International Fugitive Tommy Has Arrived Safe and Sound



Whatcha writing about me?



The flight was on time last night, and going through customs went as the transport company had predicted.   So Tommy arrived at our house just a little past midnight last night.   All in all, this actually worked in our favor as he was pretty tired and very quickly fell to sleep in our bedroom.   Our bedroom was occupied with four other dogs last night.

So one may be wondering as my other dog professional friends have asked, how is it that you intake a strange dog in the middle of the night with other dog guests?  Regardless of the temperament of the dog reported, you do this carefully.   Remember that Tommy just had a long international flight, and has been recently exposed to all sorts of things he just has not been prepared for yet. You can't get mad at a dog for having the appropriate reaction to a situation.   You can not expect that they will know the situation or who you are on the very first day.  Tommy has zero reason to trust me or the dogs that are here. So here is the plan in action:

• Number one, I inform the husband of the plan repeatedly.   Husbands take far more repetition than dogs to learn things:) Most important thing I let him know, is do not let any dogs out of the places I put them--no matter what and for any reason.   I will take care of that.
• I have a closed off place, actually a very large family room, to keep the four dogs in.   Even though they (except puppy Boris) are used to this very sort of thing, Tommy is not.  There is no reason to expose anyone to a potentially overly stressful situation.
• In the other part of the house, I have access to leashes and outdoor area for bathroom.
• When the car comes in, I grab the leash and meet drop off person outside.   Tommy gets to walk around and pee first, plus check me out, before the transfer is made.
• I greet very calmly and do not force myself on a dog.   Often just taking the end of the leash is fine, and entering the house.  
• Once in the house, doors are made sure to be firmly closed or locked to the outside (and gates closed in the outdoor pee/poop area) so there are no unfortunate incidents.
• Longe line is ready to let Tommy out into chicken wire enclosed dog peeing and pooping area.   This is just to make sure Tommy is not one to try to break out or even jump over the fence.   Again on first meeting there is no reason to take risks.
• Once that is done, I settled Tommy into prepared crate in the bedroom near my bed.
• Then the four other dogs are let upstairs.  
• In this instance, everyone pretty much crashed with little fanfare.   Boris was quite alarmed to find a dog and crate suddenly "appeared" in the bedroom.   Tommy took this etiquette lapse gracefully. Roxy, Harley, and Leon were thinking "oh hi there, another one to break in" and just went to their sleeping places.



Hey lady, I don't know you, but you seem nice enough.



I watched tv with my chair near Tommy for a little while.   When I saw his head start to almost hit the floor a few times, I figured that he was going to be out cold and he was.   This worked out well because we all got the sleep that we needed, Tommy got to get used to his new companions' smells, and I could hear if Tommy suddenly needed to go to the bathroom.   If I keep a dog in a different room, I have a baby monitor too, but sometimes the movements of discomfort of the dog does not register as a need to go out.   Whereas if I can see the dog right there, it is pretty obvious.   Tommy did not need to go out, and slept like a rock.

Who is this vision of loveliness?  (Answer:  Bella)

Today is going well with Tommy.   He is concerned and nervous.   He is interested in dogs.   He wants to play.   He would like a little getting to know time first (or that is going to be what works best for him).   It's less than a day, so I am not even close to knowing Tommy.   However, it's been a good day and a good start.

A lot of people start out by just expecting too much from a dog in this situation.   They do not stack the odds in favor of the dogs success.   Sometimes people get a little too upset about dog communication (barks, growls, looks) and too anxious. (I should probably go a bit more into what I really mean by this in another article, as it's pretty important)   That combined with no boundaries or limitations is a dangerous combination even with the nicest dogs.  It's so easy for rough play to be misinterpreted by another dog who does not know that dog.   Then what happens is a totally unnecessary fight, because of a misunderstanding of intent.

Will you be my BFF?

Roxy and Harley are daycare dogs, and also board here frequently.

Tommy is definitely enjoying himself today, and I will write more about the challenges of managing a dog;s first day, including the getting to know part.  Dogs all have different signals and sounds, and if you don't know the dog they can either sound more alarming than they are or less alarming than you should take them.  It's all about learning the dog as you develop your relationship and communication structure.  Canines learn this themselves as well.   That is why it is sometimes very easy for a misunderstanding to occur.  One dog's play signal may be another dog's "I'm a gonna get you" signal.

Tommy looks like he is probably big into play.   I think he will most likely be a wild man about exercise and play LOL.   Today is just about some quiet introductions and absorbing the behaviors of his new companions.

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Tommy Comes Flying "Home"



 At your left, Tommy is scheduled to meet a plane from overseas to his previous geographical home of Maine shortly.  Air Animal provides this door to door service for their clients.   In this economy, many people are happy to have their jobs, and therefore relocate in order to perform their duties in other countries.   Maybe it does not even have to do with the economy for that individual. They may enjoy the travel and excitement that comes from travelling.   Being able to take their canine companion with them probably sweetens the pot.

However, many people are still unaware of the far reaching affects of canine legislation and in specific BSL, breed specific legislation.  Overseas, it is just if not more prevalent than in the United States.

Certainly, Tommy is totally unaware that he went into a country as a sort of "illegal immigrant".  Tommy is something mixed with lab that has the appearance of a dog in the "pit bull category".   He probably is indeed mixed with the many breeds that can be lumped in this category, and these classifications all differ depending where you go.  

Tommy's owners were quite distressed when they realized their predicament.   Now what?   Luckily Mannerly Mutts can provide long term care and boarding with much freedom until his owners return to the States. Our service was a hard one to locate for Tommy's owners, and other dog boarding set ups would not even consider taking him.  Not due to any real issues other than being a dog.  In Tommy's honor, I will be detailing the affects of canine legislation as well as the diminishing rights of responsible dog owners.  Also proactive steps that can be taken to be an ambassador of your dog, their breed, and dog owner responsibility will be discussed.

In the meantime, I am sure Tommy is enjoying some time being surrounded by his true family members until he comes to his surrogate family.   The first week will be filled with Tommy settling in, meeting our dogs, and getting used to the routine. 

To find out the status of BSL in your area, click on this link.  Any travel in the States or outside the states should involve much research on what you are traveling through and to.  A dog may be in danger of being confiscated if you drive through the wrong area.   Scary and unbelievable but true.

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Our Favorite Girls, Hannah & Katie

Sorry to my other customers, but Hannah & Katie have been coming here for five years now to board.   They were my first multi dog in house case for the residency training program.   Hannah put me through heck and back, and I like that in a girl LOL.

Recently we had a visit with our 12 year old lady guests:

Hannah is a sleeping beauty.

Hannah is an awaking beauty.

Katie's close up!

Hannah's close up!!

Hannah makes a really cute spider.

Katie says "I can get this thing off, if I just rub hard enough."

Hey this thing isn't so bad, look I can run in it.

Cute Katie Pumpkin.

Well, I had to torture Leon, didn't I.   Here he is wearing the only part of the spider costume that will fit.  See a "stand" and "look" command really do come in handy sometimes.

Now Leon is wearing the only part of the pumpkin costume that will fit him. 

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Dog Events - Why You Should Go!

If you have prepared your dog at all, a great place to proof around food issues.   Here Boris is uncharacteristically waiting for Robert to make selection, while not making a grab for cookies in easy reach of Boris (trust me on this, he would have no problem grabbing those).

It is seldom that you get dog opportunities where most other people feel comfortable around dogs in general.   Socialization of the human animals with their dogs is also important.

Dogs who get out and about are stimulated mentally.   Dogs need mental stimulation.   We have television, books, and the ability to go out and do things.   Dogs also crave mental stimulation of working and being with their owners on adventures.

You get to brag and show off your dog:)  There is Boris walking with me down the center, while another tells his story of how he came to be with us.

The right kind of mental and physical stimulation can make your dog very content and sleepy LOL.

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York Maine Citizens Work Together to Reunite Beagle and Owner

Chance and a series of coincidences put us on Old Post Road in York Maine late yesterday afternoon. As easily as the yellow Nissan was traveling down that road, the vehicle was meant to be doing other things or parked in a driveway at that hour.

Although that location and sight of Beagle bombing around a busy road almost brought on the onset of heart arrhythmia at that moment, I was glad to be at that location at that time. I witnessed a Beagle racing across busy from Trafton Street across to the busy Old Post Road and headed towards Route 1! The husband looked at me, stopped the truck, and said "go do your thing". Nonchalantly, I exited the car. As the husband said later "he did not look like a comer". My plan of action involved slow maneuvering and hopefully getting the dog interested in me.
A couple of close calls with cars combined with me feeling the need to jump out in front of them, convinced me that a more speedy tact was required. So I flagged down a motorist that was willing to help, and started jogging (okay if felt like running to me, but it was really more like a jog). The young men stopped in the middle of the road, and opened their car door hoping to redirect him in. Instead he went around back, where thankfully a neighbor, witnessing the action, waited and scooped him up. Truly this was a team effort from a bunch of people who had no idea who the others were.

In turn, the Beagle was handed over and deposited into our awaiting Nissan. Luckily, I am familiar with the Animal Control Officer of York Maine, Larry W McAfee. Larry is a great asset to York Maine, patient, reasonable, and willing to help. He is also a great source to go to with questions about what is going on in town regarding possible legislation issues regarding dogs. This dog was without tags of course, or we would have just called and delivered him ourselves to his owners. Time was spent riding around and seeing if there was anyone out calling or looking for a dog. The neighborhoods around the area were all quiet.

So off the very upset Beagle went to be logged in with animal control. One thing about our animal control here is that they are very in touch with how to quickly figure out if this is a resident's dog or not. Larry explained that while it was a shame this guy did not have his tag on, all licensed dogs in York Maine are in a database according to breed and sex et. Plus there is a different fee for un-neutered dogs, so it probably would be pretty quick to narrow dog where this dog was supposed to be. Worse came to worse, they would scan the dog for a microchip.

Sure enough, we bumped into Larry about a half hour later. He was quite happy to report that the dog was reunited with his owner on Rodgers Road. That is a good mile and a mile and a half from where he was found. His owner was calling for him in that area, but obviously we could not hear him from that far away. Also a gate had been left unlatched, and Mr unaltered started out on his adventure. Scary. Be sure to watch out for your dogs, and even one of those collars with the phone number on it can be a big help in the event of an accident or mistake.

Thanks to the whole team, and especially York Animal Control Officer Larry for making this happy ending possible.

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Our Latest Victim, er Model, Minny Manny

These dogs all seem to be laughing, but at what?   Roxy, Harley, Magoo and Boris are finding something very amusing.

Oh come on!!  Isn't it bad enough that I am the smallest one here?

This is ver undignified.

Does this pitful look gain me ANY sympathy?

I give up, do what you will and be quick about it.

Alright, everyone thinks I am a fluffy now.

I'm outta here.

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Boris and Evie at Doberman Picnic 2010

We found Boris's sister and littermate, Evie.

Who is this vision of loveliness?

Boris thinking sneaky thoughts.

Look, I bark just like you, see?

That treat should be meant for me.

Now that is more like it.

Evie and Boris meet again.

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Do you think I get a little excited about Halloween?

He is literally a Pumpkin.  My sweet Boris.

Ollie and Alyssa help model some Halloween costumes.

My favorite Halloween wreath.   Sparkly!!

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Why For No Blogging Mannerly Mutts?

First of all, apparently I am "over the hill" according to my loving family as I turned "a certain age" this August.

Question:  OMG, how busy have we been?  

Answer (see below also for details):  Got two board and train cases unexpectedly on the same busiest weeks for boarding, as they were both emergency cases.   Historically, August has been a crazy month.   Each week is a months worth of work in August.   Summer is not for the faint of heart here at Mannerly Mutts, and I see now more than ever that I will need an assistant next year, and possibly this fall if I start the group classes (the announcement will be coming for my former students).

I have not been busy training competition dogs, Magoo (client dog training for Open AKC), and Boris (my three legged dog training for Novice UKC).  In fact all the maintaining of training on current dogs goes out the window during the month of August.  So here is what we HAVE BEEN doing:

Computer Crashed and Down During Busy Time:  Granted, I really needed a new computer anyway.  I wanted a laptop with all the ports and attachments to do my work quickly and where ever the dogs are.   My computer was painfully slow even hooked up directly to the DSL line.   Still have not transferred everything that I need to my new Toshiba Satellite (love it).   Perhaps today will be the day to figure out how to plug my camera card and camcorder in.

Jake (a mix of mystery):  Did not take a picture of my new buddY yet:(   Jake came here to train in order to move with his owner to an assisted living situation.   Jake was never properly house trained, and his owner is loosing some memory functions.   Obviously, it's important that the facility remain clean from accidents.   So Jake came here to do house training, a little obedience training, and training to ring the bell to alert the owner.   The owner has remembered (a little too much) to let Jake out, so I may need to visit to reinforce the bell training, so when the memory does not work ---  Jake will.   So far so good as far as the house training has gone for his new home.  

This has been a wonderful case to work on.   His owner and the sons have been so supportive and helpful of being a team in this process.   It's been a very heartwarming case.   Jake is a wonderful dog by the way.   He is very playful and young, but has been a great companion to his less young owner.   So happy that they will be able to stay together.  

Huntington Commons is a retirement community that does allow their residents to keep dogs (and so I am assuming other pets as well) given the residents are able to follow some guidelines.   That is a happy thing especially for my future old age, though I hope to still be training well into my eighties.

Rocko (Maltese and Shih Tzu):  This two year old is a dynamo.   He came here after a second incident with a child.   Interestingly enough, this is more of an inappropriate play thing, it would seem, than an aggression thing.   I did not see the incident, but the parents report it's much like what they see when Rocko is playing with the dogs.   Dogs have fur though, where human beings do not.   Rocko being a small mite of a thing with uber confidence and not that much socialization, has trouble seeing the difference between any human who is playing with him and a dog.   His teeth are still young, white, and sharp, so catching something in the air at the right angle on the way down can cause a mark or bite wound.   Rocko is just needing work on self control around humans who play with him, and also more socialization and real world experiences.   Though a small dog, this is a dog that gets bored easily and needs a lot of activity.  He needs this activity in more of an outlet than just play.

Rocko is the classic case of the cycle that can go on in dog ownership.   First as a puppy, his barking, charging, was cute (well still is truth to be told, but...).   However, as human owners we need to look into the future and realize there are things coming down the pike that we must prepare our dogs for.   Like that children have soft skin without fur, and if we want our dogs to play with children (or be controllable around children) then we need to prepare them.

So then when Rocko was barking (a previous cute behavior that was inadvertently rewarded) in public or in the yard, the owners started to avoid those activities that would make Rocko bark.   Rocko goes out less, but still needs mental and physical activity so the now unwanted behaviors increase instead of being channelled correctly.

Rocko is a really good guy and very fun loving.   His owners have a hard time believing what an incredible obedience or agility guy this munchkin would be.   However, it's true:)  Rocko loves to work, and he loves to go on adventures.  Now it's about pushing his owners out there with him.  It's also about training the owners to control the environment for Rocko to learn how to be self controlled and calm.

Lola (thought to be Pit bull X Female and Housemate of Buddy):  Lola came here after an incident with he owner's niece.   However, she had always been hard to handle on lead in public around dogs.  Lola is a sweetheart with those that she knows.   She can show a bit of resource guarding with her other canine housemate.   She does like dogs, but her lack of socialization seems to have made her very wary, and she likes to go on the defensive first to be sure the other dog doesn't get to her first.   It matters little what the other dog is doing at the time.

Lola also was taken in at a much younger age than is advised.   So she missed out on much of the nurturing and sibling interactions that a dog should have.  

Buddy Cocker Spaniel Male (and Housemate of Lola):  Buddy and Lola adore each other.   Buddy is now taking private coaching lessons with his owners, so that they can learn how to train him as well.  It does make life much easier when all dogs in the household are trained on basic obedience and manners.

Alyssa (Husky):  OMG, such a cute Husky puppy.  Alyssa is here for daycare and training.   The training is limited as her knees are fluctuating improperly.   Surgery may be necessary to correct this for her.   She is coming into just one years old now.

Jake German Shepherd 10 Month Old Male (Sibling to Roxy):  Most breeders will not adopt out two siblings.   This pairing happened in a sort of accident.   One of the human siblings was holding the other puppy for a surprise later for the other family.   However, the holder fell in love with that puppy too.   (as well as the one that they totally planned to purchase for themselves)   Hence, at 10 months, the classic problems that arise out of this are rearing their head.

Jake is the more confident and larger of the two siblings.   He came up and sniffed me right away at his first lesson.   He gets reactive to sudden and movements from a distance.

Both siblings get anxious when they can not get to each other.

Roxy German Shepherd 10 Month Old Female (Sibling to Jake):  Roxy is more fearful and timid than Jake.  She did not elect to sniff or greet me the whole first lesson .  

Both siblings get anxious when they can not get to each other.

Salty (German Short haired Pointer Female):  Salty had an incident related to her invisible fence.   She also has not been trained to be confident and calm around her boundaries, and so we have started the coaching with her owners to get her back to enjoying the freedom of her yard:)

Daycare and walking:  Alyssa (the Husky female puppy mentioned above) is our most recent daycare client.  Ollie (a hound mix of some sort, I assume) has been my walking client since late this winter or early spring, and is now a daycare client here.

Boarding, boarding, and more boarding:  Boarding during August has been historically busy and crazy for the month.  We easily do every other month's work in a week.   We did have a few new guests this year Carlus (beagle and housemate to Bachus), Bachus (Great Pyrenes),  Polly (Chocolate Lab), and Lucey (Golden Lab and housemate to Fenway, Standard Poodle).   We also had regular guests Petey (Giant Schnauzer who recently passed away due to some health difficulties), Magoo CD (Great Dane and Petey's housemate), Roxy (Great Dane and Harley's housemate), Harley (Great Dane and Roxy's housemate), Bogey (cutest Beagle that you will ever meet), and more.   Plus we had all of the above going on as well.

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