Busy Saturday

I had some plans this past weekend that led to me asking if the Brindle could spend the day with Uncle Jerry. Of course he could and did but let me tell you that it's pretty hard to leave that sad face.

I wasn't really worried because I knew that between the kittens and the chickens there would be lots to keep him busy. It turns out that kitten Bella has no interest but the adventurous kitten Slick might turn out to be a playmate. Probably as long as he's got Jerry to back him up.

The chickens can't even be bothered with Max any more, they just stand there and stare at him.

And what was I doing? Yarn shopping at the source...

Boxer Acclimatization

Today I'm very pleased to share some Boxers who usually show up on their own blog titled Lucy, Duke & Their Humans, too. The whole family recently made a move to much further south in the country.

Here's what their human had to say.

Thought everyone might like to see how my boxer kids are adapting to their new life in Florida....

We've been in Florida almost a month,  while just about everything else about our lives has changed, my boxer kids haven't changed much....  Lucy still thinks that it's her job to sit on and stand over her brother!

Lucy seems to have calmed down in a lot of ways, but she's still my very silly girl!  There's never a dull moment with Lucy around and she's always making me laugh!  You just never know what that pup is going to do!

This big white chair has been Lucy's favorite chair for ages, and Duke has never really attempted to take over the chair, until now!  He's finally realized that he's the man of the house right now, and he rules!  I can assure you that Lucy is none too happy about losing her "tv chair".

One positive thing about the Florida heat, it does seem to wear the kids out!  By the time we head to bed at night, both boxers are more than ready to go to sleep, and they're never too tired to snuggle with each other!  It's great to know that Lucy isn't holding a grudge over losing her favorite chair!

A Brindle Pupdate

We finally have some summer weather in Belgium and the Brindle has been out taking advantage. He started off by tossing his moose out on the patio to get some air.

While he chose his optimum location in order to absorb some Vitamin D.

Monday was a holiday here, compensation for Belgian National Day that had fallen on Saturday. No work for me but also not much was going to be open around here. With the Brindle's approval Uncle Mark and I headed into France for some shopping while he spent some quality time with Uncle Jerry. We took a photo to let the Brindle know we were still thinking dogs...

On our return Uncle Mark did a patience test, which the Brindle passed.

Of course with all the entertaining he was doing the boy needed a nap with his special friend, the monkey that lives at his uncles' house.

Boxer... or not?

Today I received a request from a BML member regarding a dog that is in a shelter. I'll let Kimberly's words explain the rest.

"There are 2 boxer rescues here in the Dallas area that won’t consider tagging this boy because they feel he is mix.  I would love to have the BML’s opinion on what they think.  I feel Hercules is 98-100% boxer but I’ve been wrong before!  I thought last night who better to ask than my dear friends who’ve been dealing with this breed for many years."

Kimberly has asked that if anyone wants to weigh in on this, instead of commenting on the blog today please drop her an email. (just click on her name!)

Also, they are looking for a potential foster home for this guy, his name seems to be Hercules. He's pretty cute if you ask me.

Boxers and Fosters

Some Boxers do better with fosters passing through their homes than others. Bella is obviously one of those. Her mom explains:

It's been a while since I have sent pics of Bella and the fosters that I have had.  Today I am sending several pictures of Bella and our current foster, Tommy a Basschsund, a hybrid cross of a Basset/Dachshund. He is around a year old and was a stray and is as cute as can be, full of life and fun.  I've had him a week and already I love him. He is going through the "toddler" stage, everything goes in his mouth and nothing is safe from being chewed on.

Ready or not, here come my fangs!

Playbows

Bella showing Tommy how to play Boxer style

Headlock or hug?

Xena, Water Dog

Does anyone at all doubt that Xena the herding and conformation Boxer does all the things? Because she's back again to show us her skills as a water dog.

Here's Xena, waiting for a boat -or- a PWC (personal watercraft) to come by...

Aha! There's one coming now!

Both Xena and Titus love to run up & down the river's edge, chasing anything moving on the water...

And here is Xena riding ON the ski with her mom (this is even better than getting to hang her head out the car window).

 

  Xena is definitely not one of those shrinking violets (like a certain Brindle) when it comes to water.

 And at the end of the day, we go back to the trailer for a much-needed nap.

A Little Hope for Hope

We recently had a post on the BML asking for hope and vibes for Hope who was diagnosed with a mast cell tumour. Here's some info, and photos, on Hope's recent surgery.

I would like to submit some photos of our white girl Hope.  She recently had surgery to remove a cyst from each front leg.  One was at the top and one was at the bottom.  I requested some info from the group for store bought or home made cones that might not make her go bonkers.  So far we kind of came up with something to keep them covered up so that we have not had to use a cone.

The first shot is of her the night she came home.  Does she look properly pitiful?

The second shot shows what we first came up with.  I took a pair of my thin socks and wrapped the sticky medical tape around her bandage spots.  She did pretty good with this.

From there we graduated to this-gauze over her surgical site, then a trouser sock, some medical tape and secured with some duct tape.

The last shot shows what a boxer looks like on pain pills.

Sleeping Dogs

The other day I received a bunch of photos with the following explanation.

I was looking through some pics that have been taken of our two fur kids (Riley is the brindle 3.5 yr old girl & Austen is the 3 yr old fawn boy) over the past couple years, and realized they have about 20 different "sleeping positions" with each other…I now have 4 full pages in a large photo album that show  a wide variety - which I'm sharing just a few of them here.

Twisty paw tangle

Smooshy faces

Full body pillow

Headrest - Austen

Headrest - Riley

For the Love of a Dog

I am not an activist. I am a dog lover and when I can I will help a dog in need. Something horrible happened this week and even though there were millions of people all over the world who tried to help a dog in need a political body couldn't, and wouldn't, admit they might have been wrong.

If you don't know, I'm talking about Lennox. Lennox was, according to all documentation and DNA testing, a cross between an American Bulldog and a Labrador Retriever. Two lovely North American breeds, the second of which is not common in Europe. But, based on his looks and an arbitrary measurement of his head he was seized from his family two years ago and this week lost his life to the political body known as the Belfast City Council.

For two years Lennox's family, including the little girl for who he was a service dog, battled the Belfast City Council in the courts and lost at every step. The longer it went on, the story spread. It spread until this past week when there were worldwide demonstrations asking that if they wouldn't return Lennox to his family would they release him to be rehomed to a location that wouldn't discriminate against him because of his "looks". The answer was a definitive no.

What shames me even more is that this could just as easily have happened in my home province of Ontario, Canada. It's called Breed Specific Legislation and what's really ridiculous is that it's not breed specific at all. It was enacted to encompass a group of "pit bull type" breeds with no definition of what that is or training for those expected to uphold this law. This means that any number of other breeds including Boxers could, and have been seized because they "looked like a pit bull" to the person who took them.

This means that every time a person asks me if my dog is a pit bull I not only tell them no, he's a Boxer, but I point out the physical characteristics that make him what he is. But you know what? That might not be enough because Boxers all share a bully ancestor with the breeds that have been banned. Please, support Cheri DiNovo, Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale-High Park (Toronto), in removing all aspects of Breed Specific Legislation in Ontario.

Wednesday night the Brindle and I lit our candles. This is something we, and many others on the BML, do when one of our own passes. Lennox was one of our own and we are Lennox.

I would like to leave you with the words of Cesar Millan:

"My kids are around pit bulls every day. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German Shepherds, in the '90s they blamed the Rottweiler. Now they blame the pit bull."

Play Time

The Brindle is back!

Today he's going to share with you some of what he and his lambiekins get up to.

WHAT?! I forgot lambiekins!

Ok, we're good, I've got him.

No... you can't have him.

You can look but be quick, we need to run.

Here we come!!!

Thundershirts

After my various posts about Calming Collars I thought I should, in fairness, also do one about Thundershirts. I sent out a request to the BML for photos and also received some reviews.

Thundershirts work by applying a constant gentle constant pressure which is believed to have a calming effect on the nervous system.

The reviews I received, while mixed, were mostly positive. Those people who have had the most success using a Thundershirt for their dog can't say enough about it. For those that may not have had as great of a success for the most part they believe it has helped to some extent as well. To quote one of my contributors "your mileage may vary".

On to the fun part, dogs in shirts!

Chezney is afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks but wearing her jacket helps so much that at the first sound of either she runs to get it off the door handle so she can put it on.

Dudley wears his to the vet's and for thunderstorms but his mom finds it only helps a little. She sent to me "I would like to get Duds one of those Calming Collars and see if it can have a special Wonder Twins power when coupled with the forces of the Thundershirt"

Bella, posing as her alter ego Model Dog.

Harley is a special case. Paralyzed due to a spinal hematoma that burst Harley had to undergo weeks of physio therapy in order to learn to walk again. His shirt helped to keep him calm during all of the strangeness of his treatement.

Another Ollie

People on the BML of course know who Ollie is, my co-admin's Brindle guy who is Ollivander from the Harry Potter litter.

The other day though I got some photos of a different Ollie along with the following explanation and what a great story this is.

"I got an email June 15th showing this 4 month old white partially deaf Boxer at one of the worst shelters in the DFW area.  I called about the pup asking if either rescue had tagged the him. They had but the shelter wasn't going to release the puppy to rescue because they knew they could get him adopted and make the $80.  So June 16th I go there 45 minutes before they opened the doors at 10 am being first in line and adopted Ollie myself.  I had him 11 days before handing him over to rescue.  I know they'll find him awesome home!"

Enjoy the photos, who can resist a Boxer pup?