November 2009
How Whole Dog Journal Helps
Subscribers Only Please remember to mention rescue groups for people looking for specific breeds. We love Newfoundlands, and are celebrating the one-year anniversary of our adoption of Terra, a brown Newfie we rescued. Terra was very stressed by the move and I wasn’t really planning on preparing another BARF (bones and raw food) diet. She doesn’t like kibble, though, so here we are again. BARF diets are a little hard to get started, but once you get a system, they’re not bad. The hardest thing for me is getting enough fresh chicken necks, since my usual grocery store doesn’t stock them, so I have to make a special trip to a different store, but I think it’s a lot cheaper than buying the prepared meat meals.
Dancing With Dogs
Subscribers Only Snapping fingers and tapping feet are the signature moves of musical freestyle – and that’s the audience! What happens between dog and handler during a musical freestyle performance is simply magical. The handler gives subtle cues, and her dog executes complicated maneuvers, one after the other, as the pair moves across the floor, their routine choreographed to music that emphasizes their connection. For those of you whose introduction to this sport was watching a widely distributed video clip of Carolyn Scott’s routine to “Grease” with her Golden Retriever, Rookie, you were probably awestruck. You may have even gotten a little misty eyed, recognizing the commitment, training, and connection between two different species. But it was the look on Rookie’s face that sold you that this was a sport worth exploring. This dog was having a blast, and the behaviors he was doing were difficult! How could training something so hard be so fun?
How to Identify and Pick Top Quality Dog Treats
These are just a few examples of some top-quality treats, containing organic ingredients, grass-fed meats, and natural sweeteners and preservatives.
Surely there is no such person as a dog owner who never gives his or her dog a treat. We all like to see our dog’s tail wag, and his face light up with attentive anticipation, right? But how do you know that the treats you give him are healthy? It’s actually pretty simple. As with every food you buy (for yourself or your dog), it’s all about the ingredients. If you do not already read the label of every food item you consider buying, get in the habit! Most of the information you need to know in order to determine the product’s quality is legally required to appear on the label. Ingredients are listed on the label by weight; there is more of the first ingredient on the list present in the treat than the second ingredient, and so on. (One exception: If equal amounts - by weight - of different ingredients are present, the manufacturer can list those ingredients in any order; that is, as long as they are still in order relative to the other ingredients). The first few ingredients on the list are the most significant; since they comprise the majority of the content, they should be especially high in quality.
Dogs Riding Safely and Calmly in Cars
Subscribers Only Contrary to the advice I offer to clients and WDJ readers, I admit that I’m sometimes careless about taking my dogs in the car with me. I don’t always use crates and seatbelts on short trips to town, although I always do on longer travels. Just recently, however, my husband and I loaded up all five of our dogs for their annual well-pet visit to a veterinarian, and I did take the precaution of crating everyone rather than risk canine chaos on the highway. Other than Bonnie’s panting, it was an experience in car-ride serenity, and I vowed to crate everyone, always, on future rides. Granted, my dogs aren’t the worst in the car. They don’t sit in my lap, leap over seats, get into fights, hang out the windows, do laps around the back of the van, or bark at everything outside the car. Other than Bonnie, who pants a lot and sometimes Even so, they’re safer in crates. Loose, they are a distraction, which decreases my driving safety. Not as bad as texting, but still!
Canine Health News and Current Events November 2009
Subscribers Only There are currently seven different pet identification microchip registries in the U.S., making it difficult to track down a found pet’s owner even when a scan finds a microchip number. Adding to the confusion, the chip’s manufacturer may not be the company that registered the chip. For example, I had a dog whose microchip was made by HomeAgain but registered with AKC Companion Animal Recovery (CAR). All the registries that exist in the U.S. will register their competitor’s chips as well as their own, but most charge a fee for doing so. Two companies have emerged with Internet-based products that make it easier for rescuers to quickly locate the owner of a dog with an implanted identification microchip: the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) launched its PetMicrochipLookup.org, and Chloe Standard introduced ChecktheChip.com. Each built a website with a searchable database of microchip numbers, and attempts to return information about where a microchip is (or is most likely to be) registered.
Best Dog Training Treats for Different Training Scenarios
Subscribers Only Food rewards are powerful tools in the hands of a good positive trainer. Food is considered a primary reinforcer because it has innate value; a dog doesn’t have to learn to like food through association. Using a clicking sound made by a clicker (or other reward marker, such as the word “Yes!”), followed by a high-value food treat is a quick and easy way to send your dog a powerful positive message about which behavior he could repeat to get reinforced again. Food is also commonly used in classical conditioning and counter-conditioning, to create and build a dog’s positive association with a specific stimulus. But what do you do when your dog can’t or won’t take a treat? It depends on the reason he has to decline the food offering.
“Rescues” That Aren’t
Subscribers Only Last month, I used this space to tell the story of my former neighbors, who bought a puppy from a puppy mill; despite my warnings to them, they didn’t really “get” that they were buying from a puppy mill until they received an underaged, very ill puppy who is clearly not the breed she was purported to be. I used the story to implore readers to take their time when looking for their next dog, never buy a dog sight unseen from the Internet, and to adopt from shelters and rescue groups.
