Sunday, October 31, 2010

Product Review: Charlee Bear Dog Treats


I was at Trader Joe's and found these new Charlee Bear training treats in the beef liver flavor. First off, they are bite size, and therefore meet my first criteria for ultimate training treat. Secondly, if you are a little squeamish about the stankiness of wet treats, these are perfect for you. You can put these in your pocket without worrying about having to wash all your clothes the minute you get home.

Since Ender needs a little stankiness to get his attention, I use these in addition to the wet dog treats when we're outside. However, when we're inside, I can use these to prolong the wet dog treats to save ourselves a little money.

Although I found these at Trader Joe's, a quick google search revealed that they can be purchased from many other places. You can check out their website here http://www.charleebear.com/index.php

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Report Card

Barksdale started her walks today and here is her first report card:

"Barksdale did well on the walk today. She was a little too stiff and forward in her playing, but not aggressive. We will work on her play manners. When I opened the crate she submissive peed right away. So I'll be more careful next time. Poor Ender was really upset I didn't take him. I left some biscuits in his kong as a consolation."

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Report Card

The bf is out of town. This is what I came home to:

"Ender rolled in some really gross stuff on the trails today. I hosed him a lot but I don't have shampoo in the car, so I wouldn't cuddle with him tonight. He got the stuff all over both his collars too, which I hosed too, but probably smell a little."

Um, does Ender not know that when the bf is away, he's numero uno cuddle buddy? Geez!

New Dog Park in Oakland

I subscribe to the listserve for our District. And yes bf makes fun of me for that. But if I didn't, we would miss such awesome news such as a new dog park in Oakland:

SAVE THE DATE!!!

EAT PLAY-BARK @ Jefferson Square Park!

Hi Neighbors!

Get ready for...... EAT-PLAY-BARK @ Jefferson Square Park!!


Please save Saturday, November 20th, 11-2pm for a community potluck and party at Jefferson Park (7th and MLK)!!! (Rain Date: Dec 4th)


As you may have noticed, Jefferson Park has recently received a major much needed face lift. New improvements include a big and little dog park, new basketball court, and a brand new fenced in tot lot area. Since it's not everyday our neighborhood gets a new park, Old Oakland Neighbors, in partnership with Oakland Parks and Recreation, Council member Nadel's office, the Oakland Redevelopment Agency, and the Oakland Dog Owners Group (ODOG) are planning for a fun-filled afternoon. The goal of the event is to bring the Old Oakland and Oakland dog owner community together to celebrate and publicize Oakland's newest tot lot and dog run. Mark your Calendars!!


Join us for a:

- Neighborhood Pot Luck

-Children's activities

-Playground games

-Plant exchange

-Dog vendors & Parade



What to Bring:

-yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your dog

-a food dish to share

-plants or cuttings to share/swap

-lawn chairs, if you have them


This is a community and volunteer led event, with in-kind support from the City of Oakland, so please let me know if you're interested in volunteering. We will need help with setup, hosting duties during the event, and cleanup. More details to follow.


Sincerely,


Tiffany

Old Oakland Neighbors

tiffanyeng@sbcglobal.net

Monday, October 18, 2010

It's Fall!

Last weekend, as we were driving back up from LA in anticipation of cooler weekend, we were met with a sizzlin' 96 degrees in Oakland at 4 PM. This weekend, we were met with the first showers of the season, which mildly freaked the dogs out a little. However, in celebration of Fall, here is one of my favorite photos taken at the Berkeley Marina.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Return of the Ender


Ender was returned to us looking like this. I do not understand how he possibly got this dirty.

Road Trip: Santa Monica

Me and the little one on the beach in Santa Monica.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Road Trip: Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha going to do when they come for you?



"So I pull over to the side of the road
I heard 'Son do you know why I'm stoppin' you for?'
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low?"

One morning, I was waiting outside of Starbucks with Barksdale while the bf and his family were inside. Two police officers came out of Starbucks and slowly ambled to their car. They kind of stopped near Barksdale and I and I could feel some sort of commentary coming.

Seeing as it was 7am and I was still in my pjs and I am not a big chatter in the mornings, I really wasn't in the mood for conversation. But they asked if Barksdale was a pit and puppy, and yadda yadda. And then, of course, they got to the unsolicited advice. One of the officers advised me very matter of factly that I shouldn't be using a prong collar as it makes dogs aggressive.

I kinda went hmmm...and then said something like "well we've tried several different things and we find that using the prong collar is the best tool for now." And then proceeded to look away, which in my opinion is a very strong "I'm done having this conversation."

But then they continue to repeat the SAME SENTENCE over and over about how prong collars make dogs (or PITBULLS) aggressive, assuming that if they repeated it enough, I would say "of course officers, you guys are so right, I now see the light and will not use the prong collar any longer!" And I didn't really want to get into an education speech of why we do use the prong collar.

What I did want to do was yell "Do you realize how long it took us to get to this point?!?!?" We have gone through a regular nylon collar, gentle leader easy walk harness, halti, choke chain. Our training philosophy has evolved as we continue to learn and as the dogs continue to grow. Ideally, in a few years we would not need to use a prong collar, but until that time, the thing that enables us to maintain control when they're lunging at a barking dog is the prong collar.

Normally I'm fine chatting with random strangers, but I do not respond well when authority figures talk down to me. Sometimes I am amazed that I am able to hold a job.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Road Trip: Oakland to LA

If anyone is making a road trip between the Bay Area and Los Angeles in the next month, I highly recommend a stop in Kettleman City. Two reasons:

1. In-N-Out Burger

2. The area next to the In-N-Out is being graded for something. Therefore, there is an expanse of giant flat dirt to play catch in, which is awesome after stuck in the car with a puppy for three hours.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Death of an Area Rug

The rug in the living room has officially died. We purchased it about two years ago and has held up remarkably well for the price we paid for it. The last straw was when Barksdale peed on it Sunday. We were already talking about getting rid of the rug as there were two bald spots on it already from where Barksdale chewed off the wool. This incident just gave us the final push to replace it.

The original rug we had was a DwellStudio for Target rug that we purchased on sale. Since it was on sale, I didn't mind splurging for shipping. The total came out to be about $50 for a 5x8' 100% wool rug. Now that's what I'm talking about.

The other reason why it was so inexpensive was because it's marketed as a rug for a baby's room. After looking through Target's other rug offerings, it seems that babies apparently have better taste than grown ups. Anyway, now we are currently contemplating what to do with the living room. The possibilities are as follows:

1. No area rug
The awesomeness of not having an area rug is not having something that the dogs can potentially destroy. The not so awesome part is walking on the cold floor in the winter. Bleh.

2. New rug of similar quality and price
Man, it's hard finding a 5x8' rug for under $100. (Well, that is 100% wool and plush - girl's got some standards.) I looked through Target's website again and am currently contemplating another DwellStudio for Target rug. The cost is about $80 with potential for free shipping. (I love myself some free shipping.)



3. Flor tiles
The freedom to clean or replace one 19.7x19.7" tile of rug is very appealing. But I wonder how hard it is to move the tiles. I mean, if I wanted to move the rug, I would have to untack all the squares and re-tack them. I don't know if I'm ready for that level of commitment that is required to tacking stuff onto the floor. In addition, I like plush. Not office style carpet, PLUSH.

Decisions, Decisions.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Dogs and Kids

Ender likes to jump at people. It's one of his more annoying habits. We've been trying to break him of it since we first got him. Let's just say progress has been slow. Apparently, there has been some improvement as random strangers have been stopping us at the street saying, oh Ender's so good now! hahaha.

Before, Ender used to completely lose his shit when someone tried to pet him. It's like he has this sixth sense of when someone is thinking about it and and he'll just go for it with all legs up in the air. Now he can at least maintain a sit for a few minutes. I can tell he's trying reaaally hard because after a while he starts shaking and then whining from keeping all the crazy in.

The weird thing is that he is completely fine with children. Which is good because children LOVE him. I've often theorized why Ender is fine with kids. It might be that we are hyper vigilant of his behavior during these interactions, but it might also be that most kids who want to pet Ender are absolutely fearless.

Anyways, based on our previous experiences, I have come up with some advice for kid+parent and dog interaction:

Step 1: Ask for permission
In an ideal world, everyone should ask. However, as a parent, you especially need to ask. This sets a good example for your child so that they can ask on their own and it also allows the owner to say no or lay down some ground rules. We tell people that Ender will lick their child's excessively and if they don't like that or if it scares their child, then they shouldn't pet him.

Step 2: Don't hover
If you already gave your child permission to pet the dog, don't hover around nervously. That makes it an unpleasant experience for everyone, including the dog. When the parent is nervously hovering in the background, it makes me unsure (wait, should I say no? should I walk away?) and the the dog unsure (wait, lick, not lick, half lick?) and we will probably not enjoy your child's presence very much.

Step 3: Help facilitate initial kid/dog interaction
I enjoy parents who help facilitate initial kid/dog interaction. Mostly it's because small children weird me out a little and I don't feel like I should be the one disciplining your child. Some examples include "no honey, you can't ride that doggy like a pony" or "no baby, you shouldn't try to poke that doggy in the eye."

Step 4: Offer up some encouragement
Some kids get really shy when it's time to step up and actually do the petting. Parents need to either seize the moment and give a little encouragement or just walk away. Nothing is worse when you have the parent going "come on, it's okay, come on, go, it's okay, come on, it's okay, come on come on...." and the kid is beginning to resist more and more. Because that just leaves me and Ender sitting there feeling awkward.

Step 5: Let your kid enjoy the moment
Once your kid has pet the dog without getting its face bitten off and has established some kind of rapport with the dog, it's okay to just let them do their thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm still watching like a hawk and you should too, but sometimes the conversation is just between the kid and dog, so who am I to interrupt.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Product Review: Chuckit! Ball Launcher

The dogs received a Chuckit for Christmas last year and now we just leave it in the car trunk so we'll have it whenever we go anywhere. We currently have the original compact ball launcher (18") and we are pretty happy with it. The launcher is classified as "mid range" which is far enough for our dogs. It can basically launch a ball across a practice soccer field with some elbow grease.

Before we got the Chuckit ball launcher, we actually purchased a generic one which worked just as well. That one was a longer one (25-26") and because of that had the ability to launch the ball farther. It worked just as well until it cracked and we had to chuck it (har har).

Here are my pros and cons of a compact ball launcher versus a long ball launcher:

Compact Ball Launcher (18"):
Pros: Small enough fit into a backpack, launches ball far enough where I won't die trying to look for the ball when the dogs lose track of it
Cons: Have to bend down to scoop the ball into the launcher

Regular Ball Launcher (25-26"):
Pros: Can launch ball with less effort, can scoop ball into launcher without having to bend down as much
Cons: Increases potential to lose balls

And on a random note, I feel that the Chuckit we own has a weird grip. I know that they have different Chuckit ball launcher models, the "ergonomic" or "comfort grip," but doesn't having those models just acknowledging the fact that the original model isn't ergonomic? Anyway, I remember liking the grip of our generic ball launcher way more. Therefore I would recommend going to the store and checking all of them out to see which you like better.

Owning this thing humbles us. We've had this thing for almost a year and yesterday I almost hit myself in the face with ball. When the bf first tried it, he launched the ball really hard which of course bounced off the side of his parents house back towards his face. Luckily, we both still have our noses in tact.

Anyway, since I've posted photos of the Chuckit in a previous post, I leave you with a picture of the dogs with Ender doing his best class picture fake smile.