being somewhat broke after an unexpected expense, I decided to try making my own liver treats.

And what do you know: dogs love liver treats, even the ones you bake in the oven and that make your house smell all livery for days! They love them so much that the mere suggestion of the crinkle of the Liver Treat Bag has them skidding into the kitchen and falling all over the place for just one more liver treat! If a Bil Jac Liver Treat will get a good firm “sit!”, a homemade liver treat will get a sit, a speak, a high-five AND a down in the fastest succession you’ve ever seen. If Bil Jac treats are steroids, homemade liver treats are like whatever Superman’s parents fed him as an infant. You get the picture.

I found these recipes on DogAware.com. I’ve tried a few of them, and the dogs have loved all of them, but the liver brownies are their absolute super-favorite. Once you get over pureeing chicken livers, it’s a snap to make, and the brownies can be cut up into tiny pea-sized pieces for training.

Liver Brownies (for dogs)

1 lb liver, any kind
1 cup corn meal*
1 1/2 cups flour *
1 tsp fresh minced garlic OR 1/2 tsp garlic powder (I use a tiny sprinkle on the top)
1 tsp fennel or anise seed (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

Pat liver dry with paper towel. Cut into small chunks and grind in blender or food processor (or just throw them in a blender, like I did. Make sure you include the center part in the blender. This is important if you don’t want your kitchen to look like the Donner party just had an especially large snack on your counters). In large bowl, mix liver with corn meal and flour. This will be very stiff and all the flour may not blend in, so add gradually add garlic and salt. Spread mixture on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes; cut into squares. May be refrigerated or frozen.

*Note about corn meal and flour: I always start with the basic measurements, but to get the consistency of treat that I can use during training (think, a semi-chewy but definitely dry, mostly crumb-free treat) I usually end up adding 3/4 to 1 cup more flour, and about a 1/2 cup more corn meal. I knead until it’s fairly stiff, and then spread on a large cookie sheet so it’s about a 1/2 inch in thickness. It doesn’t shrink much when in the oven.

**Note about using liver brownies as training treats in class: you will be irresistible to not only your dog, but nearly every other dog in class. You will sometimes find noses in your treat bag that don’t belong to your dog. Every dog will want to be your friend with these liver treats.

The link also has several other recipes, some of which contain meat and others that contain fish or no meat at all. The dogs love the “Go Bananas!” and “Tuna Training Treats” as well. If you’re ever feeling adventurous and want to try out something that doesn’t come in a plastic bag at Petsmart, I highly recommend giving these a go.

Thunderstorm Therapy

Bean, aka Beanface the Fearful, is terrified of thunderstorms. She becomes a panting, pacing, drooling, shaking, super-sonic-whining ball of terror anytime it even begins to rain. She likes to stand directly under my feet, or under my armpit, or wherever is under some part of my body. I love her to death, but there are times (like when going to the bathroom) when this arrangement of fur-to-flesh is definitely sub-optimal. If I leave fur/flesh contact with her, even to be a mere two feet away in the bathroom, she’ll stand as if paralyzed wherever I leave her and act like she can’t move until I resume contact. There’s also the other stuff that comes with nerves, like shredding things or digging furiously at the carpet or relieving herself inside that is really not awesome at all (she can’t help it, I understand and she never gets punished, but still… not only do I have leaky windows, but I have a leaky dog! I ought to buy stock in Bounty paper towels for how many we go through in the average storm).

Since Virginia is in the middle of thunderstorm season, I ordered Bean the ever-popular Thundershirt (in pink rugby, of course). This really does help – it cuts down on the shaking and pacing and she no longer needs complete contact – but it wasn’t cutting the drooling and whining.

I’ve been meaning to give Through A Dog’s Ear a try for awhile now, and tonight seemed the perfect chance – we’re having a pretty ugly storm right now, and bonus: they have digital downloads. Perfect since I’m working on the computer.

No lie: Bean is sleeping ON THE FLOOR. DURING A THUNDERSTORM. I still can’t believe it. She has her little Thundershirt on, and is currently listening to Reverie on the “Calm Your Companion: Vol 2” CD. In the year and a half I’ve had her, we’ve spent every thunderstorm either holding her or sitting next to her and petting her or having her pace around the room with her ears flattened to her head.

And she is sleeping right now.

Under my desk.

During a loud storm.

Listening to piano music.

If you would have told me with any degree of seriousness that my dog would be sleeping during a thunderstorm this morning, I would have laughed at you. I mean really laughed. Not just a mere chuckle, no. I may have actually fallen over laughing, because my dog has never even SAT DOWN during a thunderstorm.

We all have to be wrong sometime.

If you’ve got a dog that has anxiety, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Go, check it out, and be amazed.

Music to Calm Your Canine Companion, Vol. 2, Through a Dog's Ear by Lisa Spector and Joshua Leeds