Life on the Leash

Zim the Boston Terrier, one of the stars of Animal Planet’s Puppy Games show, is on injured reserves! Her person sent me this photo:

(Don’t worry – the show was taped months ago and the injury has nothing to do with her dramatic gymnastics performance.) Turns out tenacious Zim loves to play with her buddy Karma the Rottie:

She was so excited to play with Karma that she managed to wiggle out of her person’s arms and jump to the ground.

And the poor baby broke her leg in two places!

Here’s to a speedy recovery, little Zim – Zeke and Sum send healing vibes your way!

“Wow, Zeke’s like a house of cards these days,” Tom said to me.

No lie. Zeke’s back legs have grown increasingly weak lately, to the point where he’ll tumble if he tries to walk quickly on the hardwood floors. It’s like he can’t get traction with his back legs. And the stairs? Don’t ask. He was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and had a femoral head ostectomy nearly 10 years ago, so he’s always had wonky back legs. We’ve done our best to treat it with supplements and alternative remedies like T-touch. This level of stiffness and attendant “Bambi on ice” syndrome is new, though. And scary.

Rather than pursue a traditional Western medicine approach (hello, steroids), I wanted to see if drug-free therapy might help. That’s why Zeke ended up looking like this last week:

Yes, Zeke had acupuncture and a chiropractic adjustment. (I didn’t tell Tom. Surprise, honey!)

Dr. Lundquist started off by doing a thorough body exam (first thing discovered: Zeke is fat), then she moved on to the the adjustment:

Zeke was a total trooper through the whole thing, until Dr. Lundquist did an adjustment up near his neck. He wasn’t expecting it, and he reacted with a little snarling, “HEY,” but then quickly went back to normal.

The acupuncture didn’t phase him at all – he continued to dash around the room with all of the needles sticking out of him. We were supposed to have “quiet time” for 10 minutes, but Zeke was more interested in looking out the low window and waiting for Dr. Lundquist to come back into the room. (He liked her, despite the neck adjustment aspect.)

We left with the appointment with a jar of fish oil and a list of physical therapy exercises. We’ve done our “homework” every day, but Zeke remains a house of cards. It’s still early in the process, and Zeke is the ultimate badass, so I’m not freaking-out-worried. Yet.

I do hate to see him diminished this way … suddenly, over the course of a month, he’s an old man.

Did you watch Animal Planet’s Olympic-themed special, The Puppy Games, last night?

Even though I was lucky enough to be a part of the show for the casting, wrangling and handling of the pups, I was still blown away by how adorable it turned out. This was my third “puppy sport” show with Animal Planet, and there’s no doubt that we had our cutest turnout ever this time.

The proof is in the puppies:

(Had to use my crappy camera, which explains the glowing eyes.)

We had over forty puppies on site for the first day of filming, and sadly, not every pup managed to get screen time. Some didn’t like being on set, some didn’t play well with others, some preferred to watch from the sidelines … TV ain’t for everybody.

Little Zim, the star of the gymnastics segment, could have shown those camera-shy pups a thing or two.

Zim’s “comeback story” cracked me up! Here’s a spoiler: I was actually using this toy to lead him back and forth on the balance beam:

The toy – one of my secret weapons that most of my training clients should recognize – got plenty of screen time during the show … if you saw it dangling on screen, I was on the other end of it doing the dangling.

I was happy to see that my client Tino got quite a bit of attention during the boxing segment, and I spotted little Mabel on screen a few times as well. Good Dog Training clients, represent!

This guy didn’t get as much air time as he should have … I lost my heart to that silly face of his. Want to see into the future? My next dog will look just like this:

Hello, Gorgeous, I’m in love with you.

It was a loooonnng day for little puppies, so Puppy Village looked like this towards the afternoon:

So what did you think about the show? Was it better than the Puppy Bowl? What was your favorite event? Who was MVP? (Zim, Zim, Zim!) Was Puglsely spread too thin because of his two events? Oh – and did you see my commercial? (It was awesome!)

Ever wondered about the “No Animals Were Harmed” message that appears at the end of movies? No animals were harmed – says who? It sure looked like that horse broke his leg …

Rest assured, if you see the “No Animals Were Harmed” end-credit disclaimer, it means that a Certified Animal Safety Representative from the American Humane Association was on set for the production, ensuring the safety and well being of the animal actors. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know Animal Safety Rep Sandi Buck from American Humane over the past few years, working with her on productions like Animal Planet’s Annual Puppy Bowl, a few commercials, and the upcoming Animal Planet special, The Puppy Games (this Friday at 6PM … behind-the-scenes details to follow tomorrow!) Sandi and I always have a great time together on the shoots … when it comes to on-set dog safety, we think alike. We can read each other’s minds … one glance across the room with a raised eyebrow and we both understand that it’s time to pull that puppy off the set.

I asked Sandi a few questions about her cool job … (She drops some pretty interesting names during down-time on set. Let’s just say that I have a new respect for George Clooney.)

VS: You’re on set to make sure that animals used in the entertainment industry are treated humanely, but what exactly does that entail? Do you watch from the sidelines, or are you hands-on?
SB: Well, prior to watching from the sidelines I talk to the animal handlers and production about what the animal action is and how it is to be done, this way we can work out any issues before they roll. Once the
action starts, I watch from the sidelines and document everything that the animals are doing, how they do it, how many times they do it, how many camera angles there are, what the weather is like, how many breaks
they get and much more.

VS: What types of animals have you worked with?
SB: Almost everything including some animals I had never heard of before, like a binturong, very cool!

VS: What was your favorite project and why?
SB: I liked Evan Almighty a lot because of all the different kinds animals, it makes my job very interesting and keeps me busy.

VS: Any good Hollywood gossip for us?
SB: Not that I can share!:)

VS: Have you ever had to intervene and stop a production because of what you saw?
SB: Well, yes I have had to pull animals because they were tired or hot or just had enough, but fortunately not for anything super serious or dangerous, that’s why it’s good to work with production before they roll the cameras so things are worked out in advance and we don’t have to step in.

VS: Are there any creatures that you haven’t liked working with?
SB: I’m not fond of working with alligators, they are so primal and untrainable.

VS: How do productions know what they can and can’t do with animals?
SB: We have a 80 page book of “Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media” that covers everything from ants to elephants and is always being updated. These guidelines are sent to productions in
advance when they contact us to let us know they are using animals. These are the guidelines that all of our on set reps follow.

VS:How long have you been doing this work?
SB: It will be 9 years in November for me, the Film and TV unit has been in action since 1940!

VS: Tell us about your pets …
SB: I have 2 Australian Cattle Dogs and 3 cats, all rescues!

Sandi was being modest when she said she watches from the sidelines … if you look very closely during the swimming event on the Puppy Games this Friday, you might see two sets of bare feet in the background. Yeah, that would be me and Sandy, pants rolled up and ankle-deep in water, “lifeguarding” the pups! Sandi is an amazing rep, and I love working with her!

It took my new client Harley a few minutes to warm up to me at our first lesson on Saturday. It wasn’t love at first sight. He eyed me skeptically when I began working with him and offering him treats, taking them so tentatively that I was worried he didn’t like them.

It happens. The first day of training is probably kind of freaky from a dog’s perspective.

“Who is this person, and why is she giving me greasy treats for no reason?”

Thankfully, he warmed to the process, and to me, which enabled me to get close enough to him to check out his gorgeous eyelashes:

Look at those things! Stunning!

Harley needs some help coping with scary stuff outside, like other dogs, cyclists and joggers. He tends to lunge and act surly, like another dog I know …

We took a quick walk during our lesson and saw a dog and a biker, and young Harley barely gave them a glance. One lesson and the guy is already hooked on training … maybe there’s a storybook ending for Harley and me in the future after all.

I was just taking a few photos for the soon-to-be-launched LOTL store (which should be open for biz this week, right Lucia??), and Zeke and Sum couldn’t get any closer to the action. I had to gently elbow them to move over so I could get decent shots of the merch. They’re big fans of everything in the store … my store logo speaks the truth: Dog Tested, Trainer Approved.

I finished up and noticed that the white backdrop space on top of the coffee table was Zeke-sized, so I grabbed him and plopped him in the shot. I don’t think he was interested in modeling for me today:

C’mon, Zeke, you’re not smiling with your eyes!

The photo session lasted all of about 30 seconds, then I let the poor guy off the hook. We took a long walk this morning and I guess he’s still recovering.