Just Dogs Archives - Page 24 of 49

How to Turn Any Stranger into Your Dog’s Friend

December 10, 2015 / Dog Training, Dogs in General, My Dogs and Me / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

With the holidays (and lots of company) approaching, if you want to enter our house in relative peace, it’s best to come bearing gifts.

Specifically, dog food treats are most welcome. But if you’ve forgotten yours at home, no worries. I’ve attached a container of kibble right at garage door knob level. You can’t miss it coming in.

Think of it akin to entering church, where you bless yourself with holy water before entering. Kinda like ensuring good luck–

Only, … Read More

Here’s the Perfect Video Camera to Monitor Your Dogs While You’re Away

December 2, 2015 / Dogs in General, Tech Tips & Product Reviews / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

Have a dog at home that you’d like to keep an eye on while you’re out?

There are all kinds of security video monitoring cameras out there, and most of them do a good job. So how do you select the right one for you?

I wanted one that had really good video quality, was easy to set up, easy to operate, and wouldn’t break the bank.

After doing some research, all roads led to Vimtag . At $100, it’s … Read More

In a Million Years–I Never Would Have Guessed!

October 14, 2015 / My Dogs and Me / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

I’d talked about getting Graidy’s DNA test done. Well, the results have come back and, in a million years, I never would have guessed American Eskimo Dog! I can absolutely see the Border Collie and some kind of spaniel mix–though not English Springer Spaniel. My best guess was Border Collie/ Brittany Spaniel. The mystery is finally over.

Traffic Jam in the Country

September 17, 2015 / Life, My Dogs and Me, Nature / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

Lots of animal families live on our little corner of the wild kingdom. This family of wild turkeys is the most recent to take up residence. I find them particularly interesting in light of my recent viewing of PBS’ My Life as a Turkey.

When they’re all together, there’s quite a traffic jam as they try to make it from one end of the property to the other. That is until our traffic cops tell them to move it … Read More

Australian Shepherd Lab Mix—Good Idea?

September 10, 2015 / Dogs in General / By Karen Shanley / 11 Comments

Seems there are a LOT of Aussie mixes out there that people have questions about. After helping a friend evaluate an Australian Shepherd Rottweiler mix, I’ve been getting a ton of mail asking what I thought of an Australian Shepherd Lab mix.

This one is a lot easier to answer! If you have the time and space to exercise a high energy dog–this may just be the perfect combo. There are just a couple of things to be mindful … Read More

Time to Figure it Out

August 24, 2015 / Dogs in General, My Dogs and Me / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

Graidy went to visit friends the other day and had a great ol’ time! Actually, this is just a Graidy look-alike. When a friend sent this photo, I had to do a double-take.

Since we got Graidy from a wonderful Border Collie rescue place, we’ve always wondered what he was mixed with. While he certainly had the high energy of a Border Collie, he had zero herding instinct. That is, if you counted herding anything on two or four … Read More

They Call These Puppy Treads but They’re Awesome for Older Dogs and Humans Too

July 17, 2015 / Dogs in General / By Karen Shanley / Leave a Comment

When I was asked to try out these Puppy Treads, made by Handi-Ramp in exchange for an honest review, I jumped at the chance!

You see, I immediately saw these non-slip, self-adhering, clear vinyl strips as having the potential to solve multiple problems for dog owners with wood floors. (More on this in a moment.)

But first, here’s the low-down from their site: