The Howling Hooligan

ANOTHER CLUE

2012-02-29T15:16:00.001-06:00

GG models her own tee shirt for the pupperotzi cam.

Hmm.... what can this mean?

WHO IS THIS HOOLIGAN?

2012-02-28T09:05:00.000-06:00

and why is she wearing a tee-shirt????

TO BE CONTINUED....

And A Good Time Was Had By All!

2012-02-26T18:49:00.000-06:00

PetsMart was busy! Our friends Guinness and Maizie were there, and so was a little white dog named Stella that looks alot like our up-North pal Popie. GG met some puppies and some dogs that are smaller than she is and she did great! She met a few new hoomans, too, and made friends with them. We walked past the birds, the reptiles and the hamster habitats and GG didn't turn a hair at any of them. But when we went past the cats, it was a different story. WHEW! GG gave the cats some unwanted attenshun that Mom had to put a stop to because the cats didunt appreciate it.

Then we went to the grooming salon and GG got her nails done and I got lots of treats from the trainers 'cause they hadn't seen me in awhile. Mom said GG was a perfect lady in the salon. Here are some pickshures of our trip. Mom says we will go back again next weekend so that GG can meet more people and dogs.

It was alotta fun today and we both slept alla way home but we can't wait to do it AGAIN!

pedicure in progress. See how good GG was?

meeting a Popie puppy

all tuckered out!

ANAVENTURE!

2012-02-25T09:47:00.001-06:00

TODAY we are going on ANAVENTURE!

Me and Mom and Dad and GG are going to the pet supply store. It will be GG's first time there. She is going to get her toenails dremeled down. That ought to be fun! I can't wait to see what GG thinks about the dremel!

AAARRROOOOOOOOO!!!!

GG contemplates the definition of "dremel"

WE LOVE YOU, DAD!

2012-02-24T12:51:00.000-06:00

Jack and GG playing with Dad last night.

Hooligan kisses are the best!

An Explanation

2012-02-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

Y'all know that I, Mom of Hooligans, am a retired (mostly) dog trainer. Along with our Jack, I taught basic obedience and Therapy and Service Dogs. And y'all know that sometimes people write me with training questions. Also, my husband I do Airedale Rescue Volunteering as well as rescue of other four legged Hooligans besides Airedales. That means that we are always looking for ways to pay for extra vet bills for fosters, gas money for transport, and other things that lucky dogs need when they are rescued.

Recently, we've had alot of communications from people who want to know what kind of dog toys to buy, what books to read and things like that. We generally buy most of our books and supplies through online shopping. And we thought, this might be a nice way to raise a little money for our Rescue work. SO... deep breath here because I don't want to offend anyone....

At the bottom of our howlinghooligan blog there is now something called an "astore" (amazon.com store) that will show you book titles and dog accessories and supplies that we use for our own dogs. If you decide to buy one of these items and click through our link to do it, we will make a few dollars here and there that will add up to pay for things that our rescue work needs in order to continue.

Everything in The Happy Hooligan astore has been tested and approved either by the humans at Hooligan House or by the dogs. We hope you don't mind this commercial message.

HAPPINESS IS....

2012-02-23T08:11:00.002-06:00

ADOPTION APPLICATIONS!

On Feb 16^th, the Howling Hooligan sent out an announcement that GG was ready for adoption. Less than 12 hours later, we received this response:

My husband and I have been loving the stories on GG’s fast progress and patiently waiting for her to be ready for adoption. We would love to adopt Miss GG. We live in Texas and have a female Airedale and two children ages 12 and 10. Please let me know what steps we need to take in order to get this ball rollin’ so Miss GG can come live in her forever home with us.

Since then, Hooligan House has been in a frenzy of excitement. Phone calls and emails and digital photos have flown back and forth across the miles. Airedale Rescue in Texas is helping coordinate the adoption application. The veterinarian references and personal references have checked out as GREAT.

The home visit is scheduled for this weekend. And, while all this was going on, we got 3 more applications to adopt GG! One family is in Florida and one is in Louisiana and one is in Alabama. Those apps are also being followed up and home visits are being scheduled for them. We don't know for sure who will be approved to adopt GG yet, and although there can be only one forever home for her, the other applicants will have good things to look forward to. They will go on a waiting list for Airedales that come to us in the future, or they may be matched up with an Airedale who is waiting for love in a neighboring state.

The very most exciting thing is that all these applications are from people we have never met but who are following our blog. There’s no way for us to know how many followers we actually have, but we appreciate all and every one of you so much! You have forwarded the blog stories to your friends and families and you have made a joyful difference in GG’s life. THANK YOU!

Sissy is at THE VET today!

2012-02-22T12:59:00.000-06:00

Sissy has an ouchie: an abcessed tooth. She is at the vet's office today and Dad will pick her up in a little while. The office closes at noon on Wednesdays and Dad doesn't get off work until 4:30 today, but it's okay.You know you live in a small town when the vet calls your Dad and says, "Sissy will be outside in a locked kennel. I will leave the key to the kennel and a bottle of antibiotics under the mop bucket at the back door."

TRAINING QUESTION

2012-02-21T13:15:00.002-06:00

Dear Mom of Hooligans,

I just adopted a three year old Weimaraner named Rocky. He's sweet and affectionate and I love him to death but he doesn't walk well on a leash. He almost pulls my arm out of the socket. What kind of leash should I get for Rocky? My sister has a retractable leash for her beagle mix.

Congratulations on adopting a great Hooligan! Even his name says "Hooligan"! I foresee alot of happy challenges in your future. As to leashes aka training leads, the one I swear by is a six-way leather leash that has been used in European schutzhund dog training for many, many years. You can use it several ways, but what I like most about it is this: It fits across your upper torso and attaches to the dog's collar. This will keep Rocky beside you so that he has no option but to walk at your heel, with you giving him an appropriate treat reward every so often. Plus, it will leave your hands free. I bought my leads many years ago at a dog show, but I believe you can order these from amazon.com. Just be sure to get one that is leather and is six feet long.

I never recommend retractable leashes for any dog. NEVER. EVER. Don't buy one. I have seen too many owners use these the wrong way and just let their dogs wander wherever they want to, as far away as they want to. It allows the dog the opportunity to annoy other people and other dogs and it also can cause horrid injuries to dogs. The retractable leash is in fact like a wire that can get wrapped around a dog's leg and slice it like a knife. It can do the same thing to human flesh. Big dogs can break a retractable leash with no problem at all, just snapping it like a string of thread. Stay with a strong, six foot leash like the 6-way lead I mentioned above. It's safer and it's reliable.

Dad's Holey Hankie

2012-02-19T18:48:00.002-06:00

DEVILTRY

2012-02-19T07:32:00.001-06:00

THiS iss MAGGIE! I FyNULLy goT to comPOOTER all By Myseff aND noBuddy iss wATCHING!

Yesterday ouryard was soaken wet beecoss of rainrainrain alladale long. We cooddint play out there for long. Well DUKE and BUDDY ddnt want to play out there for long.

I wass liken that rain, me. But they wanted to get outta rain so we came bak inna houss and wass habben a borren ole morning until me and Duke got the grate idea to tteach Bud how to do the Airedance.

Only Mom says Airedances don’t beelong inna houss and she fusssd and made uss stoppit.

Then we deesided to snoop around in the dog den to see if there wass anny spilt food on the floor. There wassent so I went counter surfing and I got inta trubble for that too.

IN a few minnutts Buddy saw sumthen red on toppa da kitchen tabble. He dossent like red and he goess after it every time. Whitch he did again it wass a red dish towel and he pulled it down and it was sittingg under a pan and when Buddy yanked the red towell it made the pan come down too and it clanged and banged and Mom jumped and yelled and blamed ME for it becoss I had just been counter surfen a few sekunds before when she looked through the door.

She put me in TIME out and DUKe hadda come too even thow he wassent even inna kitchen when it happenned. Dales get blamed for EVERYTHING around here. I think Duke told yhall one time that the hoomans think Buddy issa little PRINCE!

Here iss a exsample. Buddy even went and foun one of Dad’s clean hankees in the laundry basket. He picked it up and rann inta the den with it and tried to get Dad to play tug. Dad just said, no Buddy, all my handkerchiefs have holes in them from your teeth and the people at the office make fun of me. He took the handkerchief away from Buddy and that was all that happened! Buddy laid down at Dad’s feet like a real good boy. GRRR.

After awhile the little prince got bored and wannedd us to play with him. He play bowed and wagged and finully began jumpping at us. He iss like a bowling ball when he jumps on us. I think Mom tole you that once, too.

Affter Buddy bowled into me a couple of time, and made me grrrowl he started in afta Duke. Duke doesn’t play bowling and he stood up and gave Buddy whut for which of course got us in trubble all over again. Then me and Duke looked at each other and got the best idea of all.

It wass still raining outside but you know when a dog hass to go, a dog hass to go. Me and Duke ran to the door and barked and of course here comess Buddy too. He ran right up between us and bowled us away from the door. But we didunt snap at hm this time. Dad came over and opened the door so the DOGS could go outside to take care of their bidness. When the door opened, Buddy almost broke a leg running outside into the storm ahead of me and DUKE. He just hass to be first, in everyTHING.

BUDDY ran out into the storm and me and DUKE just sat down. And grinned at each other. And stayed dry. GOTCHA!

The Dale who AAARRROOOs last, AAARRROOOOs best!

FRIENDSHIP

2012-02-18T13:36:00.002-06:00

Our Jack is probably close to 14 years in human age. He's been with us since 2002 and was an adult when we adopted him. He's a little slow getting up, and very slow walking... unless there's a strange dog on the other side of the gates and then Jack finds enough energy and agility to put up an impressive vocal and threatening performance. But most of the time, he just meanders through his golden days and we all try to anticipate his needs so that he stays comfortable.

One of the things that's going on as Jack ages, is that it's difficult for him to make up his mind what a command means. Or possibly, he's just thinking that he's old enough to make his own decisions now and has earned the right to decide when to come inside from the yard. Often when my husband or I open the front door and invite the dogs back inside the house, Jack will wobble to his feet and then stand there for several minutes looking at us while he ponders the situation.

This morning, while the dogs were outside, a heavy rain started to fall. DH went to the door to call the dogs and get them inside before they got drenched. Everyone except Jack came running in out of the rain. Jack slowly, agonizingly lurched up on his back legs, managed to stand up, took a couple of steps forward and then stopped. He either wasn't sure what to do or wasn't sure he wanted to do it. DH called to him a couple of times while GG stood in the doorway and watched. The rain started falling harder and Jack still stood there.

Finally, GG ran back outside into the rain and went over to stand beside Jack.She pressed up against him, then walked with him over to a bush where he lifted his leg. When he was finished, GG escorted Jack to the front porch and up the steps and into the house. Now he is snoozing on his orthopedic bed in the master bedroom, while GG lies just outside the door.

Great story, huh?

She's Ready for Adoption!

2012-02-16T09:44:00.001-06:00

GG is ready to find her forever family!

Here's what you need to know about her: My best guess at her age is around 2 to 2 and a half. She is leash, crate and house trained. I have her on a feeding schedule which basically keeps her elimination times very routine. She is still nervous about sudden noises and movements, but she recovers quickly. She loves other dogs and she loves our grandchildren (boy and girl ages 9 and 11). I do not know how she is around cats. I recommend that she goes to an Airedale experienced home with one other dog.

Please share this post with people who might be interested in adopting GG. To start the adoption process, read GG's story and/or donate to Alabama Airedale Rescue visit the following site:

http://alairedalerescue.blogspot.com/

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

2012-02-10T19:27:00.002-06:00

Look carefully.

Pack Integration

2012-02-09T13:41:00.002-06:00

At Hooligan House, we believe in creating positive relationships between dogs and humans, one relationship at a time. You won’t see this technique on television, but we have tremendous success with it.

GG was afraid of everything and everyone when she first came to us. She had to be helped into a car and picked up and carried out of it. Her tail was constantly tucked tightly under her belly and she walked crouched down low to the floor. She wouldn’t eat her dinner or do her business if anyone was watching her. She shivered when she was touched and she wouldn’t look directly at other dogs.

We kept her away from our dogs for several days. We spent time showing GG that human touch is a good thing, and that every time we say her name it means that something nice is about to happen. Soon she would walk to us as soon as we said her name, and she learned that coming to us meant she would get a bacon-flavored treat. After about 6 days, when she had learned to trust us, we introduced GG to Jack.

He’s thirteen years old, a retired therapy dog that used to help me teach puppy obedience classes. He welcomed GG and then basically ignored her. He was courteous but not boisterous, and she learned that he wouldn’t run and play with her, but was a pleasant companion.

Two days ago, we brought Sissy outside to meet GG. Jack and GG had been hanging out for a few minutes beforehand, and when Sissy came out, she just walked up to GG, sniffed her, and that was that. They played chase for a few minutes, drank water together out of the bowl, and did a perimeter patrol together.

Last night we fed Sissy, Jack and GG at the same time. Their bowls were placed so that GG’s bowl was approximately six feet away from each of the others. In the following photos, you’ll see that Sissy’s and Jack’s tails are up while GG’s tail is still tucked. That’s a good signal for her to be sending at meal time. By tucking her tail when she’s eating, GG is telling the other two that although she is concentrating on her own bowl, she isn't taking ownership of it and she isn’t thinking about their food.

Sissy and GG

GG and Jack

In a few days, GG’s tail will go up while she eats. At the moment that occurs, she’ll be telling Jack and Sissy that she’s confident they aren’t presenting a threat to her food. All three of them will finish their dinners and then they’ll swap bowls to see if there are leftovers their pals may have overlooked. Bowl swapping after eating is a dog community thing. When it happens, GG will be positively integrated into a pack with Jack and Sissy.

While this is happening, we’ll introduce her to some other carefully chosen well-mannered dogs. This way GG will learn that it’s fun to be friendly with dogs outside your pack. It’s all about relationship. GG is learning how to build positive relationships and she is developing good meeting and greeting skills to help her in the future.

Teaching An Adopted Dog to "Sit"

2012-02-08T10:49:00.002-06:00

Dogs that have been living on the street or in a pound facility are not usually relaxed or trusting enough to sit and lie down in front of strangers, whether those strangers are human or other canines. Depending on the dog's mental state, clicker training (where you see the behavior and click to reinforce it) can be an effective way to train the sit command. If you have a newly adopted dog that is fearful and jumps at every sound or movement, however, you'll need a different method.

Terriers frequently require different training techniques than other dogs, but what I'm about to suggest will work for any dog. This is how we are training GG, our foster Airedale, to sit.

The easiest and quickest way to teach "sit" is to let your adoptee see other dogs doing it for a reason. This is often called putting the behavior in context. The best reason for a dog to sit is so that he can receive a treat. If you have another dog that already knows the sit command, you won’t have a problem teaching it to the new dog in your family. If you don’t have another dog, find someone at a local park who does (*not a dog park!) or get a friend who does have such a savvy dog to help you. And take a training partner with you who can hold your dog’s leash while you are working with the other dog.

You’ll be using treats and hotdog wieners are great for this project. Space the dogs about eight feet from each other so there won’t be any difficulty with treat possessiveness. Have your partner hold your dog’s leash. Then give each dog a small piece of the treat without asking either one to work for the reward. The next time, go to the other dog and tell her “SIT!” When she does, give her a treat and praise her with “Good SIT!” Be sure to put the emphasis on the command.

Repeat this three or four times. Then return to your own dog and let him see and smell a treat in your hand. Do not say anything. Just hold the treat out where your dog can see it and wait patiently for the canine light bulb equivalent to turn on in his head. If that doesn’t happen within a couple of minutes, go back to the trained dog and repeat the Sit exercise with her. Then return to your own dog and try it again. This technique works fairly quickly because hotdog wieners are a smelly, moist, tasty incentive. When your dog does give you his first Sit for a treat, praise him in a quiet voice. The second time he does it, praise in a louder voice. The third time he does it, praise him as though he just walked on the moon.

Now that your dog has the basic understanding of the command being communicated to him, practice “SIT” in every room of the house. It’s important for Fideaux to understand that "sit" means sit no matter where you say it.

* Save the dog park experience for the time when your dog is completely successful with his basic obedience skills. He'll be more confident and less likely to be reactive if a negative situation arises.

Update on GG's Training

2012-02-06T14:09:00.000-06:00

Hi to all our Friends!

Things have been very busy at Hooligan House. GG and Jack and Duke are getting along very well together and GG has been proclaimed "officially potty trained"! HURRAH! The tether technique does work, if you work it. And we did, 24/7 until a couple of days ago when she started showing us that she wanted and needed to go outside to do her business.

While we were working on that Very Important Problem, we also began training GG to "come" to us on command. That's a little trickier to teach an adult rescue dog than it is a puppy.

Puppies come to humans out of curiosity and playfulness, so they are easy to teach. The best way to get an adult dog to come to you is to gain that dog’s trust. And you can’t do that by barking commands and raising the household stress level. Instead, each and every time the dog is near you, reach over and scratch behind her ears or gently scruffle her chest while you repeat her name a few times. Offer her treats and say her name while she is eating them. After a few days of this, when she hears you say her name she is going to perk up and look at you. A couple of days later, she’s going to come to you when you say her name. The first time that happens, pet her gently and say the word, “Come” in a happy voice. Continue working with your dog this way and she’ll learn the come command without even realizing she is being trained.

GG now turns and looks at us expectantly when we call her name and then comes trotting over to us to have her ears scruffled and receive a treat. She even does it off-leash, while playing in our fenced yard. We vary the reward so that sometimes she gets a tasty treat and sometimes she gets a backscratch. She enjoys both equally, so we are checking the "come" command off our list. Good GRRLL, GG!

In other news, Duke has weathered the first thunderstorm since his new crate arrived. He did very well, and we didn't find any evidence of physical trauma in the dog den. Of course, he and GG were howling and crying to get to each other when I got home from the office that day, but that's not a sign that anything was wrong. It's just how Hooligans roll.

Training A Rescued Adult Dog

2012-01-25T13:26:00.001-06:00

Mom of Hooligans here! We've already had a breakthrough in GG's housetraining, so I thought that in today's blog, I'd share with you how we're handling this.

We use two leashes, one six feet long and the other at least ten feet long. While GG is in the house, I keep the six foot leash snapped to her collar and tethered to my belt. That way, I know where she is at all times and can read the signals she throws out when she is ready to go potty. If I am going to be doing something that will make it inconvenient to have her tethered to me, she goes into her crate until I am finished and then she comes out to be tethered to me again. Not only is this helpful in learning her body language, but it will help her develop some socialization she may be lacking from her time on the streets and in a shelter.

When I take GG outdoors to go potty, I put the long leash on her and take her to the same area each time. Many newly adopted dogs don’t want to “go” in front of their new humans. The longer leash gives GG a sense of not being right under my eye while she takes care of private business. I praise lavishly every time GG potties outdoors. We are associating the word "potty" for urination and the word "poo" for the other business. And, for the record, if your dog makes a mistake in the house, it’s your fault, not hers. This training process should only take a few days. GG made her housetraining breakthrough night before last (the very first afternoon we used the tethering technique) and we know she is going to be completely successful!

MEET "GG"!!

2012-01-23T16:16:00.001-06:00

This is "GG". She is the new foster Grrl at Hooligan House. GG was picked up by something Mom calls 'the pound' in a little town waaaay up in north Alabama. A smart lady at the pound headquarters realized GG is an Airedale and she emailed Airedale Rescue. Mom made a few phone calls and sent out some requests for help on facebook, and some Grrrreat Volunteers stepped up to help drive GG to the Gulf Coast. GG arrived at our house last Friday night. Mom says Miss Danielle and Miss Michelle and Miss Aimee have earned a special place in Heaven because of their help with animal rescue.

We don't know anything about GG's history; she isn't telling us. We do know that she isn't housetrained yet, she doesn't know any obedisense commands and she is about 3 years old. She also needs to be fixed. Whatevah that is. Mom made an appointment for that to happen this Thursday. GG is smaller than us Hooligans are. She weighs about 20 pounds less than our Maggie and is a little bit shorter. She is a standard size Airedale Terrier. Dad said she is dainty looking and elegant and that she is better bred than we are. Mom slapped his head with a rolled up magazine when he said it.

No one ever called the pound to see if they had picked up an Airedale and no ads were put in any newspapers about her. Mom doesn't think GG had ever been in a house before she came to us. She doesn't know how to play and everything in the house startles her: the air conditioning coming on, the icemaker dropping ice, the doorbell. She didn't even know what a television was!

She's gonna stay with us for awhile and we're gonna turn her into a regular Hooligan --- uh, I mean, Airedale. I bet it won't take long.

AAARRROOOOOOO !!!!

He Likes It!

2012-01-18T07:14:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to yowl know that The Duke is enjoying his new crate. We have been putting his food dish beside it at meal times, and when he finishes eating, he goes straight to his new pad for a nap. We will try to get a good photo of the newly decorated man cave to post for you this weekend. WOOF!

IT'S HERE!

2012-01-15T18:23:00.000-06:00

Duke's new crate has arrived. It weighs 125 pounds.

Dad needed a furniture dolly to get it into the house.

Jack checks it out to be sure it is a first class crate.

The new crate gets the Gentleman Jack Seal of Approval!

Dad puts it all together while Mom watches.

And Duke takes his first nap in his new crate,

with the door open and a comfy new pad on the floor. Mom thinks

the crate looks like a Hansel & Gretel cage. But the look doesn't seem

to be bothering Duke. Or any of the other Hooligans, either.

Everyhooly took a turn lying down in it and they all seemed to like it just fine.

the safest place for a dog to travel is NOT on top of a car!!!

2012-01-13T14:31:00.002-06:00

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/13/romneys-dog-on-car-roof-story-makes-him-unfit-to-be-president/

'NUFF SAID!

IT'S ALL ACCORDING TO YOUR POINT OF VIEW

2012-01-10T10:09:00.000-06:00

I am at work today, again, and guess what? The new crate was delivered to Mom's office this morning. IT IS BIG and HEAVY. One of the guys who works in the warehouse came in and said, "Hey Duke, that cage could hold a lion! I don't think you're going to be able to tear that one up! Guess you won't be coming to the office as much now."

I grunted at him. That's the only response he deserved. Then I turned my back on everybody and put my head down. I am going to sleep for awhile and not think about that new crate. But I do have an important question for you.

Does this pickture make my butt look big?

WHAT A WEEK!

2012-01-05T15:43:00.001-06:00

Mom caught a ride to the hospital in an ambulance last Wednesday night. She spent two nights and had some tests done. Now she is home and feeling just fine except for the heart monitor thing she has to wear for the next 27 days. WOOF!

I am sticking close beside her, as you can see from the next photo.
Where Mom sleeps, I sleep.

And so far, Dad hasn't argued. Much.

My new crate should arrive sometime next week. Mom and Dad are making

some changes in the dog den so that each of us Hooligans will have

our own wall for our own crate. I wish they'd paint the walls, too. I'm tired of that

dark blue. Mom says it makes the room cooler in summer.

But Mom... it isn't summer right now.

AAARRROOOOOO !!!!!

THE PLAN

2011-12-28T08:55:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

I see that Duke has updated you on our family life over the last few weeks. The new crate has indeed been ordered and will ship to us sometime right after January 1^st.

For some reason, Duke’s anxiety levels have crested in a self destructive way. We don’t want to have to start tranquilizing him every time we leave the house. So we have opted for this super-duper crate because we know that it’s necessary for us to crate train Duke all over again and we can’t safely do that with a crate that has already been busted.

We want the new crate to feel like a haven for him when he hears thunder and gunshots or when our grandchildren are running shrieking through the house. So we’ll go back to all the techniques that are useful when someone is crate training a puppy. There will be a sturdy toy in the crate, a comfy pad, and a knuckle bone for him to chew on. There will also be a heavy towel over the crate so that it will feel like a little cave for him. He will only have the knuckle bone when he is in the crate. And we’ll begin by putting him in it while we are at home, for perhaps 15 minutes at a time. We’ll do that a couple of times a day and gradually work up to longer periods. After he is comfortable in his haven for about an hour while we are at home, we’ll move to going outside for an hour so that he can hear us. Finally, we’ll begin leaving him in the crate while we are gone for thirty minute increments and gradually lengthen the time.

Today, after a nice big breakfast, Duke elected to go into his busted crate on his own when Maggie and Buddy went into theirs. He wasn’t interested in coming out when I picked up my keys, so I left him there. I’ll go home at lunch to check on him and will probably bring him back to work with me.

I wanted you to know that there is a training plan for this new crate, and that Duke won’t be just locked in and left to fret. And it’s a win-win for Maggie and Buddy too, because of course, Mom & Dad would never give one Hooligan a knuckle bone without making sure that the others have their own too!

We'll be okay, I promise. XOXOXOXOXOX and Woofs & Licks!

We're All All Right!

2011-12-27T14:19:00.001-06:00

Some of you have written to check on us because we haven’t blogged for awhile. Thank you for doing that, it made Mom feel very smiley. I will try to explain and make a long tail short. Around Thanksgiving time, Mom had what her doctor calls a cardiac event. SHE IS FINE NOW! But things at our house were kind of odd for awhile. She got tested for some stuff I can’t spell and the doctor gave her some perreskripshuns to take that are sposed to help her feel better. She will go back to the doctor next month for a follow up visit.

And besides that, you remember about the shooters on our road and how scared I got and bloodied my nose? It happened again around the first of December. And, more bad news. I wish I didn’t have to tell you that I tore up my crate about a week ago during a bad thunderstorm while my folks were at work. Mom cried again and Dad said I must’ve had a real bad panic attack.

my crate after I attacked it

Mom decided that something must be bothering me and when a stressful situation comes up, my anxiety level just goes out of control. She was worried that I was sick. So she took me to the veterinarian and asked him to do a complete blood work up on me. He did that and he checked my back and my hips and my toes and my ears and my eyes and everything he could think to check. The good news is that my blood test results came back normal. The not so good news is that now my Dad says they are clueless about what the underlying problem is.

It’s pretty simple to me, though. When I am with Mom, I am happy. So she brings me to work pretty much every day now. Dad says this is not a long term solution. (I don’t see why not.) He has ordered a super-duper rugged crate that is “welded everywhere metal touches metal” (like a tiger cage, Mom says). It weighs 125 pounds and will take two weeks to get here. Dad told me it cost a whole lotta money. This is what it will look like when it gets to my house.

Mom says it looks like it could transport a wild animal.

Dad is not happy about the money. Mom is not happy about my stress. I am perfectly happy here at work with Mom, on the bed with Mom, in the kitchen with Mom, in the car with Mom, watching tv with Mom… and I am not all sure I will be perfectly happy in the heavy crate. I think Mom needs me to continue coming to work with her, especially until hunting season is over and the weather gets better. Don’t you?

We will let you know the rest of the story as it happens.

Thanks for caring about us!

perfectly happy at work on my new bed

ALKA SELTZER, ANYONE?

2011-11-25T12:07:00.005-06:00

MAGGIE MISCHIEF

2011-11-25T07:52:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time there were 3 pies.

Well, there were 3 when we went

to bed last night! When we woke up,

there were only two...

hmmm....

here's the empty pie tin

It was Dad's favorite too.

Banished!

AAARRROOOOO!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBUDDY!

2011-11-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

Duke is eyeing the leftovers

But Maggie beats him to it

She made a dent in the cranberry sauce

but she can't quite get all the turkey!

Duke knows how to get the

turkey though. Mom turned the

plate around for him!

Duke has finished the leftovers and is

licking cranberry sauce off his beard.

Hope everybuddy enjoys

their feast today!

AAARRROOOO !!!!!

AIREDALE SLED DOGS! WOO HOOO!

2011-11-21T13:15:00.000-06:00

We live too far south for sledding and Mom and Dad don't do a whole lotta physical activities, but lotsa Dales and their hoomans do.Here are some photos of friends who are in a team of Dryland Sled Dogs. We thought you might enjoy seeing how these working dogs do their jobs!

This article is from: The Plain Dealer,

http://blog.cleveland.com/pdmultimedia/2011/11/dryland_sled_dogs_race_in_warm.html

"Sally Dawson of Burton spends a little time with each of her purebred airedales before competing in the Adult Scooter 2-dog Speed Class in the fifth annual Lake Farmpark Dryland Sled Dog Challenge on Sunday, November 20, 2011. The warm weather forced organizers begin some races nearly two hours early, at 8 am when the weather was a bit cooler to protect the health of the dogs, who are trained to run in cold, snowy conditions. Recreational classes were cancelled on Sunday for the same reason. The event included bikejoring, or racing on bikes with dogs, scooter and cart racing, and canicross, or running behind the dogs. It was held Saturday and Sunday at the metropark in Kirtland. (Lynn Ischay/The Plain Dealer)"

DOESN'T THIS SOUND LIKE FUN?? AAARRROOOOOO!!

DOWN TIME

2011-11-20T18:33:00.002-06:00

Me and Mom are having some time out, resting alot for a few days. Her back has been bothering her again so we are staying in bed and watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. She says those shows are non-threatening and don't upset her.

Sometimes Buddy gets in bed with us but he never stays very long. Maggie isn't a cuddler and Jack and Sissy are too creaky to get on the big bed anymore.

It's my responsibility to stay to close to Mom, anyway. I get worried when she's in pain, but it sure is comfortable being up here in this big wide bed. Dad calls it the perks of the job.

RAIN, GRASS SEEDS, MUD, and GUNS

2011-11-15T19:17:00.011-06:00

Mom hasn't been able to do my typing lately. We finally got some rain here and it's been that soft fine rain that goes on for hours and does a slow soak. Which means our woods are muddy and our grass is tamped down. And you gotta know that Hooligans love to roll in mud and wet grass.

So Mom's spare time has been all taken up with combing mud cakes out of our fur and picking stuck grass seeds from between our toes. She wants to know if y'owl understand how many toes we have between the five of us Hooligans. She's been too tired to type.

And today while our hoomans were at work, some more people with guns were shooting on our road. When Dad got home, he could hear the shots and they were close but he couldn't find the people. And it was getting dark and he knew he needed to come check on is.

I had bloodied up my nose again, and managed to get one of the latches of my crate opened. Mom cleaned my nose and put more antibiotic cream on it. She was m-a-d about the guns.

She fixed us some green beans and ground beef and rice for supper and I think we are gonna have yogurt for dessert.

Home cooking makes everything better.

Jack loves green beans!

TURKEY CRANBERRY MEATBALLS

2011-11-10T08:59:00.000-06:00

Mom has been pouring over internet recipe sites for something she can serve to her hooman family as well as to us when everybuddy comes over for Thanksgiving dinner. One of her e-List groups sent out this recipe yesterday. Mom's gonna try it out on us Hooligans before Thanksgiving Day! AAAARRRROOOO!!!

Turkey - Cranberry Meatballs Recipe

In a food processor, combine:

1 pound of ground turkey, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 egg,

1 slice of whole-wheat bread, 1/4 cup of dried cranberries.

Form into balls and bake on a greased baking sheet at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes until cooked through.

Let the turkey meatballs cool to room temp for your Hooligans. Mmmmmm! The Aire in your kitchen will be divine!

NOTE: Before giving cranberries to your own Hooligans, please read the following information from the ASPC website.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/cranberries.aspx

I would like to give cranberries to my dogs to prevent urinary tract infections. Is this safe?

- Ginger P.

To our knowledge, there is no data at this time indicating that cranberries (Vaccinium spp.) are toxic to dogs, Ginger, beyond the possibility of gastrointestinal upset that can be seen with ingestion of any plant material. But considering that 10 years ago the toxic potential of another fruit—grapes—was not known, we are not comfortable making any type of absolute determination on the safety of cranberries when given to pets. Instead, we recommend that you contact your veterinarian for advice on the best way to maintain your dogs' urinary tract health.

I HAD A BAD DAY

2011-11-05T17:39:00.002-05:00

It's hunting season here. I don't like guns. They hurt my ears. And they do frighten me. Yes, they do. I am not a hunting dog and the sound of gunshots upsets me. Especially when someone is shooting in front of our house.

You may remember that a few months ago, me and Buddy got into a bit of trouble over the neighbors' chickens. Ever since, although it upsets them to do it, Mom and Dad make us stay in our crates when they are not going to be home.

Today our folks had to leave us for awhile and they crated us. When they came back, they found my crate in the middle of the dog den floor. And the top of my snout was raw and bloody. I had bent the wire door of my crate
trying to get out of it. Mom let me out and Dad cleaned up the mess I'd made.

Then Mom put me in the shower and rinsed me off. She put some Neosporin on my nose. I am not sure what's coming next but I suspect some of that colloidal silver spray stuff.

Mom called our neighbor and asked if she knew whether anything unusual happened around here today. Mrs. Neighbor said, "Yes."

A strange man walked down our road today. He had a shotgun and he was shooting it. At squirrels. Shooting at little squirrels with a big shotgun. Some great hunter, huh?

ANYhowl, Mom and Dad figure that the sound of the shotgun must've upset me. That's why I thrashed around enough to move my crate to the middle of the room and why I knocked the fur and skin off my nose.

Mom took a couple of pickshures to show you. She will be putting that antibiotic ointment on me again in a little while.

I will be okay. But I had a bad day.

HELPFUL HOOLIGANS

2011-11-04T14:30:00.001-05:00

Me and Mom are smiling all over ourselves this afternoon! Mom just got an email from a lady that she helped to train her Labrador Retriever a few years ago. The lady gets around in a wheelchair and needed her dog to be able to pick things up and bring them to her. Chickie also learned to bark when her lady needed help (sometimes her lady gets dizzy spells). Well, Chickie is almost nine years old now and the lady is starting to look around for another dog to step in when Chickie retires.

We’re gonna be on the watch for another lab for the lady and Chickie will be able to help with training her own replacement. Last time, it was our Jack that helped train Chickie to do all that cool stuff. But Jack’s been retired himself for a long time. And the kind of work I do to help Mom is not what the new dog will need to know, so I’m not the right one to do this training.

I mainly help Mom with support when she’s getting up from a chair and also brace for her to support herself when she’s walking and her leg starts to feel odd. She has stuff going on with her back and spine that I can’t pronounce but sometimes it bothers her awful bad and makes her wobbly. I can tell when that’s going on and sometimes I surprise her by doing the “come around” and moving to stand on her right side before she even tells me she needs help.

ANyHowl, we’ll be going to local rescue groups in the next few weeks and months to look for a lab or lab mix that might be able to help Chickie’s lady. Even though the new dog will be young, he or she will learn fast when and where it's okay to be rowdy and when and where it isn't. Just look at me! The only place I ever get into hooligan shenanigans is at home because I know Mom needs me to be completely focused on her when we are in public. That's not a problem for us dogs that love our hoomans.

I know Chickie is looking forward to being retired. And she deserves a golden age because she’s worked hard. Mom says service dogs are love in action.

To which I say: "AAARRROOOOOO!!"

MAKING A DENT IN THE ARMOR

2011-11-04T13:37:00.000-05:00

Our friends G.M. and S. got responses to their emails and phone calls this week!

(from G.M.)

Dear Duke, I actually got a Hooman on the line today!

Q: Are there any leads in the dog mutilations case?

A: We cannot give out any information.

R: Thank-you, Have a Nice Day. (This hooman sounded very "hair"ied and hassled :)

(mixed-breed ADT ready to

be adopted in Mobile, AL)

Sent: Mon 10/31/2011 7:25 PM

To: (Reporter) Paige Malone

Subject: Re: Re: Citronelle Dogs

Hello Ms. Malone.

I'm not in your area so I haven't seen any updates. Any news?

Thank you.

______________________________________________________

From Paige Malone

Hi,

As of last night there wasnt an update we could report. However, I can tell you that Citronelle Police have interviewed a person of interest and since the incidents have stopped. They are bringing him back in for a polygraph test and hopefully we there will be an arrest soon. I also requested we be there when they bring a suspect in.I would love to ask him/her some questions!!!

Thanks for the email and God bless,

Paige Malone

----------------------------------------------------

To Paige Malone

Thanks so much for the update and for what you do!

"WHERE DO I SEND IT?"

2011-11-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

Our friend G.M. read our blog about being a voice for the animals and then placed a phone call about animal cruelty laws in her community. G.M. was put on hold when she made her phone call, and no one ever came to the phone. Can you imagine that? Surely that was a one-time incident.

But just in case it happens to you and, like G.M., you want to know where to send the letter -- we are posting the following hyperlinks that will help you find telephone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses of your elected officials. Local law enforcement agencies will be listed in your telephone book.

1. Enter your zip code here and it will take you to the list of your elected legislators.

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html

2. Need to find your senator? Try this link.
http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

3. AND HERE'S A BONUS FOR YOU!
Live in the United States? Visit this site to find out about the animal cruelty laws in your state.
http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/animalcruelty/

Thank you to everyone who read the blog about being a voice for the animals, who made that phone call or sent that letter or email. Thank you for talking to your friends, family and co-workers.

PAWS ALL OVER THE WORLD

ARE APPLAUDING YOU.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME & MAGGIE

2011-11-02T08:18:00.001-05:00

It was cold at our house this morning. How cold was it? Well, Dad got up around 3:30 to let Maggie out for some personal time. He rested in his recliner for a little while and covered up under the purple afghan that Mom leaves on the sofa for decoration. When Maggie came back inside, Dad tossed the afghan back on the sofa, and he went to bed. Leaving the afghan alone and unprotected.

Mom and Dad overslept this morning and when they did get up, they almost tripped over a pudgy purple lump on the den floor. It was snoring. Only the tip of a big black nose was sticky-outy. Mom told Dad to grab his camera phone from beside the recliner to take a pickshure of Maggie and he said no. Mom said, "She looks like a purple sausage! Get the camera!" Dad said no again because he wasn’t quite awake yet. I’m sure that was the reason. Otherwise he would never say no to Mom. ( ! )

But all that talking woke the Princess up and she scurried out of the purple afghan and went running to the kitchen for a real sausage breakfast (Maggie likes to eat first thing in the morning). And so a great photo op was lost forever.

I asked Mom how she knew Maggie was the purple clump and not me.

Mom said, “Because my dear, the floor has never been comfortable enough for you to sleep on all night no matter how many afghans you find unattended.” She knows me so well. I would have been on the sofa with the afghan. With my head on a cushion.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS

2011-11-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

BEING A VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS means learning to write and speak the way journalists and politicians do so that your communication won’t be automatically dismissed as being from some arbitrary, emotional and uneducated fanatic. Below is a sample of talking points you can adapt to use in your conversations, emails and letters to elected officials and police departments and editors of newspapers. You can be courteous while being persistent. If you aren’t ready to make phone calls, send emails and letters. Send them every month. Make a phone call every month. Your legislators and local law enforcement will begin to recognize your name. They will tell other people about your persistence. That’s a good thing because the more people who hear about you and your position, the more attention will be paid to enforcement of animal cruelty laws.

SAMPLE LETTER / TALKING POINTS

TO REQUEST ENFORCEMENT OF ANIMAL ABUSE LAWS

Dear :

I am contacting you to respectfully request that you support the maximum penalty allowed by law against people who are convicted of animal abuse. As the recent sad examples in (____________________) show, and recent violence across our country attest to; it is time to send a clear message to people capable of intentionally inflicting serious injury or death to helpless animals, that such brutal and senseless crimes will not be tolerated and there are guaranteed consequences for those who would show such disdain for the law. Several states prosecute animal abuse as a felony offense and impose mandatory psychiatric counseling along with jail time and fines.

If you don't already know, social scientists and law enforcement officials have identified animal abuse as a symptom of emotional illness and a precursor to violent crimes against human beings. As a society we must call a halt to the acceptance of animal cruelty and enforce a policy of harsh punishment for such crimes. To allow individuals guilty of perpetrating such cruel and violent acts to go unpunished or not sufficiently punished, would be to sanction these horrific crimes and would permit them, and others, to possibly go on to commit serious and violent crimes against innocent human beings.

Please protect the children, animals and citizens of (______________________ by writing, passing and enforcing strict laws that will give offenders serious jail time and a fine. Anyone who devalues life in this manner should not be walking the streets without immediate psychiatric treatment.

[Your Name]

[Your address ]

NOTE: The above letter was adapted from the one at the following site: http://www.tonglen.oceandrop.org/Letter_Animal_Abuse2.htm

LET'S GET A DIALOGUE GOING

2011-11-01T11:29:00.000-05:00

Many of you have written and are continuing to write us about our blog updates that spotlight the animal cruelty spree in Mobile County, Alabama. THANK YOU for caring! You've asked that we continue updates here, so we will do that (by the way, we haven't yet received an email response from that reporter at WKRG we told you about yesterday).

Our good friend at the Panda Pig Guinea Pig Sanctuary commented on our blog updates (http://howlinghooligan.blogspot.com/2011/10/no-news-is-not-good-news.html and http://howlinghooligan.blogspot.com/2011/10/zero-tolerance-for-animal-abuse.html ). Yum-Yum said...

“Is anybody really listening or do we all have to fly there on our broomsticks and have one of those "1%" demonstrations on behalf of the WAY MORE THAN 1% of ANIMALS ROUTINELY ABUSED EVERY MINUTE YET NEVER REPORTED, INVESTIGATED, OR ACCOUNTED FOR? Recently a hoarder dumped 150 guinea pigs off at a shelter in Southern California and the stories go on and on... How do we make a difference? Let's get a dialogue going.”

Mom of Hooligans has made a commitment to call the Mobile County Sheriff’s Department twice a week to inquire on the status of the ongoing investigation into dog killing/mutilations near Citronelle, Alabama. Could everyone reading this blog commit to emailing or phoning their local government rep and going on record as wanting stronger laws against animal cruelty? And to take it a step farther, could you do that every six months?

TO BE CONTINUED...

NO NEWS is NOT good news

2011-10-31T16:45:00.003-05:00

I have just emailed the reporter at WKRG (CBS affiliate) in Mobile, Alabama, asking what the latest is on the dog killings and mutilations. When he answers, I'll let you know. In the meantime, here again is contact information for the Mobile, AL Sheriff's Office, the Citronelle Police Department, and the County Commissioner's Office in Citronelle.

Deputy Josh Rhodes, jrhodes@mobileso.com
Citronelle Police Department: no email address was located, however, you can TELEPHONE them at:
(251) 866-5527
And the telephone number for the Mobile County Commissioner's office in Citronelle is 251-866-3163.

Keep those calls and emails going!

Application to Adopt An Airedale Terrier

2011-10-31T16:16:00.001-05:00

Ready to adopt an Airedale Terrier? Please print out the following application, fill it out entirely, scan & email it to Alabama Airedale Rescue. Our email address is at the bottom of the application.

Application for Adoption

Name:_________________________________________ Telephone:______________

Address:________________________________________________________________

City:______________________________ State:___________ Zip:________________

Occupation:_______________________________ Work Telephone:______________

Would you prefer Male or Female:__________________ Age:_________________

Have you ever owned an Airedale?_________________________________________

What other breeds have you owned? ________________________________________

Tell us about your current pets.

Breed Age Sex Neutered

______________ ____ ____ ________

How and when did you lose your last dog?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you ever given up a dog? ( ) Yes ( ) No

If Yes, please explain______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Under what circumstances would you consider giving up your dog?

_______________________________________________________________________

When will you be ready for your new dog?___________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Where will your dog stay when no one is at home?____________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

For how many hours per day?_____________________________________________

Is your back yard fenced?________________________________________________

Type of fence & approx height:___________________________________________

Is the fence detached from the home so that you have to walk into it or does the back door open directly into it? _______________________________________________

Approx size of the fenced area: __________________________________________

What type of residence do you have? (house, apt, condo, manufactured home, etc)

Do you own or rent your home? __________________________________________

Living Arrangements:

Where will your dog stay when no one is home during the day?_________________

_______________________________________________________________________

For how many hours & how often?_________________________________________

Will your dog have the run of the house? ___________________________________

If your dog is confined, where will he/she stay?______________________________

Will he use a crate? Where will it be located? _______________________________

Where will your dog sleep? _____________________________________________

Will he be allowed on the furniture? ______________________________________

When you travel, where will your dog stay? ________________________________

References:

Your Veterinarian:_______________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

City: ________________________________ State: ________ Zip: ______________

Groomer Reference: _____ Telephone: _

Address: _______________________________________________________________

City: ________________________________ State: ________ Zip: ______________

Personal Reference: _______________________________ Telephone: ____________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State: ________ Zip: _______________

Are you prepared to make a donation to our rescue organization? Each ADT takes almost $300 to rescue. We never turn down an application because of the lack of funds, but we sure could use the help!

Signature: ___________________________________ Date: _____________________

Please Return the completed application to: ALAIREDALES@yahoo.com

Thank you for your application. One of our volunteers will contact you to set up a convenient time for a pre-acceptance visit to your home. Please understand that follow-up phone calls and house visits are routinely made to insure that all is well with the adopted Airedale. We reserve the right to refuse placement.

ZERO TOLERANCE for ANIMAL ABUSE

2011-10-26T11:54:00.002-05:00

This will be my last post on this subject until I have a follow up story to give you. I am still talking to reporters about the pet killing spree in Citronelle, Alabama and I will continue to do that. But I know some of you can't bear to hear about it all the time, so if you want updates after this, please email me and I'll let you know how it is going.

The reporter I contacted today, Blake Brown from WKRG TV, said he spoke to the Citronelle chief of police yesterday but the chief didn’t have any answers. The chief said he is looking at 3 people but nothing has happened yet. Blake said he will continue to check with the police chief.

My frustration level over this situation is so high, I can’t begin to describe it. I’m sure you all feel helpless and frustrated, too. It’s inconceivable to me that, in a community with such a small population to deal with, the police don’t have any answers yet. I want to drive over to Citronelle myself, and just ride around looking for suspicious behavior.

I guess prevention is our best defense to keep this kind of sociopath crime down in our own towns. While I am not a political activist, I do sometimes visit the ASPC website. They have some suggestions on how to stay informed in your neighborhood by creating a neighborhood community watch program.

The ASPC website says that an animal is abused every 10 seconds.

They suggest building a team of neighbors to get to know the animals in your area, who their owners are and where they live. Pay attention to the animals’ living conditions and external health condition. If you see a bad situation getting worse, ask the person if he or she needs help with vet bills. Many churches now have animal ministry programs and know of vets who will provide services at reduced rates.

If you notice pets are disappearing from your neighborhood, talk to the residents and find out if anyone else has noticed and what they think is happening. Sometimes animals do stray from home.

Keep an eye out for suspicious activity: unfamiliar vehicles that cruise the area, strangers who pay unwarranted attention to neighbor’s pets. Together, your small team can prevent animal abuse, pets being stolen from their back yards, and even neglect. Pay Attention to what is going on!

Finally, please don’t be afraid to make phone calls. Let your local police department or mayor’s office know that you are starting a neighborhood watch program. Ask them to help by giving you suggestions on how to proceed. Call your local government representatives, Congress-people and your State Senators. Their contact information is readily available online. Get the phone numbers of everyone you need to call when you see an animal abuse/cruelty problem and distribute fliers with those phone numbers on every doorstep in your neighborhood. Put them in vet offices and grooming salons. And if you see something bad happening, let local news people know, too. They are your biggest resources for making the larger community aware of what is going on, especially if you think the law enforcement agencies aren’t doing enough to stop animal cruelty.

PREVENT animal abuse by letting people know that you won’t tolerate it. Right now, that seems to be all we can do.

STILL NO ANSWER from CITRONELLE POLICE

2011-10-25T16:13:00.005-05:00

Last week we told you about the heinous dognappings/killings/mutilations taking place in Citronelle, Alabama.(http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/7-dogs-found-mutilated-2-more-missing).

As of Friday, October 21st, two more dogs had been found dead, apparently from poisoning. After seeing nothing in our local newspaper over the weekend and no online updates this morning, I wrote to the reporter who broke the story originally and asked her for an update. Here is her response:

"As of right now, there is no update. I just got off the phone with the Sheriffs Office and hopefully they will have something soon. The second information comes along I will post it to the web and it will be on FOX10 News. Thank you for your concern and hopefully we will have some good news soon!"

Yes, hopefully we will. In the meantime, should any of our Readers want to check on the progress of the investigation personally, here is contact information for the Mobile, AL Sheriff's Office, the Citronelle Police Department, and the County Commissioner's Office.

Deputy Josh Rhodes, jrhodes@mobileso.com
Citronelle Police Department: no email address was located, however, you can TELEPHONE them at:
(251) 866-5527
And the telephone number for the Mobile County Commissioner's office in Citronelle is 251-866-3163.

Other Costumes at the Party

2011-10-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

Mom finally revived enough to upload a few more pickshures from the party for you to see. We'll save the winner of the costume contest for last! The winning costume was made by the mom of the dog wearing it and she was dressed to match,

Sort of. You'll see.

There were two liddle dogs

dressed up as a witch and a pirate. The witch

one was a shihtzu mix and the pirate one

was a sheltie. Everybuddy thought they were cute.

There was another princess there,

dressed in purple like Maizie.

I like GRRLs with long legs, though.

And this guy was supposed to be a Fire Chief.

He wuzzent vewwy happy about being

at the party. Can you tell?

And then there was THIS guy.

He was a Newfoundland (bbiigg dog)

dressed up like a stegosaurus

dinosaur! Can you see the scales on the costume?

Don't know if you can tell

from the photos but his

costume was paw-some!

He won the contest.

Bro said that was because the Newfie's

mom was dressed like Tarzan's mate.

Might have had sumpen to do wid it.

But it was a really really cool costume anyway!

Can't wait to do it again next year! Only next year I ain't going as a dumb reluctant Leprechaun. I'm gonna pick out my own costume. If y'owl have any suggestions, let me know as soon as you can becuz it'll take Mom a whole year to

get around to making it.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

HOWL-O-WEEN!

2011-10-22T17:55:00.000-05:00

We went to the Halloween party at PetSmart today. Except they call it "Howl-o-ween"! There were LOTS of dogs there and even some really really nice hoomans who don't have their own dogs but they come every year and bring folding chairs to watch the doggie games. We did a couple of rounds of musical sits, and then musical downs, and then there was a costume contest. which I diddent win because I kept taking my hat off. Mom said I was a "reluctant Leprechaun". Whatever. I still had a bunch of fun and made some new friends and renewed some old acquaintenancez. We had cookies and biscuits speshully made just for us and there were a few that were for hoomans, too. Of course, Mom had her iPhone so that she could bring pickshures home for you to see.

Who is dat behind da hat??

Yep, iss me!

Princess Maizie came in looking regal.

Notice her purple wig!

And she curtseyed to me!

( I think I am in love)

Bro was a pony.

Can you see the hand-stitched saddle

he's wearing?

Mom has more pickshures of other dogs that were there but she said she is too wiped out to upload any more today OR to take any more dictashun from me. So Dad iss ordering pizza and we are all gonna sack out in front of the TV and watch some college football tonight. Hope you all have a Howling Halloween too!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

I GO TO THE OFFICE WITH MOM

2011-10-21T11:04:00.000-05:00

Mom woke me up this morning and said we were going to have some fun today. We got in the car and zoomed away while Maggie howled and the other Hooligans tried to ignore her. When Mom turned the car onto Business Park Drive, I sat straight up because I knew where we were! We were going to work!

When we got there, I sniffed around and decided to lie down in the middle of the doorway to Mom's office. It seemed like a good place to be; I could see people coming from all directions and alert Mom to them.

But then I met Miss Paula and she said if I was gonna be at work today,

I needed to work today. Huh?

So she showed me the copy machine and the desk

where she wanted me to spend the day.

To which I replied, "NOT THIS BROWN DOG!"

"I'm gonna work the way Mom does!"

Got my coca cola, got my smart phone. That's all the work I'm gonna do today.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

DON'T LET YOUR doG READ THIS ARTICLE

2011-10-20T08:26:00.001-05:00

But you should read it and if anything like this ever happens in your community, make sure the news reporters keep after the story. The town where this abuse is occurring has a population of only about 3,659, according to the 2000 Census. It's hard to believe that the police department of such a small area has no idea who the perpetrator is and can't -- or won't -- say when an arrest will be made in the case. I have emailed the reporter who broke the story and asked her for a follow up article.

***********************************************************************************

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/7-dogs-found-mutilated-2-more-missing

Dogs found mutilated, two more missing

Updated: Tuesday, 18 Oct 2011, 10:03 PM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 18 Oct 2011, 10:03 PM CDT

Paige Malone
Photojournalist: Robert Brown

CITRONELLE, Ala. (WALA) - Police in Citronelle said someone is mutilating family pets. There have been seven dogs found so far around Russell Road, and there are two more reported missing.
Citronelle Police Chief Shane Stringer said nine pets have been taken right out of people's yards. Seven of them have been found.
"One of the dogs had been decapitated. The other dog had its throat slit. While investigating those cases, we’ve had three other dogs that had been killed. One of those appeared to be poisoned and the ears cut off. The other two appeared to just be poisoned,” said Stringer.
They are shocking discoveries that are scaring citizens like Mary Vise who has dogs of her own.
"They are my family. Yeah, they are my babies,” said Vise.
Vise can’t imagine why someone would do such a thing.
"I don't know if they are doing it in reaction from the devil because you don't know,” said Vise.
Janine Woods is the Executive Director of the Mobile SPCA. She said in her experience, people who commit such acts are either psychotic or dangerously angry.
"They lash out on animals very often because, more likely than not, they will get away with it, or the animal is not going to be able to defend itself,” said Woods.
Woods said police need to look at the fact that the majority of serial killers have a history of animal mutilation or animal cruelty.
“One thing you need to look at in a case like this is that every serial killer that has ever come along has been accused of or has done some sort of animal abuse or animal mutilation before they were caught or before they got old enough to be a serial killer,” said Woods.
It's a fact Stringer is not taking lightly.
"That’s a major concern of the police department. Hopefully, we will be able to catch who's doing this soon and put a stop to it before it gets worse,” said Stringer.
Stringer said he received a report of another dog found decapitated 15 minutes away in Calvert. He can’t help but think they are connected.
Woods said whoever is responsible could serve jail time if it is a felony. Animal cruelty is only a felony if it is proven the person acted intentionally and maliciously. Woods said that shouldn't be a problem in this case.
First, police have to catch them. Right now, Stringer said they have no leads but have put extra patrols in the area and are doing everything they can. There’s also a $1,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
Call Citronelle Police at 251-866-5527 if you have any information.

EYES WIDE OPEN

2011-10-19T14:35:00.000-05:00

Does your dog sleep with her eyes open? We do!

DUKE

MAGGIE

BRO

MAIZIE

Shhhh! Let sleeping dogs lie!

EARS!

2011-10-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

Remember this photo of Maizie's right ear that

we showed you about a week ago?

This next photo shows how much things have improved!

Maizie's new mom has been spraying both ears

with colloidal silver every day. Isn't the difference a-MAIZing?

SATINBALL recipe

2011-10-17T15:46:00.001-05:00

Special Report from Mom of Hooligans

Since we are working to put a few pounds on Miss Maizie, I thought I would tell you about Satinballs. I think the recipe started with people rescuing puppy mill dogs, who were malnourished due to neglect. The recipe has been on the internet for years and I have personally used it, successfully, to help several of my skinny foster dogs gain a little weight when they’ve first come to stay with me. This recipe is commonly shared on rescue email lists. It puts weight on and it makes their coats glossy. “Satinballs” is a full diet designed to be used short term (like maybe a week to ten days), however, as always, discuss with your vet the Satin Ball Recipe or any other dietary change before giving it to your foster dog.

SATIN BALLS

10lbs regular (not lean) hamburger, 1 box Quaker Oatmeal (not instant)
10 eggs, including shells, 1 ¼ cups unsulfured Molasses (regular 12oz jar)
2 large boxes regular TOTAL breakfast cereal
1 jar Wheatgerm (regular, not 'flavored'), 1 ¼ cup Peanut Oil
10 small packages regular (plain) Knox gelatin
and a pinch salt (actually about ¼ teaspoon)

Mix it up like a meat loaf. Then make up about ½ cup patties, flatten with your hand and freeze flat on a waxed paper layers on a cookie sheet. This way, once frozen, they can be separated and packaged in zip locking freezer bag and they won't stick together once they are frozen.
Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

Must be fed raw, but can be slightly warmed in the Microwave on 'defrost' or 'pastry' for a second or two to take the chill off and peak the aroma. Small breeds 1-2 patties a day in addition to regular diet. Medium breeds 3-5 a day and large breeds up to 10 a day, if you are using the ½ cup measurement. Because of high fat content, NOT recommended for Pancreatic dogs nor dogs w/ diabetes. This recipe is only for dogs that are generally healthy except for malnutrition due to lack of food. ALWAYS GET VETERINARY ADVICE BEFORE CHANGING A DOG’S DIET AS THERE MAY BE ENDOCRINE OR OTHER MEDICAL PROBLEMS AT WORK THAT YOU HAVEN’T BEEN MADE AWARE OF PRIOR TO FOSTERING.

GETTING ALONG JUST FINE!

2011-10-16T07:12:00.001-05:00

Maizie and her foster Bro are best friends now. They do everything together and we do mean "everything". Their most recent habit is to share their crate together. And we have a pickshure to prove it! Now, don't worry about Maizie's ears being down in the photo. All it means is that she doesn't like the camera. She'll warm up to that. She has to.
Wanna know why?

Becuz the foster family has deesided to keep Maizie forever and forever!

But you probably knew that was gonna happen, diddint you? <G>

Now that's something to howl about!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

aMAZING MAIZIE - photos of a work in progress

2011-10-13T08:32:00.000-05:00

Your heart will be lifted by these photos. She is coming out of her shell, her appetite is slowly growing AND she is drinking water from a bowl. It's Good.

In this photo, she is "play bowing" to her new brother,

telling him she feels like interacting with him.

This may look like aggression, but it isn't.

Airedales love to play "bitey face". Look at

Bro: he's bowing back to her.

And finally, Maizie is so happy that

she runs away in a silly scamper

across the back yard.

TODAY is dedicated to OUR JACK

2011-10-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

We thought this is a good day to share some pickshures of Jack, age 13, getting love from Dad. There are several of them, so we hope you don't get tired of looking at them. The last one really tells the story.

Hey Dad! Glad you are home!

Could you give me a little ear massage, please?

oooh YEAH!

that's what I'm talking 'bout!

happy sigh!

That was pawsome, Dad!

I love you!

AMAZING MAIZIE

2011-10-10T16:58:00.001-05:00

New pickshures of Maizie with her new brother. She's still not eating very much and she won't drink water. We are trying stinky canned dog food (the first ingredient listed is water!) and also trying apple juice mixed with water. Cross your fingers that she drinks it because we don't really want to have to hydrate her using bags of fluids and needles. That would traumatize her more, and she is just beginning to wag her tail an itty witty bit. Enjoy the pickshures! And please keep the good thoughts coming Maizie's way!

It might look like aggression, but it's not!

She is sniffing her new Bro and he is laughing at her.

This is Maizie with her new Bro.

When she gains the proper amount of weight,

she'll look alot like him.

MEET MAIZIE!!!

2011-10-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today Mom went to the north part of the state to pick up another rescued dog. She was rescued from a really really bad situation of neglect. She is awfully skinny because she hasn't been fed well and she is afraid of just about everything because she has never been out of the backyard since she was a puppy and nobuddy ever spent any time with her. Mom left our house at 7:30 this morning to go get Maizie and she got home about 8:00 tonight. Here are some pickshures of Maizie. The last pickshure might make you sad, but Mom told me to tell you that Maizie's ears are being treated with antibiotics and they will be okay.

Tonight Maizie is safe inside a house for the first time in her life. She has already learned about getting a massage from Mom and about lying down on a big soft floor pillow. And Mom put several drops of Bach Rescue Remedy in the water bowl because it is good for helping hoomans and animals get de-stressed. Maizie hasn't eaten anything yet, because she is still getting acklimmated, but we expect she will want some breakfast tomorrow morning because she hasn't had any food all day today. It was a long ride in the car and Maizie stood up the entire time. She is zonked out now and we hope she stays asleep all night.

She is as tall as I am but she weighs 25 pounds less than I do.

At first, she was scared to walk on the vinyl floor.

She is scared of everything.

Both of her ears look like this. She was living outside

and flies were chewing on her ears.

Remember, now, she looks really skinny and sad in the pickshures, but she is going to be JUST FINE. So y'owl don't need to worry about her. Maizie is safe for the rest of her life because a kind hooman knew that animals deserve better than to be neglected and ignored. Mom said, would you please make a donation to your local no-kill animal shelter, please, so that more animals like Maizie can be saved and healed and protected. Thanks. Duke.

TOO FUNNY NOT TO SHARE

2011-10-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

Dear doG Trainer of Hooligans,

Okay, I realize I'm probably being really dense here, but I've read instructions on clicker training, but...I don't get it. What's the point? I'm interested, because Max, my 18 month old ADT puppy, is very smart and quick to pick things up, but he has puppy ADHD, and I know that some folks have had good luck with clicker training. But I don't see the advantage.

I click and treat, until he associates the two (on weeks when he's not afraid of the clicker, that is <g>). Then I start clicking for behaviors...when he sits on command, I click as his butt touches the floor. And then what? I don't really understand the advantage. Or am I just over-thinking it? Is it just a way, beyond 'yes!' or 'good job!' to tell him he's done the right behavior? And how long is this puppy fear stage THING going to last anyway????

Tess

Dear Tess,

This is something we will need to work on together instead of discussing in an email, so that I can show you the impressive results clicker training will give you. Where clicker training really helps the most is in shaping the kind of behavior you want from your doG. Ditto talking about fear stages. Let’s make an appointment for next weekend, as I will be out of town this weekend picking up another rescue dog.

Mom of Hooligans

And Tess replied:

Just as well, as Max spent about a week absolutely terrified of the clicker sound. That was after a week or so of clicking & treating and him being fine with it.

Yesterday, it was the plastic that I was using as a tarp and that terrifying folding card table next to the door. <g> After the 'incident' with the plastic, I had to keep going and getting him out of the living room. I'd find him just sitting up there in the middle of the room. I'd bring him back and make him sit with me in the den and give him a treat, but the minute I went back to work, he'd disappear again. And weirdly, the minute something spooks him, he remembers the 'monster with 4 arms' that sits in the ceiling. Once he's spooked about something, the ceiling fans start worrying him again even though he hasn't glanced at one for days.

Today, the 'big scary thing' was a firetruck.

I wonder if I'm getting a reputation for being 'not quite right' in the neighborhood. I wonder what people think when Max and I walk around and around some object, or stand for minutes, doing nothing, beside a traffic cone. <g> "Look at that! She must be high again. You should see it. She just zones out and stands there, staring off into space. And that dog is so good. He just stands there with her. Sometimes, the poor thing tries to get her to take him home. But no matter how hard he pulls, she's just gone."

WHEN YOU CAN’T PLAY OUTSIDE

2011-10-04T14:20:00.000-05:00

Cooler weather has finally come to Alabama. October and April are our nicest months, so if you decide to visit The Howling Hooligan, be sure to plan with this in mind. Otherwise, the main things you’ll remember from your trip are mosquitoes, yellow flies, sweat, rain, mosquitoes, yellow flies, sweat, rain – well, we’re sure you get the point. Why do we choose to stay here, you might ask? Because we’re Hooligans. We nevah surrender!

ANYWAY. Due to the fact that Mom and Dad don’t do much in the way of outdoor activity for much of the year due to heat and bugs and rain and being lazy (oops! Did I just say that out loud?!), we have some fun games that we can play indoors. This makes our hoomans feel like they are important in our busy hooligan lives. Which, of course they are. At least twice a day.

MY favorite indoor game is “find it”. It’s fun to do inside when triple digit heat is visiting or when a hurricane is blowing our way. Or when a snow storm is howling around the eaves of your house. All ya gotta do is get your dog’s favorite toy, say a ball? and rub it all over with a smelly treat. Give your dog the treat and say “Take sausage ball” or “take pizza ball” or whatever the treat is, and let him chomp down on it. Then take the toy in one hand and hide it behind your back. Tell your dog to “find sausage!” He’ll do it! To make this game funner, you can use different treats and teach your pup the name of each treat. Change up the toys too! This way, you are also increasing his vocabulary. Eventually you can hide the treat or toy under sofa cushions or in boxes or under beds and cool stuff like that.

One day, you might even rub pizza all over DAD and after Dad goes to hide, you say, “Find Pizza Dad!” Wanna guess how fast Dad will get clobbered?

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

NOAH'S PARK & BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS SERVICE

2011-10-03T14:09:00.001-05:00

I hadda blast last weekend. Mom and I went all day Satterday and all day Sunday. Her back hurts. My legs hurt. But my tummy is very happy and I can't wait until next year's Noah Park. Here are some pickshures.

There were so many people, our church parking lot

got full and some folks had to park at the church across the street~

Mom and some other members of the St Francis Guild

baked home made treats for all the pets.

There was a petting zoo outside.

And there were photo ops with St Francis!

Father Ray did a special Animal Blessing Service

These are 2 Lorikeets I met

And here I am meeting my new friend Larry!

A certified massage therapist gave pet massage

I met a horse named Casper

And Mom let me have some vanilla ice cream.

The St. Francis Guild received alot of donations that they will use to help animals in bad situations for the next twelve months. Then we will do it all over again. Maybe you will come next year!

NEW HONORARY HOOLIGAN

2011-09-29T12:39:00.001-05:00

This Is PoPie.

He iS a SmAll doG wiTh a biG hEarT.

PoPie goES eXpLORing in tHe fOreSt, aCCompAniEs hiS hOOmaNs

wiTH sTylE and SaSS, aNd toRTureS hiS sQuEaky CoW reguLARLY.

ALSO: PoPie’s MoM sAys he EaTS beARs WHOLE!

Therefore, with much ado and tail wagging and running amuck, we hereby proclaim PoPie G. as a HONORARY HOOLIGAN.

(please remember to sound out the “H” in honorary. It’s very important. Thank you.)

SILENT DOG LANGUAGE

2011-09-29T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hooligan House just uploaded a video to You Tube that we think you will find interesting. In it, Duke uses “neutral” body language signals to let Maggie know he doesn't want to play. She’s very persistent and doesn’t give up right away. First, Duke yawns, then he turns his body away from her, then he "freezes", and at last he yawns again. Through it all, his tail is wagging to let her know it isn't that he doesn't like her, he just doesn't feel like playing right now. When she finally gets the message, Maggie lies down and yawns too. “Okay, be boring then!”

This is classic silent dog communication and it’s the kind of thing I look for when I am doing canine temperament evaluations.

Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/Q9X6vseSrpE

PET CONTEST CATEGORIES at NOAH's PARK!

2011-09-26T10:15:00.001-05:00

Noah’s Park is all about PETS! This year, we have added a new activity that we know you and your furry companion will be excited to join. Best of all, ANY pet can participate. Look through the categories below and see which one you want to enter your pet in for fun and prizes. Then, email Muriel Donald: howlinghooligan@gmail.com to register! Or, you can sign up at Noah’s Park on the day of the event!

Precious Pets Contests – 1:30 p.m. (Opposable Thumb trophies)

CATEGORIES:

Wildest Wag (dog) – This dog wags the entire body, not just the tail. Be sure to put your valuables out of harms way!

Best Kisser (dog) – Slurp slurp slurp. This dog has kissing down to a fine art. He focuses his entire attention on making sure your face is completely laved with love.

Best Vocal Performance (dog or cat) – Whine for a treat, Sing an aria, Bark his excitement, Yodel for attention, Mew for tuna or Howl with his pack. This pet’s talent raises the roof.

Cutest Kitty (cat) – This kitty just makes your heart melt. Pretty is as Kitty does!

Best Smile (dog) – Does your dog laugh, grin or smile from ear to ear? Showing all your canine teeth isn’t always a bad idea.

Pet/Owner Look-alike (all pets) – dressed alike, same color fur or same colorful attitude? Do your friends think you and your pet are twins?

Longest Tail (dog or cat) – Is your pet careful around rocking chairs? We’ll be using a tape measure for this one!

Shortest Legs (dog) – The seven dwarfs had nothing on this dog! Her legs might be the shortest but they get the job done!

Least Obedient (dog – because all cats would be winners) – This dog loves ya, baby, but does things in his own time, at his own speed and only at his own desire.

Most Mysterious Heritage (dog) – Her family lineage might include a Lab, a spaniel, a shepherd, a poodle AND a bulldog. How many dogs contributed to your pet’s mix?

Most Glamorous (all pets) – Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Just fetch me that bone, that can of sardines, or cover me with gorgeous bling!

MOST ENTERTAINING (tricks) (all pets) Does your lovable critter have the Pet X Factor?

Judges:

Jo Anne McKnight (Reporter – Mobile Press Register)

Dr. Marcia Martin (Veterinarian – The Holistic Veterinary Center)

Barbara Robinson (Veterinary Technician - Animal ER & Holistic Veterinary Center)

Also! Dog Games

Musical Sits (11:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.)

(medallion awards/treats)

NOAH'S PARK PET CARNIVAL

2011-09-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

Fun for pets and their humans!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

7125 Hitt Road, Mobile, AL

(corner of Cody & Hitt Roads)

251-639-1948

www.redeemeerepiscopal.org

Horse Rides
Pet Rescue Adoptions
Precious Pets
Petting Zoo
Homemade Pet Treats
South Alabama Cage Bird Society

All proceeds benefit the St. Francis Guild – Redeemer's Animal Ministry.
Pet Photos with Noah
Pink Poodle Spa
Massage for
the pups!
　
Silent Auction
　
GiftShop
Bake Sale
　
Spotted Dog Cafe: dine with your dog!
　
　
Most activities will be indoors so we'll see you there rain or shine!
　
　
Contests and Dog Games
　
　

ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM...

2011-09-21T15:34:00.002-05:00

Mother Nature, who supplies everything we need to be happy healthy Hooligans.

Awhile back we mentioned using phosphorous to help dogs that are fearful during thunderstorms. Some of you wrote us asking what other homeopathic remedies should be in your Doggy Medicine Pouch, so here are a few that Mom wouldn’t be without.

First, because we Hooligans are always sticking our big black noses into places that smell really interesting, Mom keeps APIS. Anydog that gets stung by a bee or hornet at our house is gonna get some Apis.

She also keeps ACONITE and ARNICA for general stuff like fearful situations and fever. HYPERICUM is for puncture wounds (because ya never know what might happen while a Hooligan is hunting in the woods) and places on our bodies that hurt for no obvious reason. NUX VOMICA is for when we, well, vomit or have constipation. She gives us NUX VOMICA if she thinks we need to get rid of something nasty that we’ve eaten. Like a narmadillo innard or an old rat head that Buddy left under the deck last week.

PHOSPHOROUS you already know about because of thunderstorms. But it also helps with diarrhea.

Jack gets RHUS TOX for his arthritis. When his ACL was torn a few years ago, he took RUTA GRAV.

Of course, Mom always takes us to the vet as soon as she thinks we need have any kind of problem and she says you should do the same with your dogs. Homeopathic stuff can get the healing started before you get to the vet, though, and it makes us feel good that Mom has a medicine kit just for us. Dad? He knows his place in the hierarchy. All he gets is aspirin.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

WANT TO KNOW HOW TO ADMINISTER HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES TO YOUR DOG?

The following excerpted article comes from Healthy Pet Journal. A hyperlink follows the excerpt, so that you can read the entire EXCELLENT article.

Administering Homeopathic Remedies
Homeopathic remedies are best given at least 20 minutes before or after a meal. Ideally there should be no food residue in the mouth. Drop the liquid directly into the animal’s mouth or on the gums. Liquid remedies are preserved with alcohol and some animals, especially cats, can be sensitive to the odor or taste. To remove the alcohol you can drop the dosage into a small vial or shot glass and let it sit out for 15-20 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Alternatively, drop the dosage into a small amount of heated water to speed the evaporation of the alcohol, and then use a dropper to administer the diluted remedy. This will not affect the potency of the remedy. Pellets can be crushed and emptied into the animal’s mouth with a small piece of paper rolled like a funnel or folded into a small envelope. Avoid feeding raw garlic during homeopathic treatment.

Some animals may be resistant and not accept the remedy. In this case you can give the dose in a small amount of food, water or milk. It is best to evaporate the alcohol before putting it in the food or liquid. This may affect the potency of the remedy, but will not necessarily render it ineffective.

For acute injuries, trauma, and illnesses the remedy can be given every 15 minutes for the first hour, reducing to every 30 minutes for the next hour, then to once in the third hour. This may be all that is needed to stimulate the healing process and resolve the imbalance. If needed, subsequent doses can be administered 1 to 3 times daily. In non-acute illnesses administration 3 times daily is the general recommendation. Once the symptoms resolve, reduce the frequency of the dosage to twice per day and then to once per day. If symptoms reappear, increase the dosage again and maintain at 2-3 times per day for another 10 to 20 days and gradually reduce the dosage again. If symptoms reappear again, then the remedy being used may not be the proper choice or there may be diet or environmental issues that have not yet been properly addressed.

Individual remedies prescribed by a veterinarian may be dosed differently and instructions should be followed carefully.

http://www.healthypetjournal.com/default.aspx?tabid=20624

WHY DO "BREED" RESCUES???

2011-09-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

MY INITIAL INQUIRY

Hi,

I am inquiring about the Airedale Terriers you have that are believed to be from Alabama. National Airedale Rescue has volunteers around the country and I am the contact person from Alabama.

Would you mind telling me how the dogs got from Alabama to New England? We try to keep track of all the surrenders in our state, but sometimes a dog will slip through the cracks of our procedures. We would love to have them back in our state if they are Alabama dogs, if that is something you are open to doing. We have approved families waiting to adopt.

Any information at all you can give me about these dogs will be much appreciated.

Thank you!

THEIR RESPONSE

I am angry about “breed rescue groups” that only care about their chosen breed. The shelter I volunteer with has contacted breed rescue groups several times and they always say they will only take the dogs if they are purebreds. Sometimes we have no idea if they are (purebred), but I am sick of the breed rescues that think the breed belongs to them and will fight me tooth and nail to get them, but if they are not perfect they will not take them.

MY ANSWER

Hi Michelle,

It’s sad that you have had bad experiences with breed rescue groups. I also do work with local groups who rescue all dogs, not just specific breeds, but because I love the Airedale Terrier personality and drive, I have chosen to help that breed as much as I can. Actually, mixed breed dogs are often easier to place than breeds like the Airedale, because mixed dogs are not usually as high maintenance and they tend to fit better into the average family. Mixed breeds also tend to be healthier than many pure bred dogs today because of unscrupulous breeders who breed solely due to the popularity of a certain dog, in hopes of making a lot of money. That kind of breeding too often results in unhealthy dogs with weak temperaments that should never be sold as pets to unsuspecting consumers. These dogs inevitably either bite someone or their medical bills become too great for a family to handle and so the dog gets surrendered to a shelter where their adoption possibilities are slim to none. Biting dogs are not ever supposed to be re-homed so those are put down almost immediately.

You are probably aware that Airedale Terriers are high energy working dogs that, if not given jobs to do, can quickly turn into aggressive behavior problems. It can be difficult to find adoptive families for Airedales, once people actually do the research and learn what might be facing them on down the line. I have 3 Airedales of my own, two of whom can never be re-homed (one due to biting and one due to aggression issues), and I have two mixed breed dogs that my husband and I rescued from grievous situations. One is a pit bull mix and one is a lab-beagle mix. Both of these have turned out to be the sweetest babies I could ever have hoped to find. It would have been easy to find homes for them, but we fell in love with them and adopted them ourselves.

So that’s why I work with Airedale Rescue and I imagine that’s why other breed rescues have to ask, “Is this a purebred dog?” I just know that often a hard breed like this needs different handling than a mixed breed dog does and I want their adoptions to be as successful as I can help make them.

In addition to being in rescue, I am a dog trainer, and a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for the AKC. I make sure that all dogs I take in are trained to that standard before they are placed in a new home.

You asked how I heard about the ones you have: I comb the Internet for Airedales in need of rescue and adoption. I do wish you success in your work.

IT's A GOOD LIFE

2011-09-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

I was asked to try out for the starring role in a remake of The Shaggy Dog.

And Mom didn't think it was funny.

So she took me to the Salon.

I got a haircut and I think I look pretty snazzy.

Mom took me to her office to show me off to everyone.

When we got home, my back was itchy

so I went outside to check on Mom's antique roses.

The ones with the thorns.

AAARRROOOOOO!!!

That feels GREAT!

Autumn in the Aire

2011-09-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

We are finally getting some good weather here in south Alabama: lows in the low sixties and highs in the low eighties. We are spending more time outdoors and as you can see from this photo, I have plans to inspect and patrol every square inch of our back yard, all weekend long. Hope you enjoy your weekend, too!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

DOG TRAINING TECHNIQUES

2011-09-15T07:15:00.000-05:00

From Duke's Mom:

As a follow up to yesterday's blog about Grady, I wanted to explain a bit about why I did the things I did with him and why I thought they would work. I use different techniques with different dogs, according to what I think might be helpful.

Most times, a trainer can go with conventional thinking because most dogs are not as severely traumatized as Grady has been. He is afraid of everything and everyone. Insistent, repetitive or harsh/coercive training will only shut Grady down more. I felt that he needed a shake-up of energy.

That's not a credible, scientific way to express it but I have many tools in my training kit. And I have one very big tool that most people don't have. I live with terriers. I have lived with terriers most of my life. I know what terrier behavior is supposed to look like.

Terrier behavior is supposed to be arrogant, playful, sarcastic, selectively affectionate and, most of all reactive and curious.

So, what I intuitively felt needed to happen with Grady the other night was for me to catch him off guard and do some things that would pique his interest. He wasn't expecting to sit at the dining table and be hand fed steak as an appetizer, and he certainly wasn't expecting to be rocked and sung to (his poor ears, I am not known for my muscial ability). So he was surprised and that surprise kind of knocked him out of his learned, fearful behavior and when he saw his own dinner plate, his appetite and interest had been stimulated and he went right over to eat even though there were five strange people in the room.

That's all I did. Next time we go to see him, I am going to take a small playful jack russell terrier with me to show Grady what being a feisty terrier looks like. I'll keep you posted. I hope you'll keep your fingers crossed for us.

Mom of Hooligans

"GRADY" the West Highland Terrier

2011-09-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hey! Y'owl remember awhile back one of our Readers wrote us about the rescued Westie that was so traumatized and skeered from being abused that he wouldint come out of the corners? And he wouldint eat his dinner anywhere but in his crate? And Mom wrote back to the lady with some suggestions for the little fella?

Last weekend, Mom and Dad went to meet Grady. They stayed a long time and let him get used to having strangers in the house. He wouldint come out of his crate so Mom went in and got him. Yes, she did. And she held him in her lap and fed him some bits of well done steak from her dinner plate. She also put some butter on the top of her hand and let him lick it off while she taught him the word "kiss". Pretty soon, Grady was licking Mom's hand and arm everytime she said "kiss" even if there wuzzent any butter there to lick.Then she took him in the living room and rocked him on her shoulder and sang "there was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o".

The Westies' hoomans thought Mom was whacked.

After awhile, though, Mom brought Grady back into the kitchen and told his man 2-legged to fix Grady's supper and put it in his bowl. The man did. Mom picked up the bowl and set it and Grady down on the floor near the dining room table. Then Mom sat down at the table and started talking about the weather. The man said, "He won't eat it."

Mom said, "Wait". She kept the conversation around the table going for a coupla minutes and then without changing the tone of her voice, she motioned for the man and woman to look at Grady. Then Mom took this picksure of Grady eating in the kitchen from his bowl for the first time.

It's gonna take awhile, maybe a long while,

but he is gonna be okay.

Our Deelishus Cookie Recipe

2011-09-12T18:16:00.001-05:00

Duke has received quite a few requests for our easy cheesy cookie recipe. We found it somewhere on the world wide web. I can't remember where it was, so I can't give proper credit to the originator of the cookie. If you see it somewhere else, please let me know so I can cite her or him. I use rice flour when making these treats for a bake sale because many dogs are allergic to wheat flour. Here's the recipe. Happy Baking!

THE INGREDIENTS

2 cups of rice flour

1 and 1/4 cups of grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of olive oil

approx 10 tablespoons of water, added slowly

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix all ingredients except the water until mixture forms a dough.

Add the water tablespoon by tablespoon if necessary, until dough is a good texture.

Roll the dough out onto a floured board until it is about 1 inch thick.

Cut out shapes with a cookie or with a knife.

Put in oven on non-stick baking tray for 15 minutes.

Let cool completely before storing in an air-tight tin.

These treats may be frozen for up to a week.

Remember to expect your dog to sit politely when she or he asks for a treat.

Good Manners are vewwy vewwy important!

SCRUMPTIOUS SATURDAY: HoMe BAkEd TrEAts

2011-09-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

mOM bAEKD oUR fAvRIte

ez ChEEZY tReaTS todAy

Do YoU sEE tHe CAt coooKie?

hECk yEs, I wAnT my ChEEZy tREat!

ANd sO diD MaGGiE

It was a good day. And Mom even made enuff treats to take to the dog adoption bake sale tomorrow. Their name is SOUTHBARK. I think I wrote something about them awhile back. Do you remember?

They are still trying to raise enuff $$$ to buy a van to transport rescued dogs from all over Alabama to forever homes. I wonder how many treats we will have to sell to do that?

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL

NO-KILL ANIMAL SHELTER! THEY NEED YOU!

I WAS NOT DRUNK WHEN THIS PIKSHURE WAS TOOK

2011-09-08T10:22:00.001-05:00

A guy named Lee came to visit us last weekend. I didunt meet him but he brought lots of rain and wind with him. He also brought thunder.

Lee was at our house for three days doing all that. Me and Jack stayed in our thundershirts the whole time. Sunday afternoon, that wind and rain and thunder were really really crazy-bad. Jack was okay but my thundershirt wuzzent enough for me. Mom had to go into her dog medicine cabinet and get ½ an Ace to give me in a piece of hotdog weiner. She duzzent give the entire pill becuz that makes us zombies. But ½ the pill helps us settle down and sleep.

So anyway, she gave me the pill and in a few minutes I went in my crate and took a nap. Dad said I look drunk in the pikshure. I don’t care. When I woke up, Lee and all his noise were gone. We have lotsa rain puddles to play in and lotsa mud to roll around in. PLUS! Possums & narmadillos & wood rats are coming in our yard from the woods becuz of the rain and me and Buddy and Maggie are having a blast with them. They can run but they can’t hide! Oh, and that torn up barbecue grill in the corner of the back deck? Not My Fault. Dang ole rat shouldunt have tried to go inside it.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

THE "T" FACTOR: More Advice to the Dog Worn

2011-09-01T12:45:00.003-05:00

Dear Mom of Hooligans,

My dog Toby is sixteen months old and is starting to exhibit some aggression toward other dogs. He has been to obedience school and he has been neutered and he usually loves other dogs. But last night when we went out the door to go for our walk, a woman was walking a mastiff (or some dog that size) down our street. The dog didn't even break stride; he barely glanced at Toby. But Toby went ballistic, barking and lunging. He was pissed off, big time, in an instant. He hurt himself three times with the prong collar before I got him under control, and the pain didn't even slow him down.

He did the same thing one night when we were walking him and my sister’s dog, Molly, (though it was easier to bring him out of it that night) a few weeks ago. And I could be wrong, but I think it was a man with the same dog. Both times, the dog was very large (like a mastiff) and light colored. We just figured it was because Molly was with us, and he was protecting his new friend. He's gone into that aggressive barking once before when a dog was walking past, so I guess he could be getting territorial about the yard, but I’m worried. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

C.B. in San Antonio

Dear C.B.,

Is the mastiff an un-neutered male?

There is a really important factor going on in dogdom that often catches unwary dog owners by surprise. You may have the friendliest, best behaved canine companion in the world, that you are proud to take to hospitals and nursing homes and schools.... And then all of a sudden, up walks an un-neutered male dog throwing off that dratted TESTOSTERONE scent and your Canine Good Citizen goes bark biting crazy.

It happens all the time.

If you happen to know that an approaching dog might be throwing off that scent, the best thing to do is to make a turn and walk Toby in another direction. But if it's a shaggy dog, or you are walking at night and it happens, just do your best to keep Toby moving until you get past the annoyance. The worst thing you can do is to chastise Toby or raise your voice or yank on his collar because those actions would be a form of reward to him and he will repeat the behavior the next time he sees another dog. IGNORE the unwanted behavior and move past it as quickly as possible. When Toby stops growling - barking - lunging, then it's time to give him a general command (such as "sit, shake hands") and reward him with a treat or a kiss or a back scratch.

You might also try the homeopathic remedy phosphorus. It covers several of issues including the aggression, fear, fear of storms, diarrhea and tummy upset, etc. Hopefully, with work and exercise and taking him to a doggy day camp once a week so that he can play with well socialized, obedience trained, neutered dogs, you'll get Toby's reaction to the mastiff under control.

There's nothing you can do about your neighbor and his un-neutered dog except shake your head in disbelief.

I hope this helps!

Mom of Hooligans

(Did I mention that I am a professional dog trainer? I am an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator because I had to get professional to be able to deal with a houseful of Hooligans. And I love it!)

EXPENSIVE TASTES

2011-08-31T13:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Hoomans! I diddunt forget to write the rest of Abby’s story, Mom just wudden give me any computer time until now. Don’t you think I deserve my own laptop with Dragon Dictation on it?

Anywaze, you probably want to know how it all turned out. Her Sunday evaluashun was durned good for a dog who had just spent three weeks in a shelter. Mom found that Abby was disctrackted (what terrier izzent??) over the birds and (sorry YumYum) guinea pigs and hamsters but not to the point of lunging at them.

Abby was friendly to all the dogs and all the hoomans she met at the store. She even kissed a baby that was in a stroller! Dad said she might have been tasting the baby but Mom knew better. They walked around the store for over an hour and at the end of it, Abby had learned that the word “Halt” means to stop walking and stand beside Mom and the shopping cart. Ackshully, by the end of the hour, Abby was halting automatically without having to be told to do it. She did want to run with some boys who were being hooligans in the store, but hey, that’s just to be expected!

Then Abby spent a few days with her foster family and played with their dog alot. That was Guinness. They really liked each other and it was hard for Guinness to tell Abby good-bye when it was time for her to go live in Auburn, AL.

BUT – her new family takes her to work with them and got her a new bed with her name embroidered on it and her new dad built a stand for her food and water bowls that has her name on it AND he is building her an air-conditioned dog house for when she wants to be outdoors during the summers. They took her to the spa to get a bath and a haircut too.

And Mom got a text message from Abby’s new dad this morning that said Abby has expensive tastes. Over the weekend, she chewed up her mom’s Chanel sunglasses and her dad’s Costa del Mars sunglasses. And you know what that means, right? It means Abby really really loves her new family!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

before spa

after spa

Abby is AAAROOING with happiness!

MORE ADVICE TO THE DOG-WORN

2011-08-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

DEAR HOWLING HOOLIGAN,

The neighbors decided to use the corner of our yard as a parking lot, and yesterday, our dog, Ruger decided he was afraid of the one and a half cars that were parked half in our yard and half in the street. (Yesterday morning, there was food, or something, in the street near where one of them had been parked. My husband Mark said it looked like cake and ice cream. Whatever it was, he took the hose out and washed it down.)

Now Ruger doesn't even want to go out the front door. Once I get him out the door, he won't go near that area of the yard, even though the cars aren't there. He'll walk west, quickly, with his butt tucked. But coming back home, last night and this morning, when we get four houses from our house, he sits down and absolutely refuses to move. Last night, I started playing with him and got him running and ran him past the next door neighbor house. This morning... no go. He'll pull backwards until he hurts himself with the prong collar, then do it again. So I carried him, all 60 pounds of him, until we got to the neighbor house, then set him down in the middle of the street. He immediately tried to go into the yard across the street, then finally rushed past the neighbor house and home.

<sigh>

I've walked the area over and can't see anything, like a snake or wasp's nest, that would make him so afraid. And if it was the cars...they're in their yard today. Where the food was smells bad, so I'm going to take vinegar out there and wash it again, but...since when does a dog mind the smell of rotten food?

Any advice?

Veronica

Dear VerRoNIca,

YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE RUDE.

First of all, you need to go over there and ask them NOT TO PARK IN YOUR YARD.

Then, go get some kind of permanent structure to put in that corner so that they cannot park there.

Ruger thinks that part of the yard belongs to someone else, that it's not his property anymore. Someone may have thrown up or urinated there, who knows? But that's what's probably going on with him. Mark may have to go out there at midnight, take Ruger with him, and urinate in that corner. Seriously. Let Ruger watch him do it. Of course, Mark should stand with his back to the neighbor house so that they don't see him doing it <grin>.

And he may have to do that several times before Ruger gets the point. You can also take a chair over there and sit in that corner with Ruger and read a book for awhile. Don't make a big deal about it, just do it.

Wow, your neighbors must have really unpleasant body function odors to make a tough dog named Ruger too scared to even go past the house.

Sincerely,

The Hooligans

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

DEAR HOOLIGAN HOUSE

2011-08-25T10:10:00.000-05:00

DEAR HOOLIGAN HOUSE,

Dad's and Mom's beloved Westie (West Highland Terrier) died of old age and kidney failure. Zack was Mom's reason for getting up everyday. My sister and I decided that they needed a new dog. I went on Petfinder and found a Westie rescue group in N. Al. It happened that the lady in charge was delivering 2 dogs last Thur and she had a dog she thought perfect for them.

My husband and I drove to Montgomey to pick him up. He was a puppy mill reject. They called him Chops as someone had cut off his tail. He was found a month ago after he was attacked by dogs and then tossed in a dumpster to die. he is appox. 4 yr old and only 14 pounds. He is very sweet but very very nervous. He shakes from fear and hides in corners. We went out to dinner and before we left he was in a crate that had been stuffed with a huge pillow. The door was left open. Dad put out a bowl of food. He gets canned mixed with warm water as they have not seen him drink. When we got back the bowl was empty and he was hiding in dad's office in a corner between the bookshelf and the wall. There was only enough room for him to sit.

If you have any ideas on how to help this little guy, PLEASE let me know. Thank you.

Nancy

Dear Nancy,

Thank Heavens for Rescue Groups! It breaks my heart to hear stories like this. Someday, maybe, there will be no more puppy mills.

I do have suggestions on initial help for this dog. You have to proceed as though he is in triage, as though this is an emergency situation. And I have very firm rules about how to help him.

First of all get him completely checked out by a vet, blood work and all. Then, don't force anything on him - not even affection. Go about life as usual and pay him as little attention as possible. Don’t leave food down all the time. Two meals a day at set times so he gets used to a routine. Give him a week or so to start adjusting. Your parents need to be committed to letting him figure out on his own that he is safe and can trust them.

After about a week or ten days, please get in touch with me. I will be glad to help in any way I can.

Mom of Hooligans

Abby's DPA started Saturday

2011-08-24T15:28:00.001-05:00

DPA. That means “Dog Personality Assessment”. I’ve noticed that hoomans like to use abbreeveeashuns. Guess they think it makes them sound smart.

We don’t have enough time to tell you about the whole test and Mom said you would prolly get bored reading all of it anyway. I don’t think you would get bored because you enjoy reading about Hooligans already but I don’t argue with Mom. Much.

Maggie woodent let Abby play with any of our toys at first. She grabbed Jack’s green Frog away from Abby and growled and took it to her crate. Abby was real nice about letting go of the Frog. And when Maggie went around the house collecting all our toys to take to her crate, Abby just watched her. Mom said that meant that Abby is not possessive about stuff.

Maggie put all our toys that she could find in her crate and then lay down on top of them. Mom said that just proved Maggie is a real @#*&^ and that you would know what that means. Do you?

Mom locked the door to Maggie’s crate and left her there in what Mom calls rotten splendor. Maggie had the dog den all to herself while the rest of us, including Abby, had to settle for treats. Yummy, bacon flavored treats. Mom told us to sit and wait while she held a treat out to each one of us. We all sat like gentlemen and Abby watched us and did what we did. When it was her turn, she took the treat very gently from Mom’s hand. She didn’t try to steal treats or food from us the whole time she was with us, so we know she is not possessive or growly about food. Maggie howled because she could smell the treats and she wanted one, but Mom said “too bad, Maggie, you made your bed and you can lie in it!” (Mom can be tuff like that.)

Later that afternoon, Mom put the other Hooligans in their crates. I stayed out so I could be a nootral dog, and watched her and Abby do some more evaluating. I had to stay very quiet on the sofa while Mom threw a squeaky toy for Abby and Abby ran right after it and brought it back and dropped it at Mom’s feet! She can also catch a treat in the air when somebuddy throws it to her, just like I can. And, she learned how to lie down and stay for 3 minutes while I was sitting next to her, and she learned the “leave it” command real fast and she did it much better than Maggie and Buddy do. It was fun and me and Mom and Dad were very impressed with her. But not everything was perfect. After supper that night, the parents caught Abby trying to take hooman food from the table. And that wuzzent all. Abby likes to collect stuff just like Maggie does. She collected socks and shoes and a remote control and a magazine and, well, just whatever she saw that looked intrustring. Whatever grabbed her attenshun, she tried to put in her mouth and run away with it. But she wuzzent growly about it and when Mom or Dad had to take stuff away from her, she didint get mad. I think this is prey drive but it’s not crazy prey drive like Maggie’s is. (Did I say that out loud?)

When the house evalyuashun was over, Mom let me and Abby go out in the back yard for a romp. We played bitey face and tag and we chased skwerrels and barked at the neighbor’s horse. We had FUN!

So that was Saturday. Sunday, Mom went to PetSmart to observe Abby around strange hoomans and other pets and loud noises and unexpected happenens. I’ll tell ya about that tomorrow. In the meantime, y’owl go get yursevs a good treat. I’m gonna do the same!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

playing bitey face

INTRO TO ABBY!

2011-08-18T13:44:00.000-05:00

We met Abby yesterday afternoon.

Me and Jack and Buddy are all delighted to have Abby at Hooligan House. Mom introduced us one by one. She had Abby in the front yard first, on her leash, and Dad brought me out there to meet her. We sniffed and sparred and sniffed and sparred and then Dad told me to go lie down and stay in the far part of the yard. I did.

He went in and got Jack and Jack was even more polite than I was. Jack doesn’t sniff another dog unless that dog starts the action. ‘Course, his real name is Gentleman Jack. Dad never lets the rest of us forget that. But Mom has some real good Hooligan stories about Jack from when he was young and before he got all obeedeeyense trained. Jack said hello to Abby and then he went over to his spot by the gate and lay down.

Buddy was kinda rambunctious and thought Abby was his new dog.. You know how it is; Buddy thought that her being there meant he had moved up in the Hooligan hierarchy. So he postured and growled at me and Jack until Mom squirted him in the face with vinegar water. That pretty much knocked the sense back into him. He went over to the flower bed and scratched off in protest, but he lay down like he was sposed to.

Sissy dutten like to be sniffed by any other dog and she dutten like to play with anydog except Jack and the Gkids’ dogs, so the parents just kinda bypassed that introduction. Sissy walked around Abby and Abby stood very still. I guess she was reading Sissy’s body language loud and clear. But it’s okay. Like Mom says, dogs don’t hafta get along with everydog they meet, they just hafta be polite.

And then there was Maggie. OH MY dOG.

Maggie is the princess, remember? She lost no time in letting Abby know it. Abby is juss a liddle girl, only about a year and a half old, and she hasent had any dog ettikett lessens yet. She didden know what the heck Maggie was growling and snarling about. Abby finally juss sat down and looked up at Mom. Mom squirted Maggie with the vinegar water, too.

Mom and Dad know better than to let Maggie be alone with a puppy because she would have bossed Abby around sumpen turrible and made Abby feel shy and unsure. Puppies, even older ones, go through deevellopmenttal stages where anything can scare them and ackshually give them a phobia for life. So Jack is the guy at our house who trains puppies.

Jack is what trainers like our Mom call a “neutral dog”. Jack knows from his gut what body language to use to talk to individdyouall dogs. He knows how to send calming messages to dogs that are nervous. He settled Abby right down after Maggie went back into the house.

Mom said Abby has typical terrier resilience and adaptability. That’s because as soon as Maggie went inside, Abby perked up and started playing with us boys while Sissy watched from the porch. Abby didden think twice about Princess Maggie. At least, not while we were playing tag. When we all went into the house, there was a slight kerfluffle over who the toys belong to. But I’ll get to that part later.

Oh, Mom says to tell you all that Abby is precious and sweet and HIGH OCTANE and Mom wishus she could keep Abby with us forever and ever. I think Abby loves Mom, too. Here’s a picshure of Abby cuddling Mom’s foot last night after us Hooligans went to bed.

Saturday, I’m going to have Abby all to myself to play with. I can’t wait!!!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

AIREDALE HAPPY DANCE

2011-08-16T21:15:00.001-05:00

What is Duke drinking?

What is Duke thinking?

Duke invites Maggie to dance

Is Maggie hatching a scheme?

Maggie goes after Duke

... and keeps going after him

and all Hooliness breaks out!

and around!

and around AGAIN!

And DOWN. Good Night, Ladies! Oh wait, there's only one of her, isn't there?

Whew, she made me dizzy!

AAAARRROOOOOOO!!!!

2011-08-16T19:58:00.000-05:00

WE ARE PANTING WITH EXCITEMENT!

This time tomorrow, Abby will be here at Hooligan House! Can you believe it? Another Grrl to help get ready for her forever home.

Ms D is bringing her from New Orleans to Gulfport and Mr & Mrs B will pick her up and bring her to Mom. Thursday morning, Mom will take Abby to our vet to be spayed. She will spend that night in the clinic and Mom will whisk her away from there Friday.

WOWOWWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOOOOWOWOW

Mr & Mrs B and their Airedale, Guinness, have offered to be Abby's foster family for a little while. There's a family up in central Alabama that is really really hoping that they will turn out to be the perfect people for Abby. I'll be sure to tell you what Mom does to assess Abby and how the evaluations go. We are gonna LOVE having her around.

Right now, we have to go out and put the back seats down in Mom's SUV, and then vacuum out the travel crate. Mom & Dad will slide the crate into the back of the SUV and put a comfortable pad in it. Abby, I hope you can hear me when I say:

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

How many Airedales does it take to make a Coincidence?

2011-08-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

Abby will be here Wednesday afternoon!

She will spend the night with us and then go to the vet the next morning to be spayed. She’ll spend that night at the vet and then we’ll go pick her up on Friday. WE ARE JUST TREMBALING WITH EXCITEMENT! ‘Cause that’s when the shenanigans will begin.

But there’s sumpen odd that happened over the weekend, and us Hoolies do love a good mystery.

Abby’s real name is one that the breeder gave her and it is unusual so Mom thinks it has to do with the kennel where she was born. We are just calling her “Abby” because we think she looks like an Abby. Mom says we can’t reveal her real name so I’ll call it “Alakazam”. Here’s the coincidence:

Yesterday my groomer sent Mom a smartphone pitcher of an Airedale Terrier named Alakazam! She groomed her Saturday and said she’s sweet but hyper. (Well, NATCHERLLY she’s hyper! She’s a Hooligan!)

Mom just about fell out of her chair when she saw that pitcher. She said, Abby and this Alakazam are probly from the same kennel and might even be SISTUHS because they are about the same age. So she is gonna ask the grooming salon to ask Alakazam’s hoomans to phone us. Mom wants to try to find out this week where Alakazam was born because the more information she can get about Abby’s dog parents and where she came from, the better for the new forever family AND for Abby. Mom might even be able to get medical histories and all that stuff!

I don’t know why they need to do a telephone call to find out if Abby is related to Alakazam..
All they gotta do is let the girls sniff each other....

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

This is Alakazam

TO THE RESCUE!!!

2011-08-11T12:20:00.001-05:00

Another Hooligan House Adventure!!!

This is ABBY. Her family had to give her up because they couldn't afford to take care of her. She is leaving a shelter in Mississippi today and going to New Orleans for a few days and then she will be coming to Hooligan House! Mom already has a foster home lined up for her AND a possible forever family. Abby just needs to spend some time in foster care so that Mom can evaluate her and be sure the applicants will be a good fit for her. ISN'T THIS GREAT?? WE ARE VERY EXCITED AND CANNOT STOP ARROOOING!

Besides the evaluation Mom will do, we Hooligans are gonna do a Hooligan evaluation, to see if Abby is worthy of joining our ranks. We've already heard that she is very high energy, so that's a real good sign. Hope that adoptive family knows what to expect!

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

Howling Hooligan's Advice Column

2011-08-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

Dear Howling Hooligan,

My dog is unable to reverse. Is this normal or simply more proof that her mom and dad were indeed brother and sister? Thanks for your time.

Sincerely, Suzy's Mom

Dear Mom of Suzy,

Dogs can develop fear of any person, place or thing. Hoomans call it having a phobia and they go to hooman vets and get spensive trankwillizers to cover up their phobias. Dogs just hafta deal with their issues.

If Suzy had anunfortunate puppyhood all on her own without kind hoomans to help her, she might be refusing to go backwards because something turrible happened to her one time when she did go backwards.

Maybe she stepped on a nail or a piece of glass. Or onto something blazing hot. Or maybe some other dog attacked her from behind. It’s hard for hoomans to understand dog fears sometimes, because we don’t think exactly the same way you do.

Is it really important for Suzy to walk backwards? If it is, my mom can probly help you come up with a beehavyer modafacashun plan that will help Suzy. But it won’t happen right away. You will need alotta paeshense and compasshen and you will need to help Suzy take tiny steps toward the goal so that she won’t feel presshured.

We hope this helps. You seem to be a nice Mom, in spite of your strange sense of hoomer.

AAARRROOOOOOOO!

The Howling Hooligan

ANOTHER CLUE

WHO IS THIS HOOLIGAN?

And A Good Time Was Had By All!

ANAVENTURE!

WE LOVE YOU, DAD!

An Explanation

HAPPINESS IS....

Sissy is at THE VET today!

TRAINING QUESTION

Dad's Holey Hankie

DEVILTRY

FRIENDSHIP

She's Ready for Adoption!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

Pack Integration

Teaching An Adopted Dog to "Sit"

Update on GG's Training

Training A Rescued Adult Dog

MEET "GG"!!

He Likes It!

IT'S HERE!

the safest place for a dog to travel is NOT on top of a car!!!

IT'S ALL ACCORDING TO YOUR POINT OF VIEW

WHAT A WEEK!

THE PLAN

We're All All Right!

ALKA SELTZER, ANYONE?

MAGGIE MISCHIEF

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBUDDY!

AIREDALE SLED DOGS! WOO HOOO!

DOWN TIME

RAIN, GRASS SEEDS, MUD, and GUNS

TURKEY CRANBERRY MEATBALLS

I HAD A BAD DAY

HELPFUL HOOLIGANS

MAKING A DENT IN THE ARMOR

"WHERE DO I SEND IT?"

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME & MAGGIE

VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS

LET'S GET A DIALOGUE GOING

NO NEWS is NOT good news

Application to Adopt An Airedale Terrier

Application for Adoption

When will you be ready for your new dog?___________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

Groomer Reference: _______________________ Telephone: ___________________

ZERO TOLERANCE for ANIMAL ABUSE

STILL NO ANSWER from CITRONELLE POLICE

Other Costumes at the Party

HOWL-O-WEEN!

I GO TO THE OFFICE WITH MOM

DON'T LET YOUR doG READ THIS ARTICLE

EYES WIDE OPEN

EARS!

SATINBALL recipe

GETTING ALONG JUST FINE!

aMAZING MAIZIE - photos of a work in progress

TODAY is dedicated to OUR JACK

AMAZING MAIZIE

MEET MAIZIE!!!

TOO FUNNY NOT TO SHARE

WHEN YOU CAN’T PLAY OUTSIDE

NOAH'S PARK & BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS SERVICE

NEW HONORARY HOOLIGAN

SILENT DOG LANGUAGE

PET CONTEST CATEGORIES at NOAH's PARK!

NOAH'S PARK PET CARNIVAL

ALL GOOD THINGS COME FROM...

WHY DO "BREED" RESCUES???

IT's A GOOD LIFE

Autumn in the Aire

DOG TRAINING TECHNIQUES

"GRADY" the West Highland Terrier

Our Deelishus Cookie Recipe

SCRUMPTIOUS SATURDAY: HoMe BAkEd TrEAts

I WAS NOT DRUNK WHEN THIS PIKSHURE WAS TOOK

THE "T" FACTOR: More Advice to the Dog Worn

EXPENSIVE TASTES

MORE ADVICE TO THE DOG-WORN

Groomer Reference: _____ Telephone: _