My Delicate Doggie

Sorry I’ve been remiss in posting lately. Work has been nuts! Plus, i’m in the search for a new digital camera so that I can take pics of Finn to add here…

Today Finn freaked me out a bit. We went to the Park as we do every morning, and he ran around while I threw his ball for him. He saw his other dog-owner friends and made them throw the ball for him too. Next thing I knew, Finn was gasping for breath. His mouth was wide open and he was practically wheezing! All in all, he was really only running around for 15 minutes or so. Doesn’t that seem too quick for a healthy, young dog to get winded? When we got home, he was clearly really exhausted. He laid down on the hardwood floor (which he never does) and just panted and panted, mouth wide open. I placed a cold washcloth on his belly to cool him down but it took a while before he calmed down.

Maybe it’s because the weather has warmed up a bit that he’s so exhausted? I don’t know. I worry he has asthma or other breathing issues….? I’ve read that some dogs have lung issues, especially ones with barrel-chests like he has. Has anyone else heard that?

In the meantime, I am definitely NOT going to let him run around like that anymore. Instead, only 5-10 minutes of throwing the ball; and then walking (on a leash) for the rest. I don’t want him to have a heart attack!!!

Dog-orexia?

Is there such a thing as dog-orexia? As in, dogs that are anorexic? Finn is so fricking skinny. I could feed him more, but he doesn’t generally want to eat that much. He very rarely eats anything during the day. Sometimes he’ll have a little breakfast (lately, Cheerios!) and sometimes he’ll pick on some dry food. But he won’t seriously eat until I get home from work. And even then, he’ll eat a can and some dry food and that’s really it. Sometimes he begs a bit for my dinner, but not much at all.

Sure, he likes treats (although really only all-natural chicken tenders). But he doesn’t go insane for them like other dogs do. And when training him, he really isn’t bribeable with treats. He’d really rather get praise, or a kiss, or some other form of affection. And he’s still that way! It can be very cute. Like, he’ll go outside to poop, in the right spot, and he trots back inside — so pleased with himself! He’s so good!!! And all he wants, more than anything, is a belly-rub and lots of kisses. That makes him happiest! At that point, he could care less about a treat. Which I think is unusual for dogs, no?

He also still has so much anxiety. Going outside causes him so much stress sometimes. And I bet that contribues to him staying so skinny! He has such a high metabolism, in addition to all the exercise he gets everyday. And then not eating much to make up for it, he stays so skinny. His ribs stick out a lot. It’s really almost like he’s anorexic! Weird.

Discrimination at its worst

The other day I had the worst – THE WORST – experience of discrimination I’ve ever had in my life. Finn and I were at the park, before 9am so he was off-leash, running around with his little pink ball. I’m walking and throwing the ball, walking and throwing, walking and throwing.

We come upon a group of 3 dog owners with 3 dogs romping around. Big-ish dogs, a german sherpard, a tall, thin dog and a fat fuzzy one. Finn runs over with his ball, and places the ball at the feet of one of the dog owners, while gazing up at them, tail up and butt wagging. The dog owner says to me, “Is that a pitbull?”

And I started to say yes, a mix, part Boxer, maybe a little hound… I started my usual spiel. But before I could get it out, he said, “I don’t want my dog playing with a pit bull. Get that dog out of here.”

The other dog owners were chiming right in, pulling their dogs away as if Finn was a snarling, rabid dog. I was horrified, and pulled him in the other direction, and practically ran us home before my tears came pouring out. The nerve of them! Those fucking idiots. Anyone who owns a dog knows that if a dog’s tail is up and wagging, they’re happy. It’s when they’re down and still that there’s a problem. None of that mattered to these assholes, though, because they made assumptions of Finn’s personality based on his breed and breed alone. Nevermind that he was obviously such a happy dog; nevermind he looks adorable in his light blue Old Navy sweater with stars on it (it was cold that day, I swear). Nevermind he’s running around with a tiny pink dog that looks silly. Merely the mention of those words – pit bull – sent everyone running.

Well, really, it sent me running.

I didn’t know handle that situation at all. It was so shocking – I expect more from my fellow dog owners.

But It made me want to get Finn a shirt to wear with a message on it that might make a racist dog owner think before acting. That’s how I got the name for this blog, actually. I’m going to get him a shirt at CafePress that says “Please Be Kind” on it. I’ll show you a picture of it when I get it made.

Meanwhile, I’ve been overly protective of Finn at the Park now, making sure he doesn’t leave my side. But mostly, I just feel so offended that anyone could ever make such preconceived notions based on appearance alone. This world can be so sick.