Neutering, comfy cones, and Halloween

We got Ace neutered a week ago today- November 1- and he's getting his stitches removed Thursday. Just in time for our trip to Vegas! We're having the pups stay at the PetSmart PetsHotel and they're going to do Doggie Day Camp for two days as well. I upgraded his neuter to laser surgery- which has a faster recovery time and there's less pain and swelling too. I also got him a Comfy Cone- which is a cushion-y fabric cone instead of one of those awful plastic cones.

Ace in his comfy cone:

Here is the link to the website describing the comfy cone. http://www.allfourpaws.com/the_comfy_cone.php You can't buy it on this website however. But you can buy it on Amazon and I'm sure a bunch of other websites as well.

I plan to get Harley spayed at the same vet- which isn't our usual vet. Our normal vet couldn't get Ace in for a neutering for an entire month! So we took him to a different one- El Toro Animal Hospital- which I just loved! It reminded me of my vet back in Virginia. It had a cozy, small-town feel with lots of cute knick-knacks and a little boutique and a cat sleeping on top of the computer- just like my vet back in Rappahannock! :) Also, El Toro has the laser surgery and my regular vet does not. Well, anyway, I plan to have Harley spayed there too and then we can use the comfy cone on her as well! We also got Ace microchipped, which reminds me, I still have to register his microchip to get him in the system.

I got the dogs Halloween costumes just for fun. We didn't have anywhere to take them, but I just wanted to take some pictures. :P I got the costumes super cheap on Halloween day- I think something like $3.50 each. I got a lady bug costume for Harley and a bumble bee costume for Ace. Not as cute as the frog prince and princess costumes I wanted but still pretty adorable.

This pic isn't great, you can't really see the majority of the costume but I think it's still pretty cute. :)

Trying my best to keep up with the posts!! Sometimes it's just hard to think of something to write! Bloggers Block. :P
Well, hopefully I'll have more soon!
Thanks for pawsing
L

Graduate Programs

Man it has been too long since I last posted. It seems that's how I always start off a new post. Well, I have been doing searches for weeks and weeks on graduate programs in the animal field. (And the education field and psychology field trying to figure out what I want to do). I've been searching for animal behavior, animal psychology, and ethology programs, and recently discovered a few new areas in the field- Anthrozoology and Humane Education/Leadership. I found Canisius College, which has a semi-online Anthrozoology Master's program. Here is their description of the program: 

"Canisius College offers an online Master’s Degree in Anthrozoology, the discipline that focuses on humanity’s relationship with other species.  A major emphasis is on an examination of the relationships between people and their companion animals, but the scope of our program also includes animal use in science, industry, agriculture, and zoos.Our program embraces the positive value of human-animal relations by focusing on the many benefits that accrue to humans by including animals in their lives. It also covers the benefits that are provided to animals by humans. It is an interdisciplinary field of study that includes scientific investigations, philosophical considerations, religious perspectives, animals in literature, and humane education.  Our program also examines the intersection between animal protection and environmental protection:  the special relationship that exists between two worldwide movements."

http://www.canisius.edu/masters-degree-in-anthrozoology/default.asp

This program seems more legit -- well, that's not really the right word -- it's more... respected, I suppose? Well, it seems more respected than the American College of Applied Sciences program- their program that I'm interested in is the Master of Sciences in Companion Animal Behavior Analysis and Counseling.  "The program employs a scientist/practitioner model following the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and evidence based practice. It uses a blended-learning course delivery model consisting of Internet-based courses (both synchronous and asynchronous), 5-day residency lab courses with animals, real-world practicum in the student’s community, and a capstone empirical research project (thesis) designed to fills gaps in the companion animal scientific literature. The program is specifically designed for the working adult who might not otherwise be able to attend a traditional campus-based program.

Graduates are trained to work as companion animal behavior analysts in leadership positions and as part of a behavior management and intervention team that includes the behavior analyst/counselor, the family or facility veterinarian, and the animal’s caregiver(s). Graduates may be employed by animal-related organizations including animal shelters, animal sanctuaries, veterinary practices, animal behavior businesses, humane societies, SPCAs, NGOs, educational institutions, wildlife parks, government animal control organizations, health departments or other such organizations.

Graduates may also enter the profession as self-employed animal behavior professionals and consultants, and as  forensic consultants/expert witnesses in animal injury litigation matters; college, university or vocational school adjunct instructors, media consultants and alike." 

http://amcollege.us/CompanionAnimalBehavior

Then there's Valparaiso University, which has MA and MEd programs in Humane Education. 

"Humane Education is a unified course of study that explores the connections between human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection and provides learners with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to become conscientious and engaged citizens for a healthy, just, and humane world. Humane Educators foster creative and critical thinking, respect and responsibility, civic engagement, informed decision-making, and problem-solving in classrooms, workplaces, personal lives and the world."

http://www.valpo.edu/grad/humaneed/index.php

And I just found another distance learning program - University of Wales Trinity St. David. They have an MA in Anthrozoology that is a completely online program- but it costs £10,719, which is almost $20,000 - and I'm not even sure if that's for the entire 180 credits, or just one year, or what. 

"The MA in Anthrozoology will be of interest to anyone who would like to investigate the many and varied ways in which humans perceive, engage, compete and co-exist with non-human animals in a range of cultural contexts.
The MA Anthrozoology is especially relevant in terms of Continual Professional Development for individuals who are involved with the care of non-human animals in a professional capacity (eg, vets, veterinary nurses/technicians, animal trainers, dog wardens, zoo keepers, conservationists, charity workers etc.), as well as for students who have completed social science undergraduate degrees or who have a science background and would like to expand their research interests into the social sciences."

http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/courses/postgraduatecourses/maanthrozoology/

All of the programs are just so expensive! And they take so long to complete. Two years for the Canisius program if you do it full time each semester! And I can't do full time right now. I have a job and two puppies and just don't have time to be a full time student again on top of all that. Also, most of them want a GPA of at least 3.0- and I had a 4.0 at one college, but by the time I graduated it was 2.9 cause I was taking so many credits (22!) and got married all in one semester. They say they let in students with lower GPAs on a case-by-case basis, so I just need to make my case really good! Canisius says the GREs are optional, but I definitely would take them before applying to help my case! So I guess the first step would be to study for the GREs... now begins my Amazon search for GRE help books. :P

So none of this is exactly related to dog training, but it is related to the field of animal behavior and my possible career path. :) I just need to start down that path sometime soon or I know I probably never will. Or I'll do it when I'm 60 and all my kids have graduated college and are out of the house and I've finished paying of THEIR education. Which is something I don't really want to do- I don't want to wait THAT long. lol. 

Well, thanks for pawsing! That's all for now, just wanted to share my search results with you all. =D

Graduation week and gentle leaders

So Harley and Ace both graduated from their Beginner classes this week! :) Harley graduated Monday- which was also my 1 year wedding anniversary- and Ace graduated Wednesday. It was interesting to see how the two different trainers did their graduations and it was also neat to see how the pups did on Week 6 as compared to Week 1. Major improvements in my opinion. I got some really cute pictures of both of them wearing little graduation hats!

Harley's trainer/my trainer said that Harley is ready for the Intermediate class as far as knowing all of the behaviors, but not ready in regards to her reactions around other dogs and people. She still gets super excited and barks and jumps on people. So, the trainer recommended that we get a gentle leader for Harley before we put her in intermediate. So, the other day I bought a gentle leader- well, technically it was a Top Paw head collar, which I liked better because 1) it was cheaper, 2) it has padding on the nose strap, and 3) it attaches to the collar as a nice little safety feature. She's not too fond of it, of course, but we're working on it. It does make her walk better, we just can't stop for long or she'll try and get it off.

The intermediate class with Harley's trainer isn't until November, so that gives me time to work with her more and get her ready for it. Ace's trainer is a little more lax in the criteria for letting dogs into the Intermediate class. I taught her intermediate class this week, and I think neither of the dogs should be in it- personally, I think Ace is better than them because one of them won't even sit reliably. And dogs should at LEAST be able to do that before moving into the intermediate class.

That was the first intermediate class I've taught- and it wasn't that bad. I have my own intermediate class starting on Tuesday, so I'll have to let y'all know how it goes. Hopefully the dogs in that class will at least be able to know how to sit. So far three are signed up, and I've only taught one of them previously. So at least I know one of them knows the behaviors.

Well, it's getting late and I have to get up early to go to work!
More to come, and hopefully this time I won't wait so long before the next post.
Thanks for pawsing,
L

Training patches and merit badges etc

So, once again, it has been way too long since my last post. I really need to get back into this full swing! But it's just hard with my husband away... I have to deal with the puppies on my own as well as do all of the home care stuff... and that's on top of work.

Well for a while now I've been looking for something for my dogs that alerts people to the fact that they are in training. I'm tired of people petting them without asking or telling me that they don't mind them jumping on them. (You may not mind if my dogs jump on you, but I do!!) I didn't think people were actually rude enough to go up to someone's dog and pet them without asking... but that's not even the worst of it. When I took Ace to his training class last week, as I was wandering around practicing, a couple came up to me and started petting him without asking. But at least they asked him to sit before they did (they just didn't ask ME for permission). Then, while the woman was petting him, Ace stood up and she proceeded to tell him "Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit" repeatedly (which is terrible training anyway) and then she shoved his but to the ground to make him sit before I could interject and correct her! I wanted to haul off and smack her. So then I did interject when the man started petting him- before he could push Ace around- and I told him that Ace didn't need to sit the entire time he was being pet. Ugh what is with people that 1) they think that that's acceptable to do to ANY dog and 2) that it's acceptable to do to a dog that's not yours and you don't even know!?

Well I found a couple of "alert" things I like, but they're either ridiculously expensive or not sold anymore or something like that.

http://www.pawsitivedog.com/DogInTrainingVest.html

http://shop.cautionwalker.com/main.sc

I also love the idea of the Good Dogs of America merit badges. There was also a program called Dog Scouts USA but I think it's no longer in existence. I found a Dog Scouts USA badge on ebay which is how I found out about it, and I found a couple references to it on other peoples' blogs, but they're website is non-existent and they're Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2008 I believe. The Good Dogs of America program is so cute sounding. You put your dog through training and you can buy a bandana for them which you then iron on the merit badges they receive. They're are 19 badges total and each one represents a different behavior that they've mastered. Like down, come, sit, shake, drop it, etc.  The only problem is, you either have to be taking a training course through one of their registered trainers or you have to be a professional trainer to buy them. I am a trainer, so I created an account to see how much they cost... you can only buy the badges in packs of 5 each... and to buy all 19 badges is $199! Gah.  So that one was crossed off the list...

http://good-dogs-of-america.com/merit_badges.html

After I looked into these two programs, I thought of making my own "In Training" thing- maybe a bandana or a thing that clips onto the leash or something like that. I tried to make a bandana, but a couple things went awry. 1) I wrote "In Training" in the wrong spot because when I put it on Ace, the fabric folded over exactly where I wrote it. So if I make a second one, at least now I know where not to write. And 2) the pups got a hold of it and destroyed it. lol.
Then I tried to make a leash clip out of felt and fabric paint... and it just looked awful. And the dogs got a hold of that too. I swear I don't leave things out where they can easily get them- I put them up on the desk and they never pull things off of it, but then of course the two things I'd been making are the only two things they pulled off the desk. grr. haha.


I found a bunch of websites that had training patches- but most of them said "Service Dog" or "Therapy Dog" or something like that. Then I found this one site, things4yourdog.com, which had a bunch of really cute patches. Although most of them do say things like "therapy" or "service" or assistance" there are a couple that don't.

I want people to want to meet my dogs- I just want them to pause (PAWSE!) before they pet them and ask permission, and also not just hightail it if my dogs start barking. I need people to see that they're in training and give me a chance to tell them that they're training and are only puppies and ask them if they'll let my dogs practice with them.

I was going to buy these right off the bat, but they're $18 each and I wanted two for each dog- the Young Dog In Training and the Ask To Pet one.  So that got crossed off the list too.

http://www.things4yourdog.com/specialty%20patches%20for%20dogs

I found some plain "In Training" patches on ebay that were only $5 each, but they were just so boring in comparison to the cute ones from things4yourdog.com. There were also ones that said "Ask To Pet" for only $5. I looked into custom embroidery patches, but that usually requires a minimum number of items or a minimum total amount- also very high price wise. So I ended up getting the ones from ebay- which I am happy about now. :) I plan to attach them to clips of some sort and then attach it to their leashes.

Here is the ebay patch after I finished attaching it to a backing and some clips to clip onto the leash!

Oh! I also found the cutest dog Halloween costumes for them. I want them to have costumes just to see how they'll handle it and so I can get some cute pictures and take them out for a walk with my hubby on Halloween. I really wanted them to have matching costumes- not exactly the same, but a pair. Like if they were both boys, I'd have them be Batman and Robin or they could be an angel and a devil. I also didn't want the costumes to blend in with their fur- Harley is light colored and Ace is black. I found angel wings and bat wings, but I wouldn't want Ace to be the angel cause that's a little girly. I found a couple that were kind of cute, but none that really made a good pair like I wanted. Then I found a Frog costume that had a crown on it... *Light Bulb!* (random Despicable Me reference). And I decided that I want them to be the Frog Prince and a Princess. I found the two I liked and they're just sitting in my Amazon.com cart waiting for me to pay. :) Not sure what the hubby will think but he'll just have to deal with our dogs wearing costumes for one day out of the year. I am opposed to animals wearing "clothing" in general. They do not need it, that's why they have fur. The only exception is clothing that is a necessity- like for dogs that need booties because they're hiking in snowy and icy weather or something like that.

They're going to be so cute!! Even though I know I'll probably only be able to get them to wear it for 5 minutes. Oh well, as long as it's long enough for me to get a picture! :D

Halfway point

Ugggh man I haven't written in a while. I really want to keep up with this too so I feel terrible about falling behind. But my husband is gone for a month and since he left I just haven't had time or motivation to do this. Especially since I'm the only one taking care of the puppies 24/7! Well we're almost to the halfway point of this separation and the puppies just made it halfway through their classes this week! (Hence the title of this post).

It's interesting to see the different teaching and training styles of the trainers doing Harley and Ace's classes. I find things I like and don't like about each one. So hopefully it'll help make me a better trainer too, cause then I can pull all the things I like about the classes I've taken and combine them. The trainer teaching Ace's class (who is my co-trainer where I work) begins every class with a puppy massage, and I've begun to use the same technique in all of my classes too.  It's basically just calmly and slowly petting your dog while holding them close to you to get them to calm down and not be so excited or anxious during class. It really helps Ace out- since he has a problem with getting too excited around other dogs. I have to massage him periodically throughout class to keep him calm. I've begun doing the same thing with Harley in her class because she gets really excited too. It's funny, my husband and I thought that Ace would be worse in class because he's so excitable when he sees other dogs on our walks, but actually Harley has been worse about acting up in class. Until yesterday, that is. For some reason Ace was just not on his game yesterday and kept freaking out when he saw another dog and he wasn't interested in his bully stick. The bully stick worked the first week, and a little bit last week, but not at all yesterday. And it didn't work at all for the really anxious dog in my class that my manager suggested it for. I had to switch that dog into private to see if he'll be less anxious that way.

Last weekend I had to leave the puppies home alone overnight while I went to camp out for a free dress giveaway for Marine wives of Camp Pendleton. I had to work that Friday night til 9:00 and then I came home to take the dogs for a long walk and prep the kitchen so they wouldn't destroy it. By prep I mean spray every surface with no chew spray, and put bully sticks, kongs filled with peanut butter, and toys all over the place. Then I left around 10:00 to make the half hour drive south to my friend's apartment, who then drove us another half hour south to her friend's apartment, who then drove us to the event site. We got there a little after 11:00 and I got home the next morning a little after 10:00. So the dogs had been inside and alone for over 12 hours! But, amazingly, nothing was destroyed. They didn't even chew their whole bully sticks! I think that's partly due to it being overnight and not during the day. They're used to being in the kitchen all night while I sleep- I don't quite trust them yet to leave them in my bedroom with me. And there have been a couple nights here and there when they were in there for 12 hours- like when my husband would go to bed early and I'd stay up and go to bed later without taking them out and then he wakes up extra early and doesn't take them out before he leaves for work and I then sleep in longer than normal. Because they were much more ill-behaved when I left for work on Sunday for 7 hours. They're not used to being alone that long during the day- cause usually my husband is home for at least part of the time.

Dealing with the dogs while my hubby is gone is a lot harder than I anticipated! I'm the only one here... so I'm the only one they go to when they need something or want attention. It's exhausting! well, having two puppies at the same time was exhausting anyway, but at least I was sharing the work with another person. I can't imagine what it'll be like when he deploys! I need to make sure that they're trained pretty perfectly before that so that at least I don't have to worry about them being terrible at walking on leash or freaking out when they see another dog or having accidents in the house, etc.

First day of school and anxious dogs

Man it's been a little while since I last wrote something for this blog... almost a week! Argh I can't believe I fell so behind! I'm so disappointed in myself.

Well anyway, Ace has his first day of class tomorrow night which I am excited about. Though I'm also nervous since he gets very excited around other dogs, especially when he's on the leash. He's gotten a lot better on his walks- last night when we took both of them out, a dog was coming towards us and Ace never freaked out. He just watched it as it passed right by us. I was so proud of him! But just to be on the safe side, I'm going to buy a bully stick to distract him with during class if I need to. My manager actually suggested that because the other day I had a dog that was going crazy in class because of all the other dogs. He was barking the entire time and I could barely hear myself think and had to keep stopping class to try and distract the poor dog. So my manager suggested I just have a bully stick in class in case a dog does that again, then I can give it to the dog and let him chew on it and calm himself down. Then I can suggest that the pet parent get a couple for their dog for class times and other situations they need their dog to chew on something and not get too anxious or excited.

I feel like a terrible pet parent, I haven't worked with either of my dogs in a couple days. It's just been so crazy since my colleague resigned- I come home from work exhausted. And then our A/C broke and water soaked the ceiling and leaked through the fire alarm and set it off at 2:00 am the other day... it's just been a mad house here all week! 

Well, I'm exhausted.
More tomorrow, I promise.
:)
Thanks for pawsing!

Velcro dogs and tear-jerking poems

So I was just thinking about that phrase "velcro dog" and thought that it fits Ace pretty well. Whenever the pups are asleep and I'm chilling on the couch and need to get up to go to the kitchen or bathroom or whatever I try not to wake them up - cause they take forever to go to sleep in the first place. But it seems like whenever I get up and no matter how quiet I am, Ace knows it and follows me around. As I was meditating on him being a velcro dog, I decided that that's not exactly an accurate description. It's more like it's a bungee that connects us. Because when I "pull away" it's like he "snaps back" to wherever I am. I can never go very far before he just appears at my side. I think he just likes to be able to see me. Because when I got up earlier to go into the bathroom he just laid down in the hallway and watched me. He didn't even come all the way into the bathroom! lol

I found this poem that someone else posted... I have no idea who wrote it, but it is very touching. My husband would say that I'm a big sissy, by which he means I cry at everything (even Lowe's commercials at times) and so this poem, of course, made me cry.

My family brought me home cradled in their arms.
They cuddled me and smiled at me and said I was full of charm.
They played with me and laughed with me and showered
me with toys.
I sure do love my family, especially the girls and boys.
The children loved to feed me, they gave me special treats.
They even let me sleep with them - all snuggled in the sheets.
I used to go for walks, often several times a day.
They even fought to hold the leash, I'm very proud to say.
These are the things I'll not forget - cherished memory,
because I now live in the shelter - without my family.
They used to laugh and praise me when I played with that old shoe.
But I didn't know the difference between the old ones and the new.
The kids and I would grab a rag, for hours we would tug.
So I thought I did the right thing when I chewed the bedroom rug.
They said that I was out of control, and would have to live outside.
This I did not understand, although I tried and tried.
The walks stopped, one by one; they said they hadn't time.
I wish that I could change things, I wish I knew my crime.
My life became so lonely, in the back yard, on a chain.
I barked and barked, all day long, just to keep from going insane.
So they brought me to the shelter,
but were embarrassed to say why.
They said I caused an allergy, then they each kissed me goodbye.
If I'd only had some classes, when I was just a little pup,
then I would have been a better dog when I was all grown up.
"You only have one day left." I heard the worker say.
Does that mean I have a second chance?
DO I GO HOME TODAY?


Did you cry too? :P Well, I think it shows exactly why dogs need training and why so many dogs end up in the shelter! Please make sure this doesn't happen to your dogs. Please train them! Behavioral issues and lack of training is the number one reason dogs go to shelters. And it's the easiest thing in the world to fix most of the time.  Here are a couple of quotes I found that I really like as well.

Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend  -   Corey Ford

In order to truly enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely train him to become semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.  -  Edward Hoagland

If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went - Unknown

Well I have to go into work tonight for a few hours to cover classes again. I guess I should stop thinking of them as K's classes and think of them as mine, since they are mine now, but I didn't post the class or schedule it or have the students from week 1 so it's hard to think of them as my students. Well I'm only going to be in half an hour before the first class and stay half an hour after the second class- just to give me enough time to set up and then clean up. I wish I didn't have to cover classes on Saturday since my hubby has a 96 this weekend (meaning time off- he doesn't work Friday through Monday) so I'd love to have more than one full day with him. I work Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday, so I have parts of all those days with him and then all of Monday. Still, if K hadn't resigned, I would've had all of Saturday with him too. Ugh. Oh well. I get the commission. I am happy about that. lol.

Well, gotta start getting ready soon. 

Thanks for pawsing. :)