The Dog Blog

The Raw Diet Experiment

2009-08-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well in case you didn't know one of the biggest factors in bloat/torsion is a dry dog food diet. Recent studies have shown that feeding canned food reduces the risk of bloat by 30%, while feeding actual human food, in other words non-processed meat, cuts the risk by 60%.

And if you didn't know it, torsion is the second leading cause of death for large breed dogs.

I've already had 3 cases of bloat among German Shepherds I've owned. Two ended in the sudden deaths of the dogs, and the third cost me a lot of money in surgery. So I've decided to throw out the dry kibble.

My first stab at it involved a plain raw diet of food I picked up at the grocery store. I got the idea for this from leerburg kennels, a nice website that has lots of info on raw dog food diets. I followed their suggestion and began feeding my dogs chicken leg/thigh quarters, raw ground beef, and eggs.

Apparently the bones are safe to feed to dogs if they're raw. They are softer and pliable and the dogs chew them up pretty good, so no chance of brittle shards injuring the dog. I wasn't so sure about that and found one of my shepherds basically swallowing the chicken legs whole. Then they got diarrhea and my Weimaraner, Lucy, had a major vomiting session. OK raw chicken is out.

This was kind of disappointing because it wasn't all that expensive. Compared to dry kibble it is, but I was feeding one of the shepherds canned food. He weighs 90 pounds so was getting 4 cans of Purina One per day. These run roughly a buck a can, so that's $4 per day.

Chicken quarters have been going for 89 cents per pound at the local grocery store. You're supposed to feed a 90 pound dog about 2 pounds of meat per day, so on chicken he would be costing me around $1.80 per day! WOW! Less than half the cost of canned food.

But alas I couldn't use my dogs as guinea pigs any longer, and had the good fortune to come across some mildly processed raw dog food. First I found some "Country Pet" rolls at Whole Foods, which are pasteurized rolls of chicken and lamb. I am sure they have beef available too but I haven't seen it. Besides being pasteurized and eliminating the bacterial pathogen factor you've got from raw chicken at the store, they have ground bone it it, so the dog still gets the benefits of eating bone.

The problem is this stuff is pricey. It costs $6 per roll. Not bad if you have a small dog, but a dog like Jake, checking in at 90 pounds, is going to eat a little more than an entire roll per day. So he would be costing me around $7 or so in food per day. That is a bit much.

Learn About Country Pet Dog Food

I also came across some patties at a local specialty pet store called "Stella and Chewies". This is frozen raw meat with some veggies, vitamins etc. thrown in for good measure. Also certified to be bacteria free. Jake seemed to really like those. It was $25 for 16 patties, which lasted about 4 days.

Read About Stella and Chewys

The food is frozen, so you have to plan ahead and defrost. But the dogs definitely LOVE the patties. Another good side effect is their poops get a lot smaller when on a raw meat diet, so less cleaning up to do in the yard.

I'm not quite done with the experiment, I ordered two cases of chicken patties from barfworld. Check out their website, you can learn all the wonders of the raw dog food diet.

Prophylactic Gastropexy

2009-08-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

Update on the bloat. I call my regular vet, and he proposes doing a larthroscopic prophylactic gastropexy. Got that?

Basically this is an operation where the surgeon uses some kind of microscope thingy to look in the stomach area. They grab the stomach, and basically staple it to the body wall. The idea is that while the dog may bloat again, his stomach can't turn over and kill him. While its initially stapled, over time the tissue grows together and the stomach becomes permanently attached to the body wall.

I've already had 2 dogs die of bloat/torsion, so its a no brainer to get this done. Here's the catch: the cost is $1263.

Well I went ahead and got it done. Once a dog has bloated, and Tony is only 3, chances are very high they're going to bloat again. Next time I might not be so lucky and get him to the vet on time.

The surgery was scheduled and I dropped him off at 7 AM. Everything went smoothly and I picked him up and took him home the same night. Instructions were relatively simple, keep him quiet and don't let him romp around for 21 days. Kind of hard since I've got 4 dogs.

The first night after the surgery he was quite groggy. They gave me some pain meds that would last about a week, and let me tell you the first week was kind of rough. His belly got kind of swollen and he was just acting "under the weather" the whole time. I was worried something had gone wrong, but then he started pulling out of it. By about 2 weeks time, he was getting back to his old self.

If you are considering getting prophylactic gastropexy, I strongly advise it if you've got a large dog prone to bloat. Generally this includes breeds like Great Danes, Boxers, German Shepherds, Dobermans, etc. and to a lesser extent labrador retrievers and the like. It is expensive, but its alot cheaper than surgery for torsion and better than risking the sudden death of your dog.

Another Case of Bloat

2009-08-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

About 6 weeks ago another one of my dogs bloated. It was about midnight and he was kind of puffing air out of his mouth. I thought that was odd so stayed up with him for awhile. It seemed to stop and he went and laid down, so I went to sleep thinking I had come ever so close to another bloat and potentially dead dog, but avoided it.

I woke up around 6:30 AM and found him puffing air out again, and then he began throwing up foam. OK at this point there is no doubt that it was bloat. I quickly got dressed, put him in the car, and drove to the nearest emergency vet. Luckily I got him to the vet on time, and they were able to stick a tube down his throat and evacuate the gas.

But while I was waiting, they are thinking they're going to have to do surgery. So they get in and do x-rays to see if he's had torsion, and how bad it is. Then the vet comes out with a cost estimate. She says $6,000. I about fell out of my chair. At this point what are you going to say? They wanted half down, and I wasn't going to say "yeah OK just euthanize him". I gave her my credit card and ouch! they charged me $3,000. I slinked away depressed, they said they would call me later and let me know how things were going.

It was a few hours later that they called and informed me the surgery wouldn't be necessary. Turns out there had been no torsion-so death looked in the eye and averted-this time. The dog is a German Shepherd so I knew he was at high risk.

So they sent me home with some gastric motility medication, and instructions to feed him 4 times a day and get a prophylactic gastropexy.

Dogs are smarter than they look

2009-04-14T08:12:00.001-07:00

You always hear that cats can find their way home but with dogs, well that proposition is kind of dubious. But one summer I found out that dogs are pretty smart about finding their way around.

One night I was out walking the two German Shepherds I had at the time, Sam and Brandy. I lived right at the entrance to the foothills of the Sandia mountains, so usually took them on mountain hikes, but since it was at night I was just walking them around the neighborhood.

When we just about got home I saw 3 dogs out running loose. Being a nut for animals, I always try and save dogs that have gotten out loose. There was a black lab, a small pit bull cross, and a boxer. I was able to get the pitbull and the boxer but the black lab got away.

Sam kind of had a reputation for being vicious because he was a big male German Shepherd who barked with vigor. But he was all bark and no bite, so I never hesitated bringing dogs home. I tied Sam's leash through the collars of the little dogs and we went home.

It was kind of funny but the instant we got in the house the two little dogs I had picked up seemed happy as could be. The little pit bull immediately got attached to me and followed me all over, and he ended up sleeping right next to my bed on the floor. The boxer kind of fell into the "pack" with my two shepherds and slept with them-they liked sleeping on the leather couch in the living room.

The next morning I put a lost pet ad in the news paper. For the next week the two little dogs became members of the household. They were having a great time, playing a lot with Sam and Brandy and each night the little pit bull would sleep next to me.

Sam on the leather couch

Finally someone called, and a man described the dogs perfectly so I knew they were his. It turned out that the pit bull's name was Max, which seemed to fit him perfectly because he looked like a little gangster. The man said his son (who was about 20) was devastated by losing the dogs.

That afternoon he comes to the house and picks up the dogs. To be honest, he seemed kind of harsh with them and it seemed like they didn't want to go with him. But he finally got them in the car and off they went.

My mother, who was following this little episode, said that the little dogs would be back. Sure enough her observation proved right.

About a week later, I was reading in my bedroom one afternoon. I heard this scratching sound by the window. I looked out and to my surprise there was Max the pitbull!

Brandy the Shepherd

Somehow max had found his way back. I let him in and he was full of cactus needles. If you aren't familiar with the area, the western face of the Sandia mountains is desert at lower elevations. Not only that but little max was dying of thirst. The poor little fellow had escaped from his home and crossed through the mountains and come back to my house!

I have to admit I was tempted to keep him, but I gave them another call and once again the man came to pick him up. This time the man was not happy at all and was even kind of stand-offish towards me.

This was back in the summer of 2006 and I often wonder what became of those little dogs. But it goes to show that dogs can find their way around.

Bloat: A Top Dog Health Threat

2009-03-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Pet Dog Health: The Danger Of Stomach Torsion

Author: David McMahon

It may be the worst thing that can happen to a dog owner: coming home and finding your "best friend" suddenly dead-when the dog had seemed completely healthy. Unfortunately that's exactly what happened to me one October afternoon, when I came home to find one of my German Shepherds dead on the floor. What could it be? A stroke? A heart attack? After getting over my complete state of shock-the dog was not "aged" and seemed completely healthy-I began digging for answers.

It turned out that the cause of death was an event called "stomach torsion" that comes about from "bloat". This is a serious issue in pet dog health, its the second leading cause of death for large dogs. But at the time, I didn't know very much about it.

Becoming educated on this issue could mean the difference between death and several extra years of life for your dog.

OK-so what is it? Let's try and describe it in laymen's terms. Bloat is basically a condition where a lot of gas or fluid gets trapped in the dogs stomach. This really isn't all that different from what might happen to you if you drank too much root beer on a full stomach, but in dogs, and in particular large dogs, this is a serious problem. This is because the stomach isn't as well set in the body cavity as ours is, a dogs stomach is kind of hanging loose if you will. When it becomes over-engorged with fluid or gas, it can twist around.

When it does, the result is a medical emergency. The blood supply to many vital organs gets cut off when this happens, and the dog goes into shock. Death will result if surgery is not performed. A symptom that this is happening is that the dog will be throwing up clear liquid or attempting to throw up.

One tragic aspect of this condition is that onset can happen rapidly, and so you may become aware of it when its too late. That's what happened in my case, my dog was fine when I left the house. I was gone for a few hours, and when I got back she was dead. Its a sad state of affairs but the progression from bloat to stomach torsion to death can happen in as little as an hour.

We can't be with our dogs 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but what we can do is take steps to reduce the risk of it happening. Here are a few things you can do:

Break up your dogs feedings. The less food a dog takes in when it eats the lower the risk. A dog that eats just once a day has a higher risk than a dog that has its meals split into two or three portions a day.
Watch out for dry food. Dogs that eat all dry food have a higher risk. Consider feeding canned food, or mixing dry and canned together. When you do this substitute a can of moist dog food for a cup of dry food. This helps because dry food tends to expand when liquified in the stomach adding stress to the stomach.
Feed using raised bowls. There is a bit of controversey about this one, but feeding using raised bowls may help reduce the risk. This is because some dogs gulp down air when they eat, and its believed by some that bowls raised off the floor cut down on the amount of air gulped in. This in turn cuts the risk of bloat happening. Raised pet bowls are available for sale on the internet.
Watch out for diarrhea. If a dog has chronic diarrhea, it may increase the risk. Make sure to get diarrhea treated.
Never exercise right after feeding. Let the dogs stomach "settle" for an hour or two before going out for exercise.
Avoid feeding immediately after exercise. After a long walk, a dog probably wants to drink lots of water. Doing that and then eating can be a fatal recipie.
Don't feed late at night.

Before this happens I had no idea what a serious problem this was in pet dog health. Interestingly, it often takes dogs in their prime: most victims are aged between 4 and 7 years of age. But dogs of any age can get it, and although males have a higher risk, female dogs die from it as well.

In the end we can't prevent every bad event from happening. But at least taking these steps will put your mind at rest since you'll know you were aware, and took responsible steps to control the risk.

More information on pet dog health: click here

About the Author:

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/pet-dog-health-the-danger-of-stomach-torsion-815044.html

Dog Food Secrets

2009-03-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder what's really in your dog food? I know I do, and that's why I've been checking out ingredients on dog food packaging for some time. When you do that you're probably not going to be too impressed in a lot of cases, and you may consider a home made dog food diet.

When reading dog food labels, the order of the ingredients tells you how much of each item is in the food. This isn't an exact amount, but what it does tell you is relative amounts. For example, if the label reads like:

corn meal, chicken, rice

Then the dog food has more cornmeal in it than chicken, and more chicken in it than rice.

So the first thing I look for is where animal protein figures on the list. The reason I do this is that dogs have descended from a long line of carnivores. Dogs were domesticated from wolves a long time ago. Wolves are meat eaters and so it makes sense that the best thing to do for your dog is give him what he naturally needs-meat. Sure he can get by on cornmeal, but that isn't necessarily the best thing for his health.

The second big item to note when it comes to analyzing dog food is that some meat items are listed as "by products". What on earth is a by-product? According to About.com, chicken by-products are described as follows:

Definition: Chicken by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.

Well, that's not exactly breast and thigh meat. Do you want your dog eating chicken feet as his main source of protein? Probably not. I don't either, so I prefer brands of dog food that have by-products lower down on the list of food items.

Unfortunately if you're looking for bargain food you're going to be getting items like corn, corn meal, and by-products as the top ingredients. An example I like to use is comparing Purina Dog Chow to the more expensive line sold by the same company, Purina One. Dog Chow consists of lower quality ingredients like chicken by-products and corn meal. Purina One, on the other hand, has real meat in it. How do you know this? Its going to say "chicken" instead of "chicken by-products". I think this is better food for dogs.

Here's a secret tip: be careful changing your dog's diet. Dogs have sensitive digestive systems and changing your dogs diet abruptly can lead to problems like diarrhea. It could even lead to bloat, but I can't prove that. So start off by mixing in the new dog food a little bit at a time.

All of this begs the question-if you want your dog to eat real meat, why not just put her on a home made dog food diet? That's exactly what thousands of people are doing.

If you do a home made dog food diet, some items you might consider are cooked chicken, steak, pork, and a carbohydrate like rice. You're going to need to do some research to make sure that your dog is getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs, to maintain proper dog health supplements are going to be necessary on that kind of diet. Vegetables will also have to be included.

I own a large number of dogs, so preparing home made meals is just not realistic for me. I barely have the time to make my own dinner. But if you only have one or two dogs, it might be something you should consider. But talk to your veterinarian to make sure your dog is getting all of the nutrients she needs.

Bloody Diarrhea in Dogs

2009-03-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

Every dog gets diarrhea from time to time, but in most cases it will disappear pretty quickly. But while most cases of diarrhea in dogs are not serious, there are a few occasions when diarrhea means more than just cleaning up the mess. Two things immediately come to mind: when your dog has diarrhea that lasts more than a couple of days, and second, if your dog has bloody diarrhea. In this article we're going to address the second issue.

The first thing to note is that diarrhea really isn't a "condition" or disease all in itself. When a dog has loose stools that is a symptom that something else is wrong. For example, it could mean that your dog is passing his stools more rapidly than he should. If the diarrhea is bloody, then that tells us (obviously) that the dog has internal bleeding somewhere.

Here's our first clue. Bloody diarrhea in dogs can come in two colors:

Black
Red

If the diarrhea is black, that means the blood has been in the stool longer, because the black blood isn't "fresh", so to speak. This indicates bleeding further up in the gastrointestinal tract. it might even be in the stomach, or it could be in the small intestine. This could happen if the dog had ulcerations in the stomach, for example.

If the blood is red, then there is bleeding in the large intestine closer to the exit or even bleeding in the rectum.

If you have a puppy, bloody diarrhea especially red, bloody diarrhea is a serious concern. This is because bloody diarrhea is a sign of a parvo virus infection, a serious medical emergency in dogs that is often fatal for puppies. If your puppy has bloody diarrhea get her to a vet right away.

Actually any case of bloody diarrhea in dogs should mean a trip to the vet. Besides parvo virus, the list of possible causes is very long. It may be that the dog has eaten something that led to ulceration somewhere. Or it could mean cancer if its chronic, although dogs don't get colon cancer as often as we do. Dogs are much more likely to get other types of cancer. However when dogs do get cancer of the GI tract, it tends to be aggressive.

The bottom line: Get your pet to the vet at any sign of bloody diarrhea in dogs.

BARF Dog Food

2009-03-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Recently I came across something called "BARF Dog Food". Well its not what you think-it really doesn't have anything to do with barf. The BARF diet is about bones and raw food. Makes sense, that's what dogs would eat naturally if given the choice.

Any-who, here is an article about doggie diets you might find helpful.

What's Really Going into Doggie's Dish?

The AAFCO sets the standards for pet food safety and nutrition, and the testing done by the AAFCO is used to determine whether or not specific ingredients are acceptable as pet foods. But the AAFCO will rate both low and high quality ingredients as being nutritionally adequate, because there is a demand for pet food in all price ranges. So you need to learn how to read past the AAFCO approval statement on your dog food labels if you want to know what Buster is really consuming.

Reading a Dog Food Label

The label tells us many important facts and figures that may otherwise dissuade or persuade us from purchasing the food. In short, it is important to read the labels. To actually read that label, and not to just give it a cursory glance, we will have to first know a little something about what can be found there and what it means.

The first thing most of us notice on any label is the product name. The product name may also contain primary ingredient names such as “Beef Dog Chow”, or what kind of dog the food is intended for, such as “Puppies, Adult, Lactating”, etc.

If, in the product name, an ingredient is listed, say for example that “Beef Dog Chow”, that beef must be at least 95% of the total weight if there is no water required for processing, and at least 70% when water is included. So, for dry kibble, 95% of that weight needs to contain beef.

When the title contains “dinner, formula, nuggets,” and other similar words, the ingredient named must be at least 25% of the weight. So in a product named Lamb Dinner, 25% of the total weight for the product must be lamb.

But, if only ¼ of that entire product needs to consist of lamb, the lamb may not (and probably is not!) the main ingredient. Ingredients must be listed in a descending order of weight. So, even though the bag says Lamb Dinner, the lamb may be fourth in order.

Information on the BARF dog food diet: Click Here

Example:

* Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Corn, meat and bone meal, wheat, lamb.

In that Lamb Dinner, the main ingredients are really the corn and meat and bone meal. Not desirable for a healthy meal.

On the other hand if the ingredients listed were

* Premium Lamb Dinner Ingredients: Lamb, ground rice, ground yellow corn…

This presents a more desirable meal and one that your dog can actually consume and digest properly.

When it comes to the words “flavored” or “flavor” such as Lamb Flavored Nuggets, no exact percentage of the named ingredient, the lamb, needs to be present, but enough of that ingredient needs to present as to be detectable

Often times, the main ingredients will not be present in the title. In such a case, these foods often include items such as: ground yellow corn, meat byproducts, tallow, and other items that are not particularly digestible for your pet. The actual named ingredient will probably be down the list and make up only a very small part of the product.

Besides naming an ingredient with the product name, other phrases and adjectives are used.

Premium Dog Food, or X Premium and other like titles are making a justified boast, as these products complied with the nutritional standards for a complete and balanced dog food. This is definitely something to take into consideration when shopping.

Natural Dog Food means that there are no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors.

If a product has given the calorie content on the bag, “Premium Beef Dinner: now with lower calorie content,” this is done so voluntarily as a service to the consumer. Because the calorie content of pet foods does not have to be displayed in their labels, however, here's a formula to help you make sure Buster is not eating too much:

Multiply the carbohydrate by 4.2kcal (kilocalories) per gram, the protein by 5.65, and then the fat by 9.4 kcal per gram. If you need to convert the kilocalories to kilojoules (another unit of measurement for energy) simply multiply the total by 4.184. Of course, rounding to the nearest ten might be helpful, as long as you keep in mind that it’s an approximation erring on the low side.

Where's the Fat?

A good way to find the higher quality dog foods by reading the ingredient list is to search for that first source of fat. Everything that is listed before that fat source, and including it, is the main part of the food. Everything else is generally used for flavor, preservatives, vitamins, and minerals.

For example:

* Food A:Ground yellow corn, meat meal, chicken fat, ground wheat, chicken byproduct meal, dried beet pulp …

* Food B:

Turkey, chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, ground white rice, chicken fat, apples, carrots, sunflower oil…

The importance of finding the source of fat and where it is listed is so you can find ingredients that may or may not be harmful to your pet, such as beet pulp or corn gluten meal.

Learning to read the labels on dog food is the single most important thing you can do if you intend to feed your pet a commercial diet. Buster may be the smartest dog who ever wore a collar, but he can’t read, and he needs to rely on you to keep him healthy.

If what's in that can or bag doesn't sound like something you'd want to eat, it's probably not something your dog would eat if there were an alternative. So take the time to learn the language of labels!

Sharda Baker has published several dog ebook and audios, including the internet best selling "Complete Guide to Your Dog's Nutrition". She is the proponent of the BARF dog food diet.

Visit the link below now for more information.

The BARF dog food diet

Dogs Mast Cell Tumors

2009-03-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

If you find that your dog is suddenly getting lumpy nodules on the legs, belly, nose, or mouth, your dog might have a mast cell tumor. This type of cancer is common among older dogs, and although just about any type of dog can get a mast cell tumor, they are typically seen in boxers and boston terriers.

On average, dogs get mast cell tumors at about 7-8 years of age.

A dogs mast cell tumors can be loosely described as looking like a pencil eraser growing on or just below the surface of the skin. They can grow singly or in groups. Not all mast cell tumors are malignant, some 2/3 of them are actually benign, harmless growths.

If a dogs mast cell tumor grows larger than an inch, it should be considered cancerous. But don't try to figure that out yourself, a visit to your veterinarian should be in order to find out.

Mast cell tumors are typically treated with surgical removal. More in depth treatment may be necessary if the growth is cancerous and it has spread throughout the body.

Cancer of Dogs

2009-03-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

For any dog owner concerned with pet dog health cancer has to be at the top of the list of worries. In older dogs, cancer is a leading cause if not the leading cause of death. What's worse, is that cancer in dogs is as serious as cancer in people, often leading to expensive drawn out treatments that in the end buy a little time but don't stop the inevitable.

Luckily, there is a silver lining in the clouds when it comes to cancer of dogs. First of all, you can greatly reduce the risk of your dog getting cancer by spaying or neutering your pet. So if you're not planning on breeding your dog, by having him or her "fixed" you are off to a great start.

The first reason is that breast cancer is a major cause of cancer when it comes to female dogs, and the risk of contracting it is greatly reduced by having the dog "spayed". Breast cancer represents a very large proportion of all canine cancers, and according to some references it accounts for nearly 70% of all cancer among female dogs.

The earlier that the dog is spayed the better the protection. If the dog is spayed before her first heat, she gets a large reduction of risk. The more heats the dog goes through, the less the protective effect. However its still there and any female dog can benefit from being spayed.

Among male dogs-you might have guessed it-testicular cancer and prostate cancer are two big killers. But get this: dogs are the only non-human species for which prostate cancer occurs in any large numbers. And while prostate cancer can be somewhat controlled in humans, its particularly aggressive in dogs.

Testicular cancer is also a problem, but obviously only in un-neutered pets. This is particularly so if the dog was born with undescended testicles. By neutering the dog, obviously the risk of testicular cancer is eliminated, and the risk of prostate cancer is reduced.

Dogs can get many other types of cancer. Lymphoma is fairly common, as are cancers of the nasal cavity. Dogs can even get lung cancer. The only way to deal with these is by having your dog checked up regularly at the vet.

One particular type of cancer to watch out for is skin cancer. This is something you can do yourself, by periodically checking over your dogs skin and taking her to the vet if you notice something unusual. Breeds like boxers are particularly susceptible to a type of skin cancer called mast cell tumors.

Cancer is scary, and if your favorite pet comes down with it that's going to be a stressful time. But before it happens, do some research and find out if there is anything you can do in order to reduce the risk.

For more information on pet dog health: click here

Taiwan Dog Rescue

2008-12-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

Something that really bothers me, something I'd rather not think about is how dogs are treated in parts of Asia. Several years back I saw a horrific video about the fur trade in China. They skin German Shepherds alive there to get their furs. This is not made up stuff, you can see the video for yourself on YouTube. Its so horrific and disturbing I'm not going to post it here.

Luckily there are people in countries like Korea, China, and other places that are doing something about how dogs live in those places.

Animal Rescue Korea

Here is a good video about a dog rescue in Taiwan by a motorcycle obsessive I follow on YouTube:

Dog Training 101: Fear Biting

2008-10-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

A fear-bite is a bite that occurs out of sheer panic. It’s not to be confused with dominance-aggression, which is a sign of deep-set personality problems; a fear-biter isn’t necessarily a ‘fierce’ dog. He’s just scared. Why does fear-biting happen? A fear-biter bites because it’s his only way of expressing his extreme fear or panic, and his only way of telling his owner that he can’t handle the situation. Almost all cases of fear-biting are actually caused by well-meaning, but ill-advised, humans: they see what’s clearly a scared dog, and – intending to either comfort the dog or to show him that there’s ‘nothing to be afraid of’ – they approach too close, and push an already-anxious dog over the edge. Dogs can’t ask us to please leave them alone. They can’t tell us that something’s bothering them, or that they need some space: all they can do is sign the message to us through their body-language. It’s easy to tell when a dog’s feeling scared or panicky once you know what to look for. Fear-biting never just happens ‘out of the blue’: it only occurs when people ignore the signs. Fear-biting: the warning signs Fear-biters are submissive dogs. When faced with a new situation or unfamiliar people, they do not react with the customary effortless confidence of a well-socialized, well-adjusted dog: instead, they become nervy and on edge. A scared dog, when faced with the unfamiliar, will assume a distinctively submissive posture, and will display several marked behaviors. The more common of these are listed below. Posture - Tail tucked (or, if docked, the back legs will crouch down and the haunches will ‘tuck’) - Hunched, lowered back - Ears flat against the head - Elbows bent in a slight crouch Behaviors Excessive panting (hyperventilating) Yawning (an attempt to reduce tension) Avoidance of eye contact In extreme cases, a dog may also urinate or defecate out of fear What makes some dogs into fear-biters? All dogs undergo what’s called a fear-imprint stage when they’re about eight weeks old, and another one at about fourteen weeks. During this period of a dog’s formative puppyhood, he’s significantly more prone to ‘spookiness’: being excessively startled by new experiences and situations. If a dog has a scare during this time which isn’t properly dealt with by the owner (ie, after receiving a scare, he isn’t then taught not to be frightened of that thing), he may develop a life-long phobia towards that object. For example, if he’s been frightened by a repairman arriving at the door unexpectedly, and isn’t then acclimatized to that person, he may develop a long-standing phobia of men who resemble that repairman (men with beards, men in overalls, men holding toolboxes, etc). Some dogs are also just highly-strung and more prone to anxiety because of their breeding. Certain breeds – typically, the more intelligent ones, and the ones emotionally dependent on close, regular interaction with humans – have proven themselves more likely to develop phobias and excessive shyness than other, more emotionally stable breeds. A few of these ‘anxious’ breeds include Weimaraners, Great Danes, and Border Collies. A history of trauma or abuse is another major cause of fear-biting: many abandoned or abused dogs develop anxiety problems, which, without proper treatment, may progress into fear-biting. The difference between shyness and fear-biting It’s quite natural for some dogs to exhibit signs of shyness towards unfamiliar situations. It doesn’t mean that that dog is a ‘difficult dog’, or that he will grow up to be a fear-biter – some shyness is to be expected in almost all dogs at one point or another. Shyness only becomes a problem when it begins to interfere with the course of daily life: when a dog can no longer be trusted around strangers, for example, or if his behavior is endangering his own safety (scared dogs often bolt, sometimes across busy roads), or when your own life becomes significantly restricted by your dog’s fear. How to cope with fear-biting First of all, make sure your own attitude to the problem is realistic. While the behavior of a fearful dog can often be significantly ameliorated by careful training and acclimatization, on other occasions – and sometimes, despite your best efforts – a dog will remain fearful to the end of his days. You cannot force your dog to overcome his fear. Treatment requires patience, persistence, and consistency: rough treatment (anger, frustration, shouting, a take-no-prisoners approach) usually worsens the problem, because it increases the dog’s anxiety levels instead of decreasing them. You cannot train a scared dog not to bite: he’s responding to a powerful blend of instinct and sheer panic. No training in the world can counteract these two things – as motivators, they’re just too strong. What you can do is, firstly, build up your dog’s confidence, to reduce his overall anxiety and tension levels; and, secondly, pay close attention the cause of his fear, and work to desensitize him to it. Building up his confidence Obedience training is a great vehicle for doling out praise and rewards: simply dispensing treats at random won’t do any good, since the issue here is drawing attention to achievement and good behavior (your dog can tell the difference between an earned and an un-earned reward!). Start small, with basic obedience classes, and practice the commands for five to ten minutes every day. Remember to set him up for success: start off with the easy commands, and make sure he’s thoroughly comfortable with them before progressing to the next level. Always treat and praise liberally for good behavior. Desensitizing him to the fear-object Desensitizing your dog is all about slowly accustoming him to whatever it is that’s eliciting the fear response, at a pace that’s comfortable for him. The emphasis is on maintaining comfort levels: your aim here is to keep your dog happy and serene (as much as possible), so that he learns through direct experience that the cause of the fear isn’t actually scary after all. So if he’s afraid of, say, the vacuum cleaner, start integrating it into daily life. Remember to move slowly and not to push him too far, too fast: start by simply leaving it out in a prominent position, where he’ll have lots of incidental contact with it (for example, in the middle of the lounge carpet). Allow him plenty of opportunity to sniff it and walk around it, Play with him near it; feed him near it. Integrate the object or the situation (whether it’s the garbage truck, strangers approaching the door, small children, driving in the car) into normal, everyday life as much as possible. Counterconditioning Once he’s become desensitized enough to the fear-object that he’s reasonably calm around it (so, he might be exhibiting signs of fear, but isn’t panic-stricken to the point of wetting himself or hiding), you can start counterconditioning: teaching him to associate good things with the fear-object. You can do this by dispensing treats liberally, and doling out lavish praise for any improvements in his fear-levels. Do’s and Don’ts Do: Cue your dog. He takes his emotional and psychological cues from you, so make sure you’re a good role model. Adopt a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude, and stick to it. When he’s frightened, talk to him in a relaxed, don’t-be-silly manner, keeping your tone matter of fact and direct. Socialize him frequently and thoroughly. Even though the most critical socialization period is from eight to sixteen weeks, it should still be an ongoing process throughout your dog’s life. The more opportunity he has to accustom himself to the ways of the world, the easier it will be for him to see that, really, there’s not much to be scared of. Be patient and move slowly. Don’t try to rush your dog, or force him to confront objects, people, or situations that he’s scared of – you’re trying to countercondition his learned fear-reflex, and you’re not going to do that by teaching him to associate feelings of anxiety with the fear-object. Pay attention to his body language at all times. Some whining and trembling are OK, but if he’s wetting himself, hyperventilating, and showing the whites of his eyes, he probably needs some space. Even though a fear-bite isn’t inflicted out of a direct desire to cause harm, it’s still a bite, so give him what he needs! Don’t: Crowd him. Scared dogs need space, more than anything else – you won’t make things easier for him by entering his ‘personal bubble’. If he’s really scared, back off, and wait for him to approach you. If he’s hiding, or strenuously resisting your direction, pay attention to what he’s trying to tell you: that he’s not comfortable enough to proceed yet. Forcing him outside his comfort zone is when bites happen. Don’t coddle him or reward his fearful behavior with special attention. It’s great to praise, pet, and cuddle him for good behavior, increased calmness, and being brave enough to approach/sniff/explore the object of fear – it’s not good to reward him for fearful behavior. Save the special attention for when he deserves it: remember to reward the behavior you wish to see repeated; ignore the behavior you don’t. For further information For more information on problem behavior in dogs, check out SitStayFetch. It’s a comprehensive training manual for dog-owners, and covers just about everything you could ever want to know about raising a happy, healthy, well-adjusted dog: from canine psychology to dog whispering to preventing and handling problem behaviors to obedience training, SitStayFetch has it all covered. You can visit the SitStayFetch website by clicking on the link below:

Kingdom of Pets: Sit-Stay-Fetch

Brandy (July 13,1999-October 10,2008)

2008-10-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to come home tonight and find my dog Brandy dead on the floor. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, there was something wrong as Brand had been having diarrhea the past 2 weeks. At first I thought it was because I changed the dogs diet a couple weeks ago. But I changed her food back but she was still having problems. I had it in the back of my mind to take a stool sample to the vet next week. I certainly wasn't expecting this.

The sad thing about a dog dying is nobody except you knows what the dog meant. There won't be any funeral, no monuments or prizes to remember the life by. But Brandy was an angel in fur. Her life started out hard. In 1999 I wanted another German Shepherd and saw this ad in the paper. I went down and saw Brandy and her brothers and sisters by the river. They were in dirty surroundings so I had second thoughts.

I kept thinking about Brandy so after a week went by I called the guy and he said he still had her. So I picked her up and brought her home. She was covered in ticks and vomited roundworms, but after that recovered and was on her way.

Brandy was sweet as pie but always a little shy around strangers. I remember once I enrolled her in an obedience class and she was shaking like a leaf the first day. By the end of the class though, she was doing great. They had these contests and she won the "sit" contest. I feel silly but I was very proud of her.

When I got Brandy I had a male German Shepherd named Sam who was a couple of years older. Sam and Brandy were always the best of friends, throughout Sam's life until he died last year. They kind of reminded me of an old couple.

Brandy, like most dogs-had two favorite pasttimes-walking and chasing balls. Brandy loved chasing balls, and she loved hiking in the mountains. I have owned lots of dogs and I have to say without a doubt Brandy loved going out in the mountains more than any other dog.

The past few weeks I guess it was obvious something was wrong, but I never would have imagined it was life threatening. I will feel guilty the rest of my life for not having done something soon enough.

Pay attention to the health of your dog. Today might be their last day on earth.

Book Exerpt: Dog Health From A to Z

2008-10-06T20:30:00.001-07:00

Dog Health from A to Z is a quick glance guide to health conditions and illnesses you need to be aware of that can affect your dog. The guide is meant to be easy to read and quick and to the point, telling you what a given disease or condition is about, what the symptoms are, and how its treated. In this sample passage, we discuss roundworms.

In a Nutshell
One late summer afternoon, my new puppy Brandy, an 8 week old German Shepherd, threw up in her crate. To my horror there was a big pile of worms there—long white, featureless yet disgusting looking fellows. Brandy had a roundworm infestation.
Unlike tapeworms, roundworms have solid, unsegmented bodies that some people describe as looking like spaghetti. They can be big-adult females are around 7 inches long. They can also be nasty for puppies, causing malnutrition and even intestinal blockage.

Brandy, a roundworm survivor

Where do they come from?
Roundworms can be obtained in basically one of four ways:
If the mother is infected, puppies can obtain the infection while in utero
Puppies can also obtain the infection from their mothers milk while nursing
Dogs can pick up roundworm eggs from the soil
Eating an infected rodent like a rabbit can transmit roundworms

Roundworm eggs are passed out into the environment from the dogs feces. As a result, roundworm is detected by testing a fecal sample at your veterinarian's office. When the eggs are picked up by the got, usually by picking up some dirt containing eggs and ingesting it, the eggs hatch in the intestinal tract then a rather complicated life cycle begins. Are you ready for this? Let's break it down into stages:

The baby worms migrate to the liver where they hold up in encrusted cysts.
At some point, they decide to get out of the cysts. From there, they migrate to the lungs.
Once in the lungs, they utilize the air passages to make their way to the throat. This stage is often indicated by a dog which is coughing.
When the worms are coughed up into the throat, they make their way back down-to the intestines again!
This time they mature into adult worms. They mate, absorb nutrients from the dog and lay eggs which come out in the dogs feces.
Strange fact: If the dog is pregnant, the worms hatching out from encrusted cysts in the liver don't go for the lungs, instead they find the puppies and infect them. Brilliant strategy!

Symptoms
When my dog Brandy vomited up a whole pile of worms, well it was pretty obvious what was going on. But you may not be so lucky. So here are some symptoms of roundworm infection you should be aware of, especially if getting a new puppy:

Coughing

Pneumonia

A pot-bellied appearance

Vomiting of worms

Diarrhea, especially in puppies

In serious infestations, there can be so many roundworms that they clog up and choke off the intestines. This can be a serious health problem for the dog.

Treatment
While discovering the worms can be quite unnerving, the treatment is actually very easy. Roundworms can be treated easily using an orally administered de-wormer. Some effective dewormers include Heartgard Plus, Febantel and Panacur.

Dog Food Update

2008-10-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well last night was the clincher. At about 3 AM my German Shepherd Brandy walked out into the hallway, waking me up. I didn't pay much attention until I heard a big explosion: of the diarrhea kind! Almost complete liquid. Brandy is a really good dog and has never had problems with going potty inside, but she looked awfully happy after this episode! I was miserable, having to clean up dog poop that was completely liquid at 3 AM! Luckily I had some Nature's Miracle on hand that made it much easier. Anyway so this afternoon I stopped by PetSmart and picked up a big bag of Nutro. Give that a few days to see if it clears up the digestive problems with the dogs. If not I guess I will have to head to the vet and see if its something else, but at this point I'm pretty sure the Solid Gold just hasn't been agreeing with the dogs. I am putting Brandy all on Nutro right away, but will be mixing half and half Solid Gold/Nutro for the other dogs.

Thumbs Down on Solid Gold

2008-10-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Well my experiment with Solid Gold dog food is coming to a disappointing close. Despite the rave reviews given by most people it just isn't sitting well with two of my dogs, who have been having chronic diarrhea since being on it. I was hoping that they would become acclimated to the food and the problems would fade. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be happening. Not sure where to turn next, I could just go back to Purina One. I did feed my dogs Nutro at one point, which is supposed to be a good dog food, I may try that.

Bringing Home Lucy the Weimaraner

2008-10-03T20:36:00.001-07:00

My 3 year old weimaraner Lucy is completely nuts. So when I knew I had to keep Tony the German Shepherd Dog confined for 42 days straight because of heartworm treatment, I thought getting a vacation from Lucy was a good idea for all of us. So off Lucy went to my mom's house for a little vacation and an extended visit with my mom's German Shepherd, Smokey.

Well now that Tony is over his heartworm, Lucy has returned. Bringing Lucy home has drummed up some old issues. For one, I have 3 female dogs and 2 male dogs. Once, a long time before I had 5 dogs, I asked a vet which is better: multiple male dogs or multiple female dogs? The vet, perhaps speaking from a point of view best described as naive, insisted that having multiple female dogs was far better.

Whoa could anything be further from the truth. Just like a caddy of women at the office, having multiple female dogs is a serious problem. Here is my take on it. You get multiple male dogs, and yes they are going to fight. Once. That's it. One time, end of story. They sort out who's in charge, then after that everything runs smoothly.

Not so with the um...bitches! Female dogs are constantly jockying for position. Like I said, its just like having an office with nothing but women. Two female dogs, well that seems to work out OK. But three represents some kind of tipping point.

A funny observation: over the past 8 weeks while Tony was undergoing his treatment, my female Akita Naomi has been skimping on her food. Not eating at all sometimes. Hell this is a good thing because Naomi is a bit overweight despite walks in the mountains. But since Lucy came back-all of the suddent Naomi's got to eat every last crumb.

Unfortunately for my German Shepherd Dog Brandy, who is a real sweetee-she is at the bottom of the female heirarchy. Brandy is basically a real gentle dog, but for some reason she likes taking her stress out on the males. She used to bark like crazy and do lots of fake attacks on Sam the German Shepherd. Now she takes her anger out on Jake and Tony. But for some reason, when it comes to the girls Brandy is real passive. She won't fight back at all when Naomi and Lucy pick on her, and even seems afraid to get a drink of water (Naomi and Lucy growl and bark near the water bowl, despite my objections). Since Lucy has been back home Brandy's been spending lots of time hiding.

Well things will work themselves out, they always have. But that vet was seriously mistaken. My male dogs have always gotten along great but female dogs never seem to sort it out. It always seems to be contant battling and bickering amongst female dogs to see who is on top and who is in the middle. They don't seem to sort things out all in one go the way male dogs do.

Well what is your experience? If you've had large numbers of dogs I'd like to hear how they sorted out their heirarchy.

Heartworm Update

2008-10-03T15:12:00.001-07:00

Well the heartworm treatment for my dog Tony is apparently over, although I won't know for sure for about 6 months. It will be then that the vet will do another heartworm test to find out if the treatment worked. At least I am able to let Tony out of the crate for now and he can resume a normal life. A dog that has tested positive for heartworm must be on heartworm preventative year round from that point on.

Anyway I let Tony engage in one of his favorite past-times, which is chasing the laser light. Lucy, my weimaraner loves doing that too. She also likes chasing flashlights shining on the ceiling. You can get the laser toys at Pet Smart, they're a great investment for your dogs. Here is a short video. Tony is the black German Shepherd Dog. Sorry for the mess I've been doing some remodeling ;)

Where they used to Drown the Dogs

2008-09-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, in New York City they used to take care of stray dogs by drowning them. God help you if your dog got loose and wasn't identified by a collar and tags. To understand the scale of the operation, in a single day 738 adult dogs and 20 puppies were purposefully drowned in 1877. I find it hard to believe a person could carry out such an act, but carry it out they did. The dogs were put in cages that were purposefully put under water for 10 minutes. The dead dogs were then sold for their furs. Thank God Americans now find the idea of dog fur horrific.

I guess there is a bright side to everything. About ten years ago I saw a horrific report on the dog fur trade in China. At least the dogs in New York were drowned before their furs were taken. In China, dogs are skinned alive to obtain their fur. On a news report I watched they showed a gorgeous German Shepherd being skinned alive by some wacko Chinese woman who was a fur trader. I hope she burns in hell.

Well if the good people of New York can go from a city that once drowned dogs to one that will be entirely no kill by 2015 (their current goal), maybe the Chinese will give up their torture of dogs and the dog fur trade. Interestingly the humane societies, which were originally formed to stop horse abuse, took action in the late 1800s to stop the practice of drowning dogs in New York. Here we are more than a hundred years later and great progress has been made, last year the percentage of dogs euthanized in NYC dropped from 75% to 43%. This is a goal every city should strive for.

Final Week of Dog Heartworm Treatment

2008-09-29T07:39:00.001-07:00

My German Shepherd Dog Tony is entering his last week of heartworm treatment. Or more accurately his last week of being confined. Thank God for that. I can barely take it anymore, and neither can Tony.

Dogs seem to have an amazing ability to bounce back. I think they're a little healthier mentally than humans are. Think about it. Heartworm treatment for dogs involves locking them up for 6+weeks (turned out to be 9 weeks for Tony). Plus the dog has no idea why you're suddenly shutting them up. Imagine if you woke up to find yourself locked in a small room, with someone bringing you food and water now and then-and not knowing why you were in there. A person would go bonkers under those circumstances.

You're supposed to keep the dog in a crate, or at least in a small room so that they don't get active. Tony was going nuts in the crate so I've been keeping him in an unused bedroom. He hasn't been too unhappy, after all he has this big mattress to lay on. Nonetheless he's been pretty lonely and has really gotten restless the last two weeks. Well anyway just 6 more days of this nonsense, then the vet says Tony can resume his normal dog life.

Todays Dog Hike

2008-09-27T16:29:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I took a few of the dogs up to Doc Longs Picnic area, which is in the Sandia mountains next to Albuquerque. I've attached some pictures to show you what its like if you've never been there.

Doc Longs is just off the turn off on the road that goes up to the ski area and crest. When you pull in there is an area with some picnic tables and built in charcoal grills, and restroom facilities that are open from April 1-October 31.

I actually haven't been there in some time. One reason is the last walk I ever took my dog Sam on was here. I took him here one afternoon and went on a long hike, and he died that night from stomach torsion. So for a long time it was kind of emotional going to this place.

Anyway, the route I like to follow is to park next to the picnic area, and then go up a nice wide trail that is just to the north. It takes about 15 minutes to hike the length of that trail, which then cuts off suddenly. At that point I turn to the south and head down a pretty steep slope that cuts acoss a small stream to the main trail. This trail leads to a trail that goes all along the Sandia
mountains called "faulty trail". You see a lot of mountain bikers and hikers on the trail. Its a really nice trail and in some places its very steep, so you get a really good workout. The dogs love it.

I took Jake and Brandy along. Jake is on the left, and Brandy on the right. Brandy had also come along on that fateful day for Sam.

I also took my Akita Naomi. I am going to have to look up the history of Akitas, because Naomi leaves no stone unturned. So I'm wondering if they were bred at one time to hunt animals that had to be dug up out of the ground. Or maybe Naomi is just curious. She has to check out every single flower, blade of grass, hole, and rock. Her nose is on the ground the entire time I take her for a hike.

Here is a shot of the trail that leads to faulty. As you can see the vegetation is pretty thick. Hard to believe this is just 10 minutes from Albuquerque, huh? As you might imagine there are all kinds of critters in there like bears and such. Coming back, I did see a big animal! But I'm not sure what it was. I was coming back pretty late, it was starting to get dusky so most of the people at the picnic area had left and it was extremely quiet. I heard some cracking sticks up the slope to the south of the trail, which is really steep. We stopped and looked for a bit and I saw an animal go by near the top really quickly. The brush was really thick so it was hard to see what it was, but it appeared to be fairly big.

Dealing with a lonely Dog

2008-09-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Our dogs are pack animals. They’re highly sociable creatures with a genuine need to socialize and interact. Because we humans have done such a bang-up job in domesticating our canine friends, socialization with other dogs isn’t enough for your friend: you are the center of your dog’s world. She needs to spend time with you.

Of course, this is sometimes easier said than done. Life, for most of us, is pretty busy, and at times it’s difficult to find genuine pleasure in performing the most basic of caretaking tasks for our dogs. When time is short, responsibility becomes a burden.

It’s even worse when added responsibilities or increased demands on our time begin to detract from the quality of the time we do spend with our dogs. If other stresses are weighing heavily on your mind, everyday pleasures with your dog can morph from a joy into a headache – the half-hour walk after work is just one more thing to get through, rather than an opportunity for you both to unwind and spend some time together in mutual, tacit admiration of the natural world.

Whether we like it or not, the lifestyles that we choose (to a certain extent, anyway) to put ourselves through – a general dearth of time, moderate to high stress levels, job anxiety, shifting personal commitments – affect our dogs as well as ourselves. Sensitive pooches can become so negatively impacted by the less-than-positive frame of mind held by their owners that they themselves become depressed and anxious. Other, more well-adjusted dogs suffer through isolation: when obligations are pressing, the twice-daily dog walk can be the easiest thing to relegate to the back of the line (your dog can hardly raise his voice in outrage, can he?).

Making time for our dogs isn’t always as easy as we would like it to be. But it doesn’t have to require a huge input of time or a Herculean amount of energy: there are ways that we can include our dogs in our lives without spending minutes and hours that we don’t have.

Here are a few suggestions:

Bring her along with you. When you’re running errands – picking up the mail, dropping children off to music lessons, soccer, and Little League, stopping by at work – your dog will jump at the chance to come along. Even if she stays in the car, the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy a change of visual and olfactory scenery will be genuinely welcomed by her – and it’s a good way for the two of you to spend some casual one-on-one time together. If your errands involve other people (ferrying kids around, picking up a spouse, visiting a friend), accompanying you can go a long way towards meeting her social requirements for the day, too. (Tip: if you’re going for the Big Grocery Shop, or plan on doing something else that requires an extended absence from the car, best to leave her at home – any more than half an hour alone in the car is pushing the boundaries of responsible ownership for most dogs.)
Invite her into the bedroom. You don’t have to ask her up on the bed with you; she can sleep on her own dog bed, either in the corner of the room (most dogs prefer to sleep with something at their backs) or next to your bed. This is a fantastic way of spending “down-time” with your dog (you’re both enjoying the same pastime in an undemanding way), and of increasing your bond, too. Dogs like to sleep with their pack (that’s you!). As pack animals, they’re hardwired to enjoy close contact with others during their most vulnerable hours. It reinforces their sense of togetherness and security. By allowing your dog into your bedroom at night, you’re fostering closeness with your friend. And it’s easy, too!
Spend time in mutually-enjoyable activities. Walking the dog becomes a chore when it’s boring – if you’re enjoying yourself, you’ll be more likely to devote more time to it, which is good news for your dog, yourself, and your relationship with each other. Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to the same old twenty-minute circuit round the park – break out and explore new territory. As much as dogs love to reinvestigate familiar turf, they appreciate new sights and sounds too, so try the riverbank, the dog beach, a different park, dog exercise yards (you get to chat with other owners, too, while your dog makes new friends), hill trails, or go for a walk downtown – with your friend on a leash, of course.
Perfect the art of multi-tasking. Whenever I’m cooking dinner or reading a book, my Rottweiler plumps himself down about two feet away from my ankles and stares at me dolefully from under wrinkled, upslanted brows. This used to bother me: I could almost sense the waves of silent accusation wafting off him. “Why aren’t you playing with me?” I felt like he was asking. “How come whatever that is gets your attention when I don’t?” As much as I love him, I still feel that I’m entitled to my one or two chapters a night (and a well-cooked dinner); so I decided to counteract the tear-jerking expression on his face by learning to multi-task. So now, cooking time is also training time: I use the momentary hiatus in between stirrings and choppings to practice Sit and Down. Reading time has become read-and-cuddle time: we sprawl on the couch together, I get to relax and read my book, and he gets his tummy rubbed while he snoozes. If I had a TV, I’d use my TV-watching time for grooming time, too.
Counteract the “one-man dog” tendency. If you live in a multi-person household, it makes things easier on you if you can share the responsibility around a bit. It’s healthier for your dog, too – the more she interacts with the people that she lives with, the better. You can share responsibilities like walking, playtime, feeding, and grooming: the more social stimulation your dog gets, the happier she’ll be. If you have children in the household, the amount of responsibility they get is really best decided on a case-by-case basis: some younger children are perfectly OK to walk the dog, but some can find the experience traumatic and scary (which makes it unsafe for the dog, too). As a general rule of thumb, before allowing a child out of doors and unsupervised with a dog, make sure you’re OK with how the dog and the child interact. The dog should obviously know that the child “ranks” above her in the social hierarchy of the household, and obey her commands reliably; the child should be able to handle herself confidently with the dog, and know the basic rules of dog-walking etiquette (leash-laws, poop-scooping, dog-on-dog social protocol, and so on).

Obviously, these tips aren’t intended as a substitute for that quality and quantity of time together that your dog lives for – and that makes life as a dog-owner so rewarding and fun, too. Your dog still needs to spend active, focused time with you, in training, playtime, general cuddling/manhandling, and exercise. But with a little forethought and effort, you can go a long way towards ensuring her emotional and psychological welfare without adding too much to your own workload.

For more information on responsible dog ownership, including detailed advice for handling and preventing problem behaviors, step-by-step how-to’s for obedience work and tricks, and an in-depth look at canine psychology and communication, check out SitStayFetch. It’s the ultimate resource for dog owners!

Visit the site by clicking on the link below:

Dog Training

Barking dogs – Understanding it and dealing with it

2008-09-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Some owners seem to want their dogs to stop barking, period: a good dog is a quiet dog, and the only time that barking’s permitted is when there’s a man in a black balaclava and stripy prison outfit, clutching a haversack marked ‘Swag’, clambering in through your bedroom window.

Dogs don’t see barking in quite the same light. Your dog has a voice, just like you do, and she uses it just how you do too: to communicate something to the people she cares about.

I don’t think that barking is necessarily a bad thing – in fact, I think it’s encouraging that my dog wants to “talk” to me, enough so that I can overlook the stentorian qualities of his voice (which, in enclosed spaces, is positively overpowering) in favor of his desire to communicate with me. It’s the thought that counts (even though I feel better-equipped to stand by this sanctimonious belief when my ears are sheltered safely behind industrial-quality ear-plugs).

Unfortunately, the language barrier between dogs and humans is pretty well impermeable, which means it’s up to us to use the context, the body language of our dogs, and the circumstances of the vocalization to parse meaning from a volley of barks.

So why do dogs bark? It’s not easy to say (it’s like trying to answer the question, “Why do humans talk?” in so many words). Let’s start off by saying that dogs bark for many different reasons.

A lot of it depends on the breed: some dogs were bred to bark only when a threat is perceived (this is true of guarding breeds in particular, like Rottweilers, Dobermans, and German Shepherds); some were bred to use their voices as a tool of sorts, to assist their owners in pursuit of a common goal (sporting breeds such as Beagles and Bloodhounds, trained to ‘bay’ when they scent the quarry), and some dogs just like to hear themselves talk (take just about any of the toy breeds as an example of a readily-articulate dog!).

However, all breed specificities cast aside, there are some circumstances where just about any dog will give voice:

* She’s bored
* She’s lonely
* She’s hungry, or knows it’s time for a meal
* Something is wrong/someone is near the house
* She’s inviting you to play
* She sees another animal
* She needs the toilet

If your dog is barking for any of these reasons, it’s not really realistic for you to try to stop her: after all, she’s a dog, and it’s the nature of all dogs to bark at certain times and in certain situations. Presumably you were aware of this when you adopted your friend (and, if total silence was high on your list of priorities, you’d have bought a pet rock, right?).

Of course, there are times when barking isn’t only unwarranted, it’s downright undesirable. Some dogs can use their voices as a means of manipulation. Take this situation as an example:

You’re lying on the couch reading a book. Your dog awakes from a nap and decides it’s time for a game. She picks up her ball, comes over, and drops it in your lap. You ignore her and keep on reading. After a second of puzzled silence, she nudges your hand with her nose and barks once, loudly. You look over at her – she assumes the ‘play-bow’ position (elbows near the floor, bottom in the air, tail waving) and pants enticingly at you. You return to your book. She barks again, loudly – and, when no response is elicited, barks again. And this time, she keeps it up. After a minute or so of this, sighing, you put down your book (peace and quiet is evidently not going to be a component of your evening, after all), pick up the ball, and take her outside for a game of fetch. She stops barking immediately.

I’m sure you know that respect is an essential part of your relationship with your dog. You respect her, which you demonstrate by taking good care of her regardless of the convenience of doing so, feeding her nutritious and tasty food, and showing your affection for her in ways that she understands and enjoys.

In order for her to be worthy of your respect, she has to respect you, too. Something that many kind-hearted souls struggle to come to terms with is that dog ownership is not about equality: it’s about you being the boss, and her being the pet. Dogs are not children; they are most comfortable and best-behaved when they know that you are in charge. A dog has to respect your leadership to be a happy, well-adjusted, and well-behaved pet.

In the situation above, there was no respect being shown by the dog. She wasn’t inviting her owner to play; she was harassing her owner to play. In fact, I’d even say bullying. And even worse, the behavior was being reinforced by the owner’s capitulation – effectively, giving in to this behavior taught her that to get what she wants, she has to make a noise – and she has to keep it up until her goal is achieved.

Affection and play-times are obviously necessary aspects of life with a dog, but they have to be doled out on your own terms. If she learns that she can get what she wants by barking, then your house is going to become a Noise Pollution Zone (and this is not going to endear you to your neighbors, either).

To prevent this bullying behavior in your dog from assuming a familiar role in her repertoire of communications, you have to prove to her that you’re not the kind of person that can be manipulated so easily. It’s simple to do this: all you have to do is ignore her. I’m not talking about passive ignorance, where you pay her no attention and simply continue with whatever it was you were doing – you need to take more of an active role. This means conveying to her through your body language that she is not worthy of your attention when she acts in such an undesirable manner.

The absolute best and most effective thing for you to do in this case is to give her the cold shoulder. When she starts trying to ‘bark you’ into doing something for her, turn your back on her straight away. Get up, avert your eyes and face, and turn around so your back is towards her. Don’t look at her, and don’t talk to her – not even a “no”.

She’ll probably be confused by this, and will likely bark harder. This is particularly true if you’ve given in to her bully-barking in the past – the more times you’ve reinforced the behavior, the more persistent she’s going to be. In fact, the barking will almost certainly get a lot worse before it gets better – after all, it’s worked for her the past, so it’s understandable that she’ll expect it to work again.

As in all aspects of dog training, consistency is very important. You must ensure that you don’t change your mind halfway through and give in to what she wants – because by doing so, you’re teaching her to be really, really persistent (“OK, so I just need to bark for ten minutes instead of five to get a walk,” is the message she’ll get).

But what can you do in other situations where bullying isn’t an issue and you just want her to stop the racket? If you want to get the message across that you’d like her to cease fire and be quiet, the most effective thing you can do is to use your hands.

No, I’m not talking about hitting her: this is a perfectly humane, impact- and pain-free method of conveying that what you require right now is peace and quiet.

Here’s what you do: when she’s barking, give her a second to ‘get it out of her system’ (it’s a lot kinder, and a lot more effective, to give her a chance - however brief – to express herself before asking her to be quiet). If she doesn’t calm down under her own steam, reach out and clasp her muzzle gently, but firmly, in your hand. She’ll try to shake you off, or back away, so you can place your other hand on her collar to give you greater control.

This method is useful for two reasons: firstly, it effectively silences the barking (since no dog, no matter how loud, can bark with her mouth shut!). Secondly, it reinforces your authority: you’re showing her through direct physical action that you’re a benevolent but firm leader who will brook no nonsense, and who won’t balk when it comes to enforcing your guidance.

Hold onto her muzzle and collar until she’s stopped trying to break free: only when she calms down and stops wriggling does it mean that she’s accepted your authority. When she’s still, hold on for one or two more seconds, then let her go and praise her.

In addition to this short-term fix, there are also a few things you can to do to reduce your dog’s need to bark in the first place.

The number-one cause for unwanted barking (as in, the kind of barking that’s repetitive and is directed at nothing) is nervous, agitated energy – the kind she gets from not getting enough exercise. Most dogs function best with one and a half hours’ exercise every day, which is a considerable time commitment for you. Of course, this varies from dog to dog, depending on factors like breed, age, and general level of health. You may think that your dog is getting as much exercise as she needs, or at least as much as you can possibly afford to give her – but if her barking is coupled with an agitated demeanor (fidgeting, perhaps acting more aggressively than you’d expect or want, restlessness, destructive behavior) then she almost definitely needs more.

Fortunately, the fix for this problem is pretty simple: you’ll just have to exercise her more. Try getting up a half-hour earlier in the morning – it’ll make a big difference. If this is absolutely impossible, consider hiring someone to walk her in the mornings and/or evenings. And if this is impossible too, then you’ll just have to resign yourself to having a loud, frustrated, and agitated dog (although whether you can resign her to this state remains to be seen).

The second most common cause of excessive vocalization in dogs is too much ‘alone time’. Dogs are social animals: they need lots of attention, lots of interaction, and lots of communication. Without these things, they become anxious and on edge. If you’re at home with your dog, you’re not paying attention to her, and she’s spending a lot of time barking at what appears to be nothing, she’s probably bored and lonely and would benefit from a healthy dose of affection and attention.

Recommended reading
If you’d like more information on unwanted behaviors that your dog’s exhibiting, you’ll probably be interested in taking a look at SitStayFetch. It’s a complete, A-Z manual for the responsible dog owner, and deals with recognizing, preventing, and dealing with just about every problem dog behavior under the sun.

You can check out SitStayFetch by clicking on the link below:

Sit-Stay-Fetch

Cesar Millan on O'Reilly Factor

2008-09-23T22:04:00.001-07:00

Cesar Millan talks about the necessity of projecting a calm, assertive state when dealing with dogs. Cesar says that dogs communicate by smell, and if you're not feeling calm and dominant a dog will pick this up automatically. He says most dog owners are not in this zone and they aren't a pack leader for their dogs. This causes most dog problems. Something else he talked about I thought was really interesting, is Cesar says he matches the dogs intensity with his touch etc.

Cruelty to Animal Charge for Elderly Couple After Leaving Dog in Car

2008-09-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote about the nutty excessiveness of the Albuquerque Animal Ordinance called HEART. Let me say I am completely against animal cruelty from the get-go, what bothers me about HEART is excessive government intrusion over things like how many SQFT a person should have for each dog, banning plastic bowls, and other absurd government controls like that.

A recent case in Albuquerque highlights the problem. A man and his wife were out shopping and had their dog with them in the car. The woman went in to the store while the man stayed behind with the dog. From what I understood he had the air conditioning on (the engine was running) and the dog was drinking water.

The dog ran out of water and so the man cracked open the windows, shut the car off and ran into the store to get some water. A passer-by, thinking she was seeing a dog left to bake inside a car, called police saying the dog was in distress and the windows were slightly cracked. The cops showed up and arrested the couple. While the man was sitting handcuffed in the car, he had a heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital.

From here the story gets out of control, with a police officer feeling she was under "immediate threat" by the old couple, and all sorts of charges being bantered about. Today most of the charges were dropped. And, although the couple was allowed to take the dog home, a charge of animal cruelty will go to trial.

To read more about this crazy story, click here.

Dog Training 101: Leash Problems

2008-09-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Exercise is a major part of our dogs’ lives. Cesar Millan, the “Dog Whisperer”, tells us that to maintain a healthy relationship with our beloved pooches, that relationship should consist of 50% physical exercise, 25% discipline, and 25% affection. That’s a lot of exercise!

In order for us to be able to enjoy exercising our dogs as much as they need, it’s important for them to behave well both on the lead. Unfortunately, there are many dogs out there who are afraid of the leash itself – resulting in neurotic, fearful, submissive behavior whenever the lead comes out.

In this newsletter, we’ll take a look at the most effective way to deal with fear of the leash.

Fear of the Leash
The majority of the time, the sight of the leash is enough to bring on a fit of joy – the dog knows that leash = walk, and reacts accordingly.

For some dogs, though, the leash connotes fear and submissiveness more than anything else. Perhaps the leash was used in a negative way with a previous owner – as a tool for dragging the dog around. Perhaps it was used to confine the dog for long hours at a time. In some extreme cases, dogs have even been whipped with the leash as punishment. Or perhaps your dog is just very highly strung, and is prone to developing phobias seemingly arbitrarily.
Although fear of the leash can have a severely negative impact on your walks with your dog, the good news is that it’s easy to cure. You just need some patience and some basic equipment.

What you’ll need
- A leash, made of webbing or leather. Approximately 5 feet (1.25 meters) is a good length, as it enables control without risk of the dog getting tangled in the leash when out walking. Chain-link leashes aren’t recommended, as they’re hard on the hands – and also can flick the dog in the face, which isn’t something you’d want to inflict on any dog, let alone one that’s suffering from fear of the leash!
- A good-quality collar, again made of leather or nylon webbing. If you’re using one with a snap-lock, make sure it’s safety-approved and won’t come undone under pressure. Slip-chain collars (also known as ‘choke-chains’ or ‘check-chains’) should never be used on an unattended dog, as they’re a training tool, not a real collar.
- A little bit of time, and a little bit of patience.

What to Do
- Your aim here is to accustom your dog to the lead a little bit at a time, keeping him well within his comfort zone at each step of the way. Because he’s already got a fear of the leash, some discomfort in its presence is to be expected, but watch out for signs of extreme fear: hyperventilating, drooling, submissive urination, rolling eyes (often showing the whites).
So step one: remember to take baby steps at all times!
- If he’s really afraid of the leash, you’ll need to accustom him to it very slowly indeed. Practice leaving it out in full view, preferably in ‘fun’ places: next to his food bowl, in preferred play areas, near his bed.
- Once he’s stopped reacting to the sight of it, introduce the leash to him in a more active manner. You can do this by wrapping it around your hand as you pet and groom him. Hold the leash in your hand as you prepare his food; sit by him and stroke him, with the leash wrapped around your hand, as he eats. Keep this up until he’s stopped showing any signs of discomfort – it may take some time, but remember that you’re aiming to accustom him comfortably to the leash. Any rushing is counterproductive.
- When he’s not showing any signs of nervousness with this level of progress, you can start attaching the leash to his collar. Put him in a sit-stay, using a firm, calm voice, and clip the leash on. Don’t make a big deal out of it: your dog will take his emotional and psychological cues from your behavior. If you act as though it’s not a big deal, he’ll follow your lead.
- Once the leash is on, give him some time to get used to the sensation of something hanging off his neck. He may get a little panicky at this stage, and start pawing at his neck and trying to rub the leash off along the ground. If he’s showing signs of nervousness, distract him with a game: a short game of tug-o’-war (providing he knows to drop the toy when you’ve had enough) is a good idea; if he can run without getting tangled in the leash, play a short game of fetch; or, if the two of you are outside in a safely enclosed area, you can go for a short walk. Don’t attempt to touch the leash at this stage, just let him walk around freely.
- Take the leash off after five minutes or so, and praise him lavishly for being such a good boy. Give him a couple of small, tasty treats, and lots of petting.
- Repeat these last three steps several more times before progressing to the next level: you want to give him plenty of opportunities to get used to the sensation of the leash itself before you start using it to control his walking. The more positive associations he forms with the leash (which he will do through the games, walks, and treats while wearing it), the better for his progress.
- Next, it’s time for a short obedience-training session while he’s wearing the leash. Five minutes is plenty: practice a sit-stay and the recall command (“come”) while he’s wearing the leash. This will reinforce your authority and leadership, and remind him that he’s still expected to obey you while wearing the leash.
- When he’s readily obeying your commands with the leash on, you can take him for a short walk while he’s wearing it. If he’s jumpy, do not reinforce his nervousness by rewarding him with attention. Simply ignore him and carry on walking. Remember, he takes his cues from you, so keep calm and wait for it to pass.
- If, at any point, you feel that he’s simply too nervous to proceed (for example, if he’s still panicking after three or four minutes of walking on the leash), go back to the level at which he was last 100% comfortable. Wait a few days at this stage before attempting to proceed.

Things to Remember
- Remember to be patient! Don’t attempt to rush your dog’s progress: using force is counterproductive to your end goal. You’re teaching him to relax and be calm around the leash – if you get stressed or frustrated with his lack of progress, he’ll be able to tell, and his anxiety levels will increase, not decrease.
- Remember not to indulge his nervousness or coddle him if he plays up or gets nervous. If you react to his crying and trembling with petting and cooing, you are telling him that it’s OK to feel like that. If he’s nervous, either ignore it and carry on, or distract him with a game or short walk. If he’s still panic-stricken after three or four minutes, revert to the previous step and give it more time.
- This should go without saying, but never correct or punish him for skittishness or nervous behavior – again, it’s counterproductive in the extreme.

For Further Information
For more information on a variety of leash-related problems, as well as a detailed look at the whole spectrum of common canine behavioral problems, you may want to check out SitStayFetch. It’s a comprehensive training compendium for the responsible owner, and covers just about every topic you could ever need for building and maintaining a happy, healthy relationship with your dog.

You can check out the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:

Sit-Stay-Fetch Dog Training

Dog Ownership Guilt

2008-09-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

Call me neurotic, but it always feels like I never do enough for my dogs. I'm constantly worried about them and get plagued by guilt when I don't have time to go for a walk or play ball. Sometimes the realities of life just intervene and there isn't enough time for my dogs, and I end up feeling guilty about it.

This past weekend was a case in point. One problem is I also own 3 horses. For the most part, I only get to see them on the weekends and sometimes on Saturdays I'm out at the horse ranch all day long, and that happened this Saturday. Then I had a social commitment Saturday evening, so didn't see my dogs until it was already very late. By that time I was tired and ready for bed. So I pretty much just fed them their dinner when I got home and then went off to sleep.

Sunday was no different. I had promised myself to spend more time with them and take the dogs for a walk, but I wasn't able to get around to it. I went out to see the horses again, and then had to go with a friend to a family gathering. I was gone most of the day. I stopped by in the mid-afternoon to check on my dog Tony who has heartworm, and when I was leaving my dog Jake was trying to get me to play ball with him. He looked really sad as I walked out the door, leaving me feeling overwhelmed with guilt again. I felt so guilty that even though I got home at 9:30 PM (hey thats late for a work night) I took Jake for a half hour walk.

I am wondering if other dog owners get these feelings of guilt when they can't walk their dogs or spend time playing with them.

Dog Training 101: Digging

2008-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

There are two extremes of opinion when it comes to dogs and their digging habits: one, that a dog is a dog, and we should permit him to express his true canine nature by allowing him free reign over the yard and flowerbeds; and two, that a flowerbed is a flowerbed, and no dog should even think about expression his dogginess if such an expression comes at the price of a season’s worth of rosebuds.

My own viewpoint tends to favor the middle ground. Although plenty of dogs do love to dig, and it’s healthy for them to be permitted to indulge in this habit from time to time, there’s a difference between permitting your dog to express his inner puppy, and allowing him to run rampant in the yard. I don’t see why a dog should have to come at the price of a garden, and vice versa: flowers and dogs can coexist peacefully. If your dog’s developed a taste for digging, it’ll just take a bit of time (and some crafty ingenuity) on your part to resolve the issue satisfactorily.

First of all, if you have yet to adopt a dog and your concern for the fate of your flower-beds is purely hypothetical, consider the breed of dog that you’d like. If you’ve got your eye on a specific mixed-breed dog, what seems to be the most prominent?

The reason that I ask is simply because breed often plays a significant role in any given dog’s personal valuation of digging as a rewarding pastime – terriers and Nordic breeds in particular (Huskies, Malamutes, some members of the Spitz family) seem to particularly enjoy digging.

Of course, when you get right down to the sum and substance, each dog is first and foremost an individual, and there’s no guaranteed way to predict whether or not your chosen familial addition is going to be a burrower or not. But if you’re trying to reduce the likelihood of an involuntarily-landscaped garden as much as possible, I suggest you stay away from all breeds of terrier (the name means “go to earth”, after all!) and the Nordic breeds.

Why do dogs dig?

In no particular order, here are some of the more common reasons that a dog will dig:

Lack of exercise. Digging is a good way for a hyped-up, under-exercised dog to burn off some of that nervous energy.
Boredom. Bored dogs need a “job” to do, something rewarding and interesting, to help the time pass by.
Digging is often the ideal solution for a bored dog: it gives him a sense of purpose, and distracts him from an otherwise-empty day.
The need for broader horizons. Some dogs are just escape artists by nature – no matter how much exercise and attention they get, it’s nearly impossible to confine them. For a four-legged Houdini, it’s not the digging in itself that’s the reward, it’s the glorious unknown that exists beyond the fenceline.
Separation anxiety. To a dog that’s seriously pining for your company, digging under those confining walls represents the most direct path to you. Separation anxiety is an unpleasant psychological issue relatively common among dogs – but because it’s so complex, we won’t be dealing with it in this newsletter. Instead, you can find excellent resources for both preventing and coping with the condition at http://www.kingdomofpets.com/dogobediencetraining/

Curbing the habit

Many of the reasons contributing to your dog’s desire to dig suggest their own solutions: if your dog’s not getting enough exercise (generally speaking, at least forty-five minutes’ worth of vigorous walking per day), take him for more walks. If he’s bored, give him some toys and chews to play with during your absence, and wear him out before you leave so he spends most of the day snoozing. An escape-artist dog might need to be crated, or at least kept inside the house where he’s less likely to be able to break free.

For those dogs who just like to dig as a pastime in itself, though, here are a few basic tips for controlling inappropriate digging as much as is reasonably possible:

Restrict your dog’s access. This is the most effective thing you can do: if he’s never in the yard without active supervision, there’s no opportunity for digging.
Use natural deterrent. 99.9% of dogs will shy back, horrified, from the prospect of digging anywhere that there’s dog poop. Even the ones who like to eat poop (a condition known as coprophagia) generally won’t dig anywhere near it – it offends their basic, fastidious dislike of soiling their coat and paws.
Use nature’s own wiles. If the digging is bothering you because it’s upsetting the more delicate blooms in your garden, plant hardier blossoms: preferably, those with deep roots and thorny defenses. Roses are ideal.
A more time-consuming, but super-effective way of handling the issue: roll up the first inch or two of turf in your yard, and lay down chicken-wire underneath it. Your dog won’t know it’s there until he’s had a few tries at digging, but once he’s convinced himself that it’s pointless (which won’t take long), he’ll never dig in that yard again.

Accept your dog’s need for an outlet: give him a place to dig

If your dog is set on tunneling your yard into a grassless, crater-studded lunar landscape, but you’re equally determined to prevent this from happening at all costs, please take a moment to consider before embarking on a grueling and time-consuming preventative strategy.

Setting yourself the goal of eradicating all digging behavior, period, is pretty unrealistic: it’s not fair on you (since, really, you’re setting yourself up for failure), and it’s not really fair on your poor dog either – if he’s a true-blue digger, it’s just part of his personality, and he needs at least some opportunity to express that.

But a lawn and a dog don’t have to be mutually exclusive: the most humane and understanding thing for you to do in this case is simply to redirect his digging energy.

You do this by allocating him an area where he’s allowed to dig as much as he pleases. Once this zone’s been established, you can make it crystal-clear that there’s to be absolutely no digging in the rest of the yard – and you can enforce your rules with a clear conscience, since you know your dog now has his own little corner of the world to turn upside down and inside out as he chooses.

But what if you don’t have a “spare corner” of the yard? What if the whole thing, grass, flowerbeds, and gravel path, is just too dear to your heart? That’s OK too – invest in a sandbox, which you can place anywhere in the garden.

You can even make one yourself (the deeper, the better, obviously). Fill it with a mixture of sand and earth, and put some leaves or grass on top if you like - get your dog interested in it by having a scratch around yourself, until he gets the idea.

Make sure the boundaries are clear

To make it clear to him that the sandbox is OK but that everywhere else is a no-dig zone, spend a little time supervising him. When he starts to dig in the box (you can encourage this by shallowly burying a few choice marrowbones in there), praise him energetically – and if he starts digging anywhere else, correct him straight away with an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” or “No!”.

Then, redirect him immediately to the sandbox, and dole out vociferous praise when digging recommences.

To really clarify the lesson, give him a treat when digging gets underway in the sandbox – the close proximity between the correction (for digging out of the sandbox) and praise/reward (for digging in the sandbox) will ensure that your point strikes home.

Further reading

For more information on recognizing and dealing with problematic behaviors like digging, chewing, barking, and aggression, check out SitStayFetch. It’s a detailed how-to manual for the responsible owner, and is packed with all the information you’ll need for raising a healthy, happy, well-adjusted pooch: from problem behaviors to dog psychology to obedience work, SitStayFetch has it covered.

You can check out SitStayFetch by clicking on the link below:

SitStayFetch Dog Training Guide

Nature's Miracle Pet Odor and Stain Removal to the Rescue

2008-09-21T07:51:00.001-07:00

Cleaning up after my dog Tony who is shut up in an unused Bedroom for heartworm treatment has been a nightmare. Naturally he had to go potty while I was at work all day and he left a nasty stain right on the mattress. So I went to the pet store and picked up some Nature's Miracle. Man was this stuff amazing. You pour it on the stain and leave it there for a few minutes, and when you come back the yellow is completely gone. This stuff really works. It also breaks down the urine and removes the ugly disgusting smell. Works like a charm-that is no lie! You can also put it in carpet cleaners. There were a couple of stains on the carpet, and what I did was first I poured some directly on the carpet and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then I put some Nature's Miracle in the carpet cleaning machine with some ordinary rug cleaner, about a half and half mixture. I cleaned the carpet and it was as if no potty accident had happened. The smell was gone and the stain was no longer visible. This stuff really works. Getting rid of urine stains and especially the nasty smell is no easy task, so don't pass this stuff up.

Click here to learn more.

Heartworm Update

2008-09-20T07:06:00.001-07:00

My plan to keep Tony, the German Shepherd Dog with heartworm, in a bedroom has predictably turned into a disaster. And when I had to leave him alone for several hours he pooped and peed all over. Starting this upcoming Monday I still have two more weeks of confinement, giving a total of 9 weeks. What a nightmare. Rather than accepting it he is getting more antsy as time goes by. I've tried bringing him out on leash to sit with me in the living room and he's pretty calm when I do that, but maybe its making it worse during other times-since he knows what he's missing being shut up in the bedroom. It seems like it'll be a miracle if he makes it through this and then when he does, I've got to potty train him all over again! I'm thinking of going to Pet Smart and getting some of those potty training pads for dogs to see if he will at least stick to those instead of going all over, now that he's discovered that he can poop in the bedroom.

Dog chasing laser light

2008-09-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I mentioned that one of those pen lasers is a great toy for dogs. My dogs go ABSOLUTELY NUTS chasing around the little red dot. Here is a video someone made of their boxer going around in circles chasing the light.

Hey its an easy way to get your dog some extra exercise!

Incident Between Miami City Employee and Dog Probed

2008-09-19T13:17:00.001-07:00

Wow if you can believe this some wacko city employee in Miami was caught with his pants down-with a dog. Seems like everywhere you turn these days there is a fruitcake of some kind. This weirdo is 69 years old for Christs sake!! But the poor sap only makes $28 k a year, so maybe he's having a hard time picking up the babes.

Read the Story Here

The Albuquerque Pet Ordinance

2008-09-19T07:17:00.001-07:00

The Albuquerque Pet Ordinance (HEART or Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment) is one of the worst examples of government gone bad. Taking a basically good idea-getting people to take good care of their pets-and turning it into a bureaucratic nightmare of government control, this sweeping document is the height of absurdity.

Now many of the laws in this document would make good suggestions, but having the government mandate them is what gets my goat. Here are some highlights:

A dog is required to be on a leash no longer than 8 feet long.
"Feces and soiled bedding must be removed at least weekly to prevent odor"
Companion Birds kept in Cages must have enough room to spread their wings and have at least 2 perches of different diameters available to them.
All Animals shall be groomed in accordance with this article...
Crates are prohibited as a means of outdoor confinement in non-residential areas.
Animals riding inside vehicles that are not in Crates or other enclosures must not be allowed access to a window opened wide enough for the Animal to jump, fly or fall out

If you live in Albuquerque, watch out! The plastic dog bowl or cat bowl for food is strictly prohibited!

Food and water dishes must not be made of plastic and must be washed after every meal.

Here is one of my favorite parts, where the amount of square feet per dog and cat is dictated:

Cats shall have a minimum of four square feet of flat floor space and twenty-two inches of vertical space.
Dogs weighing less than 30 pounds shall have eight square feet of flat floor space and two feet of vertical space per dog.
Dogs that weigh more than 65 pounds shall have 24 square feet of flat floor space and three feet of vertical space per dog.

Now of course in anything the government does, there has to be a revenue generating machine. This ordinance is no exception:

All residents of Albuquerque who own Companion Animals shall have a current annual Albuquerque Companion Animal License for each Companion Animal they own that is over the age of three months.
A License Tag shall be issued with each License.
Replacement License tags shall be sold at the AACC at a cost of $ 4 each.
The fee for late License renewal shall be a minimum of $10.
Owners of female intact Companion Animals must obtain a Litter Permit
Any Person intending to exceed the maximum limit of six Companion Animals, no more than four of which are dogs, in a Household shall obtain a Multiple Companion Animal Site Permit (MCASP).

Permit Fees.

(1) Intact Companion Animal Permit fee is $150 per animal.

(2) Litter Permit fee is $150 per litter.

(3) Exotic or Wild Animal Collection Permit fee is $35.

(4) Multiple Companion Animal Site fee is $25 per site.

(5) Guard Dog Site fee is $150 per site.

(6) Animal Service Provider fee is $25 per year.

(7) Pet Store Permit fee is $50 per year.

(8) Animal Drawn Vehicle fee is $150 per Animal.

(9) Trolley Permit fee is $25 per Animal.

That last one really gets my goat. Sure we don't want to enable hoarders, but why is the GOVERNMENT dictating to an American citizen, a supposedly "free" person, how many dogs they can have? Not only this, but if your animals irritate your busy body neighbors, they can file for a hearing:

Any adjoining property owner may petition the Administrative Hearing Officer for revocation, modification or suspension of a MCASP if the adjoining property owner is reasonably aggrieved by any effects of the Multiple Animal Site.

Don't get me wrong. Animal abuse and neglect should be prosecuted by the government, and hoarders should not be allowed to stuff 50 animals into their single wide trailer. Dog fighting should definitely be illegal. But when the government is dictating how many square feet a dog must have or what kind of bowls they can eat out of, things have been taken way too far. Over-breeding, puppy mills and other issues are best dealt with by education, not sweeping government mandates. Pretty soon there are going to be so many laws that you won't be able to go outside without being arrested.

Heartworm Update

2008-09-18T21:33:00.001-07:00

Well its late and I confess-I'm drinking wine in order to stay sane while my dog goes nuts confined to a single room for 6 weeks now.

The vet was adamant: keep the dog STRICTLY confined. He even suggested putting him in an airport carrier. Have you seen those things? They allow the dog to see out the front, but the sides are COMPLETELY blocked off. And you want me to keep a dog confined in THAT for six, seven, and what has now turned into nine weeks? You have got to be completely insane.

Well I had a hard enough time keeping him in a standard wire crate, and as I've mentioned in previous posts I ended up letting him have an entire bedroom to himself. This calmed him down quite a bit and he spends most of his time laying on the bed.

But TIME IS PASSING. We are approaching the seventh week of this pure insanity and as you might imagine, my dog has had enough. For one thing he isn't stupid, he can hear the other dogs and myself out in the living room. And he can hear when I take the other dogs for walks. He can hear when I let the other dogs out into the yard. He is going absolutely bonkers.

So being a softie I've recently taken to bringing him into the living room on leash. This keeps him from getting active, he pretty much just lays next to me (he is laying next to me right now as I type on the computer). But he is a whole lot happier since he is part of the gang. I hope this doesn't end up killing him. He isn't getting overly active from this but considering the vet wanted him confined in an airplane carrier he's pretty out there.

If you had a dog with heartworm how would you handle it? Two weeks to go from this upcoming Monday.

Does your dog chew grass?

2008-09-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

My dog crops grass like a cow. He eats it with gusto whenever he encounters it, to the extent that my friends have begun to refer to him, jokingly, as ‘The Ruminant’. This habit of his doesn’t bother me at all, since it seems to have no ill-effects on him whatsoever - although, when I’m standing outside in the cold waiting for him to relieve himself during one of his infrequent small-hours toilet calls (normally his timing is much more considerate), it’s hard not to hop impatiently from foot to foot while he enthusiastically tears out the mandatory five to seven mouthfuls of grass, chews thoroughly, and swallows, instead of just getting on with the task at hand.

Unless your dog’s digestion is suffering unwanted upheavals from his grass-eating habit, it’s not really a problem. Dogs have been eating grass since the dawn of time (or at least, of the species) with few ill-effects, aside from the odd bout of vomiting - and really, this is one of those things that seems to bother owners a lot more than their dogs; most dogs, will simply re-ingest the vomitus and go about their day unfazed.

Truthfully, nobody really knows why dogs eat grass. There are a variety of theories as to why animals that are widely regarded as carnivores would willingly consume moderate quantities of vegetation.

One of said theories pertains to the fact that dogs are not, actually, carnivores. They’re omnivores, which literally means, “eat anything”.

This theory postulates that the modern-day dog eats grass in a deliberate attempt to supplement his diet with nutrients that are missing from his daily meals. The main crux, thrust, and gist of this argument centers around the idea that dogs, as omnivorous animals, are eating too much meat and need to balance this out with some greenery on the side, much as you or I might crave a nice tart salad to go with our steak.

If you ask me, this is nonsense. First of all, most of us feed our dogs primarily on kibble, which contains the full spectrum of fully-absorbable nutrients that dogs require (or at least, high quality kibble does; I can’t vouch for the quality of supermarket-brand dog food). If you’re feeding your dog on meat alone, whether canned or fresh, there may be some substance to this theory – dogs need a wide range of vitamins and minerals for optimum health, most of which are not contained within fresh meat. It’s true that canned meat has some added nutrients; the main problem with canned food is that it’s too soft and jelly-like to maintain healthy teeth and bowels. Dogs fed primarily on canned food are far more prone to developing dental disease at a relatively early age (not to mention an increased incidence of constipation and flatulence, from the lack of fiber and roughage).

As far as dog food goes, unless your dog’s on a specific, prescribed diet, kibble should constitute the main part of his diet – you can add a few spoonfuls of canned meat for variety and temptation, if you like.

Another popular theory is that dogs use grass as a sort of natural emetic: that, since a nauseous dog lacks the phalangeal structure necessary for the good old ‘finger down the throat’ move, he’ll resort to nature’s bounty as an alternative. It’s true that grass does sometimes make dogs vomit – those tickly stems can irritate the stomach lining, and there have been a few occasions when I’ve seen dogs vomit up a chunk of something that’s proved to be indigestible, and along with the offending article, there’s also been a clump of grass in the vomit too.

However – and I’m sorry to pour cold water over this one too – I have to say that this is pure conjecture, and somewhat nonsensical conjecture at that. Dogs are perfectly capable of vomiting all by themselves, without the assistance of grass; I’ve seen too many dogs enjoying a post-prandial mouthful of mixed lawn greens, without any regurgitational side effects, to lend the theory any credence.

If you’re worried that eating grass is going to hurt your dog, you can lay that concern to rest right now. The one possible downside is that he’ll irritate his throat or stomach lining, but this issue will only cause him strife for a second or two at most: he’ll either cough the problem away, or will toss his cookies without further ado (which rarely bothers most dogs).

Really, grass-eating is nothing to worry about – it’s a life-long habit with many dogs, and if yours does decide that it’s no longer in his best interests, he’ll simply stop eating it all by himself.

You may need to keep an eye on him around recently treated lawns, or anywhere where nasties like pesticides, snail bait, and rat poison could be around, since most garden chemicals are highly toxic to dogs. Ideally, you’d be keeping an eye on him anyway if he’s around those substances, but grass-eaters are at higher risk than most since they’re more likely to ingest plant matter that herbicides and other toxic chemicals have been sprayed onto.

In addition to this, it’s also best if he’s kept away from those clumps of dried-out grass that lie around on the lawn after it’s been freshly mowed. It shouldn’t be a problem if the grass is mowed by a push-mower; but if it’s been through a gas-operated machine, the grass will be tainted with petrol fumes and grease, which at best will taste horrible and at worst can make him pretty sick. (Fortunately for your peace of mind and your dog’s peace of digestive tract, all but the most food-obsessed dogs will usually spurn this smelly fare in favor of clean, fresh grass.)

If your dog’s grass eating is really bothering you, presumably this is out of concern for your lawn, rather than your dog, since there’s ample evidence that dogs suffer no adverse effects from frequent grassy snacks. There are a couple of things you can try doing to reduce his desire to supplement his diet with eatables from the backyard – but, because this is one area of dogdom that nobody really knows that much about (scientists are frankly mystified by the appetite of the average dog for verdure), the success rate is more hit-and-miss than guaranteed:

Try varying his diet slightly. Unlike humans, dogs do not need a widely varied diet to keep them “interested” in food; they’re creatures of routine, and diet is no exception to this rule. However, since one of the theories that attempts to explain why dogs eat grass is centered around a lack of nutritional variety, you can try introducing various tasty vegetables into his food: most dogs enjoy tomatoes, carrots (either steamed or raw) and chopped apples. Be sure to stay well away from grapes, raisins, and onions, since these are toxic to dogs.
Supervise him whenever he’s around grass. This may not be a particularly user-friendly option, especially for off-lead walks; you’ll have to keep a real eagle-eye on your canine walking buddy to make sure he’s not making a dash for the greenery.

Realistically, there’s not really a lot you can do about your dog’s grass-eating habit (aside from deny him access to grass utterly, which wouldn’t be fair to your dog and would make your daily dog-walking expeditions more of an exercise in frustration than a relaxing stroll).

The general consensus from the experts seems to be that grass-eating, although somewhat of an enigmatic pastime to us humans, is just ‘one of those things’ as far as your dog is concerned. It won’t do him any harm, and you can be sure that if he’s eating it, he’s enjoying it – so there’s really not a lot to be said for depriving him of that simple pleasure.

Furthermore, and in addition to the logistics of permitting this penchant, I’ve got to say that watching your dog ripping up and chewing generous mouthfuls of turf with an expression of half-lidded bliss on his face can provide you (and passersby) with some unexpected entertainment when the two of you are out and about together!

For further reading …

For more information on dog psychology and general canine behavioral traits, with a particular focus on problematic behaviors, you’ll probably want to take a look at SitStayFetch. It’s a complete, detailed manual for the intelligent and responsible owner, and covers everything from obedience training through to preventing and handling a huge variety of common problem behaviors. Well worth checking out!

You can visit the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:

Sit-Stay-Fetch

Iams Dog Cruelty

2008-09-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Want to feed your dog Iams dog food? Watch this video to see how they treat dogs in their testing facility. Sick.

Iams Cruelty Website

The Stay Command for Dogs

2008-09-17T14:31:00.001-07:00

The stay command is one of the most important commands you can teach your dog. Imagine being in the front yard with your dog loose and being able to put him in a stay before he runs out into the road. Or being able to put him in a stay at a park full of children. A stay command can be a life saving command, for your dog or others.

This guy uses clicker training. I'm not too familiar with clicker training, but it might be something worth investigating. Whether you use clicker training or not watch the video for some tips on how to teach the stay command.

Need to train your dog? Visit the Kingdom of Pets Sit-Stay-Fetch Dog Training Program

Recognizing, preventing, and handling dog aggression

2008-09-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

A dog is an instinctively aggressive creature. In the wild, aggression came in very handy: dogs needed aggression to hunt, to defend themselves from other creatures, and to defend resources such as food, a place to sleep, and a mate. Selective breeding over the centuries has minimized and refined this trait significantly, but there’s just no getting around it: dogs are physically capable of inflicting serious harm (just look at those teeth!) because that’s how they’ve survived and evolved. And Mother Nature is pretty wily – it’s hard to counteract the power of instinct!

But that doesn’t mean that we, as dog lovers and owners, are entirely helpless when it comes to handling our dogs. There’s a lot that we can do to prevent aggression from rearing its ugly head in the first place – and even if prevention hasn’t been possible (for whatever reason), there are still steps that we can take to recognize and deal with it efficiently.

- Different aggression types -

There are several different types of canine aggression. The two most common ones are:

- Aggression towards strangers

- Aggression towards family members

You may be wondering why we’re bothering categorizing this stuff: after all, aggression is aggression, and we want to turf it out NOW, not waste time with the details – right?

Well … not quite. These two different types of aggression stem from very different causes, and require different types of treatment.

- Aggression towards strangers -

What is it?

It’s pretty easy to tell when a dog’s nervy around strange people. He’s jumpy and on the alert: either he can’t sit still and is constantly fidgeting, leaping at the smallest sound, and pacing around barking and whining; or he’s veerrrry still indeed, sitting rock-steady in one place, staring hard at the object of his suspicions (a visitor, the mailman, someone approaching him on the street while he’s tied up outside a store.)

Why does it happen?

There’s one major reason why a dog doesn’t like strange people: he’s never had the chance to get used to them. Remember, your dog relies 100% on you to broaden his horizons for him: without being taken on lots of outings to see the world and realize for himself, through consistent and positive experiences, that the unknown doesn’t necessarily equal bad news for him, how can he realistically be expected to relax in an unfamiliar situation?

What can I do about it?

The process of accustoming your dog to the world and all the strange people (and animals) that it contains is called socialization. This is an incredibly important aspect of your dog’s upbringing: in fact, it’s pretty hard to overemphasize just how important it is. Socializing your dog means exposing him from a young age (generally speaking, as soon as he’s had his vaccinations) to a wide variety of new experiences, new people, and new animals.

How does socialization prevent stranger aggression?

When you socialize your dog, you’re getting him to learn through experience that new sights and sounds are fun, not scary.

It’s not enough to expose an adult dog to a crowd of unfamiliar people and tell him to “Settle down, Roxy, it’s OK” – he has to learn that it’s OK for himself. And he needs to do it from puppyhood for the lesson to sink in.

The more types of people and animals he meets (babies, toddlers, teenagers, old people, men, women, people wearing uniforms, people wearing motorcycle helmets, people carrying umbrellas, etc) in a fun and relaxed context, the more at ease and happy – and safe around strangers - he’ll be in general.

How can I socialize my dog so that he doesn’t develop a fear of strangers?

Socializing your dog is pretty easy to do – it’s more of a general effort than a specific training regimen.

First of all, you should take him to puppy preschool. This is a generic term for a series of easy group-training classes for puppies (often performed at the vet clinic, which has the additional benefit of teaching your dog positive associations with the vet!).

In a puppy preschool class, about ten or so puppy owners get together with a qualified trainer (often there’ll be at least two trainers present – the more there are, the better, since it means you get more one-on-one time with a professional) and start teaching their puppies the basic obedience commands: sit, stay, and so on.

Even though the obedience work is very helpful and is a great way to start your puppy on the road to being a trustworthy adult dog, really the best part of puppy preschool is the play sessions: several times throughout the class, the puppies are encouraged to run around off-leash and play amongst themselves.

This is an ideal environment for them to learn good social skills: there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar dogs present (which teaches them how to interact with strange dogs), there’s a whole bunch of unfamiliar people present (which teaches them that new faces are nothing to be afraid of), and the environment is safe and controlled (there’s at least one certified trainer present to make sure that things don’t get out of hand).

Socialization doesn’t just stop with puppy preschool, though. It’s an ongoing effort throughout the life of your puppy and dog: he needs to be taken to a whole bunch of new places and environments.

Remember not to overwhelm him: start off slow, and build up his tolerance gradually.

- Aggression towards family members -

There are two common reasons why a dog is aggressive towards members of his own human family:

- He’s trying to defend something he thinks of as his from a perceived threat (you).

This is known as resource guarding, and though it may sound innocuous, there’s actually a lot more going on here than your dog simply trying to keep his kibble to himself.

- He’s not comfortable with the treatment/handling he’s getting from you or other members of the family.

What’s resource guarding?

Resource guarding is pretty common among dogs. The term refers to overly-possessive behavior on behalf of your dog: for instance, snarling at you if you approach him when he’s eating, or giving you “the eye” (a flinty-eyed, direct stare) if you reach your hand out to take a toy away from him.

All dogs can be possessive from time to time – it’s in their natures. Sometimes they’re possessive over things with no conceivable value: inedible trash, balled up pieces of paper or tissue, old socks. More frequently, however, resource-guarding becomes an issue over items with a very real and understandable value: food and toys.

Why does it happen?

It all boils down to the issue of dominance. Let me take a moment to explain this concept: dogs are pack animals. This means that they’re used to a very structured environment: in a dog-pack, each individual animal is ranked in a hierarchy of position and power (or “dominance”) in relation to every other animal. Each animal is aware of the rank of every other animal, which means he knows specifically how to act in any given situation (whether to back down, whether to push the issue, whether to muscle in or not on somebody else’s turf, etc etc).

To your dog, the family environment is no different to the dog-pack environment. Your dog has ranked each member of the family, and has his own perception of where he ranks in that environment as well.

This is where it gets interesting: if your dog perceives himself as higher up on the social totem-pole than other family members, he’s going to get cheeky. If he’s really got an overinflated sense of his own importance, he’ll start to act aggressively.

Why? Because dominance and aggression are the exclusive rights of a superior-ranked animal. No underdog would ever show aggression or act dominantly to a higher-ranked animal (the consequences would be dire, and he knows it!)

Resource guarding is a classic example of dominant behavior: only a higher-ranked dog (a “dominant” dog) would act aggressively in defence of resources.

To put it plainly: if it was clear to your dog that he is not, in fact, the leader of the family, he’d never even dream of trying to prevent you from taking his food or toys – because a lower-ranking dog (him) will always go along with what the higher-ranking dogs (you and your family) say.

So what can I do about it? The best treatment for dominant, aggressive behavior is consistent, frequent obedience work, which will underline your authority over your dog. Just two fifteen-minute sessions a day will make it perfectly clear to your dog that you’re the boss, and that it pays to do what you say.

You can make this fact clear to him by rewarding him (with treats and lavish praise) for obeying a command, and isolating him (putting him in “time-out”, either outside the house or in a room by himself) for misbehaviour.

- If you’re not entirely confident doing this yourself, you may wish to consider enlisting the assistance of a qualified dog-trainer.

- Brush up on your understanding of canine psychology and communication, so that you understand what he’s trying to say – this will help you to nip any dominant behaviors in the bud, and to communicate your own authority more effectively

- Train regularly: keep obedience sessions short and productive (no more than fifteen minutes – maybe two or three of these per day).

Why doesn’t my dog like to be handled?

All dogs have different handling thresholds. Some dogs like lots of cuddles, and are perfectly content to be hugged, kissed, and have arms slung over their shoulders (this is the ultimate “I’m the boss” gesture to a dog, which is why a lot of them won’t tolerate it.) Others – usually the ones not accustomed to a great deal of physical contact from a very young age – aren’t comfortable with too much full-body contact and will get nervy and agitated if someone persists in trying to hug them.

Another common cause of handling-induced aggression is a bad grooming experience: nail-clipping and bathing are the two common culprits.

When you clip a dog’s nails, it’s very easy to “quick” him – that is, cut the blood vessel that runs inside the nail. This is extremely painful to a dog, and is a sure-fire way to cause a long-lasting aversion to those clippers.

Being washed is something that a great many dogs have difficulty dealing with – a lot of owners, when confronted with a wild-eyed, half-washed, upset dog, feel that in order to complete the wash they have to forcibly restrain him. This only adds to the dog’s sense of panic, and reinforces his impression of a wash as something to be avoided at all costs – if necessary, to defend himself from it with a display of teeth and hackles.

Can I “retrain” him to enjoy being handled and groomed?

In a word: yes. It’s a lot easier if you start from a young age – handle your puppy a lot, get him used to being touched and rubbed all over. Young dogs generally enjoy being handled – it’s only older ones who haven’t had a lot of physical contact throughout their lives that sometimes find physical affection difficult to accept.

Practice picking up his paws and touching them with the clipper; practice taking him into the bath (or outside, under the faucet – whatever works for you, but warm water is much more pleasant for a dog than a freezing spray of ice-water!), and augment the process throughout with lots of praise and the occasional small treat.

For an older dog that may already have had several unpleasant handling/grooming experiences, things are a little more difficult. You need to undo the damage already caused by those bad experiences, which you can do by taking things very slowly – with an emphasis on keeping your dog calm.

The instant he starts to show signs of stress, stop immediately and let him relax. Try to make the whole thing into a game: give him lots of praise, pats, and treats.

Take things slowly. Don’t push it too far: if you get nervous, stop.

Dogs show aggression for a reason: they’re warning you to back off, or else! If your dog just can’t seem to accept being groomed, no matter how much practice you put in, it’s best to hand the job over to the professionals.

Your vet will clip his nails for you (make sure you tell him first that he gets aggressive when the clippers come out, so your vet can take the necessary precautions!). As far as washing and brushing goes, the dog-grooming business is a flourishing industry: for a small fee, you can get your dog washed, clipped, brushed, and whatever else you require by experienced professionals (again, make sure you tell them about your dog’s reaction to the experience first!)

For more information on handling aggressive and dominant behaviors, as well as a great deal of detailed information on a host of other common dog behavior problems, check out SitStayFetch.

It’s a complete owner’s guide to owning, rearing, and training your dog, and it deals with all aspects of dog ownership.

To get the inside word on preventing and dealing with problem behaviors like aggression and dominance in your dog, SitStayFetch is well worth a look.

You can visit the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:

Sit-Stay-Fetch Dog Obedience Training

Jake the German Shepherd Dog

2008-09-16T17:32:00.001-07:00

Until recently, I hadn't been known to hoard animals. For most of my life I was a one-dog man, and then in 1996 I moved up to two with a Dalmatian named Tasha and a German Shepherd named Sam. Tasha had to be put down about a year and a half later because she was really old (nearly 16) and had a massive tumor on her leg. After that I got a second German Shepherd named Brandy, and had the two Shepherds from 1999-2007.

For reasons that I'll explain another time, by the spring of 2007 I had four dogs: Brandy, Lucy, a new German Shepherd named Tony and an Akita named Naomi. Well at this point I was like having four dogs in one house is completely insane, so there was NO WAY I was getting another dog. Well not until I met Jake that is.

My beloved German Shepherd of ten years Sam had died that April from stomach torsion, and things just didn't feel right. It was about then that a lady at a ranch where I board my horses began talking about getting rid of her German Shepherd. It was kind of strange because only a few weeks earlier she was ranting and raving about how wonderful it was for her to have come across this dog (whom she adopted from some doctor). He resembled a German Shepherd she had left behind in Jersey not just physically, but with his penchant for chasing and chewing on dogs.

The problem was the lady had just acquired some pygmy goats. One tragic Sunday morning the neighbors dog got in her yard and YIKES! killed the goats. This caused some soul searching-not only was the act of killing the neighbors dog considered, but she began to worry if her recently acquired German Shepherd might kill the goats too. Apparently he had made some displays of fondness for meat, and was eye-ing the goats a little too often.

There was also talk that he was too thin and had to stay outside all the time by some other people at the ranch. So a woman (who will remain nameless but plays a significant role in my life ;) convinced me to go over and take a look. First the idea was to just check on him and make sure he was OK, but one Sunday evening I dropped by to inquire about adopting him.

For an animal nut like me, this is of course a major mistake. Once the decision has been made to look in on a critter I may as well just say drop him off at my house. So I drove up there, knowing full well there was no way I would leave this dog behind.

The doctor had originally named this dog Kozmo, but the woman who now owned him sensibly changed his name to Jake. She had a whole army of animals, from a pair of gay (yes homosexual) canaries to four small dogs, two goats and two big dogs. The small dogs were allowed in the house but the big dogs had to stay outside with the goats. Since Jake had his eye on gourmet goat meat, he was kind of living as a loner.

Jake greeted me with a ball in his mouth. Living up to his description, Jake is a German Shepherd that is downright obsessed with rubber balls. In fact as I type this he is laying on the floor waiting for me to throw his ball to him now. Anyway, I looked the situation over for a few minutes pretending I would think about it and then told her I'd go ahead and take the dog. She was pretty happy I was taking this burden off her shoulders, she could stop worrying about the goats and her dog had a new home. So off I went with Jake, with the realization that I now owned five dogs slowly sinking in....

Honestly Jake was a mess. He was about 75 pounds looking very skinny, had pannus and an itchy skin condition due to allergies to some kind of mite that all dogs have. After putting him on my regular feeding schedule I use with the other dogs he's up to 95 pounds, and he's getting medication for his pannus and skin condition. I recently put him on Solid Gold Dog food in the hopes his skin my improve a bit and I could cut back on medication.

Well despite the fact I'm saddled with five dogs, Jake has turned out to be the perfect addition. He was eight when I got him (so kind of close to Sam's age) and he has many of Sam's best personality attirbutes. Jake is a fairly quiet dog that doesn't like getting into trouble, so he avoids bothering the other dogs. He likes chomping on his balls (the rubber ones, PLEASE...) and also has a fondness for tennis balls. An interesting quirk is that Jake can fit two or three balls in his mouth at the same time. Sam always tried, in fact Sam tried to fit two tennis balls in his mouth up to the day he died, but never succeeded. Jake also walks good and enjoys going for hikes in the mountains. I guess I would call it chemistry, but his chemistry is very much like Sam's. Having Jake there made me feel whole and secure again in a way I hadn't felt since Sam's death.

Jake has this funny quirk, sitting in the space on the floor between the front and back seats in the car. I don't remember if I've posted this pic before, but here it is, kind of grainy since I took it with the cell phone.

In any case, Jake is the best that a German Shepherd can be. Friendly, gentle, smart, loyal, and fun.

Be a Leader for Your Dog

2008-09-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

A fiery debate at a blog called fugly horse of the day got me thinking about why there are so many problems with animals. In particular, why are so many dogs put in a position where euthanasia seems to be a viable option for behavior issues?

To find the answer to this question, we need look no further than the mirror. The problem is us and its time for dog owners to take responsibility and say the buck stops here.

I've come to this conclusion under some influence by Cesar Millan and others. Owning horses as well as dogs, I've gotten heavily involved in natural horsemanship training. One thing that is clear from natural horsemanship is that you need to become a leader for your horse, and you need to communicate with your horse using his own language. The same is true for dogs, and this is exactly what Cesar Millan is teaching. If you're looking for a happy, successful relationship with your dog, having him around the house and hoping for the best ain't going to cut it. You need to become a leader for your dog. And like natural horsemanship teaches, "dog whispering" is about speaking to your dog in his own language.

Let's take an example. A poster mentioned that a child rang the doorbell one day, and her dog burst forth and bit the child. This is a tragic situation to be sure. On impulse, you would probably say the dog should be put down, and that's exactly what happened. The owner of the dog reports being mystified as to why the dog did what he did. But is it really that mysterious?

The dog was following his gut instinct-which is to protect the household. That is not mysterious behavior. The question we need to ask then, is why did the dog decide to inappropriately bite a child, who is not a real threat? The answer in many, if not most cases is that the dog felt it had to act because the owner was not in a leadership position as far as the dog was concerned. Without an alpha dog in the household, the dog felt insecure and assumed the leadership position on his own. So he did what came natural to him, he saw a stranger at the door and proceeded to defend the household.

I want to make it clear I am speaking in general terms here-I never met the particular dog in question and wasn't there, so can't address that specific dog and owner. That dog might have been truly insane with euthanasia as the only reasonable option. With that as a given, what I am doing is addressing the situation in general and what is usually at play in most cases.

So how can we work to minimize the chances that our dogs will attack at will when someone rings the doorbell, especially a child? What a dog owner needs to do is actively assume the leadership position in the pack. A dog would rather not be the leader. The fact is he is going to look to you to be the leader and will only exhibit aggressive behavior like that when is failing to see you acting as the alpha.

There is nothing mysterious, new agey, or flaky about dog whispering or natural horsemanship. Maybe what's mysterious is that Cesar Millan figured all of this stuff out on his own, but the truth is you can learn it too. All dog whispering is about is taking a new view on dog ownership. Some suggestions:

Read, read, and read again. Study every book on dog behavior (and yes, wolf behavior) so that you understand why dogs behave the way they do.
You might spoil your grandkids or your 3 year old nephew, but don't view your dog as a child that should be spoiled. When it comes to the dog, start viewing the household in terms of a dog pack.
You assume the leadership position of the pack. Read dog whispering books and watch dog training videos to learn how to do this.
Don't neglect basic obedience training. Your dog should be an expert at sit, stay, down, down-stay, and come commands.

That last point might be as important as any other. If your dog is well trained at down-stay, you can put him in a down-stay when the doorbell rings-and he is going to stay in that position until you tell him otherwise. That is the hallmark of a well trained dog. Don't make any excuses. If my dog can't do that-its my fault and nobody else's, and the dog doesn't need to be put down. I need to invest more time and energy into training the dog. Euthanasia should only be a last resort for behaviorial problems. Start putting energy into training your dogs properly today.

Dog Training Help is One Click Away

Narcolepsy in Dogs

2008-09-16T10:49:00.001-07:00

I came across this recent post about Narcolepsy (suddenly falling asleep uncontrollably) in Dogs over at Big Dog Blog. Something that mystified me was the vet seemed clueless about what to do. OK its a TV report so we're probably only getting half-truths, but the fact is the symptoms of narcolepsy can be treated. According to the Mayo Clinic, this is done using stimulants. For example, Ritalin, normally given to treat attention deficit disorder, can be used to control narcolepsy symptoms. Message to the vet treating this dog: Try that and maybe the dog can lead some kind of normal existence. I own 3 horses and where I board my horses there is a horse with narcolepsy (hey-better get out of the way when he falls asleep!). He gets medicine and lives a pretty normal life. Not sure if I would want to ride him, but he's able to enjoy the day and eat his meals etc.

Here is another video about narcolepsy in dogs.

Euthanizing a Dog for Behavioral Problems

2008-09-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

All too often these days its easy to have an animal behaviorist come along and say a dog should be euthanized because it has this or that behavior problem. Having owned a few "problem" dogs, I think the time has come to recognize that dogs are often being put down when they don't need to be and that we shouldn't always defer to the so-called experts-animal behaviorists making life or death decisions.

My dog Tony-who is now being treated for heartworm-is one such example. He was found wandering along the river and ended up in the city animal shelter. An animal behaviorist examined him and declared him unfit for adoption. He was labeled as shy and fear-aggressive. Luckily a woman nearby runs a German Shepherd Rescue and she has a long-standing relationship with the city animal control. She happened to find out Tony was in the shelter and picked him up (they let her take him despite his supposed issues because of that long term relationship). Guess what? Tony is fine. He is the friendliest dog you could ever meet. Sometimes I wonder....is Tony really a German Shepherd? He seems more like a Labrador Retreiver wearing a German Shepherd dog suit most of the time.

Another of my dogs-Lucy the Weimaraner-has a similar story. She escaped from the yard at her previous owners and ended up in the shelter. Once again, the animal behaviorist labeled her as fear-aggressive. But Lucy wouldn't hurt a flea, even though she is definitely the alpha dog in my house.

These two cases taught me a lesson that really hit home. Had the German Shepherd Rescue not visited Tony, he might have been euthanized by the animal shelter staff since the resident expert deemed him dangerous. Same fate might have awaited Lucy. But these are perfectly good dogs that have made great pets.

Are we too eager to euthanize in this age where we desire perfect safety? I think we are. If a dog is fear-aggressive, why not work on the dog first? Start by getting the dog in basic obedience training and work HARD at it so the dog drops into a down without batting an eye. Then socialize the dog. Get it out among people and other dogs. Crate the dog when you've got company. I think people give up on a dog too easily. Remember life is precious and temporary. With a little effort a dog might come out of his shell and be a great companion. It takes a special person with some dedication to deal with a situation like this, but why not step up to the plate and try. There is already too much death in the world and people are always looking for the easy way out.

We live in an era when there are tough choices to be made. Tragic things do happen, all too often we hear about a pack of pit bulls attacking a child bringing the problem of dog aggression to the fore. But the real problem is breeding-too many dogs and not enough homes. Until that problem is solved difficult choices will continue to be a necessity.

Heartworm Treatment Update

2008-09-16T07:21:00.001-07:00

My German Shepherd Dog Tony is now in his 6th week of the grueling heartworm treatment. He is having a hard time with it mentally so I've been taking him into the living room on leash so he can chew a bone and sit with the other dogs. Otherwise he goes nuts being confined in there all day and all night.

Heartworm treatment is barbaric! I mean keeping a dog confined for 42 days straight is completely insane. I guess there is no other way, the fact is the worms are in the heart and blood vessels, and if you kill them they don't have anywhere to go so can cause blood clots. Maybe someday in the future they'll invent some fancy nanotechnology treatment that eats up the worms without putting the dog at risk!

Tony has to be confined for an extra two weeks since my vet went out of town without letting me know when Tony was due for his second round of treatment. I just hope there are no more diarrhea attacks between now and then!

Dog Calls 911 to Save Owner

2008-09-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of those heartwarming stories you love to hear about dogs: a German Shepherd named Buddy called 911 and barked for help when his owner had a seizure. Well OK Buddy had been trained to make the call, but kudos for Buddy for taking action when he needed to!

House training your dog / House training tips for a new puppy

2008-09-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

When a new puppy arrives in the house, it’s an exciting time for everyone. In order for the homecoming to proceed as smoothly as possible, it’s a good idea to spend a little bit of time in preparation.

One of the major challenges of dog ownership (particularly for first-time owners) is the issue of house training. If you equip yourself with some rudimentary knowledge and a positive attitude, though, it’s a lot easier than most people make it out to be.

The New Arrival

As soon as you bring the puppy home, take her outside. The excitement of the car journey coupled with the unfamiliar faces, sights, and sounds will have her needing to go anyway – and if you can orchestrate her first toilet break so that it occurs outside, instead of inside, then so much the better. And not just from the perspective of short-term hygiene, either – the more your puppy relieves herself inside, the more likely she is to do it again.

The homecoming is a great opportunity for you to set a precedent for toilet behavior!

- Take her to your designated toilet area, and put her down on the grass.

- Wait while she sniffs around – refrain from petting her or playing with her just yet, because you don’t want her to forge an association between this area and games. She has to learn that this part of the yard is for toilet breaks only.

- When she begins to relieve herself, say the phrase you want her to associate with toilet breaks: “Go pee” or “potty time” or whatever works for you. It’s best if that phrase is short and easily recognizable – and use the same voice inflection each time, too (so that your dog can easily memorize the meaning of the phrase.)

- When she’s done, make a big fuss over her: shower her in praise and affection, and give her a little treat.

When you take her inside the house, the house training regime you’ve decided upon should start immediately.

As far as house training goes, crate training is generally accepted to be the most effective and efficient means of house training a puppy in a short space of time.

What is crate training?

Crate-training is essentially the use of a small indoor kennel (the crate) to confine your young puppy when you’re not actively supervising her.

How does it work?

Crate training is based on all dogs’ inherent dislike of soiling the area where they sleep. Because you’re restricting your puppy’s movement to her sleeping space, she’ll instinctively “hold it in” until she’s let out of the crate (provided you don’t leave her in there too long, of course!)

This is why it’s important that the crate is sized properly: if it’s too big, she’ll be able to use one end as a bed and one end as a toilet, which defeats the whole purpose!

How do I choose a crate?

As a general guideline, it’s more cost-effective for you to choose a crate that’s big enough for her to grow into. It should be big enough for the adult dog to stand up comfortably without crouching, turn around in, and stretch out – but no bigger (so that she doesn’t choose one part as her bed, and one part as her toilet!)

Because the adult dog is likely to be considerably larger than the puppy, it’ll most likely be necessary for you to use a barrier to reduce the internal size of the crate. A wire grille or board will do just fine.

Alternatively, you can use a cheap crate (or even make one yourself) and replace it with a larger model as your puppy grows.

Using the crate for house training

Crate training works like this: your puppy is in that crate at all times unless she’s sleeping, eating, outside with you going to the toilet, or being played with (active supervision.)

You’ll need to be consistent, or else it won’t work: you can’t let your puppy wander off through the house unless you’re focusing your complete attention on her.

If you allow her access to the house before she’s thoroughly house trained, you’re basically encouraging her to relieve herself inside – and remember, each time she does this, it’ll be easier for her to do it again (and again … and again …)

Sample schedule of a morning's crate training

7am: Wake up. Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
7.25: Breakfast time.
7.45: Back outside for another toilet break (accompanied by you, of course.)
7.50 – 8.45: Play-time! Puppy is out of the crate being actively played with, cuddled, etc.
8.45: Outside for another toilet break.
8.50 – 11: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap
11 am: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
11.05 – 12.30: Playtime! Puppy is out of the crate being played with and petted.
12:30: Lunch time.
12.45: Puppy comes outside with you for a toilet break.
1 – 3.30: Puppy goes back in the crate for a nap.

… and so on throughout the day.

Crate training generally takes one to two months (depending on the breed of your dog and how much time you spend on the training process.) As the puppy grows older, you can begin to reduce the amount of time spent in the crate – but beware of doing this too soon!

Other crate training rules

- Your puppy probably won’t be too happy to go in the crate the first couple of times she uses it. She wants to be outside, being showered with affection and attention, and hanging out with you (of course!) But it really is for her own good – in a surprisingly short time, she’ll come to accept the crate as her own personal haven where she can go to relax and get a couple hours’ uninterrupted sleep. It’s important to persevere: do not respond to any whining or crying.

- The best place for the crate to be is the hub of the household: usually the den or the kitchen, anywhere where people tend to congregate. Just because she’s in the crate doesn’t mean she can’t still feel like part of the household; it’s important for her not to feel isolated or excluded.

- The crate should be a welcoming, inviting place for her to go. Lay a couple of thick blankets or towels on the floor, and place a few toys and a chew or two inside it as well. The door should be invitingly open at all times (unless she’s in there, of course, in which case it should be securely shut.)

Some toilet facts about puppies that will come in handy

- Puppies’ bladders and bowels are so small and weak that they have only a very small window of opportunity between knowing that they need to go, and having that need become an immediate reality. Because of this, it’s imperative that you take her outside as soon as she wakes up (she’ll let you know she needs to go out by pawing the door and whining), and within ten minutes of eating or playing.

- Behaviors that indicate she needs to go outside include sniffing the ground and circling. Again, because she’s only little, she won’t exhibit these warning signs for very long – so as soon as she starts, take her out straight away. Better an unnecessary trip to the yard than an unnecessary wet patch (or pile) on the carpet!

- The maximum amount of time that a puppy can be crated at one time is figured out using the following equation: her age in months, plus one. So, a three-month old puppy can be crated for a maximum of four hours. However, this is likely to be physically pretty uncomfortable for her (not to mention hard on her emotionally and psychologically: it’s tough being cramped up with nothing to do), so you should really take her out at least once every two hours during the day. If she’s sleeping, of course, just let her sleep until she wakes up naturally.

For a more indepth look at house training, as well as a great deal of useful information on canine behavioral problems and the most effective training techniques, check out The Ultimate House Training Guide. It’s the complete dog-house-training guide..

You can visit the The Ultimate House Training Guide site by clicking on this link:

House Training Your Dog

The Switch to Solid Gold Dog Food

2008-09-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to go ahead and drop the Purina Dog Chow and switch to Solid Gold Dog Food. This stuff ain't cheap: a thirty pound bag was $44. I also picked up a couple of cans and they were $1.40 each. Since I've heard so much good stuff about it, I decided to ignore the prices and take the plunge. I opted for a variety of Solid Gold Dog Food made from Bison!

It's going to take some time to find out if Solid Gold Dog Food improves skin conditions and shedding, as many owners have claimed. But one thing I can tell you is the dogs love it. My Akita, Naomi, hasn't been eating all that well the past several weeks. Usually she leaves half her bowl uneaten and this is even true if I mix in an entire can of Pedigree. Well this morning I gave her 2 cups of Solid Gold Dog Food mixed with about 1/3 of a can, and she gobbled it down.
So Solid Gold has passed the first test: the taste test. All of the dogs seemed to love it. Even Brandy, my female German Shepherd who is a notoriously picky eater.

It might be educational to talk for a moment about what is in this stuff. For the sake of brevity, I am going to list the top 5 ingredients in the 3 dog foods I have used. First the newest one which is Solid Gold WolfKing:

Bison
Ocean Fish Meal
Brown Rice
Oat Meal
Millet

In case you don't know, Millet is a kind of cereal crop. Solid Gold WolfKing is 22% crude protein, 9% crude fat, 4% fiber, and 10% moisture. Now for comparison, consider Purina One, a brand I have been feeding my dogs most of the time for many years. The top five ingredients are:

Chicken
Brewers Rice
Corn Gluten Meal
Whole Grain Corn
Poultry By-Product

Purina One has 26% crude protein, 16% crude fat, 3% fiber, and 12% moisture. A couple of things pop out comparing Purina One to Solid Gold. The first is that Solid Gold Dog Food has two animal protein sources in the first two ingredients, but Purina One has brewers rice. Now brewers rice is probably fine for your dogs, but this observation makes Solid Gold look better for dogs in my opinion. Dogs are carnivores, which means they are meat eaters. So if you can find a dog food that has more meat in it, I think the dogs will be better off.

The second thing I noticed was ingredients 3 & 4 are corn. I have been hearing that lots of dogs develop allergies to corn. Given that dogs, as I said, are carnivores descended from predatory wolves, is it any wonder they would develop allergies to corn, a starchy plant basically invented by humans? I'm going to have to do more research on this, but I am inclined to think that feeding dogs food with large amounts of corn in it is a bad idea. The Great Dane Lady, who I stumbled on doing some Google Searches, disagrees. She thinks the corn allergy thing is a myth and that feeding dogs corn is fine. I'm going to have to research this topic in more detail, for now I am withholding judgment. The fact is the "Great Dane Lady" might be wrong. I was able to find several articles that contradict her point of view and assert that corn, wheat, and soy are major sources of allergies in dogs.

Bolstering this opinion is the fact that my dogs have been doing much worse since I started feeding them Purina Dog Chow. Let's look at the top five ingredients in Dog Chow:

Corn
Poultry By-Product
Animal Fat
Corn Gluten
Meat/bone meal

WOW. Corn is the top ingredient meaning that this is the ingredient for which there is the most of. Also, corn shows up again at #4. Moreover, the animal protein sources are less than appetizing. Poultry by-product is basically ground up chickens without the good stuff. It includes internal organs and undeveloped eggs, among other things. Does that sound appetizing? Let's be rational, by-product is not going to kill your dog, but I am sure you would rather have your dog eating the meat off the bones, not some left overs after the meat has been stripped off for other purposes. The protein in poultry by-product is also rendered. I suggest you read the link to see what you think about that.

Well, I am sure that millions of dogs have led perfectly healthy lives eating Purina Dog Chow and Purina One Dog food. Also, Purina One, which is a more recent addition to the Purina product line, is a big improvement over Dog Chow from my read of the ingredients. That being said I think Solid Gold Dog Food, or another brand of equivalent quality, is definitely the way to go. Just keep in mind a few things:

Dogs descended from Wolves
Wolves are predators that survive on an almost exclusively carnivore (meat-eating) diet
Corn is a starchy food meant to be eaten by humans
Poultry by-products is, well pretty gross
Eating straight out meat would be the best thing for a dog, when it comes to their protein content

Well, I'll keep everyone updated to see if there are any improvements in coat, skin, and other areas.

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

2008-09-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Separation anxiety is one of the most common problems that dogs develop. It’s an anxiety disorder, and is defined as a state of intense panic brought on by the dog’s isolation/separation from her owner(s).

In other words: when you leave for work in the morning, your dog is plunged into a state of nervous anxiety which intensifies extremely quickly.

Dogs are social animals – they need plenty of company and social interaction to keep them happy and content. No dog likes to be left alone for long stretches of time, but some dogs do a lot worse than others: these are the ones most prone to separation anxiety. Amazingly this can even happen when you have multiple dogs in the household, I have a dog with so much owner attachment he suffers anxiety when I leave even though he has four other dogs to play with.

There are a number of contributing causes to the condition:

- Some breeds are genetically predisposed towards anxiety and insecurity, which is something you should consider when deciding which breed you’re going to go for (particularly if you’re going to be absent for long stretches of time). A few of these breeds include Weimaraners, Springer Spaniels, German Shepherds, and Airedales. I have a Weimaraner and 3 German Shepherds-so looks like I'm out of luck!

- A significant proportion of dogs from shelters develop separation anxiety. Most of these ‘shelter dogs’ have undergone significant trauma in their lives – they’ve been abandoned by their previous owners – and thus they have little trust that their new-found owner (you) isn’t going to pull the same trick.

- Dogs that were separated from their mothers and siblings too early have been identified as being especially prone to separation anxiety. Puppies from pet-stores are a perfect example of this: they’re usually taken from their mothers well before the earliest possible age (which is 8 weeks), and confined to a small glass box in the petstore for anywhere between a few weeks to two months. This early weaning, coupled with the lack of exercise and affection while in the petstore, is psychologically traumatic for the dog.

- Neglect is the number-one cause of sepration anxiety for dogs. If you’re absent much more than you’re present in your dog’s life, separation anxiety is pretty much inevitable. Your dog needs your company, affection, and attention in order to be happy and content.

The symptoms of separation anxiety are pretty distinctive: your dog will usually learn to tell when you’re about to leave (she’ll hear keys jingling, will see you putting on your outdoor clothes, etc) and will become anxious. She may follow you from room to room, whining, trembling, and crying. Some dogs even become aggressive, in an attempt to stop their owners from leaving.

When you’ve left, the anxious behavior will rapidly worsen and usually will peak within half an hour. He may bark incessantly, scratch and dig at windows and doors (an attempt to escape from confinement and reunite herself with you), chew inappropriate items, even urinate and defecate inside the house. In extreme cases, she might self-mutilate by licking or chewing her skin until it’s raw, or pulling out fur; or will engage in obsessive-compulsive behaviors, like spinning and tail-chasing.

Upon your return, she’ll be excessively excited, and will leap around you in a frenzy of delight for a long period of time (more than the 30 seconds to one minute of a happy, well-balanced dog.)

This extended greeting is a source of some misunderstanding: without realizing that such a greeting actually signifies the presence of a psychological disorder, some owners actually encourage their dog to get more and more worked up upon their return (by fueling the dog’s excitement, encouraging him to leap around, paying her protracted attention, and so on.)

If you’re behaving in this way with your dog, this may be something you want to stop. I know it’s tempting and very easy to do, and it seems harmless – after all, she’s so happy to see you, what harm can it do to return her attention and affection in equal measure? - but in actuality, you’re just validating her belief that your return is the high point of the day.

So she’s as happy as Larry when you return – but, when it’s time for you to leave again, her now-exaggerated happiness at your presence is under threat, and she gets even more unhappy when you walk out that door.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to minimize your dog’s tendency towards anxiety. Here’s a short list of do’s and don’ts:

Do:

- Exercise the heck out of her. Really wear her out: the longer you expect to be away, the more exercise she should get before you leave. For example, if you’re leaving for work in the morning, she’ll probably be by herself for at least four hours; and, if you’ve got a dog-walker to take her out mid-day instead of coming back yourself, she won’t see you – the person she really cares about - for at least nine hours. So she needs a good, vigorous walk (fifteen to twenty minutes is the absolute minimum here!) before you walk out that door. More is even better.

- Distract her from her boredom, loneliness, and anxiety by giving her an attractive alternative to pining, pacing, and whining. All dogs love to chew – why not play on this predisposition? Get a couple of marrowbones from the butcher, bake them in the oven for 20 minutes (so they go nice and hard and crunchy – and so she can’t smear marrow all over your furniture), slice them up into chunks of a few inches long, and give her one about 15 minutes before you leave. It’ll keep her happy and occupied, and will act as a smokescreen for your departure.

- When you leave, put the radio on to a soothing station: classical music is ideal, but any station featuring lots of talk shows is also ideal. Keep the volume quite low, and it’ll calm her down a bit and give her the feeling that she’s got company.

- If at all possible, supply her with a view: if she can see the world going by, that’s the next best thing to being out and about in it.

- Get the dog ready for your leaving. Taking things nice and slowly, practice getting ready to go: jingle your keys about, put on your coat, and open the door. Then – without leaving! – sit back down and don’t go anywhere. Do this until she’s not reacting any more. When there’s no reaction, give her a treat and lavish praise for being so brave. Next, practice actually walking out the door (and returning immediately), again doing this until there’s no reaction. Gradually work up – gradually being the operative word here! – until you’re able to leave the house with no signs of stress from her.

Do not:

- Act overtly sympathetic when she’s crying. Although it sounds very cold-hearted, trying to soothe and comfort your dog by patting her and cooing over her is actually one of the worst things you can do: it’s essentially validating her concern. Make sure she can’t tell that you feel sorry for her: don’t ever say, “It’s OK, good girl” when she’s upset!

If you’re interested in getting a more detailed look at how to deal with your dog’s separation anxiety, you might like to check out SitStayFetch.

It’s a great learning tool for anyone who wants to learn how to deal constructively with their dog’s problem behaviors.

All of the common behavioral problems are dealt with in detail, and there’s a great section on obedience commands and tricks too.

You can visit the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:

Dealing with Separation Anxiety

Heartworm Update

2008-09-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Excuse the mess but I've taken out all the carpet and am in the process of replacing it with tile. Here is my dog Tony hanging out on the leash, probably not feeling all that happy. Tony is near the end of his 5th week of heartworm treatment. If you've been reading about it then you know the vets have this ridiculous system of keeping the dog confined for 42 days.

Well my vet happened to be out of town without making any provisions for Tony's treatment during the 4th week. So we missed a week and in a nutshell, Tony has to stay confined for four more weeks! Tony and I can hardly take it!

The vet had told me to keep him locked up in a crate. I did this the first couple of weeks but Tony's paws were getting bloody as Tony, to everyone's surprise at the vets office, tried to get out of the crate. As I documented earlier he did succeed in destroying one dog crate, and what eventually happened was I ended up letting him have an entire bedroom to himself.

This has worked out pretty well overall. Yes he is not strictly confined, but he is not running around either and he is happier. There is a bed in there and Tony is enjoying luxuriant comfort (for a dog) by laying on the bed all day. This has worked wonders by keeping him quiet and happy at the same time.

That being said, Tony has been getting lonely. So to keep him from blowing a gasket I take him out on the leash for social breaks. Yes the vet said take him out on leash to go potty three times a day. But Tony wants to hang out with the other dogs and shoot, just get some attention. So every morning, against doctors orders, I've been letting him sit with me while I drink coffee and read the news on the internet in the morning. These little breaks have helped a lot. Basically he just lays there while I read but it has really helped him feel better, and he ends up being quieter the rest of the day.

Since the vet missed a week I still have 3 weeks of this nonsense to go starting Monday. I will honestly be amazed if we all make it out of this alive. Having a dog with heartworm is truly a nightmare. Don't play games with this disease. Get your dog on preventative treatment right now.

Dog Food Choices

2008-09-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Early this past summer I was shopping for dog food at a local grocery store. Normally, I purchase Purina One, but that day they were out. So feeling too lazy to drive to another grocery store or to a Pet store, I picked up a bag of Purina Dog Chow.

The dogs seemed OK with it, and it was a little bit cheaper, so I ended up buying it the rest of the summer. But the results have been less than stellar. For one, my dogs have all developed massive shedding problems. At first I took it as normal shedding when my Akita Naomi was shedding like crazy. Getting rid of her winter coat I told myself. But this went on: June, July, August, and now September and Naomi is still shedding like there's no tomorrow. To make matters worse, my German Shepherds Jake and Brandy are now having coat problems. Basically they look like shit. Big clumps of dog hair come out at the slightest touch. And my wacky Wiemaraner Lucy? Well she has symptoms of diabetes. Drinking water in quantities that you wouldn't believe and always hungry all the time. Plus they are all pooping in massive quantities.

A woman I know at the ranch where I board my horses is an ex-professional dog trainer. So I mention this stuff to her and she says "its the food stupid". She said that Purina has a lot of filler in their food (corn, rice) that not only isn't good for dogs for nutrition but may even cause allergies. Then she says the protein in Purina dog foods ain't that great, its stuff like ground up hearts and spinal chords. In other words, the left overs at the slaughter houses.

She recommended feeding my dogs a gourmet kind of dog food called SOLID GOLD. I haven't made the change yet but am giving it some serious consideration. The problem? This crap is expensive. Its $44 for a bag that would normally cost me $24. But my dogs look so pathetic with their coats I am thinking of making the jump. Another consideration is my dog Jake has skin allergies, and reading about Solid Gold Dog food on Pet co I came across a testimonial by a lady whose dog had the same problem and was on the same medication as Jake. She was able to get her dog off the medication just by feeding him Solid Gold.

Another option is some kind of natural diet. But that takes time. If you are having diet problems, what are you doing for your dog? I would like to hear suggestions, in particular if you feed your dog Solid Gold natural dog food.

Dog Jumping on People: What do to?

2008-09-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

Jumping is a really common problem among dogs - or should I say among dog owners? It’s rarely a problem for the dogs themselves – in fact, jumping seems to act as a reward in itself. It’s a different kettle of fish for the exasperated owner, who’s forced to deal with a new set of muddy footprints/gouges in their skin and clothes/offended guests/scared children!

Many owners inadvertently encourage jumping behavior from puppyhood: when a small puppy comes gamboling up to us, wiggling with excitement and making small, clumsy leaps at our knees, it’s almost natural to lean down and respond in kind.

Effectively, we reward that puppy’s “jump-y” greeting by reacting with exuberant affection, hugs and kisses. The puppy learns a fast lesson: jumping is a good thing, because it results in plenty of positive attention and physical contact.

Your dog doesn’t understand the difference between a jump as a small, cute puppy, and a jump as a huge, hairy adult. To a dog, a greeting is a greeting, and just because he’s aged by a few months is no reason to stop jumping – at least, not voluntarily.

You’ll need to take matters into your own hands, and make it perfectly clear to your dog that jumping is no longer an option.

When is jumping not appropriate?

Obviously, whether or not you’re prepared to accept your dog’s insistence on redefining verticality all comes down to personal preference.

Many owners of smaller dogs actually expect them to jump up – among toy dog owners, jumping seems to be viewed as a sign of excitement and affection on the dog’s behalf. The good news is that these dogs aren’t likely to knock anyone flying when they’re feeling rambunctious, and they’re small enough that their size usually won’t intimidate any but the youngest of children.

On the other hand, there’s rarely a scenario where strangers will actively welcome being leapt up on by an unknown dog, regardless of said dog’s size; really, it’s just plain good form to teach your dog the “off” command, so that you’re prepared for those incidences when you’re not directly on hand to stop the jumping behavior.

For owners of large-breed dogs, the “off” (or “no jump”) command is mandatory. Big dogs are often taller than humans when they rear up on their hind legs (and just imagine the experience from a child’s point of view, with a dog’s slavering jaws looming above your own head!) – they’re often heavy enough to knock smaller adults tip over tail. At the very least, a large dog’s paws are heavy enough to gouge long rents in cloth and exposed flesh. Bruising and scratches are unpleasant enough to deal with when they’re your own problem; but they’re much worse when your dog’s inflicted them on somebody else!

Really, any kind of jumping that involves anyone apart from yourself is just bad form. All owners with even pretensions of responsibility should arm their dogs with a reliable recall to the “off” command – just in case.

Why does jumping happen?

The main reason that most dogs jump up is simply out of excitement: it’s an enthusiastic greeting, reserved for times when adrenaline’s running high and the dog’s happy about something.

Many dogs don’t jump at all, apart from when their owner returns home after a relatively prolonged absence (like the average workday). If your dog is leaping up on you in these circumstances, there’s no sinister motivation at work here: he’s literally jumping for joy.

A less common, but more serious, reason that some dogs will jump is to exert their dominance over you (or over whomever they’re jumping on). Dogs are pack animals: they live in designated hierarchies of social rank and order. When a dog needs to assert his dominance over a lesser animal, one way of doing so is to declare physical superiority, which is usually done by “jumping up”: he’ll sling one or both paws over the other dog’s shoulders.

You’ll be able to tell the basic reason for your dog’s jumping simply by considering the circumstances surrounding the event. If he only jumps up in periods of great excitement (like during play-time, or when you return home from work) then he’s clearly just demonstrating an exuberant frame of mind.

If the behavior occurs in a variety of situations, then it’s more likely that he’s expressing dominance over you, which is a more complex issue – the jumping’s just a symptom of an underlying attitude and communication issue. Essentially, you’ll need to make some serious adjustments to your overall relationship with your dog, and brush up on your alpha-dog techniques (tip: SitStayFetch has some fantastic resources on coping with a dominant dog – there’s a link to the site at the bottom of the page).

Four paws on the ground, please!

How you react to your dog’s jumping plays a big role in whether or not that behavior gets repeated. You’re going to need to make a prolonged effort to be consistent in how you choose to deal with this problem: for your dog to stop jumping, he needs to be taught that it is never ever acceptable for him to do so.

This means that you can’t allow him to jump sometimes, but forbid him from doing it at other times. Your dog can’t understand the difference between a playful and an irritable mood, or your work and play clothes: all he understands is that, if you allow him to jump up on some occasions, he’ll try to jump up on you whenever he feels like it, because he doesn’t know any better.

Stopping the jumping

Most trainers agree that the most effective way for you to weed out unwanted behaviors (like jumping) in your dog is also the easiest: all you have to do is simply ignore him whenever he jumps up. The idea is to give him the cold shoulder: withdraw all attention, even negative attention (so no yelling, shoving, or corrections).

Here’s how to implement this training technique: whenever your dog jumps up on you, turn your back straight away. Since dogs understand body language a lot more clearly than they do the spoken word, you’re going to be using your posture to convey the message that such behavior isn’t acceptable here: fold your arms, turn your back, turn your face away from him and avert your eyes. ‘

This is where a lot of people make a mistake: they confuse ignoring the behavior with ignoring the dog. You’re not ignoring the behavior - i.e., you’re not carrying on with whatever you were doing as if the jumping wasn’t happening; you’re ignoring your dog. You’re still going to react; but your reaction is for you to actively ignore him.

The cold shoulder is a really effective way of communicating your displeasure to a dog – he’ll catch on very quickly. Without the encouragement of your attention and your reactions to his behavior, he’ll calm down very quickly indeed.

When to praise

When all four paws are on the ground, then – and only then – you can praise the heck out of him!

Don’t be confused by the proximity of the positive reinforcement to the negative – dogs have a very short “training memory”, and are only capable of associating a reaction from you with whatever behavior it is they’re exhibiting at the time of that reaction.

So, it’s perfectly OK for you to react with wild enthusiasm the very second that his paws touch the ground, even if you were cold-shouldering him the split-second before.

Recommended Reading

For more information on understanding and solving canine behavioral problems, you’d probably be interested in checking out SitStayFetch. It’s a complete how-to manual for dog owners, and is packed with just about all the information you’ll ever need on dog psychology, canine communication how-to’s, practical advice for dealing with problem behaviors, and detailed step-by-step guides to obedience training.

To visit SitStayFetch, just click on the link below:

More Info on Stopping Dog Jumping

Jumping on the furniture

2008-09-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

Deciding whether or not your dog is permitted access to the furniture is a pretty big deal. If you have a big dog, it’s an even bigger deal.

Furniture access is a matter of some importance for two reasons: firstly, because it’s mighty inconvenient to have to fight for space on your own couch; and secondly, because it strongly relates to the matter of dominance, which is of the utmost importance as far as a harmonious dog/owner relationship goes.

Your dog knows that the furniture – in particular, your bed - is your turf. If he’s allowed up onto your personal, private territory as a matter of course and whenever he feels like it, that’s conceding a pretty big point to him; especially since it’s rarely a two-way issue (when was the last time you invaded your dog’s own turf and snuggled down for a nap in his bed?).

It’s best to be aware of these things before making a final decision on furniture access for your dog. If you do decide to allow him unimpeded access, you’ll need to make sure that you’re extra-stringent with the other facets of alpha-dominance to prevent him from getting an over-inflated sense of self-importance.

Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to forbid your dog access to the furniture outright, until he’s at least five or six months old.

When a puppy’s growing up, he’s forming the basis of his conceptions as to what constitutes appropriate behavior, and he’s figuring out his own ranking in the social hierarchy of the household. If he’s allowed to leap onto beds, couches, and armchairs (the three most-prized pieces of furniture in the house for any dog) at will and from day one, he’ll have a skewed view of his own ranking.

He won’t see it as the privilege that it is: he’ll see it as his God-given right, and something to be taken for granted. This does a lot towards equalizing your dog’s rank with your own, which – as far as your role as the owner goes – is decidedly not a good thing. To maintain a good relationship with your dog, not only do you need to be the boss, but he needs to know that you are.

To prevent attitude problems from developing in adolescence, it’s generally best to keep your puppy as humble as possible – which means that he needs to appreciate being allowed up ‘on your level’.

Rule number one, as far as this issue goes, is consistency. You must be consistent! Once you’ve made your decision as to whether or not he’s to be allowed up on the furniture, you will have to stick with that decision, or else – whatever that decision was - you won’t have a hope of enforcing it.

So, if he’s to be allowed up on the couch but not the bed, for example, he must never be allowed up on that bed – not even for a moment. If you decide not to allow him up on any furniture at all, you must ensure that nobody counteracts your decision and invites him up there.

Changing the rules according to human whims and impulses isn’t fair on your dog. It’ll just confuse him. He can’t tell the difference between an expensive new couch and a grubby old one, or between clean paws and muddy paws. This can have a detrimental effect upon your own peace of mind (not to mention your dry-cleaning bill), and if you take that frustration out on your dog, it’s confusing and upsetting for him.

This is why, if you’re going to allow him any access at all, it’s a fantastic idea to impose limits: to teach him that he can’t just leap up as and when he chooses, but that he must wait for an invitation.

Inviting your dog to join you on the couch is pretty easy. All you have to do is pat the seat next to you, and – in a cheery, friendly tone – say, “Up you get!”. Most dogs need little more encouragement than this, and will be up like a shot before the second syllable’s even passed your lips.

You’ll also need to enforce the “off” command – this allows you to relax in the knowledge that, when you want some leg room, it’s there for the taking; and also reminds your dog, in no uncertain terms, that his furniture access is not a right – it’s a privilege!

As is to be expected, most dogs are less enthusiastic about obeying the “off” than they are the “up you get” command: on occasion, you may be required to resort to physical force to maintain obedience. Don’t worry, it’s not inhumane in the slightest, merely highly effective.

Here’s what you do:
- First of all, supply him with an attractive alternative. Being asked to get off a comfortable couch to lie on the unadorned floor is hardly something he’s going to respond to with enthusiastic obedience: set him up for success, not failure, by giving him a comfy dog bed. You can make one yourself, out of towels and pillows, or you can purchase ready-made dog beds in a variety of sizes and materials from the pet store.
- When it’s time for him to disembark, point to the dog bed and say, “Off” in a calm, authoritative voice. No need to raise your voice or shout: use a no-nonsense, but pleasant, tone.
- If there’s no immediate response, do not repeat yourself. Keep your arm pointing at the bed, and maintain eye contact. If you have a perceptive dog, often it’s enough to simply intensify your expression (raising your eyebrows or tightening your mouth).
- Wait for 30 seconds (which will feel like an eternity!).
- If there’s no response after 30 seconds, you can resort to a physical enforcement of your request.

The Humane Physical Enforcement
Some owners drag their dogs off by the collar, which is effective in the short-term (provided your dog is of a size that you can physically handle). However, it’s not recommended - simply because, as a technique, it allows your dog to demonstrate his refusal to obey you.

He can still dig in his paws and strain against your opposing force, which is both downright disrespectful and counteractive to all the alpha-dominant behavioral training in the world.

It’s much more effective to think smart: make him get off under his own steam, simply by making the couch (or chair, or bed) uncomfortable for him.

To do this, slide your hand, palm-down, under his rear. Slowly slide your arm forwards, using it as a lever to gently and slowly pry him off the couch. It raises his bottom in the air by degrees, which is increasingly uncomfortable for him – enough to make him leap off the couch of his own volition.

This is both more effective, and physically a lot less demanding, than dragging a reluctant dog off by his collar: by making him want to get off when you ask him to, you’re strongly enforcing your obedience requirements, which is great for your role as an authority figure.

Further Reading
For more information on canine psychology and behavioral problems, check out SitStayFetch. It’s an absolute goldmine of valuable information and advice for the responsible dog-owner, and covers just about every topic you could ever need to raise a happy, healthy, well-adjusted dog – everything from obedience work to correcting problematic behaviors to dog-whispering to teaching ‘tricks’ is covered in full detail.

You can check out SitStayFetch by clicking on the link below:

For more information on canine psychology and behavioral problems, check out SitStayFetch

Dog Training 101: Destructive Chewing

2008-09-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Destructive Chewing

The act of chewing seems to be a matter of individual preference among dogs: some have an innate desire to chew as a pleasurable activity in itself, and some seem to have no need to chew whatsoever unless they’re driven to it out of sheer boredom.

The phrase “destructive chewing” may sound redundant, because – by its very nature! – all chewing is destructive. Your dog has strong jaws full of sharp, pointy teeth: just about anything she starts to chew on is probably going to show the effects of it inside of a minute. So just to clarify, when I use the phrase “destructive chewing”, I’m referring to inappropriate chewing: the kind of chewing that’s focused on your own possessions and household items, instead of on your dog’s own designated toys and chews.

The three main reasons why dogs chew:

- Most dogs have a natural desire to chew. It’s fun, it passes the time, and it’s a self-rewarding, self-reinforcing activity (for example, if she’s chewing on something that tastes good.)

- Chewing provides a nervous, bored, or lonely dog with an outlet for her emotions. To an anxious dog, the repetitive act of chewing is soothing – it’s the doggie equivalent of comfort food.

- Underexercised dogs often use chewing as a way of burning up nervous energy and giving themselves something to do.

- How to prevent destructive chewing -

Dogs are perfectly capable of learning not to chew your stuff – you just have to put in a little effort first, that’s all.

1. Take control of the situation: manage your own possessions. Your first step should be to dog-proof your home. Even if you have the best-behaved dog in the world, there’s still no reason to test her self-control – after all, dogs explore the world with their mouths.

Dog-proofing your home means taking whatever you don’t want to end up in her mouth, and making it unavailable. Consider her size and agility when deciding whether something’s out of reach: can she jump? Can she climb, or leap onto something else to reach the desired object? How tall is she when standing on her back legs?

Common targets in the home include books, eyewear, clothing, shoes, garbage, and small crunchy appliances like cameras, cell phones, and remote controls.

It should go without saying that all food needs to be put securely away: don’t leave snacks on low tables (or even countertops – you’d be surprised how acrobatic she can be when there’s food at stake!), put all food into containers or the pantry. Rinse your dirty plates clean of any food scraps before leaving them by the sink.

2. Prevent her from learning the joys of illegal chewing. The more times she manages to snatch a jawful of a forbidden substance – a chair-leg, a pillow, a running shoe – the more readily she’ll target those items in future. If you can prevent her from chewing your stuff in the first place, it’s a lot easier for her to understand what you expect of her. Practically speaking, this means confining her in a dog-proofed area until you’re confident of her understanding of the house rules.

3. Don’t set her up for failure by blurring the boundaries between her stuff (OK to chew) and your stuff (not OK to chew). Don’t offer your dog cast-off clothes, shoes, or towels to chew and play with: realistically, you can’t possibly expect her to be able to tell the difference between your current shoes and the one she’s got in her mouth that you gave her five minutes ago.

4. Provide her with lots of tasty alternatives to your stuff. If her environment is relatively barren of attractive, appropriate chewing objects, you can hardly blame her for targeting your possessions. Remember, most dogs need to chew; if she’s an adolescent (under three years) or a puppy (under one year), her needs will be even more pronounced. Go on a toy and chew shopping spree, then give her two or three to play with at a time. Rotating the available toys every few days will keep things novel and interesting for her.

5. Spend lots of time in active supervision. Yes, it might be easier for you to just keep her penned up in her crate, run, or the yard – but that’s boring and horrible for her, and hardly much fun for you either (if you wanted a pet that you don’t need to interact with, you’d have got a goldfish, right?) She can’t learn what you expect of her if she’s spending all her time boxed up in the dog-proof zone: she needs the opportunity to explore the boundaries of your expectations, so she can understand what’s appropriate and what’s not.

6. When you catch her chewing something inappropriate, interrupt her by making a loud noise: clap your hands or make an “Ah-ah-aaaah!” noise. Then, immediately hand her a tasty and dog-appropriate alternative (a rawhide bone or other chew toy); as soon as her jaws close around it, praise her lavishly. There is no better way to get your dog to understand that chewing “her” toys equals praise from you, but everything else equals trouble.

- Maintain a productive attitude -

Above all, remember to keep your expectations realistic. You’re not perfect, and neither is your dog: there’s likely to be at least one incident where a cherished item is damaged by her curiosity.

Particularly in the early stages of your relationship, she’s still learning the ropes: it’ll take awhile before she’s completely reliable (and even then, if she’s left by herself for too long or feels neglected, she may choose your stuff over hers to occupy her time and jaws with.) Remember to give her time to learn the rules, and plenty of ‘you-time’ to help her learn faster – and don’t forget to take precautions and keep things out of reach until she’s got the hang of the chewing rules!

For more information on dog training techniques and how to deal with problem dog behavior (like chewing), check out SitStayFetch. It’s the complete manual for dog ownership and is designed to fast-track your dog’s learning.

You can visit the SitStayFetch site by clicking on the link below:

Sit-Stay-Fetch

Hikin the Dogs

2008-09-12T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a complete waste of a day. I didn't go to work, stayed inside all day, and spent most of my time browsing the web. All of the sudden I looked at the clock and BAM! It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Why can't work be like that?

Well I decided I better take a couple of dogs for a walk before I found that the entire past 24 hours was a complete waste. So I grabbed Jake (German Shepherd Dog on the left) and Brandy (German Shepherd Dog on the right) and headed for the hills.

As you can see from this picture, I am lucky enough to live by the mountains. Even better, its the Sandia mountains, one of the most unique mountain ranges in the world. They aren't the rockies, but at 10,000+ foot elevation, they're fairly substantial. What makes them interesting is on the west face, its desert and rocky. On the east side, its like a different world, green and complete dense forest. More like you're in Colorado. So depending on my mood, I will hike on one side or the other. I can get to the east face in about 15 minutes, but the west face is literally out my back door.

My view, which I have expounded here and elsewhere, is if you own dogs you owe it to them AND to yourself to get them outdoors. Dogs love going on hikes like this, and they are VERY good for human beings too. If we all got our lazy asses out hiking in the hills we'd loose weight, have less diabetes, and less heart disease. Unfortunately I don't see nearly enough people out there hiking. Most folks are inside watching TV with their dogs cooped up in a small city yard. Pathetic. Does that describe you? Get out there and get your dogs outside.

If you don't have access to mountains, well that's a shame. Take your dogs for walks in the city for now. But make some plans for a trip or two. Your dogs will thank you for it if you take them out in the wilderness now and then.

Heartworm Update

2008-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

My dog Tony went in for his second and third heartworm treatments on Monday. I was already discouraged. Tony was supposed to have his treatments last week but the vet went out of town! Normally this would be no big deal, but given the confinement required for dogs with heartworm a missed week IS a big deal.

Today I got even worse news. Besides the $380 bill, with $327 of that going for the heartworm medicine ("adulticide"), my dog Tony has to stay confined an additional four weeks! He has already been locked up for five weeks!

Maybe the vet is being overly cautious, but I guess I can't take any chances. He says if Tony makes it through the next few weeks then I can start letting him out for normal activity. Signs to watch for are breathing problems and coughing.

My advice is: if you own a dog, don't take any chances. Get your dog on a heartworm preventative. It wasn't my fault, I got Tony from a German Shepherd Rescue, he had been found wandering about by the river. So he probably already had heartworm when I got him. But I won't be taking any chances from now on. All of my dogs will be on heartworm preventative year round.

Do Dogs Dream?

2008-09-08T20:58:00.001-07:00

Last night my dog Jake began twitching his legs and barking in his sleep. Chances are you've experienced this with your dog too. It brings up the obvious question: do dogs dream? Was Jake dreaming of chasing rabbits or eating milk bones?

I think the answer is probably yes. In my view, there isn't as much difference between animals and people as we'd like to believe, especially when you're talking about a smart animal like a dog. In this interesting article, the question is discussed in detail. Interestingly, adult dogs spend 10-12 percent of their sleep in REM sleep, which is the kind of sleep that involves dreaming in humans.

Well, I think its obvious that dogs dream. But I hope they don't have nightmares!

Dog fighting: Using your dog as bait

2008-09-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Here is something you need to be aware of: dog fighters are stealing peoples dogs to use as "bait". In a tragic story, one woman had two dogs stolen, one of which was found dumped on the side of the road with several injuries. The dog had been shot in the head.

It is amazing to me that people would engage in such sick behavior with our canine friends. And its one thing to engage in dog fighting, which is bad enough. But to steal someone else's pets, their family members, is beyond sick. In fact its pure evil.

I post this story to remind people to be vigilant about your dogs safety. Read the details here.

Dog Sexually Assaulted at Animal Shelter!

2008-09-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

If you can believe it, a dog was sodomized at an animal shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico which happens to be my home town. When I first read the story, after getting over my shock, I thought that this was probably a city animal shelter. But I was even more shocked to find out it was the Animal Humane Society shelter.

At least it wasn't a shelter employee, which was what I first thought. Apparently the suspect has broken into four different animal shelters to engage in his sick behavior. Police have collected evidence using techniques normally reserved for rape victims. All I can say is this guy has severe problems, and it certainly causes worry about the security of animal shelters.

Read about it here.

Working Dog: Dog Sniffs out Bees

2008-09-03T17:05:00.001-07:00

Is your dog bored throughout the day? Maybe you want to train him to sniff out bumblebees. Apparently in Britain bumblebees are going extinct! Researchers don't know why, and one of the reasons they're having trouble learning about the situation is bumblebees are hard to track.

Enter man's best friend. In yet another job for the dog, the scientists have trained a dog to track down bumblebees. I've heard that a dogs nose is 10,000 times as sensitive as a humans-if this isn't proof I don't know what is! No wonder I have such trouble hiding the steaks.

Anyway you can read about dogs tracking bumblebees here.

Dog Abuse: Dogs die in care of animal control officer

2008-09-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

From CNN. An animal control officer in Houston, Texas leaves 8 dogs in a truck with no air conditioning during a lunch break. Six of the dogs died immediately and two others had to be euthanized. So who is at fault? Is it just a thing that happened with a broken air conditioner? I agree with the mayor-animal control officers ought to wait until they have no animals in their trucks before taking a lunch break.

Dog Training 101: Releasing Your Dog

2008-09-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

When training your dog you need a cue to let your dog know he is released from whatever you've asked him to do. For example, supposed you've asked your dog for a down and then asked him to stay. When you are ready to allow him to get up you need to let him know this. A good cue to use is the word "Okay!". Say it enthusiastically and pet your dog when you say it, and he will quickly learn that "Okay!" means he is free to get up and relax a bit. Use it with every command, so start when sitting your dog. Ask your dog to sit and after he executes the command, say "Okay!" and praise ("good dog!" and some petting).

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Dog Training 101: First Phase of Sit Training

2008-08-31T13:34:00.001-07:00

After getting your dog comfortable on the leash, SIT is the first command you're going to teach him. One approach to dog training is to break it down into two phases: an early phase in which treats are utilized to encourage a desired behavior, and a more advanced phase that teaches and solidifies the behavior without treats. In this short article we're going to use treats to begin to train our dog to sit.

Dog Training Phase One: Sit
In phase one of dog training for the sit command, we will use a treat to encourage our dog to assume the "sit" position and begin to associate the word "sit" with actually sitting down. You can do this in four steps.

1. Have your dog on leash and stand to the side. Hold the leash with your right hand and show the dog a treat in your left hand. Hold the treat just in front of the nose.

2. Slowly lift the treat up to encourage the dog to look up. Don't worry! Dogs will naturally follow treats with their noses!

3. Keep raising the treat up until the dog assumes the sit position. When the dog sits, say "(Dogs Name) SIT".

4. When he sits, Praise and pet! (Dogs Name) Good Boy (girl)!

Repeat about 5 times per session. After about 3 days, you will be ready for phase two of dog training for the sit command, which we will cover in a future article.

Learn how to Train Your Dog Fast! Click here.

3 Things To Do For Your Dog Today

2008-08-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Many dog owners just have their dogs just there-hanging out at the house. Maybe they take them for the occasional walk-or notice when the dog is misbehaving.

Amazingly, there are a few simple things you can do that enrich your dogs life and make her a better member of your household with just an investment of a few minutes every day. Here are three things you can incorporate pretty easily in your routine.

1. Train Your Dog Daily
Just because your dog went to obedience class and knows how to sit doesn't mean he can't use a refresher. In fact you should keep up your dog training day to day so your dog is sharp and well behaved. It doesn't have to be be a big deal, just take 5 minutes every day to review commands-have your dog sit, stay, and come. Dogs actually enjoy this and you'll find that your dogs behavior is improved overall.

2. Groom Your Dog
A great way to bond with your dog is spend 5 minutes a day grooming. If nothing else, just brush your dog. Learn how to trim his nails instead of having the vet or a groomer do it. Dogs love the attention.

3. Give Your Dog a MilkBone Daily
We all know dogs love treats. Make a daily milk bone a part of their routine. I give my dogs a milk bone every morning. I get up, let them out to go potty, and them bring them back in a few minutes later for their milk bones. Its something they have come to expect and look forward too.

Animal Abusers Meet Their Match In Rescue Ink

2008-08-29T22:24:00.001-07:00

Fondness for animals can be found in some unusual circles, as this recent New York Times article about Tattooed bikers who rescue cats and dogs reveals. Rescue Ink is a group of guys covered in tattoos-most of them look like members of the hells angels-that share a love of animals. They've formed an organization dedicated to the investigation of animal abuse and promotion of animal welfare. As they say:

"Rescue Ink is all about zero tolerance when it comes to animal abuse and neglect."

I love it. This is the attitude we need to have about people who abuse and neglect animals. Zero tolerance. The group has several programs aimed at reducing animal abuse and neglect you may want to get involved with, including:

The Puppy Mill Consumer Awareness Program
Companion Outreach Services (companion animal visits to the sick and elderly)
The Feral Cat Trap, Neuter, and Return Program
The School Visitation Initiative

and more. I really like the School Visitation Initiative, which aims to educate young people on the value of animals, animal abuse and neglect, and how to recognize when an animal is being abused. It is so important to educate young people on these issues. The group is involved in other worthwhile activities like building dog houses for people that can't afford them.

Check out their website. Its a great thing they've got going. Maybe you can start a local chapter in your town.

Liver Treats for Dogs (Part Two)

2008-08-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

I found another recipe for liver dog treats. This one is a little more complicated as it involves cooking in the oven. I will try both to see how they work out.

Heartworm Update and Dog Fight

2008-08-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Tony seems to be surviving the fourth week of his heartworm treatment just fine. Feeling sorry for him but wishing to follow doctors orders, I've been letting him sit with us in the living room for a few minutes each morning on leash. He pretty much sits quietly, but its a nice chance for him to socialize with the other dogs.

Yesterday I ran my Akita Naomi and two German Shepherds (Brandy and Jake) up to Sharon's house, which is on five acres. The dogs love going up there. Its all fenced in so I let them off leash and they run til they drop. Sharon has two dogs, a mastiff/bulldog cross named Mojo and a coon-hound named Holden.

Holden the Hound

Mojo's name is well deserved. He can be pretty vicious with dogs and people. One day a friend dropped by and Mojo saw her and ZOOM came in and bit her right on the crotch. Luckily the bite was all blue jeans and superficial, but you can see that this dog has some issues.

He has been getting better with time. More exposure to people and pets has helped. But with dogs he often wants to assert his authority! What this involves is pinning the new dog down on the ground for about 10 seconds, with lots of growling and barking and bared teeth. When the dog submits then Mojo becomes agreeable.

The problem with my dogs is they aren't interesting in submitting to Mojo. I mean, Akita, German Shepherd, do I have to say anything else? So far, this hasn't been much of a problem. The first time they met Mojo he tried his little game but a small display of dominance from my dogs put a stop to it. Since then Mojo has just accepted that he can't dominate my dogs and they've gotten along great. Until yesterday that is.

For some reason Mojo and my Akita Naomi (shown here) were not getting along yesterday. When I first showed up Mojo tried his dominance thing but Naomi ended up pinning him down on the ground. That didn't last all that long but it ought to have sent a message. Anyway she let him up and off we went to play and run around.

Things were fine until a couple of hours later. Sharon showed up and Mojo got in this defend Sharon mode and attacked Naomi. With some corrective commands from me I was able to keep them from really getting in a tussle. But things were tense. I should have taken Naomi at that point, but stuck around and they got in another little fight. Mojo was unable to pin Naomi down (Mojo is big, 120 pounds, but Naomi is big too!). But he ended up biting Naomi on the head before I was able to break them up. At first it looked like he bit her eye! It was bloody red. I started to kind of panic at that point, but it turned out to be a superficial wound on the skin above the eye.

I hope this isn't the start of a trend. Mojo has been getting along great with my dogs until yesterday, and he seems to ignore the others. I hope he isn't planning (well do dogs plan things out?) to assert his dominance again.

Dogs Detecting Illness

2008-08-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I get nervous every time my dogs sniff at my right knee. The reason? I keep hearing that dogs are really good at detecting cancer or other illnesses by sniffing. After all, they have a sense of smell reported to be 10,000 times or maybe its 100,000 times more sensitive than a humans. So why wouldn't they be able to smell tumors? Or blood clots?

Well my dogs keep sniffing at my right knee so there must be something wrong. Anyway, Pamela Plante lived out my worst nightmare when her little dog kept sniffing at her leg and Pamela discovered she had sepsis! When I read this, I kept thinking, hey maybe my weimaraner does know I have a blood clot in my right knee!

Originally used to detect skin cancers, apparently dogs can sense breast and lung cancer as well. Dogs are even able to detect when blood sugar levels drop in diabetics. So if your dog starts sniffing a particular area of the body, if you haven't spilled peanut butter take a trip to the doctor!

Dried Liver Treats for Dogs

2008-08-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

Slice up liver in to 1/4-inch slices. Drop into boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Pour off the water and place liver slices on paper towels, pat down hard until very dry. Sprinkle with garlic powder and let dry for several hours. The slices should get soft but solid. Refrigerate. They should be good for 3-4 days.

Published in the Albuquerque Journal, recipe from Kathy Herman of K-9 Kitchen.

Five Resources for Dog Training

2008-08-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Is your dog the kind that jumps on grandma , pulls on the leash and barks non-stop? If you said yes then now is the time to start investing in a training program for your dog. Effective dog training involves having the right equipment and knowledge.

Here are some tools that you can use during dog training that will help you train your dog.

1. Choke Collar
For dog training, a good steel choke collar should be used to enforce corrections. It works by allowing you to get your dog to pay attention when you snap the leash. Tip: Don't leave a choke collar on a dog when unattended, only use during training sessions.

2. Prong Collar for Large Dogs

For dogs that are difficult to handle or aggressive, a prong collar might be in order. They look harsh, but in truth a prong collar is safe for your dog if its fitted properly. A prong collar is in order if you have a large dog that is hard to control. The prongs provide some pinch when enforcing corrections during training. I've heard some dog trainers refer to prong collars as “power steering”. If you have a large dog like a Doberman, German Shepherd, or Retriever that doesn't listen, a prong collar might be what you're looking for. Made of individual links, this type of dog collar can be adjusted for size easily. The risk of injury from a prong collar is not from the collar around the neck itself, but rather having it set too loose so that the dog can pull out of the collar and perhaps get poked in the eye. This means that you should fit the collar so its snug enough that it can't be pulled over the head. For the past 15 years I've used prong collars while training my large dogs and have never had a problem.

3. Leather Leash
A good 6 foot leather lead that is one inch wide is essential for dog training. Leather is sturdy and soft on the hands. Nylon leads are strong, but can be harsh on the hands if the dog is pulling or breaks away.

4. A long training lead
So far I haven't been able to track down a long leather training lead, but this is the best one I could find. A long training lead is useful in teaching your dog two things:

To sit/stay or down/stay while you move off at a distance.
Teaching your dog to come.

By having the long training lead, you can give a correction to a dog that breaks a stay while you're 10, 12 feet away. Use this tool and soon enough your dog will be in a down/stay every time you ask him no matter where you are or what you're doing.

5. Good Training Resources
Don't just get a dog and hope for the best. A dogs natural inclination is to jump on people, run all over the place, and chew up the furniture. Its up to you to teach him how to behave when living with humans. Instead of groping in the dark or relying solely on experts educate yourself on dog training techniques. A book I heartily recommend and that I have read and used is sit-stay-fetch. This book covers:

Leash problems
Behavior problems like jumping and aggression
Barking problems
Teaching your dog basics like sit, down, stay, and come
"Dog whispering"

If you take the time to invest in your dog, it will pay off over a lifetime.

Three Weeks of Heartworm Treatment

2008-08-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe but three weeks have past in Tony the German Shepherd's Heartworm Treatment.

So far so good. The vet had really warned me about keeping him confined during that dangerous third week. That is when the worms are most capable of causing a dangerous embolism. Tony kept escaping from the crate and got diarrhea, so I've been locking him in a bedroom instead. With his own bed to lay on he has been pretty quiet, in fact I would say he is far more relaxed than he was in the crate. One more really bad week to go, and then on Tuesday September 2 he gets his second injection. At that point its really smooth sailing, although he will need two final weeks of confinement.

Five Essentials for your New Puppy

2008-08-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

1.Dog Crate
A dog which is crate trained is a happier dog. Moreover he's easier to manage. At first glance, a crate might seem cruel. Why cage up your dog? There are many reasons to keep a dog in a crate. At night a crate is a good place for a dog to sleep. If a repair man comes to the house, you can crate your dog instead of worrying if the repair man is afraid of dogs. With a new puppy, keeping him in a crate avoids destructive behavior while you're at work such as chewing on the furniture. Keeping a dog in a crate is not cruel because you're not going to keep your dog in the crate all the time-just during important periods where the dog can't be directly supervised. You will be surprised to learn that dogs actually like crates if they are only kept in them for short periods-it taps into their den instinct. Dogs come to see the crate as their personal space.

2.Leather Leash
Any new dogs needs a leash. But don't just get any leash. Get your dog a 6 foot leather lead. Leather is good. Its sturdy, and smooth on the hands. Cotton and nylon leashes are rougher on your hands and aren't any cheaper.

3.Long training lead
A trained dog is a happier dog and a dog that's easier to live with. Get your puppy a long training lead that you can use to teach him to stay and come with effectively. Generally a n 18-30 foot line is what you'll need.

4.Puppy Training Videos
Don't just hope for the best with your new puppy. Sign him up for dog obedience classes and obtain resources you need to learn how to train dogs yourself. Get books and videos that will help you make your dog a loving member of the family instead of an out of control canine that chews up your dining room table.

5.Consider a pet containment system
Whether you live on a large open property or in the city, keeping your dog confined safely is one of the most important things you can do. You don't want your dog to get lost and hit by a car or worse. One way you can help ensure your dog stays in your yard is to get a wireless pet containment system. Not only will it keep your dog safely on your property, but it will allow you to define appropriate play areas for your dog. Keep your dog safely in the yard and out of the vegetable garden-all without having to build unsightly fences.

Dog Abuse

2008-08-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

In a horrible comment on the human psyche 11 dogs were stolen from an animal shelter in Grants Pass, Oregon. Four of them, all puppies, were found beaten to death by assailants unknown. One of the beaten dogs was laid out in the street. Maybe to shock passers by? What kind of sick person would do such a thing?

I guess people get a sense of power by beating and abusing defenseless animals. Take this recent case in Shreveport, Louisiana. A large dog was found hanging in the closet of an abandoned house. The unfortunate thing about cases like this is that its not going to be high priority and its going to be very hard to track down the assailants. Police are taking this more seriously these days, but probably not seriously enough. If you don't care about the dogs welfare, ask yourself this question. Is a person willing to hang a dog in a closet someone you want to associate with? What makes you think they wouldn't kill a child or your grandmother?

In another bizarre case in Louisiana a woman named Mia Sterling (is that a stage name?) locked a puppy in the trunk of her car while she went shopping. This case sounds more like sheer stupidity than anything else. Maybe Ms. Sterling doesn't have the brains to realize a dog will suffocate and get heat stroke, and probably die if you lock him in the trunk. I wonder if she has children and if she would lock them in the trunk of her car too.

If you live in Fort Bragg, NC you might want to keep your dog inside. Apparently Sergeant Sasha Lee was so bothered by a loose dog in his neighborhood that he went home and got a gun, returned and shot the dog. Lee claimed the dog growled at him and he shot the dog in self-defense, but the police noted that he was able to go inside his home to get the gun and the dog didn't follow him in there. Charges have been filed, but the owner of the dog was also cited for having a dog off leash. I think people stationed at Fort Bragg might be more careful in the future about letting their dogs roam loose. Just a side note-you have to wonder about a man named Sasha!

Talking Dogs Video

2008-08-22T14:05:00.001-07:00

This is kind of funny. My dogs don't have the patience to do this!

Laser Toy for Dogs

2008-08-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

One of the best investments I've made in some time is the Petsport Laser Chase II. For a mere $5, you can entertain your dogs (and cats) by having them chase the little red dot this tiny laser makes. I can stand in the middle of the room, and shine the light at the far door, and the dogs run off chasing it. Then shine it in the opposite direction, and they run off like a bunch of dog fanatics chasing raw steak.

The only thing is I've noticed it only seems to work with younger dogs. The older dogs I've tested it with just haven't been interested. But the young dogs are so fanatical about it that I have to say the laser toy is a great way to exercise and entertain them, burning off lots of excess energy. If you're looking to get rid of excess energy in your dogs without killing yourself this is what you're looking for. Its so funny and the dogs enjoy themselves so much, I filmed a video of it I may be posting soon.

You've got to be careful not to shine it in directly their eyes, but other than that its been the best $5 I've ever spent on a dog!

Heartworm Update Day 17

2008-08-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well Tony has come down with diarrhea. Not a good thing for a dog that has to be confined to a crate for 42 days. He was whining last night-but what dog wouldn't if he had to be confined 24/7! He goes into whining frenzies periodically. I've been giving him bones stuffed with canned dog food, but I often ignore the whining because the bottom line is he can't be let out. It was about 3 AM anyway. Around 3:30 he stopped and I fell back asleep. When I got up I found the mess. The poor dog had managed to go in his empty water bowl so his cage wasn't very messy. I noticed he was making an effort to clean the poop up that didn't make it into the bowl.

An aside, I was thinking maybe this explains why some dogs eat their poop, a behavior that has mystified dog owners since time immemorial. Maybe wolves clean their dens out if one of them gets sick the same way Tony attempted to clean out the mess in his crate.

Heartworm Update

2008-08-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

I was on the verge of putting my dog Tony on some kind of tranquilizer, but he seems to have calmed down. The past few days he was barking and whining non-stop. In case you haven't read about it, a dog on heartworm treatment has to be kept confined for six weeks. Today is the start of week three, and this is the most critical week according to my vet. I guess the heartworms break up into little pieces as they die. The goal is to keep the dog calm so that the dog's immune system breaks them down without them traveling too far. But if the dog gets overly excited a piece of worm could become lodged in a blood vessel causing an embolism, which is an emergency or even fatal condition for the dog. This can happen any time during treatment but the third week carries the greatest risk. He is due for his second heartworm treatment next week.

German Shepherd Dogs

2008-08-15T12:26:00.001-07:00

People often say that the best dog is a mutt or mixed breed dog. That may be true, but I've always owned pure bred dogs and I've owned a fair number of them. In the next couple of days, I am going to take some time out and write about my experiences with different breeds, including the pros and cons, so that people thinking of getting a new dog can have some practical experience at their finger tips. Of the dogs I've owned, five of them have been German Shepherds. So I think I'll start there.

My first German Shepherd Dog was Sam. In some ways, Sam was difficult. He taught me a lot about the breed because some of the negative traits you find in German Shepherds were a bit exaggerated in Sam. And being a new Shepherd owner, I wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

Let me first say that individual dogs are just that-individuals-so I don't want to get too caught up in some kind of breed bias. Among any breed you're going to find a wide variety of personalities and problems, although there will be some tendencies. Golden Retrievers, say, are going to tend to be friendly. I haven't heard of a pack of Golden Retrievers attacking any old ladies lately, but you've probably heard of that happening with Pit Bulls. But that being said, I've met some Pit Bulls who are the gentlest, laziest dogs on the planet. That does to show this discussion can only be taken so far (never met an aggressive Golden Retriever though).

Alright so what qualities did Sam have, if I just had to write a bulleted list? On the positive side he was:

Easy Going
Very obedient and easy to train
Not too high energy
Not destructive
Enjoyed the outdoors and vigorous physical activity despite not being high energy
Loyal
Strong
Calm when comfortable-he was real easy to crate train
Never begged, wouldn't do stuff like jump up on the counter trying to get food
Got along great with new dogs. Never met a stranger...of the canine variety

I would say these characteristics describe most German Shepherds. Since Shepherds are big and intimidating, you can see why they are used as police and military dogs. Sam was so easy going whenever I brought a new dog in, or one to visit, or one I rescued off the street (this happened all too often) Sam would be really laid back about it. Hey, he knew he could beat up the other dog easily, but typically he would just kick back and let them take over as alpha.

But these general traits don't apply to all German Shepherds. Take my dog Tony who has heartworm, for example. Tony can't stand being in a crate. He is very high energy, and is completely destructive. Tony actually looks quite similar to Sam. He isn't as built but their coats have similar markings. But the similarities end there! Tony is a complete high energy nutcase. I would say his energy level resembles more a Dalmatian than a typical Shepherd.

Now like people, most dogs are not perfect. And Sam had a few issues. These were:

Not trusting new people
Lack of confidence

These traits probably came from years of "overbreeding" of shepherds. You start selecting dogs that don't quite trust new people-these are good guard dogs for example-and in a few generations you've got dogs that are downright skittish about it. This was a problem that plagued Sam, I was reluctant to introduce him to new people because he would bark at the top of his lungs and act all scary. He never did bite anybody, and through the years with the help of attending several dog obedience classes, his behavior improved quite a bit. But he was never the 100% comfortable dog in new social situations like a Golden Retriever would be expected to behave.

Recently I acquired a German Shepherd named Jake, who is pictured in this article. Jake is a really nice, gentle dog, a real people friendly and dog friendly guy. He resembles Sam in a lot of ways, being totally laid back, obedient, and not too high energy but playful. Jake does lack confidence a little but isn't as neurotic about it as Sam was. But Jake totally lacks the guard dog aspect of the German Shepherd personality. I think if someone broke in my house Jake would just sit there on the couch, maybe hoping to play ball with the criminal. Luckily I have other dogs to protect Jake...

So what kind of person should get a German Shepherd? If you are looking for a guard dog you really can't go wrong, even if you get one like Jake. Just the appearance of a German Shepherd is enough to intimidate most people.

Being large dogs, German Shepherds do require a lot of exercise. But I would rank them as medium energy level dogs. They can do lots of exercise if you give them the opportunity, but I would say they only need regular walks 4-5 days per week. I live by the mountains so mine are kind of spoiled and get a lot more vigorous walking than average dogs. But in my years of owning them, I've never had one that became a problem when exercise was not immediately available for one reason or another. That hasn't been my experience with other breeds (more on that later).

I think there are two major concerns with German Shepherds. The first is avoiding fear issues. Do your best to acquire a calm, socially friendly dog. Otherwise you might have a real problem on your hands. That being said, if you get a fear aggressive shepherd, you might be able to save the situation based on their tendency for obedient loyalty. If you get in that situation start socializing the dog in controlled situations, the best thing is to start with enrolling the dog in lots of obedience classes. Also hire a personal trainer and get your dog around your friends and other dogs as often as possible. Use a muzzle at first if he is showing signs of aggression.

The second major concern is hip dysplasia. I am not entirely sure about this, but I think its more common in American lines than in German lines. You can recognize American lines by a back that slopes downward from the shoulder to the butt. Jake is from an East German line and has a completely straight back. Sam was the same way. But I have a German Shepherd female named Brandy that has the sloped back. She is 9 however, and still hasn't shown any signs of hip problems.

Finally, German Shepherds are prone to an eye condition called pannus. In lay terms, a dark film grows over the eye, and its triggered by sun exposure. If you leave it alone I am sure the dog can go blind, but its easy to manage. I've had two shepherds with it, and what you do is give them eye drops that control it. Jake happens to have pannus and his is under pretty good control with daily drops.

In conclusion, I have to say that a German Shepherd Dog is one of the very best dogs you can get despite any drawbacks they may have. If you get one you're in for a long period with a good loyal friend.

Heartworm Treatment Update

2008-08-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like Tony is accepting his fate. He has finally become comfortable, perhaps with the help of Xanax, with being in his crate all the time. The escapes have come to a stop over the past couple of days and he lays there quietly most of the time.

Keeping my fingers crossed as the critical third week approaches. The vet says that most dogs that have serious health problems due to the treatment develop them in the third week. This starts for Tony on Monday.

Sam the German Shepherd: July 24, 1996-April 13, 2007

2008-08-12T22:11:00.001-07:00

Sam was a black and tan German Shepherd I bought from a preacher. After a summer of looking unsuccessfully at puppies and never quite finding what I wanted, Sam came into my life. Sam won my heart over because, like I am, he was a little bit shy. I found him hiding under a lawn chair in the preachers yard and decided to take him home.

Sam turned out to be the best and the worst that a German Shepherd has to offer. I don't regret having gotten Sam at all, I love all of my dogs but Sam was the dog for me, the dog I was always meant to own and there won't be another quite like him. I think when Sam was a puppy, bounding around the yard playing with daisies with his paws, it was really the first time I fell in love with a dog. Sam was intensely loyal, very intelligent, strong, obedient, and hard working. He was also gentle despite appearances, but was plagued by being fearful and an ever present lack of self-confidence.

I remember one time I had enrolled Sam in an obedience class. He must have been about six months old. One task we had to perform was have our dogs walk up and down a set of stairs. Most of the dogs did it without any problem, but some were afraid too. Sam turned out to be the worst, he barely put his paw up on the first step. Over the next week, I went on a mission to get him to overcome this fear. I took him up and down every set of stairs I could find. By the end of the week, he was going up and down stairs without any problem. In the next class, we had to repeat the exercise. When Sam went up and down the stairs with confidence everyone in the class applauded. I was so proud of my new puppy.

Sam grew to be a dog over 100 pounds but was in many ways an easy-going gentle giant. He always acted aggressive in new situations, displaying his loud bark accompanied with vicious growls, but I have to say in reality he was a big softie. Over the years he met and lived with many dogs and puppies and he always let the puppies play with and basically abuse him.

Sam's best friend throughout his life was a female German Shepherd dog named Brandy (pictured here at 10 weeks). I got Brandy back in 1999 (at the time of writing in August 2008 she is still going strong). I was actually afraid Sam would attack her when I brought her home on a hot August afternoon, but they ended up becoming the best of friends. They remained friends for the rest of Sam's days, life long partners like an old couple. Brandy took Sam's death pretty hard and was depressed for weeks, refusing to eat her morning milk bone, a treat they had shared together for 8 years.

Sam had many strange quirks. One day, I was getting ready for work and I heard this loud wail. I had no idea what it was. Was a woman being stabbed to death? No, it was Sam howling for the first time (at age 2), but he was howling out of tune so it didn't sound like a dog at all! I wish I had a tape of it, it was so unique. He howled like that the rest of his life, not quite sure how to do it right. After Brandy grew up she howled along with him. Since Sam died, Brandy doesn't howl anymore even though at present she lives with 4 other dogs.

Another funny quirk Sam had was his goal of getting two balls in his mouth at the same time. He never accomplished this task. He would put one ball in his mouth, and then position the second ball with his paw. Then he would try to pick up the second ball, only to drop the first one on the ground. He did this over and over and over again-for ten years. He always made the same mistake and never got both balls in his mouth. Funny thing is a few months after he died I adopted a German Shepherd named Jake who routinely puts two or three balls in his mouth!

In his later years, Sam became quite the athlete. I moved near a mountain range and began taking Sam and Brandy (and later Lucy) on long hikes in the mountains. Sam absolutely loved the mountains. He bounded with enthusiasm every time we went out. Being the good dog that he was, I could take him off leash and he would stay right by my side.

With a kind of poetic justice, I took Sam, Brandy, and Lucy on a long hike in the forest the day before Sam died. Most dogs don't even get to leave their yards or city blocks, so I guess in many ways Sam was a very lucky dog. He got lots of walks in the mountains and wilderness. That day was a special walk, and the next morning I found him dead. Sam died suddenly of stomach torsion; he was about ten and a half.

Having a 110 pound male German Shepherd in your life is like having a pillar of strength by your side. I miss the sense of security Sam used to give me. I can never measure up to be the person Sam thought I was. Sam was always easy going and patient. When I got my dog Lucy, she used to sit there and taunt Sam every morning, barking at him non-stop. He weighed a good 90 pounds more than she did but he would just sit there calmly and take it. I want to be as patient and easy going as Sam was. I was privileged to have Sam in my life and I hope I can learn what he taught me as the years go by and the memories fade. Dogs can help you become a better person. Learn what they have to teach you.

Stop Dog Behavior Problems-Click here

Are Pit Bulls inherntly vicious?

2008-08-12T21:22:00.001-07:00

A recent news article about pit bulls attacking a man and his dog highlights an ongoing debate-are certain dog breeds just basically aggressive? People often have a knee jerk reaction and answer this question with a definite yes. This is especially true among law makers and city counselors. What an easy way to get votes. Just ban Pit Bulls from your city. After all, who would want grandma to get attacked by a roving band of dobermans?

The answer is of course nobody would, but banning a specific breed or labeling it as aggressive are simplistic points of view. The fact is a doberman is a big strong dog, and yes he will be aggressive if you train him to be. But like any dog, he will also be a loving, devoted companion if properly socialized. Unfortunately, some locales like Denver have already taken action to ban certain breeds of dog.

Pit bulls are not the problem, people are. Time and again you hear about someone being attacked by a group of 3 or more Pit Bulls. One article I read described a lady working in her yard when four pit bulls appeared out of nowhere and attacked her. My first question is, why are these dogs roaming about on the streets in the first place? There is a ready answer: owners who don't take responsibility for their dogs.

If you own dogs its important for you to keep them properly confined. If they don't attack someone, they might get hit by a car. So instead of blaming an individual pit bull, first lets put the blame where it really belongs, on the owners who are letting these dogs get out of their yards. Priority one needs to be getting people to properly confine their dogs for the safety of their dog and for the safety of the community at large.

Secondly it doesn't have all that much to do with the breed in my opinion. A pit bull might be inclined toward rampant aggression if you train him that way. But if he is raised in a loving, responsible family, he will turn out to be a friendly dog. I have a friend that owns two pit bulls, and they are sweet as pie.

Newsflash to lawmakers: It has nothing to do with the breed. Banning a specific breed of dog is a feel-good, simplistic solution that in the long run does absolutely nothing. Ban pit bulls, and people will begin fighting some other large confident breed. Then you'll have to ban them too. What you should ban or prosecute is irresponsible dog ownership. Its the behavior and not the dog, stupid. Today its pit bulls, next year it might be Akitas, or how about boxers?

So I think responsible ownership should be promoted, instead of going after a particular type of dog. What do you think?

Stop Dog Behavior Problems Now. Click here.

Heartworm in Dogs

2008-08-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

What is heartworm?

Each year in the United States some 250,000 dogs get heartworm. Heartworm is a devastating disease that can kill your dog. The sad fact about these statistics is that heartworm is preventable. So what is heartworm, how do dogs get it and how is it treated?

Heartworm Facts
Heartworm is caused by a parasite that scientists have given the obscure name Dirofilaria immitis that is found pretty much in the entire United States. This is a worm that lives primarily in the right side of the heart, giving the disease its name. While heartworm infects primarily dogs, it is also found in cats, wolves, coyotes, and foxes. There have even been a few documented cases of infections in humans. But don't worry if your dog has heartworm disease-its not directly transmissible from your dog to another dog or to a human. Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes. So, anywhere you find mosquitoes there is a risk of heartworm disease. As we will see shortly, the development of the heartworm is temperature sensitive so in colder locales heartworm transmission is seasonal.

Heartworm starts with a bite from an infected mosquito. The bite of the mosquito injects several heartworm larvae into the bloodstream of the dog, and they begin a process of maturation. These immature worms are called microfilariae, but we will refer to them as teenagers (easier to grasp). Over a period that lasts about 4-6 months, the heartworm larvae develop into small adult worms which can live in a dog for a period of up to 7 years.

Once they reach adult form, the heartworms move into a vein and head straight for the heart. There they become able to reproduce, getting ready for the next stage in the heartworm life cycle-you guessed it-this stage is having babies. A female heartworm can give birth to 5,000 young per day which circulate in the bloodstream of an infected dog. They can do so for up to 3 years! And what are they waiting for? You've probably figured this out-they're waiting for another mosquito to come along and bite the dog. The mosquito takes up some of the baby worms when it bites an infected dog, and becomes ready to transmit the infection to a new dog.

Climate Matters
It turns out that a warm climate is vital for the development of the baby heartworms. To infect a new dog, they have to become teen-agers. This is a process that requires the temperature to stay balmy-if it dips below 57 degrees F for just a couple of hours it won't happen. This process also takes several days. As a result heartworm infection is not found in Alaska and parts of Canada, and is seasonal in many of the lower 48 states. But during the summertime when temperatures routinely stay above 57 degrees even at night, you need to be on alert for heartworm. The daytime temperature has to be generally 80 degrees or above for around two weeks for the babies to transform into teenage heartworms (this can happen more rapidly if the climate is warmer).

Heartworm Disease and Symptoms
Unfortunately, in most cases heartworm disease doesn't exhibit too many symptoms. It depends on the load of adult worms that the dog has. If the number of adult worms infecting the dog is low, then the worms tend to live in the pulmonary arteries (arteries in the lung) and in the right side of the heart. A large number of worms, as you might imagine, can cause some serious health problems based on where they are living. Early signs of heartworm disease include a soft cough and a dog that tires easily after exercise. You can see how these symptoms might be overlooked in a lot of dogs, in fact they might be missed entirely in a sedentary dog. Worse than this most dogs don't show any symptoms at all.

In an advanced case, the large heartworm burden causes a lot of problems. You might have a dog that faints, shows signs of weight loss, and coughs up blood. An advanced case can lead to a condition called congestive heart failure that can kill the dog.

Since most dogs don't show symptoms, and most that do have mild symptoms that could be mistaken for something else, the only way to diagnose the condition is with a heartworm test. You should have all of your dogs tested for heartworm. This is done with a blood test which looks for antigens that come from the female heartworms in the dog.

Heartworm Treatments
If a dog tests positive, the first step is to estimate how advanced the infection is. Blood work might be indicated to determine the status of kidney and liver function, and x-rays are in order to assess lung and heart damage.

Based on the results of these tests, your veterinarian will prescribe a treatment for your dog. This treatment begins with an injection of an arsenic based medication designed to kill the heartworms. It is given in the muscle. Currently, the drug of choice is one called immiticide (or Melarsomine Dihyrdochloride). The drug kills the worms, and unfortunately this process leads to complications. The dead worms can circulate into the ends of the pulmonary arteries, where they can cause a pulmonary embolism. This is a condition whereby blood flow is blocked in the lungs, and it can lead to death.

There are two steps taken to reduce the risk of this condition developing. First, most veterinarians treat the worms gradually. This is done by giving the medication in two steps. An initial dose is given to begin killing the worms, then a second dose is given about a month later to finish them off. Secondly, you can reduce the risk by keeping your dog sedentary. Generally you will have to keep your dog resting in a confined space such as a dog crate for a period of about 6 weeks or 42 days. If the dog stays resting and confined he is much less likely to have complications from the treatment. This allows the body to break down the heartworms after they die, and avoid having pieces of dead heartworm end up in the terminal pulmonary arteries where they can cause problems. The third week after the initial treatment can be the worst period, and unfortunately many dog owners let their guard down. They feel guilty keeping their dog confined for such a long period, the dog seems OK, and they let the dog out for some exercise and then an embolism results. If your dog is undergoing heartworm treatment don't fall into this trap. Keep him confined for the entire 6 week period.

Once the treatment is over, you can gradually resume exercise and activity with your dog. If your dog is young and/or has a light infection load, his chances for a full recovery are good. Dogs with advanced heartworm cases may require surgery to clear the heart out or repair damage.

Heartworm Prevention
The best and easiest way to deal with heartworm is to prevent it in the first place. A dog which tests negative should be put on a preventative medication. It has been found that heartworm preventatives are 99% effective. In fact, the missing 1% actually results from dog owners missing a dose or giving the medication irregularly. If you stick to a dosage schedule and give your dog a correct dose, chances are nearly 100% he will not become infected.

One popular preventative on the market is called Heartgard (ivermectin/pyrantel). This is given to your dog once a month. It resembles a kind of meaty dog treat, and most dogs eat it without hesitation. In addition to preventing heartworm, it treats hookworm and ascarid, so its a good medication to have your dogs on. It may save their lives. If your dog does test positive for heartworm and is treated, he will have to be on heartworm medication for the rest of his life. But start now, and get your dog on preventative before he has a chance of becoming infected.

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Heartworm Treatment Day 6

2008-08-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well Tony got out of his crate again. This time he didn't chew through it but instead figured out some way to open the front door. Luckily I had locked the door to the room he was in so he was still confined to a relatively small area. But he appears to have been pretty active, tearing up a bunch of carpet and knocking some stuff down. I guess the Xanax isn't working. I will have to talk to the vet on Monday to see if we can try something else.

Dog Obedience Training

2008-08-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dog Obedience Training 101. OK so you've brought the new dog home. Maybe its a puppy, or maybe its a dog you adopted from a shelter. Its exciting! But a few days go by and you find your dog is jumping on you. He's chewing up the furniture. He attacks the neighbors that come by to see your new dog. He pulls you on the leash. He barks all the time. What is a new dog owner to do?

Well dogs are not machines. They are living beings and to live with humans successfully, they need dog obedience training. A dog doesn't come pre-programmed with instructions on how to treat the furniture or who to bite or not bite. We have to teach him how. But where do you begin?

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As a new dog owner, you have several options, and they are not mutually exclusive. The first thing you need to do is sign your new dog up for a good obedience class in your area. This might sound like an inconvenience, but investing a few weeks in going to doggie school will pay off big time in the long run. But to make it work you've got to treat it like you would anything else. You wouldn't expect to become an expert tennis player after 4 or 5 lessons would you? No! To get great at tennis you have to practice, practice, practice! Its the same with dogs. Dog training, when done right, takes time and effort. The payoff is a dog that becomes a long lasting member of the family, instead of a dog that chews up the furniture and ends up in an animal shelter.

Try to find a dog obedience school that spreads a class out over 6-8 weeks. This gives you and your dog time to take in the dog training in small bites (no pun intended). The first class they might talk about basic dog handling, then they will teach you how to walk a dog properly, how to get him to sit, and how to make him stay. These are all vital skills your dog needs to master to become a successful member of your family and to keep him safe throughout his life. Its not just about keeping a dog from jumping on people or chewing up the couch. A dog that will sit and stay on command is one that you can save from running out on the road and getting hit by a car or from going after a rattle snake and getting bitten.

When going through dog obedience training, don't just show up for class. Practice all week long. Do it in small sessions. Think of your dog as a kid with MAJOR attention deficit disorder. Train him for 10-15 minutes, and then give your dog a mental health break. Let him go play and romp in the backyard, or take your dog for a walk. Then do another training session several hours later. This lets the dog absorb information at a rate that is appropriate for dog learning.

The second step you should take is get your hands on several dog training books. One book I recommend can be found online here:

Click here for Dog Obedience Training Book

I have read and studied this book and recommend it to all my friends that are dog lovers. A good dog training book should be comprehensive. It should discuss what dog ownership involves, the size and breed of dog which is generally suitable for different people and lifestyles, and how to care and feed for your dog. Then it should discuss different training methods . Look for dog training books that not only talk about how to teach your dog basic commands like sitting and laying down, but dog training books that also discuss behavior problems. You might find yourself owning a dog that is aggressive or one that is hard to potty train. Or maybe your dog jumps on grandma. How can you deal with these issues? Find a book that describes these sorts of problems so you can deal with him.

The third step you should take is familiarize yourself with professional dog trainers that do one-on-one training in your local area. Talk to people who've used them, or discuss it with your vet. That way if serious problems arise, like a serious aggression problem, you know who to call on for help before you start considering taking your dog down to the local animal shelter.

In any case, have fun with your new dog! Invest as much time into petting her, throwing balls, giving her treats and walking her as much as you do in dog training. Then she will have a long and happy life.

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Stomach Torsion (bloat)

2008-08-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Something you need to be aware of especially if you own large dogs is stomach torsion which is also known as bloat. This is a problem that develops in large breeds when a dog eats too much food at a sitting. In April of 2007 it took the life of my 10 year old German Shepherd Dog Sam, pictured here.

This condition, which is a medical emergency, is typically associated with dry dog food. I guess this has something to do with the fact that the dry dog food swells up in their stomachs. Their stomachs get really bloated and twist around, cutting off the blood supply to the vital organs, leading to death.

You can mitigate the risk by substituting some canned dog food for a bit of dry (or of course not feeding dry food at all). Another good way to reduce the risk is to split the feedings up. Don't give your dogs all their food in one single meal, feed them twice or three times a day.

When Sam was a puppy I took him to obedience school and the instructor actually mentioned this condition and told us not to feed once a day. So I had some awareness of it, but as the years went by I forgot the symptoms and forgot about feeding once per day. For most of their lives, I fed my German Shepherds a couple of cups of dry food and one can. Sam also had a fondness for egg Mcmuffins which I let him have once a week!

Then I got my Weimaraner and I got kind of lazy. I was pretty busy at the time with work projects too, so I started feeding them all dry food because it was easier. Sam weighed about 100 pounds so I fed him roughly 4 cups a day. Little did I know it would end up killing my dog.

Sam was older, he turned 10 years old in September of 2006. But he was in fantastic physical condition. I routinely took him for hikes in the Sandia mountains, and we would go on hard trails. It was real hiking and not just walking around. We did that 3-5 days per week. So I had this illusion in my mind he would live forever.

That April, Sam started burping one day. I noticed it and noticed the odd sound it made, but really thought nothing of it. If your dog starts doing this you might take some notice.

A few days later I was sitting and work and had this overwhelming urge to take the dogs for a hike. I skipped out of work and took them for a long hike on a nice trail deep in the forest. It was a great day for the dogs for sure. I took them home and went out for dinner.

That night Sam started throwing up. It turned out I was exhausted because at that time I had been writing a book and going to my full time job, so I really couldn't get out of bed. I heard him throwing up but fell back to sleep. When I got up the next morning I saw Sam laying in the bathroom. I called to him and he lifted his head and I thought everything was OK. Later I came out and saw him dead by the door leading to the backyard. I guess the poor fellow had to go to the bathroom.

In a state of shock I was running through all kinds of things in my mind. Maybe I had hiked him too hard and there wasn't any water in the house when I went out for dinner, maybe someone poisoned him-I just didn't know. A friend urged me to take his body to the vet to find out what had happened. I did and they told me it was stomach torsion.

I will always feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. Since Sam was in such good condition from hiking I thought he would live to a ripe old age for a big dog, like maybe 13-15. I feel bad for changing him to all dry food and for feeding him once a day. I feel guilty for not knowing the symptoms-for example if a dog is throwing up water you need to take them to an emergency vet right away. The only way to deal with this condition is with emergency surgery. Even then the success rate is not that good, the best thing to do is prevention. So split your dogs feedings up if you're not doing so already, and if you have deep chested dogs maybe don't even feed them dry food. I have also read that dog bowls raised off the floor reduce the risk of the condition. The reason is gulping in air during eating increases the risk, and a dog is more inclined to gulp in air if eating off the floor. Finally don't exercise your dogs for at least one hour after eating. Let them rest and start digesting the food. One more thing-make sure you have some money on reserve or a credit card available. Emergency surgery for a dog can cost a couple or three thousand dollars. Visit this website to learn more Gastric Torsion in Dogs.

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Heartworm update

2008-08-08T07:03:00.001-07:00

Tony seems to be doing much better being kept in a crate all the time. Maybe the Xanax is starting to kick in and alleviate some of his anxiety. Only 37 days to go...

I also took my wired up dog Lucy to stay at my moms house during this ordeal. That has calmed some of the energy down. She seemed to enjoy going over to the crate and barking at Tony and was getting him wound up.

Lucy the Weimaraner

2008-08-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I had two dogs-a male German Shepherd dog named Sam and a female German Shepherd dog named Brandy. I got this wild idea-it was more like a craving-to get a Weimaraner. I had always wanted one and suddenly it seemed like the right time.

I looked in the paper and this guy was selling some 9 week old puppies. He lived in Pecos, which is a mountainous area near Santa Fe, and I live in Albuquerque. So he tells me Pecos is a long way to drive to go look at some puppies, why don't I meet him at this rest stop on I-25, and he would bring a couple of them. I was like that is kind of weird, but OK.

So I get in my car and arrive at the rest stop at the appropriated time. I wait and wait....and wait.. and wait...the guy never shows. I try calling him on my cell phone and get no answer. I was kind of pissed off but figured maybe it was for the best, after all what is he trying to hide? Is this some kind of puppy mill or something?

After driving back home, feeling kind of down about the whole thing I grabbed the paper and looked at the dogs for sale. Some lady had a 1 year old female Weimaraner. I called her and she said she just didn't have time to spend with the dog and her husband wasn't too happy they had a dog in the first place. Apparently this lady went and got the dog and didn't tell her husband about it. Funny thing was, it turned out she got the dog from the guy I was supposed to meet at the rest stop! I was like this must be meant to be, so headed out to her place.

When I got there her hubby opened the door. He seemed nice enough, but I soon discovered that the puppy was completely afraid of this dude. They said the dog was out back and they tried calling her in. She came running in at full speed and ran right up the stairs. They were having a hard time bringing her down because she was hiding under the bed. During all this the lady was explaining to me how timid the dog was, she said the dog was afraid to go on walks and would try to hide between your legs if you walked her.

Finally, the husband got the dog out from under the bed and brought her down. He explained how the dog had peeeed on the couch and he was really unhappy about that. The people seemed really anxious to get rid of her, and they told me that one time the dog escaped and ended up in the animal shelter, and they considered leaving her in there! These folks are not animal lovers!

The dog was being really timid and wouldn't come around me much, but I felt so sorry for her I told them I would take her and I gave them $175 cash. Off we went. I decided to name the dog Lucy.

The drive to my house was quiet, Lucy barely stirred. I pulled into my driveway and pulled her out of the car and trotted on into the house. I opened the door and once Lucy saw my other two dogs, she suddenly came to life! She immediately ran in and started playing vigorously with my dogs. Lucy has been the same ever since. She is not timid on walks at all like the lady described. In fact I take her off leash in the mountains and she runs full speed all over the place.

Well that is how I acquired Lucy the Weimaraner.

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Heartworm Treatment Days 1-3

2008-08-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

If your dogs aren't on heartworm preventative, you need to get them on it. Giving them the preventative is a very minor inconvenience, going through heartworm treatment is hell.

The first day I brought Tony, my young German Shepherd dog home from the vet, he was pretty groggy. So the idea of confining him in a crate wasn't all that traumatic. I just put him in there and he slept most of the day and night. End of day 1, only 41 more days to go.

Day 2 wasn't bad either. I took him out on the leash in the morning and let him use the bathroom, and put him back in the crate. He was a bit more alive the second day, but all in all things were not so bad.

On day 3 I took the rest of my dogs over to Sharon's house to run around on her 5 acres. I kind of got relaxed. Sharon was at work and the dogs were running around having a grand old time, so I just sat back in a recliner and read. After a few hours the dogs were exhausted so I headed on home.

I opened the door and there was Tony, wagging his tail! He had somehow got himself out of his crate! This was a complete disaster since a dog must be kept still during the heartworm treatment! I went to the bedroom and saw that he had completely demolished the crate! I don't know how he did it, but he did. I shouldn't be all that surprised, since Tony has learned to open doors (not locked ones yet...). Needless to say, I had to go blow $142 on a new crate.

I called the vet and he decided to put Tony on Xanex! Its an anti-anxiety medication and I guess they give it to dogs for separation anxiety. He thinks this will calm Tony down and make him accept being kept in a crate. I sure hope so. I think Tony might need to be sedated to get through this. But can you sedate a dog for 42 days? This is nuts.

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Heartworm Disease in Dogs

2008-08-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

Being a long term dog owner I have always been aware of heartworm. I knew the disease was devastating, but what I didn't know was how serious the treatment is as well. I am finding out the hard way as my German Shepherd dog Tony (pictured here) has a heartworm infection.

I got Tony from the local German Shepherd rescue in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Apparently he was found wandering the streets of the South Valley, near the Rio Grande river which is an environment ripe for mosquitos. Since heartworm transmits mosquitos, that means being by the river is a risky area for heartworm. Tony had been picked up by the local animal control, and the woman who runs German Shepherd dog rescue bailed him out. She put him up for adoption shortly after.

At the time, I had recently lost my German Shepherd of 10 and a half years, a large male named Sam. He died suddenly of stomach torsion and I was pretty devastated. A friend recommended I contact the rescue lady and she had Tony-and it turns out Tony looks a lot like Sam. So I went ahead and adopted him. Since he had spent some time in the animal shelter I figured he had been checked out, at least he had gotten all his shots.

So this summer I took Tony for his annual vet visit and was shocked to find out he tested positive for heartworm. I live near the mountains, and while there are mosquitos up there its generally a pretty dry environment. My vet suspects Tony got infected while living on the streets by the river.

Heartworm is a disease in dogs transmitted by mosquitos. I don't want to get into the details of the infection and life cycle of the worm in this article, but what makes the disease such a problem is the adult worms live in the pulmonary artery. Now of course this is a major problem so the disease must be treated, otherwise the dog faces certain death.

So I take Tony in and they did some x-rays and blood work. These tests came back great-his heart, lungs, and kidneys are all normal indicating the infection is not that advanced. This fact together with his young age (Tony is about 2 years) indicates that Tony will probably recover.

But the treatment is just nuts. I brought Tony in last Monday and they gave him the first treatment which is an injection into the muscle. What sucks about this is that the medicine kills the worms and then the worms break up into little pieces. They travel through the bloodstream where they can block the blood vessels. More specifically what they can do is cause a pulmonary embolism. This can happen in people, you go on a long airline flight and get a blood clot in your lower leg from sitting still for so long. It travels to your lung where it plugs up a blood vessel in your lungs and BAM! Instant death.

Basically the same thing can happen in a dog but the worm takes the place of a blood clot. The trick to have the dog recover is keep them confined. If they don't move around much, then it gives the body time to break down the worms safely. But if the dog runs around or gets overly excited, pieces of worm will travel rapidly to the wrong places and kill the dog. Worst news: the dog has to stay locked up for 42 days.

The vet said that what often happens is after a couple of weeks the dog seems fine. Then the owners feel sorry for the dog and let the dog out. The third week happens to be the danger zone when the pieces of worm are broken up the most and the right size to cause a pulmonary embolism, and then either the dog has a medical emergency or drops dead.

I've had Tony confined in a crate for three days so far. He is not enjoying it. I own 4 other dogs which doesn't help! He wants to get out and play with them, but has to stay in the crate 24 hours a day 7 days a week with the exception of three potty breaks spaced throughout the day. Also you have to take them out on a leash to go to the bathroom to prevent them from running around.

More to say about heartworm and Tony later!

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