Merry Cocomas!

Merry Cocomas and Happy Coco New Year! Woof!

The real Christmas miracle

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus ...

We had a terrible ice storm in New England this past weekend. And we lost power. For days and days. Sunday we couldn't afford to spend another night in a hotel and we were barred from family members' homes because of us having a dog.

My two friends took us in, and when they did, a little miracle happened. Coco made a dog friend.

My friend took Coco on a leash and I took their dog, Tui, on another leash. While he held Coco's leash, I walked their dog back and forth a bunch of times in front of Coco. Each time Coco went to attack or bark at Tui, my friend would roll Coco onto her back and put his hand on her tummy till she stopped squirming. After about what seemed alot of walking on my part, he took Coco for a 5 minute run. When he got back, we reintroduced the dogs at about 3 feet apart. They ignored each other for a few minutes, and then Coco sniffed Tui. SNIFFED Tui. No jerking her around or yelling or treats or coaxing or anything. Coco just got over it. Next, my friend walked Tui and Coco, one in each hand, then he walked them both in one hand, then I walked them one in each hand. Yup me, as pack leader. At this point, Coco could have cared less about Tui, and tried to chase squirrels or pull me towards some kids playing football. The whole process took about an hour. That night, Tui and Coco both passed out in the living room. We couldn't leave them alone together, and we couldn't let them play with toys, but all in all, it was a success, the very success I've been searching for a year for. Coco needed two things: me being an in-charge and confident handler and a low energy non-threatening dog.

Today, we went to the vet, and Coco's eye turned red when she saw another dog. I flipped her over onto her back and held her down gently till she stopped fighting. Then she got up, whined a little, but didn't bark and didn't charge the dog. I gave her a biscuit and she sat down, panting, but not barking. I couldn't believe it.

She definitely guards me, and I have to be careful about letting her jump up from now on. And she did try and kill my friends' cat. But it was amazing, absolutely amazing. Not to mention, all weekend she was amazing. Going from car ride to strange hotel back to the car while we ate take out in the front seat. She was resiliant and happy. Tired as all heck with out her 22 hours of naps.

She got a new toy and lots of french fries. Hooray!

Happy Halloween from us and the Coco!

We had a pumpkin carving party the night before Halloween. Coco wore her jester's outfit for the whole party and was a gracious host, snorting and snoring through the whole party. Of course, when bit of pumpkin hit the floor, she was there fast as fast can be!

Halloween Coco

It's that time of year again, and we think it's best to go with a more simple approach to Halloween:

A simple jester ruff, with cute bells, and a cost of 8 dollars. Who knew dressing your pet for less could be this adorable?

Miguel's family came up this weekend for a fall foliage adventure. Coco enjoyed the attention, but not staying up really late at night. She got a little cranky at times! We are also doing better on her pulling problem. I am still taking her outside with her martin gale and treats, but now without the clicker. I am having some good results, she isn't pulling as hard. Distractions are still a challenge, but I am not giving up yet!

Happy fall!

Coco's been with us 1 year!

It's October and we've had Coco for one year! What would life be like without the great and powerful cuteness of the Cocos? Boring and dull, with no piles of hair to clean up and no click click click of paws following me around the house. It's hard to imagine what we would do without her.

We've been having some pulling issues on our walks lately, and this morning I took the advice of my friend and took Coco out with the clicker and some treats. It was pretty convincing. There was hardly any pulling and she was eager to please with plenty of good girls and tasty noms coming her way. Coco is pretty stubborn. Hee hee... gotta love bulldogs. It is so funny! She definitely fools me into thinking that she doesn't understand what I need her to do, and then with a little food she's walking like a princess on her leash or with right encouragement staring at a dog from the lawn instead of attacking it. I was watching a clip on animal planet called Dog 101 and the episode spot-lighted both French Bulldogs and Poodles. My poodle that we got when I was in high school lives at home with my dad. She is the most amazing dog: wicked smart, loving, loyal. (Three adjectives for frenchies might be silly, cuddle-bugs, and stubborn.) Coco is crazy funny to play with and lolls around the house snorting and chomping. Noel is always on the alert, posing on the couch or the carpet with possibly a bone between her dainty paws. We never had to click train her to do anything, she just figured it out with a couple of treats. Noel is very prim and proper; she would hide if you put her in a sweater or turn her back on you if you laugh at her. It's funny how both of the dogs I love so much are such different characters. :)

Coco's big week

Coco had a big week. We'll do the big news first. I was reading my book in bed and decided that the begging dog at my feet was too much to bear. I invited Coco to come up and sit with me and she crawled into my lap! I had read over and over that Frenchies were originally bred as companion dogs and in some cases lap dogs. Coco finally trusted me enough to curl up with me. I thought it was a fluke, but a few days later Miguel and I were on the couch watching t.v. and we invited Coco onto the couch. She jumped up and crawled over to Miguel and lay her whole body across his lap and laid her head on the arm rest. It was adorable. She stayed for about 5 minutes. Then, later that night, she came up onto my lap while I was watching Lost and snuggled with me for about 15 before she got hot and rolled off. I spoke with a trainer earlier in the week, and he says it takes some rescue dogs a year till they are fully bonded. I had no idea. We've seen other changes in Coco this past week, too. She seems more calm when we leave the house and she stops barking when we ask her too.

And now for the quasi bad news. I say quasi because this story has a silver lining. Basically, I took Coco for a behavioral consult to a place in Boston. They use corrective jerks with the collar to get results. That is the bad news; it basically has been haunting me that I allowed anyone to use corrective jerks on my dog. I really didn't know what it was going to look like, I think I've only ever seen the dog whisperer do it to one of his clients dogs that was completely out of control. I don't think Coco needs that sort of training; we have plenty of time to help her with her dog aggression, we can surely try some other techniques. If she were a big dog and would be dangerous out of control, it would make sense. For a Saint Bernard or Boxer or some big dog, I can't imagine what you would do if they freaked out like Coco does. But she's so little, it seems silly to me that you would have to jerk her around. I could just pick her up if she was going to attack someone.

The good news is that Coco can be trained; she met THREE dogs at that dog trainer's place while she was there. She basically went from red-eyed "i'm going to eat you alive" angry to totally chill. She sniffed noses and bums with this huge boxer; the kept going over to each other and the boxer kept reaching out with his paw to play with her. She sniffed with a poodle and someone's whippet mix. A couple of times she started whining and pulling, not to eat the other dog, but because she wanted to go over and meet it. Her eye went from red to clear ,and by the end of the evaluation she pranced out of the dog trainer's place like nothing had ever happened. We even met a pug on the street on our way out and she just looked at it, like, "so?" I have totally changed my opinion of what is going on with Coco. It's not that she hates other dogs, it's that she WANTS to meet them and say hi and has no IDEA how to go about it. This means that we can totally change our approach with her. We are going to start to feel around for people with chill dogs for her to meet, and when we feel she is ready, I think we are going to try and adopt another dog, or foster a dog, who is chill that Coco can be exposed to 24/7. If we can introduce her properly and let her know what is acceptable meeting behavior, I think this can all work out!

Coco at work!

I took this picture months ago, but I think I forgot to post it. Here's Coco in front of the room that houses the 800 MHz magnet that I use for experiments. I had to go into work on a Saturday afternoon and thought she would enjoy the ride. She didn't seem very interested in working!

Sorry I haven't posted much, lately. I lost the attachment for my cellphone to my computer, and so I haven't been able to upload anything. But, never fear. Coco is happy and healthy and crashed out in her dog bed as I type. Her weird stomach bug was over within 24 hours. Thank you to all of you who expressed concern! I am sure positive energy from friends encouraged her recovery. :)

Coco's back!

It must have been a 24 hour thing. Coco had some brown rice and soggy dog pellets. She's barking and chewing up a storm. Hooray!

Oh noes!

So, yesterday I loaded Coco's molecule ball with half of a lowfat cheddar cheese stick from trader joes. And apparently she went to town on a Kong she found under the couch.

This morning she threw up a pile of orange goo. I cleaned it up, fed and walked her, and judged the situation over. I gave her her kong and headed out for the day.

When I came home, I took her for a jog and gave her her dinner. And then she started throwing up... again... and again... and again... She threw up 6 times since I got home. It's terrible, there is nothing I can do until she gets it out of her system. Now our living room smells like carpet cleaner and puke, and she is passed out in her bed with her second favorite stuffy. I spoke to my friends who are vets, and they said no more water till the morning and no food till tomorrow night. It sounds mean that I didn't take her to the emergency vets, but I couldn't see what they would do besides an IV. She's lucid and up until she fell asleep pretty spunky; she was barking at the neighbors.

Poor, Coco! If anyone wants to send her a get-well email let me know. I will give her a scratch for you.

What's new at the end of the summer...

We made an appointment for Coco to meet some local dog trainers in Boston. These guys have rehabilitated pit-bulls and one of them actually has a French Bulldog, so I'm hoping they can give advice into Coco's aggression or at least suggest a leash/harness that we can use. Right now, I had to give up on the Puppia. I am using the leash that Ogdog gave me; it is by far the best of all the things I've tried, but sometimes it slips onto her lower back and that makes me nervous. I also have an easywalk harness that I use for occasions like the vet, but this harness slips as well. Also, Coco is meeting her new dog sitter on Saturday. We are going away on vacation! Holy gods, I never thought I would get to say that. As labor day crept up slowly, and the summer passed with out much of a vacation, I was itching to get away. I am meeting the head trainer from Dogs at Play. As we did last year, Coco is staying at home rather than being kenneled. I think it's best for her and best for me! I am glad we live in an area where this is affordable and convienient!

In other news, I went to Costco on Wednesday and ended up buying a new dog bed. It was 20 bucks, but still a spluge considering she already has multiple resting places. I thought this one was interesting because it looks like a mini-couch. Already you can see she is wearing it down on one side, hence the addage you get what you pay for. I would be happy if this thing lasts 6 months. So, 3.5 stars out of 5. What would have happened if you bought this for a larger dog? She looks darn cute lying in it though, as you can see here:



And finally, this evening, during some cleaning chaos, Coco escaped for the first time. And what did she do? Run to the hills? Bite the mail-man? No, she ran over to where the dog next door lives an left a calling card. Can you believe that? She claimed his territory and smirked as I scooped her up scolding and took her home. I guess all's well that ends well, but man is that funny that she has to have the last word. Yeesh.

An ambush and a Newspaper

So here are a couple of photos of Coco hanging out in her new living room:



What you'll notice in one of them is a large, rubber newspaper. Newspaper? Isn't that kind of a cliche dog toy like a red rubber ball? Sometimes stereotypes happen for a reason. This thing is the greatest dog toy since the tennis ball. It's indestructible and loud as hell. Coco cuddles with it, wrestles with it, drools on it, and chomps away no matter the time or place. AKC made it, but I can't find a link online for you kids. My sister gave it to me in exchange for babysitting my adorable newphew: the household will never be the same.

In other news, I have a funny story about the pooch next door. So Coco and barking dogs don't mix; terriers are therefore not easy for her to deal with. The one next door is pretty cunning. For the past few days I've been checking outside before taking Coco on her walk. The next door neighbors leave their jack russell on a lead outside their door. If he was outside, I would simply wait or take Coco out the other door. Anyways, last night I check outside and no Jack Russell... untill I take Coco outside. He was stealthily hidden under a bush by our shared entrance! He and Coco tusseled under the bush untill I could break them up. What a sneaky canine! Terriers truely are some smart pooches! I think he and Coco have a love hate relationship. They enjoy getting in the last word. Coco has to woof one more time than he does, even if we are scolding her.

I've recently discovered a new dog botique store. It's got a variety of tasty treats and fun toys for dogs and kitties. I tried a Zuke's Z-ridge. Coco loved it. My caution to you is to read the label: dogs under 25 pounds can't eat this treat, and those over 25 pounds need to only eat half. Of course I read this and look over and Coco is down to a nub. Oh well! Zuke's also makes the Mini Naturals which are now an indespensible component of my doggie aresenal. That and cheese, of course.

Settling in

Well, the first two weeks were challenging ones for Miss Coco. The day after we moved in, workers came to re-pair the roof. They banged and banged all day! Also, Coco had to get used to sharing theoretical outside space with two terriers. At first she was in a state of panic, barking at each noise and freaking out when she heard one of the terriers next door. However, with alot of clicking and alot of treats, Coco is learning that barking dogs means noms! Now she perks her ears up and might grumble, but an outburst on her part is becoming rare. Also, the roofers are gone, so she can laze about during the day in her castle. We decided against locking Coco up in a room during the day. We did at first, and I think we would do it again if we went on vacation, but she seems content to snack on her peanutbutter kong in the living room while we are at work or play. She is getting used to being in rooms by heself, where previously if I went to the kitchen she would come to the kitchen and so forth. Now, she'll stay on the couch while I go from room to room, unless I am gone too long and she gets bored. Coco's smiles have been more extravagent as she rolls over for belly rubs. I'm finally convinced that the move to a condo is a good one for her, and we're hoping that she continues to enjoy her new life in "Coco Palace". Good for you, Coco!

Home sweet home!

We did it! We made the big move to our new condo. Coco watched me in concern for a week while I packed up everything we owned into boxes and bags strewn all over the old apartment. We moved on Tuesday with the help of a moving company and a good friend. Coco was on best behavior through out the whole thing, donning her puppia harness with cool calm. I think her favorite part was the multiple car rides she got to take, driving back and forth between the two locations. Now, a few days later, we are settling in. She has a new toy and is getting used to the house enough to want to take naps. It's not all sunny news, as there are many more dogs here in the complex then we anticipated, but in the end, it will be good for her to hear a dog bark and not freak out. Good luck, Coco, in your new home!

Molecule ball

We just got molecule ball from Ogdog. It's great!

Happy Independence Day!

This was a really fun fourth of July for me, as well as my first with Coco. In the morning, I left her snoozing with Miguel and I ran a race in a nearby town. It wasn't so much a race as a parking lot, but it is always an experience to run with a thousand people. A couple of friends came with me, which made for a couple of laughs.

Later that day, Coco and I went over my friends' house to hang out. This is always a big deal because Coco hates other dogs and so my friend has to hide her pups. I was armed with my doggy diaper bag equivalent: a bed, some treats, and two toys. When we got there, Coco went nuts and the other dogs went nuts until we had them properly separated. I used a technique with Coco that I saw on t.v.; i.e. Victoria Stillwell's show "It's me or the Dog". If Coco barked at one of the dogs (who were safely in the other room), I would take her aside to a spare room and make her sit inside for 10 seconds. When I let her out, she would walk calmly back to her toy. It worked pretty well, and with my friend working with her dogs at the same time, we had fun playing rock band while Coco tried out every dog bed in the house and promptly chewed the feet off of one of their AKC dog toys. Here are some pictures of Coco, the maurading guest munching away in someone elses bed. How funny!



What was also funny, was that the house had wood floors, and Coco decided to chase a tennis ball. It was like an ocotupus on ice skates. Coco would go flying across the floor, miss the tennis ball by an inch, but successfully knocking it with her paws; then she would skid to far ahead of the ball and try and double back, barely missing the ball again but giving it enough momentum to skitter futher... It was so funny. Our new place that we are moving to will have wooden floors, as well! The fun won't stop unless we find a rug!

Coco is sacked out now on one of her make-shift pillow dog beds that she "acquired" when I was lazy enough to leave a spare pillow on the ground for too long. I've been home all day packing for the impending move and doing some chore like odds and ends. We had a ride to the pet store for more food and Coco was the darling of the store. She of course got a big stuffie when we got through the door which she carried around, her head held high and bat ears at attention. Everyone stopped and cooed her.

So, no fireworks or apple pie this weekend. But I think it was a great fourth of July, with friends, dogs, and fun. Hooray!

Happy Birthday Coco!

Today is Coco's 5th birthday. We decided that we would give her pizza instead of a cake. But when I tried to take the picture, the pizza was gone! She ate it before I could record it for prosperity. Hee hee...

Happy Birthday, Coco, and many more!

Here's a picture of her half asleep in her favorite chair. Who could ask for anything more?

Coco goes to the vet

Last week I took Coco to the vet. In order to cause the least amount of stress for her (and me!), I booked the last appointment of the day, 7:40 PM. Coco got her walk and her dinner, and a little rescue remedy before we headed out to see her doctor. I got together an armory: a treat bag, her hedge hog, and her football. I wasn't going to be defeated by the vet, this time!

So, we walked in and had a few dog confrontations. Coco started barking, but with treats, asking her for tricks, and squeaks from hedgehog, I was able to stop her from reaching "level 10: the red eye". She charmed everyone there, by the way, from the receptionists to the vet techs, to her doctor who called her, "the best part" of her day! Coco's vet was amazing; she gave her lots of treats and told me that it didn't matter that Coco hated other dogs. She said that French Bulldogs weren't typically social with other dogs and that Coco was such a sweetie that I should stop worrying about it. Well, you can imagine how happy that made me. A stranger seeing Coco the way that I do, as wonderful!

Coco got shots and weighed and such. She's in good health. Apparently, she has contact dermatitis on her paws! She's been licking them like crazy since the spring, but I guess she is allergic to grass and not licking because she is being naughty. The vet prescribed an oatmeal shampoo and lotion for her paws which doesn't really help but doesn't hurt either. The lotion is Resicort and the shampoo is Epi-soothe. Needless to say, my dog's hair routine now costs more than mine.

In other news, Miguel and I went shopping for my birthday! It was wicked fun, and part of my present was to get Coco a present. I ordered her a Puppia harness from the French Bulldog Rescue Network. Here is a picture of two Frenchies from the Resuce network in their Puppia harnesses; I can only imagine it will be fun to see if it works! Coco is a big puller, but she's been pretty calm, lately, so maybe this is her chance to shine. Her other harness that we got for her Rowdy Rover class never did fit too well. I use it occassionally for vet trips since it's easier to deal with in the car then her usual lead. I'm hoping that since FBRN endorses this produce that it will stay on better than a traditional harness.

Dog product review!

It's that time of year again, the time where it's getting too hot to take your frenchie outside! I've bought some new treats/toys to make passing the summer afternoons a little more palatable. Here they are:

Canine hardware chuckit! plush boomerang gets 5 out of 5 stars.

First off, Coco adores it. So much so that it's been a few weeks and there is no hole in it.

It seems to be made of a nylon like material

that resists chewing and is perfect for games of tug. We FINALLY have a toy we can play tug with that I'm not worried will break off her teeth or that she can't get a grip on it. So, it's not the cutest toy in the world, but as in many cases, Coco makes a toy cute just by being herself. And, dun dun dun, I bought it at the grocery store! So it was easy to find, buy, and was around 6 bucks.

Nylabone Healthy Edibles gets 2 out of 5 stars. Ok, so what are these supposed to do? You would think it would be like a regular nylabone that would be able to dissolve easier or something like that. At first, Coco just licked it and it looked like it would do just that. Then, she began to chew. And taking off these massive chunks and chomping them up and then grabbing another massive chunk. So, it's got the durability of the biscuit. And if I want a dog biscuit, I'll buy some organic dog biscuit for a $1.50 and not have to worry about chunks of stuff getting stuck in my dogs intestine. So, it's a great product for dogs who probably don't like to chew. At all. Which defeats the purpose if you ask me.

Finally, we have Zuke's mini naturals. These are little treat bites that were recommended by Ogdog. Coco is pretty mad for them. They are convenient to just grab about 7 or 2 whatever and you can keep them in your hand as opposed to breaking up larger treats and making a mess on the floor. Every morning I play fetch with Coco, and the only way to get her to drop her ball, is by giving her a treat. These are pretty much perfect. They are pretty stinky and look a little rubbery, but I am looking forward to trying a different flavor. I have the chicken flavor right now, and I am looking forward to peanut butter. These seem to be very popular because my local dog store was pretty much out of all other flavors for months. I can't give them five stars because they are hard to find and smell pretty bad. But, I'll give them 4.75 stars. :)

Hooray June! It's Coco's birthday this month. She'll be 5 years old! It's also my birthday this month. I wonder if they make cakes that dog and owner can share?

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UPDATE: June 9th

Coco must have heard me typing this and ran off to read it when I wasn't looking because she tore a hole in the boomerang later that day. :)

May flowers bring Coco smiles

Well Coco has had a busy month (as well as her pet parents!)  Last week, Miguel's family visited from Utah and stayed with us.  Needless to say, queen Coco got attention morning, noon and night.  I think on one of the afternoons, Miguel's mom pet her for a solid hour and cooed her and coerced her to pose for her camera phone.  Coco was so mellow and happy; and she behaved like and angel.  There was hardly and barking at the romping children in the hall and when we left to go sight seeing she went into the kitchen without a fuss.  It was great having them here, and great to have family so involved with Coco.  

And then they left.  We've had a little monster on our hands ever since.  I think she really loves having people around to constantly shower her with attention.  And who doesn't?  

Today, we went to Amity and Peter's to take some photos on their beautiful lawn.  My sad little queen was dragging herself around the apartment today, but perked up as soon as we got into the Tercel.  She was smiling by the time we got settled on the lawn under a little pavilion Am had set up.  I got her a 50 foot lead from petsmart, and although she was free to explore, she spent most of the afternoon at our feet getting petted and praised.  Amity took these photos while I tried to get her to pose for the camera.  I think we got some pretty good shots!  I am very proud of Coco; she has had a hard life but I think she is blooming in New England.

Coco and her Genius

The canine genius' "Leo" is one of Coco's favorite toys. Ogdog generously donated it when Coco first moved home with us. Here is a video of Coco using her genius toy:



The toy is basically a hollow bowling ball pin with a grate on one side, a grate on the bottom, and the top is a hollow tube. When Coco first encountered this toy, she basically went nuts, biting and pawing at it to try and get treats out. Now, as you can see in the video, Coco calmly pushes the pin over with her head or picks up an end and "dumps out" a treat. After all the treats are gone, then she goes nuts biting and chewing it and covers the carpet with puddles of drool.

Coco is a wicked smart dog! I mean, let's face it, this toy really does encourage problem solving. Sure, the dogs can get the treats out randomly, but they get them out faster if they use their noodles. I am excited to try another mind stimulating toy by Ottosson:



Yay!

Coco and hedge hog

Here is a picture of Coco and her favorite toy, her stuffed hedge hog. I think that I've said earlier that Coco is the great destroyer of all things stuffed. I really can't stress enough how confused we are that she has chosen this toy out of the myriad of others to not destroy. The only thing I can think of is that there was one like it at her foster house that was in a basket with all the other shared dog toys, and I think that Coco always coveted it. That or it's just plain cute. She does really well with AKC toys or with fleecy ones, but eventually they all meet the same fluffy death. Today was really cute. Miguel was asleep, and we came in from her morning walk. As soon as I unclipped her she raced off to the bedroom, slammed herself into the door to open it, grabbed her hedge hog from where she had been sleeping, and she came tearing out of the bedroom squeaking it as she went. It was beyond hilarious, made even more so by the fact that she wanted to wake up Miguel to play. Here's to you, Coco, and here's to hedge hog.

Too hot. Really?

I took Coco for a walk yesterday at around 2 PM. It's just starting to get warm here, and I thought she would enjoy a longer romp. We went across the road where there is an old grave yard, and she pulled all the way there. I had to hold on with both hands, she was so riled up. Once we got there, she was over-excited and over-hot. I felt so sorry for her; she actually curled up under a bush. I rushed her back to the apartment, which unfortunately was very warm, so I put her in the tub and got her wet. I put on the AC, but it's an old window unit and it took a while to cool down the living room. Poor Coco panted for about 15 minutes before she finally was back to normal. It was a pretty eye-opening experience; it was only 70 degrees (F) outside. We decided that we should move as soon as we can to someplace with central air, or at least a better AC. I think the AC in our apartment is as old as I am! She's of course fine now and I have spoiled her with TWO stuffies this weekend, the first of which has already met its stuffy maker.

Here is a picture of Coco in the 4-runner. As usual, she loves to travel in style and is never that happy in my economical Tercel. Good for you Coco, you know what you like!

Ennui

Nothing to report this week. But here is an adorable picture:

Till next time!

Another lolz...

In honor of Coco's new collar...


see more loldogs ask - i can has hotdog?

Coco's new collar

I do realize that I sent this picture in an email to many people, but I wanted to record this cuteness for posterity:

I bought Coco a new bulldog collar from morrco.com. Whenever you buy something off the internet, you really never know what you are getting, but I was really satisfied with this company. The collar came quickly, and it is a really good quality! I was a little suprised at how thick the width of it is, but Coco doesn't seem to mind, as usual, she lets you put on collars or teeshirts or lay toys across her back with not much more than a long-eyed glance. Last night she wore it to a friend's house and everyone agreed that she looked super tough.

She's got a tug toy in her mouth that I picked up at a local pet place. It's not really good for tug, though, you can see from it's shape that unless your dog has a long mouth, they are pretty much going to gag if they try to grab one end. Every once in a while she gets a good grip and we have a fun session.

Other than that, all is well on the ranch. Coco has been good to the few strangers we met this week, which is good news. On a personal note, Miguel and I went to look at a few properties and we saw a Papillon and a Caviler King Charles Spaniel. All I could think of was how Coco would treat those little dogs. The Papillon barked for the entire time we were near her house. Not a good fit for our little family!

Spring in New England

Growing up in New England and then being privileged enough to travel around the country, you hear the the phrase, "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes," in pretty much the west coast, mountain zone, and Florida if that counts for the South. What people can't believe is that in New England, it is actually true, and I've seen it go from say 60 degrees (F) to 20 in a day or day and a half. The past few weeks have been a testament to the old adage, and here is Coco sporting her new hand-knit sweater that Eliza made for her. Eliza gave me this sweater last Friday when it was freezing outside, and then the next day it was too warm for Coco to wear a second time.. until.. it SNOWED this week and then I had an excuse to get her all cozy. It's been warm and cold and warm again so many times it's making my head spin.

Coco has had a good week. I've stuck to the ball and music regime and so she has seemed pretty comfortable. This week we ordered her a cool bulldog collar. It should get here in the next couple of days! I can't wait to see her in it, I bet she will look pretty tough. Her old collar is starting to look like it will fall apart at the next big meeting with another dog. I think she needs a wider one, even if it wasn't on the verge of annihilation.

On a cute note, as anyone with pets knows, they get you up on weekends at the same time you usually get them up on the work week. Well, I had the audacity to sleep in till 9 today, and when I woke up, Coco was not in the bedroom. This is weird for her, she never sleeps alone, and when she gets up, she makes sure to get me up, too. I thought maybe she had to gone to wait by the door to be let out and so I went into the living room. There was Ms. Coco, sitting like a spinx in a huge sun-spot that comes in that time of day. She blinked lazily and gazed at me with no interest of getting up to say hello. It was so funny! Miguel sees her in that sun spot when he is home from work during the week and she'll sit there while he uses the t.v. She obviously remembered the warm spot to get up on a Sunday morning to seek it's solace! It's good to know that my fierce bulldog is showing more cat traits by the hour. First chasing birds, enjoying salmon flavored treats, and now dosing in the sun? I better go this week to buy some catnip.

One-Two-Three Combination

The last week has been a non-scientific experiment in the respect that I have changed multiple variables of Coco's day to day existence rather than just one to see if we would modify her behavior. First, I've changed her food over completely to Wellness Superfive mix lamb. Second, I've been playing her a new classic music mix for pets CD given to us from Ogdog. And third, Ive started playing ball with her after her morning walks. I think that the extra exercise and the other changes have mellowed her out a bit. This week, she's only charged the door maybe once a night, and a quick "uh-ah" is enough to get her to come back to the couch or her bone and settle down. Now, that being said, she isn't cured of her dog aversion, but her level of stress in the apartment has gone down considerably. A guy was on his cell phone outside my door for a good hour last night and Coco was lying at my feet ignoring him. Another good barometer of Coco's mental state is birds on her daily walks. She can either watch them when she is settled, or she wants to eat them and pulls and whines at her leash to get over to them. This week she was aroused when she saw the birds, pulling a little, but was able to be coaxed to continue on her way. I've also been training her to do a new trick (shake), and if I saw her start to get nervous or bored I would pull out the clicker and do a short session.

The other notable news for this week is that I decided to try "rescue remedy" a flower extract suggested to me by Ogdog and a friend. I thought it was snake oil, to be honest, but it had a significant impact on her behavior. I gave her a full dose on Thursday after she had a dog encounter that morning with Miguel and seemed particularly bent. I sprayed the extract onto a biscuit which she happily ate. Within 20 minutes she was snoozing on the floor, then snoozing on the couch. She could be enticed to chew on her favorite bone or kong for a few minutes, but in general she just wanted to stretch and be pet. It was a bit weird, and part of me missed my rambunctious bulldog. About 4 hours or so later she started chomping away on her nylabone like nothing had happened. Thinking that I had over-dosed her, and feeling like a bad fur-mom, I gave her half a dose when I took her to the vet on Friday. It did absolutely nothing, so I would say this medication is an all or nothing way to calm down your pet. This really opens up a new world for Coco, one in which I feel like I can stop the cycle of her being totally over-stimulated and scared and get her to calm down.

Miguel has been taking her on rides with him during the week. Coco loves riding with Miguel so here are some pictures he took of her. Against mom's personal convictions, Coco prefers a comfy SUV to a nice economical commuter car, and will happily settle down in the back for a snooze or sit up front and watch the scenery.

Coco the pet detective

Okay, I've told this story a hundred times this week but it's still so funny that I wanted to record it for future generations.
On Monday, I went to the grocery store to stock up on human supplies, and of course detoured to the pet aisle. There were stuffed toys on sale for 2 dollars, and knowing Coco's knack for destruction, I felt this was a fare price to pay for 10 minutes of glee. I came home and Coco was whining to be let out of the kitchen, so I put down my 8 or so grocery bags and let her out, where she promptly began her game of running around the apartment in her post-kitchen ritual. The bags were full of groceries: chicken, milk, cheese you name the dog temptations, but Coco was so distracted I thought it was okay to leave them on the ground for a minute while I went into another room. I was gone for a few moments, and when I came back to the bags I bent down to fish out her toy. Behind me I heard, "Squeak squeak..." There was Coco, toy in her mouth, looking very proud. How did she know I had bought her a toy? How did she distinguish it from the strong scent of the plastic bags and the chicken and cheese within? How had she known to trick me with a frisky romp so that I would ignore her and she could go to her prize? She is truly an amazing dog; silly one minute, calculating the next, and as always, snorting and snuffing her way to a good snooze. And, true to form, the toy was destroyed in about an hour. For some reason she let this one live longer; maybe she was savoring her victory. Check out a quick movie of her and her trophy below:

Spring showers bring...

It's raining outside and so I thought it was a good time to update the world on Coco. So, we'll do a good story and a bad story. The good story is that earlier this week we were on a walk and we met a neighbor of mine that has experience with bull breeds and who loves Coco. For the first time, Coco ran over to her and let both her and her daughter pet her without a fuss. Now, let me say that again, a CHILD pet my fierce dog! Coco sat at her feet, threw her shoulders back, half closed her eye and looked ever so pleased with herself. It was so cute and so funny that I have the image permanently burned into my brain. Good for you Coco!

The bad news is that Coco's aggression, which seemed to be on a downswing since the end of Rowdy Rover has come back to the surface. Today, she saw some birds, and wanted to eat them. Even though she was on her no-pull leash, it took both hands to hold her back from the bush and no pleading or scolding could get her to knock it off. I gotta say, we didn't talk for a little bit after that episode. I really feel frustrated with the dog training books and the advice I've gotten from trainers. Distracting her works when she is say at a "7" on a scale of 1-10. Then clicking and touching and sitting and "find it" work great. But when she makes it to 10, like when there are birds, or another dog barks at her on her walk, I can't break through. Her eye turns red and she just looses it.

I read in a dog book today that stress hormones take a week to get out of someone's system. And that reactive dogs in apartment complexes are almost impossible to treat because they are constantly agitated so they constantly have stress hormone in their blood. I think my next idea is to try these calming pheremones and see if I can get Coco to be more relaxed at home. Then maybe when she sees stimuli outside it won't be so shocking to her.

Bulldog props!

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

Also, please check out the FBRN easter raffle! Help support adorable Frenchies. :)

Coco Update and Lyme Explanation

Coco has been bent the past week. I'm wondering if she has had it with her rowdy rover class; we got stuck next to a dog last week that barked the whole time. She's decided that charging the door is a new thing to do whenever people walk up the stairs! Miguel and I make her lie down every time she does it, and she kinda looks at us like, "whaaa? whaaa I do? I'm just protecting the house!" It will be nice when we have a real house then she can charge the door as much as she wants! On the flip side, I had a snow day on Friday so Coco was more than happy to curl up on her favorite blanket and watch TV with me for most of the day. Her Rowdy Rover class was canceled because of the storm, so let's see if she is more relaxed this week. Barking dogs are just too much for her, so it's good that she got a holiday.

I took Coco to the vet to get her Lyme vaccine. For us New Englander's, Lyme disease is what we've heard about for years, but apparently out west, where the ticks are less common, it's less discussed. I did a little research on the protein that causes the disease when I was in grad school, so I learned alot about Lyme in the process. A spirochete bacterium that lives in the infected salivary glands of a deer tick causes Lyme disease. It starts out with flu like symptoms, but can progress to the joints and nervous tissue. There is currently no vaccine for people, because some people had auto immune responses to the original one. For dogs, who can't tell you they have the flu let alone achy joints, you just can't risk it, so they get the vaccine anyways. It'll be Frontline for this pup till next Winter. My sister's dog, Gus, has Lyme disease. Poor Gus, he is very achy and grouchy most of the time. To prove that this blog doesn't discriminate against Westies, here is a picture of poor grouchy Gus.

Is it baseball season, yet?

It's amazing what a baseball fan will do for a few salmon flavored dog treats. Go Sox!

Westminster Kennel Club French Bulldog Video

For the love of all things holy and adorable click this link: Westminster Kennel Club French Bulldog Video

They are all so cute and wiggly! I can't stand it! I'm on doggie over load. EEEEEE!

Third week of rowdy rover...

This was a crazy week! Work was busy and I broke my cell phone. I was unable to text for literally seven days. It was horrible. But here is a picture of Coco made with my new and improved cell. It takes videos too so be prepared to be wowed!

This week, Coco and I worked on the command "touch" when I put out my right hand. And we also worked with putting her muzzle on. That always makes me sad to do , even though I know that I should act like it's no big deal. She just looks so sad when she has it on. It's all ridiculous looking, too, because it didn't fit right and I had to basically chop away at it with scissors to make it fit. Oi!

Rowdy rover went a million times better this week. I did what the trainer suggested and got better treats: chicken, cheese and broiled hotdog bits. She was a lot more focused and was pretty close to the other dogs this time. One of the dogs, Jake, was next to us alot and Coco kept staring at him. But I was able to take advantage of that and work on the "watch" command. I think she is starting to understand "watch". The trainers at Gemini are wicked awesome and so nice. Coco is a handful at times but they stop the class whenever she is out of her harness or is panicking. Her big test came after class when we went to the vet. I walked her right past an old Lab mix and she didn't bark. Another Lab puppy got a little close but I saw her ramp up and I got her to settle. However, the third dog, a Corgie, had the audacity to bark in her presence (the little scamp). Coco went bezerk. But honestly, she was so good about walking right past that first dog, that I'm giving her a break!

Hooray for the Coco! She is learning to overcome!

Coco, why?

I am feeling really guilty about Coco's rowdy rover class. She just doesn't like it! She seemed really bummed out towards the end of the class. She didn't want to eat any treats and she seemed kinda slugish. I know that what I want is for her to not panic when she sees other dogs. But I also don't want her to get depressed! Can dogs get depressed? Right now she is snoring away on the floor like nothing ever happened. It could all be in my head.

Anyways, here is a movie of Coco eating a sock. It is pretty dark; my camera isn't too good! But it's fun to be able to post a movie.

ihasahotdog

Coco is on ihasahotdog.com! Check out her link and give her a vote!

Rowdy Rover

On Saturday, Coco and I went to her first Rowdy Rover class. It is a dog training class specifically for dogs like Coco who are afraid and aggressive to other dogs. We had to get some gear for the class: a martingale collar and some weird harness. We are supposed to find a muzzle, too, but so far I haven't found one for a flat faced dog. I also got a treat bag, so I could shovel treats into her mouth faster. The course is based on a book called Fiesty Fido by Patricia McConnell and Karen London.

Each dog had their own little area behind a screen. The trainer stood in the middle of the room and gave instructions. Coco was pretty upset with the other dogs, and kept whining. For the first few minutes of the class, we all just fed the dogs, and used our clickers, when they were calm. Coco was the problem child of the class, she kept barking and slipping out of her harness. But then, we had a break through. The trainer told me to leave the area when Coco barked. She was tied to a post, and when she barked, I got up calmly and walked behind a doorway. She stopped immediately and was craning her neck to see where I was off to! Then we all took turns walking our dogs in pairs up and down the room. If one of them barked, we made them sit, and fed them till the trainer asked us to continue. Coco would still try to bark at the other dogs, but she got better at walking towards the end of the class, and the time in between her "rowdiness" was increasing.

What Coco was the best at was "relax" time. We all had to ask our dogs to lie down on a mat or a towel that we had brought from home. Coco was one of the first to settle down. :) So even if she was the most vocal at the class, at least she was the one that could calm down. The trainers were both really nice and really helpful. I ran out of treats (you need ALOT of treats!) and the trainer gave me hers. It was all ham/turkey and cheese and the trainer had left a few pieces of bacon in her feed bag so Coco was so excited. I think the abandonment exercise and the tasty treats helped Coco out a lot. Next weekend, I am going to get some turkey hotdogs for Coco and mix them in with her regular treats.

So, considering how crazed Coco was with dogs when we first got her, I think that she has shown a lot of progress. At least she can be in the same room with dogs now without going ballistic, even if she is still nervous. Eliza has been helping us out, too. Besides getting Coco started on Clicker training, she brought me a number of CDs that have music mixed in with dogs barking. I think it is the barking that really sets her off. Eventually she should get to the point that when she sees another dog she is supposed to look up at me. That will be a great day for both of us!

Congratulations Coco on your road to recovery!

Nom nom nom

Anything similar about this guy:With this little (grouchy!) girl:

How about big chompers?


I spent 20 bucks today and bought Coco a "Tuffie" stuffed toy. Here is what the website says about this toy:

Each toy is made with two layers of industrial grade nylon, and one layer of soft fleece on the outside. All of the layers are sewn together to make one super strong layer of material. Each toy is sewn together with 2 layers of linear stitching. After the toy is sewn together an additional piece of black nylon trim is added to cover the four rows of stitching. This extra piece of nylon is sewn with 3 linear stitches to give the product a total of 7 seams! Now that’s one tough toy!

Yup, looks like Coco needs something more tough! I emailed the company and asked if they would exchange the toy for me. (They suggest their Mega Series toy.) I spent 20 bucks on it! Why don't I just burn my money? Why not? Coco is like the ultimate toy destroying machine. She ate through one of her favorite stuffies the other day, which is why I went out to buy her a new one. She's still very cute, so we'll keep her. :) But no more stuffies for you missy!

Coco's free shirt!

Back by popular demand, it's another new shirt for Coco! Miguel started a new job and they were nice enough to give Coco a free shirt. Because I'm that crazy, here is both Coco and me in our new tee shirts. Hooray for swag! Hooray for French Bulldogs! (Hooray for a messy computer room?)

Pretty soon, we'll need to make space in the closet for our dog. How American of us!

Coco's New Shirt!

Here is Coco in all her adorable-ness-isity...
Her new shirt says "rub my belly for good luck".
With some luck, she won't be cold anymore this winter!