The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

So you think your dog can dance

Some dogs not only dance, but make up the own choreography.

What goes in doesn’t always come out easily…

As Winnie the Pooh and an 8-month-old puppy named Lexi from Portchester, England found out.

Owner Vicky Lovelock and neighbors tried unsuccessfully to maneuver the puppy from the cement wall.

Then it was animal rescue specialist, Anton Phillips from the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, to the rescue. With hammer and chisel in hand, he chipped the block away in order to free Lexi without harm. The story

 

Getting their heads stuck is not unusual for curious puppies.

This is Angel, a 5-month-old German Shepherd, who had to be rescued a few years ago by another fire department animal rescue specialist.

Who can forget those fun times with puppies discovering their world?

Animal Abusers Registry--an idea whose time has come

We’re so often angered by the light sentences given to animal abusers.

A bill pending in the Michigan state legislature would require people convicted of animal abuse to register with the state, similar to Megan’s law which protects the public by identifying sex offenders who may be living among us.

The Animal Abuser registry would be available to shelters, rescue groups, pet stores, breeders and the public. If it passes, it would be the first such registry and hopefully other states would pass similar measures as they did with Megan’s Law.

A non-profit organization has pledged $10,000 to cover start-up and a database would be hosted as part of a district attorney’s Animal Crimes Unit.

Seems like a win-win for taxpayers, for animal lovers and most important for the animals.

 

So guess who is using his considerable funding and influence to oppose this law?

If you guessed Michael Vick’s BFF, Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, give yourself a gold star.

 More 

30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog--A Book Review

30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog, The Loved Dog Method, by Tamar Geller—A book review

This is embarrassing.

I received this book several years ago to review and had been looking forward to reading it. Then it disappeared.

I thought it had mistakenly gotten mixed up with sacks of books I had donated until recently when I found it in one of the five bookcases crammed with books that I may re-read but probably won’t.

 

Now that I’ve offered a glimpse into my disorganized life…the review.

 

Tamar Geller grew up in Israel. After serving as an officer in the Israel military intelligence she dedicated her time to observing packs of wolves in the wild. From this experience she developed her techniques of dog training. Her methods are based on love, play and mutual respect, not on dominance and aggression.

Geller’s main claim to fame is her experience being filmed training Oprah Winfrey’s dogs. Which she mentions. Repeatedly.

There really isn’t much in the book that is new to people who have enjoyed success in turning a rowdy puppy into a good citizen, but for people who have little experience with dogs or those with problem dogs, this book would be quite helpful. 

She not only outlines concrete activities, but she makes training or coaching a dog sound like the most fun a person can have. I do like the term coaching.

 

The cornerstone of her book is that success comes when the seven basic needs of a dog are met: sense of security; companionship; understanding the hierarchy; excitement and surprises; physical stimulation; mental stimulation; love and companionship.

She gives some excellent advice on how to stop unwanted behaviors, jumping, digging, excess barking and she also covers topics like choosing a dog, agility, nosework, diet and much more.

I did feel she spent too much of the book talking about cruel trainers and their emphasis on pain and dominance. It was almost like she was presenting herself as a pioneer of positive training methods, methods which are now mainstream in dog training today. 

30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog is a complete manual, it’s fun to read, her enthusiam is contagious, and there is an index for further reference.

It’s a good day in Colorado for dogs

The governor has signed two dog-friendly measures into law.

The state has adopted shelter dogs and cats as the official state animals.

And while police dogs are being conditioned not to alert for marijuana, a measure requiring police to undergo training designed to prevent dogs from being shot unnecessarily is now law.

After several recent deadly dog shootings seem to show that officers needed help in identifying threats, the legislation requires law enforcement departments to offer three hours of online training to recognize dog behaviors and use nonlethal methods of control.

All 100 lawmakers supported the measure which may be the first of its kind.

Why I like snakes, bats and spiders

Growing up as a typical girl, I had the usual revulsion to snakes, bats, and spiders.

Whenever I had seen a snake in the wild, there was an adult present who immediately and senselessly killed it like the “fat broad” in the comic strip.

Bats turned us into the undead and spiders were to be squealed at and stomped on.

 

But that was before Dr. Hopp’s Biology 101. Life would never be the same.

 

The first day of class he walked in with a snake coiled around his neck.  There were the expected gasps and shrieks, but he didn’t seem to notice and went on with his class orientation lecture. Finally he got around to introducing his little friend.

“Probably most of you think this is a cold and slimy creature, but if any of you will overcome your prejudice and touch her, you will find that isn’t true.” (He always called them “she” and “her,” without explaining why.)

He walked around the classroom and a few of us reached out to find that the snake was rather pleasant to the touch. The snake, he explained, is one of our best friends in nature. They eat vast amounts of insects and rodents which could quickly take over the universe if not for our snake friends.

Through the next weeks from time to time he would appear with different varieties of snakes, curled around his neck. He told us what each variety was, where she lived, and her importance to the ecology of that area. He entertained us with warm fuzzy stories about snakes.

More and more people got brave enough to touch them and some of us worked up the courage to hold them. No one left the room even when he let them crawl on the floor.

 

He assured us they were not pets. They were kept at optimum conditions in tanks in the biology laboratory cared for by lab assistants. Pets were animals that could relate to us in a conscious manner. Snakes didn’t. They were simply creatures of nature and instinct, not meant to be kept as animal companions in any sense.

Many of them had been surrendered to the department by people who didn’t know what they were getting into when they bought a small snake as a novelty.

 

Then he ran out of snakes to bring into the classroom. That was the day he brought in a bat that had fastened herself onto his lapel. He assured us that she was not rabid, would not attach herself to our hair and would not bite our necks to suck blood. In fact, she had a cute little face if we could get beyond the wings.

 

Who knew that there were different varieties of bats? In a few weeks we met many of them and learned how many insects a single bat can eat during one night’s flight.

 

Finally near the end of the quarter he came in with a tarantula hanging on his coat. She doesn’t look ugly to another tarantula, he told us, and in fact she seemed to be rather affectionate.

During the rest of the quarter he brought in various spiders, but the spiders were in jars. Not for our protection. There has never been a documented case of a spider mounting an attack on a human, he insisted.  Spiders are delicate and very shy. Any rare bites were purely defensive when her life was in danger and they are almost never fatal. We were far more likely to be struck by lightning than to die of a snake, bat or spider bite.

 

Snakes, bats and spiders don't compete with humans for food sources. Their lives are devoted to dining on creatures who do. 

 

I learned other things in college, passed tests and got degrees, but nothing ever lived up to Dr. Hopp’s Biology 101.

 

Happy Mother's Day

Husky costs his owner over $1800 in fines and could land him in jail

We love Huskies at The Poodle (and dog) blog.

We love the remarkable athletes who run the Yukon Quest and Iditarod. We love the sled dogs who get bored with the slow pace and go off to run their own race. And we love the pet Huskies who can’t seem to resist going off on their own Doggie Grand Adventures from time to time.

 

This is the story of 21-year-old Michael Baldwin and his beloved Husky pup, Toby.

Michael moved from his home in Maryland to Alaska to experience a lifestyle more wild and free. He wrote on his Facebook page, "Goodbye Eastern Shore. Here I come Alaska."

Unfortunately they were not prepared to live in Alaska. They weren’t there long before they got into trouble. Dogs running free are not allowed and animal control officers began their contact with Toby in 2011.

By 2012, he was a regular at the pound. Baldwin has paid over $1800 not counting citations to repeatedly bail Toby out of the pokey.

But that’s only part of their problems.

Alaska wildlife troopers got an anonymous tip in April that Baldwin had killed a cow moose back in January. Baldwin confessed that he had done it but said he had shot the beast to protect Toby.

Troopers aren’t buying it. A dog running free can escape a moose. If Toby had been tethered and if Baldwin had reported the shooting, he might have been excused. Baldwin is being charged with wanton waste for not removing from the field all meat for human consumption, killing a moose during a closed season, unlawful possession of big game and hunting without a license.

Sometimes wild and free isn’t as much fun as it looks.

Fifi the Pink Poodle—a kinetic sculpture to be reckoned with

To most people the first Saturday in May is the Kentucky Derby. But in Baltimore it is the East Coast Kinetic Sculpture Race Championship.

Hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum, the sculptures are custom built for the race and powered strictly by humans. The eight-hour race covers fifteen miles over pavement, through mud, sand and into the Chesapeake Bay.

As a tribute to mediocrity, the official winner of the race is the team that finishes in the middle. With so much pressure in the world to finish first, this is a refreshing change.

See some of Fifi’s competition here.  A definite tribute to human artistic esthetic wackiness and fun.

North Carolina lawmaker touches off angry responses from dog owners

Rodney Moore, a democrat legislator from Mecklenburg, learned what happens when someone messes with people’s dogs.

He got thousands of angry emails and calls from people after introducing a bill that would require owners of breeds designated as ‘aggressive’ to undergo criminal background checks.

 

These included Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Chow, Perro de Presa Canario, and wolf hybrids.

 

In addition, owners would also have to pay for at least four hours of training courses and pay for a special “aggressive dog” permit from the state’s insurance department.

 

One of his constituents had asked him to write the bill which naturally died in committee.

 

Asked why he chose those breeds, sponsor Rep. Rodney Moore, D-Mecklenburg, answered, "I don’t want to say those were the ones with the most incidents, but they were the most prevalent by the feedback that I’ve gotten." Source

  

 

Feedback??! How about doing some research? 

 

This is a good example of what is wrong with so much of today's legislation.

 

A few people (or one) ask for a law that the majority doesn't want.

 

The lawmaker, having too much free time, perhaps enjoying his power over people's lives, and doing no investigation, writes a bill based on no facts. It is not enforceable and would penalize law abiding people (and dogs) and be ignored by people who habitually ignore laws.

 

 

And speaking of stupidity..

 

This from England and their Dangerous Dog Act:

 

Dog owners could be forced to tie up pets so that they don't bite a burglar. Association of Chief Police Officers say householders could be "liable to prosecution."

The world has gone mad.

50% of San Francisco’s throwaway dogs are Chihuahuas

This is partly because of--

• A fad started by she who won't be named on this blog
• The Beverly Hills Chihuahua movies
• People thinking it hilarious when a horny little male Chihuahua tries to impregnate any dog he can reach

 

Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes are crowding the shelters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

So the SPCA has started an aggressive campaign: free spay or neuter and they are waiving adoption fees.

 

Huddle

Huddle is an 8-month-old male Chihuahua. From the website:

Huddle likes to cuddle! He will curl right up in your lap. When he's really comfortable, he will snore softly. He is a curious guy who likes to investigate things and survey the scene. Huddle can be shy when it comes to unfamiliar people and new situations. There's nothing wrong with that. Anyone who's been a "wallflower" in their lifetime is sure to understand his personality; lonely, misunderstood and just looking for one kind person to be his friend. With patience and gentle handling Huddle will learn to trust you and he will be your BFF. With patience and compassion, this guy will blossom into the playful, boisterous pup he wants to be! He LOVES to play with other dogs and would like to go home with another doggy friend that can show him that the world is not as scary as it seems.

 

 Thanks to Lisa Brown of Dogs N Paws for starting this blog hop to help shelter animals. Find a cat or dog at your local animal shelter and feature them on this Blog Hop! Come join the fun and help a furry friend find a forever home!

Sometimes there is a story that just cries out to be made into a family movie

 

From Xena's Facebook Page

And sometimes doesn't it seem like certain creatures are meant to be together, like maybe they knew each other in a previous life?

 

In just two months an 8-year-old boy from Georgia who suffers from autism, has been transformed from a shy isolated boy into an “outgoing chatterbox” thanks to Xena, his rescue dog.

Xena, a Staffordshire terrier mix, was brought to a Georgia animal shelter, abused, starved and close to death after collapsing in someone’s yard. Although she weighed only four pounds, during the next months she made a remarkable recovery inspiring her name Xena the Warrior puppy.

 

Linda Hickey found Xena on her Facebook page and met her at a fundraiser. Her son, Jonny, was autistic and barely spoke at the time.

When Jonny and Xena met two months ago the connection was instantaneous.

 Linda said:

We were literally there for four minutes and Xena ran right up to Jonny and my husband. I already loved this dog, and after I met her, I really loved this dog.

These two were destined to be together, to save each other at a level that humans just can’t understand. From the very first day, that dog was sitting in his lap in the car seat, giving him all these kisses. And that’s where she’s been ever since.

Story and video