12 ways to know if you're ready to get a new puppy

My columnn in this month's Christian Voice Magazine is entitled "12 Ways To Know If You're Ready To Get A New Puppy." Here's a taste:

- Cash your next two paychecks. Drive to the local animal hospital and hand over all of the cash to the vet. If you don't suffer a massive heart attack on the spot, you might be ready to get a puppy.

- Sprinkle dog hair on all of the food you eat and in every beverage you drink. If you think your meals taste better with fur as a condiment, you might be ready to get a puppy.

- Tie a rope around a 50 pound cement block and attempt to drag it around the block. If this seems like a fun way to tone your biceps, you might be ready to get a puppy.

To read the other nine ways to know if you're ready to get a puppy, check out the July issue of the Christian Voice Magazine. Or visit my website, www.joannebrokaw.com, and join the mailing list to be notified when the column is available online!

Take your dog to work day

Friday June 26 is "Take Your Dog To Work" day.

According to the official Take Your Dog To Work Day website, TYDTWD was created in 1999 to "celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. This annual event encourages employers to experience the value of pets in their workplace for this one special day to promote pet adoptions."

Since I work at home, everyday is bring your dog to work day. Which I have to say is really beneficial, mentally and physically. I get regular breaks and more love than I ever got at any other office I've worked in.

This is a story about fear

In April 2008, I did a blog post about Scout's experience at the Canine Good Citizen test. I used a free writing exercise format called "This is a story about ...", where every sentence has to start with that phrase. The idea is to get your brain to let loose with the good ideas by giving it permission to unload on the page.

This is a story about ...

This is a story about the pet therapy program at Lollypop Farm, and how I signed Scout and myself up to participate in the program, which brings animals to hospitals and nursing homes, and how pets can aid in the therapy and rehabilitation of patients.

This is a story about the AKC good citizen test, and how Scout has to pass that before he can be considered for the pet therapy program.

This is a story about how Scout had to take four weeks of classes as preparation for the AKC good citizen test, and how out of the nine criteria required he could definitely pass six and likely two more.

This is a story about the one criterion he absolutely cannot pass.

This is a story about the loud noise test.

This is a story about the practice test two weeks ago, when Bob the trainer threw a metal bowl against the cement wall and expected the dogs not to freak out.

This is a story about how none of the dogs freaked out except Scout.

This is a story about Scout almost pulling himself completely out of his collar to get as far away from the loud noise as possible.

This is a story about the next week, when Scout was so nervous to go back to class that he tried to avoid going into the building and when he did go in he was whiny and on edge, but he did it anyway.

This is a story about how Bob threw the metal bowl against the wall again.

This is a story about how Scout was so completely and totally freaked out that he bolted down the hall and started scratching at the front doors.

This is a story about how I took Scout outside the building.

This is a story about how Scout refused to come back inside the building.

This is a story about how Bob said Scout cannot pass the AKC good citizen test but should come back and take the test anyway, because he will learn from every new experience.

This is a story about how I tried to desensitize Scout to the building so he would come back to Lollypop to take the test.

This is a story about last Saturday, when we came back and walked up and down in front of the classroom until he would walk without trying to pull me out of the building.

This is a story about last Sunday, when we came back and the classroom was open, and Bob was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room.

This is a story about how quickly Scout ran to Bob and licked Bob’s face, and totally forgot that just a few days earlier Bob had scared the stuffing out of him by throwing a metal bowl against the cement wall.

This is a story about learning to trust the people that are holding your leash, and believing that even when you are totally freaked out you can try something again as long as someone you trust is holding the leash.

This is a story about how I continue to see similarities between my dog and my relationship with God.

This is a story about the way that I react to things that scare me, and how most of my life has been spent running in the opposite direction as fast as I could rather than looking up to see who was holding my leash, probably because no one was holding the leash but me.

This is a story about finally letting God take hold of my leash.

This is a story about learning that when you are scared, you should stay at the side of the person you trust, and if they lead you back to the scary room with the loud noise it isn’t because they want to freak you out but because you need to learn how to deal with the loud noise so you can move on to better things, things that often help other people.

This is a story about how Scout cannot be a pet therapy dog, probably because both of us still need a fair amount of therapy ourselves.

Update: 6/3/09: This is a story about second chances, and how someone read my post last week about wanting to find a volunteer opportunity for me and the dogs, and contacted me to offer Scout a second chance at the Canine Good Citizen test!

Scouts gets a second chance

Scout's been offered a second chance to take the Canine Good Citizen test, and see if maybe he can become part of the pet assisted therapy program at Lollypop. Yippee! He had a problem with the loud noise portion of the test, so we're hoping that he'll be able to pass this time, and then we can go ahead and find the right volunteer situation.

And then ... I'm going to get Bandit trained for the same thing. If I learned one thing from Scout it's that I need to make sure I expose Bandit to as many different situations and environments as possible while he's still young.

Wanted: Volunteer opportunity for a girl and her dogs

Last fall, I took Scout through the Canine Good Citizen class in the hopes of having him approved for Lollypop Farm's pet therapy program. I'd hoped to get involved in the Kids Read To Dogs program, where kids with reading problems are paired with a dog that they can read to. Since the dog can't critique or criticize, and really doesn't care how well a child reads, it gives the child a chance to practice reading in a safe environment.

Even though Scout is a well behaved dog and has had training, after the first K9 class, I knew he wouldn't be a good candidate for the program, because they don't always go to the same place every week, and Scout's not great with new situations. Once he's settled in, he's fine, but he wouldn't be of use to anyone in a new environment week after week.

Well, that, and the fact that he failed the test. He's noise sensitive, and the portion of the test where Bob the trainer throws a metal bowl against the wall did him in.

I've been looking for a volunteer opportunity that I can do with my dog - and now dogs. Even though Scout didn't pass the Good Citizen test doesn't mean he's not a good dog. He's anxious and quirky, sure, and he's not the best dog to walk on a leash because he has only one goal in mind: let's get to the park to play ball. But he's also very gentle. This is the dog that won't eat the hamster if she's crawling around the floor; you can put your steak dinner on the floor and walk away and he'll sniff but he won't eat. If someone needed to throw a ball for an hour or so and have the dog return it, Scout's your boy. And I don't know that he still wouldn't be a good Kids Read to Dogs dog; as long as it was the same kid and it wasn't in a place where people were throwing metal bowls against the wall, he'd still be pretty good.

And now I have Bandit, the devil dog. Where Scout is nervous and anxious, Bandit is confident and obedient. His fault? He's a herding dog through and through, so he's prone to nipping heels to get attention. He's also the dog that will eat off your plate while your fork is in your mouth. But at just 5 months old, he'll play, lie down and chew a bone while someone reads, fetch a ball, and he loves to be pet. He's great walking on a leash.

And then there's me. I'm looking for something we can do a couple of hours a week. I'm not picky; I'll serve food, sort clothes, play with kids, do creative writing, sweep floors, give talks on everything from writing to Christian living. But I'd really, really like to find something to do with the dogs. And it doesn't have to be both dogs at the same time.

I guess as I read that, we're a pretty motley crew. But who knows, maybe we're just what your classroom, ministry or organization is looking for? If so, drop me an email at joanne@joannebrokaw.com.

On the menu: flip flops, stuffed animals and plastic squeakers

On Wednesday, Bandit at the plastic straps off a pair of cheap flip flops. Yesterday morning at 5 am, he barfed up a decent portion of the plastic, but I was watching all day to make sure the rest of it ... er, came out ... so he didn't end up with a clog in his intestines. Our vet says that he often has to perform surgery on dogs who eat stuff that gets stuck in their digestive tract and then causes a blockage that could be fatal.

Bandit pooped out the rest of the flip flop later yesterday afternoon - and then went on to eat part of a stuffed racoon toy, including the entire plastic squeaker. The whole sqeaker, except one teeny, tiny, almost microscopic piece.

He had been chewing a Kong bone while I lay on the couch reading a book; I dozed off for about a 1/2 hour and I woke up to him coughing up the tiny piece of the plastic squeaker. Can't believe I didn't hear him eating the rest of it.

I watched him the rest of the day to see if any of that plastic and material would come out, but right on time, at 5 am this morning he barfed up a huge wad of material, about the size of 1/2 a hot dog. What a relief. But before I could reach into his crate to clean it, he ate it. He ate the material again! Now I have to watch him the rest of the day to make sure it all comes out ... somehow.

I'm reminded of Proverbs 26:11: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly"; it's a good illustration of how we continue to return to our sinful behavior, regardless of how bad - and sometimes dangerous - it can be.

So now we wait to make sure the material and squeaker plastic comes out - again.

Dog Training is Cheaper Than Therapy

Last night at dog training, Bob Minchella our trainer said something that hit home with me. He was talking to another dog owner, but earlier he and I had had a long conversation about Scout's anxiety and my guilt in bringing another dog into the house.

Bob said that when you have two dogs, you need to make sure that you do stuff with them separately so they develop their own identities. Otherwise, you end up with dogs that rely on each other too much.

To be honest, I needed to hear that, because it gives me permission to love each dog separately. I've been feeling very guilty if I do something with one dog and not the other. More than that, enjoying doing something more with one than the other.

See, I have a lot of emotion attached to Scout. I got him a week after we put down our 14-year-old Border collie Natasha, an extremely emotional event for our whole family. That our daughter was in Florida at the time, and called me repeatedly to tell me I was a dog murderer, didn't help. Scout had some anxiety issues to begin with, but a month later, just about the time Cassie decided to come home, Scout broke his leg (and it was my fault). So I ended up with a 20-week-old puppy in a cast and a daughter struggling to sort out some of her own growing up stuff (leaving her on a bit of an emotional roller coaster). I was drained, sad, frustrated, distraught, and not a little bit depressed.

My own emotional issues certainly played a big part in amplifying Scout's anxiety issues, to the point that I'm constantly feeling guilty whenever I think he's being slighted. When Bandit takes Scout's toy, I feel guilty. When Bandit bites Scout while they're playing, I feel guilty. When Bandit crawls up on the couch with me while I watch TV, and Scout goes upstairs to lie on the bed, I feel guilty. (Even though Scout never really liked to lie on the couch with me.)

So maybe the problems I'm seeing with the two dogs are really my own problems coming to the surface. That Bob said the dogs need to do things separately actually reminds me that what might feel guilty for me is actually good for the dogs. That's it's not only OK to take them to the park separately, or to crawl on the couch with one and play frisbee with the other, it's good for us all.

Dog training. Cheaper than therapy.

Related posts:
Natasha The Wonder Dog: The Final Update
Posts about Scout