Does your dog think he’s a gerbil? Apparently GoPet thinks so! They are marketing an “exercise wheel” for dogs. I guess if you can’t come up with enough excuses for not taking your dog for a walk (it’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s too hot, it’s too cold, no time, he pulls, etc.) then they have the perfect solution for you.
There’s no way my dog would get into that thing!
It’s been scientifcally proven.
Hitting and other alpha-type “bad dog” training methods only make the dogs behavior problems worse.
See the abstract of the article from Applied Animal Behaviour Science. “…confrontational methods applied by dog owners before their pets were presented for a behavior consultation were associated with aggressive responses …”
So why do tv producers give tv shows to force-based and punishment-based “trainers”?
Do you want to hide the fact that you have a dog? Now you can put him in a planter!
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all Leifers.com has come out with The NeoClassic pet retreat home. It’s about the size of a walk-in closet so you’ll need a big house. And if your house is that big then your dog could get lost in it and you won’t have to hide him!
According a paper called “Can People Distinguish Pate from Dog Food”, put out by the American Association of Wine Economists, humans cannot tell the difference. The human food was put in a food processor to look like dog food from a can and only 3 out of 18 people could identify it.
So, it seems like the conclusion of this story is that your dog is eating pretty good! Or to look at it another way: the next time you’re having a swanky party and want to impress your friends, buy the dog food and let them think it’s expensive pate!
We grew upthinking that graduate school is supposed to be serious but here is someone doing a research study on dogs yawning. Thought some of you might be interested in taking part in this study. Sounds like fun!
Her name is Kristina N. Gage and she’s a Ph.D. Candidate at University at Albany, Department of Psychology:
I am currently in graduate school studying dog behavior. As part of
my research, I will be conducting a survey on yawning in dogs. The
more people we have respond to the survey, the more accurate our
results will be. I’d like to invite you all to fill out the survey
below – it should take 15 minutes or less. Please read the directions
carefully – I am asking everyone to review the survey and to observe
their dog’s behavior for several days to a week before answering any
questions. If you have any questions, please contact me at yawningsurvey@gmail.com. You may also feel free to forward this survey to others, including your clients. Thank you for your help!http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=GtdfvtipP_2fbRySozvMDPfA_3d_3d
According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention over 44% of dogs a estimated to be overweight or obese. Does this really surprise anybody. First it’s widely known that about 50% of the people population is overweight. So it would make sense that if people consider their dogs part of the family that they too would be packing on the pounds. Second, it’s winter. It’s more difficult to get out there and go for that long walk or play outside. It’s cold out there! It’s harder to get around in all that snow.
We all know that added weight – whether you’re a dog or a person – is a leading cause of preventable disease like arthritis and diabetes (being the most well known). So now that winter is on it’s way out we can start psyching ourselves up to get out and get moving. The good thing about dogs is that they don’t think of it as exercise, they think they’re having fun.
Two funny or sad (I’m not sure) ways to decorate your tree. http://www.week.com/news/local/35427334.html?video=YHI&t=a
http://www.prankplace.com/yuledoo.htm
Did you know?
56% of dog owners (and 42% of cat owners) bought holiday gifts for their pets last year.
70% of people sign their pet’s name on greeting cards and 58 percent include their pets in family and holiday portraits.
Really – what’s so surprising about that? My doggies send holiday – and birthday – cards out to family members, too!
I miss my old morning ritual with my dogs. (One of my dogs was ill and pts a few months ago.) She had such a zest for life and she made getting up in the morning fun and joyful. I’m not sure if it was me stirring in bed that gave her the notion that it was time to get up, or if it was something else like the alarm clock (that didn’t go off every morning). She started with her large fluffy tail banging on the floor or between the night table and floor – depending on her sleeping position. What a racket! If I didn’t lean over quickly enough to greet her she would sit up and wait for me to pat the bed (her cue) or tell her to go back to sleep. This bed patting was the key to getting the morning started. She would hop onto the bed – everything except her back feet — because she wasn’t supposed to be “on” the bed but leaning on it this way was ok. At first just the front feet were allowed, then the chest, and eventually almost everything else. She would get a good hearty rub all over and smiled and wagged. Sometimes she would kind of roll onto her side (back feet still on the floor!) and get a belly rub, too. When I was done, she’d jump off and start following me around to make sure she didn’t miss anything that might happen. She loved getting up in the morning and I loved helping her help me to start it off in this fun lovey-dovey and important way. It turns out that it was important to me too. I didn’t think it was. It was a great way to start the day and I really miss her.
If you live in the Framingham/Natick area you may have seen a man carrying a bat while being dragged around (a.k.a. walking) his dog. This is really the only time this hyper untrained dog gets a break from being chained to a tree. Beware of letting your dog get too close or you or your dog could get hit with the bat. I’ve seen it happen. The man, after all, has to protect himself. What’s even worse is that the police as well as animal control allow such behavior. They say this man has a right to protect himself. I guess we should be lucky he’s only using a bat.
