Click the photo to see the full-size version on Flickr.
Project 365/21: On Day 18′s post, I remarked on Axel’s resemblance to “The Dog” bobblehead. So I thought it would make a cute picture to have Axel go nose to nose with one of my Rottweiler bobbleheads.
Not happening. The digital stack of outtakes is huge. My “obedience-trained” dog would not stay in a nose to nose position with the bobblehead. And despite the fact that he is a finished AKC Champion, he wouldn’t hold a nice alert expression for me. Sort of like this:
Click the photo to see the full-size version on Flickr.
The paws picture turned out the best. Rottweiler bobbleheads, unlike actual Rottweilers, always stay where you put them!
My Project 365 is going pretty well so far. I haven’t improved much as a photographer yet, but we’re only two weeks into it. I haven’t missed a day yet, and I’ve been making an effort to use and learn more about my DSLR. Here are the pet-related photos from the past week:
Sometimes I wish that my twentysomething self would peek her idealistic head into my fiftysomething life, and tell me that I really can change the world, that all I need is faith and hope. I am no longer sure that is true. It can be very disheartening trying to raise awareness about topics such as breed specific legislation, puppy mills, and breed rescue and then…
your neighbor hates and fears your dog just because he is a Rottweiler
your coworker buys a puppy from a pet store after you have offered to put him in touch with breed rescue and some ethical breeders
your friend buys a cross-breed “designer dog” from a so-called breeder for more than you paid for your well-bred show dog… or your first car
And there is the unfortunate truth that awareness does not necessarily equal change or even concrete support. But I can’t quite bring myself to give up. My twentysomething self would be even more disappointed in me than she probably already is. What I do to keep myself sane is to try to remember that little things count, too. I may not be able to effect great changes in the world, but I can make life better for a few animals in it.
Right now, I can’t be very actively involved in breed rescue. I can always spare a few hours on a weekend every so often to help with transports, though. These usually involve moving a dog from a high-kill shelter to a rescue or foster home, or from a foster home to a forever home. As an experienced dog owner with a minivan that’s set up for traveling to shows and trials, it’s something that is a good fit for me as a way to contribute. I may not be making a big difference in the world, but I know I am making a difference to my canine passenger.
Between work, The Total Rottweiler Magazine, and the newly forming breed club I’m involved with, I’m on the computer a lot. One little tiny thing I can do while stuck behind the keyboard is to click to help. Not just donations, although I do that, too, while going through my favorite pet blogs. When you can’t make donations, you can still click (and shop) at The Animal Rescue Site and Freekibble.com to donate food and care to shelter animals.
An amazing-to-me number of people are all bent out of shape at the news that their zodiac signs have changed with the addition of a 13th constellation, Ophiuchus. I guess if I believed in astrology and actually thought that my personality would or should change to that of another sign, I would be upset, too.
I haven’t acknowledged the Western zodiac in years. If anyone starts talking about horoscopes or wants to know my sign, I tell them I am an Earth Dog and that is where it ends. I do acknowledge the Eastern zodiac (so proud to be Asian, our zodiac did not change) even though I don’t actually believe in it much more than I do the Western version. I find it completely amusing and appropriate that I was born in the Year of the Dog. I’ll let you do the math and guess what year that would be.
Interestingly enough, three of the six past and present resident Rottweilers are also Dogs. Well, of course they are dogs. I am still talking about the Eastern zodiac. Heidi and Oscar were Wood Dogs, and Axel is a Fire Dog.
I found a Chinese zodiac site describing each of the Five Types of Dog and I had to laugh at the Fire Dog writeup. It is so Axel!
“A highly dramatic and attractive type of Dog who will be thrown into the limelight by his alluring yet friendly personality.” — Well, he’s not really that friendly, but he’s very dramatic and attractive enough to be an AKC Champion. He was definitely thrown into the limelight as he chased his my championship dreams.
“He will be defiant and rebellious when forced to do something against his will…” — This pretty much describes every Rottweiler, I think.
“…but he will be very popular with the opposite sex.” — That gives me some hope for his success as a stud dog!
I mentioned earlier this week that I’m doing a Project 365 (photo-a-day) this year. Since not all of the photos will be about Rottweilers, computers, or even world domination, I’ve started a separate photoblog as well as a Flickr set for the project.
So far, I’ve been using my familiar point-and-shoot Nikon S51 and the camera on my BlackBerry Curve 8330 for the daily shots. But one of my goals for Project 365 is to learn to use my Canon Rebel XS DSLR to best advantage, so that camera will be added to the rotation starting next week.
I cross-posted my first Rottweiler-related photo earlier in the week. Here are the other pet-related project photos:
Yes, I’m late with this since we’re almost a week into 2011 at this point. But I still wanted to take a look back at 2010. I won’t call this a “top 10″ list as many other pet bloggers are. I’ll just ask you to revisit some of 2010′s moments with me:
The best achievements of 2010 went to the dogs.
New champion!! Axel’s AKC championship was one of the highlights of my year. A week after this, he would earn his CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and the following week his RN (Rally Novice) title, making January 2010 a hugely successful month for him. I was more of a happy cheerleader than anything else. The credit goes to his handler Julia Foster and his breeder Denise Pluta.
Just a few more Freya title thoughts Later in the year we would have some training setbacks and I’m still not sure whether Freya is retired or just on hiatus from rally obedience training and competition. But in March 2010, we kept things together long enough for her to earn her UKC Rally Obedience Level 2 title. This is an off-leash title and given that I am the worst handler in the world, a huge accomplishment for both of us.
If I were a real pet blogger, I’d have more posts like these.
Freya: class notes 1/16/10: I have a few other “class notes” posts where I take some raw video from a training session, class, or practice session, and break it down into what went right and what still needs work. It was helpful to me to review Freya’s progress and decide what to work on. I hope it was interesting to at least a few of you as well.
Some Freya video and my iMovie learning curve: I used one of the “class notes” videos to learn how to use iMovie ’09 and also create an “intro to Rally Obedience” type video. It did not end up being that effective as an overview, but I learned a lot about iMovie while creating it. Thanks to our obedience trainer Allan Ross for all of the class videos.
Total recall: We experimented with taking an online class as well, with some surprisingly good results. I don’t think online dog training can ever totally replace working one-on-one or in a small group with a good trainer, but I found this recall class to be an effective supplement to our training. Susan Garrett’s blog is a great read even if you are not doing one of her online classes and even if you have very little interest in agility.
Review: Pet Botanics Healthy Omega Treats: If I were a real pet blogger, I’d probably get more opportunities like this one to review pet products. I was happy to give these treats a good review. The dogs loved them and the healthy ingredients and low calorie count were a bonus.
These very disturbing news stories accounted for quite a bit of last year’s traffic, sad to say.
Update: Mary Wild sentencing: Dog handler Mary Wild got off with an unbelievably light sentence for the actions that caused the heat-related deaths of seven show dogs due to her negligence. She was convicted on eight counts of animal abuse and the light sentence was a horrible letdown considering what the penalties could have been.
Update: Lora Hunt sentencing: Lora Hunt was painting her fingernails as she drove, and rear-ended motorcyclist Anita Zaffke, killing her. For this, Ms. Hunt got only 18 months in jail. Another unbelievably light sentence and a big letdown for all of us who really do want to believe that justice can be served.
I’ve gone off-topic to non-Rottweiler, non-technology items quite often in the past. I’m trying not to do that going forward, but sometimes it’s hard not to write about food and entertainment!
Snack break: teriyaki meatballs: If 2009 was the year of kal bi, 2010 was the year of these retro teriyaki meatballs, taken from a ’60s cookbook put together by my aunt’s service club in Honolulu.
