Ann Johnson @AnnJohnsonJames

Suddenly … I may have a new fav minister (if that is actually a thing ??) Calling a horse as horse.

Jaro Giesbrecht @JaroGiesbrecht

16 hours ago

Immigration minister @MarcMillerVM points out how the CONservative leader is never silenced, after being kicked out if the HOC for being a disrespectful little brat. 🔥That guy (@PierrePoilievre) has never shut his mouth in his life!! I think it would be good if he shut up, if…

132 362 2K 39K 40

Download Video

@Frederickconlin I have lived in Alberta almost my entire life and love my province deeply, just not the current gov. The tide will eventually turn on the UCP and I am optimistic for brighter days ahead.

@TheBlueGem3 @MargTokar No you can just download the app if you want alerts specifically from AEA, but any emergency alerts are usually texted to your phone.

With dogs in the news, and handling of behavioral issues, I thought I'd talk about our experience with difficult dog breeds. Namely: the Siberian husky. And not just any huskies: every one of ours are behavioral surrenders. 1/n

Loki somebody's Christmas present for their significant other. He, ummm... didn't work out. We got him from the Fairfax County pound in January 2019. Major behavioral issue: food aggression. Medical issues: worms, coccidia, giardia, hernia, torn ACL He's 10k in vet bills. 2/n

Meet Thor. Surrendered at 1 YO b/c owner kept him in a crate all day. Initial behavioral issues: small dog aggression, fear of loud / chaotic situations / fireworks / firearms. Children made him nervous. Abandonment Upside: best running buddy ever. And yes, he's judging you 3/n

Luna. We were the second rehome. She'd been stuck in a crate constantly. Chewed off the end of her own tail. Behavioral issues: climbed on counters. Food guarding / uncontrollable eating. High prey drive. Escape artist. Upside: Great with kids / chaos. Submissive to people. 4/n

Just about any dog trainer will tell you huskies are one of the breeds they will never own. They're just too difficult, stubborn, and unmotivated by play or treats. They were built to do one thing: pull very hard on a line for HOURS. 5/n youtube.com/shorts/NO2P5y5…

With every one of these dogs we had to work on their individual issues one at a time with patience and a gentle heart. With dogs that are already abused / neglected / desocialized, playing dominance games is a BAD idea. 6/n

In some cases, we were able to break the bad habits. Loki is just about the best dog I've owned at this point. We got him as a puppy, and his habits were less ingrained. Training him to wait on the food, and getting used to "reaches" worked. 7/n

We got Luna to stop searching for food on the counter by watching her, and changing our own behaviors (less food on counters). We did "return" exercises so she comes back if she gets loose. We got her to wait for her food, and then to slow down. We haven't had binging again 8/n

Thor has been the hardest. We did what we could: kids in controlled environments don't bother him, but we wouldn't let him loose with a pack of cub scouts the way we would with Luna. We keep him away from small dogs. Prey drive is just too high. 9/n

But, he's a little like a special needs kid: you just have to accept his limitations, and don't put him in situations where he can't fail catastrophically. Set him up to succeed, make him feel safe and comfortable, and he'll be enforcing the cheese tax in no time. 10/n

All of this is a very long winded introduction into my belief that pets are for life. We introduce our children to the cycles of life with them, along with empathy and responsibility. When you bring a pet into your home, it's a commitment to do everything you can for them. 11/n

I'm also sharing it because we work with dogs that people abandoned for behavioral issues, and that many professional dog trainers won't even waste their time on. We know a little bit about difficult dogs. 12/n

Which brings me back to Noem. For all the mayhem (and occasional dead possums and squirrels) these furry maniacs cause, it never once occurred to me to shoot them in the ****ing face. Like, never. Even when they've nearly gotten us in trouble with their issues. 13/n

keyboard_arrow_left Previous keyboard_arrow_right Next

It's also taught our kids to treat animals with respect. Some people don't like hugs. Some dogs don't like it either (Thor). Respect that. But they're also family members: when Loki tore his ACL we put it on credit card and would figure it out later. 14/n

Anyway, thanks for sitting through my kids and pets slide show. Give your furry friends some love and attention. As for me, I'll be spending my evening with my three mildly brain-damaged derpwolf housemates. 15/n

@BrynnTannehill This is our husky Loki. He came to us as a gift from someone who needed to release care to another family for medical / health reasons (human). He was 9 months old and had been living outside. He came home with us to be an inside good-good boy 😊 He is our 1st dog family member.

Before we close off the weekend, let’s please take a moment to commemorate today as our National Day of Mourning in our workplaces. Regardless of profession we should always remind ourselves and our loved ones to commit to safety in our places of work. Today let’s honour those…