Dog Stories | Dog Spelled Forward

He is Buddha, see him ROAR

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: May 5, 2010

The Best Dog. Ever.

I am home sick and having a hard time making progress on the next chapter of the Real Man’s Guide to Dog Training.

So, here’s something to tide you over. Shauna Stewart of Fido and Wino is running a series on rescue owners and their dogs. It’s been a great series so far and guess who’s featured right now? That’s right, the best dog in the world.

Hope to “see” you with some new stuff Friday.

Posted in Dog Stories | 8 Comments

Letter From A Rescue: Annie

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: February 18, 2010

Annie needs a home

Older dogs in shelters and rescues tend to get a raw deal. Many adopters have an idyllic vision of getting a puppy and shaping him or her into their vision of a perfect dog — not realizing how little input they have after all. Many are afraid of bringing home an adult dog because they don’t know anything about the dog’s past, making an older dog not an option. The fact is, adopting an older dog can be very rewarding and as far as behavior goes, not really a risk at all. An adult dog’s personality, at least after settling into a new home, is a known quantity.

Annie is an (estimated) eight year old shepherd mix. Her owner was killed in a motorcycle accident. After the accident, in the confusion at her home, Annie panicked and ran away. She lived outdoors on her own in the area for a year before she was finally trapped: emaciated and in poor shape. All along she had been visiting her home, looking for her human.

When she was finally captured she landed in a shelter, where she lived for a year without finding a home. She was on the euthanasia list when Pets Alive rescued her. Annie takes a while to warm up to people (who could blame her?) but once she does she is a complete sweetheart. She would do best in a home where she is the only dog.

If you can’t take Annie in you can help Annie and Pets Alive with a sponsorship. The work a sanctuary like Pets Alive does is not cheap – they are essentially taking in the cases that many shelters would give up on because they don’t have the resources. Cases like Annie.

Posted in Dog Stories | 15 Comments

Weekend Update January 22, 2010

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: January 22, 2010

It's the weekend update! The weekend update!

Another week in the can folks. So far 2010 is looking like a bunch more of 2009, but hopefully we’ll get to a new and better year soon.

The New York Times has an online-only feature called “Home Fires” that periodically prints letters and essays from U.S. military war veterans. Being a (peace time only) veteran myself, it’s always been high on my reading list. But on Sunday I found the letter from regular contributor Michael Jernigan especially fascinating. Mike lost his sight in Iraq and he has written some very poignant and touching entries about his struggles. This week he wrote about how important his guide dog, Brittani has been to him.

Last Wednesday, in the shadow of the Haiti disaster, what was the most read article on the BBC’s website? A dog that only understood Polish. The NY Times “Idea of the Day” discussed this briefly on Monday. There’s a link to the original blog post that pointed out the phenomenon, some very interesting discussion in the comments — and of course video about the dog.

They say the secret to getting web traffic is a good headline. I saw this, said “No, duh!” to myself and clicked. I guess it worked.

And last but not least, Daryn Kagan brings us an oldie but a goodie.

Have a good weekend. That’s an order.

Also posted in News, Videos | 4 Comments

Puppy Diaries: puppies are hard work and dogs are too!

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: January 21, 2010

Which is more work, a puppy or a baby? Tough call.

The puppy diaries finally returned last week, with another great discussion on responsible dog ownership.

A puppy is hard work. Ms. Abramson’s friend Dana says “The first week I felt I had adopted a human infant…” I remember feeling that way with Caffeine — except I swear my son was easier. There’s housetraining, socialization, bite inhibition, adequate exercise and of course, those vet bills! And people give puppies as gifts?

A fully grown dog is a bit easier — but frankly if you’re doing it right, they’re a bit of work too. The exercise requirement doesn’t really go away. If you slacked off on your training, a few “cute” behaviors become an outright nuisance. And those vet bills certainly don’t go away!

The Puppy Diaries series started last July. I hope there are many more entries coming before the Times wraps it up.

The NY Times has done a great job the past few years of embracing “new media” and the Puppy Diaries have been no exception. Look at the great photos and videos they have uploaded to flickr:

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Posted in Dog Stories | 9 Comments

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009 Update – and post #100!

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 29, 2009

Mmmmmmmmmm. Turkey.

This is post #100 on the Dog Spelled Forward blog. I probably find this fact more interesting than you do. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to read my iScribblings, and also remind you of the ways you can subscribe to them over there on the right.

It is, of course, Thanksgiving Weekend. A time to reflect on the wonderful bounty and prosperity we (those of us with the time and money to write or read blogs) have here in the United States. I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for my family of people, dogs and birds. So I’ll stop there.

For a few people it’s also time for American Football (bleh) and/or shopping (double bleh.) Hope you had fun if that’s your thing. I did do some shopping online from the comfort of my laptop to make my contribution to the economy.

It was a slow news week for pets. I saw a lot of the same stories, and many of them were more on the depressing side. I’m just going to leave you with story that demonstrates how dogs contribute to our consumer economy too.

Here’s a nice interview and demo with fellow IAABC member (and CPDT) Bob Hammesfahr:

I also want to point one change to the site. I have added Disqus as the new commenting system for DSF. Disqus is used on several popular blogs and allows you to set up your own avatar for your comments, as well as publish your comments on Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo, and many other social networking sites. I’m hoping this helps expand the conversations here to other sites far and wide. Take a look and leave a comment!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Also posted in Fun, News | 1 Comment

Weekend Update: November 21, 2009

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 21, 2009

Happy Almost Thanksgiving! I hope you have some great plans for the long weekend and enjoy seeing your family (dogs included) and have a huge coma-inducing meal.

I think we all agree that dogs deserve great holiday treats too, and here is a budding young entrepreneur with a solution. Christian Liendo has developed a new dog-friendly ice cream and I hope he gets some funding to bring it to market soon.

Here is a wonderful story about a woman who has done amazing things to overcome being blind, including helping others bond with guide dogs:

Rats are being clicker-trained to safely detect landmines. This is a great story about animal training using humane and safe techniques!

And a new video about Polar Bears and Huskys:

Have a great holiday!

Also posted in Fun, News, Videos | Leave a comment

The Puppy Diaries: Swimming and Day Care

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: November 20, 2009

In The Puppy Diaries: Scout takes a Splash we learn of Scout’s trip to Water4Dogs in downtown Manhattan. This is a place I would love to visit with Caffeine; she loves the water! I guess whenever I get that 8 day week or 36 hour day I ordered, I’ll arrange the trip.

Ms. Abramson also discusses a hotel for dogs, a camp, and doggie daycare. Arrangements for dogs during the day or for vacations is a question I get a lot. It can be a sensitive subject and it does require some careful consideration.

I am a huge fan of daycare for high energy dogs, especially with working couples or “single pet parents.” Being alone all day is tough enough when you are not bouncing off the walls. A well run and safe day care can make a huge difference, even for just two days a week. I wouldn’t recommend more than three days a week anyway; breaking up the 5 day work week with a trip to daycare on Tuesday and Thursday can do a lot to burn off energy and keep the teeth off the furniture.

How can you find a well run and safe day care? Right off the bat, if you can get a referral from a trusted friend, vet, or trainer, start there. Then go without your dog and take a look.

If you can’t observe the dogs playing, it’s a non-starter.
There should be a screening process for dogs before they can enter a playgroup. Yes, even your little angel should be screened.
Some sort of segregation, either by size or temperament should be in place. Personally I prefer temperament, but there’s an argument for both. If the day care has considered either one, they are putting in the effort and thought I like to see.
What kind of safety procedures are in place?
What’s the criteria for a dog getting kicked out of the group or put in a time out?
How many people per dog are watching the group? (I don’t have a hard and fast number myself, but they should have given the issue some thought.)
How experienced are the monitors? Are they trained?
What’s going to happen to your dog if you are somehow late to pick him up?

Similar questions apply to doggie hotels or kennels. Do your homework, ask a lot of questions, and always get referrals.

Also posted in Fun, News | 6 Comments

Weekend Update October 24, 2009

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: October 24, 2009

This week we had a graduation! Our first class at the Franklin Lakes VFW finished a fun six week basic course. Here are the graduation photos!

This week Daryn Kagan posted this wonderful video on her site about Baxter, a 19 year old therapy dog that is still helping people. It brought a tear to my eye.

On a related note, Senator Al Franken’s bill for service dogs for wounded veteran’s is one step closer to being a law!

In the “this is surprising?” department, many people say they would attempt CPR on their dogs. Duh. Here’s a video on how!

Last, check out this week’s post on Dog Star Daily for some information on the evolution of the domestic dog.

Have a great weekend!

Also posted in Fun, News, Videos | 2 Comments

Weekend Update October 17, 2009

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: October 16, 2009

It looks to be a dreary weekend for us here in the NYC metro area. It stopped raining Friday afternoon, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday calls for a 70% chance of “ick” with a possibility of “ew” and “yuck.”

Have you ever heard of black dog syndrome? I first heard of it years ago when a transport driver that brought dogs to the rescue I was volunteering remarked on how good a job we did adopting out the block dogs we were sent. It’s interesting to see it discussed in the news.

Meanwhile, despite the predictions of economic recovery in news by rich people for richer people, shelters are still struggling with overpopulation. I hope the recovery, when it really does happen, happens for everyone.

In happier news, Science Now has news of a fascinating study about how birds appear to perceive physics, and how it compares to infants. Apparently when shown an image of an “impossible” situation, such as a ball floating in midair, the birds stared at the image longer than a “normal” one. Cool! I love reading about things like this.

In Folsom, a baby kangaroo has found a new lease on life. A very cute story with an adorable picture!

Last, I couldn’t find video on the current Kangaroo story, but here’s one from earlier in the year to satisfy your cute baby kangaroo fix:

Also posted in Fun, News, Videos | 2 Comments

Weekend Update October 10, 2009

By Eric Goebelbecker | Published: October 9, 2009

Saturday comes a day early this week, at least here on Dog Spelled Forward. I’m a little behind on editing video for tutorials, so I am posting this today.

First up is a wonderful article from the NY Times this week about the huge impact companion animals can have on people with special needs. It’s a great story.

Next we have a dog that can read. Allegedly. I think the fact that she offered “bang” when the “wave” sign came out says something, but I am a hopeless skeptic.

Here’s an absolutely insanely fast Labrador Retriever that is having the time of her life: