This is the Deeb in his halloween sweater he has been sporting. No one but the people I live with will see him in it...so I took a pic so everyone can see how cute he is in it!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Pumpkin Pie
Yesterday I went to grab something to eat and I seen a delicious pumpkin pie. I looked at the nutrition facts only to realize it was 360 calories for once slice. I had already gone too far though...I wanted that pie. I sat down and instagramed said pie before I ate it because it just looked so delicious. I took a couple bites only to realize Kittens had found a new hiding spot. I ran to grab the camera to take a picture.
I snapped the picture and looked behind me to find another photo op.
Debo stole my delicious pie and had already ate almost all of it. This doesn't seem like an accomplishment but it is. He saved me from consuming a massive amount of calories and probably a stomach ache to follow. Thanks Debo, for being a typical pooch.
Meanwhile....
Rango cleaned the plate.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Debo and the orphaned kitten
I guess I will start off by telling a little story.
My brother has a stray cat that lives by his house. Every spring this cat has kittens. This particular year I got a phone call from him asking if I would take care of a kitten he had found abandoned by it's mother. He waited hours to see if the mother came for the crying kitten and she never returned. He put him in a box with some blankets and brought him to me. I named him Rango.
When I first got him he was the smallest kitten I had ever held. I quickly researched how to take care of an abandoned kitten for days and days. I figured out that he was less than a week old when I got him. Most websites painted a very grim picture for an abandoned kitten in the hands of a human at such a young age. I raised him from scratch and he is healthy as a horse.
However, I did have one more hurdle to jump. That hurdle always seems to have one name: DEBO. When I first got Debo I had one cat (Kittens) and 2 ferrets (Hyphy and Nessie). Kittens is a very particular cat that was rescued from the streets. She is paranoid and doesn't usually like too much going on at once. She HATED Debo when he first arrived. She had gotten over worse though and they eventually came to an understanding. The ferrets were another story though. Debo looked at them like they were prey. I never let them play together but one time because he acted like they were sandwiches that one time. A short time later I gave my ferrets to a rescue because Hyphy was old and became very ill. He had adrenal disease and had developed a horrible UTI. Nessie went with him because he wouldn't eat without her. Sorry for the side love story.
Anyways, it was starting to get down to the wire. My parents didn't want the kitten in the basement anymore since he was now running around like a typical kitten and biting ankles because he wasn't raised with a litter to learn better. I live in the attic of my parents house (not like an unfinished creepy spider infested attic) and I have a huge walk in closet which I call my "beauty room". I rigged it up real nice for Rango to live in. Put up a gate so Debo and Rango couldn't interact yet. Rango wasn't having it. He quickly escaped. Leaving me with no choice.
I put Debo in his muzzle, leashed him up and let Rango go. Debo greeted him like a dog greets another dog, poked him with his nose for like an hour.
I paced and paced wondering if it was too soon to take his muzzle off or if I should listen to my gut which was telling me Debo loved him. I took it off. They have literally been attached at the hip ever since. Best brothers. It is these sorts of things that make me wonder how many wonderful dogs have been discarded and put down because of fear aggression when all they need is someone to give them a chance. Sure, he can't go to the dog park or to petsmart. Hell, he can't even go to the park in the snow without some old man asking "is that a pitbull" because he is barking his head off and growling. But, he can give an orphaned kitten a companion. I think that is something. I think that is something a lot of you might not be able to do.
My brother has a stray cat that lives by his house. Every spring this cat has kittens. This particular year I got a phone call from him asking if I would take care of a kitten he had found abandoned by it's mother. He waited hours to see if the mother came for the crying kitten and she never returned. He put him in a box with some blankets and brought him to me. I named him Rango.
When I first got him he was the smallest kitten I had ever held. I quickly researched how to take care of an abandoned kitten for days and days. I figured out that he was less than a week old when I got him. Most websites painted a very grim picture for an abandoned kitten in the hands of a human at such a young age. I raised him from scratch and he is healthy as a horse.
However, I did have one more hurdle to jump. That hurdle always seems to have one name: DEBO. When I first got Debo I had one cat (Kittens) and 2 ferrets (Hyphy and Nessie). Kittens is a very particular cat that was rescued from the streets. She is paranoid and doesn't usually like too much going on at once. She HATED Debo when he first arrived. She had gotten over worse though and they eventually came to an understanding. The ferrets were another story though. Debo looked at them like they were prey. I never let them play together but one time because he acted like they were sandwiches that one time. A short time later I gave my ferrets to a rescue because Hyphy was old and became very ill. He had adrenal disease and had developed a horrible UTI. Nessie went with him because he wouldn't eat without her. Sorry for the side love story.
Anyways, it was starting to get down to the wire. My parents didn't want the kitten in the basement anymore since he was now running around like a typical kitten and biting ankles because he wasn't raised with a litter to learn better. I live in the attic of my parents house (not like an unfinished creepy spider infested attic) and I have a huge walk in closet which I call my "beauty room". I rigged it up real nice for Rango to live in. Put up a gate so Debo and Rango couldn't interact yet. Rango wasn't having it. He quickly escaped. Leaving me with no choice.
I put Debo in his muzzle, leashed him up and let Rango go. Debo greeted him like a dog greets another dog, poked him with his nose for like an hour.
I paced and paced wondering if it was too soon to take his muzzle off or if I should listen to my gut which was telling me Debo loved him. I took it off. They have literally been attached at the hip ever since. Best brothers. It is these sorts of things that make me wonder how many wonderful dogs have been discarded and put down because of fear aggression when all they need is someone to give them a chance. Sure, he can't go to the dog park or to petsmart. Hell, he can't even go to the park in the snow without some old man asking "is that a pitbull" because he is barking his head off and growling. But, he can give an orphaned kitten a companion. I think that is something. I think that is something a lot of you might not be able to do.
First post
It's called FEAR AGGRESSION.
It's towards people (and trash bags....and bikes...and potted plants...and boxes...). I stopped trying to figure out what went wrong about 2 months ago. It's too much to think about and not enough information. I tried all different types of training techniques and ways of desensitizing him to that which he fears. None of which worked. None besides putting his muzzle on and telling everyone to ignore him.
I always wanted a dog to call my own since I was a child. One that I trained myself. One I can bring everywhere with me. I guess the world has a way of giving you what you "want" by giving you the worst case scenario and throwing you into it head first. I hate the looks I get when I take him out with his muzzle and backpack on. I hate that I can't let him meet all my friends and family and show them how great of a dog he really is. He is the smartest dog I have ever been around. He is also one of the weirdest looking dogs I have ever seen. When he is in my room he is just like a regular dog. That is what I want people to see. So, I decided to make a blog showcasing his accomplishments. I want to show people that dogs like Debo need people understand them and not discard them. So, this is a blog about my spooked little doggy named Debo.
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