Turkish Dogs - particularly Anatolian Shepherd Dogs

Semavi Vasi Marlow, Early 2008 Update

2008-05-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Helmut's brother, Marlow, in Idaho is looking really good. The photo above, showing him in January at about 15 months, can be clicked to enlarge.

I got several photos of him back then when I was sick with the flu and I never got around to blogging them. So here are some of his pics from that time frame with a few showing Matty as well. Matty is from Cindy Bristow's 2005 litter, out of her Sabrina, by Clearlake Time on My Side (brindle). Marlow is from my October 2006 litter, sired by Old Glory Boone and out of Semavi Kadinsi Zor.

Matty (L) and Marlow (R)

Marlow surveying his Idaho wilderness.

Another view.

Doesn't he look handsome! :)

There's more news on Marlow's homefront now. Marlow's family has a baby boy! Coen was born earlier this month. Maybe we'll get to see some pics of Matty and Marlow with baby Coen in future months. :)

Farewell to Akin, the Magnificent

2008-05-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Karen wrote earlier this month that Akin has passed on although I didn't get to to it in my inbox until recently. What timing too, as his Johnny Johnston photo above, graces the May page of the Anatolian Calendar which A.S.D.I. Inc sells to raise funds for rescue.

Go see Karen's wonderful tribute to Akin at her blog.

Above is a baby picture of Midilli, a little Anatolian girl at Karen's place, who (currently 5 months) has big shoes to fill. Isn't she beautiful. :)

My heartfelt condolences to Karen and the family.

Family Dog, Helmut

2008-05-13T04:29:00.000-07:00

Geno sent some fun photos of Helmut from another ski trip that the family did recently. Above shows him taking up a lot of the back seat. He looks like he really enjoys road trips.

Having fun in the snow.

In the back of the truck with the boys, he looks so solemn.
Paolo, the young man hugging Helmut, is a friend of the family and he really enjoys Helmut. :)

Another nice, testosterone filled picture. Heehee :D

Here's Helmut after having had a bath. The look on his face is adorable.

What can I say? Boys will be boys!

Helmut on the road; snuggling time with Paolo.

L-R: Dom, Paolo and Helmut. Three handsome young guys!

Chaiten Volcano, Chile

2008-05-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Awesome pic of electrical activity above erupting Chaiten Volcano, Chile. Click pic to enlarge.
Some media sources are reporting that the plumes of smoke and ash are going 20 miles high into the atmosphere.

Apparently these are accepted estimates as Smithsonian reports the following as sources:

Based on observations of satellite imagery and pilot reports, the Buenos Aires VAAC reported that during 3-6 May ash plume rose to altitudes of 7-10.7 km (23,000-35,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE, E, W, and NE. News sources indicated that about 4,000-5,000 people were evacuated from the town of Chaitén and surrounding areas as the eruption continued. On 5 May, ONEMI (Oficina Nacional de Emergencia - Ministerio del Interior) reported that evacuations took place in Futaleufú, about 65 km ESE, where about 30 cm of ash accumulated. One elderly person died during the evacuation efforts. On 6 May, ONEMI and SERNAGEOMIN reported that the eruption became more forceful and generated a wider and darker gray ash plume to an estimated altitude of 30 km (98,400 ft) a.s.l. All remaining people in Chaitén were ordered to evacuate, as well as anyone within 50 km of the volcano.

A geology link with lots of info http://geology.com/events/chaiten-volcano/

Pretty Zoey

2008-05-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

Ruya's sister Zoey poses in a couple pics from her ranch home in Oregon. She looks so much like Ruya. And what a sweetheart she is too. Here she is with a friend (above) and they both look happy to me. :)

Here's another pic of her below, just looking beautiful.

You can see more pics of her on the label below "Zoey".

Critical Thinking, Mandatory Spay/Neuter, & Computer Security

2008-05-08T01:23:00.000-07:00

A little of everything in the above subject.

A few good articles that got my attention this week.
Thinking outside the box. Here's a read on that at Ishmael.org

After reading that; the concept of critical thinking and lucid comprehension of issues take focus again with the reader -- Yet, back to real life, we continue to witness the the most juvenile and fundamentalist/extreme thinking that is driving MSN proponents everywhere (mandatory spay & neuter). Including California's truly UNHealthy Pets Act. So focused on their own limited perception of reality that they do not see, for example, how this type of legislation adversely affects grassroots efforts at wildlife conservation, the production of food and natural fiber on the farm and issues of population genetics in our pets. Health issues in animals are simply written off as well with broad blanket assumptions, with these people blowing off the experts, as if they have degrees in veterinary science and realize the difference between long term prospective and short term retrospective data. Furthermore, these bills will NOT affect the popularly demonized, commercial mass pet producers, yet the MSN proponents continue to make disingenuous references in that direction. And the sheep continue to follow.

Somewhat related: Newsweek on PeTA and Euthanasia: http://www.newsweek.com/id/134549. Euthanization is actually the cop out of MSN proponents to address the shortcomings in their logic and both HSUS and PeTA encourage killing animals rather than rehoming them. Since they are so busy killing animals, analyzing the status of the problem as encouraged in the first link is simply beyond their acceptance. I highly recommend Nathan Winograd's book, Redemption - a good take on it is here. It does encourage facing the history and issues that have compounded the lack of progression on logical solutions.

Getting away from animals for a bit... and along the lines of perhaps encouraging a new way of thinking, see this article about some indigenous people of Mexico who "live forever", from which article I gained the idea that many of our modern foot and leg problems seen in our society could be benefited from taking some core ideas regarding letting our footwear be more natural, so that leg strength and flexibility are natural benefits.

And tonight, I just discovered a new blog which covers issues that affect everyone using the internet - see Spyware Sucks. I've found that many people continue ignore the serious implications of HTML in email - especially as malware gets more sophisticated and do not understand that surfing and reading web pages results in thousands of downloads to their computer. From another source, Scott Dunn writes about security, "Visitors to USAToday.com last Thursday got more than they bargained for. A hacked Flash advertisement meant that merely viewing a page in your browser was capable of triggering a malware attack on your PC. According to an alert on the security site Websense, the ad can take control of the browser without any user interaction at all."

I'm using Firefox as my principal browser with "NoScript" which stops scripts in their tracks and another extension "AdBlock" that blocks ads which can sometimes be malicious. The combination makes some busy pages download for reading quicker since I am not getting all that garbage and it makes pages look a little different too. For example, ubiquitous links such as 'google ads' just do not show up on my Firefox browsing. NoScript does allow me to choose which sites I trust as does AdBlock.

Italian Anatolian Blog

2008-05-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

Umberto, Nino's son, with some rascally puppies (in Italy).

Nino (in Italy) has started blogging! :)
I've added him to the Anatolian blogroll -- testing to see if it will "roll" if I use a translation link (probably won't but it might be handy for me anyway).
His blog has some pics and comments about his Anatolians. It is in Italian but machine translations from Italian are not nearly as bad as some. (Turkish machine translations are horrid!). ;)
See his blog here and use your favorite Italian to English translator. Here's one I use.

His current blog comment mentions Hakim (above) who is going to South Africa to help his new owner in the effort to protect flocks from predators and thereby assist in wildlife conservation. (here... for the translated Italian link)

Nino has the above handsome Anatolian, named Kartal, who was born on a goat farm in Texas. Kartal rated perfect hips normal elbows at maturity and will be a very important part of the future Anatolians in Europe and looks like Africa too. Kartal represents an infusion of new bloodlines in Europe. Kartal's registered name is Old Glory Kartal. :)

This is Ayri, the ~~mother~~ full sister of the mother of the litter (Frida). She is a first generation homebred of Nino's foundation stock.

Here is Hakan, a Kartal x Ayri son. Isn't he cute!

More pups! I love this expression! The rough coat is awesome!

And here's Umberto with one of the little guys.

Here is Nino's website.

Ah, Stress Relief!

2008-05-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

A Paint Shop Pro creation featuring two of my favorite games. (yeah, I did that PSP in a hurry and you can tell although I might just get around to fixing that)

Above, a Sims 2 family guy, playing Big Kahuna Reef 2 - Chain Reaction on his free gaming computer. (Sims 2 Free Time features new hobbies that Sims can have, including gaming! ...a sort of "infinite picture", game creations playing a game)

Recent days without much internet access, various stressy issues and an ailing family member have me turning to my very useful and portable laptop for communication aid (nextalk.net deaf relay), ways of keeping myself from going nuts or being utterly bored in quiet moments, and if I have a space of time with no interruptions, some momentary stress relief in the form of DVD movies or casual games. Beats TV to death, as I have never been one to just turn it on and veg.

Tonight, I learned of a study documenting that computer games give stress relief ...and it even comes with a slide show. Check out the title, I love it! "Study: Casual Video Games Demonstrate Ability to Relieve Stress, Improve Mood: Potential Clinical Significance Highlighted. First-of-Its-Kind 6-month Research Project Establishes Effects of Puzzle and Word Games on the Human Body and Mind" :)

Methodology

The study was conducted between October 2007 and April 2008 and included a total of 134 subjects. Thirty-one subjects served as members of the control group, tasked with surfing the Internet looking for journal articles. The experimental groups consisted of 31 subjects who played Bejeweled 2, 29 subjects who played Bookworm Adventures, and 36 subjects who played Peggle. The study included the collection of physical data (based on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurements) and psychological data (based on POMS (a profile of mood states pre- and post-activity) and electroencephalography (EEG) measurements) during a 5-minute baseline period and 15 minutes of game playing or (in the case of the control group) Internet surfing.

I haven't played the three games featured in the study but anyone that is curious can get them as free downloads from any number of places including the creators site, Pop Cap games. Once you have them, you can play them offline. The trials are usually for an hour but if you like to play longer, offline and not buy the game, you can try the Wild Coins method of game trialing and playing. The way it seems to work is that Wild Games gives you any game you want as a freebie game which you can play for up to a 24 hour period with periodic 20 minute breaks. If your break gets too long, then if you want to resume the game, you will need to insert virtual coins, called Wild Coins. Depending on the complexity of the game, the number of coins varies and can be four to six coins for the fancier games. The coins can be bought in different plans or even acquired by purchasing other goods from magazines to coffee and fashions and other things. Some games are completely free however, and I get a kick out of Crickler which you must be online to play.

I didn't know anything about Wild Coins until I got my "new to me" refurb Gateway notebook which included a download for games, "Gateway Games". My nephew clicked on it (after asking of course) and I was so impressed with the graphics in the game of Fate he was playing and how quickly he learned the game, I had to learn about the game system that Fate was offered on. It's cute. The little guy battles bad guys and has a little dog that reminds me of a small spotted Terrier. I haven't played it yet but it might be the first game of its genre that I try.... eventually.

Had to stick this Sims 2 video on. I wish I could hear Natasha Bedingfield sing in "Simlish" but the video is beautiful (a nicer high res version is on youtube and you have to select it on the rating meter that has the stars).

Yakkity Yak

2008-05-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Bring Your ~~Child~~ ~~Dog~~ err Yak to Work Day.
Yay, the pics have captions! -- but the interesting video does not.

Must be a fun place to work. :D
Wow, and it's May already.
Happy May Day.

NASRN on MySpace

2008-04-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Above, Ruya (L) with our foster Molly (R) after checking out the corral. They coming up to see if I have cookies and rubs for them. Molly is available to the right home.

Speaking of rescues...
National Anatolian Shepherd Rescue Network (NASRN) now has its own MySpace page. Go visit and if you have a myspace page, sign up as a friend! Kudos to Tammy for her NASRN rescue and networking efforts!

Tammy is working with a foster that needs a home. Meet Tramp, below!

Contact Tammy for more information about "Tramp" and other rescues.

Puppy on Stilts

2008-04-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

Sun, 20 April 2008 -- Thanks to etest and matthewc on Blogger help groups, I am finally able to post this! :)
Blogger to Yahoo FTP settings have recently had some sort of glitch -- etest successfully brainstormed a work around that is working for some of us in the same boat. It's working for me, at least for this posting.

It was about noon today (April 15th), Ruya and Coco were out near the corral -- and they started barking. James went to see what was going on and found that the mini horse mare had just had a foal in our loafing shed (an open sided barn). In the first few pics, you can see that her birthing fluids are still in parts of her coat and coloring her hind legs.

He snapped some pics and later after the owner of the mare had arrived, I shot some more. Such a cute baby!
Above, you can see Ruya (R) and Coco (L) in the background watching the new arrival. Most of this set of pics can be clicked to enlarge.

Mama mare is a first time mom and so she was adjusting to all the new things happening to her body. The cute little creature that had arrive less than an hour ago was already strongly imprinted to Mama!

Nuzzling the cutie pie.
Look! It's a puppy on stilts!

I've never seen as much of a beard on a little foal before!

Don't the splashes of white look interesting? Her sire also has asymmetrical white markings.
That splash on the rump looks like a bird flying to the left, or a bird on a perch with it's tail dangling down.

A different camera used for this pic and the next two.
The little filly's beard has been trimmed back a bit. Not quite so goatlike!

Our neighbor introduces his filly to the basic concepts of milking mama with his fingers leading the foal's muzzle and lips to the milk bar.

Mom had a ticklish belly and a full bag of milk -- all sensitive and she wasn't too sure about this fancy new suckling business. Nature usually gets it all worked out soon enough since foals are persistent. Foals sometimes walk around making smacking noises with their lips as they search for their targets! Cute!

New moms sometimes need a little encouragement to let baby nurse if she stamps her feet, squeals and or pushes the baby away due to feeling tender or ticklish. Baby's suckling reflexes in this case needed to be encouraged so we could get mom used to be nursed on while we were out there to help, or interfere. :) That colostrum is so important, so you know how people can get, trying to be sure that they observe that the baby and the new mama get some understanding of Equine Nursing 101. After foals get the hang of it and as they get bigger, they can get to be pretty rough at this, banging their muzzles against mom's tummy. Most moms quickly design a new lesson plan to circumvent that. :)

Just realized... Looks like the mare is almost leaning on James.

Incidently... When you're working with mini horses, you thank goodness for good knees and a strong back! (which is why James and I are partial to the full sized horses, lol)

You can see where the filly got her coloring from. :)
Dad had to be gated off in the paddock so that the mare could attend to her new duties without fussing about curious Dad. Dad seemed to be content if he could just watch. But any time the foal headed in his direction, Mom would nudge the foal away or stand, blocking the path.

More pics of the parents here...

Looking for Turkish Spike Collars?

2008-04-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

My favorite source of Turkish dog collars is Andrea, who has a site over at turkishdogcollars.com. As shown above, Andrea has more than spike collars available. There are leather collars with kilim accents (no two alike!) as well as heavy duty Turkish leather collars decorated with various accents. Not just collars; there are collectible or practical authentic goodies for people at her site, including traditional woolen cloths used in making Turkish flat bread (sofreh), carpets, contemporary carrying bags as well as authentic costumes from the region and surrounding areas (Silk Turkoman riding costumes, gorgeous!).

Over the years, she's been able to obtain small supplies and quite a variety of regional variations in Turkish spike collars including some examples of collars from Sivas, Aksaray, and Cappadocia. (see her site to see what is available)

Some varieties have hard, sharp spikes three inches long (or more!). Yikes. An old photo below of Aslan briefly modeling such a collar.

These collars make interesting wall hangings or are cool things to bring with you when educating people about what livestock guardian dogs are all about and sharing a little lore about some cultural heritage behind these pastoral dogs. People are unlikely to forget the collars after seeing them!

I don't recommend letting your dog freely wear these collars around people or around the house unless you're quite used to living with a mobile version of an iron maiden in your environment, or are just eccentric enough to enjoy to the thought of a Kato/Clouseau-like existence risking your valuable furnishings, your clothing and your walls when your sweet, loyal, affectionate dog is wearing such a collar and comes up to you for a cookie. :)

Kato vs Agent Clouseau

Too funny. Had to post the clip. haha!!

Software Telephone for the Deaf

2008-04-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

My old copy of NexTalk has been getting a lot of use in the past few weeks and suddenly it kept crashing or just truncating my phone sessions - requiring a reboot to resume a call. Ugh! So I decided to uninstall and clean out the registry and file folders of the program and then reinstall an upgrade. I went to download the program again and was happy to find that the newest version is designed so that it also works on Vista now and has a FAX option. Interesting. Anyway, with Vista capability, now I can install it on my (new to me) Gateway notebook which has Vista installed. :)

The link for NexTalk is here. This is a free program that enables a deaf person (who wants to use the computer interface) to call a person who can hear. An operator types text messages back to the deaf person, typing out whatever is being said at the hearing end. It works a lot like using a real time instant messenger. Thanks to all those wonderful relay operators out there that make these services possible. :D

Now here's a wonderful video with text, showing a sweet dog named Cowboy learning something new. :)

Helmut at June Mountain

2008-03-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

Helmut taking off with his family for a June Mountain (California) ski vacation this March.

He was a grinning California beach boy last month and a happy snow doggie a month later! :)

Helmut sporting his doggie backpack in the snow.

Enjoying a good run!

Gangway!!!!!

I asked Geno if he got bowled over but he said Helmut never bowls him over, he's so agile.
I'd probably still want to duck or something! eep!

These big dogs really love snow!!

Powder faced, Helmut.
I absolutely LOVE this pic!
Isn't he cute?! :D

Thanks Geno!

Catching a Breath. . .

2008-03-21T23:20:00.000-07:00

Taxes are done for the year, I hope. Whew.

Now, for one of the funniest news articles I've read in a long time! Doesn't it seem to be script for "The Simpsons" or "Police Squad!"?!

Now that put me in the mood for some...

P.S. Found some of the Police Squad! shows on YouTube! -- no captions... sigh :(

Khazu and Dylan at Amboy Crater

2008-03-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Above: Khazu (L) and Dylan (R) with Susan at Amboy Crater, Mojave National Preserve.

Happy update from Khazu and Dylan, who I last posted as Surprise Visit in 2006.

Khazu is Ruya's brother and Dylan is Zor's sister. Dylan is starting to slow down but Khazu is apparently ready to climb any mountain. Don't they look good?! There they are standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking access to Susan, and each looking in opposite directions. Nice guardian shot. :)

More pics below...

Dylan is ten years old in April. Over the years, she has loved the challenge of hiking, being with her people and Khazu, and she was strong and as sure footed as a goat. This trip was a bit rough on her due to the desert heat -- also perhaps arthritis has taken a toll... made the rough terrain a challenge this time.

No fun watching our beloved dogs grow old. :(

Khazu in the midst of desert sunflowers!

Khazu enjoying the terrain.
He was naughty once and took off but never went out of sight, and came back when he was tired and ready to.

I loved the update. Thank you Susan and Steve!

Entertainment Center for Ball Driven Dogs!

2008-03-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

Of course, most Anatolians will probably not be endlessly amused. :)

Abducted by a Flu

2008-03-08T01:32:00.000-08:00

Past couple of weeks have been rough ones with a most gawd awful flu, worse than any I've ever had in my life. Still out of breath a lot and coughing - symptoms that are unusual for me, but I'm slowing coming back to life and don't feel so much like I've been hit by a truck or as though I've just had another aortic dissection! :(

Molly is doing very well and fitting in with our girls. She and Coco are good playmates.

We made great progress on food. Molly didn't like Kirkland or Costco, nor Diamond's Chicken and Rice at all (these are all probably essentially the same formula by the same maker), but she snarfs up Pedigree Mealtime without any show of pickiness. So she's put on weight and looks really nice.

She's very bouncy and playful, sometimes more than I'd like! When she's excited, she'll dash at me and bounce her front paws playfully off my chest. Now I can't handle that since I have to lean on a walker to stay upright, but her joy is contagious and I don't scold. She is learning more self control and when she remembers herself, she's very gentle indeed. :)

She spends the nights in the Magnum kennel and is allowed out during the day. She is often so excited to be let out, she bounces around with her paws up against the kennel, standing on her hind feet and dancing around. oi! So to start getting a handle on that, I would just turn and look away from her until she put paws back on the ground, then I unlatch the kennel door and let her out. She quickly realized that waiting with feet on the ground gets her the freedom she wants. Then I upped the ante... she would have to sit with her butt on the ground for a few seconds befor she got her freedom. She's a quick study and has this figured out now. I'm pleased. :)

The moment she gets out, she politely sniffs Ruya and Coco, then sprints out to go pee and make a poop. At some point, her body language invites Coco to chase and play. And then they are off! LOL. Ruya sometimes joins them but Ruya tends to stick near me if I seem to need her help. What a sweetie she is.

Now, take a look at the clipper cut pattern on Molly's back.

Isn't that odd? Clipper tracks are still fairly visible right along the spine.

Anyway, as you can see, she is filling out and looks quite nice. :)
My Anatolians are usually kept about this trim so there is a distinct waistline right behind the rib cage.

While being sick has been no fun, I am so glad that the dogs are always such good company. I sometimes would get outside for just a short bit before the chills would knock me down again, and Ruya would sit on the glider with me and snuggle up good and close. :)

On other miscellanea, just say no to the Chinese menu of cooked dog paws and no to their hackers too. Better news is that the mass killing of dogs that was scheduled for dogs of Kashmir, India has been "suspended". I'm skeptical about how they would know which dogs are rabid as rabies usually has to be tested in a lab, using the decapitated head of the animal in question. We have rescue groups in the USA that import pets to be sold from shelters, and occasionally these imported animals are vectors for disease untypical in the American stray dog population, including some dogs that are actually rabid - so obviously it is not so easy to tell. :(

Nathan Winograd Chat Transcript at PetHobbyist.com

2008-02-26T03:02:00.000-08:00

Have you read "Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America" yet?

The more you know, the better your understanding of WHY AB 1634 and similar legislation does not work.

The chat took place, Feb 1, 2008
The transcript is available now.
Thank you Rescue Network Org! (part of PetHobbyist.com)

Please go to the site to read the whole thing... :)

Nathan Winograd
Author of "Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America"
February 1, 2008 (chat)

PHKeeper: On behalf of Jeff Barringer and all of us at RescueNetwork.org, I sincerely wish to thank Nathan Winograd for being our part of our 10th annual Chat Week! Nathan Winograd's 2007 book "Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America" set off a firestorm of controversy -- and inspired an army of animal lovers across the country, calling for serious reform of the American shelter system and an end to the use of killing as a tool of animal population control.

Nathan is here this evening to help us understand exactly what the No Kill Revolution is and how you can look at groundspring efforts to reform your community into No Kill. If you have a question for Nathan, please type a "?" in the room. You will be called on in order. Please do not speak openly in the room. Do not private message the hosts or our guest. Nathan when you have completed your answer, please type GA so we know to Go Ahead. Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, furkids of all ages, I present Nathan Winograd.

continued at the site---

No on California AB 1634
"California ~~Healthy~~ Pets Act"
Choosing a 'feel good' perky name for a bill perpetuates the GRAND deception

It's the Age of Discovery (or something)

2008-02-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

. . . Because people who love you sometimes want to use your laptop computer to make use of real or imagined, undocumented but desirable features. Two videos below with the second one being loosely applied to laptop computer technology that doesn't exist (yet) -

Tech Support in the Middle Ages
(things haven't changed much!)
Video with English subtitles.
If you haven't seen this one before, be sure to watch it to the end. ;)

A Cell Phone that does everything!
(ewwwww...)
No captions on this one but it's pretty self-explanatory.

Anatolians and Kids, Beaches & Skateboards and Grins!

2008-02-17T01:36:00.000-08:00

L-R: Dom, Helmut in rabbit ears and Geno.

Helmut has a goofy grin in every photo so the top one really cracked me up. Everyone did a Helmut grin and Dom (the handsome young man on the bike above) gave Helmut ye ol' rabbit ears. Boys! LOL B)

Helmut left us at the end of last year and went to live his family in Huntington Beach, California. He seems to have become one of the Beach Boys. I read that he is doing quite well there and has a very active and social life!

Geno writes, "He goes to the beach [is not fazed by the surf], goes to the wildlife preserve, down bike and dirt paths, to soccer/baseball parks, all around our neighborhood."

Wherever he goes he's the belle of the ball as all sorts of folks want to know what type of dog he is and pet him. Sometimes I have to avoid eye contact w/folks so we can get to where we're going.

Big dogs seem to respect and play with him, some little dogs nip at him so I'm keeping him away from little dogs for a while now. I don't want him being nipped at by little insecure animals (jack russels are ornery and most white fluffy things too). He's not growled or barked since I've had him. His disposition has always been very happy and mellow and more than once person have commentted on his positive aura and energy.

People quite honestly seem to love him. Domenic of course loves him and he is showing very good manners and displaying very few social climbing signs. Domenic can walk him on a leash w/o issue already even at a beach filled with off-leash dogs. I take him eveywhere I can.

He seems to mostly ignore my cats and others on the block. All my neighbors think he's great. He and Dom are on the way to a very close bond. He lets Dom walk him and does not pull when Dom is holding his leash or collar. He's so even keeled. He really seems to love smelling all the flowers in my backyard.

Of course, he's been a little naughty. I read that he did some experiments on Christmas ornaments, and made a few mistakes (probably on purpose) to see if the rules were changing. But we're ready for this stuff and we're all hoping for the best.

Helmut provides dog power for skateboarding. Please note the grin on the silly dog's face! I like the play of light on his feathered tail.

More skateboarding. You can't see it, but I'm sure Helmut is grinning!

Now, here's Helmut grinning in front of Dom and his mom, Lisa.
Wave back, Dom is waving!

Okay here is Helmut and Dom, looking pretty natural together. Of course, you notice I didn't even mention a goofy grin here.

Now here are three boys, all of them looking so handsome! That's Dom, Helmut and Dom's friend, Paolo.

Now here's the grinning California Beach Boy himself.

Helmut has always been such a goofy, sweet, and happy boy. He is 15 months now, getting into his 'teen' period, so we'll be keeping tabs and watching out for him and reminding him to be good! Some of the last pics I have of him, from just before he left, are here.

Meanwhile, his sister Coco and older half sister Ruya, have been helping with our visitor Molly.
Wonderful to see such great temperaments!

BTW, I have pics of Helmut's brother Marlow in Idaho and still haven't gotten around to posting them yet! Hang in there!

Meet Molly!

2008-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

Meet Molly :D

A few days ago, Lynn Howe of New Hope Animal Foundation sent an email to let me know there was a possible Anatolian in a Placer County Shelter.
James and I went to look at the dog and decided to foster her.

I decided to call her "Molly" the first night we had her for no particular reason but it is pleasant enough and she responds to it. I have another page right here, with other details and photos specific to Molly. Even if you're not looking for a rescue, be sure to check out 2- Feb 15, scroll down the page and see Molly's haircut!

I'm not certain what breed she is. She is around 26-27 inches high. Definitely appears to be purebred LGD and her character and behavior is right on the money.

Her first day or so after arrival, was spent in the Magnum kennel, getting handled and getting to meet my Anatolians. After that, we let her start mingling and free ranging in the yard. She seemed happy to be cagefree after being in the shelter for what I understand was two weeks. She was walking around, eating grass, checkout scents, curling up and snoozing in the grass. She picked out spots where she could watch activities going on around her; places where she would snooze throughout the day. She hasn't done anything hyper yet and I have yet to see her run to check anything out. This could also be due to social respect to the two Anatolians she is with. LGDs don't usually like strange dogs tearing around their property. So maybe in time she will feel comfortable in that respect.

She has however taken quite happily to the evening routine of sleeping in the Magnum kennel. She beds down for the night in the straw of the big doghouse at around dusk.

Here are some pics I got of her on Friday with Anatolians, Ruya and Coco.

Molly - left front.
Headless sisters- Coco, right. Ruya, behind Molly's tail.

Trio responding to noise by suddenly sprouting heads.

Molly watching minihorses come into the corral next to the red slatted fence.

Her first day of freedom was also Molly's first chance to meet the miniature horses through the fencing. They were down in the other field but when the horses heard me talking to Molly, they came into the corral. That's when Molly raised her head - picture above.

The stallion is bold and came up to the fence to peer into the yard. I like that Molly didn't over stimulate upon seeing minihorses (and a chicken that followed them). Another transient dog we had here sometimes went berserko upon seeing horses. :o

Molly watching the mini-stallion at the gate.

Coco and Ruya both dropped what they were doing by the house, and came over to monitor how Molly reacted to meeting the stallion through the gate. Coco, above pic, is closer to Molly. Molly seems to be more comfortable with Coco at close range, than she is with Ruya. Not sure why, although Ruya is quite a bit bigger. Ruya is the alpha of my pack as well, but she rules with the benevolent firmness that her great granddam always had, never throwing her weight around.

The Anatolians are a couple inches taller at the shoulders.
Molly is full grown.
Here, Ruya and Coco watch carefully.

Closeup - Almost nose-to-nose with Mr. Stud Muffin.

This stallion, btw, has a perverse sense of humor sometimes. He occasionally tries to get a rise out of the dogs by jiggling the gate with his nose, scratching his butt on the fence, or by laying down with his back against the fencing, just inches from the dogs and facing the other way. If you ask me... that is truly evil behavior from a warped and capable mind! If dogs react, he tends to stand just the other side of the fence and stoically studies the dogs as if he were watching TV. You've probably seen it! It's the same way some cats will sit just inches from a fence and watch dogs go ballistic. ;)

Since my crew have gotten a lecture or two about indulging and entertaining this evil horse in this manner over the past year, Ruya and Coco are wise to this now and usually ignore him. (once in a while, they just can't stand it any more, I can hardly blame them)

So it was interesting to watch Molly try to figure him out. I think Molly got her cues from the Anatolians.

Other pics.....

Rear to front- Ruya, Coco & Molly.
You can kinda see it, but Molly's coat has a really bad haircut along the topline and on this side of her body.

Trio

Molly

Coco- 16 months.

Coco - she went through another collar. This one is chewed up but still serviceable.

Ruya - 5 years old. She's wearing Sabah's collar. Sabah was her great granddam.

I need to get another batch of martingale collars eventually!

Anyway, if you have contacts that might be interested in Molly. Let me know. Be sure to read all of Molly's pages before inquiring.

Mandatory Spay & Neuter in L.A. - Dragon or a Thousand Snakes in the Grass

2008-02-04T04:43:00.000-08:00

Short on time right now, short and sweet, just a few links...

L.A. City voted on mandatory spay and neuter (MSN) of 4 month old cats and dogs on Friday without any critical analysis or study.

And... Boks entered a little poll on his blog.

As of the time I did the poll screen capture at the left:

Votes - 621 (96%) votes against MSN.
24 (3%) votes in support.

Above,the progress the last time I looked at it, Monday morning.

Blue Dog State (blog) - doesn't mince words. !!oh mama!!

Don't miss:
A thousand snakes in the grass. By Margaret Anne Cleek

"Better the dragon you see than a thousand snakes in the grass."

I think more people are waking up.

See my other posts on Animal_control

No on California AB 1634
"California ~~Healthy~~ Pets Act"
Choosing a 'feel good' perky name for a bill perpetuates the GRAND deception

"Vick Pit" Leo Becomes a Therapy Dog

2008-02-01T00:05:00.000-08:00

Leo

Some nice news on one of Vick's former pit doggies at Mercury News. (EDIT: I originally posted a link directly to the article but it is doing some Mercury News related odd login/redirect and page failure thing! --so here's the full text followed by the original URL)

Kids, elders befriend a Vick fighting dog
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News
Article Launched: 01/31/2008 01:42:57 AM PST

[picture of Leo above]Caption:
Leo, one of the 50 pit bulls confiscated from former NFL star Michael Vick,... ( Stephanie Lam )

He faced a life of fighting, a cruel death by hanging or drowning if he couldn't make it in the pit.

Now he brings smiles to children, tears of joy to seniors.

Leo, one of 50 pit bulls confiscated from former NFL star Michael Vick's dog fighting kennel, has a new leash on life, thanks to a South Bay rescue group.

He also has a new job: He's been transformed into a therapy dog. Instead of risking his life in a dog fight, he will help fight the fear and loneliness of children and seniors in hospitals and convalescent homes.

"He'll put his paws on the bed and give them the soft warm 'love me' eyes," said Marthina McClay, a dog trainer and founder of Our Pack, Inc., who has worked with Leo since Dec. 16. "That's why he's such a good therapy dog. He's very polite."

When Leo arrived in the Bay Area, he had scars behind his ears and showed signs that handlers at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia were starting to condition the pit bull terrier for fights, McClay said.

"He was starting to fight or had done some fighting but it hadn't gone on long enough that he was beyond repair," she said. "Now he's fine and loves to play with other dogs."

Leo shares toy bones with McClay's female pit bull, Hailey, and gives a wide berth to her Chihuahua. He greets visitors with a wagging tail and piercing brown eyes. But there is no jumping up on anyone. This dog sits down and watches you to see what comes next.

"He's a fabulous dog," McClay said. "A real sweetheart."

After authorities seized dozens of dogs from Vick's property in Virginia, the animals were kept in shelters while investigators put together their case. A court-appointed attorney for the dogs decided which rescue groups could take them. Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls or BAD RAP, an Oakland-based pit bull rescue group, helped with the evaluations and drove 13 of the dogs to the Bay Area.

Pack got one of the dogs, Leo, and BAD RAP placed the rest in foster homes.

Vick, former star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, is serving 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to a dog-fighting conspiracy.

Dogs bought for fighting went through a testing process; if they didn't perform well, they were drowned, electrocuted or hanged at Bad Newz Kennel.

Even though he has minor scarring from fights, Leo likely would have faced one of those violent deaths, McClay said.

"He just wants to play," McClay said as Leo snored on her couch.

McClay and others said the Vick dog-fighting case is remarkable because the dogs were not euthanized.

"People stood up and said, 'Wait a minute,' " she said.

What the rehabilitated dogs are showing now "is their core temperament," McClay said. "Their hallmark is people-pleasing. Otherwise, Michael Vick couldn't have done what he did.

"The dogs aren't criminals. The humans who abuse them are the criminals."

IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
For more information on pit bulls, dog training and Our Pack, Inc., see the Web site at www.ourpack.org.
______________
Contact Linda Goldston at lgoldston@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5862.

ORIGINAL MERCURY NEWS URL- http://www.mercurynews.com/lifeandstyleheadlines/ci_8126693

Breed Specific Legislation is WRONG!

And time for some Deaf silliness :)
No captions on this one, but it's all quite clear!

Behavior, Training, Rescued Dogs, Neglect and the Abuse Excuse

2008-01-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

A Nov 2006 pic of Helmut enjoying a stuffed sock with a hole in it.
Doesn't he look cuddly? :)

Cute training joke! :D See Savage Chickens: Dog Grooming Cartoon
(I'm so behind on Savage Chickens. Must catch up eventually!) :p

In a previous posting, I wrote about my service dog experiences, which probably offers a little bit of background in some of the broader scope of my interest in canine behavior and training. I'm always interested in how people train their dogs and why some people have the behavior problems in dogs that they do and why others are perhaps more successful.

Perception and communication are sometimes among the central issues.

Keep perception and communication in mind when you check out the articles I link to here.

This first one which has been in my blog bookmarks for about a year, regards training and raising dogs (and children!) by Julia V. McDonough who has worked with Doberman rescue and is a must read!
THE ABUSE EXCUSE J McL.pdf (application/pdf Object)

To learn a little more about Julia's credentials, go here. Below is a teaser from that page...

Hired in 1998 by Doberman Rescue Unlimited, Inc, a 501(c)3 organization, Julia singlehandedly set to work developing an in-house training and behavioral rehab program for the dogs in DRU's care. Today, her "DRU University" program is held up as the gold standard of shelter dog training programs by knowledgable balanced trainers and concerned shelter workers around the country. Thanks to Julia's balanced, results-oriented approach, hundreds of dogs deemed "unadoptable" by other trainers and shelters have gone on to live peaceful and productive lives with adopters who have been educated to a much higher, more dog-savvy standard.

She has her own website where she talks about her training philosophy. There is a page with several of her articles -- including the one referenced above (Abuse Excuse). I have some favorites! See the one called "False Positives" (on training philosophies), another "The Prong Collar: Fact vs Fiction" and especially this one "Dead Dogs Walking" (on evaluation tests that are used in shelters). I have previously written in other dog related forums, similar opinions on the these same three subjects, but not nearly as eloquently as Julia has. To see all the articles, go here.

Edit 06-Feb-2008: Julia comments with a link to updated info on Julia's activities and accomplishments here. Thanks Julia! :)

::: Related - I have a long running page on Prong Collars.