I am not a dog trainer. Nor do I have a lot of dog experience. All I know is what I have personally witnessed. What surprises me, is how little education there is about dog bites. Considering that around %35 of Canadian households have dogs, there really should be more common knowledge on the subject. Even someone like myself, who often seeks out such information, knew very little before adopting her first dog.

Luckily, to my knowledge Shiva has never bitten anyone. Of course, that doesn’t mean she won’t ever bite or that she is “bite-proof”. All dogs, no matter what breed, size, origin, or history, are capable of biting. If they have teeth, they can bite. It’s my job as her owner to keep her and those around her safe. This is a responsibility I have taken very seriously ever since we discovered Shiva’s reactivity to people and her fear of strangers. The moment I realized Shiva was capable of hurting someone due to this fear was a frightening one.

My childhood dog was one of those naturally friendly, good with children, types of dogs. My parents never worried she would hurt us and I often walked her by myself from a very young age. Biting was something other dogs did. Bad dogs. Dogs that were abused or that were trained to attack. Dogs that were just plain mean.

These ideas from childhood lingered right up until Shiva entered our home. When I learned that my scrawny little rescue with way t00 much energy could turn into one of those “bad dogs who bite”, I was beside myself. Was I the worst owner in the world? Was she going to have to wear a muzzle her entire life?

Did this make her a monster?

Fortunately, we found the right training program and these fears dissipated. I learned that biting doesn’t make the dog evil and that biting incidents can almost always be avoided. I was taught how to watch for warning signs and how to help Shiva overcome most of her fears. Gradually, I stopped seeing looks of horror on the faces of neighbours as my dog barked and lunged. I stopped worrying she was an out of control monster. Shiva never bit anyone and hopefully she never will.

But I am still careful. Just because she hasn’t, doesn’t mean she won’t. One of the most important things I learned was that if a dog bites, it is almost always the owner’s fault. I will never leave Shiva alone with someone I don’t trust.

I keep her interactions with children to a minimum. Shiva isn’t around them very often. We don’t have friends with children and we don’t have any of our own. Because they behave differently than adults, I don’t quite know what she thinks of them. Most often if a child asks to pet her, I will say no. It’s just not worth it. She likes to jump and I’d hate to see her knock a young child down in her enthusiasm. Shiva also doesn’t really like pets unless she is at home. Why force her to tolerate something she doesn’t enjoy?

Last December, I was bitten for the first time. My biggest regret about the whole thing was not the bite itself but that I didn’t say anything. I even tried to hide the teeth marks on my arm because I didn’t want the owner to feel bad. Foolish. And dangerous. I still think about that dog and I hope he has bitten anyone else. Sadly, I am almost positive he has. I feel partly to blame.

Amazingly, with all we put our dogs through, bites do seem to be relatively rare. Perhaps that is why society has such a strong emotional reaction when a dog does hurt someone. They instantly think of Fluffy at home and put the blame on the individual dog or the breed. They want to think their dog would never, ever bite. Dogs are our pets and family members. To think they could cause injury understandably makes us upset.

The only way dogs and people will remain safe is through education. Tragically, those who most need this often don’t seek it out. If I knew so little when I first began my dog-owning journey, how much do non-dog-owners know? Hopefully Dog Bite Prevention Week will help change that.

Have you ever been bitten by a dog? Did you report it? Have you ever owned a dog that has bitten someone? How did you handle it?

For this first week of K9 Kamp it almost felt like we were taking the challenge literally. Perhaps all the complaining I did about the rain got through to those in charge of the weather switch? It’s been sun, sun, sun for almost all of the last seven days. Brilliant timing, I’d say.

However, due to the Blue Nose Marathon on Sunday, I didn’t participate in this first challenge as enthusiastically as I would have liked. I was trying to take it easy before the race and then after I was too sore to get out and run. Don’t worry. I didn’t completely wimp out. Shiva and I still walked our usual 120 minutes every day. I really didn’t have a choice in that matter. If Shiva doesn’t get at least her minimum exercise requirement every day, she puts holes through the floor with her antlers.

Given we are moving soon, we can’t afford to tick off the landlords. I would kinda like our damage deposit back, you know?

Yesterday was the first day I felt strong enough to start running with Shiva again. I decided to make it a real “boot” camp and we headed for the stairs!

A few times up and down had me sweating and Shiva yawning with boredom. The only panting I got out of her was probably due more to the warm temperatures than the activity itself. If I am going to have a hope of tiring her out I am going to need to start training on my own as well. I already feel like I am working twice as hard as she is, maybe if I double my efforts she will actually start to do some work of her own. Because I gotta say, when I feel like my lungs are going to implode, it’s pretty disheartening to see Shiva nonchalantly chewing on some grass.

Dogs.

Training with The Cat was equally frustrating, though for a very different reason: motivation.

Since I can’t really take him outside and expect him to acknowledge my existence, I decided to take it indoors. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to get him to do anything without his favourite treats. Though Whiskas Temptations are probably not K9 Kamp-approved, they are the only things for which I’ve been able to get him to work. It’s a trade-off, I guess.

Since the challenge was to walk, I started by encouraging him to walk with me down the hall. I had some decent success. He already targets my finger and will usually follow me if I shake the treat bag. It’s wicked brutal luring but with The Cat I consider it a breakthrough. The going was pretty slow, sadly, and I couldn’t get him to move more than several feet at a time. After every treat he would sit down and stare at me for three minutes, trying to wear out my patience.

When I tried to take it to the stairs, kind of like with Shiva, I ran into a major standstill.  I got him to go up exactly one step. One. It’s not that he doesn’t run up and down them all the time on his own. But as soon as I was asking him to go up with me, he decided stairs were the most repugnant things he’d ever seen. After trying to wait him out at the second step, I eventually gave up and just set a single treat on the stair itself and walked away. At least he would be forced to go up that extra step if he wanted his junky titbit.

He couldn’t eat it while I was watching, of course. That would be too much like obedience. I almost wonder if he didn’t leave it there for several hours, out of spite.

Cats.

So can I call the first challenge a success? I am not sure. I am also not sure how I am going to get through the next couple of weeks without either injuring either my body or my sanity. It should be interesting.

Check out the K9 Kamp Posts from Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place and all other participating bloggers!

Leaves are very defining of the seasons in Halifax. Just as their changing colours signify fall, their bright bloom broadcasts that spring is here and snow is a distant memory.

There is a downside. When the trees are bare, it is very easy to spot Shiva running through the forest. The leaves make it nearly impossible to spot her only metres away.

Can you see Shiva in the bushes?

They also make it hard to see approaching people and their dogs, which gives me very little time to prepare myself and Shiva. Walking her off-leash in the late spring and summer always feels just a little dangerous as a result.

Just around this corner was an unfriendly dog and his owner, luckily Shiva came back instantly. This time.

Living on the edge, that’s me.

It’s hard to complain too much, though. Despite the added challenge, I’d take lovely green over barren brown any day of the week.

Total craziness. I didn’t even have a goal for time. I thought 45 minutes, maybe 60. I hadn’t trained other than the first two weeks with Shiva. Once my ankle blew out, I’d been incapable of running. All last week I lived in fear of further damage and didn’t dare jog. The only hopes I had for Sunday’s race were to finish without killing myself.

The most amazing thing? When I was done and the urge to throw up had subsided, I almost felt like having another go. It was probably just the endorphins talking. Luckily my PH was there to prevent me from doing anything stupid. I felt strong, capable of tackling several marathons. Despite all the pain, running really can be a good time. A great time, even.

Who would’ve thought?

You can kind of see me: the pink shirt beside the woman with the purple sweater, taken near the finish line

A big part of my success, I know, has a lot to do with the hundreds of people lining the streets, just to cheer us all on. The public support at these events is outstanding. I had no idea just how many people would be there with signs and high-fives and big smiles. It’s hard to say who motivated me more, the people or the sight of their dogs! The combination of all that enthusiasm and the pressure to keep going from those running beside me, inspired me to push myself further than I thought. So far I almost ran the entire first two kilometres. I certainly never planned to do that!

It makes me wonder what I could have accomplished if I’d actually trained properly.

I wish I’d had a camera on me to take photos of some of the signs the spectators made. Many of them were hilarious and nothing short of brilliant. Here is a sample of some of the ones I saw and some of the ones others reported on the marathon website:

 ”Your perspiration is my inspiration.”

“Go random stranger, go!”

“Don’t stop, people are watching.”

“Run faster, the zombies are gaining.”

“Finish line this way, beer that way. You choose.”

“Run like you stole something!”

“Your feet are hurting because you are kicking so much ass.”

“Pain is temporary, pride is forever.”

I noticed that several of the other runners even attached messages to the backs of their shirts to inspire fellow participants. I wish I’d thought of that. I’ll have to remember for next year.

Yes, next year. With the fantastic time I had on the weekend, I am determined to keep going. I even got my PH to agree to enter the 10K with me in 2013′s Blue Nose. I will have a whole year to get ready. To my own surprise, I can’t wait!

I know you’re probably sick of me prattling on about it, but I really want to thank you all one last time for your support, financial and emotional. I am still so overwhelmed by the fact you took the time to wish me luck and congratulate me after it was all over. Pet bloggers truly are the best people in the whole world. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Her Majesty was also well-known for her love of dogs and her patronage of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). She was one of the first to take in collie dogs as pets. Previously they were treated purely as shepherd’s working dogs and were never seen inside fine aristocratic homes. Queen Victoria developed a fondness for the working dogs while spending time on her estate in Balmoral. It was her love of the collie that eventually moved the breed into a position of prominence in the show ring.

 However, the dogs Queen Victoria admired so much do not resemble the collies we see at Westminster or Crufts. Though her collies were definitely pets, she primarily encouraged those who promoted the dogs as working breeds.

One of her favourites was Sharp, seen in the photograph on the left. To me he looks more like a cross between a labrador retriever and a border collie, than the collies I am familiar with in 2012. I imagine it was due to her influence that the breed standard changed as much as it did in the last 150 years. Without Queen Victoria, border collies may not have nearly as many championship titles in conformation, agility, and other dog events as they do today.

Sharp lived for fifteen years. After his passing, a statue was erected in his memory in the queen’s garden at Windsor Home Park in Berkshire. As a result Sharp will forever be known as the ”favourite and faithful Collie of Queen Victoria.” If only all dogs could be so honoured.

It is believe that in old age, Queen Victoria derived great consolation from mementoes of the past, including pictures and sculptures of her favourite animals. A silver statue of Sharp even decorated her dining room table. She wrote often of her beloved pets in her diary, noting their quirks and personalities. In some small form, she was almost dog blogger too.

Though we may not have much in common with the long-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, I think we can all relate to her close boned she had with her dogs. So as I sip from my glass this May Long weekend, I also raise it in memory of Queen Victoria and Sharp, a relationship that shall live on in history.

Amazingly, I have reached my goal of $500 for the Nova Scotia SPCA. (Check out the thermometer!Oh how it glitters!) That alone makes any injury I may sustain worthwhile. I’ve never fundraised for a personal event like this before and never expected success. It’s all thanks to the support of friends, family, and my fellow blogging animal lovers. Seriously. I can’t thank you enough. It means so much to me personally that you would donate your hard-earned money for the animals of Nova Scotia.

I don’t want to get all mushy, but a very special thanks goes to Pamela of Something Wagging This Way Comes for spreading the word on her blog and Facebook page. Your encouragement has touched me more than I could ever articulate.

I also want to publicly thank my PH who not only put up with my whining during my ankle problems, but supported the crazy venture wholeheartedly. He even set up a little donation station on his desk at work and gathered $125 from his co-workers for the cause.

Thanks go to everyone who donated and who sent out words of cheer. No matter how fast I am tomorrow, or if I end up hobbling across the finish line, knowing you are rooting me on makes all the difference.

Pet-lovers of the blogosphere, this run’s for you.

- “No, no, no, NO, NOOO, NOOOOOOOO!”

- “I know it looks like she is trying to kill that other dog, but that’s just how she plays.”

- Bragging woman: “Charlie is such a great dog. I didn’t even train him. He’s just perfect. Never runs away, never jumps up. He is just sooooo smart.”

Thirty seconds later.

Bragging woman: “Wait, where’s my dog?”

- “That’s not my dog rolling in that fish, right? RIGHT???”

- “Just because this is an off-leash area, it doesn’t give their dog a right to run around.”

- “Border collies are the best dogs ever. Everyone should get one. Then everyone would get along.”

- “Dude, that dog just stole my cheeseburger.”

- “Shit! Do you think anyone will notice if I don’t pick that up?”

- Well-dressed man: “Have you ever heard of a Cane Corso before?”

Friend: “No.”

Well-dressed man: “I think they made it up. That dog isn’t a purebred anything. Not like my Malti-Poo.”

- “Is it illegal for a dog to kill a squirrel? I think Bowser just got another one.”

- Teenager #1: “Do you know that those metal posts are for?”

Teenager #2: “They are containers for poo bags.”

Teenager #1: “Poo bags? Doesn’t the city clean that up?”

- ”Oh look! A dog beach! What a perfect spot for a picnic.”

- Grossed-out woman: “Are those two dogs doing what I think they are doing?”

Friend: “Maybe we should give them some privacy?”

Woo hoo!

Wait a minute, rubber boots?

You heard correctly. In my part of the world, it rains from February to July. No dog walker leaves home without them. This brings me to my first reason for participating in K9 Kamp again:

Motivation

It’s hard to feel a lot of enthusiasm for going outside and getting active with my dog in the pouring rain. K9 Kamp should be just the right nudge I need to brave the Haligonian weather. Besides, the extra weight of boots and waterproof jacket should increase the fitness challenge without me even trying. No matter how soggy we get, Shiva and I aren’t going to let a little drizzle keep us indoors.

It’s dull to hang around inside all the time and my second reason for joining Kamp encompasses this feeling perfectly.

Boredom

Shiva and I walk a lot. At least six kilometres every day, often more. However, we are deeply entrenched in Ruttsville with no way out. There are only so many ways to tour around residential neighbourhoods and only so many fire hydrants to sniff. Just yesterday Shiva was so bored with our daily routine, she didn’t even muster the energy to scarf more than three pieces of garbage. Not good. K9 Kamp will hopefully add some much needed excitement to our time together.

The third reason I am pumped to get going is…

Momentum

Most of you know I am running in the 5K portion of Halifax’s Blue Nose Marathon this weekend to raise money for the Nova Scotia SPCA. It’s not been an easy journey, especially in the last few weeks. I worry after the race is over on Sunday, I will lose all desire to continue on. I am counting on K9 Kamp to keep pushing me to other races in the future.

Which leads me to my fourth reason for Kamping it up.

Competition

Shiva is one of the fastest agility dogs on the course. If I am ever going to stop humiliating her with my persistent slowness, I need to get in shape. Furthermore, K9 Kamp is all about working as a team with your dog, as is agility. Any activity that brings Shiva and I closer, will make us better competitors in our favourite dog sport.

Also, as I mentioned above, I am hoping to participate in other local running events in the future. Due to a recent injury, I will probably end up walking most of the way this time. K9 Kamp will help prepare me for more running with Shiva, which in turn should help prepare me for future races. It may be a little premature, but I am hoping to enter the 10K in next year’s Blue Nose. Wish me luck!

And my final reason for joining?

Cats

That’s right. Cats. I am on a mission to prove cats make just as awesome pets as dogs. When I found out K9 Kamp was open to all animal friends I knew I had to get our cat involved this time as well. It’s going to be a challenge as he generally prefers to exercise on his own time, but if I can get him to spin for treats, I feel confident I can get him to walk beside me. Maybe even on a leash?

 There is still plenty of time to sign up and join in! Even if you don’t think you can fit in all of the challenges, I encourage you to participate in your own way, such as walking your dog for an extra ten minutes, or playing fetch at a different park. Everyone can get into the K9 Kamp spirit, no matter what your fitness level! Don’t forget, there are some pretty wicked prizes to reward you for your efforts.

Do you plan on joining K9 Kamp this year? What activities do you and your pets most enjoy together?

Check out the K9 Kamp Posts from Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place and all other participating bloggers!

The internet can be a harrowing place. Before pet blogging I spent a lot of my free time on politically-based websites. The bitter vitriol that was spewed out in comment sections left me sputtering. The more I read, the angrier I became. Everything set me off back then: television commercials, overheard conversations on the bus, comedic one-liners, newspaper articles, magazine advertisements. I quickly became just a seething mass of angry frustration. Nothing was safe from my outrage.

I think what Ms. Walrond says here encapsulates this perfectly:

“I think our general outlook is similar to our bodies:  our ability to look at the negative, if exercised like a muscle, gets stronger and more robust, to the point where all we can see is negative.  (And I think this is true, even if we try to wrap up these expressions with a wink and wry smile, even if we think we’re being funny or entertaining.  Negativity is insidious this way.)  And if all we see is negative, then happiness and joy necessarily make their departures.”

Please don’t think I was miserable. There were still many joyful moments of gratitude in my life. However, in the midst of the pleasant times, I would see something out of the corner of my eye in a store that would have me grumbling out loud. It must have been very annoying for those around me.

I have described all the numerous ways Shiva has changed my life, but blogging about Shiva has also had a large impact. The comments on posts about adorable puppies and the pros and cons of feeding raw aren’t nearly as fractious as those regarding minority rights. Once I entered the pet side of blogland, I didn’t have the time to check out the daily galling political news of the day. Eventually I was only reading about the latest attack on women’s issues once a week, and then once a month. Slowly, my daily rant at the television screen turned into a simple eyeroll. With Shiva on my brain, I had more important things to stress over.

It’s not that I don’t feel anger toward these things anymore – they are still very important – but I have learned how to better pick my battles. There are many things in the world of animal welfare that tick me off. There are many things worth yelling about, from abusive training methods to puppy mills. It’s all out there and it all needs to be discussed for the purpose of effecting positive change.

They keyword being positive. Hollering about my distaste of pet perfume isn’t doing anything to make the world a happier place, even if it makes me feel better for a few minutes.

Instead, as per Karen Walrond’s suggestion, I am going to share some of the things I found on the Internet that are making the world more beautiful today.

• At the age of 93, this woman is officially the world’s oldest yoga instructor. She looks gorgeous and amazingly strong, doesn’t she? Wowzers.
• Animal Planet has a new blog called “Daily Treat” that showcases animals doing what they do best: being adorably entertaining.
• Success Just Clicks is hosting a contest for Dog Bite Prevention month. The prizes include music from Through a Dog’s Ear. This is definitely going to be something worth checking out!
• Speaking of Through a Dog’s Ear, The Poodle (And Dog) Blog shared a lovely video  yesterday of the music being streamed through a shelter with incredible results.

What did you find beautiful today?

Now that the warmer weather has arrived there have been a lot more dogs out on the streets. This used to make me a little resentful as I felt if people couldn’t walk their dogs all winter long they had no right to be bugging us the instant the temperatures started to climb. This year my attitude toward such interlopers has changed. Now I just few the increased sidewalk traffic as a challenge.

“Let’s see how many dogs we can pass without lunging tonight!”

Our record so far is five. We came close to more but Shiva just couldn’t resist a happy, wriggly Golden Retriever puppy. I couldn’t blame her too much for that one.

Much to my surprise and delight, these days Shiva is more often the lungee. Almost every walk now I am complimented in some way for her calm demeanor around other dogs.

“Look how nice that dog is walking,” I’ll hear someone say to their rambunctious canine. “Why can’t you do that?”

It always makes me laugh. Of course, as soon as someone says something Shiva does her best to prove them wrong, yanking me off my feet to go sniff at a random piece of paper.

But I digress.

Shiva has been lunged at a few times in the last few weeks while on leash. Most of the time it’s not a problem because I can see the dog is about to make a run for it ahead of time and am prepared. Her reactivity toward other dogs has all but vanished as long as the other dog is just another goofball like her. Luckily we haven’t had to find out what she’ll do if the other dog isn’t just a mannerless pal.

However, when these other dogs have started to ran at her to say hello, Shiva has taken to dropping immediately to the ground. And I can’t get her to stand or even look at me, not even if I throw a treat at her head. She just lays down on the spot and stares. It’s creepy.

It’s not with all approaching dogs, only the ones who have broken from their owners and ran towards her.  And only when she is on a leash.

Nothing happens afterwards. Once the dog gets to her she leaps up either into a play bow or starts sniffing. The tension completely disappears. Still, it weirds me out. I can’t help but wonder if the laying down is a sign of stress or an attempt at a calming signal. Or maybe she is just so excited that she has to quiet herself or she’ll burst?

Have you ever witnessed behaviour like this before? Is it something we should worry about? Just when I think I understand all of Shiva’s little quirks, she pulls out a new one. I swear she does it just to keep me guessing.