Friday Haiku: Alfred's progress

Loud claps of thunder

brace for the crazy barking....

suck on the blanket!

Back to School

This year I became a One Tail at a Time Member, which means I get all sorts of great perks and discounts at local dog-related businesses (win!), including 30% off all training sessions from Canine Sports Dog Training.  Itching to get the boys back to work on their skills, I checked out their website and came across a  specific Reactive Dog Class "for dogs that have a hard time keeping a level head in the presence of new dogs, people, or objects."  Thinking this would be the perfect kind of class for our Alfred, I signed him up immediately and took the last spot available (only 4 students are allowed per class).

First class was on Monday evening and we hopped in the car with a bag full of chicken and high hopes...

SKOOOOOOOOOOOL!

...neither of which lasted very long.  In a total of about 15 minutes, Alfred managed to go through three whole chicken breasts, have no fewer than two leash melt downs, chomp on the trainers arm at least five times, bleed all over my jeans, throw up, try to eat it, and then try and attack the mop.  Oh, Alfred...we were asked to leave the class.  :(

However (!) trainer Emily spent the rest of the class time talking with us outside while Alfred tried his best to calm down.  The conclusion?  This particular group of dogs wasn't going to work out for Alfred in a class setting, but we're going to try one-on-one sessions to work on whatever we want!  We have some great resources to read through at Dog Star Daily, a few training exercises to get started on, and we're switching him over to a Halti for his walks.

After we finished our talk, I managed to walk back to the car, covered in slobber and blood and holding back tears. As soon as I shut the car door I had a total meltdown, sobbing uncontrollably and lamenting the fact that I ever got off track with our training in the first place.  How could I have gotten so lax with such a serious issue?  Alfred had become so sweet and snuggly at home, I didn't stop to think that his issues with excitability could be getting worse all the while. Scariest of all, I started to imagine situations that would lead us to no longer be able to keep Alfred at all.  I was a wreck.

Luckily, the very next day I had a chance to meet and talk with another SociaBulls member who has trained with CSDT specifically for leash reactivity and she was very reassuring. She even wrote a guest post on Two Pitties in the City on her experiences with her dog Maize, and after reading through it I started to feel that I wasn't alone.  The dog community here in Chicago is so amazing, and I love that I am able to be a part of it.  It means so much to have a support system in place when things get rough, and I couldn't be more grateful.  

And now...the work begins (again)!

The BSL Band-Aid

I'm lazy - I'll admit it.  I'm not sure if I've always been lazy (or if not, when I became lazy), but I know that much of my life has followed the rule of doing the least amount of work to get by and be comfortable.  Comfortable.  Always seemed like a decent word....now it's slowly making it's way onto my list of unmentionables [including, but not limited to: boring, easy, stagnant, static, and fair].  This list has been developed just recently as I continue the journey on my way to adult-hood and realize that boring, comfortable me doesn't accomplish much other than lying on the couch with the dogs and depleting the apartment's supply of chocolate. 

 [lazy bum]

I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on myself.  I do manage to be productive and get things done from time to time.  And as I continue to grow up, I keep realizing just how important it is to put in the hard work to do things right the first time around. From little things like buying a nice pair of shoes that will last through years of wear and tear instead of getting the cheap pair year after year, to spending the time and money training Bruce Wayne and Alfred so they don't end up back in a shelter years down the road.  Luckily I have found a terrific network of friends to help keep me on track, since most main-stream avenues, from pop-culture to politics, seem to reward taking the easy way out.  Americans everywhere are dying for a quick-fix to all of life's problems and, until recently, I was not all that different.

Thanks to having a big, block-headed, Fredbaby in my life, I am always on the move learning new ways to make living with a special-needs dog a lot of fun.  It's because of Alfred that I've started this blog, joined the Chicago SociaBulls dog walking club, and become more involved in rescue.  If not for the Alfmonster I wouldn't know much about Breed Specific Legislation, and most likely wouldn't feel compelled to do much about it.  Because that would've been the easy thing to do.

What exactly is Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)?  In my opinion, it's not much different than racism in humans.  Basically, certain breeds of dog are discriminated against (and often destroyed) solely based on the way they look.  There are no temperament tests involved; no consideration of who owns the dog; no sound logic behind it really.  Yet legislators seem to think they've solved the problem of vicious dog attacks - easy as that.

Some of our favorite pooches wouldn't survive anti-"pit bull" BSL.
[Zoe from Two Kitties One Pittie, Fifty the Two-legged Pit Bull, Billy from In Black & White]

You might notice that the three dogs posted above look completely different, yet could all be classified as "pit-bull type" dogs.  Sure, they share similar attributes, but the reality is that almost any dog breed in the US (even those recognized by organizations such as the AKC) was, at one time in history, a mix of two or more different types of dog.  What do you get when you cross a Scottish Retriever and a Tweed Water Spaniel (now extinct)?  An Irish Setter, Bloodhound, St. John's Water Dog (evolved into the Labrador Retriever), and what eventually became the Golden Retriever - and all in the same litter!  Can you imagine a city, state, or country specifically restricting the ownership of "retriever-type" dogs?  I bet more than half the dogs in the US could be considered "retriever-type" dogs based on their looks alone.  Can you imagine the police coming into this home and destroying this family's dog because sometimes Golden Retrievers bite people???

Probably not.  So why should this be any different?

Because pit bulls are perceived as being more dangerous.  There are a lot of different statistics available to back up both sides of this argument, but when it comes down to it, BSL is like putting a band-aid on a deep puncture wound.  The root of the problem isn't the dog itself, but irresponsible pet ownership and inappropriate human-dog interactions.  While the number of dog bite fatalities is still very low (approximately 0.0002% of all dog bites in the US result in death), almost every dog involved in a fatal bite was not properly leashed or contained on the owner's property, nor were the dogs spayed or neutered. And  unfortunately, pit bulls often find themselves in the hands of irresponsible dog owners.  Hardly the fault of the dogs themselves. [Clearly we all know plenty of wonderfully responsible pit bull owners, which is why we love them so much!]

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention provides an excellent resource for preventing dog bites on their website and states: 

  "Many practical alternatives to breed-specific policies exist and 

hold promise for preventing dog bites."

Their main focus is on educating the public and raising awareness of general safety rules when it comes to interacting with dogs.  The third full week in May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the United States Postal Service, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  We will be posting to help spread the word and educate our readers during that week, and hope you will too!  With more knowledgable pet owners in the US and around the world, perhaps the Prohibition of Pit Bulls will someday come to and end and all breeds can be treated equally when it comes to choosing the right pet for your family.  

It's not going to be easy, but the best things in life never are...

Friday Haiku: for a rainy day

Stay out of the rain

with my furry companions

snuggled up inside.

Adoptable Alfred - Meet MK

I have been spying a slew of adorable adoptable dogs recently all over the blogosphere and couldn't help but join in the cuteness of it all.  Especially after spotting this face:

Meet MK!

If you've ever wanted an Alfred of your very own, MK may be the dog for you!  MK is currently being fostered through One Tail at a Time in Chicago and is a snuggle pot for sure.  She loves to play with her canine foster brother, and absolutely adores people.  She even has a beauty mark just like Alfie!  You can see her featured in this touching slide show and help her rescuers win $10,000 just by viewing.  That would make MK one extra happy lady!

If you are interested in making MK a part of your family, please email Vanessa at vanessa.dufoe@gmail.com, or visit OneTail.org to view the many 

deserving dogs that they have available for adoption.