Pup Heath Awareness

Woof everyone, Pup Thorn here. 

i would like to talk about Pup health awareness.  Not just your pup but the other pups either on the mats or even in a social setting.  As we all know, pups aren’t the most responsible when in pup head space which can lead to some difficulties.  i know that personally if you hold something out in your hand for me, i am gonna take it and run and chew and eat it if possible.  Here is the problem; Pup Thorn has a life threatening allergy to peanuts, as well as other non-life threatening allergies to certain food chemicals, but enough to make me very sick.  i don’t want to make anyone feel badly,  (relax it wasn’t your fault) , but when playing tug-a-war in the pit, my lips started getting numb and i dropped out of pup head space within seconds as i could smell peanut butter.  I returned to Master Marc and he figured out what was up and gave me a Benadryl and crisis averted.  Mosh pit over for Pup Thorn, toy in plastic bag to be washed back at hotel room, Pup Thorn down for nap.  i went and apologized to the other pup that i literally scampered away from and explained the situation after all were out of pup head space.  Turns out he was allergic to a few things as well once we started to compare notes.

This started a conversation around the mosh pit with some of the other trainers/handlers and then continued in Master Nitemares class.

If you are interacting with a pup, be it at a mosh pit or just at a gathering, please be aware of a few things;

• Ask the trainer/handler BEFORE you offer the pup any treats. – Pup sees treats.  Pup uses the ultimate weapon, puppy eyes on trainer/handler. Pup gets treats and doesn’t care what is in them. Possible sick Pup.
• Be aware of what you’re giving your own pup if he will be interacting with other pups.. – Pup “A” eats a peanut butter cup as a treat from his trainer/handler.  Pup “A” plays with a toy in the pit.  Pup “B” grabs the toy and plays tug of war with Pup “A”.   Pup “B” is allergic to peanuts.
• When bringing treats, it is a good idea to keep them in the original packaging or cut out the ingredient list and keep it handy incase it is needed.
• Make people aware of your pups limitations, be it allergies or even physical limitations. – Before the mosh starts, make sure you tell everyone while still in biped head space about the pups limitations.  As much as we pups loose ourselves when in pup head space, we still have enough of a cognitive connection to our human side, that we won’t intentionally hurt another pup if pre-warned.
  

These things may seem like little things, but to some pups they could actually be life threatening scenarios.

Playing safe means a bunch of different things when dealing with pups!

Keep ‘em wagging and your noses to the ground!

iPup Wrap Up
by Cosmo Jetson

The International Puppy & Trainer Conference held at the Sterling on September 25-27, 2009 was a success! We had a record attendance from the past few years.

The first night, we met out at the Dallas Eagle's new bar and got to socialize with the natives and Beyond Vanilla participants. The bar had a "nicely busy" crowd so there were plenty of people to mingle with yet not so crowded you couldn't get around. Some of us pups on the patio noticed that a neighbors dog was trying to talk to us, so we barked and howled back. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering where all the dogs were coming from.

The presenters did a great job providing the classes and workshop and were scored well by the evaluations the attendees filled out. While I was too busy to sit in on them this year, the reviews were very good!

The puppy parade was a big hit! Never had the pups been so noticed over a weekend. Usually we are more quiet and in our own classroom, but this year, we spiced up the weekend by having a parade of pups flow through the crowds and the vendor mart during the break between classes. Being led by the "ring master" and the band (a nice guy walking in line, holding a boombox to play the marching music), the pups filed through and seemed to be the hit of the weekend. Later, people were asking "Where'd all the pups come from?" I guess we should do this more often so they will always know that we are there.

The mosh pits were exciting and busy! We had so many pups, but thankfully we had plenty of handlers show up as well to help to us from getting into too much trouble. It's a good thing the PupOut mats are 18' x 19' as we put them to the test. Both mosh pits were well attended and we even had some spill-over onto a secondary mat that was nearby. While a few handlers end up getting tackled down into the mosh pit with a puppy pile on top of them, the most memorable moment was when Master Nitemare ended up down in the mosh pit with a cake on top of him and the pups ate and licked it off.

As if that wasn't enough fun, most of us went on to the dinner and games at the Main Event. Master Roy, owner of iPup, was generous and bought everyones' dinner. After having a nice meal, 12 of us used our game card provided by iPup to play a game of laser tag. This was my first time and I had a blast! The staff split us and others into two groups of about 10 people. We had iPup people on both sides. Then you are led into this large two story maze where you try to attack your opponents as well as their base. Of course, the other team is doing the same. Surprisingly, it is easy to tell who is on what team in the low light but it still makes for a blood-rushing, heart-pounding fun as you try to get others without them getting to you. Fortunately, I ended up on the winning team.

We returned to the hotel for a movie night. About a dozen people showed up and we had brought in some of the mats as well as blankets, sheets and pillows. Some showed up in awesome jammies (even Doctor D's). It seemed unanimous that the movie picked was Bolt! We all cuddled up together, some with our legs resting ontop of others. I think I was the only one to fall asleep, but then if you were resting your head on a hot top's butt, you'd probably be too comfy to stay awake too!

The final day seemed to go fast. The workshop rounded out. The raffle went off and one lucky participant ended up with the iPhone 3GS, two others ended up with a puppy basket of goodies, another got a puppy bed and a final person got the Dog-opoly, Pup-opoly and a couple of sculptured dogs.

The only main hang up was that the hotel did not have the restuarant open, nor the bar in time for lunch, so those of us hanging out ended up having pizza ordered in by yours truly.

In all, I have to say that this was the most fun iPup that I've participated in. But... just wait until fall 2010!!! I have great plans and with the help of Master Roy, Vic Silverpaw and the iPup comittee, i plan on our 2010 - TENTH ANNIVERSARY - being even better! Keep your ears perked for details.

In the meantime, we are considering putting on iPup version 9.5. IPup has been asked to join again with Spring Iniquity, put on by National Leather Association Houston. While we have not confirmed this yet, if it is confirmed, we will be putting out the word on Intl-Puppy.org, PupOut.com and on the Yahoo! group to let you know when and where.

Stay tuned!