Tails From Le Woof

The week just before summer and it felt like it. What a nice week that was:)

This article is from a magazine call modern dog. I will try some of that myself.  Again, Enjoy

Provide variety and a nutritional boost

By Elizabeth Pask and Laura Scott

As a responsible and informed dog lover, you probably know that too much “people food” can make your dog ill or overweight, but there are some human foods that can be safely added to your dog’s meals in moderation to give a nutritional boost to Queenie’s diet and add a bit of variety to her food bowl. Just remember: any additions to your dog’s meals shouldn’t comprise more than 25 percent of her weekly caloric requirement.

1. Yogurt is a good source of available calcium and protein. When choosing yogurt, pick one that has live active bacteria and no sugars or artificial sweeteners. The active bacteria may act as probiotics. If your pooch is pudgy, make sure that you pick fat-free yogurt but not one that contains fat substitutes (e.g., Simplesse or Olestra). Frozen yogurt is a nice summer treat for dogs.

Dr. Ian Dunbar his one of my favorite in the business and this is a good article from him. I think its interesting.

It might even improve your dog’s social life.

By Dr. Ian Dunbar

Spaying
There is much confusion concerning the physiological and behavioral effects of spaying. Some people feel that spaying will prompt a marked personality change and cause the bitch to become fat and ugly. Spaying has no deleterious effects on the bitch’s personality whatsoever. If anything it makes her more predictable, relaxed and amenable-a better companion. It is true that oestrous hormones cause a reduced food intake and higher general activity, and since spaying removes the source of ovarian hormones, spayed bitches may tend to eat slightly more and exercise slightly less. However, you may easily rectify this situation by exercising your bitch a bit more and/or feeding her a bit less!

If you are not going to breed your bitch, have her spayed as soon as possible, and avoid potential complicated and costly obstetrical problems later in her life. A bitch with ovaries and uterus intact stands a progressively increasing risk of developing pyometra (pus in the uterus) as she gets older. It is far safer and cheaper to opt for a routine elective ovariohysterectomy now, than to risk the possibility of an extremely expensive, emergency and life-threatening operation when she is older.

Castration
People seem to have numerous hang-ups about castrating male dogs. No doubt a psychologist could have a field day with the owner’s projections and complexes. Castration does not make dogs more lethargic. If anything, a castrated dog is more attentive and willing to please its owner, since it is less distracted. Neither does castration cause a marked personality change. And castration does not make a dog a wimp.

The behavioral endocrinology of dogs is quite unique. Whereas the castration of most mammals appears to eliminate secondary sexual characteristics, the masculine characteristics of dog behavior appear to be emancipated from adult hormone levels. Whether or not a male dog will lift his leg when urinating, sniff and mount bitches and be more aggressive than females has all been preprogrammed by fetal testosterone in utero. Adult castration has absolutely no direct effect on urination posture, sexual preference or hierarchical rank.

Castration does, however, exert a number of extremely beneficial behavioral changes. Castrated males tend to roam less than intact males. They are more content when left at home or in the yard and are less likely to develop destructive behaviors or attempt escape. A castrated dog will still urine-mark, using the characteristic male leg-lift posture, but it will do so less often.

Most importantly, castrated male dogs are involved in far fewer fights than their male counterparts with testicles. All dogs have disagreements, and most dogs fight. However, over 90% of dog fights occur between uncastrated male dogs. Strangely enough, castration does not make dogs less inclined to fight, neither does it reduce the dog’s social standing vis a vis other dogs. Instead, castration reduces the desire for other dogs to pick fights with your dog. Castration removes the source of testosterone, the male sex hormone which makes male dogs smell male. Thus, castrated males appear to be less of a threat to other males, which consequently will be less aggressive and combative towards your dog. In a sense, castration makes your dog appear to be less obnoxious to others. Furthermore, if other dogs are more relaxed around your dog, your dog will feel more relaxed around them, and thus, he will be much easier to control. ■

Reprinted with permission from How To Teach A New Dog Old Tricks by Dr. Ian Dunbar, James & Kenneth Publishers, 1996 (first published in 1981 by Sirius Puppy Training.)

Dr. Ian Dunbar is a veterinarian, animal behaviourist, and author. He has written numerous books on dog behaviour and training, including Before You Get Your Puppy, After You Get Your Puppy, How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks, and Doctor Dunbar’s Good Little Dog Book. He is Director of SIRIUS Puppy Training, founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, and host of the British TV series Dogs With Dunbar.

Here are some fun pictures taken last week on a walk. Make sure you check frequently for updated galleries.

This is a great study and hope to see more study’s like this in the future.

By: Carolyn y. Johnson`

The Canine Cognition Lab is recruiting dogs. For more information, visit http://doglab.wjh.harvard.edu. Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.

This is absolutely exceptional training specially considering that this dog was a rescue. If you know about dressage you will love this. try, for fun, to find the cues that she give her dog. Unbielievable, Isn’t?

This brought tears to my eyes… Not that I cry a lot…. I mean… You know… I’m a man… Man don’t cry…

-In 1998, Russian wolfhound Olive Oyl of Grayslake, Illinois,
made the Guinness Book of World Records when she skipped
rope 63 times in one minute.

-Chihuahua and shih tzu mix Tiny Tim of London holds the
record (as of 2004) for being the tiniest dog ever. The
little guy measures three inches tall at the shoulder and
four inches long from nose to tail, and weighs just over a
pound.

-The oldest dog reliably documented was an Australian cattle
dog named Bluey. After 29 years and 5 months of faithful
service, Bluey was put to rest in 1939.

-Border collies are widely regarded as the smartest of dogs,
since they have been bred to work closely with humans for
centuries. However, without enough stimulation, they can
appear hyper and not quite as brilliant!

-The favorite dog of ancient Egyptians, the basenji is
incapable of barking, instead uttering a sound called a
yodel.

-Zorba, an Old English mastiff, was the world’s heaviest and
longest dog ever recorded. Zorba weighed 343 pounds and,
from nose to tail, was eight feet three inches long.

Do you feel bad for the boy or the dog?

This is why it’s so important to teach your kid to be careful and how to act with a dog.

Poor Brian

This old footage is of an amazing trainer called Jay Sisler. You can see that the dogs are really happy to work for him. Another proof that you don’t need to punish a dog. Make the training session short and fun and the dog will be more than happy to work for you.

According to workingaussiesource.com, Jay Sisler trained for 10-15 minutes, three times a day. He worked on just one thing at a time, trying not to confuse the dog. If the dog wasn’t getting something, he would leave it for “a month or two” then come back to it.

Good on you mate!