Charis and Keegan worked very hard yesterday at the Happy Mommy event held at Bonifacio High Street. They were off to work at 12 noon and started entertaining their guests at the Socialization Circle by 3pm. They had to welcome both dogs and people. They allowed the people, especially kids to pet them. They had to teach the new dogs how to behave in a social environment through example. By the time their ended at 6:30pm they were tired but happy.
I think I overestimate their stamina though because by 5:30 they were showing signs of impatience towards other dogs. There was a young Siberian Husky who joined them but because he was really in the mood to run and play and the two smaller ones were tired they started complaining and demanding that they be left alone. Sad to see that because I want them to get used to bigger dogs. Both of them were rewarded for their hard work with extra portions for dinner. Thanks for all your hard work kids.
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This week, Diamond Foods, the manufacturer of several popular brands of food has issued a voluntary recall of several lines of product due to potential Salmonella contamination. . The full details of the recall as well as ways to identify if you are in possession of recalled products are on the FDA website. You can click http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm303034.htm to see the full details.
The products involved are the following: Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Country ValueDiamond Diamond Naturals Premium Edge Professional 4Health Taste of the Wild Canidae Natural Balance Wellness (Large Breed Puppy ONLY) Added on: May 10, 2012 Solid Gold Wolf King Solid Gold Wolf Cub For full details please Click http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm303034.htm If you are in possession of any recalled products, please discontinue feeding them to your pets. Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian. A few days ago Keegan started getting loose bowel movement and upon further inspection I noticed some blood and mucus mixed with the stool. I fasted him for 24 hours just in case he ate something that just disagreed with him. After 24 hours I started giving him bland food - rice and boiled chicken. But after a day his bowel was still soft and there was still blood and mucus.
I brought him to see his vet - Dr Lorna Sicam. When she examined Keegan and his stool she discovered that he got hookworms. She asked what his diet was like and I gave her a run down of his fasting and his bland food. She figured that he might also be allergic to chicken so I had to switch the bland food to potatoes and fish. She then gave me some pills to give to Keegan. Instead of giving me chemical based medicine - she gave me naturopathic pills - lactobacilli pills. Since I am not a believer in giving medicine to my pets (unless it it really necessary) I truly appreciate that fact that she tries the natural treatment first. After two days of bland diet and lactobacilli pills Keegan's stool has hardened and has a lot less blood and mucus. Thank you very much Dr Sicam. To those of you who wish to bring your pets to her, here's her info Dr Lorna Sicam 67 K 1st St Quezon City Working with dogs is such a physically demanding job that I have to make sure that I stay healthy and strong. I have to make sure that I have enough strength to deal with fun and mischievous dogs (especially the big ones). I also need to have stamina and endurance to make sure that I interact with the dogs to help them get their daily exercise.
I am not a fan of working out but I decided I better start. One of the things I find most fun about working out at home are the antics of my cats. Sorry dog lovers I do not work out with the dogs in my room. My cats have a tendency to insert themselves in my exercises. There are times they just drape themselves over the tv or across the mat that I am using to workout. There are times they come up with crazier things like walking right under me and swishing their tail so it touches my nose while I am in the downward dog position (yoga). There are times Bimbim will just walk on me and check me out while I'm doing abdominal exercises. Sumo has a tendency to rub against me and ask for his tickle while I'm doing standing or lunging exercises. I make sure they are around while I'm working out just to keep things interesting. The past few days Charis has gotten it into her head to chase Sumo and Bimbim, especially after her walk. No matter how much I scold her or stop her she continues doing this.
One day I see her running and Sumo running behind her, I was waiting for Keegan to show up behind them and lo and behold no Keegan. Before I knew it here comes Charis running towards me and Sumo following trying to swat her. I guess Sumo got fed up with her teasing and started chasing her. I'm really glad that when Sumo got tired of Charis' teasing he decided to take matters into his own paws and deal with her. At least I know he won't feel so harassed and trapped if it continues to happen. I'm even more glad that Charis now thinks that Sumo is playing with her (instead of realizing that he is irritated with her) and just continues to invite him to play. So here they are now - Charis inviting Sumo to play and Sumo putting his foot down saying leave me be. http://youtu.be/5UgMEwKoClA Sometimes it pays not to have your pets listen to you too much. Life becomes more interesting. I was walking a big dog today and it was a relaxing walk so I did not have the dog on a tight rein. I just kept the leash looped loosely around my hand. When the dog saw another dog he got so excited he decided to try running after the dog. He pulled on the leash and instinctively I did not let go but held on tightly, because he was so big he was still able to pull the leash through my hand and I got ROPE BURN.
What I should have done was just let go of the leash because I still had the handle looped around my wrist. I still could have controlled him and prevented him from running after the dog. I would have been able to prevent my rope burn also. Oh well, chalk it up to experience, but because of this incident I had to cut our walk short to nurse the rope burn. I was lucky that the leash did not break any skin but I immediately got blisters on four of my fingers. The blisters felt like they were burning so I could not handle the leash in my hands anymore. In case this ever happens to you just dip your hand in cool water for a few hours. I had to keep changing my water and once in a while add a cube of ice but the burning sensation disappeared after 3 hours of this therapy. Right before I got the two cats I went around the stores looking for balls, string toys and other types of toys that would interest them. What I ended up with was a basket of toys that the cats would ignore. The only thing I bought that caught their attention were the plastic balls with little bells in them. The rest of the time they hunt around the house for things that they claimed as their own even without my permission:
twist ties that they just push around and chase ribbons which they wrestle with (although this is not recommended because they could eat it and it could get tangled up in their stomach) - I did give ribbons to them in ball form to push around with a tail dangling. boxes when they can hide OR be pushed around in trash cans and other containers that they can dig through (especially if it only has paper) bookmarks blankets paper clips, hair clips shower curtain covers of drains plastic bags When I got the two dogs, I went on my little shopping spree again but I learned from the two cats and did not buy as much. Good thing because they fell in love with other things: plastic ball of the cats - with the bell inside it empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls old leggings and pillow cases tied up in knots for tug of war yarn tied up in knots to chew on What amazes me is the creativity that comes out of them when they decide they like something. Bimbim would ask us to tap the bottom of the trash can and she would push it around chasing our feet. You cannot imagine how many bruises I got on my shin whenever we played this game. Sumo had me on my hands and knees pushing a box he was riding in. He in turn chased things through the holes in the box as it moved. Sumo learned to open doors when hunting for his balled up ribbons. Since I was not home much when Charis was young she learned to entertain herself by tossing around her favorite toy Blue around. Of course my personal stuff is free game for them. Keegan fell in love with my cell phone case which he chewed even if the cell phone was inside. Bimbim considered certain trash cans hers, if I threw paper in it or anything else it would end up on the floor when she sees it. Keegan tried to lay claim to my crocs sandals too. Let them have their fun at home, let them choose their toys and be amazed at their creativity. Less than a week ago I wrote about a German Shepherd I was training. First time I met him he kept barking and lunging at me. After a week he showed how excited he was to see me and was very eager to play around.
http://www.pawsitiveeducation.com/1/post/2012/03/never-underestimate-the-power-of-kindness.html Although he was doing well I was worried that he may not learn some of the things he needed to learn because he is neither food nor toy motivated. All I could really do was give him a rub on his cheek or on his chest as a reward. Even if I try to give him a treat he'll accept it the first two or three times then ignore it after, but kindness really goes a long way. All I have to do is show him he's doing well by rubbing his cheek and give him gentle verbal scoldings when he does not want to follow. It comes to a point when he does not want to execute a command I just tell him "You know what I want" or "You know what you have to do" and he does it. I am now able to drive him places - just the two of us and he behaves like an angel. Although he is so eager to go out - sometimes he jumps in the driver's seat if all the other doors are closed - he just sits when he gets inside the car. If he starts shifting around I just remind him to stay down and he does. When he starts barking because he can't tag along with the other dogs when they go out all I have to do is call out the command quiet with him and I don't hear anything anymore. Same thing when he is jumping against the screen trying to watch the training of other dogs. I just have to call out the command off and he walks away. I don't have to go near him for him to follow. What surprises me is how much he trusts me. There are times I would sit on a swing. The first time I did, he started struggling to get away, the second time he stayed still but he stayed about 5 feet away. The third time, he sat right at my feet, he did not move even if he showed a bit of uneasines about the swing. Of course he got rewarded with a body rub. We still have to work on his excitement level but overall I am very happy with his progress. Here's a video of him now, training how to walk without a leash. He is so comfortable with me now that when he knows he's doing well he will request a cheek rub by nudging me. Off Leash success 1 - http://youtu.be/ca7tdTohS0U Off Leash success 2 - http://youtu.be/RxKf9O3N4k4 He's been with me two weeks now and we still have another week to go but even when he leaves the training center I know I will miss him terribly. So will Charis! To us he is family! When dogs meet up they tend to sniff each other's behind to find out more about their new friend. If they like what they smell then they start to play. When dogs start playing there is a correct way and wrong way. The correct way is simply to start with an invitation and if it is accepted they can run around and chase each other. Some will continue with their play bow and some will start mouthing each other. These are all acceptable way of playing.
Here is an example of the correct way to make friends. http://youtu.be/e7KIpvDNZxI There will be times when a dog will nip at the other dog. Even if the other dog does not get hurt they may still find this very annoying and may react negatively. In this instance, Charis has just decided to ignore her new friend's teasing. http://youtu.be/ofHmeH12T6U Remember the story about my niece developing a fear of dogs because she was
chased and overcoming it? http://www.pawsitiveeducation.com/1/post/2012/03/help-kids-learn-to-love-dogs.html Well here she is, a month later - walking my dog Keegan in a public park. I'm really proud of the way she overcame her fear and how she learned how to handle the dogs. http://youtu.be/gSM2tJr6c9A |
AuthorJoy has had 17-20 dogs, four cats, at least a dozen rabbits, three to four chickens and one turkey in her lifetime. She was close to her brother's bear cat and the snake, who she rescued from the attic. While in Canada she decided to get a cat and ended up with two. Since she lived alone she had to find ways and means to develop a harmonious peaceful relationship with her cats by "training" them. Eventually she decided to get formal training and invited dogs to join her family. Archives
May 2012
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