Animal And Pets

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

dog park community



I'm wondering what non-dog owners think about dog parks. My first impression about bringing my dog, Toby, to the park was to let him get some exercise. What I've come to learn with coming on a schedule to the park is that dogs have friends. They show up and get so excited when they see dogs they know. The run and play, bark and wrestle. Some prefer seeing their favorite humans (usually the ones with treats in their pockets). Others just wonder around and watch. They join into races and then head back to their owners as a safe zone. Everyone, dogs and humans always get a kick out of the park though. For me it's a highlight of my week.

posted by World News at 9:32 AM 0 comments

Winter is coming



There was a real energy at the park this week. All the dogs were really going crazy. It may be that they knew that the first snow was about to fall in a few hours or the chill in the air just made them want to run but something was up. Some were thriving off of the energy while others were staying close to home (the parent). Even my dog Toby was looking for me the whole day. He would run off then run back and jump up on me to let me know we were okay.

It is a beautiful moment when humans and animals can feel that energy. Even those people I talked with said they could feel the energy the dogs were giving off. Much like wanting to know what our dogs are thinking, this was a moment where we got a little peak.

posted by World News at 9:30 AM 0 comments

holiday jack



I know it's been a while since I added anything but it's that crazy time of year so I haven't been to the park in a while. There was a few new dog owners today too. It's great how much word of mouth brings people out.
posted by World News at 9:30 AM 0 comments

Toby in the middle



For the past few weeks, every time I've brought my dog, Toby, to the park, he shakes. It all started one Sunday when he could hear gun shots from a firing range off in the distance. It sounds like a hammer on wood and it's so faint, everyone I told about it didn't even notice till I said something. Today was the first day he would come to the park without fear. He always puts on a macho front but he can be a real coward sometimes.

As an adopted dog, there is always things in a dogs past that we can't plan for. This fear of the gun shots, fireworks, thunder or any other loud noise is really hard on our little guy but we do what we can to keep him comfortable until his fear passes. Then he's our happy little pooch again.

posted by World News at 9:27 AM 0 comments

Another fun day



There is always a funny energy between the calm of the people and the excitement of the dogs. Being Sunday, I think most people are trying to enjoy their day off before going back to work or maybe enjoy having a late start to the day. The dogs know though that this is their big day. They day they see their best friends. They get to run without restrictions and get love from anyone they decide to stop and see. They may even get a treat or two by finding all those extra nice folks.

Some of us two legged folks huddle together. Talking about local events or commenting on the dog action. Some will break off and take a walk through the trails while others stand a bit to the side to keep an eye on their dog.

Everyone is welcoming though. It could just be the humbling fact that no matter who you are in your daily life, when you're at a dog park, everyone has to pick up their poop.

posted by World News at 9:26 AM 0 comments

white dog



One of the things that people may not appreciate about dog parks is the socialization. Dogs need to be around other dogs just like people need to be around other people. Left alone too long, they won't understand what it means to be around others.

This dogs owner was talking about how he was walking his dogs on a trail that went by someones property. Like most places that are by open lands, the only divide was a low stone wall. There were two dogs who lived on the other side and for some reason, they attacked his dog. They got her ear pretty bad but over all she is just fine. It's a scary feeling though watching your dog getting attacked.

There could be lots of reason that this happened but one reason may be because of the lack of community the dogs that attacked had. Some people think that if you've got two dogs or an open yard that it's all you need. If dogs only spend time with people, they won't know what to do around other dogs. The socialization that dogs get when they come to the park allows them to play and run around with other dogs to lets them learn what it means to be a dog.

posted by World News at 9:25 AM 0 comments

Spring?



Spring is here but only in name. The past few weekends have been cold but that hasn't stopped everyone from coming out. I'm looking forward to leaves on the trees and color on the ground. Spring can be so short here in New England and after a long winter, to be able to bask in the warmth of spring again will be a great feeling.

posted by World News at 9:24 AM 0 comments

First interview for book



last Friday I did my first interview for the book. To be fair, this is my second attempt but the first didn't work out so I have to redo that one.

I've been spending lots of time with Rudy, Amber and Dusty, and getting to know their owner so we decided to sit down and talk about the dog park and his dogs.

I found out that we have a lot in common. We both have that west coast personality and both lived in San Francisco before moving east.

I think it went okay. It was great to sit and get to know Amber and Dusty's dad and finding out about all of them. The hard part is putting it into an interesting story.

posted by World News at 9:24 AM 0 comments

A Golden day



Another great spring day. Lots of people were out and about and the dogs were all having a great day. There was a large number of Golden Retrievers out and having fun. Golden's love the attention and with everyone out, they went up to everyone to get some attention.

Golden's can be hard to photograph. Being such people friendly dogs, every time I went down on a knee to take a picture, they would run up to me to get some attention. I got a few pictures of noses because of that but didn't post it on my flickr page. Don't need to bore you. I hope to get some more photos of them next week.

posted by World News at 9:23 AM 0 comments

side tracked



I didn't make it to the park today but I did get to photograph my friends dog, Blix, a beautiful German Shepard. He has no clue how big he is though. He will run and play and jump on you any chance he gets. He's so funny because every time he sees me he goes crazy. Our friends were having a moving party and when I got there, Blix insisted that I take him outside to toss the ball around for him. He jumped and barked and was going crazy before I even got to set down the stuff I was caring, he made me take him out.

Don't get the wrong idea about blix. At this party there were 5 kids from 8 months to 3 years and blix was perfect with everyone of them. Blix knows the difference between a child and an adult and knows his boundaries. We love Blix and will miss having him near by.

posted by World News at 9:22 AM 0 comments

How to get a good pic of your dog-part 1



I haven't had a chance to get out to the park in the past few weeks and both Toby and I have been really missing it.

I wanted to keep it up though and while talking to others at the park, people often ask how to get good pictures of their dog. I thought I'd try to give a few pointers.

One thing that I always suggest is to get the camera on the dogs level. If the camera is at your dogs face or body level and keep the camera level, you will be able to show your dog in a very positive position and a more unique photo. The hard part with that is your dog will think you want to play and want to come see you. You can either just stay there and let them play or just hold the camera at your knees and try to get your dog to look at the camera instead of your face. Either way, take a few shots all at once. The more you shoot, the better your chances to get just the right expression. Asking your dog to say "Cheese" means something very different to a dog.

Looking at this photo of the terrier, I shot it with a wide angle lens with the camera around my ankle level. That way I don't have to look through the lens and I'm flexible with the space around the pooch.
posted by World News at 9:22 AM 0 comments

A real scare


We've had a real scare the past few days. On Wednesday, Toby threw up 5 times and then wouldn't eat. We let him rest through the night but when he got up the next morning he still didn't want to eat. I tried every treat we had and even some rice and chicken and he still wouldn't eat.


We got really scared and brought him to our vet. They was put on IV to keep him hydrated and they ran a bunch of test but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him and he wasn't getting any better.

They couldn't keep a watch of him over night so we brought him to Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital. They were able to keep an eye on him overnight. When we dropped him off, he could barely walk and looked completely out of it.

After a night of sleep and keeping hydrated, he slowly started to feel better. They fed him small amounts of food through out the day and slowly perked up. By 8pm Friday I was able to take him home but with no real understanding of what happened.

Toby isn't a dog that will just eat anything. His one weakness is that he likes to eat grass. Normally I don't mind but I think because so many people have been putting all those chemicals on their lawns that Toby got really sick.

It was a real scare for our family but Toby is finally starting to perk back up. The idea that to get a great looking lawn requires to create a toxic environment really seems like a contradiction to me. Be very aware of those yellow signs on peoples lawns. They are really mean it when they so politely say keep off.

posted by World News at 9:21 AM 0 comments

Bella being good



Bella and her owner are regulars at the Acton Park. Being it's a holiday weekend, even though the weather was BEAUTIFUL, the park wasn't super busy.

Bella was very distracted because she kept looking for her two friend Blue and Jake. It was very cute. Bella would wonder toward the entrance of the park and sit to see who was coming and going. She didn't want to miss them if they happened to enter the park.

Bella was being a good listener in this photo. Every time I tried to photograph her, she'd come up to me to get pet. Her owner asked her to sit so I could take this photo.

posted by World News at 9:21 AM 0 comments

Puppy day



Sunday was puppy day. One of the regular Jack Russel's gave birth to 5 puppies about 9 weeks ago and they had their first big outing to the park. Everyone wanted to see and play with the pups. Specially the kids. Parents often bring there kids to the park with the dogs but many of the dogs are running so much that the kids don't get much play time with them. Puppies though love the attention and are great for children to play with. Being such a nice day, there was a great turn out and the puppies got lots of attention. I hope we have a lot more nice days like this.

posted by World News at 9:20 AM 0 comments

A good day by the water


We've had some really hot weather the past few days had it can be really hard on our furry friends. The good thing at the Acton Park is the pond. All the dogs were jumping in and cooling off. I think the heat kept some people away though. Some dogs don't do well with all the heat. The weird part is that 2 days before, it was 40 degrees. Now it's in the 90s.


Make sure both you and your dog get plenty of water.

posted by World News at 9:20 AM 0 comments

Toby found



Today had a hard day. It was a cloudy day with storm clouds and way off in the distance, you could hear thunder. From the Acton Park, you can also here the local shooting range. Both send Toby running for cover. Normally I can here these things and keep an eye on Toby and gage his mood.

Today, I didn't. I took my eye off of him for maybe 5 minutes and he was gone. He's wondered off before but today was bad. I was out for almost 5 hours looking everywhere for him. There was a sighting down a busy road just outside the park but really far away.

After searching through the woods behind the park (miles of trails) I got a lucky break. A woman came up to me as I came out of the woods and asked me If I was looking for a dog. Toby had ran across the street from the fire station and hid under her porch in the back of their house.

He wouldn't come out for her but with some firm encouragement, I got Toby to come out to me. He was shaking like a leaf and so scared. I got him home and gave him a good bath because he was covered with dirt.

Thanks to everyone who helped me search the park. Once people knew Toby was missing, A search party was formed and we everyone did a lot to help find Toby. It made a huge difference for me having the help getting Toby back.

posted by World News at 9:19 AM 0 comments

scout-and-boy


Another hazy day at the dog park on Sunday. I was extra careful with Toby because I didn't want him to run off again. He was super scared when we go there and I had to drag him out to the park. After a while, he finally relaxed and I let him off lease for a short time. I didn't take too many photos because I was the nervous one once Toby was off leash.


I did get to see scout who I didn't get to see for a few weeks. He's always good to see. His buddy, Fenway still isn't ready for the crowds yet but he's going to be taking classes to help with that soon.

posted by World News at 9:18 AM 0 comments

wrapped in leash


Another great day to be out. The sun was out. There was a nice breeze and it wasn't humid. A perfect day for both dogs and people.


Things are slowly moving forward on the book front. I just entered a contest on Blurb.com for creative books. I'm not really expecting to win (though it would be nice) but I hope that my book will end up in front of people who might find it interesting. The other good thing is that now I've got a sample book that I can print and show to people. I just keep moving ahead and keep shooting.

posted by World News at 9:18 AM 0 comments

How to get a good pic of your dog-part 2



This weekend was so muggy that everyone just standing around was sweating and uncomfortable. Not the best day to send off our good friend Bruce. Bruce, Dusty and Amber are moving back to California for a calmer life and better weather. Bruce is one of the first persons that I got to know at the park and many people knew him and his dogs. He was a person who I could always count on to be at the park every Sunday no matter what the weather was like because even if the weather was lousy, he couldn't deny his dogs their day.

Bruce is one of the first that I interviewed for the book. He was someone I could always count on a friendly hello and a good chat. I'm trying to get to know everyone at the park but I'm not a very forward person. I found that I would go and talk to Bruce first and that would get me started talking to others at the park. Bruce has a way of making everyone feel comfortable.
posted by World News at 9:17 AM 0 comments

Back to the park



It's been a few weeks since I've been able to make it to the park. I've been busy with family visiting and visiting family. It was a beautiful day to be back too. The park was busy and everyone was relaxed. Well, maybe not the dogs though. There was lots of really excited dogs running and playing. My dog Toby was getting into the mix a bit but was taking it too seriously. He is at least getting more comfortable with the park again. I need to remember to bring treats for training to praise him for being good.
posted by World News at 9:16 AM 0 comments

dogs-and-kids


I've been really lucky with week after week of great weather on my Sunday visits to the park. So many people are taking advantage of it and I've seen many new faces because of that. I've noticed that this summer, their have been more younger kids and babies coming to the park along with their family and dogs. This is really great because kids only fear what they don't know. When introduced to other dogs and a community of dog lovers, it makes a huge difference in a childs acceptance of other animals. I'm looking forward to bringing my boy next summer. He's a little small right now but I know he's going to love it.
posted by World News at 9:16 AM 0 comments

How to get a good pic of your dog-part 3


collie1, originally uploaded by phaird.
Trying to get a portrait of your dog can be a real challenge. Getting them to stay in that perfect pose while you get your camera ready can be frustrating but there are a few things you can do. First, is to get your dog tired. Go throw a ball around or make them run. Let your dog get that energy out. Once they cool down from running around, they will be more likely to listen to you and focus on the strange task you are asking them to do (really, what do dogs care about photos).
Next you want to make sure you're dog is clean. Run a towel and a brush over them to get the dirt and grass off. You may not notice when your taking your picture but you will notice when you look at it.
posted by World News at 9:14 AM 0 comments