Loss of a Great Dog and a new beginning...

I realize I haven't posted here in ages...but I noticed a few people still check up on this place on occasion.

Toby passed away this summer and my heart breaks. It was completely unexpected and he was the most incredible boy. He was my best boy, a brother to me. I wish I'd known it was coming, I wish I'd had the chance to say goodbye. :( I am forever going to miss this boy.

There will never be another dog that is anything like him. No one can replace him, no one can fill the void in my heart he left behind. However, after a lot of talking, a lot of grieving,  we made the decision to start looking for another puppy to join our hose in the future.

At the end of the summer we are expecting another edition to our household. A little performance/show Australian shepherd boy. I'm really excited. Aussies were on my short list almost five years ago when I got Moose instead, so when we started talking this time--and debating whether or not we wanted to go through a responsible breeder for this pup (versus all our other dogs being rescues in the past) we decided to take the plunge. I can't be more thrilled with how things are turning out.

Right now, I'm not sure who is coming home with me. The litter looks fantastic. The dad has worked as a ranch dog, is a great herder, and has earned his ASCA CH and UKC GRCH. He's rocking in obedience and rally. The mom has her UKC CH and is rocking in obedience and rally as well. I love the breeder's dedication to the health of her dogs and I'm really excited as we talk potential plans for my future puppy.

I do know the pup coming home will be a male. Both boys in litter are gorgeoussss red tris like their parents.

So, while I'm not blogging here anymore, I do have a tumblr set up to post pictures of the dogs/birds. It's an easier blogging system for me. I don't have to be all well thought out and detailed posts. There will be tons of puppy pictures there (-cough- already is one of the litter), so yeah, you can find Moose, me, and the birds over at:

Pawprints and Feathers

And stay tuned for puppy pictures :)

52 Weeks of Dogs: 10/52

Week Ten: (Mar 4-10th)

Wild Green Yonder

Previous 52 Weeks of Dogs Posts:

• Week 1 (Jan 1-7th): New Year, New Things
• Week 2 (Jan 8-14th): Winter Wonderland
• Week 3 (Jan 15-21st): Portrait
• Week 4 (Jan 22-28th): Eyes, the windows to the soul
• Week 5 (Jan 29-Feb4th): Friendship
• Week 6 (Feb 5-11th): Warmth
• Week 7 (Feb 12-18th): Dog Tired
• Week 8 (Feb 19-25th): New Perspectives
• Week 9 (Feb 26-Mar 3rd): Say it to the world
  

Off-Leash Work

I've been trying to get up more confidence to do some truly off-leash recall work. But at the same time, there's a huge risk in unclipping that lead... Even in places where there's woodlands for miles, I can think of a million things that could go wrong if Macy chose to ignore a recall. So to be honest, we do a lot of long line work...but it's rare I ever even drop the line, let alone unclip it.

I'm really hoping Susan Garrett opts to do another Recallers course this Spring/Summer, because I think I need the confidence building that would come with the class. Especially consider I really would like to let her loose in some of our wood walks...our backyard is rather small and so it's rare she really gets to stretch out and run.

However, knowing today was supposed to be a sunny, nice day I opted to try taking Macy to nearby abandoned football field with the goal of working a few things: Recalls, tugging in a distracting environment, and just getting her to play and engage with me when she has the complete option of leaving. This is a field I used to use regularly with Toby, back before other people discovered it and started using it as a dog run, because for the most part...it's completely fenced in.

There are holes in the fence in some areas, but they're small, and the gates don't close all the way (though I cheat and use the old chain left behind to tie it closed...that way I have warning if anyone else is trying to bring their dog in). So it gives me the option of letting her off leash, but the safety blanket of knowing she can't go running through the city. (Toby was always on a long line here. The fence line butts up against a sidewalk on two sides, and I was never brave enough to move to no safety net).

But I did it today. I got in, secured the gate behind us and unclipped Macy's lead. She surprised me by wanting to play with our Chuck It and Whistler balls the moment I pulled them out of the bag. After she'd fetched out all her ya-yas, we moved right into tugging. I brought two different tug toys: a braided fleece, leopard print tug I've had for years. It's about 3-4 feet long, so I can zig-zag it around to keep her attention. It's one of both of my dog's favorites. And a piece of bunny fur, the ultimate tug reward, originally purchased when I was first trying to get Toby to enjoy playing in distracting environments. It was the first toy that worked with him. I bought them both off Clean Run years ago. She was more the game to tug on both, and I actually didn't end up needing the bunny fur, which is good, I like to try and save that one as much as possible.


We ended up getting several really good recalls in, I was getting some great tugging (way more than I expected), and despite the fact that 'fetch' isn't one of her favorite games, she seemed to really enjoy digging in and getting to really run down the balls. I was really pleased with how it went. We did have a few glitches. Like I said above, the fence butts along the edge of the sidewalk and she did take off towards the fence towards some people strolling by a few times. Thankfully, both times she turned and came back--though they definitely weren't her strongest recalls. I do want to go back if we can catch it empty again. It's a nice place for me to practice having her loose, but without her truly being loose.


We left early enough in the morning too, that when we got home I was still able to her out for her normal morning walk, as well as get Toby out on his.

Dog Nutrition Book Reviews

I recently finished two books on Dog Nutrition and thought I'd share my thoughts on them. First up, is To Your Dog's Health! Canine Nutrition and Recent Trends Within the Pet Foods Industry, by Mark Poveromo.


Overall, this was very light, simplistic, easy read. It skimmed over some basic dog nutrition information and the author's voice made it a very pleasant read. However, I didn't learn anything in this book that I hadn't already read elsewhere...in books that actually had sources. I'm one of those readers--especially when it comes to books written on dog health that want to see the facts. I want to see examples of studies, I want to see where the author is getting his information and are they credible places...

As easy as this book was to read, it seemed largely the author's opinion. His sources of facts seemed to be the success he had with his personal dogs...a limited scope in my opinion. It might be a nice place for someone new to dog nutrition to start, but even then I'd recommend they follow it up with books with more concrete information.

Overall, I give it a 3 out of 6 paws:


Next up on my reading list was Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs by Lew Olson.


I enjoyed this one a fair bit more. It wasn't as 'easy to get into' as To Your Dog's Health, but that was because it was more technical. There was a lot of information in this book, not all of it new to me (but then again, I try and read as much in this area as I can). She offered facts and sources. It gave some nice basics on home cooked and raw meals, as well as plenty of recipes to try--including recipes for dogs with various health problems.

However, the book is heavy on the supplements. Really heavy. And I'd have appreciated more research behind the use of some of those supplements, because at times the book felt more like an advertisement for Berte's Daily Blend or something and less like a book discussing dog nutrition. Still, overall I found it more helpful than To Your Dog's Health, though a bit more dry, and would recommend it more over the first book, but it's definitely not the only book I'd be reading on dog nutrition either.

Overall, 4 out of 6 paws:

Before and Afters - Pictures

The reason I decided to do a version of 52 Weeks of Dogs is because I wanted to challenge myself to get my camera out more. Last year was a pitiful picture year and I wanted to rectify that this year. However, the camera on my iPhone 4 makes it really easy to 'cheat.' When I forget to get my camera out for a week and realize I really need a picture now...I can snatch my phone, take a picture and just fiddle with it in apps until I get something good.

It amazes me what some of those apps can do (for all the pics shown here, I did them in Instagram). How they can turn this:

To this:


Or this, which was taken on a whim on Sunday just to show how close the trail gets to the frozen lake (and I thought it was too overcast to get any good pics, so hadn't bothered with my camera):



To one of these:

And while I love the final shots... They show that even with a crappy camera, with the right processing you can turn them into something fairly pretty. However, I want to up the challenge a bit for myself this year. When I have a real time crunch, sure, I'll allow the camera phone...but I really want to work on my photography skills with my good camera. There's so much I can do with my Nikon D40, and I've yet to venture outside of the Auto and Sports modes. So it's time to figure out just what it can do this year.

The Toberizer

(Taken with my iPhone 4)

Tonight I got to spend some quality alone time with Toby. I try and do this on a regular basis. Macy normally spends plenty of alone time with me...because she's always shadowing me. Toby, however, has always been more of daddy's boy and so on the occasion he decides to do some 'shadowing,' he tends to follow my dad. For this evening though, by sheer chance, he wandered upstairs while Moose was still downstairs begging for food. So I grabbed a few toys, my clicker & treats and sat down on the floor to spend some time with my boy.

It's moments like these that have defined me as a dog person. Moments with him.

They remind me just how far he's pushed me, how much I've had to grow in my skills as an owner, a trainer, and as the second half of our relationship. When we got him, I knew very little about dogs. We'd always had little dogs growing up...but my extent of knowledge with them was so small. We were one of those families who lucked out for the most part...getting confident little dogs who tended to do fine in most situations, and training really wasn't something anyone really worried about besides potty training. If they pulled on the leash that was fine, the chances of them pulling us over were slim.

Toby completely changed my world. He taught me that dogs--even our little ankle biters--needed mental stimulation. They needed training, things to do, and while love is essential...they need more than just that. He also challenged me every step of the way. He taught me to look past what was 'common knowledge' about dogs and really open up and start to research. He's the dog that drove me to spend three years lurking on Clicker Solutions. He's the one that led me to start my own dog library (I don't tease, because of him I have a book shelf full on dogs and it's still growing). He's the one that drove me to start volunteering for the Golden Retriever Rescue Resource, because I needed to not only know more, but to get more hands on experience.

He's the one that changed my life. He made dogs my passion.

So when I get nights like tonight, where everything falls perfectly into place without me having to pre-plan it, I take it with delight. We did some simple shaping: pick up a metal spoon, then a session on resting his head on his front feet, and then one on baring his teeth (working on putting this one on cue). Then I grabbed out some of our dog games toys (think the Nina Ottosson toys) and worked through several of those before just cuddling on the floor, playing together.

But as we laid there, I just couldn't help but think back to how much I've changed over the past eight years. Giving up was never an option...you pick a dog for life. But I know how hard we've worked over the years...from bringing him home and fighting parvo, to under socializing him because I didn't have clue, to dealing with dog aggression... He changed me from someone who just lived with dogs, to someone who would do absolutely everything for her dog--who'd change her life, her way of thinking, everything she could to make him happy. Every dog after him will benefit, but I credit him for doing all the hard work on making me who I am today.

Short Introduction - The Dogs

Macy

...also known as: The Moose, Moosetastic, MayMay...

She spends most of her days doing this...

Her motto tends to be: I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Toby
...also known as: The Toberizer, Tobs, Toby Monster, Buddy, Bubs...

He used to do a lot of this:

But a pretty crappy run of injuries and age has him doing a lot of this instead:


He's my wild man, turned cuddle man.

His motto tends to be: Will work for food.

That's the short version. Eventually I'll get around to doing their full stories. :) But for now, you get an idea of the cast behind this blog. :-p