But my dog is so friendly!

We hear it all the time from *that* person at the dog park, or in Petco, or at an agility trial, or while trying walk our dog down the street.  There is this assumption that all dogs are uber-friendly and would just LOVE for your unruly dog to jump at them, climb on their heads and lick the fur off of their faces.

There have been so many blog posts about this same topic from so many wonderful trainers and bloggers like this one from the Dogsnobs. I can't help but think, however, that the subject bears repeating.  Dogs are becoming such a large part of society, that it's important we understand a little more of dog behavior, and be good stewards of these wonderful beasts in our charge.  Let's start with one startling piece of information; not everyone likes your dogs!  Shocking, I know!

We think it's cute when that 4 pound ball of fur jumps up on us demanding our attention.  Or when the puppy runs up and begins licking a strange dog's face.  Choruses of "Isn't he cute" follow this mannerless blob every where it goes.  It seems to be part of the "kinder gentler" generation where we don't correct our children for bad behavior, so why should we correct our dogs?  They are, after all, our children, right?  They are just kids that walk on 4 legs instead of 2.  No, this isn't cute, or funny, or desirable in any way.  It is rude, whether it is your 2 legged child, or your 3 legged pet. 

Dogs are social animals, and require rules.  As their human, it is our responsibility to understand their needs and to take care of them.  Part of that responsibility is to teach them manners.  Yep, that's right, we must TRAIN our dogs.

Dogs need someone to teach them right from wrong.  In the wild, the pack leader would make sure a dog knew that lunging and jumping in another dog's face is unacceptable.  If we, as humans, fail to teach the dog the same thing, we are only creating rude little furry jerks on 4 legs.  We are also setting the dog up to fail.  One of these days, that crazy "friendly" little ball of fur is going to jump in the face of a dog that has had enough, and will teach the dog a lesson- the hard way.  Unfortunately, when this happens, the finger pointing begins, and it is pointed everywhere but where it should be...on the owner of the rude dog.

If you were walking down the street minding your own business and someone jumped out from behind a parked car and began to molest you, the law would be with you if you decided to *correct* this individual for invading your personal space.  Sadly, our dogs are not offered that same benefit.  As a dog owner, I find it necessary more and more often to protect my dog from other's nasty little beasties.  On any given agility weekend, I will have to place myself between my dog and an unruly mongrel at least twice.  Of course, when I protest, I am berated as having "an aggressive dog."  No ma'am, my dog is not aggressive, he's just sick and tired of being molested by dogs like yours.  

Bottom line, train your dogs.  If your dog learns to behave in public, then your dog will be happy, as well as the dogs around you.  A happy dog is a healthy dog.

Figjam

I swear, it sounds like a band's name, doesn't it?  Figjam.  I would think a nice blues band.  Well, it's not.  It's what I spent all day Saturday doing.

Do you see this tree?  The large one right in the middle?  The one that is taller than the house?  Yes, that one.  It's a fig tree.  We trimmed the tree way back when we moved in, but it STILL looks like this.  And it is FULL of figs.

Some of them have ripened, but just a few.  A small few, but enough of them that they require attention.  I made about 15 loaves of various types of fig bread, and decided to try something different.  First, I washed and cut them.

Put 4 pounds of figs (yes, 4 pounds!) in a pan with sugar, honey, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.  Cooked it down until it was thick.

Filled some half-pint jars with the jam.  Aren't they cute?  11 half pints of jam.  What am I going to do with 11 pints of jam?  I guess a better questions is what am I going to do with the other 400+ pounds of figs on the tree, ready to explode with juicy ripeness just any day now?  I guess you will have to wait and see!  In the mean time.  Would you like some jam?

I love this dog!

Check out my boy and his drive!  He is such a joy to run!  I love the things we are already teaching him!

A day at the graveyard

Now that I'm over what I saw yesterday at the graveyard, I thought I would post some of my favorite photos from my trip.

A simple black and white.

Yes, I went a little nutso with the HDR, sorry.  I have already told you I have a problem. I did, however, like the look.  

This one is HDR'd pretty heavily as well, but I think it has more of an artsy feel.

Somehow, I find this gravestone redundant.

Sad, but lovely

the graveyard is just thick with redundancies.  

A nice Texas stone

My next cemetery adventure will be for a groovy night shot.  Let's hope I can get what I'm looking for!

Desecration Defecatin

Seriously?  No.  Just, no!  I just have nothing else to say about this.  Sorry, I need to go pray or something.

Raw Vs. Kibble

Few things cause more controversy among dog enthusiasts than the debate over feeding raw vs. feeding kibble.  The topic is discussed often, and I have seen many dog owners avert their eyes or change the subject when asked that one question many of us fear "what do you feed your dog?"

There are some hardcore opinions on both sides, and that simple question can often go from discussion, to debate to downright mudslinging.  Nothing sends a dog owner into a frenzy faster than implying that they are not offering their beloved pet the best care they can offer.

I have had raw feeders refer to kibble as "death nuggets", and kibble feeders accuse raw feeders as being "lazy" or "uneducated" about the dog's digestive system.  The kibble feeders imagine a raw feeder as someone who just tosses left overs and spoiled meat at the dog, or letting the dog forage for road kill.

I have done both, I have fed good kibble, bad kibble, prepackaged raw, and home processed raw.  The answer is easier than that.  And more difficult.    Just like humans have different dietary needs, so do dogs.  We tried going raw with Kyra, because of her many allergy issues.  Then we tried raw with Hemi, to try and encourage him to eat more.  We then added Boo as well.  Let's just say it was a complete and total failure. We spent hours power shopping to find good prices on meat that wasn't full of fillers, or antibiotics, or other evil things.  We would spend a whole weekend cutting up whole chickens, sometimes grinding up bone/meat of other animals, and packaging for meals only to have to start over the next weekend.  We followed the recommended process of switching the dogs to raw; the protein and bone to meat ratio.  No matter what we did, someone was always running at one end or the other.  Vomiting, or explosive diarrhea.  I called on my mentors who fed raw and sought out their advice, and adjusted bone percentages on the dogs to try and firm up their digestive tract, always to no avail.  In the end, we gave up. Yes, I admit it, I'm a failed raw feeder.

Currently, Boo is eating I/D.  (Somewhere a dog enthusiast just fainted).  Boo has IBS/IBD, and was unable to tolerate anything else.  Now that he is on I/D, and taking prednisone, he is a happier, healthier dog.  He even has more energy to run agility.  Would I immediately run out and buy such a food for my new dog?  No.  But, I have done what I feel is best for all of my dogs.  If Boo is healthy, and is not suffering from gastric distress by eating the I/D, then that is what I will feed him.

In the end, I think pet owners just want what is best for their dogs.  I try not to judge what others feed their dogs, and hope they don't judge me.  I remember the days when we fed our dogs Gaines Burgers and Purina kibble.  There are so many more choices now, and I think it's important to treat each dog as an individual and find what works best for them.  Maybe, just maybe, one of these days, we'll be able to have more than 1 dog at a time on any given food.

Naughty dogs

Is it any wonder I love my naughty dogs?  

Hemi found a teddy bear in the sunroom--this was a gift from my DH while were still in college--and Hemi decided it was HIS!

Boo does NOT like it when Mingo gets to play with toys and he doesn't.  He will still the pup's toys at any turn.  Look at how proud!  (Of note--we had to hang this toy up to dry overnight, it was soaked with Boo spit.)

Mingo had some sort of upset tummy, and went on a hunger strike.  When he started eating again, he decided he wanted Boo's "special" food.  (Boo's food being that expensive I/D crap that vet's peddle.)  We were able to entice him to eat with the I/D, and then he got to where he would tip the bowl over, spread the food on the carpet so he could pick and choose the pieces he wanted.  Silly dog.