Ask Olive

Olive has agreed to take time out of her busy schedule to answer your questions. If you have a question for her, simply fill out this form and the lil' dog will do her best to give you a thorough answer.

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Olive's Answers

Grant B. of Iowa asks:

How can you tell if a dog is right or left pawed?

Which paw does your dog lift when s/he wants attention? When you say "paw" or "shake" (if your dog knows what that means), does s/he lift the right or left paw? The paw your pup uses is the answer to your question.

Joe G. of Somerville, MA asks:

Olive, I was curious what you're favorite metal band is. Also, what are some of your guiltiest pleasures? Also, if Mom and Pops keep beating you relentlessly, you can come stay with me. I have a tastey ferret who is begging to be eaten.

My favorite metal band, by far, is Slayer. Dad is constantly playing metal, and I usually don't pay much attention to it, but one night the video for "Reign in Blood" was on TV. I immediately got excited and wanted to play. Something about that band gets me going (seriously)!

As for my guiltiest pleasure, that would have to be getting into the trash. To be honest, it's more of way of getting back at my mum and dad for leaving me alone at night when they go get dinner or hang out with friends. I like to tip the garbage over and make a huge mess. I have done it about 4 or 5 times (just started this two months ago), but mum and dad have since put bricks in the bottom of the rubbish basket, so now I can't tip it over. Drats!

And speaking of your ferret, I am very excited to have met him last night! I really think you should have let me eat him, though. Maybe next time?

Tofu Pup of Oakland, CA asks:

Dear Olive,

I understand that you are not a big fan of real-life encounters with other dogs. I, too, have certain "problems" when I see other dogs face to face. I try to bite them and attack them all the time. It's gotten so bad that I must wear a muzzle whenever I go out in public.

I was wondering how you handle your dog aggression problems and what you would recommend to me as far as getting my own problems under control.

p.s. I have already tried a private trainer and am now considering getting on prozac or other kind of mood-altering medication.

This question is a toughie. I know how difficult it must be for you, because yes, I get very upset around other dogs, as well. Unfortunately, since I don't know how to control myself either, I'm not sure what to tell you. My mum and dad keep trying to convince me that my behavior is unacceptable through continuous, consistant training—and so far that's helping—but we recognize that it's going to be a long road, and I may never be completely okay with other pups. My advice to you is to try any avenues you're comfortable with. I don't know much about doggie prozac, so I can't say whether or not that's a good route. But if you research it and find that it might be beneficial, I say give it a shot. Best of luck, fellow dog aggressor.

Ted G. of San Mateo, CA asks:

Olive, how do you feel that mom and dad are going away for two weeks? Are you planning on peeing on everything to express your anger, or looking forward to throwing ragers with all your friends at the kennel?

Unfortunately, I didn't get this question until after my Mum and Dad returned from their trip to Scotland. I didn't have access to email while they were gone because Dad turned his computer off and didn't give me permission to turn it on. You wouldn't believe the backlog of emails I had to get through when they returned. Jeesh!

To be honest, I was pretty upset that they left. Fortunately, they didn't put me in a kennel and instead had their friend, Kate, look after me from my own home. That made their leaving much less hard on me. Just the same, it wasn't easy. Kate did a great job taking care of me, but I just missed my Mum and Dad so much. I thought they had abandoned me, so I took my fear out on dogs, squirrels, joggers, bicyclists, etc. (yes, I have abandonment issues).

But, that's in the past now since they're back. I just hope they don't leave me again.

Emily G. of Illinois asks:

Just looking through your site because my brother (Ted) is a big fan. Saw you have some mention of Basenji's in there and I have a Basenji (8 mos old). Just thought I'd update the comments you have posted — and say although I don't think you have much Basenji in you that you're darn cute!! Basenji's are actually a very ancient breed from Egypt/Africa and are used by Pigmy to snare prey. I'd love to send you a much cuter picture of our little guy Tut (also known as King Tut-a-potamus.) His favorite chew toy is his brother Hagrid — what's yours?

I'm not so sure about having any Basenji in me either — my looks are probably all from my Ibizan heritage. Like Basenjis, Ibizans are a very ancient breed, traceable back to approximately 3400 BC. Phoenician sailors are said to have brought my ancestors to the island of Ibiza in the eighth century — before that, Ibizans originated in Egypt, just like Basenjis. One cool tidbit of history about Ibizans: Hannibal (himself an Ibizan) took some of my ancestors with him on his famous trip across the Alps. Cool, eh?

Anyway, to answer your question, my favorite chew toy (lately) is a stuffed hedgehog toy that I got from my "doggie shower."

Tina S. of South Jersey asks:

What is your opinion of George W.'s pooches, Buddy and Spot? Would you like to see them as 2 term first dogs? BTW...my doggy's an Olive too!

If Spot Fetcher Bush, who is 14 in human years (if I remember my birthdays correctly), makes it to 2004 I'll be mighty impressed. The average English Springer Spaniel lives about 12 years, so he's already exceeded that. Buddy, on the other hand, will be 3 at the end of September. But regardless of their ages, I have no problem with both of them sticking around in the White House — just so long as their humans aren't there with them. They're fine dogs, but I'm not so sure about GWB, if you know what I mean.

Terry S. of "Rude" Island asks:

My 2 year old golden retreiver spends a lot of time surfing the internet. He visits a lot of weird sites and we're starting to get concerned that he might be getting an unrealistic view of the world. So here's my questions: 1) How much time do you spend surfing the internet and what are some recommended sites; and 2) I think my dog might be getting carpal tunnel syndrome... Since my dog is left pawed, have you found a place that sells left paw braces?

Like my dad, I'm a dog that likes to shop on the internet. You've seen that commercial where the dog buys the big-screen TV and the Lady & the Tramp DVD online, right? Well, that's just like me. So when I want to shop, I go to PetEdge. That place has insanely cheap doggie items like toys and Greenies.

I also like to browse PetFinder.org to look at the cute pups who need saving. I encourage others to check that one out cuz more doggies need to find good homes.

As for that left paw brace, I hear that some guy named Ned Flanders has a shop called "The Leftorium." I tried going to Leftorium.com and all I got was this, but I don't see any mention of items "left pawed." You've stumped me. Good luck with that carpal tunnel!

Stuart Pin of Quincy, MA asks:

Hiya Olive-
I was wondering what your favorite hottime activity is. Mine definitly is sitting on the back lawn, panting. Mom puts the sprinkler on for me, but I don't think she understands that I'm actually afraid of water coming out of a long metal pole. Silly humans.

You have a lawn? Oh, I am so jealous. I have a whole neighborhood to walk around in, but not at my leisure, unfortunately. What I wouldn't give for a lawn...

So what do I do to deal with this heat? Well, for starters: air conditioning. That's a must. But it also helps that I have a fairly dark house. Keeps the cool air in and the hot air out, ya know? And lotsa' water, too.

I've been curious about trying Frosty Paws, though this review makes them seem less than favorable. Has anyone else tried 'em?

Magnus of Newport, RI asks:

How do you feel about Hadyn Christensen's role as Anakin Skywalker?

Let me start by saying that Hadyn Christensen is Canadian. Whether or not a Canadian should be playing the future Darth Vader brings about a whole other debate, so I'll save that one for another time. Anyway, one of Hayden Christensen's first roles was in Fox Family's Higher Ground. On that show he played Scott Barringer — a drug-abusing teenager who was molested by his stepmother before being sent to a school for troubled teens. I think that's rather appropriate considering Anakin is pretty darn troubled, as well. So I really don't have a problem with Hadyn playing Anakin, though I do think the role would be better suited to a canine-type or maybe a Muppet.

Micke T. of San Francisco, CA asks:

How do you feel about dogs and cats being spaded and, um, are you fixed? Secondly, I hear your related to "Santa's Little Helper" is that true?

Well, if by "spaded" you mean physically reprimanded (i.e., being hit with a spade or shovel-like instrument), that's something I'm very against. Before I was adopted by my mummie and daddy, I went through some rough times. Physical punishment is NEVER excusable. It's BAD!

But I think you mean "spayed." I am definitely an advocate of spaying and neutering your pets. I recommend heading over to SpayUSA.com for more information. As they state on their site, "Each year, in this country, millions of healthy, adoptable cats and dogs are killed because there are not enough homes for them all." As a shelter-adopted pup, I got lucky — but so many others animals are put to sleep each year because owners aren't responsible. Spaying and neutering is a MUST.

As for my relation to Santa's Little Helper, the jury's still out on that one. If we could track that pup down, we could do some DNA tests, but he's quite elusive considering we still don't know which Springfield he lives in. We tried Springfield, Massachusetts, but didn't have any luck. So the search goes on...

Farah K. of Boston, MA asks:

olive, you are certainly the most web-savvy doggie i know! how do you find the time to stay in touch with world events, remember to pee outside, catch the latest missy song, manage to keep yourself looking so smashing and adorable, AND keep your website updated? i'm impressed! mummie and daddy must be SO PROUD!

Well, considering it took me over a month to respond to your question, it looks like I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up with everything. As I'm growing more accustomed to the easy life with my mummie and daddy, I'm slacking a bit on the world events and website updates. I find that it's more enjoyable to simply sleep, play, and eat. I have heard a scary rumor that I'm going to be starting obedience classes on Monday, though. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it can't be good if it's got the word "class" in it. I'll be sure to keep you posted.

And thanks for the compliments on my "adorable" looks. You're too kind!