Happy birthday to my buddy Porter, who is six today.

Luckily, this was a pretty uneventful year for my little guy. There was a little “snowdog” action during the snow storm, but he didn’t seem to mind that I had to shovel it all.

Porter’s weight is still down, and Sedagive? took him for a few walks before the weather got too hot. He’s made a lot of new friends this year, and he’s been happy to have more people to cuddle with on the couch.

If you’re thinking about getting a four-legged pal of your own, please consider adopting instead of buying one. Porter was adopted from Homeward Trails, and there are many great adoption agencies all over the country. Please consider rescuing a pup and giving them a forever home.

Happy birthday, Porter!

My “middle” dog Rosie turned five years old today. I can’t believe that so much time has passed. I adopted Rosie when I first moved back to Virginia. A lot of things have happened, and a lot of things have changed. There are some things that stayed the same, too — like Rosie wiggling in between all the other dogs to get a “first pet,” and rolling onto her back excitedly and thrusting her legs in the air before screaming “TOUCHDOWN!”

Happy birthday, little one. I’ll always remember you as a spotted potato pup in my hand.

Little Pearl joined my house three years ago today. I got her from the Washington Animal Rescue League, and they do fantastic work placing friendly critters into happy homes. If you are looking for an animal companion, please consider WARL (or any other adoption agency) before thinking about buying a pet.

I can’t believe it’s been three years. :)

Happy birthday to my dog Pearl, who is three years old today. She survived the terrible twos and has turned out to be quite a nice young lady.

Pearl’s big achievement this year was graduating from her crate. I used to have to put her in her crate when I left the house because she kept chewing things. She still “punishes” me every now and then, but I’ve trained her and she’s trained me. We’ve negotiated.

Pearl’s other big event was breaking her left pinkie toe. This didn’t slow her down one bit, especially after she chewed off and partially ate her plastic splint.

Here are some pictures of Pearl from the last year.
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Almost a year later, my dogs are still eating poop. Some times it’s been better than others — but it got to the point that I was ready to try another topical treatment.

Adolph’s Unseasoned Meat Tenderizer has popular reputation for cutting down on dogs eating feces. The usage is similar to the Alpar Lab’s For-Bid powder: sprinkle some on your dog’s food and it is supposed to make their droppings taste awful. Yes, I realize this is an odd concept; shouldn’t it already taste bad?

At $20 shipped via Amazon Prime, Adolph’s meat tenderizer was at least half as expensive as an equivalent amount of For-Bid. But would it work?
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Here’s the raw truth. My dog Pearl eats poop. I’ve tried adding stuff to the dog’s food to make their bombs taste worse (?) and that didn’t work. There’s a new plan of attack coming online soon, but in the meantime we have to deal with the only thing worse than a dog eating poop: the gas and belching that accompanies it.

Enter the International Veterinary Sciences Anti-Gas pill for dogs. Purchased from Wal-Mart, the pill

is a pleasant tasting tablet specially formulated to promote healthy digestion and curb unpleasant gassy odors.

Does the product live up to it’s claim? Let’s break down the above sentence one bit at a time.
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My youngest dog Pearl has always been a bit of a klutz. I think part of it has to due with her mixed breeds (Akita and Border Collie), and part of it has to be due to her odd position within the house pack. Both sides of her heritage tend to be super-active, which leads to adventurous chewing when she is bored. While she is the youngest in the house, she is more assertive than Porter, the oldest. This leads to some interesting romps between the two of them as they half-play half-argue their way into some sort of social hierarchy.

All of that can lead to exciting times, like when Pearl inexplicably broke a toe on her left front paw last Friday.
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Rosie, taken on October 17, 2009.

I adopted Rosie four years ago today. My ex-girlfriend and I started looking for a second dog when we realized that Porter (a year old back then) needed even more playtime than we could provide. Just like with Porter (and eventually, Pearl), I put Rosie through a personality test. It was important to me to find a dog that fit my desire for a companion, and also a dog that fit fairly close to Porter’s dominance level. I wanted a pup that was inquisitive, but not too independent. Snuggly, but not too needy. Playful, but not aggressive. Rosie fit the bill down to the last line, and sealed the deal when she leapt fearlessly off of a planter box towards my outstretched arms.

To my surprise, it was much easier to raise a second dog with Porter providing a good example. He was top dog for about Rosie was about six months or so, when she finally outgrew him and realized she could get to things he couldn’t:

I’d like to encourage anyone looking for a companion dog to consult their regional rescue agencies first. We got Rosie from SHARE, and I don’t think they are active any more. However, Homeward Trails and the Washington Animal Rescue League are both great folks to deal with if you live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US.

I can’t believe it’s been five years since I adopted Porter from Homeward Trails.

He has been a wonderful companion all of this time. As I added another dog (and then another), he gracefully and gradually slid lower and lower the pack’s totem pole. As the most omega of omega dogs, he is super pleasant and accommodating to everyone. Even though it makes me sad from time to time when Pearl gives him the occasional dick-bite, he is the most gentle dog I have ever been around.

Sometimes the topic of “which dog would you save first in a fire” comes up, and I immediately answer “Porter,” every time. He’s my number one hombre, and besides, he couldn’t really save himself. Rosie and Pearl would build a fire engine out of their water dish, some paracord, and a pack of zip ties.

I am so glad I adopted him, and highly encourage anyone who is thinking about a dog to please please please adopt one and not buy a dog from a breeder. There are so many wonderful companions out there. Porter and his littermates were discarded hunting dog puppies, and if no one adopted them they would have been put down.

I have three dogs that I love very much. I love them so much that I forgive them when they puke up bird guts on the carpet, or decide that perhaps eating poop wasn’t a great idea after all. As such, I use a lot of carpet cleaning products to keep my carpet as clean as possible.

I used to love Spot Shot, a product made by WD-40. It worked great by itself on simple stains, or in conjunction with my steam cleaner on hard stains, like blood or diarrhea. As I burned through my supply purchased at Costco, I started to get worried. I couldn’t find the three-can pack any more, and resorted to buying one can at a time at Target.

And then Target stopped carrying it.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a can, but when I returned for another, guess what?

Wal-Mart was out of stock.

Oh shit.

In desperation I bought a smaller-sized can of it at my regional grocery store — at the same price as the bigger can. Yes, I love you Spot Shot, but not at the expense of searching all over town and then buying a small can at over $6.

I started looking for a replacement, and was excited to see Amazon.com carried a new version that came in a 22 ounce bottle. I placed my order and waited anxiously, hoping my last can would hold out before reinforcements arrived.
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