How To Train Your Puppy Not to Bite
October 22, 2009 in News, Training
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by Kenn Bell
by Kenn Bell
BAXTER: The World’s OLDEST End Of Life Therapy Dog Passes On
October 22, 2009 in Charity, In Remembrance, News, Service Dogs
Baxter, the worlds best, most devoted, and oldest therapy dog, 19 years and 6 months, eased peacefully from his life on Friday afternoon, October 16th. Truly this dog is a blessing.
by Kenn Bell
by Kenn Bell
Using A Choke Collar Correctly… But ONLY If You Have To.
October 22, 2009 in Dog Safety, News, Training
I battled whether or not to show this video. I mean, I don’t believe in choke collars. In fact, I know of no one in the dog community that likes them.
But, they still sell them at pet stores and I see new dog owners buying them every day. So let me make one thing clear.
A choke collar is very capable of killing your dog!
Here’s a video about why you shouldn’t use them, but also, just as important, how to use it correctly and safely if you have to.
But please don’t. It’s the easy way out.
If any Dog Files Friends have any choke collar horror stories please share them with us. Maybe it will help choke collar users change their mind.
– Kenn
by Kenn Bell
Do You Jog With Your Dog? You Should.
October 22, 2009 in Health & Science News, Lifestyle News, News
By Mary Brophy Marcus For USA TODAY. Photo By Felix Ordonez.
There’s no better company on a jog than your dog. Dogs are always game for a frolic in the great outdoors and aren’t likely to complain about their bad back or sore tendons. There are other perks, too. If yours is a big dog, he can serve as body guard. If you’re lost (and he’s smart), he can help you find your way home. If you become hurt (and he’s really smart), he can go for help.
Jog and dog rhyme, too, which is nice.
Humor aside, keep in mind a few safety tips from Runtheplanet.com to keep your pooch fit as a fiddle for workouts on the road with you:
1. Your dog needs to get into shape, too. Don’t drag him out for 5 miles on your first run together. Build up distance slowly as you’d do for yourself.
2. If you also run with your tot in a baby jogger, don’t tie your pup to the stroller or the baby could get toppled if the dog darts off suddenly after a squirrel. Keep the leash gently looped in your hand.
3. Dirt and grass are cooler than asphalt for treading paws in summer
4. Take along extra water or jog near dog-drinkable water during long forays.
5. If you jog at night, put illuminated strips or color on your dog. Don’t forget to wear reflective clothes, too.
Breeds suited to jogging include Airedale Terrier, Alaskan Malamute, Australian Shepherd, Basenji, Bearded Collie, Border Collie, Boxer, Dalmatian, Doberman Pinscher, English Setter, English Springer Spaniel, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Samoyed, Siberian Husky and others.
by Kenn Bell
Dog Files Fact: Weimaraner
October 21, 2009 in Breed, Dog Files Fact, News
Photo by Craig Koshyk
Weimaraners were first bred by the court of Weimer in Germany during the early 19th century. While the dog’s earliest origins are something of a mystery, the historical record and various theorists have tried to fill in some of the holes. Some believe the Weimaraner is the result of albinism in an old breed of German pointing dog, while others claim to see traces of the Bloodhound in the Weim, and others still believe the Weimaraner is simply an amalgamation of many German hunting breeds. A Van Dyck painting from the early 1600s portrays dogs that bear a distinct resemblance to the Weimaraner, though it is impossible to prove whether they are related.
The Weimaraner is a pointer, and was originally used for hunting, tracking, and bringing down big game. They were popular in German courts for their speed, athleticism, sense of smell, courage and stamina. Because they have webbed feet Weimaraners are fine swimmers, and as big game became scarce in Germany the dog was put to use retrieving downed waterfowl from lakes and streams.
The Weimaraner was introduced to the United States in 1929 by Howard Knight. Up until that time it was extremely difficult to obtain a Weimaraner, as they were only sold to members of the German Weimaraner Club. After becoming a member himself, Knight began breeding the dogs in America, thereby propagating the once elusive breed. The Weimaraner was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1943; since then, the dog’s popularity as a family pet and a contestant in competitive obedience shows has steadily grown.
After World War II ended, many soldiers brought home stories of this wonderful, strangely colored dog known as the Weimaraner. As people heard of these stories many wanted this new Wonder Dog. The 1950′s all but destroyed the Weimaraner breed. It is said that, “the best bred dogs were unable to live up to the hyperbole that made the breed famous, and the mass-produced stock (from puppy mills) barely qualified as good companions”.
Since that time, breeders have struggled to recover this magnificient hunting and companion dog. Almost all that breed this dog also hunt with the dog. Their attitude is the only reason to breed is with the intention of improving the breed. Within six months a Weimaraner will go from a 3 pound puppy to a 70 pound dog with a mind of its own. It is not a plaything, nor should ownership be frivalous. Without proper training and socialization, this dog can become a neurotic, problem dog and almost impossible to manage.
Over the years, the Weimaraner has been used as a rescue dog, service dog for the disabled, and as a police dog in the UK and Germany.
In the 2002 Jennifer Lopez film Maid in Manhattan, senatorial candidate Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) owns a Weimaraner, which appears in multiple scenes.
The first president and founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, had a Weimaraner called Fox.
US President Dwight D. Eisenhower owned a Weimaraner named Heidi
The photographs of William Wegman prominently feature Weimaraners. His dogs (which included Man Ray—named after artist Man Ray—and Fay Ray—a play on Fay Wray) are the subject of his photos, dressed in human clothes. These pictures are popular both in galleries of contemporary art and as pop culture icons. These “dogs with hands” have appeared frequently on Sesame Street, and occasionally on Saturday Night Live.
A Weimaraner was also the subject of the music video for Blue Monday by the rock band New Order. This dog is the previously named Man Ray, since Wegman did the artwork for this clip
A neurotic Weimaraner named Beatrice (played by Can. Ch. Arokat’s Echobar Take Me Dancing) is featured in the movie Best in Show.
Singer Kate Bush poses with two Weimaraner on the cover of her 1985 album Hounds of Love
Actor Esai Morales (NYPD Blue) owns a Weimaraner named Frankie
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor had a female Weimaraner named Daisy May.
Grace Kelly (later Princess Grace of Monaco) had a Weimaraner, and there are photos of her playing with him during her trip to Monaco before her marriage to Prince Rainier.
A Weimaraner also makes an appearance in the movie Fever Pitch starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore.
Larry The Cable Guy adopted a Weimaraner from the Heartland Weimaraner Rescue
Queen Latifah owns a weimaraner named Isis.
Dick Clark owned a weimaraner.
by Kenn Bell
Do You Know What Your Dog is Thinking?
October 21, 2009 in Health & Science News, News
Thanks to Dog Files Fan, Shelley McMickell for the picture!
By Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM For Dogster.com
It is human instinct to attempt analysis of our pets’ thoughts. Many people truly believe that they have their dog figured out. But are our antrhopomorphic assessments of canine behavior accurate?
My years as a vet have caused me to suspect that some people have no idea whatsoever how their pet’s mind works. Consider the following true story.
A gentleman brought his dog to see me. The dog had urinated inside the house the previous day. The man thought he knew why.
Earlier on the day of the incident, the man had caught the dog sleeping on the sofa. The man believed that the dog knew the sofa was of limits. The dog therefore became embarrassed and responded later by urinating on the floor.
This made no sense to me on the face of things. Why would a dog respond to embarrassment by soiling the house?
Furthermore, as the man was telling me this story, the dog was busily grooming his hind end. Is an animal that will lick its anus in front of a complete stranger capable of feeling embarrassed? I didn’t think so, and I said as much to the owner. He was shocked, and I had no come back for his retort:
“Well doc, he may lick his butt here in the room, but, see, he knows he’s not allowed on the sofa, so he got embarrassed!â€
A recent issue of Time contained a fascinating article on canine thought. I was riveted as I read it. The article discusses attempts by researchers to learn more about how the dog mind truly works. It also discusses the evolution of dogs and a fascinating experiment in Siberia in which foxes have been bred to be remarkably similar to dogs over 40 generations.
But I was most interested in the article’s revelations on canine thought. Here are some quotes:
Trying to plumb the canine mind is a favorite pastime of dog owners. “Everyone feels like an expert on their dog,†says Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist at Barnard College and author of the new book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. But scientists had carried out few studies to test those beliefs–until now.
The first rule for scientists studying dogs is, Don’t trust your hunches. Just because a dog looks as if it can count or understand words doesn’t mean it can. “We say to owners, Look, you may have intuitions about your dog that are valuable,†says Hauser. “But they might be wrong.â€
We’ve all seen guilty dogs slinking away with lowered tails, for example. Horowitz wondered if they behave this way because they truly recognize they’ve done something wrong, so she devised an experiment. First she observed how dogs behaved when they did something they weren’t supposed to do and were scolded by their owners. Then she tricked the owners into believing the dogs had misbehaved when they hadn’t. When the humans scolded the dogs, the dogs were just as likely to look guilty, even though they were innocent of any misbehavior. What’s at play here, she concluded, is not some inner sense of right and wrong but a learned ability to act submissive when an owner gets angry. “It’s a white-flag response,†Horowitz says.
While this kind of manipulation may be unsettling to us, it reveals how carefully dogs pay attention to humans and learn from what they observe.
It turns out that dogs may not feel guilt. The question of embarrassment, however, is still open.
by Kenn Bell
