ANAVENTURE!

TODAY we are going on ANAVENTURE! 


Me and Mom and Dad and GG are going to the pet supply store. It will be GG's first time there. She is going to get her toenails dremeled down. That ought to be fun! I can't wait to see what GG thinks about the dremel!

 AAARRROOOOOOOOO!!!!

GG contemplates the definition of "dremel"

THE "T" FACTOR: More Advice to the Dog Worn

Dear Mom of Hooligans,

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!)

How many Airedales does it take to make a Coincidence?

Abby will be here Wednesday afternoon!

She will spend the night with us and then go to the vet the next morning to be spayed. She’ll spend that night at the vet and then we’ll go pick her up on Friday. WE ARE JUST TREMBALING WITH EXCITEMENT! ‘Cause that’s when the shenanigans will begin.

But there’s sumpen odd that happened over the weekend, and us Hoolies do love a good mystery.

Abby’s real name is one that the breeder gave her and it is unusual so Mom thinks it has to do with the kennel where she was born. We are just calling her “Abby” because we think she looks like an Abby. Mom says we can’t reveal her real name so I’ll call it “Alakazam”. Here’s the coincidence:

Yesterday my groomer sent Mom a smartphone pitcher of an Airedale Terrier named Alakazam! She groomed her Saturday and said she’s sweet but hyper. (Well, NATCHERLLY she’s hyper! She’s a Hooligan!)

Mom just about fell out of her chair when she saw that pitcher. She said, Abby and this Alakazam are probly from the same kennel and might even be SISTUHS because they are about the same age. So she is gonna ask the grooming salon to ask Alakazam’s hoomans to phone us. Mom wants to try to find out this week where Alakazam was born because the more information she can get about Abby’s dog parents and where she came from, the better for the new forever family AND for Abby. Mom might even be able to get medical histories and all that stuff!

I don’t know why they need to do a telephone call to find out if Abby is related to Alakazam..
All they gotta do is let the girls sniff each other....

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

This is Alakazam

DON'T ASK

No pictures today, Mom says. But she wants you all, especially Maggie & Mitch, to know Buddy had anaventure last night. She said Maggie & Mitch gave him the idea. Buddy's gonna get anuther bath this afternoon, but it will be alot different than the one he got Sunday.

 

DOGGY DE-SKUNK RECIPE and DIRECTIONS:

1 quart peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid (I use Ivory Liquid because Dawn isn’t quite strong enough for this kind of problem)

Mix the above ingredients in a plastic bucket and sponge all over the dog. Mixture must be used immediately. Wash pet promptly and thoroughly, working the mixture deep into the fur. KEEP IT AWAY FROM YOUR EYES and YOUR DOG’S EYES.  Leave remedy on for about 5 minutes or until the odor is gone. Some heavily soiled areas may require a repeat wash & rinse.
For very large pets one quart of tepid tap water may be added to enable complete coverage. Rinse very thoroughly and dispose of all remaining mixture.


(p.s. it wasn't a skunk, it was anarmadillo. but it was dead so it smelled almost as good as a skunk. )

 

Sleepin' In

This is the way I like to spend rainy mornings.

Sleeping with one eye open

Tell it to the paw



Havin' Mom right where I want her

AAARRROOOOOOOO!    z z z z ....

WRAP ME UP!

Awhile back I mentioned that ever since Hurricane Katrina, some of us Hooligans have been unhappy whenever there is a storm. Mom thinks it’s to do with barometric pressure dropping. But we can also hear lightning waaay before our hoomans do. And we can smell it too. It’s hard to splain in a dlog.

One of Mom and Dad’s friends at church, Miss Nancy, told us that she bought a Thundershirt® for her Lab/Great Dane, Willie Wonka. Willie gets storm anxiety too. Have you ever been around a nervous Great Dane? It’s not a pretty sight.

But Miss Nancy said the Thundershirt® is helping Willie Wonka. So Dad ordered one for me to try out. And would you believe it? The shirt came in the mail today and it was followed by a thunderstorm.

Mom got home with the shirt and wrapped me right up in it. It fits really really snug and puts pressure on points of my body that are supposed to help me relax. I didn’t like it at first. I could hear thunder coming and I was getting antsy and Maggie was jumping around like an idjit and I was panting and panting and trembling and Mom told me to settle down and let my new shirt do its work.

I did. And it seems to be working. We aren’t having a horrific thunderstorm but it’s a noisy one. I am sacked out on the floor between the kitchen and the TV room. Mom has tried to get me to move but I don’t want to get up. I’m just going to lie here and snooze until the thunderstorm goes away.

We’ve been having thunderstorms every day so this shirt is going to get a really really good trial. I’ll let you know how it goes. Right now, I'm feelin' the love.

aaaarrrrroooooooooooooo......

THE Best!

Dear Friends of Hooligan House,

Thank you for voting for us in the best dog blog contest a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t win the contest. We weren’t even among the finalists. It doesn’t bother me but Mom suspects that people were allowed to vote more than once. The rules didn’t say that, but they didn’t not say that, either, if you know what I mean.

So we won’t have $1000.00 to give SouthBark Animal Rescue to help them buy a van. They really really need one because they go all over Alabama to different city dog pounds and save pets that are on death row. Right now, SouthBark has to pay to rent a van every week and Mom says that costs around $900.00 for each transport from beginning to end. That’s because they save dogs that have health or other physical problems as well as pretty dogs. All the dogs go to a vet and get the best care possible before they are adopted out to new families. SouthBark has fundraisers every week and people are generous, but there’s always need for more donations and a new van is top prioriteee.

SouthBark really really needs help. Mom said if any of you reading this want to donate, even a dollar, Puh-leeeeze email  Foster@saveasoutherndog.com and get their mailing address. And thank you again, for believing in us. We love writing our dlog, yes we are calling it a "dlog" now 'cuz it's a DOG LOG. And you guys who keep reading us are the best prize we could evah get!

Oh, and that part I started with, about us losing

the best dog blog contest?

In MY opinion, the Hooligan who has the toy 

at the end of the game is the winner.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

HOW I SPENT THE FOURTH OF JULY

I covered my face when the fireworks started.

Mom gave me a special treat she got from the veterinarian.

Mom put me in her bed.

I passed out.

 zzzzzzzzz...

It Is What It Is!

Maggie loves Dad more than anybody else in the world. She gets up in his lap and covers his face with licks. She licks his hands. And his toes. Maggie gives Dad so many kisses that Mom makes him wash his face with soap before he goes to bed.

When Dad lies down on the sofa to watch tv or to take a nap, Maggie lets him sleep for a liddle while then she goes running past him and throws her tongue over his face just so he’ll know she’s close by. Dad has a special pillow that he uses when he lies down on the sofa. Maggie loves that pillow, too.

Sometimes Dad has to go on trips oudda town and when he’s gone, Maggie really really misses him. She misses him so much that as soon as Mom’s back is turned, Mag sneaks into the tv room and stalks the sofa. When she’s absolutely pawsitively sure Mom isn’t looking, Maggie grabs Dad’s pillow and pulls it to the floor. That pillow is Maggie’s security blankey when Dad is away from home. Mom says she can’t bring herself to throw the sofa pillow away, but she can’t understand how Dad can bring himself to put his head back on it when he takes his naps, either. I know the answer.

It’s like I told ya before. We Hooligans Rule da House!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

HOOLIGAN HOUSE RULES

EVERYTHING IN THIS HOUSE

BELONGS TO THE DOGS:

The couch belongs to the dogs.

The beds belong to the dogs.

The dishes in the dishwasher belong to the dogs.

The toys in the Christmas stash in Dad’s office closet belong to the dogs.

The stuff in Dad’s trashcan belongs to the dogs.

Everything that our nose can touch belongs to the dogs.

Mom’s purse belongs to the dogs.

The stuff in Mom’s purse belongs to the dogs.

The Grandkids belong to the dogs.

Mom and Dad belong to the dogs.

Dad’s paycheck belongs to the dogs.

Any Questions?

I didn’t think so.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!



And the Nominees are...

Would you consider nominating Duke's Blog as the Best Dog Blog for 2011? The top 4 nominees in each catagory will advance to the finals on June 29th. The winner will receive a monetary donation to their favorite animal shelter!

Just go to: http://dogtime.com/petties   and nominate http://howlinghooligan.blogspot.com/

How to Nominate The Howling Hooligan

for: WHY SHOULD THIS BLOG WIN?

(just tell them why in 100 characters or less)

Then, hit the ENTER button



YOUR INFORMATION

* Name  

* Email  

* Confirm Email  

NOMINEE INFORMATION

* Name  

* Nominee URL  

Nominee Email  

for the “BEST IN” Category: check the box next to BEST DOG BLOG

Thanks!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

Pretty Is As Pretty DOES!

Mom says Airedale Terriers are better known as contrarians. For instance, Maggie's nickname around here is "Princess". Because she's one of those grrrls who thinks everything in the House belongs to her and she goes to extreme leaps and bounds and boo-boos to make sure everyone else knows it too. It’s certainly not because she is graceful or kind or generous or gentle or all the luverly things princesses are sposed to be. Now, don't get me wrong: she can be dainty when she wants to be. With Maggie, though, being dainty and being stealthy go paw in paw.

Oh, you want an example? OKAY! Last night Mom and Dad and Second Daughter and the Grandkids had pizza for supper. They ate every piece except for some bits that stuck to the top of the pizza boxes. Then they settled down to watch a Bigfoot program Dad had recorded on the magic box that sits on top of the big window-thing that shows flat pictures. It was while they were watching the latest and greatest Bigfoot hunt that Maggie went into Airedale Terrier stealth mode.

Now, if that had been me sneaking that pizza box off the table, what do you think would have happened? Someone woulda bonked me on the haid with that pizza box, that’s what. But guess what happened instead?

Second Daughter rolled her eyes. The Grandkids giggled. Dad shook his head.

AND: Mom let Maggie keep the box!

I am not AAARROOOING.

TO THE RESCUE!

Tigger is an Airedale Terrier who was surrendered to ADT Rescue a couple of weeks ago. He's only eleven months old, still a pup, and has had a confoozled growing up time. Through no fault of his own, Tigger needed a foster home. You remember reading Grady's story here awhile back? Grady's Mom & Dad went to Birmingham to pick Tigger up and bring him to Mobile. They are going to foster him until he gets a forever home. 


My Mom went over to meet Tigger today and evaluate him. ADTs can be kinda difficult for lotsa people to handle and Mom needs to know if Tigger has any anxieties or aggressions or possessive or hard headed bits to him. Actually, if he's not hard headed, he probly isn't a pure bred Airedale but this isn't the time for that discussion, according to Mom.

Here are pictures of Tigger and the Bakers today. Mom said he doesn't have any of those problems we mentioned earlier. She needs to find out how he is around kids, though. So she's gonna take the grandkids over to meet him this week. She always uses them for this part of the evaluation and they really really know how to act all jumpy and loud and silly around dogs. If Tigger passes that test, he's A-Okay.

I'm betting on Tigger. According to his pedigree, he has several ancestors from the same breeder's kennel I do. And I am, after all, a Superior Airedale Terrier.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

Muddy Maggie Maneuvers

We had a bit of rain last night. Just enough to make the Hooligans happy. Maggie was happiest of all. She should have named "Pig Pen" after the kid in the Peanuts comic strip. Everywhere she goes, she leaves a trail of dirt.

Maggie howling her joy at being muddy.

Her happy dance begins!

and continues...

Notice the subtle differences in the dance steps...

Then she hustle-steps her way into the kitchen for a reward...

A special treat is required for a special girl...

And she ends up right back where she started, howling for joy! Ah, the delights of living with Airedales!

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!

diēs caniculārēs

Guess y’all have noticed it’s hot in Alabama. And there’s been no rain. NO RAIN. It was 101 degrees in our back yard the other day and the grass is super dry and brittle.

The other day Mom heard someone say these are Dog Days. She always thought Dog Days were in August. So she looked it up on something called “wikipedia” even though she said that’s an unreelieable source. Then she went to the Farmers Almanac. It said the Dog Days begin around the first of July and go to mid-August, so Mom guesses she was partially right. But then she read some more and she found out some really scawwry stuff that gave me bad dreams.

Before I tell you the scawwry story, here’s some other stuff about Dog Days. Did you know there’s a Dog Star? For real! WOOF!!! In the summer, the Dog Star shows up for breakfast. I don’t know what a Dog Star eats for breakfast but Mom said it probably whines for something besides dry dog food. (Didja catch yesterday’s blog?)

There isn’t usually much rain during Dog Days,  which makes people and four-leggeds feel real tired and heavy. Hoomans sweat alot but we dogs pant to cool off and sometimes our panting is real noisy. But here was Mom’s question: if the Dog Days aren’t supposed to show up until July, why are we feeling them now?

As usual, Dad had the answer. He told her that Spring came about four weeks early this year. He said that he can tell because historeckly the blueberries out back aren’t ripe until August. But this year, they are ripe NOW! Plus, Mom is having to water her flowers every single day because of no rain. Dad said that since Spring came early, that means that Summer came early too, which means so did the Dog Days. Makes sense to me.

Now here’s the scawwry part I mentioned earlier. When Mom was reading the Old Farmer’s Almanac about Dog Days, she found a story that said some hoomans named The Romans used to get so worried about the heat and dryness of Dog Days that they would sacrifice a brown dog at the beginning of the season. They thought if they did that, the Dog Star would be happy.

No wonder that empire fell.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

 not THIS brown dog!

The Story of Grady

Duke has given me, his mom, permission to update his blog tonight. We have more sad news to share, but we feel it’s important to tell you the story of a dog with the heart of a dragon.

Grady Foster Baker, beloved Airedale Terrier companion of Larry & Linda Baker, has gone to the Rainbow Bridge after a long and valiant battle against cancer. Grady lived with the Bakers for four human years, which is almost the equivalent of 28 years in a dog's life. He arrived at their house to be a temporary foster dog, but he won their hearts and was officially adopted into the family almost immediately.

When Grady came to Larry & Linda, he was afraid of children and had never been socialized to other dogs. During his lifetime with the Bakers, he went through obedience training as well as becoming a service dog to help Linda during her fibromyalgia flares. Grady walked in the Mobile St. Patrick's Day Parade three years in a row and was always cheered by the crowds.

Visits to LSU for chemotherapy didn't daunt Grady; instead of being assigned to a kennel like the other patients, the staff made him a bed in the middle of the nursing area. He was beloved by everyone he met and towards the end of his life, he was able to meet children of all sizes and ages without problem.

Thank you to everyone who was Grady's friend, and who helped him with his training. Larry and Linda are mourning and the days ahead will be hard as they adjust to their quiet house. We will miss kissing the blond curls on the top of his head, and laughing with him as he rode in the car, with his face turned to the wind.

 Larry and Linda gave Grady an enriched, love filled life that more than overcame his past. He was a happy, adventurous, contrary Airedale Terrier to the end.

Rest in Peace, Grady. And thank you for everything.

Confesstion Time

Hooligan House has a confession to make. Two weeks ago we had a dog fight. Sissy and Dad got the worst of it. Sissy had to have lots of stitches. Dad's hands were, uh, hurt kinda bad. He was trying to stop me and Jack because he thought Jack is too old and slow and unsteady to be in a fight. Maggie and Sissy squared off and it was pretty bad over in that corner. Jack and I just locked teeth on each other and growled and shook each other's head alot. Mom said it was all sound and fury between us. Dad didn't know that and he tried to pry our jaws apart... Jack didn't realize it was Dad... Dad's hands got bitten. Jack and I both freaked out and Dad picked me up and threw me outside on the deck. By that time, Mom had separated Maggie and Sissy. She locked Maggie in the bathroom and took Sissy to the dog den. And Buddy? He's "such a gooooood dog!" (did that sound too sarcastic?)

Mom told him twice, "Buddy, leave it!"
And Buddy did. Buddy the pit bull dog left the fight and went outside like Mom told him to do. Nyah Nyah Nyah. WhutEVAH.

Maggie and I got our butts kicked and Buddy got a treat.
Sissy went to the vet and got her face stitched up. She's doing great, Mom says no one would ever know anything happened to Sis because her attitude never changed from the happy girl she always is. Jack is fine. He feels a little guilty because in the heat of the minute he didn't realize it was Dad's thumb he had in his mouth and not my ear.

So of course, having told you this much I need to tell you what went wrong, what started the fight. See, Mom knows that when there is a very reactive dog in the family (that would be Maggie, Mom says Maggie is "special" -- whatever that means) that the dog pack has to be managed and controlled. Sissy and Maggie have always had a personality conflict, since Maggie was a puppy. Sissy and Maggie have to be kept apart. Well, Mom hadn't double-locked the back door that day and Maggie was able to turn the door knob and she ran into the hallway and saw Sissy there and Maggie went GRRRRRR and Sissy said GRRRR and Maggie jumped right on top of her and went to biting and snarling and Jack and I got excited and went to growling and snarling and then Jack got up on his back legs and I got up on my back legs and we went at each other's ears and Dad got upset and ----

and then Buddy tried to nip one of Maggie's legs and Mom said, "no Buddy, leave it!" and Buddy backed away like a good little boy and ----

Well, everyone is okay but Mom feels like it was all her fault for falling down in her pack management. She said it was the toughest dog lesson she's ever learned. I think it was tougher for me, though, because I'm the one that got tossed outside on his A double scribble.

And Buddy? Oh, he may THINK he's the golden boy right now. But I'm biding my time. I'll get my chance to put him back in his place. 'Cause that's how dogs roll.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

To Dog Park or Not To Dog Park

Mom just had a telephone call from somebody wanting to know what Mom thinks about the proposed dog park in our city. I'm here to tell ya that Mom mostly disapproves of dog parks.

That's because many hoomans  use dog parks the way some people drop their kids off at movies or the mall so that they don't have to deal with them. They take their dogs to the park, take the leashes off, and just let the dogs run.

Dogs who don’t get any exercise or mental stimulation at all because they are cooped up in a house or a crate all day while their hoomans work, shouldn't be let off leash on their own recognizance at dog parks. Too often, the result is Really Bad Behavior. Dogs who are too frisky or have too much pent up energy often go overboard and play with their teeth.

Or, dogs who don’t have a lot of self confidence don’t know how to react when a terrier starts to spar instead of sniffing to say hello. That’s when dog disagreements start and somebuddy usually ends up having to go to the vet’s office.

Mom says, and most dogs would agree if any two-leggeds would bother to ask us, that we much prefer playing with our own family and our own dog pack. We don’t like being confronted by any Max, Sam or Molly at the park who has never been to obedience school and doesn’t have good dog communication skills. Unless a dog works for a living, we are mostly content to just go on long walks with our hoomans and play fetch and tag and get lots of belly rubs. Regular dogs who don’t prefer playing and exercising with their families are usually emotionally deprived because their humans are not really dog people and they don't understand what dogs need to be well balanced.

If you are a dog person who will play with your dog and his pals at the dog park, Mom says "Good Job!"

BUT if you aren’t really a dog person and don’t enjoy running with your dog, romping and jumping and getting muddy, throwing balls a hundred times in a row for us to fetch, baking special dog cookies, going for midnight potty excursions, digging holes and barking for joy and howling for fun, Mom says you shouldn’t have a dog at all.

She says you need to get a lizard.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!