Farley’s Friday: How a Dog Beats The Heat

March 1, 2013March 17, 2013 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

Cold fronts, warm fronts, what’s a dog to do?

Some days it’s just to hot to bear, and other days, I love the cool weather. The cold front passed through and we’re back to high temperatures.

The first thing that happens is my owner cuts my hairs. She’s always worried about me overheating, I just wish she’d taken classes on how to groom a Wheaten Terrier. I need to look my best when I head to the beach to meet the girls.

I don’t like to swim in water over my head, but there’s nothing like a cool walk in the water. So I have a little sand on my face. What’s the big deal? This shot was taken before Kristina ‘groomed’ me. I’m too embarrassed to post the after shot.

Woof woof.

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

July 20, 2012July 15, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley sitting 2008-10-29 — 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

July 13, 2012July 13, 2012 ~ 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 Shoes

June 15, 2012June 14, 2012 ~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley, my wheaten terrier, has decided it’s time to empty the closet. Guess boredom got the better of him, or he really likes shoes. He ‘dug’ the shoes out of the closet while laying on his side. When he was happy with the results, he gave me a look that said, “So what are you going to do a about.