Spring forward to 2016

It's more. than a year since most post.  Goldie became my weekend pet.  I only see her on weekends.  She comes with Ratty with her mini luggage.  However, do I miss the morning walk with dogs?  Probably not.   I enjoy the quiet time after I wake up every morning,   So how is Goldie?  

Goldie turns 5 years old this year,  thus is a blind guess.  We never know her birthday nor her parents.   When we rescued her, the shelter said she was about 2 years old.  After 3 years of living in condo.  She seems to be fine with it.   On weekends, she has a lot of time to stay at the balcony and looks over the dogs in the park.   And Toronto seems to have a very short summer and long winter.  During winter, she mostly curl up is on the sofa.  To our surprise, she now curls up with grump old cat Tinky.  Tinky was very nasty few years ago when she first saw a dog around her.  Now they sleep side by side.     Sometimes I would hope human can do the same thing.   No matter how you hate each other, after a while, we can all live under the same roof 

You winterize your cottage we summerize our Goldie

Its the time of the year.  Dogs need vaccination.  A lot of owners will take their dogs to the vet and get annual check up.   Sometimes  I wonder why some street kids or homeless keeping their dogs not knowing they can afford to pay the vet bill.

Similar to many parents,  they don't believe in vaccination.  But hey, it's the law and it helps you avoid your dogs catching  rabies.  KENNEL COUGH or Bordertella is optional because if you dog don't go to off leash park nor day camps. Don't even bother.

There is another thing vet would talk you into. "The blood test".  Vet would give you a choice to skip the blood test before your dogs get the heartworm medication.  The logic here is if you did first blood test and get greenlight to take heart worm pills or drops.  Then the next year I personally wouldn't bother to to get another blood test.  And we should be able to get the same medication with signing the waiver.

Anyway. Goldie is now summerized.  A dent in the wallet and hope she enjoy the summer

Upset Stomach diarrhea

Last week I came home.  I saw a bit pile on the floor.  I was so upset. And at the same time I need to hold my breath and clean the shit up

Dogs have sensitive stomach. You changed dog food from A to B.  Immediately you will see them having diarrhea next day.

What's wrong with Goldie?  I don't know.  The last good poo was the time before she caught a squirrel and killed it at the off leash park.  She had solid nice poo.   After that afternoon, she started to have diarrhea.  Maybe it was squirrel related.  Not sure.  But she definitely got herself into trouble somehow.

What should we do? Experienced dog owners would stop feeding their dog with dog food  for 24 to 36 hours.  They might feed them steam rice but normally dog won't eat them.  Some netizen recommends pumpkin paste.  I think dog don't eat pumpkin in the wild.  So they also skip that.   Just make sure a bowl filled with clean water.  That makes more sense.

So I didn't recommend to take the dog to the vet until Goldie started vomiting and had bloody stool or shit. 

Called the vet.  Ratty walked her to the vet.  Goldie looks pale and she had another bloody shit inside the clinic.  She was then escorted tp the back of the clinic and started getting IV

There is a list the vet recommends

1) Xray. 1 set of 3 Xrays. Stomach, mid abdominal xray and bowel area
2) IV
3) Hospitalization
4)Blood test
5) in clinic treatment

The number 5 was very vague. Not sure what that was and later i found out it's about giving the dog Zantac.  You heard me right Zantac.  Now we know it would work for Goldie next time.

A day later we saw the Xray.  Thank goodness there is not foreign objects ingested
The blood test looks normal. No pancreatic issue
She was in super good mood and she jumped up and down and yelled inside the kennel.  And we spent CAD 1300 for 1 night. And we found nothing but just stomach and intestinal inflammation.  Ouch!

Hope we all learn a lesson
1) no squirrel killing
2) rice and pumpkin paste not recommended
3) a lot of water
4) Zantac

Goldie and new home

I was very busy in the last few months.  It's because I am selling my apartment.   When I was ready to sell, I invited my real estate agent to come to my unit to gave me some advice.  First thing she said to me "No dog is allowed to stay while selling your place".   I know where she is coming from but it's hard to believe that potential buyers are lethally allergic to pets.  She also said Men usually don't want to see pets during home shopping.  Really???

I did not argue with her. Goldie can move to Ratty's unit.  Not a problem at all.  At first Ratty was a bit upset because Goldie would change his lifestyle.  But I offered to give him a hand.  So I can walk over to his place and walk the dog based on our schedule.  It works out quite well because Spring is here.

In May, I finally received a conditional offer for my current place and I also submitted a conditional offer for future place.  It's amazing how things can be done in parallel at difference pace.

What about the future of Goldie?  It reminds uncertain.  I try my best to persuade Ratty to re-home Goldie to someone's house.  But it's not an easy decision for him to make.  So, right now, Goldie stays with Ratty and we take on step at a time.  

I don't go out and campaign people should crate their dogs at home.  I found it's sad.  Imagine our parents left us home whole day by ourselves.  It's so cruel.  But under certain circumstances like me, Goldie stays in the crate whole day for now. 

Goldie....  If I can turn back the time, I wouldn't adopt you.  I should let the LV bag lady take you home.  They seem to be living in a bigger place.   :)   

Daisy the cat

Daisy met Goldie before.  They didn't met face to face.  When I took Goldie into Ratty's condo, cats went hiding or taking high ground.    So Daisy knew Goldie. 

Funny how dogs reacts to smell.   They hold their head high and then they sniff the ground.   They are all the same.  Cats?  I don't know much about them.     However cats are much sensitive than dogs.  A lot of online videos shows dogs and cats show down.  A lot of time cats won.

Back to Daisy,  she was a very sweet cat.  She is the sweetest among Ratty's cats.  When she sensed Goldie marching in the condo.  She didn't freak out.  She jumped up places where Goldie cant reach nor see. And she then sat quietly and observed.  I only remembered she peeked when Goldie was sniffing around like snoring drugs on the floor.   I wonder Daisy would think Goldie was a dummy. 

Today Daisy left us.  That's why I want to remember by writing a blog about her.   She was drifting away.  We took her to the vet and she only struggled once.  When we walked pass the clinic restricted area, she meowed and clawed the edge of the door.  She was so weak and then she was slowly going downhill.  The scene reminded me Petty last visit.   It was quite sad to see animal passing.   The vet was trying to find the vein for euthanasia.   It was very difficult. Even though he found it but no blood was dripping out.  Her blood pressure was very low   Her breathing was quite shallow..    After almost 30 mins, she was put down. But that 30 mins she didn't struggle a bit.  

If Goldie ever met face to face before, I wonder they would be friends.   Daisy is gone now. No more formal introduction can be done. RIP Daisy.  I told your doggy friend that you are gone.  After the talk, goldie gave me a big kiss.  Not sure if she understands, its the kiss Daisy you won't like.

Dog training class is done. Now what?!

Awww! They are sniffing at each others. So here is what happened next..

They chased each other, they jumped up and down, they wrestled and barked. It's very unsettling to watch Goldie playing with new dogs now. We are avoiding the park when there are more than a handful of unknown dogs. That's the advice from the dog trainer

Even though I know the other dog owners, I will leave the park as soon as another playful dog is ready to come. Apparently, Goldie doesn't like the idea of other dogs ganged up on her. At the same time, she doesn't like the idea of sharing playmates.

If I know other dogs are only playing fetch with the others, Goldie is totally fine with their existence. As soon as new dog coming in at the gate, she will run towards them. Imagine I dont know you and I run to you for attention. Would you be scared? Most of the time, I will leave right after this 'RUN TO YOU' behavior. From time to time, Goldie gets hackle. That's a sign of getting too excited. I will stop her before any misunderstanding situation happened.

In general, dog owners have their own schedule. Goldie schedule is based on mine most of the time. So I know other dog owners and their dogs are fine with her. Otherwise, I don't even bother to get close to the park

The trainer told us an interesting theory. What is a 'PACK'? A pack of dogs mean they sleep, eat and play with each other all days. If you go to the park and not knowing other dogs, you are not socializing your dogs with others. You are causing stress of your dogs. It depends on your dog behavior. If your dog is a very submissive one, they might have their tails close and heads down, they won't enjoy being left alone with other dogs. If your dog is a very outgoing one like Golide, just be careful. That's because other dogs might not like to play with yours. Any altercation happened..!!! Whose fault is that?

Being at the right place at the right time. Everyone would enjoy their space and their company. Happy new year, Goldie

Look down look down 24601. Happy Halloween

Do dogs need clothes?  My answer is no.  They are hairy and they take care of themselves.  Or I would said it depends.  Some dogs are not as hairy as the others.    Does Goldie need to wear anything.  Hell no except Halloween.   Haha 

Guilty. That's her costume.  Actually Ratty bought her a few pieces.   One is a bunny with a carrot.  The other one is Winnie the Pooh.  No matter how cute they are.  Hell no. I ain't going to walk her in cartoon costume.  

Prone collar or not

A lot of people will probably stop reading this when I said I tried the prone collar on Goldie. But a lot of people don't understand prone collar is only used for training. It's should not be used forever.  It's a tool for a period of time (during training).  You don't expect your dog to wear it inside the house or in bed.

When small dog owners let their dog bark at bigger ones, all the pedestrians might think that's so CUTE.  When Goldie does the same to the smaller dogs, people would want me to control and calm her down.  To the extreme, a lady swore at me in the off leash park.  She was upset when Goldie chest bumped her small dog when her dog barked at Goldie.

What's wrong in the picture?  Am I not walking her enough, letting her socializing with other dogs nor teaching her like a kid?  Dogs need stimulation.  Walking in the downtown cores is not a fun experience.   There are a lot of people, a lot of cars, a lot of dogs and a lot of noise.   And dogs are constantly fighting their own space with others on the side walk.   Dogs are animal not wearing shoes nor clothes. Sidewalk becomes sizzling hot in the summer and irritating in the winter due to the salt.   Can you imagine you have to be on leash and walk bare feet.  Then you need to deal with the surrounding at the same time.  STRESSFUL.

Before I used the prone collar, I asked myself questions.  Did I try other methods?  Of course, I did.  I talked to her while we were walking.  I made sure she make eye contact and I had good treats in my pockets.  I took her out early in the morning and it's a good time for her to focus on me because the streets are a lot   more quiet than rush hours.    She was doing great but I just can't stop her from charging at other dogs while she was on leash.   I can't expect other dog owners walking back and fro to teach Goldie not to charge.  I also tried to bring toys and clicker with me.  And she was getting better and better but again, I can't stop her from charging at other dogs.

Why would she do that?  Frustration?  Aggression?   Goldie doesn't charge at dogs she knows. She charges at dogs she doesn't know and those dogs are staring most of the time.   If another dog is walking calmly and Goldie will not charge at all, they will just meet and leave.

Let's assume Goldie has minor level of aggression.  She doesn't take No from other dogs for sure.  She becomes territorial in the park.  She becomes a bouncer but she doesn't stop dogs from coming in.  Goldie only wants the dogs calm and be nice.  That makes me hesitate to bring her to the park when a lot of dogs are there. (I meant 20+ dogs in a small fence area)

So how can I change her behavior?  Training her with the prone collar is an OPTION not a writing on the wall.  I like the fact that she is a quick learner, she knows she shouldn't pull the leash right away.  She walks beside me at my pace.  I praise her a lot and make sure she knows it's good.

At this point, I am still working on charging.   At least now Goldie is not trying to run against the motocyclists while she is on leash.   How long does it take to change this behavior?   4 hours in total

Like I said , this is just training, prone collar shouldn't use for long term.

Oh, what is the assessment results of Goldie last Saturday?  Prone collar is one of the tools we will use for now

Is Goldie becoming an aggressive dog? Ratney and I might be responsible for this changing behavior

We only know Goldie for a few months since May 2013.  We don't know much about her background.  We are second guessing her age, her birthplace and her breed.  And that's all.

We don't know what she has been through for the first 18 months.  Maybe she was born inside a loving home and got lost in the woods. Maybe she was neglected.  Maybe her previous owner was sick and couldn't take care of her anymore and she ended up in the pound.

Adopting a pound dog is not the same as buying a discounted gift basket from the store.  You can't choose something you want to keep from the basket and discard the rest.  Dogs are not toys.  They have needs and feelings. And you are the providers. Like I said before, they can't choose you but you choose them.

Due to a lot of unknown, we are having a tough time to understand why she becomes "bossy".  She played well in the park before but now she seems to be the bouncers in the park. She tries to choose who can come in and play and who should not.   That's a territorial behavior.

At the very beginning, she was care less who coming in and out.  As time goes by, she hangs out by the entrance.  She seems to be a greeter.  But not every dog wants to meet other right away by  the gate.  There were a few occasions that some dogs were very nervous and started to bark before coming in.   OK. That's how it started.  Goldie knows she can use her voice too and tell others she is here inside.  Well some dogs think their dogs are friendly and good greeters.  Are you serious?  Do I want to see strangers standing by the playgrounds' entrance and starting to padding my shoulders and all that.  I don't and Dogs don't.   Goldie is not allowed to be at the entrance at all.  I now start to leash her out of the area and give other dogs space.  I don't tell other owners what to do but at least Goldie is not allowed

Then I found her whining while she is waiting to play.  Barks, trying to charge, pull the leash.  Sorry Goldie, other dogs are still checking newbie out and you have to wait.   I tried to draw her attention with treats and waved my hands in front of her.  I am sure it takes a long time to adjust but at least I need to be in control

If I think Goldie will play nice after a proper greetings, that's wrong.   She plays rough.  It really depends on other dogs behavior.  Most of the time, they are less than 3 years old.  They are just chasing and wrestling.  However many times dogs gang up on each others. Goldie was freaked out.  And she became defensive.  90% of the time, I stopped her. But 10% of the time, she was ran far away, it took me a while to calm her down.    So what's next after all the barking and chasing?   I choose to stay away from the commotion and put her on leash for 10 mins.   If she is not calming down, I will leave.  I am sure this will become a long process.  At least, I assure other owners that I am in control and I am not walking away from the situation

The other thing I am going to change is to walk her first then go to the park.  In the past, I walk to the park with her.  Now, I need to take her out for a longer walk first.  Then went home, wait till the outside is dark, then I will go to the park.  Usually bigger dogs owners go to the park later, less small dogs at that time.

Many people would say, "why don't you take her to training school".  Good question, I will probably write about this after 19 Oct.   We will take Goldie to the chain pet store for an assessment.  It will be interesting

So when your dog becomes aggressive, who are at fault? Whose behavior should be changed first?  Don't expect your dogs will behave perfectly when you can't change your behavior.   We are the pack leaders.

Finding a boarding place or Kennel outside Toronto ,,, Greet and Meet

Google...  Toronto dog boarding ... No
Google.... Markham dog boarding .... No
Google.... Oakville boarding....  No.
Google again... Toronto dog boarding and scroll down

That's interesting.  

We took Goldie up in Uxbridge (1 hour drive from Toronto downtown core)  We found a place where Goldie can run around in the farm area.  It's all fenced.  She can meet other big dogs and play whole day. But the business owner has to meet her first. It's so called Greet and Meet session.  I talked about it later.

What's Greet and Meet? For professionally run businesses, they would like to make sure your dog is healthy with up to date shot, not showing aggressive behavior to others.

We know Goldie is a big young girl. She is strong, she is young and she has a lot of energy.   And we only have her for a few months.  We are still not clear about her behavior under different circumstances.   Off leash park is totally different than the doggie camp.  That's because no every single dogs has their owners with them.

The good thing about this boarding place, they let their dogs out from the house one at a time.  So Goldie will not be overwhelmed with all the new dogs at the same time.    It was an interesting experience.  I never really met a Malamute dog before.  And they had one there.  It's very good looking big dog.  Damn! I forgot to take pictures.

We spent about 40 mins at the doggie camp/boarding place.  It's absolutely well managed.  They told us they would pair up dogs to sleep inside the same room which is stable-like. And if dogs love to crates, they are available too. It's heated floor (they claimed), I am not quite sure but CAD50/night on the weekend, the concrete floor better be heated in the winter.

At the end, we let Goldie stay there for one night.  Ouch!  that's what I sounded like when we paid the fee.  And she had a very good time.  Looking forward to bringing her there for a 2-week doggie vacation

Big dogs or small dogs are not the same

Most guys love big dogs.  They like their dogs as big as possible.   It seems strange to me for condo dwellers keeping big dogs at home including myself.  Being a dog person, I know big dogs need more food more exercise more space.   But for Great Dane owners, they would not agree me completely.  Great Dane are calm, mellow,  or lazy.  They are perfect for inactive owners.     Not to my surprise, Goldie loves GD.  It just like us walking up to 7 ft tall persons.   She looks like and would love to wrestle GD dogs. 

For a 7 months old GD, it is same size as Goldie.  Goldie is not small.  She is a 72 lbs girl.  GD dogs can outgrow easily and they become taller and bigger.   I would love to have one but Ratty said  the breed GD is a heart broken breed.  This breed doesn't live long.   Its sad.  For Goldie she is half Lab, she has Lab gene.  Lab will have hip problems when they age.  And she also has Husky gene. 
Same genetic hip problems will pass on to the next generation.  So now I know might have to carry here when she becomes older.  Big dogs are cool but hip problems are not avoidable

Recently I had a chat with my colleague. His big dog is having ligaments problem.  And he and his wife were debating if they should let the dog have the surgery.  For people never had any dogs, they wouldn't understand.  They would think it's a dog and its old. They would advise you to put it down.  For dog owners who live with their dogs day in and day out,  they want to keep their dogs as long as the dogs are eating and sleeping.  For me, goodness forbid, it's very painful for me to trap inside an immobile body if it happens to me.  Why would we want our beloved old dogs going through painful surgery and recovery.  That's most big dogs owners would need to make that decision at certain point.

For small dogs, I don't know how small dogs function.  If small dogs function like big dogs, then why big dogs need bigger heads.    Sorry for being judgemental, i think most small dogs are not smart.   is it because they have less brain power from their small brains.  I never saw small dogs acting normal.  They are either acting nervous all the time or they are just igoring my existence.   They don't do trick ike big dogs.  They are usually spoiled.  To the extreme, some small dog owners walk their dogs with baby strollers.  What's the point!   My dad would roll his eyes and shake his head if he sees any stroller dogs.  Dog slaves. We all dog owners are.  Ha ha 

No matter what size of dogs you have, all dogs love their owners.   They love to be with you.  They love to go where you go. They love to eat what you eat.  For guys, if dogs can play video games, I think this world population will drop drastically.

Hey Goldie.   Sit! 

SIT

SIIIITTT!

SSSSSIIITTTTT!

....

She is too smart to listen I guess.  I am so dumb. 

Crate or Give it up

Ratty and I had a big discussion on the fate of Goldie. Back on the day of adoption, I made it very clear to the shelter staff.  The dog will be returned if it's proven to be a destroyer.   Goldie is a big time destroyer.

Since she starts living with me, she ate STUFF (cookies, pastries, dog treats and so on) which was stored on the kitchen counter.  She miraculously disassembled the TV cable box remote.  The balcony screen door was torn. DVDs/CDs/empty boxes are destroyed.   We traveled to the Pittsburgh and I bought a very nice thick pink collar with pattern, she chews the buckle.  So it's gone.  Not to mention, the garbage/recycle bin were searched completely.  She can't speak but she knows what she has done.

So steps to prevent her to be destroyer
1) child lock for the fridge (a little bit of think ahead but she does not know how to open the fridge yet)
2) remove all the grocery item on the kitchen counter.
3) never leave the balcony door open with screen door closed
4) hide all the remotes, DVDs/CDs and boxes
5) no more nice collar for her.

It doesn't even stop her from destroying other things, she is just being a dog.  They are bored, they chew.  They are nervous, they lick.  They are threatened, they bark..  They are scared, they hide.  So what's wrong with that?  If it's not their fault, it must be Ratty's and my fault.

CRATE... CRATE .. CRATE.. that's what you need to do.  I am totally against this idea.  I think dogs are not supposed to be in one spot for 8 hours.  They should be running around just like us.  Wait a minute.  I have been told by so many dog owners they crate their dogs.    I still don't believe in it but I need to.

Goldie is smart enough, she doesn't like the crate, she knows what is going on.  But sorry, it's not penalizing her.  It's just making sure I provide a comfortable spot for you to stay 8 hours and I won't be mad at you when you are misbehaving.

My heart told me not to crate the dog. She seems fine every time I come home after being created for hours.   However, I see how she doesn't want to get near to the crate because it's not as comfortable as the sofa. And most importantly, Ratty doesn't want to give her up.  So. there is the cheapest solution I can find.

Her friends

Everyone has friends. Dogs too.   Karim just found out my blog.  So I am going to call him Ratney here.  That's our communication code.

Ratney and I take Goldie to off leash park together on the weekends.   There is one group of dogs Goldie likes.   A  3 months old husky girl as show in the picture, a 6 months old yellow lab boy and a 10 months old husky mix boy.    As you know Goldie is already two years old plus, she is the big sister in the group.   Surprisingly, she is quite nurturing.   I am not say she gives her milk which she doesn't have.   She just plays gently with them.     When you dog plays well in the park,  you are a proud dog parent.  

Labrador Retriever and Husky mix are big time shedder and chewer

Remember to get your dog a car seat harness for the road trip.  Yep right.  Lab/Husky mix is a very smart breed.  They like to stick their head out and enjoy the breeze.  Oh wait, the harness actually prevents them to go out too far.  Then what would they do?  

The dogs will try to break free.  They can't use their paws and they don't know the mechanism of the seat belts.   But they know the harness is not a good thing they want to attach to.  Goldie started to chew the seat belt quietly.  She decided to chew the harness and the seat belt at the same time.   She must enjoy it.   When I was driving, she was licking the harness and seat belt like cow hide.  Next time I know, she was chewing them.   My Tucson is 2013 model and this year is 2013.  If you were me, you would probably scream your head off.   So I asked my friend to unbuckle her, closed the windows and pulled over at the rest area.  My heart was broken.  I can see my seat belt is still ok but the harness is in bad shape. 

What's missing in the picture?   A frustrated dog, a frustrated car owner and a friend found this situation is hilarious.  Geeze....   6 hours road trip is not good for the dog.  Maybe tranquilizer is needed next time.  Oh wait.  there is no next road trip for her. She will stay in dog hotel.

One more thing I noticed, Goldie coat color changed.  She shedded all her white coat and the reddish brown coat is coming out for the summer. Well, where does her hair go?   EVERYTHING.  I picked my nose, her hair was there too.  No kidding.  I bought so much tool.  The ridiculous purchase was Furminator.  Yes it works, but not working well when your dog is so hairy.  And also it's expensive.  I ended use a tool I bought from Target.  I looks like a metal blade with teeth. You apply minimal pressure and the dog hair just come over like dandelion seed.   Goldie, after the road trip, we come to the conclusion that you are a handful dog but we still love you.

Dog can pull their muscles too

The question is how my Goldie got injured.   She is a big girl.  She weighs 72 lbs and in the dog world she is a large girl.  Because of her size, she is not keeping herself away from any commotion. Actually, she enjoys throwing herself into any kind of commotion, especially in the offleash park

On 17 Jun, two big mouth French bulldogs were fighting.  Within seconds, Goldie was there. She barked her head off.  Was she there to be a cheerleader or be a negotiator.  Who knows!  French bulldogs are cute when they are puppies. When they are full grown, they are just like big hard giant sausage rolls running around in the park.  They are fearless and they are strong.  Without out of portion height and weight, they are  runners.  When two were fighting, Goldie was tripped by one of them.  I did not notice she was limping until two dogs were leashed away by their owner.   And the owner came and said sorry and said "I don't usually take both of them here.  The white is my foster dog.  He is a bit aggressive"  My reaction inside my head is "you stupid idiot should not take the aggressive one in the park" but I shrugged and said "Well sometimes dogs misbehave, it's OK".

Poor Goldie, she limped back to my place. Lucky she just pulled her muscles.  Otherwise,.....

Road trip to Niagara Falls

"Don't forget to buy a bench seat cover for your car.  And then the seat belt for you dog"

After a month. Goldie finally got her booster shot. Her rabies shot was done by the shelter. Nevertheless, a lot things been done by the shelter, there were still a lot of checkups required.   Her blood test for heart worm came negative.  Now she is on the Advantage.  A medication keeps fleas and ticks away.

Back to the story, it's not surprising a lot of people from Toronto were leaving town for a vacation.   Niagara Falls seems to be the easy choice.  So Karim and I  drove out with Goldie.   We did not know what to expect and apparently it was a mistake.

Dog should be buckled down to the back seat.   With a 70 lbs dog sits at the back seat, you don't know what to expect.   Goldie is a young girl, she is curious.  My new 2013 Tuscon seems to be a perfect fit for her.  But she moves around.  She wants to stick her head out for the car, lean against the door, put her two front paws and lift herself up.  So she can stand.  Hell No..

After almost two hours on the road, she became very impatience.  She wanted to get out. She started to climb up to the front.  I was driving at that time. She knew I am occupied.  So it opened up a free way for her to be mischievous.  There is no way Karim can control her.  He is just a play mate to her.  I am the alpha.   We managed to pull over and gave her a toilet break.    The round trip experience was painful.

The first thing we do after we drove home.   We went to pet store and looked for dog car seat harness.    No way i am going to drive her around without it.

If possible, give her a buzz cut would be nice.  So I won't breathe in her hair in the car anymore.

Two weeks already

Goldie is a climber.  Now I know.  It was happened to me first week she was home.  I had my dinning chair ouy and she used it as a stepping stone.  Next thing you know all my cookies on my kitchen counter were gone.  What can you say?  I am the one to be blamed

Taking her out to the offleash park twice a day becomes my daily routine.  She loves to play with other dogs, especially dogs like wrestling.   One time she was playing tug with other dogs. I snapped a picture.  I like that picture because she was the only one facing the camera.  I am glad she adjust to my lifestyle well.

She doesn't have a lot of toys YET.  I bought her a toy and she destroyed it in now time.  Thats my lunch money.  Ha ha.  Its ok.  I found a nice place to buy her something to chew.  There is a butcher shop nearby in the St. Lawrence Market.  They sell a bag of bones for only CAD 1.5. Yep. 150 cents.  And it lasts a week. 

Controversy over feeding dog with raw bones will cause teeth problems.  Yep they are right.  human eats chicken wings or T-bone steak might  crack our teeth too. Why are you still eating it? That's because we know not to swallow and chew gently.  Dogs too. They are not dumb.  Most of the stories you heard probably is 1 out of 10, 000.  I bet you its same probability to human beings. Ha ha.  As long as she is enjoying it, I will keep buying them

Goldie at play

Goldie was up at the stage with Caesar Millan.  Millan used her to demonstrate his patented collar.  Poor Goldie

Help animal by adopting one

I have dogs in my life.  I like animals in general.  But I like to call myself a dog person.   After my last dog died from CHF, I decided not to have another dog for a while.  After alsmost 3 months, I started to look again.  

I checked out Toronto Humane Society (THS).  Dogs are surrendered by their owners, found from puppy mills, or else.  I never had a good relationship with THS. I can see why a lot of people stay away from them. One Sat, I walked into the shelter, saw a print out on the wall, and I thought it's a cute 6 months old, Spaniel mix.  I approached the front desk and asked where the dog was.  A "volunteer" immediately body checked me, from head-to-toe.  OK that's fine.  Some people are judgmental.  

I walked in the room, the puppy was craving for physical contacts.  "No touching" I was reminded loud and clear.  Immediately, I know the volunteer did not approve what she saw.  Well.  I thanked her and she asked me questions like where I live and how big my place is.  I told her the truth and then she said the puppy does not fit me.  "OK" I said.  Then she tried to keep the conversation going and asked me what kind of dogs I am looking.  I almost turned to her and said "a bitch like you".  Nevertheless, it's very sad that the organization had a bad name.  Now, I see this volunteer is not really helping the animals but judging people.  It makes me wonder who hire her.   I walked out and never looked back again.  Feel sad for those are under THS supervision.

Instead, I drove to Toronto Animals Shelter.  It's run by the City of Toronto. Staff there are generally nicer and friendlier in the shelter.  OMG, I can also walk their dogs to see if the dog likes me.    I saw a few, I walked a couple of dogs. And I met my Goldie.

Goldie was brought down by the IFAW from the conservation area up in Northern Quebec.  Poor babe she was abandoned and was skinny like skeleton.  They think she is two but I think it's around one year old because of her teeth.   Age is not factor, it's about the dog itself.  Does she want to be with me?

After being caged for a day, all dogs in the shelters will pull leashes that's for sure.  But not every dog would give you a response back like Goldie.  I talked to her when we were outside.  She looked at me and leaned over.  At that moment, I know she understands people.

I took her back inside.  She is the only dog I can see so far which refuses to walk back into the kennel.   She completely shut down.  She sat there with her front paws pushing back.  No matter how hard you pull, she did not want to go back into the cage.  I was debating if I should give her a chance or another dogs I have met yet.   Karim was with me.  I asked him to go back inside the kennel to listen if she was whining. I don't know if Karim was telling the truth. He just said she sat quietly in the cage.  I spent another 20 mins debating with Karim, the shelter staff and myself.  Shelter staff and Karim encouraged me to take her home.  In my head, I was asking myself if I am ready for another 10+ years commitment.

I decided to walk back into the kennel.  I saw her.  Goldie gave me a cold shoulder, she faced the wall and I heard her crying.  My heart skipped a beat.  I felt sorry for her.  She deserves a good home.  In the mean time, I can't guarantee she will go to a good home if I don't give her a chance.  One thought after the other, Karim said he is willing to split the adoption fee and if Goldie does not behave, we return her to the shelter.  At least, we know we tried and she would have a chance to prove herself.

There you go, Goldie, my new dog. A yellow lab and huskey mix came into my life.