Training Day 3 - How exciting!

Well, I found out some great news yesterday at training class. I can show my dog in dog shows. Just not CKC run matches. That's great for me to hear. I really wanted to get some obedience titles for Brutus and now I can. I was sooooo mad when I found out that I was unable to trial Brutus with the CKC, but now I'm not so bitter. I can better my dogs after all. I'll just make sure that none of my dogs will ever be registered with the CKC and I will never trial any of my dogs with them again. Sorry fellas, but you suck! So, UKC it is. I'm getting excited for Brutus. Since I have trialed my dogs in the past, I've been working on the steps with Brutus and he's been doing very good. Now onto training day 3....

Well, I don't really remember a whole lot that we did and it was only yesterday. I must be getting old. We worked on three steps.

1. Walking through a crowd. We had to walk in a figure eight motion while the two people there were clapping their hands or stomping their feet. Brutus did great!

2. Recall: Self explanitory. Brutus rocked on that one too.

I'm not sure what other steps we did. Man, the memory is going. Oh well. We worked on some aggression issues and I think that Brutus handled himself in a pretty good manor.

All in all, it was a pretty great training day for us. I'm now 99% positive that Brutus is going to pass. I used to be 10% positive, so it shows how much confidence I've got in the little guy now.

Joke - Where do pets come from?

This one's cute. I changed the wording a little bit, but you'll still get the point.

Where do pets come from?

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to "Where do pets come from?"

Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."

And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.

And it was a good animal.

And God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."

And God said, " I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him a Pit Bull."

And the Pit Bull lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them.

And they were comforted.

And God was pleased.

And the Pit Bull was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. The Pit Bull has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration."

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.

And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased

And the Pit Bull was happy.

And Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.

Bah - Damn Government

People, people, people.....

What on earth were you thinking????

Conservatives?

This guy? To run our country?? Goodness........

Well, it's a dogs life. I don't know how the Conservatives feel about Bill-132 or Bill C-50, so let me read on to see....

The Conservative Party will stand up for:
Cutting the GST to 5%: an immediate reduction to 6%, and further cuts to 5% over the next five years. - Highly unlikely. The government has been saying this for years now.
Providing tax incentives for young Canadians to learn skilled trades as apprentices, and for businesses to hire new apprentices. - Skilled trade only. not the rest of the poor population. Supporting Canada’s farmers and resource industries such as forestry, fishing, and mining. - And getting rid of what platforms are already in tact and start from scratch.

The Conservative Party will stand up for:
Mandatory prison sentences for serious drug trafficking, weapons, and violent offences, and ending house arrests for violent, sexual, and other serious offences. - Yeah, maybe this should have been done a long time ago.
Ending the wasteful long-gun registry and using the savings to hire more front-line police officers. - Everyone says this, but will it actually happen.
Protecting women and children from sex offenders through a mandatory DNA data bank, raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16 years old, and ending all defence loopholes for child pornography. - Will this one fly well? Probably not, but they'd like to think. This would be common sense.
Strengthening border port and airport security, consolidating security services under a new National Security Commissioner, and quickly deporting non-citizen criminals. - Right....(I'm being sarcastic here).

The Conservative Party will stand up for:
Choice in child care. We will give all parents $100 per month per child under age 6 to spend on child care needs as they choose – whether that means formal day care, a babysitter, neighbourhood child care, or helping one parent stay at home. - Sounds good, but will make more people have children and what about paying for a babysitter or day care. Won't be subsidised anymore, huh?
Patients: We will cut medical wait times by establishing a Wait Times Guarantee by the end of 2006 – setting wait time reduction targets to ensure that all Canadians are treated within medically acceptable time limits. - a Wait Time Guarantee......ha ha ha ha ha ha! I'm laughing so hard here. I remember when I was 12 and I had almost cut my thumb off. I had to wait nearly 8 hours.
Our seniors: We will protect their hard-won gains by increasing the pension income-tax deduction to $2500, and ensuring better service for seniors. - Yeah, and our seniors will still be poor.

The Conservative Party will stand up for:
New or rebuilt municipal roads, bridges and other infrastructure. - Oh, start in my city first please!!!!!
Giving public transit riders a tax credit to cover the cost of their monthly transit passes. - Have you seen the transit here???? I'd rather walk.....seriously.
Action to ensure clean air, land, and water. - Care to elaborate. I know you want us to ride transit, but I would like a little bit more information.
An immigration system that meets Canada’s economic needs and helps keep families together. - I'm not quite understanding what is being proposed here.

The Conservative Party will stand up for:
Better democracy. - I think it's okay right now.
A strong Canadian military that has the resources to protect us at home and meet our obligations abroad. - Great! We're going to war now.
A renewed partnership with the provinces and territories. - It's not like we all hate eachother.
Defending foresters, farmers, and other primary producers against unfounded trade challenges and opening up new markets in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. - So.....buy from across seas instead of from our own farmers? Not likely.

Please note: This is my opinion only, not the views of all Canadians. Hmmmmmm. Nothing in there about animals in any way shape or form. Question answered? Nope!

Video - For the Love of a Pit

Yahoo! The video's done, done, done and I'm excited. I think that I have had almost 250 views on it. I hope it's getting the point out there.

Thanks to everyone that sent in their pictures to me. I am however, working on a second one already. I have about 10 more pictures that were sent in to me after this video was already made.

Go to my website and watch it. I like it, but then again, I made it. It might suck arse for all I know. Haha!

I got a lot of pictures from Tammy and Em with Advocates for the Underdog, and am very greatful for that. I'm thinking that the next video that I make will have lots of pictures with kids. I think I only had one or two in this video. And I'd like to get some muzzle shots in there too. Just to show what these kids have to go through just to go outside for a walk.

Damn government.....

Speaking of government.....I'm happy with the NDP's and the amount of seats they won this election! Great work guys! We even have one in our totally Liberal city that won! I'm impressed. She's an amazing woman and I hope she'll get something done up there for the good of the dogs.

Here a picture of me and my Brut chillin' in the hallway at home.

Training Day 2

Well, training went much better this weekend and I was so proud of Brutus.

Although when we got there, all he would do is bark and bark and bark, so I left him alone for a few minutes and came back to him. He had calmed down a little bit. I got him out of the car and we started for the building. Started......

Don had taught us last week not to let our dogs pull on the leash and this is what Brutus was doing. I know it's excitment, but I was going to be the one to determine when we were going in, not him. It took about five minutes outside before we got inside. Every time he decided to pull on the leash and try to dart for the door, I walked the other way and he of course had to follow me.

Now for inside........As soon as you walk in the door, there's a set of stairs. Brutus did quite nice going up the first 5 but the last five were a nightmare. I had to keep walking down the stairs until he finally realized that if he was trying to pull me up the stairs, we weren't going anywhere. Well, it finally worked and I feel that after ten minutes of that, he was ready for anything. He wasn't so hyper once we reached the rest of the group. :-)

Congrats buddy!

Well, we worked a lot alone this week on watching and loose leash work. I think Brutus is really getting the hang of it. For next class, he's got to know how to sit while a stranger is brushing the dog and walk toward a stranger and stop when I do. Brutus did pretty good at these for our pre-evaluatiton. It's the actual brushing part that's going to be fun! He HATES being brushed. Oh well, hopefully he's tired and I can pretend that I'm petting him to sleep.

MAD AS HELL AT MICHAEL BRYANT

Oh wow am I ever mad!!!

But then again, when am I not mad??

I had asked a few people about the new BSL laws and if I was able to show any of my dogs in CKC registered obedience trials. Nobody really knew......

Yesterday I decided that I'd go right to the CKC and ask them. This was the attached document that pertains to the CKC and dog shows.....

THE HARD FACTS ON BILL 132 in ONTARIO

The following information from the Canadian Kennel Club provides our members and CKC Event participant’s factual information regarding the impact of Bill 132 in Ontario.
The complete legislation and regulations should be reviewed on the website of Attorney General Michael Bryant at http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/
Specific concerns relative to your personal circumstances or requests for clarification of the Act should be directed to michael.bryant@jus.gov.on.ca or mbryant.mpp@liberal.ola.org . Phone contact can be made at (416) 326-2220.

The Act comes into effect August 29, 2005.

For the purposes of the Act a pit bull is defined as: A pit bull terrier, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, an American Staffordshire Terrier, an American Pit Bull Terrier, a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to any of those dogs.

OWNING A RESTRICTED PIT BULL IN ONTARIO

1) Current owners may keep existing dogs or those born within 90 days after August 29 as long as they comply with the Act.
2) After the ban comes into effect, a person who did not own any pit bulls may acquire one (1) restricted pit bull.
3) A person who owned one (1) or more pit bulls on August 29 will be able to acquire more as long as the number does not exceed the total owned on August 29.

PARTICIPATING AT AN ONTARIO EVENT WITH A RESTRICTED PIT BULL

1) All breeds recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club, can still participate in Official CKC Events. The dog must have participated in at least one approved event during the 365 day period prior to August 29, 2005 within Ontario or elsewhere.
2) Muzzle and leash restrictions are not required while the dog is on the site and participating in an approved event.
3) The sterilization of a dog participating in approved dog events is not required.

TRAVELLING FROM OUTSIDE ONTARIO TO AN APPROVED EVENT

1) Restricted dogs traveling in Ontario must be registered with the CKC or other approved registry as listed in the Regulations.
2) Such dogs may only be in the province during 14 day periods that include an approved dog event in which the dog participated (provide copy of entry as documentation).
3) The dog is not required to be sterilized.
4) Except when at an approved dog event the dog must be muzzled and leashed in public.

Letters from local candidates in regards to Bill C-50

Well, I've been busy writing emails trying to figure out who to vote for. I WILL NOT be voting Liberal this election. Such a shame that they had to pick on poor little dogs.

I still haven't heard back from the Conservative, or the Liberal Candidate on the matter of Bill C-50, but I did hear back from the NDP Party.

And this is the letter that I received:

The federal NDP supported strengthening provisions of the Cruelty to Animals Section of the Criminal Code of Canada to discourage violence and cruelty against animals and to punish those responsible for such acts.
We are committed to policies that protect the natural environment and the creatures in it. New Democrats are aware that there is an alarming connection between animal abuse and other forms of serious violent offences against people. We would support a national human education initiative. We believe that it is necessary to have strong advocates in Parliament and in the community at large for these matters and we see public education as crucial to these advocacy efforts.
The NDP supported legislation throughout all stages since its introduction in April 2002. The amendments introduced to the Criminal Code would remove the offences dealing with animal cruelty from the property crimes section and create a separate section. This is a conceptual shift that we supported. Rather than treating crimes committed against animals as crimes committed against another's property, this bill would give animals their own status as creatures that can feel pain. We believe that such changes including increasing penalties for cruelty to animals are long overdue.
Please be assured that the NDP will continue to pressure the federal government to take action on initiatives to protect animals.

Here is a speech by the NDP's Pat Martin on November 14 2005, about animal cruelty.
Mr. Pat Martin Manitoba NDP:
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for the spirit of generosity that we feel in the House of Commons today.
On behalf of the NDP caucus, I am happy to have an opportunity to share our views on Bill C-50 in the first session of this 38th Parliament. I should note that I believe I spoke to this bill during the 37th Parliament and I spoke to this bill in the 36th Parliament, if I remember correctly.
I note that it is called an act to amend the Criminal Code in respect of cruelty to animals. I would volunteer that it would be cruel to MPs if we had to debate this bill for very much longer. It seems like I have dedicated a good chunk of my career to this bill and beyond all reason I think, too.
If we were to canvas people around the country, there is a great deal of goodwill from well-meaning people around the country who would wish that we could adopt this bill and many of the provisions in it.
Without even speaking to the specifics of the bill, I think people are asking Parliament to recognize the status of animals that this bill actually contemplates. This bill, if nothing else or in its simplest form, would elevate animals from a simple material possession owned by someone to the status of an actual live being.
Anyone who has ever owned animals or even pets and looked into the eyes of their dog are ready to accept that this is not a possession, this is a being with a spirit, this is a being that has feelings, and this is a being that deserves to be treated in a humane way. I am speaking for a lot of animal lovers around the country when I say that we celebrate the idea of being able to recognize that cruelty to animals should be acknowledged as a crime and that penalties for cruelty to animals should be greater than they are currently today.
This idea, this shift, from viewing animals as simply property that can be treated however the owner of that property sees fit and viewing an animal as a sentient being, a being with, I will not go as far as to say a soul but with a spirit, a life force that we acknowledge and recognize. That is a quantum leap in law and in the way that we craft our legislation.
This issue has been a difficult one because we cannot deal with the subject of cruelty to animals without allowing emotions to creep into it. Many of us viewed television screens in the last week where yet another one of these puppy mills was revealed in a news magazine-type television broadcast. It was horrifying. It made Canadians angry.
It is fitting and appropriate that on the heels of that revelation we should be dealing with this issue in the House of Commons today. It makes me feel proud because if anything, the very thing that this bill seeks to enforce and to address is the thing that we witnessed in that television show where people were not being cruel to animals in the process of raising them or even slaughtering them for use and food, they were being cruel to those animals based on pure greed.
We believe in the New Democratic Party that there is a place in our legislative regime to enforce laws dealing with cruelty to animals in a much more disciplined way. I hope that the spirit of cooperation that exists in the House of Commons today can manifest itself in a new law that gets tough on those who would be cruel to animals.







So, it looks like I will be leaning toward the NDP party. No, it means that I will be voting for the NDP party. Here's hoping!!

Training - Day 1 (and I didn't cry)

Wow!

First day of training for the CGN testing went better than I expected. I thought that Brutus wasn't going to listen to me at all. Well he didn't want to listen to me for the first little while, but after I had his undivided attention, he did well. We did spend the first hour in the hallway, because Brutus wanted to be a little bit rough with the other puppies in the class. By the end of the session, he was in the room with the other dogs without his muzzle on. Congrats Brutus!

As for me, I was as nervous as a turkey on Thanksgiving. I relaxed after I got there. Maybe Brutus could sense that I was nervous and that's why he acted up a little bit at the beginning of class time.

Boy did we learn a lot today though. I did learn that the reason that Brutus whines and cries so much is that I protect and baby him......I guess that's not such a good idea to do. He's been pretty quiet today. I put him in his crate to see if he would cry (because he usually does, forever. Well until I let him out) and he stopped within 10 minutes. I was totally impressed.

The only bad thing is that he can no longer be my blanket at night. :-( He has to sleep in his own bed, and not mine. It does make sense, but I'm going to have to turn the heat up.

Sorry dude! No more snugglies at night for you......

How cute!

This is my sweet little Sadie.


And here's Zeus.

These were taken when the city decided that with the 2006 dog licenses, we had to have head (mug) shots and profile shots of pit bull type dogs.

How RUDE!!!!

Tomorrow's training: A spiel about nothing

YIKES!!!!!

Tomorrow is t-day. I say t-day meaning Training-Day.

Brutus is the dog chosen to go through the training for the Canine Good Neighbour testing. He's the worst behaved of the bunch. Don't get me wrong. He's my little lover bug, but he just tends to ignore me the most of all three of the dogs.

Early this week Brutus cut his paw on something in the back yard. It wasn't a really bad cut, so I didn't feel it was necessary to take him to the vet. I cleaned it, and covered it, and made him wear the cone for the night. Sorry buddy, conehead you were to be. Well, the cut still looks like it is a little bit sore for him. I wonder if this will effect his training?? It's not open or anything like that, but perhaps I'll get someone to look at it tonight.....Conners?

Well, training. I'm very nervous about this. Not only is it early in the morning that I have to get up and go, but it's 45 minutes away. I don't deal well with travelling too far away from my home. But, I have to say to myself.....this is for Brutus and his well being.

The Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) test is a good thing for him. The Ontario Government thinks that all pitbulls are vicious dogs and will bite everyone. It is important for me to get this certificate for him, and other pitbull dog owners to prove that they aren't all meanies like people think. I hope it helps the cause, which I think it will. Maybe it should be something mandatory for pitbull dog owners to do, and if they are certified, they won't have to wear those darn muzzles anymore. Just a hopeful thought. Not likely to be realistic, but hopeful anyways.

Lets go from this:

To this:

Ah, much better not having something covering my mouth. Back to old school for my guy. Here's hoping......

Well, I should get my butt back to work. Thanks Conners for letting me understand how to upload my pics and helping me out with all this crap!!

Hahahahahaha!

Brutus in the snow. 

Welcome to me

Well, welcome to me in the blog zone. And a special thank you to Conners. I guess that you were what inspires me to get involved.

Although my blogs may not be long winded, I hope to prove my point.

Well, let's introduce myself:

I'm a proud mommy of 3 "pitbull type" dogs.

I'll start with Zeus, since he is the oldest.
Zeus, actually doesn't fully belong to me, but I like to call him mine. He's a white and tan APBT. He's just about 6 and crusty. He's pretty set in his old age. Hahaha! Zeus likes to be by himself and undisturbed. I'll write more about Zeus later.

Brutus......ah Brutus. I would say that Brutus is the weirdest character that I've ever met. He's mine. Brutus was born on Christmas eve and just turned 2. He's white, with the exception of a little bit of brown on him. But it is barely noticible to the human eye. More to come on Brutus since he's the biggest clown of them all.

Sadie is the newest addition to my family. She comes with a sad story.......Here it goes:
I first met Sadie when her name was Princess (yes, the most common of the girl doggie names). She, along with her sister were housed next door to my friend. They were about 6 weeks when they came to their new home. Their new home, was not a good one. A woman, 25 years of age, with 4 small children decided that she would bring home 2 puppies. Sadie was one of them. She was staying with a relative, so the puppies were not allowed to be in the house. The poor ladies were left outside and pulled around by these children all day long. They would sneak under the fence during the day to run around the neighbourhood. A short while later, I decided that it was time to step up and do something. I noticed that the two puppies were out running loose as usual and I scooped them up and brought them back to the back yard, where I was met by the relative. He told me that the woman no longer lived there and left her dogs. He didn't want them, so he let them go in hopes they would get hit by a car or something. So, Sadie and her sister Lady came to live with me. I was able to place both puppies to good homes. Lady is now living in Woodstock with a wonderful family. I had to wait until Sadie's (Mercedes) owner moved into his new home. This took a few months and when he was finally able to take her, I didn't want to let her go. I hated the name Mercedes for her....It just didn't suit her, so I started calling her Sadie. It has stuck. The rest is history. She's almost been with me for 7 months now and I would estimate that she's about 10 months of age and one of the happiest dogs I've met.