Active Canines

Getting the Dog a Dog

Lucy the Wonder Dog: Adding a Second Dog, 2004, by Louise Louis: Are you hoping to cure a behavior problem of your existing dog's? More likely the new dog will adopt the same neuroses. Are you trying to minimize the time you spend with your dog? Dogs need human company and most dogs benefit from a daily walk with their owner. You'll need to spend individual quality time with each dog to get to know him as an individual. Have you budgeted for two dogs? They may not be double trouble but they will be double bills. More food, grooming and vet bills can mount up rapidly.

Working for Agility

Dog-li-ness: Happy "Gotcha Day" Pinky!, 2008-Oct-8, by Lisa B: One year ago today a little Puppy McNugget showed up at my house. ... I'm not sure exactly when she was born (around the end of August as near as I can figure), so ..., I celebrate Pinky's "Gotcha Day." ... I'm still not sure how she's going to shape up, but I can report that we're making great progress ... but slowly. ... Right now I have her in a class we're just calling "Agility Training Group." It's designed for young dogs with handlers who have already trained an agility dog and don't feel like spending time learning the difference between a front cross and a rear cross with the newbies. ... When I decided to keep her, I really had no idea whether she'd become a good agility dog or not. Really, aside from a health care plan, the main reason I maintain a steady job is to be able to consistently afford dog agility (I try to have a little something left over for housing, transportation and food, of course).

Dog Wins Big Raffle

GloucesterTimes.com: One lucky dog, 2008-Oct-9, by Amanda Flitter: "What can you say," said Bill Scott, who assisted with the drawing. "That's one lucky dog." Tony Taliadoros, who was a chairman of the raffle, had sold all but one of his 50 tickets when he came up with the idea to enter Madison B., the dog of his son's fiance. ... Taliadoros bought the last ticket, but did not want to put his name on it since he was a chairman. As he was thinking of who to enter instead, he saw Madison B. and entered her name on a whim, assuming she wouldn't win. "He was really just doing it to support the Chamber," said Mike Costello, executive director of the Chamber, of Taliadoros' decision. Taliadoros was bowled over — literally — when the dog won.

Whichever Way Your Dog Turns

dog-li-ness: Flyball "pawness", 2008-Sep-17, by Lisa B.: The concept of "pawness" is familiar to people who train flyball dogs: it's the tendency of dogs to seem to prefer turning one way over the other. Many people (myself included) think it's a good idea to determine if a dog is "left-pawed" or "right-pawed" and then teach them to turn on the box in the appropriate direction to get a nice, fast turn.

Dog of Inspiration

ASCPA: News Alert: September 26, 2008: Ten-year-old Cole Massie of Los Angeles, CA, may live with cerebral palsy, but he has all the support a kid could want, thanks to a very special black Lab/golden retriever mix named Ilia.

Recently crowned ASPCA Dog of the Year as part of the 2008 Humane Awards program, Ilia performs service duties like bringing items to Cole in his wheelchair and opening and closing doors. But the pooch also has that special healing touch that can’t be taught. “He provides amazing incentive to Cole during therapies, doctor’s appointments and procedures,” says Cole’s mom, Michelle Massie. “He calms, inspires and motivates my son far better than anyone ever has." ...

“Cole was frightened by the idea of surgery at first,” remembers Massie. “We explained how much more independent he’d be afterward, but he wasn’t buying it. Finally, we told him that if he had this procedure, there was a very good chance he’d be able to walk Ilia on his own—with no parents and no walker." After that, says Massie, "Cole would stroke the dog’s head in bed each night and whisper, 'I will walk you, Ilia. I will walk you.'"

After much coaxing, Cole underwent the surgery in Summit, NJ, and Ilia traveled more than 7,000 miles to be by the boy's side. The ten-year-old is now on his way to becoming an independent walker—and his dedicated service dog will be with him every step. The entire family will attend the ASPCA Humane Awards Luncheon in New York City this October 30, where Ilia will be honored along with seven other extraordinary animals and people. P.S. We'd like to remind you, pet lovers, that even heroes have their quirks. As Massie reveals, “Ilia knows 46 commands, but he won’t fetch!”