Every week there is one date I faithfully keep: “ablutions” time with my dogs. I don’t know why we started calling it that – probably when I was completely and totally addicted to Regency Romance novels. According to Webster’s Dictionary, “ablutions” is “a washing of the body, especially as a religious ceremony.” We don’t actually [...]
Is barking a form of language among dogs with precise significance, or just playful noise? Dogs exchange information among themselves less by voice than by a wide range of facial expressions, body postures and gestures, as well as by various scents. Dogs, who bark at night, are probably working off excess energy or announcing their [...]
Small toy dogs teach us more about the mystery and magic of canines than the larger dog breeds. Sharing your life with a toy dog can be one of the most enjoyable and intimate experiences you will have with a pet. These little guys will follow you from room to room. In fact, they can [...]
Before your baby arrives, imagine what your dog’s behavior might be around an infant. Plan your schedule. Dogs like routine. Establish a schedule for your dog before the baby arrives and stick to it. Schedule should include: 1. Walking times. 2. Play periods. 3. Mealtimes 4. Anything else you can think of. You might be [...]
The purpose of this document is to teach the dog owner specific methods of conditioning a dog to enjoy clipping of the nails. INTRODUCTION Some pets accept nail trimming without much fuss, but others will not tolerate it at all. This document addresses some methods of modifying the anti-clipping behavior of the dog through training [...]
I had previously raised two lhasa apso dogs who spent most of their lives living in high-rise condominiums. Instead of having to take them down an elevator to go outdoors to eliminate all the time, I trained them to use newspapers in a spare bathroom. Since they were both initially paper trained as puppies anyway, [...]
Tell me Daahling, have you noticed your pet likes to pretend she is walking the red carpet? Does she strut around the house with head up, purrrfect posture, and tail waving high? This is pet speak for “Look at me ~ I am a star! And, by the way, I expect to be treated like [...]
Your dog is probably stronger and healthier than most humans that you know. However, by taking him from his natural environment, where only the strongest survive, to the artificial one in which most pet dogs live, we have exposed him to an entirely new set of dangers which their instincts are not designed to cope [...]