Finding the Balance

Today seemed to consist of a lot of up and down.  You know how people ask if you want the good news or the bad news?  I find that saying silly, because no one wants the bad news.  But I'm giving you the bad news anyway- which is why I didn't ask!

But no worries, it isn't actual bad news... more life annoyances.  Feel free to just look at the cute pictures if you'd rather not share my annoyance.

Let me start with the happy:

Tomorrow, Sinatra is meeting a potential family.  They are pit bull experienced and so excited to see him!  I'm hoping that things go well, since they have younger kids and another male pit bull, but they are prepared to take it slow and couldn't be nicer.  Sinatra has also been getting better all the time- especially with his possessive behavior.  He's such a good boy; he'll make someone very happy!

In human life news, one of my good friends got engaged today (horray!!) and another is close to it.  I also did a marketing trip to a few vets in the area to boost the training business (aka pay for my new tires) and took the dogs to the woods for a nice long walk. 

There were TONS of Canadian Geese!

Now the less awesome parts of the day.  While on our lovely walk, we ran into a man and his Jack Russel Terrier.  His dog was off leash, as were Parker and Skye, and the general rule is don't bother throwing them on a leash if the other dog doesn't.  So I didn't.  All of a sudden the guy did a double take, yelled his dog's name, then (can you picture this?) grabbed her by her back legs, lifted her upside down, and flipped her in the air before clutching her to his chest.  I literally was stopped dead with my mouth open for a second, then had the presence of mind to say "don't worry, they're friendly."

By this time, however, my pit bulls were looking at that dog like the coolest toy ever, and it seemed like a good idea to just walk away.  The guy said- "your dogs are big" as if that explained everything, then asked if Parker was a Jack Russell too.  There were plenty of things I wanted to say (remember, I have no patience) but Sinatra was actually jumping up and down at the end of his leash, so I told him Parker was a Schanuzer and moved on.

Luckily the rest of the walk was great, so my frustration quickly evaporated.  But really, flipping your wriggling whining dog through the air is NOT the way to keep big dogs away.  Skye is all about the sniff and walk away, but even she will show a lot of interest in something like that.  So grumble grumble to that.

Grumble grumble?  Do you mean happy tongue?

After our nice long walk and marketing trip, I got to work early to spend some time with a new board and train dog and make a few phone calls.  Before I could get started, a coworker found me to tell me about two pit bulls that were boarding- a 2 year old male and a 10 month old female, neither fixed, and neither from an actual breeding program.  They are the pit bulls you'd find in a shelter- generic block headed short haired dogs.  Originally they were boarding together, but the male kept showing aggression to the female, and they were put into different rooms.  I had made friends with them the day before, as the playtime associate was unsure about bringing them outside (they were mostly nervous, but it can look scary from the other side of the door).

Anyway, today we discovered that both dogs have fleas.  It's a bad time of year for fleas, so we gave both dogs a flea bath and called the owner, who seemed unconcerned.  Then they noticed that the female looked pregnant, and when I took a closer look I agreed.  Generally, I am a nice person, but this is a situation that puts me into a rage.  Some jerk gets a pit bull to be his male pit bull's friend.  He doesn't spay or neuter, doesn't do basic preventative care for fleas and ticks, and isn't proactive about teaching his dogs to get along.  Now he has a 10 month old puppy that is pregnant, and she'll never be the same.  The hormone surge associated with a pregnancy prior to sexual maturation puts that dog in serious risk of developing behavior problems.  Her fear can easily become aggression, particularly toward other animals.  It's annoying at best.  But seriously?  Carelessness is not an excuse; in fact it is the reason so many dogs are dying in shelters.  I already told the manager that I will not hold back on this man if I'm in the lobby when he checks out.  Some people are uneducated, but some people are just plain stupid.  He's in the second category.

Cuddles - my new trainee!

Otherwise, today was a beautiful day that the dogs and I were able to enjoy.  Keep us in your thoughts tomorrow- Sinatra needs to end his hunt for a real home!