Doggies and Baby....

So, we have just recently found out we are expecting a baby. Yay! More babies to love and care for.... and more stress on walks! Now, instead of trying to manage the two dogs, we will have to manage two dogs and a stroller or baby in a backpack. Instead of simply putting on two halters/leashes, we will have to put on the two halters AND get the baby in the backpack or stroller. Let's hope the dogs learn some patience!!! Fun times to be had in the future.

Lana LOVES kids and babies. There are not many that really allow her to get close, but she just wants to sniff and kiss them to pieces. Ginger, on the other hand, is a little more apprehensive. She will hopefully come around. She tends to really not notice anything that is not completely relevant to her world. Even then, she tends to run into things because she does not look where she is going. She also never seems to notice people/ animals under blankets and walks right over them. (She is blonde....)

Anyway, soon after we found out, my dogs started acting differently. Lana barks like CRAZY all the time. She sits by the window and anyone who walks by, gets out of their car, or just looks out their window, she is barking. She never used to do this. Even our neighbor (after being barked at while attempting to walk the dogs) noticed. "I thought she was the one who doesn't bark..." Yea... she WAS! Enough with the protectiveness already! Ginger, on the other hand, has been more clingy. She will lay next to me, follow me, even try to come into the bathroom when I am in there. This is from the dog who doesn't even like me! (She is a daddy's little girl).

So, I started researching and this is what I found:

"Pregnancy triggers definite changes in a woman's hormone levels. Believe it or not, your dog can actually smell the difference in your body chemistry after you become pregnant. This scent change can affect your dog in different ways, such as:

• Your dog may seem a little confused by the scent change and act reluctant to be too close to you. It may take a little time for your pet to accept your new scent and realize that you are still the same person.
• Your dog, especially if she's a female, may actually respond to your new scent by acting more affectionate and protective toward you. It's almost as if she can recognize the scent is related to your condition.
• Your dog may actually remain happily oblivious to the entire change going on and continue to behave normally."

So, each of my little girls is reacting in her own way, protecting me and loving me throughout. I am SO happy they do not act like they don't know me!!!

Speaking Dog?

My dogs (well Lana at least) understand a wide range of English. I know, I know... they really understand the TONE more than the actual words. But there are many words my dogs have come to know the meaning of:

Sit
Stay
Come
Down
Walk
Poopy
Potty
Go to your bed (their beds)
Daddy
Mommy
Go lay in bed (our bed)
Off
Leave it
Car
Dog Park
Where's your toy?
Naughty
No
Catch
Dinner
Breakfast
Kisses
Cage
Cookie
Treat
Girls
Doggies
Sleepy-time
Shake
High-Five
Touch
Sit pretty
Up
Go see _______

Agility terms:
weave
target
tunnel
go walk
jump
walk it
teeter
look back
go out
wrap
go through
okay

Many of the words the dogs are still working on. Often we put "Do you want" to the beginning of the words and the girls get so excited they do not even listen to the end and are already running to get whatever it is THEY want. For example, every night at about 8:30, the girls are ready for sleep. If we are downstairs watching tv, they give us these looks, saying "Please please please can we get in bed??" When it is time to go upstairs, all we have to say is "Do you..." and they are running upstairs. We could say "Do you want a cookie?" and it would require them to do a double-take... or for us to repeat it because they have it in their mind (and routine) that is is sleepy-time.

Especially in agility, it is not as much the tone that is important, but the hand gestures. Dogs read your facial expressions, eyes, and body language before they listen to your words. It is always interesting to face a certain way and say something completely opposite. More than likely the dog is going to go where you are headed or follow your gestures. If they REALLY understand your words (most dogs really understand sit), they will follow your verbal direction. It is a really good test to see if your dog truly knows the word sit if they sit after you say the command facing away from them. Also, when training a word or object, if you stare at the object long enough, the dog will try to find what you are looking at. This allows them to better learn/ associate words because they are doing the work in learning rather than you telling them. Learning through exploration. I do find the keenness for body language extremely helpful (but at the same time difficult) in agility. I often get tongue-tied and forget the actual name of the obstacle. Lana is wonderful at reading body language (too good at times because if I make a mistake- which I ALWAYS do, she makes the mistake with me), so I do not have to shout each obstacle and baby her through the course. She follows where my body tells her to go. Now I just have to become a more effective leader so I am directing her in the right place!

I find animal language so interesting. There are a number of psychologists that study how animals communicate and learn. It is all fascinating. "Stanley Coren, a psychologist who has performed a significant amount of research on the subject of dog intelligence, suggests that average trained dogs know about 160 words [source: Coren]. Some dogs even show a vocabulary as vast as a human toddler's (See Article)." According to Stanley Coren in How to Speak Dog, a dog will listen to your words, and watch your subtle, even subconscious body language, and then add his most reasonable guess to figure out what you want him to do. Article.

Thoughts like this makes it difficult to fathom how some people continue to treat dogs like anything but part of the family. Yes, they are dogs and must be treated and trained so. However, when I hear people saying things like "Oh, its just a dog." and seeing the way dogs and other animals are treated, I cannot begin to understand how anyone can treat a dog other than part of the family. They obviously know what is going on (they know when you leave for trips, do not like to be left without you, are sensitive to changes). They have feelings (sad, anxious, happy, tired). They know how to love unconditionally. When it comes to my dogs, they are a part of my family and will always be treated as such.

Lana's First Agility Trial

Lana got first place in one of her events at her first agility trial!! Everyone was so impressed and proud of my little doggie! She did so great.

We entered in a NADAC trial. Lana competed in the following events:


Saturday, November 6, 2010
Jumpers Nov/Std/P 20+
Time: 24.75
Place: 5th

Regular 1 Nov/Std/P 20+
(Eliminated)

Sunday, November 7, 2010
Regular 2 Nov/Std/P 20+
Time: 70.50
Place: 6th

Tunnelers Nov/Std/P 20+
Time: 24.68 Q
Place: 1st

She had a great time and did her best- I was just happy she did not run around like a crazy dog!!

Lana Weave Poles

We have been working on our weave poles getting ready for our competition in November... isn't she cute??

October Fun!!

Lana, Ginger, and I spent this gorgeous 80 degree, sunny October Sunday running around the dog park. As soon as I mentioned the words this morning, the girls were psyched to go! We have been awful parents and have not given them enough running time- and these doggies sure do have energy!! The park was packed full of all kinds of dogs. I would estimate there were probably 20 dogs at one point and Lani and Ging had a blast!! Ginger LOVES running and can outrun almost every dog at the park even though she is so small. It was hysterical because she would try to cut them off and they would run into her and she would tumble over- and get right back up and sprint forward again. Lana enjoys running as well- but prefers the attention of every person that will possible pet, talk to, or love her. We stayed for over an hour, had a bath outside, and spent the rest of the day on the couch watching the Redskins win!

Lana and Ginger are also both well getting settled into their fall classes. Lana is in her 4th agility class. She is doing so well! She is finally maturing- so she is less ADD and more focused on me, the routines, and not running around. Now if we could only work on her mommy's ADD and we would be quite the pair!!! Ginger is taking her first obedience class with Chris. She is doing very well. We are working on her trust issues. She now knows how to sit, lay down, touch, and go to her bed. She has come such a long way and we are so proud of her!! Lana is such a good sport and is so patient with little Ging as well.



Lana is entered in her first agility trial November 6-7. It is in Westminster, MD. It should be a lot of fun. Lana's teachers said she is ready and encouraged us to enter so we are entered.... my expectations.... to have a blast and for Lana to not act crazy!!! The other dogs in my class who have dogs at the same level as Lana and same age have entered their dogs this summer and fall and their dogs have just ran around the ring like crazy... soooo we will see if that happens!!! I think we are entered in 2 events per day. Wish us luck!!!

Too many animals? Sometimes....

This past weekend we were so close to getting rid of all of our animals. I love all the pets dearly, but our patience wears thin at times. I have always wanted to have a house where all the animals got along, lived together, a place where our future children can grow to truly respect and care for animals. Most of the time I feel we have created this type of environment in our home. This weekend I began to think... have we gone to far? Are we the crazy animal people? (Please don't answer that.)

It all began a little while ago when we started finding cat pee here and there. We never thought it was that big of a deal- just got very pissed about it. We assumed it was Hank because it is mostly a male cat trait to spray, but could never be sure. Also, the cat urine was never in the same place. This only happened a couple times in about a month. Finally last week, we kept finding more and more and we decided we needed to find which cat it was and what is the cause. I started to research more on the internet. Most of the sites had a lot on behavioral reasons- they are unhappy, the other cats are dominating them, etc. It could also be urinary issues. We were able to track down it was Lady since Hank was happy and healthy using the litter box. We took her to the vet and he told us the same things I had already looked up- (behavioral stuff) but took a urine sample to be sure.

Meanwhile, we had to lock Lady in a bathroom to get a urine sample. So she was crying all day. When she was finally let out, Hank was suddenly angry at the world. He started hissing at everyone- Lady, the dogs, us. It was crazy.... we had no idea what was going on. So Lady started hissing back- they both just went their separate ways and hid.

This same day, Ginger suddenly became ill with diarrhea. We thought we were going to have to take her to the vet as well... She went all over the house and had to be locked in her cage so she wouldn't continue to go all over our carpets.

It was a really exciting weekend in the Bisnett house. Turns out Lady has crystals in her urine and has to be on prescription food to level out her pH balance.

Too many animals? Sometimes....

Meet the Animals

Meet The Family

Smokey: Smokey was our first addition to the family. He is the cutest, sweetest little rabbit you will ever meet. Chris and I got him while living in Hawai'i. Every day I would beg him for a dog and he would tell me no, not yet, wait until we move back to the mainland. So, after a failed attempt of raising ducks (a story for another day), I came home with a little rabbit. The idea was we would leave the little guy with a friend when we moved back to the East Coast, but we fell in love with this baby bunny. A $200 plane ticket, a wonderful grandma to take him back early, and an awesome friend (Sarah) to babysit him for a couple months until we moved, and Smokey was soon living the East Coast dream. My favorite thing about Smokes is how he just prances around the yard. He loves just running and jumping- it is the funniest thing ever!

Hank: Hank and Lady Byng (named by my sister, Emily...) are the babies of my mom's cat, Sydney. Sydney got knocked up while we were away at my brother Eric's wedding. She had 4 kittens, 3 black and white and one part Siamese-looking cat. Hank is the Siamese looking cat and is the coolest dude. He thinks he is a dog, likes to play with the dogs, has no fear, and at times is a total jack-a$$. His favorite activities include climbing onto the shower door, jumping onto the stairs to see if he can make it, unrolling the toilet paper, and sitting on Chris' lap. He loves being with people, being pet, and being loved.

Lady Byng: Lady is a typical cat- she wants to be pet when she feels like it but does not like to be picked up, pet the wrong way, or bothered at the wrong time (typical female?). She is black and white, picky about the litter box and her food. She will sit in front of you for hours and cry for you to pet her but also complain that you are petting her the wrong way. She loves cat toys though!

Hank and Lady get along great and will spend hours laying in the sun or in their cat bed together. Hank is protective of Lady (one of the reasons we had to take 2 cats from my mom not just Hank which was the original plan...).

Lana: We adopted Lana 2 years ago from the Anne Arundel SPCA. She was an 8 week old puppy. Once we moved to Maryland and bought our house, I was determined to finally get the puppy I always wanted. I (obviously) have always been obsessed with animals and raising a puppy was something I always wanted to do. I found out AA SPCA had some lab puppies available and we went there to check it out. By the time we got there, Lana (Lona at the time) was the only one left! They told us we would be able to fill out the application, but there was a waiting list for puppies, especially lab puppies, so most likely we would just be called next time they had lab puppies available and we would be pre-approved. We left the SPCA sad (we had already bought the cage, toys, leash, etc... I told you I was determined). I started looking at rescue places all over the state to see if anywhere else had puppies available. Nobody had what I was looking for. I even went as far as looking at breeders (shame shame Karen). They were the only people at the moment that had little lab pups. I was not willing to spend the money or willing to go to a breeder. I was willing to keep looking until a perfect rescue pup was available.

I was at a training about a week later and the SPCA called me to ask if my cats had rabies shots. I assumed they had (they had come from my mom). At the same time, I was confused as why they were asking. They told me they were processing my paperwork for Lona. I was beyond happy!! We got the necessary shots/paperwork for the cats and within a couple days Lana was ours!!! She was so cute/scared coming home with us that day. She was shaking the whole ride. We put her on the ground at home and she would just sit there, not knowing what to do.

It has taken Lana a good 2 years to overcome a lot of her anxiety and she still has work to do!! When we first got her, she was scared of anything that moved!! She is still scared of thunderstorms, if you raise your voice, loud noises, and sometimes other dogs barking. We put her in agility and it has helped increase her confidence tremendously. She is like a whole new dog. It has also helped her out by getting a new pal- Ginger. She no longer spends her days hiding in closets or under the beds!

Lana is the sweetest dog. She is a people pleaser and very smart. She is an extremely fast learner. She loves being around people, cuddling next to them, laying with her mommy, running, and playing with Ginger. It has taken a great deal of work, but Lana is a great girl- sweet, smart, and very well-behaved.



Ginger: We adopted Ginger this past June. She was rescued from a kill shelter in Georgia by a rescue organization based in NY- Mutt and Lab Rescue . I was ready for Lana to have a playmate. She was becoming bored during the day.

I was very picky about the type of dog I wanted to adopt. I did not want another puppy. Reasons: There are so many older dogs out there that need to be rescued. We didn't want to deal with the whole training a puppy again. We wanted a dog close to Lana's age so they could be playmates. I was also very picky in the breed: I didn't want a hyper lab- Lana is very mellow and laid back- this suits our lifestyle very nicely. She doesn't require a lot of walks/runs. She doesn't run all over the house like a crazy dog EVERY day. We wanted a dog that would balance her in this aspect. Therefore, I did not necessarily want a rescue Lab because you could get a wonderful one or an extremely hyper, high maintenance one. We think that Lana is mixed with Greyhound or Whippet (which is the mellow/sweet part of her). I started looking for dogs that were mixed with that to see what I could find. Sure enough, I found Ginger, what they think is a 2 year old Whippet Golden Retriever mix. She is the sweetest dog with a little bit of spunk.

We drove up to New York to pick up little Ginger. She did great in the car- and bonded instantly with Chris! The two of them still have a daddy's little girl bond. He protects her and thinks she is his tiny little baby. Ginger comes with a whole new set of issues. She comes from a traumatic past. We do not know too much, but she was either abused or neglected. Prior to us picking her up, she was treated for mange- a skin condition caused by stress. This is probably what landed her in the kill shelter to begin with. Luckily they picked her up, treated her, and she is as good as new today. She still has lots of trust issues. It took her a long time to trust us enough to allow us to reach out to her. She is doing much better with that- she is even going up to some strangers!! The bathroom issues are the worst- she must have had some traumatic bathroom experiences because she associates going to the bathroom as bad. So she will hold it in as long as she can, until she cannot hold it any longer which leads to an accident in the house. It took a couple months for her to trust us enough to let us watch her go to the bathroom. We had to start by letting her go in the backyard and have finally led up to going on the walk- which sometimes she still looks at you like why are you staring at me?? We have gotten her on a pretty good schedule so that she has to go pretty badly by walk time but there are nights we have to walk for 20-30 minutes or risk an accident in the house.

Ginger and Chris are starting behavior classes this week. She learned how to sit over the summer (after a month!!). Hopefully we can get some tips on how to build trust, strengthen our relationships, and learn basic commands! Ginger is a doll and is just so happy to be alive and in a loving home. She is always smiling and excited. She loves going on walks, playing with Lana, standing on the deck, playing with toys, running, being with us, and trying to play with Hank.



So that is the whole family... hopefully no new animals for a LONG time. These guys are PLENTY to deal with.