Rottweilers

New neighbors, Axel’s frisbee, Freya’s rally-o

July 5, 2009 by kathi

Since I’ve complained often enough about jagoffs in the neighborhood, it might be a surprise to hear that we consider our latest new neighbors a welcome addition. They are welcome indeed, since they are not jagoff humans. They are pretty birds, and in fact, our Illinois state bird.

photo credit: MsPixie

A pair of cardinals has built a nest in the neighbor’s rose bush. It sits up against our fence, and the nest is only about five feet off the ground. Last year, a pair of cardinals abandoned a partially-built nest in that bush. We blamed Axel, because he was always up on his hind legs, paws up on the fence, peering into the bush.

Hopefully, he won’t scare away this pair. We’ve seen the female sitting in the nest, so we’re trying to keep Axel’s attention away from the bush and the birds. I haven’t tried to get any photos yet, and if I do, it will be with a long lens and no flash. I don’t want to be the one to scare them away this year! (Those are not “our” birds in the photo above; I’m sure most of you figured that out from the credit line though.)

Speaking of Axel, he caught the frisbee twice today. Good boy, Axe! Rottweilers are not good candidates for frisbee dogs, and it’s a bad idea to throw the frisbee the same way you would for a border collie. But a low, straight throw is Rottweiler-safe, and he still looked cool hopping up just a little bit to pluck the frisbee out of the air just slightly above his head level.

I mentioned Freya’s upcoming rally obedience trial yesterday, and the need to get a training routine in order. Today’s task was to familiarize myself with UKC rules, since we’ve been practicing using AKC rules and signs so far. I’ve identified two exercises which are used in UKC Rally Obedience 1 that we’ve not practiced yet, as they are not part of AKC Rally Novice. One is Halt and Stand, and the other is Halt-90° Pivot Right-Halt. So we practiced those two exercises indoors today. If you know of any other exercises that differ between AKC and UKC, please let me know!

I didn’t want to train outside today, although it was a nice day. As I also mentioned yesterday, I expected the neighborhood jagoffs to finish off their fireworks today, and they did. I suppose I could have used it as an exercise in working through distractions, but I really don’t think we’re going to have to deal with fireworks or gunfire in a trial situation. At least I hope we won’t, or else I’m finding a safer sport.

Weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, and after tonight I expect the jagoffs to be out of fireworks, so I’ll set up a practice course in the yard.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 5 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 162 of 274)

Disruption in the routine

July 4, 2009 by kathi

The July 2009 NaBloPoMo theme is “routine”

The new target date for Freya’s first Rally Obedience trial is now set in stone. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but I did mail in our entry last week for a UKC trial on July 25. So I definitely need to take a little time tomorrow to set up a training routine for the next three weeks. I’ll be trying to fit in any available run-throughs, fun matches, and drop-in classes. With the freakish weather that we’ve had lately, I also want to have both an outdoor plan and an indoor plan each day for home practice sessions. There’s not much space to practice in the house, but there are still a number of exercises that don’t need much space to practice: call front and finish, 270° and 360° left and right turns, spirals, sits, and downs.

I was going to start today, but the Fourth of July caused a huge disruption in our routine. I complained the other day about jagoffs who insisted on starting the holiday fireworks days ahead of time. I am not un-American, and I usually do not get overly bent out of shape about noisy celebrations until midnight or later. But my normally quiet neighborhood sounds like a war zone tonight. People are blowing off fireworks that are loud enough to set off car alarms, which they have, a half dozen times since nightfall. I’ve heard quarter-stick and maybe even half-stick sized “booms” tonight. Nothing that loud is legal in Chicago.

It’s almost midnight and there are still fireworks going off. The air is still thick with smoke. I am asthmatic, although it barely bothers me these days: except on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. I really don’t want to go out there and breathe that stuff, and I wouldn’t, except that the dogs have to go out before bedtime. I don’t really want them breathing that stuff either, but they definitely need a potty break. Neither of the dogs is actively fearful of fireworks, but Axel feels he needs to protect me from whoever is shooting at us. That gets a little stressful for both of us.

Needless to say, the early evening hours when we would normally train outside were not particularly conducive to learning or practicing today. I really hope the neighborhood jagoffs have used up all of their fireworks. Since it’s still the weekend, I’m concerned that their inconsiderate jagoff selves will choose to continue blowing off fireworks for one more day. None of them seems to have blown off a finger or set their own garages on fire, so karma hasn’t come around yet either.

I’m doing something I never do, and am hoping for rain and lots of it. I didn’t get my wish tonight, and it’s not looking good for tomorrow.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 4 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 161 of 274)

Finally FURminating!

July 3, 2009 by kathi

I know I’m very late to the party on this one, but I finally have a FURminator de-shedding tool. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, as it is really the perfect grooming aid for the lovely Freya and her Undercoat of Doom. The model I got is one of the new ones, the FURjector, which has a push button to eject the fur from the blade. It comes in only one size, 2.65″ wide, which corresponds with the original medium size, for medium and large dogs.

When we were researching dog breeds, one of the big huge lies that we were told was that Rottweilers do not shed very much. Did I mention this was a big huge lie? Apparently “very much” is measured differently on whatever planet that Rottweiler owner was from. I’m glad I don’t remember who it was that told me that big huge lie.

Rottweilers have many endearing qualities, so the shedding was not a deal-breaker. Our grooming tool of choice up until now has been a traditional shedding blade, which is a pretty effective tool that is quite inexpensive. This one has survived all six Rottweilers to date.

Some of our Rottweilers have had very little undercoat. Axel really doesn’t have much. Freya is another story. Her Undercoat of Doom is probably the source of most of the dog hair that buries itself into the carpet and upholstery. We used the shedding blade on both dogs the day before the FURminator arrived. The FURminator removed quite a bit of additional undercoat and dead hair from Axel. But we couldn’t believe how much more it got off Freya. And remember, this is after using the shedding blade!

An additional bonus is that it didn’t cost any real dollars. Though I was hugely disappointed that ThankYou Rewards no longer offers Amazon gift certificates as a redemption choice, they do offer rather a wide range of pet-related products, and the FURminator was one of them.

A definite “four paws up” for the FURminator. Next time maybe we’ll follow the trend a bit sooner.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 3 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 160 of 274)

Gratuitous dog promotion

June 29, 2009 by kathi

Maybe even slightly pointless dog promotion, because Axe is currently on “summer vacation” and won’t be back strutting his stuff and playing the showdog game until fall. So I will be promoting him again right before he goes out on the road.

For now, though, I am still going to make you look at my wonderful dog’s latest advertisement which will be running in Issue 2 of The Total Rottweiler Magazine, due out sometime in July. Behold the beauty that is Axe!

click image for full-sized PDF version

I said last week that I would have more to say on show dogs and handlers, after the awful incident in which seven show dogs died due to what I would consider criminally negligent actions on the part of their handler.

Axel’s handler, Julia Foster, is a total professional. Axel adores her and thinks she is family, not “just” someone who is paid to show him (please do not let him read this and spoil his illusions). I trust her with not only his career, but his life. I could not imagine her ever putting client dogs in an awful situation like the one we talked about last week.

I would love to be able to show my own dog, but this is not an area in which I have any talent or skills. I have almost tripped over my own dog in the obedience ring. God knows what would happen in the conformation ring where I’d have to actually run with a dog. Competition in Rottweilers is serious enough that even a good and deserving dog won’t win with a clueless person like myself on the other end of the lead.

So in the fall, Axel will be heading back out to the shows with Julia, and hopefully he will come back quickly as an American champion. Yes, it was a big decision to send him out with a handler, and yes, I still believe it is the right one for us.

(NaBloPoMo | June ’09: 29 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 156 of 274)

Killer heat: don’t let it get you and yours

June 26, 2009 by kathi

Once again, we didn’t ease into summer here in Chicago. We went from still needing sweaters or jackets in late May straight to some dangerously humid and hot 90-plus degree days. When the extreme heat arrives, so do some unfortunate incidents where babies, the elderly and pets succumb to the heat. Sadly, at least some of these incidents were completely preventable.

The saddest stories are those of children or animals locked in cars, windows cracked or not, and left enclosed long enough to cause heat-related illnesses, often followed by death. We are not even at the hottest part of the summer yet, and already there have been several stories that made the national news. Two such items happened earlier this week.

This past Tuesday afternoon in North Fort Worth, TX, a 21-year-old mother left her 2-month-old daughter locked inside her car while she shopped at Wal-Mart. Thanks to a woman who noticed the baby in the car, and her father who called 911 and broke out the back window to get the baby to safety, this story had a mostly happy ending.

The other story did not have a happy ending at all. Eight show dogs were left in a cargo van overnight by the professional handler who had shown them last weekend. The handler claimed to have set up electric fans, left the van doors open and checked on the dogs during the night. Unlikely. On Monday morning, the dogs were in severe distress. Seven of the dogs died of heat stroke, and the eighth, as of this writing, is still in critical condition.

EDITED: to add update links from the St. Louis paper:
6/25 update to story
6/26 update to story
6/28 update to story
7/3 update to story
7/6 update to story

to add links from The Dog Press:
7/24: Mary Wild Kills 8 Dogs
7/27: Dog Handler Charged

to add contact information for Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office from Kinship Circle:
7/4/09: Seven Dogs Perish, Trapped Inside Hot Van

I am horrified at any incident where a baby or child is put in danger in a hot, locked car. I am mystified at one of Oprah’s shows this week, where the main guest was a woman who “forgot” her baby in the car for eight hours, and the theme was not “baby killer” but more like “stressed out moms who make mistakes.” Since I am not a mother myself, I guess I should not say more than that.

But I am a showdog mom, and the story of the “professional” handler who put her clients’ dogs in harm’s way hits me hard because I can actually imagine being one of the dog owners who got that awful call. Or in this case, the courtesy of a call wasn’t even given to some of the dog owners, who had to find out via the news media that their beloved dogs were dead.

I’ll probably have more to say on show dogs and handlers later. But right now, since temperatures are still in the red zone, stay cool and stay safe with some tips from The Weather Channel and the American Kennel Club.

For humans, The Weather Channel has a number of summer safety and health articles. Extreme Heat Health Emergency tells us what to do for these heat-related ailments:
Heat cramps: Rest in a cool place, drink cool water (or juice or a sports drink), and avoid strenuous activity for a few hours.
Heat exhaustion: Rest in a cool place, loosen clothing and apply cool damp cloths (or take a cool shower), and drink cool beverages. Seek medical attention if nausea occurs.
Heat stroke: CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT GIVE LIQUIDS. Cool the victim as swiftly as possible in a cool bath or shower, or with a garden hose.

The Weather Channel also has some pet related health and safety article, as does the American Kennel Club’s website. Check out their Summer Safety Tips, particularly on how to recognize the signs of heat stroke:

Early stages: Heavy panting, rapid breathing, excessive drooling, bright red gums and tongue, standing 4-square, posting or spreading out in an attempt to maintain balance.
Advanced stages: White or blue gums, lethargy, unwillingness to move, uncontrollable urination or defecation, labored, noisy breathing, shock.

Get the dog to a vet immediately, and in the meantime, cool it down:
– Apply rubbing alcohol to the dog’s paw pads.
– Apply ice packs to the groin area.
– Hose down with water.
– Allow the dog to lick ice chips or drink a small amount of water.
– Offer Pedialyte to restore electrolytes.

(NaBloPoMo | June ’09: 26 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 153 of 274)