Dogs

Patient Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

 

It amazes me how much patience a dog has.

We landed at a camping site north of Lake Superior on the Ontario side, and a squirrel ran by. The dogs, of course, wanted to chase it.

While we got the campsite ready, we leashed the dogs – keeping the squirrel population safe.

Forty-five minutes later, with no sighting of the squirrel, we let the dogs off-leash. The second we were free, they sprinted to the tree the squirrel was hiding in, and circled its base. The squirrel remained safe, but our dogs were doing their duty and protecting us from this scary forest monster.

Before being let off-leash, the dogs sat waiting by the picnic table, pretending they weren’t interested in anything. Did they trick us? Is it their nature to be strategic? . . . Or, were they resigned to being on a leash and saw no point in reacting until they were free?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I love the entertainment a dog provides our family!

 

FARLEY GOES TO THE DOG PARK

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Dog parks are a great place for dogs to play and socialize with other dogs. Farley, our wheaten terrier, travels often. He’s covered the east coast of the US 5 times, driven from Panorama BC to Ottawa, ON,  and driven from Ottawa to Winnipeg 6 times.

You get the idea . . . he travels a lot. This means he is often at a dog park where he’s the unknown dog.

We’ve had some great experiences and some not so great.

One of our favourite dog parks in Delaware, USA.

The one issue we look out for is a dog park that doesn’t have a lot of transient dogs. We’ve found that a park full of dogs that aren’t used to a new comer can be a problem. Farley has been the recipient of aggressive, territorial behaviour.

I’ve learnt when entering a new park for the first time, to talk to the other dog owners and see what works best for introducing our pup to others. We’re the newcomers so we need to adapt to the others. After that, it’s all fun and games.

This week Farley is representing a dog park the he’s never been to, but has friends in the neighbourhood. The Doylestown Dog Park has posted Farley’s photo as their cover photo. Check it out if you get the chance.

Puppy Love

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

 

I couldn’t resist posting this photo.  Kids, dogs and toys are a great mix. Bringing home two new puppies on the same day almost four years ago was a happy moment day. What more could anyone want?

 

Can you find . . .

Farley (Wheaten Terrier – 9 weeks old)

Piper (Border Terrier – 8 weeks old)

Murphy (Rottweiler – 4 years old)

 

Wheaten Terriers, Water and Kids

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

 

Do Wheaten Terriers like to swim?

Do they get along well with kids?

Are they good on boats?

I think this photo says it all. Farley spends his days in the summer in the lake with the kids. Lots of excitement, exercise, and fun.

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Dog Pack Dynamics

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Three adults, three kids and three dogs in one mini-van make it through 2000 km of driving.

Murphy (Rottweiler), Piper (Boarder Terrier) and Farley (Wheaten Terrier) get crammed into the van.

Murphy is clearly the alpha as he is in most situations. Farley and Piper are fairly even in the pack, but I think Farley is a little higher in the pack order.

Murphy and Piper met Farley in Winnipeg. The dogs went for a long off-leash romp before we put them in the car together. Any pack issues had to be worked out before they were in the van with the kids.

Each has its own type of food. When I was a kid, the dogs ate whatever we had. It wouldn’t have occurred to us to bring three kinds of food for three dogs. Add in leashes, bowls, grooming kit, towels and poop bags and they need room for their gear.

In the hot summer weather, we made sure we had enough water in the car for all three.  Keeping everyone (including the kids) happy meant water and food on a regular basis. The dogs didn’t want to eat until we were settled in the campground and ate less than they normally do.

Murphy saved throwing up until he was in the tent and the suitcase was open. Gotta love the glamour that comes with dog ownership.

Dealing with an alpha male brings its own challenges.

Murphy drank first, then the other two had access to the water.

Murphy got in the car first, then the other two.

You get the idea.

It was a great trip. Would I do it again? You bet. Travelling with a pack is a riot.

Is It Ever Too Early Too Teach Your Dog To Sit?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments
We said, ‘SIt.” We didn’t’ say where.

#Dogs

Nope, I don’t think so.

Our wheaten terrier, Farley, arrived at our house when he was 8 weeks olds. The first command we taught him was SIT. We did this in a gentle manner.

  • Watch the puppy.
  • Right as he starts to sit, say, “Sit.”
  • Praise the puppy with a calm pat to the head.
  • He’ll figure out the meaning of the word in no time.

But how does this stop him from jumping up on people? Make the dog sit before petting him – EVER.  This will teach the dog not to jump on people. You need the help of your friends and family. A new puppy is cute, and who doesn’t want to pick him up. But, he has to learn he can’t jump on people, so before your friends, family or strangers pet or pick up your pet, make sure the animal sits first.

Wheaten Terriers are well known for jumping on people, but even a Wheaten can be trained not to jump. I believe this is as important for small dogs, as it is for large dogs.

I also used the SIT command to stop my pup from begging. When he first arrived in our home, and we sat at the table to eat, he was told to sit. We never feed him from the table, and he doesn’t beg. This makes it easy to bring him places, like happy hour on the beach, and he won’t bother other people.

The trick is consistency. It’s hard to resist the cuteness, but if you can, you puppy will become an easier to live with adult dog.

Dogs, Toys and Bad Ideas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#dogs The last two Friday’s I’ve posted about dog toys and thought I’d continue on that theme.

Sometimes a fun idea turns into a bad idea. So here’s ours.

My crazy wheaten terrier, FARLEY,  had a great time playing with the ball fender. All was good until he decided to eat it. Then, he thought all fenders were meant to be eaten.

So what was I thinking when I allowed him to play with the fender? He was occupied and we could concentrate on what we needed to get done on the boat. Okay, so I didn’t think that on through.

When boating, don’t let your dog chew lines, fenders or any other item that you might need. Even it’s an old line, the dog doesn’t know that.

As they say, learn as you go? Learn from your mistakes? At least I’m learning in this adventure of owning a dog. 🙂

Dogs and Toys Continued

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#Dogs

Mother nature can provide free toys. This lab, retriever and rottweiler have figured out how to play nice together.

Even when we gave Chica, Henna and Murphy one stick each, they all wanted the same one. And aren’t they proud.

My only caution about this toy nature gave us. They are sharp and can hurt the dog. Be careful when throwing a stick. It can land with one end in the ground and the other pointing into the air. The pointy end can stab the dog.

Having said that, have fun and play hard! 🙂

Dogs and Toys

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#dogs

Do you let your dog play with stuffed toys?

Clearly we do. But there are some drawbacks.

If the toy contains stuffing, then the dog might eat it when it rips the seams apart. That can’t be good for the dogs stomach. To solve this, we’ve found stuffed toys at pet stores that don’t contain stuffing. That probably means they aren’t called stuffed toys 🙂 We also look for toys that don’t have buttons, eyes, or anything else Farley, my wheaten terrier, could swallow.

Chica at 8 weeks old with her favourite toy.

Farley doesn’t have this issue, but our Yellow Lab, Chica did. She thought all stuffed toys belonged to her. That meant, the unsuspecting child walking down the street would innocently hand Chica the toy. Chica consistently ran away with it. The child would cry. Not a good scene. We had to learn to get Chica under control when kids were around playing with stuffed toys. Lucky for us, we returned every toy unharmed and convinced each child Chica was only playing with them.

Any thoughts on toys for dogs?