Sunday, April 25, 2010. A beautiful Sunday afternoon, nice breeze, not to hot, a wonderful day to be outdoors. So we decide to take Logan to the park, this is a great idea especially since our community has decided that no dogs are allowed on the tennis court, which was Logan's only means of exercise. I refuse to keep him inside and not getting his much needed exercise. So armed with plenty of treats, two leashes, and the trusty spray bottle, we head off to the park. Oh, you are probably wondering what the spray bottle is for. Every pet owner should know the power of the spray bottle. One quick squirt of water from the bottle will immediately cease any unnecessary barking or unacceptable behavior. It doesn't cause pain in any way, but dogs really hate it.
We get to the park and everything is going great. Logan, my husband, and I are having a great time. Running, playing, oh what a day! People are everywhere, which is not a problem for Logan. There were kids all of the place, which he just loved. The occasional dog walking by did not prove to be a problem. He even got to play in the lake to chase the ducks. He is having a great time and so are we! But you know it only takes one idiot to ruin the day.
Logan and I are playing in the water (minding our own doggie business) when I look up and see this little white dog running towards us. THIS IS NOT GOOD. So I immediately take Logan and run the opposite way. This crazy dog starts to run behind us! Where is the owner?? My husband runs down to block the crazy dog and tell his owner to get his dog. Mind you at this point Logan is losing his mind because this dog in running towards him and looking him straight in the eyes. Logan is thinking this dude is invading my space and trying to get to my mommie! NOT HAPPENING! By this time the owner comes waltzing along with the stupidest grin on his face. My husband is yelling "GET YOUR DOG", but this man must have been under the influence of something because he was just looking at my husband and grinning. Finally, this idiot calls his dog which allows me to get Logan away from him. Logan was pissed off for about 20 minutes after this happened and I didn't blame him!
Now we all know that if something would have actually happened between Logan and this little white dog, it would have been all Logan's fault, who by the way was on his leash and being controlled by his owner. Irresponsible owners cause problems. I mean, this little dog didn't even know his life was in danger. And I don't blame Logan because he was only protecting his owner and his territory, what he was bred to do.
So PLEASE, if you have a dog, no matter how small, how trained, or how friendly them may be....PUT A LEASH ON IT. The life you save, may be YOUR dog's!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
So...what are you saying?
Saturday, April 17, 2010 2:00pm. Logan and I arrive at the dog training facility. There is a long dirt road that leads to the house with red tin roof. The land surrounding the house in plush and green. There is a slight breeze blowing that brushes the leaves of the trees ever so softly. I'm thinking this place is great. Logan can't possibly get over excited here. But then a Golden Retriever crosses the driveway and the blissful sound of the rustling tree leaves is broken by earsplitting barking! Be mindful, at this point we are still in the car. So Logan tries to jump out of the window to get to the Golden Retriever. So I'm pulling his leash and trying to switch gears with one hand and steer the car with the other!
Let me take this opportunity to tell you that Logan weighs 50 pounds of solid muscle. And his breed is notoriously strong for their size. He could easily pull triple his weight. Triple as in 50x50x50, not 50x3! You do the math.
So I finally screech to a stop with dirt from the road flying through the air and Logan barking his head off out the window. I hear someone yell my name "Tawasha?", I reply "yeah, how did you guess?" "The Staffie gave it away" she said. I think that was kind of her to put it so nicely that I was the lady with the out of control dog who had been emailing desperately for the last two weeks, begging for help! I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself to Angie the Trainer before Logan pulled me across the field to bark at a pack of dogs. Thank God they were in a fence! So after a very brief observation Angie tells me "oh yeah, you have a very dominant dog and you've got about six months of work ahead of you". So I look at her with a crazy face and say "So what are you saying? Does that mean we can't go jogging by the river?" She tells me if she was allow Logan to get in the pin with the other dogs "he would handle business and have a good time doing it, he;s fearless. But this is a good thing. From this point on nothing in the past matters, (referring to Logan being a rescue) today on is what counts".
Stepping onto my soapbox---But what we have to understand about Bully breeds is that they were bred to be aggressive to other animals. They were used for bull baiting, lion fighting for sport, and of course we all know about modern day dog fighting. Humans have bred these animals to perform a task and then call them vicious when the complete it. Misuse of these animals is never their fault. The blame lies with irresponsible owners. These animals love people and would never purposely harm a man, woman, and especially a child. Abuse and mishandling by humans is what leads to tragedy.---Stepping down now.
Role Reversal
Apparently Logan thinks he is H.D.I.C in our house, so we have to teach him that he's not. Angie the Trainer told us we have to give him tough love. He has to work for everything. So here are some of the tips for role reversal. And let me tell you, this stuff really works!!
overwhelm the owners! :-)
So I finally screech to a stop with dirt from the road flying through the air and Logan barking his head off out the window. I hear someone yell my name "Tawasha?", I reply "yeah, how did you guess?" "The Staffie gave it away" she said. I think that was kind of her to put it so nicely that I was the lady with the out of control dog who had been emailing desperately for the last two weeks, begging for help! I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself to Angie the Trainer before Logan pulled me across the field to bark at a pack of dogs. Thank God they were in a fence! So after a very brief observation Angie tells me "oh yeah, you have a very dominant dog and you've got about six months of work ahead of you". So I look at her with a crazy face and say "So what are you saying? Does that mean we can't go jogging by the river?" She tells me if she was allow Logan to get in the pin with the other dogs "he would handle business and have a good time doing it, he;s fearless. But this is a good thing. From this point on nothing in the past matters, (referring to Logan being a rescue) today on is what counts".
Stepping onto my soapbox---But what we have to understand about Bully breeds is that they were bred to be aggressive to other animals. They were used for bull baiting, lion fighting for sport, and of course we all know about modern day dog fighting. Humans have bred these animals to perform a task and then call them vicious when the complete it. Misuse of these animals is never their fault. The blame lies with irresponsible owners. These animals love people and would never purposely harm a man, woman, and especially a child. Abuse and mishandling by humans is what leads to tragedy.---Stepping down now.
Role Reversal
Apparently Logan thinks he is H.D.I.C in our house, so we have to teach him that he's not. Angie the Trainer told us we have to give him tough love. He has to work for everything. So here are some of the tips for role reversal. And let me tell you, this stuff really works!!
- No sleeping in the bed or on the sofa. The Alpha gets the best seat in the house.
- Make sure your dog follows you in and out of doors as well as up and down stairs. The Alpha walks in front of the pack.
- Playtime begins and ends when you say so, not the puppy. Leave him wanting more.
- Do not lavish the dog with unnecessary petting. This was the hardest for me, but it is working. Logan only gets loving if he sits or comes first. Instead of the usual 20 minutes petting sessions he normally gets.
- Feed the dog last. Prepare his food but don't serve it to him until after your family has eaten first.
overwhelm the owners! :-)
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem
Almost a month has passed since Logan came home to live with us. In this time we have become very attached to each other. He follows me all over the house, he only takes orders from me and not my husband (which I must admit I rather enjoyed watching my husband get so frustrated, because you could not tell him that he wasn't the Dog Whisperer). Logan claimed the sofa as his own from day one, now he was sleeping in the bed with us. I confess the bed thing was my fault, I invited him and from that point he felt he had an open invitation. Logan had the run of the house. But all of this was fine, because he was still a very sweet dog who loved to give affection. But then we had to go outside.
Logan aka Leonidas
At the moment he stepped over the threshold from our house to the outside world, a transformation took place. He was no longer Logan, lovable lap dog. He became Leonidas (you know-from the movie 300), conqueror of all, destroyer of any dog who dare cross his path. He would smell the scent of a dog in the air and begin to pant and whine. (But please understand, at this time I am not paying attention to this behavior. I thought everything was okay. My ignorance was pure bliss). Logan proceeds to drag me down four flights of stairs to make it to the door that leads outside. Then he proceeds to drag me through the door and up two more flights of concrete stairs to reach the doggy poop pad. Now the excitement begins.
Oh look, another dog for Logan to play with, what fun! So the barking, whining, pulling, and lunging ensues. And I yell to the other owner, "Don't worry, he just gets really excited!" The entire time the other dog, a full grown Boxer, is looking at Logan like he has lost his mind while trying to get behind his owner. But dumb me, I'm still thinking he just wants to play. After about 20 other instances of the same behavior, I began to wonder did he really want to play? He came from a rescue home with about 10 other dogs and he got along well with all of them. So he just missed his doggy friends and wants to play. I mean, it was the only possible explanation. Right? So I began to research dog behavior. Words like aggression and reactive kept popping up. But this can't apply to my dog. He is so sweet. And I have been telling everybody how sweet and non-aggressive he is. Besides, I know how to handle my dog. I watch the Dog Whisperer and It's Me or the Dog. I know what to do! I CANNOT be WRONG!! But the reaction to other dogs began to get worse and worse. So we decided to call a trainer who specializes in dog aggressive dogs. And this is where our journey begins.
Logan aka Leonidas
At the moment he stepped over the threshold from our house to the outside world, a transformation took place. He was no longer Logan, lovable lap dog. He became Leonidas (you know-from the movie 300), conqueror of all, destroyer of any dog who dare cross his path. He would smell the scent of a dog in the air and begin to pant and whine. (But please understand, at this time I am not paying attention to this behavior. I thought everything was okay. My ignorance was pure bliss). Logan proceeds to drag me down four flights of stairs to make it to the door that leads outside. Then he proceeds to drag me through the door and up two more flights of concrete stairs to reach the doggy poop pad. Now the excitement begins.
Oh look, another dog for Logan to play with, what fun! So the barking, whining, pulling, and lunging ensues. And I yell to the other owner, "Don't worry, he just gets really excited!" The entire time the other dog, a full grown Boxer, is looking at Logan like he has lost his mind while trying to get behind his owner. But dumb me, I'm still thinking he just wants to play. After about 20 other instances of the same behavior, I began to wonder did he really want to play? He came from a rescue home with about 10 other dogs and he got along well with all of them. So he just missed his doggy friends and wants to play. I mean, it was the only possible explanation. Right? So I began to research dog behavior. Words like aggression and reactive kept popping up. But this can't apply to my dog. He is so sweet. And I have been telling everybody how sweet and non-aggressive he is. Besides, I know how to handle my dog. I watch the Dog Whisperer and It's Me or the Dog. I know what to do! I CANNOT be WRONG!! But the reaction to other dogs began to get worse and worse. So we decided to call a trainer who specializes in dog aggressive dogs. And this is where our journey begins.
At Last, My Prince Has Come...
March 3, 2010, around 9:30pm. It's our 9th wedding anniversary and my husband and I are home preparing for the newest addition to our family.Well, I'm preparing, I have no idea what he is doing. I've gotten his room all prepared, setup with cozy blankets, comfy pillows, toys, and of course snacks. I'm pacing the floor because he should have been here by now. I begin to think about everything that has led up to this moment. All the wanting and searching, years of wanting followed by months and months of searching, and finally these final moments of excited anticipation. There were a few disappointments along the way. But that doesn't matter now because my baby is about to be delivered at any moment! I put in another call (only the fourth one in the past hour) to his foster parents just to make sure they aren't lost. Did I mention they should have been here by now? So they are about 20 minutes away. Okay, let me occupy myself. I decided to go ahead and make dinner for my husband, I guess he needed to eat that night. Did I mention it was our anniversary? But that was totally secondary at the time. My husband wanted my homemade lasagna for dinner, but that was too time consuming (especially with my baby coming home) so he got a homemade pizza instead. Just as many ingredients, easier preparation. Both Italian, both delicious. Finally, the phone rings - they're HERE!! But wait, they can't find us, so I run downstairs in the freezing cold with short sleeves only to guide them in. Now we're running in circles, playing hide and seek. Then all of a sudden, I turned around, and there he was. My baby! He jumped all over me as if to say, "Momma, I'm home"! We spent that night on the sofa in a loving embrace. (Oh yeah, my husband was there too).
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