Buddy Valdez.

I talk a lot about Lucie my big, red dog. I talk about her antics, training, and endearing qualities. I have another pet that I do not talk about as much as the 63 pound red dog that shares my home.

Why? I guess because this pet does not seem to stand out quite as much. However, really that is not a true statement.

Buddy Valdez is a longhaired Chihuahua. He came to me 11 years ago as a 6-week-old puppy. I came home from work to find him snuggled down in a milk crate or all things. Yes, Corvette fell victim to the cuteness of this tiny creature while picking health aids for our then ailing Labrador retriever Genie.

Genie soon after went to doggie heaven. But this is not her story.

We named this little ball of fur Buddy. Why? I do not know. Valdez was to honor his Mexican heritage. Sounded good at the time. He was so small that when he went to drink water he would fall head face into the bowl as his back feet came off the floor.

Those first few weeks he refused to walk on a surface that was not carpeted. I kept him in the milk crate at night and while he napped during the day. I accompanied him outside because I read that Chihuahuas were prey for eagles and other big birds.

That December, Cinderella came home on leave from the army. She was expecting our first grandchild. Buddy would sit on her swelling belly. Buddy was never a kid friendly dog. He did however tolerate my granddaughter Butterfly. Maybe there was some sort of bond. I will probably never know.

I do know that he loved all of my children. Sgt Honda, Cinderella, and Hippie Guy. It was evident when Cinderella came home this past Thanksgiving. He bounced around her ankles in recognition. He even let Butterfly pet him.

He was always happy to see Sgt Honda and Hippie Guy. Even when they would spar with him and make him growl and bark. I never understood that. I guess it was a guy thing.

Buddy took many road trips with me. He was there when my first grandson was born. He went camping, boating, and visited many homes. I once held him up against a motor home to keep him safe from a large German Sheppard that wanted to have him for dinner.

He lived with me in many places. He managed to charm a group of people that I am sure where not exactly on the best side of the law. I like to think that Buddy was the reason this group let me be. I will never know for sure.

Buddy had his own special way of playing. He loved to run circles around our coffee table. We would shout, “Go Buddy, go Buddy!” as ran round and round. He had a special toy. A Booda toy. Oh, how he loved the toy. We called it his baby. It went with him everywhere. He slept with his baby and when one would wear out, we would buy him a new baby. I still have the old worn out babies.

Grandpa DingDon affectionately nicknamed him “Guard Dog.” I guess because when people would come over Buddy would bark and act as if his was bigger than he really was. I am pretty sure he thought he was big. How many dogs can manage to disrupt a training session while getting permanently kicked out of obedience school? Yea, that was my Buddy.

Yesterday. I had to make a choice. I had to let him go. I know that he could completely infuriate me. He refused to walk on a lease. He peed on almost everything in my house. He once peed on my shoes and Lucie’s bed while we were out walking. Passive-aggressive is the only word that comes to mind.

He howled to be let outside. He woke me up in the middle of the night like an infant. He had the guts to fight with Lucie. He did not win. She did not win. It was like a standoff of wills.

I let him go to doggie heaven yesterday. It was time. I will miss him.

I awoke to silence this morning. It was a little tough to take. Buddy was just a dog, but he was my dog.

Love you Booda Boy.

Bedtime Conversations.

Me: Hey Lucie what’s up?

Lucie: Nothing. I’m tired.

Me: You look pretty comfortable there.

Lucie: I am.

Me: Lucie. Oh Lucie

Lucie: ZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

Me: Lucie Lucie Lucie girl. I see you.

Lucie: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!

Me: I know your not asleep.

Lucie: GO AWAY!

Me: Hey, what’s up Buddy?

Buddy: Don’t even think about it!

Me: Oh Lucie.

Lucie: Oh for Pete’s sake!

Me bad.

Training Lucie My Big, Red Dog.

Lucie’s lessons came to an end this past Saturday. Kind of. I decided to continue her training lessons because we both enjoy it so much and she is doing so well. I worked out a payment plan with my trainer and it is something I can afford. But mostly, it is good for Lucie and me. She is so smart and picks up things so fast.

Last week she worked on sitting on the tubs and best of all sitting and staying. I must admit she and I have been working on this quite a bit at home. I put her in down stay and walked away. Sometimes out of sight. So she preformed well at school and earned many a treat from her trainers.

So this week I am training her to sit on command during our walks. The reason for this is if a dangerous situation arises such as another dog appears or whatever the case may be, she will know that I am going to handle it and I am in control. So far, so good. She is supposed to stop amd sit at my side but at this point she only stops when I stand in front of her. She does stop and sit and sometimes lays down. We will get there.

She is getting so much better riding in the car too. Lucie has now claimed the back seat as her own instead of lying across the front seat and gear shift. I have a Volkswagen and it is hard to shift with a 63 pound dog lying across the shifter.

Buddy, my 10-year-old Chihuahua is another story. He has taken to howling constantly, so much so that he is horse must of the time. He freaks when I leave the room and pees on things when I am not there. Last week when I took Lucie for a walk he peed on her bed and my flip-flops. Yea, passive aggressive or what?

So, that is another challenge. Nothing new.

To be continued…

Dog & Human Training Update.

Yes, I do believe that Lucie my big, red dog and Buddy have the easy tasks in school. They only work about 10 minutes to learn new behaviors. Me on the other hand, I have to spend time thinking about what I need to do and when. It is work but I do not think it is as bad as some people led me to believe. I think I know why.

Let me start by saying I made an observation the first day of training. When dogs pull or get distracted on a walk or when just out and about you have to get them to refocus on YOU. Important because that is how you get them to obey. So the first day I learned that when walking and the dog pulls you walk backward pulling the leash until the dogs focuses on you. You know this is happening when they look at you. You can also walk them in a circle to calm them down and do something that is really fun although the people in the neighborhood might think you are nuts.

It is called “Dancing with Dogs.” Basically you dart around back and forth and round and round and the dog follows you because he or she as the case may be does not know what you will do next. So simply put, they have to focus on you. So back to the jist of my story, I saw a lady at training and her dog was pulling and not following her lead. The trainer yelled for her to back up (yea they do yell when needed) and the lady said, “It is not working!” Right then the trainer ran over and grabbed the leash and said, “Oh yes it does!” Let’s just say IT DID. So from that day on I knew it was up to me and I had to be in control and not give up even if the dog does not do it right the first time. Start over until they get it right.

This was an important lesson for me not only in dog training but in my life. I realized later that if I can train a dog. A reactive, crazy redhead dog I can train myself to take control. I did it with my nut job neighbor a few weeks ago. So working with my dogs this past three weeks we have accomplished Lucie learning to walk without pulling, walk without fear through relaxation techniques, sit, down, and stay. She knows “leave it” where I throw down a treat and she is not allowed to get it. This is great on walks when she wants to pick up trash or even chase a cat. Trust me this has happened several times. It also works when she wants to get and chew Buddy’s stuffed Booda toy. Sometimes she will sneak it out of his bed but drops it as soon as she knows I am aware she has it. She was the demo dog for “leave it” at our last lesson. Oh, so proud of my little pupil!

I learned how to recognize aggressive behavior through looking at her ears, tail and stance. The relaxation technique I use involves using the palm of my hand and rubbing in a half circular fashion starting at the back of her neck and working my way down to her tail. In under a minute her head will go down, then her tail, then she will sit and finally she will drop to the floor. Amazing.

I only train her with treats part of the time. I do not want her to only react for treats. So far this is working. I know because I introduced a new lesson this week. It is called “Taking Control of the Door.” I always walk out of the door before her. I then tell her to sit and stay. I started slowly by standing by the door. Then I started walking around the yard. Next I went where she could not see me. Each time I was gone longer and longer. She did not get up. She came outside when I invited her and the same with going inside. So imagine my surprise when I forgot to test her and I went in the house and forgot she was out there. I went to the restroom came out and she was sitting on the porch waiting to be invited in! I told her to come in and let out the biggest YES ever. She got major treats for that and she did it more than once.

Most importantly this would not have been possible a few weeks ago.

So, I am happy about all of this and glad I get to keep my dogs and learn new things. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. So to speak.

Buddy Jumping the Pole.

Sort of short post but if you want you can check out Buddy jumping a pole. He took a bit of a spill but he is a trooper. Next week I will take my camera and get some more photos of these two and me of course.

Oh, please excuse my butt at the end. I did not know I was being filmed or trust me I would not have bent over. Good thing I started working out two months ago or that could have been really scary.

Lucie, Buddy and Juliannah Go Back To School.

*Update* If you go here you can see Lucie in action.

I would have never believed that I could spend one training session with my dogs and have them turn around so much. On Saturday me, Lucie my big, red dog and Buddy went for our first training class. I thought it would be a nightmare because of the Vet visit from hell. But, it really was a great day and all three of us had a great time.

When we got there Lucie jumped out of the car and I grabbed Buddy in his crate and we walked right into the trainer’s backyard. There was probably four other dogs there and everyone was really nice. Especially the trainers.

In the backyard was a dog obstacle course. There was a pathway, a low ladder lying on the ground and a higher ladder. There was three stars for the dogs to step over plastic sticks while walking in a circle. After that was poles to leap over and a hoop to jump through. There was a teeter toter, tunnels and ramps to climb.

First I took Lucie on the pathway and she did great. Next she went on the low ladder. Again not too bad. After that we went on the high ladder and she did not completely stay on but she did pretty well. Next was the stars and then the leaping poles. I could tell she really had fun doing that. She leapt the small pole and the high pole. Everyone was really pleased with her progress. We tried the tunnel but that was a no go. We will work on that one in the future.

Next up was Buddy. I has serious doubts that he would do anything as up until now he would not even walk on a leash.  He not only walked he did the pathway with ease. He did the low ladder and he jumped over the pole. Not once, not twice by at least four or five times. He even considered the tunnel, went in a little and then came back out. Lucie barely put her face in.

I also learned relaxation techniques to use on them. I learned a noise to make that gets Lucie’s attention. I learn how to poke her as another way of getting her attention. I know now what caused the fight and injuries. Lucie my big, red happy-go-lucky dog has a sniffing problem. In other words she sniffs too much and it is aggrevating to Buddy. Buddy then growls and she grabs him. The reason Buddy got hurt is because I pulled them apart. I learned how to get then apart by walking up her back with my hands and grabbing her scruff and picking her up with it.

So after one hour my dogs changed and we then went home a happier family. I continued with my new techniques all the rest of the weekend and when I got up and took Lucie on her walk on Sunday I was so surprised that she hardly pulled and when she did I backed up and pulled on the leash and she would refocus on me. When we were coming upon housed with dogs I would just tell her, “Oh, look at that it is a dog!” I also used the relaxtion techniques and she barely whimpered. Before she would try and jump on me and pull even worse.

So, I am looking forward to going back and learning more. I came so close to giving Lucie up. The great part about this is the lessons are free. Yea that’s right. Free. The shelter pays because too many people were returning animals because of behaviour trouble. That is what would have happened to me.

So, keep you all posted and next week I should gets some photos and maybe video.

Update on the Dog Situation.

Well, I took Buddy to his new home on Saturday. I explained about his meds and the diaper. I even demonstrated how to put it on and off. I said put it on him before bedtime and then there will not be puddles in the morning. Buddy is nine years old, sixty-three in people years. Plus his bladder must be the size of a peanut (No, I am not goggling that.) Anyway, I got an angry call at 3am saying the the person fell in a puddle of pee.

Ok,  question.

“Did you use the diaper?”

Answer.

“No, I threw him outside!”

Literal answer people.

Needless to say I went that next day and picked up my dog. Buddy did not even get his meds. Lucie my big, red dog and Buddy seem to have called a truce. I could tell that Lucie missed Buddy and I think Buddy is trying to not be such a bad ass. I have to make this work. I missed that little dude and could not live with myself if I thought he was being abused.

So this is a continuing saga and I realize I must be more vigilant especially about food. It is my job and I will be happy to do it.

Welcome home my little Buddameyer, Budster. Budda, Budmeister…sleep tight.

Want the Good News or the Bad News.

This is starting to become a theme around here. Well. I will start with the good news. I won a prize at the Ultimate Blog Party! I could not believe it. I never win anything. Maybe I should start playing the lottery. Anyway, I won an American Express Visa Card worth $100.00. Yes and just in time to replace the initial vet costs last Friday night. I cringe every time I open my mailbox because I am just waiting to get hit with the rest of the bill. I hope they take payments.

I now can officially eat and pay rent next month. Nice to know huh? When things like this happen I get stressed about what to do but some how they always work out.

Now for the bad news. But first an update on Buddy. He is doing fine in his recuperation. No sign of infection and he is getting around ok. I no longer have to carry him outside to potty. Good thing because using my floor is just not an option.

I also found that Velvetta Cheese is great for hiding medicine. That and refried beans. I took him off the pain meds because I just could not deal with the psychotic Buddy. At one point he was lying on my couch and his back was to the back of my laptop. All of a sudden he jumped up and put his mouth over the laptop lid and let out a gutteral growl. I jumped up and carefully removed my laptop from his jaws. Other times he would rare back like a coyote howling at the moon and this sound would emulate from deep inside him. grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrg…..

Scary crap. He did it once when we where all outside and he was on the porch in front of the back door. Lucie, my big, red dog and I decided to hang in the backyard for awhile. This is what ended me carry him anymore. I only help those that do not bite me.

So on to the bad news. I knew I had to make a decision about this situation because if Lucie gets anywhere near Buddy he starts a fight. So for his own good he is going to a new home. A home with no other dogs and no children. This breaks my heart as I have cared for him for nine years. But, it would be wrong of me to put him in danger even if he did start the whole thing. He has never been tolerant of other animals and children. I can not even have him around my grandchildren. Lucie on the other hand would love it if I had a kid. But that is not an option. Hmm, wonder if I can rent one. For now she will have to settle for visits with the grandkids.

I just hope Buddy’s new home will work. I will be able to visit him so it is not like I will never see him again. Just wish it did not come to this.

See, they were friends. Love you and will miss you Budda.

Can It Get Worse?

I came home on Friday expecting to have a nice weekend at home relaxing and staying warm with my dogs because a cold front was coming through and luckily I have an electric fireplace and space heater since they shut down my furnace and started up the cooler.

I sat on the couch and ate my dinner while throwing a french fry or two to my dogs. I got up to wash my plate and all hell broke loose. My big, red dog Lucie and my Chihuahua Buddy started fighting. I pulled them apart and noticed blood coming from Buddy’s ear and what looked like a puncture in the back of his neck.

Buddy was running around crying and I feared internal injuries. I let him outside and Lucie walked up to him and another fight started. Now, this one I witnessed first hand and I do believe Buddy started both of them. I once again broke it up and put Lucie in the house and tried to pick Buddy up but he just tried to bite me. I went in the house and called a vet and told them what happened and told them I could not pick Buddy up. They instructed me to catch him in a towel and then put him in his crate and bring him in.

I managed to do this and we were off to the vet. I spent four agonizing hours there and thank goodness Buddy only had the puncture on the back of the neck and a laceration in his ear. I am sure Lucie only meant to hold him down. The vet said that if Lucie wanted to hurt him she would have. I really can not blame her for protecting herself.

So, I finally got home at 10:30pm with a freaked out Chihuahua and a freaked out Lab. Needless to say I did not get much sleep. I did get pain meds for Buddy and finally made a concoction of peanut butter and milk that he would eat without knowing what was in it.

Of course it rained all night and most of the next day so Buddy had to use puppy pads in the house. At one point I caught him relieving himself all over the space behind my couch. Yea, that was fun cleaning up in the middle of the night.

So now, today 2 days post attack I am worn out and Buddy is finally starting to take it easy. Saturday I had to basically build a blockade and keep them separate. I think Buddy’s pain  meds are making him a bit psychotic. This morning he was laying on my couch behind my laptop and he stood up and tried to attack my computer. Sorry, teeth on the screen does not work for me.

So I am taking tomorrow off to get some rest and figure out how to keep them separated. I guess I will keep them in different rooms when I am not home. Don’t know what else to do.

Signing off, tired, grumpy and in need of a shower.

So You Think You Can Diaper Your Dog? You Betcha!

I wrote about trying to get a dog diaper on my Chihuahua, Buddy. Needless to say it was not pretty. So, when the lovely people from Peekeeper contacted me and wanted to send me a Peekeeper Dog Diaper to try out I thought well why not.

The Peekeeper Dog Diaper is basically  made of cloth material and is a harness the wraps around the dog’s shoulders and underside. You then insert a sanitary pad, yea you heard that right and the dog is ready to go. When the dog pees it collects in the pad and not on your floor or furniture. For bigger dogs you can use an adult incontinence pad. Also, the dog can not wiggle out of the Peekeeper Dog Diaper.

Here is Buddy wearing his Peekeeper. Don’t let his grim expression fool you. He’s eleven and a bit of a grumpy old man!

Here he is outside. You see that puddle by the chair? Yea, nothing is sacred. His mentality is why jump off the porch and pee in the yard when there is a perfectly good lawn chair to pee on. Not feeling so smug are you now Buddy?

I found the Peekeeper Dog Diaper easy to get on Buddy and he does not seem to mind. As I said the regular diaper did not go over well at all. The Peekeeper is machine washable and made of durable material. There are five colers, two for females only and one for males only. I got the blue demim for Buddy. The site tells you how to measure your dog to get the right size which is important and then you pick your color and sex of your pet and your Peekeeper Dog Diaper will be on its way!

I must admit I am in love with this product. I can not tell you what a chore it is to come home everyday and have to clean up after Buddy. Even though I put down puppy pads he did not always use them.

I am not the only satisfied customer either. Just go to the Peekeeper and read the glowing reviews. Thank you Peekeeper! My floors thank you too! If you place an order before April 15th you can get 10% off your one Peekeeper Dog Diaper. Just put in the discount code JB2B10 and start saving your floors too!

I was compensated for this post but my opinions are my own.