MOSTLY FUR: My 2009 Recap

Well pups, it's that time again. Another year passing us by. It seems like just a little while ago, I was reminiscing about 2008. My how time flies when you're on dog years.

Anyhoo, a lot of stuff happened to me in 2009. Louie and I had some adventures and a LOT of fun together. I had some stitches in my lip. Phooey! I had a major owie on my ear when someone bit me. That was awful. It hurt bad. Louie and I won prizes for most original costumes as our daycare's Halloween party. I went as a JackBerry phone and Lou was an i-Bone. Get it???!! I spent some quality time with my grandpawrents and got lots of lovin' from them. My mom took me all over town with her. My dad gave me lots of hugs. And I ate chicken. Wow, except for the stitches and ear thing, 2009 was grrreat!

I'd like to take a moment to wish all my doggie and human friends a wonderful, happy, healthy and bite-free 2010!

MY EAAARRRRRR!

Ugh, someone bit my ear. And now it's infected and swollen up and I have to take icky bitter pills that they try to hide in chicken like I'm not going to notice them. And my face hurts. And I want my mommmy! Waaaaaaaah!

Sigh. Well, it's not all THAT bad. I'm getting better, but man. This whole thing just sucks.

On the bright side, it's my BIG baby brother Louie's Annifursary today. He's been in the family for two years. That's two years less than ME, if anyone is counting.....

But he's the best brother ever in the history of little brothers. And I totally love the guy, even when he's standing on my head (waaatch the ear, Louie....watch it.)

So, Happy 2nd Annifursary To Lou Lou! I love you, big guy!

I'm Four!

Happy Birthday to MEEEEE! Jack here. Just wanted to let all my fur friends know that I'm finally a MAN. I'm four! As of yesterday. Or the day before. Or maybe today. But arrrround sometime this week for sure, I am FOUR!

That's 28 in doggie years, so I'm well legal to drive and go into bars and stuff. Not that I ever do. Because Miss Thing always has me attached to the leash and she won't let me go in. I TRY but she always wins.

I sorta thought when I grew up to be a man I'd be taller. But I'm still the same size I was when I was 11 months old, give or take a few centimeters. My beard is pretty much the same, so that's not any different there....

But it's great to be a man. A big, strong four year old man. Sayonara Little Boy. I'm a man.

You heard me.

Governor Schwarzengger, You Can Just Scoop My Poop!

Friends, in California, we have a big old meanie running our state.

He wants to save money by shortening the amount of time us dogs and cats can stay alive in overcrowded shelters. This might be his worst plan, yet.

Regardless of what side of the political fence you're on, I think we can all agree that shortening our already-short time in the shelters from a measley six days down to JUST THREE is going to result in a catastrophic rise in deaths of healthy, re-homeable animals in California.

Not to mention those sad souls who get separated from their families while their moms and dads are frantically looking for them - a process that can take a day or two in and of itself in larger cities with more than one main shelter.

This also is one of those backward ideas that ends up saving NO money. The cost of mass killings is high in both man hours and medical product purchases. The amount of money saved (if there even IS any saved) would be quite small. Something like our governer giving up his salary for one year might end up with more return on the dollar than this crazy scheme.

Please, PLEASE take the time to tell Schwarzenegger it's NOT OKAY WITH YOU to kill healthy animals in an attempt so save money.

GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 558-3160
http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email

Shout Out!

I just wanna give a shout out to my Big Little Brother, Louie, who turns two today.

Way to go, Lou-Ball! You know me and the peeps love ya somethin' fierce. Here's to many more years of Trubble and Chasing and Growling.

Happy Birthday!

I love you, bro.

I was tagged!

Yep, it's that time again. A taggin' has occured. I'm afraid I've had quite a delayed reaction to it, so I apologize to Dylan who tagged me.

Also, most of my pup pals have already been tagged, so the tag stops here, so to speak. I'm like a pair of Hanes. Get it? Tagless? Hahahahahha! But, if you see this and want to do it, then by all means, consider yourself indirectly tagged.

Okay, so the deal this time round is:

List Seven Things about yourself that other pups don't know about you.

Hmmm, okay, here goes:

1.) I can do patty cake with my mom with my nose. Mmmhmm, yes I really can.

2.) I bark at other dogs when I'm on the leash or in the car. Why doesn't everyone know I just want to play????

3.) I'm afraid of my water bowl.

4. ) Even though I pretend he's the first sign of armageddon, I do love Louie very much.

5.) My very favorite people food is a tie between white rice and a strand or two of angel hair pasta. My eyes bulge out when I see those foods in my general vicinity.

6.) I graduated first in my puppy class. No, really, I did. I won the 'best trick', the 'sit off' and the 'best stay.' Well, the Best Stay category was a tie with a Wheaten Terrier.

7.) I love getting scritches from my grandma best of all. She's a really good scritcher.

It's My Annifursary! Again.

Jack: Well, it's been three whole years today since my peeps sprung me from puppy prison (the shelter) and brought me home to live The Good Life.

Jack's Mom: Yep. Three, fun filled years, kid.

Jack: Yep. While I'm eternally grateful to them, the truth is, I can hardly remember my life before. And, that's the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it. (Uh huh, uh huh.)

Jack's Mom: I like that you can't remember the bad times!

Jack: I have to say I had no idea I'd have it so good. Food, love, warm beds all over the house. Walkies. Play session, a basket of scrumptious toys. I have it pretty good. What on earth did I ever do to deserve that?

Jack's Mom: Nothing.

Jack: What?!

Jack's Mom: Let me clarify: all dogs deserve that. Of course, your dad and I think you are wonderful, sweet and a very, very good boy.

Jack: It's all about MEEEEE!

Jack's Mom: Yes. Yes, it is. Happy 3 Year Annifursary, Baby Boy.

Happy Howl-o-days

Christmas has come and gone. Hannukah is coming to a close. In a few more days, it will be 2009.

I don't think another year has gone by this quickly for me. Perhaps it's because I turned three this year, but it seemed like this one went fast. When I look back on this year, there seems to be so much packed into it.

First, the biggest development was the dubious arrival on the scene of Louie. Ah, Louie. That loveable springloaded stick of doggie dynamite. When he first arrived, I couldn't help but think I'd seen him someplace before. That's probably because they took me to meet him at my old prison, the shelter, before he came home. We got along fine. We played in their play yard there, and he only bounced on my head once or twice. He was cool and deferred (if, only for a few seconds) to my adult dog sensibilities when I put him in his place.

I think he was very happy to be in a home where he got people to pay attention to him, feed him and talk to him. Also, he liked to play. A lot. And, play,and play, and play. A LOT. I can't help but wonder if I was that obnoxious as a puppy myself. I'm sure I wasn't. Ultimately, though, I grew to love the big lug and now I want nothing more than to hang out with Lou. My main man.

Other highlights in my personal 2008: I went into Williams-Sonoma with my mom and spent half an hour being cooed over by the laydeez. I let my hair grow out. And, I got the shortest cut of my entire life. I was good. Louie and I had fun at the club. Someone bit me on my cheek. I went to the beach and ran in the water. Mom gave me a blueberry. I let Louie sleep on my bed with me. I made friends with a cat. Mom fixed my fish. Dad came home for work. A LOT. Mom took me to Coffee Bean quite a bit more than last year. I was good, except for that one time with the beagle. We won't talk about that. Mom still has coffee stains on her jeans and she says they won't ever come out. I say, blame the beagle. We were there first.

I wish all my friends and their families a happy, healthy 2009. May it be filled with love, treats and the adventure of finding something dead in the backyard.

JACK'S NEW RULES

Okay, so y'all know I love answering questions on Dogster Answers.

In all fairness, I should reveal that I do have my mother help me with the tough questions. Things that deal with potty training issues, for example. Sorry, can't remember that far back. So, mom tackles those tough questions.

Most of the time, the questions on Answers (hey, funny!) are usually great questions from well-meaning owners. Questions that either I or my mom had at one time, or that we wonder about,too! It's a great place to learn.

An awful lot of questions have been frustrating, though. Questions like, "Hey, y'all, my dog's tail just fell off. What can I do to avoid taking him to the vet?"

Or, "So, this is the 27th time my dog has bitten the postman. Are they going to take my baby away from me? What can I do???? I'm desperate!"

Wow, people. It sure sounds like you need a recap on the rules. What rules, you ask? (And, I'm so glad you asked.) Why, Jack's New Rules, that's what!



- Be prepared to support your dog financially. Honestly, this sounds harsher than it really is. And, I don't mean you have to be wealthy to own a dog. Of course you don't - most don't go on to college. But, do keep in mind you have to feed him. Every day. For the rest of his life. Oh, also, we like toys. And, we tend to chew them up and you have to buy new ones. And, if you don't, we'll start in on your shoes and handbags. So, get the toys. Also, sometimes we eat the toys and we need to go to the Doggie ER. And, that costs money. Which if you don't have, could cost us our lives. And, then you'll be really sad and cry.

JACK'S NEW RULE #1: Before you get a dog, do a budget and make sure you can afford basic food and normal vet visits. Having some extra money stashed aside for emergencies is a great idea in general.

- Sometimes, we get sick or injured. Guess what? You peeps gotta take us to the vet. Minor injuries can turn major and no attempt to self treat should be done unless you REALLY know what you're doing. And, by that, I mean, you're a vet. Anyone else needs to get their dog an appointment with one. The sooner you take the dog in, the better chance he has for a good outcome.

JACK'S NEW RULE #2: Take your dog to the vet for anything you'd take a two year old child to the doctor for, and with the same urgency.

- Dogs don't do stuff out of spite. Ever. That peeing in the living room at night? It's not because he's mad at you for not giving him your leftover baked potato. It's because, despite what you WANT to think, he's not housetrained! And, guess what else? It's YOUR fault, not the dog's. Go back to square one with the house training.

JACK'S NEW RULE #3: Patience and consistency are the keys to training. Denial never trained a dog, yet.


-Dogs don't speak English. We speak Doggish. Which is mostly eye contact and body language with the occassional auditory yelp. When you teach us commands in English it's a little bit like you learning Swahili from us. Only, forget that you even know what Swahili IS and you're getting close. Changing commands, talking to us like we know what you're saying is not going to work. Not EVER.

Treats? That, we understand. Use treats when we're doing something you LIKE and something you WANT us to do. You'll be suprised how fast we catch on to what we're NOT supposed to be doing and how good of a motivator those treats are. Much better than yelling.

JACK'S NEW RULE #4: Praise and reward can work wonders in the right direction. It's only counterintutive if you don't appreciate how much us dogs want to please you.


- Dog's don't generally do stuff "out of the blue" one day. See an aggressive behavior like growling or avoiding eye contact and bristling when Auntie Sue comes by for a visit? Guess who shouldn't be surprised when Auntie Sue's hand goes missing one day? YOU. There were signs probably for years beforehand. Signs. Yep. Like, growling, snarling, avoiding eye contact and bristling. Some dogs bite when confronted and scared, but chances are, you ignored signs of aggression or didn't realize what you were seeing.

JACK'S NEW RULE #5: Watch for any signs of behavioral changes or aggression and deal with them before they cause potentially tragic results.

-It's up to you people to make sure us doggies understand what you want from us. If something you're doing with the training isn't working within, say, seven to ten days...if you're not truly seeing ANY progress, it's not working. As a rule, if your dog learned to sit in three days but you've been trying to teach him to not jump up for three months, you're doooooinnnng it wrong. Give up on that particular method and try a new approach. The bottom line here is that your dog CAN learn. He WANTS to learn. You need to be the person who figures out how to get through to him in a way that he can understand.

JACK'S NEW RULE #6: Dogs adapt. So should you.

- A puppy isn't just for Christmas. Or Easter. Or Valentine's Day. Or Arbor Day......People, you've heard it all before. Adorable puppies purchased for the holidays and come February, the shelters are packed. This is a rule that applies to any dog at any stage of life. As dogs, our owners are our WHOLE WORLD. If we are parted from you, it's incredibly, horribly painful for us. It's a tragedy and our world, our head, our hearts are turned upside down. Sometimes, circumstances cannot be avoided. Things just get bad sometimes. But, please, please try and remember that we're totally dependent on you and totally in love with you. We need you. More. Than. You. Will. Ever. Know.

JACK'S NEW RULE #7: A dog is for life.

- Us dogs have seen it all. Trends come and go. We still stay dogs. Know why? We know a secret you guys sometimes can't figure out:

It's all about the individual. A dog's theme song is, I Gotta Be Me. No trainer of the month, technique of the month, is going to work on every dog. Far from it. A smart owner takes common sense training and behavior tips and advice and works them into their own routine in a way that works for their own dog. Got a dog who is terrified of the crate? Guess what? Nothing says you have to crate train her. Not all dogs are alphas or wanna be alphas. Not all dogs have the same learning curve. And, those trainers you see on tv having the dog whipped into shape in 10 minutes flat? Okay, that can happen. But, remember two things: 1) At the end of the day, it's still television and 2) Never underestimate the power of a novel person interacting with a dog. I could come over and maybe have the same results. The real work starts when the camera is off and everyone goes back to their routine.

JACK'S NEW RULE #8 : One size does not fit all. Adapt your training to your dog's ability and needs.

And finally:

JACK'S NEW RULE #9: I really like chicken.


So, that's about it. In closing, I'd like to say that we dogs ask very little from you peeps. A warm bed, food and some affection earns you a lifetime of love and loyalty from us. One harsh word can linger forever or some of us more sensitive types, but we're always willing to let bygones be bygones if you put in the effort. Dog ownership is a lot of work, sometimes. And, it can be an overwhelming responsibility other times. But, so is any partnership.

Love your dog. As much as he loves you.

Louie Louie, Oh yeah....you gotta go.

I joke, I kid. I kid......He can stay. Louball has been with the family for a whole year, now. A YEAR.

I can hardly believe that. It's a whole third of my life I've known this crazy guy, now. At first, he was not exactly someone I wanted near my peeps or in my house(s). He was boisterous, obnoxious and he kept biting me and smacking me around all while trying to "play." Tell me I wasn't that terrible as a pup!

Anyhoo, he learned the ropes fairly fast and pretty soon we were brothers from other litters. Cool, huh? He's a good guy, Lou. He's fairly brave and he likes to play. What could be better in a brother?

Lou wore a plastic red cowboy hat for Halloween and won a contest at our doggie athletic club for funniest costume. Ha! Little do they know he wears it around the house when nobody is looking and pretends he's Shane.

So, anyway, the prize was one whole day at the club for FREE. And....wait for it......waaaaaiiitttt.....also, a B.A.T.H.

Hahahahahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahhahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahhhahahah ahahahahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahah.

Hooooo, oh, man, I can't breathe. Wait, wait, hahhahahahahahahaahhahahahahhahahahhahah. Srrrrrrsly, it's poetic.

Oh, my stomach hurts from laughing. Oh, my god.

Anyway, if you're reading this buddy, hahahahhahaha, hope you have a great time!