Mega-Update

Ok, yeah, it's been a while since I've written anything here, and admittedly this blog is not my top priority -- especially when I'm as busy as I've been lately. Dogwalkers live mostly in three dimensions, and the last day off I had was June 8th. Not that I'm complaining (alright, not much!); I'll be grateful when I hit the inevitable dry spell.

I have been doing a lot of petsits lately, starting with Lucky, Ali and Mooschi.





These are three former hard-luck cases who have found a wonderful and loving home in Park Slope, with the support of each other and their 2 legged caretaker.

Lucky is a former racing greyhound who had the fortune of a relatively low prey drive. Since he showed less interest than the other greyhounds in chasing the stuffed rabbit around the track, he made it out of that racket at about 2 and a half years old, instead of suffering for another 2 or 3 years. At 13 years old, he has developed some fairly serious health issues; lumbosacral stenosis (which is a narrowing of the end of the spinal canal, which compresses the nerves found there); laryngeal paralysis, which makes it difficult for him to breathe sometimes and causes him to become overheated; and irritable bowel syndrome (basically a very sensitive digestive system -- he's on a prescription diet and could have epic diahrea otherwise). He also has only four teeth remaining (but they're the ones that count!) and his laryngeal paralysis is probably the result of an oversized tube inserted into his throat during dental surgery a few years ago.

All that said though, Lucky is in excellent emotional health and not in nearly as much pain as he could be given all of his ailments. Despite LS, he has a very healthy appetite, and he is incredibly social, both with his poodle and his human friends. He loves to go on walks, although he doesn't go very far anymore, and he's even been known to do the occasional sprint. At 13 he's doing pretty darn well, I'd say!

Ali (pronounced Allie) and Mooschi are both also rescued dogs. Ali came to her present home when she was just 21 weeks old, but still shows signs from her early traumas. She was sickly and emaciated when she arrived, and she often won't eat unless fed by hand. She's also rather wary of strangers and quick to warn of danger. Mooschi was obtained through a poodle rescue service in order to give Ali some canine company (they both have seniority on Lucky), and although she is very warm and loving towards all people (she's actually a therapy dog!) she's also picked up the habit of eating by hand at times.

Following my stay in residence with those three, I spent a few days with Ralph. As you might recall his mother, Riko, passed away recently. Ralph doesn't seem to have changed all that much, with one notable exception. At 14 years old, he's finally becoming socialized with other dogs! At the moment, that seems to be restricted to dogs about his size who are not too playful - he still gets nervous and defensive sometimes - but it's still a monumental step for him. And physically, Ralph is still in the prime of his life.



Another dog who's been showing signs that he can be socialized is Igwe. You'll recall that he was trained for fighting, and that I've managed to communicate to him that that is not what to do with other dogs. He recently met my friends puppy in a controlled situation, and while he showed no real signs of aggression he didn't know quite what he should do. He was very interested and excited, and with a lot of time, work and attention I'm convinced he can be helped along. Sadly though, I'm not sure that's an investment his owner is willing to make.

I'm currently staying with Kenny and Joya, which is old hat by now, and also watching a new dog for part of that time, named Duke.

Duke is a 7 year old mixed breed dog (pit bull and boxer, maybe?) with a happy-go-lucky approach to the world. He gets along with everybody as far as I can tell - canine, feline, simian - and lives for the simple pleasures in life - playing, food and company.

Next week I'm back to my full schedule but I'll try to check in here as much as I can. And, oh, if you've been reading along with me this long, you might want to check out my new flickr page. Most of my dogs are on there, as well as whatever else catches my eye. Just what I need -- something else to update rarely!

Igwe

Igwe (pronounced "Eeg-way") is a rescued dog from the mean streets of Los Angeles. The scars above his left eye are from fights his first owner entered him into against other dogs, but fortunately those days are long behind him.

From day one, Igwe had an intense desire to please me and his other human handlers; as you can see in the photos his ears are always back when he's being addressed and he displays other signs of submission. But he'd had it ingrained into his training that one way to make his people happy was to attack other dogs and animals. In addition it seems that it's hard wired into his nature that smaller animals (cats, squirrels, etc) are prey. But the canine aggression was actually pretty easy to correct once I realized it's motivation.

For the first few months when we'd see another dog I'd shorten the leash and make him walk past calmly, speaking to him the whole way. If he lunged I'd raise him up and clamp his jaws shut, and he quickly learned that this was not the way to make me happy. When he was able to successfully walk past another dog without making a move I'd reward him by playing with him with a stick or by running, and thus he began to associate other dogs with play. He occasionally will play submissively with another dog these days (usually a calmer, predictable one), but he remains a people dog at heart and still prefers to interact with me.

In fact, Igwe is so much of a people's dog that another facet of his early training with me focused on curtailing this part of his personality. He doesn't realize that he can project quite the fearsome aura to someone who's afraid of dogs, and in his Bed-Stuy neighborhood there's a lot of that going around. Many times people would stare at him out of just such fear, and he would take it as an invitation to try to sidle up to the person for some lovin'. Suffice it to say this never went over well, and it doesn't work to explain in such a situation that he doesn't bite; what we'd get back was almost always a variation of "He's got teeth, don't he?".

But his behavior really evened out over a pretty short period of time, and his reactions to the two situations became pretty similar - he'd wait for permission from me. In the case of animals he waits for permission to play, and in the case of people he waits for permission to approach. If he doesn't get it, he's still just as happy.

And Igwe really is one happy dog! As with many dogs with traumatic early lives who find themselves in a much better situation, he really loves his people and demonstrates it constantly. He had a great deal of separation anxiety at first, when his owner would leave for work or after I'd walk him in the afternoon. But this was also dealt with, by not treating leaving him as a big deal and by getting him used to a routine so he'd know what to expect.

However it is possible that Igwe's situation may change soon, and you, gentle reader, may be asked to get involved in some way. I'll let you know when, and if, I know more.

Always on call...

and very glad for it to be so...especially today, since Kenny and Joya's apartment was visited by the exterminator! I got them out of the house pronto and we had a great time going for a stroll through the Slope for a couple hours. I found a flatware tray I've needed for a while along with a few kitschy old horror movies, and the spring weather was invigorating, body and soul. The dogs really enjoyed the beautiful weather too; they took full advantage and did tons of socialization. They were both really happy to be out of the house, and enthusiastic to return to a familiar place no longer in flux.

I won't say going sometimes a month between days off isn't tough, but I should get one tomorrow and, on the whole it balances out. I'm fortunate enough to be supported by doing what I love, even with enough time to maintain a blog on the side. And after all, I can always catch Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me tomorrow!


Here they are afterwords, all pooped out in their moth-free home.

Pit Bulls in Motion

Kenny and Joya

This pair, like Billie, have been with me from the beginning three years ago. They live together in Park Slope, along with a little girl who was an infant when I started walkig them and who is a continuing delight as she grows. Their house is one of the few I go to where I see other people - lots of other kids and everybody's nanny. Often it's the only time I see other people I know til I get home and I always look forward to my visits.

Kenny and Joya have a fantastic dynamic -- she's totally the yin to his yang. Joya, who's a rescue and is in the foreground in the pic, was completely agoraphobic three years ago. She's always been very sweet and gentle, and when she was rescued it was clear that shed had multiple pregnancies. She was about seven at the time, just past puppy-rearing age, and had been abandoned at the pound. She was incredibly fortunate to have been adopted -- most older dogs in her situation (especially pit bulls) are put to death -- and she didn't want to be out of her home for longer than it took to do her business. Through a lot of love and patience she gradually came out of her shell in public and now loves to walk. She's very social, loves to meet other dogs and people, and retains a soft spot in her heart for all puppies.

Kenny, on the other hand, is a clown. While Joya is the consummate mother figure he's a perpetual teenager. You know, the kind who finds fart jokes incredibly funny and barely seems able to control his physical behavior. He's very rambunctious and loves to play and run. He's a ball thief in the dog park and a lap dog at home. (Yep, that big lanky frame settles right into my narrow-ass hips if I let him! But it's only really useful on these frigid, soaking wet days.*)

I often find myself house-sitting with these guys on the weekend, which allows for a lot more cuddle-time and scavenging treasures from the sidewalks of the Slope.**



*-- more on frigid, soaking wet days later
**-- more on pop archaeology later