Sunday Confessionals of a "Bad" Owner #1

My dogs are allowed to be loose in the truck. Sometimes I seat belt Woof in but for the most part I don’t. I have no issue with it, sometimes they (Woof) even alternates between sitting in the front seat and laying in the back and even sitting on the center consul. I also let them stick their heads out the window when we’re moving.

How happy birthday turned into a collar debate.

I’m on a few breed specific groups on Facebook. I find that of all the groups on Facebook or even dog forums on the internet the breed specific ones tend to be the most crazy. Today a topic came up on one of them that bothered me a bit. The photo was of a beautiful dog wishing the dog a happy birthday. Nothing that should have started anything just a fun, cute picture and message right? Wrong. The dog was wearing a prong collar.

Instead of seeing it has a cute picture a member decided to make an unhappy comment about the prong collar. I know we’re not all going to agree on what training tool should and shouldn’t be used but on a picture that was taking during a walk and is not showing any misuse, the dog doesn’t look the least be harmed or uncomfortable just an owner wishing her beautiful dog a happy birthday why not just stuff it? It’s uncalled for and no one is forcing you to use one on your dog. This member urged the poster to use a halti instead. Seemingly under some false pretence that a halti is less damaging than a prong when in fact it can be just as harmful if used improperly. Prong, choke, halti, harness, martingale they can all be harmful if not used properly, heck even a regular, flat collar can be dangerous. Nothing is 100% safe but if used with care and sense there is absolutely nothing wrong with them.

Some dogs dog not adjust to halti use they claw, rub and thrash their heads around often causing minor damage to themselves like scratches. If used incorrectly they can cause serious trauma to the neck and spine, if the dog lunges forward with a degree of force their head will be snapped sideways which can seriously damage the spine. The nose band can cause irritation and damage to the eyes if not fitted properly.

Prongs if used incorrectly can seriously hurt the dog’s neck, those blunted tips can puncture the skin but that is extreme misuse! They should also never been flipped outward, I’ve seen some people doing that lately and that is not only the wrong way to use this collar, it cane cause injury to the dog and other dogs also makes me wonder why you didn’t just buy a martingale. 

 Neither of them should be left on your dog unattended or in a situation like a dog park.I also would never use one on a puppy or overly sensitive dog. I’m not saying that one tool is more superior. To each their own. Look at the pretty dog, in the pretty picture with the owner wishing it a happy birthday, wish them a happy birthday and bite your tongue unless your ugly opinion is asked for and quit suggesting something you only partially understand.

Whadd'ya At? How's she going buddy, Whadd'ya At today?

So I wanted to start getting more active again. I've really slacked off and there has been weight gain, in both human and dog alike. One of my pet peeves are overweight dogs, there is no excuse for it, it is not a natural health issue for dogs, it is man made. Here, in Newfoundland June can be a bit tricky. While in other parts of the country the summer weather has been happening for some weeks here not so. We're still getting frost warnings, foggy, rainy days. They call it caplin weather, I call it gross. But summer was here today, sunny, 22C just lovely aside from the packs of nippers laying in wait to feast on your blood. Took the dogs out for a walk along the t'railway. I had planned on taking them through the codroy brook conservation trails but only a couple minutes down one of the trails I was being mauled by nippers so turned back to the main trail, where the old railway lines used to be hence the name t'railway.

Call me nuts but yes I walked all three of them at once. Normally my spouse walks with us but he's on his way to Labrador so it's all down to mom now. I got some looks from cars as they passed us before we got to the t'rail. I'm sure they thought I was a nutter but all three of the boys were on their best behavior as we walked down the sidewalks. Boone's leash is hands free; looped around my waste. Woof and Ranger are held in hand but both of them wear walking aids, Woof a prong collar and Ranger a Premier Easy Walk Harness. I had originally bought it for Woof but I bought it too big and haven't been back to the city to get a a small size, works perfectly for Mr. Moose though. Makes for perfect walking unless Woof sees something that grabs his attention and fires up his prey drive.

A ways down is a little spot where you can access the water. Boone and Ranger took little encouragement to dive in. They love to swim, Ranger especially. I was hesitant to let them swim as there are beavers in the area but we took the chance since it was so hot and they were dying for a swim. Woof doesn't swim, or get wet willingly, I blame it on the husky in him. He can be quite dramatic over it but I guess even he was hot as he reluctantly stepped in far enough to get his belly wet, bowed down to give it a good soak and then quickly returned to shore and looked at the other two with a disgusted look on his face as they splashed him. He busied himself with grazing and trying to drag me to the other side where he seemed sure there was something far more exciting to be had. He has horrible leash manners sometimes and is the only one that can't be off leash. Go figure.

Walking back Boone and Ranger remained off leash until we got back to the road. Ranger has very unhealthy obsession with rocks. He gets overly attached. Barks at them, carries them around, rolls around on them grunting in joy and barks at them again. He started it as a puppy and my spouse never nipped in it the bud. While he's better about it now then when I first met them he still does it occasionally and depending on who's around he'll vary. He'd found "the perfect rock" yet again and decided he wanted to carry it home, he frolicked into the woods beside the t'rail, I could here him grunting "this is so freakin' awesome I love rocks!" and when he came back into my line of sight he was covered in sawdust. The brat. Good thing I didn't have a chance to groom him last week like I planned to. All three are a state but they'll just have to wait until I get a free day at work just before we pack up and move to Labrador next month.