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Dog Pawty by Martha

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword
You had me at cheesecake

So Yax and I get a lunch invitation to the PetSmart Suite Pawty at BlogPaws. Not sure how we scored this prestigious invitation. Because of my influential blogging style? Of how I reach out to my modest yet dedicated readership (thanks, Mom!)?  My good looks? My dog’s good looks? Nah, all unlikely. Best guess is that Yax and I were just picked at random.

But another person’s randomness is our good fortune, cuz we had a blast. We rubbed noses with other celebrity pet bloggers, like the adorable Preston (of Preston Speaks). We, of course, means Yaxley. Being a supporter of appropriate personal space, I stuck with the more socially acceptable handshake among my peers.

The famous and photogenic Preston.
Check his blog out at Preston Speaks
Sure, I’m cute. It’s not like I can just
turn it off or something.

And the PetSmart folk showed us the new line of Martha Stewart branded stuff. We were among the first to see the new cat toys and bedding, and we got a great look at the dog toys for Fall.

Dog toys for what? Pay attention, now.  This is Martha Stewart stuff.  Of course there’s a Fall line. And it’s some cute and clever dogs toys, too.

Martha has Halloween covered as well, with not just dog costumes, but matching toys to go with the theme of things.  A witch costume can be matched with a frog squeaky toy; the vampire has a fanged bat companion, the skeleton, a skull ball. I think you see where this is going. Cleverly played, Martha.

Monster dog costume. Or maybe it’s a myopic dragon. I dunno.

Being a professional victim, Jager suffers the annual Halloween dress-up.  Sometimes it’s absolutely wrong, and still ridiculously funny, like Halloween 2009’s Banana Dog.

Aw, come on. It could’ve been worse.
Not sure how, though. Give me a minute
to think of something.

Other years, I may experience a change of heart and allow him a costume where he doesn’t have to carry his dignity on a stick. Halloween 2010 brought us the fearsome Jager Warg. (any LOTR fans out there?)

On to Gondor, you ferocious and smelly warg,
I’ve a craving for hobbit stew.

Apparently Martha knows me better than I thought with her snappy little dog costumes. I chose the devil costume from the selection available and, being the rebel that I am, picked a fanged bat dog toy to go with it.

Sadly, the thing doesn’t fit Jager. So a heads up on sizes, folk. Looks like a Large is really a Medium.  Because Jager looks like he’s wearing a red sock with wings.  It’s just a little bit too tight, kinda like an evil bloated tick.

Keeping in mind the poor dog’s dignity, I’m not even going to post a photo of it.  Yeah, that’s how bad it is.  Worse than Banana Dog.  But here’s a shot from PetSmart’s website. If you got a pug, this would be pretty cute.

To promote the Martha Stewart Fall line, PetSmart was generous in offering some of their dog toys to the bloggers at the Suite Pawty.  Yaxley picked out his favorites and we’ll run through a review of them here.

Scored me some squeaky toys
Goggles the Raccoon

Goggles’ info tag claims this round headed fella as a fleece tug toy for healthy teeth and gums. Of the toys we brought home, this was the paws down favorite for Yaxley and Micron. And the critter lasted through some energetic playtime fully intact.

Downside: not a good toy for the office. Apparently the robust squeak can be heard at about a hundred yards away. So says a co-worker through an instant message.

Otherwise, the raccoon critter gets a Thumbs Up from me.

Squeak that thing, Yax!

The Bull Rope Toy

A cow says [squeaky squeaky squeaky]

This one was more my choice than Yaxley’s. I liked the rope legs and pictured my dogs grabbing a rope each and playing tug with each other.

What I didn’t picture was the two of them dressing the thing for the butcher shop.
A cow says [ow]
Darn that squeaker. After they dehorned the hapless bovine, the dogs eviscerated the thing looking for the elusive squeaker. And I don’t think it’s a bull anymore, know what I mean?
On the plus side, the legs are still securely on it.
If you have aggressive chewers, then this one gets a Thumbs Down.
Squirrel and Acorns

So after the unfortunate cow disembowelment, I’m feeling a little cautious with this guy.

A couple of reasons, one being that the acorns look small enough for my big dogs to choke on.  And the other concern is that my immature mind can’t get past the removable acorn thing.  Sure, it’s a clever idea, that the dog can pull the acorns from the tree rat’s belly.

Those are his acorns, people.

 But honestly, and you may not really need to know this about me, when I had the squirrel in one hand and those two acorns in the other, my brain went south. [Insert random middle school joke here.]

Sorry, Martha. It’s just how I roll.  So points for the “added strength for aggressive chewers,” but we’ll have to pass this one on to a smaller dog that won’t choke on the squirrel’s, um, acorns.

Ok really. It’s not just me, is it?

Mugsie the Hedgehog
Another winner here with Mugsie. Like the squirrel, Mugsie is identified as a toy for aggressive chewers, a “plush toy for chewing and teething.”  A close second favorite of the dogs, right after the raccoon.  Even Jager likes this thing.

Instead of a squeaker, Mugsie has a sound chip that makes a chirring, chirping kinda sound that the dogs find interesting to engage. Over and over.  

Make it chirp again, Yaxley.
Ok.
Yea! Again!  
Ok.  
Chirp it, Yax!

And so it goes for the evening. In spite of the rapt attention it garners, this critter makes it fully intact through the night. The sound chip had them so mystified, the hedgehog saw the next sunrise with ears and nose still in place. Just a bit stiff from the lab slobber mousse job.

A Thumbs Up for Mugsie and his sound chip.

Takes a licking and keep on chirping.

Now I’m sure it didn’t escape your attention that I went all out for the Fall line photo shoot. I found some dead leaves in the yard and set these toys up on our rustic (read: rotting) back porch steps. Martha would be so proud of me, doncha think? When I’m done here, I’m off to knit a table runner out of dryer lint or something.

Next BlogPaws post will be on a movie screening just for us bloggers. Puppies and a Halloween theme. How did I not know about this before?  And why did I not get down there earlier for the open bar?

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Speaking of attitude

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword

Just as everyone has a story, we also all have a past that includes the occasional misdeed. Whether by choice or circumstance, some of us have endured more challenges than our neighbors.

Our adventures in puppy raising will bring us a handful of doggy behavior to work with.  Our pup may react to a sudden noise (grocery carts banging together) by jumping aside. But we’re told by the CCI trainers, it’s not so much the reaction as the recovery. If the pup is startled, but can collect himself and continue on with his handler, we consider that a good recovery. The dog has a strong character.

It’s not so simple with us though, is it? We can easily take some wrong turns in life. But, you know, it’s how we handle adversity that reveals our true character. Redemption is our recovery.


Applause for the “fear of heights” story



Yaxley and I are in the grand ballroom at the Sheraton for the first morning of BlogPaws ’11.  We’re introduced to keynote speakers Joe Panz and Big Ant. These two fellas are founding members of the Long Island-based animal advocate group Rescue Ink.  Impressive, well-spoken, seriously tattooed and maybe just a little bit intimidating. They have presence, as we say. As they talk and share stories of their work, we relax knowing that we’re all in agreement of the same goal here: educating people to save animals from abuse and neglect. Rescue Ink exists to protect those who can’t protect themselves.
These guys are willing to go into situations considered too risky for animal welfare employees. Joe Panz says they will conduct an animal rescue by any means necessary, keeping within the limits of the law (his lawyer makes him say that, he says). But why?
These otherwise tough guys with their own pasts of misdeeds are working towards their own redemption by being there for those who need them. These are good-hearted men who are visceral in their love of animals. They tell us about helping folk find the resources needed so they can keep their pets. And we heard a story about how they educated a fellow who was throwing cats off a building by instilling a new and profound fear of heights into the guy. 
But do I really agree with their means to an end? Yeah, I dunno. I’m still working that through my head. I’m not a city girl; I know I haven’t seen the depths of how cruel people can be to the helpless.  No argument then, that we need tough men and women like the Rescue Ink crew to be our voices. Thanks, guys, for doing what many of us just simply don’t have the intestinal fortitude to do. There’s just no excuse for animal cruelty.



Joe Panz and Big Ant of Rescue Ink.
It’s OK, Yaxley honey. They’re on our side.

Yaxley kinda has that “mommy?” look on his face with Big Ant holding his leash. After this shot, the two of them scooped him up and ruffled his ears. I had expected this to be the usual celebrity photo opp, with “OK, Next!”, but these guys just loved all over the yellow dog like they had all morning.  Nice.

Next blog post: Lunch!  Well, more than that.  We were invited to a Pawty!

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When dogs can fly

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword

I admit it, I love to people watch.  At the mall, restaurants, airports. All of us come with our own ready made stories, but we only show part of ourselves when out among the public arena.

So I entertain myself by making up stories for them. While I’ve got a little extra time at the Dayton Airport for my flight to Washington, DC there’s an open opportunity to check out my seat neighbors at the gate. 

I’m thinking that young guy a few seats over has three little girls at home; they’re just about a year apart in age. He’s bought them the complete American Girls doll collection. Because he doesn’t trust his wife with the credit cards since the great Zappos fiasco, he has to go online and pick out the accessories that will make his little pink princesses happy. However, he is feeling a little unsettled about the impending estrogen level that will hit his household in the next five years. He’s been considering the National Guard.

There’s a big fella at the next gate. AC/DC t-shirt and jeans, looking like he needs a cigarette. He loves the place he just bought out in farm country, but earlier this year he was traumatized by a squirrel who was surprised while hiding a food stash in his mailbox. The rodent actually jumped out and landed with four clawed paws on his chest, then used the poor guy’s noggin as a springboard to make his get-away. The fella made the poor choice to share this drama with his buddies at work. To show how much they care about his emotional rehabilitation, his friends are randomly stringing up stuffed animals in the guy’s locker so he’s greeted with a some kind of furry UFO when he opens the door. After ten years of abstinence, he’s now taken up smoking again.

And the 30-something dressed so nicely in a suit. Her untucked blouse is longer than her blazer. New kicky style or a result of the open barn door incident at the presentation she gave to the sales group in Chicago? She’s certainly not embarrassed to be on the cell phone in the ambiance of flushing toilets, but she probably needed both hands free to do that last zipper check before she walked to the lectern. Zipper paranoia is now her constant companion.

Then there’s that chick with the yellow dog. Well, that would be me. I have a story, as well.  I can make up stuff about our adventures, but here I think the truth will do just fine.

Yaxley and I are on our way to our first BlogPaws conference. A couple of days of hanging with fellow pet bloggers and attending sessions on how to do this blogging thing better. We’ve heard that there are somewhere about four hundred like-minded folk registered; many are bringing their pets.

My flight out of town has been cancelled twice so far today. Due to weather probs, I’m told. So, I’m a little edgy about my afternoon flight actually happening. Although, I’m making a conscience effort to keep from appearing visibly unhinged. I’m walking through the Dayton Airport with a dog and I want to show that, yes indeed, I do expect the have this dog on the plane with no trouble from anyone. Cowboy up, girl.  Show some attitude.


Luggage is larger than it appears. It sure as heck wasn’t
this small when I was dragging it through the airport. 



And it worked!  The TSA experience went smoothly, even though Yaxley’s collar bling set off the metal detector. He was hoping for a good solid pat down (don’t forget the belly rub), but it was not meant to be.
United Airlines gave us a warm welcome at the gate. The flight attendant fit us neatly into the bulkhead area and the young lady who was bumped back to my original seat was very gracious about it. I actually had this bulkhead seat selected, but that was two cancellations ago and I frankly just gave up trying.
How did Yaxley handle this adventure, you ask? Well, he was a rock star at the airport. Strutting his stuff right through TSA and to our gate. Talk about attitude. He wasn’t even trying. It just comes natural to this yellow pup.
He curled up by my feet and slept through most of the flight. Well, that would be true if my feet were on the floor. It was one of those itsy bitsy planes. There was only room for the dog or my feet, not both. So, the dog trumped. Yaxley only lifted his head near the end of the trip when the landing gear thumped into place. During the work week Yaxley is a true road dog on the drive to the office. Actually, he said the flight was a lot like my driving. Funny guy.
I’d never been to the Dulles airport and my surprise at the ridiculous size of the place turned into dismay as we took elevator after elevator to get to the ground transportation area.  Really, Dulles?  Five elevators to get to the train, then two more?  Each elevator only takes you down one floor? Scrapping my original plan to find a cheap shuttle to the hotel, when we finally made it out of the labyrinth I opted for the comfort of a cab. My former facade of confidence had by now transmogrified into a bring it on state of mind. Just try to say something about the dog in your cab, Mr. Taxi Guy, and see what that’s gonna get ya.  But I smile and just say the hotel name. He wisely nods, tosses the suitcase in the trunk and we go.  I remember that I’m now in DC and a dog is probably not even in the top ten of weird things that’s he’s driven through town.



We made it



Safe and sound at the Sheraton. The hotel gives us a tidy little gift bag, about the size that could hold a small jewelry box. I look inside to see two plastic capsules holding a poop bag each. And a pair of latex gloves. Ah, a warm welcome. 
nom-nom-nom



Just a heads up, Sheraton gift bag person, that while I can be counted on to pick up any and all #2’s presented by my dog, I do not, however, intend to perform any medical procedure on the stuff. Latex gloves?

Things are looking up at the BlogPaws registration table where we receive a huge swag bag of gifts from the pet company vendors in attendance. Yaxley has been doing such a perfect job all day, I give him the pink stuffed bear in the bag. I know it’s doomed.  A short-lived pleasure, but maybe Yaxley can carry the happy memory for a little while.
We sit, we watch. No imagined stories here, though. The real stuff is just too good. Yaxley is a social bridge for me as people come over to ask about who he is and then we talk about CCI for a while. We meet other pet passionate folk and learn about how they are saving one life at a time with their animal rescue work. I meet a super nice lady that turns about to be a Hill’s sales rep. I confess to her my allegiance to Eukanuba, but we agree we can still be friends. 




Nice place, says Yaxley.
Now grab those gloves, Food Lady, I gotta go.



Because the BlogPaws folk know their audience so well, there’s a dog park set up in one of the large conference rooms.  Professional pet sitters are on site to keep an eye on your precious pooch for those who want to go out to dinner and such. 
Yaxley has been on the job since the morning, with no real break all day. He’s done an absolutely stellar job; I’m very proud of how he’s handled the day’s adventures. I hang out in the dog play area to watch him release some energy and just be a dog for a while.
Yaxley has claimed a toy and the coveted
bed as his very own.
That was about all the fun we could fit into one day.  More BlogPaws adventures coming up in the next posts.

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Landlocked in the midwest

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword

Because Canine Companions for Independence is a national organization, you can find a volunteer puppy raiser just about anywhere. Just this morning I was looking at photos of a CCI training event with a backdrop of swaying palm trees, clear blue water and sailboats. Ah, nice.

Yaxley’s littermate Yarrow (second from right) joins
in a doggie birthday celebration

But hey, I got photos, too. Just because we’re in landlocked Ohio (the Heart of America!) doesn’t mean we’re just mosquitoes and humidity around here. We do have lakes and things.  And we have Ohio State Parks, always a fine choice to see our state’s natural wonders, especially with your favorite dog at your side.

Hi! I’m gonna be a service dog
when I grow up!

To help in raising awareness of their dog friendly parks, CCI was invited to share the Ohio State Park information booth at our state fair this weekend. Yaxley stepped into his yellow cape and we headed out to Columbus to work the crowds. 

A typical August day in Ohio, warm and muggy, with the occasional flash flood thunderstorm. But it didn’t keep folk from enjoying the state fair. Several puppy raisers and a few service dog teams were at our Meet & Greet booth to share information on CCI.  The dogs earned their kibble, too. Just non-stop activity all day.

Yaxley shared his shift with the lovely Wish, a fellow puppy-in-training. Families stopped by the booth to meet these two adorable yellow puppies. Yax just has it in his nature to love little kids, but when they’re fresh from the midway smelling like deep-fried fair goodness, well, that’s just a bonus.

So another training opportunity for the pup to work on that ever elusive skill of self-control. There’s not really a don’t lick command to whisper in his ear. It’s more like a just plain and firmly stated Don’t!  Keep in mind that there’s a fine balance between effectively correcting your dog while not scaring the diaper off the little kid who’s getting the ketchup cleaned off his face. I’m still working my finesse on that one.

Wish and Yaxley await their audience

So, another day of time well spent. Raising awareness and training opportunities. Now I’m off to practice giving firm commands using my indoor voice.

I’m saving myself for the cover of the Rolling Stone

Now if someone would just slip a dog biscuit into my mouth,
I believe we’ll have a trifecta
Red, Yax & Mojo take a short break
It seems that Red may be sharing a naughty joke
with Yaxley.

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Freshly baked road apples

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Donna Black-Sword

As a Boy Scout leader, I have opportunities to mentor these young fellows so they’re clear on certain important facts.

For example, one cold, rainy morning we’re ironically covering the risks of heat exhaustion during outside activities. I tell the boys to drink lots and lots of water and how to identify the signs of a heat emergency – heart rate, sweating, mental disorientation, and the such.

And as a scout leader of the female gender, I want to make sure they are clear on other important facts topical to this subject. Just in case their moms haven’t hit on this learning yet.

Listen up, boys, cuz you need to know this one for later.

Boys sweat. But girls glisten.

It’s true, of course. There’s another lesson involving how women blossom, but that’s off topic.

(And so while we’re off topic. Have you even been riding in the car with your lab puppy sound asleep in the back seat and he releases a blossom so aromatic that he actually wakes himself up?  Yep, Yaxley did that.  He lifted his head, twitched his nose and looked at each of us in the car with a look on his face of  “dang people, which one of you guys dealt that one?”)

Breyerfest or bust

But back to the subject at hand of how to have fun in the Midwestern sun. It’s not just for Boy Scouts, you know.  We girls know how to have a good time in the great outdoors, too.  It’s just we need to have horses around to make the dehydration worth our while.

The two nieces and I make an annual trip to the Kentucky Horse Park each July. An overnighter with two days of adventure in the Kentucky humidity. This year we brought CCI pup, Yaxley, with us. And because life is so boring when things are too easy, one niece breaks a bone in her foot the week before and is using crutches.

Not a problem, I say. We’re hardly delicate flowers here. Pack up your water bottles, girls, and let’s hit the road.

So we do. Actually I’m glad we’re bringing Yaxley on this trip. He was a walking advertisement for CCI and helped to raise awareness of the work the organization does. And more, we were able to introduce him to some new sights, sounds and smells.

New experiences are pretty important in the socialization of a young service dog in training. So, let me share with you some of the new and different that the young Yaxley got to experience in his recent southern adventure.

Number one on his New Experience List happens just as we enter the horse park.  The wondrous scent of road apples.  Just what is that magical mound on the road?, Yaxley is wondering.  Heavenly.  I don’t pretend to understand the relationship between dogs and horse manure, but I do know to firmly steer him away from the temptation that is recycled hay.

And this next photo, you say?  What is going on here?  We see the fair Princess of Gimp as she stands next to her would be knight in soldered armor. First, I’ll tell you to not be too worried about the horse. It’s not real.  The fellow, however, is spam in a can in that suit under the blazing Kentucky sun. I never saw the guy move. He reminded me of the campfire dinners you make in aluminum foil. And I was left hoping there wasn’t some poor hapless fellow that got second shift in that well-seasoned armor.

Sir Knight of Lexington with his well-armored steed, a fair princess
and a yellow dog. 

Okie-doke. So we can check off 1) fake horse in armor and 2) a talking can of person.  Now let’s find some real horses.

But before we do, a quick stop at the craft tent for face painting.  An adorable painted cat face for one niece and a lovely butterfly tattooed on the other.  Yaxley waits patiently for the girls as they get their Kentucky ink. He enjoys the attention from some kids watching a magic show.

A nice chin rub (and free advertisement for the Gentle Leader)

Ok, let’s start small, so to speak. Maybe I should have had the girls stand next to the miniature horse. Then we could have seen it in the photo.

 
Well, that went well with Yaxley.  He’s just taking this all in and moving right along with things. Going just swell until the Sheriff’s horse gave him a hearty snort. Yax put that interaction into the category of that just ain’t right, so we go off to find a gentler horse that doesn’t look like it wants to eat dogs for breakfast.

Yax keeping a comfortable distance from the Snort Monster.
Seeing spots
A new and, um, different sight. For all of us.

 

Pecos, a dazzling Andalusian Stallion

 Yaxley checks out the Parade of Breeds

Ah, here’s a truly benign equine.  Doesn’t move, doesn’t smell funny.

And doesn’t snort at you.

And then there’s this sight to behold.  I’m wondering, in his doggy mind, does Yaxley see a critter with two heads and four legs? What must be rolling through his noggin on this one?

The afternoon was wrapped up with a handful of the obligatory Kentucky Horse Park photo opps.

Man O’War monument way off in the background.

Yaxley is rewarded for his good behavior with some ear ruffling and belly rubs from his new fans.

 

 And we prepare to leave Kentucky Horse Park and begin to look forward to next year’s trip.

I’ll hold his leash. 
No, I’ll hold it! 
Not quite ready to leave our Kentucky adventures behind, we decide to stop at the Georgetown Cracker Barrel for a late lunch. So here we are as we walk through the door . . . an obviously fatigued chick who appears to be one step away from heat stroke. Gimpy girl on crutches sporting a butterfly tattoo and hollywood shades. And Cat Girl walking her caped crusader dog on lead.
The restaurant manager stands at the hostess station and moves his eyes – in this order – from the yellow dog, to the cat, to Miss Hollywood and then resting on the obvious leader of this rock band – the chubby and heavily glistening broad. He apparently has not seen the likes of us in recent times and needs a moment to wrap his head around this charming image standing before him.
“Excellent!” He says, smiling and showing more teeth than you would expect to see, “Let’s find you fine folk a table.”  
Thanks, cowboy.  The girls and I are so hungry, we could eat a . . . um, well I guess we could eat a spinach salad or something.

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