In Love with Lupine

After months of lusting over it and another couple months of waiting for it to land in Manila, I have to say, this is one of the happiest purchases I've ever made for Odie.

Yay!

I learned about Lupine when I read about it in Boo & Bon's blog. Love at first sight. It was the perfect set I was looking for! Matching leash and collar made of webbed nylon, with a choice among 1/2-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch thickness. Lupine is proudly made in New Hampshire, USA, and comes in different patterns, each one tickling the fancy of dog owners since 1990. Oh, and the best part? They offer a lifetime guarantee, even if chewed.

Lupine products are being sold in Hobbes & Landes' Petropolis, and I did consider just buying from there. Their prices are pretty steep though, around $45 total for a lead and collar set. I have this (stupid?) habit of not buying things when I know I can get them somewhere else for much less. On the Lupine website, the whole set was gonna run me around $26. It was sometime in August when I saw an ad on the side of my Facebook newsfeed. LivingSocial US had a deal for half off on a Lupine collar and lead set. Half off. 50 percent. Thank you, America! I spent $14 for a medium collar and a 6' lead, both in the Wet Paint pattern. I had to add $4.99 flat rate shipping, bringing my total to $18.99 instead of spending $45 if I bought it locally. Not bad at all!

Lupine 6' Padded Handle Lead in Wet Paint pattern

Lupine medium adjustable collar in Wet Paint pattern

The lead and collar set finally arrived after nearly two months as there was a delay in shipping due to a typhoon. Odie has been using it for a little over a month now, and has endured daily walks, a trip to Pedigree University (saving that for a different blog entry), and a few training classes at Pet Centrics. Maybe that's more than enough of a test run for me to review it.

I already knew that a 6-foot leash would be too long for us, especially since we go to public places with relatively thick crowds. It was the one advertised as part of the deal though so I got it anyway. I already commented on the Lupine website that they should also offer the 4' leash because that's a safer length for most dogs who live in the city. Shortly after, I got an email from them stating that they could replace the 6' lead with a 4' lead if that's what I wanted, at no extra cost. Too bad the item was already delivered at my cousin's place and I didn't want to trouble him with sending it back and all. But wow, I forgot how great the US is in terms of consumer rights. Sigh. If only it were the same in the Philippines.

As for usability, it's really difficult to work with a longer leash because I already got used to average length. I hardly use the padded handle, and I fold over the excess leash. Sometimes I even coil it around my hand even if I know it's bad. I should have had it replaced when it was still in the US. Oh well, gotta wait for Odie to destroy it. The length is good for wide, open spaces though, which we don't really have a lot of.

Now he's even more handsome

Prior to making my purchase, I already had questions about the lifetime guarantee. In the US, you just go to a store to have it replaced, or mail the return label and the destroyed leash to Lupine. I knew that the Handyman hardware store also sells Lupine products, so I asked them if they will still honor the lifetime guarantee if I purchased the product in the US. Sadly, Handyman will only replace Lupine products if you bought it from their store. I then asked Hobbes & Landes about it because I really wouldn't want to go through the trouble of returning the product to the US on account of shipping costs. They told me that I could totally have any and all broken Lupine products exchanged in any of their Petropolis stores, no questions asked, no need for receipts. That's customer service right there. Suck it, Handyman!

I have no qualms about the collar because it does the job, and it looks pretty. What I'm happiest about Lupine products is that the patterns are all made entirely out of webbed nylon. A lot of patterned leashes are just printed so they peel of easily. This one may fade after a while, but the pattern will not get destroyed and look shabby. It also makes the dog and the human feel more confident when going on walks because the medium and large leads have bigger gate snaps instead of regular snap hooks. There's a bit more work involved in getting the leash on and off the collar (I had to practice getting it on and off, and teacher took a while to figure it out during training class), but it looks a lot more secure.

Lupine gate snap for 3/4" and 1" leads
Photo courtesy of Lupine

To sum things up, I think that the Lupine lead and collar set is a great investment. I wish I could have gotten another set to serve as backup when one set gets destroyed, but I do have a backup leash right now which works okay, too. I'm a lot happier that I was able to get it for half the price, and am very pleased with the customer service that both Lupine USA and Hobbes & Landes provide. Now I don't have to worry about replacing broken leashes and collars! Although I would love to also get a matching training tab to use in agility training (and maybe eventually, competitions), as well as a 30' training lead for use in parks and open spaces. All in due time. But maybe Odie's godparents are reading this. Hello!

Lupine 3/4" training tab in Wet Paint pattern
Photo courtesy of Lupine

Lupine 3/4" training lead, 30' long, solid blue and tail feathers
(Odie wants the solid blue one, just so you know :D)
Photo courtesy of Lupine

We are NOT the Only Victims

It's been a little over a week since Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda hit the central region of the Philippines. The death toll is rising, some people are still missing, and while help is slowly getting to all the areas in need, it's going to take years to recover, rehabilitate, and rise again. It's crazy how long the cleanup would be as it only took a few hours for the mega-typhoon to make such a huge mess. I watched the news day in and day out (sometimes mindlessly) on the day of the disaster and in the days that followed. At least, I got the chance to do so when electricity was stable. I shed tears countless times, and still continue to do so when I watch or read the many stories of distress as well as the rare stories of hope.

Seeing a photo of several dogs that perished in the storm was more than enough for me to get moving. I realized, albeit a bit late, that the humans are not the only victims of the calamity! And perhaps a lot of people realized this even later than I did! I then asked a few pet-parent friends if any donation drives accepted dog food. Sad thing was, none of them knew of any leads and I had to constantly search that night and was forced to turn in disappointed.

Odie's teacher and veterinarian put up a blog post the following day and gave many options to help the animal survivors. Why I didn't think of asking her during my unproductive search, I'll never know. Seeing her post was the only time I learned about international animal welfare organizations that dedicate their time and energy to helping animals in disaster-stricken areas. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has teamed up with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and headed to Tacloban, the worst hit location, to help the animals in need of food, water, and medical care. World Vets has also sent their teams to do the same. There are also other veterinarians abroad who are setting up donation drives for the typhoon-affected animals. Right now I'm keeping a close watch on these rescue missions. I'm grateful that they have already reached out to the animal survivors, and I hope that they could cover more locations in the coming days.

Image taken from the PAWS Facebook Page

I can't emphasize enough that just like humans, the displaced animals need help. It's also a bit disconcerting to see comments online (the Internet has a really big share of idiots, after all) questioning the need to rescue and rehabilitate animals when the humans haven't all been accounted for. I presume these remarks come from those who don't have animals as part of their family and I can't help but feel sorry for them. I'm sorry that for them, animals whose love and loyalty even surpasses those of humans' are just an afterthought. I'm sorry that they don't know how sweet it is to have cuddle time with a dog, or how sweetly dysfunctional it must feel to be owned by a cat. I guess I just really find it unacceptable to focus only on saving the humans when they're not the only ones in distress.

I even think that saving the animals at the same time as the humans would be beneficial for both parties! Hungry, stressed, and/or sick animals can be aggressive and may hurt humans and other animals in the process of trying to survive. I don't know how many or how few of the animals in Tacloban or in other affected areas are rabid so that exponentially increases the danger for everyone. Some lost animals may be looking desperately for their humans, and some humans may be clinging on to the hope that their pets are still alive. They're part of the family, too, and it's unimaginable to lose even just one family member, be it human or animal. Animal victims are also not limited to dogs and cats. Some humans may have had pigs, cows, water buffaloes, goats, ducks, and other animals that they may have depended on for livelihood. If your main source of income is goat's milk, for example, and you've lost everything in the storm surge, you would want to at least have the animal/s survive so that it may be at least a bit easier to start again. I saw a photo of a little girl carrying her dog and holding her mother's hand, her mother holding just a small backpack. A friend saw a video of a man in Tacloban happily playing with his dog after the storm. Having a dog by your side during the worst of times may be more emotionally uplifting than we all think.

All the animal welfare groups have already deployed their teams by now, but we can't stop helping just yet. Here's where you can donate:
World Vets
Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
Compassion And Responsibility for Animals (CARA) Welfare Philippines
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

You may note in your donations that the amount you gave is for the benefit of Yolanda animal victims. You may also donate any amount, anytime, for them to save for another rainy day. You may also check their respective Facebook Pages for updates on their Typhoon Yolanda rescue missions. I sincerely hope that (universe forbid) disasters come our way in the future, the local animal welfare groups would be able to immediately respond to the animal victims.

The One-Hour Vaccine

Odie: THIS IS A PROTEST!!!

It was the first time yesterday for Odie to be vaccinated by our current vet. When we made the switch, his shots were already complete so the only time we paid the new clinic a visit was in January of this year to ask for assistance regarding a skin problem. Odie's booster shots were actually due on Wednesday last week but since I didn't want him to miss class, I was given the option to either schedule it during the weekend or today. I settled for Sunday afternoon because my sister used the car Saturday afternoon, and I have work today. It was the most convenient option... or so I thought.

There was another dog in the training venue when we got there. I brought my sister along (well, more like forced her to come!) because Doc Marose did suggest that I bring someone when I informed her about our needle fears. We did a bit of training exercises to get Odie used to being pinched at the vaccination spot. That went pretty well! Doc also explained to me that there are some shots she won't be giving for fear of over-vaccination. See, our previous vet also gave a couple of shots that were supposedly due for boosters in two weeks. Doc went on to specifics of the two vaccines she would give, and when that was all clear, it was game time.

I seriously don't know HOW doc immediately felt that I was tensing up! I tried my best to shake it off but I don't think that was a success. Sucks how dogs know how their humans feel so all the fake courage just won't work. How many acting classes did I take again?

Our first attempt involved putting Odie on the table and giving him treats while the shot was being administered. He was okay until the actual syringe made the slightest contact with his body. BAM! He yelped and tried to make a run for it, and doc was forced to change the needle. She even pricked herself because of Odie's crazy contortions! It's good to be protected against parvo or distemper, except we're not dogs. Seriously though, I hope it's not dangerous.

Next attempt, doc instructed me to hug Odie a certain way so she could discreetly put the needle in. I did exactly what I was told to do, but Odie had other plans. When he felt the needle again, he climbed on my shoulder like a parrot (A 22-POUND PARROT!) and continued climbing until for some reason, we ended up with me in flat back position as the beagle just stood there! I didn't know Odie was pep squad material! Doc then tried to handle Odie on her own. Odie just stopped, sat, and received the first shot without us having to do anything at all. Totally weird, but hey, mission accomplished! It also confirmed doc's theory that Odie wasn't feeling any pain from the needle, he's just overreacting.

The second shot was even crazier! By then, I've already lost count of how many needle replacements we needed. Odie was getting very stressed, I was getting really worried, and I'm guessing Doc Marose also needed a breather which she couldn't get until we were done. Odie resisted and was almost impossible to control so we had to tether him. After some tries, my sister and I were told to stay far from Odie, until we were asked to step out so that he and doc could battle it out. True enough, it took just a short while (and help from an unknown surprise assistant) to get the second shot done.

It took a total of one hour, X needles, and two shots to finally call it a day. I don't know why, but Doc Marose apologized for taking longer than expected. HELLO. We should be the ones apologizing because our dog is crazy and very dramatic! She's been in the venue for three hours, working on a Sunday. If I went home really exhausted when all I had to do was try to help out, I could only imagine the physical and mental stress involved in restraining a hyper beagle. Doc suggested that Odie be taken in for shots in the clinic next time instead of the training venue. I'm gonna take that as a non-negotiable!

At the end of it all, I'm just very, very, VERY thankful that Doc Marose, even after realizing that giving Odie shots is a pain in the ass, mentioned "next time," which I assume means that she's willing to go through it with Odie again. Other vets might just give up and tell us to get shots elsewhere. I'm also thankful to have been given great advice on booster shots. Last year, I was just told what shots Odie was gonna get, zero explanations involved. I know I've said it over and over, but I really think that Odie is now getting the bestest best medical care. "Care" being the operative word. From training during puppyhood, to late night emergency concerns, and now to intense booster shot antics, I'm just so happy that there's someone who understands the crazies that Odie and I seem to have been born with.

Oh, and I was pinching him last night to "simulate" the vaccination process. He wasn't even reacting to it at all! Ugh.

Lessons to Learn and Lessons Learned

We have been given the privilege to join Pet Centrics' Basic Obedience (Intermediate) Class and are now halfway through with the course. The six-session class is currently offered exclusively to graduates of the Basic Obedience (Beginners) Class for humans and their dogs to keep the ball rolling. See, the beginners class tackles the most important things such as recall, polishing sits and downs, durations, and minor distractions. The intermediate class is scheduled almost immediately after graduation so that humans and dogs don't experience an abrupt shop just when they are gaining momentum.

Odie already graduated from the intermediate level in April of this year. He even placed first in the homework submissions "competition" (well, we took it upon ourselves to be tiger parents and submit all the videos that we could) and breezed through his final exam. Yes, I'm a proud parent. I actually am just amazed that although Odie is a very rowdy boy, his focus when training is impeccable. This time around, however, Odie goes from demo dog to being a regular student because there are so many changes in this batch's syllabi! Their beginners class involved recall drills with agility equipment, and they haven't discussed distance yet. The intermediate class now makes use of the crate and the place bed. We never discussed nor practiced crate exercises before.

I'm actually pretty excited to get an introduction to crate games because Odie has a love-hate relationship with his travel crate. I taught him to get inside the crate overnight when we went to the Circulo Verde Trick or Treat event last year and he got it in a snap! Later on though, he developed the habit of going inside and then just turning to go out. He also had the habit of going out without being told to do so.

We went to Pet Centrics this weekend and did some recall games before proceeding to the crate lessons. Odie absolutely enjoys recall exercises so we didn't have a problem with that. When the humans were given a lecture on crate games, I was surprised that Odie kept quiet for about 95% of the lecture. He kept looking at me because I was about five meters away and I tried my best to give a reassuring smile whenever I checked on him.

The first exercises involved opening and closing the crate door while keeping the dog inside the crate. Whenever a dog attempted to get out (well, in my case, SUCCEEDED. TWICE), we had to close the door. It was hard to get by because my hands are small, so frequently opening the crate door made my hand hurt. I mean, I could barely reach an octave on the piano. That slowed me down so Doc Marose did a demo with Odie to give everyone an idea of how quick we should be with opening and closing the door. It was heartbreaking to see how fast she closed the door on Odie whenever he made an error. I teared up a bit when I saw it  -- Odie taking a step forward while wearing his sweet smile, only to have the door closed on him and with no treats to boot. It took a lot of effort for me to control my emotions because I felt really sorry for him. But then I had to buck up because feelings would hinder us from having him learn the lesson.

We got our much awaited break to run and play because the lesson was quite stressful. We were playing push-back-and-run while Doc attended to another student. Horror of horrors, Odie suddenly ran in a different direction and headed toward a beagle with aggression issues. See, that beagle used to take private lessons because of his aggression and is being introduced to group classes so that he could get used to being around other dogs and people. He's sensitive about hyper dogs and prefers that he would be the one to approach and make friends. That is the exact opposite of Odie, being a very hyper and playful dog who gets a good sniff and launches into puppy wrestling. Odie approached Beagle and started to sniff and play, and I did see him on the verge of humping. Beagle panicked and started growling so I was about to try to break them apart. Beagle's owner told me to step back as he also gets sensitive around other people. So yeah, I just watched the whole thing unfold and couldn't do anything about it.

They showered treats in the area in hopes that Odie would decide to go after the food, which he thankfully did. I guess it turns out that Odie chooses food over getting a new playmate. Doc intervened and suggested that Beagle step outside first so that he could recover. When he got back inside, he was responding to verbal cues and accepting treats. He was okay, but we were told that Odie should maintain a safe distance because Beagle remembers such incidents.

I seriously couldn't believe what happened and went home still in shock. I apologized to Doc Marose, and she told me that she was more worried for Odie because he could have been hurt. I also can't hold anything against Beagle because he needs the socialization to get over his aggression issues. He's not going to learn that it's okay unless he joins a group class. He's been making a lot of progress and I'm happy that he's no longer as timid as when we first met him.

At the end of it all, I was reminded that Odie is FAST so I really have to be able to read his every move to avoid potentially dangerous incidents. I had to learn it the hard way, but hey, at least I'm sure it's gonna stick. I'm also thankful for our classmates and for Doc Marose for handling the situation really well. The best part? Nobody got hurt, and we all went home feeling relieved and ready to do homework.

The First Year

A year ago, our lives took a turn and went straight to happy land!

On September 6, 2012, I landed in Tiendesitas and bought all the essentials for the puppy that we're getting that same afternoon. I spent quite a lot on a large wire crate (I thought he was gonna grow real big), 5 kg of food (which I was stupid enough to think would only last for a month), a clicker (which later on proved to be useless), three toys (all of which are now broken), a huge retractable leash (which I massacred when we needed a long line in school, and it's a lot more useful now), a huge collar (I was stupid enough to think we were getting a big dog, not a little puppy, so we had to buy a smaller leash and harness the day after), soap, shampoo, and a comb. My brother and I were interviewed by the breeder the night of September 5, and the day after that, we went to Ortigas with our driver to finally meet the puppy who endured the trip from Laguna.

Odie was inside a crate which carried two other puppies who also went to their new families. Since we had no travel crate yet, we put the precious little puppy in an eco bag as we made our way to the car. We unleashed him inside the car to get a good whiff of his new humans. He was really shy, took tentative baby steps, and was mostly asleep on the drive home.

One of Odie's first photos. Poker face!

Sleeping 8-week old Odie