It’s been about 5 months since Georgia left us, and Belle has been out of sorts ever since. For the first month, she seemed depressed and pretty lethargic. She now seems more like her usual herself, but every morning as I head to work she forlornly watches me from her dog pen. I have decided […]
Dogs and Fireworks: Keep Your Pet Safe on the 4th of July
While the Fourth of July is a fun time for us, our pets might not enjoy it as much. The noise, smells, and bright flashes that accompany a fireworks display can cause fear in many dogs. Prepare Well If your dog is left outside, it might be scared enough to escape its pen and attempt […]
Dog Problem: Snapping at Treats
The Food Aggressive Dog I’ve already mentioned that Georgia is food aggressive and very possessive of food. Store Food Out of Reach We don’t keep any food items (or even things that can be misconstrued as food – like leather gloves, wool yard, etc.) where she can reach them. We’ve found out the hard way […]
Introducing A New Dog Into the House
Georgia moved in with us a few weeks after we settled in to the new house. She is a hound mix of some sort and is taller and heavier than Belle. When she was a puppy, she was found out in the woods half starved and with a large piece of her hide missing from […]
Keeping the Dog From Scent Marking A New Home
Things have changed a lot since the last time I posted. We have moved to a new house and a new dog has entered our lives. Belle has a history of marking the indoors of new houses, so that was a bit of a concern when we moved in to the new house. We had […]
Dealing with loose dogs not on a leash
My town has a leash law. I think it’s relatively new, but we do have one. Now that doesn’t mean that everyone keeps their dog under control. As a matter of fact, it’s not uncommon for me to have an encounter with a strange dog when I’m walking Belle. Now if you’ve been reading this […]
The Canine Escape Artist: How My Dog Escaped Her Pen
Since Belle was an outdoor dog before I became her owner, she really likes to spend time out-of-doors. We built a nice large pen for her outside using welded wire fencing that connects to metal posts. We built a wooden gate that could swing open and shut with a latch at the top to keep […]
Refreshing Your Dog Training Skills
Just like humans, dogs are prone to forgetting things, or even testing boundaries. Thus, it is important to refresh your dog’s training “memory.” Dogs that respond to a given command for a long period of time can suddenly start acting like they don’t know what the command means. For example, it took me quite a […]
The Dog Afraid of Thunder – My Dog’s Storm Fear
Many dogs are afraid of storms. But when that behavior becomes harmful to the dog, what do you do? My dog Belle was always afraid of storms, but it got much worse. And unfortunately, my attempts to comfort her actually reinforced her negative behavior. After speaking with a friend who is a dog training expert, I started crating her during storms and covering the crate with a sheet. This helps her to feel safer and keeps her from hurting herself during her panic.