One Writer Mom. One Teen Kid. One Brilliant Australian Shepherd. One Comical Border Collie Mix. One Dog in a Maine Coon Cat's Body. And Latest to the Party — One Cuddly Cavalier.
Posted in Dogs in General on Apr 11th, 2010
From LiveScience: Scientists Decode Dogspeak: Software analyzed barks sparked by fights, strangers, playtime Artificially intelligent Dr. Doolittles can understand dog barks as well or better than humans do. These findings suggest computers might significantly help people comprehend animal communication. Scientists tested artificially intelligent software on more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs. Six [...]
Posted in Dogs in General, Funnies on Mar 28th, 2010
I try not to overdue the “cute” dog stuff here. After all, I Can Haz Cheezburger has that market cornered. But I got such a good smile from this, I had to share. A Dog’s Life Do these guys know how to have fun, or what!
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Mar 21st, 2010
Crufts is the largest dog show in the world. It’s held in March every year. And while it has all the usual judging of Best of Breed, etc., I love watching the agility and freestyle parts of the program. Talk about a working and playing partnership with your dog…! Here are this year’s winners, Richard [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General, Funnies on Feb 7th, 2010
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dogs in General, Life on Jan 24th, 2010
I always find it interesting how life events cluster together. Perhaps you’ve heard of this phenomenon known as “The Law of Threes.” My little cluster at the moment has to do with healthcare. Within a few months of each other, my family doctor, dentist, and vet have retired. I’ve yet to find people to replace [...]
Posted in Dogs in General on Jan 10th, 2010
It never ceases to amaze me how little someone can know about dogs and still wind up with a decent dog. Really, think about it. What other animal, wild or domesticated, can so readily adapt to our crazy, inconsistent, often self-centered ways? I can hear some of you suggest that cats fit in with us [...]
Posted in Dogs in General, Life on Dec 25th, 2009
Posted in Dogs in General on Dec 20th, 2009
Twas the Night Before Christmas and all through the house All the creatures were stirring One might even say conferring On where all the goodies were hidden Not realizing they were forbidden… With the flurry of holiday preparations and all the comings and goings, it’s a time when we may be more distracted than normal. [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dog Training, Dogs in General on Nov 1st, 2009
Over the years, many people have asked for help on how to pick the perfect dog. I’m always happy to assist when I can. I usually start by asking: How many dogs old are you? Huh? you say. Are you asking me how old in dog years I am? No, it’s not a sneaky way [...]
Posted in Dogs in General on Aug 30th, 2009
Michelle O’Neil over at Full-Soul-Ahead! is someone I very much admire. She knows I’m nuts about my dogs and sent this to me. I hadn’t seen it before. Maybe you haven’t either. Though I’m not conventionally religious, something about the pureness of gospel singer Wendy Francisco’s voice in this song just moves me. And the [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dogs in General on Aug 23rd, 2009
Cait’s little boy hasn’t been feeling so well. Feverish, tired and achy, all Wink wants to do is rest quietly. It’s sad to see this normally effervescent little guy so under the weather. (Though, in a day or so, he should be back to his normal self because he’s been started on Doxycycline, the antibiotic [...]
Posted in Dogs in General, Funnies, Life on Jul 12th, 2009
If you can start the day without caffeine, If you can get going without pep pills, If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles, If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it, If you can understand [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Jun 28th, 2009
In my earlier post on Operant Conditioning: Part 1, I explained how it can be used with great success at motivating 2-leggeds and 4-leggeds. I shared the example of how, at Cait’s suggestion, I used +R (Positive Reinforcement) along with -P (Negative Punishment) to help motivate her to change an undesired behavior (chewing with mouth [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on May 31st, 2009
Maybe you’ve seen this ditty passed around in an email: Ten Rules for Being Human 1. You will receive a body. 2. You will be presented with lessons. 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. 4. Lessons are repeated until learned. 5. Learning does not end. 6. “There” is no better than “Here.” 7. Others [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dogs in General on May 17th, 2009
I picked up Kiera late yesterday afternoon and she had a tough night. She’s doing much better this morning. The vet thinks the growth was a result of an abscessed tooth, which she removed with a section of the gum just to be safe. It looks like we dodged a bullet! Exhaling now… While Kiera [...]
