This is one of our puppy clients at the animal clinic I also work at. Is he not the most adorable puppy you have ever seen? OK so I may be biased since he is a pug. But seriously, the smile is 100% real, no photo shop needed. How can you not love that face? It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside so in the spirit of the New Year and happy thoughts I thought I should try passing that feeling on to as many people as possible.I suppose I should share some thoughts about my plans and resolutions for the new year. In light of how the second part of this year went for my crew, I have decided to keep them fairly easy. I find simplicity helps one stay on task. And not knowing what tomorrow will bring with our Missy has me wanting to keep things flexible as much as possible too.
First I vow to finish more of my dog related reading. No more starting another book until the last one started has been finished. This means that I will not buy another dog training or behavior book (gasp!) until I am all caught up. This one might take some discipline on my part since I have a slight book addiction to battle here.
Second I vow to finally start on my project of working through the 101 dog tricks book with Jenny and Jack. January is a good time to start since it is http://www.trainyourdogmonth.com . Things with Missy got me side tracked but we are in a holding pattern now so I think it is safe to buckle down and begin. It may be slow going but anything is better than nothing right? (and yes I plan on sharing video of our progress)
Third I vow to get Jack out more. I feel like he has drawn the short straw lately and he is bored. One of the things I plan to do with him is participate in http://www.idita-walk.com It is a fund raiser for youth programs and has the added benefit of promoting exercise for dogs and their people. And I have a thing for the real Iditarod dog sled race so it will be my mental connection to those dogs and racers. (With much less hardships to face on my end for sure - for others with a similar interest in dog sledding I can highly recommend the book "Winterdance" by Gary Paulsen. It is laugh-out-loud good and one of my all time favorite dog books.)
Fourth I vow to make more time for tracking and fun with my own dogs. The downside to training other peoples dogs regularly is that is sometimes sucks the energy out of me for my own crew. It's much like the carpenter that lives in the unfinished house. We know there is work there to be done, but we can live with it the way it is and only do what we can fit in during our spare time. If we feel like it. I just need to make a better effort to create more of that spare time for my dogs. They deserve it after all.
As to goals for the business they are about the same, continue to provide excellent training and behavior information to all my clients. I do need to look over and possibly update a few of my hand outs. Sometimes as I learn new things the information I provide changes. I will also continue to attend seminars as they come up. I believe a good trainers learning never stops. I also need to start rattling the cage at the prison to get K-9 Corrections up and running again. They still haven't gotten me any handlers but I heard they have a new warden that is interested in continuing the program. I have to admit I love sharing my knowledge in that forum and have been pleasantly surprised at some of the handlers I have had in the past. They have done a great job. I only hope they continue sharing the knowledge when they get released. I also hope to get them to accept pitbulls in the program this time around too. I think it is long overdue.
Last but not least, I vow to not let myself expend any more energy on unproductive endeavors. Life is to short to waste anymore of it. Nuff said.
So Happy New Year from my house to yours. May it be a good one for all of us.
We saw lots of deer tracks. 
It is called Retro Flower in Strawberry Mousse. Isn't it yummy?
I bought it from the same company that sent me the Freedom No Pull Harness to try out. 
She still rocks it.
Jenny says, "I ain't wearing no stinkin bow!" How about a photo in front of the tree instead?
Missy is not impressed.
At first I wasn't sure I wanted to share photos of our Missy in her "anti ninja suit" because I didn't think it was fair to poor Moo. I mean it isn't the most dignified thing for a dog to have to wear a diaper. But then I realized it is information that might help someone else with a similar issue. So here it is, my doggy diaper 101.
Originally they weren't staying on her very well. I think it is because she lacks a tail (to speak of) to help hold them up. Dog diapers typically come with a hole for the tail to be inserted through. The tabs are just like regular baby diapers and can be unstuck and restuck as needed. If they won't stick well due to reusing one several times, I found masking tape to hold it on works well to salvage more uses out of it. Also note that the pad goes underneath the dog. One of my children put one on upside down so it is possible to get it wrong.
Since her tail is super short it might as well not exist as far as helping to hold the diaper on. So to fix this issue I came up with the idea of adding a toddler onesie. I wasn't sure what size to get but settled on 9-12 months. It worked. She wears it with the tag (back) side under her chest to accomodate her broad chest and shoulders. This also means any front design on the shirt is on her back where you can see it. The best part is that the snaps make it super easy to get a wet diaper off quickly.
Now to be CLEAR this isn't about housetraining at all. She is ill (possible brain tumor) and some of the medication she is on makes her drink alot. Add this to the fact her decision making skills have drasticly changed. But her good days are still pretty good and she does have moments where she is clearly happy and playful. Her incidents of falling are increasing however so the slippery steps and ramp have become a bit of a concern. So far we have managed to navigate all the obstacles ok. This is one winter where I wish I could avoid the frosty weather. I hope the diaper info helps someone that may be going through anything similar. I know every little bit helps when living with a sick dog.
Seriously, how cute are they? Don't they make a great pair?
I have started using doggy diapers on Moo due to her condition. Her pee schedule has become super erratic within the last few days and trying to out wait her stopped working. She would walk in circles for half an hour and then sit as if she forgot what we were doing. I only put one on her when an outside potty time hasn't been productive. It isn't a perfect solution but nothing really is at this point. It's all management. Because she is an odd shape the size diapers I bought fall off her if she walks to much in them. I need to go buy a toddler onsie to add to see if that helps keep it in place. She's had a few falling episodes lately but seems to be feeling ok. It is interesting that she doesn't panic when they happen. She has her good days and off days. I'm just grateful that the good days still outweigh the off ones at this point. 
She was taken away from her owner for neglect. They weren't feeding her regularly and left her to live outside 24/7. (Seriously, WHY do people get dogs and then make them live outside on a chain?? Why have a dog then?) She had been part of a court case and has been at the shelter waiting to legally become theirs. That finally happened this week. They will now spay her and get her vaccinated before she becomes available to the public. I have met her and she is super sweet. Great on leash and very gentle. I think she is about 2 to 3 years old. I will post more about her SAFER test and status as it updates. I will be helping the shelter find her an appropriate home.
Jack finally got his turn to try the bloodtracking. I've done a little regular tracking with him but he isn't the most driven dog and didn't seem that interested. He even earned the nickname "One Track Jack" for that reason. I am not into forcing a dog to do something they don't enjoy so we just stopped. I figured I'd try him on bloodtracking because he does like his deer meat and I thought that might be a bigger motivator. I was right, he definatly stayed with it for the short bit of track I gave him. Normally when he lost a corner he would be done but this time he kept searching. I did notice that he started air scenting though so maybe he is just better at that and asking him to track actual steps is not his thing. I need to experiment abit more with it.
I feel that Jack has gotten the short end of the stick lately. With Missy being sick and needing extra attention, and Jenny being the high energy dog and needs to be kept busy, Jack is always the one left last to do stuff. I need to make more of an effort to get him out and have fun with him too. It is a classic case of the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Jack is such an easy dog that he gets overlooked. I need to stop taking him for granted and challenge him more to enrich his life daily.
I think I have finally figured out how to embed video here now. Here is my most recent attempt with Jacks track.
