The sad story of a fat dog.

Oh, dear. I've not been blogging. I've been reading not writing and that's always dangerous.

I had a discussion with a pal about her dog. Their vet said he was too fat.

Well, sadly, he is. Big boned, large, fat Lab.

The cure? Diet dog food.

I was surprised. I didn't know they made such a thing, but then I feed raw. I do feed meat with fat on it but my dogs are not fat.

'Of course, JRTs are naturally much more active.' My friend replied. By the way my Pal is heavier than I am, I'm guessing around 250, so its no surprise her dog is overweight too.

Yes, that is true, JRTs are more active. They are really more active when you walk your dog every other morning for 2 to 3 miles. Then they aren't AS active in the afternoon. But diet dog food? Of course, you pay more for it so that you can feed your dog too much of it just like you fed too much of the other stuff.

Okay, here's my question. Why feed your dog too much food to make him fat? Control the amount of food he gets. Why not insure he gets enough exercise. Walk your dog. You will both benefit.

Her answer? 'I can't walk poor Pookie. He's sick.'

He has diabetes cause he's too fat! He's fat because he eats too much. He needs exercise which will help him lose weight. Walking is the best exercise for him but you won't walk him cause he's sick and has diabetes.

Talk about a vicious circle!

Oh, and he doesn't like to walk.

Uh huh. Sure. Right. How do you know he doesn't like to walk if he's never been walked. My two jump and run circles when I put on the fanny pack and the sun hat. WALKIES! WALKIES! WALKIES!

So there lies poor fat Pookie. He has a life span of 10 if he's lucky. He's sick because he's fat and can't walk to lose weight because he's sick. I've got news for my Pal. Pookie is also going to get arthritis and probably develop hip problems from carrying that extra 20 or 30 lbs.

But then, so is she. So in 5 or 6 years, if she's lucky, the two of them will be sitting at home with 'health issues' and watch me walk by their window with my two Jacks. She'll say that they can't do that and its a shame and I wonder why they can. It must be, oh I don't know, maybe genetics, or fate, or God's will.

No dear friend. It's you.

Recon Patrol 7/12/10

Today we had a long and rather hot RECON. I got up early and we were out the
door by 0730. We went a new route into a subdivision that's close to the house.
We climbed our 40 degree 'hill' then started exploring some different streets. The
neighborhood is a nice one with sidewalks and high privacy fences. There's even
a little park where we stop and drink water and I put some on the dogs' faces
and bellies to be sure they're cool enough.

The only problem is the privacy fences. When there is a dog inside the yard,
the Cpls cannot see him. This makes for a rather noisy passing as Bridget takes
offense at not being able to see the enemy. And some of them are quite large
and hit the board fence with enthusiasm. I even saw a German Shepard or
Malinois head come up over the 6 ft fence.

We had been going at a good clip and Bridget and I were arguing whom the
commander of this particular parade. She always wants to be in front and then
strains against the lead. Added to this was the additional stress of the
unpredictable attacks on the various perimeter fencing. Cpl Abbot as usual was
in his customary 1st Sgt's position at the rear of the formation happily
trotting his short little legs along.

Then we turned a corner to go up yet another street when I saw looming up the
hill an Samurai Sentry in the form of a huge black chow dog. He was standing
in the big middle of his front yard and giving us the evil eye. I stopped the
patrol and considered our options. We could go forward and engage the enemy,
but my two little Marines had been going great guns for 2.3 miles and were not
at their best fighting conditions. Plus, my main homicidal maniac had been
fighting me for the last mile. Nevertheless, she hit the end of her leash and
barked out her battle cry. Cpl Abbott looked at me like Longstreet to Lee at
Gettysburg and said "If you want it, we'll do 'er, but I'm not enthusiastic
about the whole thing."

As the Commander I took all options into consideration and decided to make a
dignified retreat. We had lost nothing on that street. The other soldier was
only guarding his own camp and had not made any hostile moves yet. And he was
Huge!! Even from the distance, he looked to be the size of a black angus bull.
Just a while back we'd successfully withstood skirmishes from two macho young
Pit Bulls but no actual blood had been shed. I liked out combat history. I'll
take one successful flanking movement and one peaceful outcome over a last stand
any day. My two marines have a combined weight 31 lbs, this guy probably topped
out at around 100 with or without fur coat. So we made a good about face and
headed down the lonesome trail. The Chow, like a good sentry, stayed his post and
watched us leave without comment.

We continued to back track until we hit our regular route and headed towards the
high school and then home. We made it down to the tennis courts but when we went
to cut across the high school campus at 3.07 miles, Bridget pulled back and plopped
down on the dirt. The good thing is that she picked a shady spot that we could all
enjoy the break. I pulled out the water bottle and the Home K9 Energy Edge'shake mix'
that I just got several days ago and mixed her a potion. She drank it down and lay
there happily as I washed her with the remainder of the cool water. She wasn't
abnormally hot, she just appeared all tuckered out. So we sat in the shade a while
took a short break and, when she finally got back up, made it back to the house.

I'm thinking that she's just not used to controlled marches. As a pup she just
did what she wanted and rested when she felt like it. So, since we've been
having forced marches, she just doesn't have the traveling stamina that Cpl Abbott
does. He stays calm and collected most of the time only having some mild panic
attacks when honking big vehicles come a little too close for his comfort zone.
He's only reacted violently once when a Labrador puppy tried to put a foot on
his head. When we get back from the marches he's just a happy little guy, no fuss no
muss no drama. She, on the other hand, is wearing herself out arguing with me and making promises she probably can't keep against much combatants. I mean I walk with a stick but it probably wouldn't have done much against Attila the Chow.

So that was our walk today. We actually logged 3.6 miles in about 2 hrs
including the breaks and the dramatic collapse. I'll probably take the little
darling to see her vet this weekend just to be sure there's not a real problem
that's manifesting itself as these apparent 'fainting' spells.

By the way, when we did get home, they BOTH had to run perimeter fence, chase the squirrels, threaten the Cocker brothers and argue with old Brownie. Then they came in and slept on the bed while I got ready for work. What a life.

Double Dog Dare

Things I've Learned by Walking my Two Dogs

OR

Double Dog Dare.

I started walking my two Jack Russells together several years ago and I’ve had the opportunity to learn a few things about double dog walking. Cesar Millan’s methods are right, but mine work for my dogs. I’m not such a strict pack leader but then again, mine are JRTs. Here’s my take on walking my two ‘June bugs on a string’.

1. Use the same equipment on both dogs. Harnesses are NOT recommended, use collars. I don’t like chain chokes, as my dogs are both civilized and small. I prefer the martingale collar. I have heard some people can use a coupler, a short connecting leash between dogs, but I cannot recommend it with Jack Russells. I believe it could lead to fights and possible injury to one or both of the dogs.

2. The leashes must be the same length.

3. Carry a walking stick or a cane for protection against loose dogs, snakes, etc. If you have pepper spray that may work but it can backfire and it doesn't work on snakes.

4. Be sure your gear is fitted properly to include your clothing and packs. Think comfort and safety, pants not too loose or too tight, cotton socks with sturdy shoes. Wear a hat.

5. Use a backpack or a fanny pack for your supplies. You should carry:

A. water for you and your dogs, at least two bottles.
B. bowl(s) for your dogs to drink water from
C. pocket knife
D. whistle to signal your location if necessary
E. cell phone
F. Extra leash and collar for emergencies.
G. First aide kit (band-aides, sterile wipes, antibiotic cream, etc.)
H. wallet with your ID and if you have any health problems an updated list of your meds. I. always bring any emergency meds you might need on the trail such as inhalers and epi-pens.

6. If you've never walked your dogs before start by walking them one at a time to get them trained to the leash and your signals. Take your time with this as you are setting the foundations for their future behavior. I would suggest that you develop certain verbal cues to help them understand what you want from them. Words like 'Lets Go' to indicate forward motion, Perhaps ‘This Way’ for a left direction or ‘That Way’ for a right direction. There are traditional terms like mush, gee, haw and whoa but use what is comfortable for you. The dogs don't care.

7. Once you have mastered the walk try taking them both out together. If one is higher energy, in the beginning you might take him for a short walk alone then pick up the second dog afterwards. At this point in your training, I would recommend that you take one in each hand the first few times. Leave your stick behind at this point. This is just to familiarize them with walking together and to see if you have a fearful dog or if there is aggression between them. They can cause tripping problems for you and excite his pal. Dog fights can occur, be prepared.

8. When you all have become acclimatized to walking with each other, they you can start to fine tune the walk. Determine which side is more comfortable for you to control the dogs on and which side is more comfortable for you to carry your stick with. Traditionally, they go on the left side. I happen to like the right because it is my dominant hand, but that’s just me.

9. Position the dogs on the selected side of your body preferably side by side. Give your command and step off with the foot closest to them. This gives them a verbal and a visual cue to work from. Take a few steps and then give a halt command. Practice this a few times until they understand what you are doing. If they try to switch sides, don’t allow this. It can tangle you up and cause a bad fall. Just tug GENTLY on the leash or tap LIGHTLY on their flank with your stick. Do not scare or hurt your dog. This should be FUN for ALL of you, if it's not don't bother.

10. After this you will learn to adjust to your dogs and they to you. It is a learning curve. Each dog will react differently according to their natures.

I do recommend that you take things slowly and watch your feet. Dogs are tricky and will try to take advantage of many things to be where They want to be. But if you allow them free rein, you can get into trouble. You can take a hard fall just as easily on flat pavement as rocky ground with a tangle. This is a great way to get your exercise and your dogs’ also. It can be difficult at first and as I said, there is a certain danger involved.

You must be prepared, think ahead, and have the proper equipment in the arsenal in your backpack. Good luck and if you learn something I don’t know about, please let us know.