Ottawa K9 School

The first dog my husband and I fostered, Simon, quickly became part of the family. We originally thought he had to put on a bit of weight, but we soon found out that it he was not just a skinny dog, he had cancer and little time left.  Everest, our dog, immediately became protective of him. When the time came to say goodbye to Simon,  I knew that Everest would be impacted by the loss of this gentle canine companion, so we gave him the opportunity to say goodbye. I truly believe that this helped Everest cope with his loss.

Yes, dogs grieve. They can grieve the loss of a canine, feline and human companion.

I recently lost my closest friend, Krista. She and her husband adopted Everest’s sister 4 years ago. During Krista’s illness, Dakota (that’s the dog) was especially gentle, patient, kind and loving. Normally active and sometimes even Hyper Active!, Dakota could sit quietly next to my friend for hours to provide a dependable  source of comfort and support.

I know that Dakota is grieving too.

So, how do you know if your dog is grieving? When a dog loses a family member or another canine companion, they may show you they are grieving by:

• losing interest in their favourite activities
• sleeping more than usual
• losing their appetite
• becoming disoriented
• becoming more clingy
• sitting by the window or door, waiting for the person’s return
• vocalizing more than usual
• becoming more quiet
• exhibiting behavioral changes

What can we do, to help a dog grieve a loss?

• Scent is very important to dogs. Keeping an item that smells of the departed can bring some comfort.
• Exercise can help. Take your dog for a long walk. It can help both of you.
• Road trips. Going somewhere? Why not take your dog with you if you can.

If you are grieving, dogs can be a great source of comfort. Just be careful not to use them as a shoulder to cry on. They need you, more than ever, to be a confident leader of the home.

WoW. It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. With a newborn, time slips by a lot faster.

While I was in my last trimester and my belly was obviously not a result of too much pizza and beer, the question I got asked the most often is: “Are you worried at all about your dogs and how they will handle the new baby?”.

My answer: yes … and no.  

YES because sometimes I thought that , as much as I can prepare them, there may be something I’ll have overlooked and not anticipated. 

NO because we are blessed with dogs that have a gentle, docile nature and have had a lot of exposure to young children.  

There is, however, a difference between exposing the dogs to children and bringing home a baby that will take up a lot of the attention the  dogs have been getting so far. 

The dogs will also have to ajust to living in a home with a new baby, lots of visitors and potentially in-laws who may (temporarily) move in.

When I was expecting, I followed some tips that I was given. Some were useful, others… not so much. Here are a few things we tried:

• We spent time in baby’s room and set boundaries right away. The dogs were allowed in by invitation only. This is not something I read anywhere, just something we decided to do. No regrets.
• I held a fake baby in my arms (I used a large teddy and put diapers on it). I spoke to, sang to, soothed, cooed at.. baby while ignoring the dogs. The point here was to get them used to seeing me pay attention to a little one while ignoring them. I did this for about a week, my husband never got around to it, and then we dropped it altogether. Honestly, I felt this was a waste of time. The dogs knew that the “baby” was not real.  With their super duper sense of smell, I can’t imagine that a teddy bear with a clean diaper has anything in common with a live baby in a dirty one… The only thing they noticed was that I had a new passtime, and they weren’t bothered by it much. “Whatever floats your boat, oh silly Human“, said they.
• We practiced, more than usual, basic obedience around the house. When you have a baby in your arms, you appreciate being able to reliably down/stay your dog, or send it to its mat, without touching it! This I highly recommend. If your dog doesn’t know any basic obedience, the Ottawa Canine School (www.ottawak9school.com) offers classes and private lessons
• We took a blanket with us when we went for the hospital tour and allowed dogs to sniff it when we came home.  This was another waste of energy, I think. Coming home with the baby is vastly different than coming home with a blanket. I’m not sure who came up with this idea, but it’s not a good one. Skip it.
• We taught the dogs that the stuffed animals were OFF LIMITS. We showed them the toys, and told them to Leave It. The toys were then put in different locations (on couch, on floor, on chair…) and when the dog approached, we repeated the Leave It cue. This was one of our biggest concerns, since Everest likes to “kill” stuffed animals. He learned quickly, however. Neither Everest nor Hemingway have touched any of the baby’s stuffed animals.
• We made plans for the dogs the day we would be bringing home the baby. Both Everest and Hemingway spent the night with friends, so that we could bring home our little boy then bring home the dogs. We decided to introduced baby to one dog at a time. Everest was first, Hemi’s turn was a few hours later. It worked beautifully.

Our baby is now 2 months old, and I must say that everything has gone very smoothly. Everest, the 1st to meet the baby was curious yet very gentle. He smelled my belly, then smelled the baby and looked at me with eyes that seemed to say “I got it. You had a puppy!”  Though Everest  mostly ignores the baby, his super sense of smell picks up on things faster than I do and he lets me know when a diaper needs to be changed (if I haven’t figured it out myself).  He smells the baby’s bum then looks at me with an “aren’t you going to do something about that?” kind of look. Hemingway was, at first,  just so happy to be back with us, I’m not sure he even realized there was a baby in the house.  He looked to us for direction on how to interact with this new being. He occasionally sniffs him but mostly, respectfully ignores him. 

If you are expecting, or have a little one at home and need help, contact us: (613) 296-3643 ottawak9school@yahoo.ca  We  have experience bringing home baby. We can help!

Must haves for your library:

The Culture Clash  - by Jean Donaldson

When Pigs Fly – by Jane Killion

Books by the following authors:

- Ian Dunbar

Happy Reading!

Read any good dog related books lately?  Please share!

Happy Thanksgiving! A time when many of you are cooking up a big ole turkey and sharing it with your family.

Be careful what you choose to share with your dog. Here is a short list of DOS and DON’TS…

  DON’T:
give your dog turkey skin. It’s high in fat, difficult for dogs to digest and can sometimes cause tummy troubles if it holds any of that yummy marinade and spices.

DO, instead:
give your dog a bite-size piece of bland white meat

DON’T:
give your dog any cooked bones. Also, make sure they are discarded where the dog can’t sneak them out of the trash when you’re not looking.
Cooked turkey bones splinter easily and can damage your dog’s insides.

DO, instead:
give your dog a dog appropriate treat to chomp down on. A raw bone, for example.

DON’T:
put any gravy or sauce on your dog’s regular food, thinking you are giving Rover “just a special treat.” Rover’s tummy is not going to enjoy the extra cream, salt, butter or unfamiliar ingredients even if his nose thinks he will!

DO, instead:
add a little broth.

DON’T:
give Fido leftovers from your plate instead of his regular meal.

DO, instead:
add a little mashed sweet potato (no butter or cream of course), a few cooked carrots and a small piece of white, bland, turkey meat. Plain pureed pumpkin is great for your dog. You can also save some of the cooked veggies or white meat as treats.

How about making your dog a Turkey loaf? Here’s a recipe I found at bellaonline.com

Turkey Loaf for Dogs

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1/2 cup cooked mixed vegetables
• 1 T. garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup barley
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup canned low-fat gravy

Preparation -
Grease a 9″ loaf pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey, vegetables, garlic powder, egg, barley and oats. Mix the ingredients together well and place the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Press the mixture to flatten and level, then use a table knife to cut a few shallow slits on top. Pour the gravy over the loaf and bake in a preheated oven at 350° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until nicely browned on top. Cool, then cut the loaf into about six slices. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil and store in the refrigerator. To feed – Break the slices into bite-size pieces.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another hard to watch video.  It’s just encouraging to know that many of these dogs DO have a future.  We adopted Hemingway, the Great Dane you see 11 seconds into this video.  We’ve had him a year now, and his Puppy Mill days are wayyyy behind him.

When you are looking into becoming a dog trainer, I recommend learning as much as you can about the different training methods that exist. If Brad Pattison’s techniques are appealing to you, he is offering a training course, in Ottawa.

**** from Bradpattison.com website *****
Brad Pattison’s Certified Educator Trainer course is a six-week intensive course which provides you with information and practical experience to better understand our canine friends.

The training is based on establishing oneself as the alpha in the “pack” that is created in any environment with a dog. Through the use of body language, little verbal communication and no treats, this course is what sets Brad Pattison’s apart from other ‘Dog Trainer’ courses in the industry.

The CET course is designed for people who wish to follow their passion and to help dog owners become better caregivers to the family pet. It does not dive into behavioral issues- one is not a behaviorist upon graduating from the course.

Each student is required to bring a dog to class. If your dog has aggression issues towards other dogs, it will not be permitted to accompany you to class.

Please note that we do not use any forms of masking such as treats, or pinch collars.

Start Dates:

2009

October 16th, 2009 – Ottawa, ON

Last night’s Going to the Dogs event was a success! What a great night.
It was my first time at the Rideau Carleton Racetrack. Being challenged when it comes to directions, I was concerned I might have a hard time finding the place, but getting there was much easier than I expected. There was plenty of free parking too, which was nice.
Sandy Benoît (of Canine Touch and Tell massage) was waiting for me at the entrance and together we easily found our way around and met up with the rest of the gang at the Ottawa Canine School table. It was also nice to see many familiar faces in the dog world, and meet a few new ones!

There were plenty of interesting and tempting items to bid on at the Silent Auction. I was outbid on the NAC tickets, but I won tickets for the Haunted Walk. Sandy won 18 passes for the Canadian Museum of Nature.

As for the buffet… my goodness… so much food. I am not a fan of all things breaded and deep fried, but found some yummy items to put on my plate. I seemed to be the only one at my table excited about the sprouts, chick peas and sunflower seeds. The battered, deep fried chicken wings were a turn off. Apparently the ribs were good and so were the meatballs. I tried the fish, which I thought was just coated with breadcrumbs but was battered and deep fried, which ruined it for me. Those chick peas were calling my name I gues, when you’re pregnant, some things just seem much more appealing than they would normally!
Dessert was ok. If you like cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream, crumble, mousse, cheesecake and tarts, you won’t be disappointed. It would have been nice to see more fruit.

All of us used the $2 vouchers to bid on horses. I bid on First Avenue and was so excited when he won! Wow, I won $2.80. We also had $5 voucher to play the slots, which I did not use. After a great evening, too much food, I was ready to retire to a quieter environment. I was happy to be Going  Home to the Dogs.

Looking for something fun to do this Friday evening?
September 18th will be the 4th annual Going to the Dogs Dinner and Race Night at the Rideau Carleton Raceway.

Tickets are $40
Therapeutics Paws of Canada, Aussie Rescue Placement and Helpline and Responsible Dog Owners of Canada will be the beneficiaries.

Your $40 ticket buys you dinner, valet parking, coat check, live racing, a complimentary race program, a $2 wager coupon, $5 coupon for the SLOTS, and fabulous door prizes. A silent auction and 50/50 draw will also be available

http://www.gttd.org/GTTD.html

This video is hard to watch – but keep in mind that these dogs have been rescued thanks to the SPCA. At about  2 min,30 seconds, you can see our boy, Hemingway. It’s hard to believe that he once lived in a Puppy Mill. He’s such a happy boy today.

Thanks to Hopeful Hearts, who helped some of the angels featured in this video.

This article (see below) is just shocking. I can’t imagine how deranged you have to be to see killing your dogs as an alternative to having them boarded. Obviously this man is not thinking straight! His lack of remorse is appalling. He lost his job… shouldn’t he also lose his right to own a dog?

Ex-firefighter who killed dogs wants job back

By Associated Press

POSTED: 10:56 a.m. EDT, Jul 30, 2009

COLUMBUS: A man is appealing to get back the Ohio firefighting job he lost after he was sentenced to jail for killing his dogs.

In his notice of appeal, David Santuomo tells the Columbus Civil Service Commission he feels he was unfairly fired due to public opinion and political pressure, not for job performance.

A hearing date has not been set.

Prosecutors said 43-year-old Santuomo didn’t want to board his two mixed-breed dogs while he went away on vacation so he shot them in his basement in December. Santuomo pleaded guilty last month to three misdemeanors, including two animal cruelty counts. He’ll begin serving his 90-day sentence in September.

The city’s public safety director dismissed Santuomo from the fire department on July 16.