Hooligan House just uploaded a video to You Tube that we think you will find interesting. In it, Duke uses “neutral” body language signals to let Maggie know he doesn't want to play. She’s very persistent and doesn’t give up right away. First, Duke yawns, then he turns his body away from her, then he "freezes", and at last he yawns again. Through it all, his tail is wagging to let her know it isn't that he doesn't like her, he just doesn't feel like playing right now. When she finally gets the message, Maggie lies down and yawns too. “Okay, be boring then!”
This is classic silent dog communication and it’s the kind of thing I look for when I am doing canine temperament evaluations.
Noah’s Park is all about PETS! This year, we have added a new activity that we know you and your furry companion will be excited to join. Best of all, ANY pet can participate. Look through the categories below and see which one you want to enter your pet in for fun and prizes. Then, email Muriel Donald: howlinghooligan@gmail.com to register! Or, you can sign up at Noah’s Park on the day of the event!
Precious Pets Contests – (Opposable Thumb trophies)
CATEGORIES:
Wildest Wag (dog) – This dog wags the entire body, not just the tail. Be sure to put your valuables out of harms way!
Best Kisser (dog) – Slurp slurp slurp. This dog has kissing down to a fine art. He focuses his entire attention on making sure your face is completely laved with love.
Best Vocal Performance (dog or cat) – Whine for a treat, Sing an aria, Bark his excitement, Yodel for attention, Mew for tuna or Howl with his pack. This pet’s talent raises the roof.
Cutest Kitty (cat) – This kitty just makes your heart melt. Pretty is as Kitty does!
Best Smile (dog) – Does your dog laugh, grin or smile from ear to ear? Showing all your canine teeth isn’t always a bad idea.
Pet/Owner Look-alike (all pets) – dressed alike, same color fur or same colorful attitude? Do your friends think you and your pet are twins?
Longest Tail (dog or cat) – Is your pet careful around rocking chairs? We’ll be using a tape measure for this one!
Shortest Legs (dog) – The seven dwarfs had nothing on this dog! Her legs might be the shortest but they get the job done!
Least Obedient (dog – because all cats would be winners) – This dog loves ya, baby, but does things in his own time, at his own speed and only at his own desire.
Most Mysterious Heritage (dog) – Her family lineage might include a Lab, a spaniel, a shepherd, a poodle AND a bulldog. How many dogs contributed to your pet’s mix?
Most Glamorous (all pets) – Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Just fetch me that bone, that can of sardines, or cover me with gorgeous bling!
MOST ENTERTAINING (tricks) (all pets) Does your lovable critter have the Pet X Factor?
Judges:
Jo Anne McKnight (Reporter – Mobile Press Register)
Dr. Marcia Martin (Veterinarian – The Holistic VeterinaryCenter)
Barbara Robinson (Veterinary Technician - Animal ER & Holistic VeterinaryCenter)
Mother Nature, who supplies everything we need to be happy healthy Hooligans.
Awhile back we mentioned using phosphorous to help dogs that are fearful during thunderstorms. Some of you wrote us asking what other homeopathic remedies should be in your Doggy Medicine Pouch, so here are a few that Mom wouldn’t be without.
First, because we Hooligans are always sticking our big black noses into places that smell really interesting, Mom keeps APIS. Anydog that gets stung by a bee or hornet at our house is gonna get some Apis.
She also keeps ACONITE and ARNICA for general stuff like fearful situations and fever. HYPERICUM is for puncture wounds (because ya never know what might happen while a Hooligan is hunting in the woods) and places on our bodies that hurt for no obvious reason. NUX VOMICA is for when we, well, vomit or have constipation. She gives us NUX VOMICA if she thinks we need to get rid of something nasty that we’ve eaten. Like a narmadillo innard or an old rat head that Buddy left under the deck last week.
PHOSPHOROUS you already know about because of thunderstorms. But it also helps with diarrhea.
Jack gets RHUS TOX for his arthritis. When his ACL was torn a few years ago, he took RUTA GRAV.
Of course, Mom always takes us to the vet as soon as she thinks we need have any kind of problem and she says you should do the same with your dogs. Homeopathic stuff can get the healing started before you get to the vet, though, and it makes us feel good that Mom has a medicine kit just for us. Dad? He knows his place in the hierarchy. All he gets is aspirin.
AAARRROOOOOOOO!
WANT TO KNOW HOW TO ADMINISTER HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES TO YOUR DOG?
The following excerpted article comes from Healthy Pet Journal. A hyperlink follows the excerpt, so that you can read the entire EXCELLENT article.
Administering Homeopathic Remedies Homeopathic remedies are best given at least 20 minutes before or after a meal. Ideally there should be no food residue in the mouth. Drop the liquid directly into the animal’s mouth or on the gums. Liquid remedies are preserved with alcohol and some animals, especially cats, can be sensitive to the odor or taste. To remove the alcohol you can drop the dosage into a small vial or shot glass and let it sit out for 15-20 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Alternatively, drop the dosage into a small amount of heated water to speed the evaporation of the alcohol, and then use a dropper to administer the diluted remedy. This will not affect the potency of the remedy. Pellets can be crushed and emptied into the animal’s mouth with a small piece of paper rolled like a funnel or folded into a small envelope. Avoid feeding raw garlic during homeopathic treatment.
Some animals may be resistant and not accept the remedy. In this case you can give the dose in a small amount of food, water or milk. It is best to evaporate the alcohol before putting it in the food or liquid. This may affect the potency of the remedy, but will not necessarily render it ineffective.
For acute injuries, trauma, and illnesses the remedy can be given every 15 minutes for the first hour, reducing to every 30 minutes for the next hour, then to once in the third hour. This may be all that is needed to stimulate the healing process and resolve the imbalance. If needed, subsequent doses can be administered 1 to 3 times daily. In non-acute illnesses administration 3 times daily is the general recommendation. Once the symptoms resolve, reduce the frequency of the dosage to twice per day and then to once per day. If symptoms reappear, increase the dosage again and maintain at 2-3 times per day for another 10 to 20 days and gradually reduce the dosage again. If symptoms reappear again, then the remedy being used may not be the proper choice or there may be diet or environmental issues that have not yet been properly addressed.
Individual remedies prescribed by a veterinarian may be dosed differently and instructions should be followed carefully.
I am inquiring about the Airedale Terriers you have that are believed to be from Alabama. National Airedale Rescue has volunteers around the country and I am the contact person from Alabama.
Would you mind telling me how the dogs got from Alabama to New England? We try to keep track of all the surrenders in our state, but sometimes a dog will slip through the cracks of our procedures. We would love to have them back in our state if they are Alabama dogs, if that is something you are open to doing. We have approved families waiting to adopt.
Any information at all you can give me about these dogs will be much appreciated.
Thank you!
THEIR RESPONSE
I am angry about “breed rescue groups” that only care about their chosen breed. The shelter I volunteer with has contacted breed rescue groups several times and they always say they will only take the dogs if they are purebreds. Sometimes we have no idea if they are (purebred), but I am sick of the breed rescues that think the breed belongs to them and will fight me tooth and nail to get them, but if they are not perfect they will not take them.
MY ANSWER
Hi Michelle,
It’s sad that you have had bad experiences with breed rescue groups. I also do work with local groups who rescue all dogs, not just specific breeds, but because I love the Airedale Terrier personality and drive, I have chosen to help that breed as much as I can. Actually, mixed breed dogs are often easier to place than breeds like the Airedale, because mixed dogs are not usually as high maintenance and they tend to fit better into the average family. Mixed breeds also tend to be healthier than many pure bred dogs today because of unscrupulous breeders who breed solely due to the popularity of a certain dog, in hopes of making a lot of money. That kind of breeding too often results in unhealthy dogs with weak temperaments that should never be sold as pets to unsuspecting consumers. These dogs inevitably either bite someone or their medical bills become too great for a family to handle and so the dog gets surrendered to a shelter where their adoption possibilities are slim to none. Biting dogs are not ever supposed to be re-homed so those are put down almost immediately.
You are probably aware that Airedale Terriers are high energy working dogs that, if not given jobs to do, can quickly turn into aggressive behavior problems. It can be difficult to find adoptive families for Airedales, once people actually do the research and learn what might be facing them on down the line. I have 3 Airedales of my own, two of whom can never be re-homed (one due to biting and one due to aggression issues), and I have two mixed breed dogs that my husband and I rescued from grievous situations. One is a pit bull mix and one is a lab-beagle mix. Both of these have turned out to be the sweetest babies I could ever have hoped to find. It would have been easy to find homes for them, but we fell in love with them and adopted them ourselves.
So that’s why I work with Airedale Rescue and I imagine that’s why other breed rescues have to ask, “Is this a purebred dog?” I just know that often a hard breed like this needs different handling than a mixed breed dog does and I want their adoptions to be as successful as I can help make them.
In addition to being in rescue, I am a dog trainer, and a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the AKC. I make sure that all dogs I take in are trained to that standard before they are placed in a new home.
You asked how I heard about the ones you have: I comb the Internet for Airedales in need of rescue and adoption. I do wish you success in your work.
We are finally getting some good weather here in south Alabama: lows in the low sixties and highs in the low eighties. We are spending more time outdoors and as you can see from this photo, I have plans to inspect and patrol every square inch of our back yard, all weekend long. Hope you enjoy your weekend, too!
As a follow up to yesterday's blog about Grady, I wanted to explain a bit about why I did the things I did with him and why I thought they would work. I use different techniques with different dogs, according to what I think might be helpful.
Most times, a trainer can go with conventional thinking because most dogs are not as severely traumatized as Grady has been. He is afraid of everything and everyone. Insistent, repetitive or harsh/coercive training will only shut Grady down more. I felt that he needed a shake-up of energy.
That's not a credible, scientific way to express it but I have many tools in my training kit. And I have one very big tool that most people don't have. I live with terriers. I have lived with terriers most of my life. I know what terrier behavior is supposed to look like.
Terrier behavior is supposed to be arrogant, playful, sarcastic, selectively affectionate and, most of all reactive and curious.
So, what I intuitively felt needed to happen with Grady the other night was for me to catch him off guard and do some things that would pique his interest. He wasn't expecting to sit at the dining table and be hand fed steak as an appetizer, and he certainly wasn't expecting to be rocked and sung to (his poor ears, I am not known for my muscial ability). So he was surprised and that surprise kind of knocked him out of his learned, fearful behavior and when he saw his own dinner plate, his appetite and interest had been stimulated and he went right over to eat even though there were five strange people in the room.
That's all I did. Next time we go to see him, I am going to take a small playful jack russell terrier with me to show Grady what being a feisty terrier looks like. I'll keep you posted. I hope you'll keep your fingers crossed for us.
Hey! Y'owl remember awhile back one of our Readers wrote us about the rescued Westie that was so traumatized and skeered from being abused that he wouldint come out of the corners? And he wouldint eat his dinner anywhere but in his crate? And Mom wrote back to the lady with some suggestions for the little fella?
Last weekend, Mom and Dad went to meet Grady. They stayed a long time and let him get used to having strangers in the house. He wouldint come out of his crate so Mom went in and got him. Yes, she did. And she held him in her lap and fed him some bits of well done steak from her dinner plate. She also put some butter on the top of her hand and let him lick it off while she taught him the word "kiss". Pretty soon, Grady was licking Mom's hand and arm everytime she said "kiss" even if there wuzzent any butter there to lick.Then she took him in the living room and rocked him on her shoulder and sang "there was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o".
The Westies' hoomans thought Mom was whacked.
After awhile, though, Mom brought Grady back into the kitchen and told his man 2-legged to fix Grady's supper and put it in his bowl. The man did. Mom picked up the bowl and set it and Grady down on the floor near the dining room table. Then Mom sat down at the table and started talking about the weather. The man said, "He won't eat it."
Mom said, "Wait". She kept the conversation around the table going for a coupla minutes and then without changing the tone of her voice, she motioned for the man and woman to look at Grady. Then Mom took this picksure of Grady eating in the kitchen from his bowl for the first time.
Duke has received quite a few requests for our easy cheesy cookie recipe. We found it somewhere on the world wide web. I can't remember where it was, so I can't give proper credit to the originator of the cookie. If you see it somewhere else, please let me know so I can cite her or him. I use rice flour when making these treats for a bake sale because many dogs are allergic to wheat flour. Here's the recipe. Happy Baking!
THE INGREDIENTS
2 cups of rice flour
1 and 1/4 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of olive oil
approx 10 tablespoons of water, added slowly
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except the water until mixture forms a dough.
Add the water tablespoon by tablespoon if necessary, until dough is a good texture.
Roll the dough out onto a floured board until it is about 1 inch thick.
Cut out shapes with a cookie or with a knife.
Put in oven on non-stick baking tray for 15 minutes.
Let cool completely before storing in an air-tight tin.
These treats may be frozen for up to a week.
Remember to expect your dog to sit politely when she or he asks for a treat.
It was a good day. And Mom even made enuff treats to take to the dog adoption bake sale tomorrow. Their name is SOUTHBARK. I think I wrote something about them awhile back. Do you remember?
They are still trying to raise enuff $$$ to buy a van to transport rescued dogs from all over Alabama to forever homes. I wonder how many treats we will have to sell to do that?
A guy named Lee came to visit us last weekend. I didunt meet him but he brought lots of rain and wind with him. He also brought thunder.
Lee was at our house for three days doing all that. Me and Jack stayed in our thundershirts the whole time. Sunday afternoon, that wind and rain and thunder were really really crazy-bad. Jack was okay but my thundershirt wuzzent enough for me. Mom had to go into her dog medicine cabinet and get ½ an Ace to give me in a piece of hotdog weiner. She duzzent give the entire pill becuz that makes us zombies. But ½ the pill helps us settle down and sleep.
So anyway, she gave me the pill and in a few minutes I went in my crate and took a nap. Dad said I look drunk in the pikshure. I don’t care. When I woke up, Lee and all his noise were gone. We have lotsa rain puddles to play in and lotsa mud to roll around in. PLUS! Possums & narmadillos & wood rats are coming in our yard from the woods becuz of the rain and me and Buddy and Maggie are having a blast with them. They can run but they can’t hide! Oh, and that torn up barbecue grill in the corner of the back deck? Not My Fault. Dang ole rat shouldunt have tried to go inside it.
My dog Toby is sixteen months old and is starting to exhibit some aggression toward other dogs. He has been to obedience school and he has been neutered and he usually loves other dogs. But last night when we went out the door to go for our walk, a woman was walking a mastiff (or some dog that size) down our street. The dog didn't even break stride; he barely glanced at Toby. But Toby went ballistic, barking and lunging. He was pissed off, big time, in an instant. He hurt himself three times with the prong collar before I got him under control, and the pain didn't even slow him down.
He did the same thing one night when we were walking him and my sister’s dog, Molly, (though it was easier to bring him out of it that night) a few weeks ago. And I could be wrong, but I think it was a man with the same dog. Both times, the dog was very large (like a mastiff) and light colored. We just figured it was because Molly was with us, and he was protecting his new friend. He's gone into that aggressive barking once before when a dog was walking past, so I guess he could be getting territorial about the yard, but I’m worried. Do you have any thoughts on this?
Thanks!
C.B. in San Antonio
Dear C.B.,
Is the mastiff an un-neutered male?
There is a really important factor going on in dogdom that often catches unwary dog owners by surprise. You may have the friendliest, best behaved canine companion in the world, that you are proud to take to hospitals and nursing homes and schools.... And then all of a sudden, up walks an un-neutered male dog throwing off that dratted TESTOSTERONE scent and your Canine Good Citizen goes bark biting crazy.
It happens all the time.
If you happen to know that an approaching dog might be throwing off that scent, the best thing to do is to make a turn and walk Toby in another direction. But if it's a shaggy dog, or you are walking at night and it happens, just do your best to keep Toby moving until you get past the annoyance. The worst thing you can do is to chastise Toby or raise your voice or yank on his collar because those actions would be a form of reward to him and he will repeat the behavior the next time he sees another dog. IGNORE the unwanted behavior and move past it as quickly as possible. When Toby stops growling - barking - lunging, then it's time to give him a general command (such as "sit, shake hands") and reward him with a treat or a kiss or a back scratch.
You might also try the homeopathic remedy phosphorus. It covers several of issues including the aggression, fear, fear of storms, diarrhea and tummy upset, etc. Hopefully, with work and exercise and taking him to a doggy day camp once a week so that he can play with well socialized, obedience trained, neutered dogs, you'll get Toby's reaction to the mastiff under control.
There's nothing you can do about your neighbor and his un-neutered dog except shake your head in disbelief.
I hope this helps!
Mom of Hooligans
(Did I mention that I am a professional dog trainer? I am an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator because I had to get professional to be able to deal with a houseful of Hooligans. And I love it!)
