Bark On!

Ok.. I totally realize that it has been way too long since I have added an entry to my blog, so here goes.  Aaron and I had a little adventure last Monday, which was the very first day of my vacation…. and here it is…..

Some of you may recall the weather last Monday, June 23rd, if you don’t remember let me tell you that it was POURING beyond belief, thunder and lightening included but the rain was shocking.  Naturally we had tickets to the Red Sox where we were meeting up with my brother and my nephew who live in Delaware and are huge Sox fans.  I was pretty sceptical that the game would even take place.  As I am hemming and hawing about the weather, Aaron and I are just passing over the overpass on Dover Point Road and just about the head onto the on-ramp to get onto 16 south.  All of a sudden all the cars in front of us start swerving, slipping, slamming on brakes, it was crazy.  Aaron slams on our brakes and we sort of skidded a bit but finally came to a stop in the middle of the road.  It was pretty dramatic.  Just as we are coming to a stop, here comes a dog right down the middle of the road in between all of these cars.  Yup happy as can be trotting his little self right on the center line.  Holy crap. 

Aaron already knows the answer to his next question, but asks it anyways…”do you want to stop?”  All I could think was that this dog was going to get hit.  Aaron pulled the car over and I jumped out.  Oh god it was raining so hard I was soaked in about a nano-second.  The dog had kept on trotting and by now was well over the overpass and I couldn’t see him at all.  All of the cars were stopped but a few cars did come through to stop and tell me that he was still there.  The dog was a pitbull and I am not sure if that’s why no one else stopped or if it was because it was raining that hard. 

Well I walked to about the half way point on the overpass and I still couldn’t see him. So I thought I would head back to the car.  Just as I got to the car, I looked over my shoulder and here he comes trotting as happy as can be, still in the center of the road, but towards me.  All of the traffic was sort of following behind him but thankfully not getting too close so he didn’t get scared.   I called out to him… just some random “hey little baby” and he stopped in the middle of the road.  I could honestly feel all of the eyes of all of the people in the cars waiting patiently while I tried to get this dog.  Okay, so now what…. I don’t know the dog, he doesn’t come to daycare, however, we are right around the corner from K9 Kaos and I have one customer that has 2 pitbulls and another neighbor that has 2 pitbulls.  I’m thinking the odds are that this dog is one of them. But approaching any strange dog is always a little scarey.  Anyways, Aaron had jumped out of the car and opened up the back and I made my way to the dog.  He was such a good boy, let me take him by the collar and lead him over to my car.  Aaron helped him into the crate in the back and we took his collar off to read his tags.  BUSTER was his name and as soon as I saw that I knew he was Sullivan’s housemate (Sullivan comes to daycare a couple of times a week).   The tag was perfect, number and address.  We pulled into the driveway and there were two very happy people there to see that Buster was okay. They told us that Buster is afraid of thunder and he dug himself out from under his fence. 

The Red Sox game did happen without any rain, I don’t think my shirt was dry until about the 4th inning, they lost, but we ate great Fenway Park food and had a great night.  All in all it was an awesome start to my non-dog vacation!

I had kicked around a few different ideas on our flight home on Saturday for this blog entry; this one was not one of them……

I am very sad to share the news that K9 Crew member Joe, passed away yesterday.  We sat around the room today and shared stories, tears, and giggles.  I think Joe would have been happy to know that he certainly left a mark. 

The family has decided not to have services. Donations may be made in Joe Knight’s name, to Cocheco Valley Humane Society.

You will see some gloomy faces around the halls of K9 Kaos … we will all miss Joe very much.

It was so unbelievable driving down to NJ this past weekend.  Once you get just a little bit south of NH there is NO SNOW on the ground.  There were actually buds on the trees and bugs flying around in NJ.  Ridiculous!

Anyways… it was the first race meet of the season and we had a great time!  Michele and I packed up six greyhounds and our mascot whippet and drove down to our friend Andee’s place on Friday morning.  Running this weekend was Jammin’, Chili, and Wicca.  We also brought Hootie, Sizzler, and Runway for practice.

The weather was picture perfect on Saturday, probably in the high 50’s, sunny, a little breezy but not too bad.  Perfect running weather for the pups.  The races were fun, Jammin’ won and remains undefeated for something like 26 races.  Wicca, of course, won the turtle.  However the real excitement for me were the practices!

Hootie ran for about 100 yards without any complications.  He had ended his racing season early last year with an avulsion fracture to his accessory carpal bone.  He had surgery in October and has been doing physical therapy ever since.  This was the first real impact on that leg.  It was very exciting to see him running again.  Hootie also ran a full 200 yards on Sunday without any complications.  I am beyond thrilled. 

The real champ of the entire weekend.. from beginning to end was Miss Runway (aka spooky, acid queen). She did amazing on her first road trip.  The first time I opened her crate when we arrived at Andee’s, she immediately cowered in the back so that I had to reach way in there to pull her out.  By the end of the weekend, she would practically run out of her crate.  She did fantastic socializing all weekend with Andee’s family and dogs, she sniffed out a couple of strangers at the field when they weren’t looking, and she was crazy to chase the lure. She slept out of a crate for the first time and did pretty well.  The coolest thing about Runway is that she went into her Auntie Michele’s room at 4:30 am and woke her up to go outside.  Now that is a good dog right there!

Anyhow…I was sort of afraid to let her go the first time, not really knowing for sure if she would be easy to catch at the end or not.  Well, after seeing her first practice I knew she would be fine.  I entered her in the races for Sunday and she came in 3rd place and was the high scoring, first time entered dog.  She received her first ribbons and her first .5  point towards a GRC title.  She breaks out of the box like a shot and she is pretty quick down the track. She gave Jammin’ a run for his money in one of the races.. but I’m not sure that she has to speed to beat him. We’ll see!

The very best news is that when we arrived home.  Runway was so happy and bouncy… she greeted Aaron so differently that he noticed right away.  This morning, Runway calmly came into the house through the bulkhead with me standing on the stairs looking at her and to top that off, she was alone.  I don’t know if there are many out there that can appreciate how hard that is for her to do.  But after this road trip, Aaron and I are both seeing some positive changes in her and I can’t wait to take her again!

Wow.. I have totally been slacking off on my blogging …

I had my 15 minutes of fame on the Great Pets radio show.  I had an absolute blast doing it and all of my worries were for not because it was a piece of cake.  If you want to listen in, you can listen online now at http://wtplfm.com/ and fill out a quick listener form and you can listen live on your computer. 

Our pack is still a little crazy.  We still can not put everyone out together.  Bounty is bound and determined to eat Runway for lunch and Runway is bound and determined to hunt Mojo down.  Mojo is still so young he doesn’t realize that he should just sit still until Runway gets bored, instead he runs around the yard like he has a rocket up his butt, which of course gets Runway all jacked up.. and Bounty.. well we won’t mention what all of this does to her.  I’m considering doggie downers for Bounty to see if that helps things.

Hootie and Wicca have been doing some working out at Tails of Rye.  They are both doing some underwater treadmill work to get ready for the racing season which is fast approaching.  Hootie has been going there since about October after his avulsion fracture surgery.  He HATES it…the fastest speed he has hit is 3.3 mph, he barely hits 3/4 of a mile in his 20 minute work out.  The turtle, Wicca, is a STAR on the treadmill.  Just today Wicca ran along at 5 mph and would have gone faster, but the machine tops out at 5 mph.  It cracks me up, she seems to really like it while Hootie on the other hand would probably rather have his nails cut to the quick. 

Our race season begins in just a couple of weeks, I can’t believe it is here so soon.  The dogs aren’t really ready yet and it is still so unknown as to whether Hootie will be able to run again.  I am thinking about trying Runway to see how she does.  I am quite nervous to let her go since she is such a spook.  She is pretty normal with Aaron and I, but I have no idea what she would do at a meet.  I’m also excited to see how Mojo does, I have been letting him play with the lure and he seems pretty interested.  Muzzle training is not going quite as well.  When Mojo puts a muzzle on, it sends him to a planet not known to man. I think I might have to take a little video of that to share with everyone.  It is pretty funny.

Perhaps I will highlight Mojo’s training in my next blog. He is fun to watch and handsome too!

Holy cow… I am going to be on the radio this Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008.  Dr. Jim from Great Bay Animal Hospital hosts a radio show every Sunday morning from 10:00 - 11:00 am.  This week’s is about Dog Daycare and I will be a guest on the show.  Please set your dials to WMEX 106.5 - if you live in the Seacoast.  If you live anywhere else in NH, set your dial to The Pulse at 107.7.

Enjoy, but please laugh with me, not at me.

Hang on… please don’t skip by this post because you got your dog vaccinated for the cough. Please read on….  

Ladies and gentlemen… I am here to tell you that canine cough DOES happen, vaccinated or not!  So sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s true.  Canine cough, also known as kennel cough or tracheobronchitis, is characterized as an inflammation of the upper respiratory system and has many strains not covered by the vaccines we give.  I call it canine cough because I don’t think it’s all that fair that ‘kennels’ get all of the blame for it.  Truth is; it is an airborne disease that spreads very quickly among dogs in close quarters.  Please DON’T immediately assume that your boarding kennel, daycare, vet office, or dog park are not kept clean should your dog become infected with a cough.  Okay, please DO go ahead and think your local dog park may not be the cleanest; I’m positive that that will be a blog for another day.

Exposure to canine cough can happen anywhere; on a walk when you meet up with an infected dog with an unsuspecting owner, at the beach when your dog Fido is flirting with ever so hot Fifi, at the Vet’s office, while your dog is boarding, at daycare, etc etc. The absolute worst thing about canine cough is that there is a 5 to 10 day incubation period.  That means, that your dog could have canine cough, but you will not realize it for at least 5 to 10 days from the time they were exposed.  That is exactly why we ask you to please not bring your dog to daycare for 7 days after you pick them up from the boarding kennel, just to be safe!

Canine cough is really just a bad cold.  All vets treat it pretty much the same; a round of antibiotics to keep the cough from becoming something more, and usually a cough suppressant. Other than that the cough just needs to run its course, usually about 10 days. 

If we hear a dog coughing, the conversation goes something like this… dog says, “cough cough”, K9 Crew member says, “Your dog is coughing”, owner says, “oh well, he was eating a rawhide bone last night and I think he has a piece stuck in his throat”, K9 Crew member says, “I think your dog has canine cough, I’m sorry you have to take them home”, owner says, “oh no that can’t be, he has been vaccinated!”….. sorry the vaccine does not cover it.

Here is what canine cough sounds like:

The unfortunate truth is that vets don’t seem to explain the canine cough vaccine or that dogs can still get a strain of canine cough not covered by the vaccine given.  They also don’t seem explain the seriousness of just how contagious canine cough is.  It should be explained that dogs infected with the cough should not continue to play with the neighbors and friends dogs while coughing, that owners should not bring an infected dog to the dog park because they feel so badly that the dog is cooped up.  You can help to squash the cough by keeping your dog inside and away from other dogs 100%.   

Here’s how you can help to keep K9 Kaos canine cough free this year:

• Listen to your dog, if you hear coughing on and off through the night please don’t bring them to daycare, even you think they just have a hairball.

• If your dog has been to a boarding kennel overnight, please cancel your dog’s daycare schedule for at least 7 days after you pick them up from the kennel.

• If your dog plays with a friend or family dog that you think may have kennel cough, please keep your dog away from other dogs for at least 7 days.

• Please do not think that your dog could not possibly have canine cough simply because they have been vaccinated. 

Every year our own physicians push the flu vaccine and yet many vaccinated people still get the flu because the strains are always changing.  That is the easiest way for me to describe why the canine cough vaccine that your dog recieves does not always work.  In our lives, the flu vaccine is optional; in our daycare dog’s lives, the canine cough vaccine is not.  The biggest question remains: should K9 Kaos continue to require the canine cough vaccine?

Dear Cesar Millan,

It’s true, I own a dog daycare that cares for about 65 dogs a day. It’s true that I only have six dogs at home.  It’s true that most people think that my work and home life are, lets say, a tad off. But I know you won’t judge me Cesar, I know you are the only person I can turn to now. 

I have a greyhound hooked on acid and a terrier who wants to try-out for the next season of American Gladiator. No no, don’t be silly Cesar, not as a contestant, as a gladiator.  I can’t live like this anymore… please help me.  I really think Bounty should come to California to be admitted into your Dog Psychology Center.  Cesar, don’t be fooled by her size, she is the most foul cruel tempered animal you will ever meet… just look at the bones.  Do you have a drug and alcohol center at the DPC?  I really think Runway is so far gone now that there is nothing we can do.  I tried getting her onto that Celebrity Rehab show, you know as a ‘therapy dog’ (wink wink), but no luck.

So whaddya say, can you take them.  Please. Please take them?! “TAAAAAAAAKE THEMMMMMMMM” ….please?

I have been living with a posse of pups for a bunch of years and bathroom time has really never been a problem.  Before moving to Dover, I had 10 dogs; 8 greyhounds and 2 whippets.  Dogs have to go out, out they go, they go to the bathroom and they come in, life is as it should be.  Nine of those dogs have since passed on and KO is the last of that great pack.  Now…..I have the pack from HELL.

Here’s the reality of our pack life today, this minute in fact.  KO and Hootie are upstairs all the time so they go out together and all that works out, and comes out fine.  Wicca, Runway, Bounty, and Mojo spend their days in the dog room downstairs so they go out together, unfortunately nothing actually comes out.

So just last night while I was cleaning Bounty’s poopie crate, oh and screaming loudly because I ended up with a poop smudge on my cheek.  Oh yes, last night’s turn out sounded something like this “Aaron…. I think I have shit on my face…oh my God…. can you see it… look it’s on my hand and now I think it’s on my face….holy shit… I can’t stand it… blah blah blah”.  Aaron responds calmly, ”Honey, are you shit faced again!” Our neighbors have got to be writing blogs of their own about how freaking crazy the pair of us are. Sorry, I digress.  While I was cleaning said poopie crate and wondering why oh why Bounty pooped her crate in the first place brings me to the point of this post.

As you know Wicca has been the queen of her own pack of four; Runway, Bounty, and Mojo and things were going okay.  Well over the last week or so I think Runway has started taking some hallucinogenics and now thinks that Bounty is some kind of walking squeaky toy.  Easy, I say, we’ll muzzle her so she can’t squeak Bounty anymore.  Okay, she’s muzzled.  Now she, clearly still taking the same drugs, thinks that Mojo is really just something to flip up into the air.  Mojo doesn’t especially enjoy the flipping but Bounty, on the other hand, really quite enjoys it and thinks that Runway should be jumped continuously while flipping Mojo. 

So it looks like this, Runway, whacked out of her gourd, flipping Mojo up into the air and Bounty, completely jacked up, trying to take down the drugged out greyhound.  All of this activity equals.. NO ONE GOES TO THE FREAKIN’ BATHROOM OUTSIDE.

I have this old friend; I guess she really isn’t really an “old” friend since I’ve only known her for just about four years now.  She sure feels like an old friend.  She’s the kind of friend you meet for the first time and automatically makes you feel like family.  Well, this is a little story about my “old” friend Bowlynn.The first time I met her, I thought she was so cool.  She was beyond comfortable in her own skin, happy, funny as hell, confident but not over the top, eyes that look straight into your soul, and overall pretty wonderful.  She amazed me how she could fit into any group, perfectly mannered, not really the center of attention and never a show off.  Young, old, human or canine.. everyone just loves Bobo!

Well, it is just shy of four years and we still hang out three times a week.  She is still the most amazing girl, a little gray now, a little weaker in her step but still the most amazing dog I have probably ever met….I am not sure I will ever meet any other like her.  It’s funny, but something tells me that she knows it.

Ahhh yes.. Bobo. If you ask each of the K9 Crew to compile a list of *favorites* I can pretty much put money down that Bowlynn will be on each and every list.  I know that my words in this blog will NEVER do her justice.. but I try. 

At the tender age of 12 she now has K9 Kaos and its staff running like clockwork. When Bobo arrives she decides whether or not she would like to go outside for a moment. After which she likes to be escorted immediately to her special couch-shaped dog bed.  She will then wait, somewhat patiently, for her cookie.  After eating said cookie, she will then gently bark letting the next available crew member that she has not actually been given a cookie yet. And yes, we all fall for it every single day! This ritual goes on until every one of the morning crew has had a quick visit with Bobo and given her a morning cookie.  She then sits happily and supervises the morning activities of getting the rest of the troops in and ready for a day of play.

Bowlynn is at first glance, a chocolate lab, after four years she is pretty much the heart and soul of K9 Kaos.  She is exactly why I started a dog business.

Two of the many things that I love about Bowlynn….

She knows exactly what she wants at all times and she ALWAYS has a plan on how she will get you to do exactly what she wants you to do.  Oh and always with a smile and a wag.

She has taught me that no matter what time of day, whether you are late for work, wanting to get home, or even just for the hell of it in the middle of the day; there is ALWAYS time to drop down and make the perfect snow angel.

Wow, K9 Kaos just celebrated its fourth year anniversary.  We opened our doors on January 5, 2004 and what an amazing ride.  I just took a little tumble down memory lane … I thought I might share some highlights.  First and foremost, 690 dogs have been to this daycare at one time or another, that’s a ton of dogs!  There are about a dozen dogs (and their owners of course) that I cannot thank enough for sticking with us for so long.  One such dog has been with us literally since day one, that dog is Bella! The next two weeks of that January we met Maggie, Tyler, Reiki, Liberty, Ollie, and Mona. The couple of weeks following that brought us Pippin, Sophie, Sonny, Honey, Fenway Boxer, and Calvin.  All still regulars at K9 Kaos and some starting to get a little gray around their noses. 

This place has allowed me so many amazing experiences, heartaches, life’s lessons, and a few stomachaches. I have found friendship, inspiration, and strength in so many of the people and the dogs I have met over the last 4 years.  I have had the pleasure of sharing my days, my life & family, and my dream with my staff, the K9 Crew. Carly, Donna, Elise, Joe, Judy, Katie, Lauren, Matt, and Vicky, I thank you for everything you do!  Without you K9 Kaos would not exist!

… okay okay I’m done gushing… I just can’t help myself sometimes.