Pooches: Unleashed Dog Daycare

Despite the fact that Chicago has a number of dog parks, we only take the pooches to these parks either very early on weekend mornings or during the middle of the day in the summer. Before we adopted Mr. B, I would spend countless hours reading blogs and other sources about responsible pit bull ownership and a number of websites such as Bad Rap and Pit Bull Rescue Central all advise against taking dogs of any breed, especially pit bulls to a dog park.

(Speaking of Pit Bull Rescue Central, they have this banner picture under breed info of a dog that looks exactly like Mr. B)Because of the information on these websites, we vowed to never take our pooches to a dog park unless it was completely empty, which is quite difficult in a city as busy as Chicago. However, we are lucky enough to have a daycare and boarding place that specializes on pit bulls and other bully breeds, Unleashed. We have been going to Unleashed ever since we adopted Mr. B and it is the only place we completely trust with our pooches. They have an enormous play space with nice soft rubber flooring which is important for Ms. M's delicate monster paws. The pooches are well supervised and Ms. Bridgid Nolan, part owner, is usually there to recap our pooches' day. One of the main reasons why we trust Unleashed is because of Bridgid. She is very knowledgeable, a great resource, actively involved in the rescue community and she genuinely cares about our dogs, well all dogs. Another reason is Curtis Scott, the dog trainer. We wrote our praises about him on an earlier post, he truly is a pit bull whisperer and we cannot say enough good things about him. We actually discovered Unleashed through Curtis. He leads a dog training class at Unleashed that was extremely useful. We spent months trying to teach Mr. B to lay down and after 5 minutes in his class, Mr. B was laying down like a pro as seen in this picture from class.We cannot say enough good things about Curtis, Bridgid and Unleashed. Here is a video of Mr. B and Ms. M playing at daycare.

Pooches: Dog Park

Crowded dog parks are a big NO for pit bulls and other bullies. So we take our dogs to daycare at Unleashed. Though there are cheaper daycare centers around, we completely trust our dogs with Unleashed, because they know pit bulls and bullies better than anyone in Chicago. In addition, Curtis Scott is affiliated with Unleashed. However, money has gotten pretty tight, so we've been trying to find safe alternatives to supplement daycare. One option is The Wicker Park Dog Owners Meetup group, which has met up twice at Soggy Paws for play dates. Another option is the Walsh Park's dog friendly area. We normally would never take Ms. M or Mr. B to a dog park, but this park is rarely used. Walsh Park's dog friendly area is quite large and rarely gets crowded. The few times we have been there, there has been at most six dogs, including ours, but we venture out there on early weekend mornings or in middle of a weekday. Its nice to have a large controlled area where the dogs can run back and forth, with a few other dogs. Hopefully this dog park never gets crazy like the others, Wicker Park's and Churchill Park's dog friendly areas, which are too crowded and completely chaotic at times.

Pooches: Mr. B the Graduate

Mr. B has officially graduated from level 1 and 2 obedience training at Unleashed. Mr. B has now mastered the down, down stay, sit stay, come, loose leash walking and walking off leash. Before we started this classes, we have tried unsuccessfully to teach Mr. B down. After 10 minutes with Curtis, Mr. B learned down and down stay. A and I have gone through training with Ms. M through a variety of different places even Anti-Cruelty and I think this was the best training class I have been to, it is fast paced and the space allows for individual instruction. In addition, Curtis Scott leads the class. If you are interested in obedience training, please call Unleashed at 312.475.9910.

Pooches: Picking a pack member

Picking a second dog to join our pack has been a difficult task, but we are very happy that it led us to Mr. B. When we started our search for Ms. M's own pooch, we were looking for a male dog that was younger than Ms. M, because we were looking to add another bully and we wanted to reduce the possibility of a power struggle. Our search led us to Mr. A, a 2 year old male pit bull mix. Curtis Scott did the introduction at Unleashed and they seemed to get along really well. Thus started our new chapter with Ms. M and Mr. A. In their initial meeting, Mr. A would listen to Ms. M's corrections and he would back down every so often as they played. However, after that initial meeting, Mr. A would not back down and I had to intervene whenever their playing got out of hand. Eventually Ms. M and Mr. A would play all the time and we would be woken up by two dogs running around our bedroom, growling, jumping, spittling, and barking. There would be dog hair and spittle all over the place: on the floor, furniture, bed, and even our food. After three weeks of living in complete chaos, we had to make the difficult decision that this was not working out. We decided to return Mr. A to his foster parents and resign to being a one dog household. Ms. M quickly went back to her routine and didn't miss Mr. A at all. Couple months later, I decided to browse PetFinder, for older male bullies and saw Mr. B on the search. Though he was in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he came within the first two pages, because there aren't too many male bullies over the age of 4 for adoption. Apparently older male bullies are not very adoptable and are quickly destroyed. Luckily for us, Jo Anne at the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue rescued Mr. B from the pound. Since we had experience with Mr. A, I had a whole list of questions that I asked Jo Anne before we even decided to meet Mr. B. After the lengthy conversation, we decided to drive down to Kalamazoo, Michigan to meet Mr. B. During the initial meeting, Ms. M and Mr. B played and ran around together, but an interesting happened when we took Mr. B with us to our campground, Ms. M and Mr. B didn't interact at all. Though we were all in the same tent, Mr. B and Ms. M basically ignored each other. They each slept on their own pet beds and in the next morning, they didn't even acknowledge each other. This was how we knew that Mr. B was our family's newest addition. Though Mr. B is older than Ms. M, he is submissive to Ms. M and seems to understand his place in the Schwang household. Don't tell Ms. M or A, but in my mind Mr. B is number one and my best friend.

Pooches: Curtis Scott "Pitbull Whisperer"

We cannot say enough about Curtis Scott, Chicago Dog Trainer. We call him our personal pit bull whisperer. Mr. B had a hard time adjusting to Chicago living when we first adopted him. During walks, he would keep darting back and forth and pull on the leash. In addition, we were captives in our house, because he would keep whistling and barking in his crate whenever we left his sight. It would be ideal to leave him and Miss M alone in the house, but with two big dogs you never know what condition your house would be when you get home. So after a week of being captive at home 24/7 we called Curtis for his help with Mr. B. In our first session, he worked with Mr. B for 5 min and after that Mr. B was a changed dog. All of a sudden, we had loose leash walk whenever we walked him and he stayed to our left. In our second session, we worked on his isolation distress. Initially, we thought it was separation anxiety, but Curtis quickly evaluated that Mr. B had isolation distress which could be quickly resolved, but also could quickly become separation anxiety. In this session, Curtis required more time with Mr. B, about 10 min. Now Mr. B either sits quietly in his crate or sleeps and patiently waits for us to come home. We owe much of our summer to Curtis. Even though both session required a total of 15 min of work, he would talk to us for hours to explain everything that he has done and answered all of our questions. In two days he worked with us for well over 2 hours, but his price was extremely reasonable, so it was clear to see that he really is in it for the dogs. We highly recommend Curtis and we know he can do wonders for you and your dog. Also, Curtis works closely with Unleashed, which we use for all our day care, boarding and dog walking needs. They are very knowledgeable about dogs, especially bullies and they work very hard to make our dogs and us happy. Also, its nice to have Curtis there at times to help supervise their day care and boarding. So if you have any doggy issues, please contact Curtis Scott, he will change both you and your dog's lives.
-Dr. E

Chicagoing: On Chicago Dog Parks

Since most of us here in Chicago don't have our own yards, the city has been nice enough to designate several dog parks, and even some dog-specific beaches, throughout the city.
We have mixed feelings about the dog parks. When used responsibly they can be a great place for the dogs to run and release energy. But at the same time, many of the parks have become too popular and overcrowded. The parks themselves are rather small, and sometimes there will be 40+ dogs in there at at time. Given the excitement of being able to run free, the multitude of dogs being met at one time, owners bringing in toys and balls, and tiny dogs romping among bigger dogs this can be a huge recipe for disaster.

When I first adopted Miss M I would occasionally take her to one of these parks and we saw a couple of things. Some people would come in with their very scared tiny dogs and walk them on retractable leashes in the park. We actually saw a tiny dog get dragged several feet when a big group of larger dogs ran through the leash. We've seen dog walkers come in with several dogs at one time, sit down to read a book, and not pay attention to what the dogs were doing. I was in awe watching one of his dogs, a big English Sheepdog, continue to attack a  white Boxer to the point where the white Boxer had blood dripping down its forehead. While it is fun to come and mingle with other like-minded people, we think there's too much happening in too small of a space to have a comfortable and fun experience.

Chicago also has a couple of designated beach areas for dogs. A small area is near Addison and the lake where dogs frolic and swim. The larger dog beach is at Montrose.

This is a lot nicer because there is much more space and less chances for negative encounters. Part of the area isn't fenced off, and your pooch could potentially run off down the beach, so you need to have a good handle on your dog. I had also taken Miss M here in her youth, and on the few occasions we went she had a good time. However, one time she went running up to meet another dog, who didn't like how Miss M approached, and the other dog grabbed Miss M by the jowls and refused to let go. The owner was shaking this "family-friendly" dog, who refused to release her grip. Poor Miss M looked like a cartoon with her whole lip stretched out and crying trying to get away. Somehow, the owner was able to get her dog to let go, and I found this dog had punctured all the way through Miss M's lip in several places. I decided big dog parks just weren't worth it anymore.
Now we have been lucky enough to find a "secret dog park".

 It's not very popular, and we usually go early in the morning so we're the only ones there. The pooches love running around and chasing the ball, and they get their own water fountain.

The only problem is the park is all cement, so it's rough on the pooches' feet. Miss M especially will get torn toe pads.
So while it's nice to have the option, the dog parks are just a luxury for our dogs. Between our daily walks, and running, they are getting exercise and socialization. If they are especially excited, we also have an option of sending them to Unleashed dog daycare, which is pit-friendly and monitors dog interactions.
I think the city dog parks leave much to be desired. How are the dog parks in your area?

Officing: Dueling Computers

Usually when I have work to do I need to go to the local coffee shop to focus. Unfortunately, since I've been working on the National Boards I need to work at home to have the abilities to print at whim, have multi-piles of papers scattered all over the house, and work on dueling computers. It wasn't until I started working at home again this week, that I realized why I need to leave the house: the pooches are a huge distraction.
I like working near the window and I sit on the cushion and have my dueling computers set up around me. Unfortunately this makes me really attractive to the pooches as they have tried numerous attempts to sit in my lap, and Miss M. has even tried to usurp her pillow back and take over the dueling computers.I created a barrier with our movable ottomans, but that doesn't always stop Miss M.
So I send the dogs to bed awhile, but then I feel bad because I know how much Mr. B. likes to watch TV so I let them out again. Then I start wondering what Mr. B. is looking at and I start looking out the window with him.
Then I see Miss M. laying in "pray" position and all of a sudden I want to mark that behavior and start dog training. And when Mr. B. is sleeping in front of me like this I get the sudden urge to tickle his feet.
And when Mr. B. gets up to smell the flowers it reminds me I need to add water to them:
And when I get back Miss M. has usurped my space again.
On a work-related note, I'm in the final stretch of submitting my portfolio .I mentioned before, but this an extensive program demonstrating how you are a "Master Teacher"; only 3% of teachers in the nation have this degree. And now I understand why.
It's this extensive process where you need to analyze every single thing you do, explain it, and provide evidence. It doesn't sound too bad at first, but then you realize you only get 6 months to complete it and you need to demonstrate nearly a year's worth of work, all while teaching 150 students at the same time. Plus, it makes you feel really bad about yourself. My only comparison is this: there used to be a show on Discovery(?) about a man who met different tribes and tried their customs. One custom was to take this drug that unleashed all the repressed memories and you were forced to face every single terrible thing you've done in your life. That's kind of what this process is like. I need to analyze all the things I normally do, and I'm suddenly feeling very inadequate. But this is all the "process" we take to make ourselves better teachers. And I do enjoy pain. I have to take the test in June, but then I don't find out my scores until November. This will probably be the last post you read about this. And here is Miss M. where she finally decides to sit nicely next to me while I'm working.

Pooches: Meet Mr. B

Mr. B is a simple country dog from Kalamazoo, Michigan living in the big city. He has adapted well, but still a little shell-shocked. In the past, he was a "dog at large" in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Rather than paying for the accumulated leash law fines, Mr. B's original owner surrendered him to the City Pound. At the pound, Mr. B had the last cell block and people would turn around right before Mr. B because his cell block neighbor was so obnoxious. Lucky for us, the Kalamazoo Animal Rescue went all the way to the end of the cell blocks and rescued Mr. B from the pound.

Mr. B is either a blue-nose Pit Bull or an American Staffordshire Terrier. Unlike Ms. M, he is calm and chillaxed. He will be starting obedience training at Unleashed this coming September.

Pooches: On Off-Leash Dogs and Speaking Up

Since adopting our pups, we've realized there are all kinds of challenges and considerations when owning dogs in the city, and the other week we wrote about the 'unspoken rules for dog owners' to be  considerate of others in our community.
After that post, we received an interesting question from a reader:
"How do you guys deal with other dog owners that don't respect the actual (leash) law, let alone the "unwritten rules" like you wrote about for today's post?  
At some point, you have to walk away, but how can we all as a community keep each other and our four (or three) legged friends safe?"

The reader then went on to detail a horrific interaction she had with a woman busy on a cell phone with 2 unleashed dogs.
This is one of the most frustrating things for us because when people disobey the leash laws and give themselves extra rights, they are actually taking rights away from other people.
They are taking away the rights of people who are afraid of dogs to feel safe in their own community.
They are taking away the rights of small children, older people, people with disabilities or unsure footing to do something as basic as securely walk down a sidewalk.
They are taking away the rights of fellow dog owners who for several reasons--working on training, needing space, needing to get to work, having an older dog or a dog with an injury, not wanting to get tangled in their dogs leash. etc--just don't want to interact with uncontrolled dogs on their walks.

Just like the reader who wrote to us does, we always try to make a point to speak up and represent those who can't speak for themselves. Maybe it's because of language issues, cultural fears, or just not knowing what to say.
Though at the same time, speaking up can make people defensive and hostile. We have an on-going issue with some neighbors, who despite our explanations, continue to allow their dogs to barrel down the sidewalk in front of them. It has gotten to the point where the guy even yelled at me for 20 minutes, as I stood in the street with our foster dog to avoid them, telling me things like nobody likes me, nobody likes my dogs, his dog is more popular than our dog, and the only reason we had the foster dog was because something was wrong with it and nobody wanted him (seriously...who makes fun of homeless dogs???). Despite having many other neighbors approach us with these same frustrations, they have never said anything to the off-leash people, so the off-leash people seem to think we are the only ones with an issue. We understand it can be difficult to speak up, especially when it can become a hostile situation, though DINOS wrote this really good article about standing up for your dog.

So what does everyone else think:
"How do you guys deal with other dog owners that don't respect the actual (leash) law, let alone the "unwritten rules" like you wrote about for today's post?  
At some point, you have to walk away, but how can we all as a community keep each other and our four (or three) legged friends safe?"

Also:
Click here to see the winners from the Packable Pet Poncho Giveaway
Why we need these
Comfortably introducing dogs

Pooches: Dogs Off Leash

It seems that many of our neighbors have recently purchased or adopted new dogs. Though it is nice for the landscape of our neighborhood, many have not bothered to follow simple rules or even the law. There is a lot going on in our neighborhood with 2 busy streets and plenty of pedestrians and other dogs, yet we have two neighbors that insist on walking their dogs through the sidewalks of Chicago off leash, despite the fact that the city has leash laws and signs posted everywhere reminding dog owners of this law.

This is especially dangerous because leashed dogs will feel threatened by unleashed dogs who rush them.This can be really dangerous for the dogs and the people walking them. Even though several of us have confronted these dog owners about having their dogs off leash, they always have the remark that dogs were not meant to be on leash.

We have become good friends with our beat cops, because they have dogs and have had bad experiences with dogs off leash. However, we know there is a lot going on in the city and that dogs off leash has the lowest priority. Lucky for us, we've been able to avoid them since we can hear our neighbors several blocks away because they are always yelling after their dogs. We think talking to the police may have worked, because for awhile they were using a leash; it was actually quite comical because I saw the guy running and I couldn't figure out why. Then I saw he couldn't control his dog on leash. So now they're back to walking off-leash again where their dogs are nearly 1/2 block ahead of them. We even witnessed a scare, when one of the neighbor's dog ran after another random dog off leash right into traffic. After that we thought that it would change their ways, but they still walk their dogs off leash without any control, which can be quite burdensome since we have to cross the street or wait behind the fence to avoid them. What are your experiences with dogs off leash?

Update on the Special Pooches, Saved by a Community of Dog Lovers, in Memory of Shy/Khloe

 This weekend I was able to stop by Unleashed where the pooches saved in memory of Shy/Khloe are recuperating. They have each gotten over a bout of kennel cough, are growing glossy, black coats, and are in excellent spirits. When they're together they act like littermates, even going so far as to choose to play with matching toy bumblebees out of a whole selection of toys:

Though now that they're out of the shelter environment, you can really see their true personalities. The pooch who was loosing her hair, due to mange, has been sporting regrowth and the vets are quite impressed by her progress. She is very confident, eager to please, and learning new tricks quite quickly:

The pooch with the broken leg and wound is a very sweet and a bit more shy. She is so responsive to affection and absolutely loves to play despite dragging a heavy cast. She is now sporting purple polka-dots that while being fashionable, also give her an extra leg-up on her playmate:

The big scab has fallen off of her wound, and her leg is on the way to mending.They are both such happy dogs that it's difficult to think that they would have been put down, if it weren't for the generosity of the online community.

We will give an update on names once Shy/Khloe's family has decided. The pooch with mange has moved into a foster home, while the pooch with the broken leg has about a week or so to recover, but is looking for a foster home. We're hoping to find these special pooches a great family; if you are anyone you know are interested, they are available through Project Rescue in Chicago. (And thank you Project Rescue for taking the pooches on, coordinating their vet visits, helping them recuperate and find their new homes).
We will continue to post more "real-time" photos and updates on our Facebook page. 

How to Be a Tourist with Your Dog Series, Your Help, and a Contest

We love that there are so many things to do in Chicago with our pooches, so we thought we would highlight how to be a tourist in Chicago with big dogs. At the same time, we were considering taking a vacation with the pooches, but we weren't really sure where to go and what to do.
 Then we realized: we have met so many people through our blog who not only live in interesting places, but do amazing things with their pooches in their places.
We thought it would be fun to create a series of posts where you could give us an insider's view of your city--or a road trip with your pooches--then tell us how someone can enjoy these highlights with your dog. We would make these into a weekly travel series: How to Be a Tourist with Your Dog.

  And to make it interesting, we would make it a "contest" to benefit dog rescue. We will donate $100 to the shelter/rescue group of choice for the post with the most comments. And we would donate $50 to the post with the second-highest number of comments.
We will include complete logistics below, but here's an example of what a post we would write giving an insider's view of Traveling in Chicago with a Dog:
 Exploring Downtown:

One of the biggest draws of Chicago is the amazing architecture and we always recommend visitors go on an architectural cruise along the Chicago River and along Navy Pier. Luckily for us, they actually have the Mercury Canine Cruise which is specifically for pooches and their owners. The 90 minute tour gives all the interesting history about Chicago while you hang out with your pooch. The tour departs from South Michigan Avenue which would also give you a chance to do your own walking tour and check out famous sites like the Wrigley Building and the lions at The Art Institute.

 Unfortunately, dogs aren't allowed at Millennium Park, but you can walk through Grant Park, check out Buckingham Fountain, walk along the lakefront path to check out the Museum Campus and amazing skyline views. The sunrise from Navy Pier is also amazing, and dogs are allowed at the outdoor attractions.We don't recommend being there beyond early morning; I think the true beauty of Navy Pier is when it's empty.

Chicago Neighborhoods, Outdoor Dining, and Picnics:

We think the best part of Chicago are all the different neighborhoods which are all very distinct. Small dogs are allowed on the trains if they're in a carrier, but we've shown how you can catch a cab in the city with a pit bull, so it would be fairly easy to neighborhood hoop with your pooch. Each neighborhood has a different flavor with tons of local shops and restaurants. Never leave your dog tied up outside unattended, as it is unsafe and there have been dog thefts.
It's fun to walk through Lincoln Square and relax in the square or in Welles Park with an Apart thin-crust pizza, going to Wrigleyville to see the infamous Wrigley Field and walk along the north part of the lakefront path to see the skyline, or walking through Bucktown/Wicker Park with the many graffiti walls and picnic in Wicker Park with Big Star tacos from their take-out window.

 Chicago also has tons of outdoor dining with pooches allowed in the outdoor areas. Some restaurants have slightly different rules, they may have your pooch sit outside the gated area, so double check with the restaurant. It's always fun to get drinks outside and just people watch.

Neighborhood Festivals and Outdoor Concerts

Chicago is amazing in the summer with a neighborhood festival nearly every weekend. It's fun to be outside with other Chicagoans, in Chicago gear, listening to music and getting food from a booth. Most of the festivals are not too crowded in the daytime, but at night they might become too crowded for a dog to walk comfortably. We've found the most pit bull friendly festival to be West Fest in July. We also love taking the pooches to the Gay Pride Parade in June. Several local parks have movies in the park and Welles Park in Lincoln Square has a weekly outdoor concert series.

Exercise and Daycare

If you wanted to take some time to go inside and explore the sights on your own, you could bring your dog to doggy daycare for the day. There are several doggy day cares in the city, and you should submit paperwork, discuss policies, and make reservations in advance. We take our pooches to Unleashed which is very pit-friendly, but there are several other pit-friendly daycares in the city. We don't like to take our dogs to the Chicago dog parks, which we wrote about in detail here, but if you go early in the morning some parks aren't very busy and they could be a good way for your dog to wear off energy. There is a dog beach on the lake at Montrose, but again, we've found it could get too busy with irresponsible owners.

 So, we're really hoping that you can also submit an "insiders view" of what to do with a dog in your city, or if you have gone on an amazing roadtrip and you might have some tips.

'Contest' Logistics:
-Write a 'post' about some highlights of your city and the most interesting things to do in your city with dogs. Try to include photos you've taken showing these things, especially if your dog is included in the photo.
-If you're doing a road trip, include the route taken, interesting sites, and tips you learned about traveling with dogs.
-Email us your write-up along with 4-7 photos using the 'contact us' button on the side. Keep the write-up standard length; we might edit posts for size.
-Put "Tourist with Your Dog" in the header so it doesn't get lost in our email
-We will run the posts as a weekly series through the summer. We will try to run the posts in the order they were received, but we may change the rotation slightly to allow for geographic variation.
-I don't know how many people will submit, but we're hoping to have about 15 posts to run throughout the summer (if 15 people are interested?). We'll keep updates on our Facebook page whether we have too few or too many posts.
-At the end of the summer, or early fall, we will go back through the posts and count the number of comments on the blog and comments on the Facebook page. You can comment on both the Facebook page and the blog, but 2 comments on the blog, or Facebook page, by the same person won't count twice. We'll allow some time to elapse after the last entry to accumulate comments.
-The post with the most comments will be given a $100 donation to the shelter/animal rescue of their choice. The post with the second most comments will receive a $50 donation. We do value all the posts that will be submitted, but we thought it would be fun if there was some type of contest involved.
-Chicago people, still feel free to write posts, just include your recommendations and photos of your pooch in these locations.
I hope this covers everything. Did we leave anything out?