And the winner is...

So It seems like most of you think Mouse is probably female. To the naked eye, I would've been the first to agree. In fact, I keep referring to Mouse as her, even though I now know that Mouse is genetically male!!! Quoting Mouse's owner:

He is a male psuedo hermaphrodite which means he looks female on the outside but is male. The organs removed from him were very small, very inconclusive and not totally identifiable. The biopsy confirmed his true gender.

Over the last several months we've tried not to be too gender specific. We always said "good Mouse" instead of "good boy or girl" - but we did say she when we spoke of him. Even though we could continue with that (because quite frankly it won't make a difference to Mouse!), we're trying to switch to "he". It will be better in the long run because every time we said "she" we'd know in the back of our minds it wasn't really true. Don't ask me if any of this makes sense....

The last two weeks have been a real challenge though - trying to keep Mouse quiet and inactive after surgery. Because of his uniqueness, he had to have more invasive surgery then a normal male (more like a female I suppose) so running around couldn't happen. I guess nobody told him that he was supposed to feel bad for two weeks because after three days he was ready to go. I've had to use the e collar (aka cone of shame) just to limit him a little. Anyway, we're almost done.

...

Mouse is fine around kids, he's just very exuberant. We do have smaller kids come into the house - [child]'s friends are 9 and under, so until I can get him to stop jumping up when he greets someone, I keep it very controlled. He doesn't know his own strength and doesn't understand that not everyone wants their faces licked (the little ones are just the right height!) and that when he falls on his back and whines, he needs his tummy rubbed. Now the teenagers that come in handle it better but we do intercede to cut hellos down to a minimum. If he gets too excited, he still "piddles" his greeting which can get old after the first or second guest. Last night [child] (16) had about 10 kids over and Mouse got to greet the first three at the door. The next couple had to say hello in the kitchen when Mouse had calmed down a little. He's allowed to be at the gathering for a couple of minutes but unfortunately, if he were allowed to stay, he would be too much the life of the party - lamp shade on his head and all. He's a riot, but he's a lot of work. I have very good helpers though. The kids are committed to training and exercising. Mouse is "mouthy" at times, especially when he's tired or hasn't been exercised enough. I know he'd never bite us but we don't accept it from him. It's probably one of the hardest things we're dealing with right now.

Sounds like Mouse is right in there with the rest of the teenagers! I might be contacting them for some advice once Belle is in the house!

Charlie update 8.31.09

I got a quick note from Charlie's owner this morning that he is doing well, despite his fair share of teenage moments. Like the other pups, he recovered quickly from his altering. There may be some pictures to follow soon! Oh, he's about the size of Cheetah now.

Sadie, Cheetah, Belle and Swiffer update 8.30.09

I saw Sadie today and she is like a different dog. She is so much more confident, she has some meat on her bones and she wants to play with the other dogs. She has that doggy sparkle back in her eye. What a difference from the tail tucked entirely under her, wouldn't stand up, emaciated little thing I first met.

I have to tell you, Cheetah was pretty cute with her. There were a good 15 dogs or so in the enclosure today and if someone got too rough with Sadie, Cheetah took it upon herself to herd them right away from her. Cheetah was the enforcer generally. If someone was barking too much - she would get right in their face and bark once sharply and back away. It was as if someone whistled through their fingers (I always wished I could do that) bc that dog would be shocked right into silence. It was fun to watch.

Cheetah was unamused that I was with Belle today. She did not like that one bit. I am HER person and that is that. She has been staying the last few days with Kristina, head of the rescue, to give this household a break. She has always like Kristina and literally (I kid you not) rolled down the car window and jumped out when she saw Kristina when I was dropping her off. Luckily I was going about 1 mph and she was leashed by her harness as opposed to her collar. I was able to release her from the seatbelt quickly and Kristina grabbed the leash with Cheetah none the worse for wear. I usually keep the child locks on the windows bc while she has never jumped out, she has done the roll down the window trick before (damn smart dog), but I had rolled down the front window to talk to Kristina so the child lock was off.

Anyway, she was herding dogs away from Kristina too when she was in the pen. She is crapped out on the floor right now - busy day of protecting everyone for her!

Kristina said she did awesome at her house and wasn't even territorial! Woo hoo! I declare her cured. I think she really would do best in a household with another dog. So Cheetah will be with me for this week, and then Sat night she is going to another senior foster's house so I can take Belle, who needs me more right now.

Back to Sadie, she has had all of her bloodwork and this week has the actual heartworm treatment. This treatment is painful so please keep her in your thoughts. She will also be on pain meds for her hip - I spoke to Kristina about it today. And we are investigating specialists to work on her leg. Our goal is not to amputate, but follow Ashley's suggestion of the procedure with the big long name that will stop bone from rubbing on bone. She is already functioning with the leg. The musculature has healed around it and she has figured out how to work with it. So we just want to deal with the pain it must be causing her. My guess is that it would be cheaper to amputate, but no one really wants to do that.

So Belle. She is a tiny little thing! She's only 35 pounds and looks so little to me next to Cheetah. She is smaller than the other puppies I have seen as well. She is cute as a button and I know there will be a ton of interest in her. As a matter of fact, we already had one application! (3 kids though). I spent about 20-30 minutes with her just getting her used to me, and before we were done, she turned her back to me (I was flattered by this!) and she jumped into my lap and licked my face. So we are buds. I brought chopped up hot dog with me to offer as a high value treat, but she was slow to accept it. She did finally eat out of my hand and we started some basic targeting training. She is not super food motivated, which will make training a little more difficult. But certainly not impossible.

She is very fearful, but not as bad as Cheetah was, nor as reactive. Add to that that she is younger, and I am very confident that I can get her where she needs to be. Here is my plan:

1. Get her spayed ASAP. Her owner was advised by her vet to hold off bc she was so skittish. I don't agree with that evualtion, but regardless, I am of the opinion that now, hormones are exacerbating the situation. Plus, it needs to be done.
   
2. Once she is spayed I can take her to an off leash park - I found this helped Cheetah immensely. Fearful dogs are often more fearful on leash, bc they can't run away if they are scared. This can mean they feel they have to defend themselves, which is never good.
3. Change her food! She is currently on Puppy Chow, a corn based dog food. We have discussed before how corn can block seratonin uptake in a dog, increasing anxiety, fear and aggression. The Rescue has changed over to Blue Buffalo - to which I say BRA.VO. Cheetah has been getting Solid Gold, but I will probably switch Belle to Blue Buffalo for consistency. We'll see how I feel when I go shopping :-)
4. I will start a basic obedience regimen with her. This will cause bonding with me and increase confidence. It will also help me to control situations better and distract her more effectively when we are facing her fears.

Swiffer is still limping :-( We are still on pain meds and I have scheduled an appointment with a different vet in the practice for Saturday. My biggest fear is that she has an injury which is healing improperly. We will likely need to do some x-rays next. She and Lexy had a very nice break while Cheetah was visiting. Lexy followed me from room to room like a dog and Swiffer did too, come to think of it :-)

The Adolescent Dog

I recently reached out to the remaining puppy owners to offer some resources. I thought perhaps they might be helpful to some of my readers as well.

As you are probably well aware by now, your puppies have entered adolescence. Just like a human teenager - this can be a trying time. As someone who works with a rescue, I see tons of dogs come through because they were given up by families who thought their sweet puppy had gone Cujo on them. One of our own litter has even been surrendered already. So I wanted to reach out.

Most of you have already reported some Dr Jekyl & Mr. Puppy behavior :-) I just want to reassure you that if your pup is suddenly shy, nippy, barking more, possessive, territorial, showing separation anxiety, etc etc... that this is a normal part of puppy development and you have not adopted a monster. Nonetheless, I know that it is not an easy period to deal with so I thought I would offer my support as well as some resources. If there is anything I can do to assist you during this period, please let me know. Your reaction to your pup during this period is critical in helping him/her develop into the dog you hope he/she will be. Consistent training is critical. And fear not, it usually only lasts about 6-8 months, unlike the fun of a human teenager, which can last upwards of a decade!

• An article from Dog Star Daily, a trainer blog that I really like. This is written by Ian Dunbar, a father of the positive reinforcement method of training. http://www.dogstardaily.com/training/adolescent-dog-training-18-weeks-2-years

• A Q&A that you should relate to :-) http://www.canismajor.com/dog/adol01.html

• An article by a vet** that gives a quick overview of what your dog is physically experiencing http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1701&S=1&SourceID=47

** please note: While the vet is THE FIRST PLACE I go for health issues, I am NOT A FAN of taking much behavioral advice from your vet unless he/she is a veterinary behaviorist. If you are concerned about behavioral issues, please have your dog checked for any physical issues by your vet to be sure it is not a response to a health problem, and then consult a certified dog behaviorist - it is their area of expertise.

There don't seem to be a ton of books focused specifically on dog adolescence, but a few authors I recommend:

• Nicole Wilde: Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears
• Ian Dunbar - A number of his puppy books have sections on adolescence
• Patricia B. McConnell Ph.D. - You can't go wrong with any book by her.

If you have any specific problems, let me know and I may be able to recommend more resources to you.

Sadie Update 8.28.09

I just checked in with her foster and she is currently in treatment for heart worm. She has not had surgery on her leg yet - we are addressing the heart worm first. But she has more energy and is initiating play with other dogs!

Poppy 8.27.09 blog update

Quick mention of Poppy in this one.

Mouse Gender!

SO - the results are in. We now know that Mouse is genetically a.......

Well, what do you think Mouse is? You can vote to the right ==>
I will post the actual answer Monday.

Belle update 8.25.09

First I am sorry for the lull in updates. I just haven't had much to say.

I am heartbroken to tell you that Belle (Cuddlebug) is being surrendered back to the rescue. The family first contacted me about a week ago with concerns.

About 2 months ago our vet raised a concern about Belle’s personality and her being skittish. She can be very sweet and then wants to bite and cowers... She is good and playful with our 2 girls. She likes to eat their toys but we are working through that. I just left the vet and she thought I should reach out to you. We love Belle and she is part of our family but have concerns if she is going to be skittish and possibly bite our children’s friends, etc. Our vet has seen improvement but feels she will always have this issue and require extra attention. We want to make sure Belle has the best possible life and our vet thought she might be better with a family without children and were she can receive a lot of exercise and attention. The vet thinks her skittish behavior could cause her to bite one of our children or friends out of the blue with this type of personality.

Dogs do not bite out of the blue. Anyway, I put them in touch with a friend of mine who is a behaviorist and was hopeful that it could be worked through. Generally I prefer to hear from a vet regarding health and a behaviorist regarding - well, behavior. It is not the same training. This friend of mine specializes in fear and aggression issues and I think she really knows her stuff.

Belle is in adolescence, which is a time when there can be regression and problems in many dogs, just like in a human teenager. I see a ton of dogs between 6 and 18 mos in rescue, I suspect for this reason. The fact that she is young indicates a strong likelihood that we can figure out her triggers and work with her to stop the unwanted behaviors. The family told me last night that they do not feel they have the extra time to put in to such training.

We are working out the terms of surrender now: whether Belle will remain with the family until she can be rehomed, or Rescue Angels will take custody and foster her until then. I am sad that I can not take her in myself. But there is no way I could leave Cheetah and Belle alone while I am at work. I KNOW they would get to playing and the house would be in shambles when I come home. And I am not comfortable crating for an entire work day. Not to mention poor Mr. PM, Swiffer and Lexy. I am going to try to figure something out though so that I can work on her training a bit myself, and definitely have some play dates with Cheetah. You know I will stay involved.

I always wondered why many rescues don't adopt to families with young children. I get it now. After the experiences I have had so far, someone is going to be hard pressed to convince me to let one of my dogs go to a home with kids under 10 again.

I would like to publicly thank Dee Hoult for doing me the favor of pro bono consulting on this case. As always I would prefer to keep comments on the positive side - no bashing please . We can not judge the position of the family without being in their shoes. I don't get the impression they made this decision lightly.

Rescue Angels Adopter Reunion BBQ

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Yesterday was the Adopter Reunion and it went well! Cheetah was pretty good about all of the chaos. She got a little nippy when people she didn't know kept coming in and messing around in the kitchen - particularly the fridge. But she only outright nipped I think once. I caught her at it and she did not do it again.

Sadie was there and she hid under the big bush for most of the party, but after most of the people left she came out and explored all around the yard. Foster said she never does that, so I feel like it was a good experience for her. She looked really good. She wasn't shaking at all and she was really curious.

Schroeder and his sister Marci came with thier family. He was joyous as usual :-) Right at the end Poppy's owner came as well. She came sans Poppy because I guess Poppy was feeling a little off. But we had a nice visit and Poppy may come for a play date sometime soon! I am getting reports from her and some of the other puppy owners that they are going through a shy phase. I am hoping it is adolescence and will pass. Cheetah was shy when she first came to us but she got over it. I am pretty convinced if Cheetah can get past it, the puppies will too. This is a tough phase in many dogs' lives.

As many of you know, Poppy's owner is a vet and she had some alternative ideas to amputating Sadie's leg. We had Sadie's xrays at the event and so she was able to look at them and make some suggestions. We can minimize her pain without losing her leg. That would be great. In the mean time, she showed us exactly what she thinks would be causing Sadie to be in pain (there is bone rubbing up against bone) and we realized that the vet Sadie went to last weekend did not prescribe pain meds. This is an issue that makes me absolutely insane. I am a big believer in pain relief to animals. Just becuase they can not say "it hurts" does not mean it doesn't. So we will be revisiting that vet to get a Rx.

Overall the party was a success. I think we had around 30-40 dogs. It hit 100 degrees though!! We had three doggy pools and a sprinkler going for the dogs, as well as lots of water bowls and a couple of tents for shade. Kristina made doggy cupcakes, which were a big hit with the dogs I saw eating them :-) Cheetah was not interested in dinner last night and completely turned her nose up at breakfast, but I think it could be because she had at least 2 hamburgers, a piece of hotdog, and many cupcakes yesterday. She was completely pooped. Between the heat, the excitement, the anxiety of strangers messing with the den, and all of the crazy food, she is a bit sedate this morning as well. I won't worry about it unless she isn't drinking or is still not eating tomorrow.

Swiffer made an appearance for a little while, but was pretty intimidated with all of those other dogs, and I didn't make her stay out that long in the heat. Her foot is still bothering her a little too, although it seems better.

I, myself, never felt such an extreme need for a shower in my entire life after running around in that heat! Too bad you can't really have air conditioning outside. I wish we had a pool. We have enough room for it but 40k for installation plus 3k a month during the season is a bit much to contemplate right now :-/

Sadie 8.15.09

I have some new news on Sadie. We waited for her to get a little more comfortable before taking her to the vet. As it turns out she doesn't have arthritis. Foster brought her to the adoption event and had a visit with the vet today. On his first inspection the vet felt her leg and says its a mangled mess of bone there and he didn't know if it was an old fracture that healed wrong or if it was osteosarcoma. Well upon x-ray it was clear it was neither. This tough little girl was shot and still has bullet remains in her. The leg obviously was never addressed and healed completely wrong. It looks mangled on the x-ray. There is also bird shot/bullet all around the leg and in her body but the little pieces in her body don''t seem to be bothering her nor are they causing any damage. On top of that her back leg is dislocated. It has been dislocated for so long that the joint has healed over and cannot be reset - the vet recommends amputation. Foster reports that she's still happy and chipper.

I will see her tomorrow at the adopter reunion. Poor little girl. As you may recall, she is also heartworm positive and is blind in one eye from cataracts. The vet estimates her at only 5 years old. Whoever did this to her should be shot and tortured themselves. I hope karma does it's job.

We are going to do a massive fund raising push for her. If you would like to donate even $5, every little bit will help. Please forward to whoever you know who may be interested in donation or adoption of this special case. Rescue Angels will start by treating the heart worm and go from there once she gets stronger. She has a long road ahead of her, but she has already survived so much and she is now surrounded by people who love her. She is such a sweet natured little thing. She will be an amazing dog for someone and the hard cases always seem to know when they are rescued.

New Mocha Pics

I don't know for sure if this will work or not. But here are some new Mocha pictures recently posted. Just in case, I copied them down to post as well.

Swiffer update 8.12.09

The vet did and said pretty much exactly what I did. It just took them 3 hours to see us. boo! He prescribed some rimadyl, which is an anti inflammatory and pain killer. If she doesn't improve by the beginning of next week we will do some x-rays. But neither he nor I saw enough of a need to sedate her to do that at this point, since there is no palpable break, dislocation or unnatural movement or swelling of joints. She seemed a little less stiff this morning so the rimadyl must be helping.

Something funny I noticed last night at the vet. Since I sat there for 3 hours I got to know the other patients (I also brought Promise of the Wolves to read, which I would recommend.) In my job as a recruiter I am lucky if I remember a person's name until they walk out the door. But right now I could tell you the name, breed and age of every dog and cat in that waiting room last night. I also got to have a rare sighting of a Leonberger! They are HUGE and very cool dogs. The owner was impressed that I knew what it was, but my sister-in-law had been looking into Leo pups so I had done the research. :-)

pic = Swiffer at about 10 weeks

Cheetah 8.11.09

Saturday night Cheetah did something to Swiffer out in the back yard. The last I looked, Cheetah was occupied chewing a bone about the size of Swiffer on the deck, and Swiffer was wandering around in the yard. But she must've started trying to play with Swiffer bc Swiff was covered in spit. All of a sudden Swiffer started screaming and Cheetah was slinking away - they were behind the big bush so I am not sure what happened. I bolted out there pretty quickly from preparing dinner. I suspect Swiffer pulled a muscle while executing an avoidance maneuver - possibly with Cheetah's paw on her back. She has been favoring her left hind leg ever since, so I made a vet appt for her tonight. Of course she is more terrified of Cheetah than ever. I am keeping them more separated. I can tell it isn't broken or dislocated, and there was no blood to indicate a puncture wound and I checked her foot pads for thorns etc. So it has to be a ligament or muscle. She can put weight on it, but mostly hobbles around on three legs. Poor boo. Cheetah was only trying to play with Swiffer I'm sure. She tends not to know her strength. Swiffer is also a bit of a drama queen, but this is a long time to be in a snit and play on our guilt so we're getting it checked out.

Cheetah is learning not to stalk the cat, which is good. I have found a squirt of water in the snout with a spray bottle is fabulous aversion training. As you know, normally I go for positive reinforcement. But there are certain instances where aversion is the way to go. In this case, Cheetah gets so focused on the cat that her ears don't even twitch when I talk to her. Now, all I have to do is look in the direction of the bottle on the counter or say her name sternly and she will immediately relinquish her post at the basement door. Of course that cat has figured this out and is taunting her. I swear to god it is like having kids.

Note on aversion training - timing is absolutely imperative. If your correction is off by even a tiny amount, you might as well not do it it at all bc the effect will be lost. The dog will not associate the punishment with the crime. You absolutely must read the dog's body language and anticipate their actions so that you can correct the split second they start to do thing you are trying to prevent.

Schroeder update 8.10.09

Mr. Schroeder will be [at the Rescue Angels party Sunday], he will be happy to see his mom. I want to thank you again for helping him into the world, he is a joy (most the time). [haha] I think he is bigger then the last time you saw him. He has been a little extra chewy lately.

... I am up at 6 and taking care of the four legged family and the birds and a short walk with Marcy and Schroeder. Marcy doesn't walk that far but she is building up so when the temp gets cooler I think she will go farther. Then Schroeder and I either go to the dog park for a hour hour and half, or walk for about that long. If he has a lot of energy we go for a shorter mid-day walk. He has a pool and sandbox (spoiled). [yay! in a good way.] It keeps him from digging in my garden now if only he would stop eating my harvest . LOL

Maddie visited Cheetah 8.9.09

Maddie and Cheetah had a fun visit on Sunday. This was the first time I have seen Maddie since her adoption and she is bigger than Cheetah! Not by much, but she's bigger and still growing. I expect that her frame won't get too much bigger, but now she will start to bulk up more. Her paws are big! But I would put them at about the same size as Schroeder if I remember correctly. I bet they end up about the same size and Schroeder (7.5 oz) was the only one bigger than Mouse (5.5 oz) at birth! For the record Maddie was biggest at 13.5 oz. (Do not ask me why I know that off the top of my head.) Maddie was also the only one born after midnight, so she has her own birthday too :-)

Anyway! She seems to have gotten over her chicken incident just fine. She was wary of me at first and barked, which mortified her owner, but it was fine. She doesn't remember me and she was in a strange place. God knows I am used to dealing with Cheetah when she does that to other people. I just turned to the side, averted my eyes, crouched down and let my hand be where she could sniff it. She calmed down pretty quickly.

We went straight out to the back yard and she sniffed around a bit while I went in and got Cheetah. Cheetah was SOOOOOOO excited she practically dragged me out the door and down the deck steps. (I always have Cheetah on a lead when introducing her to new dogs and people in case she takes offense to them. We have had big issues with her being territorial in the past.)

No worries though - Cheetah was crazy excited to see Maddie and she had zero problems with Maddie's owner or her friend that she brought along. So far, Cheetah is fine with her puppies' owners. She is also improving with other strangers in the house. She was very good when Kate visited and was good with my mother-in-law. I am careful about introductions - she always starts out in another room or meets the person outside and I can control her and her environment better as the inside introduction happens. She is not absolutely perfect but she is definitely getting better. She also did very well with her last owner when introduced in the house, but she had also seen them a few times in other places. I will be interested to see how she does when I have some people over on Wed night from the Rescue, and then on Sunday when we have the Rescue Angels anniversary celebration at my house when there will be approx 50 adopters and dogs coming and going from the back yard. If she can't take it I will confine her to my bedroom.

Anyway, I got off track. The pictures I took aren't fabulous (they are in with Cheetah post puppies), but I also got some video, which is posted in the usual place. Maddie looks absolutely beautiful - she is sleek and shiney and clearly happy. Her owner also is very good about guiding her and setting limits for her. I think she will probably get a little bigger than her owner hoped, but she is totally in love with her and it won't matter beyond some practical considerations.

Mouse update 8.10.09

Again, sorry you've had to wait so long for pictures. Life is busy in the -- household. I've attached some recent ones. Mouse is a big face licker. If you're lying down at all it's her cue to come slather your face with kisses (as you'll see!). [note: picture of Mouse licking one of the kids' faces - very cute but I won't include it for privacy reasons.]

A few other Mouse "ism's":

* loves ice cubes, frozen watermelon, cottage cheese and peanut butter (occasional treats only)

* Shows up at the side of your bed with a toy in her mouth ready to play

* loves to fetch balls and frisbees and will even drop them at your feet now

* prefers to sleep on hard cool tile floor then a dog bed ( sleeps through the night until we get up. in fact since it's summer and most of the house is sleeping in except for [dad], she'll get up with him, walk around with him, go out for a little bit and when he leaves she comes back upstairs and goes back to sleep - it's amazing how easy she fits in with our sleep routine)

* Mouse is a tease. If a particular person ignores her or just reprimanded her, she'll go to the front hall and get that persons shoe. She never chews it, but she slowly walks by the person with a sideways glance. She's either saying "you can't ignore me" or "I'm sorry, come play with me".
[this is hysterical! So sly!]

I'll write more later. We enjoy reading your blog - there are times in some of the stories that I see similarities. She did steal an entire boneless chicken breast off the counter and swallowed without chewing. She also swallowed a piece of quiche whole. We've worked hard on the no jumping on the counter so no food casualties lately but we're careful not to leave temptation out. She doesn't throw anything up though - not even the whole dead mouse (yes, a mouse - how ironic) she ate on a walk one night. [ew!] That one worried us because you never know how the mouse died, but we called the vet and watched her and she was fine. Cast iron stomach, a will of steel and a heart of gold.

Mouse will have her surgery next Monday.

[This family was such a perfect fit for Mouse. I love their updates. I think all the puppies ended up in their perfect homes. :-)]

Article: Your Family Dog May Be Smarter Than Your Toddler

Fascinating stuff - I have to get this book!

Your family dog may be smarter than your toddler - CNN.com*

By Doug Gross
CNN

(CNN) -- Your dog may not actually be smarter than somebody's honor student -- popular bumper stickers aside. But your canine companion might well be smarter than their toddler, according to a growing body of research on how dogs think.

The smartest dog breeds are on par mentally with a 2 1/2-year-old, professor says.

1 of 2

Using adapted tests designed for human children, psychologists have learned that average dogs can count, reason and recognize words and gestures on par with a human 2 -year-old.

"They may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought," said Stanley Coren, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and leading researcher on dog behavior.

Coren planned to present his research Saturday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in Toronto, Canada.

He said the average dog can understand about 165 words, including signs, signals and gestures. They can also count to about 5, he said.

"I mean, we're not going to make them an accountant or something," Coren said in an interview with CNN Radio.

The smartest dogs, he calls them the "super breeds," are on par with a 2½-year-old, recognizing up to 250 words.

And, no, not all breeds are created equally.

Don't Miss

• American Psychological Association
• Dr. Coren's Web site

For his book "The Intelligence of Dogs," Coren asked more than 200 dog-obedience judges to rank 110 breeds based on their intelligence. Border collies, poodles, retrievers, German shepherds and Doberman pinschers were among the dogs at the head of the class.

The intellectual runts of the litter? The borzoi, chow chow, bulldog, basenji and -- finishing dead last -- the Afghan hound.

The dividing line, Coren said, tends to be the age of the breed. More recent breeds, like the collies and retrievers, have been bred for years to do what humans want them to do.

"We've been wiring into dogs the ability to communicate with us," said Coren, author of several books on dogs' thinking, most recently "The Modern Dog." "If you will, we've been manipulating their intelligence."

Meanwhile, breeds like hounds naturally did what humans wanted -- i.e. chase tasty animals -- and didn't need to be fine-tuned, he said.

"They did the work all by themselves," Coren said. "They didn't have to cooperate with the human being, and all the human had to do was get there before the dogs ate it all."

Included in the number of "words" dogs are believed to know are hand gestures, like pointing, and nonverbal sounds, like the whistles used to direct sheep dogs and retrievers.

Fact Box

Psychologist Stanley Coren asked dog-obedience judges to rank 110 dog breeds from most to least intelligent.

Top Five
1. Border collies
2. Poodles
3. German shepherds
4. Golden retrievers
5. Doberman pinchers

Bottom Five
106. Borzoi
107. Chow chow
108. Bulldog
109. Basenji
110. Afghan hound

Source: "The Intelligence of Dogs"

Counting ability is tested in drills such as one in which treats are dropped, one at a time, behind a screen. When the researcher either sneaks away one of the treats or stealthily adds an extra before raising the screen, the dog will wait longer -- appearing to puzzle over the bad math -- before eating the treats.

That's the same way toddlers respond when faced with a similar switch, said Coren.

Aubrey Fine, a psychologist and faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, said research like Coren's could help dog owners better relate to their animals.

"Too often, many people look at dogs as four-legged people," said Fine, who specializes in the use of dogs in treating patients with developmental disorders and other mental-health conditions. "We need to recognize what dogs cue in to. Once you understand better how to interact, it causes a better coexistence with your pet companion."

Coren said the findings on dog intelligence showed they have more sense than some scientists may have thought, but that some in the general public may be surprised for different reasons that span a wide range of thought.

"There are some people who think that dogs are just little human beings running around in fur coats and there are other people who sort of think that they're unfeeling biological mechanisms," he said. "The truth of the matter is really that dogs are neither extreme."

Courtesy post: Mali

MUST BE PLACED BY 8.20.09!!!!

OWNER HAS ALLERGIES AND IS MOVING

Mali

15 y.o. female, short haired orange tabby, no front claws, missing one back leg, spayed, utd on all shots and preventatives. Sweet, independent, doesn't need much attention. INDOOR CAT ONLY.

History:

• Owner has had her since she was 7 months old, got her from SPCA.

• Cat friendly: adopted her the same time as another cat so she lived with him until he died 2 yrs ago.

• Dog Friendly: Gets along with dogs: had a Shih-Tzu so she lived with him for a long time.

• She didn't have much interest in either one but they got along.

• Kids: probably not a good fit for a household with small children.

Health:

• She lost the leg when she had vaccine induced fibrocarcinoma 3 yrs ago and she has had no recurrence.

• Otherwise, no current health issues.

• Owner sprinkles a capsule of Cosequine for cats on her food once a day as a vet recommended preventative for bladder infections.

Movers may come as soon as 8/21 so need to make arrangements quickly!!

**Current owner willing to cover Mali’s expenses for a while and/or provide a good supply of her food and Cosequin.

Contact: Melanie@RescueAngels.org please reference MALI in subject.

Poppy in the Aug 2009 Washingtonian!!

If you click on the image, it *should* show up really big in another tab or window (depending on your browser and settings) so you can read it. Thanks to Mr. PM for the color scan :-)

Mocha update 8.6.09

Mocha report for August 6^th, 2009.

Last night I took Mocha to PetCo for the first time. We went there to get her a new bag of puppy food and to let her see the place when it wasn’t packed. It’s less than 2 miles from our house, so it’s a quick trip. That store often gets insane during the day, so we went in 40 minutes before they closed.

Mocha LOVED it! She was so excited to go in thru the big lighted automatic doors. She even liked the parking lot with all the cars! When we got in I could see her nose working overtime as she took in every smell in the place. I’ll bring her back again soon for something and we’ll do a bit more exploring around. Maybe spend some time looking at rabbits and the like.

Of course there was one couple in there who instantly became infatuated with her at first glance. J They asked if she was an Aussie, which impressed me. As always, Mocha LOVED the attention and petting! The cashier gave her a cookie, which was well appreciated.

She was very well behaved throughout the trip, and really enjoyed it. This is great, because it’s one of the few places I can bring her in to a retail type location and it’s just fun. I’m sure we’ll be in there when it’s crowded at some point, and now I’m confident that she will do well. Now if I could only find a BAR close to home where I could bring her…

Last night I also gave her the monthly heartworm pill and Frontline treatment, so I want to keep her out of the pool today to let it soak in. Not sure if that is important or not, but it’s just one day, plus it’s cloudy today. We’ll find other things to do, maybe a longer than usual walk.

Mocha’s puppy school instructor is currently in the hospital after some kind of issue a week ago, and there was only one more week of class anyway, so I guess she’s now done with puppy school. Hopefully Sue the instructor will be OK.

This frees up Monday evenings to walk over to the softball field on the campus at my work, on the walking paths across the street from our house. This Monday we walked over and watched some friends playing from a couple of the work league teams. She liked that a lot, especially when people stopped and petted her, but during the game itself she was enjoying watching some deer off to the side much more than the game. We stayed 30-40 minutes and left after she got bored and started rolling around and chewing on me. A good time though.

She is now over 40 lbs. and still growing. I rescheduled her spay appointment to September 15^th, since I have that week off from work and I can stay with her the whole week when she will need extra special attention and TLC.


**note from Mel: I totally stole this photo from Facebook - hope that is cool! I get such a kick out of it. Look at the expression on Mocha's face!

Cheetah - pass it on

Should you know anyone who might be interested, please click on the little envelope below and pass it on...

Cheetah is a wonderfully sweet and loyal 1.5 year old Aussie mix. She is still young and playful like a puppy, but has the disposition of an adult. She is full grown at about 45 lbs. She knows multiple commands, is entirely housebroken, spayed and current on all shots and preventatives. She likes to romp with most other dogs, and would do well living with a playmate or on her own. She is protective of her home and her people. She is energetic and would do best with an active, experienced dog owner. She would be a perfect companion for a runner or biker with a large, fenced back yard. She is very smart and would likely make a wonderful agility dog as well. Ideally one of the owners would work from home or have a modified work schedule as she loves to be with her person! But she is used to a full time work schedule with her fosters. Favorite activities: following her foster mom around; the dog park!!; watching birds and squirrels from her window seat; chasing them outside; playing with her treat ball; playing fetch, tug and chase games; extracting squeakers out of her toys. No kiddies or kitties please.

Contact: melanie@rescueangels.org
Application: http://www.rescueangels.org/Pages/AdoptionApplication.html

Cheetah Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/melrescueangels/CheetahPostPuppies?feat=directlink

Cheetah Videos (after puppy videos):
http://picasaweb.google.com/melrescueangels/CheetahAndPuppyVids?feat=directlink

Maddie update 8.6.09

Tuesday night, I went to my parents' house for dinner. My mom cooked over 30 chicken tenderloins so they would have enough food for the next night as well. We left the room for less than 2 minutes. When we came back into the kitchen, Maddie lowered her head and ran away...and I immediately knew she either ate something, had an accident, or broke something. Well, Maddie had eaten the entire plate of chicken as well as a bowl of cheddar cheese!! I don't know how she possibly did that so fast. The plate of food was almost the same size as she. She almost immediately threw up a good amount of the UNCHEWED chicken (not even bite marks!) so I figured she would be okay. I called a vet and they said she probably threw most of it up, and since she didn't chew any bones it probably wouldn't be a big deal.

The next morning she ate breakfast normally and then started throwing up. I figured her stomach hurt, so I gave her some rice around lunch time. She threw that up as well so I took her to the Emergency vet. He felt around her stomach for any pain or obstructions, and decided to just give her an IV and some anti-vomiting medicine. She has been tired but still a happy Maddie since yesterday. She has been able to keep down the wet food and rice the vet gave me yesterday...and will monitor her today.

Hence, it was a small scare but she looks like her normal self again today. The vet said unfortunately she won't learn not to steal food again, so all this stomach ache was for nothing!

Other than this episode, Maddie has been doing very well and is a very happy pup. We took her to the beach last weekend and she is an incredibly fast swimmer!

The Dangers of Bloat

A trainer friend of mine lost her GSD to bloat last night. Many people do not know the dangers or preventions for bloat - a very dangerous and often fatal condition. For example, did you know that you should NOT raise your dog's food bowl? This is news to me! Be sure to learn the facts. You have to act fast if your dog shows symptoms.

http://petmd.com/blogs/dailyvet/2009/July/16

Return of the Cheetah - The Aussie Strikes Back

As the title implies, I have decided to have a sense of humor about this. Your emails, comments and support have really helped, and last night - I took one of those perspective showers. You know - where you get in the shower and you have an "aha moment" and suddenly everything shifts for you. I have no control over this so there is no point in worrying about it.

Cheetah is coming back tonight to my place. Poor Lexy and Swiffer will go back into semi-hiding, but as many of you have said - the right person will come along and it will work out eventually. I think Mr. PM is of the opinion that Cheetah has hatched a plot to return to us indefinitely. I believe there was a moment there where he actually thought she planned it out. :-) But I have learned from this, and I will just keep plugging along until I find a good fit. In the mean time I will enjoy her while I have her and step up my training efforts.

All of the new videos I took are now posted, and new pictures are up as well, although not yet labeled. There is a particularly cute vid of Cheetah hunting a fly.

Finally, I wanted to show you the pretty flowers Mr. PM gave me last week, and the "chocolate decadence" my mom sent me on Friday to make me feel better about Cheetah's departure.

Sadie 8.4.09

Wanted to let you know that Sadie did finally relieve herself under Foster's dining room table. He said he never thought a dog pooping and peeing in the house would make him so happy! LOL She has since even gone outside! She started moving around slowly and cautiously, making her first big foray onto the couch - haha. No problem hopping up there. She has been slowly emerging from her shell and even took a little unexpected tour of the neighborhood, which about gave Foster a heart attack. She still has a very extreme fear response, and even peed when Foster approached her to retrieve her from her little adventure. She clearly exhibits a higher comfort level with women than men, but Foster is very gentle with her and he is fantastic at drawing her out and gaining her trust even though he is male. He is doing a great job with her. He says she seems much less sad and depressed than when he initially got her.

Cheetah 8.4.09

Well. Where to begin. I took Friday off from work to spend the day with Cheetah. We went to the dog park and who do you think we ran into but Zibby and her owner! I happened to be filming when I first noticed Zibby, so you will be able to see that as soon as I get it uploaded. I filled the camera that day so I have a lot of material to sort through. Zibby is almost the same size as Cheetah and they are so similar in both looks and mannerisms is it downright freaky.

Then she got a bath and we had lots of cuddles. I dropped her off on Saturday and unobtrusively melted away so she wouldn't notice me going. Things have gone semi-OK since then, but she snapped at daughter a few times, and is at her herding and nipping activities like crazy. She downright refused to let them have other people into the house. I'm so bummed because we had made such progress on this front when she was with me. But the transition was too much and new owner feels it is not safe to have kids coming and going in the house. She fell in love with Cheetah and just didn't realise the extent or areas in which she was likely to backslide.

So Cheetah is coming back to us. Despite the fact that I did everything I could think of to prepare her for her new environment, I feel like I failed. The head of the rescue is going to take her for a little while to give my poor Swiffer and Lexy a break. They have been following me around and cuddling up to me like crazy since Saturday afternoon. Now that Cheetah is gone I can see the extent to which they were really surpressed with her there. Also - I went though the entire grieving process, and I just need a break before I dive back in.

I have decided that moving forward with adoption applications - no kids, period. I don't think she poses a danger to them, but the reality is that there will be a ton of friends coming and going and Cheetah is a handful to manage visitors to the house. A child is not equipped to lead Cheetah the way she needs to be led - particularly as it comes to her herding instinct. An experienced dog owner can handle it, but when you throw kids into the mix, you are just asking for trouble. I think we all saw what we wanted to see with this one. No negative comments toward the new owner please. She feels bad enough and the daughter is heartbroken. The decision to act quickly was made so that the daughter would not get further attached.

We are still figuring out timing on her return, but it will be this week. As I said I have tons of new pictures and video on her (and Zibby), so I will get that up soon.

non-update

I have lots to share but am just not up to writing. I will post soon.