A Dog's Tail (Game)

A couple weeks ago, my favorite video game blog, The Border House, announced a game jam where readers could create a game using Twine and submit it for everyone to play. Twine is an easy interface that helps you make a choose-your-own-adventure style game.

I made a game about dogs (of course) called A Dog's Tail. It contains information that is probably very familiar to readers of this blog, but I was hoping it could spread a little awareness among people who don't think about dogs 24/7/365. Many other people made Twine games as well, and you can play them all here.

Also, Badger's first training class was last night! The class mainly focuses on staying calm in the presence of other people and dogs, which Badger desperately needs to learn. I was afraid that he'd do something to get us kicked out of class (always expect the worst, right?), but he actually did very well. So well, in fact, that we're considering bringing him to one or both of the dog events happening this weekend: Buddy Dog Humane Society's Woofstock and Chelmsford Dog Association's Howl'ween.

Badger, the class clown

Are you gearing up for an exciting weekend? Or will you be cuddling in the warmth of your home?

Anniversary + 100th Post = Giveaway!

Today is our 2-year anniversary, and it also happens to be the day we reached 100 posts on this blog! To celebrate, I made an infographic, because I love infographics.

Click to enlarge

Also, we're holding our very first giveaway! The prize is one item of your choice (up to $30) from our favorite online deal site, DoggyLoot. To enter, just comment on this blog post (once per person, please) before 9 PM EDT on Oct. 11, 2012 (that's roughly 24 hours from now). The winner will be announced tomorrow night via an update to this post.

Update: The contest is now closed. I used Random.org to generate a number between 1-4. Congratulations to Keri @ Trinity's Love for being the winner of this giveaway! Keri, I sent you an e-mail. Thank you to everyone who participated and everyone who reads this blog. =)

P.S. If you don't have a DoggyLoot account yet, here's our invite link: https://doggyloot.com/invite/3245ac. They give you $5 just for signing up, and we get $10 to fuel our online-shopping habit.

Cramming for Class

Remember when you were a kid, and summers were carefree and fun? I don't. If my parents weren't signing me and my sister up for summer school, they were buying textbooks for the next grade level so we could learn the material beforehand. And now... Are L and I turning into my parents?

Will you get mad if I say yes?

Badger's training class starts this Thursday. We've taken some private lessons, but this will be the first time he's had class with other dogs and their humans. We went ahead and signed him up for the intermediate level class instead of the beginner class because he already knows his basic commands.

However, one of the basic commands that was taught in beginner class at this facility was "go to mat and lie on it", which we've never taught Badger to do. So on Sunday night, we went to Target and bought a non-slip rug, and we've been practicing having him lie on it.

We've also been practicing down-stays with Badger and Mushroom to teach them to be calm around each other. We're hoping this will translate to Badger being calm(er) around the other dogs in his class.

I'm calm! I'm CALM!! I'M CALM!!!

I was going to take some pictures of Badger on his mat last night, but I forgot, so I snapped a few pictures of him this morning before I headed to work. =/

Good mooooorning!

Do you find yourself brushing up on training skills with your dog before the start of a class?

Oops! I forgot to post this yesterday. Stay tuned for an extra-special post tonight!

Brrr! It's Cold Out There!

I'm not a morning person, especially as fall and winter creep in. I like being woken up by sunlight streaming in through the window, and as the days get shorter and more overcast, this happens less and less. L actually got a HappyLight for me last year for my birthday, but we just set it up last week. I turn it on in the mornings to mimic the effect of being woken up by bright sunshine.

But that wasn't what got me out of bed today. When I checked the temperature (37 degrees Fahrenheit), I got all excited about Mushroom wearing her coat!

I'm not actually sure if she needs it yet. Last winter, she was a shivering mess, but she's held it together pretty well so far. We figured we'd start getting her used to it early, and plus, she looks so hilarious adorable!

LOL

Hehehehe

Stop laughing at me! =(

 

Badger wears his winter coat year-round

Have your dogs started wearing coats yet?

P.S. Thanks for the support on my last post. Yesterday we saw the same woman and her dog, but this time the dog was leashed. Yay, improvement!

Unleashed Frustrations

Mushroom was charged by an off-leash dog yesterday. There wasn't any sort of physical scuffle, but it did result in a massive reactivity episode. Despite our apartment complex posting signs that say that dogs must always be leashed, this is the 4th time we've seen this particular dog off-leash. Three of those times, we saw the unleashed dog charge up to a leashed dog. Two of those times, the unfortunate on-leash dog was Mushroom.

Don't make me go outside! Pugs and chihuahuas will eat me!

Just last month, L and Mushroom were chased by a different off-leash dog and had to hide behind the dumpster. The strange thing is, we rarely see any of our neighbors out walking their dogs on-leash. If we did, it would provide a great opportunity to stand a distance away and practice calm behavior with Mushroom. Unfortunately, it seems that the majority of dogs we come across in the apartment complex are either charging us off-leash or barking at us from balconies.

L did report the incident to the apartment office, but setbacks like this are extremely frustrating. The next available reactive dog class in our area doesn't start until November, and I'm afraid that she'll regress over the next month. It's also frustrating that we're spending time, money, and effort to fix an issue that wouldn't be nearly as bad if our neighbors would just be responsible enough to keep their dogs leashed.

We've also learned that Mushroom's reactivity is dog-specific. That is, she reacts more or less to an individual dog based on her experiences with that particular dog. During our reactive dog class, she learned to feel comfortable around the two dogs closest to us. She's comfortable around Badger and a few of my friends' dogs. And, not surprisingly, she's especially reactive toward the dogs in our apartment complex who have charged at her.

Cool with this dog...

Cool with this dog too

How do you deal with off-leash dogs?
Also, do you know of any places where dogs will always be leashed?

Wordless Wednezzzzz...

Nothing like belly rubs with your head squished up against the couch

Those Gross Days

It's gross outside. Drizzly, gray, cold. Badger doesn't seem to mind, but the rest of us do. Mushroom whines when we make her step on the grass to do her business, as if to say, "I spent a year as a stray; you can't make me go back to that."

I suppose we could slap some raincoats on the dogs, tell Mushroom to suck it up, and go on the same long evening walks we went on during the summer. (For really cute dogs-in-raincoats pictures, check out Love & a Six-Foot Leash's Facebook page.) But, well, we kinda don't wanna. *pout*

I don't wanna!

Sometimes we play fetch with them or just let them wrestle with one another. We do have short training sessions with the dogs and use food toys to keep them mentally stimulated, but they do a lot of zoomies indoors because of excess energy.

That's Badger's calm face

What do you do for exercise on gross rainy days?