Summer Vacation

Here are a few candid shots of Bider, Ethan and myself on our recent road trip to Boothbay, ME.

Bider learned two new skills while on the road.

Wearing a hat....and Sunglasses

Chillin @ Niagra Falls, the glasses were a huge hit.

I'm uploading a slideshow as we speak which has more pictures of our trip.  Here's the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/derbiderblog/show/

More modeling photos

These we are sending off to "Playbitch" magazine. It caters to young single female dogs, with money of course.  

Talent!

Naughty, naughty, boy! But they say the bitches go for the bad dogs....

Bider has modeling potential!

Posing with a prop.

Profile.

Close up.....

Notice how at home he is in front of the camera....

Bider is gonna make us rich someday. 

Bider ATTACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My very lovely and somewhat pregnant wife was out on a walk with Bideroo on Saturday and low and behold, he was charged and slightly mauled by a Bull Mastiff. The dog apparently had gotten loose while the owner was working on something on his house. The owner broke it up quickly, and Vanessa and Bider came home apparently unharmed. I went over to try and talk to the dude about it, but he was inside his house cleaning up, probably afraid I was pissed, and he didn't come out. I left a message for him via his white trash helper guy - I stopped by following up on what happened, and wanted to check out his dog and make sure it was healthy. Really no big deal,  just due diligence on my part.

Then today...When Bider had a fever all day, and then peed on the floor albeit, in excitement,  I examined him again, for like the fifth time. That's when I found this...

One small puncture would. puss and all. I trimmed as much hair as he would let me and cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide. Going to the vet tomorrow. 

The experience got me thinking about what to do in a dog attack. Here is a good article for you nice dog owners who want to protect their nice dogs from asshole owners like the guy who let his large predatory untrained mutt chomp on my Bider. Whom as we all know is nothing if not the sweetest dog ever to roam the planet.

http://leerburg.com/dogattack.htm

I thought his tips on fighting off trained police attack dogs were really helpful. Really useful in my life as a jazz musician. "The man" is always siccing his trained dogs on us.

Update:

Took Bider to the Vet on Monday, He had a fever of 104.3.(101 is normal) So he definitely has an infection. She found and cleaned the rest of his wounds, and gave him some antibiotics. Threw in an elizabethan collar for free. Total bill $221. He has to go back on thursday. 

Before Bider.....After Bider........

I thought I would post last years summer vacation highlights for the family, after this post, I'll post this years, and we'll see if we had more fun with Bider.

Summer before bider.............

Mah Dawg is teh kewlest.......

cutting edge with the aviators....so kewl...KC Mardi Gras Parade...... 

Bider's first sleepover....

Our totally cool neighbors, who's real identity we will protect by referring to them as biscuits, gravy and eggs are totally enamored with Bider. So much so, that they don't seem to mind when Bider magically teleports into their yard, and helps Brinks mantain his athletic physique through a program of vigorous exercise, and eating all Brinks' food. Not to mention the gigantic foundation destabilization\excavation program both dogs have undertaken while we aren't looking. Bider can move some dirt folks. Were talking a cubic yard in 20 minutes. He digs faster than two men with shovels. 

So when the opportunity presented itself to ingratiate myself to them in the form of a small favor, needless to say, I jumped at the chance. Gravy was stuck at the Waffle House Airport, I believe with Eggs in tow. Biscuits had left that morning for Phoenix, and left the dog in the backyard until Gravy and Eggs could get home. Gravy just wanted me to water Brinks, but I said how about a sleepover? Both dogs behaved themselves way better than anyone could have expected. The real funny thing was the way Bider was acting towards Brinks by not letting brinks play with his toys, or when it came time to lie down in their beds, (we have two for Bider) Bider would get up and lie down in Brinks' bed, and when Brinks would settle in Bider's he would do the same thing. Eventually Bider found his manners and they settled down til about 4 a.m. when I heard them playing and crashing into stuff in the living room. It was just like my sleepovers when my Dad would come out in his underwear and yell at me and my friends to shut up and go to bed. Incredible.  

 

Handsome, soulful, wanton, needy, whining, cute, soft, white, smelly, sweet, smart, and apparently not camera shy.

Bider and Ethan

Bider's other best bud is my ten year old son Ethan. Bider is very protective of Ethan, and I think if he ever felt like someone was really threatening him, he'd try and rip them to shreds. Bear in mind I have had Bider over a month, and I've yet to even hear him growl. He also is the best behaved dog in the dog park, always running away from aggressive dogs, and  playing gently with the toy breeds.

Reccomended reading....

"How to be Yor Dog's Best Friend"

The Monks of New Skete,

Best dog book ever, also works on kids.

Bider and Brinks.......

Bider's best bud is another rescue dog, Brinks. Brinks is most likely a mix of Aussie, and some other long haired herding type dog. Bider crawls under the fence to get to Brinks' yard, and they play sometimes for hours. Brinks loves to dig big holes all over his yard, so they play some weird game where one dog gets in the hole, and the other attacks him. Sort of a dog version of cowboys and indians. You can see one of Brinks' construction projects behind him in this photo. 

Bider's First Night with us.....

Here is a picture of Baron Bider Von Sikehausen settling down for his first night with us. He was surprisingly comfortable in his new surroundings, in fact he slept a lot the first few days. At some point I will post the complete story on how he came to live with us, his name et-al. Suffice to say, he definitely found us. 

Bider Dog-Blog Launch!

Hi folks, Bider and I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog detailing our experiences. Our biggest reason for doing this is so people and dogs everywhere who face the same challenges Bider and I face can learn from our successes and failures as both master and dog.

We also felt the need to combat the ignorance and misinformation out there concerning large breed dogs, their training, care, and socialization. Too many large dogs, and dog breeds get labeled as dangerous, untrustworthy, aggressive, or just plain mean.

Of course it's not the dogs, it's the apathetic owners, the misinformed people who make the laws, and the ignorance of man which caused the traits to be so prevalent. (In many cases we created these ourselves through unsound breeding and socialization practices).

My dog, Bider is the product of a flawed system which values consumer appeal and appearances, over what is really good for people and their domesticated animals, especially the GSD, the most intelligent, loyal, and hardest working of all large dog breeds.

The idea that "Well, this dog isn't working out, so I'll just dump him." is indicative of the type of throwaway society we live in, where relationships, life, and love - come second to convenience, money, and instant gratification.

I knew when I adopted Bider that this entire socialization and training process would be difficult, but ultimately worth it. Already after a few short weeks, I can really see it starting to happen, the light has gone on within him so to speak. You are welcome to join us for the ride....