Little Doggies!

I'm making charms for sale and decided to draw a few dogs among all the other motifs I have.

We are CUTE!

I'm going to make a few more dogs and other animals included. Not sure yet what breeds I will include, though.

Dog Breeds That Fascinate Me: Border Collie

I decided to write about breeds that especially fascinate me. I might just end up writing about most breeds since there are so many wonderful ones out there. At this time I will start with the Border Collie. Yes, it’s fairly common breed and thus this might not be the most interesting article to read. But Border Collies, man! These medium to large sized dogs are considered to be the most intelligent dog breed that is out there and really, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration.

This breed fascinates me because it’s so intelligent. Not only that, it is agile, fast and an extremely efficient herding dog. If I had sheep, I’d get a Border Collie like right then and there. But alas, I don’t have a herd of sheep for a dog to look after, which is why I am unsure about adopting a Border Collie.

Due to their herding skills they need a lot of exercise. And a lot as in A LOT. I am simply frightened that I cannot provide this breed what it needs. A best case scenario would probably be for a Border Collie to herd sheep daily to keep them occupied, however, that doesn’t mean it’s an absolute no go as a pet dog. There are Border Collies who don’t have enough herding instinct to actually work as herding dogs. They excel in most dog sports since they are so willing to do things. Which is another reason I am interested in them, the training! I want to spend a lot of time training my dogs, but some dogs might not find training that interesting!

Dog intelligence is also a double-edged sword. Since they are so smart there might be some outsmarting situations. A dog is a living, constantly thinking creature that can be quite stubborn. Oh, you closed the door on your dog? No problem, dog can learn to open it without a sweat! This is why it’s extremely important to keep these kind of breeds mentally and physically stimulated, they need it to be happy. As dog owners we need to do it to be happy.

My biggest problem probably is that I am not an outdoor sort of person. If I have a dog, I will take it out for walks no questions asked, but these dogs are extreme athletes, I can’t just take them around for a long walk. I need to stay outside WITH them, for hours if possible. I want to change that trait in me because really, I love nature and I love outdoors, but actually going outside can seem like such a hassle to me, reasons being my anxiety and depression. But this change will take time and it’s not a dog’s duty to change me, I have to do it myself. Yeah, having a hyper dog might motivate me to go outside, but anxiety doesn’t work like that. I might start hating it instead of disliking it and that’s even worse.

The good thing is, I won’t live alone in the future. I’m going to get married and I won’t have to take on the duty of our future dogs (be it Border Collie or not) solely on my shoulders. I have a lot of passion for dogs and my future dream jobs include grooming dogs (and cats <3) and becoming a dog trainer. I just really admire the Border Collie diligence and intelligence, but taking on this breed seems like a mammoth task. However, a dog is supposed to be a pleasant thing in our lives, they should never feel like a chore or then we have dogs for the wrong reason. I think I might be able to provide a Border Collie the home it needs but not right now.  I need experience and a lot of confidence before I take on a hyper breed like this. I have no doubt, that someday I might just be up for the task!

My Top 10 Fictional Canines!

There have been a number of awesome dog characters through the years and of course, some stay with us forever. I wanted to list my top 10 favorite fictional doggies!

10. Wolf Link

Wolf Link

I like Twilight Princess.  I don’t care what others say, I had fun playing it and while it’s not the best Legend of Zelda it’s still made me play it through a few times. That’s more than some other video games out there. The reason why Wolf Link is so low on the list is because my artistic self cries out when I see his mangled anatomy and “painful-to-look-at” animation. I just wished he moved more fluidly like a canine rather than stomping about like a bison. Still, he is a vital part of the game so he gets his place in this list.

9. Bolt

Bolt

I think most people went to see this movie not expecting much. I was no exception and I was pleasantly surprised! Bolt is an absolutely adorable movie and Bolt as a character was very fun and charming. My only problem is his design. Yes, he’s super cute, but he’s supposed to be an American White German Shepherd dog. Apparently his design went over many makeovers and the design choice is a very conscious one. I don’t mind how Bolt looks, it’s just that he’s more of a corgi than a GSD.

8. John

John

How can I not include a character or two from the very nostalgic show Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. When I was a kid this show was the most awesome thing ever. Dogs! Fighting bears of the size of houses and a big baddie bear of the size of a goddamn castle! Looking at it now it’s just really ridiculous but I still have emotional connections to it and thus I still watch it and enjoy it, regardless of the stupidity. John was one of the main characters and a GSD. He... didn’t do much since the main character was the goddamned doggie Jesus so of course anyone and everything bowed to this thing while he slayed satan- I mean the massive bear.

7. Benizakura

Benizakura

Benizakura is also from Ginga Nagareboshi Gin and his character was something I really appreciated. The show also includes dogs from all over Japan so they can fight this monstrous bear. Benizakura was one of the recruits the main character managed to lure with them. Benizakura was very unique in the way that he really, really appreciated his owner and leaving him basically killed him (later he got mauled by a bear). The scene where Benizakura’s owner screams and begs him to come back is really heartfelt (although why didn’t the silly kid just call animal rescue or something instead of falling over his feet and crying into the sunset.)

6.

Cerberus

Cerberus

I don’t really have much to say here, a three headed monstrous canine that is also the Lord of the Underworld’s’ pet. Awesome. No words. Also, I love mythological creatures, so... moving on!

5. Garurumon

Garurumon

This stripy tiger dog Digimon was the coolest thing ever when I got up to watch the show every Wednesday morning. Digimon itself is a fun show that means a lot to me but Garurumon specifically was the coolest. It’s a huge dog with purple nails, how can I not like it? Fun fact: He transforms into a werewolf and then further onto a mechanical dog with a swiss knife blade as a tail.

4. Arcanine

Arcanine

Arcanine is just simply a beautiful design. My beloved Arcanine from Pokemon White 2 is named Helios and he’s the top of my team.  The fu dog of the pokemon world, Arcanine is a fire-type and highly underrated. He can fight through anything with amazing power and diversity in his attacks. Let us give a hand to Arcanine!

3. Jake

Jake

Adventure time! Come on, grab your friends! This show is an experience I recommend anyone try. My fiancée got me into Adventure Time and I hope she’s not regretting it. I love this show and more specifically, I love Jake. The more I’ve been reading about dogs and how they function, the more I can appreciate that, despite Jake’s very un-doglike stretchy powers, he still has a doggy mind set. He has a short attention span, he is highly food motivated and he’s a little bit egocentric, just like dogs are in nature. I love Jake, he’s an awesomely well crafted character that deserves recognition for being so true to dogs... in a way.

2. Inspector Rex

Rex

When I was little, a local channel used to air this show in German with Finnish subtitles, and man did I love it. Unfortunately my reading skills weren’t the best back then so I couldn’t really understand what was going on. However, it never stopped me from appreciating how awesome this dog was. Rex was a dog I really enjoyed to watch as it boggled my little child mind how much one dog is capable off. It seemed like there was nothing Rex couldn’t do. Rex, despite your foreign language, I love you immensely.

1. Amaterasu

Amaterasu

Technically not a dog, but gods don’t ask permission and Amaterasu is no different. Amaterasu, Ammy for short, is the sun god. She appears in the video game Ôkami (a pun, in japanese Ôkami can mean either wolf or great god.)  Ôkami remains the game I have played the most in my life. I’ve beaten it maybe 7 times and still go back to play it. Why? Because I really love it. The story is silly but to me it brings charm. No game has made me cry and laugh so much as this particular one. I mean, what game can make you cry over a scrap of paper? Ôkami, apparently. Amaterasu is a fun character that acts exactly like I’d imagine a god would if they were running about the earthly plains, peeing and pooping on demons and plain ignoring evil when they are spouting insults in their face.

Artwork by Stumppa, more at deviantART

A (Possible) Future Groomer!

I have decided that a career involving dogs would be ideal for me because I love dogs. Making a dogs life better by helping getting rid of dead hair and clipping their nails sounds like a good deal to me. Some breeds have fur that, if allowed to grow without attention, can become matted and even painful for the dog. I met once an Afghan Hound named Bono whose fur was in such a terrible condition, that the fur formed a thick cover of matted fur that probably pulled and pinched his skin in painful ways. I heard that his old owner had never brushed him and it really showed. After Bono’s dead and matted fur was removed I understood that he turned into a more confident dog.

I can imagine that I don’t want to ever see such a case appear in the grooming salon I will be working in the future. Not because I don’t want to trim a dog whose fur is in such disgusting condition but because it is infuriating to see their owners treat their dogs like that. This is especially true for people who buy or adopt breeds that need daily brushing and bathing regularly. Yes, an Afghan Hound is a gorgeous dog, but have you seen the amount of fur it has? Even I, who is just now stepping into the world of grooming, know that a dogs coat won’t magically stay gorgeous and look up to breed standards.

The idea of grooming a dog sounds fun but I will certainly have to obtain a lot of confidence for this career path. Mostly because groomers do not only make dogs look fabulous, they also clip their nails. Nail clipping is a scary procedure for me. I’ve owned rabbits and they also need their nails clipped or they grow into horrible lengths and can break, causing bleeding or in a worst case scenario be completely torn off. I’ll probably get over that by actually working with dogs and just taking it slowly so my mind is at ease during the procedure.

To anyone who doesn’t know: Clipping a dog’s nail too short you can damage the nerve inside the nail. It will bleed a lot and it is very painful to the dog. So if you clip your dog’s nails yourself, please be careful!

Hair trimming scares me a bit too. What if I cut the dog’s skin? What if I burn a dog’s skin with the hairdryer?  I know it is stupid to worry so before I have even begun training. But these are valid thoughts at least. If I do something wrong the dog can be traumatized and reminded of the pain and unpleasantries during his or her every visit to the groomer.  But again, it’s something I will probably get over if I work with dogs.

While grooming might not be the final career path for me regarding dogs, it’s still a start and it gives me an opportunity to work with dogs. I can also help shelter dogs by making them pretty so superficial adopters will fall in love with them instead of ignoring perfectly lovely dogs that just are dying to get a new home.

Right now I’m just looking through the sheer amount of brushes dog groomers use and scratch my head confusedly. Let’s hope I can learn this dog groomer language!