Please help us find Samantha and return her to her home!!

The following is a message from Samantha’s owner with her description and contact info:

“Her name is Samantha and she was stolen during a break-in at her home in Windsor Terrace on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 sometime between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. She’s an eight year old Maltese, spayed and weighs seven pounds. She has a brown nose and a tiny nick on the end of her tongue. She has had several teeth extracted and needs additional dental work as soon as possible. She may be wearing a red leather collar with two vaccination tags on it. The person who took her also stole her bright yellow carrier. If you’ve seen her or know anything about her, please call 917-627-0292 or the Brooklyn 72nd Precinct at 718-965-6311. GENEROUS REWARD.”

So go ask around and hopefully we can reunite Samantha with her family soon!

If you’re just joining us, catch up by reading Becoming a Therapy Dog - Parts 1  through 3.  Back to our story where we’re about to have our therapy dog evaluation…

NOTE: From here on out, our therapy dog tale will focus on the Delta Society Pet Partners program, which is the organization we are registered with, but from what we understand, Therapy Dogs International (TDI) is an equally terrific organization.

Shortly after Oscar’s 1st birthday, we found out that they were doing evaluations for the Delta Society’s Pet Partner’s program at the ASPCA (on 92nd St. between York and 1st Ave). I managed to secure Oscar a test slot at the last minute. We hadn’t taken an official training course, but I had read the Delta Society Manual from cover-to-cover and practiced with Oscar at home.

In addition to the skills from the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test (which translate almost exactly to Part 1 of the Pet Partners Program Team Evaluation), we would also need to demonstrate that Oscar would be able to react properly to stressful situations that he might encouter while visiting in a facility. These situations include, exuberant and clumsy petting, a restraining hug, staggering/gesturing individual, angry yelling, being bumped from behind and being crowded and petted by several people.

We hadn’t done any specific training for those situations, but I was positive that Oscar wouldn’t react aggressively to any of them. Plus he had done so well on the CGC test without any practice…

On the way to the test, we came across two little boys - I’m not very good at guessing kids ages, but I would say they were 3 and 5, maybe a little younger. The boys saw Oscar and immediately were drawn to him. The older of the two looked at us and asked in a loud squeaky voice, “IS HE FRIENDLY?”. Yes, I replied, would you like to pet him? Oscar sat like a super star and patiently endured some clumsy petting (good prep for the test).

A few seconds go by and the younger boy pipes in with his own, “IS HE FRIENDLY?”. Yes, he’s still friendly…..excellent training by the parents on how to approach an unknown dog, btw. Since we had a few minutes to spare, I had Oscar demonstrate some of his tricks. High 5 and Kiss were a huge success….then I had Oscar stand up and balance on his hind legs.

I’m so proud of Oscar, he looks like he belongs in the Big Apple Circus - his paws, stretched up in the air, reach just to the height of older boy’s chest and he takes tiny steps back and forth to keep his balance. Then all of a sudden, the older boy, overcome with delight, swoops in and gives Oscar a bear hug. I tense, preparing for Oscar to react to this aggressive hug, but he handles it like a pro…he holds still for a few seconds and then slowly and gently rotates around and drops back down to all fours. It’s an omen…Oscar is going to ROCK the therapy dog test. He’s already perfectly demonstrated two of the aptitudes from Part 2 right there on the sidewalk!

Fastforward 30 minutes …

We knew we were in trouble as soon as we entered the ASPCA building. In addition to conducting training programs, the ASPCA in NY is also a shelter and an animal hospital. As soon as we crossed the threshold into the lobby, Oscar’s tail clamped down (it would have been between his legs if it was long enough) and his nose went to the ground. The combined smells of the hospital and the rescue dogs seemed to send him into a panic. Next we had to go in an elevator - Oscar had never been in one before - he was absolutely terrified.

Finally, we made it to the evaluation room (we later found out that rescue dogs play in this same room and that they sometimes are not house-broken). It was a total disaster, our calm well-behaved dog was in a complete panic. His nose never left the floor, he strained at the end of his leash, he wouldn’t even respond to his name. The evaluators took one look at him and politely told us that Oscar was not ready to take the test. What?? He failed before he even started?!? Yup.

Poor Oscar, he’d never failed anything before…how would he handle the rejection? I consoled him for the entire car ride back home - I wanted to protect him from the embarassment, the shame of trying and failing…but by the time we arrived back at home he had completely recovered and seemed totally unphased about his failure.

Tune in next time to hear about how Oscar finally becomes a registered therapy dog!

Happy Birthday, Stella!

This week, in place of the small dog meetup, Animal Haven hosted a birthday party for Oscar’s friend Stella.  Here’s Stella in her party hat…what a cutie!

We met Stella through her owner Katrina who is a trainer for Andrea Arden dog training.  After taking Puppy Kindergarten, we took a few private lessons with Katrina to jump start us on our trick training - she taught us all of the basics and even got Oscar to crawl and do a few other tricks in the first lesson! 

Lucky little Stella even got a birthday cake!  Her cake and special dog cookies were made by Ada Nieves- the cake was chicken flavoried and Oscar loved it!  Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough to get a picture before the beasties devoured it, but you can see a bunch of fun doggy cakes and treats on Ada’s website.

We also got a goody bag with some really fun stuff, including Chocolick Mints, Chompions (Bacon & Egg Flavor), a City Pet Guide, City Tails Magazine, Herban Essentials towelettes, a book and a fun football chew toy.

Next, we got to try out a free sample of Telligton Touch by Mindful Tails.  Oscar isn’t sure if he’s a fan or not yet, the jury’s still out - I think it would have been hard to convince him that anythingcould be better than running around like a crazy man with the dogs at the meetup, but we did get one nice calm picture of him waiting his turn to try TTouch…

Has anyone had any experience with Tellington Touch that they can share with us?  We’d love to hear what you think.

Finally, we just had to share this picture of a really cute dog from the meetup - yes, he’s sporting sneakers!!

Best of all, the proceeds of this meetup went to support the shelter!

Happy MLK Jr. Day!

 Wow, we had a pretty dog-tastic weekend!!  First, on Friday night we attended a reading by Sharon Sakson of her new book, Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs at Barnes & Noble.   On Saturday, we attended our friend Stella’s birthday party at Animal Haven.  And then yesterday Oscar had a super-fun play date with his BFF, Buddy (pictured below).

So, when we heard that Sharon Saksonwas coming to our neighborhood Barnes & Noble, we had to check it out.  Ms. Sakson is a writer, dog show judge and breeder (of Brussels Griffons, Dachshunds & Whippets).  We had purchased one of her earlier books, Brussels Griffons:  A Complete Pet Owner’s manual, shortly after bringing Oscar home.  This book is a must for Brussels Griffon owners - it’s packed with a ton of information (both general and breed specific) without being tedious - a very fun, easy read.  It’s also got a ton of great pictures of super cute Griffs!  Here’s Oscar, listening raptly to the reading…

We haven’t read her newer books yet - Paws & Reflect: A Special Bond between Man and Dog and Paws & Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs, but they’re on our must read list, especially since we found out that she writes a lot about therapy and service dogs.  Sharon is also a fellow blogger and she has some really cute puppies available - our favorite is Fuzzy Bear because he looks a lot like Oscar did when he was a puppy.

At the reading, Oscar had the privilege of meeting one of his heroes - okay, maybe Oscar didn’t really know it, but he got to meet our inspirations for pursuing therapy dog training - Mr. Gruffyd Babayan and his owner Gay Cropper.  We saw Mr. GB being honored for his therapy dog work while watching the Westminster Dog Showlast year and thought - hey, what a cool thing to do.  I had always pictured therapy dogs as big dogs - like most service dogs.  But seeing a Brussels Griffon therapy dog, really gave us the push we needed to become a therapy dog team.

Ms. Cropper also told us about a very inspiring therapy dog story…Mr. GB does a lot of pediatric visits at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital.   One day, he was asked to visit a very young boy who had fallen from the 5th story of a building.  Up to this point, the child had been unwilling/unable to talk about the accident, but when he saw Mr. GB (who is missing one eye), he immediately asked the dog, “What floor did YOU fall from?!?”.  How amazing is that?

We’ve been getting some similar reactions with Oscar lately - he broke a toe a few weeks ago and his little splint is evoking some empathy with the hospital patients we visit.  Thanks so much Mr. GB & Ms. C for inspiring us to undertake such a worthwhile and rewarding cause!

To find fun dog events happening in your neighborhood, don’t forget to check out our calendar of dog events.   We recommend that you bookmark it and check back often, it’s always being updated with fun new events!

Tune in tomorrow to hear all about Stella’s birthday party - it was quite an event!

After 75 years, the bulldog is finally back in the top 10, according to the AKC’s ranking of the Most Popular Dogs in the US.

Here’s the full national ranking:

You can also check out the top 10 ranking for the top 50 cities in the US. The bulldog had an even stronger performance here in New York, where he came in at #9. Although he’s most popular in LA, where’s he’s ranked at #2!!

We also enjoyed reading about some of the trends in pet ownership in the past 10 years…where we were excited to find out that the Brussels Griffon (although not on any top 10 lists) has increased 157% in popularity since 1997.

It’s with heavy paws that we say goodbye to Clancy.

After 11 glorious years, Clancy passed away on Christmas Eve 2007. 

Clancy and Oscar only played together a few times, but quickly became fast friends.    The senior, Godfather-esque Newfoundland Clancy eagerly played with his youthfully exhuberant friend, and even generously allowed Oscar to sleep in his gigantic bed.

When he wasn’t being spoiled rotten by Sig and Jan, his owners, or romping with his little brother Paco (below), Clancy enjoyed sitting in the shade under the porch, and tipping over his water bowl.

Goodbye Clancy, you will be missed, but not forgotten.

Several weeks ago, I took Oscar for our daily afternoon walk on a Sunday afternoon.  Walking up Bleecker Street, we passed the new Coach store between Charles and Perry streets.  Oscar made a beeline for the door, jumped onto the step, and plowed into the store.  This was somewhat unusual, as we’d never been in this store before, but Oscar clearly knew something I didn’t. ”Come on, let’s go,”  I tugged his leash, but it was too late - the horde of store clerks had spotted his irresistable face and were fawning over him. After all, could you resist this face?

When one of the saleswomen gushed “Oh - does he want a TREAT?”  Oscar immediately planted himself and eagerly put on his best smile.  The girl brought over a biscuit the size of Oscar’s head, as he wagged his tail, and I made him perform a few of his classic tricks - high five, kiss - before allowing him to accept the biscuit.  Unable to bite the oversized treat despite his best efforts, he laid it politely at the saleslady’s feet and gave her the puppy dog eyes.

“You need me to break it for you?”  She seemed a little unsure, as it was now covered in doggy drool - but gamely broke the dog biscuit into Oscar-sized chunks, which he promptly devoured. 

I finally managed to drag Oscar out of the store and continue our walk, which lasted about 10 more feet until we got to the second half of the Coach store which has it’s own entrance!  Oscar tried to make another dash in, but I persuaded him to continue up Bleecker.   We made it about another block before he snuck right into Olive & Bette’s when a customer opened the door as we were walking by.

I shook my head, held the door open, and tried to tug him, but again it was too late.  “OHHHHHH- does he want some treats?!?!” An exited clerk squealed.  I smiled meekly, as Oscar was making himself an immovable object, and she continued “they’re right here - here you go,” and gave Oscar a dog biscuit.  I dragged him out the door, and had no idea how much trouble I was in now - the little guy instantly added the stores to his mental list of “places to drag Dad to” on every walk - and this was one of my favorite areas to walk!

The following day, Oscar faked me out by NOT pulling me toward the Coach store until we got within a distance that was strategically chosen by him - he knew that we were close enough that it was a better idea for me to give up and just go into the store than to try to fight with him for the entire course of the walk.  An entirely new batch of salesmen fawned all over him, and gave him the same monster biscuit. 

After exiting, I managed to keep him out of Olive & Bette’s this time, but being naive, I was thinking about how cute it was, instead of how much of a monster I was creating - until I got home and Anya chided me for exactly that - and rightly so. “It’s like he’s Trick-or-Treating!”  She told me - and it was - the little monster would go door to door flashing his smile, wagging his stubby little tail, and gulping down treats!  Now I had a new job - undoing the damage I’d created.

For the next several walks - I made it a point to win the battle of wills with Oscar.  We didn’t go into Coach, Olive & Bette’s, or any of the other stores in the Treat Gauntlet on the West side of Bleecker, despite his pleadings.  He’d sit down and plant himself.  I’d wait, then pull him away.  We’d walk on the other side of the street, and he’d try to make a beeline across the street when we were opposite Coach.  I’d wait, then pull him away.

Never ceasing to surprise me, Oscar retailiated on the next walk by making a surprise, untelegraphed dash into the Steve Madden store, which is a block South of Coach, and on the opposite side of the street.  I shook my head, as the lady inside asked “Oh - how cute - does he want…”   “NO!“  I cut her off before she could get out the “T” word.   “I’m trying to break him of some bad habits - but thank you,”  I explained myself.

I don’t know how Oscar knew that he could get treats at Steve Madden too - it’s another store we’ve never been in - but clearly he is either the canine world’s foremost treat psychic, or he can smell the markings of a plethora of other dogs who’ve been in and out of the stores in question.

 Here’s a picture of Oscar taken while I was writing this post…

Looking for fun stuff to do with your pooch or a great way to meet other dog owners in your neighborhood?  Attend an event specifically tailored to you and your dog!

 Check out our NYC Dog Events Calendar for fun events going on in your neighborhood right now. 

Are you planning a dog event or know of one that we’re missing??  Email us at nycblog@sniflabs.com and we’ll add it to our calendar!

Hope to see you at an event soon!

If you’re just joining us, catch up by reading Becoming a Therapy Dog - Parts 1 & 2.  Back to our story where we’re about to take the Canine Good Citizen test…

So, we did some quick practice exercises while we were waiting (with T-R-E-A-T-S) and before we knew it, it was our turn. Oscar executed tests 1 through 9 like a champ! And then came the dreaded #10…

I warned the extremely nice lady doing the certification that we probably weren’t going to be able to pass this step and that Oscar was going to freak out when I walked away, but she reassured me that he would be okay and he’d done so well with the other exercises that we should give it a try. She suggested that sometimes dogs get less stressed if you put them in a sit or down stay before leaving. Okay…here goes…

I handed her the leash, told Oscar to lie down (he did), “Now, STAY Oscar” - I turned around and without looking back, walked away and disappeared into the crowd. For the first few steps, I was cringing…just waiting for that horrible yelping to start, but it didn’t come. When I was far enough away, I peeked out from behind a tree to check up on him - he was looking around a little nervously for me, but he wasn’t yelping and he was still LYING DOWN!!

But we weren’t out of the woods yet - to pass test #10, he had to go 3 whole minutes without showing anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness….I held my breath….the seconds ticked by. After about 2 minutes (seemed like 2 hours!) he stood up, but he never strained at the leash or yelped. Finally, the woman conducting the test waved me back - Oscar had passed!! It was a miracle! As she signed his evaluation form, she told me that she had never seen a calmer 10 month-old puppy - I have never been so proud in my entire life! Atta boy, Oscar!

We later found out that by completing the CGC certification, we had demonstrated half of the skills needed to become a registred therapy dog - and the evaluator’s comment reinforced our belief that Oscar’s calm nature would make him a terrific candidate for therapy dog work.

Tune in next time when it’s finally time to take our therapy dog test!!

A tragic event occurred on Thursday in Brooklyn, when a local family’s pet Doberman attacked and killed their 8-month old baby.  Click here for the full story.

This chilling event should serve as a reminder to all dog owners and parents to ensure that they are especially vigilant in monitoring their dog or child when they encounter each other. 

According to dog behavioral experts, children under 6 years old can often trigger unexpected or violent reactions from dogs, even if the dogs are normally gentle in nature.  Here’s why…

• Children are often unpredictable and their actions can often be perceived as a threatening to a dog.  Additionally, children are usually unable to recognize the warnings that dogs give to communicate that they’re feeling threatened (stiffening, walking/running away, growling).  If the warnings are ignored, instinct might cause the dog to react as it would with another dog who was behaving inappropriately or invading their space - by biting.

• Additionally, this problem can be exacerbated when the dog is part of a family with children,  if the dog considers the child to be equal or lower in the pack hierarchy than they are.

When something as awful and tragic as this happens, it’s also important to stop and remember how dogs enrich the lives of millions of adults and children through their love and companionship.  

Our hearts go out to the Stein family and we mourn their loss as a result of this terrible accident.