Sometimes life just happens and something that you put away for a little bit just gets lost in the shuffle. Thirty some odd years ago I put a fun talent away and it got lost in that shuffle. Thanks to an internet friend and artist I had a desire to test drive that old talent and rediscovered the fun I always had in drawing. Thought I would share a few things that are finished and the beginning of one I started today. Welcome back into my life drawing pad, pencils, pastels and erasers. Missed ya'll!

Booger

Pantera

Rough out Quihi

  My how time flies! It has really flown by since May of 2011 with the new addition to our little pack. This is the first glimpse I saw of the dog that would start mending my broken heart. He came from a dear weight pull friend. He is a two year old American Pit Bull Terrier named Booger. He had spent the first part of his life in his 10x10 kennel and running a 2 acre field.

Booger aka  Cooper's Digging For Gold, needed to learn everything. We started with leash manners then, sit and down. Booger started out as I would expect, a little unsure of his surroundings and not confident in himself. As I took him to classes that I was teaching you can see just how much he has changed. His confidence growing not only in the home and training area but also on the weight pull track.  Here are some pictures taken the past few months showing the change in this fantastic dog.








In this picture you can see that he really isn't too sure about having his picture taken. My little camera shy guy.

Last potty stop on the way home. Getting to know Ms Chula too.













First weight pull training session.

 Booger's first toy. He wasn't sure if I was going to take it away from him or not.

Booger beginning to get in shape as well as discovering the art of treeing a squirrel.

GET IT BOY!!!

Notice Ms. Chula getting in the picture. No we haven't forgotten about her at all.

His first APA show. Not sure of what it's about, but we have plenty of time to learn.













Booger last week at work. He has been so much fun. He has a personality of sheer goofiness. I don't think I have ever laughed at a dog as much as I laugh at this one. He is a loyal, hardworking companion. He will never be a Hondo, but he is Booger and he has made his own way into my heart. Not as a replacement, but making his own place right along side the dog who will forever live in my heart.

Thank you Cody Cooper for this fantastic goofball of a dog.

A Thief in Our Midst

A Thief in Our Midst

There are two people in this house and three wonderful dogs. Lately things have come up missing, mainly my things from the kitchen tool drawer. The tool drawer is nothing fancy it contains a hammer, two screw drivers one Philips and one Flat-head, a yellow handled pliers, a wound up extension cord, a few wine openers, can opener, assorted batteries and some twine.

A few months ago I went to my trusty tool drawer and found that my hammer had been replaced with a broken hammer head. I asked my husband Paul if he changed out the hammer and he told me he didn’t. So, when I asked who could have done it his reply was “I don’t know.”

I remember my mom talking about I Don’t Know living at our house when I was younger. Seemed to me that I Don’t Know got into a lot of things and we could never explain or find him. Why would he suddenly move in with me? A few weeks ago I went to get the yellow handled pliers to open the cans of sardines for the dogs. They weren’t in my drawer. Again, I asked the Paul and again the reply was, “I don’t know.” This time not only the pliers were missing but my extension cord was unwound and wadded up in the drawer. Those who know me know that I wind up my long leashes; it bugs the daylights out of me to have things tangled.

The other night I went to grab my Philip screwdriver to tighten the handle on my pressure cooker. You guessed it, gone. I got the same answer. This time I responded back with, “Well, I asked I Don’t Know and he said to check in You Know Who’s work truck.” The next day my tools reappeared. Hopefully I Don’t Know has moved on and You Know Who will keep his mitts out of my tools. I do find it funny that my dogs seem to know, I Don't Know and You Know Who. They would never let a stranger come into my home.

Moving On and Healing

Months have passed and a lot of healing has taken place. It was hard to get used to working without my shadow of almost 9 years. But, work we have done. We (Chula, Pitiful Pearle, Quihi and I) are involved with a local spay/neuter campaign called Talk About It, geared to educate the community about the importance of health care, spay/neuter and adoption. We go into community centers, churches and public parks giving free dog training demos and showing people how to take care of their dogs. I have loved getting on the ground with young children and showing them that they too can train their dogs. Talking with elderly and meeting new young couples and providing them with fun things they can do to make their dogs members of the family.
We are working with Penny’s From Heaven training therapy dogs to go to BAMC and other facilities in order to help the men and women returning from war cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI’s). We have also started a new program based on providing and training medical assistance dogs to wounded warriors who have a hard time getting back out into society. This is the Train a Dog Save a Warrior program. Loving called TADSAW.


Imagine coming from a place were a traffic jam could be a set up for a road side bomb. A crowded area is an ambush waiting to happen. These young men and women have been there and have injuries from just such a thing. Just driving in rush hour traffic sends waves of fear or causes horrible flash backs. A simple trip to a grocery store or WalMart is unthinkable. So, these brave young men and women seek safety by shutting themselves in a room. Until they meet their dogs. The dogs give them a silent shoulder to lean on, a comforting nuzzle when things get hard. These dogs add comfort by watching the warriors back when in a crowd. They also, will alert the warrior when they feel him or her start to shut down. This enables the warrior to change gears or get out of a situation or the dog will lead the warrior to the nearest exit. These dogs assist those who walk in their sleep, and those who can’t sleep or have horrible nightmares.



Recently I fostered and trained a dog named Kingsley to go warrior. He came from a wonderful foster home with Gavin Nichols who I met through Talk About It. Gavin and his wife took a pup from a local high kill shelter and nurtured and raised him. Kingsley lived and trained with me for about four weeks. Then we carefully screened and matched him with his warrior. It was a great match and the two of them will have a fantastic life together.


We have plenty of dogs in our local shelter that would be fantastic at the task of helping a warrior. However, there are too few great foster homes such as the Nichols who are willing to take these dogs in and bring them to training. Want to save a dog? Want to do something to bring down the number of dogs we kill each day in San Antonio? Want to do something to help out these brave young men and women returning from war broken and battered? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please contact me. I may just have a way you can help out.

So Long Dear Friend

Two weeks ago today I said good-bye to my beloved Hondo. He was an amazing dog in all ways. He helped socialize many dogs large and small, but he loved community service. Going to nursing homes, hospitals, school and going to work were his favorite things to do. He touched many lives in his short life of 8 years and 9 months. He will be missed by many.


We have seen many changes in our pack dynamics as Hondo had a huge impact on the dogs that share our home. We all seem a little lost without him. He had such a huge presence. As we deal with the quietness of life without a Catahoula I will post how each of the pack members have changed.

So long dear friend, we will meet again across The Rainbow Bridge.


R.I.P Hondo CGC,ATT
Sept. 11, 2001 - June 22, 2010

Living With The Little People

I’m not sure what it is that attracted me to the Chihuahua as a breed. I certainly wouldn’t have listed them in my top ten several years ago. In fact I thought of them as psychotic rats on a lead, ankle biters and little evil dogs. I even remember saying, “I would never own one of those psychotic little creatures.”

One day I met a little white Chihuahua named Julio. He was just what I had always thought a Chihuahua was. He refused to walk on a lead. In fact if you put the stinker on the floor he would climb his owner’s leg like a fire pole. If you put your hand down to block him he then climbed your arm to the desired position, sitting on the shoulder. On his first day of classes with me he attacked two dogs and then bit me. Needless to say he stayed after class that first night to go over new household rules. The next week he was quiet and attentive in class, the week following that he walked in proudly next to his beaming owner. A changed dog, he had gone from spoiled rotten to a proud happy dog.

Then we had the tiniest little dog come in. Socrates. He weighed in at a whole 1.5 pounds when I met him. His vet said he wouldn’t live and that it would be waste to invest in training. Socrates loved his training classes and excelled, plus he has had a fantastic life during the past five years and still loves learning new things.



I personally have always preferred to train Labs, Pit bulls, Catahoulas and other large breed dogs. Just what is it about these little dogs? Was it the neotanized eyes, head and noses? Is it that they are all different and known to be feisty, but loving to their owners? Or is it the fact that they are known as hard to train to the point that some trainers won’t touch them? I was under the spell of these little creatures who’s owners many times anthropomorphizing them so much that I thought of them (the owners) as a bit off.

At one point in my career I stumbled on the fact that little dogs just had to be trained a little different. A ton of patience, extremely short sessions and it had to be a ton of fun for the dog. I had to get a small dog to learn from. I then acquired little Quihi, who turned out to be a very sickly but loving dog. She wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for but I was madly in love with this doe eyed little dog that seemed to wrap everyone she met around her dew claw. Then I understood how easy it was to anthropomorphous or put human emotion/characteristics to these little creatures. She has a way of rolling her eyes at you when you ‘ask’ (that’s right, ASK) her to do something. She snorts in disgust, and has a way of looking at her dinner as if to say, “So, what is this slop you’re serving today?” Oh my gosh! I’m now one of ‘those’ dog owners whom I've always labeled as a bit off. Then it got worse! I got a second one.

Enter Pitiful Pearle, Quihi’s new partner in crime. At first Quihi wanted nothing to do with the bald little black dog with demodectic mange we were going to foster. In fact the first night she sat on the couch and howled a mournful long song. As if she was saying good bye to her old life. Pearle is the opposite of Quihi, she attacked my beloved Hondo (Catahoula) her first night, then the next night attacked me. I called the agency I fostered her from and gave them a report of my concerns. They just said that she was in the right place and they were confident that we would be just fine. Pearle is a smart cookie who loves to learn. A dog trainer’s dream, so after seeing some behavior problems and some fear issues I found myself in love again. We kept her. Now I have two little people in the house. Yes, that is what we call them. Unlike the other dogs they have a way of making me stop and say, “No, that did not just happen.” They both give eye rolls and snorts, now Quihi even shakes her head yes and no. I kid you not! Is it that she understands me or have I conditioned her? Truthfully she has been conditioned to shake her head yes or no. Just as Pearle has been conditioned to lick her lips when I ask is something is yummy. It is just that Chihuahuas learn quickly when they want their way. Laughter is also a great reward for the little one. They have bigger than life personalities and are highly trainable when they think it is their idea. They even have a way of training us to do their bid and calling. That however is another topic, another day.

I do however find myself asking, “Did that just happen? Nah, just my imagination” On more than one occasion I have left to go to work, got in the car and started to back out of the drive when I realize I’ve left something. Upon returning to the house I find the two little people in odd frozen positions. One will be ready to leap from the couch to the dining room table while the other I halfway on the coffee table. Frozen in time, not moving a muscle it is like time has stopped. As I run in and grab whatever I left they stay in the frozen position giving me the creeps. I usually run out and then after about 30 seconds open the door really fast to find them curled up on the couch looking at me as if I woke them from a long nap. Now, I definitely am one of those Chihuahua owners. Oh well, all I can say is that they play hard, love harder and can give really dirty looks when not pleased with you. They bring much joy, and laughter at the end of a long day training dogs and they have taught me a ton of techniques on training the smaller breeds. Huge personalities in those tiny little bodies make up for a life time of love and laughter. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Name Those Ingredients

It seems these days that everyone has something to say about what kind of dog food to feed a dog. There is a dog food for the active dog, the puppy, old dog, fat dog, itchy dog and you name it. I fed commercial brand dog foods for most of my career and I honestly thought my brand of dog food was the best. Then I started noticing things. The food would disappear from the shelves of the local pet food store. Many times the manufacturer will have voluntary recall and not always disclose why. You had to search for the reasons a company would pull a product off a shelf. A standard excuse was that the manufacturer wasn’t sending food for shipping and warehouse issues. Finally, the food would appear back on the shelf in a newly designed bag. Then things would happen to my dogs. Diarrhea, itchy skin, vomiting and ear infections were just some of the fun things my poor dogs endured. I have known for some time that one of my dogs has a problem with corn so I took care to feed foods minus the corn. Apparently after a while other grains started bothering him as well, including rice, wheat, barley and others. Then after seeing other brands change bags, I realized they were changing the ingredients in the food as well as the look of the bag. I struggled with different foods until I met a weight pull judge at a pull in North Texas.

Her dogs were absolutely beautiful. She owned old family red nosed American Pitbull Terriers. When asked if I would hold one of her beautiful dogs I couldn’t believe the softness of the coat and the overall health of this dog. Naturally the big question had to come, “What do you feed these guys?” Her answer changed my way of thinking when it comes to dog food. RAW!

I had tried raw in the past and it was a pain. My new friend sent me some information and when I saw what she did, it was not only easy, but made too much sense. I can now off the top of my head tell anyone what is in my dog food. Lettuce, apples, carrots, celery, green beans, peas pureed and added to ground beef, occasionally I’ll toss in other fruit or veggies. Added fresh each morning are; ground alfalfa powder, ground kelp, Missing Link Plus and a fish oil capsule. In the evening they get raw chicken backs. Each dog gets 2-3% of their body weight in food. I adjust a little depending on each dog. Here are the things I noticed since the big switch. No more itching, ear infections, diarrhea, vomiting bile mid afternoon and most of all the vet bill has decreased considerably. The heavy dogs have lost weight, the skinny dogs have gained, my picky eater is the first to the food bowls and the dogs behave much better. If it were just one or two dogs I would say it was a fluke, but we are talking eight dogs. Ranging from 7lbs to 80lbs aged 1 – 10 all with different, jobs, health conditions and allergies. They are all now focused on their work, very happy, frisky and active. So now when people start recommending xx brand of dog food I ask, “Can you name all the ingredients off the top of your head?” If they can’t then there if too much junk in the food and I want to stay away from it.

While I prefer raw, I know that it is not for all. However, there are some very good foods out there that are great choices for those who would love to feed raw and can’t. For me I love my once a week hour of making dog food. It is a labor of love that my hard working dogs deserve. I control the quality of the food I feed and know exactly what is going into the diet of my hard working friends. That makes for a very happy pack.

The Pit Bull Owner Who Hurts Us All

A few months ago a man walked into the store with a drop dead gorgeous black and white pit bull. What wasn't too pretty was the man had about 15 feet of heavy duty chain as a leash and the owners attitude turned me off the dog altogether.

For starters, I have a woman with an Australian Shepherd I have worked with for a few years. The dog has made great progress; however, he will still show dog aggression occasionally. Well sure enough, the Aussie barks at the pit. The pit owner turns around and tells the Aussie owner, "I should turn my dog loose to teach your dog a lesson." This statement is very irresponsible and upset the woman to no end.

What kind of crap is that? Then the man lets his dog pee on everything in sight. He took the dog to lunge, bark and scare the cats that are up for adoption. Then he brought the dog up to the glass wall of my training room and let the dog lunge at the reactive Aussie. The man was told to leave and I was furious at the actions of the man!

A man in my class went on a rant about how dangerous pit bulls are and that they all need a bullet in the head. After a long discussion set that statement straight! The man did have a point though, most people see the type of person with the black and white and that remains their impression of the APBT. It doesn't matter how well your (my pit bull family) dogs are behaved, what titles, our how much the dogs love our children. This one bad experience had a big impression on my class. Fortunately, I was able to share with them the great love of an APBT and what these dogs are about, did I get through? I think most of them yes, a few others no. It seems to me for every one person like the guy with the black and white we need five to undo the damage. That man didn’t want a dog, he wanted a penis extension. He wanted to boost his ego in front of his girl friend and used the dog to do it. Little does he know he came across as a fool and a jack ass in front of a large group of people. Sad thing is it is at expense of the APBT breed as a whole.

I applaud all my responsible pit bull friends. You have so many battles to fight and you people fight them with class, integrity and responsibility. Thank you all for your dedication, love and support for such an awesome breed. It is truly an honor to be in your fight to own such remarkable dogs.

Something About Cooper

Patience, consistency and timing, in dog training, these three things are of vital importance. Patience; remember that they are dogs. They don’t understand our language and some take a bit longer to learn our language than others. Be consistent; changing techniques will only confuse your dog and make it harder for him to learn your language. Timing try to time rewards right when the dog performs the action you want. Mark that behavior and reward it. That way your dog will know exactly what he did and will have a better understanding of what made you happy enough to reward him.

Here is a story of a dear friend and her big blue pit bull. A dog who you can’t help but love at first sight. This is a special dog to me, through him I have met and made many friends with Alamo City Bully Breeds United and Big Dawgs. Thank you Cooper for enriching my life with not only you, but your owner and the rest of the ACBBU board of directors.

A few years ago I went to a pit bull meet up to meet some prospects for training. I was introduced to the leader of the group who had a huge blue pit bull. This dog was dragging her from one place to the other. He was an extremely friendly dog who would practically knock you down to say hello. I couldn’t help but notice the big goofy Cooper.

Shortly after that first meeting, Cooper brought his owner to class. No, really Pamela was literally dragged to class by Cooper who proceeded to whine, bark and wear the stool on his head. Pamela shared with me that she wanted Cooper to get his CGC, ATT and be a therapy dog. I remember thinking to myself; we have a lot of work to do. If there is a dunce hat for doggy obedience school, Cooper owned it. Week after week Cooper brought Pamela to class. I think he repeated beginner once or twice. Pamela was determined and came back with Cooper each week.

Then we started seeing we saw small changes, Cooper was enrolled in intermediate, and advanced classes and then came a Saturday I will never forget. Pamela, came in with a sad face and handed me an envelope. As she handed it to me she said, “It’s about Cooper”. What could this big goof ball have done? My heart pounding with dread, I opened the envelope. What I pulled out made me cry, Cooper had earned his AKC Canine Good Citizen. He has since gone on to pass the American Temperament Test with flying colors. We have pretty much scratched the therapy dog for now as we are concentrating on weight pulling.

Recently we drove to Dallas to enter Cooper and my Chula in a weight pull competition. This was a long ride for Cooper and when we got to our hotel Cooper was done riding in the truck. I watched in horror as he tried to push his way past Pamela to get out of the car. With her window down, she was laughing and told me that this is what she went through every time she came to class. Are you kidding me? Talk about patience! For over two years every time she came to class she dealt with this pushing, whining, stomping all over her dog and she kept coming? Wow! that is dedication, I don’t think I could have dealt with that. You go girl.

Recently I had the pleasure of walking Cooper around a lake at a local park. It is as if a switch was thrown somewhere deep in the Coopie brain and he suddenly understood loose leash walking. He understood ‘watch me’. He was HEELING! Who is this dog? What happened to Cooper? I’ll tell you what happened to Cooper. His owner stayed patient and stuck with it. She didn’t expect perfection over night, she worked her dog week after week. We laughed and we cried together over this dog. His training equipment consists of a martingale collar, a thin leather lead, clicker and treats. Due to the patience of his wonderful owner Pamela, her consistency in a training method that may not always show instant results, her consciousness of her timing, and her dedication to her dog; Cooper is now a very well rounded pit bull. He happily offers good behaviors because good things happen when he does. I would never have dreamed the big goof ball would be competing in a Rally Obedience class, but his owner did. He is entered to compete in October. Good luck Cooper and Pamela. You two deserve a metal. I am so proud of both of you and honored to have you as part of my pack of doggy friends.

Proud Moment

Today I recieved a plain brown envelope in the mail. To my surprise Chula recieved a medal for the IWPA regional 80 pound weight group. All the hard work we put in last year has paid off. Hours of pulling on hot south Texas mornings, miles of pulling a drag sled has shown in her performance. While we started this sport as a way to tire out my crazy lab mix. After going to our first weight pull show we were hooked. She is now registered with IWPA and the UKC. We only need one more pull for her to title in IWPA and one more pull to title with the UKC. I'm so proud of my black dog.

Pitiful Pearle Makes Four

I just don’t understand people. Try as I may, why would someone get a puppy and then toss it aside like garbage when something goes wrong? Meet Pitiful Pearle, fourth and according to my husband my last dog. Yeah, right!

I didn’t want a fourth dog, three is more than enough to keep me busy. However, with the help of one very persistent shelter worker, I have my fourth dog. It started out with my friend telling me about the cutest little Chihuahua that she needed to find a foster home. I told her lovingly to keep looking. We played this game for a week when my friend told me, “Just remember tomorrow at 8:30am.” Wait a second, what happens? Am I supposed to be there? She then told me that the little Chihuahua was to be put to sleep. No fair, dirty pool this was just plain mean! After cussing under my breath, I told her to bring me the dog.

Sharrel, met me in the parking lot, with a little carrier. I couldn’t wait to see this little dog she had be raving about. When the crate came open, a crusty, scabby, hairless little puppy walked out and looked at me with the most soulful eyes I’ve ever seen. All I could do was utter, “Oh, you pitiful little pearl.” This was the ugliest dog I have ever seen to say the least. After exchanging meds, food, toys and crate, I was on the way home to explain to my husband this ugly little puppy. We had already discussed how much trouble could one Chihuahua puppy be. We agreed that four more tablespoons of food wasn’t too much. What we didn’t know was yet to come.

The first night Pitiful Pearle (her new name with an e added to it for fun) tried to attack Hondo. She apparently had to fight for most things in her young life and didn’t know that food, soft places to lie and water come freely here. The next night, I went to move her to a crate and the little stinker attacked me. I called the agency I was fostering with, explained her behavior, and suggested she go to an experienced home. They laughed and told me that is why she was with me. I was not amused; I was not keeping this puppy!

As she began to heal, I had to take her back to the shelter for shots and more meds. While in the clinic, she became a shell of the dog I had at home. She hid in a corner and shook, she knew were she was and I believe didn’t want to stay. After her shots, she had a reaction, and then a few days later she had a reaction to the meds. The meds changed her behavior to a little beast with needles for teeth, which she would use without hesitation. I talked to my husband and mentioned how afraid she was at the shelter. At that moment, we knew we were keeping her. We have gone through a lot with her. She will still try to push Hondo around, although she is finally figuring out that food comes every day, twice a day even. We have had emergency surgeries, and allergies to all vaccinations.

The hair has grown back and she is a beautiful little black Chihuahau, filled with, love and life. She is determined and stubborn, the two qualities that kept the little puppy alive for two weeks on the streets. Alert and stealthy is her other qualities that today can even get her in trouble. She is an awesome little girl, who has found her forever home. Meet our new member of the pack, Pitiful Pearle.

A Dog Show; No Bully Show

Today I went to a dog show, no wait it was a bully show. Today was indeed very educational. There is a big difference between a dog show and a bully show. A dog show is very organized and gorgeous dogs trot around the ring as the judge scrutinizes the shape and body of the dog. We wait with abated breath trying our hardest to pick out the winner. The handlers are dressed in their finest yet not taking away from the dog. I know of handlers that try to color coordinate their outfits to the dogs they are showing. The dogs are judge on breed standard and should be able to do the job they were bred to do.

Now the bully shows, come as you are in the show ring. No need to dress up, in fact just attach a tow chain to the dogs spiked collar. If the dog is groomed great if not no worries just take him on in the ring. The dogs are drug around the ring, as most of them couldn’t trot if they wanted to. You think I’m exaggerating? Oh no, these dogs couldn’t stand in the stack position for more than two seconds let alone trot proudly around the show ring. When in the stacked position the dogs would just collapse into splayed out mess. I must hand it to the judge; it must be very hard judging a bunch of pancake dogs. Speaking of the show ring, there are no mats, it is just a roped off area. The funniest thing of all was that there was a beer can in the middle of the ring and no one picked it up. Not a judge, ring steward or contestant had half a mind to kick the empty Bud Light can out of the show ring. What kind of job can a pancake dog do? Be a doorstop? A rug holder downer? Don’t get me wrong I love all dogs and even found a few of them not bad looking. In fact the ones I liked got the gate pretty quick. I found it easy to pick out the winner. Find the dog with the worst confirmation and that was the winner. My friend Pamela and I got pretty good at picking first, second and third. It cost $15 to get in the gate, most AKC and UKC shows are free, it cost to park, again free at most shows. I didn’t pay we hiked in. It cost to set up a booth or tent to hold your dogs. Most people there were young and I would think have a hard time making ends meet. Yet they are paying $3,000 or more for a dog. If I paid $3,000 for a dog, you’d better believe it would be a top notch Catahoula that could walk into a UKC ring and tear it up. It had better not only be able to stand for the judge, it had better be able to herd cattle all day and tree coons all night. Today was an educational day. I’m not meaning to offend the bully people, I just don’t understand the breed standard. Or the wanting to breed a dog that can’t do more than lay splayed out like a pancake.

She's a good girl!

I often leave the silly three year old black lab at home on Saturdays for sanity reasons. One can only take the antics of the young Chula for so long and a ten hour work day is not the time for her silliness. Since my main dog Hondo was tired from a very long week I decided to take Ms Chula. What a delight she turned out to be. We had some minor barking in the beginning but she was awesome in her demo's, her attention was spot on and she worked with pride and enthusiasm.



How far she has come from the sad sick little pup we found tossed in the trash for the city chipper to pick up. How can people do something like that to an animal. Especially one with as much potential this girl has. She is a great trick dog, good at obedience, is working on agility, and weight pulls. She does each task asked of her with so much gusto its hard to keep up with her. The sad little dog left to die in a drawer has grown into a wonderful dog, full of love and the heart of a lion. How thankful I am to have stumbled across this little jewel left to die.

Small Dog, Big Heart

I have never really been a fan of the little dog. Ankle biters, feeder dogs, psychotic rats are all descriptions I have used to describe small dogs. For me it has always been “real” dogs. I have owned Australian Shepherds, Doberman’s, German Shepherds, St. Bernard mix, Catahoula Leopard Dog and a Lab mix. My view of the little breeds changed when Quihi a Chihuahua came into my life and changed my opinion of the little dog forever.

I decided to get a small dog to help me in my career as a dog trainer. There are techniques that work great for large dogs but I knew I was missing techniques for the little dogs. I will be the first to say that this is completely the wrong reason to get another dog. I went down a long list of small dogs and chose the Chihuahua. I had heard they are hard to potty train, that they won’t heal, they are picky eaters, and have an attitude. At last, the perfect small dog for the experimenting dog trainer.

When I went and picked up my new little puppy, I didn’t know that I was in a whirl wind of events that would change my view of these little guys forever. First off, she was very sick with Coccidiosis. She also had some kind of stomach issue that would cause her to regurgitate clear liquid for hours. We spent the first four months of her life trying to figure out what was going on with her medically. She battled her illnesses and still gets exited when I tell her we are going to the vet.

I was worried about her at first with my big dogs. Little did I know that she would be such a part of their lives as well. Hondo protects her, as if she was a precious gem he is put in charge of. She sleeps curled up next to him.

She is the watchdogs, watchdog. All the large dogs in the house will be sleeping when Quihi sends out the alert. The large dogs will then lift their heads, listen, smell the air and decide if there is a reason to get up. She goes to pit bull meet ups and holds her head high as she trots with the big dogs. She will try any task I give her, if she likes it and believes it was her idea she will do it several times. If not…well just forget it, with time maybe but don’t hold your breath. I am amazed at how well she has trained us. A scratch on the arm means lift the covers I’m coming under. Sitting at the door making, a little chirping noise while you are getting ready to leave means I’m going with you.

I have seen her tell the big dog to back off and even saw her defend herself when a Patterdale Terrier mowed her down like a rabbit. She popped up and fought her ground. She also is the most loving dog I have ever seen. She is asleep in my lap as I type. She has never bitten, growled or even shown anything other than affection to anyone. When she doesn’t want you to touch her you can’t she simply walks away with this look like not now please.

Therefore, my view of the little dog has changed dramatically. They are smart, loving, fun little dogs with the heart of a large dog. They truly know the meaning of love and do so with all their might.

A Day At Mission Espada

Growing up my mom would fight me to get me to go to historical ruins. I missed a few good ones as I think back. She did drag me kicking and screaming to a few castles and ruins in England, today I am glad she did.

This morning I jump out of bed and raced to meet Alamo City Bully Breeds United at Mission Espada in San Antonio, Texas. While I don’t own a bully I do join this group to educate people on the American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terriers and other “bully” type dogs.

We had a blast playing games with our dogs, walking the trails and taking pictures of the group and our dogs at the Mission. I was also reminded of the blessings dogs are in our lives. They are here to teach us unconditional love, to be care free, and to take advantage of a warm sunny day, ball and river.