Brachy – what? Is Auntie Awesome posting about dinosaurs now? If you have never heard this term and are just making a wild guess at its meaning, then you probably don’t own one of the most popular breeds of purebred cats.
If you live long enough in the dog world, you eventually realize that the training method you were taught is now not just out of fashion, but downright vilified. Every decade or so, like a messiah fresh off the morning train from Mount Sinai, a new dog training guru proclaiming the good news of an infallible method, rises to be anointed by the public as the Chosen One, and to smite all the unbelievers.
A dog is not just a companion. He can be a hobby as well. There is a whole world of doggy things you can do for both his entertainment and yours. After having finally sorted out our initial problems, my beloved Toby and I started having major fun. After plunging into both conformation and obedience trials, for one brief glorious moment in time we put our toes into the world of sheep herding.
Before we acquired my beloved Toby the Terverun, we had two failed attempted with dogs. Neither of these dogs had been acquired of our own will. In both cases, well meaning but extremely misguided people had bestowed puppies upon us without asking us if we actually wanted a dog. In both cases, the people who did the giving were not people we felt we could say no to.
Puppy or adult? Mutt or purebred? Which breed? Breeder or rescue?
It’s easy to make an emotional decision about dogs. “Oh look, there’s a dog that has been horribly neglected. Let’s adopt him!” Or “Oh. My. God. Just look at how beautiful that breed is. I must have one.”
Once upon a time, I had the privilege and pleasure of raising a puppy for the Lion’s Foundation Guide Dogs in Oakville Ontario. Shoe was a terrific dog; intelligent, attentive, and willing. Cheerful, playful, but serious when it was time to work; affectionate and loyal.
I’ve told the story elsewhere of how the currents of sheer dumb luck brought me to a fantastic breeder who sold me my beloved Toby, a Belgian Terverun
Unless you simply want to know what collar or harness will do the least damage to your untrained dog as she pulls you down the street, you can’t talk about the ‘best’ dog collars and harnesses without talking about training.
Every summer we read the stories. Dogs suffering heat stroke, or being rescued from cars so they won’t suffer heat stroke. C’mon, this is a total no-brainer right? We know that dogs and cats don’t have a very efficient cooling system because they have no sweat glands except a few in their feet. Mostly they pant. It’s only common sense that big coated animals, old pets, sick or fat dogs and cats and those with pushed in faces are particularly susceptible.
You’ve gotten the scoop on low cost flights through Expedia. You’ve checked out primo restaurants and things to do on Trip Advisor. You’ve booked your hotel through hotels.com or Trivago. Then you look up from the laptop and see the dog looking at you judgementally. She knows you’ve forgotten about her.