Walk Fido

Bulldog vs. Bosu

Oscar, our English Bulldog, discovered the bosu.  This is not something you'd expect to be revelatory for him, since the bosu has been sitting on our floor, untouched, for a year.  He passes by it daily and has never shown an interest...until we moved some furniture around and he saw the bosu in a new light.  A whole new million-dollar-baby-let's-train-for-the-olympics-i'm-going-to-own-this-bosu kind of light.  And, yes, he wears a crown during his training.

After years of laughter with Oscar and so many Walk Fido dogs, we are still amazed at their power to surprise us and make us laugh so hard we cry.  Dogs. Dogs are so good for us.

Adopt a BBD Today

 

For those of us who work with rescue organizations every day, there is a sad, sad phrase that is often uttered about the single most difficult type of dogs to find homes for: big black dogs.  No matter how lovely the dog is, no matter how perfect the temperament, many potential adoptive families overlook big black dogs at shelters all across the country in favor of dogs that have more unique coloring (blue! red! orange with stripes! white with brown spots!).  We were reminded of this again today when reading a great article in The Bark about this very issue:

“Please don’t overlook our black dogs,” rescue groups pleaded on their home pages above pictures of Rottweilers, Chows and Labs sporting bright bandannas. One shelter’s website just came right out with the grim truth: “The general public is not aware of how doomed black dogs are when they are brought to a pound.”

We experienced this same harsh reality when we took in two lovely black dogs, Roz & Nellie.  They were both older, both shaggy, both big, both black.  We've luckily found wonderful homes for both of them, but we were so disheartened to see people dismiss them immediately because of their color that we're glad to see some attention being focused on this issue. 

Tamara Delaney's Black Pearl Dogs is a wonderful tribute to black dogs the world over and is an excellent resource for understanding the problem and finding a perfect black dog to add to your family. This issue is so close to our hearts (we have a little black pit bull after all!) that we've decided to feature a weekly roundup of local BBDs that need homes. 

Here are this week's BBDs...do what you can to give them the home they deserve:

• Sophie at Bark Avenue Foundation
• Star at Animal Advocates Alliance
• Glory at Heigl Hounds of Hope 
• Smokey at Best Friends Animal Society LA Programs

What Kind of Dog is That?: German Shorthaired Pointer

 

While there are many comments we regularly hear as we walk dogs through downtown LA's streets each day (that's another post entirely), one of the most common is: what kind of dog is that? We get that a lot and since we walk so many different kinds of dogs, we thought we'd start a weekly review of some of the dogs we get the most questions about. Then we'll cover all the rest of the breeds...as we're sure there will eventually be questions about them too!  First up?

Could be a mixed up pit-pointer, maybe a lab mutt that had a little too much fun on the wrong side of the tracks, possibly a slightly less solemn Bracco Italiano or...it could be a German Shorthaired Pointer.

The German Shorthaired Pointer was developed to be a top gun dog in Germany in the 19th Century by crossing the Old Spanish Pointer, Hounds of St. Hubert, the Foxhound and the English Pointer. Phew - no wonder it looks like several dogs at once! 

So what does all this mean for these GSP's today and what might it mean for you if you adopt one? These dogs have a ton of energy and love to be people pleasers.  They need a lot of exercise (at least two hours of walking a day) to ensure they are very tired so they don't start digging around your house, your yard, your trash bin, or destroying all their toys.  Like all dogs, they crave structure and need an owner who demonstrates authority and is always pack leader.

GSP's are typically very intelligent dogs and intelligence combined with lots of energy can get you into trouble if you aren't on top of things.  They learn easily and can quickly master basic behavioral commands (and a few tricks!) if you work with them. As hunting dogs, their prey drive for smaller creatures (cats and birds) exists, but can be easily managed with basic daily discipline and a solid relationship with their owner of who is really in charge (you, not them).

We've seen a few in our years with Walk Fido and they've always been lovely with other dogs...but of course that has much more to do with the owner and the daily discipline and socialization than any breed standards you'll read about.

To learn more about the breed standard, you can check out the AKC's site. For lots of gorgeous pics of this stunning breed, you can check out Sequoia Kennels.  Most importantly, to find a German Shorthaired Pointer rescue that needs your love and a forever home, check out GSP Rescue.

Modern Dogs Get Modern Troughs

Pet Sugar pointed us to the to the gorgeous Dogleg Diner at Barker and Meowsky and we're smitten.  It is just what we imagine many downtown dogs in fancy lofts aspire to and it would certainly solve our constant problem of water and food all over the ground after feeding time. 

Our only concern...are those bowls big enough for an English Bulldog's jowly face?

Fido Findings

After adding Michael Vick to their roster, the Eagles aren't getting much love from dog-lovers and with good reason:

• Pet Connection has an excellent post about how animal welfare organizations should talk about Michael Vick.  
• The LA Examiner also weighed in and their headline offers a good indication of their anger: "Philadelphia Eagles sign dog killer Vick" 
• Nathan Winograd offers a scathing perspective on how Vick's words are shifting...from "it's all my fault" to "it was someone else's fault." This particular distortion is what makes us the most angry as well - it is increasingly clear that all the apologies were merely lip service with the aim of getting signed.  Now that Vick has accomplished that, his PR team is changing the talking points and playing fast and loose with the facts.  If Vick were truly sorry, if he had truly learned from this and realized how cruel and inhumane his actions were, he could have a powerful impact on dog fighting and cruelty as an HSUS ambassador. He could save the lives of many pit bulls in need if we wanted to - yet he clearly has no intention of that now that he has his coveted prize, the prize he was gunning for all along. His shifting of blame to an outside "someone" is just as despicable as the killings.
• As usual, BAD RAP adds another dimension in Woe is Philly by making the connection between Philly's history of animal abuse and the Eagle's signing of Vick.  It tugs at our heart strings, makes us angry, and says it better than we could have all at once.  There is a lively debate taking place in the comments as well. The wham-o line in the post:

"I can only imagine some animal workers may be so utterly discouraged that they throw their hands in the air and leave the city that has decided to embrace a man who laughed - laughed - while dogs were crying out in pain."

Other news from the dogosphere:

• Reports of dog flu cases have been confirmed at a kennel in Fairfax County. Health officials are urging anyone who works with pets and pet owners to treat canine influenza just like human strains (even though we can't catch dog flu from our fidos) by washing hands repeatedly and remaining calm.  Symptoms include sneezing, lethargy, loss of appetite, coughing and wheezing. If your dog exhibits these symptoms, you are encouraged to take fido to the vet asap.
• Gibson, the World's Tallest Dog (and featured in one of our posts years ago), has died.  He was diagnosed with bone cancer (common in Great Danes) in April.  Gibson's owner started Three Paws for the Cause to raise awareness of canine cancer.  You can join the cause and donate to support canine cancer research. 
• In lighter dogish news, The Bark's Jim Gunshinan considers his dog's energy pawprint.