Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

Yes, I have a Great Dane and you don’t know how often I’ve heard that line. Great Danes can stop traffic quicker than a beautiful woman. Officially, he’s the height of a miniature horse. I could put a saddle on that thing. When I walk Zuma, I hear the usual references about horses and ponies. I don’t mind. Truth be told, I like the attention he gets. It impresses me when I see someone walking a brute of dog that is in control and I know that Zuma is impressive when we are walking through town. I adore my Dane and I don’t mind at all showing him off for other people that are amazed by his size (36” at the shoulder) and his wonderful personality. You need to be an attention hound yourself to like having an extra large dog. I really didn’t realize how much attention he would get before I brought him home.
Right now there is a lot of construction going on in my hometown. The main park is getting revamped, trees are being trimmed, gardens are getting beautified, roofs are being replaced, fences are being installed and all that stops when I take my Dane for a walk. A 15- minute stroll can easily turn into a 45-minute outing. Everyone wants to touch him. Everyone wants to know what he eats. Everyone wants to know if I have to refinance my house to feed him. Everyone wants to know how much he weighs. Everyone remembers someone who used to have one, or does have one, or is getting one but I rarely see Great Danes out and about.
There is a huge misconception about having such a large dog. There are many that say they’d love to have one but they don’t have a big enough yard or house. This is true for people’s opinions about most extra large breed dogs.
If I lived in an apartment, I’d get a Great Dane. I’d even consider a Newfoundland Dog, a Leonberger or St. Bernard. I personally have a harder time relating to toy breed dogs, which is the number one choice for most people that think they want a low maintenance dog, especially for smaller living quarters. Extra large breeds are typically quiet. They don’t bark at every thing they hear. They love to lie around on something soft and spend time with their owners. In the case of my Great Dane, he loves his daily walks and romps through the bush but he doesn’t demand exercise like my Retriever girls do. He’ll walk for as long as I want him to or for as little and be satisfied with whatever I choose. Obviously a large breed dog needs training to walk nicely, and needs to be well socialized to put up with all the attention it gets from strangers.
Of course there are some other things to consider if you want a large dog. In my home, coffee tables are banned. Knick-knacks become projectiles. Unless you place your television up a little higher you’ll miss half of your shows. Dog pillows are larger than the chair I sit in. He can keep me warm in bed, but the snoring can keep me up. Men that visit my household need to protect their ‘stuff’ from the wagging tail. Absolutely no one is walking into my house if I’m not home. I get the biggest, fattest, wettest kisses ever, but not from my husband. Alas, my husband’s dream of a ‘mid-life crisis mobile’ won’t be happening anytime soon and he wishes they made beds bigger than king size. Sadly, most extra large dogs have extra small life spans, but it’s a pleasure to able to share those few good years with such a wonderful creature.

You can contact Yvonne through her website at www.fidocomesit.com.

Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

I’m lying in bed, roll over and feel a chill. I pull up my low quality but warm, fuzzy polyester blanket to my neck and the sparks begin to fly. I smile thinking and reminiscing about my younger days and sharing a room with my sister. Way back then, the blanket sparks would have initiated a flurry of both of us tossing our blankets around to see who could make the most fireflies dance in the darkness of our room. Other times we would talk about our parents and their annoying rules, the cute boy that sat next to us in class and our dreams of becoming a world famous horse wrangler or flight attendant. The dark and bedtime was a time to bond, grow, and share secrets and fears.
These reflections started a conversation between my husband and me about whether we are doing our children a service by ensuring our homes are big enough for every child to have their own room. Is being alone in the middle of the night robbing children of the opportunity to really get to know their brothers or sisters? It’s hard to giggle uncontrollably under the sheets or get annoyed by the person who made that smell when you are all alone.
Being with your family and loved ones in the still of the night is a comfort for most of us. For dogs, it’s part of their natural social structure to maintain that pack during that most vulnerable time. Bedding with a pack also helps create and strengthen a bond. In the wild, it serves as comfort against the cold and protection against predators. Given a choice, both dogs and most humans prefer to go to sleep with that feeling of togetherness.
It saddens me to see dogs that sleep in the basement, or worse, outside, because there are some who don’t believe that a dog should share sleeping space with their pack. It’s another example of how people believe a dog should conform to the human’s way of thinking with no consideration for the animal they brought into their lives.
I don’t believe dogs have to sleep in a bed with their owners, but mine do. I don’t think a dog has to sleep in the bedroom, but most would prefer to. Some dogs are perfectly content to claim space in a hallway between the rooms of family/pack members. That dog’s comfort still comes from the noise of us snoring, tossing and turning throughout the night. That dog is surrounded by his pack.
A few nights ago, my Great Dane decided he couldn’t climb the stairs to come to bed. Physically he was fine, but he does tend to develop the odd unexplainable mental block about what he can and can’t do with his body. I gave up trying to coax him up the stairs and decided that if he thought he couldn’t get up the stairs, he could go sleep on his pillow on the lower floor. After listening to his howling and moaning, and still not being able to get him to move his body past the first two steps, I decided to spend the night on the couch. His stress didn’t result from missing his usual sleeping spot; it was the result of being alone in the dark. Once I was on the couch and settled, he lay on his pillow and quietly slept the night away.
Some may think that sleeping on the couch was above and beyond the call of duty. I think it was tending to a dog that I dearly love that was experiencing mental anxiety. As my sister did for me so long ago, it was my pleasure to help comfort, protect and dispel his fear.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

It’s been a few weeks now and my friend, her children, and Chloe are settling in. Of course, now come all the issues of having a dog with children. My friend is learning the delicate balancing act of incorporating a dog as a member of a family. She now deals with curiosity, insensitivity, unruliness, noise, exhaustion, running around, fear and clinginess. All of this applies to both the dog and her children.
Gone are the quiet mornings of sneaking a coffee before the children are out of bed. Chloe likes to greet her first morning outing with a pee and barking. Thankfully, she quiets on command, but I’m sure it wakes up the children along with the neighbours. Chloe doesn’t chew the children’s toys on the floor, but there’s no guarantee about lunch left on the sofa.
Taking a dog for a walk with kids becomes an ordeal. There’s boots and strollers, coats and mittens, leashes and poop bags, and the hope that no one gets tipped over or falls due to a lack of leash manners.
The commitment required to balance and live peacefully with everything that this entails is huge. It’s an endless lesson in patience and priority placement, and no easy task. It’s a great idea to have children grow with the family dog, and vice versa. If the dog is truly to be a member of a family, it needs to be with that family. It needs to go for walks with the family. It needs to live in the house with the family. It needs to be incorporated into and be part of the family unit. It’s much easier to crate or tie out the dog and tend to it after the family’s needs, but then it doesn’t become the family dog. That dog will become a whiny and uncontrollable annoyance.
Bringing any dog into a family, whether an older re-homed dog or a puppy, requires much thought. Saying you can make it work and actually making it work is a whole different ball game. There are ways of helping to ensure success and my friend is doing everything in her power to be successful.
So far, we do not have a match made in heaven. We do have a beautiful, sweet dog that is offering love and affection and a bundle of great characteristics. We also have a dog with issues that will work themselves out with time, management, age and training.
Since my friend and Chloe are still in the ‘honeymoon’ stages of their relationship, I’m sure there will be even more issues that are yet to be seen, but during the next few months of that honeymoon stage, other current issues may just work themselves out. Even Steven. Every dog has issues. We learn to work with them and around them and realize that dogs, like children, are works in progress and we need to give them time to grow and develop.
For most owners that have great dogs, like I do, they are never perfect and we can’t expect them to be. Heaven-made matches rarely exist, but great pet and family dogs do.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

Many of you were touched and saddened by my last article about those beautiful, retired female breeding dogs that my friend and I assessed for a potential addition to her home. What seems to have saddened those who contacted me is the fact that what this breeder was doing was not illegal. She provides safe shelter out of the elements. She provides clean water, food and veterinary care. What the breeder didn’t provide was a life of physical and mental stimulation. Unfortunately, that is not a crime. Just as it is not against the law to keep a dog chained to a doghouse 24 hours a day. Obviously, changes need to be made in how the law looks at dog ownership, which is why I occasionally write columns like the last one. I hope those of you who were so appalled at the fate of those dogs will help educate others you know who are on a puppy search.
So, how did this story end for my friend on the mission to find a new best friend? She continued to search with her head and not her heart. Mind you, she did have some criteria that considered her heart, such as breed type and size. Most of us want to like what we’re looking at and with that her heart stayed true. After more searching and with that sensible head in place, the criteria list grew.
In her perfect world she wanted a dog that was fairly easygoing. A dog that had shed its puppy habits and had a level of mental maturity. She wanted a dog that was experienced with young children. She wanted a dog that came from a loving home with owners looking to rehome a dog with that dog’s best interests in mind. This girl really wanted a lot!
There were wasted calls dealing with people who knew nothing about the dogs they were trying to place. There were other calls made to people who were looking only to profit.
Paying for a dog wasn’t the issue. I think it’s legitimate for people to ask for a small financial investment to ensure that the new potential owners feel committed to a dog in more ways than one. It’s a way of weeding out the insincere. After all, if you can’t afford a hundred dollars for a dog, can you afford to feed it and vet it if need be? What hurts is when someone that says they love their dog, wants only a good and loving home for that dog, but need $600 to make sure that happens. You know that their interest isn’t really about the dog. Could you sell a family member that you can no longer keep because of unforeseen circumstances?
Though my friend’s list of wants was long, it wasn’t insurmountable. Along came Chloe, a beautiful red Golden Retriever. What more could she ask for? She was a house pet. She was raised with a baby. She wasn’t a puppy. She didn’t chew or go potty in the house. She was loved by her owners but they didn’t have the option of keeping her.
My friend took her children to meet Chloe and based on her temperament, all the boxes in her head were checked. Based on her good looks and her affection, all the boxes in her heart were checked.
A match was made. Was it a match made in heaven? Stay tuned.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

Recently I had the great displeasure of helping a friend of mine try to find an older dog to adopt. She was concentrating on retired breeding females, which brought us to the scene of the crime.
As we turn into the driveway, we encounter a beautiful private setting lush with trees. A gorgeous chalet type home leads to a pine bush. Further down the lane is a lovely building showing generous indoor/outdoor dog runs nestled in this bush. I size up and envy what seems to be a luxurious setup. This is where the fantasy ends and the nightmare begins.
As the breeder greets us and leads us into her kennel, the noise is deafening and the smell is unpleasantly overwhelming. We learn at this point that all of these dogs live full-time, and always have and apparently always will, in these kennels.
Issue One – Dogs should not live in kennels. I understand a breeder’s need to find housing solutions for dogs that are their bread and butter. As uncomfortable as I am with it, it’s there and a part of society that seems to get worse instead of better despite all the education out there. These were dogs that refused to leave their kennels, sadly because that life is the only one they are comfortable with. Once the breeder dragged the dogs out of the run, both females cowered in the corner of the viewing room refusing to make contact with us. They trembled and shivered because our presence.
Issue Two – The dogs that we went to see were six-year-old females that already had five (!!!) litters.
Issue Three ­– I don’t understand how these dogs could be so under-socialized to strangers if people are meeting them while viewing the mountains of puppies they already had. People that are buying puppies often feel they have no need to see the mother. They are buying the puppy. In reality these puppy buyers are also buying the mother and that mother’s life experiences. Those life experiences contribute to how the mother interacts with other people. The mother’s confidence level contributes to the pup’s confidence levels. It should go without saying that these mothers had nothing mentally to give their offspring.
Issue Four – None of these dogs, parents or puppies, have ever been in a house. The crucial early stages of a puppy’s mental development are barely met by being raised in a loud, cold, barking, and stressful environment such as this. Many breeders of kennel dogs manage to allow their female dogs and their litters some justice by having the whelping and puppy rearing in the house. They do this to provide the mother a stress-free environment to nurture her puppies, and for the puppies to benefit by learning the sights, sounds and smells of a home life before they reach their new forever homes.

The problem is…
That these dogs didn’t understand anything about children, about stairs, about doors, about leashes is something that careful and positive training could tackle.
That these dogs didn’t understand anything at all about how to about being handled, pet, stroked, love or life is something that my friend, a mother of two young children, didn’t have the time or know-how to tackle.
I know that the right person with the right circumstances could eventually teach one of these dogs how to lead a happy life, but it was best in this situation to walk away. To have to walk away because of the mental state of these dogs was heartbreaking. That this breeder made no excuses or saw no issues with how these potentially lovely dogs were in the psychological condition they were in brings me to issue numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

Well, apparently not.
Over the holidays my youngest dog, Chiclet, had what most people would consider a bad encounter with another dog. While we were visiting with my parents, a friend stopped by with her dog. Now, I’m not sure what exactly happened to create the fireworks but there was an explosion and the fur was flying.
My Mom’s friend’s dog is a lovely older dog that gets along well with people and other dogs. Chiclet generally isn’t overly interested in dogs. She prefers to say a quick hello and then go about her business. The situation we were in, at someone’s home, didn’t allow these dogs a slow or proper introduction to each other.
To prevent problems in these situations, we really need to stop thinking like people and start thinking like dogs. Close quarters offer no escape and homes may translate as turf.
When most dogs meet each other, personal space is the last thing they think about. Most dogs instantly invade another dog’s space by immediately sniffing the other’s behind. In the dog world, that’s totally acceptable. What happens next will determine the type of relationship they may have. Dogs that take the next step of going in to investigate another dog’s face too soon, or the ultimate insult of putting its head or paw on another dog’s neck or back can lead to all out war. The wrong sideways glance from either my dog or the friend’s dog resulted in snarls, growls and teeth being bared. These two dogs, both who generally get along well with other dogs, became heavyweight boxers standing on their hind legs duking it out.
These things can happen so fast that no one really notices who or what started it. The one thing I know for sure is that the brawl wasn’t the dogs’ fault, but ours for taking their good natures for granted and not going through the proper procedure to help ensure a good first meeting.
If we choose to meet this dog again, and I certainly would like to, it will be on neutral turf and not in such a personal ‘in-your-face’ manner. A walk together to feel each other out and then allowing them both off leash where there is room for them to move freely would probably result in a pleasurable experience despite their initial awkward first date.
I guess there’s always some embarrassment when ‘our kids’ can’t play nice with each other, but if it’s only the occasional dog that your dog doesn’t care for, does it really matter? It does if those dogs need to be in social settings together often, but if they only meet in passing in shouldn’t matter much. It’s not up to us to decide who our dogs like. We shouldn’t be so pompous to try to make that decision for them or make the assumptions that they should all just get along for our sake.
No dogs were hurt in any way for the contents of this column.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

At this time of year I have a few: C-O-L-D, S-N-O-W, D-A-R-K, W-I-N-D, W-A-L-K.
The more miserable the weather gets, the happier my dogs become. I love the mildness of the summer. It’s warm, the sun is shining and my dogs are lazy. The older I get, the more I appreciate lazy dogs.
When the seasons turn from mild to wild, so do my dogs. I guess I have only myself to blame. My dogs are physically strong and in good shape. They get exercised in every type of weather. They’re either running and swimming in the rivers and lakes or running and jumping through the snowbanks that are to come. The colder air makes their fitness levels evident.
Most dogs are made for cooler climates while I am not. I don’t really mind the cold and the snow but I do mind the inconvenience of it all. Extra layers of clothing make it more difficult for me to walk as quickly as the dogs love to. The layers of ice on the roads make it almost impossible. I find my daily wardrobe is geared only towards comfortable and easy walking. I wear coats with bulk and lots of pockets for poop bags and tennis balls. I wear boots with the thickest tread that I can. I am far from a glamourous creature in my utilitarian get up while the dogs look lovely with their extra fur to keep them warm.
I have to take baby steps, picking through the ice and snow spots to find safe asphalt to walk on. I’m sure I look lost and confused to anyone spying on me through their frosted windows. My dogs look prancy and surefooted.
They love the cold. They can go forever and try to. In the milder weather, a three mile walk, along with a generous run and a round of fetch would more than satisfy them for the day. They would be exhausted, happy to languish and pant on the floor. Now, with the cooler temperatures, they require an extra walk and an after dinner wrestle on the floor (in front of the TV of course) like a class of five-year-old children on a sugar high.
Baby, it’s cold outside, and they’re loving it.
There are times when I am glad I have dogs that force me to go outside when I wouldn’t otherwise. During these times, I can really appreciate and be awed by the ferocity of a snow squall, the quietness of a fresh snowfall, the beauty of iced over trees in the morning ice mist. These things I wouldn’t see or notice if my dogs didn’t require more exercise in the winter.
There will be times when I’ll thank my dogs for forcing me to appreciate some of the beauty of winter. That thanks will be quiet and under my breath. The complaining that I do – about my dogs forcing me to be outside when I really don’t want to be – will be loud enough for all to hear.

To all of you dog lovers, thank you and Merry Christmas!
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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

Of our three dogs, Viva is the oldest. She’s just approaching nine years old and is a great little Golden Retriever. From that first day driving her home in the car, she had a strange confidence. She calmly looked out the window without a whimper and without much excitement.
She walked into our home, where two other dogs lived with us at the time, and just took over. Here was this adorable golden and fluffy puppy that did not blink an eye as she stole all the toys available on the floor in front of these two large older dogs and calmly placed her loot in her crate. I think the other dogs were as baffled and awed by her cockiness as we were.
I usually spend the first night or two with a new puppy on the couch. I take that time to bond with the puppy and to provide comfort and company. This girl would have none of that. She wasn’t interested in sleeping and snuggling with me and was happier on the floor next to the couch. Again, I found that strange but was impressed by her calm independence.
She learned well and won all the awards available in obedience classes. She was never an obnoxious dog so we never really had to deal with bad habits. She’s quiet with people and wonderful with young children. We can take her anywhere and she’ll be quiet and mindful. She’s a fantastic dog. Everyone says so, but…
The words ‘warm fuzzies’ and ‘Viva’ never belonged in the same sentence. From the beginning, she quietly ruled the other dogs and acted as if she had no use for us. Viva never showed a desire to be petted and would actually leave us when we would try. She was never a lap dog or a snuggler. She didn’t need or want a best friend, human or otherwise. There have been many times that I wasn’t even sure if she was still in the house because she would never seek me out to say hi. We used to say that she was still waiting for her real owners because she sure didn’t act like we were who she wanted.
Now my husband believes I should take her to the vet because she is acting strange. She’s playing with the other dogs. She actually laid on my lap twice last week. Every evening she lays at our feet with her head on our legs waiting to be petted. She sleeps on our bed and doesn’t leave when we pet her or when we touch her by accident. This is not the dog we’ve known for the last nine years, but it is the dog that we were hoping for nine years ago. Maybe dementia is catching up to her. Maybe she’s finally realized the owners she’s been waiting for aren’t coming and she’ll have to settle for us. For some reason she’s finally appreciating and liking us. I think I’ll just treat my old dog like a new dog. I’m going to feel foolish telling the vet that there’s something wrong with my dog when the only symptom is that she finally likes me.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

With fall officially upon us, Mother Nature had decided to grant us with some wonderful summer like days. With vacation season over and the kids back to school, it was a perfect time for us to take advantage of the now quiet beaches. My dogs love the beach. They can run and play fetch endlessly because the water helps keep them cool to continue playing.
There are a few dog beaches in the area and this is where we go when time and weather allow. There are some other like-minded people that also bring their dogs to the beach and I certainly don’t have any issue with that.
I guess my issues come with what I assume.
When we see that we are approaching other dogs, for the peace of mind of myself and others, we leash our dogs to pass by when there isn’t much room. It’s at this point when the other loose dogs will approach my dogs and come to say hello. Again I have no problem with this as long as we all say a quick hello and go back to minding our own business. For the stranger dog, I assume that he will go back to his owner to continue what they were doing. Failing that, I assume that the owner will come and take him back to continue doing whatever they were doing. At the very least I assume the owner will come to be with his dog while he’s interacting with my dogs. I assume when I see dogs off leash anywhere, that those dogs are well trained and controlled by their owners. I’m sure you all know the saying about ‘assuming’?
My two retrievers will ignore other dogs that approach them while they are playing. They are only interested in fetching their balls and returning for another throw. They’ve experienced other dogs that come to steal their balls, physically try to push them around, jump on them, chase them, or spoil their little game while the owners of those dogs sit on the beach and watch. While walking we’ve had unleashed dogs come barreling up to my dogs acting aggressively. The only thing that probably prevented those instances from turning into fights was having my dogs remain focused on me to avoid eye contact with those types of dogs.
I have no problem with off-leash dogs, or with dog friendly beaches and parks. These places make my time with my dogs more enjoyable. I’ll still be enough of a sucker to be optimistic enough about humans to make the assumption that they have enough control over their dogs to give them off-leash privileges. At the very least I’ll still assume those dogs are amenable enough to both dogs and people that any contact will remain calm.
If your dog isn’t one of those, I’ll assume you will take the fall and winter to work on your dog being a good off-leash citizen. I will also assume I’ll see you at the beach next year where we can let our dogs enjoy the fruits of good training.

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Fido… Come… Sit
By Yvonne Passmore
http://www.FidoComeSit.com

A puppy was born. She was the smallest of the litter and, for that reason, she was named Chiclet. Cute and adorable? Not Chiclet. She was restless, busy, a scrapper for food, and would strike at your face like a cobra. This little girl seemed not to understand the meaning of no or can’t. She was independent while the other puppies were snuggly and sweet. Chiclet would lunge at your face, snag clothes with her claws, bite too hard, bully the other puppies and she thought she was the best of the best. She easily was the worst puppy I ever had and for that reason we decided to keep her.
During her first year, there were many times my husband and I regretted keeping her and wondered why we chose to punish ourselves this way. My other dogs, including her mother, also seemed to have their patience pushed to their limits with her antics.
I always make it a point to take a new dog to as many different homes as I can to help with that dog’s socialization. My parents usually welcomed my visits, with or without man’s best friend, until I started bringing Chiclet. Chiclet was a tornado if given the chance. She ravaged my mom’s beautiful gardens. She chased and pounced on their Bichon’s tail. Before Chiclet, my parents welcomed a visit. Begrudgingly, and I’m sure with lots of eye rolling, they allowed me to bring that tornado over in my quest to make this lunatic puppy into a well-rounded dog.
Fast-forward three years. My husband and I wanted to take a mini-vacation a few weeks ago. Arrangements were made with family to care for the easy-going Great Dane and Golden Retriever. I assumed we would take Chiclet with us because her reputation preceded her. I just didn’t believe anyone would want to deal with her exercise needs and her goofiness.
Amazingly my wonderful parents offered to take her so we could enjoy our time away. I was so grateful to have some time alone without dogs.
As it turns out, my parents had a great time with Chiclet. My father enjoyed their walks together and my mother enjoyed spending time on the beach playing fetch. Even Moppy (the terrorized Bichon) enjoys Chiclet’s company. Chiclet was well behaved and affectionate.
The years of work with Chiclet, while still allowing her to be who she is, had finally paid off. I didn’t do this work alone. Never giving up on her, finding ways to work with her instead of against her, redirecting her bad behaviour towards good, and having a patient and willing family have all helped to make that chaotic puppy the best dog we’ve ever had, no question.
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