CALI IN REPOSE

Cali
March 9, 2011
© Lydia Marcus 2011 / www.lydiamarcus.com

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

© Lydia Marcus 2011 / www.lydiamarcus.com

Photographed with a Nikon D7000/Nikon 50mm f/1.8

HAUTE DOGS

My latest Blurb book is available for purchase. Enjoy 40 pages of dogs in costume and haute couture! Premium luster paper, $19.99.

HAUTE DOGS by Lydia Marcus | Make Your Own Book

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Cali © Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed September 8, 2010 in Encino, CA

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY CALI

One year ago I adopted Cali from Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue. Happy Anniversary my sweet Cali-ente!

Here's a then (4 months old) & now (1yr, 4mo) photo. She went from just under 25 pounds to just under 50 pounds! She's smart as a whip, very obedient, an excellent retriever, lots of fun, and has NEVER chewed anything in the house that doesn't belong to her.

© Lydia Marcus / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed July 2009/2010 in Los Angeles, CA

CALI AND LUCY THE CHOCOLATE LAB GO NUTS OVER A SQUEAKER

My dog Cali and her bff Lucy The Chocolate Lab go nuts over a squeaker. Lucy jumps for joy several times at the sound of it!

iPhone 3GS video by Lydia Marcus.
Recorded June 9, 2010 in Encino, CA

CALI STROBIST

This week I did a strobist style portrait session with Cali. The set up was a red seamless paper background, 2 Nikon Speedlights (an SB-800 and SB-600) controlled off camera in Commander mode by my Nikon D80. Each light was mounted on a stand with a small Photoflex umbrella. The black outer shell of the umbrella was removed so that the Speedlights could shoot through the white side. Initially I tried shooting into the umbrellas, but with Cali being so dark, there was just too much light lost and it wasn't looking bright enough. Even shooting through, I had to plump up the light settings on both Speedlights to +3 stops. First shot above was done at f/4.5 at 1/45, second was f/6.7 at 1/45.

Cali is remarkable patient and focused for a puppy. She will sit and pose for quite some time if you have her ball and chuck it in her line of sight. :-)

Photo Credits © Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Cali, 1 year old
Photographed March 25, 2010, Los Angeles, CA

EXTRA, EXTRA: THE DOGGIE NEWS

Cali goes nuts over squeaky toys - I'm convinced she's made up her own language based on squeaks! I bought this rubber chew toy at Cost Plus World Market over the holidays. I hadn't given it to Cali yet because I was nervous about how quickly she would chew through it but lately she seems to be taking it a bit easier on her chew toys as she matures. So today I debuted the Doggie News ("All the news that's fit to chew") and she went wild over it. Unfortunately the toy only lasted about 15 minutes before she's chewed the corner off and it no longer squeaked. At least I got a cute picture out of it!

Cali, 10 Months Old
Photo credit © Lydia Marcus 2010 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed January 19, 2010 in Encino, CA

LUCY & CALI SHARE A SNACK

On Sunday afternoon, I went hiking for two hours in the Encino Hills (at Westridge-Canyon Back Wilderness Park) with Cali and her doggy friend, Lucy the Chocolate Lab. After the hike, we went to Coral Tree Cafe to refuel.

Not all dogs will eat lettuce, but these two sure do. In this video, they sit obediently and alternate taking bites of my salad. How sweet they are!!!! :-)

iPhone 3GS video by Lydia Marcus

ADOPT A RESCUE DOG IN LOS ANGELES

Every time I take Cali out with me I get questions about where I got her from so I thought I'd do a reference blog for anyone looking to adopt a labrador in Los Angeles. I am also including a few other general references to good general rescue groups in L.A.

The biggest misconception people seem to have about rescue groups (and even shelters) is that they can't get a puppy or a purebred there. Labs of all colors and ages are available at rescues and shelters.

After my beloved Lucy The Boxador died of lymphoma in late June, I searched many places looking for another dog: petfinder.com; craigslist; petorphans.org; petadoptionfund.org in Canoga Park; karmarescue.org; and more.

The three main places I found that specialized in labs were: Labs And Buddies; Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue; and indilabrescue.org.

Here's a breakdown of each group.

1). Labs And Buddies is where I found my last dog, my beloved Lucy The Boxador. labsandbuddies.org is run by the blood, sweat, and tears of Laura Portillo and a small group of volunteers.

This is a blurb from their website:

"Laura Portillo is the founder of 'Labs and Buddies Rescue'...Although her first love is the Lab, she loves all breeds and will rescue any breed in need, space and finances permitting. She specializes in black dogs, because unfortunately they're always the last ones to be picked by adopters at shelters, and too often they're not picked at all..."

It breaks my heart to see some dogs available on their website that have been around since I adopted Lucy from them in December 2007. Labs and Buddies have a wonderful heart but unfortunately I don't think they have the time or resources to get every dog shown (some live in kennels). I know with Lucy, they rescued her from the Camarillo shelter in September of 2007, then she was put in a kennel for several months, and because she was not doing well in that environment, Laura personally took Lucy into her home a couple weeks before I adopted Lucy in December 2007. Lucy was lucky to get out of the kennel in a few months, it's horrible to think that some dogs are stuck there for years.

Most of the adoption events are held on weekends in Woodland Hills, so please check them out if you're looking for a dog. They have much more than labs too.

2). Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue is where I found Cali. I was very impressed by the work that SCLRR does in fostering the dogs and interviewing applicants before adopting a dog out. The woman who fostered Cali is one of the founders of the group and has personally fostered around 500 dogs herself! Getting Cali from SCLRR saved me a lot of time, money, and training. At four months old she was already crate and potty trained, knew sit and lie down commands, was spayed and had all her shots. As an incentive to put your dog through obedience training, SCLRR refunds $50 of the training cost (you can go to any training place you choose) for basic obedience. Dogs at SCLRR aren't kenneled, they are fostered in homes with dog savvy owners and generally exposed to other dogs, children, and sometimes cats. This way the foster parents are able to report about how well a particular dog does and if they should be placed with another pet, be a solo dog in the home, if they're too boisterous for kids, or if they have a prey drive with cats. Personally I found it really nice to have more information on a dog's personality, temperament, and even energy level before making an adoption decision. Also a really nice touch, when I adopted Cali I was given a folder that included all her medical papers and other information about raising puppies and labradors in particular. There was even a training dvd! And Cali's sweet foster Mom even gave me a couple of her toys (Cali still plays with her stuffed lambie - how she hasn't destroyed it with her puppy chewing is beyond me), a nylabone, and a few days worth of her kibble. And Cali's foster Mom has always been available for follow-up emails or calls. One extra perk from my experience with SCLRR is that I've become friends with the lady who did the home check. She has a black lab too and Cali and her dog Kylie have had a couple doggie playdates so far.

3). Independent Labrador Retriever Rescue of Socal (indilabrescue.org). The only personal experience I have with indilabrescue is a representative coming to my house to do a home check. But I can see from their website that they seem to be run in a similar way to SCLRR. All the dogs are fostered in homes and there's always a very informative description of each dog available for adoption.

What I think is really good about both SCLRR and indilabrescue is that the dogs don't seem to be stuck in foster care for long. They both appear to have a very good turnaround.

Another good rescue group I encountered is Karma Rescue. They were very organized, had lots of info about each dog they fostered (they also mainly do home fosters, but have some dogs kenneled), and spent a lot of time with me answering questions and trying to match me up with dogs. They don't specialize in labs, but when I was going to their adoption events I saw a few pit/lab mixes, and some older black labs. They specialize more in Pit Bulls so the pit mixes are probably what you will encounter there.

Also check out Hope For Paws, a group run by one of my flickr friends Eldad Hagar. Eldad has an amazing flickr photostream documenting all the dogs and other critters he has saved and adopted out. He and his wife Audrey put together an amazing hard cover book Our Lives Have Gone To The Dogs that's only $9.95 and filled with heartwarming tales and before and after photos of wonderful dogs that went from neglect to loving homes.



All the money made from sales of the book go directly towards saving more homeless animals and towards veterinary costs. I highly recommend buying this wonderfully inspiring book for yourself and if can afford it, get a few copies for gifts!

Along with the nearly 100 pages of photos and stories, there are some great dog related quotes inside. I love this one on page 24, "The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue."

If you want a dog please consider adopting from a local rescue or shelter. I think petfinder.com probably has the most comprehensive list of rescue groups by zip code. I've never bought a dog from a store or a breeder in my entire life. The bond you will have with a dog that comes from a shelter or rescue is unbelievable. They are so happy to be in a loving home and they will thank you with their love and companionship forever.

- Lydia Marcus

LUCY THE CHOCOLATE LAB

Lucy is a Chocolate Lab I met a few weeks ago. Lucy's "Mom" Chrystyna and her boyfriend Jorge were walking past my yard and I invited Lucy in to play with Cali. Chyrstyna got Lucy from an ad on Craigslist. The owners had neglected her and were going to dump her at the pound and they were threatening to put her down if no one came to get her! She's only a year old and she's super sweet and loving and thank God she's out of a place that doesn't care about her into a a loving home that does.

Cali and Lucy have had a few doggie play dates, gone on one off leash hike together (their first!), and today Jorge brought Lucy over so we could bathe Cali & her in my backyard. He helped to hold Cali while I washed her and I held Lucy still while he washed her.

Lucy is a gem and has so much potential. She was overweight when she was adopted and in just a few weeks of regular exercise she's already trimmed down. She doesn't know a lot of commands (I think sit and lie down are it), but today in just a few seconds I was able to teach her "Leave It'. Cali and I are happy to call her a friend.

Here's a cropped version of the first shot.



Lucy has beautiful yellow eyes and a radiant smile. This is how she looks most of the time, ears back and relaxed.





I took a few Polaroids of Lucy and Cali too. It took Jorge and I quite a lot of futzing and commands and treats to finally get them close enough for a side by side portrait, but we finally did it!







Digital and Polaroid Photo credits © Lydia Marcus 2009 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed November 18, 2009 in Encino, CA

HAUTE DOGGITY

This was my second year in a row attending the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade in Long Beach. Last year's parade had more than 600 dogs in costume and this year's parade was even bigger. Last year the parade took place on the sidewalk with spectators squeezed on both sides of the cement. This year the parade expanded to two closed off streets with spectators seated in rented chairs lining the street, standing on either side of the street, or sitting directly on the curb.

When we first drove past the festival, both Cali and Abbey (my neighbor Amy's dog) started whimpering a little and just sniffing the air like crazy. They saw and sensed a lot of dogs in the area and they were beginning to get wound up. I wasn't sure how Cali was going to do with all the doggie stimulation. She LOVES to play and I thought she'd be pulling me in all directions. The past month I've been taking her out with me to lots of festivals and she's been getting better and better at remaining calm when she sees other dogs. The first time I took her out with me to the Taste of Encino, I thought she was going to pull my arm out of it's socket lunging and pulling to get at other dogs. But at the Haute Dog Howl'oween she turned out to be surprisingly calm and just wanted to say hi or give a quick kiss to all the doggies she met. There were a couple playful pups closer to her age that actually engaged in play with her so that was great. The only problem I had with her was her attention span - she started to get kind of antsy during the parade because we were planted in one place for a very long time. When you're dealing with a puppy it's really no different than dealing with a kid. You wouldn't expect a kid to stay put in one place for a very long time without wanting to get out an roam around and a dog is exactly like that. Instead of getting up, I just decided to forgo watching the parade for a little while and got down on the ground with her to give her attention and belly rubs.

I didn't get to take as many photos as last year because holding onto Cali and taking photos at the same time is a challenge. But here are my faves from the day. Everything was shot with my Nikon D80 and a 50mm lens at f/1.8.


Pomeranian cutie.


The cutest boxer puppy! I just wanted to eat it up!!!


This "lobster" dog took for cover under the chair because it was wary of Cali.


Tiny & Precious!


I had originally bought a ladybug costume for Cali but she wasn't having any part of it. Maybe when she's older and calmer I can ease her into a costume. But I did manage to pick up this cute scarf for her at the Haute Dog festival. It's red with white hearts and looks great against her black coat. I also bought a yellow one that has a hibiscus flower pattern on it. They attach with velcro and were only $4 dollars.


This is my neighbor Amy with her chihuahua mix Abbey. Abbey is Cali's first playmate, they met right when I got Cali at 4 months old. Abbey is a little bundle of energy and spunk and who always lets Cali know who's the boss! This was the first time Cali and Abbey traveled in the car together and they got along great.


I wanted to get a better portrait after the parade but we were all so pooped out. Posing two dogs together is not so easy.


I think this is a boston terrier dressed as a Laker. It just wanted to play. So sweet.


SUPER LAB!


Definitely the weirdest (and possibly most creative) entry in the parade.


The "Lion" dog and Abbie. The lion mane was homemade by it's owner. Soooo cute.


Chickies!


Playful pup.


This year the parade began with a kid costume category. I thought this little girl dressed as bacon was the best!


This little boy was awesome as Edward Scissorhands. I loved his scowling expression!


A portrait of me & Cali taken by my friend Matthew.


Another shot of me & Cali. Cali will be 8 months old in a few days.

Photo credits © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed October 31, 2009 in Long Beach, CA at the Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade

Update November 6, 2009: Received new photos from my friend Matthew Dillon so thought I'd share them.

Here's Amy M., Me & Cali, and my neighbor Amy S. with Abbey.


Me & Cali and Amy S. & Abbey.

PLAYTIME WITH CALI

Open W-I-D-E!


"Just try and take this persimmon away from me!"


Bend It Like Cali!


I wish her face was in better focus, but I like her expression.


Recent Videos:

Cali Has A Ball


We had a couple days of rain in L.A. so I had to find creative ways to keep Cali busy indoors. And find ways to poop her out! So I invented the Cali-lympics.

Playtime isn't just for fun, it's a daily way to keep training Cali through repetition, praise and sometimes reward.

Cali-lympics Day 1 - Stay, come, single jump, sit, and left paw.


Cali-lympics Day 2 - Cali nails the double jump!


There was a Cali-lympics Day 3 where I had Cali doing a triple jump but I didn't record it because the room was too dark. Right now I'm improvising her jumps with TV bed trays, but I hope to get some agility equipment eventually.

Cali 7.5 months
Photo credits © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed October 21, 2009 in Encino, CA

LABS GONE WILD

Dodger Blue & Cali


Cali had her first puppy play date with Dodger Blue, a chocolate lab belonging to my Flickr friend Matthew aka RuggyBearLA). Dodger is almost a year old and weighs 90 pounds. Cali is six months old and 33 pounds. The two played for a couple hours and never wore each other out. When it comes to young labs, there is no "off" button.

Cali & Dodger Blue


Despite the almost 60 pound weight difference between them, Cali goes after Dodger with gusto!

Tastes Like Chicken!!!


Tug is Cali's favorite game. At first I was reticent to start playing tug with her because I didn't want to create a dog with dominance issues, but after studying up on it a bit, I realized that that tug would be an appropriate game for us. Instead of creating dominance, tug actually is a very even and balanced game for us. As soon as I let go of the rope, Cali immediately brings it back for more play. She wants to keep the tug going, not run off with the rope.

When it came to wrestling around, Dodger had a clear advantage because of his size. With tug, Cali took the lead. Except for a couple of times, Dodger couldn't seem to grab the rope away from her. Here she is basically trying to get him to engage in the game. She's egging him on saying, "You want a piece of this!"



Tug O' War!!!! Two labs having a very fun time.


Photo credits: © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed September 20, 2009 in Encino, CA

CALI GIRL

My fluffy puppy is almost six months old!

Photo credit: © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed September 2, 2009 in Encino, CA

PUPPY PLAY DATE

Went to the Coral Tree Cafe with my friend Sheryl and her two Doxie pups Tilda and Lulah for a doggie play date. It's the first time our pups have met each other. The doxies were a little overwhelmed by Cali since she's so much larger than them (and pretty rambunctious). Cali is 5 months old and the doxies are a few weeks younger. Cali is about 30 pounds now, not sure how much longer I'll be able to pick her up.

In the last week I've taught her "Leave It" and how to shake her paw. She picks up commands pretty quickly so I'm hoping to be able to teach her lots of stuff.

Right now this is what she can do:

Sit
Lie Down
Sit Stay (as long as I'm in view and not too far away)
Lie Stay (ditto)
Shake
Find It
Leave It
Give It (this only works with tennis balls for fetch)
Sit at the door when we're ready to go outside. Sit Stay once the door is open until I release her to go out.
Sit in front of her food bowl until I let her eat
Sit at corners when we go for walks. Responds to Heel command to continue walking.

What I REALLY need to work on - PULLING when walking on leash - getting worse. I need to get her in a harness every time, her normal flat collar is useless. Also, she's really good at responding to COME in the house but when she's outside in the front or back yard, she pretty much ignores me. Gotta up the ante with food rewards for this one.

I took her out to Montrose to visit with friends today and their seven year old daughter was able to get Cali to respond to Sit, Lie Down, Shake and Leave It. She's the first "trainer" besides me to give Cali commands so I was really impressed that Cali listened to her even in a very distracting outside environment with LOTS of doggie stimulation. Go Cali!

Photo credit: © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed August 19, 2009 in Encino, CA

CALI POOLSIDE

I found out today that Cali makes a very willing and very still model when American cheese slices are involved.







Cali, 4 months old.
Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 31, 2009 in Encino, CA