Plumpkin

Pumpkin, Little Pup Lodge’s guest here on scholarship (a foster), shows no sign of graduating to her Forever Family anytime soon. Yes, she’s rather mature and yes, she has the mildest tad of a seizure disorder, but c’mon!   She’s freakin’ adorable and quite mellow, that latter quality sometimes in short supply for the Chihuahua breed.

Play (Braille) Ball

Molly first visited about a year ago. A sweet and gentle poodle, she had a couple of problems; a tad of incontinence and failing eyesight. She loved to retrieve tennis balls though she had a hard time figuring out where we threw them.

Shock and Awe

Having run the gamut of dog repellents from citronella spray to Tasers, I finally found one I think I trust. It’s safe, harmless and effective: a stun gun.

Perhaps I worry more than most people about the safety of my dogs, but there is good reason. The hotel guests are tiny little things and much too vulnerable for me to relax and let down my guard. As a result, our morning beach walks just stoke my stress level rather than soothe my nerves.

Separation Non-anxiety

Most of the guests who check into Little Pup Lodge initially exhibit some degree of separation anxiety. We have many ways to work with this: Rescue Remedy (a homeopathic treatment for anxiety); diffusers of Dog Appeasing Pheromone (D.A.P.), which is reported to make dogs feel like they're back with their nursing mother; hugs and kisses if wanted and space if they are not.

Will the REAL Dog Whisperer Please Sit/Stay?

Not only did I attend a lecture by the Dog Whisperer, I also got an hour consultation with him the following day. No, not that one but Paul Owens, the "Original" Dog Whisperer.

There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of dog trainers around the country who were inspired by “The Horse Whisperer,” Nicholas Evans’ bestselling novel about one man’s intuitive way with the equines. But it has really boiled down to two canine Whisperers: Cesar Millan; rich, famous TV celebrity and trainer to the stars; and Paul Owens–not as rich, not as famous and very, very different in his approach to dogs.

Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner

Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner…

…That would be pretty much everyone. The Lodge, for all its lovely furnishings and warm hospitality, was not designed for the biped type of guest.
 
Human visitors prefer to eat at a dinner table, which they will not find at our establishment. Although we offer a perfectly good coffee table to eat off of,  some find it a bit distracting that their plate is eye level to four or five sets of yearning eyes. They become testy when our hotel guests crawl over, around and through them to reach the contents on said plate.
We're always surprised when people expect us to do something about it. Hey–the dogs paid to be here, you didn't. End of discussion.

To Tell the Truth

When one is raised in a military family, and a slightly alcoholic one at that, one learns a to create and maintain an impenetrable façade:  everything is okay even when it’s not.  Especially when it’s not. Eventually, one may find therapy, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of therapy, and will begin to acknowledge the truth behind the happy face.