I’m sorry I haven’t been posting as often.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the direction I want to take this blog.  One of the most amazing things about having a dog and having a blog about a dog is that you’re constantly rediscovering your love and reverence for these phenomenal animals, not to mention, trying to find ways to honor and explore that love.

I’ve been blocked lately.  Sure, I could gush about Stranger some more, post training tips, but I wanted to write about something new and exciting.

So!  I’ve decided to do a brief series on the lives of dogs around the world, their joy, their work, and the people who care for them.

Please let me know about countries or lifestyles you’re curious about, and I will be happy to research and post my findings.

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Fetch?  Balls and sticks capture my attention

seconds at a time.  Catch?  I don’t think so.

Bunny, tumbling leaf, a squirrel who’s- oh

joy- actually scared.  Sniff the wind, then

I’m off again: muck, pond, ditch, residue

of any thrillingly dead thing.  And you?

Either you’re sunk in the past, half our walk,

thinking of what you never can bring back,

or else you’re off in some fog concerning

-tomorrow, is that what you call it?  My work:

to unsnare time’s warp (and woof!) retrieing,

my haze headed friend, you.  This shining bark,

a Zen master’s bronzy gong, calls you here,

entirely, now: bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow.

ps: naming contest is extended until Monday, so keep your ideas coming!

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“The first part of the project revolves around the concept of the ‘Respiratory Dog’. The vast majority of greyhounds bred for racing are killed after their short career at the track ends (an estimated 7,500 to 20,000 were euthanised in 2003 alone). Revital advocates training the animal to become a respiratory assistance dog instead of simply killing it: the greyhound’s lung movements are converted into mechanical ventilation as it runs on a treadmill, the treadmill itself functioning as both interface and on/off switch. Rapid chest movements pump a bellows that pushes air into the patient’s lungs, establishing a mutually reliant relationship between man and animal - both keeping each other alive.”

~~~

“The second scenario envisions substituting a dialysis machine with a sheep. Revital’s scenario imagines that through a complex medical process toxins might be removed from the patient’s body through a sheep connected via blood lines to the subject and placed at the bedside at night. During the day the dialysis sheep is allowed to roam in the donor patient’s garden, grazing to cleanse its kidneys and drinking water containing salt minerals, calcium and glucose. During the night waste products from the patient’s blood are pumped out of the body, filtered through the sheep’s kidney and the blood is returned, cleaned, to the patient.”

I can’t seem to get the pictures on here, but please check out the link. They are some of the most striking and thought provoking images I’ve seen in a long time. (May even rival Jan’s dog watching porn on a laptop post : P )

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So, here it goes…

One tub of Happytails Canine Spa’s bowWoW Butter Balm, perfect for itchy skin or sore paws. Full of botanical goodness (am i sounding like a k9 cuisine groupie yet?), its soothing on irritation and safe to ingest, though I don’t recommends you try.

One bag of Zuke’s Hip Action Treats.  Packed with glucosamine, they help canine hip and joint problems.  Not for Stranger, but they’d make great gifts for the old lady dogs in my life.

One bag of Free Range Dog Chews, Baa Lamb Trail Mix.

Stranger loves this mix of Lamb Jerky, Lung, Tripe, and Liver.  It’s high in protein and gives him energy during a long run.  The taste of lamb is also a rare and delicious treat.

One Planet Dog Treat Spot Snowball.

Resilient, bouncy, minty!  It’s 3 inches and made of Orbee-Tuff, perfect for tenacious teeth.  You can put some peanut butter or dog treats in the treat spot and watch your pup figure it out.  Joy.

And last, but not least, I would get the FURminator.

The hotter nights get, the worse I feel about dog hair in my bed.  What a relief it would be to keep the place clean, keep the dog hair out of food, furniture, kisses!

I think I went over budget, but at least shipping is free!  As always, please check out our conscientious and creative sponsor, K9 Cuisine.

They are also offering free samples in case you’re curious but feeling non-committal.  I guarantee your dog will love it.

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Shama, our marketing consultant, founder of After The Launch, and my very kind boss just adopted an 8 week old maltipoo. I was over at her house the other day, helping her train him, and he is adorable. Somewhere between a marshmallow, a cotton ball, and a blue eyed snow flake, he is a bundle of curiosity and affection. Just wish the cat of the house felt the same way….

Anyways, she’s been having a really hard time naming him so K9 Cuisine is helping by offering a 100 dollar gift certificate to anyone who can submit the perfect name for him. His original name was Bubba, but he isn’t very attached to it and it doesn’t really do him justice.

The deadline is Friday, so get your ideas in soon! You can submit more than one name, as well.  Just go to the link below or leave your ideas as comments on my blog and I will pass them on.

Vote Here.

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The Question:

My dog, Cali, is a year and a half and she has had a fixation with shadows for some time now. She gets regular exercise every day, I run with her at least 3 miles, rollerblade, bike with her and if not that she runs around the dog park for at least an hour, usually more, anyway, you get the picture. I have been to a beginner dog training class, I have done hours of web research and her shadow fixation has not seemed to get any better. Once she fixates on a shadow she acts as if nothing else exists, she ignores me, dogs, toys, or anything for that matter. I read one of Cesar Milan’s books and there was one dog that seemed to have a similar problem, his diagnosis was that the dog was insecure. This dog was always being dominated by other dogs so, to him, shadows were an opportunity for him to dominate something, it was a sure thing and so he began to fixate on them. Cesar would tug on his leash in a way that would not hurt the dog but just lightly remove him from the shadow and after some repetition the dog stopped going after the shadows. I have tried this with Cali and she still has not stopped. I have tried to distract her with toys which does not really help. So far the best thing that I have found to control her fixation is to use treats as positive reinforcement for her “come here” command. As her response to the command gets stronger with the treat rewards I can control her fixation on shadows by allowing her to willingly remove herself from the situation and focus on me. It takes ALOT of repetition and patience on my part and on her part. I still continue with other methods of distracting her with toys and tugging on her leash but the “come here” command has the best affect so far.

The Answer:

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What if a roadrunner distracted Stranger?  What if they became tangled?  What if they ran into a car?

The pair started out pretty comical.  Stranger was very excited but had no idea what he was supposed to do.  Wasn’t he supposed to stay by our side?  Isn’t that what we were always insisting?  Now we want him to run full speed ahead?  Humans are weird.

I started running ahead of them, calling Stranger to me as I went.  Eventually, he started running ahead.  Nick bent his knees and focused on his balance.  I stepped out of the way, and off they went, disappearing around the bend.  After a few minutes, I became very nervous.  My mind started to fill with terrible scenarios.  Just as I was about to go looking for the two loons, they appeared, exhausted and ecstatic.

A couple more rounds…

Stranger took a two hour nap, and my boyfriend drank some water and collapsed on the couch.  I sat down to write, thinking “hmm, I should do this more often.”

I highly recommend roller blading with your dog if you are very  comfortable on blades.  If not, get comfortable before you attach a dog to you.  A fun ride can easily become a dangerous situation so there are a few very important things to keep in mind:

• Choose an area without traffic or any other distractions.  Try to find a quiet path with shade.
• Wear protective gear, helmet, elbow and knee pads
• Use vocal signals to warn pedestrians (better to do it in a place or a time where there are few if any pedestrians)
• Use a longer leash than normal.  Its length should be able to alert you if your dog takes off unexpectedly and enable you to stay connected with him if he needs help.
• Strengthen commands like heel or stop or slow (this is a tough one!)
• A harness leash is best to avoid choking the dog if you have to stop unexpectedly.
• Keep yourself and your dog hydrated.  Make sure his pads aren’t getting worn out.  Be mindful of how long you’ve been at it and how tired your dog is.
• Enlist a wing man or woman to help

Have fun : )  And as always, let me know if any of you have tried this with any success (or failure).

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BioArt will send Trakr’s DNA to its South Korean partner, the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, and Trakr’s clone should be ready by the end of the year.

Trakr’s owner, ex-police officer James Symington, joyfully declared, “Trakr means the world to me.  To know that part of him is going to live on is just beyond words. It’s the greatest gift I’ve every received.”

Full Story, here.

What do you think?  Wasteful? Exciting?  Flying cars and bad business for the taxidermy industry?

The future is going to be a strange place.

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It is undeniable that dogs do respond to a small selection of words, sit, fetch, stay, come, but do they really have a capacity to understand more?  Recent research shows that dogs possess a profound intelligence with the average trained dog knowing 160 words.  Some dogs’ capabilities with language can even be compared to a three year old toddler.

And as long as I’m bragging, I might as well mention that dogs are also incredibly perceptive of body language.

No wonder they’re such good listeners.

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As I cook lunch and run errands, Stranger either follows me around or naps or chews on a toy.  Around 6 or 7 in the afternoon (depending on the heat), I take him to the dog park.  We probably go to the dog park every other day, followed by a walk on the adjacent trail.  On weekends, we go down to the woods and river and let him run around unleashed while maintaining strict limits on how far away from us he can go.  And again and again, I witness and envy his relationship to nature, how aware and curious he is of it, of how much he sees in a single foot of flame brush.

We come home, and Stranger eats another cup of dog food.  I prepare dinner or do some more work.  By this point, he is tired and calm.  Sometimes, I watch a movie and he snuggles by my side.  Then, bedtime!  He usually falls asleep by the bed a couple hours before I’m ready to call it a day.

Since I started to work from home, I’ve been lucky enough to get a lot of time with Stranger.  We’ve established a very steady routine together, and I think it’s brought us much closer.  I’m sure much of this sounds mundane, and I hope I haven’t bore you, but it’s companionship in the simplest tides that keep us close and strong, allow us to see the world through each other’s eyes.

Some romance, huh?

Do you have a routine with your dog?  Tell me, what’s the highlight of your day?

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