Flu Shots for Dogs

Today Mom took me to the vet to get my nails clipped. My blood doesn't clot easily so Mom is nervous about clipping my nails. We arrived at the vets and we get the word that the vet recommends I get a shot for Canine Influenza. (Haven't heard of Canine Influenza? You can learn more at CBS about this illness.) And by the way, the vet has a cancellation and give me the shot right then! Oh, joy. I think I felt the shot but the whole affair happened so quickly I didn't have time to get upset. And I did get an all natural cookie for my trouble. Not a bad deal. I go back in 3 weeks for a booster shot and then I'm protected for a year.

I am around a lot of dogs. Every week I go to obedience class and Control Unleashed class (where Mom is trying to get me to not get so excited when I see other dogs. Doesn't she understand how much fun it is to meet and play with new breeds?) And then there is the weekly play group. Of course it is dominated by yellow labs and golden retrievers but there is one Doberman that I see sometimes. We dogs share a lot of things like toys and water dishes, so if one of us gets the virus, chances are it will spread.

Have a dog in your life? Check out the canine influeza shot if you haven't already talked to your vet about the dog flu.

Car Safety for Dogs

In order to socialize me, Mom takes me around town with her. She never leaves me alone in the car - one of the leading causes of death among young dogs is being left in a car on a hot day. If Mom can't take me out of the car with her I stay home in the air-conditioned house. Not a bad deal for me with my fur coat! But even on the coldest day of the year I wasn't safe in the car until Mom figured out how to protect me in case of an accident.

At first I used to ride around in the car sitting on someone's lap. Every stop they held on tight so I wouldn't fall. But then I grew much bigger than a lap. At 75 pounds if I get thrown through the car I endanger not only myself, but everyone else too! So Mom put me in a crate in the rear of our station wagon, but that wasn't safe for me either.

The problem with a crate in the rear of the car is that is the area most likely to be hit if you are rear ended. If my crate is there I'm liable to get crushed, so the safest area for me is the middle seat, but that puts me back where I was before, so what is the answer?

Mom got me a Comfort Ride Traveling dog Car Harness:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755199&lmdn=Dog

She was afraid I would resist having the harness put on me but I didn't mind at all. I can move around enough to see out the window or lay down but I can't be thrown around the car. That makes both me and mom happy.

We've had the harness for a couple of months now and it is Doberman safe. Mainly because I can't get to it to chew it when the harness is on me and if it isn't on me I'm not in the car!

Alma

Puppy Pinata

Mom bought a Puppy Pinata for me to test. According to what Mom read it is more fun to hide the pinata first. She made me sit and stay while she dragged the toy around the floor and hid it.

Some hiding. With my Doberman nose I found the toy in about 2 minutes. The beef jerky smelled really good and the scent was so strong no way I could miss the trail.

The pinata cloth was fun to chew. I mouthed it a bit before really going after the treat. It was great entertainment for about twenty minutes before I tore the cloth to shreds and ate all the treats.

Apparently the idea is I'm supposed to open up the velcro and get the treat out. I found it much more fun to tear open the cloth to get the treat. That velcro sticks way too much. I didn't damage the velcro at all! After getting the treat, I shreded the material to pieces and pulled out the stuffing inside the pinata head. At $14.99 plus tax a pop, Mom says no more puppy pinatas for me.

Headphones are not Doberman Safe

Dad's scream pierced the early morning bird singing. I suppose it was a shock for him to find the headphones and microphone shredded into bits of copper and black wire wrapping. He groaned. He shouted. I don't know what he was saying but I could tell he wasn't happy.

When Dad really isn't happy he goes and wakes up Mom. I ran into my kennel to listen from a safe vantage point. It turns out that the headphone and microphone didn't belong to Dad. They belonged to his college. Mom had borrowed them from him for a webinar she was giving on how to use a blog and twitter. She left it in her leather briefcase, which I found when Dad left the mudroom door ajar.

I could hear them having a long discussion about giving me more exercise followed by a longer discussion about where to put the briefcase. Then they both came downstairs, had their coffee and talked about locking the mudroom door so I couldn't open it. (The great thing about our house is my mom designed it and put these European door handles on the doors which any enterprising Dobe can learn to open by slapping with a paw and running forward.)

There was some more talk about another obedience class, but I grew tired and went to sleep wondering if more exercise meant agility class (not my favorite) or walks in the park (my favorite) or trips to the outlet stores (the very best!)

Warmer weather, longer days: Life is Good

One year old! I turned one on April 4 and that's not the only reason I like April.

The days are getting longer. Mom comes home has dinner, feeds me (I don't mind waiting, I usually get a small bit of meat and vegetables added to my Blue food) then its outside for as much frisbee as I can stand until I drop down for a rest. Then we come inside, get the leash and its out for our walk and obedience. 

The walking next to Mom thing - I'm getting used to it, but really, I wish she would let me lead. I try at the start of the walk now even though I know she is going to insist she is the Alpha dog but hey I have to keep her on her toes and test her everyday otherwise she might get complacent. You never want your alpha dog to get complacent so as number 2 (okay number 5 but the kids are out of the house and dad doesn't come on the walks so I can pretend) its my job to keep mom on her toes.

I'm not a big fan of the April rain, but the warmer days and the extra sunshine is wonderful. Mom says that if I like April wait until July and August. 

I had to remind her I'm a Dobe and Dobes take life one day at a time.

I think she's starting to get the idea.

The dog next door

I don't understand the Labradoodle next door. Actually, she lives behind us. A fence separates her yard from my woods. She comes outside and always trots over whenever she sees me outside. Then she stops about six feet from the fence and sits down.

Why doesn't she come up to the fence to greet me? 

She paces back and forth sometimes. Once, when the snow was over two feet deep she very...carefully... put one paw in front of the other...stopped... put another paw out, kept looking at the ground, and slowly...made her way to the fence.

We touched noses. We turned around and sniffed rear ends. We played all day running along the fence, stopping to sniff, then running some more. What fun!

The snow melted and she never ventures near my fence. She acts like she is afraid of the fence. My fence is just a wire fence - the kind you can see through. Deer fencing, Mom calls it. There are big squares about four inches wide in the wire.  There is plenty of room to stick your nose through and do a proper greeting, but my next door neighbor never comes close to the fence.

Mom says my friend doesn't come near my fence because the Labradoodle has an invisible fence that is about a foot away from my wire fence, but I know there is no such thing as an invisible fence. After all, I'm a Doberman and too smart to believe in invisible fences. 

When Mom's sick, it's a bummer

Mom's been sick for over a week with bronchitis.

Everyone else is trying to help me out, but no one else has the time to take me on runs, take me to Obedience class or take me to playgroup. Dad is trying - he takes me out to the backyard to kick around the Jolly ball, but he doesn't have much time because he has to work, then cook dinner, then clean up after dinner, then grade papers and in between help Mom.

Being sick stinks - even when it's not you that's sick.

Jolly Ball

This week Mom brought home a jolly ball to replace my soccer ball that is now a deflated piece of remnant leather. At first we all thought the Jolly ball would be Doberman safe, but it turned out that the jolly ball, which does not deflate as promised, is not alas, Doberman safe.

It felt good to sink my teeth into the Jolly ball. I liked to get the ball into my teeth and chomp down. I could carry the ball around in my moth and had a great time. However, one night in about 5 minutes I was able to chew off a small part of the handle. After that I was on a mission. Every chance I got I chewed on that hole until the entire handle was off!

The handle came off in small bits I couldn't choke on. And Mom never gave me the ball when I was alone to make sure I didn't get in trouble.

There is one good thing about not having the handle though - now the Jolly ball rolls much better. Jolly well, in fact! 

sitting in the corner

Well, its official - I've been kicked out of agility class. Mom tried to help - she took me to distracting locations to practice obedience. It helped - everyone said that I was great in obedience class. In fact, the teacher said I was the star of the class! But, sit me down in front of an obstacle, take off the leash and I turn and make a beeline over to the other dogs to play! Hey, I like dogs. After all, I am one!

Apparently this is not the point of agility class. 

Last week when I just wanted to play with the other dogs, my teacher banned me to the corner. I had to sit and stay on lealsh while everyone else got to do tunnels, jumps, and the other obstacles. 

Mom kept me to the side and we did obedience training - the entire time. It was okay. I got lots of treats. The trainer says I need to grow up some before trying agility again.

It the meantime we are doing obedience and that isn't bad. I'm really good at obedience class.

Ice, ice, ice

My backyard is nothing but solid ice. Ice makes running for frisbees hard. Mom is afraid if I run on the ice I'll get hurt, but I have lots of energy that I need to get rid of so I want to run.

Not only is Mom afraid of me getting hurt on the ice, she is afraid she'll fall on the ice. She comes down the stairs with slow, deliberate steps, clutching the rail. She is the alpha dog and I have to follow her. I want to dash in front of her, but no, she makes me stay behind.

Once on solid ground I run in circles but the circles have to be large because I need a lot of room to stop. With a big circle I can turn without getting my long legs all tied up and falling. I did fall once. My legs crumbled under me. Down I went. I slid fifteen feet before I hit the edge of the woods. Frozen pine needles stopped my momentum.

Balls don't bounce on ice they glide across the frozen snow. You can't practice agility on frozen snow. Mom says it is too cold to do obedience outside. (I hate the sit command on frozen snow.)

Winter. Snow falling is fun the first time it happens. I stood in the middle of the backyard staring at the falling white flecks in the moonlight, snapping and trying to catch each flake.

Snow was fun in December. Today is February 20. Snow melted and froze and now the backyard is hard. I can't run and I can't play. Snow isn't fun anymore.

The snow can go away now.

Exercise in the snow

I live in a home with over an acre to play in. You might think that would be enough exercise for a Doberman, but while free play is fun, it isn't real tiring exercise.

The streets around my house are salted. Mom thinks this isn't good for my feet and the town might not be using salt at all but chemicals. Mom hates chemicals on the street, so she refuses to walk me on the street. It doesn't help that she gets home after dark either which makes walks dangerous.

So we've started checking out parks every weekend. During the week we get exercise by going to agility class, obedience class and weekly playgroup. Well, that's three times a week. Better than nothing. Now Mom has added Saturday and Sunday walks in the parks.

First park we went to was Rocky Woods in Medfield. This was tons of fun. When I came home I was too tired for puppy testing but man did I feel good. Yesterday we went to Noon Hill and had the place to ourselves - except for some animal that seemed to be tracking us! I was nervous but Mom stayed cool so I figured hey - she's the alpha dog, let her protect me and I followed her lead. Guess what? We never saw whatever was making me nervous. It may have helped that Mom decided maybe I knew something she didn't and turned around. We'd been walking for an hour so she wanted to get to the car before sunset anyway.

I like parks.

Oh yes, and I did find something that is definitely Doberman safe! I'll blog about that tomorrow so Mom can upload a photo.

Winter in New England. I think Mom and I are getting the hang of it. (Just as it turns 50 degrees! Think I've been inside all day? You must not have a Doberman in your house!)

Its a long, cold winter.

Temperatures in the single digits and the Dobe wants to lie in the sunlight streaming through the slider. The sun is warm inside with the furnace on. Dark brown fur is warm in the sun spot, but short hair doesn't provide much protection outside where wind puts the wind chill factor at 4  below.

So what is a Doberman to do?

How about taking out pent up energy on your dog bed?

While mom and dad were at work, the doberman went after her crate bed. With the stuffing strewn around the kitchen floor, she next went after her Orvis donut bed. She ripped a small opening, but then resisted further damage.

It's been a long cold winter. The kind that is tough on Dobermans. And their beds. 

Snow tires out a Dobbie...

Alma's toy for Christmas (or one of them at any rate) was a new frog toy that "croaked." First, the frog made a recorded frog sound everytime Alma chewed on it which thrilled her. Then, with the determination possessed by every Dobie I've ever owned, Alma went after the device sewn into the frog to make the noise.

I never the left the dog alone with this toy knowing full well she couldn't resist chewing open the frog to get at the noise maker. Of course, this toy came with a guarantee that dogs could not rip open the toy.

Probably works for most dogs too, but the frog has been removed from the non-existent list of things Doberman's cannot destroy and joins the ranks of things that are not Doberman safe.

At first, I had false hope. Unlike the rest of the Christmas presents, the frog lasted about 2 weeks. The long tailed fox, (also guaranteed not to be chewed open,) lasted 3 days. I figure Alma just wanted to lure me into a false sense of security or maybe she liked the croaking and didn't want to ruin the toy. Curiosity prevailed and within an hour of the urge to find out what was making the croaking, the frog was reduced to a flat piece of ripped terrycloth.

You know where this is going...yes, the frog croaked - for the last time.

Walking the Doberman in the dark on cold nights

The sun sets about a half hour before I pull in the driveway from Monday through Friday. The air is cold with the smell of snow chilling my lungs when I throw the door shut and sprint from the Volvo into the house. A fire usually greats me with the smell of burning oak mixed with a warm dinner on the stove as the family has usually already finished eating by the time I arrive home.

My Doberman needs exercise. I know this. I knew this when I got a Doberman puppy, but I had forgotten about freezing January nights. The warm dinner beacons but the Doberman is desperate. Let one night slip without a walk and we all pay.

Today was my daughter's birthday. Last night she had a house full of friends spend the night for a sleepover. Last night I didn't walk the Doberman, being sidetracked by all the activity related to the early birthday celebration. We paid.

This morning we found a bra chewed into bits of shredded foam. It belonged to one of the girls sleeping over. I had to wake her with the bad news. Of course, it was her favorite bra.

"Don't worry," I volunteered. "We'll go to Victoria Secret and I'll pay for a new one."

The offer was accepted with no hard feelings, thank goodness. The cost of a replacement bra: $42.00.

I arrived home from work tonight to find my husband holding a handful of shredded plastic. The remains of the Sony TV remote control. Yes, we paid.

So what did I do when I entered the house and saw the handful of plastic? I put on the dog's sweater and coat and leach and backpack and took the dog for a walk. She was beside herself with joy. I was freezing but soon got into the training myself. Every day we seem to make a bit more progress on getting Alma to walk beside me rather than in front of me.

When we got home, Alma still had energy left. So we did some obedience training. Alma is learning to carry and drop newspapers in my lap. We then played for a while. Today being my daughter's birthday my husband, daughter and I went out to eat. We were all a bit fearful of what might greet us when we got home.

We peered in the door to see what new disasters might be found. There in the middle of her bed we found a tired, happy Doberman with one eye open who slowly rose, stretched, yawned and collapsed back down, her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the bed.

Exercise. You really can't skip it if you have a Doberman puppy. If you do you'll pay.