Rudy - The Boston Terrier

Lately, I have been reading a lot of threads in various boston terrier groups discussing the history of the boston terrier breed which demonstrate some confusion about the history of boston terriers, including some who incorrectly believe that these dogs were created by mixing pitbulls with bulldogs, created to hunt rats and other vermin, and created initially with the purpose to be fighting dogs. After spending some time researching the history of the boston terrier breed, the below should clear up such confusion and chronicles the true and accurate history of how and why boston terriers were created.

The english white terrier was the first dog breed people created to serve exclusively as companion dogs and not working dogs. However, the white terrier had many health problems so the boston terrier was created in the late 1800s as the first dog breed created in the United States by mixing the white terrier with the english bulldog with the intent of creating a more healthy companion dog. The original dogs created from this mix were more than twice the size of the modern boston terrier and are referred to as olde boston bulldogges. Soon thereafter, the english white terrier went extinct because people stopped breeding them due to their health problems. However, things did not turn out as planned at first for the boston terrier. At the time of the first olde boston bulldogges, the original form of the english bulldog (which the modern english bulldog hardly resembles) was a very fit, and perhaps, the single most vicious, fierce, and aggressive fighting dog ever known where they were commonly used for bull baiting -- a brutal form of dog fighting in which english bulldogs (hence the name) were used to fight and kill bulls many times larger and stronger. Consequently, olde boston bulldogges not so surprisingly took on much of the english bulldog's aggressive nature toward dogs and other animals (but even the very first olde boston bulldogges were very sweet, loyal, and loving with people which I attribute to the white terrier half). Accordingly, even though boston terriers were created with the original intent to serve as companion dogs, boston terriers were at first not used for this purpose and instead used primarily for dog fighting. Once dog fighting lost popularity in the early 1900s, olde boston bulldogges was bred down in both size and temperament to fulfill their original intended purpose of being companion dogs which has now become the modern boston terrier.

Sources:

The below article is an excellent source for some of the very early history of the boston terrier and its fighting dog origins.

http://bestlilbostons.webs.com/bostonhistory.htm

The below article is also an excellent source for some of the very early history of the boston terrier, and particularly the olde boston bulldogge.

http://www.bulldoginformation.com/Old-boston-bulldog.html

The below article is an excellent source of information about the english white terrier which although extinct today, still has a big imprint on the dog world as it has served as the foundation for the creation of several other dog breeds, including the boston terrier.

http://www.sarahsdogs.com/breeds/english-white-terrier/

The below is a very well known article on the english bulldog which provides some good information about how much the breed has changed, mostly for the worse, and provides a glimpse into the original and very fierce version of this breed used as the foundation for the creation of the boston terrier.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/magazine/can-the-bulldog-be-saved.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

To see more of and follow Rudy, visit:

"https://www.facebook.com/Rudy.The.Boston.Terrier"

http://www.bostonterriernetwork.com/administrator/index.php?option=com_content&task=article.edit&id=83

NOTES:

• Donna CurtisHello this Donna with Boston Terrier Network... Today you posted on our page additional information about the Boston Breed that I had not come across before.. I would like so much to Publish your article on our Website. We are always looking for guest writers who have a story to tell or an experience to share.
  
  My experience with the Boston is only from the rescue side. My goal is to present a wide base of balanced informative positive articles that encourage those who have or want to have Bostons to be aware of the many pros and cons of owning a dog and the responsibility of taking care of them. Although no longer fostering or rescuing myself I continue to find ways to support those who do.
  
  Boston Terrier Network
  
  bostonterriernetwork.comWe are stronger together than we are alone!
  
  Rudy - The Boston TerrierSure feel free to post anything of Rudy's on your page. The only thing that I ask is you provide Rudy credit for it and include a link to his facebook page. Otherwise, have at it. Also, the below is another one that I think will interest you. https://www.facebook.com/Rudy.The.Boston.Terrier/photos/pb.419688311406386.-2207520000.1424916379./763576480350899/?type=3&theater
  
  Cartoons/Memes/Effects
  
  One of things that make boston terriers such a great breed is their bigger than ... See More
  
  By: Rudy - The Boston Terrier
  
  Donna CurtisAbsolutely that is the only way we do things... we in fact have had to insist when we have a guest writer is to have the writer or video maker or proof reader take credit ... I am all about giving credit where due.. How do you want me to put it "Rudy _The Boston Terrier" or something else? Do you have a photo of Rudy we can use? I will let you know when we get it up proofed and ready to publish.. And i love your other link you suggested i would love to add that also...So we need to have at least one photo of Rudy.... we will have him introduce both articles on the network which is then linked to the Page then the timeline... all open to the public
  
  

Rudy - The Boston TerrierUse "Rudy - The Boston Terrier" (hyphen no underscore) and make it a hyperlink which is linked to his facebook page.. As far as a Rudy picture, just click on the photos tab at the top of his facebook page where you find over 500 of them. Take your pick. Lastly, even more popular than Rudy's facebook page is his youtube channel where you find some very unique boston terrier videos and something I think you will enjoy checking out. Below is a link to his channel and feel free to use any of those also. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQNCw_mMTrkr-GRjMtEta8g
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.comThis channel consists of videos capturing some of the more entertaining moments in the life of Rudy, the boston terrier, as well as some other amusing and in...
Donna Curtis
Donna Curtiswe can link them also onto the network I was thinking about naming the first article "Rudy has a history lesson for us. or something like that unless you have a better idea?

• Rudy - The Boston TerrierIf you use the graphic, then I like "Rudy Explains That The Best Way To Understand Boston Terrier History Is To Do Some Boston Terrier Math". If you do not use the graphic, then I like "Rudy Explains Why And How Boston Terriers Were Created".
  Donna Curtisthat will work thank you i may need to shorten the title a bit but I will show you first...
  Rudy - The Boston TerrierSounds good and thanks.
  
  Maybe for the first article "The 'How' And The 'Why' Boston Terriers Were Created".

247 Anxiety shirts Thunder shirts  and other ideas (don't for get to link back to this article) 

 

ASK THE VET: Dr. Boyle Brown, DVM from Port City Referral Hospital in Portsmouth, NH sits down and talks separation anxiety in pets.

By: Tonya Boyle Brown, DVM, DACVIM

As busy families, we are acutely aware that the priorities of our four legged family members take a back seat to the needs of our two-legged family members. There can be an accompanying guilt associated with our busy schedules and lack of attention directly bestowed upon our pets. This guilt may be compounded when we come home to a mess, chaos or an excitable, easily overstimulated pet. Often we blame ourselves, thinking they would be less anxious and more even tempered if we spent more time exercising and interacting with them.

There is some truth to this, but dogs, and cats (yes, cats can suffer from separation anxiety too, as my brother’s cat Baily has taught me), live in the present. They learn routines and social cues allowing them to know when it’s roughly time for the family to come home, time for a walk, or time to be fed, but in between those times, they wait. So where does separation anxiety come from?

For many dogs and cats, the anxiety is in the waiting. It is not as much about the time we are gone, as it is about the reentry; the expectation of the greeting they will receive when the family returns.

Imagine being in a quiet house all day with minimal distractions. Now imagine your favorite humans, disrupt that silence in a sudden and frantic (we call it “happy”) emotional state. We are excited to be home and overjoyed to see this fluffy source of unconditional love, so we begin an energetic, high pitched, greeting that goes something like this (with variations): “hellllloooo, mommy’s little girl!!! Who is the bestest smoochie, poochie woochie in the whole world? Who is? You are! Yes you are!!”

The emotional greeting: We all do it, we can’t help it, and that’s okay; but this onslaught of emotions can be very hard on a dog (or a cat). It can be hard for some animals to categorize the emotion associated with this sudden burst of energy and their joy at the return of their beloved human(s). This can turn the greeting into something they anticipate about all day long while they wait. Some animals associate the return with the burst of energy, so in order to hasten the return, they begin the burst of energy for you… your furnishings may pay the price for this absence, but that’s just collateral damage, and well worth it (to your dog) if it means you’ll be home sooner rather than later.


So how do we help our four-legged family members avoid or cope with separation anxiety? Avoid these strong fluctuations in energy. 

• Start a new homecoming routine: 
• Enter the house calmly. 
• Avoid eye contact and initially, even physical contact.
• Allow everyone to adjust to a busy house again with the least amount of fuss possible. 
• Set your stuff down
• Take your pet outside to relieve themselves. 
• After about 5 minutes you can let yourself get silly, once the normal bustle of the house has been reestablished. 

Don’t get me wrong, this is not easy. It goes against every instinct we have when we come home to our pets. But trust me, if you reverse your psyche and make leaving your pet an emotional, excited, treat-laden time and make greeting your pet boring and no big deal, you will have a happier, better adjusted family member.
Is it separation anxiety?
If most or all of the following statements are true about your dog, he may have a separation anxiety problem:

• The behavior occurs primarily when he's left alone and typically begins soon after you leave.
• He follows you from room to room whenever you're home.
• He displays effusive, frantic greeting behaviors.
• The behavior occurs whether he's left alone for short or long periods.
• He reacts with excitement, depression or anxiety to your preparations to leave the house.

Mary Ecklund my husband and i have found leaving the tv on animalplanet or national geo wild helps i have 4 and one with major seperation anxiety it really does work
What causes separation anxiety
It's not fully understood why some dogs suffer from separation anxiety and others don't. But it's important to realize that the destruction and house soiling that often occur with separation anxiety are part of a panic response. Your dog isn't trying to punish you for.
These are some of the scenarios that can trigger separation anxiety:

• A dog accustomed to constant human companionship is left alone for the first time.
• A dog suffers a traumatic event (from her viewpoint), such as time at a shelter or boarding kennel.
• There's a change in the family's routine or structure or the loss of a family member or other pet.

How to treat minor separation anxiety

• Don't make a big deal out of arrivals and departures. For example, when you arrive home, ignore your dog for the first few minutes then calmly pet him.
  Leave your dog with an article of clothing that smells like you, such as an old T-shirt that you've slept in recently.
• Establish a safety cue—a word or action that you use every time you leave that tells your dog you'll be back.
• Consider using an over-the-counter calming product that may reduce fearfulness in dogs.

How to handle a more severe problem
Use the techniques outlined above along with desensitization training. Teach your dog the sit-stay and down-stay commands using positive reinforcement. This training will help her learn that she can remain calmly and happily in one place while you go to another room.
Create a "safe place" to limit your dog's ability to be destructive. A safe place should:

• Confine loosely rather than strictly (a room with a window and distractions rather than total isolation)
• Contain busy toys for distraction
• Have dirty laundry to lend a calming olfactory cue or other safety cues

source: 2013 ProjectPawsitive.com.




Anxiety shits Thunder shirts
Anyone ever heard of these or used them?
We cannot help being affected emotionally by the events
Irrational fears can begin at any age but most are characteristic in young dogs. Loud noises such as fireworks and thunderstorms are the most common phobias in dogs. Here are some associated behaviors:

   Panic
   Immobility
   Attempts to escape
   Destruction
   Hiding
DRUG-FREE - No medications... just safe, comfortable pressure.
EASY TO USE - Just put it on and watch the results. No training required.
There are several different brands.  Thundershirt is another.  Bark magazine usually has ad's for all of them.  A new dog store in town sells them.  They are very reasonably priced and the owner usu. Gives a discount for rescue dogs.  I will speak to her in the next day or two and let you know.  I have a crafty friend who found instructions for making her own online.  I'll find out where she found those.  I myself am not one bit crafty...

I have also used passionflower drops on some freeze dried chicken at the suggestion of the kids swim teacher.  I didn't have much success with it, but you may.  You can buy them at health food stores.  I have hadsuccess with mentally stimulating them.  It is almost as if when they are mentally stimulated, they are unable to think the anxious thoughts!  As little as 5 minutes before being in an anxious situation has worked for us.  Nothing fancy, just making them sit and down over and over again.  Frasier can shake, spin and crawl and Lil can twirl on her hind legs on command and is improving her shake.  It calms everyone down and makes me so proud!

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work with a dog that has separation anxiety? Vet gave meds, but that makes him stress over the loopy feeling he gets :(

A couple of weeks ago he started licking & chewing his front legs & feet :( I feel so bad for him ❤ The picture shows how stained his legs are now. :'-(

Linsey Cushing Shaffer We give Paisley a PetEase treat (Petsmart has them) before we go to work in the morning. It has calmed her anxiety some

I tried an all natural liquid you drop in their food. But he hated the smell & would not eat. And this boy will eat ALL DAY if I would let him.

Boston Terriers Have you tried a thundershirt?
Susie Sutton With the Thundershirt, make sure you have him wear when he's calm a few times first, so he associates it with being calm. I've heard more success stories when this was done first. Rescue Remedy is a holistic supplement that can be used for stress and...See More

Chris Berch Rescue remedy usually works. It's four drops,whether you give it to a horse,rabbit,or human. I asked my vet one time about it,and she said its one of those things that works,or not,but not in every case. Since it doesn't always kick in,she didn't like

Susie Sutton I actually bought the bottle for people and then diluted for the dog. In addition to Zoey attacking every night for 3 weeks, I had a list of other things stressing me out so I decided to try it. I can't say it reversed anything, but when a couple things happened I didn't over-react. Jury is still out for Zoey.

Chris Berch There is something the vet have us once,that you can put on bandages,on front legs,especially,that tastes bad,so they don't lick,or chew them. I THINK you can put it on just them,too,so they won't want to lick their legs. I know Dana Babb,said alum can be used on some things,but I'm not sure about this. Does "Bitter Apple" work on body parts?

Susie Sutton Not sure what meds you tried, if you need or want to try meds again, Clomipramine has been used for separation anxiety (also types of aggression). We had Zoey on a fairly high dose and didn't notice the drug induced or lethargic state until we tried doubling it; we weren't seeing the results for the aggression. I've heard Clomicalm also works without the lethargy, but I didn't try it and it's more expensive.

Patrizia D'Milano How about the thundershirt for dogs.

DeAnn Paddy I'm trying the Rescue Remedy now & will purchase a Thunder Shirt to try out. If neither works, I will try some of the other suggestions before using any other un-natural meds again.

Chris Berch Ute Luppertz (Pets Point of View) in Portland,Oregon,does all kinds of things,in helping people with various dog problems. She only uses holistic types of treatments,and also does alot of the TTouch techniques,for calming. She's on Facebook,and might have some other ideas for you.

Marnie Spencer Try the Thundershirt. I know a lot of pups it has helped. Also ask your vet for a different medication. There are several to keep him from licking. When all fails get help from a pet behaviorist NOT a trainer.

Susie Sutton I agree with Marnie to some extent, however some trainers have been in business over 20 years and understand behaviors and are addressing those as well, not just obedience training. You just have to ask around and use the resources in your area.

Anya Woronzoff You can cut socks and put over the legs. We use rescue remedy as well and that helps. Is your pup crated when you leave? Smaller, confined spaces were better for my pup. Also I used to freeze Kongs with peanut butter in them and leave him 2 or 3 to wor...See More

DeAnn Paddy Yes he is in a kennel I would love to let him run the house when gone, but he tears up anything he can get ahold of. I try every so often to leave him out if I make a quick trip around the corner, but he gets upset & finds something to chew

Cassie Little Just an off the wall do you have a kennel big enough and do they get along well enough to try kenneling them together?

DeAnn Paddy I've thought about that. They get along very well I guess I should try that too.

Cassie Little Dont leave them long in case of a fight just kennel them together and go in another room where they cant see you be very quite and listen

DeAnn Paddy They sometimes sleep in the same kennel at night. I'll be getting ready for bed & they will both be snuggled together, so I'll just leave them instead of waking them up.

I will defiantly try for short times at a time. They have never fraught before, but you never know.

Cassie Little Dee Ann mine have never really fought just arguments but the last month has been a bad month and we have been through the wringer we always make sure of safety first.

DeAnn Paddy Oh yes, they are my kids ❤ I would be devastated if one got hurt (or worse). That's why I've always kept them in separate kennels. Maybe he'd be happy if I put them next to each other. Right now they are able to see each other, but a few feet away.

Anya Woronzoff You can also think about an x-pen or something like that. Rudy started in a kennel, then moved to an x-pen, then one room, then a floor, and then the house. It really helped him acclimate to being alone at home, not because he was a behavior issue but because his separation anxiety forced him to stay glued to the side door until we came home. It was so sad!

How to include your dog in your will
Although dogs have shorter lives than humans, they sometimes outlive their people. Here's how to make sure your dog will be taken care of in case you can't.Our dogs are more than just pets — they’re family members. When you bring a four-legged companion into your home, you become responsible for their well-being, making sure they’re exercised, fed, and able to do their business, while remaining healthy and happy. In return, they teach you new things, provide unconditional love and devotion, and often help you to branch out in ways you never expected. Many people feel that they become a parent to their dogs just as much as they would to any human child.

But what happens if your dog is still around after you pass on? How can you make sure that he or she will be taken care of? Do you need to set up a trust to take care of your dog? They’re available in 46 states and Washington, D.C., and some people have left millions to ensure proper care of their pets. (The states that have no such laws are Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota and Mississippi.)

But you don’t need to get that fancy. The answer is fairly simple, really: include your dog in your will.

You need to put a plan in place

Unfortunately, there’s simple — and then there’s simple. If you want your kids taken care of, you leave them money or other assets. But you can’t leave property to a dog because the law considers dogs to be property themselves. You have to do it in a roundabout way, which means coming up with a plan.

Pick a caregiver
Even if you could leave your dog a million dollars, it wouldn’t do much good because dogs aren’t exactly savvy financial planners. If pets don’t have someone to take care of them, often they end up euthanized, so your first order of business is to identify someone you trust to take care of your dog and make sure they’re willing and able to do it.

Name this person in your will as your dog’s caregiver and make sure to select a backup person, too, just in case things change.

Provide money
Once you have a caregiver in place, you state in your will that you want them to receive a certain amount of money to be used to take care of your dog. If the dog dies before you do or that person backs out, they don’t get the money.

And that’s it, really. Do those two things, and you’ve done all you really need to do as far as the law is concerned.

Want to take it a step further without setting up a costly trust? Sit down and write up a “study guide” of sorts about your dog. Does he really love belly rubs more than anything? Can she only eat or drink certain things? Do they have medical conditions? What’s the vet’s contact information? Are there people they really get along with? Is it a bad idea to bring kids around? What is her favorite toy? His favorite place to run?

Give this “guide” to your dog’s future caregiver to help them to get to know your pup, and you’ll be helping to ease the transition if it becomes necessary.

Do you plan to include your dog in your will? Share your plans with us in the comments.


Read more: http://www.cesarsway.com/the-scoop/features/How-to-include-your-dog-in-your-will?utm_source=BlueHornet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feb18#ixzz3SL4vcgQB

==============---------------------------------================

 Scratching behind his ear. Licking his paw. Rubbing his face in the carpet. All dogs do it, and it’s cute, right? Well, it may be a sign of a serious allergy problem. With Whole Dog Journal’s downloadable eBook Canine Allergies...