Fur Family

If it weren’t for the dogs, I could just close the house and go for as long as I like, but there are five depending on me. I planned to be dog less so I could travel, but these dogs bark at strangers in the night. Many days I talk and they listen; these days they’re the only ones who do. We’re friends, so I provide for them when I travel.

About ten years ago, when Kirt and I bought the house in PuertoRico, we fed dogs that came and went; only Stormie, the border collie stayed. A couple of years later we returned to be greeted by Blondie, who was then a young adult of at least a year, probably a year and a half.

Every trip to Puerto Rico for a few years we were welcomed home by Blondie and Stormie, and then someone in a big SUV dumped Chi in front of the neighbor’s house. Every year other dogs migrated past our door. Kirt never didn’t have a problem with feeding the strays, but had philosophical discussions about what was our problem and what is the island’s problem; and he was as kind hearted a man as I’ve ever meet.

We left the world of pure bred champion dogs behind in Illinois, said farewell to cold weather and life with dogs as the epicenter, but now, we had two Puerto Rican street dogs going with us to New Orleans. Blondie and Chi loved the Big Easy; raccoons under a house were way better than squeaky toys, but for a new invention, the leash, they’d have a raccoon for doggie games.

In the last months of Kirt’s life Lucky and Robert Redford appeared in the same week. Kirt and I agreed we needed a couple of boys to balance the girl-boy ratio.  Along came Lola with marks of physical abuse still visible, her feet swollen giving her a sadly endearing gait.  Before he died, we had a family of five fur kids.

Here I am almost three years later with my family of five.    

Feeding Puppies Living Down the Lane

Saturday is my day to do nothing or clean house, whatever comes first. My dogs and I enjoyed chicken livers for lunch. We had our feet up on the porch doing nothing, when I thought about the puppies.

With all the wonderful animal advocates on the island these babies may have been rescued already; I wondered, but mixed a tray of kibble with a coating of liver, yum, just in case.   

  

They ran around my car barking, clearly excited to see the food I bring, and then scurried into the hole in the fence for safety.

I’m guessing that the only time they’ve been handled is when the culprit snatched them from their mom for a car ride to the country.

Lovely Larita

If anyone will catch them again, they need some pleasant time with a human, so I toss liver soaked kibble at their feet. They still act as if they don’t know what kibble is and they hesitate to eat, but soon they gobble what I toss a safe distance. Tossing and talking. Tossing and talking; gradually they calm in my presence, but are far from trusting to the point where I realized they are in a fear period of development. Since I know a thing or two about puppy development, I spent more time tossing and talking before putting the food trays down.

Moselle watching.

Curly leaning into the dish.

Frightened little puppies leaned into the food dish as if something would grab them. I left so they could finish their meal in peace.

In the rear view mirror I saw a couple of the Counselor Ridge Crewe crouching towards the food. These are dogs so betrayed by man that I can’t get near.

Puppy Behavior Eight Week Maturation Point

Darla entered her first fear period today, her normally up, wagging tail in a position seldom, if ever seen on her before, neutral. My little girl must be about right weeks old for this stage of development. About three weeks ago I found her in a bucket along the side of the road.

Today she no longer bounds straight up to me, but approaches obliquely, making an arc in her travel to approach me from the side. Her wide eyed puppy innocence is gone. As she nibbled out the bowl, I walked by and she circled with a piece of kibble in her mouth, which is reminiscent of Chi-Ping’s behavior with me, when she first came. She also exhibits watchfulness of the surroundings that I’ve just seen her do in the last couple of days. Our group has remained stable, nothing outward has happened to influence her behavior.

Witnessing puppies enter this maturation phase before was probably more chaotic with people and dogs, me being busy, and most of all other puppies. What surprises me the most is the suddenness of the shift; yesterday she was the quintessential idiot puppy, today she’s caution girl.

Protect her from big scares during this time was my first thought. Today is Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico, which means parandas or parades and here it came right down our road, loud, pulsating, horns blaring, whistles blowing loud, loud. I went to the door in time to see Darla running to the back side of the house to get away. I called her to the door which meant she had to come back towards her fear. To my surprise she scurried into her safe house, where she calmed and stood at the door. Gone are her puppy forward ears, unless focused, she’s pretty much carried them to the side. This is a change for her.

Like you, I love watching dog behavior. I’d love to hear your stories and comments on this maturation point.  

Puppy in the Road by ChiPing

Returning home from the U.S. Post Office on this fine December morn, mom stopped on the scenic route over the hill, where she sits looking at the lake and the mountains, but today she got out of the car; mom never gets out of the car on this narrow road, there isn’t enough room. If a car came in the other direction, we’d have to back down to a safe place to pull over.

Blondie and I try to jump out the window to see what’s going on, if it was open a just a wee bit more. Mom bent over in front of the car; what’s wrong mom? She wobbled around, going from side to side of the car. I heard a puppy squeak; open that window I’m coming out. Blondie and I got so excited, we started barking. Mom got back in with a big white bucket that smelled of puppy. Puppy, what are you doing with that puppy in the car? Let’s see it! Blondie and I jostled to get into the front, but mom ordered us back; she doesn’t yell, she doesn’t have to, she does the tone that goes with the look that says, “You don’t want to see the look that froze Medusa,” so we settled in the back until we got home.

Robert Redford and Lucky raced up the driveway before us. We barked the news of the puppy. When mom opened the door the boys tried to pile in the car. She slid out with the bucket before the boys could figure out what happened, mom and the puppy in the bucket were in the house.

We ran from window to window hoping to hear what mom was doing to the puppy. We don’t need another mangy puppy; take it back now. Later, the damp puppy placed in the grass smelled of the wonderful liver veggy pate we had on our kibble last night. You didn’t give that little cur our liver pate, oh, no! How could you!

The puppy tried to suckle Blondie, who acted like somebody gave her a jolt of maternal hormones. She was on her side; this little rat was going to suckle her. When teeth touched the tit, she came to her senses. The crazy pup tried to suckle Robert Redford. That naughty boy laid on his back, like suckle all you want. He flew upright when the five week old introduced him to puppy teeth.  She reminds Lucky of his sister, who died, so he’s in love with this critter.

Not being so enamored I kept my distance, when this idiot pup checked me for milk. My snapping teeth found their mark, the puppy shrieked and, now, you know, so did mom. Banished for brutality, me; can you believe it!

Wait, tonight we’ll be getting less liver veggy pate; you’ll see.  

Upset About Puppies Thrown in the Road by Chi-Ping

What’s the matter with Blondie? Doesn’t that big yellow bitch know we’re supposed to be on guard? They could come from any direction; we must be alert. I run up and down this driveway with my tail high, so the world will know Chi-Ping is on duty, while Blondie lays on the porch under mom’s chair, yeah, I called her mom. The puppies have her distracted, always doing something bad.

Earlier Blondie was all full of canine in charge attitude, when we chased mongoose out of our territory. The second those smelly creatures slithered through the palm trees on the top of the hill we ran to meet them before they got to the banana tree grove. Make no mistake, we don’t want to catch them, it’s not worth the fight, but we want them out of smelling distance, plus it’s always fun to herd mongoose. Stormy taught me how; he was a Border Collie Sato, who taught the ropes of being an island dog to all the dogs that were dumped on the hill. Blondie and I think of him sometimes when we’re out chasing or catching.

As we headed back to the house, the white pickup truck that killed Stormy came barreling down the road. Blondie still charged from the chase, charged after this enemy. Blondie went so fast that she got in front of the truck nipping at the tires. Blondie, that’s how they get you, but she doesn’t care. She hates the truck that killed Stormy. With all the running, we’re hungry.

Mom has the puppies in the yard doing the two p’s, pooping and peeing. I wish I’d learned that was I was a pup. It’s so hard to remember. As soon as mom sees us, she smiles. We got right in for the breakfast of two important protector dogs.

I haven’t forgotten to finish telling you about my time in New Orleans. It’s just that with these puppies getting my food I’ve been upset, so I’m guarding the road in case any more critters try to find their way to my door.

Frankie, Fearful Sato Puppy

A twelve week pointer, maybe pit mix, is coming to visit because he is an under socialized, scared baby boy that will poop and pee all over, when you come too near. Pick him up at your own risk. He bites as hard as he can, or so said the lady with the bruises.


Frankie had a nice young man named, Domenic, give him some quality time when Frankie was in the imprint stage, so this isn’t Frankie’s first kiss. Or bite for that matter.

I did some ttouch on Frankie the first day I met him with grand results; thank you Linda and Robin, my teacher. After Ttouch, Frankie began coming out of Domenic’s room where he was hiding. I never tire of seeing what those little ttouch circles produce. Linda Tellington Jones’ work is inspired.

Little Frankie’s eyes bulge out of his head with an overwhelmed expression. Bonita, who had seen her siblings stomped to death, had a similar look. In spite of loving contact during the imprint stage this puppy is overwhelmed and fearful, so it’s either circuitry or the poor baby was part of something he couldn’t handle. I won’t even try to imagine.

I have six weeks to work with him before I head to Trinidad for the 2013 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference. If everything comes together Frankie can go to a forever home then, if not we’ll adapt to that reality.

Our girls, Blondie and Chi-Ping are blossoming in every way possible. My smart “Sato” girls are doing mostly what they want with coming in & out of the house. These confident girls don’t even wake if we drop something near them. If I don’t have treats on me, it’s mixed and variable if they’ll do what I ask. Confidence, not obedience has been my goal, since adopting them. I’ve thrown a big world at these two country dogs.

Dominance or more food will NOT be used in the next phase of deepening the relationship with my girls. I’m going to use what women have used since the drawn of time, jealousy. Yes, I know our scientists say that animals aren’t jealous; they just protect resources. I say that’s wrong envy and jealousy began in the lower species. It’s not a higher trait. Using my theory my girls will be so focused on me by the time Frankie goes.

Oh, heaven, I feel so trashy saying manipulation is the higher trait. Each dog is a learning experience, so I invite you to follow along and comment. Regards, Tricia

Discarded Puppies at Beach in Isabela, Puerto Rico




Not a Pitbull, I am house elf; Doby is my dad.

 



May I say, I am sad                                                                                            
 that you don't see the resemblance!                                                                              

  

Princess Leia here thinks my father was Yoda.                                                                   





She just starts rubbing on me talking about one with the force;                                                                                
 I'm not sure what she means, but why try to fight  it.                                                                                         

  

PAWS, Puerto Rican Animal Welfare Society Adoption Day

The smiling lady holding the puppy is Evelyn Ramos, who lead the team of volunteers. Evelyn has run this adoption event for seven years. Her day begins gathering equipment and bathing puppies. She knows all about the personalities of each puppy, who's outgoing, who's shy and needs more social time. This program is a success because of Evelyn's expertise. 

Mercedes, the charming lady in the foreground has a quick eye for what's going on and how to best help Evelyn. 

Crowds gather all afternoon. Everyone wants to see and maybe hold a puppy. People passing have their stories of how many dogs they, many adopted right here.The kids held the puppies gently. The best part was the more the puppies were held, the more they clamored to get out and be held. PAWS is a no kill shelter affiliated with the Pet Vet, both are in Isabela.

http://www.pawspetspr.org 

 Their good work needs support.

Socializing Puppies With People

Raising the perfect dog takes planning. 
The early weeks with a new puppy are consumed with socialization to this big world. If we want our dog to be comfortable with something, the pup must meet it.
Meet & greets with children of as many age groups as possible are important. When we go to the park with a puppy, it becomes a child magnet. The important part is supervising the activity. A child, who is afraid of dogs may put their hand out to pet the puppy only to pull it back triggering the pup to try to grab the child's hand in its mouth. After a few times of that you end up with a pup that grabs kids hands. This is important to my dog's future, so when I come across a child who is afraid; I think it is better to move on with my puppy.
It's a valuable lesson for puppies to learn to run with children, so they don't chase them later. This means running with one child and groups of kids.
Dogs need to be comfortable around people in wheel chairs or who walk with canes. Now is the time for meet & greets. I find that if we take the pup to the bicycle path, exposure to people on bikes covers the wheel chair situation rather well.
Our puppies go to greet people in the parking lots of super markets. The more types of people a puppy meets, the better. I don't want my dog to bark at men in hats because my puppy never met any. We don't smoke, so I've seen my dogs curl their lips when a smoker reaches out to pet them. Try explaining to someone that the dog wasn't growling at them, but just didn't like the smell of their hand.
Summer outdoor concerts, sports events, fourth of July fireworks are great places to go to get a puppy to learn that it can handle this great big world.
We like our dogs to be able to go with us as many places as they are allowed.
Well socialized puppies make well behaved dogs.

Early Learning K9 Style

For a good beginning the litter should be together with mom or a surrogate for a minimum of seven weeks. Around five weeks when the litter is eating well, I would remove mom. There is no need for the pups to continue to nurse.


The best surrogate we ever had was a male Rottweiler named Spunky. He would even get into the whelping box when the moms were out to potty. He stimulated the neonates. Spunky was the best Mr. Mom.

Spunky was a fun dog who would offer a fire hydrant a play bow. Over his life time Spunky was surrogate for our litters as well as clients. Rottweiler, Bullmastiff and Giant Schnauzer puppies raised by Spunky all gave lots of play bows. Coincidence???

The Puerto Rican island puppies that make it are very street smart. They learn early who their friends are and the hostilities of their world. The learning curve here is very steep or they don't make it.

After weaning, in the independent feeding stage is where we start to see the differences between our pets and the satos/island dogs.

At four to five weeks the litter will stay where mom tells them. A few weeks back a pretty spaniel cross approached me in the parking lot of our local bakery. Her litter waited in a nearby field as she returned with a crust of bread.

I have never seen a pet dog control her puppies that well. They don't have to, my girls knew it.

While the satos are learning about the three resources, our pets are learning how to play. The dogs here play with each other; our dogs have toys.

Our puppies grew up in an enriched environment. Our puppies had a 15 x 60 foot play yard with an old tractor tire 1/2 buried on its side. The center was filled with sand. Another tire on rim was 1/3 buried so they could go under and around. My husband made a low swinging bridge and a little rocker board. There was a little platform a few inches above the ground.

Post weaning, dogs require a lot of experiences. The Puerto Rican island dogs have their world in their face every day. Our dogs rely on us to introduce them to their world.

Time To Take The Puppies

Oh, what a day it's been. I woke up congested & coughing. My body always gives me a hard time when I must do something I don't want to do. So I feel like hell about taking Blondie's not yet five week old puppies away from her. I can hardly breathe. It would be so nice to go back to bed, yuck.


Blondie and I observe our morning greeting ritual. Dogs are so ritual oriented, if we people would get that, relations would improve across the board. I feel like as dirt bag traitor thumping this mommy while planning to whisk her children away. Her ears are soft and submissive. I playfully grab her tail; she gently puts her teeth on my hand. I remove her mouth with my hand around her muzzle. She pushes her head into my hand so I'll rub her. We have such a good relation; we're girl friends. I feel awful.

Time to get on with taking the puppies to my friend Adri at Amigos de Animales, a rescue organization whose work I admire greatly. Adri will send the puppies to the states where they'll find good homes.

Four puppies are in the crate quickly, of course, the last puppy is well under the house. Must be a law somewhere.

In the animal control course in January the instructor talked about us going under houses to get animals. I remember thinking me, yeah right. Now here I am with that very situation. Heck, I haven't been under a house since I was a twelve year old in New Orleans. My twelve year old neighbor boy to the rescue; it's good to be twelve.

I held Blondie on a kennel lead while Manuel went under the house. She resisted only for a second, then settled in as if she knew. I almost hate that she is so connected to me. I could teach this dog to do just about anything. We have that special something. You don't get that with all dogs. It makes me want to keep her so much.

The puppies are quiet on the long drive to Isla Verde. My congestion clears up before we stop to check on Blondie's babies. Adri will keep the litter together with a nice adult; that's imperative for proper socialization. I am nothing if not a fanatic on puppy socialization.

We are heading to Illinois in three weeks so tomorrow Blondie and Bonita are being spayed. They need time to recuperate. Taking the pups away from her was so hard; what a baby I can be.

Getting Bonita and Blondie into crates is the fun yet to come. Wish us luck, later.

Babies & Stress

Thursday morning the neighbor lady invited me into her yard to view Blondie's colorful lot hiding under the house. My neighbor pat the ground calling them. Halfway under the house is a retainer wall, It is open in the center. The four little critters came to the opening, stood there and looked.at us.How big they are for three weeks.!
Blondie whelped the litter under a banana tree, then moved the pups to under the house a couple of days later. My respect for Blondie's mothering skills grows. They look perfect; can't wait to meet them.
Later in the morning my neighbor's great grand daughter visited with her husband and baby. Puerto Rican families visit frequently, so the dogs greeted them.
Later the baby got fussy, then cried so long I felt like going down there to see if everything was ok, of course, I didn't. It was probably colic, but it is hard to listen to a baby cry. It grabs every maternal fiber in your body. Blondie was pacing outside the door.
Often in classes I've told people to help their dog calm down, that stress makes a dog stupid. It is not an elegant way of putting it, but its true. They get a vacant, nobody home look in the eye, then their behavior changes.
Blondie started barking when the baby cried hard. She was upset.

In this picture Blondie is barking at me, something she has never done before. Look at how big her head looks. She is in complete protection mode, her stress level is soaring.

Blondie charged across the road and to the bottom of my driveway where she is standing in this picture. This girl is in full threat display. She has no idea that it is me she's confronting. Stressed out of her mind is what I thought as I took the photo.

Once within twenty feet of me, she recognized me. Her behavior became submissive. What emotions she was going through as she wiggled and whined, who knows.

How profoundly affected Blondie was by the stress of the baby crying is interesting. She was out of her mind, suppose I had done the wrong things. How long might it have been until she recognized me?

The implications for chronically stressed dogs, well that's a whole other story.

Have a good Sunday, we're going to a sato show.

Waiting to Meet Blondie's Babies

Blondie is away from her puppies more than any other canine mom I've known. With pups less than two weeks old hidden somewhere, Blondie lays around with Stormy and Bonita on our veranda. This amazes me because all the bitches I've known with one exception had to be encouraged to leave their puppies for more than a quick meal or potty break. Some insisted on meals in the whelping box. Napping with friends a couple hundred feet away seems lackadaisical.
She has been fed and watered, now it is time for attention. Blondie looks as if she wanted to jump into my lap. I am glad she decided against it. Blondie doesn't think too much; she's a basic I see it, I want it kind of girl. If there is a dog eating and another waiting for a turn, she will barge right up to the dish and stick her head in the bowl. She reminds me of a school yard bully I knew in grammar school, who used to say, "Everything, mine!" The back of Stormy's skull is bleeding frequently because she inforces her position vigorously.
I wonder if this communal nap time isn't a bonding strategy. It happens regularly enough that either its a bond reinforcer or she just misses her friends. Either way I am wondering where the pups are, so I go to my neighbor's to visit.
My neighbor speaks less English than I do Spanish, but we always manage to communicate. She takes me around behind her house, which is up on blocks on a steep incline. There is a small space behind a support wall. The rocks and rubble make it a place I won't be going any time soon. Blondie who had just been napping on my porch comes wiggling out from under the house.
Blondie gives me a big greeting even though I just left her. She circles my legs, then stands in between them. This gets my neighbor laughing. Blondie's tail wags even faster.
In less than two weeks the puppies will be open their eyes, so we'll have to wait for them to leave the den. When my dogs whelped litters we were in constant attendence. I'd like to have them on my porch where I can micro manage every detail, what did nature do without me! Patience is still difficult for me, oh well.
Blondie follows me back home and resumes her nap with Stormy and Bonita.

Sunset in San Juan

Sunset in San Juan is spectacular. The lagoon is indego, just enough light hits the palm trees to make them a golden green. The yellow lights twinkle like stars. Several preppies glide by in long rowing boats, then indeginous guy comes across the lagoon. Like a Puerto Rican prince, he glides over the water standing on a board that doesn't look any larger than a surf board. His slim hips and broad shoulders cut a fine siloette in the twilight. Each evening I see his effortless strokes as he solos to shore.
Our quaint hotel has a small balconey with our room. Sitting with my laptop I plan to do home work, but the warm breeze seduces my thoughts, which flit like the fluffy white clouds that turn pink at dusk
The shadow cast by one building on to a larger looks like at set from West Side Story The outline of what looks like a fire escape is so vivid I visualize Maria and Tony dancing out. Yeah, I know that was New York.
The Condado area along the ocean is some high end real estate, but I am a country girl, missing my home on the hill. Also miss my canine friends.
Blondie had her puppies at my neighbor's house, which begs the question; are they my neighbor's puppies? Iam planning to have the puppies adopted, mommy and last litter daughter spayed.
After sitting in class all day, a walk along the ocean is theraputic. The full moon reflected on the water, white caps crashing into shore makes me think; I am so glad I'm not in Illinois right now. Smile