WTF Wednesday (A Day Late)

Here is my original WTF Wednesday post from yesterday.  I can’t really explain it, I wrote it, tweaked it and published it and then I had a change of heart.

Truthfully some of this stories are so disturbing I hate to even bring attention to them.  But I threw it out there to you and I felt like you all really supported me with the WTF Wednesday series, so I decided to put it up tonight.

The only thing that changed is it was WTF/Whoo Hoo Wednesday, but since the Whoo Hoo replaced WTF last night, you’re only getting WTF today.

Make sense?

So without further ado, here is WTF Wednesday (a day late.)

During our walk this past weekend I almost stepped on a beautiful bright blue Robin’s egg.  (At least I’ve always been told those were Robin eggs.)

I stood in the middle of the woods looking around for a nest and saw none.  I wondered, how did this little egg fall from a nest?  I thought, where is the little mama bird?

And then my evil little mind started wandering a dark and scary path.  What if the mama bird knew it was a bad egg and pushed it out herself?

It reminded me of a conversation I’d had with the movers who came to pack up my daughter’s possessions and ship them to her in California.  The conversation (as usual with me) had turned to dogs and somehow we started talking about how people can be so cruel to animals, then one of the men said it was too bad we didn’t have a bad person detector.

You know like Charlie and the Chocolate factory when Veruca Salt jumps up on the bad egg detector and she gets dropped down the chute?

I figure we can call this a human dick-tector.

We made a little joke about a baby being born, put on the human dick-tector and the meter saying, “Nope, this one’s bad, get rid of this mutherf*cker.”

What would people do if they had the option of knowing their child was going turn out to be a horrible human being?  Would they make the choice (like an animal might in the wild) to abandon the child?

Which brings me to the next question.

WTF is going on in Texas?

I just happened to be on a Texas news site recently and found this disturbing story.

Bond reduced for Dallas man accused of setting puppy on fire.

Honestly, sometimes I have trouble reading these stories because they sicken me to the very core of my being.  If you’re like me and don’t like reading such things, I will spare you.  After 17 agonizing days the puppy died.

This man has been accused of violating his probation for four years, beginning at the age of fourteen years old.

That right there tells me something.  It tells me this is not your typical teenager getting into minor spats with the law. From what I can gather, he is prone to violence and has been accused of being in a gang.

Let’s put this guy on the dick-tector…….yup, this muther is no good, throw his ass down the chute and into the fiery furnace.

I bet if he was an egg in a nest, he would have been pushed out.

Baby allegedly in feces-filled room, 58 dogs seized.

Gross right?  A baby in a crib surrounded by filth.  Fifty Eight dogs, in crates containing vomit, feces and urine,  with no food or water.

Apparently a shelter in a nearby Texas county was allowing this woman to adopt animals without doing a background check.

W.T.F?

What does the dick-tector say about Teresa Weldon?

Put her in a crate with no food or water.

Barking Mad.

An unnamed man and his female accomplice were taken into custody Tuesday, after stealing an English Bull dog puppy from a local pet store.  After some quick work by the Houston police, the puppy was found unharmed and returned to the pet store.

When apprehended the female suspect laughed and said, “I don’t know why he didn’t want to buy it. He could have, but he didn’t.”

The suspect in question barked at the cameras.

Let’s put this guy on the dick-tector.

Put a bark collar on this guy, he’s apparently already been shocked a number of times.

How about you?  Was there anything that came your way that left you shaking your head saying WTF?

Whoo Hoo Wednesday

I had a WTF Wednesday post published and then I took a look at the last couple of WTF’s.  I’m not really sure that this is a popular feature (I’ve lost two subscribers in the last couple of weeks) so I decided to pull the post.

Truthfully, I think the people who commit these crimes are disgusting and while I’m poking fun at the people, inside in my heart it just doesn’t seem right to make someone laugh over something so vile.  Even if the laugh is aimed at the person committing the crime.

If I’m wrong about this I’m sure you all will let me know and I can start it up again.

So here is a Whoo Hoo Wednesday!

Over Crowded Shelter.

A shelter in Fort Worth with a capacity for 400 animals, had 560 as of yesterday.  For the first time in over two years the shelter is looking at having to euthanize healthy animals.

An emergency cry to the public and a reduction in adoption fees has resulted in the adoption of 87 animals!  Of course, there is still over-crowding in the shelter, so if you could share the above link on your social media outlets, perhaps we can help some special pets find their forever homes.  The reduced adoption rates will remain in effect until the end of May.

After I posted the original WTF on my facebook page one of my friends in Texas let me know that the shelter is swarming with potential adopters so the euthanasias have put on hold.

I think that’s amazing and worth a Whoo Hoo!  How bout’ you, what Whoo Hoo’d your world this week?

Aliens Took My Dog

That’s exactly what I thought yesterday morning.

While I was in the bathroom getting ready for work Delilah came in.  I pulled out my rug and threw it on the floor and said, “Down.”

Down she went.

I told her to stay, so she got herself all comfy and stayed.

Granted it wasn’t good enough for a show stay, but she did stay.  Even when I left the bathroom and went to check to see if my eggs were boiling.

Once I released her we went to the kitchen to get breakfast.  Even though she was dancing and jumping until we got there, she sat at the edge of the kitchen and waited while I got her breakfast.

She didn’t move once.

After breakfast the eggs were ready to be peeled. This can take me about 10 minutes because 1) I peel them while they are hot and 2) I make all my breakfast eggs at the beginning of the week, I also make a few for Hubby which means I made 14 eggs yesterday morning.

I peel the eggs directly over the garbage can.  Sometimes Delilah’s right there with me, trying to reach into the garbage and take out what I’m putting in there.

Not yesterday morning.

While I was peeling eggs Delilah sat in the doorway watching me.   At one point a piece of shell flew off and landed on the floor, I watched her from the corner of my eye.  She looked at it and then made the decision to leave it.

A minute or two later she looked at it again and I saw her head move as if she was going to get up and I said, “ACK,” and she left it alone.

I had no other options than to 1) reward her for such excellent behavior and 2) come to the conclusion that aliens had taken my dog.

Never fear, they brought her back late in the afternoon.

Just in time to help me make dinner.

How did your Monday go?

Congratulations!!

I have to throw a big congratulations out to three of my fellow bloggers.

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a big pet blogging social media conference taking place next month.  I had really hoped to go, but finances just wouldn’t allow, so I will have to read all about it from all you awesome bloggers who do attend.

I read on the Blogpaws website this morning that at the conference there will be a Nose-to-Nose Pet Blogging and Social Media Awards event on the red carpet Saturday evening, June 23rd.

I was so excited to find out that three of the bloggers I follow, were nominated!

Kristine from Rescued Insanity is up for Best Blog Writing.  How awesome is that?  Seriously the girl puts out good quality blog content (with a little help from the tornado on a leash,  Shiva,) raises money for animals, runs in marathons and all without breaking a sweat.

Up for Best Blog Photo, is Jen at My Brown Newfies.  (Go ahead check out the photo, I’ll wait.) Isn’t it absolutely adorable?

I only recently started following My Brown Newfies and I have to say, her Leroy reminds me of Delilah, only way bigger.  I’d go so far as to say cuter, but sorry Jen I gotta stick with my chocolate girl.  I sure do hope you win though!

Last, but certainly not least, up for Best Cause is BTC 4 Animals.  If you’ve been around the blogosphere for a while you know that every three months on the 15th, is Blog the Change, a day when pet bloggers unite and blog about a way to help animals.

This dedicated group of ladies don’t just blog about change once a quarter, they all have their passions and work tirelessly to educate and inform and really BE the change.  Just pop over and check out the website to see what their cause is today.

I really wish I was going to be in Salt Lake City cheering my friends on, but since I can’t you can bet I’ll be cheering from home.

Congratulations to all of the nominees and best of luck to my blogging friends!! I can’t wait to hear all about it.

What Happens On Sunday

I want to send  a BIG CONGRATULATIONS out to Kristine at Rescued Insanity, not only did she complete a 5K with a bad ankle, and a time of 32:16 but she also raised $525 for the Nova Scotia SPCA.   Way to go Kristine!!

I can’t wait to read Kristine’s post about the race and hope the weather was nice for the race.

For the last four or five days we’ve had some amazing weather here, nice and cool at night and warm during the day.

When I can’t walk Sampson and Delilah during the cool parts of the day, I try to keep their walks to about 20 or 25 minutes, we’ve also got a little pool set up outside for them.

Delilah will step in and drink a little water, but Sampson likes to lie down in it while he drinks the water.

How do you exercise your dogs in the warmer weather?

 

Whoa!

Since the LaCrosse team has commandeered our park the dogs don’t get a lot of time in the field anymore.  The majority of our walks are taken on the trails.

Yesterday there was no LaCrosse so after a quick trip on one of the trails I thought it might be nice to walk around the field a couple of times.

Since we started walking every day I do try to spice of their walks just a bit.  I decided yesterday to run a little bit in preparation for K-9 Kamp.  I thought it might be interesting to shoot a video of the dogs running.

I was so busy paying attention to the camera and trying to make sure the dogs stayed in the frame that I failed to notice one of the friendly people we’ve met on our walks was crossing our path.  Sampson of course saw him and once he started running, well Delilah did to.

Thankfully I didn’t fall on my bum, but once I watched it I thought it might give you a chuckle as well. “-)  Enjoy.

Follow-Up Friday

For those new to the blog, my follow-up Friday provides me with an opportunity to update or revise a post from the previous week.

You know sometimes you post about something and you need an update but it doesn’t warrant a whole blog.  Or sometimes someone made a comment that really resonated with you.  Yup, Follow-Up Friday baby!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie – Author’s Note

I forgot to mention.

Sampson snores.

In fact, I think he may have sleep apnea.  Do you think it’s even possible?  Sometimes he will take a really deep breath, exhale and I swear he doesn’t take another breath for about 10 to 15 seconds!  It scares the bejesus out of me.

But sometimes between Sampson and Hubby snoring, it’s a wonder I get any sleep at all.

TTouch – Author’s Note

After reading the comments, it seems like some of you are already using this TTouch.  I say good for you.  I feel it’s important to know your dog and what works for them.

Negative Punishment – Author’s Note

I think I might have been a little too descriptive in this post.  I heard Clorox had a run on bleach.

Hope you had a great week!

Negative Punishment

I’ve become determined to work with Delilah on her down stays.

It’s not an easy  task.

Since she likes to be in the bathroom with me I figure it’s win-win.  She gets to be in the bathroom with me and I get to work on her downs.  The trouble with this is, she doesn’t always stay in the down.

I thought well maybe the floor (being ceramic and all) is too cold and she’s uncomfortable, so I took the bathroom rug and threw it down.  She still got up.

Listen to your readers.

A couple of posts ago Jan said, “Some of the best advice I ever got was not to try to treat my kids or my dogs the same way. They are all different entities, with different needs and all of them have let me know what kind of attention they want from me.

It was hard to do but I finally learned not to reward bad behavior by giving that kid or dog more attention. Praise the good one and the other will want to copy that behavior.”

This comment really got me thinking.  When I’m in the bathroom and I put Delilah into a down stay and she gets up.  What do I do?  I go back and put her in a down stay again.

I asked myself, “What does this teach her?”

I answered, “It teaches her that when she doesn’t do as I ask, I reward her with more attention.”

Jodi Stone, you are a bad dog trainer!

Look, I don’t want to scare you or force you to burn your retinas out with bleach so try not to visualize this too much.  Today I got out of the shower, dried myself off and applied my lotion.

While I was waiting for my lotion to dry, I decided to blow dry my hair.  Since I have short, fine hair I throw a little product in there, bend over and blow it upside down.

As I’m bent over in this upside down position with my hair dryer in my hands, who comes shoving her way through my legs.

Yup.

First I laughed, because I’m dumb and can’t help myself but then I took the rug and put it on the floor and said, “Down.”

She sat on the rug.

I didn’t battle with her at all, I took her by the collar, led her out into the bedroom and shut her out of the bathroom.

Seeing as this is DELILAH we are writing about, I need to make sure there is nothing lying about that she will decide to chew up or I will need to make sure the bedroom door is shut before I banish her.

Negative Punishment.

“Negative punishment reduces behaviors by taking away or withholding something good or something the dog will work for.”

I’ve been using this technique for a couple of weeks in a number of different ways.

When she does not sit while I am preparing her meals, I stop what I am doing and wait.  My motto is “Nothing moves in the kitchen if you’re moving.“

When we are eating dinner and she is supposed to be in a down on her place and she gets up, she goes in her crate.

Last night we were watching TV and eating our dinner, it was a pretty intense show and we were both fixated on the TV.  I caught movement and realized she’d gotten up and gone over to inspect her bowl.

FAIL.

In the crate she went.

Get excited about this.

Let your mind soar as you think of the possibilities.

Dog doesn’t respond to recall = Dog stays on leash.

Child doesn’t clean room = Child doesn’t go to birthday party.

Husband doesn’t mow lawn = Wife doesn’t,,,,,,,,,,,

buy beer.

Where did you think I was going with that?

Book Update:  I haven’t updated you about my book in a while.  Truthfully, I wrote a really exciting part of the book and then I didn’t know what to do next, so I put it down for a while.  But I’ve picked it back up and my book now has 25,051 words.

W.T.F./W.T.F Hoo Wednesday

Here is your W.T.F./W.T.F (Woo The Eff) Hoo for this past week.

Please note this post is not meant to make light of the despicable deeds described here, only to make fun of, ridicule, bully and just plain beat the shit out of the idiots who commit these heinous acts.

This for me is all kinds of WTF.

A man in CT admitted to choking his dog to death, after the dog urinated on his leg and then bit the man.

First I want to say I’m thankful that I found this article after the man’s hearing.  Otherwise I’d probably be sitting in a 4 x 6 cell asking my husband to put a chip in widget on this blog in order to post my bail.

For the record I would have been in his face screaming I’d bite you too if you choked me when I peed Motherf*cker.

Siriusly you know this sick SOB was probably housebreaking the dog by punishing him, no wonder the dog bit him.  Personally I’m thinking the dog was too nice to this piece of human filth.

Alex Wullaert W.T.F. is wrong with you?  Did your mother potty train you by choking you when you peed.  You are a sick piece of work, I pray there’s a special place in hell set aside just for you.

Sadly in CT he will probably get a $500 fine.

In his defense, he did say he threw flowers in the water where he disposed of the dog.

Flowers?  Wow.  If someone does me a favor by choking your ass and throwing it in the lake, I’ll be sure to toss flowers in for you too f*cker.

In other CT news a man was charged with killing a black bear after he saw the bear go into his garage and then into his backyard.

My big question here is where did the bear get the garage door opener Cory J. Maitz?

Hmmm Unless……wait for it……the idiot…..left his garage door open.  In that case, I believe it’s your own dumb fault Cory that the bear went into your garage.

But wait.  You told the police the bear had left your garage and was in your backyard, why then did you shoot the bear?  Apparently the bear was leaving, so why?

And now let me tell you, you’ve ruined it for the rest of us.

Because when someone asks us, does a bear shit in the woods?  We have no answer because YOU Cory J Maitz shot the bear.

Go f*ck yourself a-hole.

This is a definite WHOO the f*** HOO.

The USDA is finally stepping in and proposing regulations to breeders who sell puppies over the internet.  The proposed regulations will require those who breed more than four females and who sell their puppies electronically (whether it be via e-mail, telephone or over the internet) to open their doors and allow people to see the puppies before they purchase them.

As with most new laws, I imagine some tweaking will be required on this one as well.

How was your week?  Anything make you scream W.T.F! or W.T.F. Hoo?

TTouch

Yesterday I wrote how I have been giving Delilah massages and it seems to be something she really enjoys.

I was inspired by a post at Peaceful Dog, in the post Kirsten had included a link to a previous post where she wrote about TTouch with her reactive dog Lamar.

If you haven’t heard of TTouch here is a brief explanation “TTouch can help you understand and influence your animal with your heart and hands in a way that develops trust, creates a harmonious relationship, and changes unwanted behavior.”

There is something in the TTouch that releases endorphins which we all know are what helps us with our moods.

While I was reading Kirsten’s post about TTouch I realized I have been doing this with Delilah without even realizing it!

I probably do this three to four times per day, Delilah will come up to me and I place one hand under each of her ears and rub in a circular motion.  After 30 seconds or so I get a really deep sigh, like she is relaxed or content.  Which is exactly what Kirsten described.

First thing in the morning as I am trying to get ready for work, she comes into the bathroom looking for attention.  I rub her ears.

When I come home from work, before or after her massage.  I rub her ears.

After we are settled in bed, I reach for Delilah and rub her ears.  She stretches out across my feet and looks up at me.  I drop a kiss on her head and rub some more and then the deep, contented sigh.

All is right in her world.

What do you do when your dog is amped up?  Is there something special you do to help calm him/her down?