dog training

Sophie on the Hunt for Trouble in today's Dog Eat Doug Comic

In the first panel of this dog eat doug comic strip, Sophie sniffs around inside the closet.
In the second panel of today's dog eat doug comic strip, Sophie tries sniffing the table top.
In the third dog eat doug comic strip panel, Sophie sniffs inside a dresser drawer.
In the last panel of today's dog eat doug comic strip, Sophie has something hanging from her mouth. She tells Doug if you sniff around long enough, you're bound to find something you're not supposed to have.

Probably the most accurate Sophie-ism.

The Alpha Dog Battle: Sophie vs. the New Foster Dog

In the first panel of today's Dog eat Doug comic strip, The foster dog stands on a tree stump and tells Sophie he is the king of the stump.
In the second panel, the foster dog doesn't want to get off the stump because then Sophie would become king of the stump. Sophie wants to know what the point of being king of the stump is?
In the third comic strip panel, Sophie says its an empty title. It doesn't give you jurisdiction over anyone. The foster dog tells Sophie to give it a try.
In the final comic strip panel. Sophie gets on the stump and says she feels like a queen. She asks where the foster dog is going? The foster dog says he's going to stand on the other stump.

One thing I love about foster dogs, especially the young ones, is how smart they are without knowing how smart they are.

Dog Eat Doug: Sophie's Reign as Alpha Dog in Question

In the first panel of today's Dog eat Doug comic strip, The foster dog asks Sophie if she is the alpha.
In the second comic strip panel, Sophie says she is, after mom. And also after Dad. And Doug.
In the third comic strip panel Sophie says the cats have their own system based on planet alignments and humidity levels.
In the last comic strip panel, Sophie says, "Other than that, she's in charge."

This was my Sophie in a nutshell.

Dog Training Funny Dogs

This is honestly what I imagined was going through Sophie’s head when I was training her. She eneded up learning “stay” by playing hid eand go seek. She would “stay” while I hid one of her toys and then she’d go find it. But she knew if she didn’t stay put I couldn’t hide the toy and she couldn’t play the game. Then I thought I could teach more advanced commands if she liked playing Monopoly.

Dog Training Cartoons: Why do dogs chase squirrels?

I love having fun with the dog chasing squirrel trope. I’ve never had a true squirrel chaser. Weezy gets a little excited when she sees one running along the fence but that’s about it. When I was a kid, I used to see squirrels chucking acorns at my dog, Toby. He never chased them, they were just really angry squirrels. Might be a New England thing.

Funny Dog Comics: Cat Sitters

Exactly why you don’t let the cats watch the dogs. Our cats have been conditioned to dogs to the point where they don’t stand up for themselves enough. It’s actually gone the other way where you do have watch the hyper dogs around the cats. Some dogs are convinved that if they keep at it, our cats will play with them. Never going to happen. They’ll hang out and nap with the dogs but it ends there.

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Dog Rescue - Comics vs. Reality

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As much as the comic follows my real life, I should know by now that reality doesn’t always have the happiest ending. I write the strip months ahead of the publication date. A lot can change in a month, and a lot did.

As most of you know, I have foster dogs in and out all the time. Then came Annie and Louise. And for almost a year, they were sisters. Both had issues, Louise more so than Annie. Louise came from a horrid background and has a severe fear of humans. With dogs, she was normal. 

After about six months we knew Annie and Louise had found their forever home. I had bonded with Annie from day one. That had never happened before with any dog. And I was committed to rehabbing Louise. A long and slow process, but worth it. 

Then reality strayed from the comic. Weezy got provoked by someone outside the fence. She jumped up and came down on Annie, nipping her ear. Annie instinctively struck back. The two locked up. I got them apart. It was a case of mis-interpreted cues that changed everything. Now, whenever they were outside and Weezy got anxious, both girls thought the other would attack. 

This becomes a situation that requires full time management, and with the other training Weezy needed and my Luther’s auto-immune disorder, not to mention the other fosters, the only way for me to help both girls was to have Annie moved. It tore my heart in half. 

The rescue, however, had another plan. They knew from the start that we were Weezy’s last chance and had wanted to put her down from the get go. They weren’t willing to move Annie and told us the decision had already been made. If they moved Annie, we were told she would be boarded and would most likely meet the same fate as Weezy. 

I’m in this to rescue dogs and to do whatever it takes to save as many as possible. Every dog deserves a chance, and after having Weezy for a year, there was no question that she deserved one. This was not some extreme, out of the ordinary situation. 

This happens with dogs and if you’re going to help them you have to be ready to handle it. I had an outside, professional trainer assess Weezy. Their conclusion: there was no reason Weezy should be put down, other than it was the easy way out. Sadly, the trainer had seen this many times before.

The only way I could get the rescue to re-foster Annie was to adopt Weezy. So that’s what we did. I signed the papers and they took my Annie. “Sucked” is not a strong enough word for that day. The only bright spot, and the most important, was that both my girls got to live. 

I’m keeping tabs on my Annie. And I’m keeping her in the strip. I’ll miss her forever. Dog rescue is not always easy and I never take the easy way out. My focus now will be giving Weezy the life she deserves, and nursing my Luther back to health.