Headsup – Mandatory spay/neuter in Plano!

Last week, draft revisions of Plano’s animal ordinances were published on Wednesday – I meant to post here but I wasn’t really up to posting for various reasons. Tonight was the city council meeting in Plano, which I attended with my friend Jessica and her husband Colin.

The short version is, for now, the mandatory spay/neuter amendment is tabled but the other sections were passed. The MSN amendement has gone to a committee including two members of the dog fancy, the head of the animal shelter commission, and two members of the city council for study and discussion.

If you live in Plano (or even if you don’t!), please continue to write to the Plano City Council and express your support for a humane, enforcable, and SANE animal ordianance.

New session of Unleashed!

Our next session of Unleashed (Based on the book Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt) begins Friday, March 6th. This class meets from 8-9PM at Best Friends Fun Farm in McKinney, Texas. At this time, it looks like we will have spaces available – contact us if you’re interested!

A good cause….

For those who have met our little black mad spitz Lizzie, they know she’s really awesome. Lizzie is out of a bitch who was imported in utero and a sire who is out of an Australian import, and the Australian breeders have been really helpful to me in learning about the breed. Lizzie’s Australian relatives aren’t from Victoria, but everyone’s heard about the brushfires that have so far destroyed over a thousand homes and killed more than 100 people.
Check out the Virtual Dog Show to raise funds to help Victorian dog folks affected by the fires get back on their feet.

A eulogy for Indy

On Wednesday, the world lost one of its great dogs.

Indy (aka Indiana Bones and Indy-nomicron) was a seven year old tricolored Cardigan Welsh Corgi. He was owned and dearly loved by Cait, and spent most of his time recently with her parents, where he could be an only dog and get ALL of the attention (which was how it should be, in his mind!).

I first met him a couple of years ago, and he introduced me to how awesome Cardis are. I found him a joy to work with. He was stubborn, drivey, creative, and very confident – the kind of dog that some people dread working with but that I adore. He loved pushing his limits – while working, he’d look at you with a glint in his eye and say, “Can I do it THIS way?” It was wonderful to see a corgi with his drive, and I’ll never forget playing tug with him, with him gripping the tug even when lifted off the ground and swung around.

Indy was always thrilled to see his friends – he’d run at you and fling himself up against your legs, grinning madly. When he saw Cait, his expression would soften – excited still, but with a softer smile and adoration shining out of his eyes. He charmed everyone he met, and amassed quite a fan club over the course of his life.

Cait misses you, Indy, and so do I and everyone else who knew you – there’s an Indy-shaped hole in our world. You blessed our lives and made them richer for knowing you.

Dog Park Safety (part 1) – Tips for staying safe

This past weekend, a woman was stabbed while her dog on-leash dog attacked another dog inside the dog park at Mockingbird Point. Our friend Courtney Keyes (owned by three dachshunds, including the amazingly adorable Thor) wrote an article about dog park safety for the Dallas Morning news that I think everyone should read – it’s located here. (Clicking on that link will open a new window, so read it and come back, because I’ve got more to add to what she’s already said so well.)

Dog parks can be the most wonderful thing in the world, or a real disaster waiting to happen. We’ve enjoyed the Dallas dog park since it opened in 2001 (My first Cardi, Bou, was featured in a Dallas Morning News article about it, even!), and I maintain the (not very busy) Dallas Dog Parks Flickr pool.  Mal got most of his running exercise there as a puppy, and I can count on one hand the number of scary experiences any of my dogs have had.

All that said, I no longer take my dogs- any of them- to the dog park. Part of this can be attributed to my move and the new Dallas animal ordinances that make Mal a contraband doggy (packing unlicensed balls- Rittie and Lizzie are not spayed, but they’re not so obvoius as Mr. Hairless!), but that’s not entirely it. Right now, the risks just aren’t worth it (I’ll talk about those and how we can fix them in a future post.)

For now though? My top tips for dog park safety.

Class schedule: February 2009

Unleashed – Based on Control Unleashed by Leslie McDervitt
Monday afternoon ’studio’ class: 2:30-3:30PM – email for details. Lancaster location.
Friday nights: Session II (currently going on in McKinney) 8-9PM – Session III starts the first Friday in March, Email for details. I’m not sure how many spaces we’ll have in this class as current students get first crack at the available spots. Email early – this class WILL fill.

Obedience Basics – beginner obedience, including the usual sit, down, loose leash walking and coming when called, along with general manners and focusing through distractions. Lancaster, TX
6 weeks – $75 – $55 to dogs from a shelter or rescue. This class begins Feb 14th, 2009.
Saturday morning – 10-11AM

Puppy Playschool – Puppy playtime and obedience basics for puppies from 10 weeks to 5 months. This is a drop-in class focused on providing socialization and basic manners to puppies, as well as an opportunity to play off leash with other puppies and carefully selected adult dogs in a safe setting. Lancaster, TX. This class is ongoing- call to reserve a spot. $10/week.
Sunday afternoon – 2-3PM

Happy Christmas from Dogstar Academy, to all our friends.

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday.

Humans: Cait & Lindsay

Dogs: Indy, Malcolm, Lizzie, Kaylee, Thunder, Grady, Goblin, Skidman & Caden.

January Classes – Dogstar Academy

January 5th (Saturdays at 11) – Obedience 101 Mini-class (7 weeks, half price for shelter dogs!) – $100- $50  for shelter dogs with proof of adoption from a local shelter or rescue group.
January 7th (Mondays at 2)- UNLEASHED. Focus/desensitization/counterconditioning class based on the book by Leslie McDervitt. 7 weeks, $100
Jan 22nd (Tuesdays at 7:30) – UNLEASHED Focus/desensitization/counterconditioning class based on the book by Leslie McDervitt. 7 Weeks, $100

To sign up for any of these classes, please email Dogstaracademy@gmail.com for more information!

Hidden gems at local shelters

Everyone knows I’m a major advocate for responsible breeders. But if you want a shelter dog, hey, that’s awesome too.

So, that said, and in the nature of the season and all that, I’d like to PLEASE beg anyone local to consider making a donation to some of the smaller local shelters around the DFW metroplex- specifically the Ferris city animal control (I-45 at Malloy Bridge Road in Ferris, about 40 minutes south of Dallas) and Lancaster Animal Services (707 Main street in Lancaster, zip code 75134).

Both of these shelters suffer from a severe funding shortage and a lack of visibility to adopters. The Lancaster shelter almost ALWAYS has small dogs up for adoption (including, at the moment, an absolutely Westie/poodle/bichon type mix, gentle, VERY sweet, which Lindsay and I went and groomed yesterday morning) and the Ferris Shelter has a slightly more typical assortment of medium and large mixed breeds, as well as frequent puppies.

If you would like to donate, Ferris can use sanitizable toys (like rubber bones and Kongs). Lancaster is unable to use anything that doesn’t get consumed in one sitting (like rawhide chips) in the cages but could REALLY use grooming supplies, particularly towels, inexpensive shears, and if someone had one theyweren’t using, a better grade of clipper, and waterless shampoo. Ferris also needs volunteers- Lindsay and I have tried but haven’t been able to make it work with our schedules.

Neither of these shelters spends ANY money on advertising, fancy mailings, or booths at the mall. They work with breed rescue where they can, and are both staffed by people who really do care and are doing their best. Please, help them out!

Class reports – Beacon, Bixby, Bosco & Abby!

I’ve said I was going to start posting class reports, and I mean to this week, but with one thing* and another**, I didn’t get around to writing them up. Bad trainer, no cookie.

Currently, we have three weekly sessions of CU (Control Unleashed) classes- Saturday seminar class, Monday afternoon, and Tuesday evening. Classes are really small and from now on, I promise I *will* be writing up reports.

*Thing one, Tess – visiting for two weeks from TexSun Collies for some foundation obedience work.
**Thing two, Indy – home from my parents, with whom he normally resides- and three (no picture yet, sorry), a little stray BC X puppy found by Lindsay’s neighbors and currently hanging out in my laundry room between frequent potty breaks.