Party Puppy!



Lottie Moon attended her first birthday party on Saturday.  Although it was actually a party in honor of Zeb the briard’s third birthday, since Lottie was estimated by the shelter to be born around April 14, I kinda like to think of it as a party for her, too.  There was even doggie birthday cake.













I believe we counted approximately ten dogs in attendance.  I say “approximately” because they moved a lot.  A confirmed head count proved too difficult.  Of all my dogs, Lottie Moon is the only one who enjoys the company of dogs not in our pack, so she was the one chosen to attend the party.  Plus, I knew that having that many dogs in a small house who don’t know each other and 2 of them briards and two of them Jack Russell terriers would be cause for lots and lots of dog stress.  Since Lottie can’t see or hear, she would be much more blissfully ignorant of the stress than some of my other dogs.  So Lottie was the lucky one who got to be the party girl.

  

The girl can rock a hat, can't she?!



Daque and Kaylee, party guests, lovin' the hats!



New love:  Talis



She seemed to have fun.  For one thing, there was cake, and my girl loves her treats!  For another, there were lots of new dogs and people to meet, and she glommed on to a new friend, Talis the yellow Labrador retriever.  He is a giant dog, and very handsome, and Lottie chose him as her new best friend.  He was quite tolerant. 

     

I tried to get a photo of Lottie eating
cake, but she was too quick.  All gone!



Disability?

Despite all the dire warnings I received prior to Lottie’s adoption, I haven’t had too many issues with caring for a deaf dogs.  I was warned by a few that it would be all-consuming and difficult to train and live with a deaf dog, yet I find that I rarely even remember that she IS deaf, much less sight-impaired.  I forget.  I talk to her just like I do all my other dogs, I say “sit” when I touch-cue her to sit, I even talk to her in the happy, higher-pitch  dog voice that makes all my dogs wiggle with joy.  And when I talk to her in that voice, and smile at her, she wiggles with joy just like all the others.  My feeling is that we humans don’t fully understand subtle energy, and senses, and that there is more to “hearing” and “seeing” than we realize.  So because she can’t hear and see in the same way that I do, maybe she hears and sees in a different way.  Maybe she can detect my intent, even if she can’t audibly or visually see.  If I feel joy, I’d like to believe that she can feel my joy, and share it, even though she cannot hear my voice or see my face in the traditional way.



There is only one thing that is annoying with her deafness.  Well, maybe two.  The first is that I can’t call her.  Most of the time, that doesn’t matter, because she is always by my side, even in the back yard.  The problem comes in at the dog park.  We go on my lunch break, so my time is limited.  When our time is up and it’s time to go back to work,  I really need to go back to work.  But the dog park is the one place that Lottie is NOT at my side.  I’ve often wondered if other people in the park wonder if she is my dog when I chase her down and leash her to lead her out, because she completely ignores me and acts like I’m not even there.  She is either visiting with other people, or other dogs, or chasing her invisible friends, or sometimes chasing my other dogs, but regardless, she wants nothing to do with me.  Kinda funny because she is so attentive and loving all the time she is NOT at the dog park!  When it is time to leave, I have to go get her.  And the park is a big one.  So today I decided I need to get her to pay attention to ME in the park.  Its okay to go visit friends, but please don’t forget about me altogether!  I’ve decided to bring treats next time, and give her a treat every time she comes near me.  I’m hoping that will change her park orientation back in my direction a bit.

At the gate of the park, ready to run!

Frisbee! With Tango and Pascha

 



My girl likes her some tug!





The only other time I struggle with her deafness is when she is in the back cargo area of the Jeep, and I’m driving down the road, and she decides she wants to go do something else, something else outside of this Jeep!  So she starts barking, and shredding and ripping her blanket.  And I can’t say, “That’s enough!” like I would with any other dog.  But I had an idea for that, too.  I bought a water pistol.  I keep it filled and next to my seat.  When she barks or digs or rips in the back of the car, I squirt her with water from the front seat.  So far, so good.  She stops and looks around, like “What the . . . ?”  And then she is quiet.  It’s working.

Lovely, Dark and Deep

Tango went on Saturday to take his Therapy Dogs International (TDI) test. TDI is a certification issued to dogs that pass a sort of temperament/obedience test, which gives them access to nursing homes and hospitals for therapy visits.  Most homes and hospitals in my experience do not require that dogs are certified by TDI to come in and visit with patients, and I’m not a fan of the organization, but I need Tango to pass his TDI as a part of his requirement for his Honor Scout badge with Dogs Scouts of America, which IS an organization of which I am a big fan!  (for info on Dog Scouts, go to http://www.dogscouts.org/ ).  So, I loaded the gang in the car and we drove to Columbus for Tango’s test.

T

Tango the Wonder Dog,
after passing his TDI.

ango passed (yea Tango!), and while I was there, I asked about possible future certification for Lottie Moon.  I had just heard an ugly rumor that TDI will not certify deaf dogs.  Turns out, the ugly rumor is true.  One more reason to dislike the TDI organization.  As I said, a therapy dog does not really need a TDI certification, or any certification, to go and do therapy work, but I would have liked to get the title for Lottie, because it is a recognized achievement in the dog world, and I want to showcase the abilities of deaf and blind dogs like Lottie.  There are many other organizations, it turns out, that will certify deaf dogs for therapy work, so we will have to pursue another route.  Maybe one day Lottie will be able to get TDI to rethink their prejudice against the handicapped!

  So after the test, I stopped at the park to let the dogs run.  A party in Tango’s honor.  It was Lottie’s first time at Daree Fields, which is one of our favorite park walks.The woods there are lovely, and a couple of trips around the path and boardwalks deliver tired pups back to the car.  The only problem for Lottie, however, is that the woods are not fenced, so she must stay on leash.  I know the poor girl was frustrated, with four of her best friends tearing around off leash, darting here and there like squirrels in a rush, all the while she was confined to walking at my pace.  But she did seem to enjoy the excitement, and the wonderful smells of spring dampness, fresh greens and new flowers, and old and new wood mixing with the sun and the dewy ground.