Life on the Leash

I love how puppies can turn anything into a toy.

My client Zeke was starting to get punchy at the end of our lesson (“punchy” translates to “I’d like to jump on you a lot, and nip you a lot if possible.”), so I found the closest stick and tossed it.

“Sticks? Oh, I love sticks! They’re awesome! You can run around with them in your mouth!”

“You can chew on them! You can play tug with them! They are so fun!”

I only did a few tosses before Zeke decided that he needed to take a knee (the stick fetching came after a mentally-taxing lesson.)

That’s one of the other things I love about puppies: playplayplayplayplayCRASH.

Dogfucious say …

A dirty nose:

Should always give you paws:

When my new client, D., told me that she had an 11-week old English Bulldog puppy, I nearly offered to pay her to allow me to train the guy.

I know I say this about every puppy I train, but DOES IT GET ANY CUTER??

I think not.

Still need convincing? Feast your eyes on this :

Told you.

Young Valentino, or “Tino” for short, was a joy to work with. I don’t know why Bulldogs get bad press for being stubborn or hard to train … this little guy was a training machine. His recalls were glorious, all flying jowls and crab-walk legs. His “sits” were dead-on, to the point where he followed us and sat in front of us every chance he could, as if to say, “See? I’m doooiiing it again! That butt-on-the-ground thing. Don’t I get a treat for this?”

Yes, Tino, you get a treat for that. You get a treat just for showing up.

“Is there a problem?”

“Who? Me?? You think that I’m responsible for that?”

“I have no further comment. Talk to my attorney.”

A few weeks ago we took my client Louie the Clumber Spaniel to the dog park for his maiden voyage.  Or should I say, we took him to the “unofficial” dog park.  Dogs and their people regularly claim this green space in DC until Animal Control shows up and starts issuing tickets.   C’mon, can’t we enjoy some off-leash freedom in the citay?!

We started off by making sure that Louie would respond when we called him, as the joint doesn’t have a single fence.  “Running recalls” are a great way to ensure a speedy response: you call your dog and then take off running in the opposite direction like a spaz.  Louie rocked it.

Our recall practice was interrupted when Louie caught a glimpse of this guy:

Yup, Louie opted to engage the Rottie in the choke chain.  Atta boy!  (Not that I have anything against Rottweilers, mind you.  He just looked kind of imposing and badass with that nasty choke chain on.)

Louie’s all, “Dude!  I’m fun!  Check me out!  Fun!”

Mr. Rottie said, “Oh yeah, brother?  You wanna try me?  Well here I come.”

Despite what the photograph might look like, the dogs actually had a trouble-free frolic.

This was Louie’s first time playing with other dogs off leash. (Yes, yes, I know, it was dangerous to do so with un-vetted dogs.  It was a spur of the moment decision, and I was feeling cocky on that day.)  Turns out he did a great job, and we were lucky in that all of the other dogs were tolerant of his youthful inappropriateness.

We met a few more dogs on the way out and all went well.

I have very mixed feelings about dog parks, which I’ll explore in future posts.  If you insist on visiting them with your dog, the best thing you can do understand how dogs play.  There’s no better book for that than “Off Leash Dog Play” by Robin Bennett and Susan Briggs.

My dogs are overweight.

Zeke is “thick”, but Sumner is downright “three doughnuts too many” pudgy.

Dogs should have a well-defined waistline – you’ve seen the drawings in your vet’s office.

One dog looks like he should be riding in the back of a van on “Animal Cops Miami,” one dog has that coveted hourglass waistline, and the other dog looks like Sumner.

Want proof?

#1: This is where his waist should curve in. Nope, no curve there. The guy has a torso like a beer can.

#2: Not only is there no curve, he actually has a roll that hangs over his leg when he sits! Ah, sweetie, there’s just more of you to love!

#3: Two words: neck rolls.

Ok, I know that my dog is chubby, so what am I going to do about it?

First, I need to get over my eyesight issues. The problem is that when I look at him, I just don’t see the chub. It doesn’t register. To me, he still looks like a sleek, gorgeous year-old boxer. I guess I need to take off my rose-colored glasses and admit that my show-stopping pup is now a thick, middle-aged dog, with skin tags and age spots.

Maybe this blog can function like those tabloid magazines … I’ll post pictures of him looking chubby and you can write in and say things like, “Ugh, he’s so fat! Step away from the sandwich!” or “Return of the blob!” Then I’ll be so embarrassed that I’ll be forced to send him to Promises, and write it off as a getaway to combat “exhaustion.”

Then he’ll come out looking fabulous, do an interview with Barbara Walters and a spread in People Magazine, and blame me for enabling his food addiction.