The Bak Pack

The Five F’s

The houndie extraordinaire, Farley Granger loves what he loves. He’s a very passionate dog. A few things on his short list-o-love would include: treadmills, phone poles, long walks with friends, phone poles, dinner in a speed bowl, hanging out in Stanley’s kennel, anything having to do with cats, and of course – phone poles. It’s recently been found out that Farley Granger also loves fortune cookie fortunes (yeah, I know – I’m kind of surprised as well). Though he’ll be the first to admit that they’re really not fortunes anymore, more like adages – but, for him, officially calling them “adage cookies” doesn’t really work.

When Farley Granger discovered that puppy Esmé had been tapped as MK9’s Facebook ambassador, after he pitched a houndie howling and baying fit, he then calmly implied that he would like to do something on Twitter (as he views Twitter as being much cooler) – and that his love of adage cookie fortunes would be a logical progression for him.

Impressed by this sensible request. We agreed.

Now every Friday on The Mindful K9’s Twitter feed, Farley Granger will present one of his favorite adages – er – fortunes from that week. And when feeling up to it, perhaps, even providing some commentary. Sensing a depth here-to-fore absent from the houndie, he made it clear that he wanted to tweet under his formal author name: “Farles G.” We also discovered that in addition to phone poles and all of the above-mentioned items, Farley Granger also loves alliteration. Hence, Fabulous Friday Fortunes from Farles was born.

If you haven’t already, please become one of the fortunate few by following The Mindful K9 on Twitter @TheMindfulK9

Presently, Stanley is campaigning for his own Instagram account… 🙂

For Esmé – with Love, and Holla!

If you have not yet already done so – please meet Miss Esmé. She is the newest addition to The Bak Pack, having joined us on March 7, 2015. Although continuously full of dogs, our household has been puppy-less for exactly 10 years, so Esmé has been tasked with reminding all of us exactly what that is like. And I am glad to report that she is succeeding masterfully!

Named after the title character from J. D. Salinger’s short story “For Esmé – With Love and Squalor”, this young lady was born on the 7th of this past January – making her, at the time of this writing, exactly three months old.

These two are Esmé’s parents; mom is Mayhem a working South African Boerboel and dad is Reaper – a working competition German Shepherd Dog, both are personally owned and trained by local Certified Groomer/Behaviorist/Dog Trainer – and Bevans’ own – Ellen Linthurst. Esmé and her five litter-mates are proof-positive that not all great things are planned for, and that happy accidents do happen!

Esmé will be the first dog that The Mindful K9 will have the opportunity to work with from puppy-hood through all the remaining stages of her life. We’ve raised pups before, but never with the current background, education, philosophy and experience presently at our disposal. We’d like to invite you along for the ride! Every Wednesday on The Mindful K9’s Facebook Page, we’ll be sharing her latest adventures and our progress in raising Miss Esmé. If you have not yet already done so, please “Like” our Facebook Page, so you can keep up with all the Esmé-esque fun!

My Left Foot

Not being mobile just sucks. You see, I had foot surgery almost a month ago. So I’m not supposed to be doing awesome things like walking dogs, anything that might be productive or fun. Mother Nature decided to help me out in these matters because of the extreme cold and endless snow we had been having during most of my down time. Minus any temperature degree reading is just too cold for anything – period (IMHO).

Now my dogs need some mental work so what’s a person to do? I would spend about 10 minutes every so many hours and call them from place to place then down them. These few minutes of mental work several times each day literally exhausts the pack. My home has been absent of any dog craziness during the great freeze most have been experiencing, and my own immobility.

I love the “Place” command. I love the “Place” command and the use of an e-collar even more. Cheers!

The Bak Pack

For my very first Blog Post on The Mindful K9 site, I thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce my own personal dogs – the three, lovingly referred to as “The Bak Pack”. I have learned so much from each of them and you will constantly hear me talk about/refer to them.

In the center of the group is Stella. She’s the husky/terrier/something mix that I mentioned on the “About” page, the one who pulled me into dog training head first. Stella was born in May of 2005 – so at the time of this writing, she’s headed towards 10 years of age. Where has all the time gone? Stella, who came to us at 5 weeks of age (not our choice) – is the anchor of this group and now my barometer for other dogs. Once my problem child, Stella is now my Stellar girl. She is why I’m here.

On the right side is the Beagle/hound mix Farley Granger. We have absolutely no idea how old he is because he was a foundling. Nabbed him just wandering down our heavily traveled street; no tags, no ID, no history. We attempted to turn him in, but on that day the County Kennel was closed and by the time we made it back home, we decided that if no one claimed him – he could stay. We soon discovered why his previous owners may have “released the hound” – Farles G. was/is a dominant, stealthy-sneaky, seductively manipulative, skittish piece of work! The “houndy” has been a handful! With a firm hand and patience Farley Granger has become a integral part of the pack (as you can tell by his compliance in the above photo).

Up top, in all of his copper-toned handsome-ness is Stanley, the inspiration for The Mindful K9’s logo and Farley Granger’s BFF. We know that Stan the Man’s mother was a GSD-mix, but that’s about it, so your guess is about as good as ours… He was rescued from a deadly situation by a friend, and I began working with him while he was being fostered. By 11 months of age, Stanley had lived his entire life outdoors. He had never been in a house, ridden in a car or been taken for a walk – so EVERYTHING was/is new and frightening to him. Building confidence and learning new skills has been the paramount focus for this boy. In the 2+ years he has been with us, Stan has come a long way, but still carries the imprints of his early months.

These are the dogs I live with. They inspire me, push me and bring me great joy. It is my fervent hope that what I may have learned from them may be passed on to others who may be experiencing similar issues. That is why I am here.

How may we help you?