Do you have a Bad Dog or a BAD MASTER?

I saw a dog being let out of a car, while I was dumping our RV’s tanks after one of our road shows.  As I watched this dog, I noticed it was sniffing every thing i.e. the grass under its paws, a single weed growing away from any others, a tree standing all alone and each time this dog sniffed an object, it would back away!

Dog sniffing flower

Shortly, the man who owned the dog came over to my RV and started talking to me.  We talked about how he had noticed my wife as she walked our TWO dogs, Buddy and Princess.  He was amazed that they seemed to stay right with her and did not  try to PULL her arm off like his ONE dog did all the time!  He asked me how I trained the dogs to do this.

Walking two dogs

I asked him how old was his dog?  He told me the dog was given to him by his aunt and he did not know the age. I told him about noticing how his dog was reacting to the outdoors!  I also told him, the dog seemed to be frightened and unsure of everything.  Then he told me the dog had always been in the aunt’s house or let out into its pen which was attached to the aunt’s house itself!  I told him his dog’s problem seemed to be along the lines of not being a socialized dog. In other words, his dog was not introduced to any thing else but his aunt’s house… simply put his dog was a house dog and did not know how to accept new and/or strange things.

This chance meeting got me to thinking about how our pets today have to adjust to our work schedules, our family’s coming and goings or our resting times. An example is this… dad and mom work days, the kids are in school, and the pet is all alone at home!  Is this fair to the dog?  When mom and dad get home, both are tired from work…doggie wants to play!  (You might consider a pet care center while at work, or someone to take your dog for a walk while you are at work or a dog walker).

Dog begging to play

So…you are now home from work or school… instead of getting up and going outside or walk somewhere to play with rover… rover is played with indoors i.e. tossing a ball down the hallway or across the room… OR is just told to go lay down!

Go lay down

Dog laying down

Today, most dogs are found in a city or urban home environment.  These are the dogs I am mostly talking about in this blog.  I have found that, farm dogs or dogs having large back yards to run around and play in, have a better chance at becoming a well socialized pet dog.  But some of this blog information can be applied to any pet dog you want to train as a COMPANION dog.

Man with dog..His Companion

When I say a companion dog, I am talking about a dog able to go with you and act civilized… i.e. it  gets out of the car and waits until you are ready to go, a dog which does not bark, growl, or seemingly tries to rip your arm off chasing something!  All of these bad behaviors can be corrected or at the least be improved!  First, remember this, a puppy or young dog will learn faster than an older dog.

Man training dog to shaking hands

So be patient and start by leashing your dog and taking a doggie walk. A doggie walk centers around Master and dog walk someplace where few people are met and master is able to interact with the dog by… reaching down and petting the dog, by rubbing or touching the dog all over its body and most importantly taking the time to sit down and rough house with that dog!  Why, you ask? It is this simple process which allows you and your dog to bond, to get to know each other’s voice tones, to get to know what is allowed and what is not allowed!  Look what happens on a typical doggie walk: master and dog walks along… dog tries to pull the leash taunt and go, master gently pulls the dog back and pets the dogs, talks to the dog using a soft re-assuring voice.  The walk continues again… at masters pace. I can assure you… this will be repeated many times, but with patience’s from you, your dog will learn to walk with you at YOUR pace.  Be sure to incorporate into your doggie walks a time I like to call, petting time.  Petting times get your dog used to being touched all over its body… this accomplishes two things. First, it lets the dog know through touch that master loves and cares for him.  Secondly, this all over touching will allow other people to pet you dog.

Child petting dog

When you take the time to rough house with your dog, you have to use many tones of your voice.  Over a period of time, you will see your dog begin to respond to a certain tone of your voice, in a certain way… i.e. he is biting you too hard, so using your loud, sharp voice you tell him… STOP. Without you knowing it your voice instantly lowers to a softer tone and you usually say something like…”come here boy, its o.k.”  This is that bonding I’m talking about!

Man playing fetch with dog

When you and your dog bond, the dog will do things and react in ways that will bring your approval voice… your dog will do better if your good voice is followed by a nice rub down too. And remember, if your dog is alone for long hours while you are at work…consider a doggie day care center while you are at work, or have someone some into your home to walk and spend some time with your dogs….or hire a dog walker.  I hope this blog helps you and your dog to get together better and enjoy each others company more… From all of us Doggie Dog Coats we wish you happy doggie walks!

Pets and Fire…Do you have a Plan?

Pets and Fire…Do you Have a Plan?

House on Fire

What happens to your pet dog if……?

We had a catastrophic fire on Presidents Day, February 18, 2013 which required an evacuation from the flaming home… without a moments hesitation!

Our house is on fire

The pets were rounded up gotten out of and away from the burning building… AND I MEAN JUST IN TIME!!

Fireman carrying pet

Hours later, after everyone was trying to settle down in our home… (You see the burning house was next door to our home and was being rented from us by our single- mother -daughter- Carole Jane…C J !  So… since C J had only the uniform she wore to work left and since… Austin, our grandson had only the clothes he wore left… we took them in!)… As they were trying to get a good night’s sleep, I just sat there in the dark thinking and thanking God for His protective Hands.

Giving thanks to God

Then, I suddenly thought about getting  J C’s two pet dogs out and away from those swift moving flames, hot gases and that acidic, blinding smoke… So I am writing this blog to pass on some very hard learned lessons that this catastrophic fire taught us, and maybe help you prevent suffering the loss of a beloved pet… or even a loved one!  So here I go with our lessons learned so far:

Have a fire escape plan

HAVE AN ESCAPE PLAN… AND PRACTICE IT!

Our fire started out with a lot of blinding, hot smoke… you couldn’t see where you were at or where you were going! Be sure your plans include not only the fastest way out, but also drop and crawl fast… the aim being to get out fast. Be sure every member of your family knows where the DOG LEASH is kept… believe me; you won’t have time to look for it!

Ditty bag with dog Supplies

Keep a small ditty bag next to your exit site…

it should contain a few of these items: bottled water, a non-breakable jar of dog treats, small bag/can of dog food, another dog leash (in case you need to tie Rover up to prevent him from getting in the way) and be sure to pack a “stress” toy for later use) and ask your Vet for his advise on what medications might be needed.

Written agreement for your pet

Written permission/ agreement for treatment

Ask a friend if they would be willing to dog sit in case you are not there or something happens to you.  Be sure and give this friend a written and signed permission slip to treat your pet as their own!  Just in case something would happen while Rover is in their care and you can’t be reached.

   I know you can not prepare for every single event in your life, but you can be prepared to act quickly when the need arises, simply because you have given fore thought to you and your pet’s safety!

All of us at Doggy Dog Coats hope these ideas will help you and your pet feel safer… Will help you put together a plan that answers the question…. What will happen to your pet if….?

Our Rescue Dog – Buddy

It seems like just yesterday when a nearby town announced an open house for their newly built animal shelter.  Prior to building this new shelter, animals were housed in an older worn down building.  At this time, we didn’t have a dog for a pet. But being good neighbors, we just wanted to see the new building out of curiosity. Our plans were not to get any dogs.  My husband and I arrived at the new building and remarked that the turn-out seemed great.  There were many people wondering around with their children and looking at the different rows of cages containing many different dogs, and cats.  We discovered, they even had a viewing room for families to play with a selected dog and see if that dog was suitable for taking home.  We even saw a family playing with one of the dogs.  All at once, I realized, my husband was missing.  I had been so engrossed looking at all the dogs that I had not realized he was no longer by my side.  So, I started going back around the cages, looking for my husband.  Suddenly, I noticed a cute cocker spaniel-terrier dog sitting in his cage looking up at a man looking down at him.  You could see there was no need for words being spoken between them …as their eyes communicated everything between them.  Yes, it was my husband.  While they continued to stare at each other my husband quietly… slowly… turned and looked at me with those cocker-spaniel like eyes.  No words needed to be spoken. My husband’s look was all that was needed.  My husband looked at me and said, “ his name is Buddy”.  And Buddy it was.  Yes…Buddy may had been a rescue dog to others …but…he has become a rescue to us… my husband said ” Buddy is not a dog, he is a child with a hair problem and has four feet to travel faster.”