Is my #dog trying to #talk? Can your dog talk?

I can talk.  You just don't understand. 

     At age two, is Gizmo trying to talk?  When we awaken and he wants to go out, he is making noises that sound close to what a two-year-old human might speak.  Repeats somewhat similar sounds when he wants to eat and it is time to go to bed.  

     Are there other dogs who attempt human language?  Does your dog do that?

“I poured spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone.”  Steven Wright

#Pilates for #Dogs: get real

Manny, Dawn's dog, looks doubtful about this Pilates stuff

Pilates for Pooches helps train dogs and their owners

MILFORD, CONN:  Dawn Lowery has a better idea. The trainer will introduce Pilates for Pooches in November, offering the six-week class at Who's Your Doggie? on Gulf Street.

Pilates is tough for people, especially those of us who are not particularly flexible, but Lowery said people have the easy part, while their canine companions balance on rubber balls or stretch their paws.

"The dog owners don't have to do Pilates (a form of ballet-based exercise), or even to know how to,'' the animal trainer said. "It's good for the dog -- it strengthens the hips of older dogs and it builds their confidence. It's also another way to bond with your dog.''

“Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart.”  John Grogan

#Double #dog #napping: Another reason to #microchip

Map showing Reba's 1400 miles of wandering

Idaho dog shows up in California, then Nevada.  A double dog napping?

Reba, a 18-month-old Border Collie cross, went missing from her secure outdoor kennel in Troy, Idaho on September 13 with only a collar and vaccination tag. Her family, Kamy and Travis Heath and their two young boys, searched the city, but could not find her.

Two days later a woman in Roseville, California found a black and white dog with Reba’s vaccination tag, but a woman walking by her house said the dog was hers and off they went. The Heaths were sure that was the sad ending of the story.

Then last Friday a humane society just outside of Reno, Nevada called saying that they had a black and white dog with Reba’s vaccination tag.  So the Heaths left the next morning for a 1400-mile round trip to Reno to pick up Reba to bring her back to Idaho.

The only explanation that makes sense is that Reba was stolen twice and managed to get away from her abductors both times, hoping to find her way back to her family.  Once she got home, she also got a #microchip -- it was about time!

“I wish all men were like dogs.”  Halle Berry

#Holding #dumps: How smart can Gizmo be?

Don't be ridiculous: I hold NOTHING back. 

     Gizmo's walk: we turn around after he takes a dump and go back home. 

     Has he learned that the halfway point of the walk is when he dumps?   Is he holding it as long as possible?  

     Today we walked a mile and a half (about 25 minutes) before he did his duty, was praised and we turned around.

     #BeDogSavvy Heather @BeDogSavvy   "I can train any dog in 5 minutes. It's training the owner that takes longer." - Barbara Woodhouse

#Dog #trains #us, we train him: Success?

 

Not fair: I hardly train you at all.

This is the new habit when it is time for Gizmo, Grace and I to go  to sleep:                  The moment we turn off the television and get up from the couch, Gizmo rushes into our bedroom and buries himself under the bed.  Nothing will lure him from his dark hideaway.                  
       If I hear him in the AM, I get up and into the cage he willingly goes.  In fact, he runs into that "training device."  Then I go back to sleep.                                                                He is utterly quiet when I get up, dress, set up my IPad for current listening, get water, a hat and a leash.    
        Then, after turning off the alarm, I let him out of the cage and immediately open the front door setting him out in the fenced garden.     
         So far it has been one accident-free week.  This is cooperative retraining: he trains us, we train him. 

   "The difference between cats and dogs is, dogs come when they are called, cats take a message and get back to you."  Anonymous

#ASPCA on #Separation #Anxiety

But I'll miss you when you're gone, unless I go to sleep

ASPCA:  How to Ease Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety

     If your dog uses his time alone in the house to bark endlessly, pee on the carpet, or tear up the sofa—and those behaviors are accompanied by depression or stress—your pooch may be suffering from separation anxiety, a very common doggy behavior problem.

      Overcoming disorders like separation anxiety takes time, patience and consistency, but it can be done! Just take the following steps, and you’re already on your way.

           Take action. Try these strategies to address the issue:

1. Keep all greetings relaxed. When leaving, give your dog a pat on the head, say goodbye and leave. Similarly, when arriving home, say hello to your dog and then don’t pay any more attention to him until he’s calm and relaxed.

2. Give your dog a workout. Giving your dog lots of mental and physical stimulation goes a long way toward quelling behavior problems—especially those involving anxiety. Exercise can enrich your dog’s life, decrease stress and provide appropriate outlets for normal behavior. And once she’s all tuckered out, your pal won’t have much energy left to get into trouble.

3.Reward your pooch! Teach your dog to associate your departure with a reward, like a delicious stuffed Kong or other food-dispensing toy. This positive association can help resolve the problem, as well as distract your dog for the first few minutes you’re gone!

Dealing with Gizmo’s separation anxiety: As to Rule #1: we tried ignoring him as we went out, but he looked up at us with those cute pleading eyes.  How does one deal with an owners separation guilt?                                                Mental Stimulation: we regularly give him quizzes, but he seems puzzled when we ask for the “square root of nine.”                                                          The way we dealt with bad behavior and separation anxiety: we put him in a cage (or “training facility”).  Result: no accidents, but we must take him outside as soon as we get home and before we go to the bathroom ourselves.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."           Josh Billings

#Lassie saves woman.

Thanks, Lassie

Search dog Lassie rescues missing woman 

   KCOY Central Coast News:  “ It's a case of life imitating art. In central California, a Search and Rescue collie named Lassie located a woman who had been missing for days.

     Sixty-two-year-old Felisa Lizada went missing on Monday. About 55 Search and Rescue team members embarked on a massive search, canvassing the area near her Los Osos home. Some team members even took to the skies to search for her. Family members feared that Lizada, who suffers from dementia, could have wandered off anywhere.

     After two days of searching, the team's Lassie was the first to spot Lizada. The hunched-over woman was sitting in a creek, surrounded by dense brush.”

              When Lassie returned to the search team and she was barking, what did they ask, “Is Tommy all right?  Did you find the beer, girl?"

     “Lassie looked brilliant, in part because the farm family she lived with was made up of idiots. Remember? One of them was always getting pinned under the tractor, and Lassie was always rushing back to the farmhouse to alert the other ones. She'd whimper and tug at their sleeves, and they'd always waste precious minutes saying things: "Do you think something's wrong? Do you think she wants us to follow her? What is it, girl?" as if this had never happened before, instead of every week.

  What with all the time these people spent pinned under the tractor, I don't see how they managed to grow any crops whatsoever. They probably got by on federal crop supports, which Lassie filed the applications for.”             Dave Barry