Doga?

Read an interesting article this morning about Doga or Dog Yoga, which is spreading in popularity across the country. Not sure what I think of it. One the one hand, it's kind of silly. I mean, does your dog really care about doing yoga??? But on the other hand your dog loves being with you and spending time with you so wouldn't it be nice to do something for yourself while being with your dog? Still torn between "Is this really dumb?" or "Is this really cool?"
Check out the article and video here: Doga: Yoga for Dogs

You can whisper too!

One of Cesar's methods to helping and training dogs is reading their body language. I was curious as to what some of these might be and found a really great list.

Signs of Aggression

If your dog displays any of the following body language, he is likely feeling aggressive:

• He is drawing his lips back to expose his teeth (i.e., he is snarling).
• He is growling or barking.
• He is holding his ears back and close to his head.
• He is holding his tail straight out, away from his body.
• He is narrowing his eyes and staring.
• He is snapping his jaws.
• His body is tense and rigid.

If you think your dog is being aggressive, be careful, as he is likely to bite or attack. If your dog repeatedly displays aggressive body language, you'll probably want to seek the help of a trainer.

Signs of Alertness

The following canine body language signals indicate that your dog is alert and concentrating:

• He is refraining from making noise.
• His eyes are open wider than normal.
• His ears are perked up, possibly rotating in order to focus on certain sounds.
• His mouth is closed or barely open.

If your dog is displaying any of the above signals, he is most likely trying to decipher the origin or a sound or to locate another animal.

Signs of Anxiety

If your dog displays any of the behaviors below, he might be feeling anxious:

• He is whining or moaning.
• His body is tense and lowered into a submissive position.
• His ears are held partially back.
• His eyes are slightly narrowed.
• His mouth is closed, perhaps with a slight upturn at the edges.
• His tail is partially lowered.

Your dog might display the above body language if he is in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable situation. To help put him at ease, pet him and talk to him in a reassuring tone. You might also want to offer him one of his favorite toys.

Signs of Chasing Behavior

The following are signs that your dog is getting ready to chase something:

• He isn't making any noise.
• He is panting excitedly.
• His body is crouched and ready to run.
• His ears are perked up and pointing forward.
• His eyes are open wide.
• His mouth is open slightly.
• His tail is pointed out and away from his body.

This body language is often seen in hunting dogs, though any dog is likely to chase an object or another animal.

Signs of Curiosity, Eagerness or Excitement

When your dog is excited, he probably displays the following body language:

• His mouth is slightly open.
• He is barking excitedly.
• He is panting excitedly.
• He is wiggling his body or prancing around.
• He is wagging his tail.
• His eyes are open wide.
• His ears are perked up and pointing forward.

Signs of Dominance

If your dog displays the below behaviors, he is asserting his dominance:

• He is growling or grunting assertively.
• He is standing very tall.
• He is staring.
• His ears are pointed forward or straight up.
• His mouth is closed.
• His tail is stiff and puffed.

Signs of Fear

If your dog is nervous or frightened, you might see him display this body language:

• He flinches when you go to pet him.
• He might be shivering or trembling.
• He might yelp, growl or whine.
• His body is in a low, submissive position.
• His ears are pushed back and held close to his head.
• His eyes are narrowed.
• His lips are drawn back, possible exposing his teeth.
• His tail is tucked between his legs.

Signs of Happiness or Playfulness

If you notice the following behaviors in your dog, he is probably happy and ready to play:

• He is barking loudly.
• He is bouncing, jumping, circling or running back and forth.
• He is excitedly panting.
• His body is relaxed.
• His ears are perky and pointing forward.
• His mouth is relaxed and slightly open.
• His tail is wagging quickly.

Some of these things are easily interpreted as other behaviors, such as growling when in fear, which can be seen as aggressiveness. I think that is also important that you as a person understand the specific things your dog does and what they mean, because each dog and each environment are different. For example, my boyfriend's lab Gabby will stick her butt in the air when she wants to play. It's not on the list of behaviors that mean play, but it just something she does. What are your dogs quirky behaviors??

To whisper or not to whisper

My last post talked about how different breeds require different types of training strategies. Where did I learn this? The Dog Whisperer. A lot of people think his show is full of crap- but honestly (and I'm usually a skeptic when it comes to this stuff) I believe it. Spring break for me was spent watching pretty much every episode (productive, right? Not everyone can go to the Bahamas). His techniques truly do make sense, and other dog behaviorists use the same, or similar methods of training dogs. Here's where you can watch new episodes: Dog Whisperer
I also found a couple of other sites that disagree with Cesar's methods. This is a blog from a hater: Why veterinary behaviorists can't stand Cesar Millan
I think Cesar's methods are great and everyone should try to use them (obviously not in dangerous situations). It's all about positive reinforcement which is a exactly how psychologists teach people to parent better. You reward the positive and CORRECT (not punish) the negative. But no system is perfect so here are my cons to it:

• Training a dog as a pack leader will only create the desired effects when you are with your dog. The possibility of unwanted behaviors occurring when the dogs are without you is higher.
• A lot of the training techniques used on the show can be dangerous for amateurs let alone professionals.
  

One of the best things about Cesar though is that he gives people a jumping off point to starting training their dogs. While not everything may be suitable for every dog, or every owner, it's important to start to understand how to communicate with your dog, and I think Cesar does that very well.

Dog Diversity 101

All puppies are cute. If you don't think a puppy is cute you have a heart of stone. But sooo many people get a puppy just because of the way it looks and don't stop to think about how that breed is going to be when it grows up. Different breeds display different traits as adults. It's important to always take the breed's characteristics in mind when you adopt a new dog.

Canine Behavior by Breed

Not all dog breeds are created equal in my experience. Dogs exhibit a wide range of personalities and traits. Some are gentle and act well in social situations, while others are rowdy and prefer to be in familiar situations and environments. Although most dogs can be trained to be obedient and follow commands, some will take to training easily while others will fail obedience class time and time again.

Certain dogs were bred to exhibit certain characteristics. Here are some information I found on the more popular groups of breeds and some of their prominent traits:

• Herding Dogs: Herding dogs were bred to help herd large groups of animals, such as flocks of sheep. These dogs are highly intelligent and make good family pets, although they do require a fair amount of exercise.
  

• Hound: A hound helps hunters track animals. They are known for their ability to retrieve and make good family pets, as they are typically easy to train.
  
  
• Terriers: Terriers were initially bred to hunt and kill pests. Typically small, terriers are brave, tough and energetic, though they have a tendency to bark excessively.
  
  
• Toy Dogs: Simply put, a toy dog is a small dog that is kept as a pet. While some toy dogs are docile and inactive, others are highly energetic. Toy dogs make excellent pets. However, due to their small size, toy dogs might not be the best choice for a family with young kids, as over-eager children could play too rough with it and cause it injury.
  
  
• Working: A working dog is one that learns and performs tasks to assist its owner. Working dogs are highly intelligent, alert and very loyal. They typically make excellent family pets and enjoy being active.

Dog Breeds and Children

Other information I read explained that all dogs have different personalities. Some are great with children and tolerate small hands tugging on their fur and pulling their ears. Others become irritated with children and lash out when young ones are near.

Dogs that are good with kids are a must-have for family pet-owners. Golden Retrievers are very well-known for being excellent around children. Here are some other breeds that are good with youngsters:

• Basset Hounds
• Beagles
• Collies
• Labrador Retrievers
• Newfoundlands
• Pugs

Communication Between the Dog and Owner

From my vast experience of watching the dog whisperer (more on my fascination later), it seems to me that most dogs will try hard to understand and please their owners, just as most owners will work hard to understand their dogs. Cesar explains that as long as you are patient and establish a dominant role with your pet, he or she will likely respond to your commands. Of course, as stated earlier, some dogs learn more easily than others, so if you don't think you have the time or patience to train a stubborn dog, choose your breed carefully.

Not that I have specifically tried to train an animal (yet), apparently it isn't hard to teach your dog to follow a few basic commands. However, I think the most common piece of advice I've heard is to be consistent and be able to see things from your dog's point of view. Understanding your dog's instincts and his breed will help you develop strategies to erase unwanted acts. As some dogs are more prone to certain unwanted behaviors, such as biting and/or incessant barking, you might find that it is more difficult to eliminate these actions. Hopefully my next blog about types of training approaches will help start some conversation about the best methods to training your dogs.

Homemade Dog Food- Seriously Considering It!

While searching for no-no foods for dogs yesterday to go along with my previous post, I stumbled across a few articles that detail homemade dog food can be the best. Interested, I dug a bit deeper for some more facts.These are super disturbing and honestly it's made me think twice about the kind of dog food will be purchasing for my future dog.

Here's what I found:

- Dogs are perfectly capable of living on a vegetarian diet.

- Many times a dog will even live a longer life on home prepared food than it will on manufactured food. (article points out that if humans ate fast food everyday, they would not be as healthy- same for a dog)

-Dog food companies are in business to make money. They do not have to follow the same regulations that are given to companies that manufacture food for human consumption. They have, instead, their own regulations that are not as stringent. Some of these regulations allow for using some rather unsavory ingredients.

- A recent dog food and pet food recall across the United States was a result of contaminated commercial dog food tainted with aminopterin, a rat poison, and melamine, a chemical used in making plastics and fertilizer.

- Other ingredients can include:

· Euthanized dogs -Toxic chemicals such as Sodium Phenobarbital, the euthanizing agent injected to kill dogs daily at dog shelters. (This comes with the euthanized dog who is ground up at a rendering plant to be added to dog food. The dog may still be wearing a flea collar and be in a plastic bag when rendered )

· Blood

· Feathers

· Undeveloped eggs

· Downed, dying, diseased and dead animals (Known as the 4Ds)

· Hooves, beaks, feet and hide

Maybe I'm taking this a bit far but I'm thinking homemade for sure because this is horrible. Here are the sites that I found the info from: Dogs4Life.com and BarkBarkI'mHungry.com.

Dangerous Foods For Doggies

Last night at dinner, my boyfriend's dog Gabby (a 3 year old black lab- you'll meet her later :) was begging at the table, as she usually does, and of course we all gave in to her adorable face and gave her some small bites of pizza. Later his mom informs us that she seemed to be acting funny and we all wondered if it was from the food she ate. This got me thinking about what foods are okay to give our dogs and what aren't. It's so tempting to give in to your pretty pooch and just give them a little treat because they just want it soooo bad- but at what cost? When is it safe to share some of your dinner with them and when is it not?

There are common knowledge items such as alcohol, marijuana, and chocolate. But what else should a dog owner be worried about?
Here is a list I found from Peteducation.com

Anyone else know of foods that should be black listed for animals??? I really don't want to accidentally feed something to a dog and make them sick :/

Dog Dress-Up: Torture or Entertainment??

Recently at work, my co-workers discussed the practice of dressing up one's pet. While I know the animals may look ridiculous and may be uncomfortable- isn't that how our children look sometimes?? When I look back at what my mom made me wear for the sake of "looking adorable" I shudder. So, in realty, dressing up our dogs is not worse than dressing YOUR CHILD up in something silly because you think they look cute.



See my point? Does she look comfortable? No. Does she look silly? A little. But does she look cute??? Of course!!
So as far as I'm concerned- dress your dog up! They may be uncomfortable for a bit and they may look stupid, but for a good picture or an hour of joy- they'll be fine.
Here are some more pics for your enjoyment :)



More Pics Here!
And Here!

You may disagree, but I think dressing your dog up is hilarious if you can get them to keep the clothes on.

Hello!

Welcome to my Dog Blog! I'd first like to introduce myself- I'm Jackie, from NE Ohio, and I love dogs. Every entry from now will feature a dog topic, such as training or playtime or fun videos. I am by no means an expert on these things, so these posts will simply be my opinion, several opinions of others, or just a place to pose questions I have. It is my hope that people following will share their experiences and opinions so we can all learn. With that being said, this is also a place to talk about your dog- so please do! I want everyone to be able to share their own stories and viewpoints about being a pet owner. Furthermore, in a few months I am going to be purchasing my own puppy and this will be a place for me to share with everyone my experiences of becoming a first time puppy mommy. I look forward to building a dog community here and hope that everyone can contribute to Happy Dog :)

With introductions out of the way, here is one of the cutest puppy videos I've found to get us started: Newfie Puppy and Bunny Video

It's of a Newfoundland, which you will all learn is my absolute favorite kind of dog. I grew up with one in our house and most likely will be getting a Newfoundland puppy when I am ready!

First Post

Just checking to see how my first post will turn out! This is just a test :) More good things to come.