Betsy Boo

I apologize for not explaining the Gently Leader. Because I had used the collar once before it did not occur to me that others might not know what it is. Well, in the manufacturers own words “Designed so that owners can communicate with their pet in a way they instinctively understand, the Gentle Leader painlessly and effectively removes the dog’s natural tendency to pull by placing gentle pressure on calming points and eliminating uncomfortable pressure on the throat. In addition to reducing a dog’s desire to pull away, the Gentle Leader is also a very effective tool in combating lunging, jumping, excessive barking and helping to calm an aggressive and/or anxious animal”.

I will be forever grateful to the Gentle Leader. Only a few weeks have passed since we started using it but the progress is without words! She responds when around other dogs and she actually “leaves it” (ignores the dog) and if she barks she quiets down as soon as I pull a little and say ” quiet”. It is soooooooooooooooooooooo wonderfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul! The progress also shows in the dog park. She was never really bad at the dog park with the other dogs she just barked a little more when there were big dogs around. These days she plays so nicely and there is just a short bark here and there. We are so proud!

A cold or a flu or something that makes us sneeze….

Us humans have been suffering from a bad cold or flu. Husband has been feeling much worse then wife and has stayed home from work. Betsy has showed some symptoms as well, sneezing over and over and over again, the poor thing! One thing is for sure, she was happy to have some company all day long!!!!!

Two weeks ago Betsy had some major barking problems and I felt frustrated when I came home after a Monday morning walk. I spend the evening at Barnes and Noble looking for final help before contacting a dog trainer! Although she has improved significantly the last 6 months she still barks at dogs she can’t say hello to. She is not aggressive just barks if she can’t get it her way! I read and read and the best book I found was a cheap little paperback called ‘The only dog training book you will ever need’. The book recommended the gentle leader so we visited the pet store that evening and bought one, put it on outside the pet store and OMG, results right away!!! Since then we coupled the gentle leader with the traditional ‘leave it’, clicker and treats and it has done wonders!!!!!! She is still in training and is doing very well!!!!

The interesting thing is that we used the same gentle leader (well same but not The same) when she was a puppy but did not experience the same result. I am thinking that maybe it is because she is older now is used to her harness and suddenly she gets this strange thing around her mouth which controls her head movements.

Betsy is a hasty eater, I sometimes feel like she is not getting enough food because when I give her food she gulps it and the bowl is licked clean in seconds!!!! We have tried to feed her from our hands, little food at a time, tricks in between and even calling her name. She listens and follows instructions but still attacks the food as soon as she hears the clicker or ‘ok’  if she has never seen food before.

I did some looking around online and found some good reviews on Brake-fast dog bowls. It has little things, obstacles I guess they would be called which hinders the dog’s access to the food. I ordered the small one but when it arrived I thought it was a rather large bowl for a small dog. Anyway, we decided to try it and I was somewhat impressed. It was a bit of a challenge for her to eat the food but not as much as i had hoped. I think i would have wanted one more obstacle. One down side, or maybe a good side after careful thinking, the bowl does not have a rubber bottom so the bowl moves around. It is a plastic bowl and I think it was a bit prices for what it is but it does slow down the eating a little bit so I am happy!

   

Eating

Still eating

I thought it was time to post my first “Wordless Wednesday”. I must admit that it took me a while to understand what “wordless wednesday” meant and I actually googled it…. well…here is my first “wordless Wednesday”…….

People, NON schnauzer owners LOVE, with Capital L, Betsy´s haircut!

My husband is patting himself on the shoulder as we speak…..

Betsy receives daily compliments on her haircut and people think all schnauzers should have that cut. It is so much prettier….

As you know, Betsy has her natural ears so she receives additional compliments for them, now when the doesnt have any schnauzer beard her ears are gigantic and as usual, stand right up!!! She has ears just like Santa .

When we go for walks, we are often stopped on the street and people (both with dogs and without) stop us on the street and ask what kind of dog she is. Many people thinks she is half schnauzer and half something else! At times, I personally think she looks like a mini husky.

It is difficult to go to places without a car. On top of that Betsy is a barker, or rather, a BARKER so she is not the ideal dog to bring on the public transport. Occasionally we humans rent a car and go places and we try to pick places we can bring Betsy along on.

Recently we did  a road trip to the Long Island Wineries and Betsy tagged along. It was around a 2 hour drive from NYC and Betsy´s favorite human friend Luna came along as well. I must say, Betsy loooves the grass, she loves the grass and the smells so much she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Forget anything that has to do with walking on heel. The smells of anything other than concrete, car fumes, garbage and business people is too exciting and worth spending the energy on.

After the winery visit we proceeded to drive another 20 or so minutes to the tip of North Fork, Greenport. A really pretty seatown with restaurants, coffee shops and small shops, big boats and friendly people. Absolutely charming! Betsy agreed as well in between the barking!

My husband would not agree, Betsy was not born to be a vegetarian but she was also not meant to be a hunter!

My collegue recently recommended edamame. Apparently her Shih Tzu loooves edamame. Betsy who is already a fan of carrots and green frozen peas soon became a fan of the green soybean as well. I buy the edamame from the japanese grocery store because they sell them with the edamame in their pod. If I was to eat them myself I would eat the boiling hot with sprinkled sea salt on them. For Betsy however, I serve them plane. I pop them out of their p0d first of course which takes an extremely looong time, well worth that happy dog´s face!

Smaller portions, carrots and beans sure did the trick, coupled with extra playtime and loooong walks! Betsy, including the bag weighted in at 20lb at the check in counter and she was eligible to snooze under the seat in front of us!!! That was a huge relief!!!! Betsy was such a good girl from start to finish! We gave Betsy some tranquilizer that the vet had prescribed,  left the city in the famous NY Yellow cab, Betsy was already then under the influence but was adamant about not falling asleep. We checked in ,went through security without barking!!! That was my biggest concern! She slept throughout the flight pretty much, occasionally I would see her nose come out of the bag and now and then I would stick my hand down to make sure she was still breathing!

We got some good advice from Brad who frequently travels by air with his mini schnauzer Kaiser. Thanks to both of you! It prepped us well!

At LA airport the grandparents picked us up and Betsy recognized them, squealed and jumped and kissed and hugged! In the car up to Santa Barbara Betsy tried to stay awake but the tranquilizer was still doing its job. Upon arriving in SB Betsy was greeted by our brother and standard schnauzer Philip. Betsy barked a bit at first but then calmed down. She was amazed by the big space (hours vs 1br), all the grass in the backyard and all the shrubs and trees and  flowers and what not! She was so happy throughout her entire trip, so were we of course!

Growl, bark, sniff, play, chase, steal each other’s toys, growl, bark, chase, play, sniff……..etc.etc…

In a nutshell that is what they were doing day in and day out. At first there was more bark and growl but later more sniff and curiosity and definitely lots of LOVE!. Philip would come to wait outside our bedroom in the mornings and Betsy would hear him outside and wanting to go and say hello. If he went downstairs, she followed etc. They were so cute together and they both missed each other utterly after their departure.

Betsy also looooved being with our brother, she would curl up next to him on the sofa everyday, almost too much so that I would feel like she preferred him to me…. our brother is really good with dogs, he plays and cuddles and spoils the little fury thing all he can! And then there were the grandparents who Betsy absolutely adored as well. Betsy kept their lawn clean by eating the flowers that had fallen on the lawn, she trimmed the grass (ate) and re-positioned the mulch and she loooved running in the soil as that is where the smell of the rabbits and the gophers were! We had to hose her down numerous times before letting her back into the house. Philip tried to keep up up with her mischief but he often zeroed down on his energy before breakfast.

Breakfast and dinner…wow…Betsy goes for anything! Philip is more selective, he is a food connoisseur. If we had not locked Betsy out of the house during meal time she would have easily eating all of Philip’s food!

OMG what happened???? That is what one of Betsy’s schnauzer friends wrote on Facebook after seeing Betsy’s new haircut!

We had agreed to give Betsy a summer cut. Usually we let the professionals the job. This time we thought we could do it ourselves and she was only going to have her body cut anyway. I came home from work yesterday and I see this happy wolf looking thing running towards me. OMG!!!! It was Betsy. My husband had given her a haircut!!! A shave!!! A total makeover! Where was my schnauzer?!?!?!?  I know, it is the same dog, it is still Betsy and the fur will grow out but I was so upset about it. I am still trying to get used to her new look…. she is still cute but …different…. I came home in time to save the fur on her back legs!!!!

The pictures above are pictures of Betsy where she has to sit and wait while we hide the kong. When we leave for work she has to hunt for the kong that has a piece of chicken treat in it! She loves the hunting and the sniffing. We are running out of hiding places now as she is only allowed in the kitchen and the living room!