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What I Learned From Schutzhund Dog Training

Okay, so I have already admitted to the fact that I have been involved in different aspects of protection training for a good part of my career.  For those of you that didn’t read my previous article, please note that I only use positive reinforcement training and do not adhere to any barbaric practices or use of physical manipulation.

The truth is you don’t have to abusive techniques to enjoy protection sports.  The most important thing is to understand the liability involved in such sports.  The liability and inability for a lot people to control their dogs in many given situations is why I don’t regularly recommend these types of sports.  We live in a “sue happy” world and adding more liability is not needed for most people!

But all that is beside the point!  I want to share with you what I have specifically learned and think everyone can learn from Schutzhund training and practices.

A number of people hate the tracking that is involved in Schutzhund because they think it is tedious or hate getting up early to lay a track.  Personally, I understand their gripe.  I am not the earliest riser, nor do I like scuffing or plodding along in a field laying a track, marking my corners and then waiting for it to age the appropriate amount of time for the specific training level of whatever dog I am working. Read the rest of this entry »

My Dog Just Had A Seizure

 

I have insomnia lately.  I am not sure why, but I think it is heat related; pair that with the fact that my husband works at night and is up extremely late on the weekend and my desire to spend time with him, means I have been up till 4 or 5 in the morning each night.

It was a blessing that I was unable to sleep last night; otherwise I could have slept right through it.  At about 3 o’clock in the morning, this morning my 11 year old dog (who sleeps on the bed) sat up, his body got stiff, his tongue dropped out of his mouth, he started drooling, his head bobbed to the side and his eyes and pupils shook up and down.  He was suffering from his first ever seizure.

Automatically, thanks to my veterinary technician background, I recognized the signs and told my husband, who also acknowledged trouble, that he was seizing.  With calmness of mind, I asked him to press his stop watch and time the seizure and to also get up and turn on the light so I could see well and monitor his condition.  His seizure lasted for about 2 and a half minutes.  Most seizures last less than 2 minutes.

Thankfully I am good in an emergency and able to keep a cool head.  At one point I considered and began the process to becoming a police officer, but I enjoyed working with animals too much to give that up.  Once his seizure was over, he seemed normal laid back down and went to sleep.  That is when I lost all control. Read the rest of this entry »

HELP! For Your Dog’s Carsickness

Your driving down the road with your dog, headed to the park or to the vet when you hear the undeniable sound of retching coming from the back seat.  You turn around to watch your dog regurgitate his morning meal and the biscuit you gave him before you started out!  Carsickness is disturbing for both dog and owner!

Why Do Dogs Get Carsick?

Most often young dogs and puppies are the ones that suffer from carsickness.  The reason is that the ear structure used for balance is not fully developed in pups and young dogs.  Although most dogs outgrow carsickness, not all of them do!

What Are The Signs?

Although dogs don’t turn green, like humans sometimes do, they do show other signs of carsickness and getting ready to vomit.

• Whining
• Yawning (a common sign of stress in dogs)
• Drooling
• Inactivity
• And, most often just prior to vomiting they pull  their lips up into what almost resembles a smile Read the rest of this entry »

The Tearjerker Story of a Dog Who Crawled His Way Home After the Ala. Tornadoes

Animal Hoarding; How Many is Too Many?

I have to admit watching Confessions: Animal Hoarding is difficult if not impossible for me, but I was also a Psychology Major in College and the interworking of the human mind is intriguing.  I wonder how things can go so far so quickly, and how the people in these situations let things get so out of hand.

I almost didn’t write this article just letting the information and my hypothesis swirl around in my psyche was almost enough, but truth be told in some aspects I see myself in some of these people.  Most of them just want to save animals and some of them work several jobs to try and pay for

At one point, I had 6 cats and more than 5 dogs living in a house that was less than 1,000 square feet.  So it poses the question, “How many is too many”?

All of my cats adopted me!  I think when I turned 19 my ex-husband got one of our kittens from the Humane Society, but all the others seemed to wander in and adopted me as their own.

As for the dogs, only 3 of them were mine!  The other dogs were in the process of being trained and placed as Service Dogs for adults and children with disabilities.

But none the less, I wonder if I fit into this group to some degree at some point in my life? Read the rest of this entry »

My Cat is Alpha Dog of our Pack!

My cat rules the roost, I guess you would call that a “Roost Ruler”, I call her Alpha Dog!  I think, because she is the only cat in my house, she also thinks she is a dog.  She is markedly upset when she watches the dogs go outside, or when we leave on short vacations without her!

At night, all dogs sleep in my bedroom and she RACES into the bedroom and sits on the crate next to my side of the bed and waits for me.  I can’t shower alone, sometimes I have 3 dogs and a cat in the bathroom with me and if she is really lucky when I take a bath I let her sit out on the “island” that is me.  She sits on my legs and dips her tail and paws in the water and purrs with joy.  She is an integral part of our family and I love her (shhhhh I am kind of a secret cat person)!

She is a covert ninja and habitually jumps out from behind or beneath furniture to wreak havoc on my canine crew.  She flies through the air and instigates the “vader bomb” and other pro-wrestling maneuvers popping them in the face with her power paw and biting their legs and then running for the safety of her cat house. Read the rest of this entry »

The Perfect Dog

Flipping through the channels, admittedly way too late at night, or in this case too early in the morning I came across someone promoting the “perfect” dog.  What is the perfect dog, exactly?  In my opinion it would be a dog that vacuumed its own dog fur, did the dishes, the laundry, answered the phone when those annoying telemarketers called and earned an extra paycheck; not a dog that chews furniture, breaks windows, eats poop, or occasionally tries to mount the cat!

Really, what is the perfect dog?  A dog that I find perfect, most likely will not be perfect for the person sitting next to me at the gym or directly across from me in the produce aisle.  I don’t want a robot dog, I want a dog that thinks and is active but my sister likes a calm dog that spends a lot of time sleeping.

Read the rest of this entry »

Supporting Our Troops and Their Furry Family!

Can you imagine having to leave your furry best friend or even take him to an animal shelter because you have to move away?  If you are like me, you would be mentally assuring yourself right now that, THAT would NEVER happen!!  In most instances, I would almost rather be homeless than dog-less or take my pets to a shelter!

But, what about our military personnel?  What happens when they get orders to leave the country to defend our freedoms overseas?  Some people are callous and say that individuals in the military shouldn’t own pets, especially single adults with no family to care for their pets.  But what about divorced service members that once had an infrastructure to care for that animal?

Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to You and Your Furry Kids

You did it!  You made it through the holiday season.  I sincerely hope that you took every opportunity to spend as much time as possible with your favorite furry friend, and lowered your blood pressure!  I also hope that you could see and benefited from the many health paybacks that come with animal ownership!

Today is a day of celebration and hopefully a little recuperation for all the hard work and the stress that you have incurred this season.

So today I just want you to take your dog for a short or long after dinner walk, enjoy each other’s company and spend some quality time together!  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and I hope you have a blessed New Year!

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