An Athena Filled Weekend

This weekend was biiiiiizzzzzyyy and filled with tons of Athena related activities.  Here's a little recap of the weekend's happenings:

1.  We went on a mini-shopping spree for Athena:

If you follow us on Facebook then you already saw that Athena got a new harness over the weekend.  After not having much luck with the Holt Head Harness, we've moved on to the ever so popular Freedom No-Pull Harness.  So far Athena hasn't come home with any bloody armpits (even after her pulling and snorting race that you will read about in #4 of this post), so I'd say that things are working out fairly well with the new harness.

I was also excited to pick up a container of The Honest Kitchen's Easy Peesy Tea which I've been wanting Athena to try for a while now.  It's an herbal tea for dogs to support urinary tract health (they also make a tea for joint function and one for alleviating anxiety).

Photo via The Honest Kitchen

2.  I went to Born Again Pit Bull Rescue's Celebration du Chien Dinner and Silent Auction:

My mom and I attended a dinner and fundraiser put on for Born Again Pit Bull Rescue (they were our January Bow of the Month featured rescue) by Sellwood Dog Supply and Lili Patisserie.  Not only did we eat some delicious food and talk to lots of pittie lovers, but we also got some loot from the amazing silent auction that was held!

Photo via Born Again Pit Bull Rescue

My mom won a basket full of tea and coffee goodies as well as gift certificates for three dozen doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts (and yes, we did already get two dozen of them....don't judge).  I won Athena a little basket filled with two packages of STAM grain-free dog treats and a collar from The Collar Shop.

Thean's new pink mustache collar

3.  The weather was nice, so we did some of this...

Fun at the park!

Oh, and lots of this happened too...

4.  We attended the Portland Pit Bull Parade's February Bully Walk:

This weekend also marked the third anniversary of bully walks held by the Portland Pit Bull Parade.  Over one hundred dogs were in attendance and many dressed up in Valentine's themed costumes.  Athena of course thought that the event was specially held for her pulling and snorting purposes, but other than that, it was great to be among so many pit bull supporters and to enter the costume contest!

Photo via the Portland Pit Bull Parade

Costume contest!

Posing with our costume contest prize-- a pittie valentine!

5.  Flyball practice was super good:

Last week's Flyball practice was great, and this week was no different.  Athena was off leash more than she's ever been at a practice (even with other dogs out and about) and was very focused on us and her new tug toy that I made.  She's so interested in her tug as a reward that we are no longer treating her with food for anything at practice.  Oh, and Athena is also going on a diet starting today to help shed some of her winter flab to prevent any injuries....and because she's been eating too many treats lately ;)

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything special with your dog?

Superheroes for a Day

As many of you know, Saturday was National Pit Bull Awareness Day which was celebrated across the country with the Coast to Coast Bully Walk and other pit bull awareness events.  We spent most of our day pretending to be super heros, pampering the spoiled Athena, walking with the Portland Pit Bull Parade, and winning first place in TWO costume contests!

Taking on the duties of Wonder Woman for a day!

The family of superheroes: Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Batman!

It was estimated that around one hundred people participated in the walk!  With so many participants, we had the opportunity to meet some other pit bull owners and were so thrilled when we were approached by one of our blog readers (with her adorable dog Chloe who happened to be sporting Athena's favorite rain coat!).  There was even a super star among the crowd-- London the 2 Legged Pit Bull!

Sir London posed for many photo ops!

Aside from the rain, the walk was great.  Athena pulled quite a bit on her leash with the excitement of being around so many dogs, but she was actually a smidge better behaved than our last walk.

Wonder Woman must use her powers to pull to the front of the pack!

A Halloween costume contest was held immediately following the walk.  I was very excited that Athena would finally get to showcase her Wonder Woman costume that I have been putting together for the past month (see hints of the costume here and here)!  Seeing as I am by no means a professional seamstress and Athena has no patience for my constant measurements, the costume turned out well (at this point though, I see why most people go with a store bought costume option)!

Awaiting the judges decision...

Athena makes a pretty good Wonder Woman =)

Where are my treats for wearing this silly thing?!

With her fluffy tutu, silky cape, red boots, lasso of truth, and bracelets of victory, Wonder Woman Athena was announced as the first place winner of the costume contest!  She won a $200 photography package that includes: a two hour photo session, a DVD with all edited imaged, and a print package!  After receiving our gift certificate, we had the opportunity to speak with the photographer (who also owns a bully breed dog) and decided that we will set up a Christmas photo shoot for Athena in the coming weeks.  I am SO excited!

Mom?!  I won even though the rain made my bracelets of victory fall off?

After all of the excitement from the walk, we headed over to our local Petco where they were also holding a Halloween costume contest.  We entered the contest and then mingled with the employees and one of our past trainers (who all love Athena) while the judges deliberated.  Athena once again walked away with the first place title and took home a Petco gift card and a JW Arachnoid Ball!

Posing for costume pictures is hard work, even for a superhero!

I think that Athena decided that being Wonder Woman might be a bit too much work for her.  She pooped out on the job as soon as we got into the car and then snoozed the rest of the night at home.

Superheroes have to nap some times too you know!

How did you and your superhero celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Day?

For further pit bull lovin' watch the free screening of Beyond the Myth on Hulu until November 2nd: click here for the feature presentation

What Makes an Athena?

Tomorrow is National Pit Bull Awareness Day-- hip hip hooray!  In celebration we will be showing our support by participating in the Coast to Coast Bully Walk.  We will walk with the Portland Pit Bull Parade and attend a street fair following the event in SE Portland.

In honor of National Pit Bull Awareness Day, we would like to share with you the many qualities that make up an Athena:

Part Pampered Pooch:  Athena is constantly rolling onto her back for a belly rub opportunity (we always give in to her requests) and will repay the favor with big sloppy kisses.

Silly girl laughing during a belly rub dance party

Part Girly Girl:  Athena is a tutu wearing girly girl!

Modeling a very special tutu for her doggy friend Miss Polly Pocket

Part Tom Boy:  Athena will never pass up an opportunity to chase her beloved ball!

Hurry and catch the ball!

Part Cat:  Athena can most often be found in her catlike snoozing position.  She also resembles a cat in her fur licking abilities.

I was a cat in my past life

Part Einstein:  Athena can learn a new command in a matter of minutes and is always eager to please during training...unleeeessss there are too many distractions around!

If I stare at you for long enough I know I will get the most yummiest treat!

Part Evil Genius:  Athena is sometimes too smart for her own good and we swear she is constantly plotting her next move to retrieve an off-limits object to fling around the house!

Let's play chase Thena with the sock in her mouth!

Part Couch Crate Potato:  Athena is also known as "Miss Snoozer McSnoozie" for her love of nap time.  This girl is a napping machine (no wonder she gets such bursts of energy!).

Is it nap time yet?

Part Zoomer: Athena can be classified as a professional zoomer.  She has perfected the art of zoomies and will regularly practice her event in and outside of the house (usually on a daily basis).

Can you guess why this photo is blurry?

Happy (Almost) National Pit Bull Awareness Day!

Do you plan to celebrate National Pit Bull Awareness Day tomorrow?  Will you be joining the Coast to Coast Bully Walk in a city near you?

We Joined a Dog Walking Group!

A couple of weeks ago we posted about our thoughts on joining a dog walking group.  We received some great feedback from Two Pitties in the City, Our Waldo Bungie, and Married with Dawgs about their experiences with dog walking social groups and the many great things that can come from joining one.

We decided that we would try out a dog walking group as a way to add to Athena's socialization and to work on some of her behaviors that we would like to curb (leash reactivity, crazy play when meeting new dogs, fear of new experiences, etc.).  So, yesterday we met up with the Portland Pit Bull Parade at Westmoreland Park in SE Portland for a walk and a picnic.

Upon entering the group we were greeted by the group's founders who welcomed us and shared some information about the group's history.  The parade began shortly after we arrived and B and I stayed towards the back with Athena so as not to overwhelm her with this very new experience.  This was the first time that we had ever been in one place with so many dogs around us, so we expected that Athena would display some unwanted behaviors.

It was clear throughout the entire walk that Athena was very anxious because she pulled on the leash SO HARD!  We haven't had too many issues when walking on leash since fitting her with the Gentle Leader head collar.  But, this apparatus apparently doesn't work as well when surrounded by a large pack of dogs!  B and I now sympathize with those who deal with leash pullers on a daily basis.  Wow is that a workout!

I stick my tongue out to having to walk politely!

The little puller in action

Leash pulling aside, we managed to meet so many great people in the parade.  Most of them were also attending the parade for the first time.  We enjoyed hearing their stories of how they adopted their dogs and how their dogs share similar traits and behaviors to Athena.  It felt so nice to be in a community of pit bull lovers who understand the prejudice towards the breed and are working to bring awareness to the good nature of the dogs.

Following the walk was a Bully Walkers appreciation picnic.  During this time we met even more amazing pit bull owners and their dogs.  Athena got to meet quite a few dogs (most everyone enforced the "no face-to-face" greeting rule) and she didn't show any aggression towards any of them (we had her wear a "dog reactive" red bandana during the parade just in case).

As we have mentioned before, when Athena meets a new dog she thinks it's play time.  So, every dog that she met (or even got close to) during the parade she wanted to initiate play with them.  Everyone laughed and reminisced about their dog's puppy years and their desire to always play.  These interactions were what had me thinking about Our Waldo Bungie's comment on our original post about dog walking groups:  "My favorite thing about being a part of a dog walking group is that you are able to work on your dogs' less-than-stellar behaviors in a safe environment, where you won't be judged by your fellow walkers."  We weren't judged for Athena's desire to play with every dog that she met, nor were we judged as owners for not yet having a handle on this behavior.  Even during the embarrassing moment when Athena started play mode and her leash slipped out of B's hand leaving her running around in circles around a group of a couple dogs and their owners, we were not judged.  Instead, someone quickly grabbed Athena's leash and everyone laughed off the incident.

Getting a bit of training in with distractions

B and I were very impressed with the Portland Pit Bull Parade and we plan to continue attending the monthly parades as a way to show our pride for the breed and to continue on Athena's journey towards becoming an outstanding ambassador for the breed.

Thoughts on Joining a Dog Walking Group

Lately we have been thinking about the pros and cons to joining a dog walking group.  We know that we want to be a part of a group at some point in the future, but we're just not sure when it would be the right time for Athena.

We've never been a part of a dog walking group before, nor have we seen one in action, so we are a bit apprehensive about bringing Athena to a meeting and having it be a total disaster!  B and I have multiple reasons for why we would like to be a part of a dog walking group.  For one, we want Athena to have the opportunity to socialize with other dogs.  We have also heard that it can be a great way for pooches to build their confidence, especially if they lack confidence in being around other dogs (which Athena definitely does).  The bloggers over at Two Pitties in the City shared a post with us about managing a leash reactive dog in the city-- one of the suggestions happened to be joining a dog walking group as a way to work on leash reactivity!

Leash reactivity is actually one of our concerns for joining a dog walking group at this time.  Athena REALLY wants to meet every dog that she passes.  She has had successful meetings with other dogs where it has been very uneventful.  However, she has also had some dog meetings that made her EXTREMELY excited where she jumps up and whines and wants to play with the other dog so badly.  When we see other dogs while out on a walk, Athena will pull so hard on the leash to get to the dog as quickly as possible.  We don't reward this pulling behavior and so we turn in the opposite direction.

Emily from Our Waldo Bungie helped to found the KC Pittie Pack in Kansas City, MO.  She writes about how "the best way to socialize your dog is to be social with your dog" and discusses how a dog walking group provides dogs and their owners an opportunity to practice their social skills.  B and I don't think that Athena had much socialization in her first year of life before we adopted her.  We are now trying to slowly provide her with positive socialization with other dogs-- but, it's hard to find other dogs and owners that we trust to practice with!  Maybe a dog walking group is a good way to start?

We want to give Athena the opportunity to have successful meetings with other dogs so that we can approach another dog calmly.  I just don't want Athena to be the only dog in a dog walking group that can't handle herself and interrupts all of the good behavior from the other dogs!  Another great blogger from Notes From A Dog Walker wrote a similar post to this one about dog walking social groups and how they can provide great socialization for dogs outside of the dreaded dog park.  I'm starting to think that we need to get in a dog walking social group ASAP!

Whether or not we are ready to join a dog walking group right away, we know that in the future we would like to join the Portland Pit Bull Parade.  This local dog walking group meets once a month in different locations around the city to show off the good nature of bully type breeds.  The next walk is being held on September 9th....so, 14 days from now.

B and I are also interested in attending Strut Your Mutt with the shelter that we adopted Athena from.  This dog walking event is being held on September 29th...24 days from now.  I think that this might be wishful thinking.  This event will most likely be HUGE and way too overstimulating for Athena.  But, it's definitely a goal that we would like to strive to achieve in the coming years!

Some great bully breed walking groups that we have read about include:

Chicago, IL- Chicago Sociabulls
Kansas City, MO- KC Pittie Pack and Friends
NYC, NY- Big Apple Pittie Pack
South Bay area, CA- HikeABull
Cleveland, OH- Pit Bull Zen
Phoenix, AZ- ExploraBull
Seattle, WA- WalkaBulls
Hoboken, NJ- Positive Pittie Pack
Washington DC- Pittie Trails
Toledo, OH- Lucas County Pit Crew

We would love your advice and knowledge about joining a dog walking group!  When did you know that your pooch was ready to join a dog walking group?

-A & B

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