Look at this guy, hording all the balls. Each time we played fetch, he would drop the ball off in this spot instead of returning it to us. Pretty soon, he had cornered all the balls at the dog park. Greed. It’s an ugly thing.
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I have no idea what got into Mocha tonight. While we were walking him, we came up upon a large clearing. On a whim, we decided to take him off his leash to see what he’d do. At the dog beach, he’s off-leash and usually pretty good about staying close to us. So we wanted to see what he’d do in our neighborhood.
As soon as we unleashed him, here’s what happened:
He stared at us tentatively. Took a few steps away. Then suddenly tore across the lawn like he was chasing a delicious, supersonic fly.
He ran in a wide circle. Then he stopped. Looked back at us. Tongue hanging out, hint of a smile.
And suddenly, he took off again. Like someone tried to ignite his farts and his butt hairs erupted in flames. Like a squirrel darting across the street. Like a wild animal, unfettered and free.
A few more times around us in wide circles he raced. Then he finally stopped. Out of breath. And wandered back to our side.
WTF was that all about?
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We woke up this morning to a wet surprise. Mocha peed on the rug.
Since we’ve had him, he’s had only two indoor accidents: a poop in the bedroom and this pee in the hallway. We’re really thankful that’s all he’s had; we know how incredibly lucky we are to have rescued a dog that was already housebroken.
With that said, it always sucks to walk on wet pee.
So to clean the mess, I pulled out the highly-rated Fresh ‘n Clean Pet Odor & Stain Eliminator and Bissell Spotlifter 2X Handheld Deep Cleaner
. I found these items after a ton of research. Both worked as expected.
The Fresh ‘n Clean is good for cleaning the mess, removing the stain, and deodorizering the rug. We didn’t have much of a stain, but the deodorizer is really important. If your dog has urinated on your rug, he is more apt to urinate there again because he’ll detect delectable pee odors and regard that spot forever as The Bathroom.
And if you’re like me, you don’t want The Bathroom to be on your rug. You want it to be outside in the grass. Perhaps in your annoying neighbor’s grass.
After applying the Fresh ‘n Clean, the Bissell Spotlifter sucked up the soapy juices so we wouldn’t have a wet, moldy carpet. It’s reputed to be a great wet vac, although I didn’t think it was all that. It did a fair job though, after 20-30 passes or so. I had to push the vac into the rug to get at the deeper juices though.
And after that, the rug was nice & fresh again. No pee odors in this house!
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To help Mocha get used to us leaving him alone, we don’t say goodbye when we leave. Unfortunately, we have a habit of looking at the window to see if he’s watching us walk away. I dunno why. It’s just kinda cute to see his face at the window.
But from now on, we’re not going to not. Nope. We’re not. Really. Not. At. All…
Oh crap, I just looked.
Okay, not again. Just walk away. And. Do. Not. Look.
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A romp at the dog park and a three-mile run didn’t do it. A two-hour uphill hike didn’t do it. So we decided to take drastic measures.
We decided to take Mocha on a Mocha Marathon. Run three miles to the dog park, then the usual fetch, followed by a three-mile run back home. And lots of water in between, of course. That oughta tire him out once and for all!
To be totally honest, the runs and hikes do tire Mocha out. As soon as he gets home, he collapses to the floor and sleeps for a good hour or three. But then he’s up and active again, as if he’s been sleeping for days. I blame it on his damned Jack Russell Terrier half.
We could also be a victim of our own doing. Perhaps we’ve been exercising Mocha so well that he’s a mass of fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle now. Damn.
So how did Mocha do from his Mocha Marathon today?
He slept pretty much the rest of the evening. Not a peep from him. I had to poke him to make sure he was still alive. Success!
Except… next time, we’ll probably have to do eight miles to tire him out. Greaaat…
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Mocha seems to have discovered a new habit: digging. Never did it before. Just kinda spontaneously started doing it.
Maybe it came from having a bad influence in white-and-black, a fellow Jack Russell terrier.
Or maybe it’s an effort to cool off. ‘Cuz once he digs a hole, he plops down into it with a big ole’ goofy grin. We’ll have to clean him when we get home, but it’s hard to get mad at a smile like that. Awww.
Yup, you read that right. We did a two-hour uphill hike today. And with Mocha’s dog backpack on, you’d think he’d get tired, right?
If you thought that, you’re a fool. Like us. The darn little guy didn’t get tired at all. We think he got tired near the end of the two-hour hike, but I think we got so tired that we started to believe, truly believe, that Mocha was tired too.
“I think he’s getting tired.”
“Yea, I think so too.”
“He’s slowing down.”
“Totally.”
“We should stop and turn back now.”
“Yea, you’re right.”
“No sense in tiring the poor boy out.”
“Yea. Let’s go back now.”
Meanwhile, Mocha’s like, “What? we’re going home already? Awww…”
Woof woof woof. Yip yip! Woof woof woof. Yip yip yip yip! Woof woof woof. Woof woof woooooof woof.
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Bark bark bark! Bark bark bark!
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Snort.
Translated from Dog:
Mommy and Daddy took me to the dog park this morning. Oh boy! Then they took me for a long run. Oh boy oh boy! I think it was three miles. There was so much activity and exercise that I was pooped when I got back home.
But not as pooped as Mommy and Daddy. I think they were more tired than I was. And I ran more than them today! I was running around playing fetch at the dog park!
I think I need to run Mommy and Daddy more often. They need more exercise. I should take them to the human park and make them fetch the ball for me. Tee hee.
After a month of trying the Gentle Leader Headcollar, we decided to try our luck with the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Black Harness instead. The headcollar was frustrating Mocha too much, with little evidence of acclimation. The Easy Walk Harness was much better.
As advertised, the harness slipped on to Mocha easily and without resistance. It was surprising how little he cared about it. He just stood there while we fumbled with the straps. The harness isn’t difficult to put on, though it may take a few tries at first.
During our walks, Mocha didn’t pull much at all. And when he did, the harness stopped his forward momentum. It was pretty awesome.
Letting him go potty was a bit tricky though. He sometimes likes to pace for a while before getting down to business. The harness seemed to distract him from his, er, duties (no pun intended). He even seems to be compensating in an odd manner – by walking diagonally as he’s searching for the golden spot. We were afraid the harness was going to teach him to walk diagonally indefinitely, but nah. He walks normally once the harness is off.
We also discovered a side benefit. Normally, the harness straps on such that the leash is attached to his chest. However, it’s possible to outfit the harness so the leash is at his back. That means this can double as a regular, non-training harness.
Why is that a benefit? When we take Mocha for our runs, a traditional neck collar chokes him. And the standard Easy Walk Harness configuration makes him run diagonally. But with this new arrangement, he’s able to run without restriction. It’s pretty cool.
We’re impressed, even after a couple of weeks of use. I think we’ll be using the Easy Walk harness exclusively now. It’s a great product and I think even Mocha would highly recommend it, when he’s not walking diagonally to pee.
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Today at the dog park, Mocha was cowered into submission by a pack of dogs. It was an ugly sight.
As soon as we entered the park, a pit bull gunned right for Mocha. Apparently, the pit bull sensed Mocha’s fear and lunged towards him. This noticeably made Mocha even more frightened, so he ran off. Perhaps his previous encounter with a pit bull didn’t help.
Suddenly, there was a chase. Most of the other dogs joined in. Pretty soon, there was Mocha, tail between his legs, galloping as fast as he could away from a torrent of teeth and barks. In the front of the pack was the pit bull.
The pit bull’s owner jumped in and tore her dog away. As soon as she did that, the pack stopped chasing and Mocha shivered between our legs.
The owner apologized. “My dog sensed your dog’s fear. That’s why he chased him,” she explained.
Okay, great. So if she knew that, why didn’t she hold back her fear-sensing pit bull back until Mocha entered the park and became acclimated? I’ve seen other dog owners do that before with their aggressive dogs. Once a new dog enters the territory and becomes accepted by the pack, then the aggressive dog is let free and able to inspect the new dog him/herself.
While the owner was chasing her pit bull around, I heard other dog owners mutter comments like, “Why did she bring him in there?” “Doesn’t she know there’s a dog park for large dogs around the corner?” “What a vicious dog.” One mother even pulled her daughter back from trying to pet the pit bull.
After the fiasco, we retreated to a faraway corner of the dog park. We played fetch with Mocha, which cheered him up immensely. Then I looked up and noticed that the pit bull and owner had left.
Dog owners need to control their dogs. It’s fine, and perhaps even recommended, to socialize their dogs in a dog park. But a dog with a potentially aggressive temperament may need some Cesar Milan magic before playing with others. In my humble opinion, it’s common courtesy and responsible dog ownership.
Mocha is a playful 1-year old 25 lb mutt we rescued from a local animal shelter. He loves to run, play, and eat. Don't you?
Mike is was the proud owner of this adorable little guy. We miss him terribly every day.
