Completely Random Thoughts

Posted on September 9, 2010 by JW

Random thought #1

It’s been a busy few weeks, Riley started his football season, and work has been crazy busy with projects and deadlines, also I started training this week for a possible MMA fight in the future. I have been thinking about doing a full contact fight for some time now, and figure it’s now or never. I have no aspirations of trying to be a career UFC fighter; I would just like to take my shot at some real fights and see where I stand. I am not jumping into this blind of course, I have committed to working out with some people who will help me train in their respected specialties. I do have over 10 years of Martial Arts experience, plus some other training I had when I was younger, golden gloves boxing for a little bit and of course high school wrestling. I’ll probably post more once I get into it more. J

Random thought #2

My brain feels like its on cruise control lately. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with things I get sort of spacey and just go through the motions without and any real emotion. Maybe it’s the weather change, it’s been cold here lately and kind of depressing as fall approaches. Maybe it’s because I am stuck in MN and there are very few things that excite me anymore here. If I could move to another state or even country I more than likely would.

Random thought #3

So with Riley’s football consuming 4 out 7 days, it’s pretty hard to do much else. And yes, that’s 4 days of time when I am not working, meaning my days fill up with work and his activities and usually not home till about 8:30 at night or later. My house is a disaster area lately; I have neither the time nor the energy to even do my laundry on a regular basis let alone clean the rest of the house. It ends up being whatever I need that day is what will go in the wash. It’s crazy.

Random thought #4

Boxer Pitbull mix riding in the car I did get to hangout with Rocky all day last Sunday, which I haven’t had much time to do. I took him to with me everywhere I went, and he even got to jump on a trampoline that day, he seems to like those a lot.

He is seriously the best dog, not even joking around. He’s not perfect by any means, he will chew shit up in a minute given the opportunity, but as far as just being an awesome dog, he’s it. He listens well, never whines about anything, quiet, obedient(for the most part anyways), anyone who meets him usually loves him, and keeps me company when I want it most.

If you ever have the time to take care of dog, understand how to take care of a dog, I will strongly recommend adopting one. Make sure you pick the right one for you and yours, but it can be one of the most rewarding things for you and the dog. I am obviously more particular on pitbull breeds, but i also know what it’s like to misjudged, descriminated against, and just plain casted aside. I picked Rocky because of his calm demeanor, and the fact he’s just like me, he’s a mixed mut who just needed a chance to show how awesome he was.

Random thought #5

Well, with the summer wrapping to quick end, I am going to try and get some bike time in before it gets to cold out. I headed out to Wisconsin last Saturday to meet up with some other riders. We hit some twisty’s that whole day and got home to then headed back on the road again, I racked up around 500 miles of just messing time. By Sunday I was completely exhausted and soar, but definitely worth it. Coming on the 18^th I am heading to Rockfalls Raceway in Wisconsin for the Sport Compact Race day with the Bike to see what it does in the quarter mile drag. I have some friends going that day too, so it should be a lot of fun.

Random thought #6

So I was told this week that i have time commitment issues. I’ll have to agree with that and disagree. I think I over commit my time to many things. I just never tell people why I can not do something or why I can’t be somewhere. I tend to commit to many things at once. I think my issue is not with commitment, but time management. I do forget things on a regular basis. I have a tendancy to take a lot in and naturallly somethings will get lost. I say yes to things that I want to do, or that sound good at that point in time. and if it’s not at that moment, then I’ll probably forget the whole conversation took place until someone or something reminds me what an ass I am for not going or doing something.

So yes, i have time management issues, not commitment issues. Now if it’s relationships? That’s a whole nother blog at a whole nother time

Last Random thought of the day

Anyways, just completely random thoughts today, with me being spacey and all, I’ll have to find something this winter to peak my need for doing fun things I guess. Maybe Snowboarding? Or Snowmobiles? I hate the winter, so we’ll see. Hope everyone reading this blog isn’t as messed up as me. Or maybe your are..hrmm.. think about it.

-JW

Man’s Best Friend

Posted on August 5, 2010 by JW

I was completely bored out of mind last night, absolutely nothing to do. I don’t do bored very well at all. Luckily my awesome dog Rocky was there to keep me entertained. We took a long walk last night, which I have neglected him on lately and I feel bad about it.

It’s amazing how something like a dog can instantly put someone in a good mood. Keep us happy when we are down, keep us entertained when we are bored, and always willing to keep us happy no matter what we do, no matter how we treat them, they just want to please their owner. Unless you have an ankle biter, then you have to keep them entertained… J just kidding, but not really.

So during my crazy bore fest last night, we walked for a few miles, it was gorgeous night out too. He does this crazy thing when he gets into an open patch of grass, which is just hilarious to me. He’ll sit there sniffing around, then stop quick, look at you kind of crouching almost, and as soon as you move towards him he bolts. He seriously runs like crazy, either in circles or back and forth. I not talking about a normal dog running back and forth either, he is doing this so fast, and cuts on a dime, and all the while only going the length of the leash. It’s not a short leash either; it’s one of those retractable ones that extend out to about 15 ft I believe. It always makes me laugh when he does it. When I bring him to my sister’s place he loves it, she has a pretty big yard and I just let him do his laps there. Unfortunately I live in a town home and don’t really have the means to let him off the leash at my place. So I either take him to my sisters place, otherwise we walk up to this park with an ice rink, and I just shut the gate and let him do his thing. It seriously is soothing to me to watch him run around free like that. I know he loves it so much and probably could do it for hours.

He also loves to play with my cat, although the cat doesn’t seem to like him too much, but they do play. It’s hilarious to watch. The cat is pretty big for a cat, roughly about 20 lbs I suppose. The cat will purposely walk in front of him sticking his butt in the air, and the Rock thinks the cat wants to play, so he chases him. The cat will usually win though, he’ll jump on a higher surface like the counter or something and start whacking the dog in the face. Haha, it even makes me smile while writing this.

I just wanted to share how my dog keeps me entertained, even on the most boring of nights. Truly Man’s Best Friend.
If anyone wants to share how their pet makes them smile, how they are entertained, loved, or whatever it may be, feel free to comment below.

Here’s a quick vid of Rocky Chilling out with Big Fat Cat..

Rocky hanging out with Riley and Grandma.

Posted on May 25, 2010 by JW

Boxer Pitbull Mix My mom is in town, and both Rocky and Riley love hanging out with their Grandma. It’s funny to me since my mother is not what you would call an “animal loving person”. Even as kids she would be like “no dogs”, “no cats”, no animals period. We didn’t always listen of course, since we had a dog once, it was a vicious little Rat Terrier, but I remember she actually brought it home for us, I still have no idea where in the world she got it from, but she hated that thing. Also, my sister brought home a cat and never heard the end of that.

Needless to say, I think Rocky has changed her mind at least about dogs a little bit. Mostly because when I bring him to visit her he always follows her around. She says it’s because he likes her more, but I know it’s because she gives him food. She said yesterday that he must be a korean dog since he likes Korean food so much like Kim Chi and Rice… Yeah, right. I had to explain to her that he is a dog that will pretty much eat anything.

I think he has shown to a lot of people that dogs (pitbull or other) can be good, and listen well which I believe is why she likes him so much. Honestly, I couldn’t have imagined having a better dog than Rocky, his quiet demeanor, his spunky puppyish behavior, but it’s more his kind nature that everyone who meets him sees almost instantly once they get past the word pitbull in his title.

Can a non human be descriminated against?

Posted on May 21, 2010 by JW

I have read a lot of blogs lately, news articles and person to person conversations with people who either hate Pitbulls or Love them. Most posts or blogs that i see on Pitbulls are from people who hate them and seem to be only basing their opinions on stories they read on some news site, or saw something on a forum or blog, not really being based on actually knowing what they are talking about, solely based on someone elses perspective.

On the other side, you have people who try to convince others through comments on posts or whatever other outlets that Pitbulls are not to blame, it’s the owner. It seems almost impossible to try to argue two points of view when neither side will give in. Changing someone’s opinion on a particular point of view is almost impossible to sway. Once the mind is set on something, it takes a lot to change that.

I have recently found that just bringing my dog to places that others congregate at is the best way to change the view and assumptions that others might have for my dog when they see him initially. Yes, I know there have been many well documented dog attacks that involving pitbulls, and yes I know what they are used for when in the hands of dumb ass people. What I think people fail to realize is that there is so many dogs in a year that do bite someone severely that are not pitbulls, but when reading that a lab or a retriever bit someone it just doesn’t have the same stigma as using the word “Pit Bull Attack” in the media. You got to admit it grabs your attention.

I think that people like to argue, even if it’s something not worth arguing about. I think it’s irresponsible to single out any single group, whether we are talking about dogs or people, it’s just plain not right, and not moral. Whether you think it’s just a dog and it’s not inhumane to subject a breed of dog based on the actions of a few, or single out a group of people based on the actions of a few. Someone reading will probably bring up a point that more dog bites reported are pitbulls and pitbull mixes, and that may be true, but you also have the most numbers in terms of how many are in the US, and probably world due to the popularity of the Pitbull.

Even I read the comments and posts from Pitbull supporters who seem to have no idea what they are talking about. All that I really know is that people need to chill out a little bit on both sides and people should try to take in both sides logically and educationally versus stupid rhetoric and no substance bullshit that means nothing to no one.

I think the ban on Pitbulls is getting ridiculous and I think the posts that I have been reading are even more ridiculous as well, I read one earlier to kill where some guy had a picture of a pitbull with the description (“Kill Them all”). Really? Just because dogs are dogs and not humans, doesn’t mean discrimination and Racism doesn’t exist when referring to a dog. Being a minority my self and a lot of misconceptions even about me, I guess I just can relate to these hateful terms and comments. “Kill Them All” “Segregate them all” “Not Pitbulls only” “Separate Rights for Different Breeds”.

I am done with my rant for the day

Thanks for reading:

Perceptions of the Pitbull can Change.

Posted on May 21, 2010 by JW

I have been bringing my dog Rocky (boxer pit-bull mix) to pretty much all of my son’s baseball games this year and I noticed something his last game we were at. Normally when I bring rocky to almost any public area, I get mixed results, people stare sometimes with that look like why in the world would I bring a pit-bull to where kids are right? I have actually heard people say this to their kids who want to come and pet Rocky, they usually say something along the lines of “Stay away from the dog, he’s too big and might bite blah blah blah” or whatever people say. Since he is mixed, a lot of people assume he is either a boxer, or a pit-bull and some actually get it right that he is both. I have had people come up and pet him not thinking he was a pit, and once I tell them he is a pit boxer mix, the look on their faces is priceless, the instant fear in their eyes and they dont know how to react, usually it’s just like “oh, he doesn’t act like a pitbull”. really? whatever.

Anyways, so I think most people have seen me with Rocky now at these games and all of sudden people have been coming up to pet him without any fear, adults, little kids and even older people. There was even a point where 6 little kids from another team around the ages of 5-8 were all there at the same time petting him. I also noticed how calm Rocky was, even with all these strange people coming up to him, wagging his whip of tail fast, getting the body wiggle going, which everyone seems love, how hard his tail is, it’s pretty funny.

I use to fear not that he bite anyone, but that he likes to jump up on people, and he is quick, so I was always cautious of that because he is about as tall as the little kids, especially on his back legs. I think the fact that he is out in public with all these other dogs, and people of all ages I personally can see the change in him and the people around that meet him. You can from the picture above that he is just relaxing around another dog that one of the other parents had there, normally the parent wouldn’t bring his golden around Rocky, but all of sudden he did, and they played a little bit, and I think people saw that and realized maybe my dog wasn’t a dog fighting machine that would maul you. I know, sounds stupid, but that’s the first thing people think when you hear pitbull, Dog Fighting, and Mauling. Unfortunately that’s the assumption that pops in most people minds when they are in front a pitbull type dog.

I think it’s important to show that it’s not the dogs that are aggressive, but how they are raised and trained. Obviously there is always going to be a dog that is aggressive, but for the most part, if you train your dog, socialize it around other animals and people, this will help release the fear of people and of the dog. I believe that any dog, big or small can change stereo types and preconceived perceptions that cause those fears.

Congratulations also to my son’s baseball team as well, they have won two in a row.

Dog Bites

Posted on May 19, 2010 by JW

Petey from Little Rascals

There are a lot of people out there today who have an opinion on whether specific breed targeting (“banning”) is a good thing or bad thing. Most advocates of the BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) believe that certain types of dogs should be banned, and in some states and countries this has already taken effect. Others believe in the punishment for the crime, not the breed. I believe that this debate will go on forever; you will have people on either sides that are unable to hear the other side’s point of view.

At the moment “Pitbulls” are the number one target for persecution. It usually ends being what the popular dog of the day is, and pitbulls are that dog today. Just look at Petey there to your right, Pitbulls were loved when the media showed them for something other than violent, vicious man eating dogs like they did in Little Rascals. Pitbulls were thought to be loyal and trustworthy a long time ago. Now, unfortuanetly a completely different image pops in the minds of people when they hear “Pitbull”.

All dogs bite, they all have teeth and they all are capable of biting. Obviously getting bit by a German Shepard, Pit or Rott is going to be more severe and damaging then getting bit by a miniature dog such a small Poodle, Shitzu, Pomeranian or a Chihuahua; although you are more likely to get bitten by one of the smaller dogs than the bigger ones.

Why do dogs bite?

Dogs can bite for many reasons; they may bite if they feel threatened, angry, afraid or hurt. I was always taught as a young kid to never show fear to a dog or they will bite. We never owned any dogs when I was a kid, but for some reason I remember being told that and I think maybe these days people are more fixated on what’s being told and shown on TV and through the media instead of thinking about it logically or even really trying to understand the situation.

Yes, there are dumb ass owners out there that do not know how to train or take care of a dog, and sometimes certain things can make a dog more aggressive, like being locked up all the time away from people and other animals, or getting physically and mentally abused.

Socialization is a huge part of a dog’s personality, if they are not allowed to be around people and other animals, they will bite and attack things they fear and do not know. If you socialize your dog at a young age with people and other animals, in the dogs mind they are no longer afraid of the unknown and they have a better chance of not reacting in a defensive way.

The bond between a child and a dog can be great for that child’s emotional and physical health, but kids need to be educated on what not to do with a dog in the house as well. Young children under the age of 10 usually don’t know how to treat a dog, they think they are toys that they can do whatever they want with. As the parent and dog owner, it’s important that parents are encouraged to show their children how to treat all dogs with the greatest respect for their own personal safety.

Kids Safety around Dogs:

Teach them to never go face to face with any dog, or even going down to their level would be bad.
Dogs are protective in nature; kids need to know that even though the neighbor’s dog for instance has always been friendly to them, that dogs will almost always protect their own space and the space of their owners. Eating and sleeping areas, yards, porches, and parked cars are some examples. Most dog bites of small children are from dogs that they are already familiar with, like a neighbor’s dog or family dog.
Kids should always be taught not to approach stray dogs, you never know what the temperament of the dog is, and better to stay away than to take a chance with a stray. No different from telling them to never talk to strangers.
Sick or injured dogs may be afraid or irritable and should be avoided by children.
Most children’s dog bite injuries occur during play with a dog they know. A dog that is excited or nervous can bite by mistake. Children should be taught not to play fight, tease, yell at, or chase dogs or other animals.
Do not leave your kids alone with a dog, especially children under 10, no matter how good you think your dog is.

Dog bites can happen with any dog at anytime, in my opinion to single out one breed as more dangerous as another is irresponsible and ignorant. The reason I believe people are so quick to judge the pits, rots and other labeled “dangerous” dogs is fear, or just plain don’t understand it. The media loves dog bites involving Pitbulls and Pit mixes and they will cause more fear than good from doing so.

Now, on the other side of that is some dogs when they do bite it will hurt more than others. German Sheppards, Labs, and some other bigger breed dogs are known to bite and bite hard too, but you don’t hear about those as much anymore. When you get a specific breed that is popular, like the pitbull is currently, you get a lot of over breeding, misconceptions, and incest breeding to meet demand. It’s the oldest thing, supply and demand.

I will end this with just saying being a responsible person, whether you are a parent, dog owner, even someone who doesn’t like animals, having at least some basic understanding of dogs will help avoid potential bad situations. Hope this helps some people understand the fears a little bit more. I know some people are set in their ways and no matter what it’s all blah blah to them, but I think understanding things and how they work is better than just assuming that things should be a certain way. Have a good day

-JW

Rocky & His Bone at Riley’s first BB game.

Posted on May 7, 2010 by JW

This was Rocky at my son’s first baseball game yesterday. Obviously he was to occupied with his Rawhide bone (which he loves to death) that he didn’t pay much attention to Riley’s game. I have to be very careful on how much of those bones he actually gets, his stomache is super sensitve to those for some reason and if he eats to many, he gets the runs pretty bad, it’s gross.

Riley had an awesome game too, this his first year playing playing baseball and got a pretty good hit last night, he was so excited that he actually hit he forgot to run afterwards. What could have been a double was only a single, but either way he was pumped.

Dog Kennel Adventure

Posted on April 29, 2010 by JW

In case you are thinking that this is how messy I keep my house, it’s not, as I found out last night, it’s good idea to have a secure kennel at home for your dog to stay in. Especially when your dog likes to get out at any chance she or he gets. Needless to say I was little surprised to say the least when I came home yesterday to find both dogs (ZaZu – American Bulldog Mix / Rocky – Boxer Pitbull mix) staring at me through the door window. Although this is not the first time this particular dog has escaped, but this is the first time she decided to destroy the kennel that she resided in.

So here’s my checklist:

Kennel
Zip Ties
Pad locks
Dog Harness (which I just got this past weekend)
Broom
Food on the Kitchen counter (Chips and Snacks)
Socks
My son’s wallet
Downstairs couches (chewed up the wood armrests)
My son’s wood bed frame
Door trim
Cat litter Box (Yeah, dogs like Cat shit, who knew)
PS2 Controller cord
Regular Xbox Controller and System Cables
My son’s miscellaneous toys
Bed comforter
Bedroom pillows
Couch pillows

That’s about all I found last night. Other than that it was good night I guess. Just a side note though, anyone who happens to own a dog, whether they be small or large breed, you are going to experience such destruction, as you would with kids too, it just comes with the territory I suppose. Lesson learned on my part, Padlocks and Zip Ties will provide a better Kennel Structure in the future. ;-)

Thank you for viewing my blog, feel free to post any comments and rating you would like.

Rocky at Riley’s first Baseball Practice :-)

Posted on April 23, 2010 by JW

Riley (My son) had his very first Baseball practice on Weds night and we brought along Rocky (our dog). It was kind of funny to watch Rocky just spy on Riley the whole practice, at least what I thought was him watching Riley. I really think he was more interested in the actual Baseballs, he tends to like ripping through baseballs like the way most people would eat bread. So every time a ball would come by us, he would automatically dart for the ball. It was funny.

So, I was just standing there next to all the parents while the coach was just conversing with all of us. He then came up to me and asked if Rocky was a boxer, and I responded “Yep, well he’s a boxer mix actually”. The coach then responded “Oh, I love boxers, he a beautiful dog.” So after the coach commented on Rocky, another parent said the samething “He’s gorgeous”, and then she says to her kid “At least he’s not a Pitbull”. I was like “Um, actually he is a boxer pitbull mix o_O” She then looked at me like and said “Oh, well he seems so well behaved though”. No shit lady..lmao, anyways, it didn’t get me mad or anything, just think it’s funny that most people don’t get it. I then told her that I have to more Pit Mixes at home. She must of thought I was crazy or something. Well needless to say, her and her kids came up later on and pet Rocky and played with him a little bit. Hopefully that changed one person’s perception of Pitbulls and Pit Mixes.

Also, Riley did really well in his first practice, and he has one tonite too. I was a little worried because it’s his first year, and when I tried to play catch with him before he was really scared of the ball, everytime it went towards him he would look away and almost run. But he did really well and I am proud of him He definetly needs more practice (as you can see him missing the ball in the pic below), but I know he will pick it up pretty quick.

Dogs and Cats

Posted on March 22, 2010 by JW

So I was out of town for the weekend and got back last night. Had to round up all the animals and my son, and apparently Neco (the cat) and Rocky (the dog) were exhausted, or they just missed each other and decided to pass out together.

They usually fight, but always seem to sleep next to each other. It’s amazing to me sometimes how certain things can be so different but are able to get a long under the right circumstances. In this case, we all were exhausted, or they just couldn’t get in the movie I was watching It was nice to get away, but it was better to get home to my jungle of a house.

Insoluble Vitality

Random thoughts about everything and anything.

Category Archives: Dogs