Dogs

Silly Dog!

2009-04-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

I found this video and picture filmed 2 years ago! Time flies!

Dog Guide

2008-11-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

Training your dog is part of being a responsible dog owner. Not only does your dog's ability to respond to simple commands make him a more enjoyable pet to be around, but the process of training your dog is a natural bonding experience between you and your canine friend.

Every well-mannered dog should know at least five basic commands: heel, sit, down, stay and come. Once your dog has these commands under his belt, he can now take a test to prove he's a smarty pants. By taking the Canine Good Citizenship test, started in 1989 by the American Kennel Club, Fido can be certified as a pleasure to be around. Designed to demonstrate a dog's ability to be a respected and respectful member of the community, any dog can take the test — mixed or purebreed — and those that pass all 10 segments receive a Canine Good Citizenship certificate from the AKC. For more on the program go to the American Kennel Club.

Sit

Hold the treat directly above the dog's head.
When the dog's eyes follow the food, his head will tilt back and his hind legs will begin to fold under him to offset his body position, causing him to sit naturally.
As the dog's back legs begin to bend, say: "Sit."
When the dog fully sits, give him the treat.

Once the sit command is understood, reduce and then eliminate the food reward, always praising the dog as he sits obediently.

Down

While the dog is in the "sit" position, hold a treat near its nose and move the treat downward.
As his nose follows the treat, move your hand forward in front of his face.
As he starts to lower himself, give the command: "Down."
Move your hand farther down and forward until the dog is fully lying down.
Immediately praise him with: "Good, down!"
Reward him with the treat.

Stay

During early training for "stay," you should use a short leash so the dog is aware of your control.
With the dog in the "sit" position say, "Stay" and with your palm facing the dog to reinforce the "stay" command, move a small step away while maintaining eye contact.
After a brief pause, reward the dog with praise and a food treat for remaining in position.
Don't be too effusive in praise or say his name, as he will probably break his stay to come to you.
Repeat the exercise, gradually increasing the length of the pause.
If the dog breaks the stay, make him sit and repeat the exercise with a shorter pause before giving the treat.
Once the dog masters this, use a longer, slack leash to maintain control and gradually move farther away as the dog remains in the "stay" position.

Release

With the dog in the "stay" position, reward him for his stay with a treat.
Stand in front of him, open your arms and say, "OK!" or your own personal choice for a release word.
Then reward this behavior with a treat.

Come

The dog should know how to sit and stay.
Move away, turn to face the dog, call him and while motioning with palm inward, say "Come."
When the dog reaches you, command the dog to sit, and then give him his food reward.

Heel

With the leashed dog in the "sit" position on your left side, hold the treat in your right hand.
Say the dog's name, followed by, "Heel."
Walk, left foot first, holding the treat just over the dog's nose and doling out little bits to encourage him.
Keep the dog on a tight leash.
Ideally, your dog should pace himself so that his shoulder is in line with your left knee.

Reward him with larger treats when he does this.

http://animal.discovery.com/guides/dogs/dog-training/training/commands.html
This was copied from the site above, I thought this was useful information.

Halloween Dog

2008-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Reese has a Hot Spot!

2008-07-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Poor Reese! I came back from vacation two weeks ago and found that she had a Hot spot. Here some info from a site on what they are. Hot spots are surface skin infections caused when populations of normal skin bacteria grow and overwhelm normal resistance. They are generally circular patches that lose hair, can be swollen, may exude a smelly pus, and can be painfully itchy, causing the dog to scratch, lick, or bite to the point of self-mutilation. Untreated hot spots can spread and provoke a normally even-tempered dog to growl or nip when touched. The image above was not Reeses and hers was not the same. Nasty! We got her a lamp shade to prevent her from biting it but was worthless. We took her to the vet and the gave her a bigger one. She banged that up in like two day. But we kept it on, and recently took it off.

Drying Off!

2008-06-08T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today I took Missy a bath! On the left is me and Missy. She was very wet!

2008-06-07T19:51:00.001-07:00

Missy, My New Dog

This is Missy. My cousin gave her to us. It is her dog but she is staying with us for a while. My cousin gave her to us because where she lives now. Missy is very spoiled. She is our only dog aloud to go on the couch and sleep with us. I love Missy.

Posted by: Athena

2008-06-07T19:27:00.001-07:00

Reese's Puppy Pictures

2008-06-07T19:26:00.002-07:00

The story about getting my puppy

This is the story on how I got my puppy...
A day before my dad's birthday we were looking
in the news paper to look at puppy's for sale because
I wanted to get that for my dad's birthday.
My dad wanted a boarder collie so we found a
boarder collie for sale so we headed off to
the owner of the boarder collie puppy.
once we got there we looked at the puppies
and they were covered in ticks!So we decided
to leave.

We looked in the news paper for more puppies
but there were no more boarder collies!
But there was a golden retriever for sale.
Even though my dad didn't want a golden retriever
we went to look at those puppies.

Once we got to the house where the
puppies for sale we got out of my car.
When we looked at the puppies they looked
in good shape but we didn't know what puppy to
choose!There were two boys left and two girls left.
I wanted to pick a girl so we looked at the girls.
One was a very light color.And the other puppy
was like a tan color.So we picked the...............
Tan puppy!I decided to call her Reese.

The next day when it was my dad's birthday he went to work.
Then we went to my dad's work a put Reese in a basket and went to my dad's
room.He opened the basket and was surprised.That was my story!

2008-06-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

Reese's Hair Cut

A picture of Reese when she got a hair cut.
Reese's Hair Cut

One day my dog Reese needed a hair cut. So then we called
the groomers.We made an appointment at12:00 p.m.So then we took her there.
When we got there Reese was scared to go in the cage.But we got her in.Then we went home and
waited till about 2:00 p.m. and went to pick her up.When we were going to pick her up I was so excited to see how she looks.So we picked her up and she looked so cute!And we she got home everybody thought she was so cute to.

2008-06-07T19:24:00.002-07:00

Animals

2008-06-07T19:24:00.001-07:00

Miniature Pinscher & Shiba Inu

Miniature Pinscher

Average height:
9 3/4 to 11 3/4 inches
Average weight:
8 to 11 pounds
Coloring:
various shades of brown

Origins:Miniature Pinschers come from Germany,where pinscher means "biter".Also they are not Doberman Pinscher-their not even related!

Shiba Inu

Average height:
14 1/4 to 15 1/2 inches
Average weight:
up to 25 pounds
Coloring:
red;red & white; white;white & black;black & tan;salt & pepper

Origins:Shiba Inu's go way back to the seventh century in Japan.Today there are more pet Shibas in Japan than any other breed!

Posted by: Athena
0 comments

2008-06-07T19:23:00.001-07:00

Cat & Dog Diseases & Disorders

Dogs could have canine equivalent of breast cancer.
Dogs could have aggressive behavior.
Cats can be diagnosed with feline leukemia.
Cats can have improper food absorption witch is when they have flaky skin,and weight loss.
Dogs can have a mysterious,hard to treat fungal condition that damages the lungs called valley fever.These cases are examples of an insidious,unsuspected epidemic that sickens,weakens,and kills companion animals before their time.Pure and mixed breeds,males and females,neutered,spayed,and intact animals: all are at risk.Because of this unrecognized epidemic,veterinarians are seeing an increase in the following:

Cancer
Autoimmune disorders
Relentless skin allergies with inflammation,ulceration,and itchiness
Severe hypersensitivity to food and insect bites
Chronic bacterial,viral,and fungal infections
Feline retroviruses and urinary syndrome
Inflammatory bowl disease
Inability to develop protective antibodies from vaccinations
Obesity

2008-06-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

This is Aussie as a puppy.Now she is already eight years old!

2008-06-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Dog Anatomy

Physical characteristics

Skeleton of a domestic dog

Like most predatory mammals, the dog has powerful muscles, a cardiovascular system that supports both sprinting and endurance, and teeth for catching, holding, and tearing.

The dog's ancestral skeleton provided the ability to run and leap. Their legs are designed to propel them forward rapidly, leaping as necessary, to chase and overcome prey. Consequently, they have small, tight feet, walking on their toes; their rear legs are fairly rigid and sturdy; the front legs are loose and flexible, with only muscle attaching them to the torso.

Although selective breeding has changed the appearance of many breeds, all dogs retain the basic ingredients from their distant ancestors. Dogs have disconnected shoulder bones (lacking the collar bone of the human skeleton) that allow a greater stride length for running and leaping. They walk on four toes, front and back, and have vestigial dewclaws (dog thumbs) on their front legs and sometimes on their rear legs. In some cases, these claws are missing due to surgery, the rear dewclaws sometimes being removed to prevent the possibility of their being ripped off, or catching on something and breaking, especially in dogs with loose dewclaws. This practice is illegal in some countries.

The dog's ancestor was about the size of a Dingo, and its skeleton took about 10 months to mature. Today's toy breeds have skeletons that mature in only a few months, while giant breeds such as the Mastiffs take 16 to 18 months for the skeleton to mature. Dwarfism has affected the proportions of some breeds' skeletons, as in the Basset Hound.

These characteristics and basic structure also help when competing in dog shows or contests.

Morphology of a dog: carnivorous domestic mammal raised to perform various tasks for humans.

Ear: organ of hearing.
Nape: back of the neck.
Neck: part of a dog that connects the head to the trunk.
Withers: part of the dog between the back, the neck and the shoulders.
Back: upper part of a dog's trunk.
Hip: joint connecting the rear leg to the pelvis.
Rump: hindquarters of a dog.
Buttock: fleshy part under the tail.
Tail: extension of the spinal column.
Thigh: upper part of the rear leg.
Leg: lower part of the rear leg.
Hock: point of the part of the rear leg below the knee.
Cannon bone: part of the rear leg behind the knee.
Hind leg: rear limb.
Belly: lower part of the abdomen.
Chest: lower part of the thorax.
Wrist: joint between the paw and the rest of the rear leg.
Fore leg: front limb.
Breast: front of the body of a dog.
Shoulder: joint that connects the foreleg to a dog's body.
Cheek: part on the side of the head of a dog.
Mouth: entrance to the digestive tract.
Tip of nose: nose of a dog.
Nose: front of the head of a dog, just above the nose.
Eye: sight organ.
Fore head: upper part of the dog's face.

Internal anatomy of a dog: carnivorous domestic mammal raised to perform various tasks for humans.

Encephalon: seat of the intellectual capacities of a dog.
Spinal column: important part of the nervous system.
Stomach: part of the digestive tract between the esophageus and the intestine.
Spleen: hematopoiesis organ that produces lymphocytes.
Kidney: blood-purifying organ.
Rectum: last part of the intestine.
Bladder: pocket in which urine collects before being eliminated.
Penis: copulative male sexual organ.
Testicle: sperm-producing male sexual organ.
Intestine: last part of the digestive tract.
Liver: bile-producing digestive gland.
Heart: blood-pumping organ.
Lung: respiratory organ.
Trachea: tube that carries air to the lungs.
Esophageus: last part of the digestive tract.
Larynx: part of a dog's throat that contains the vocal cords.