somerville dog: a weblog

Strummer participated in two experiments, one studying whether dogs are reading the intentions of a human pointing, and another exploring whether dogs have a sense of fairness. Of course, because of her training and good manners, Strummer, again, didn't get past the warm-up exercises.

I would have been really interested to see Strummer performing in the experiment on fairness. When I give another dog a treat in Strummer's presence, my sense of equity prompts me to offer her a treat, too. If Strummer has a sense of equity, however, I don't think it's as simple as if-another-dog-gets-a-treat-it's-only-fair-that-I-get-one-too. For one thing, she doesn't necessarily accept a treat that is offered just because I offered one to another dog. On the other hand, when we are visiting my parents, if my father gives his younger, larger male German Shepherd Dog, Shadow, a treat, Strummer will cock her head and raise her ears. But then my dad is a pez dispenser, so it may not be so much that Strummer thinks it's fair that he give her a treat, too; she may have been trained to expect one.

I wonder if Strummer would feel that a young male didn't deserve the food as much as she deserved it. Would she use access to food to demonstrate her seniority to another female? I expect that she would probably defer to another dog if she felt the food were his—just as she always defers to other dogs when chasing balls or sticks: When she's playing it doesn't matter who gets the toy as long as everyone gets to keep playing.

But, alas, Strummer is not the dog that will reveal the secrets of canine cognition in a controlled experiment.

I did appreciate learning that one of the papers that the Lab is trying to get published is about dogs' behavior during the warm-up exercises as a predictor for their behavior in the experiments. I'm sure that Strummer's work is central to that study!

Also, when I told Dan that I would be posting (and had posted before) about the Canine Cognition Lab on the somerville dog weblog, he mentioned that a lot of Somerville dogs participate in the studies! Somerville dogs are contributing to science!

Posted by Michèle at 9:42 PM
Categories: Dogs and Culture, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Strummer injured her paw yesterday. Her left paw and toes look like they are swollen to about twice the normal size of her right paw.

As we were leaving to walk to the Canine Cognition Lab yesterday, I noticed that she was holding up her left forepaw. After checking her paw and finding nothing, I walked the twenty-minute walk to Harvard campus with her, and I did not notice her limping. During the experiment, I noticed she was holding up her paw, and she limped the whole way home. I thought she'd feel better after getting some rest, but yesterday afternoon she seemed to be in even more pain, trying not to put any weight on her paw; I made an appointment for her at Porter Square Veterinary Clinic this morning.

This is the x-ray they took of Strummer's two forepaws this morning. Dr. Champaigne didn't see any indication of a break, but you can clearly see the swollen tissue of her left paw. He thinks she may have jammed her tow or sprained it, but he told me to monitor her paw for signs of infection. She's on Carprofen (Rimadyl) and we're putting cold compresses on her paw throughout the day.

The x-ray is interesting not only because Strummer has really beautiful bones, but also because it shows the plate in her right foreleg from when she had broken her leg before I adopted her. I knew she had some kind of hardware in her leg, and I've often curiously palpated the leg to see if I could feel it. I never thought I might someday get to see it!

Strummer was a show dog in her former life and lived for a year or two with a family whose daughter was a junior handler, before being returned to Lynn Travers, the breeder from whom I adopted her. Apparently during that period with the junior handler she had broken her leg. Lynn, who still grooms Strummer and occasionally boards her when Marshall, Kate and I travel and we cannot take her with us, had told me when I adopted Strummer that she had a plate in her leg and encouraged me to alert groomers to take special care when handling her left leg. Dr. Champaigne says, with the plate, the bone in her left leg is more solid than the bone in her right.

Posted by Michèle at 2:24 PM
Categories: Strummer
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In May, she participated in a study called "Cognitive Processing in Domestic Dogs", conducted by Professor Marc Hauser, Director of the Cognitive Evolution Laboratory at Harvard University. The idea of the experiment was to determine dogs' ability to think through a problem on the basis of the choices they make.

I can't tell you about the experiment, because we never got to do it. Strummer never made it past the first warm-up exercise, during which she was supposed to learn how to interact with the experimenter.

This kind of thinking about what motivates dogs, i.e. the dog works for food, assumes a very poorly trained dog. Any dog that has been trained, like Strummer, that the relationship with her human (not the food) is the reward for good behavior will fail this test.

A pet dog, especially a well-trained pet dog, is not a tabula rasa. Most pet dogs have developed an understanding of what behavior is expected of them when it comes to food. Strummer, for example, eats her meals from her bowl, and she eats food that has been offered to her (she does not beg for food). We can put cheese and paté out on a coffee table and leave Strummer unattended in the room, and Strummer will not touch the food. By putting food in a container, the experimenter was inadvertently giving Strummer the choice to reward herself by stealing the food. That is not a choice that Strummer was willing to make.

Apparently, Strummer was not the only dog to reveal the flaws in the design of the experiment. A member of the Lab stopped me and Strummer on Harvard's campus about a month ago and invited us to participate in an experiment. When I told her that we already had and that Strummer didn't do very well, she explained that they had redesigned the experiments.

Yesterday, the Lab called and asked to make an appointment for an experimental session with Strummer. We're going back next week.

If you would like to participate with your dog in studies to understand canine cognition, you can sign up online.

Posted by Michèle at 2:08 PM
Categories: Dogs and Culture, Strummer
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Marshall and I took Strummer to Yappy Hour in "the Yard" at the Liberty Hotel in Boston this evening. The Liberty Hotel raises the bar for "dog-friendly" businesses. It's hard to convey in words how good every single staff person at the hotel made us feel.

We drove, because the T only allows dogs during off-peak hours at the discretion of the operator.

Even before she took our order, the bartender gave Strummer a Polka Dog Bakery biscuit--her favorite. As we waited for our martinis, we met a Boxer puppy and a Schipperke puppy, both named Roxy. The Yard quickly filled up with dog lovers and their dogs: dogs were allowed off leash at the discretion of their owner.

Before leaving, one of the receptionists showed us one of the guest rooms in the former cell block (the Liberty Hotel was formerly the Charles Street Jail).

Yappy Hour is every Wednesday from 5 to 7 in the summer, weather permitting.

Posted by Michèle at 10:49 PM
Categories: Dogs and Business, Massachusetts, Strummer
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Strummer and I have a cameo in the promotional video for the MSPCA Walk for Animals. There's a photo of us about thirty seconds into the video which originally appeared here, on the somervilledog weblog, on October 19, 2004.

Strummer and I are walking in the Walk for Animals with the Somerville Dog Owners Group again this year. Join the Somerville Dog Owners Group Team and help us raise money to support the programs and services of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals!

Posted by Michèle at 5:42 PM
Categories: Destinations, DogNet, Events, Friends of somerville dog, Massachusetts, Strummer
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City Dog Training, LLC is a community dog training and education facility welcoming neighborhood dogs and their humans to classes, seminars, play groups and behavior consultations. The facility offers specialized floor matting for safe jumping and running, a variety of classes and courses, and a separate behavior consultation office for dogs and owners in need of extra help.

Strummer and I took a Rally class in the winter at City Dog Training at the former location on Central Street. The new location on Washington Street is just outside of Union Square and has a little more space, high ceilings and a HUGE parking lot for parking, training and play.

Posted by Michèle at 3:49 PM
Categories: Events, Friends of somerville dog, Somerville, Strummer, Training
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Today, Friday, June 26, 2009, is Pet Sitters International Take Your Dog to Work Day. I don't go in to the office on Fridays, so today, Strummer is going to the office with Marshall.

The Boston Globe invites readers to share photos of their dogs at work.

Posted by Michèle at 8:18 AM
Categories: Dogs and Business, Dogs in the News, Strummer
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Strummer and I took our first Rally class at City Dog Training earlier this spring. Rally is a dog sport based on obedience that develops and promotes teamwork between the dog and handler. It's a great sport for pet owners, whether you just want something to do together with your dog or you want to compete for Rally titles for your dog.

The skills that the team performs in Rally are the same skills as in obedience, but, unlike obedience, you are allowed to talk to, praise, and encourage your dog. Loud or harsh commands or intimidating signals, however, are penalized.

Strummer has always enjoyed taking classes with me. I like spending time with her and she likes spending time with me, but training is more than that. Training is special time for the two of us: I can't do it without her and she can't do it without me. It takes two to tango, and it takes two to train.

Posted by Michèle at 5:51 PM
Categories: Friends of somerville dog, Strummer, Training
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This is a video I took at the Nunziato Off-leash Recreational area on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19.

I love living with my dog in Somerville. Because Somerville offers safe and legal opportunities for people to come together and share our mutual interest in our dogs, Somerville has a strong community of dog owners. Because Somerville has a strong community of dog owners, dog owners feel like we are a part of the larger community.

In some other towns, people who own dogs feel like second-rate citizens. The following are actual quotes from dog owners who live in other Massachusetts cities and towns:

# # #

I have found the attitudes of the people who posess authority so disturbing, the loathing and discust which they have no hesitation to express in their condemnation of dog owners has left me utterly deflated.

# # #

We are treated dismissively by certain town officials, and by many in the public.

# # #

Employees “warned” dog owners in a very menacing way: they drove their trucks right onto the field, close to dogs and children. Certainly makes dog owners feel like criminals.

# # #

Posted by Michèle at 11:20 PM
Categories: And Baby Makes Four, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Somerville, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Yesterday Strummer sustained a laceration to her ear that went through both layers of cartilage and slightly perforated the ear. I took her to Porter Square Veterinarian yesterday afternoon and Dr. Adam Parker gave her two skin staples and warned me to monitor her for an aural hematoma, when blood collects in the space between the two layers of cartilage. He also prescribed Cephalexin, an antiboitic, and Tramadol, and analgesic.

Of course Strummer's ear was swollen this morning, but I wasn't sure I could tell the difference between "normal" swelling and hematoma, so I brought her back to the vet. Dr. Lisa Jablonski saw her and said the ear looked good. She also had a technician fit Strummer with a cone. (I had asked Dr. Parker yesterday about an Elizabethan collar, and he thought it was a good idea, but we both forgot about it. I got a call from Porter Square Vet, yesterday evening apologizing and welcoming me to come back to pick up a cone if I wanted one.)

Between the Tramadol and the cone, Strummer looked pretty pathetic when she left the vet. She kept bumping the cone into things like door frames, which made her think that she couldn't get past them: She's stand there and wait for me to help her get through. On the sidewalk, the cone caught a snow bank and shoveled snow into her face.

She certainly got a lot of pity while we were out, and no one tried to scritch her ears. I stopped by Laundromutt to give her a quick bath (from the shoulders down) and the collar was handy in keeping her ears out of the water. Then we stopped by a little inauguration day party where my husband's mother was watching my daughter.

I was afraid that Strummer wouldn't be able to eat with the cone on (though, when I was putting my daughter to bed for a nap, I could hear her drinking). She couldn't seem to relax with the cone: She held her nose up and didn't seem to want to sit, let alone lie down. So, I took it off. (I probably shouldn't advertise that: I don't advocate disobeying doctors' orders.)

Srummer is not scratching at all—I think she's too out of it with the Tramadol—and I'm monitoring her pretty closely. I know the wound will itch as the skin heals, and I expect that I will put the cone back on her. For the time being, I just can't bear how pathetic she looks wearing it.

Posted by Michèle at 10:03 PM
Categories: Friends of somerville dog, Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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I want to thank everyone who was at the Nunziato off-leash recreational area this morning for being such a great community of park users while Strummer and I were there with my twenty-two-month-old daughter Kate.

Strummer and I don't get to visit the OLRA very often since Kate was born almost two years ago. Today we were walking by on our way to Capone's and I couldn't resist the sight of so many people with their dogs playing in the snow.

I entered the Putnam Street "airlock" with Strummer and Kate, and I called into the OLRA to ask if anyone was concerned about my bringing my daughter in. Everyone said to come on in, so we did. Kate (not very mobile in her snowsuit) hung out with me by the picnic tables, while Strummer played with the dogs.

The community of dog owners really came through for me when Strummer got into a fight with Maggie.

Special thanks to the owner of the dog that Strummer got into a fight with. When I asked him if his dog's rabies vaccination was up-to-date, he assured me that it was and then gave me his name and phone number in case I needed to follow up with him.

Thanks, too, to the dog owner who got Kate out of the way of the gate to let other people enter with their dogs while I was getting the other dog owner's contact information. It's great to see an adult being an adult with someone else's kid.

The gentleman apologized to me for picking up my child, but there was no need: I am grateful that he was able to help me without worrying about asking me if it was okay first. He then thanked me for calling out to everyone when I entered with a child.

To some degree, I enabled him to help me, because I asked for permission from the community to bring Kate into the OLRA.

It was one of the best social experiences I've ever had. The people at the Nunziato OLRA are the best!

Posted by Michèle at 10:15 PM
Categories: And Baby Makes Four, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Safety Around Dogs, Somerville, Strummer
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Strummer and I saw the Somerville Police K-9 cruiser this morning at about 9:30 this morning on Park Street at the Beacon Street intersection!

The Board of Aldermen approved a K-9 Officer in the FY09 Budget.

Posted by Michèle at 10:23 PM
Categories: Somerville, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Glenn Yoder has an article about what a great shared space the Somerville Community Path is in the City Weekly section of the Boston Globe for Sunday, October 12, "Making room for wheels and paws". The Path occasionally attracts media attention for incidents of altercation or assault, but what Yoder found was that the story of the Somerville Community Path is a story about community. Moreover it's a story about a community that is actively working together to improve everyone's experience on the Community Path.

Posted by Michèle at 7:20 AM
Categories: Destinations, Friends of somerville dog, Somerville, Strummer
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As part of the Mezzo Design Lofts project, the developers created a neighborhood park for people and pets on Caldwell Street in Charlestown. The park is just over the Somerville City Line at the end of Broadway, in the shadow of I-93.

The developers are to be commended for improving public open space in the neighborhood. Strummer checked out the park on Labor Day, and, we found some problems that will have to be addressed for the park to succeed. I made a little video documenting the problems.

I learned about the park from friends who live in East Somerville with two small dogs. When they told me about the park, they raised concerns for the safety of their dogs: There are gaps in the park's fencing through which a small dog could easily escape to the heavy traffic of Broadway.

About one-quarter to one-third of the off-leash recreational area is landscaped with low plantings and small trees. The landscaping limits the space that can be used for off-leash recreation; Moreover, the grasses, shrubs and flowers will not withstand the use of the area by dogs, and will become an eyesore.

Posted by Michèle at 4:29 PM
Categories: Development and Open Space, Dogs and Business, Massachusetts, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Somerville, Strummer
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The best way to keep people from proposing legislation to ban dogs is

1. to clean up after our dogs every time, and


2. to NEVER allow our dogs to greet anyone who has not asked specifically to meet them.

Until a person has proven her- or himself dog-friendly by asking to meet my dog, I assume that if I let Strummer approach that person, she or he will introduce anti-dog legislation at the first opportunity. By waiting for people to ask to meet my dog, my experience is that everyone I meet likes my dog!

previously posted to the Fells Dog Owner Group

Posted by Michèle at 11:42 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer, Training, Voter Information
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I got a Flip Video camera for my birthday!

I had a lot of fun putting together this amateur video of Strummer meeting and greeting and socializing with other dogs at the Off-Leash Recreational Area at Nunziato Field here in Somerville. My analysis of the dogs' behavior reflects my personal observations as an attentive pet owner.

Posted by Michèle at 10:41 PM
Categories: Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Safety Around Dogs, Somerville, Somerville Dogs, Strummer
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Rusty is a Cambridge dog; Strummer knows him from Norton's Woods at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (map).

Posted by Michèle at 11:57 AM
Categories: DogNet, Gear, Strummer
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Stummer is adjusting to the new member of the pack: Kate, who is just nine days old today. Here is Strummer keeping an eye on Kate in the Pack 'n Play bassinet. Kate is also being supervised by Dad and Mamah, while Mom captures the moment.

Posted by Michèle at 8:39 PM
Categories: And Baby Makes Four, Strummer
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Strummer had a bloody stool a couple of weeks ago. The veterinarian diagnosed "dietary indescretion" and prescribed a bland diet and an antibiotic, the latter to prevent any infection from entering the blood stream through the digestive track. For the next couple of days, Strummer got several small meals a day of steamed chicken and white rice and her antibiotic pill twice a day. After three days on this regimen, I had a new cause of concern: she hadn't pooped in three days. Back to the vet we went, and I learned that I hadn't been feeding her enough for her to make a poop. Though unintentional on my part, underfeeding is in fact a good treatment for an irritated digestive track. The veterinarian checked her out and said I could expect a poop within the next twenty-four hours. Sure enough, that very evening Strummer had a nice, well-formed poop, a little lighter in color than usual, but with good consistency—sticking together but not sticking to the grass—and easy to pick up with a plastic bag.

More information than you needed to know.

But if you're a dog owner, you know that poop speaks louder than words. You keep tabs on your dog's bowels, and if your dog has diarrhea for more than forty-eight hours, or if your dog has not had a bowel movement for forty-eight hours, you call the vet. You bring a sample of your dog's stool to your vet twice a year and have it analyzed for parasites.

But what do you do if you employ a dog walker? Do you get a poop report every day with detailed notes on color, consistency, amount, and time and location of the event(s)?

Your dog walker should be able to answer all these questions and one more equally important question about your dog's poop: Where is it now?

I was speaking recently with a Somerville dog owner, who told me about a dilemma in which she found herself. She has a dog walker, whom she likes a great deal and whom her dog likes a great deal. The dilemma arose because, while in a local park with her children, she happened to espy her beloved dog walker breaking the law by not cleaning up after the dog in her charge.

Your dog's feces is your responsibility. When you hire a dog walker, you should make specific arrangements for waste management. Explain where you keep extra baggies and, if applicable, any other implements for clean-up, where you dog has been trained to do his business¹, and where you dispose of the bagged waste. You should also make it clear that her continued employment is contingent on her upholding your standards as a responsible dog owner.

. . .

¹One of the most helpful pieces of advice I found when I began to research dog ownership is Sue Sternberg's advice in her book, Successful Dog Adoption, about selecting a potty area:

The potty area should be close to your door. . . . This way, when it rains or snows or you have the flu or sprain an ankle, your dog will be trained to eliminate within a few feet from your door, and you won't have to walk all the way to the park or all the way down the block (156).

Also, if you train your dog to "do it" before he gets to go for a walk, you dog will learn that he gets rewarded with a walk for doing his business. What you don't want is for your dog to learn that he gets "punished" for doing his business, which is exactly what he learns if "walkies" always end after he relieves himself.

Posted by Michèle at 11:40 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Shooting the S--t, Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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On the unfortunate occasion of the untimely loss to heat exhaustion of one of the dogs he bred, Mike Stewart owner of Wildrose Kennels and retriever trainer, offers excellent advice about the prevention of heat exhaustion in hunting dogs. Stewart's advice to sportsmen (and women) is equally valid for pet owners:

A dog who is overheating will be panting heavily in fast repetition and the tongue will be hanging out and curling at the end in cup form. The mouth is dripping and they may have a glazed look in the eye. Often they show signs of a staggered gait or they may simply stand fixed.

This is when the untrained handler gets into serious trouble. One may misread the dog as refusing a cast, command or quitting. Force may be applied to gain compliance pushing the dog too far. Some dogs just don't quit until it's too late. It's up to you to quit before this point.

In other words if your dog ordinarily comes enthusiastically on command, but on a hot summer day stands or lies down where s/he is and stares at you, don't get mad, get your dog out of the sun and get water.

Know your dog. Strummer's tongue hardly ever hangs out of her mouth: when it does, even if she looks like s/he's having the time of her life, I know it's time for a rest and a drink.

I've also noticed—in the Memorial Day Parade, at Paws in the Park, and at ArtBeat—that she will not drink water even when I know that she is overheated. This could be because she is too distracted to drink; because she thinks she is "working" and, as a former show dog, (inadvertently) learned not to drink when she is performing; or because the water in the plastic bottle is too warm. Whatever the reason, it's bad, and it's my job, as the only one of us that does not have a brain the size of a lemon, to get her out of the sun and cooled off.

Posted by Michèle at 9:24 AM
Categories: Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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I overheard a lot of people at ArtBeat on Saturday, saying "Look at that dog! It's wearing a hat!"

Flickr photographer kenyee took this fabulous picture of Strummer in her sun bonnet. Go to kenyee's artbeat dog page for different sizes and to leave a comment!

Posted by Michèle at 8:23 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Strummer had the pleasure this morning of making the acquaintance of several Brookline dogs, who welcomed her at the Brookline Avenue Playground during off-leash hours.

One of twelve parks in the Town of Brookline Green Dog Pilot Program, the Brookline Avenue Playground has off-leash hours from dawn to 1:00 pm, April through November, and from dawn to dusk, December through March. At the Annual Town Meeting on May 25, 2005, the Town of Brookline voted to extend the Green Dog Pilot Program to June 30, 2006 (Article 17 of the Town Warrant).

When we arrived at the "playground" at 10:00 this morning, a soccer game was ending. Also, during off-leash hours, a volley-ball game was played. It seems that, though off-leash recreation is not allowed during hours that are not designated for off-leash recreation, other kinds of recreation are allowed during hours that are designated for off-leash recreation. At almost four acres, however, the Brookline Avenue Playground was able to accommodate this mixed usage this morning.

Austin, Benny, Buddy, Ethan, Murphy, Otis, Samson: Strummer hopes to be able to repay your hospitality some day soon!

Posted by Michèle at 2:40 PM
Categories: Destinations, Massachusetts, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer
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ArtBeat is "one of the area?s largest and most innovative arts festivals." Lots of events are scheduled at several locations in Davis Square.

This year will be the first year that a pet boutique will have Booth at ArtBeat! Fi-dough, which has a store on Beacon Street in Somerville, will have doggie treats and things for sale and a gift basket raffle!

Strummer is hoping lots of friends (old, new and to be) join her in the Mix/MashParade! tomorrow morning at 11:30... The parade begins at the Seven Hills Park stage (behind the Holland St T exit), proceeds along Elm and Holland streets and ends on Park stage.

Posted by Michèle at 1:04 PM
Categories: Events, Somerville, Strummer
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Twenty people and fourteen dogs attended a fund-raiser on the occasion of Strummer's birthday party, Saturday, June 18, at Pet Spa (669 Somerville Avenue). We raised $370 for off-leash recreation in Somerville!

Pet Spa owner, Theresa Sammon, with the help of her staff, graciously provided the wonderful space at her store, as well as decorations and party favors. Strummer's fabulous carrot and peanut-butter birthday cake was donated by Joe Thompson, owner of Fi-Dough (70E Beacon Street). The Beacon Street Star Market donated a $25 gift card for party supplies, and Marco Romao, of Jerry's Liquors (320 Somerville Avenue), helped with the refreshments.

Posted by Michèle at 2:05 PM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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Strummer will be eight years old, Saturday, June 18, 2005.

Saturday is also the date of the opening celebration and rededication of the newly renovated Palmacci Park, which welcomes families with leashed dogs and features Somerville's first doggie drinking fountain!

Posted by Michèle at 9:20 AM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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Here's Strummer sporting her new haircut for the beginning of swimming season!

Strummer's friend Vincent (Vizsla) introduced her to Noanet Woodlands in Dover, yesteday. With shady trails and swimming holes, Noanet is very dog-friendly. The Dog Lover's Companion to Boston gives it the highest possible recommendation: four paws!

Posted by Michèle at 10:50 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Peaches was cloned last year from a cat named Mango, owned by Leslie Ungerer, who oversees most of the feline projects at Genetic Savings and Clone in Sausalito, CA.

"They are fast friends," she said of mother and clone, who spend part of their time at the lab and part at her home. ("Hello Kitty, Hello Clone," By Anne Eisenberg, New York Times, May, 28, 2005)

I wonder what Strummer would do if I brought her home in puppy form to meet herself. But I don't really want to know. There has never been and will never be another Strummer.

Posted by Michèle at 7:39 AM
Categories: Dogs and Culture, Strummer
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Happy Equinox!

Can we take it as a sign of Spring that Fi-Dough is down to their final pair of dog boots?

Note to the editor: dogs are quadrupeds and, ordinarily, dog boots are sold in sets that include one boot for each foot. -Canis Major

Strummer has been ready for Spring since February. I am convinced that she was suffering from seasonal affective disorder. She was never thrilled about having to wear her Muttluks, despite their beautiful Bruins colors, but being the little stoic that she is, she grinned and beared it.

Until one day she'd had enough of wearing her boots. And who can blame her? Haven't we all had enough of our boots this winter? She was meeting a new dog at Norton's Woods one evening and and she curled her lips—the little grumple-puss—which is very rare for her. I took off her boots, and she cheered up a bit.

So the next snow-fall, we walked to Fi-Dough (the Somerville store, on Beacon Street) and I got some Musher's Secret™.

Musher's Secret also protects dog's pads against ice balls and salt-burn. It is non-toxic and "will not stain carpeting" (though there are a few suspicious paw-prints on the carpet in front of the door to my office).

Strummer doesn't try to lick the Musher's Secret off her paws, and she's her usual bouncy self when she's wearing it, though the boots are a lot better at controling the ice balls that form around her ankles.

Posted by Michèle at 11:03 AM
Categories: Gear, Strummer
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To celebrate the last day of this long winter, Strummer and I went to the beach yesterday. The beach we chose was Singing Beach, in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Dogs are allowed on Singing Beach from October through April.

Poodles, as you know, were bred to be water retrievers. Thus is it rather embarrassing to me when Strummer runs away from the waves as they roll up the beach. Don't get me wrong, Strummer had a fabulous time at the beach. She just didn't want to play with any of the dogs that were playing in the water, with whom I, of course, kept encouraging her to play.

Just as I was thinking that it was about time to start thinking about leaving the beach, Strummer got caught up in a game from which she just couldn't tear herself away. The game involved three other dogs: a border collie, who was fetching two balls with her people, a boxer, and a Parson Russell terrier, and consisted in a twisted version of keep-away: i.e. keep the border collie away from her tennis ball, and, if that fails, keep her away from her humans. This is one of Strummer's favorite games.

The border collie and her humans didn't seem to be enjoying the game so much, so I called Strummer away. She kept trying to give me the slip, and, finally, when the game reached a new level of excitement, she bolted.

The next thing I knew, all four dogs, my fastidious poodle not last among them, were diving head first into a wave!

I'm convinced that Strummer knew that, if she got wet, we'd have to stay longer to give her coat a chance to dry a little bit.

Good one, Strummer. But the joke's on you: I'll turn you into a water dog, yet!

Posted by Michèle at 10:13 AM
Categories: Destinations, Off-Leash Recreational Areas—i.e. "Dog Parks", Strummer
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When Sue Lundstrom hit middle age, she knew she was going to have to work harder to keep the pounds from creeping up on her.

So she grabbed a leash and took her dogs for a walk. ``Once I turned 40, I realized I needed to do a lot of walking to keep off weight,'' said Lundstrom, 45, who walks a 3-mile path in North Reading with her dogs, Bert and Thomas, five times a week.

Via the Boston Herald.

Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., the makers of Science Diet® and Prescription Diet®¹ sponsored the People and Pets Exercising Together (P-PET) study, a study of "the effectiveness of treatment of both overweight people and overweight pet dogs in a combined targeted program compared to focusing on people alone and pet dogs alone," and has tips for exercising together.

¹Strummer eats Eukanuba® Natural Lamb & Rice^TM.

Posted by Michèle at 9:16 AM
Categories: Strummer, Your Dog's Health, Your Health
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This morning, as the first snowfall of the season was dispersing, Strummer earned her Canine Good Citizen Certificate at Canine University in Malden.¹

To earn her CGC Certification, Strummer had to successfully perform ten tasks, testing her behavior when being greeted by friendly strangers, around other dogs, and when being handled by a canine care professional (i.e. a groomer or a veterinarian); her reliability with the basic obedience commands, "sit," "down," "stay" and "come;" and her ability to maintain her poise (i.e. not bark continually) for three minutes while her owner was not in the room. She also had to show up for the test with a responsible owner, who was required to sign a pledge to take care of her health needs, safety, exercise, training and quality of life and to show responsibility by cleaning up after her in public places and never letting her infringe on the rights of others.

Strummer is looking forward to enjoying the rights of citizenship! In an article on "Dogs and apartments," the Dog Owners Guide suggests that Canine Good Citizen Certification can assuage a potential landlord's concerns about renting an apartment to the dog's owner (see also "Locating Pet-Friendly Apartments") and "Tips for Renters with Pets". It would be great if, as a Canine Good Citizen, Strummer were allowed to accompany her responsible owner in Somerville's parks. And it would be great if there were safe and legal areas in Somerville where Canine Good Citizens could enjoy off-leash recreation under the supervision of their responsible owners.

¹You'd think Malden, the home of Canine University, would be a great place to be a dog, but Malden is considering breed-specific legislation, that would require owners of "pit bulls, rottweilers, chows, Doberman pinchers, shar peis and [wolf] mixed breeds, or any other dog whose behavior endangers a person's welfare . . . to apply for a special permit costing $100 and keep the animal leashed and muzzled whenever it leaves their property" (via Canine University News, November 2004). Of course it makes sense to hold owners of dogs "whose behavior endangers a person's welfare" accountable; it is the part of the legislation that targets dogs on the the basis of breed rather than behavior that is flawed. Did you know that the American Kennel Club does not recognize the pit bull as a breed? The AKC does recognize the American Staffordshire Terrier, as well as the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. The United Kennel Club, on the other hand, recognizes the American Pit Bull Terrier, as well as the Bull Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, but the UKC does not recognize the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Posted by Michèle at 10:55 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Strummer
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Posted by Michèle at 9:29 AM
Categories: Strummer
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Fortunately, I don't have my own cautionary tale about the risk to dogs riding unrestrained in cars, but my friend, Dave Trowbridge, does. Dave's story has a happy ending: his German Shepherd Dog, Oka, was properly restrained in a VariKennel and survived the accident unscathed.

But Dave's admonition is one that responsible dog owners should take seriously:

If you have a serious accident with your dog unrestrained in your car, your dog will die. If you have any sort of accident with your dog tethered in the back of your pickup truck, your dog will die. (And if you carry a dog in your pickup truck without restraint, you should be publicly flogged.)

Worse, it's all too likely your dog will suffer horribly for quite some time before it dies: you may not leave the scene of an accident, even if you can, and there are no provisions for severely-wounded animals, save the doubtful mercy of a peace-officer's gun. Very few people know how to quickly and painlessly kill an animal with a firearm (draw a line from each ear to the opposite eye, and fire into the point of intersection), and it generally can't be done with a frightened, thrashing dog, anyway. How will you feel, when it's all over, knowing that a $100 crate could have prevented a horrible, prolonged death for your beloved pet?

In my compact four-door sedan, however there just isn't enough room for a crate that can accommodate a standard poodle. I asked a member of the Poodle Club of Massachusetts how to travel safely by car with my dog, and she said: the best vehicle restraint harness for dogs is Ruff Rider. With a tensile strength of 9300 lbs., it surpasses SAE standards for human seat belts, and its design is orthopedically sound, ergonomically correct, and warranteed for the life of your animal.

Restraining a dog in a vehicle insures the safety not only of the dog but of the human occupants of the vehicle as well. The owner of Ruff Rider, Carl Goldberg, says "If you brake hard at 30 mph, a 60-pound dog will fly forward with a force of 1,200 pounds per square inch." That's a dangerous projectile--at only 30 mph: even on short, local drives, say to Sheepfold in the Middlesex Fells or to Canine University in Malden, I exceed 30 mph.

In my car (as in all things), I try to do right by my dog. Strummer travels in the Roadie LX, and she loves to go for rides!

Posted by Michèle at 9:35 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, DogNet, Gear, Strummer, Your Dog's Health
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After six weeks of perfect attendance, countless homework hours and heeling (uphill, both ways), Strummer graduated yesterday from the Adult Beginners Class at Canine University in Malden.

Actually, Strummer really enjoyed going to school. Though Canine University is not a place where dogs get a lot of doggy time with one another, it is a place where a dog's relationship with her owner is strengthened. The foundation of any relationship is communication. How does a verbal species communicate with a non-verbal species? With a clicker! According to most clicker training websites and books, a clicker is a child's toy that makes a cricket noise. (I don't know about you, but when I was a child, we played with things like barbies, matchbox and matches.)

Anyway, a clicker certainly puts the fun in dog-training. First, the dog learns that whenever she hears the click, she gets a treat. Then, the human uses the clicker to "mark" a desired behavior when the dog offers it. The dog sits, the dog gets a click and a treat. When the dog does not offer a desired behavior, nothing happens. Dogs like treats better than nothing. And this is why clicker training is both fun and produces results. When the dog hears the click, it knows exactly what it is doing that wins it a treat. Communication.

Training methods that rely upon correction when the dog offers undesirable behavior tell the dog when it is offering undesirable behavior. Think about it: the desired behavior is a sit. The dog looks at you; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that looking at you is undesirable behavior. The dog looks to the left; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that looking to the left is undesirable behavior. The dog backs away; the dog gets a tug on the leash; the dog learns that backing away is undesirable behavior. This could go on for hours before the dog actually offers a sit. What's worse, what happens when the dog finally does sit? Nothing! With a clicker, on the other hand, from the first sit, the dog gets a piece of critical information: sitting produces treats. This is fun in two ways. Treats are good, and, from the dog's perspective, she is training you: Sitting makes you click and treat. By the last day of school, Strummer and her classmates were not only sitting, they were wagging their tails while they were sitting!

In addition to sitting, in the Adult Beginner's Class at Canine University, I learned how to teach Strummer to lie quietly (no small feat in a room full of dogs), to stay, to "leave it," to come, and to walk on a loose leash.

The commencement speech was inspirational, albeit brief: "Good dog."

Posted by Michèle at 8:19 AM
Categories: Canine Good Citizenship, Strummer, Training
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Poodles do not shed: instead of fur, they have hair that grows continuously (like human hair). Because of the frequent grooming poodles require, their coats trap less dander and dust, which, some say, are the real causes of pet allergies. Poodles are, therefore, a good choice for people who suffer from pet allergies and want a dog. Also, a Standard Poodle offers the secuity of a large dog.

I submitted an application to Poodle Rescue of New England in Janaury 2004. Through the entire month of February I worried that I would never find a dog. Every day I checked the PRNE website and PetFinder--several times a day. I also started reading lots of books about poodles and about owning and training a dog, and I joined a couple of poodle-related e-mail discussion groups: Poodle-L and PSG (Poodle Support Group).

Then, in March, I was finally contacted by a PRNE volunteer, who scheduled an appointment for a combined home visit and adoption interview. The volunteer brought her standard poodle to the appointment: happily, my husband, who has pet allergies, had no allergic reaction to the poodle in our home. The PRNE volunteer spent about an hour and a half in our home, answering our questions about living with and caring for a Standard Poodle and making observations about things that a dog might do that, as first-time dog owners, we might not expect: e.g. make nose prints in the windows; stain the curtains and upholstery by leaning or brushing against them; have an "accident" in the forced hot air registers in the floor. The volunteer also advised us that all Somerville parks are posted "No Dogs Allowed," and recommended parks owned by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Urban Parks and Recreation (formerly the Metropolitan District Commission [MDC]), as well as some parks in neighboring municipalities, where dogs are allowed, but, for the most part, must be on leash.

In mid-March I attended a match organized by the Poodle Club of Massachusetts, where poodles got to "practice", as it were, for conformation, obedience and rally competitions. At the match, the PRNE volunteer who had visited my home introduced me to a breeder who was looking to adopt out a six-year-old bitch, who had never produced a litter and was, therefore, being retired from breeding. The breeder wanted her to enjoy the rest of her life as a pet in a family who could give her the attention of an "only dog".

Strummer came home with us April 2, 2004; we finalized the adoption on April 19, Patriot's Day. It felt like forever, but in the end it took only three months from the time I submitted my application to Poodle Rescue of New England until I had adopted my dog!

Posted by Michèle at 3:07 PM
Categories: Somerville Rescues, Strummer
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Yesterday evening on our way home from the office, after a brief romp through the grounds of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Strummer was attacked by a loose dog on Somerville Avenue between Laurel and Loring Streets. It was just after 6:00. The dog was maybe 12-18 inches tall at the shoulder, short-haired, white with brown markings. It looked a lot like this.

Being on a leash, Strummer had a difficult time defending herself. I tried ineffectually to pull her by the leash away from the attacking dog, before it finally occurred to me to kick the other dog to get it off her. A crowd of people gathered out of range of the two dogs and me, and finally a man arrived and kicked the attacking dog so hard that it flew about three feet from Strummer, whom I immediately surrounded with my whole body. I asked the man who stopped the fight if the other dog was his dog; he said it was not.

I then proceeded to run my fingers all over Strummer's body and through her thick poodle hair. I couldn't see any blood, but my hands found wet spots on her foreleg and flank. The moisture must have been the other dog's saliva, because after meticulously working my fingers through her hair, I did not come up with a trace of blood.

A concerned woman, who had stopped in the rush hour traffic on Somerville Avenue, talked with me for several minutes, which really helped to calm me down. She told me that she has a Yorkshire Terrier who has been attacked by the same dog that had just attacked Strummer. She encouraged me to check Strummer carefully for injuries and, even if I didn't find anything wrong, to take Strummer to a veterinary hospital anyway, just in case she sustained internal injuries.

The man who stopped the fight returned to check if Strummer was injured. He said he was the owner of the beauty salon on Somerville Avenue at the bottom of Laurel Street and that he thought the dog was owned by a man who lived across the street.

By this time I had calmed down sufficiently to realize that a loose dog had just attacked my dog and that Somerville has laws against both dogs being "at-large," or running loose and distubance of the peace by dogs (Code of Ordinances City of Somerville, Massachusetts, Sec. 3-33. Disturbance of the peace by dogs and Sec. 3-34. Dogs at-large. See Chapter 3 Animals, Article II. Dogs). I called 911 on my cell phone and was put through to the Somerville Police Department, who told me that the dog officer had already left for the day and advised me to call the Animal Control Office on Monday. I requested that an officer come to assist me in speaking with a witness and trying to identify the owner of the dog that attacked mine.

In about 20 minutes an officer arrived, escorted Strummer and me to the salon and spoke with the man who had indicated that he knew who owned the offending dog. Unfortunately, it turned out that the witness did not know who owned the dog and wasn't even sure where the dog lived.

Interestingly, Strummer showed no fear about returning to the place where she had been attacked. Either she was not afraid of meeting the dog again or her doggy senses informed her that the dog was not in the area.

I think I may have been more upset by the whole incident than my dog was: while we were waiting for the police officer to arrive, I sat on the grass with her in my lap and lavished love upon her. It was a warm evening and after a while she stood up and faced me and wagged her little tail!

I kept hearing in my mind the voice of the woman who stopped in traffic to comfort me, and I finally called my vet's office around 9:00 last night. Their answering service gave me the number for Angel Memorial Animal Hospital in Jamaica Plain. I called Angel Memorial and learned that they consider any dog fight an emergency: they recommend that any dog involved in a fight be checked by a veterinarian. Considering that Strummer was acting normal, had jumped up to greet my husband when we got home, had eaten and had urinated when I took her out, I decided that, rather than upsetting her by taking her to the Hospital, I'd let her enjoy a quiet evening at home. I'm keeping a close eye on her; she has a prior appointment with the vet on Monday to be spayed.

Posted by Michèle at 5:15 PM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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I took Strummer to Pet Spa (669 Somerville Ave), yesterday, for her first "bath and tidy" since I brought her home three weeks ago. The experience seemed to energize my generally sedate six-year-old girl, but then she's always more lively when I return after leaving her alone for a short period.

Strummer, a standard poodle, doesn't shed, which is good for my aversion to vacuuming and for my husband's allergies. The Humane Society of the United States suggests that poodles are "hypo-allergenic," because their coats demand more brushing and bathing than other dogs, and allergy-provoking dander is controlled by the additional attention and care that the poodle's coat receives. The implication is that, if all dogs' coats got the care and attention that poodles' coats get, they, too, would be less irritating to allergy sufferers. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that I prefer to run my fingers through a clean and well-groomed coat than over a dirty, matted coat!

Pet Spa was featured in a Somerville Journal article by Auditi Guha last month.

Posted by Michèle at 10:20 AM
Categories: Somerville, Strummer
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The process of adopting a poodle seemed endless, but, in the end, it only took three months from the day I submitted my application to Poodle Rescue of New England to the day I finalized the adoption of Strummer. A PRNE volunteer put me in touch with the breeder who had decided to adopt her out so that she could have the undivided attention of being an only dog.

Here she is the weekend before Patriot's Day enjoying an off-leash walk in the Vermont woods.

It's my weblog and I'll cheat with the date stamp if I want to.

Posted by Michèle at 12:26 PM
Categories: Strummer
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Strummer is a six-year-old standard poodle. She came to Somerville on April 2, 2004 from rural New Hampshire, where she lived with a houseful of poodles. When her adoption is finalized, she will be spayed and licenced in the City of Somerville.

She is getting used to being an only-dog in the city, though she still spends most of her time lounging in her crate, mostly coming out only to be petted. She will carry a toy around briefly first thing in the morning or after a long nap, and, sometimes, she'll even play a few rounds of fetch!

On a leisurely stroll, Sturmmer would like to make the acquaintance of everyone she meets, though she doesn't pull on a leash or jump up on strangers. She's learning that, in the city, humans have things to do and places to go and don't have time to make friends with everyone they meet.

She's a little stand-offish around other dogs, but, in all likelyhood, that's just because, for the time being, she wants to make sure that she gets her fair share of attention from humans.

In the future, Strummer can look forward to obedience training and agility training.

Posted by Michèle at 10:28 AM
Categories: Strummer
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