Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

This ‘N That Thursday ~ May 30, 2013

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Today we join our friends at the 2 Brown Dawgs blog for This ‘N That Thursday.

Courtesy of 2 Brown Dawgs Blog

Courtesy of 2 Brown Dawgs Blog

“This ‘N That Thursday A little of this and a little of that and everything in between…

First things first, Follow-up Friday will be a tiny bit different this week. (Only for me!)

I have a very special post planned for tomorrow so my Follow-up Friday will actually take place on Saturday.  No worries for you die-hard FUF hoppers, the blog hop will be available on my co-hostess’ blog.  I will have a link to her blog at the bottom of tomorrow’s post, but if it’s easier for you, you can go directly to her blog tomorrow to link up.

My co-hostess for this week is Misty Shores Chesapeakes!

The dogs at BlogPaws.

Life has been super busy since I came back from BlogPaws and I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down and write some more BlogPaws posts.  Before it gets too far away from it all, I’d like to showcase a couple of the dogs I met at BlogPaws and tell you a little about the pets that were present.

I don’t have any of the finesse that Pamela at Something Wagging has, so I’m just gonna put it out there.  There were some perfectly nice dogs at BlogPaws and then there were some dogs that just weren’t comfortable in the situation.  Which isn’t to say they weren’t perfectly nice dogs, I’m just saying they may have been more comfortable at home or in their rooms.

I sat in a session where there was so much growling going on behind me I thought a fight was going to break out.  There was also the woman in the elevator who said her little dog just wasn’t used to the elevator yet, as she gave him a little tug in.  The poor thing was shaking so bad, if he’d been any bigger I’d have been worried he’d shake the elevator loose from the cable.

Don’t get me started on the woman who sat with us and told us her dog was in her room because she was a butt face for barking at another dog.

I bit my tongue. A LOT.

But I did meet some incredibly well-adjusted dogs, with savvy owners.

Prizes from BlogPaws

The folks at BlogPaws had some awesome sponsors and prizes.  It started with an amazing bag from Jones Natural Chews filled with swag! (BTW Jones, this is the Best. Bag. Ever.)

On Friday night in a random drawing I won a Chromebook!

IMG_5061 If you’re unfamiliar with these, the closest I can figure is it is Google trying to compete with iPad.  You can add apps, but you have the convenience of the ‘laptop’ style.

Then on Saturday the awesome folks at the PetSafe booth gifted me with a dog’s water fountain.

Thank you PetSafe!!

Thank you PetSafe!!

 

Except my dogs won’t drink out of it, so I have a small bowl of water sitting next to it, while they acclimate themselves. 🙂

This is a blog hop, hosted by our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs blog.

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Comments

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Comments

  1. Hmmm…guess you would HATE Dakota…..I don’t know if I would use the term “well adjusted”, just as an example, Dakota is NOT the kind of a dog that will readily greet anyone. He won’t jump on strangers with over exuberance…Shelties, by nature are a more discerning and reticent breed. He LOATHES litter, hyper dogs…but gets along decently with medium-sized to large dogs.
    We feel that Dakota is the classic example of the kid who behaves like a terror at home but when he is in public he is the perfect gentleman.
    He sits patiently with a smile on his face at the vet, waiting his turn and shows no aggression with any dogs there.
    Would he be thrilled about the number of dogs at BlogPaws? Probably not. Would he growl? Possibly……I don’t know if the fact that he might do that would make him be considered maladjusted.
    To be honest, I found more of some of the bloggers in cliques to be far more maladjusted than their dogs (or cats)……(smile)
    That being said, with BlogPaws held so far from our home, I am doubting that Dakota would be making an appearance anytime soon!

    • LOL Caren, I didn’t HATE any of the dogs, I felt bad for some of them that were clearly uncomfortable. I wouldn’t HATE Dakota either, and I didn’t mean it to sound like the dogs that growled were ‘maladjusted’ they were just uncomfortable. Just like some humans are uncomfortable in large crowds. The thing is we as humans know what makes us uncomfortable and can speak up for ourselves or make adjustments when needed. Dogs can’t and they look to their owners to do that for them. If you thought Dakota was uncomfortable you would remove him (I hope.) I’m sure these dogs are nice dogs, and if I implied otherwise I’m sorry, that was not my intent.

      Cliques can be an issue, I think with SO many people at the conference it was a bit overwhelming for some folks and they just clung to the people they felt comfortable with. 🙂

      I don’t think my dogs will be making an appearance there either and that’s fine, some dogs can handle it and others can’t.

      • Jodi you are sooooo right! Yes!! I would remove Dakota if he were uncomfortable that is for sure! But that is why I would be afraid to bring him to begin with (unless BlogPaws were to be held somewhere within driving distance). If it were too far away I couldn’t have Dakota go back home lol, so more than likely you guys will never meet him!
        After I commented I was thinking of a woman who had 2 little dogs there and had NO control of them and yep it made me totally crazy…one of her dogs even broke off of its leash a few times.
        About the cliques…it wasn’t dog…it was CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEPPER!!!!!!!!! 🙂 TOTALLY CAT!! 🙂

  3. Hmmm, there’s been a lot of talk about the dogs that were uncomfortable in that situation. I don’t know if you could blame the dogs, I imagine it would be very overwhelming for me…all those dogs, all that noise. People should know their dogs well enough to know if they can handle it. I’m so glad you met lots of great pups though….and what great prizes you won! Oh, someday Ma will make it to BlogPaws….
    Oz

    • I don’t blame the dogs at all Oz, I hope it didn’t sound that way. When something makes me uncomfortable I can remove myself from the situation, dogs don’t always have that option.

  4. Jodi, how do you like the Chrome Book??? Need a new laptop and need some input.
    I like that dog fountain….if my girlz didn’t like it I’m sure the birds in my garden would.
    I am trying to get a post put together to join you on This and That Thursday…. 🙂

    • Truthfully I haven’t played with it too much because I’ve been so busy. But it seems to be very cool, it is set up for wireless, a mouse attaches to it too, all I have to do is check and see if they have a WP app. I’ll check that and let you know.

  5. That colored Poodle sure got the attention of everyone! Mom didn’t take pics of any dogs, just flat ones, oh well, can’t send her out alone as you cannot rely on her! At least she met most of the people I put on her list to meet like you 🙂 She still has all the cards to go through and stuff she wants to do but she needs more time…that job thing is really in the way! your comment about tomorrow reminds me that I have to finish my post for tomorrow too…we are falling behind since moving my website to self hosted yesterday!

    • That colored poodle was cute, had no idea what its owner had done to him. :-0

      Your mom did just fine Emma, she’s a lovely lady.

      Self-hosted? Sweet, let me know how you like it!! Congratulations!!

  6. What? How the heck did you win all those prizes?? I didn’t win jack squat…should’ve hung out with you more to have your good luck rub off on me!! 🙂

    I agree–there were some well-behaved dogs there and there were some that were, umm, naughty.

    • I have no idea, I was so stunned when she pulled my card out of the fish bowl for that chrome book, you can ask Sugar’s mom, or Emma’s mom or Dawn. LOL

      I don’t think the dogs were ‘naughty’ I just think it was out of their comfort zone for some. 🙁

  7. I always feel bad for dogs that are put in situations that they are uncomfortable in. 🙁

    Congrats on all of the prizes! I’m interested to hear how the fountain works for you. I was going to get one for the cats, but I read all kinds of reviews about how noisy they are and that they break – keep me posted!!

    • Me too Julie, and I want to shake their owners and say, “Can’t you see how uncomfortable your pet is?” 🙁

      So far they won’t drink from the fountain and it’s been set up for about 4 or 5 days. The first time Delilah put her nose in it, the center piece (filter etc) moved and made a noise, as for the running water, I’ve gotten used to it, but I have to pee a lot….

  9. It woudl be hard to see those pups that were uncomfortable there. I could never bring Rita. She’s not great with meeting other dogs while on-leash. Too bad not everyone knows what their pup can handle. It’s fun that the pups get to come to BP, but it would stress me out to see stressed pups!

    Congrats on the prizes! Wowza! Those look awesome!

    • It was hard and even harder that their owners either didn’t recognize or didn’t acknowledge. There were of course other dogs that handled it perfectly well. You just have to know your dog.

  10. I seriously covet that water fountain!! Great photos of the dogs you met at BP. I don’t think any of mind would like being around the crowds for that length of time. Our homeplace is pretty quiet and peaceful 🙂

    • Well if my guys won’t adjust to it, I’ll ship it down to you. 😉

      Our home is peaceful and quiet too, I know the dogs would love the people but too much activity and they wouldn’t be happy. They will have to be content greeting me upon my return.

  11. I’m curious about how Misty would do in that situation. She always has to work the room to make sure she meets everyone and that everyone loves her. It isn’t especially sincere.

    • Sampson does too, but there were so many people I don’t think he would have managed it. LOL

  12. Jodi that Chromebook is the most awesome prize ever…I am so envious…Is that dog in the top row Rocco from To Dog With Love? I agree that some dogs would be happier at home…

    • It is an awesome prize, I want to give it to Hubby, but I selfishly want to keep it for myself too. 🙂 I just need some time to play with it.

      Yes, it could be Rocco, I did not know of him, so I went over and checked out their blog and you’re very right, it sure looks like him!

  13. Life with Silas has made me very, very aware of dog stress levels. It’s gotten to the point that I find it hard to go to dog events of any kind. PetExpo almost made me cry. I just wanted to go up to people and say, “Look, your dog is behaving just fine, but he’s terrified. Why don’t you take him home?”

    I do wonder how many of those people were inwardly squirming over the fact that they didn’t realize (until it was too late) that their dog couldn’t handle it, but at that point they didn’t have other options. I know that in *my* head, BlogPaws is about 50 people. Sometimes the best thing you can do for a dog who’s in over their head is to look matter of fact and calm, even though that makes you look horrible to strangers.

    • There were a couple of times I wanted to shake someone, wait who am I kidding? I wanted to shake all the clueless ones. 🙂

      Jessica, do you know I honestly felt they really didn’t realize how uncomfortable their dogs were, and that for me was the saddest part.

  14. Congrats on winning all those neat prizes! C, S, and D wouldn’t like the fountain either. And I have a feeling that cleaning and/or replacing the filter will get expensive over time. I’ll just stick with putting the bowls in the dishwasher every few days and filling them with cupsful of filtered water from the fridge. Seeing as how we have two laptops, two Kindles (one a Fire), and two iPods, I don’t think we need another computer.

    As for dogs being placed in uncomfortable situations by unthinking owners? Well, suffice it to say that I agree with you 100%. I know my girls — especially Ducky — would be extremely uncomfortable in a room with all those people and other leashed dogs. I just wouldn’t subject them to it. Better they should be at home with the pet sitter, or “Daddy”. Forcing a dog to “deal with it” is NOT my idea of positive, or even balanced training! Better to work with the dog privately to boost its confidence and lessen its thresholds.

    • Thanks Sue they are some awesome prizes!

      I think you really have to be in tune to your dog and know what they can and can’t handle.

  15. Super-awesome prizes! Lucky! I love the pictures of the dogs. I’m so happy they got to go to such a fun event. I’m saying this on the eve of my first attempt to bring Cupcake out to breakfast with me at an outdoor patio restaurant tomorrow morning. My plan is to just get a bagel and coffee, in case she is naughty and we have to make a run for it.

    • Oooh, I’m anxious to hear how the breakfast went. You will post about it, no?

    • Never heard of it until I won it, then I saw the commercial for it on TV! LOL

  17. CONGRATULATIONS on WINNING the ChromeBook. THAT was a whale of a PRIZE.

  18. Thanks so much for participating in TNT. You sure got some great loot. I hope you will let us know what you think of the Chromebook.

    I don’t think that it is necessarily a bad thing to put a dog in a situation they are uncomfortable with. In 2009 we took Thunder and Storm to our breed specialty show. Thunder would sit next to a show ring all day long. Storm (at that time) was a whole other story. She was very uncomfortable, but we made her do it in doses. We didn’t make her sit there all day (Specialty Shows take all day, well like 2 days), but we did make her sit there. She did not become comfortable by the end of the show, but eventually she did become comfortable at shows. She would never have done that if we didn’t push her a bit. Of course if I had a growly dog, that dog would stay home. 🙂

    • I agree with you, but I think it has to be in small increments like you said and you need to be paying attention to your dog to make sure they aren’t going to react badly.

      I spoke to a woman whose dog was bit by another dog, clearly that owner was not paying attention to where her dog’s thresh hold was.

      • Yikes I missed where you said one dog bit another. As you know we are around a lot of other dogs all of the time and some are not completely comfortable. Bites are an extremely rare occurrence. I have never seen it and I am sure I have heard of one, but can’t think of it off the top of my head. At the events we go to, it is is the job of all handlers to keep their dogs safe and away from other dogs. I don’t think I would take my dogs to blog paws after all because I would not want to worry about other people’s dogs.

  19. When I went last year with Roxy, she was a dream. She could care less if there were other dogs around. The hubs brought Torrey one evening to try her out. Knowing if it wasn’t going to work, he would leave with her. At first she was unsure, but got the hang of it pretty good and got to stay the evening. She was under the table with Snoopy. LOL

    • Some dogs handled it beautifully and others struggled. I think you just need to know your dog.

  20. We tried putting water in our PetSafe fountain without it running to get our dogs used to the idea! 😉

    I agree with you about the assortment of dogs there. I’ve traveled with our dogs enough to know that you have to plan down time for them. Heck, I was exhausted at the ends of those conference days. I can imagine that a lot of the dogs really were worn out, too! I agree 110% that a lot of owners are clueless about their dogs’ thresholds.

    • Yay, thanks for the tip, I unplugged mine now and will let it sit.

      I was tired too, and when you think of how much time a dog spends resting…well you can only imagine how tired some were.

      Yup, some people are just clueless.

  21. Mom was planning to post something about the dogs that she saw/met but she decided not to do it. She enjoyed seeing Norman and his performance riding the bike. Oh My!!! I think you put too much water … on the fountain. Try to put some fruity ice cube (on our post today) to entice them. Golden Congrats to your prizes. Golden Woofs, Sugar

    • Great tip, thanks Sugar. I’ve also unplugged it, so it’s just water not running water. I would never call anyone out by name, that’s just not cool but I felt the need to say something as well.

  23. Maybe some of those other dog owners will read some of the blogs that give helpful tips on how to get your dog socialized and used to different situations 😉

    Looks like you hit the mother load in prizes 🙂