Saturday, November 22, 2008

Duke's Diary: Surgery Update



Hi friends, Duke here....
This a picture of Linda picking me up to go off to surgery.  I didn't want to leave, but I knew eventually things would get better.  Ally and Lissa wished me well before I left.

Update: Duke's surgery was successful and on Friday November 21 he went to his foster home for rehab.  We will keep you updated on his progress!


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Duke's Diary: What I'm Thankful For...


"Imagine having a nice warm home where people took the time to teach you the basic commands like "sit" and "shake."  Imagine feeling loved and secure with your family. Then one day I somehow got hurt. My knees hurt me badly.   I could barely put my right leg down to walk.  I tried to tell them I was in pain.  They loved me and I knew they would help me.  But imagine how my heart  broke when I ended up in a shelter because they couldn't afford to take care of me.  Imagine sitting in the cage at the shelter, crying the way dogs do....with our big sad eyes.  I remember saying a prayer that God would send someone to help me.  And He did."    Duke

Duke is thankful for lots of people who have given of their time and money to help him:

Love of Labs In and Linda Acup and her staff
Camp Bow Wow Carmel (Steve & Michele Alexander, Eric Padget and the entire CBW staff)
Pet Co and Joe Harris
Dr. Hurd and the Michigan Road Animal Hospital

and last, but not least, the many people who have donated their change and their dollars to help out a very good dog!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Duke's Diary

Hi Friends, Duke here....
Just wanted to give up an update on my condition.  I saw the vet last week. He wants to do surgery sometime before Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Why I Am Thankful For My Dog

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."    Roger Caras

Camp Bow Wow would like to celebrate your special relationship with your dog this Thanksgiving season.  Take a moment to pen why you are thankful for your dog...this could be an essay of how your dog has enriched your life or a simple note of endearment to your dog.  We encourage writers of all ages.  We will display your writings, photos, and drawings of your dog at Camp Bow Wow through the month of November.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Duke's Diary


Hi Friends, Duke here...
I just wanted to thank all of you for caring about me.  Many people have called to see how I am doing.  I am feeling much better since being on pain meds.  My human friends are taking good care of me at Camp Bow Wow.  I get special on-leash walks so I don't put too much strain on my knee.  You can see the picture of me and Camp Counselor Sebastian having some one-on-one time together.  Thank you so much for donating money for my surgery.  Every little bit helps.  I think we have $200 saved so far for a surgery that will cost around $2000. 
 I will always be grateful for your kindness, 
Lots of Kisses, 
Duke

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween Party

Thanks to all the campers and their humans for participating in Camp Bow Wow Carmel's fist Halloween costume contest.

Best Costume Winner: Cloe as Dorthy from the Wizard of OZ
Scariest Costume Winner: Louie

Saturday, November 1, 2008


Hello,

My new name is Duke and I am a very loving lab mix. I was recently rescued from a shelter by Love of Labs Rescue. While meeting the staff at Camp Bow Wow Carmel, my new foster home, they noticed one of my legs was bothering me. The vet says I have a partially torn ACL and need an expensive surgery to fix it. I am lucky enough to be able to stay here at camp while I save up enough money for my surgery. I am now relying on the good nature of my two legged friends to help me out as I do not want to go back to a shelter. I will also need a home to recover in after my surgery, so if you know anyone who needs a roommate, let me know. Thanks again for all your help and for giving me the chance to find my forever home.

Duke


For more information, contact Camp Bow Wow Carmel or Love of Labs Indiana.

Camp Bow Wow at the Association of Professional Dog Trainers: Play in Our Dogs' Lives

Camp Bow Wow attended the APDT conference in Louisville, KY this October.  Among the presenters were noted animal behaviorists Patricia McConnell, PhD (author, "The Other End of the Leash, among other books), Suzanne Clothier (author, "Bones Would Rain from the Sky) and Grey Stafford.  You likely have seen Grey on the nighttime talk shows or with Jack Hanna. He is a marine animal trainer and Director of Conservation for the Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix.  

An entire day of the 5 day conference was devoted to PLAY and it's importance in the lives of our dogs.  Through early play, puppies learn bite inhibition, emotional control, and social boundaries. Dog may engage in  solitary play, wrestle play, chase play, object play or social play.  One concept in social play is that of self-handicapping play.  An example of self -handicapping play is when a younger, stronger pup plays tug-of-war or wrestles with an older dog.  The younger dog clearly can outmatch the older dog, yet he gives the older dog a "leg up" by putting himself in a voluntary down or relents at times in order for the play to continue as meaningful for both.  In general, play does not follow a 50/50 rule and research shows that play is increasingly asymmetrical over development.

If you watch your dogs play with their partner or in a doggie daycare setting, you'll will notice that dogs communicate with each other through tactile signals (using their body to invite  or monitor play bx's), visual signals (position of tail, ears, commissure), and vocalizations (eliciting sounds, pleasure sounds, warning sounds, withdrawal sounds).  

CBW was impressed at the number of people with PhD's focused on dog behavior! If you are interested in some of the resources we picked up at the conference, let us know and we will be happy to share what we learned. (www.apdt.com)