A puppy not afraid of the Camera!

Porky Dog

Last night I was told by a respected co-worker my dog was fat! I knew he was getting porky but still I thought he had a tuck after his ribs. But she is right and it has been a battle with my husband to not feed Scout everything in abundance! I took Scout to the vet today to weigh him....88lbs! He has gained 5 pounds since spring! WHAT? I thought dogs were supposed to drop weight during the summer! So starting today Scout is on his way to dropping 3-5 pounds. Remember: Overweight dogs can damage joints, heart, become more prone to diabetes and if an injury happens they often recover slower. Keep your pets lean!!

Grumpy Growly Dog

So you have experienced it, the moment your dog growls. You will know when your dog is serious and when it is play. When a dog is serious and growling everything will be very still. Your dog will typically freeze, be very stiff and could even be looking at you out of the corner of their eye. There are different reasons a dog may growl as well. Sometimes they growl because they are guarding a toy, food, or they are uncomfortable in a situation. The biggest and most important things about growling is NEVER punish it. What is a growl? A warning. What usually follows a growl if not listened to? A bite. So if we punish the warning then we skip the chance to fix whatever it is that is making our dog uncomfortable and we may end up just getting the bite. We've all heard it, "There was no warning" although there were plenty of subtle warnings the one that gets most peoples attention is growling and without it, most people don't notice the subtleties. When the day comes that your dog growls I want you to ask yourself, "What has changed or is going on that is causing my dog to growl?" and then change it and work on conditioning your dog in the scenario by talking to a professional positive dog trainer.


Courtesy of Green Acres Kennel Shop
In this image the Ember is resource guarding. She has a very bad resource guarding problem especially from other dogs and from people depending on the item. Notice the stiffness in her body, looking at the camera out of the corner of her eye, also called half moon eyes, the snarl on her lip, ears are forward and alert  and I'm sure she is emanating a growl.



Paws on Parade

October 1st will mark the 18th annual Paws on Parade for the Bangor Humane Society. While I won't be able to actually walk with Scout in the parade I am doing my part by raising money for the Humane Society. Small steps to making a difference. Right? I don't know about you guys but I go through phases where I really want to do something big in my life, usually it is animal related. I want to donate a week of my time and go to a poverty stricken area and help catch and treat the stray dogs there or start up some sort of organization that will make a difference in the dog world.

What kind of participating/fundraising/ donation of your time have you guys done for making or educating the dog world?

Before and Afters Photoshop

 What do you think?

Photo Friday and a tip!

Tip of the day: I know I rant about toe nail trims often but I really can't stress how important it is as a part of your dogs routine maintenance. Well clipped toe nails allow your dogs foot to have proper placement. Long toe nails can result in twisting the toes which can cause your dog pain! I really like the orange handled scissor like clippers, they cut through the nail instead of squishing it down. Some people prefer the guillotine style but that only cuts from one side and flattens the nail some while trying to cut it. Whichever your preference I'm just happy you have it done. Routine handling of your dogs feet and lots of yummy treats will help ensure your dog never grows tired of seeing those orange handled clippers!

Good dog!!

Untitled, a photo by ebessey6 on Flickr.

As I am on the road to work today I have one of those Oh No! moments. I realize I have left the house and didn't shut the bathroom door. It isn't so much of the fact that the cat's dish sits on the floor full of food but more because of all the typical medications that are in the bathroom. I get paranoid that Scout may get into something let alone eat the 2 cups of cat food that Pipa's dish holds. Scout is getting a bit mature in his age that I wasn't so worried about the meds but that he was going to have an early dinner.

Anyhow, I get home after work and low and behold.....all the cat food still in the dish!! What a good boy!! He got a tasty pigs ear as a reward and I think he thoroughly enjoyed it!

Flying into the Weekend!

Have a great long weekend and holiday!!

Cut those Toe Nails!

Tip of the Day: Whether you have a young puppy or an older dog it is never to late to begin getting them accustomed to have their toe nails clipped. I can't stress enough how important it is from day one with a puppy to handle their feet. In our puppy class we talk a lot about handling a dog to get them used to grooming and vet visits and often I think people sigh with relief if they have a dog with short hair that won't require grooming visits. Truth be told though, all dogs have toe nails and that is part of grooming maintenance for your pet. Don't expect to do all four feet, start with just one toe. Clip the nail, give your dog a treat and put the clippers away. Do this every day, maybe aim for two toes or a foot but always treat after each clip or have someone feed your puppy while you trim the nails and your dog will offer you his foot for a pedicure! My lab is very patience when I clip his nails because I did this method with him from day 1. I have clipped too close to the quik before where it made him bleed a little bit but he was just as eager to give his foot back because 9 times out of 10 its a good experience. It makes your life a bit less stressful and you don't have to pay someone else to trim the nails. If you just don't like doing the nails yourself and do pay someone, it is still a good habit to reward with treats while the other person does it or work on conditioning at home to get your dog to accept it.

A Hurricane's A Coming

If you are on the east coast I hope you are all safe and not getting dumped on too bad by the hurricane! The rain has started today but it isn't supposed to get really windy and torrential rain until tonight! We spent yesterday getting the lawn mowed, shingling the house, picking up the yard etc. This a.m. doing everything we need to before the power goes out....I'd be shocked if it doesn't.
Do you have a dog that won't go outside when it is raining? Sometimes the easiest thing to do is go out with your dog too! Put on your rain coat, take out an umbrella and sometimes that is all it takes. Scout will occasionally step to the door, look up at me as if to say "you gotta be kidding me" and backups up into the house. However, if I put on my boots and coat and go out he has the best time AND uses the bathroom. Think of the little dogs walking through the grass. Not only do their feet get wet but usually their belly's are getting wet in the grass too. No wonder they are hesitant! Be patient and bear the bad weather with them, use an umbrella and play in the rain!

Time Flies!

Oh Dear!! Falling behind. So sorry to all! It has been such a busy week or so. At work so much vacation time happening you gotta fill in and lose a bit of that extra time you are used to having. I also am getting ready to sit for my CPDT test to become legit...a certified pet dog trainer so that too is consuming my spare time as I freshen up in the areas on the test. The next several weeks may be short blogs, more training blips, until work has settled down and the test is over!

So it was truly a manic Monday today at work! Many emergency style appointments. Skin issues, seizures, hit by cars, wounds. It is important to check your dog regularly, a bit more thorough than petting. By doing that every couple days you will catch things like the start of a hot spot, a small scrape or wound before it abscesses. Good handling techniques will help potentially lower vet bills by catching a problem before it is out of control!

Training Tip

Tip of the Day:  When choosing a pet food look primarily at the first 5 ingredients. A food company has to list their ingredients in descending weight so the first 5 are the bulk of your pets food. In those first five ingredients look for two protein sources, usually a whole protein source like chicken, lamb, herring etc. and then a protein meal, any of the whole protein sources with meal after it. Avoid foods with by-products and ones with food color additives and ones that are vague and list items such as poultry meal, meat by product, animal fat. It leaves the company with a lot of wiggle room.

Finally getting a moment after a long but wonderful weekend. I had one very tired puppy on the ride home Sunday, practically comatose! He swam and he ran and he swam some more. Tucker the other dog definetly gave Scout a run for his money. They played pretty well together but Scout did have to give a few "back off!" corrections.  But overall still buds. On Sunday, two other dogs showed up to camp, a yorkshire terrier and a corgi/jack russel mix. I was so proud of Scout! A lot of times I think people owning big dogs get worried about them with little ones but Scout is very respectful when approaching new dogs. If they give him corrections he backs off or changes his demeanor to make it so the little dogs accept him and will play with him. Photos to come of the half pint dogs and their interactions!

Scout and Tucker Saturday night after a day of playing!

Photo Friday!

We're getting ready for a fun filled weekend. My husband, Scout and I are going to Island Falls to a camp and visit with his best friend and his family. There will be lots of swimming, boating and Scout will have a buddy to play with. I think for him it will be a go, go, go kind of a weekend! Stay tuned

Nutrition Matters

Tip of the Day: A healthy dog is a happy dog! If you feed your dog a high quality meal  your dog will be less likely to have issues in the long run. Sometimes the effects of your pets food won't be noticed until they are older. A poor diet can result in tumors, a dingy coat, dry or flaky skin, ear infections etc. If your dog is experiencing any of the above consider changing their food and experimenting, it may be as simple as that and then you don't have to keep putting your dog on medications because they can't stop scratching.



So Shiney!

 Anybody out there want to share what they do for their pets at meal time?

A Trip to Dodge Point

It has been months since Scout and I have gone to dodge point in Newcastle. Whenever we have a moment of spare time it seems to be filled with construction on the house. Shingling, painting, lawn mowing, laundry  you name it, it seems to take up our time. But this morning we found time and Scout loved it! I took my camera and we sauntered along and while Scout frolicked I took photos. Here are a couple I took.

Here is Scout bounding out of the ocean. Whenever we approach the beach he gives a fleeting glance and I tell him go ahead and he runs for the water. He likes to troll around in the ocean biting at the waves. He is quite amusing to watch!

Photo Friday

Training Tip Thursdsay!...On Friday

Tip of the Day: If you are housetraining your dog and find that they seem to always go to the bathroom once they are inside after being taken out try tethering them to you or putting them in their kennel. If you take your dog out and they don't go and they have free range of the house when they come in it is hard to see the signs they need to use the bathroom if they are in another room. By popping them in the crate for ten minutes, they usually won't mess in there, and it keep them from having an accident and allows you to take them out a second, third, fourth time until they are successful outside.

A Dog who can't wag his Tail

It was a hectic weekend. I did my first wedding gig! It went quite well but I did realize that it is a niche I am not going to explore too much. Like most jobs it was very exhausting. I think I will keep my focus on portraits, children and pets.

On Sunday we finally got our boat up and running and took it for a spin around the lake. It is going to be a fun boat...fast! Scout enjoys these type of recreations. He does things like ride on snowmobiles, 4 wheelers, boats etc. On this particular occasion though he came out with an injured tail. I don't know if it was the awkward sitting in the boat while it spins around or the fact that he did some boat diving. We stopped in the middle of the lake and jumped off the back of the boat to swim and cool off. Once Scout got the hang of it he was launching himself out 5+ feet, mind you he had no running start.

When Monday morning rolled around I had a dog that was depressed, uncomfortable and couldn't wag his tail. It is not too fun having your dog go through that, knowing you can't really help or explain the discomfort. But fortunately working at the Vet I explained his situation and asked to get him some pain medication and monitor him and his tail for a few days to determine if further examining is required. Needless to say today he is on the mend. He is able to wag his tail a bit more, he can lift it a bit higher and I suspect by tomorrow he'll be close to back to his goofy, tail waggin' self!