When I Google ‘dog adoption’ in any form, I get pages of adoption centers wanting me to go to them to “save a pet”. What I find a bit scary is that there are few resources in helping people find the right pet. Isn’t that one reason there are so many pets in the homeless shelters? Other reasons of course are lack of spaying and neutering, moving, and loss of income.

But what about those people who are ready to take on the responsibility of owning a dog? What should they do first? Where should they go to get answers – answers to questions they haven’t even thought of? Should they get a puppy or an adult dog. What breed, mixed or pure? Here’s one thought on pure breeds – they’re being found in shelters too. Any way you get a dog, you’re saving its life. Because you choose a pure breed or a “designer breed” doesn’t make you a snob. I’ve had both and they were both good dogs, great family pets. The choice of pure or mixed can be made later, really it can.

Lifestyle is a good beginning to deciding what dog to get, your lifestyle. Are you and your family active? Do you hunt, swim, climb, etc.? Can you see yourself doing an activity with a dog? Do you camp, like to walk or jog or are you pretty much a home body and would like the companionship of a dog? Is size important? Do you want a dog on your lap while you watch TV or read a book?

Why do you want a dog? Are you more concerned about protection – of your family, stock or house? Is it companionship you’re looking for – for yourself or your whole family? Is anyone in your family allergic or sensitive to dog dander? Is your yard fenced? Do you live in an apartment? Who is going to do the training – you or the whole family?

How about grooming? You really need to be honest with yourself here. Grooming is so important, not just so the dog is pretty. Will you be brushing and trimming and removing the ticks? How about cleaning up the yard? Here’s a big one: training. Really, how important is training, anyway? It’s as important as feeding the dog. Are you going to have it spayed/neutered? If not, why not? Yikes, so many questions and there are so many more.

So, you know your lifestyle, now it’s time to check out the breeds. This can be a daunting task at first. It doesn’t have to be though. There are many sites that help with breed selection. Even if you decide on a mixed breed, knowing the characteristics of what you want in a dog is going to help you figure out which breed or mixed breed will suit you best. For instance, some breeds are more sociable than others, some are more independent, etc. Some tend to nip, some bark, others are anti-social, while others are everybody’s friend.

So, I’m about to go on this adventure. Any thoughts from you could help. Please, be helpful. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a dog, and, at this point, I’m not sure what would be best for us.

I used to be a baker at Swedish Hospital in Seattle years ago. One day one of the cooks came to me with a little story she wanted to tell. I’d like to tell you this story. First though, I have to tell you she was a very small woman with a very thick Scottish accent that went very well with the “story”.

Two women came to America from Scotland by boat. It was a very long trip and a very expensive one. They both had saved for years for this and it was something they had wanted to do. They wanted to live in the United States of America.

As soon as they got off the boat, they both wanted to eat something that is “All American” and what else, but a hot dog? So the ladies went off in search of a place that sold hot dogs. Soon, near a park, they saw a vendor selling hot dogs out of his hot dog stand. There were several people ordering hot dogs so the ladies thought this would be a good place. Not wanting to seem ignorant, they waited until everyone was gone before they stepped up to the vendor and ordered a hot dog each. The ladies then went to a park bench to unwrap their hot dogs and commence eating.

One lady unwrapped her dog, took a sharp intake of air, leaned over to her friend and asked, “What part of

the dog did you get?”

Here we go again. What is one person’s dangerous dog is another person’s protector of life and property.

Forsyth County Animal Control in North Carolina, are trying to define what defines a dangerous dog. They are quick to say it’s not about the breed, but the action of the dog. If it bites, it’s dangerous. If it gets out a lot, it could be dangerous. If it kills another animal, domestic or otherwise, it’s dangerous. Get the picture?

If you have a dangerous animal, then you would have to have special kennels for outside and it wouldn’t be allowed to roam free. You would also have to carry a $100,000 insurance policy against the dog. One man with 56 acres who has been cited as having a dangerous dog is frustrated because his dog chased someone off his property.

I don’t live in Carolina, north or south. I don’t even live on the east coast. So why do I care? Simply because when rights are taken away or “amended” it has the potential to affect me in some way at some time. If I wait until one of my rights are “amended” then I fear, it will be too late.

This is my thought: why have such complications when they aren’t needed? If a dog bites, make sure it’s had its shots and find out why it bit. Was it teased? No? It just bit? Okay then, it gets one more chance, after that, it’s a dangerous dog and the owner will have to have the insurance policy and it must wear a muzzle if it’s outside its yard. If the dog chases people off the property but doesn’t continue to chase, then it is protecting the property. Period. If the dog killed another animal, first find out if that other animal was on or off the dog’s property. However, a dog killing other animals can be a difficult dog to keep. It seems they kind of like it when they get started. So, maybe those dogs should be classified as dangerous.

It’s when government entities define things, making sure everything fits in its need little peg, I get anxious. They like to make rules and regulations that affect everyone based on a small minority of people’s actions. My neighbor’s cats can use my flower beds as their personal litter box (and believe me, they do) but my dog can’t chase them off my yard. Even if my dog stopped at the end of the yard. If someone wanted to pick fruit off my tree but was chased off by my dog, would it be a dangerous dog?

If my dog bit the UPS man or the mail man or someone walking up to my door, then I really couldn’t argue. It’d be a dangerous dog.

What are your thoughts/experiences?

Forsyth county will be voting on this April 17^th.

On the cover of the February Costco Connection there was a photo of a man walking two pretty large dogs. The dogs had chain collars on, also known as choking collars. Many people wrote in being highly critical of those collars saying they (the collars) are cruel to the dog.

Our dog trainer showed us how to use those collars. If used properly, they are essential in having complete control of the dog at all times while on a walk. Those collars are not supposed to be used all day, every day, just when control of the dog is completely necessary. Properly used, those collars do NOT choke the dog or are uncomfortable. The proper position for the collar is right under the chin and just behind the ears. So then, the collar is not on the neck but under the skull of the dog. With the collar in that position, the person has excellent control and can easily guide the dog and keep the dog from taking off on a run. There will be no pulling either. The dog isn’t choking and coughing or pulling. If you put your hands around your neck, acting as a collar, you can move your head and pull, it’ll choke and make you cough, but you can pull. Now put your hands just under your skull, under your chin and at the base of the back of your skull. You’ll find you have no strength to pull. Yet it’s comfortable.

I used those collars all the time when taking my dogs for walks. The only problem I had was when I wasn’t paying enough attention and the collars loosened enough that they slipped down the neck. Then the dogs would pull, so I had to readjust them. Plain, leather collars are no better for walking. I have to admit, on the cover of Costco Connection, the collars were not properly positioned.

Still, there are other types of collars out there. The halter-type. A lot of people and trainers rave over these. I’ve never used one. The type that goes over the face of the dog seems like it would provide good control. The type that goes around the shoulder and chest seems like it wouldn’t provide good support. But again, I’ve never used one and can’t comment on the use. I don’t know of anyone personally who has either. It seems they would be great in that they won’t slip like the chain collars do – that was a problem for me. Rescue dogs and other service dogs use halters and there doesn’t seem to be a control issue with them. But those dogs are highly trained too.

There are different collars for different reasons, kind of like having different shoes for different occasions. Good thing we don’t have to get shoes for our dogs!

We love our old wives’ tales, urban legends, myths, stories. Can’t seem to let them go, even in the face of today’s science and even common sense. I’m one of them. I like to think I have an open mind and can change my mind when facts override the story. Truth be told though, I’ve got a hard head and can be stubborn. Should you repeat any of this to anyone – I’ll deny it! (Just thought you should know.)

Here are a few I’ve looked up:

Some dogs are hypoallergenic:

Ah, well, simply put the answer would be NO. This one I actually got right. What people are allergic to is not the fur/hair of the dog but the dander. Dander is caused by the dog licking itself as it grooms. The saliva then dries and microscopic bits of the saliva, or dander, enter the air and affect the people. Some dogs shed more than others, some shed quite a bit less, but dander is on every dog.

Garlic and/or Brewers Yeast repels fleas:

Not so much. There just isn’t any scientific proof of this. Too much can actually cause harm to the pooch. Although some owners swear by this method.

Makes me wonder though, is there no scientific proof because there hasn’t been any tests or because the tests show no or little results? I do know one thing – if you feed your dog too much garlic it’ll get real bad breath and fart so bad nothing will stay in the house. And I mean NOTHING.

Feeding your dogs raw eggs will give it a shiny coat:

So very wrong. Not even good for humans. Besides the Salmonella factor, the egg whites just aren’t friendly with our B-Complex vitamins. Egg whites have a protein complex avidin, which reacts with and inactivates biotin, a B-complex vitamin. It causes a deficiency of biotin both in humans and dogs. Cooked eggs didn’t show the same results and can be fed safely to dogs who don’t have a weight problem.

Dogs can’t see colors:

I grew up thinking dogs can’t see colors. So I thought this was really cool. Research at the University of California in Santa Barbara in the 1980’s showed just how wrong we’ve been all along. Dogs can distinguish between a red and blue ball, white light and colored lights, but can’t distinguish between colors from greenish yellow through orange and red.

A cold, wet nose means a healthy dog:

Yeah, sort of. Although, the dog could still have a slight fever with a cold, wet nose. So watch for any other signs of illness, like lethargy.

A dry nose isn’t always something to worry about either. It could just be thirsty and a little dehydrated, especially if it’s been active on a hot day. If the nose is dry for more than a day or two, then check with the veterinarian.

Don’t play tug-of-war with your dog:

I’ve been told it can cause a dog to be aggressive. However, it depends on how you play and who ends up with the toy. You should end up with the toy, not the dog. Why? Because you are the Top Dog, the Leader, the one who in nature would end up with the prize. Playing with your dog is fun. Playing with your dog, with your friends and family should always have rules though. Don’t get too rough and end with you having the prize!

Gotta have a big yard for the dog!

Sure, if you plan on playing a lot with your dog in your yard. But really, if you keep your dog outside, it’ll spend a lot of time lounging in the shade and at the door, whining or barking for you to either come out and play or to let him in. Dogs are pack animals and want to be with the pack – namely you. So take your dog for a walk and/or run. You’ll both benefit.

Leave a dog alone while he’s eating:

I never did. Here’s the thing with that. Get your dog to realize you are the Alpha, and also that you are not a threat. As you approach your feeding dog, put something in his dish. I would sometimes take the dish away from my dog. Sometimes I would add something to it and stir it into the food, sometimes I would simply stir the food. Either way my dog wasn’t threatened. Another thing, don’t tease the dog with the food. If you take the dish away, put it back soon. Dogs should be happy when you approach them, while they are eating or otherwise. Then they won’t growl or snap if someone accidentally bumps into them or their dish while they’re eating. Instead, they’ll wag their tail and think they’re in for a treat. It works, try it!

Golden Retrievers and Black Labs are the best breeds for families:

True, and not. It’s just not a good idea to make a statement that covers a whole breed. There are good dogs and bad dogs in every breed. How you treat your dog from a puppy will determine how it behaves as a dog around you and your friends. Here is where training comes in strong.

Some more trivia and myths to look at:

http://members.aol.com/tara8000/Myths.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12079937/

Dogs come in so many sizes, shapes and colors, it seems they can fill nearly, if not every, task. We all know that there are dogs that can dig out rats and other vermin, dogs that can herd a whole flock of sheep anywhere it’s told to, dogs that protect livestock from predators, or will protect you and your family.

Have you heard of the sniffer dogs that discovered a fake DVD ring in Malaysia? Two female black Labs sniffed out 3 million dollars worth of fake discs in Malaysia last year. The dogs were trained to sit down when they smelled plastic. The dogs can’t differentiate whether the cd’s are fake or not, that’s for the authorities to decide. They were in Malaysia less than a month when they found the stash. There were music CD’s, games and movie DVD’s. They helped make 26 arrests during the 6 months they were there. Some of the fake DVDs, replicating machines and other tools used to make and sell discs were hidden in secret compartments spread over four floors of an office building.

In the first month Lucky and Flo were there, they made the biggest find. After that big discovery their lives were at stake because a bounty was put on their lives. Since a big chunk was taken out of the business of pirated movies, the pirates wanted the dogs dead. So security had increased around the location where the dogs stayed.

The dogs are home now in New York and possibly Malaysia will see more dogs like Lucky and Flo to help them keep the pirating of films, music and games to a minimum.

I’ve heard a lot recently regarding banning certain breeds from city parks, or cities altogether. Canada is pretty big on banning breeds. Italy has banned 43 breeds so far. They started with 13 breeds, the latest on the list is the Welsh Corgi. You probably know the top breeds on the list: Pit Bulls, Rottweiler, Mastiff, Doberman. The list is in constant growth with breeds being added to it in a steady stream. I have known Dobermans to be pussy cats. One house that I clean has 2 Dobies. One of them is a younger male and he’s a thief. As he walks by my bag, without missing a step, he’ll grab one of my cloths and keep walking away. If I didn’t see it happen, I would be short a cloth or two! He cried when I wouldn’t let him into the room I was cleaning. Poor baby. The other Dobie is a sweetheart. She loves me up and down then goes to her really nice bed and stays there – until I turn on the vacuum cleaner. There was a Rottweiler chained up in the front yard of a house I would walk by every day. This dog would growl and bark at me every time I walked by. He’d pull on his chain menacingly. One day he got off his chain and when he saw me he came running full speed barking and growling. I stopped (realizing I couldn’t out run him), held out my arm and yelled, “Stop!” in a loud guttural voice. The dog then yelped, turned around and ran back home! Strange story, I know, but it happened. It’s the little dogs, the ankle biters that have given me the most trouble. Not the big dogs. Again, I was walking when a little dog, a hairy, yappy, little thing ran after me. I stopped and yelled at it. It just barked back and growled. The man was watching and laughed. He told me it was just a little dog. I told him I was more afraid of kicking the dog than anything. The man didn’t think that was funny. Truth was, it was hard to walk without kicking it because it kept getting in my way. I walked just a few more steps and that little yapper bit me!

So, should we ban the little yapper breed? It’s so easy to own a dog, anyone can do it. You can get them free, or cheap. Most people don’t seem to realize that they’re in for 8 to 18 years of a furry toddler that barks and bites. There are no age requirements, no degrees, no training, nothing. So, is it any surprise that there are problem dogs out there? It’s kind of like driving a car without taking a course. It comes down to this: bad dogs come from bad owners. Bad owners come from being ignorant, which often comes from being lazy (not wanting to train their puppy).

I can’t help but equate banning dogs to banning guns. Ban certain breeds that have a history of biting. Ban guns because they have a history of hurting/killing people. Okay. Sounds good. But let’s get deeper. First, all dogs have the potential to bite. All guns have the potential to shoot. The owners of both are responsible, not the dog, not the gun. It’s back to being a responsible owner. Have your dog immunized, trained, socialized, trained some more. The dog should enjoy training, after all it means being with you and hearing you say, “Good dog!”. Learn what type of breed suits your needs the most. No, you don’t have to have a pure breed, but understand the characteristics of breeds so you know that some breeds require lots of exercise, some require lots of grooming, etc. With guns, learn what type you need, learn to shoot. Learn the rules and the laws. Learn the maintenance of guns. Naturally, there are always going to be some people who will bypass any responsibility and take/use what they want. Why should everyone suffer for the small minority of irresponsible people?

Banning breeds? What’s next? Where does it end?

The other day I was driving and noticed a dog hanging its head out the window of another car. Nothing unusual about that. It was a Pomeranian or similar breed. What was unusual was what the little dog was wearing – bright pink sunglasses! It had a band around its head to keep the sunglasses on. It looked like the glasses were pink as well, but since I was driving, I couldn’t take a good long look.

I go for walks often and on my walks I meet up with a variety of people who some of them are with their dogs. This past winter I have seen dogs (small and medium size) wearing rubber booties, red, usually. Although I think one dog had blue booties, can’t quite remember. There was a variety of sweaters, usually on very small dogs. None of the big dogs (labs, Akita’s, dobies, etc.) wore any sweaters or booties. I don’t think I would want to try to wrestle any of them into a bootie or sweater! I have seen some pretty interesting collars though – on all sizes of dogs. They come in all colors, some multi-colored. Different weaves even. Some have the dog’s name woven into the collar. I would think though that if my dog were lost, I’d want my phone number woven into the collar (I’m just say’n). There was a dog with a nice little hat – it had a bill to keep the sun off its cute little face. The dog’s nose stuck out a little though. I wonder if they put some sun cream on the tip of the nose. Probably not since the dog would just lick it away.

I find it amazing and fun to see what people buy for their pets. I clean houses and see a lot of houses with pets. So far, the dogs win out on who gets the most goodies. Some have more than one bed and a couple of those beds look more comfortable than mine! Pretty nice toys too. I’m telling you, I never had so many toys when I was a kid! Trouble is, I have a hard time figuring out which toy belongs to the dog and which toy belongs to the toddler. If the house has a dog and a cat, there are more bags and/or boxes of treats for the dog than the cat. Maybe cats are too picky, I don’t know.

I remember my dogs, both gone now. They didn’t have sweaters or booties and they didn’t need them. Toys, yeah, when they were real young but not after the first few years of life. I never got into the real trendy collars. I thought they were a bit spendy for me. I liked them, couldn’t afford them. Treats though. Hey – gotta have ‘em. I even made dog biscuits for my dogs. I tried several recipes and would give them to my dogs. Cosmo would eat anything I put in front of him. Calla would try it, then she’d spit it out if she didn’t like it or just refuse the second offer. So she was my trial dog. It was pretty cool, making my own dog biscuits. But the time it takes. They bake for a long time and have to cool slowly. Yep, what we do for our pets!

About a year into having our dog, our neighbor found a small puppy in the middle of a street howling. It was a classic cold, stormy November night and this poor little puppy was lost. So our neighbor decided to bring it home – ours. Ahem. We already had a puppy/dog (in her adolescent years, no less. Another story), and I was pregnant. I didn’t think it fair to bring a puppy into the home when one took so much of our attention and I was going to have my own little puppy. Our neighbor said he would keep the puppy for himself then. However, that little puppy had other ideas. He liked us much better. Our gate was locked and we have a good wood fence, yet that very rotund little guy could somehow squeeze under the fence and stay in our back yard with our dog. Calla was pretty good at tolerating the puppy. However, she really didn’t like it much when he would stand under her chest and bark at her. She’d growl and snarl and show her teeth, but that was all she could do. She found him irritating, but she wasn’t going to hurt him either. About two months later I lost my baby. I had tried unsuccessfully to give away this puppy and now I had him on my lap, tummy up, just looking at me. All I could do was cry. It was pretty clear then, we were keeping the pup. But what to name him? He seemed pretty stupid. Awfully cute, actually the cutest puppy I think I’ve ever seen. Big eyes a person could get lost in. A friend of our suggested the name, “Cosmo”. After all, he was a bit spacey and his eyes looked like they could be filled with stars . . . So, Cosmo it was. I think he was a bag of mixed breeds but predominately a herding type dog. He liked to herd Calla and anyone else he could. He’d push his nose alongside people’s ankles to get them to move a direction he wanted. He also turned out to be one very stubborn dog. Training him on a leash just never really took. I could pull and yank and order him to heal all I wanted, he just ignored me. He was much better off the leash though. Off the leash he would stay by us. On the leash he’d fight it all the way. Well guess what – there’s this thing called a “leash law”! So I’d yank and yank until he would stop walking and pulling me and look back at me as if to say, “Wha-a-at?” All the while Calla would be at my side. I thought she was hard to train, she was so easy compared to Cosmo!

It was so cool to have Calla walk beside us and not jump on people as they greeted us. It was such a pleasure to walk with her. We could take her food dish away while she was eating from it and she would just look at us as if she was questioning, “Why?”. No aggression. Way cool. She stayed off the couch, which was good because it was a corduroy fabric, dark blue. She had very white hair and it stuck to the fabric of the couch. No more, she stayed off. Barking was still an issue, one which really bothered our neighbors. We found out that the Kuvasz have a high tolerance to pain. We put one of those shock collars on her that will send an electric shock to her neck when she barked. Didn’t work. In fact, they won’t stay in a yard with “invisible fencing” either. Invisible fencing works similar to the shock collars in that the dog wears a collar that will give the dog a shock if it comes too close to the wire in the ground. The dogs will simply run across it – they’ll get a quick shock and it’s done. Pretty much it goes like this – “If there’s a will; there’s a way out”. Since we never played any games that included jumping, Calla never knew she could jump. So jumping over the fence wasn’t a problem. Digging under the fence was. I watched once when she dug a small hold and slid under the fence sideways. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it. Putting her poop in the holes kept her from using that hole again. That was a neat trick told to us by a friend who had the same problem. Dogs don’t like digging in their own poop. We had a lot of it all along the perimeter of our fence! The classes helped us with taking her for a walk and control around people, but not from barking and digging.