Happy Gotcha Day, Figlet!

One year ago today we loaded up Dexter and Lacey, driving about a half hour away to meet a small black-and-white spotty dog.

I had been following her page on Petfinder for a couple of weeks, ogling her pictures and obsessively re-reading her description. She was one of those dogs that, for some reason you can't quite articulate, stick with you. You can't get them out of your mind. You picture them in your home, sharing your life with you. You ponder names and what colour collar they will wear.

My husband wasn't as tempted as I was and he wanted to look at dogs closer to home (she was being fostered over an hour and a half away). I understood his reasoning, but the little dog with the funny name hovered in my mind. I kept bringing her up; I couldn't help myself. Finally he said, "Alright. E-mail the rescue and see if she's still available." I did. I didn't think such a sweetheart of a dog would still be without a home, but she was.

E-mails were exchanged and a meetup was scheduled. The day after my husband's birthday we loaded up the furry ones and rushed off, all excitement and nerves, to meet a little dog called Fig.

I was smitten the moment I saw her in person. I wanted to wrap her up in a great big hug and never let go. But I managed not to, because that's not a polite way to greet an unknown dog.

Clearly, the meeting went well. Fig and Dex got along just dandy. Fig even behaved around Lacey the cat, which had been my biggest concern. (In fact, Fig showed no interest in Lacey at all). And so Figgy came home with us that very afternoon.

I knew it was right when Fig jumped into the back of our SUV, settled down in her seat and fell asleep straight away.

Determination vs doofiness

Today involved a lot of moving furniture to clean thoroughly, interrupted by bouts of this:

I wish I could look upon the world with the eyes of a dog

Today can be summed up like so:

Observing dogs

Four days ago I was playing with our visitor, Kiana, and a de-squeaked Good Cuz toy (the orange one that has seen Dexter through puppy months and into adulthood, somewhere along the way losing its squeakability). Eventually she grew tired of me throwing it for her and laid down to chew on it. Dex got up, approached and tried to entice her to play (posturing, pawing, nose-bopping, nomming on her head; the usual stuff they do to each other when they want to play). It didn't work. Instead, she kind of became protective of the Good Cuz. (Or, at least that's how it appeared to me). She tensed before lifting her lip at him while clenching the toy. He took a step back but didn't leave. When he didn't leave she dropped the Good Cuz to bare her teeth. As the Good Cuz rolled away, Dex laid his muzzle across her muzzle. When he did this Kiana stopped baring her teeth. He stood there for a moment, his body relaxed and his muzzle rested on hers. Then he slowly walked away, picked up the Good Cuz and brought it back to her. He dropped it in between her paws, gave a goofy grin, and asked her to play again. She responded by initiating biteyface with him.

The Good Cuz was quickly forgotten.

Why socializing puppies (and dogs) is so important

Socialization is giving your puppy (or dog) lots of opportunities to explore and experience the world (and its inhabitants) at his or her own pace. It's discovering all the fascinating aspects that make up life in our society, from your vacuum cleaner vacuuming up dog hair to your next door neighbor that towers over 6'5" tall. Lots of positive experiences early--carefully guided by you, the patient, loving owner--in life translate into an adult dog that isn't spooked by things or people that are "different."

The biggest reason to socialize is two-fold:
- To raise a dog that isn't fearful and anxious, which is a sorry way to live and experience life, and
- To raise a dog that isn't a threat to your family, friends and neighbors, because aggressive behavior is often rooted in fear.

Looking back, many people realize their dog's aggressive behavior is tied to what the dog didn't learn as a puppy. Some folks either didn't know about socialization, didn't understand how to go about it, or started off with a puppy (or dog) that was already far behind in socialization (or a combination of these). Some people are content to manage their dog and their dog's life as best as possible. Others tackle the sometimes painfully slow task of playing catch-up with socialization.

I've been there, that heart-breaking moment where you realize you failed to do something or didn't quite do it right. It's not normal to have visitors over and have your 8-month-old puppy lunge and bark menacingly. It's not normal to have [so-called] behavior experts label your 10-month-old puppy a dangerous liability and suggest euthanasia. This is the sad reality of failing to properly socialize a puppy. A premature end due to behavior problems can be prevented. A puppy should never be a lost cause.

In 2007 I adopted Dexter, who was listed as a 7-month-old puppy, from the Hawai'ian Humane Society. The HHS couldn't tell me anything about his socialization and he was already well past the critical socialization window (which is between 3 and 12 weeks, a time frame that demonstrates how important a responsible breeder is as a responsible breeder will have begun socializing puppies before they go to their new homes). I mentally prepared myself for issues, particularly related to lack of proper socialization, and did a lot of reading and planning in advance.

The good news is that whatever early socialization Dexter did or did not receive he grew into a fantastic, social dog. I cannot take a lot of credit for that though I did immediately begin (or continue) socializing him when he came home. I went about it slowly at first, not knowing what he could or could not handle. And when I saw what he was capable of, we went out every day and met lots of new people and dogs. We went on as many outings as we could and I worked hard to keep experiences positive for him.

There were hiccups along the way. Like when my husband and I realized he was afraid of men in uniform. I found this interesting as the HHS told us his previous owners were a military family. (Hmm...) Or when I discovered he was skittish around black men. Then there was the night I discovered Dexter found motorcycles to be very creepy, untrustworthy things (that spawned from the eighth level of hell, Dexter believed). Each of these obstacles was an opportunity for me to teach Dex something new. But wouldn't it have been nice if I hadn't have needed to change his opinion of these perfectly normal people and things in life?

As I said previously, Dex did grow up to be a wonderful, social dog. Last week we were invited to a New Year's Eve party. Yes, you read that correctly: We, as in Dexter, Figlet, our visitor Kiana and myself. (How cool is that?) In the end, only Dexter and I went.* We had a blast! There were sixteen other people there, which included: One senior, ten adult males and females, five children ranging from ages 1 to teen. There were also two 3-month-old puppies.

Dear Dexter handled loud music, fireworks going off in the background, some goofy drunks, annoying puppy antics, and a new environment like a champ. He was not phased by the differences amongst the people: Age, height, size, colour, or differences in behavior. He even got hit by a guitar at one point when he and its player zagged at the same moment. (Don't worry; he was fine!)


Stylized image of Dexter and I sitting at the party with some people around us (and more out of frame), plus two resting puppies. Original photo by our lovely hostess.

I'm really proud of Dex. And I'm so very glad I can take him places like that and know he'll take it in stride.

*I decided to leave Kiana home after I discovered a potential fear of a specific group of people. The night before the party she met two of the party-goers and she did NOT handle it well at all. Figlet, on the other hand, was left at home both to keep Kiana company and because I have never seen Figlet in such a large group of people. (We've done groups of up to eight previously, myself included). I adopted her well into adulthood and while we've continued her socialization, which she relishes, we've yet to have such an opportunity (in ten months of living together). Perhaps I should have taken her, gone prepared, and resolved to take her home if it seemed too much for her. But it seemed so much wiser to leave her at home as company for Kiana.

The Spotty Hooligans and Visitor

Things with our visitor, Kiana, are going well. The first 48 hours she was clearly distressed, but now she has settled in and learned the routine here.

Dexter is looking less emo about Kiana staying with us. He has even stopped shooting me pleading looks when Kiana takes his favourite spot on the sofa. He's also playing with her more.

Fig and Kiana are requiring less play breaks to keep play from escalating to insane levels of excitement. (They had one small tiff the other night. Things have been considerably calmer since then.) We even had two tiny puppies visit for a play date without incident. (Five dogs in my house? Oh my!) Fig did require a couple of reminders about wrestling with puppies on top of humans. (We discourage wrestling on top of people.) Kiana needed a reminder about not stepping on tiny puppies. (Um, ow?) Meanwhile, Dexter managed to not drop his brain, minding both his manners and where his paws landed so no pups were squooshed. (Hooray!)


All three dogs playing nicely. Joy!

Breed tests -- What are you, Dexter?

Last month I surprised my husband with a very early Christmas gift: a DNA test to determine Dexter and Fig's breeds. I have seen some wild breed results with these DNA tests so I admit I'm rather skeptical. I've seen a Pit Bull come back as predominantly Saluki and a Retriever mix come back as a Basenji. They're supposed to be accurate, but they warn against testing purebred dogs. How can they confidently tell me what my mutt is when they can't guarantee they can tell a purebred Labrador Retriever from, well, any other breed?

At any rate, I ordered the DNA tests and sent in the swabs. It's for my husband so I don't need to believe in their accuracy.

When the results came back I kind of giggled. According to the Wisdom Panel Dexter was at least 12.5% Bull Terrier. Bull Terrier? If it had said any other bully breed, I'd have bought it. But Bull Terrier? Really? He doesn't appear to have any of their characteristics.

Then a friend showed me photos of Bull Arab dogs. Bull Arabs are mixed breed dogs originally bred in Australia to hunt pig. One of the breeds used to create this breed-in-the-making was the Bull Terrier. Why is this relevant? The dogs my friend showed me looked like Dexter. Some even had his colouring. Suddenly his DNA results didn't seem so ridiculous.

I asked myself: Could Dexter be a Bull Arab, whether in part or in whole?

Dexter was born and raised in Hawai'i. Hawai'i is a rabies free state so animals imported to Hawai'i must go through quarantine. There are a few exceptions, one being jumping through months of hoops to prove your animal is not a threat to Hawaii's rabies-free status. Another exception is any pet imported from Australia. A number of Hawai'i pet stores get their puppies from Australian puppy mills as a result. A Bull Arab imported from Australia was definitely a possibility. It wasn't even a difficult possibility.

Feral pigs are a problem in Hawai'i. They damage land and threaten endangered species of plants. Hunting feral pigs is not uncommon. In fact, it's not uncommon to see pickup trucks loaded with hog dogs any day of the week. Hunters can and do use many breeds and mixes. Some are always on the lookout for the next awesome hog dog and will go to great lengths to acquire one.


So I began looking for Bull Arabs in Hawai'i. And with a few quick clicks I found forums where Hawai'ian hunters were showing off their Bull Arab dogs. One even had a litter for sale that looked like Dexter, right down to the colouring. There were photos of the litter's older half-siblings who also looked like Dexter. Wow.

I thought I adopted an Australian Cattle Dog (also known as Red Heeler or Queensland Heeler) mix puppy in October of 2007. But maybe what I adopted was a Bull Arab puppy, some hunter's reject. It's certainly possible. It also explains the similarities he shares with the Hawai'ian hog dogs I'm accustomed to seeing.

If nothing else I did manage to adopt a very mixed mutt who has Bull Terrier ancestry. That much seems clear to me now.

Visitor update

Kiana, our golden visitor, has settled in nicely.



See? She's in Dexter's favourite spot. (Don't ask me how he feels about this. I had to remind him that in this house we do indeed share. He showed me that he understood by taking MY favourite spot. Nrf.)

A visitor to the House of Spotted Hooligans

The dog on the right is Kiana, a 1.5 year old Lab mix. She's staying here with us from Dec 15 to Jan 7, 2011 while her family is away for the holidays.

Dexter is not entirely thrilled. At first, he was excited beyond thinking at a new dog in the house. And then he realized she wasn't leaving and started giving me these sad expressions. He's spending most of his time tucked away at one end of the house. Occasionally Kiana solicits play and Dexter responds kindly, but it doesn't last long before he's headed back to our room.

Meanwhile, Fig alternates between being thrilled at someone new to wrestle with and being disinterested. One minute, Kiana is the Best Thing Ever™ and the next Fig just wants to nap, please.

Kiana is settling in pretty well, though I can tell she misses her family. She's a sweet dog with soulful eyes; it's hard to miss how she's feeling.

Wish me luck! I am so thoroughly outnumbered that it's scary. ;]

Snow day!

It has been snowing all day. It's the first real snow day we've had since Figlet came to be part of our family. As you might guess, this meant there had to be photos.



There's lots more photos to be viewed--if you're so inclined--at Flickr. Click on the photo of Dex and Fig to head that way.

Dogs on death row in Broward County, FL going home for the holidays

Earlier this year a Siberian Husky being walked on a leash encountered a small Poodle who was off-leash. There was a fight--or attack, depending on whose story is to be believed--and the Poodle died at the hands (paws?) of the Husky. Despite the fact that the Poodle's owners were in violation of the county's leash law it was the law-abiding Husky (and her family) who was punished. Brandie, an 11-year-old Husky, was labeled "dangerous" and later sentenced to death.

Brandie's death sentence turned into a lawsuit, soon to be followed by more law suits, a country-wide plea to change the one-strike dangerous dog law and save Broward County's death row dogs.

Now Brandie and Gigi, another dog sitting on Broward County's doggie death row, are going home. Just in time for the holidays.

See http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/12/broward_county_releasing_dogs.html for more information.

This is one of those stories that I cannot help but feel strongly about. I have found myself in a similar situation more than once. Just this past week I was walking Dexter, my delightfully doofy dog, on a 6 ft leash when a dog charged down his driveway at us. Dexter is a very non-confrontational dog; I've seen him diffuse some pretty sketchy situations by displaying appropriate body language, he will walk away from dogs who are bothering him, and would rather give up his prized bone than fight over it. But he's not a total push-over. The second time he was attacked by another dog he actually fought back. He will do what he can to keep his hide out of trouble, but when push comes to shove he will defend himself.

So as I turned to face this cream coloured dog barreling down the driveway straight for Dexter I wasn't sure whether Dexter was about to run the other way or stand and defend himself. And I didn't want to find out.


The good news is that this time the dog was more scared of me acting like a crazy person--limbs flailing and voice booming threats--than intent on harming Dexter. And Dexter got away without a scratch on him (probably because he tried to stay behind me) that I could find. I got away with a twisted ankle and no bite marks. But it could have been worse. Dexter and the aggressor could have tangled in a deadly fight. And what if Dexter defended himself successfully?

This is not the first time we've been attacked by an off-leash dog while my dog was on-leash. It is unlikely to be the last. And it is one of my worst nightmares that one day, despite all of my efforts to raise my dogs to be safe, polite members of society, that I could lose one to someone else's negligence and irresponsibility.

Leashes and fences exist for a reason: let's use them. Use them so we don't scare or harm people or their pets. There's no excuse to let dogs roam at large, threatening children, pets and wildlife. Your dog may pay the ultimate price. Or someone else might instead.

We all need to be considerate of those around us and responsible with our pets.


My leash keeps me safe. It looks pretty snazzy, too!

Late night walks and Christmas lights

A number of the neighbors have begun decorating for Christmas, which has inspired me to take more late night walks with the dogs (to enjoy the lights). It has also inspired me to put blue-and-white lights in the front windows and garden.



Behold! Figlet and Dexter photographed separately after their walks. (We usually go on separate walks for one-on-one time). Apologies for the quality of the images. Hopefully the cute subjects make up for it. ;]

Conversations dogs inspire -- unsavory topics ahead!

Dogs inspire a lot of things, from art to knitted sweaters. They also inspire some very odd conversations, conversations that only other pet owners or perhaps parents could understand. One such conversation I've been having a little too frequently over the last year is what a "bully stick" is and what it's made of. (And why I would give one to my dog.)

If you aren't aware of "bully sticks" you may be one of the blessed few who are ignorant of this fascinating item and conversation piece. Or you may just call it something else.

Bully stick, bull pizzle, steer stick, bull stick, bullies, pizzles, pizzle chews; these all refer to the same dog chew. But what is it?

"Pizzle" is an old word for "penis," and that's the first unsavory hint at the chew's origins. It most commonly refers to a bull's penis, but may in fact be the penis of any animal. What this means is the chew your dog delights in devouring (likely in record time) is a piece of bull penis that has been stretched and dried. 


Om nom nom. Can we have another pizzle treat, please?

Now try to explain that to a first-time dog owner or someone who grew up only feeding rawhide chews to their dogs. Better still if the person you're talking to is male. Yeah...Welcome to the wonderful world of Dogs.

I hope your Thanksgiving was better than this.

This puppy (<1 year) spent Thanksgiving in the cold, pouring rain. He alternated between pacing and pawing at the objects keeping him from entering a warm, dry home. He tried to jump the gate, dig under it, and when he failed he cried.

I hope your Thanksgiving was spent warm, dry, and surrounded by loved ones.

Have some early Christmas cheer

After last Christmas I caught some items on sale, one of which was a pretty little knitted sweater for dogs. The size guide said a size large would fit a dog with a chest girth of up to 34". Well, Mr. Dexter has a 30" chest and would look quite smashing in a knitted Christmas sweater. Part of me said the size guide didn't sound right (usually Dexter is considered an XL or XXL due to his deep chest), but I bought it with the justification that it was cheap as dirt (no, really, it was. Clearance sales can be awesome).

Back at home I excitedly tried it on Dex and found I couldn't even get it past his shoulders. Nice. I kept it, figuring that either I'd give it to someone with a smaller dog or keep it until we had a smaller dog.

Little did I know that not two months later a Heeler mix half the size of Dexter would waltz into our lives. A Heeler mix who would also look smashing in a knitted Christmas sweater.


Fig tries on her Christmas sweater. It fits!

Never underestimate a dog's memory.

One night last month I spontaneously decided to train with Fig around midnight. What I did not anticipate was that one random training session would turn into Fig insisting--yes, insisting--that we train every night at around midnight.

Witness the second day after our spontaneous midnight training session. Fig is trying very hard to tell me something really important. And despite being human and therefore entirely disconnected from what dogs really want, I manage to figure it out. Enjoy:



Who is training whom, anyway?

Adventures in Shaping -- Will work for scritches!

Many years ago I saw clicker training in action on the set of a movie. I was impressed but since I didn't have any pets at the time it was easy to let it slip from memory. It wasn't until sometime after 2005 that I learned what that trainer on set had been doing was called "clicker training." I also learned that it had many practical applications for many different species.

In 2007 my husband and I adopted our first dog and tentatively tip-toed into the world of clicker training. It took some practice to develop better timing and coordination (to handle leash, clicker and treats), but I got the hang of it. The more I practiced the better I got. The better I got the easier it was to teach my dog new things and that's when we really started having fun with training.

I'm pretty good at capturing--where you capture a behavior as it's happening--and luring--which is where you lure the dog into a position or behavior and reward. Shaping is another way to teach a dog a behavior. It involves using approximations to achieve a certain behavior. I find it difficult to approximate what my dog needs to do and what I need to do to shape a behavior. I often find our progress going in a different direction than I had intended. As a result, I tend to rely more on luring and capturing.

About a month ago I set out to practice shaping behaviors with Dexter. (I REALLY need the practice). So I taught Dexter to open his mouth on cue as our first exercise.

I have no idea why I chose to teach him to open his mouth on cue. I wish I had a good reason, an answer that would make you go, "Ahhh... Makes sense!" But I don't. I don't have any reason. I suppose it's just one of those things that happens when you spend too much time with dogs. But let's pretend that I set out with a well thought out plan. And that plan was to teach Dexter to open his mouth so he can portray a talking dog in the movies. That sounds better than, "I dunno why I taught my dog to do that..."

At any rate, I did teach him to open his mouth on cue. We're now at a point where I don't need the clicker or treats (as you only need those when you're teaching and perfecting new behaviors). His reward for doing as I ask is praise and scritches.

And now, without further ado, is a video of Dexter opening his mouth for scritches:

I've been neglecting this, but with good reason.

Well, mostly.

Back in September my husband came home on leave from Afghanistan. We had just over two weeks together with nothing to do or get in the way. Needless to say, my priorities changed instantly and drastically.

By the time he had to go back I had fallen out of the habit of writing here. I had formed new habits which took precedence and kept blogs out of mind. Once I had the time and mind to update this blog I didn't much have the desire. (And the dogs rejoiced! For computer time is lame time to the spotty duo.)

But here I am, back again. With photos and video!

Witness the spotty duo welcoming their favourite guy in the whole wide world home:

(Dexter had already welcomed him home when this video was taken. This was Fig's turn and Dex did NOT want to be left out. I can't say that I blame him.)

Water hound invades shower

My dogs are spoiled. They eat before I do, empty bladders before I do, and play before I get to. They also get to use the shower first:



Some people have shared feelings similar to horror over the level I indulge my dogs. But my dogs indulge me, so I indulge them. We have fun together and make life much better. Why wouldn't I indulge them?

Attack of the Zoomies! / Snake?

Fig gets a mild case of the "Zoomies" immediately following a bath.

In other news: Fig found a snake. The snake found a toad. The toad had a bad day that ended early. (Don't click if you dislike snakes, toads or toads being eaten.)