We are on vacation and I miss my dogs.
We left early on Saturday morning, flying up to Michigan. We finally made it up to the lake where we have been able to simply veg.
It is nice not having to be at work or have to think about work. But I miss my dogs so much. I miss their whining, their need for bathroom breaks, their need for walks, their need to play, their need for attention. But what I miss most is my need for them.
We do not have children, but I think I can imagine what parents go through when they are away from their kids. Yes, the time away is good so that they can regain their energy, but they miss them because they are a vital part of their lives.
I am loving vacation, but I cannot wait to get back to them.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
In Capable Hands
4pm. the joy began.
This afternoon at 4pm I began my vacation. A time I have looked forward to for quite some time. Time that will do much to restore life, energy and peace in a time of uncertainty and wonder.
My wife and I plan to spend a week with her family in Michigan at the annual vacation lake spot. Last year we took two of our kids: Cody and Sheba. Since then we have added to our K-9 family 3 additional kids. We made plans to take all of them with us, but the economy dictated that we make different plans.
My parents are in education which allows the summers to be fairly flexible. My dad was able to come down for the week we are away to watch them for us. He is looking forward to this time with the dogs. He is wanting to learn how to control rottweilers better as he has a rottweiler/coonhound mix (Sheba's brother).
This time will be good for my wife and I. We may not have children, but having dogs is similar (so I am told). This will allow us time for ourselves to be recharged.
I will miss my dogs greatly, but the time away will be good for all involved.
Besides, I am but a phone call and email away. =)
This afternoon at 4pm I began my vacation. A time I have looked forward to for quite some time. Time that will do much to restore life, energy and peace in a time of uncertainty and wonder.
My wife and I plan to spend a week with her family in Michigan at the annual vacation lake spot. Last year we took two of our kids: Cody and Sheba. Since then we have added to our K-9 family 3 additional kids. We made plans to take all of them with us, but the economy dictated that we make different plans.
My parents are in education which allows the summers to be fairly flexible. My dad was able to come down for the week we are away to watch them for us. He is looking forward to this time with the dogs. He is wanting to learn how to control rottweilers better as he has a rottweiler/coonhound mix (Sheba's brother).
This time will be good for my wife and I. We may not have children, but having dogs is similar (so I am told). This will allow us time for ourselves to be recharged.
I will miss my dogs greatly, but the time away will be good for all involved.
Besides, I am but a phone call and email away. =)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Stages of Cages
As I am sitting here before getting ready for church I was watching our dogs chill out. Then I started looking at the crates & cages we have and began to reminisce about all the various forms of containment we have gone through (and the dogs have gone through) to get them to where they are today.
We started out with Cody in a simple 24x36 Lifestages by Mid-West. I know that they are one of the more popular brands, but we have found them very reliable. And of course, we watched Cody grow fairly rapidly so we upgraded to a larger crate - 30x48.
Then as Sandra began to work more and more in Kissimmee with her sister we were feeling bad that Cody was stuck in a smallish crate with not much room to do more than tightly turn to lay in a different position. So we started looking. And of course we ended up in Petsmart where we found a 4x4x6 kennel that is really made for outside. It even came with a tarp to go over the kennel for shade. Well, our dogs are all inside dogs so we kept the kennel inside (without the tarp).
By getting this for Cody we were able to give him more space to "roam" while we were out if we did not let him loose in the house. We were having issues at one point since he tore into the house. But, I think he is out of that phase now and he roams more while we are gone.
Well, then we got Sheba. She got the old 24x36. Then as she grew rapidly she got the 30x48. Then, we got the puppies who go the 30x48 and Sheba got her own kennel.
Soon, the puppies outgrew their shared living quarters and we had to put them in their separate crates. But early on we discovered that Sasha had severe hip displasia. She needed more room to move after her surgery. So we swapped out Sheba and Sasha.
Then we decided that everyone needed a kennel of their own. While we were brainstorming we had a epiphany. It is sometimes scary, but most of the time I just smile. One of us will say something and the other will just pipe in, "I was just thinking that same exact thing!" A 4x4 was ok for each of them, but what if we combined two 4x4 and then combined another two 4x4 and then connected them together?! Actually making it happen was not a problem, the only issue was how to lay them out in the house. We don't have that big of a house and we don't want the dogs outside. So, we took about 45 minutes to hypothesize the configuration and placement.
Well, we finally settled on what we currently have.
Then once that got settled, we were given Tilly, the pit. Well, she got a nice deal in that she had 3 crates to choose from. So she got a big crate and a life of luxury.
I know, you are probably thinking that we are somewhat crazy for all the things we do for our dogs. But you must know that they are our babies. We are currently looking to adopt a baby (human). Can you imagine how they are going to be treated? If we do this for our dogs, you can only guess how "pimped out" the babies place will be. It will be awesome!! =)
If you watch the slide shows on the right side you will see some of the different living room formats we have gone through to get to what we have today.
We started out with Cody in a simple 24x36 Lifestages by Mid-West. I know that they are one of the more popular brands, but we have found them very reliable. And of course, we watched Cody grow fairly rapidly so we upgraded to a larger crate - 30x48.
Then as Sandra began to work more and more in Kissimmee with her sister we were feeling bad that Cody was stuck in a smallish crate with not much room to do more than tightly turn to lay in a different position. So we started looking. And of course we ended up in Petsmart where we found a 4x4x6 kennel that is really made for outside. It even came with a tarp to go over the kennel for shade. Well, our dogs are all inside dogs so we kept the kennel inside (without the tarp).
By getting this for Cody we were able to give him more space to "roam" while we were out if we did not let him loose in the house. We were having issues at one point since he tore into the house. But, I think he is out of that phase now and he roams more while we are gone.
Well, then we got Sheba. She got the old 24x36. Then as she grew rapidly she got the 30x48. Then, we got the puppies who go the 30x48 and Sheba got her own kennel.
Soon, the puppies outgrew their shared living quarters and we had to put them in their separate crates. But early on we discovered that Sasha had severe hip displasia. She needed more room to move after her surgery. So we swapped out Sheba and Sasha.
Then we decided that everyone needed a kennel of their own. While we were brainstorming we had a epiphany. It is sometimes scary, but most of the time I just smile. One of us will say something and the other will just pipe in, "I was just thinking that same exact thing!" A 4x4 was ok for each of them, but what if we combined two 4x4 and then combined another two 4x4 and then connected them together?! Actually making it happen was not a problem, the only issue was how to lay them out in the house. We don't have that big of a house and we don't want the dogs outside. So, we took about 45 minutes to hypothesize the configuration and placement.
Well, we finally settled on what we currently have.
Then once that got settled, we were given Tilly, the pit. Well, she got a nice deal in that she had 3 crates to choose from. So she got a big crate and a life of luxury.
I know, you are probably thinking that we are somewhat crazy for all the things we do for our dogs. But you must know that they are our babies. We are currently looking to adopt a baby (human). Can you imagine how they are going to be treated? If we do this for our dogs, you can only guess how "pimped out" the babies place will be. It will be awesome!! =)
If you watch the slide shows on the right side you will see some of the different living room formats we have gone through to get to what we have today.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Cody Almost Goes Bye-Bye
Things were going well. Sandra was enjoying having Cody in the house with her. It helped the days go better. Most of the time he would just hang out, laying on the ground. Occasionally, he would have a burst of energy. Sandra learned quickly to take him out to the backyard, play with him there and burn it out of him.
One day Sandra called me at work crying her eyes out. Obviously, this rapidly got my complete attention. She finally was able to tell me that Cody bit her. As I mentioned in an earlier post I am very protective of Sandra and for my dog to do this to her... Well, let's just say I was very furious.
I told her I was on the way. As I was gathering my stuff I told my business partners I had to go, that Cody just bit Sandra.
I won't say how fast I was driving, but lets just say I made it home in record time. By the time I got home she was calmer and wisely said it wasn't as bad as it seemed earlier. I am glad she said so because I was about ready to do a rambo on Cody.
Apparently, Cody was having one of his energy bursts, was running between our bedroom and the living room. With his mouth open, like he always does when he is running around, he got too close to Sandra and his mouth/teeth made contact with her leg. What scared her was that she could not control him when she told him to stop. This, combined with his teeth making contact with her leg (he did break skin) was what caused her to lose it.
She was justifiably scared of Cody, but mainly because she did not know how to control him. We needed to help her (and me) learn how to get him to obey. This would let him be himself, but we would control him.
So, I got on the internet and started doing some quick searching for a dog trainer. After looking at a few I called Southland Dog Training. I am so glad that they were the ones I was chose. I filled out a form on their web page and sent it. Less than 10 minutes later the owner, Vince, called me. It was nice to get someone that was not interested in just getting my money, do some stuff with my dog and never see or hear from them again. The phone call took time. He asked me why I called, what had happened. He wanted as much information as I could give him. Then he proceeded to ask me about things that I had not thought about before hand. He wanted to know everything he could about us as well as the dog so that he knew how to approach the plan of action.
Only after he was satisfied with the information we were able to give him did he propose the plan of action. He forwarded the information to the actual trainer that would come by the house. Later that day the trainer, Christie, called and we set up the schedule. She would stop by once a week for six weeks.
Those six weeks were great! She did not train the dog. She spent the time to train us on how to work with Cody to be the one in control. We were the ones that needed training. It was great. She was available anytime we needed her throughout the week.
We were so pleased with the success of the training that we have gone back to them for any other training we needed with our other dogs. We are very pleased with the work that Southland does. In fact, when we are at the dog park we are approached frequently by people wanting to know how we got our dogs to be so obedient. I tell them two things: I am the alpha and the training we received from Southland. I have even spoken to people at Petsmart while the were looking for a training collar. I have their business cards with me nearly everywhere I go. They saved us from the potential of getting rid of our first and best dog. For this we will always be grateful.
One day Sandra called me at work crying her eyes out. Obviously, this rapidly got my complete attention. She finally was able to tell me that Cody bit her. As I mentioned in an earlier post I am very protective of Sandra and for my dog to do this to her... Well, let's just say I was very furious.
I told her I was on the way. As I was gathering my stuff I told my business partners I had to go, that Cody just bit Sandra.
I won't say how fast I was driving, but lets just say I made it home in record time. By the time I got home she was calmer and wisely said it wasn't as bad as it seemed earlier. I am glad she said so because I was about ready to do a rambo on Cody.
Apparently, Cody was having one of his energy bursts, was running between our bedroom and the living room. With his mouth open, like he always does when he is running around, he got too close to Sandra and his mouth/teeth made contact with her leg. What scared her was that she could not control him when she told him to stop. This, combined with his teeth making contact with her leg (he did break skin) was what caused her to lose it.
She was justifiably scared of Cody, but mainly because she did not know how to control him. We needed to help her (and me) learn how to get him to obey. This would let him be himself, but we would control him.
So, I got on the internet and started doing some quick searching for a dog trainer. After looking at a few I called Southland Dog Training. I am so glad that they were the ones I was chose. I filled out a form on their web page and sent it. Less than 10 minutes later the owner, Vince, called me. It was nice to get someone that was not interested in just getting my money, do some stuff with my dog and never see or hear from them again. The phone call took time. He asked me why I called, what had happened. He wanted as much information as I could give him. Then he proceeded to ask me about things that I had not thought about before hand. He wanted to know everything he could about us as well as the dog so that he knew how to approach the plan of action.
Only after he was satisfied with the information we were able to give him did he propose the plan of action. He forwarded the information to the actual trainer that would come by the house. Later that day the trainer, Christie, called and we set up the schedule. She would stop by once a week for six weeks.
Those six weeks were great! She did not train the dog. She spent the time to train us on how to work with Cody to be the one in control. We were the ones that needed training. It was great. She was available anytime we needed her throughout the week.
We were so pleased with the success of the training that we have gone back to them for any other training we needed with our other dogs. We are very pleased with the work that Southland does. In fact, when we are at the dog park we are approached frequently by people wanting to know how we got our dogs to be so obedient. I tell them two things: I am the alpha and the training we received from Southland. I have even spoken to people at Petsmart while the were looking for a training collar. I have their business cards with me nearly everywhere I go. They saved us from the potential of getting rid of our first and best dog. For this we will always be grateful.
It is so difficult to imagine Cody at this size. When we got the two puppies Sandra kept saying that Cody was about that size. I kept telling her no way, he was bigger than they were. Of course, she is always right and she showed me this picture. Wow.
That first night was interesting. We had just got a new set of mattresses for our bedroom, but we still needed to get a new frame for it (we were downsizing from king to queen). So my parents were staying in our bedroom because we had the new mattresses in the office on the floor. So we had Cody in the kennel and we were laying down to sleep - five minutes later we smelled this awful smell! I KNEW it could not have been Cody because we were told by the breeder that he was house trained. So, I turned on the light, sure enough Cody had left us a rather large gift.
That was the only issue we have had regarding house training. He began to make this his home. He adjust very well very quickly and began to forge a place in our hearts that will never go away.
As I mentioned in my previous post we nearly got a rescue Rottie, Dakota. She is pictured above. Ain't she cute? Well, we were about a day away from getting her when the rescue people called and said that she found someone in the same town to take her. We were glad that she found a home, but part of me was disappointed.
So, Sandra continued the search. She found a breeder down in Arcadia, about an hour south of us. She had a 5 month old male. We decided to go down and see him. By then my parents were down visiting so we all did a road trip. I was definitely not disappointed this time. He was so awesome looking. No, he did not look like the typical Rottie everyone thinks of. He was still big for a 5 month old puppy, but that is what you get with the Rottweiler. We, and I mean I, spent a little time with him. He loved just laying down and chilling.
We decided that we wanted him and Sandra was fine with it. She was not afraid of him, which was HUGE in our decision. She would definitely be the one spending the most time with him since she would be home most of the time. The night before my dad, Royce and I went out to Petsmart to get the supplies we would need: crate, collar, leash, FOOD. So, we loaded up and made the drive back to the house.
We started thinking on the way back how to handle bringing him in the house. The reason was because my parents had brought their dog and he had been in the house for a couple of days already. We did not want any issue with them trying to figure out whose house it belonged to. Well, it all worked out fine.
How We Got Started
Looking back now when we got our first Rottie it seems so long ago. The desire for one goes way back. For many years now I wanted to have a Rottweiler. They are a beautiful dog yet powerful and respected. Their loyalty is unquestioned.
We had started talking about getting a dog since we moved to Plant City. We love our house, the best looking one on the block (dare I say neighborhood?), and those of you who have been to our house may concur. Our neighbors are friendly and for the most part trust-worthy, but they seem to attract the most unique friends. To put it bluntly I don't trust them. Especially when they get to drinking and smoking their drugs of choice.
I am very protective of Sandra, sometimes to a fault. The thought of something happening to Sandra because of someone coming on our property scares me and angers me. I should not have to be this way. So we thought of a dog and, of course, the Rottweiler was the first choice (and only choice for me, but don't tell Sandra).
We I really did not think we would end up with one since Sandra was bitten on the face by a lap dog when she was younger. So we had a very real issue to deal with before moving forward. I know it happened many years ago, but that is a reality that one does not get over easily, so I wanted to make sure she was going to be ok with it.
Well, even though I did not know it she began looking for a puppy for me. Purebreds are not cheap so I really did not think we would actually get one. We looked at even rescues, but that is also risky. We nearly got a rescue, a 3 year old female, Dakota. I was all giddy with excitement inside, then someone else got her. We also looked at a 2 year old male up near Kissimmee. I would have taken him in a heartbeat, but the simple fact is that he would have stayed locked up all day until I got home. Sandra was terrified, and for good reason. It was dark the night we went to see him. And since his colors are black, it made for a very difficult time. And we were strangers on HIS property. So we rather quickly decided to go a different route. And Sandra continued to look.
Then in December, Sandra found a breeder about an hour south of us that had a possibility. The story will continue on my next blog.
We had started talking about getting a dog since we moved to Plant City. We love our house, the best looking one on the block (dare I say neighborhood?), and those of you who have been to our house may concur. Our neighbors are friendly and for the most part trust-worthy, but they seem to attract the most unique friends. To put it bluntly I don't trust them. Especially when they get to drinking and smoking their drugs of choice.
I am very protective of Sandra, sometimes to a fault. The thought of something happening to Sandra because of someone coming on our property scares me and angers me. I should not have to be this way. So we thought of a dog and, of course, the Rottweiler was the first choice (and only choice for me, but don't tell Sandra).
We I really did not think we would end up with one since Sandra was bitten on the face by a lap dog when she was younger. So we had a very real issue to deal with before moving forward. I know it happened many years ago, but that is a reality that one does not get over easily, so I wanted to make sure she was going to be ok with it.
Well, even though I did not know it she began looking for a puppy for me. Purebreds are not cheap so I really did not think we would actually get one. We looked at even rescues, but that is also risky. We nearly got a rescue, a 3 year old female, Dakota. I was all giddy with excitement inside, then someone else got her. We also looked at a 2 year old male up near Kissimmee. I would have taken him in a heartbeat, but the simple fact is that he would have stayed locked up all day until I got home. Sandra was terrified, and for good reason. It was dark the night we went to see him. And since his colors are black, it made for a very difficult time. And we were strangers on HIS property. So we rather quickly decided to go a different route. And Sandra continued to look.
Then in December, Sandra found a breeder about an hour south of us that had a possibility. The story will continue on my next blog.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Missy & Fritsy
I am sure you may be somewhat bewildered, wondering why are these dogs on a blog about rottweilers. Are they rotties in the making? Are they rottweiler wanna-bes?
These two adorable doggies came to us out of sad circumstances. One of my clients recently passed away and her co-worker told me that they needed to find homes for them. My wife and I were able to open our home to them until a new forever home was found for them. We wanted to keep them together, but if necessary we would have sent them to separate homes.
Several people came together to get the word out that two dogs needed a new home. And it sure did not take long. I am not sure if their hearts went out to these two because of their loss? Was it because smaller dogs are cuter looking and appeal to more people? Whatever the reason, we had several people call willing to take both.
A couple just a few miles from our home were able to take both dogs and give them their new forever home.
I want to thank those that I know were instrumental in getting the word out: Abby, Stacey and Pat. Also, those that I am not aware. Thanks to all of you so much for your care and concern to find these fine pets homes.
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