Doggie Fun or Torment?

Credit goes to my sister and Andrew Sullivan for bringing this to my attention.

Phoebe would probably love such a contraption for what it does but she would be afraid of it in the first place...

Winter is fun, even in spring...

Woof! Humans are strange creatures. Phoebe, too. They complain and complain about winter – at least here in Chicago. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with winter. It’s the best time of the year for many dogs like me (although I can’t speak for my small and hairless doggie friends or Princess Phoebe). Why, you ask?

Let me tell you the top 10 reasons why I love winter and snow (and, yes, I like to stay up and watch Letterman with Debs – where else did you think I learned to think like this? By the way, I was thinking of submitting Debs to Letterman for some stupid human tricks. She does this really funny thing of picking up my poop, no matter where I put it!)

Jake's Top 10 Reasons for Loving that Cool Season - Winter:

1. It’s usually cold enough that when I run after the ball, even for more than an hour, my tongue isn’t hanging out like it does in summer.
2. I can stretch out in the snow and really cool my hot spots.
3. My feet stay nice and clean in winter snow – the minute the big melt arrives, Debs doesn’t stop until mid-summer with this annoying towel routine at the door.
4. There is an endless supply of white balls that Debs can make with her tennis ball thrower.
5. I can stick my nose into the snow to find my tennis ball and amaze everyone that I found it in 2 feet of snow. I’m so proud!
6. We can go into the deep north woods and know we are the first creatures to explore the path.
7. When we’re out at the dog park and I get thirsty, I can make and eat my own snow cones.
8. I can leave creative yellow drawings in the snow for others to read later. I just haven’t mastered the alphabet yet, but all my doggie friends know exactly what I’m saying and they can read it for a longer period of time.
9. I can store the bones Debs gives me in the snow and defrost them later. Refrigeration for dogs!
10. I can forget where I put some of my rawhide strips and then have a wonderful surprise finding them in the spring! So wet and chewy!

By the way, it may be spring, but it sure doesn’t look like it here. It snowed and snowed today. In any event, I thought you’d like to see some good Chicago snow and me. Click on my movie and I’ll show you how simple it is for me to make Debs happy. Just a little hustle when she asks me to come. She is so easy to please. Humans can be so simple.

See you soon! Woof! Woof!

Blood, guts and fluff on the floor

I know I've been awol from the blog for a little while, so I thought I would share with you what I've been up to.

Here is a picture of me chewing a lovely bone -- beef I think. It was full of yummy marrow. I don't get bones very often.... well actually, ever. Wags is a veg, so there is seldom any meat in the house. If there is, it's usually for bribery purposes -- i.e., to get me to do something I wouldn't usually. This lovely bone is courtesy of Debs.... she is a nice human companion and sometimes gets bones for Jake. So she very nicely got one for me too! That's because one day when I went to Jake's house I discovered one of Jake's bones just lying around and claimed it as my own! Now I know the joy of bones.

Bones are also good for cleaning my teeth since Wags doesn't believe in taking me to the vet and letting them put me under the gas to have my teeth cleaned.


It hasn't all been mindless chewing however. Here is a picture of me displaying my softer side. Every good dog should get to experience the joys of disembowling of a hula monkey. The hula monkey is one of my favorite toys. I have lots of other soft toys, many of which I have ripped apart -- like squirrels, cats, and hedgehogs. There are others that I am more gentle with. In fact, I still have a little rubber tennis shoe that I got when I was a pup.






In this photo, you can see that I ripped the eyes out of a snake and some other silly stuffed creature. I'm not terribly discriminating really.

So now you know what I've been up to. Chewing and disembowling is an inside activity which I resort to because it is winter -- still -- and I don't get to spend much time outside. But soon -- they say -- it will be spring. Then I'll be able to show you what a good digger I am!

Pick your party

There is often a day, week or month to celebrate a variety of worthy causes. In anticipation of a new month, I thought I would let you know of some of commemorations taking place in April:

Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month

National Pet First Aid Awareness Month

Prevent Lyme in Dogs Month. Also, check out this sort of PSA from You Tube.

National Pet Month (UK)

Apparently, April use to be Pets Are Wonderful Month but I can't find any information about a 2008 edition. Also, one of my personal favorite commemorations previously occured during the last week of April: National Scoop the Poop Week.... seems like it isn't being 'celebrated' anymore.

There are also some special days in April. They include:

April 10 --- ASPCA Day

April 26 – Bulldogs are Beautiful Day

April 27 --- International Day of the Dog

Given the above listing, if you're looking for an excuse for a party, it seems like there are plenty of reasons to throw one. Maybe you could host a theme party and serve Salty Dogs or Greyhounds to get everyone in the right spirit, as it were....

Can you hear me now...?

Hey Wags – NCAA basketball? That really is March Madness. All those squeaky gym shoes on the wood floor…and, in any event, you might as well just watch the last minute of any game which stretches out for ten minutes – something that usually can happen only in science fiction. Better yet, read a Ray Bradbury novel, save your time, and read the results in the newspaper. And, don't forget...no betting!

As for me, March is the time to celebrate the spring equinox. Happy spring to everyone in the northern hemisphere and fall to everyone else! As for those of you hanging around the equators, well, just continue enjoying the great life!!

All this confirms what we already know -- that we each have our own perspectives on everything from how to spend leisure time to where and how to live. And, when it comes to dogs, even the most dedicated dog lover does not love all types of dogs.

Clearly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, especially when it comes to our own pooches. We each love some special attributes about our dogs and have breeds to which we’re drawn. I sometimes think of it as the difference between pug and lab owners. There's something about the face. What do you find most appealing about your dog?

When it comes to Jake, I’ve learned to love his ears but it didn’t start this way. Until Jake, I have never, ever, preferred pricked eared (or erect eared) dogs (and, yes, it is a good question which term is most likely to attract the most unintended readers to this blog). Jake has changed my life in many ways, including my appreciation of this very distinct ear type.

Pre-Jake, my definition of the best dog was the golden retriever. This was the dog of my childhood. A gorgeous, AKC registered golden, with an impressive name: Rebecca of Bark Point, Huntress of Gold, known to family and friends as Becky. Her mother and father were very fine representatives of their breed, especially in an era—the 60’s--before goldens became so popular and, what appears to me, overbred. Becky’s father, Mr. Toast, was legendary and deep in color. Indeed, he will be remembered throughout time in his eponymous children’s book series by his owner and best buddy, Stuart Brent, including my favorite, The Strange Disappearance of Mr. Toast. (If you have children and a golden, this is a great book to share with your children.)

A golden retriever's ears frames it noble face. Becky’s ears met the golden's AKC standard: “Ears rather short with front edge attached well behind and just above the eye and falling close to the cheek. When pulled forward, tip of ear should just cover the eye.” Her soft, floppy ears, begging to be petted and pulled up and back, suited her kind, loving and intelligent face. Indeed, they helped enhance her beauty and "friend to all" look.

A dog’s ears are so important that they are specified within the dog’s breed standards. They can’t be too big or small – they have to be “just right.” They also affect how people perceive them. As a golden retriever fan, I used to find dogs with erect ears a little threatening. Come to think of it, I still do.

A pricked ear gives the appearance in many, though not all, breeds of a certain alertness associated with guard dogs. Like a German Shepherd. Perhaps this is why boxer's ears have been cropped, to make them look more like a pricked ear guard dog than they would with their natural floppy ears. They are guard dogs, so their owners modify their look to make them look more alert and “professional.” By the way, congratulations to boxer owners who let their dogs go "au naturale." They are really handsome with their real ears.

Dogs with ears in between floppy and pricked – “semi-erect”—can be quite appealing, and are frequently used in TV or movies as these ears look quite funny when they are flopped about in the process of a dog moving its head quizzically from the left to the right. There is a good reason Lassie was such a popular dog. Collies have such ears and the AKC notes that for this breed, “a dog with prick ears…cannot show true expression and is penalized accordingly.” (I'd disagree with this viewpoint as I've learned that even the slightest tilt of Jake's ears express volumes.)

Border collies are one of the few (if not only) dogs that are allowed some real ear options within the breed standard. Border collie ears should be of medium size, but they can be either semi-erect or fully erect. Indeed, border collies can have one or both of the same kind of ears. Still, most of the border collies I see have semi-erect ears. So, when I first laid eyes on Jake, described as a border collie mix with Australian Cattle Dog, and saw his semi-floppy ears, I assumed that both of his cute puppy ears would be like that throughout his life.

I didn’t know much about ACDs dogs but could have anticipated Jake’s future better if my canine education was better. ACD’s ears are of a moderate size, “preferably small rather than large, broad at the base, muscular, pricked, and moderately pointed neither spoon nor bat eared…the inside of the ear fairly well furnished with hair.” By the way, as an adult, Jake can be very proud of his very well furnished in brown tones ears (but it wasn't always that way).

Off I went from the rescue organization with my tri-colored, multi-speckled shelter puppy and his cute, floppy, half-erect ears. Still, upon seeing Jake for the first time, among the first words of reaction from my sibling were “let’s just hope that those ears never pop up straight up one day and stay there.” I couldn’t agree more at the time because Jake's ears, even half-erect, were, well, er, rather, a little too big, a little too funny and dominated his entire head.

We enjoyed another two weeks of semi-floppy ears, but it seemed that the break point on those ears kept getting higher and higher.

Soon, Jakie’s ears stood up, fully pricked, and have remained there since. Lucky for him, his ears waited to stand at full attention until we got home. He might not have gone home with me if I had seen that he was, indeed, a fully pricked eared dog which presaged his life as a very alert and watchful dog.

I hope you enjoy a photo of Jake taken a few days before the transformation that would define how others would see him, and would challenge my previous definition of a dog beauty. Needless to say, I love those ears now, but it took me many more months to accept that they were, indeed, pricked and seemingly growing at a faster rate than the rest of Jake. More on the evolution of Jake’s ears soon.

Canines and the Battle of the Bracket

NCAA Tournament time is one of my favorite times of year. First, you get two full days of back to back basketball as 32 games are crammed into two days. And the next two weekends are just chock a block full of exciting games. What a great way to avoid doing anything productive!

In honor of the blog, I decided to do a close textual analysis of this year’s bracket to see how many teams had canine mascots. The answer is 8. The breakdown is as follows:

Bulldogs: Butler, Drake, Georgia, Gonzaga, and Mississippi State
Huskies: Connecticut
Retrievers: UMBC
St. Bernards (though they go by Saints): Siena

I visited the Westminster Kennel Club website to learn what characteristics these dogs have that might cause a school to pick them as an appropriate representative of athletic prowess.

Bulldog: member of the Non-Sporting group; traits of courage and tenacity have made him a symbol of determination. Despite his tough-guy good looks, he is fun-loving and extremely affectionate.

Husky: member of the Working group; the fastest, most enduring and most versatile of all purebred sled dogs. He is extremely affectionate, even clownish, but is also independent and sometimes head-strong.

Retriever: member of the Sporting group; its physical characteristics and its willing, adaptable, trainable nature have also fitted it for usefulness in many other endeavors such as service dogs, guide dogs for the blind, therapy dogs and search and rescue. While the Golden is an ideal family dog, it requires training and exercise.

St. Bernard: member of the Working group; Within the Saint Bernard standard the words "powerful", "muscular", "strong" or "strongly developed" are often repeated. Neither the tallest nor heaviest of breeds, he is a powerful dog whose soundness of body and mind are evident at first glance.

First of all, the most popular mascot, the Bulldog, not only isn't in the Sporting Group, but it's in the Non-sporting group! What's up with that? Then, I wonder, do the myriad Bulldogs want to be known as a affectionate? The UConn Huskies as clownish? The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retreivers as requiring training? The Siena Saint Bernards probably have the best characteristics, though they have dropped Bernard and just call themselves the Saints. What that might mean could be the topic of a whole other post.

Upon reflection, it seems to me that the represented canine mascots do not convey the fierceness, tenacity, skill, etc, that you want in a team name. While I was doing my research I noted that I was encountering a lot of feline related mascots: 11 to be exact – five of them Wildcats. But then I looked up wildcats, and they don’t seem to be much to write home about, described as extremely timid and living a solitary life.

What were people thinking when they chose these mascots? At least I come from a long line of Tigers!

Dogs in the work space

Check this out. I just discovered that Amherst College allows employees to bring their dogs to work! Very cool.

Separate from service dogs (which we discussed earlier) I have always thought it would be fun to bring the family pooch to work. They say it helps to reduce stress in the workplace which is always a good thing. At the same time, it would probably be quite distracting, kind of like when people bring new babies to the office.

When I was in graduate school, during the summer I would occasionally bring my beagle to the office. It was quiet, the doors were closed, and we would only run into folks in the elevator or the hall.

Unfortunately, Phoebe would not be the best dog to bring to work. She is nervous around strangers and tends to shrink back from them, snarl or bark. If I had the opportunity to bring her to work when she was a pup, that probably would have helped with her socialization process. She would have been exposed to lots of people, noises and activities. As it is, we have a pretty quiet household.

It’s hard to find information about which companies are pet friendly which is why the Amherst information was so surprising to stumble upon. But I want you to know, this year Take Your Dog to Work Day is Friday, June 20.

Shoo! Dogs hired to rid us of the scourge of bird poop!

It seems like poop of various sorts may be a recurring theme here on the blog. This morning I heard a story on the radio about a local company Wild Goose Chase that uses border collies to help shoo wild geese from green spaces surrounding office parks, golf courses, etc. In addition, a few years ago the City of Chicago hired border collies to chase sun bathing seagulls from the lakefront beaches. One of the main reasons the geese and seagulls need shooing away? Poop! Among other things, the city concluded that sea gull poop contributes to high e coli counts which result in closed beaches during the hot Chicago summers.

Here in northern Illinois we have quite a problem with Canadian Geese. Guess what, they are not seasonal residents anymore. They are year round residents. Or the ones that actually fly south in the winter have decided Canada is too far away when it's time to head back up north. They probably don't have such nice lawns there, what with all that frozen tundra, so the geese stop here in Illinois. Wherever they set up home, they leave a lot of gross poop that makes the area they occupy unsanitary and unusable by humans.

It seems that Canadian Geese are especially attracted to wide open green spaces because it provides clear sight lines and thus potential predators are more visible. I don’t know what kind of predators they would have in an office park or a golf course, although a coyote was spotted in a Quizno’s restaurant in the Loop one day last spring, so I guess that is a likely candidate.

During my lunch hour last summer I would sometimes walk around Chicago’s Grant Park and the old band shell area. Since the area is no longer used for concerts (we've got a new band shell), it has literally gone to the geese. The whole area is just disgusting – and very slippery!

Anyway, a number of firms have popped up in the area that use dogs, particularly border collies, to chase the geese away. This is great exercise for the dogs. For example, the job of chasing sea gulls occurred every half hour, about four to six hours a day, seven days a week for at least a month. Chasing the birds is a seemingly humane way to shoo them away. But you have to wonder how long it is before the geese or the gulls return when the dog isn’t there anymore. Sounds like full time employment to me.

Can Fido have too many toys?

Amidst all the dreary economic news of the moment I recently read that there remains at least one hot spot in the economy – businesses catering to the four-legged family member.

Spending on pets and pet products is expected to increase 6 percent in 2008 to $43.4 billion, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. This is more than double the amount pet owners spent about a decade ago. Compare this to annual retail sales, which are expected to grow 3.5 percent. The fastest growing segments are services such as spas and day care, higher priced toys and pet health insurance.

According to the ASPCA, in addition to your basic acquisition and ‘set up’ costs (leash, crate, etc), the average dog will cost from $580 to $875 a year, depending on size. They include health insurance ($225) that I don’t think many people have (which might explain why it is a fast growing product category). I think they grossly underestimate how much people spend in the toys/treats category (from $40 - $75). Overall, I think their numbers are low.

According to Pet Style News, there is a shift from mostly low-priced toys to higher priced pet toys, which range from robotic to electronic to organic. This is why the pet products industry is thriving.

I realize I’m going a bit back and forth on this, and I admit to checking out the toys aisle when I go to the pet store to see if there’s anything that Phoebe might like. It’s not like she doesn’t already have a big box full of toys, including some that haven’t been given to her yet, but something new might be fun. At the same time, I recall that when I was a kid, the dog didn’t have specially purchased toys. We would throw an old tennis ball for him, or stuff a tennis ball and an old gym sock (probably one with a hole) into another sock, tie it up and toss that now and then.

What happened? First, our four-legged friends have morphed from 'animal' to family member... and now one that often lives for much longer than versions in previous generations. Second, clearly the pet products industry is very good at identifying new product opportunities: designer accessories: outfits and furnishings; day care related services and travel related products and services. The newest trend in pet oriented products are “green” pet products” and I don’t mean the color of Jake’s favorite toy… Finally, obviously, more disposable and discretionary income -- which it seems, even in a recession, spending in this category may be recession proof. Given that this is a growth industry, one can only wonder, what’s next?

A good chew toy is worth a lot...

Arf!

The best part of living with Debs is that she always tries to make some fun for me. The problem is that some of the things she gives me that I think are real cool are real gone in a few minutes. See, I like to chew. A lot. And I've got the teeth to do it. Ever since I was a puppy. And, believe me, I’ve chewed a lot. Let’s see, as a puppy…the bottom of all the door moldings in the kitchen (yes, it’s great to be left out of the crate!), the window sill on the floor to ceiling windows in the living room (not particularly tasty but very convenient and relaxing when guarding the house), a pair of eyeglasses (a special treat because they sit on the nose of my beloved), and the $20 bills left on the dining room table (which didn’t taste very good, so I didn’t eat it but only pulled it apart into little teeny-tiny shreds (great fun to watch Debs put the puzzle together -- who says I don't enhance her day?). For some reason I can't quite understand, Debs didn’t seem to be very happy about all this but she didn’t yell at me or punish me…instead, she usually says, "here, chew this instead!"

I’ve really liked all the stuff that Debs has given me to chew on and play with, even if I destroyed it in a minute. It’s just that she isn’t happy with the short term toys. Something about money…what’s that? Frankly, I like pulling the stuffing out of mallard ducks that squeak and, for the most part, I don’t even eat the stuffing. Getting to the squeaky part is GREAT!

Lately, though, one of my favorite toys is this green gel ball. It looks like I could tear it apart, and I’m confident that if I just keep trying, one day I will. So far, I haven't made a dent. But for now, the real fun is getting the treats out of it.

Debs puts my kibble in it and even it tastes great when you’ve had to work hard to get it out of the this puzzle ball. She usually gives me the ball when she’s leaving the house which is nice because it gives me something to do when she’s gone. Even though I pride myself on being a tough chewer, this ball really lasts and lasts. Some times, Debs puts almost my whole dinner in there. What fun! When she really wants to challenge me, she puts in a whole dog biscuit. I can break down the biscuit into little pieces that come tumbling out after I’ve run that ball all over the room or thrown it against the wall a couple of time. Still, usually there are a couple of pieces that get stuck in there, so I climb on Debs' lap in the evening and we work out the last details together. She can be a big help, for a human, that is.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention this...the green ball bounces really well. Though it doesn't have the fuzz I like to rip off of a ball, it's almost as much fun to play with as a tennis ball even if it doesn't have treats in the middle.

Jake’s rating on the Triple Crown Everlasting Fun Ball: 5 BONES!

Human's best friend...

Wags, thanks for letting us all know about the ASPCA's efforts to help homeless pets. It was quite the coincidence to read that you (in Chicago) were thinking about homelessness at just about the same time as was I (in London).

People walking along the rush hour crowded Piccadilly Street near Green Park in London last week may have seen two very sweet dogs within the confines of two blocks. It would have been hard to miss them, especially for the dog lovers among us. Unfortunately, in focusing on the dogs, they may have missed noticing the human companions.

The large German shepherd with the nearly blond face and the small black and white terrier mix with some brown spots and a yellow bandana were all the more visible because they were with their human companions who appeared to be homeless and destitute. Or, was it the other way around...were the homeless people more noticeable in the throng of people only because they had a pet? In either event, it was obvious that the futures of the people and the dogs were inextricably linked together.

The German shepherd lay completely on its side on the ground between a man and a woman who seemed to have various of their few furnishings surrounding and under them to make the ground warmer on such a cold day. The dog didn’t move as the heels of shoes clipped close by his face but looked up with mournful (or were they faint?) eyes. The terrier looked alert, sitting on the lap of a man seated in a chair with a cup in his hand and his head held limply over his chest. The man’s face being hidden, the doggie was, in essence, his face, his plea. Clearly, his job was to look cute and attract some donations for the cup. Hundreds of people were passing by each minute. Thousands by the hour. The vast majority not reacting to the human plea.

How many people care more about dogs than people? Let’s face it -- many of us pet owners spend a lot of time focused on rescuing dogs, and far less or none about rescuing people. Many will rescue a dog from a shelter and then spend countless dollars on him or her, giving the dog shelter, meals, health care, and toys, but they wouldn’t write out a check for nearly the same amount to help a needy person, if at all.

It needn’t be an all or nothing issue – some balance can be achieved. Consider that many homeless people have dogs or would benefit from a relationship with them. Like more fortunate people, the homeless love their dogs and are sometimes faced with the sad reality that they have to give them up or take them into a highly unpredicatable and dangerous life. As our economy worsens, there will be more homeless persons. We should expect to see more dogs in need of rescue as our human friends lose their shelters.

Many human shelters will not allow their overnight guests to enter with their dogs. For love of the dog, the humans may sleep on the street with them in spite of the impact on weather to themselves or their pet. Sadly, they may have to abandon their dog to the streets. Consider the people who love their dogs but who are losing their homes to foreclosures or their jobs to the economy.

Perhaps there will be less dogs in shelters if we start by helping our fellow humans.

Back in the U.S., and according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, in 2005, 13.3% of the U.S. population, or 38,231,521 million people, lived in poverty. And that number is only rising.

In 1996, a New York Times report (“Fancy Shelter for Dogs Is Deemed Fit for Homeless Humans”) covered the opening of Maddie's Pet Adoption Center. This is a $7 million shelter opened by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Seems that Maddie’s had a controversial proposal – they wanted to work with agencies to offer homeless adults nightly shelter in ''dog apartments.'' The president of the SPCA chapter was quoted as saying ''It would give our dogs a chance to know what it would be like to have an overnight roommate...For the homeless people it's an offer to get them off the street and give them shelter with a dog buddy who will be their best friend overnight.'' For the obvious reasons, this idea met with significant opposition and I wonder what happened with this proposal. I didn’t see any mention of it in the SPCA’s website but you may wish to take a look at Maddie’s Pet Adoption Center where dogs have apartments with windows and skylights, with toys and TVs. A lovely environment, really.

Just think about it. $7 million in contributions for a dog shelter perhaps more worthy of humans.

I’d like to explore more about what happens to the homeless and their dogs, and to find out what we can do to help them both. Meanwhile, think about achieving balance in your financial contributions. Make sure that we respect and help our own species and by doing so we can also help our doggie friends. I hope the homeless of Piccadilly Street, London, or Anystreet, USA, found food, friends, family and warm shelter, with their pets, for the evening. I wish the same for all of us.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

March 5 was Uno the Beagle Day in Illinois. Uno was born in Illinois, so we are very proud of him. He'll ride on his own float in the next Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. I wonder if fellow beagle Snoopy will be joining him. Did you know, he isn’t even three yet and he is now retired. What a lucky pup.

Tonight, Rachel Ray is hosting a special on on the Food Network where she will prepare homemade dog food. Check out the air times and the recipes.

The ASPCA has teamed up with AnimalAttraction.com, a free online community for pet lovers that helps homeless pets. For each new registration on the site, Animal Attraction will donate $1 to the ASPCA. And, for every new day you log in, they’ll give an extra penny. That would be $3.65 in a year. It may not seem like much, but it can add up if all of you sign up! Click here to check it out!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Jake is staying with us for a few days while Debs is traveling for work. Overall Jake is a very fine houseguest. He has stayed here many times so we have established a routine at our house. Nevertheless, since we all have different routines, I have been reflecting on how animal companions can best prepare both the dog and their temporary doggie caregivers for their time together. (Please note, none of these tips are meant to suggest that I don’t have the information I need to take care of Jake!)

Some of the things below may seem obvious, but that’s why it’s important to remember them. You have adapted to your little treasure’s quirks, but many of them will be new to the temporary caregiver. Covering as many bases as possible ahead of time will make the temporary experience more pleasant for all.

First, make sure your dog is comfortable with the person who will be taking care of them, and anyone else in the house (animals or people!). Your dog should be up-to-date on all vaccinations. Provide emergency contact information, especially vet information. If you are going to be unreachable, write a letter authorizing the caregiver to seek emergency treatment for your dog.

Day to day stuff
1. Are there special dietary needs: times to eat, allergies, etc.? If available, is the ‘house dog chow’ acceptable? Needless to say, if the dog requires special food, you should provide it.
2. Is there a fixed or flexible walking schedule? If there are any idiosyncrasies related to the dog taking care of its business, let us know! How long can the dog last without having to go outside?
3. If your dog needs pills or vitamins, not only do you need to let us know how much how often, but it’s also a good idea to advise the caregiver on effective strategies to get the dog to eat/swallow them. Some dogs will let you shove pills down their throat, others have to eat them themselves so the pills have to be effectively disguised and administered.
4. Tell the caregiver the basic commands your dog understands. For example, Phoebe drops the ball to “drop it” while Jake (sometimes) drops the ball to “give.”
5. Let us know if the dog has any unusual “triggers.” Whenever someone else is taking Phoebe for a walk, I tell them to hold on tight to the leash because she is prone to want to chase after all manner of moving vehicles.
6. What about bedtime? Does the dog sleep in the bedroom (or expect a spot on the bed?), a crate, another part of the house, on their own special bed? When I was a kid, our dog slept in the laundry room. Phoebe sleeps in the bedroom, but not on the bed.
7. Is there anything else I should know? Does the dog dig or jump fences? This is important if it is going to spend time in a yard. Does the dog like toddlers? This is important if there are little kids around. When you go on a walk are there certain types of people or animals the dog doesn’t like – children? men? rowdy teenagers? other dogs? Does the dog scratch or chew on the furniture, wires, walls, or doors if it is left in the house by itself?

I’m sure this doesn’t cover everything, but the list should get you thinking about the kind of information you should provide to anyone who might be taking care of your favorite canine companion.

Hair today, hair tomorrow

One of the pet peeves of many dog owners is dealing with dog hair. I don't know about you, but there is dog hair basically everywhere in my house, on me, on my clothes, and in my car.

All the dogs I’ve had have been prolific shedders. Phoebe has the longest and finest hair of any of my dogs and it really sticks on things. However, when you have two dogs in the house at the same time, this is when the hair really gets out of control.

In one place I worked, there was a chair in the meeting room that was designated as my chair because it was seen to have dog hairs on it. Once I was chatting to a stranger who asked if I had a cat because of all the hairs on my jacket. My mother insists I get the car cleaned on the inside before she will ride in it because if you open the windows, blowing hairs surround you.

I’m not sure how much of a difference regular brushing does in terms of reducing hair in the house. While I don’t pretend to regularly brush my dogs, sometimes I do, especially in the summer. Then at least the hairs can blow around outside. Every day the same quantity (lots!) of hair is removed. It never lessens. I’ve tried all kinds of brushes too, but their effectiveness is really dependent on the type of hair you are dealing with.

In the house, I could sweep and vacuum every day and there would still be big hair balls all over the place.

Needless to say, I’m a big fan of those tape roller things for clothes, the couch, etc. Someone could make a fortune if they could come up with an easy and inexpensive way to manage dog hair.

A good day's job...

Arf! One of our favorite weekend activities is going to a dog park. There are a few not too far from where we live. Today we went to the dog run -- our City fences in a big area where the golf course driving range is – and there is a lot of room to run around with hills and everything. This is good because I had a big job to do today.

My job at the dog park is to pick up after Debs. We went in with three tennis balls, and at one time, we were up to four! She likes to throw them around, and my job is to get ‘em! I take a lot of pride in my work and no matter which way the balls go, no matter how far, I’ll find them and bring them back to Debs. It’s hard work but much nicer at this time of the year when I can get my own drink of water from the snow.

We can have a good day at the dog park or a bad day. Today, I liked all the dogs and people but, sometimes, I don’t. My vet says dog parks are places that keep her in business from all the dog fights. I don’t like to fight, and I won’t pick one. Still, I’m no weenie and if a dog gets in my face and acts wrong, if he picks a fight with me, I’ll defend myself. If necessary, I’ll also defend Debs. That’s why a good dog park will have rules and regulations.

One of the parks in our area publishes its rules and one of the rules is that the humans need to be in control of their dogs. It upsets me that some dogs go up to Debs and jump all over her. They haven’t been taught their manners. They don’t pay attention to their humans or, even worse, the humans don’t even care what their dogs do. Some of these dogs are real “in your face” kinda guys and I don’t like that at all. In any event, I hope you know the rules of having fun at the dog park. If you bring your small children, make sure that they don’t run around screaming. I wouldn’t chase them, but some of my friends think that all that screaming is just a small human’s way of begging to be herded. Herding dogs don't just run around in circles. A lot of herding dogs use their teeth to deliver "special instructions" and, trust me, you don't want your children to be herded. And, you don't want to even think about dogs that were bred to search for prey.

Also, don’t reach down for a ball unless you know where all the doggies are – especially me. We can get to that ball a lot sooner than you think, and we don’t want your hand in the way of our ball.

And, don’t pet a dog you don’t know. I just think that is rude! Ask its human first if it's OK. Really, a dog park isn't just a stroll in the park. Read up on dog park safety and etiquette. What do I know? My sense of etiquette seems to get some people upset...particularly when I'm doing the check on "is it a boy or a girl." Time to nap…all that exercise is just so relaxing. I’ll sleep like a puppy tonight.

Arf, arf!