Dear Dog

[Dogmama]

Dear Holly Spirit Bear,

You breed tend to be very aloof and solitary, so it was pretty amazing that you only snarled at one dog, an Akita. Well he snarled at you too. not sure who started it (simultaneous).
love mom,

Puppy class is the BEST!!! Get them out EARLY and expose them to new things. I'm a HUGE advocate (can you tell?)

Snarley dogs - here's my experience and thoughts. Dogs can sense other dogs' emotional states in a way that humans can't. Akitas are typically not sociable dogs and if your dog sensed some anxiety, he (she?) might have simply been reacting. Remember too that your puppy doesn't have a lot of experience with other dogs yet so reactions can be all over the map. Two main things to remember:

1. Don't over react to anything your puppy does. If your puppy snarls at another dog and you react with alarm, your dog might think, "Hey - I snarled at that dog and my human got excited too. There IS something wrong with that dog! Next time I'm really going to snarl at him - maybe even snap too!" You should calmly redirect your puppy's attention without rewarding the behavior.

2. Do NOT punish your puppy for any unsociable behavior. Dogs are not innately aggressive but they can be fearful. That fear is shown as aggression. You cannot fight fear with punishment. I do counter-conditioning and desensitization - or as I call it, "I see a dog I get a cookie." The book Control Unleashed outlines this beautifully.

I always tell clients to get their puppies in all kinds of safe environments (I do not consider dog parks to be safe, BTW.) More dogs are euthanized because of bad behavior than communicable diseases. Early socialization is key.

[smilingcat]

Dear Holly,

Please do not eat things which are not food. You were very lucky that your other mom saw you downing two tulip bulbs. We are not happy about losing more tulip bulbs.

But more importantly, tulip bulbs are poisonous to you. So we and you were very lucky. We gave you the peroxide to get you to throw it up. Not to make you feel awful. You would have been in lot worse shape if we didn't. It wasn't very pleasant for me to go through your regurgitated stuff and made sure we had all the pieces of the bulbs.

Please don't do this again. And yes when your tummy settled back down, we gave you treats to make you feel better. And we've put barriers up so you can't dig anymore bulbs. "childproofing" the yard.

[smilingcat]

Dear Cody (Pyrenees, golden or lab mix),

The first time I met you, your mom had just picked you up from a rescue place 3 hours away. Your fur was scruffy, awful and you absolutely looked pitiful. Your stole your mom's heart that day when you tried and succeeded by jumping up and down, bobbing your head out of the crowd of Pyrenees. boing boing boing you jumped, each time, your head popped out of sea of Pyrenees head. And so you came into our lives, always happy, always cheerful.

Cheerfulness was your defining character and we loved you very much. So much so that even the cats loved sleeping with you and to be groomed by you. You even let the kittens climb on you, kneaded your fur and you were happy.

But today, we all had to say good bye to you and let you cross the rainbow bridge. You managed to live to be a very old grampy dog and over the years you've helped us foster many many orphaned kittens. We are sad to see you go, but we are also grateful that you are no longer in pain from very old age, arthritis and other ailments. The least we could do was to let you go in peace in your home and on your favorite rug. And you were happy as you went to sleep.

We'll see you and visit you in our dream.

lots of love

[snapdragen]

I'm so sorry smilingcat.

[smilingcat]

Dear filthy mouthed dogs yes YOU Austin, Holly and even Flynnie-winnie,

Kitty roca is not food. Kitty roca is not food for people, its not food for the kitties and it sure isn't for the dogs. STOP trying to get "morsels" of kitty roca. NOT FOOD. NOT TREAT. And never will be. And yes it does resemble almond roca but its not the same!!

And you Austin, somehow you figured out where kitty roca comes from. DO NOT STICK YOUR NOSE INTO THE BACK END OF THE CATS!! THEY DON'T LIKE IT!!

gahhh!!

[Helene2013]

love this. haha

[smilingcat]

Worth watching if you are planning of getting a dog or cat for that matter.

Video is called GIFT and it made me think and look at myself deeply. Some days, my partner's dog makes me really angry, but after watching the video, I now step back and think about it from the dog's point of view.

Having a furry children is a big commitment. Watch the video and think about it. One of the best video's I've ever watched.

[IBrakeforPastry]

Well, I figured what was coming and still managed to break down in tears. My avatar kitty died in March and one of my two new adoptees climbed onto my lap and rubbed my teary face just as the video was winding down. I've heard that dogs (maybe other animals, too?) often search out water right before they die. Thanks for sharing.

[Helene2013]

I've seen this before.

I have 3 dogs and 3 cats. And since 5 are "old" I sort of manage a geriatric house here. hihi

I can tell you that some days...I'm ready to quit on them (but never would - til death do us part!). It is not always easy. Especially with one of the dogs who's on Reconcile (prozac) because of behavioral issues. We tried taking her off it twice already and she has to be put back on it. She's totally nuts and we can't give her an inch. But when she is good (and she's more good than "bad"), she is such a sweetheart. Just need to totally control her environment...which means, sometimes - ok...often, we don't have a life. haha So I can relate to that video in some parts of it.

At least I am lucky enough to have a background in dog training (took 3 years many years ago) so I know how to handle her...but it does not make any thing easier.

But when it is not a cat vomiting hairballs (even when being brushed), it is my prozac pup doing something she should not be doing. Never a dull moment at my house.

And as much as I love them all, I won't have that many pets in my future once they are dead. I think I don't have as much patience as I used to in my "younger" days.

[Aromig]

Having a furry children is a big commitment. Watch the video and think about it. One of the best video's I've ever watched.

I agree, this was one of the most poignant short videos I've seen in a long time. I saw this a few weeks ago and just cried and cried and cried. Like Helene - I feel like a geriatric pet ward. A 19 year old cat, an 18 year old cat, and a who-knows-how-old Jack Russel (who is blind, and going deaf). I'm tired of all of the changes (after 15 years the cats have decided they don't like to be fed in the spare room and are missing the litter box and the Jack Russel doesn't like to go outside anymore) but these are life-long commitments and I can't imagine doing it any differently.

When I first saw the video, I had the thought that it should be mandatory viewing at all pet adoption places - but unfortunately I wonder if it will get to the people that need it (rather than just breaking the hearts of the people who don't need to see it).

[smilingcat]

Dear trouble making dogs,

I do not want any false alarms at 2:30AM or 3:00AM. then again at 6:00AM. Lack of sleep makes mom very grumpy. Please no more false alarm in the middle of the night. I know that two of you are a guard dogs (Australian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees) but really? Maybe I need to tell you a story of boy who cried wolf.