While you wait for all those dog pictures to load, allow me to present some dog concepts. I claim dog mastery because once when I pulled up to my windsurfing spot, one of the other guys said, "here come the best behaved dogs in the bay area." OK, perhaps I only fooled one guy.
Dogs are great companions and playmates; they are not objects of art. Consider buying paintings to express your taste and select your dog based on the dog's emotional and physical needs. If you want an affectionate dog, avoid the large breeds. Also large dogs generate ten times more dog smells than small dogs, eat more, poop more, have more health problems, and don't live as long as smaller dogs. Big dogs can create so many problems inside that many people keep them outside where the dog suffers from isolation every waking hour. Of course this problem can be reduced if you get your best friend a friend. Of course dogs outside at night cause other problems.
Little Dogs Can Have Big Advantages
I am often amazed at the large, long haired dogs that people in my area have. The dogs, can't play without overheating, and make a mess out of the house and their owner's clothes. I have actually heard these owners say that their dog's long hair keeps the dog cool. I think guilt for allowing a dog to suffer that way makes them hallucinate. Perhaps they just need to be wrapped in a dog skin coat, placed on a playing field, and made to run around for a half hour. Small dogs are different, they have trouble staying warm due to their size, so long hair makes sense on a small dog.
When I lived in Okinawa, I had a long haired black dog.
"Yahoo, it's Sunday, no dog catchers!"
Except in the winter, I kept her clipped. It took about twenty minutes every three months, but what a difference it made. She never panted when at rest and played much more. Yes, on Sundays, I let my dogs loose because the dog catchers didn't work on Sundays. I lived near the ocean with just a big field between me and the sea wall. Here is the view from my backyard which was also the view from my dinning room, the ocean is just visible on the horizon:
Dog Heaven
They would head down to the beach and play all day. By evening, I would find them out front sitting under the tree with big smiles. Their joy was contagious. I bet you can even feel it now.
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Finding a Good Dog
I have had about a dozen dogs in my life. I usually get them from pounds or the humane society (the pound in many areas is the humane society). The problem with such dogs is that they are often problem dogs. If a person lost a dog and it is delivered to the humane society, that person should easily find their dog, if they wanted to. Common problems are: extreme difficulty in house breaking, excessive barking, and difficulty in training of any sort. I live alone and have a lot of spare time. I have invested in such dogs for years knowing that I was doing a good thing. However, a family needs a dog that is not an extra burden on an already large parental work load.
I suggest Craigs List for finding a dog. With such methods you can talk to the previous owners and ask that all important question, "Why are you giving up your dog?" Sometimes you will hear a very good reason such as that the family has to move into a situation where the dog does not fit. The previous owners of my current dog were honest when they answered that question, "This dog suffers when she is left alone and there isn’t any one here during the day." Since I work at home, I thought we would be a good match. This is a great little (22 pound) dog. I would have to say, my favorite of all my dogs. She is very friendly and I can now walk her without a leash so she is free to greet my neighbors. My nearest neighbors claim they will steal from me if they get the chance. They claim they have never know such a nice, happy dog and he bred yellow labs for years. Having a dog off leash and in control eliminates a lot of problems with aggression. Dogs on leashes often seem aggressive especially when another dog comes over, but they are actually just frustrated. Unfortunately, training a dog to be off leash and in control is beyond most owners.
Initial Training
Almost all of my dogs have become the same friendly well behaved dog after a while. There are a number of reasons, but making sure that a dog never thinks they are the alpha, is a great help. When people ask me why my dogs are so well behaved, I remind them that dogs come from wolfs. Then I ask, "In a wolf pack do you think they have elections to see who is the alpha?" You have to use force to prove that you are tougher, stronger, and will not take any disrespect such as disobedience. That makes for a very secure dog, they know that you will defend them, they don’t have to defend you from every approaching stranger.
Unfortunately, becoming the alpha is too difficult for most owners, but there is a simple way to get a fairly well behaved dog. Don’t let the dog lick you, ever. When a licker comes up to a person they are thinking of one thing, food. The oil on a humans skin is super rich and dogs love it. If you want motivation to stop your dog from feeding on you, just ask yourself this, "What was the last thing my dog licked?" If a dog is not allowed to lick, he or she is now thinking, "good feelings if I act just right." Dogs are an empty vessel for our feelings if they are not in fear. If you respond strongly to the actions of your dog by pumping up your feelings, a non-licker will try and make you feel good by doing cute things like spinning around and avoiding bad behavior like jumping up. It is a great way to reward a dog for any good behavior and a very healthy practice for people. Just pump up your good feelings when your dogs does something that pleases you and your dog will start to be the envy of the block.
Dogs Outside at Night
The following is not a dog story, I wrote it for people who keep their dog outside at night or for people who have a barking dog in their neighborhood. Consider printing it out and giving it to the dog's owner.
Most dogs, with the exception of farm and work dogs, are much better off inside at night. If someone gets into your house meaning physical harm (this can even be a guest), your outside dog may bark, but your neighbors will just think that you are an inconsiderate poop for letting your dog carry on like that and the dog cannot protect you.
About the noise of barking, some dog owners don't realize that their dog faces out when they bark. This makes the barking much louder for your neighbors than for you.
Would You leave this Little Guy Outside at Night?
When put inside at night, dogs should have free rein of the house so they can protect you, but consider training them not to enter your bedroom. If you don't know how to train a dog:
If a dog disobeys a command the second time, they must be roughed up. You don't need to hurt a dog to rough them up, but you must continue roughing them up until they stop squirming around and yield to you. This way you establish yourself as the alpha dog and your dog will be forever grateful. If you do not do this, your dog will think that they are the alpha dog. This is a terrible thing. The alpha dog thinks that nobody can protect them because no body can make them yield. They think they must be the toughest dog in the house. This makes them fearful of people and other dogs and can make them aggressive. When my dogs are afraid, they come to me. They are friendly to strangers, but some how know when people are up to no good and warn me. Abby has growled three times in her life and each time it seemed appropriate. The hard part of taking the alpha dog role is that you must be consistent; you can never allow your dogs to disobey without roughing them up. The great part of being the alpha dog is that your dogs will follow your lead, stay around the house if they get out…
To train a dog to stay out of the bedroom, tie three empty cans together (the bigger the dog, the bigger the cans) tie a long string (10') to the cans so you can recover them without getting out of bed. When your dog comes into the bedroom say "go" in a slightly angry voice. The first time you should also throw the cans. After the first event you should say "go" and only throw the cans if your dog doesn't go. Use "go" because "out" does not always apply when you want your dog to go away. After a few days of "go" and flying cans, don't say anything just throw the cans.
If you have trouble keeping a dog off a piece of furniture, Radio shack sells a Personal Alarm (cat. no. 49-415A) that sets off a very loud alarm when touched. You can straighten out a couple of hangers and tape the ends to the alarm and place it on furniture. If your dogs gets on the furniture, the alarm goes off. If there are many pieces of furniture in need of protection move the alarm around each night and put hangers on the non-protected furniture. Dogs are creatures of habit; after awhile the alarm and hangers will not be needed.
The Best Dogs
I live in an area that never snows except on the surrounding mountain tops. Since it can get pretty hot, the best kind of dog coat to have in my area would be short hair of a light color. Of course if you live in Alaska, you want a bigger dog to get through the snow drifts with more hair for warmth. Regardless of climate, dogs larger than 60 pounds don't work well inside.
Puppies should be avoided if possible. Can you tell I promote dog rescue? But really, only the greatest of dog trainer can teach a puppy anything other than disobedience. Telling a puppy "Come here... come here...comehere" while he wanders around is reinforcing disobedience. When you take a one year old dog home, they wonder how much disobedience they can get away with. Even a fair dog trainer can let a new adult dog know the correct answer to that question: no disobedience will be tolerated. You can have a well behaved dog the first day. But, puppies are almost hopeless.
Pounds have young, mature mutts that you can tell exactly what you are getting. You can take one home for a fraction of the cost of a pure breed dog which are usually only available as puppies.
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The Final Mysteries Uncovered
There are much better cancer treatments than chemo, but your doctor is not even allowed to talk about them. What Happened to Good Medicine?
Is there a method for quickly testing alternative cancer treatments on dogs and other animals? There sure is but it is based on advanced principles with which many people are unfamilar.
