Archive for May, 2010
How Does Your Dog React To Strangers? – Part 1
When you get a new dog, whether it is an adult dog from a shelter, or a new puppy, getting acquainted with your pet is an important first step. With a new puppy, teaching a puppy good manners at a young age will go a long way toward establishing a lasting relationship with your dog.
If you have gotten an adult dog, learning his habits and traits is paramount. Does he have good house manners? Is he house trained? Is he a counter surfer? Does he chew furniture? Does he bark at every noise? These are some of the things you must learn and work on from the day you get your dog.
The one thing you must learn that is of most importance is How Does Your Dog React To Strangers? What is going to happen when family and friends show up to see your new Dog? How are you going to handle it when he runs to the door when the doorbell rings? Is he going to jump on them tail wagging? Or is he going to snap and growl? Putting you dog in a restricted are of the house, behind a Pet Gate
is a good way to eliminate any unwanted surprises until introductions have been made.
A Road Trip – Part 9
The end of any road trip brings the dreaded un-packing part. The van that was so neatly loaded with everything in it’s proper place is now a mess. The suitcases which were neatly packed are now merely, dirty laundry baskets. The Kennel Carriers need to be removed from the van cleaned and vacuumed. At least the dogs waited until after the shows to start shedding their winter coats.
Even though we had Kennel Carriers in the van, we also has wire dog crates to set up in the different hotel rooms and soft sided crates to set up in the show areas, so the dogs could relax between events. We also had Portable Exercise Pens 
for the dogs. To say the least the van was loaded.
After the van has been emptied vacuumed and cleaned, the dog kennels cleaned and all the other item put in their proper place, the laundry done, the dogs brushed out and the grooming supplies replenished, we can relax and recover from the long but enjoyable journey.
A Road Trip – Part 8
The Trip Home from a national specialty show is always hard and a bit depressing because the time goes so fast. These shows occur only every two years and many of the friends we see only at this event. This is on top of the fact that we didn’t win as often as we would have liked, we ate out every meal and I gained ten pounds.
The dogs however are quite happy. They are sound asleep in their Kennel Carriers
, after having just eaten their morning meals. A few hours from know we will stop in a rest area on the interstate to exercise us and the dogs and replenish their water supply. This exercise will take place several times over the 1300 mile trip.
We arrived home mid day of the second day of the return trip the dogs had been away from home for ten days and were excited to be home. We pulled the van thru the gate to our five acre dog farm. After I had closed the gate. I opened the van door and let the dogs out of their kennels. The race was on! The dogs made two laps around the house before we could pull the van into it’s normal parking place. Ten days of pent up energy being unleashed before our eyes. The dogs were glad to be home.
A Road Trip – Part 7
The show is over, it was such fun, now the hardest part has just begun! Saying goodbye!
Traveling around this great country of ours with our dogs is great fun. Wherever we go we meet new friends and visit old ones that we haven’t seen since we were last at a particular show. We spend some time plotting venues where we can meet again and do shows together.
It is now time to pack up the Grooming Supplies, Soft crates
, luggage, and the dreaded dirty laundry. All this suff fit nicely into the van when we started the trip. Now it seems we have doubled our space requirements and it isn’t because we have one a lot of trophies. Maybe it’s because someone in our household has purchased a lot of memorabilia. It is important stuff she
Says. Oh Well! It’s all packed up, The dog are in their Kennel Carriers and we’re Off, headed for home.
A Road Trip – Part 6
We Won A Prize!!!
Some dogs perform in Conformation Dog Shows. Some Dogs perform in Obedience Dog Shows. Some Dogs perform in Agility, Herding or Tracking. And some do several of these.
A Dog who performs is more than one venue can earn a title called versatility. An ambitious dog and handler can earn more then one versatility title. In fact he can earn as many titles for versatility as he can muster by earning a new title in more than one venue per year. It is a lot of work to train a dog to do well in one venue. To train a dog to excel in more than one is an accomplishment.
Fido and his sister Fida each won new Versatility titles for their hard work last year and soon will be heading home to relax. The training never stops, but the grooming is over for awhile and they can roll in the grass get muddy or just do whatever And they won’t have to be on leash to do it.
Fida will chase rabbits in the her back yard while Fido is going to just plain crash.
A Road Trip – Part 5
A Conformation Dog Show is the most commonly known part of the dog show agenda. The most famous of which is the Westminster Dog show which is held in New York each spring.
To the professional breeders and handlers it is the cream de la cream. It is what they work their whole lives for. It is important to them because it by invitation only. To the amateur breeder it is a beauty contest for those who can afford to pay the entry fees to enough shows to earn enough Points to get invited.
The dogs are shown on leash
. They are taken around the ring by the handler to display their graceful movement, and are judged by the standard for their breed. The judge looks for things such as proper size, color, temperament, and sometimes who is on the other end of the leash.
Even though it is not always a level playing field it is a fun sport. The hard part about conformation is having someone tell me that another dog is better than my Fido.
A Road Trip – Part 4
There are two major event components to an all breed or a specialty dog show. Conformation, which is the beauty contest, and obedience, which makes up a large portion of the performance events.
Obedience is broken down into several categories: Novice for beginners, Open for trained dogs who have completed their Novice titles, Utility for the most advanced dogs who have completed their Open titles and for those dogs who wish to continue to compete as an advanced Utility dog.
In the Novice class many of the exercises are done with the dog on leash
. However the fun begins for the novice handler when he takes the leash off for the final exercises of the competition. For the trained dog, this is routine. For the not so trained dog this is an adventure.
The Open and Utility exercises are all completed off leash. The Final exercises in the Novice class are called Sits and Downs. Which is where all the dogs in this class sit side by side for one minute with the handlers standing across the ring with their arms and fingers crossed while the dogs ponder their next moves. Then there is the Three minute down stay exercise. All the dogs must lay side by side for three minutes with their handlers across the ring. Again with their arms and fingers crossed. This is the longest three minutes there is. Good dogs go to sleep, The others, Well come to a dog show near you and enjoy the entertainment and pity the humbled handlers.
A Road Trip – Part 3
It has been said many times: Grooming your dog is an important component of dog ownership. Know body wants to see a Shaggy un-kept dog. Except in the movies. This is especially important at a dog show where the dog’s appearance is paramount to any success he may have in the show.
The best produces are used form Shampoos to self-rinse, a self rinsing cleaner used for stains and hard to whiten areas. Self rinse is also used for the overall appearance of the dog. High quality scissors are use for trimming and quality brushes and combs are a necessity.
You can purchase these items in a grooming kit
or buy them individually. Shampoo is purchases in large or small quantities depending on need. The grooming area at a dog show is a great place to visit and learn the secrets of good grooming. The groomers and dog handlers are very friendly and helpful in promoting good grooming and care for your dog.
A Road Trip – Part 2
After the event in Part – 1 ( Chasing a dog down the interstate) We thought we had experienced the worst thing that could happen to a dog owner on an interstate, and for us it probably was. But what we saw over the next few minutes would send chills down anyone’s spine. Well most anyone.
The speed on the interstate we were traveling was 75 miles per hour. We were passed by a pick-up truck going much faster. In the back of the pick-up was a dog kennel. Inside was a dog getting a high speed ride. His owner was thoughtful enough to put him in a Kennel Carrier.
A few minutes later another pick-up truck passed us, also going at a high rate of speed. In the back of the pick-up was a dog, very frightened dog. He was loose in the back of a pick-up that was going at a high rate of speed.
If we took a vote as to the most responsible owner I would say neither one.
A Road Trip – Part 1
In the preceding series of blogs we talked about getting ready for a road trip. In this series we are going to talk about the good things the happen on a road trip as well as the worst things that can and sometimes do go wrong. After about four hours of driving it was time to stop and walk the dogs. Not only to give them some much needed exercise but also to let them take care of business. We used Flexi – leashes to walk the dogs because it allows them to move around and not feel to restricted.
About four hours later it was time to stop again and repeat the procedure another rest area on the interstate. It was at this rest area that one of the worst f
ears of any dog owner was realized. As the leash was being attached to the collar, the dog lunged as before the leash clasp was firmly attached, and the clasp became disengaged and the dog was free. Realizing his new found freedom, Fido got a big grin on his face and decided to play you can’t catch me. He stood there until I reached for his collar and then he moved away from me about Ten yards and stood and watched for my next move.
At this point, several people nearby, friends and strangers alike, moved to surround and catch him. Fido looked around and the chase was on. After about a half mile down the interstate, he decided he’d had his fun and came back to us. He got his exercise and so did we. Chasing a loose dog along an interstate is a scary thing. It can happen to anyone, and it happened to me.