Posts (page 2)
Another update from Barkley's new family. I think this was his first water adventure. I had him out by a pond at a CSCLRC event in the fall, but he didn't jump into the water at all. He looked like he wanted to join the other dogs, but just ran around the edge of the water waiting for them to come out so he could grab the bumpers from the dogs.
He was so happy! Maggie immediate ran and jumped into the river, so he followed with a big leap- he looked so startled that he didn't land on something! He had no problem paddling back to shore but then was too timid to go back in even though he really wanted to- he kept putting his toes and nose I'm and trying from every rock but just couldn't take the plunge! We're sure he will when the water is warm enough for us to get in because then he'll follow. He and Maggie ran and ran over the rocks!
Until recently, all of my experience with tripe has been through Nethack (tripe rations, "Blech, dog food!).
A few months ago, Whole Dog Journal had an article on feeding green tripe which I found quite intriguing. The article warns that green tripe pretty pungent stuff and feeding it probably isn't for everybody, but that it can provide numerous health benefits for your dog.
While I was at Dolittle's today, I saw they started carrying green beef and venison tripe from a company called Tripett. After mulling it over a bit, I decided to let the dogs try some of the beef tripe out, so I picked up a few cans.
Whew, the WDJ people weren't kidding when they said green tripe smelled. This stuff was mighty odiferous. I suppose if I had to describe it, I would say it was a green poopy smell. It's kind of like what you smell when you're in a cow barn, but greener.
Each of the dogs got 1/3 of a can along with their regular food (California Natural Lamb and Rice). When I gave it to the dogs, they just dug right in. Even Nala, who normally questions anything new in her food dish, didn't hesitate and gobbled everything down.
I have two cans left, enough for two more meals for the three dogs. I doubt I'll see any of the touted health benefits with just a day and a half of feeding, but at least now I know I wouldn't have any problems feeding it to the dogs if I wanted to do it for longer.
The IOP Bark Park is a decently sized fenced in dog park located just behind the IOP Recreation Center, and so far is the only dog park that features a separate small dog area.
The Bark Park isn't very large, about the same size as Ackerman dog park. It's fairly wide open though and offers a lot of room for dogs to run around. Benches provide plenty of places for people to sit, and several trees provide shady spots during hot weather.
The small dog area is a long narrow strip adjacent to the main dog park. There were no small dogs around when I was there, so I'm not sure how often it gets used. Looks like it would be a good place for people with smaller dogs that don't want to risk them getting bowled over by bigger dogs. Most of the small dogs I've seen though play just fine with big dogs.
There's no water fountain installed in the dog park, but a large bucket in each area provides water. The water comes from a hose running from the Rec center to the dog park. Filling the bucket requires walking out of the dog park over to the building to turn the water on.
There are a few sandy areas where dogs can plop down to relax, cool down or work out some of their digging urges.
See the rest of the IOP Bark Park photos in my photo album.
Earlier this year (amid some fuss from a few people that City Council didn't have anything better to do), Charleston City Council saw fit to amend the city's leash ordinances, which become effective March 1, 2009.
Significantly, the new ordinances remove the provision that allowed animals to run at large as long as they were under voice control. Now animals must be under physical control or leashed, with a maximum leash length of 16 ft (~4.8m).
Further, the new ordinance gets more specific about where animals can and can't be.
No person owning or having possession, charge, custody or control of any animal shal cause, permit or allow the animal to stra or in any manner to run at large in or upon any public street, sidewalk, athletic field, athletic facility, or park or upon the property of another, if such animal is not under a physical restraint or a leash so as to allow the animal to be controlled.
No animal of any kind shall be permitted on any tennis court, fenced recreation field, or athletic field at any time, even if such animal is physically restrained, leashed or otherwise controlled.
Fortunately, the city has opened up several areas as off-leash areas in addition to the three existing city operated dog parks (with possibly more dog parks to come).
- Ansonborough Field, Concord Street (All day)
- Brittlebank Park, Lockwood Blvd. (All day)
- Cannon Park, Calhoun Street (Restricted hours)
- Governors Park, Seven Farms Drive (All day)
- Hazel Parker Playground, East Bay Street (Restricted hours)
- The Horse Lot, Chisolm Street (All day)
- Johns Island Park, Rewes Lane (All day)
- Lenevar Playground, Lenevar Drive (All day)
- West Ashley Park, Mary Ader Avenue (All day)
- White Point Garden, Murray Blvd. (Restricted hours)
While in dog runs or off-leash areas, animals are required to remain under sufficient strict voice control, and handlers must abide by the rules posted at each site. Owners are reminded that they are required to clean up after their pets. During the first two weeks of March, the City's Animal Control officers will be focused on educating off-leash area users. Afterwards, violators will be subject to fines for violations.
That means watch your dog, control your dog, and pick up after your dog.
I've been getting fairly regular updates from Barkley's new owners about his antics, most of which make me laugh (BTW, if you've ever adopted a rescue dog that lived in a foster home, send them updates...we love to know that a dog we fostered is doing well).
Being a pretty tall dog, counter surfing comes pretty easy for Barkley. I always kept an eye on him when he was in the kitchen and made sure there wasn't anything edible within reach. It didn't keep him from trying to counter surf though. At his new home, he seems to be having a little more success.
this is what happened to the flour i'd spread out on the counter to knead dough ...
when i pointed to the counter and said "no!! no! no barkley!" he just wagged and wagged his tail
Simba turns 3 today!
2 month old Simba
3 year old Simba
One of the great things about fostering dogs is that every dog becomes a learning experience. Each of the fosters I've had so far has taught me something different about the foster dog, about my dogs, and about myself.
Hannah was my first foster and I was learning just what it meant to be a dog foster. The first few days were definitely an adjustment for me *and* the dogs, and for a while I started to wonder if I could really do the fostering thing. One day when I had Simba out in the back yard, he ran to the back porch and sprung both Nala and Hannah from "jail". Hannah took off running into the woods out back and I thought "Oh, crap". I scrambled to round Nala and Simba back up so I could go look for Hannah, but thankfully she decided to come back. Hannah turned out to be a really sweet dog that thrived on some much needed attention and training, and after a few months went to a home with a great family near Rock Hill, SC. I came very close to deciding to keep Hannah, and if it wasn't for the call that said a family was interested in adopting her, I quite likely would have kept her and become another foster failure.
My second foster, Mel, has so far been the most challenging dog I've had. Extremely shy, timid and wary of new people, it took an hour of gentle coaxing and lots of Milk Bones to get her to approach me when I first met her. After that she grafted on to me and never wandered very far away. The dogs also accepted her much quicker than I expected, and it was a lot of fun watching the three of them play together. I spent the next few months researching dog behaviour, trying to learn techniques I could use to get her to be less timid around people. Nala and Simba, well, they learned how to jump a meter into the air when they see me. Thanks to frequent trips to the dog park and the helpful dog owners there, I managed to get her to start getting closer to people and even letting them pet her. Mel ended up gong to a nice home in Virginia about four months after I got her.
Foster #3, Barkley, was just one big lovable goofball. He made you think of a very tall, skinny lab or a very small Great Dane, but his attitude was all puppy. You couldn't help but smile and laugh whenever you saw him entertaining himself with a Nylabone or running after a ball. Barkley wasn't exactly the brightest dog in the pack, but he was definitely easy to love and lived completely in the moment. Training Barkley was an exercise in patience because he was so food focused he usually wouldn't associate getting a treat with what he was doing to get the treat. Meal times were always entertaining, and Barkley always treated each meal like it was the first one he'd had in days. Everybody who met Barkley was always surprised to learn that there hadn't been much interest in him for so long. Eventually though, a very nice couple from West Virginia ended up adopting him and he's living a pretty good life in his new home now. I think Barkley might have been another one I might have kept if nobody showed up to adopt him.
I had planned on taking a break after getting Barkley adopted, but ended up taking on Sazy as foster #4 the day Barkley left. Didn't know anything about Sazy when I got her other than she was a fence jumper. She's a tall lab mix (I'm thinking lab/shepherd), very affectionate and loves to worm her way into your lap. It wasn't until a week after I got her that I learned Sazy has incontinence problems due to her spay operation (I was starting to suspect a UTI), and is also heartworm positive. Dealing with the incontinence has meant a lot of wiping up, cleaning the crate and beds, lots of Nature's Miracle, and sessions hosing her off outside. Sazy is not fond of being sprayed off with cold water. Even with the constant cleanup, it's hard not to love Sazy with half of her curled up in your lap. Sazy loves to run, and loves to go chasing after balls and other dogs at the dog park. She may also be the shortest foster I've had if the people who filled out an application for her during SEWE are still interested in taking her.
Fostering dogs has proven to be one of the more rewarding tasks I've undertaken. Every dog is different, and every dog has something new to teach me. In return, I've discovered that I have a lot I can give to a dog while it's waiting for a forever home.
Sazy makes foster dog #4 since I started doing the fostering thing. She appears to be some kind of lab mix although what the other part(s) of her might be I can't really tell. She's pretty tall and big bodied, but to me, seems to have kind of a smallish elongated head for her body size.
So far she's settled in pretty nicely with the other dogs, although she doesn't seem to like when they come sniffing too close. No dust ups yet, just a bit of soft growling.
Overall, she's a pretty sweet dog, likes to go exploring and walks pretty well on a leash but could use some additional leash training.
Over the next few days I'll work on figuring out what kind of training I'll need to do with her. She knows Sit but doesn't seem to know down. Seems to know her name reasonably well.
It's taken a few months, but Barkley has finally been adopted and is heading off with a nice couple to his new home in West Virginia.
I had planned on taking a bit of a break before taking on a new foster, but it looks like I'll be taking on Sazy instead.
A new Pooch Planet ThermaCare memory foam pet bed was one of the items I won in the CSCLRC raffle at the dog show today.
Nala's been curled up on it ever since I brought it home this afternoon. She hasn't even gotten up to follow me around the house like she usually does. I think she likes it.
It's a pretty nice pillow that contains chips of memory foam (the package calls it MemoryLoft™) that would otherwise have been disposed of in a landfill, making it a reasonably green product. The pillow is baffled with about 5 chambers to prevent the foam chips from getting bunched up and lumpy. The outer cover is removable and can be machine washed.
I think the fact that Nala hasn't gotten off the bed in the past 4 hours attests to the comfort of the bed. It's quite a comfortable bed, and I'm halfway tempted to use it for myself.
I may have to find a couple more of these for the other dogs.
