I’ve been with my foster mama for almost 7 weeks now. When I first came to stay I was a shy, scared and unsure little puppy.  But fast forward to today and I absolutey love and embrace life!

When I first met my new and much bigger 4-legged foster brother and sister I will admit that they tended to scare me a bit. But today I love a good game of keep away and chase with my foster brother. But even more than that I love, love, love a good wrestling match with my foster sister.

On my very first day of Puppy Obedience class I was unsure of everything, including the other dogs and all of the people and noise. For most of the first class I hid under my foster mama’s chair. But just this last week I finished my last class and the teacher said that I had totally come out of my shell. All I know is that by the end play time was my favorite part of  class. I also didn’t mind when we had to work hard at our tricks because then I got lots of good treats. I now know fun stuff like sit, down, extended down and even shake! I love to shake!

I’ve even come around to car rides. In the beginning you could say that I had issues with car rides. During my very first car ride I was sick 5 times. But today I absolutely love car rides. Car rides mean fun things like trips to the park, to the store, to class, visiting my puppy friends. Now when we go outside and walk towards the car I perk up and get excited. I’m not quite big enough to jump in all by myself like my foster sister and brother but I’m working on it.

Here’s a few other things that you should know about me:

I’ve gotten to go to work with my foster mama before and I think that it’s the best. Everyone comes by to visit me, I get a special toy and bone to bring with and when I’m really tired I crawl under the desk and take a nap at my foster mama’s feet.

I love to give nose kisses. If you want to know what I mean come meet me, hold me and you’ll find out!

I like to watch TV with my foster mama. By watching TV I don’t mean just falling asleep on the couch next to my mama. Instead I watch the TV. I cock my head from side to side, I stare at the TV. One time when it was really late at night my foster mama and I were watching a very scary movie. At one of the scariest parts of the movie I started barking at the TV. That made me foster mama jump really high! I don’t know why but she turned it off and said we’d have to wait until the next day to finish it.

I have lots of names. My actual name is Vienne. My name is French for the city of Vienna. I’m also called Baby Vi, Vi, Vienne Bien (when my foster mama calls me this she says that I am trilingual!).

My foster mama describes my personality like this: I know what I want and I want what I want. I’m not for sure what she means exactly but she says that the cute picture of my butt says it all. All I know is that I really wanted the spilt treats and I was going to find a way to go get them! My foster mama says says that I’m not head strong or stubborn but rather that I have no problem using a little ingenuity, the tricks that I know and my cuteness to get what I want. Hey, what’s wrong with that?

I’m also a great cuddler. When I’m not busy playing then I’m usually cuddling my foster mama or foster sister. I think that my foster sister is the best. I always want to do whatever she’s doing, I even sometimes use her as my very own pillow!

Vienne will be available for adoption after 8/1/09

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When I am talking dog - which seriously is like all the time - I often refer to this book. So I thought I would throw out some highlights about it and encourage everyone interested in dog behavior to give it a read. It is not only informative it is fascinating.

Yes, I am a dog nerd.

Without further adieu ~

For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend by Patricia B. McConnell (Ballantine 2006, hardcover, $24.95

McConnell is a certified applied animal behaviorist and is also trained as an ethologist who studies how behavior is affected by genetics and environment.

Brief Review ~

Heart and Science: Reading Your Dog’s Emotions

True or false:

Growling is the surest sign that a dog is going to bite.

Pups chew up their owners’ stuff out of spite.

Hugging is good way to tell your dog you love him.

These common assumptions are debunked in For the Love of a Dog: Understanding Emotion in You and Your Best Friend.

Learning to read our animal companions offers psychic and practical benefits, from avoiding bites to resolving problems that stress the human-canine bond. Weaving personal stories with the latest brain science, Dr. McConnell intriguingly reveals how psychology, biology, genetics, socialization and environment shape emotion.

So many dog-lovers are “virtually illiterate” in reading their pets’ facial expressions and body language. Compounding that problem, humans send mixed signals. Among the certified applied animal behaviorist’s insights:

* Why teaching the “down” cue can protect your dog from being attacked by another.

* Similarities and differences in facial expressions between humans and canines: the form, and the mood-shaping potential, of smiles and body posture; the function of yawns as calming signals; tongue-flicking to show stress level or deference to another dog or person.

* How misbehaviors commonly but mistakenly blamed on a dog’s willfulness are actually taught and reinforced by their owners. She suggests alternatives for communicating desired behaviors.

* Thin-slicing: How to detect early-warning micro-expressions, such as closed mouth; wagging tail but stiffened body; and most ominous, the cold, hard stare.

* Learning proper, safe introductions from canines: “Dogs approach one another from the side, curving their line of approach and avoiding eye contact, while keeping their bodies loose and fluid. We do the opposite: we keep our bodies upright and relatively still, and make direct eye contact while reaching out with our paws before we’ve even so much as exchanged scents.”

* Why dogs cock their heads … what’s “whale eye” and how to respond to it … the canine wisdom of looking away … and how dogs express disgust (Turned off by those doggie french kisses? That’s how canines feel about being patted on the forehead.)

* Why touch and environmental stimulation are critical to the development of the brain.

* How the amazing mammalian brain mediates emotion … the function of oxytocin (the warm, fuzzy hormone) and dopamine (the neurotransmitter responsible for eager anticipation) … and other insights that can improve relations with humans and dogs.

Also addressed: how dogs read emotions in other animals and people. A tip: Be careful what your face says to a dog. And take off those sunglasses. Like humans, canines rely on facial expressions to gather information in social interactions.

Wearing her heart on the sleeve of her lab jacket in no way softens the content; Dr. McConnell tells us in plain English what our dogs can’t. The book’s rewards are more than psychic; they’re practical. Learning to detect and diffuse anxiety will avoid bites; understanding brain circuitry hold keys to reinforcing good behavior.

When someone laments that their dog chews shoes to exact revenge, or “bit without warning,” offer this book instead of sympathy.

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The ARLP Crew at Pride. Thank you to all of you who came out we loved seeing you. And ARLP volunteers rock!!!

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Come downtown Minneapolis for tomorrow’s Pride Parade! Marchers will gather at the staging area at 3rd St. S. and Hennepin at 10:00 am.

The parade will start at 11:00 am.

A Rotta Love Plus will be in spot #39.

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A Rotta Love Plus will be at Pride again this year. Our booth # is 4083 which is located at the Willow St. side of Loring Park. We would love to see you. Stop by and say hi.

Pride is our favorite event. Our pbullies and Rotties know discrimination. What better event than Pride to get them out there loud and proud than to support our GLBT brethren?

And where else can you get a nice pbully wet one for only a buck???

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A day to spend with your whole family-
including your dog!

Saturday, June 20, 2009
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Minnehaha Park Wabun Picnic Area
4655 - 46th Street South, Minneapolis

*FREE community event
*Dog demonstrations
*Games for your BFF (best furry friend) and the whole family
*Dog adoption information
*Various exhibits and activities

~Presented by Partners for Violence Prevention ~ Call 651-298-4566 for additional information

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I just want to take a minute to give an enthusiastic shout out to the Plymouth Pet’smart. We hold adoption day/ meet ‘n greets at this location once or twice a month. The staff are always so awesome and they donate all sorts of needed stuff to our program dogs. We sure appreciate it.

If you happen to frequent this Pet’smart please consider personally thanking them for having us and treatin’ us so well. Or if you want to send them a virtual shout out you can do that here.

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Today I came home from work simply spent. Although I had taken last Friday off from work I initiated a large painting project that took almost two days. Oh the joys of a fixer upper let me tell you. And why does it seem that once I have finished one project it just makes everything else that needs to be done that much more glaringly apparent? In addition to that stuff I have my A Rotta Love stuff. Sometimes that alone feels like another job on top of my full time job. Then there is my grandmother, whom I adore, whose cleaning I do. Not to mention the normal things in life like grocery shopping, cleaning, lawn mowing and laundry. Now I am not rambling these things off to prove anything or in an effort to appear the martyr for the cause. That isn’t it at all.

Rather, where do my own beasts fit in to all of this? Recently, I had to give myself a reality check. I mean really, what business do I have championing for all these other dogs in the world if I am not making damn certain my own are getting the quality of life I have not only set a precedent for but that they deserve? Sometimes it is so easy to expect my own dogs to endure sacrifices they don’t have the ability to understand. I come home late from work or leave right after coming home from work and walks don’t happen. I get tired, often exhausted. So I rationalize - my beasts have good lives and I am working to give the same to others who don’t have it so good.

But is that fair?

I have had a come to Jesus with myself. No it isn’t fair.

As busy as I allow (allow being the operative word here) myself to get I owe it to my beasties to ensure they are stimulated on daily basis. Even if that only means a 15-30 minute training session. Have you tried working on “stay” with four dogs at one time? Phew.

On an aside: I have found working with all four together is really interesting. First though I have to go into it putting aside any frustrations that I may have. I just let it all go and enjoy them each for who they are. Because working with four dogs at one time is frustrating. They all do their own thing. Take Debbie for example. Debbie is so food motivated she will kill herself attempting sheer perfection. If you do not notice her nice sit and her solid stay she will stand up and reposition herself. While the other dogs may get excited and break their stay - nope - not my Debbie. Her eye is always on the prize. In this case the tasty salmon flavored training morsel.

Chi finds these exercises maddening. The little bugger’s eyes bulge. He starts panting profusely. He barks and yips, jumps and twirls. It is like he wants to understand what is going on and what I want from him but it is very hard when there are other dogs getting treats that he wants! Concentration & tranquility? Whatever. These are the reasons he is not in the picture above.

Ike is my old gentleman in every respect. He wants to be “present” and included. Learn new stuff? Not so much. He patiently sits there, a part of my crew. A part of my soul.

Then there is Mo-Bits. Mo hangs back and watches in her quiet, subdued yet attentive way. The others help me teach her.

But, as usual, I digress.

Making time.

My dogs, like most, adore - I mean ADORE their walks. And why shouldn’t they? They are stuck in the house all day. Not only is a walk good for them it is good for me too and not just physically. When I open the back gate and we set out on our stroll the joy is palpable. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have that much joy every time you are venturing out into the world? So I have made a point to at minimum make sure they are walked 5 nights a week.

When I get home in the evening from work I have started to hang out in the yard with the dogs for 15 minutes or so. They seem to really enjoy that.

Making a point to just interact more, acknowledging them individually and hanging out for one on one cuddles and glib conversation (yes I converse with my dogs - don’t act like you don’t).

I guess what I am babbling about here is that we are all busy. We humans love to complicate our lives in various ways. We choose to share our lives with beasts but sometimes they can get pushed to the edges of our lives rather than staying in the heart of it. Even us crazy dog people can suddenly realize we are not having as much FUN with our dogs as we can and should. Fun is my point. Laughter is good for the soul just like dogs are. Laughter is good for our dogs too. And maybe, just maybe, we humans our good for their souls too.

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It makes me sad when I have no where to put dogs. So I post them here. Before they are gone from this world I want them to be seen. Sigh.

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Post Written by ARLP volunteer extraordinaire Larry H~

Numbers never lie….but they don’t always tell the whole truth either!

Humans seem to have the unique ability to learn and create strong beliefs based on the experiences of others. This is a very powerful tool that allows humans to pass on vast amounts of knowledge and share experiences with that can educate and enrich the lives of others. However, it can also be the source of great misinformation and lead people to believe things that are not always true. Case in point, at one time humans thought the earth was flat.

In addition to forming very strong feelings and opinions on the experiences of others we humans also have the ability to draw conclusions based on data that we collect ourselves or are furnished by others. Much like our ability to share experiences with others the conclusions we come to can often times be very inaccurate. The very nature of our ability to come to conclusions seems to vary greatly from person to person and it is heavily influenced by our own personal experiences as well as the experiences of others that have been passed on to us.

Humans rely on language to communicate and can convey great detail but it also leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation. Lets look at the following example…..

Lets say you are out shopping for a new car, if I asked you, “how much does it cost?”, what is the correct answer? Is the cost of a car the price you pay the dealer? Does the cost include sales tax? Does the cost include title and license fees? What about fuel economy, insurance, maintenance costs etc and other costs associated with owning the car?

If someone purely looks at the sticker price of the car one may come to the conclusion that a car with a cheaper purchase price will “cost less” but what if it gets poor fuel economy and is more to insure and has more expensive maintenance costs? Does the car really “cost less”?

The answer to the above questions is “it depends”. It depends on exactly what it is your talking about. The next question is “what does all this car talk have to do with dogs?”.

The answer is that for those of us who own a breed of dog that is often the target of breed discrimination we always have people quick to condemn our dogs based on partial facts, assumptions and the experience of others; rarely do they look at the whole picture.

People are quick to adopt the notion that certain breeds of dog are inherently more vicious than others because when the media reports on a dog bite incident they seem to single out specific breeds, putting them in the spotlight while ignoring attacks from other breeds . Other sources of information that often get used to back up peoples point of view are bite statistics or more accurately the number of bites (or deaths) reported to have been caused by a certain breed.

Many people will look at a list of dog bite incidences and see that one breed has more bites to its name than another and based on that information alone come to the conclusion that that breed is inherently more dangerous. This can be a very dangerous conclusion. While the statistics that led to this conclusion may be accurate from a purely statistical point of view, they do not convey a complete picture. Just like the sticker price of a car does not accurately convey how much a car costs to own. Lets take a second and look at an example to display just how inaccurate using only the number of dogs bites can be.

Lets take 2 breeds of dog, breed A and breed B. Lets say in the last year our local animal control collected data and they released a report stating that breed A was responsible for 100 bites and breed B was responsible for 10 bites.

Breed A = 100 bite reports
Breed B = 10 bite reports

At a glance most people would clearly jump to the conclusion that the breed with 100 bites to its credit is the breed more likely to bite but is that assumption accurate? Maybe, but what if I presented you the following additional data?

Breed A has a population of 20,000 animals = 100 bite reports Breed B has a population of 15 animals = 10 bite reports

Based on this new data you likely changed your opinion on which breed is more dangerous but is the new conclusion any more accurate than the first?

Truth be told almost every report being tossed around lacks accurate population data to accompany the bite statistics and without this population data how can you be certain you are coming to the right conclusion?

To further complicate things dogs and humans do not live in a vacuum. There are many things that affect dog behavior such as how they were raised and the temperament of their parents. This data is never included but can be the most critical element when trying to evaluate the stability of a dog. With that in mind let me toss out another example by adding more data to breed A and B.

Breed A has a population of 20,000 animals = 100 bite reports / 100 different dog owners.
Breed B has a population of 15 animals = 10 bite reports / all 10 dogs owned by same person

Ok, now looking at the additional info furnished what conclusion do you come to? I would bet that many people are now back to thinking that breed B isn’t all that dangerous after all since all 10 bites came from dogs owned by a single person.

Socioeconomic variables are the hardest to quantify and without them you simply can not draw an accurate conclusion yet people draw conclusions every day and viciously stand by their claims even though they are based on partial data. If we look back out our own human history and we can see that there used to be a very strong opinion that women and people of minority were inferior. In most countries this discrimination is now against the law because it can be damaging emotionally and physically and can be detrimental to the pursuit of happiness that all of us in the USA are entitled to. History has shown us that people are people regardless of their sex or ethnicity.

Regardless of what history has told us about people being people regardless of sex or ethnicity you can still dig up facts, that when observed in a vacuum and not taking anything else into account can lead to some pretty startling assumptions.

For example, According to the Bureau of Justice, at midyear 2008, there were 4,777 black male inmates per 100,000 black males held in state and federal prisons and local jails, compared to 1,760 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 727 white male inmates per 100,000 white males.

For those of you still clinging to your partial data and condemning a breed of dog for being predisposed to violence do you also feel that the above data indicates that certain minorities are genetically predisposed to being criminals? Or has history taught you that the Bureau of Justice data, while accurate in and of itself, does not paint a complete picture and that there are many socioeconomic factors that affect the numbers reported?

By now I am hoping that you realize that the Bureau of Justice data does not paint a complete picture and that there are many socioeconomic factors at work here. If you are still clinging to the notion that some breeds are still more predisposed to violence than others how can you admit those socioeconomic factors exist and have a dramatic impact on people but not dogs they own?

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