America's Next Top Dog Model?

Our dog park friends, Bill and Nat, are amazing professional dog photographers for Photo Lab Pet Photography. Recently, they issued a casting call for dogs to model in a few photo shoots for clients' products and services. There were certain requirements, like your dog needed to be a certain size/weight, needed solid sit/stay skills, should be comfortable with new situations and people. Cabana was a little big for their needs (I think they wanted dogs under 45 lbs), but I decided to submit her anyway (she's about 57 lbs). I selected a few good photos I had taken and included a description of her abilities, one of which is that she is VERY used to posing for pictures, thanks to my perpetual camera in hand. I honestly didn't think Cabana would be chosen, but to my surprise, Cabana was selected! Skeptic that I am, though, maybe ALL the dogs got selected. I really don't know.

So last week, Cabana and I were asked to meet the photographers at Crissy Field in San Francisco. I have lived in the Bay area for over 20 years, but I had NEVER been to Crissy Field! (If you are surmising that I don't get out much, your assessment would be accurate.) I have driven by Crissy Field many times, but I had never actually walked around and enjoyed it. It was gorgeous and sunny on the day of the photo shoot, and it was a Lab's paradise. We will definitely go back.

Cabana and I arrived early, and because I wasn't sure what the photo shoot would entail, I hesitated to let Cabana off-leash, even though there were dozens of dogs, wandering around off-leash and playing in the waves. Cabana gave me many disgruntled grunts about not being allowed to join them. But I didn't want Cabana to get wet and dirty, because what if the photographers didn't want a wet, dirty dog for the photo shoot?

But I hated to miss the photo opportunity! I thought, maybe I could take Cabana's leash off for a few quick photos. I asked Cabana to sit and stay, which she dutifully did for me. Such a good girl. I was able to shoot a few frames.

Here's my sweet obedient dog, looking off into the distance, allowing me to perfectly frame the Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge and hills of Marin rising in the background. Ten seconds later, Miss Sweet Obedient was doing this:

And this:

While I thought Cabana was serenely gazing at the horizon, in actuality, she was wistfully watching these dogs play. Who can blame her for running over to them? I laughed and had only myself to chide. I let her play for a few minutes, then took her back to the car where, thankfully, I had some old towels to dry her off.

Our photographer friends arrived, along with their clients, owners of the K9 Scrub Club in San Francisco. Cabana was fabulous about doing everything she was asked to do, except she wouldn't walk while holding toys in her mouth. But she jumped up on picnic tables when prompted, let us put silly clothes on her, modeled various collars and leashes, drank out of a bright pink collapsible water bowl, put her paws up on a rock and held the position. Cabana WORKED it, and Tyra Banks would have been proud.

After the photo shoot, I let Cabana run around all she wanted. She had earned it!


I won't get to see the photos from the product shoot until they are actually published on the K9 Scrub Club website. But Bill and Nat gave me a Polaroid shot that day, as a keepsake of the experience. Their work is SO fantastic, I can't wait to see them. If you'd like photos of your pets, be sure to check out Photo Lab Pet Photography--they love animals and their job, and it shows.

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Tuesday Topics #45 - What Do You Say?

It's spring break here, and the mustard is in full force. Yesterday, I took about a million photos of Cabana for our annual mustard shot (well, maybe not a million, but at least 20), and this is the only one that turned out even halfway decent. Pathetic!

Yesterday on our walk, we met a woman walking a shih tzu-type dog. The dog was straining to meet Cabana, and the woman asked if Cabana was friendly. I said yes and we allowed the dogs to meet. The problem was, HER dog wasn't that friendly! He immediately put his front paws up on Cabana's back and got snippy and territorial of his owner. Cabana quickly moved away from the woman and the dog, and the woman said, "Oh look, they're playing." I thought, uh no, that's not playing. Obviously, this woman was completely oblivious to her dog's body language and uneducated about dog interactions. She wasn't a bad person or a bad dog owner, and her dog was probably a very nice dog--but they lacked knowledge and socialization experience. As we walked on, I chided myself for not having spoken up and for allowing her to continue thinking that her dog was "playing".

Then today, an older couple brought their black lab mix, Zena, to the park. I had met them a few times before, so I knew they had rescued their dog fairly recently, maybe 2-3 months ago. Every time Zena comes to the park, other dogs react strangely toward her. Non-aggressive dogs get a bit aggressive. Submissive dogs get overly submissive. And Cabana just avoids her like the plague. Zena tends to hackle, and I keep watching her to figure out what it is about her that makes the other dogs behave differently. Is she anxious, fearful, insecure? Probably a mixture of all those things.

Maybe because I had been silent yesterday with the shih tzu incident, today I decided to say something. Here was this nice couple who had rescued a black dog (usually the hardest dogs to adopt out), and I wanted to see them succeed and have a good experience. So I just asked the couple if they had ever worked with a trainer and that maybe they might want to, since Zena seemed to be sending some unusual vibes. The man answered by saying that he didn't know about working with a trainer, but that one thing he did know is that Zena loves to play with Bella, a young Golden Retriever at the park. Moments before, I had witnessed Zena completely overpowering and pinning Bella, who is just about as submissive as a dog can get. I explained that, ideally, you want to see both dogs taking turns being on top and playing equally, rather than one always getting the upper hand while the other one keeps trying to get away.

But now, I feel like I should have kept my mouth shut, and I'm chiding myself for being a know-it-all!

We all have times when we see other dog owners doing things that we don't agree with. Sometimes, it's just that they don't know better, but sometimes, they think what they're doing is right. Of course, we don't want to finger wag or get obnoxious, but sometimes, a well-meaning and appropriately stated comment can be helpful. I'm not sure if that couple found my little comments helpful; they probably just thought, who asked for your opinion?!

Do you ever tell other dog owners what you think? Is there a way to provide unsolicited advice in a manner that will be well-received and make a difference? Or is it really none of our business and we should just keep it to ourselves?

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Disaster Preparedness

Although Cabana is wearing an e-collar, a muzzle, and a bandage, don't worry! She isn't hurt or in any trouble. We have been volunteering with our shelter's humane education program, where we go to elementary schools and teach about animal-related topics. This week, we helped with a session about disaster preparedness.

We've never had to evacuate our home, but we do live in earthquake country, so a potential evacuation is not out of the question. I have family in the New Orleans area, and they have to evacuate their home on a fairly regular basis. After Katrina, they were displaced from their home for over six months. Hopefully, we won't ever have to leave our home for that long, but it's good to be prepared for at least a short evacuation.

For the class, Cabana demonstrated some of the items in a pet's first aid kit. I don't think Cabana would ever need a muzzle, but some dogs may respond aggressively if they are hurt and would need a muzzle while their wound was being attended to. Cabana tolerated the muzzle very well with some practice and a small piece of sourdough bread or other rare treat as soon as the muzzle was removed. I knew Cabana would hate the big plastic e-collars, so I got her this soft inflatable Kong brand of e-collar. It's kind of pricey, but I feel prepared, knowing that if we should ever need it, Cabana won't mind wearing it. The stretchy bandage is easy to use because it sticks to itself and can be used over and over.

Do you have an Evac-Pack for you and your animals in case disaster strikes your area? Here is a list of items to get you started.

Begin by labeling a large tote or garbage bag with your pet's name, and include these items:
- A carrier or crate, large enough to comfortably contain your pet and provide a safe haven during an emergency.
- Collar, ID tags, animal license.
- Harness or leash.
- Bathroom supplies (litter and box for cats, poop bags for dogs).
- Medications for your pet, along with instructions for them.
- Medical records and name/address of your vet, stored in a plastic bag for safety.
- Current photo, in case you and your pets become separated.
- Food and water for at least 3 days in non-spill containers.
- Feeding instructions, stored in plastic bag.
- Toys and treats to help make your pet comfortable and reduce stress.
- First aid kit (which includes the items Cabana is modeling, as well as gauze, milk of magnesia for poisoning, digital thermometer, eye dropper or syringe).
- Towels or blankets to use as stretcher or to stabilize an injured animal.
- Anything else you would add?

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Big Comfy Couch

Wow, long time since I've posted! Things have been much, much, MUCH too busy for me lately. But I can't complain (except I sometimes do). One of the many things that has happened lately is that we got new furniture. I'm a purist when it comes to decorating, meaning, I don't do it. And my husband's motto is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Which isn't really true in our household, because even if it IS broke, we still don't fix it.

We had our old sectional for about 8 years. I bought it off Craig's List for $75 and reupholstered it twice. So we definitely had gotten our use out of it. But the fabric I had used last time was kind of dark, and I was never happy with the result. So, I posted it on Craig's List--it was still in pretty good condition, and I felt it deserved a few more years of use before going to a landfill. I posted a number of photos, including this one, featuring Cabana on the ottoman. There were no stains and no holes on the couch, but even with a thorough vacuuming, I wanted to make sure people knew they were getting a couch that had dog hairs embedded in it. And wouldn't you know, the people that bought the couch from us had a yellow Lab of their own. They said that when they saw Cabana in the photo, they knew that couch was meant for them. Do I know how to market a used couch or what?

If you've bought new furniture recently, you know it doesn't happen overnight. You can't just go pick it out and have it delivered the next day. It takes WEEKS--for us, it was about 4 weeks. I didn't want to wait until the last minute to sell our old furniture because what if no one bought it? I figured I could ask for a price, then reduce it, or offer it for free, if there were no takers. Luckily, I didn't have to resort to that, but we did have to live for a few weeks in between couches. As a temporary measure, we dragged our love seat in from the living room, and Cabana made do on the spot where her ottoman used to live.

Finally, the big day arrived, and our immense new couch was delivered (it didn't look quite so large in the furniture showroom!). As usual, Cabana was allowed to use the ottoman. After all, we bought the whole thing with her in mind, knowing we needed a couch that not only fit the room, matched our current decor, was comfortable and durable, but most importantly, blended with her fur.

After having the new couch for a few days, I marveled inside, thinking about what a well-behaved, keenly intuitive dog we had. Cabana knew her spot was the ottoman and that was that. So I was quite surprised to come home one day and find this cozy little scene.

Cabana was curled up on the couch, not on the designated ottoman! I laughed, figuring she was a pretty smart dog in any case. She knows a comfy spot when she sees it.

I didn't have the heart to make her move. Now, we just put a blanket in that spot, so it belongs exclusively to her. If only I could find time to potato out on the couch with her, that would be nice. See, there I go with that complaining....

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Our Shelter Pajama Party

A couple weeks ago, one of the directors at the animal shelter where I volunteer came up with the CRAZY idea of having a free adoption weekend with a pajama party theme. The shelter is not usually open on Sundays and never open before noon, so this would be a first on many counts.

I normally do all the graphic design for the shelter, so I was asked to make a poster to publicize the event. Because I was so busy at the time, I asked my daughter (a graphic design major) to do the honors. She ingeniously came up with this colorful, eye-catching poster seen here.

The day before the pajama party, I was at Joann Fabrics and happened to notice a pattern for dog pajamas sitting on a counter. I hadn't really even known there was such a thing! I bought it, along with a few remnants of polar fleece fabric that were super-duper cheap, around $2/yard.

That night, I went to work and made about 10 pairs of dog pajamas in different sizes. They were extremely easy to make--I got it down to 15 minutes per pajama. After all, how can you have a pajama party at an animal shelter and NOT have the dogs in pajamas?? Cats, well, it's understandable for them to not be in pajamas, because who wants to risk getting clawed up? What a blood bath. It's bad enough trying to dress up dogs!

Here's little catahoula mix puppy, Leah, rocking her teal pjs. Unfortunately, the pattern only came in 3 sizes, and not having the dogs nearby when I was sewing, I couldn't really customize them to the correct size. You can see Leah's pjs were a little tight so she busted a seam in the front. However, she was ADOPTED, and that's all that matters!

This Little Brown Pup also wore teal and was also ADOPTED!

Sweet Virginia in purple plaid. ADOPTED!

Here's the same purple plaid, but this time on Sasha (I wished I had bought a wider variety of fabrics!). Sasha also got adopted, but unfortunately, she was returned a couple days later. Apparently, one family member was not on board with having a new dog in the family (that family member had not accompanied the rest of them to the pj party, and no one had mentioned that there even was another family member). Oh well, it happens. Sasha is bound to get a new home soon--she's super sweet.

Little Boog in the grooviest pjs of all, but he has yet to get adopted. Go figure! Maybe it was his feminine pajamas that confused would-be adopters? Sorry, Boog, I'll take full responsibility for your gender confusion.

And here's our former temporary foster, 9.5-year old Sioux. I wasn't going to try to stick her poor arthritic limbs into pajamas, so I just made her a dignified suede-like coat with sherpa lining. And guess what, Sioux was also ADOPTED! WOO HOO!

The pajama party was a tremendous success with 25 adoptions in all (split between cats and dogs) In fact, after all the adoptions on Saturday, there were so few dogs left that they had to get some more from a nearby shelter! All the staff and volunteers felt a bit silly in our pajamas all day, but hey, if that's what it takes to get animals into good homes, why not!

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Maggie, It's Cold Outside

It was 25 degrees this morning. That may seem like nothing to people in other parts of the world, but here in Northern California, that's darn cold. On Thursdays, we go to the park early, around 7am, because Cabana's best friend, Maggie, the English Springer Spaniel, comes early. The sun is barely coming up, and there's a layer of frost on the grass.

Cabana sees Maggie's car pull up. While Maggie's owner may be the one actually driving the car, Maggie's owner will tell you herself--the car belongs to Maggie.

Some people may not believe that dogs are capable of having best friends. But they'd change their minds after watching Cabana and Maggie play.

The way Cabana races over to greet Maggie every morning is different from the way she greets other dogs. It's a combination of joy and familiarity, mixed with mischievous pounce and sometimes surprise attack.

They are so in sync, mimicking each others' moves and play styles, but also very respectful, checking in and making sure the other one is having fun.

Sure, it's cold and it's early, but it's worth it.

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Eating Raw, Eating Better

Last year, I THINK my New Year's resolution was to take Cabana to a beach at least 10 times. Since I can't really even remember if that was my resolution, it should come as no surprise that I didn't follow through on it. I might have made it to a beach about 3 times. Sorry, Cabana.

Resolutions, goal setting, or introspection of any sort, are not my thing. I'm much more of a do-er. I don't think I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person necessarily--but I'm really not sure what I am, obviously because I don't introspect!

But this year, after being motivated by all the other bloggers who have set goals and made resolutions for themselves, I would like to try to be more conscious of food. I'd like to eat healthier for sure, but even more than that, I'd like to be better at cooking. I'm not a bad cook, but cooking is WAY down on my list of things I like to do. My tendency is to make the same 5-10 things over and over again. Most of my meals are from scratch, but they usually take 15-30 minutes to prepare--fast and simple. I like to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. We are vegetarians, so that limits our choices somewhat--or maybe that's just an excuse, since there are so many "new" grains and unlimited veggies out there now. This year, I resolve to break out of my rut and expand my repertoire.

A few months ago, when we were fostering Velveeta, the obese cat, the shelter vet recommended a raw diet to help her lose weight. I felt like I couldn't just buy the good stuff for Velveeta and not buy it for Cabana, so I bought them both some Nature's Variety frozen raw food, which is 95% meat (they have a lot of great meat varieties, as pictured above) and 5% vegetables. Zero fillers, zero grains. I was really impressed with the quality and how easy it is to feed. I had always thought raw diets would be a lot of work and hassle, but I was completely wrong.

Cabana now gets a mixture of raw food and high-quality kibble. She gets 2/3 cup of kibble and 2 oz of raw food for each meal. Nature's Variety has a great online tool that tells you exactly how much of each to combine, depending on what percentages you'd like to feed. Although it would be great to feed 100% raw, not everyone's pocketbooks will allow for that, mine included.

On my last trip to the pet store, I decided to try another brand of raw food. I picked Tucker's because the clerk said her dogs love it. I love how Tucker's patties come individually wrapped, which keeps them from getting freezer burn. Sometimes, the Nature's Variety patties looked a bit freezer burned from sitting in the pet store freezer too long.

Every other day, I let a patty thaw in the refrigerator, then cut it into fourths. When I put it in Cabana's bowl, I break it up into pieces, or else she'll eat the whole chunk in one big bite. When I break it up with my hands, I can feel an oily residue on my fingers with the Tucker's, but I didn't with Nature's Variety. For that reason, I think Nature's Variety might be a higher quality product and will probably go back to it. Or maybe I'll try another brand (maybe I DO fly by the seat of my pants).

I have always struggled to keep Cabana from being pudgy. With the addition of raw food, it's much less of a struggle, and I feel like Cabana looks leaner. Her coat is softer, and she sheds slightly less (still more than I'd like but what can you do). Of course, Cabana LOVES the raw food, but what doesn't this dog love to eat? Picky is not a word that describes Cabana.

Nature's Variety offers a coupon, if you want to give raw food a try and add that to your goals this year!

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