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Well I am always scouring the news on TV, in newspapers and on the net for stories relating to dogs. I’ve come up with a mixed bag this week and unfortunately 3 out of the 4 are not overly cheerful.

My favorite without a doubt is the story of the little girl in Arizona who was missing for 15 hours from her family home when she was rescued she said that she had been kept warm by the family dog.

Keighley solicitor rescues girl in Bradford dog terror

3-Year-Old Kept Alive In Frigid Temps By Family Dog

Moulting is every dog-owner’s problem. Could Lycra be the solution?

Nottinghamshire force ‘learned lessons’ over dog deaths

Another great dog related quote this week is attributed to the singer Cheryl Cole who has allegedly now left her allegedly very cheating husband Ashley Cole. She has apparently stated that all that she wants to take with her from the marriage are the two dogs. She has previously been quoted as saying that the dogs are her only trusted companions. Apologies for all the “alegedlys” but to be honest who knows what is what.

Next week I am going to start writing a little more about how the family unit has got on integrating Fig into the family over the past year. Looking back the journey has been quite bumpy with lots of help needed on the way from various sources, friends, blogs, dog training manuals and from acquaintances that I have made on Twitter.

It seems like forever since I last wrote a post for this blog, you start out with such good intentions and then you get distracted by other things. Life is of course ever changing but I think that I can now hold up my hands and say that I was badly prepared to become a home schooler, move house and change career all in a period of 4 months. With all of that going on it was quite a whirlwind end to 2009 for our entire household including Fig.

I have so much material to share with everyone about the continuing work that we are doing with Fig, he has become an intrinsic part of the family however we are still working on some of the traits that he gained as a stray. He is a great source of fun and love around the house but can often be overly anxious and neurotic if some external stimuli sets him off.

His socialization with other animals is an ongoing struggle, we are well on the way to winning the war but there have been plenty of set backs on the way.

On a sad note the poor hamster died in December of natural causes. My youngest daughter now has her eyes on some goldfish lets hope that they don’t have the same effect on Fig that the Hamster did!

It’s going to take a few days to get the material into some kind of order but I hope that by mid February I will be well on the way to posting regular updates.

I have found that the training of a rescue dog can be very challenging. I have met some great people along the way that have shared their stories with me and ensured that this has not been a long and lonely road. I have also happened across many techniques/tools/books some good and some really not so good that I will also be sharing with you.

Oh and at last we think we know what breed he is….he seems to be at least part Patterdale Terrier…this is still of course open to vigorous debate everyone has a different opinion but part Patterdale seems to be the most likely yet.

Summer is of course upon us and we are venturing to the countryside in a few weeks so I am currently researching about ticks and will post an article on this issue early next week.

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No matter how bad of a day it was, one thing is for certain – your dog is going to be glad to see you when you come home.  Play time with your canine friend is both rewarding and mentally healthy – for both of you.

How can you make your time more enjoyable?  Most of us play ball with our dogs, or teach them simple tricks so we can impress our friends and neighbors who visit. These simple ideas can become boring over time.  Here are some more creative ideas for enjoying time with your pet:

1) Tug-of-War:  Most dogs love playing tug-of-war with an old blanket, sheet, or towel.  Simply roll it up, let your dog bite into it, and then pull on the other end.  Wave it back and forth and up and down for more action.  Just be sure to keep it from getting too rough so no one gets hurt!  If your dog gets too aggressive, simply command him or her to “leave it”, then put away the toy.

2) Find –a-Treat: Command your dog into a “down” position, then hide a treat for him or her.  Your dog will enjoy sniffing all around the area to find the treat.  After you master this game, hide the treat along with a small child and command the dog to find the child.  The child then can hand the dog the treat, building a bond between your dog and your child.  This trick can be quite useful in the event of an emergency, where your child needs to be found!

3) Hide-and-Go-Seek: Command your dog into a “down” position while you hide.  Call your dog, and let him or her find you.  Have a treat ready to reward your faithful canine when you are found.

4) Clean Up Your Toys: Place a small box or bucket on the floor, and then scatter dog toys on the floor surrounding it.  Gently coax or tease your dog to bring them to you.  Reward him or her each time she brings you a “gift” with a little treat.  Drop each item in the box as the dog gives it to you.  Many dogs get the hint and start dropping the items in the bucket themselves; others need a little more coaxing.  Be sure to praise your dog well once the toys are placed in the bucket.

5) Digging for Buried Treasure: Some dogs simply live to dig.  Since letting them tear up our yard is rarely an option, another idea is to get a sandbox for your dog or set aside a small section of your yard for digging.  Bury a few treats or favorite toys in this designated space, and let your puppy dig them out.

Dogs, just like people, are happier when they are not bored.  Playing games with your dog will keep him or her happy, youthful, and sharp – not to mention excited to see you come home.

This article is provided by PetGadgets.com

Innovative, unique and high-tech products that make life more enjoyable for you and your pet.

I cannot believe the amount of people who do not do this. You have to train your dog to stop barking for your sanity and for your neighbors sanity.

There is no need for your dog to be barking excessively if you are taking care of him properly, seeing to his needs routinely and providing him with the companionship and stimulation that he needs.

Dogs will always bark a little, it’s there way of communicating but the only reason that they bark excessively is if you are not providing them with something they need.

If you have a puppy you can train it to bark and stop barking on demand using positive training methods at that age it is easier to do but you can achieve the same results with an older dog it just takes longer.

All you need to do is get yourself a reliable dog training manual, set a little time aside and start, go on you can do it!

I have to say that however good Fig is and however much his aggressive behavior towards other animals have improved I am worried about our up and coming vacation, I am not sure that I can cope with a barking dog farm experience.

You see I am having a wobbly day, Figs lapse last week during the heatwave has slightly dented my confidence. It brought home to me the fact that we have trained him for the things that occur in his daily life but that events outside your control can upset routine and undo a lot of your hard work.

Anyway we have about 8 weeks to go before we go away so I think that it is time for a to start a routine to start to desensitize him to a new environment i.e. the sea, farms, farm animals and so on. Research, preparation and training is going to be key to having a nice relaxing family vaccation.

I’ll let you know how it goes! Needless to say the dog training manual is being dusted off as we speak lol

June 25, 2009

June 27, 2009

June 28, 2009

• Dog Adopts Wolf Cub (neatorama.com)
• China carries out mass dog cull: 37000 animals clubbed to death to contain rabies (telegraph.co.uk)
• Dogs Trained to Recognize Low Blood Sugar (blisstree.com)
• Dog-bite victim blames owners, not pit bull (timesunion.com)

So you might ask yourself why on earth am I talking about it, well it’s to head off questions about it really. I am often asked about it so I thought I would share my opinion, feel free to post some comments and agree or disagree.

In summary I would have to say that it’s a good secondary book to have as a dog training manual especially if you have kids or grandkids who want to get involved with the training as the instructions are fairly easy to read and follow.

Dog Training For Dummies (For Dummies (Pets))

Part of the training process as a dog training manual will tell you is to introduce your pet to new experiences in a controlled manner. Of course life does not always go as you plan!

My daughter has a small furry creature otherwise know as a Syrian Hamster. All went well for the first few days at home the dog completely ignored the hamster even though it was in plain sight and made quite a noise. We were fully prepared to make an introduction once the dog seemed settled enough in his new environment.

The plan was to have the dog on his lead in the sitting room with the hamster already in there. Once he noticed and started to make a fuss we were going to ignore him but as soon as he stopped making a fuss we would praise him and/or give him a treat. the reason for doing it this way was so that everyone was calm and prepared for what was going to happen.

Unfortunately my youngest daughter brought a friend home from school to meet our new dog. He was quite excited at meeting a new person when she decided it would be fun to pick up the dog (he is a small/medium sized terrier) and show him the hamster. Well, all hell broke loose, the dog started barking and twisting in her arms as he desperately tried to get to the hamster. Of course the girls reaction to this was not calm there was a lot of screeching and uproar which just fueled his behavior even further.

This impacted really negatively on the dogs training because he was very unsettled. It took a lot of effort to repair the situation and get back on track. There was constant whining and attempts by the dog to try and find the hamster. He would build himself up into a frenzy which would make him anxious and at times distressed.

I took it upon myself to try and start the introduction process all over again, day by day I would sit with the dog on his lead with the hamster in the room ignoring his bad behavior and rewarding his good behavior. This process was extremely long and drawn out, as you should only make the introductions short and end them as soon as the dog has been rewarded for his good behavior, we are at the stage where he can be in the room with the hamster without making a fuss, sometimes he slips up but is easily distracted by a diversion into forgetting the hamsters presence. He can be left alone for short periods of time in the same room as the hamster without chaos ensuing but we don’t make a habit of leaving them alone together.

Things are slowly getting better, we are taking baby steps with this one as he seems to have a terriers natural aversion to small furry creatures.

Any way this is Fig who is the inspiration for this journey to the ultimately trained family pet!

Getting a new dog and settling it into family life can be a little challenging so it is important to get the right support from the start to resolve any complications.

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