Fuzzy Logic

Ch.. ch.. ch.. CHANGES!

Now that you are all singing a David Bowie song, I wanted to tell you about some of the things we’ve changed for the furkids. As you may or may not know, I have been a proponent of raw feeding. My dogs have been on raw food since they came home to us.

And they loved it. But I worry. We lost Charlie to a bladder tumor at age 7. We lost Targ to hemangiosarcoma at age 6.

The girls are 5 this summer. Although they are pretty healthy over all, Qay is still very flighty despite all the work we’ve done with her and Qor has a reoccurring infection under her chin. It could be because for as much as we try, her face is never really dry. It’s that tongue thing. You’ve seen it.

Maybe it’s time to try something else. Maybe we aren’t able to nutritionally balance a diet for our dogs. Maybe these two dog would do better on (gasp!) kibble.

I confess. For a long time I was a full fledged member of “raw diet is the ONLY way” club. A few years ago, I started to realize that I could not covert everyone into my cult. I started telling people that the best diet for your dog is the one it thrives on.

Just recently, at a chiropractic clinic, I saw a young dog practically glowing with life.. Glowing! Shiny coat, bright eyes, nice teeth and wonderful attitude. I said to myself, “this is a raw fed dog”. That dog was 5 years old and had been on kibble his whole life.

So for the past month, the girls have been getting a high quality kibble, for one meal a day. Although, digestively speaking they are still adjusting, I have noticed that Qor’s face is less swollen. And their poop is ok.. not great.. but okay. We are interested to see what their blood work looks like in February. We’ll be comparing it to last years.

On the home front, we purchased a new mattress as the old one was 8 years old and sagging pretty badly. Since we couldn’t have the old one hauled away, we had to put it SOMEWHERE until trash night. So I put it in our “we call it the library but it’s would be the dining room if we had a table but it’s really the quasi laundry/ doggy play room” room.

The dogs have claimed it as their own.

Click to Bigify

Tags: Dog Food, kibble

“Congratulations to him for straightening his life around and bettering himself as a human being,” coach Andy Reid said. “He’s obviously very well-respected by his teammates.”

This would be about Michael Vick. Michael Vick who has been awarded the Ed Block Courage Award

I’m sorry.. but I call Bull Pucky.

I get a lot of grief because I have been saying that sure, the guy did a horrible horrible thing and did the time that the current legal system allows and now he goes back to his job, just like every other American. I don’t think athletes should be held to a higher standard because they are in the public eye. Everyone should be equal in the eyes of the law.. that’s just how I feel and I know a lot of you feel differently. If he wasn’t punished enough then the system failed.

**climbs down from soap box**

That being said, the dude turned his life around and worked with the Human Society (don’t get me started on them) because HE HAD TO. This was not a decision on his part. He had no choice.

Bull Pucky.. it stinks.

More from NBC Sports

In other news, Embrace Pet Community Blog shared this awesome update.

The 2010 Pin Ups for Pitbulls Calendar is out!

Funds from the sale of these Calenders goes toward educating people about bully breeds and on breed discrimination.

Go.. buy…  and thumb your nose at the NFL and HSUS on your way there.

Tags: BSL, Michael Vick, stupid human tricks

The other day, we were walking the dogs on our block. Shel was ahead of me with Qor and I was walking Qay.

Across the street, I see a woman with her three small children on a family walk.. sort of .. the two boys were running ahead and the little girl was about midway between her mom and her brothers.

The little girl spots us.. she stops dead in her tracks..

and Yells… “Guys! Guys!” and I expect the next phrase to be ” Lookit the doggies!” but what this clever little 5ish year old girl yells instead is

“WE DON’T RUN PAST DOGS! STOP RUNNING!”
and the boys stop.

Way to go kiddo.. that was awesome.

Running past a dog is a sure fire way to kick up the prey drive. It’s the reason dogs chase cars.. and how many kids get mauled.

I’ve always said that the reason that so many kids get bitten is that they just don’t have the tools to know when dogs have had enough . In thinking about this kid, I was trying to find places that she could have learned this. Based on the reaction of the adult she was with, I’m guessing, not at home (can you say apathy? so sad, really)

Anywho, I stumbled across Be a Tree- Be a Dog Detective which not only has great tips on how to “Be a Tree” but it presents information to kids that does not make dogs sound scary.

Most dogs do not intend to scare or bite people, but they do like to investigate new people. Most dogs will chase a person who runs and will get more and more excited the more the person runs. Shouting or screaming is also exciting to dogs and can frighten some dogs. Being still and quiet is the best way to show a dog that you mean no harm and that you are not going to play with him or threaten him.

After a few click throughs, I found out why. “Be a Tree” is administered by Doggone Safe, an non-profit resource based in Canada.

Despite 12,000 years of living with dogs, they remain largely misunderstood by humans. When a dog bites we interpret this in human terms. In most cases the bite is a normal dog behavior. The dog that bites is not necessarily a mean dog or a bad dog – he is just a dog. To prevent dog bites we need to understand what motivates the dog to bite and reduce risk through modification of both human and dog behavior.

I love this. This does not blame the dog.. but simply explains the problem.. and provides a solution.

Coincidentally, I just Facebook “fanned” their sister site “Doggone Crazy” where you can get a teacher kit and board game to learn about body language. There are a lot of learning tools available. What I really like is they seem to teach the subtlety of dog body language.. things that if you didn’t know to look, you would think were “normal”.

In my own opinion, I think a lot of dogs are misunderstood and live in a constant state of stress. We humans don’t see it for what it is because they “always look like that”. Of course, we humans live with stress related illnesses and think that is normal, too.

Check out the pics on the Dog Detective page and see how well you do!

blah blah blah…. you know the rest.

Things have been pretty quiet around here.. mostly because I got the plague.. yup H1N1 I think… and then, just for fun..Bronchitis…. I’m on week 4 now and I’m still coughing. I know I’m all “try the natural approach first” but breathing in steam, drinking tea with honey and lemon, chest and back rubs with eucalyptus and rosemary just haven’t done the trick. So, mucinex it is… good stuff that.

I just spent the day in NYC yesterday, in spite of the creeping crud that has invaded my lungs. I took it easy, rested when I needed to which wasn’t very often thank goodness. One flight of stairs at the American Natural History Museum almost did me in… but after about 3 minutes, the heart palpitations stopped… not getting enough oxygen really stinks!

So while we were walking on the Upper West Side, after dinner at Kefi, I noticed that it was dog walking hour. Everyone had their dogs out, on leash, out for their “evening constitutional”. And these dogs were the most balanced dogs I had seen in a while.

I mentioned to Shel that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Amidst the chaos of cars and people and noise, these dogs were just walking nicely on leash.. giving a sniff here and there and ignoring people. Shel says “Well of course, these dogs are walked every day. In NYC, you can’t just toss them in the back yard and ignore them.”

Duh. Guess the cold meds went to my brain.

It’s true. Often I hear people say that they don’t understand why their dogs are so CRAZY, after all they get so much exercise. The thing is, running amok in the backyard is not brain exercise.

This past week, my job was VERY slow… this happens sometimes. The week before I was crazy busy. Now, since I’ve been sick, I’ve been tired. (that not enough oxygen thing) but I was feeling better when I was busy. I was more stressed about not having much to do (except stuffing envelopes.. boooring) so my brain didn’t get any exercise.

These NYC dogs, out on their walks, had their brains challenged. They had to pay attention to their handlers, the street noise, the people, the new smells… all this stuff that stimulates their brains.

My friend who is a chiropractic veterinarian, has been doing a lot of research on brains, and how dogs that have mental challenges live long and live better. She also says that a good way to tire out a dog is to make them think. And imagine, you get to spend quality time with your dog!

If going for walks are not possible where you live (and I know that there are many people who live in areas that aren’t safe for walks) you could try tricks or teach them a new skill!

You really don’t need a lot of room. We train obedience in our small house. We do recalls around corners. We play find it with treats. Sit, down, Stay, twirl, spin, weave can all be taught in a small space.

For some great ideas, I suggest checking out these lenses from Johann the Dog!

Fun things to do with your dog
How you and your dog can have loads of fun learning tricks!

Tags: mental health, tricks

Poor Qay..

It happened again. She is always the one getting charged by someone’s dog. Sheesh.

This time, it was a tiny white dog. We were walking this morning and across the street I see this dog RUNNING like her little tiny white butt was on fire. And behind her, a woman calling her name and running.

Well this little dog saw Qay and BOLTED over to “say hello”.

Qay thinks this is rude. Fortunatley, I had a good handle on her and sat her down. (and she sat! I was so proud). Meanwhile, this little thing is sniffing around.. trying to decide how much closer she wants to get! She’s about two feet away and Qay is having none of it. Qay really does well with dogs off leash. But on leash she is a different dog.

So, the woman runs up and sees us and says “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! Her leash broke!”.

The dog is not wearing a collar.
The owner does not have a leash in her hand.

She then decides to WALK WITH HER DOG. Yup.. you read that right.. she actually expected the dog to walk with her. I suggested, as nicely as I could that maybe she should PICK HER UP!

oy vey.

Qay did very well, I have to say. After a moment she settled back down and enjoyed the rest of our walk. Whew!

Tags: ParmaQay, wild dogs