Montrose Dog Beach in Chicago

The beach season has officially started in Chicago. Well at least the DOG beach season. With Toby waking up so early, we decided to try out the dog beach at Montrose again. You MUST try it out if you live in, or visit Chicago and own a dog.

When you get up to Montrose, turn left off of Montrose and stay close to the lake. Look a big retainer wall. The entrance to the dog beach is on the North side of the beach. Be sure to bring a towel (or a few), balls or frisbee, water, and I always bring treats or a squeeky ball since Toby runs wild.


Toby had a blast and even did pretty well off leash with other dogs! As compared to last year, he stayed close and even came back to us! He chased a tennis ball into the lake, played with a sweet Boxer, and attempted to swim like a Bernese Mountain Dog he admired. I definitely reccomend that you check it out. Maybe I'll even post your dog's pic if we're there at the same time!

Cute puppy Friday

Not too much to report today, so just posting to show how handsome the Pup was this morning on our walk. So much that I forgave him for waking me up at 5 AM!!

Lady, it's called Hackles not a Mohawk

Since Toby has been getting up at 6 AM every day this week, I am tired. My one motivation to take him out today was walking to Starbucks for my favorite. While ordering mine, I decided it would be SO sweet to get Toby's dad his favorite. I soon found out --

1 dog + 1 latte + 1 coffee= BIG problem when that dog drags you down the street! I was drenched in skinny caramel latte and the "bold" blend by the time we got home.

Oh it also doesn't help when some lady basically stalks you because she wants her HUGE (very cute) dog to "meet" your dog, even though you tell her that he isn't really that great with BIG giant dogs. And- seeing that you have your hands full with dripping coffee, says "Oh yours has a mohawk like mine, too funny"

Um lady, the "mohawk" is actually his hackles, which mean he may start to go off on your huge giant dog. Thanks.

PS- Believe it or not, I really am not a mean mad person. According to my sister on G-Chat, she "believes me". Thanks sis.

Toby, staring down Mohawk Dog.

Easter 2009

This past weekend Toby and I made the trek down to Cincinnati for Easter. We stayed at my Mom's Friday, my Dad's Saturday, and split Sunday between the 2. This meant packing and unpacking the crate only 4 times- ughhh.

Anyway, Toby got to live every city dog's fantasy: running free in the country and then running free in a huge, fenced-in yard. He did amazingly well- checking in with me every few minutes and coming back to me if he went too far. I have to say that the Growl 2 class as well as 2 sessions with Dog Behavior Solutions really are helping. That, and ALL the practice we've been doing. I guess the training is just more work than I originally imagined!

Toby didn't get to participate in the annual, run for your money Easter egg hunt. But here's what he missed (Hey I had to get cute kid pics in somewhere. My nephews, NOT my own!)

Tips to Crate Train a New Puppy

We actually had no problem crate training Toby. He loves his little "dog cave" and runs back to lay in it when he wants a break from TV or street noise. I suspect it was so easy to train him since he was fostered for such a long time before we adopted him. While Toby was super easy to crate train, the foster puppies were another story.

Last fall, we fostered a 4 month Sheppard puppy. I would put him in his crate with no problem. Then I would try to leave the house. The cute little puppy suddenly seemed possessed- scratching biting, and thrashing about in the crate. One time, I came home and the crate had moved over 20 feet across the room! It was so frustrating and I actually worked from home for a few days so that I didn't have to endure the torture. So, I ask myself, what did we do differently with Toby?

1. We bought a crate that was appropriately sized for a puppy. I bought one at PetSmart, similar to this:

2. Line the crate with towels and a blanket to make it soft.
3. Throw treats into the crate and praise the puppy whenever he chooses to enter.
4. Slowly, as he grows accustomed to entering and leaving, close the door for a few seconds.
5. Each time, lengthen the time that the door is shut. Do not leave the puppy yet!
6. Eventually, leave the door shut for longer periods of time. Introduce 1 GREAT treat when he goes in. We used dehydrated chicken breast. You can place the crate near your couch, kitchen, etc. so that you are still nearby, but doing something else.
7. Start to leave the room, and eventually the house for a few minutes. When you leave, don't make a big deal over leaving. Same goes when you come home (just a few minutes later)
8. Continue to lengthen the time you leave. Keep in mind, you can't leave the puppy alone too long. I've heard the general guideline as 1 hour for each month the puppy is old.

The economy is impacting pets too!

I sometimes volunteer at Paws Chicago. I should volunteer more often and keep meaning to sign up to walk dogs again. Maybe this article I read today can motivate me, and you, to help the poor puppies and cats affected by the economy:

Vet bills too high for some pet owners

This is so sad. I can't imagine having to euthanize my dog due to an expensive pet bill. I can imagine there are many many pet owners that have struggled with this very situation and quite a few tears shed over the issue. I realize there isn't a simple answers for those pet owners and can't judge them for making a tough decision. So sad!

On the other hand, I also read that pets save their owners money. The problem seems to be that the savings are long term, while the economy is impacting the pets in the near-term. I want to help! Part of me wants to start a charity to help these animals because I know shelters like Paws can't help every dog owner that is struggling. I definitely agree with the author about the savings due to walking the dog, etc. I know I have definitely had to walk Toby when I felt like sitting on the couch, drinking hot chocolate, and snuggling under a blanket!

My boss now officially thinks I am totally Dog Crazy

I thought I had overcome the new pet owner syndrome. You know who you are- your dog makes a funny noise, sleeps longer than normal, or throws up and you RUSH to the vet. Lucky for me, my big brother ais a veterinarian. This has most likely saved me hundreds, if not thousands in vet bills. (Thank you J.R) Anyway, through all of my hysteria and over-reaction, my husband has continued to harass me- accusing me of being too soft, baby-ing our dog, etc. etc. Slowly, I was getting over this- no REALLY, I was getting over it.

Then, today happened.

Today was an especially good workday, finally feeling productive. During a meeting with my boss, my cell phone rang, and then my office phone rang. And rang. And rang. Sure enough, it was my husband asking me to leave RIGHT away. Our pup was frantically and compulsively licking everything- the rug, the floor, the doors, the couch, windows, pretty much anything his little puppy tongue could reach. The news got worse when he said that the dog had vomited more than 5 times and was acting strange, with no apparent attention to commands.

I rushed home since my husband never does this type of thing and found my dog, licking, licking, and licking. I immediately held and pet him to calm him, and felt his heart racing. His stomach started making the loudest, strangest gurgling sounds, and he starting vomiting again. He uttered possibly the most wrenching, awful sound I have heard and out came ALL the hair and floor scraps that he must have licked up.

Moral of the story- Don't feed your dog a million rich, new treats (aka bcon, hot dogs, scooby snacks, and more) in the name of training him out of his dog aggression. The cliche' is true- what goes in must go OUT. Poor thing.