Loss of Great Friends

We have had a few losses over the last 12 months with dogs that we are personally close to.   This happens in dog training, because dogs just don't live as long as we do.  It is the one truly sucky part of dog ownership, in my opinion, and knowing dogs in general.   You are going to loose them.

Mid last year, our clients and friends lost Petey at just 3 years old.   Petey is a Giant Schnauzer that I trained, and has spent a lot of time here.  He looked healthy enough as a puppy, but turned out he had hip and knee problems.  He also developed very serious epileptic seizures.   You can not imagine how difficult it was on his owners when he died.   Awful, and he was such a great boy that just loved to give love and have fun.  He also lived with Magoo CD (Great Dane) and Lucey (Westie that has brought up two huge dogs ).

I actually have better pictures than this on my crashed computer.   Ones where he is helping and carrying a backpack as I pick up walking clients.   Petey was the best, and I wish his body could have kept up with his spirit.

Puppy Petey

Petey in the red bedroom.

Petey on Long Sands

Close up of puppy Petey.

Right before he died, Petey and I hang on the couch watching a bit of tely.

A couple of months ago, our clients and friends lost their dog Roxie to stomach cancer. It came on very quickly. Roxie was maybe my very first client in York Maine after we moved from Worcester Mass. She has also been my boarding and daycare client since 2005 or so. Roxie was my husband's very favorite client dog:) They had a little love affair going on. She was very good friends with my dogs, and most of the dogs that came here. I am glad that my dogs do not know that she is gone. She was friend to cats, dogs, and humans alike.

Magoo, Harley, Roxie, and Petey all share nicely and nap.

Tired Roxie.

Roxie and Harley enjoying each other.

The buds:  Leon, Boris, Roxie and Harley ripping it up at the beach.

Boris in the front, Magoo pestering Harley, and Roxie in the back.   I used to ride the bike that you see around the yard with them:)   Good times.  Well I still do ride the bike around, and I hope Roxie is somewhere still enjoying that.

Pals napping on the "dog couch".   Harley, Leon, and Roxie share very nicely and squish themselves together.

Majestic Roxie.

Roxie and Harley flank, Hannah, Pearly, and Katie (if you look behind everyone there is a little black American Pitbull Terrier name of Gigi).   All these ladies got along remarkably enough:)

I was riling Roxie all up just to get this picture.

Yesterday, our clients and friends lost their beloved Katie at age 13. She is a Springer who has lived with her litter mate Hannah during her life. Hannah came to us in 2006 for training, as she suddenly started going after her sister, Katie. The relationship was repaired, and they went on peacefully into old age together. Katie had recently gone totally deaf, and Hannah is now loosing her hearing as well.

These older ladies have been doted and loved up on by their family. This is a truly sad loss for all who knew these dogs. Hannah has never been without her sister, even when she came here for training. Both Hannah and Katie were great friends to my dogs, including my deceased Jazzy and Jackie. I used to sing a song to them "Hannah's bananas, but Katie she is crazy!". Katie was a giant living teddy bear, who also could blow you off with a smile complete with tongue hanging out. Hannah is more subtle in the ways that she got your attention, and can be a complete clown. Two very different sisters, but two very special dogs with their own individual personalities that worked like ying and yang.

Katie (black and white), Hannah, and I walking along Long Sands.

Katie and Hannah posing for me on a rock in my yard.

Hannah is in front of an English Springer, Pearly.  Katie is next to Great Dane, Harley.  Jackie is the red dobie to the right, and Leon is the red dobie to the left.

Leon, Jackie, Katie, Pearly, Hannah, Roxie, and Harley all pose for me:)

That is Katie peering up at me from under my desk.

Hannah laughs at messy Katie.   We had just walked through the woods near the wetlands, and Katie, of course, submerged herself like a hippo in the water.   Hannah always travels the same terrain but manages to stay clean.

Another view of swamp thing, Katie.

Katie "Will you quit laughing at me?"

Katie "If I rub hard enough, can I get it off?"

Katie "I know, I know, I am cute.   Now please get me out of this."

There are probably more than a few older dogs that I don't know have passed on yet.   Several that I trained from Worcester Mass, but that I have lost touch with  were older dogs.   It is truly one sad part of this business.   You get to know and fall deeply in love with these dogs, and then in one moment they are gone.   On the other hand, if I have done my job correctly, they had an amazing life and partnership with their human:)

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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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Behavioral Bends

Every shelter, rescuer, trainer, and adopter of an adult shelter dog should know about behavioral bends. The article attached is by Julia McDonough (posted under her old married name). The basic message is that dogs are not always WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Dogs may show unexpected behaviors weeks or months after you adopt them. This does not always mean that the owner has done something terribly wrong!! In fact, what it may mean is that the dog is only now comfortable showing you this part of themselves. Dogs need to scope out the situation first. For trainers, this is especially important because a problem can not always be diagnosed over the phone or from even a day one consult.

For instance, our resident guest, Mr Hoobie, who I have been talking regularly about. Thankfully, I have a detailed history of Mr Hobbinators behaviors. So from day one, I have known what to look for. Now some of these behaviors have not surfaced until week 6. Those specifically being aggression from a distance on moving body parts (like if you are moving the computer mouse with your hands or even reaching for another dog to be petted 20' away). This first showed up three days ago, when my husband went to pet Jack, and Hoobie let out a low growl and stare. Then this morning, he growled at me when I moved my hand from the keyboard to the mouse. These are things that I had wished might NEVER show their face again, but I am well aware of behavioral bends. It's not that common or uncommon. It's not always negative. It's like when six weeks later a dog just starts to show you that they are a playing fool. Hannah, another Springer, didn't make it clear that she loved to play with other dogs for six months (she boarded with us after training, and showed absolutely no interest in playing until six months later---that is except with her sister Katie). That's a positive behavioral bend, she needed to feel comfortable enough around the packs that developed here to show that side.

Just ends up being another thing about Hoobie that is tough. I have been brushing off my clothes, using my mouse liberally, petting my dogs, and petting him for five plus weeks now, and on week 6 he chooses to show me it on his own. I don't know how much of a stink he is going to put up regarding not being allowed to do it. I am glad it's here now where we still have week 7, and perhaps week 8 to go. The owner is coming down this Monday to start being trained on handling Hoobie, and continuing his training and maintenance once home. He may actually give his owners less of a problem OR he may try to get things "back to his normality" as much as possible.

Any way, it's going to be important information for me. When I get a dog like Hoobie in, I pretend this is MY dog. I have just adopted him from the shelter. The unfair thing is that I do have background info on this dog, unless he has been adopted just days ago and the owner does not know that much about the dog. That's just one of the many things I love about Hoobie's owners, they have been very thorough and thoughtful of telling me what to be aware of.


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Kate The Swamp Monster!!

Today's Updates

Bogey, the boarding and mellow yet shy Beagle, did find a playmate in Petey and Lucey today. Petey is a Giant Schnauzer that is quite lovely, and Lucey is a very cute Westie girl, that no one is able to resist. I was surprised that Bogey responded to the Giant Schnauzer just because I thought his size would intimidate him. However, Pete's sweetness must have captured his attention.

Kate and Hannah, the Springer sisters, came yesterday. Hannah has been enjoying my bed when she is not playing. She was not so much up for play yesterday, but today she rounded up Leon and Magoo the Great Dane puppy to play with.

Murphy, the small girl Lab, came today. She wears everyone out with her energy. Luckily we have a bunch of playmates here for her to tire out!! She saw her good friend, Minny Man, during his walk. They are an unlikely pair the Chi X and exhuberant Lab, but it's been love at first sight since they met!

Bella, the Mastiff puppy, had lesson number six on the beach today. The exercises being worked on now are stay with duration, distance, and distraction and firming up the Let's Go command more. Downs are slow but at the first command which is good. Sits have come back to first command (there was a long vacation in there for everyone where a bit of work was lost LOL). Bella is so adorable and mellow that it's pretty unbelievable.

Hoobey, the aggressive Springer, came today. He's almost asleep right now, and we both had a looooonnnnnggg day together. He's a project for sure, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Right now the most challenging part is getting him in and out of the crate (thank goodness for my time at Doberman Rescue)!! I got a little video of his less extreme reactions, I will probably be able to capture a more extreme reaction tomorrow morning before we (hopefully) start decreasing their occurances. He looks pretty tired and happy right now. A dog just walked by his crate without a reaction....ooops spoke to soon the dog walked back and got a bit of a growl . Hoobie is going to be a project. I am pretty sure he's going to be sound a sleep shortly. His owners are definately not imagining what a little tuffy he is. His background includes some pretty serious medical issues that caused much pain when he was younger (and some chronic ones that can cause pain now on occaision). He is a resource guarder too.

Magoo continued his day four training towards obedience competition for AKC. Magoo is a Great Dane puppy, and extremely cute and biddable. He gets very sleepy after his training session, and we cuddle on the couch afterwards as we train....

His sister, Lucey, for her barking which is mostly prey motivated. Only problem is that it's at every commercial or program for her owners. Also apparently it's in the car and out and about where real wild and domestic animals may be. In a household with three dogs, this can cause quite a chain reaction.

And Petey, the Giant Schnauzer, just got to have a great time at daycare. As far as Petey is concerned, the more the merrier.

Bogey The Mellow Beagle

Bogey is an extension of a family that comes to me for training and boarding. He has big brown eyes, and is of the Beagle breed. Now normally Beagles are a bit crazy, destructive, and hyper. Bogey seems to be another of the few bomb proof dogs that do exist in the world, and ruin their owners when they get dog number two in the future. He is super sweet and mellow.

He also is a bit hesitant towards socializing with other dogs. His aunts, Kate and Hannah, are coming this afternoon, so it will be interesting to see how he greets them.

When he very first came, he was a bit trembly and drooly. I had to bring him up the stairs to hang out with me and my two dogs. Niether of my dogs were too terribly concerned about the Beagle statue that appeared. Bogey prefers to stay close to walls unless food comes upstairs. And he isn't all that intrusive over that either, he just comes in closer....just in case he might get something. As a trainer, it's never a good idea to give treats or scraps when or where the humans are eating, OR if a new dog is introduced to the pack. It's good to know what brings him out of his shell a bit. He's a bit overweight, so anything other than his own food won't be used for this.

Bogey also likes when my dogs bark at wild life out the window or get excited when Robert is coming up stairs. He joins the dogs in those activities.

He makes all sorts of cute snorting noises too, although I worry that may be due to his weight and might be contributing to the unusual (for a Beagle) inactivity on his part. We will going on some woodsy and beach walks to see if that makes him a bit more interested.

My husband also found the sweet spot under his chin that he enjoys being rubbed on:) Bogey has identified a few spots in the house that he feels comfortable in. He has started coming in from the walls in the family room as well . Playing is a matter of him feeling comfortable that the dogs won't jump on him, and my dogs are doing that job very well. In fact, I think that confused him a little bit at first since they weren't all over him (they are pretty used to various dogs coming and going here).

Does your dog need a bit more confidence? Call Maine Dog Trainer at Mannerly Mutts Dog Training at 207-361-4395, providing Maine Dog Training needs. Or e-mail Robin Rubin, Maine Dog Trainer, at mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com.

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