A Run In With A Coyote Walking the Trails of San Clemente

Wow, we had a run in with a coyote this past Saturday that was freaky! I have walked all over with my dogs and have usually found that once they start barking at coyotes, they usually take off. I was walking with my 10 month old doberman, Diva, heading home after 4 miles of trails over the hills in Talega of San Clemente. We had come off the Talega golf course on a short-cut home when Diva, started to go crazy. Up ahead was a nice healthy coyote, that really looked more like a German Shepherd. His coat was more black than I have seen before and he was easily 60+ pounds. At first as Diva was barking at him, he started to take off, then he turned around and took a stand. I automatically looked for a rock to throw and all I could find were pebbles. Diva was going crazy barking and pulling on the leash, so I decided to go for it and we took off running towards the coyote who was about 20 feet ahead of us. As we charged him, he took off. There was a bend in the path and he must have ducked into the brush because as we hit the bend, we lost sight of him. Then the creepy part happened, we had no idea where he was or if there were more hidden in the bush. So Diva and I ran up the trail stopping every few yards, turning around to make a stand so it didn't look like we were dinner running away. It was one of those experiences that leave your heart beating fast and furious. Great walk with a favorite puppy dog on a beautiful day in Talega.

Packs - Dogs, Wolves, and Human

As I watch our dog with a disability, Avalanche continue to make progress over the past year; it seems that his desire to remain a member of his "pack" is crucial to his persistence and preseverance. He wants and really needs to belong to his pack and as such continues to push himself to remain a part of the pack. For awhile I was trying to sneak off in the morning with our puppy, Diva to do a long walk with her first before walking the boys. He caught on to this strategy very quickly and now positions himself either by the door, so I can't get Diva out without going past him, or he acts like he needs to go out and then positions himself in the garage so I couldn't possibly walk one dog without him.

In the wild, he would have been left for dead with his paralysis; but since he belongs to a human pack as well, he has learned to work both packs for his own benefit. My husband and son have been having difficulty getting him to eat his dinner. They take it to him and try to get him interested and when he ignores them or gets up and leaves where they are, they get frustrated and don't want to be responsible for feeding him. He needs his dinner to be a part of his social interaction. If you sit with him, talk, and scratch his face; he feels that he is a part of his family and then he will play the eating game. Without the interaction or you could call it foreplay, he becomes extremely stubborn. This is the only dog, we have ever had that you have to work at feeding. My dobermans have always been waiting for dinner; while this Husky needs mealtime to also be playtime.

As you start to think about packs of animals such as wolves, you realize that our children also belong to their own packs. Even as adults we have our social order and packs that we operate under. We might change the name to "peer group" or social group, but the reality is that these really are our packs, and the behavior we exhibit when we are in our pack; is dictated by a hierachy of social order. This even fits into what I am experiencing with my female doberman, Diva. She is intent on protecting me. A friendly lab gave me a big sloppy kiss this morning, and she growled at him. She gets upset if I am "too" friendly with dogs we meet out on our walks. She expects me to growl and bristle like she does while she is assessing the situation. I certainly hope as she matures, she is able to mellow, since when she is with her "pack", she is far more aggressive than when she is doing a solo walk. As I say her brothers make her a crazy bitch! What a perfect word for a female dog! But that will have to be another topic for another day of blogging.

Keeping A Dobie Pup Busy - The Secret to Sanity

Getting a puppy enough exercise to keep them too tired to destroy your house is a key ingredient in maintaining sanity while preserving your home. This weekend I walked our doberman pup who is almost 10 months old twice on both Saturday and Sunday and what a difference it makes in her behavior. Saturday, she did a brief mile or so with her brothers (Deon an 8 year old male doberman and Avalanche, a 41/2 year old Siberian Husky) and then did another 4 mile hike with my son and myself and she was pooped when we got home. The wonderful thing is that it lasted through the evening. Then again today, she walked with her brothers for about 2 to 21/2 miles and then I took her down to the beach to do the beach trail in San Clemente. We walked from North Beach down to T-Street and then back. Of course she had to bark at all of the bicycles that went by and the other passing dogs, but overall she had a great time. For Diva, any new walk or experience heightens her anxiety level which also increases her level of fatigue. She has been so mellow this evening that she is a total delight. I just need to find a way that I can spend two to three hours a day just walking my dogs. Diva has been destructive in the past with a hole in the wall of our family room. Holes in the cushions of the sofa. The skirt ripped off a chair. Besides assorted chewing on tables, chairs, benches, etc. You cannot have a perfect house and dogs. That is if the dogs truly belong to the family and live with the family. People who say they have dogs but make them live outside, really do not have dogs. I don't make my son live outside so why would I have my dogs live outside? They are all a part of our family. We call them "doggie kids," "kitty kids", and then just "kids". Either way they all beat up a home, but if you can keep them tired, the damage is minimized.

Dogs With Disabilities Special Product Needs

Having a dog with a specific disability can be extremely frustrating in finding products to meet very specific needs. Our Siberian Husky, Avalanche suffered a spinal cord injury a little over a year ago. He has made amazing progress and is now walking. The problem is that his right leg drags and therefore his nails drag and are worn down to where they bleed. His left leg is not bearing weight correctly and therefore he has one pad that is worn down to where it bleeds. I have tried a variety of dog shoes, but either they don't work very well, or he can wear out a pair in one 2-3 mile walk. I have been using infant human socks taped onto his leg with adhesive tape, but with the distance he is now walking he can wear out three socks per foot on one walk. That's three pairs of socks a day. Any ideas?

When You Need A Good Laugh

This evening as I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, Diva, my 9 month old doberman, was "helping" as usual. As I put the dishes in the dishwasher, she checks to make sure I didn't leave any good licks. Since we had Lobster Gram for dinner, the dishes were particularly good. Anyway, her license tag gets caught in the bottom dishwasher rack and when we went to move, she was stuck to the rack. Well, being a cool calm and collected doberman, she panicked and took off running out of the kitchen with the dishwasher rack stuck to her tag on her collar. The rack had plates, dinner plates, and bowls all loaded and she managed to get about 15 feet away dragging the rack before her tag finally let loose and all went tumbling to the floor. She was so scared that she went to hide on the couch in the family room and when I went to her she was shaking like a leaf. Poor little girl! Her new trauma is the dishwasher, and she used to get so much pleasure from cleaning the dishes. Amazingly, nothing got broken! I found a wheel to the cart rolling across the floor, but not a single broken dish. I just wish I could have gotten a photo of it. Her brothers had to investigate after she created such a mess and huge noise, but found that she had already completed the cleaning of the dishes to the best of a dogs ability. What would like be without a dog to keep you smiling?

My Marketing Team

The following photo was taken of me with my three best friends, Avalanche, Diva, and Deon at the San Clemente Pier this past September. Diva, my baby girl was getting tired of the photo shoot, and decided to take matters into her own hands, or should I say paws and make it a true family photo. My 13-year old son, was busy shaking a bag of doggie treats to keep their attention. This is the photo I use on my business cards, since so many people know me by my dogs. My dogs, my life, my business - real estate. These guys are my marketing team! If it was up to Avalanche, I would spend my days standing around on busy street corners waiting for strangers to compliment him and give him a good ear scratch. That I think is one of the hardest parts for Avalanche in being handicapped. Since his spinal cord injury, he still does not have complete control over his back legs, and therefore it has been over a year since he has been able to scratch himself. That is a total bummer for a dog! He can look at you and let you know which side needs a good scratch, so this is now my job, or the job of complete and total strangers that he solicits. He is so sweet and kind and gentle...that even small children are taken with him. The fact that he is drop-dead beautiful also helps. Besides, he knows he is gorgeous and has the attitude that goes with it. What a wonderful life...a nice morning walk, a breakfast treat, and then a morning and afternoon of naps. Followed by another walk, dinner, more evening naps then bedtime to start the day all over again. If there is reincarnation, I would love to come back as a dog in my own house...what a life!

My Dogs: Avalanche, Diva and Deon

My Dogs, My Sanity!

The wonderful thing about having dogs in your life is the bit of sanity they can create in a crazy out of control world. My guys, Deon, an 8 year old male doberman, Diva, a nine month old female doberman, and Avalanche our 41/2 year old handicapped Siberian Husky are my daily bit of sanity in my world. We walk every morning and I really don't know how I would get through my day if I didn't have this little bit of peace in my world. Dogs, just love you. They don't talk back, they really don't complain, and an encouraging word and a big hug or scratch is all they need to feel good. I guess this is why they are now using dogs as companions for critically ill children as well as seniors in retirement and nursing homes. I love my cats, and I feel that they help keep the dogs in balance, but my dogs are my mental health. Life without dogs would be life without purpose. I know my guys are completely and totally spoiled and I would endulge them more if I could afford it. They are just wonderful creatures of habit that they can really keep you on track. My little female, Diva, thinks I need managing and always needs to "help" me prepare her dinner. She has developed this new game with our two cats, Pawsz and Kenya. The cats eat and have their litter box in the laundry room next to the kitchen. They have to pass all the way through the kitchen to reach their destination. The game begins when they want to leave the laundry room. Diva sits patiently next to the laundry room waiting until they decide to make the crazy break and run through the kitchen to make a sharp left turn, over the baby gate and into the freedom of the remainder of the house. At first I thought that Diva was terrorizing the cats, but then after taking the time to watch this "game". The cats won't leave unless Diva remains in her position to go. The cats always win, since they have a lower center of gravity and can bank into the left turn with ease. Diva, doesn't give up. She will sit and wait for a half hour, until they one by one go for it. I should try to film it, since it is really quite funny. What simple pleasures pets can bring into your lives.