The Save Phineas Facebook Page or People are Stupid Part II

Briard Puppies from Mon Amie Briards

It is a wonder to me that people aren't bitten more often by dogs.   The Huffinton Post ran an article about how not to get bitten.  It centered upon a news anchor that loved dogs, but was a special kind of stupid around them.  The dog was clearly showing signs of anxiety which she did not read or understand.  She was more caught up in her own " I just love animals" and swooped in for a kiss and got nailed (bitten).  It is unfortunate that the dog  happened to be a pit bull type.  But it wasn't his breed, it was the behavior of the human that triggered this.  The three breeds most likely to bite are the Dachshund, the Chihuahua and the Jack Russell terrier.  Cocker Spaniels are also at the top of the list. 

Reality Check Folks:  Sticking your face into a dogs face is considered aggressive particularly if you are staring in their eyes.  How many ways can I say:  Don't Do It.

Having people stick their faces in your dog's face happens a lot.  I had Nana at a small town that is also a state park.  Nana is cute and attracts attention.  A young girl asked to pet her.  I said yes, and put Nana in a sit position.  My idea of "Can I pet your dog" was clearly different from hers.  She immediately swooped in, stuck her face in Nana's and started loving on her.  All I could think of is "Oh !@#$" .

 Being who I am I couldn't help but say:

"It's really not a good idea to put your face in a dogs face, it is a good way to get bitten".
"Oh, I never get bitten"  she said.
"You get bitten all the time" her Mother said.

Nana was a good girl and did nothing.  Maybe the girl learned something, maybe she didn't.  I did, no one gets to pet my dog; because Nana and I will be the one that will pay the price for someone's stupidity. 

Some dogs are vicious, broken or mentally unstable and that wasn't a breed statement.    I am not one of those who thinks there are no bad dogs only bad owners.  I do think there are lots of bad owners and stupid owners and owners that should never be allowed to have dogs and they have great dogs; and some bad dogs can have really good owners.   Some dogs should be put on the extermination list, but not without a fair trial and an opportunity to have the case reviewed by knowledgeable dog behaviorists not local county officials.  Blanket zero tolerance laws are bad laws.  Unless you plan to start putting children who bite on death row we need to stop putting dogs there unless they really have earned it.

The Save Phineas Facebook Page or People Are Stupid Part 1

I came across a page on facebook the other day and it put my panties in a twist.  I love dogs, but I could do without 90% of most people.  According to the Phineas Facebook Page   a yellow lab, named Phineas mouthed a child that had fallen on one of the children he lives with. No skin was broken, but the dog was confiscated the next day by officials, impounded and a movement has begun to get this dog off death row. Now I am not sure where the truth lies here, but I expect the dog intervened to protect his child. He very well might have grabbed the arm of the child to pull him off his the other child. Obviously if no skin was broken this was not a wanton attack. I'm not saying it didn't scare the child, but if a yellow lab was trying to do harm it certainly could have.  Dogs use their mouths to communicate and some dogs are "mouthier" than others. They have been bred to different functions (the original GMO experiment).

There has been a huge movement for zero tolerance for dogs that mouth, nip, or scratch  a human being.  In some counties, they are immediately confiscated and owners are given the option to re-home the dog, have it destroyed or move to some other county.  Some counties don't bother with options and just put the dog on the extermination list.  On the other hand there is a huge tolerance for humans that harm dogs.  Dogs may be kicked, hit, tied to chains and left in the cold or heat without shelter, water.  They can be confined to small cages for hours or days.  We even allow all kinds of medical experimentation on them so we can then euthanize them, cut them open and see how it all turned out.

Cattle dogs

A Heeler is a cattle dog, and they don't move cattle by sitting on the sidelines and politely pointing a paw in the direction they want the cattle to move.  They dive in there and nip at the cattle's heels, moving a herd by use of their mouth.  They are a member of the herding group and this group tends to be more protective and mouthy then some of the other breeds in my opinion.  We bred them that way.  We needed a dog that would move livestock and protect them from predators.  They aren't vicious, but they sure do communicate with their mouths.  If it's moving they have a tendency to want to herd it and they nip to get the job done. 

Does this make them vicious?  No.  A rancher does not want a dog that mauls or savages his livestock.  There is a big difference between a dog that nips to communicate and a dog that bites with intention to harm.  Unfortunately, too many humans can't tell the difference and dogs pay the penalty.  Owning a herding breed  offers some unique training demands.  To herd is instinctive, teaching them what to herd is a training objective.  Yes, to cattle.  No, to running children.

The Briard is a dog bred to herd and protect, it is in their DNA.  I was at my friend's house who does dog sitting for me and others in her home.  She generally has no more than 5 dogs at any one time.  We were sitting on the deck while the current group of 5 dogs were milling around.  A young Australian shepherd

Australian Shepherd

was down below us in the yard trying to engage a 1 year old, very small, rescue terrier with little experience of other dogs  This sweet little dog had spent the first 6 months of his life in a shelter.  He is somewhat timid; well, okay.....actually he screams like a girl if he feels threatened.  The Aussie was doing the play bow and tring to engage the small dog in they game of: now I'm going to chase you, then you chase me.  She hadn't even touched the little dog and was a good 10 feet from him,  but this poor little terrier was overwhelmed by this leaping, bowing Aussie and started to scream and leapt backwards to escape.   The Aussie was thinking GREAT!  It's play time!   At the first scream, my big, goofy Briard leapt off the deck and jumped between both dogs, gave the Aussie the "look" which immediately sent the Aussie up on the deck to sit. Then Nana looked around to see where the little black dog had gone, coursing until she located him under my friend's chair.  As soon as Nana determined all was well she settled down on the deck to watch over her domain until she was needed again.   This was no gang up on the little dog behavior.  Nana was intervening to protect a member of her flock.   Nana is a dominate female and the self appointed guardian of her flock whether it is a flock of dogs or people. 

More in part 2 of how stupid people are around dogs.

Life Goes On

 

Nana and her favorite toy

 

Nana and I are learning to travel light, though she does a better job than I do. Her needs are simple, food, someone to throw her toy and then play tug a war with her, a hissy toy or two (the second favorite toy) and someone to watch over.  I could do without the hissy toys however.

 

Me on the other hand am having a tougher time of it.  I have definitely learned one does not need a lot of things.  It is amazing how few clothes one actually needs.  Caring for my father has taught me a few things - like what I really need to make me happy.

 

I learned I don't need cats.

They bring gophers in the house and then devour them on the floor only to puke it back up later.

They leave bits and pieces of intestine of mice, gophers, moles, etc out the back door which become covered in ants.

They can't manage to hit the cat box, or maybe they can and just want to make me nuts. They decide that 5am is a wonderful time to get up and smack you upside the head to make sure you get up.

Cat boxes reek, and yes I clean them regularly. 

 They vomit hair balls just because they can. 

 

I need my Staub cast iron pots.

 

I have discovered you can cook, bake, grill and boil in these things.  I have never cooked with better.  Pricey yes, but worth every penny.  Buy them if you can, they truly are a joy.  You can also buy whimsical knobs: pig, rooster, snail and I am currently on the hunt for the rabbit.  Yes, caregiving can make you crazy. 

 

I need to garden.

I need to work with fiber, whether that is to knit, spin, or weave

I need books to read

I need dreams and friends.

 

And most of all I need Nana; funny, silly, loyal and such a clumsy dufus.

 

Grooming The Briard

The Briard is a long haired dog. I am often asked if the shed. My response is always the same: They don't shed- they mat. It's not that she doesn't shed hair, but she tends to hold the hair in the coat and this soft undercoat mats.  I am always shocked how much hair I manage to get out after a grooming session.  It has taken two and a half years later, and minus the puppy coat to finally have a handle on the grooming thing - well sort off.  Their coat is definitely high maintenance and requires daily grooming.  I generally groom until I get a double handful of hair out and call it quits for the day.  I also decide which section I want to focus on, legs, face or body.  I have also found certain tools are a must:

The rake
Mars (or Orvis) Coat King Mat strippers in medium course (2)

       One extra wide
        One narrower
Wire curry

Do not buy a Furminator for a Briard.  It just rips the hair out.  It works well on short haired dogs but not on the long haired breeds - I don't care what the label says.

I also take Nana to a Master dog groomer about every 4-5 weeks.  Briards have black toenails which makes it very hard to see where the quick is.  They also have double dew claws in back, a breed requirement.  She gets a good shampoo and blowout, something I am not prepared or equipped to do at home.   I stay for the entire grooming, including helping with the comb out and have learned a lot which has made my life easier between visits.  In the beginning, when I was trying to find a groomer I didn't stay with Nan and one groomer shaved her face making her look like a weird afghan hound. There were also a number of other unpleasant discoveries.  I have come to the conclusion that I would never drop and pick up my dog from any grooming salon.  If they won't let you stay - find someone else.

And if all else fails - you can body clip the entire dog.  Been there, done that too.

I'm dreading summer and all the burrs that come with it.

The Loyal Dog

The Briard has been bred for centuries to herd and to protect their flocks. To domesticated briards, their family is the flock.  (Wikipedia).   These dogs were often left to their own devices to protect the flock and developed a certain independent streak and the ability to make decisions on their own.  They deeply bond with their owners, but remember they view the family as the flock they are to protect and direct.  This can lead to some interesting behaviors and negotiations.

It is one thing to read something it is another to see it in action.  Nana and I spend most of our time living in Sonora caring for my father.  Nana clearly sees my father as a more vulnerable member of the flock. One  she has to keep closer tabs on.   She has developed a morning routine guided by her internal clock.  She will decide that I have slept enough and pounce or stick her nose in my face.  If this is not enough to convince me to get up she has been known to grab the covers and pull them off the bed.  Once I am out of bed and moving she will then go to my father's room and lay down with her head on her paws outside his closed door until he gets up.  It doesn't matter how long or what cat walks by - she is there until he rises.  I always know my father is up because I can hear Nana clattering down the stairs, a vanguard to my father's arrival in the kitchen.

 She is happiest when we are all in the same room, but will settle for being able to lie where she can see us both.  Dad spends a lot of time in the library of the house dozing on his couch.  This is an acceptable place for Dad to be and Nana will wander in and out, beg me to play tug-of-war, escort me on my daily activities, try to play with or herd the cats.  But she always keeps track of Dad.  Dad has reached an age where he is often cold. We have had a few warm days and Dad has taken advantage of the warmth of the sun to sit and soak up some warmth.  Nana is wild if Dad goes out without her.  It doesn't matter if she can see him through the window her job is to be there next to him while he sleeps in the sun so he is kept safe from harm.  While wolves may be a thing of the past in Sonora, her DNA tells her otherwise and she is taking no chances with the most vulnerable member of her flock.

Nana is Alive and Well

What with everything that has been going on in my life, this blog has truly taken a back seat to everything else.  While I am struggling with taking care of my father, I can tell you that Nana is having the time of her life.  She has 3 cats and my father to keep track of and to a herding dog - this is GREAT!!


I adore Nana and so I thought I would post picture of a happy dog in the snow at my father's house.    It was the first time that Nana had actually experienced snow falling.  I caught it on video.

http://youtu.be/9at3JW33CjM