Kallee and Tamara

Kallee and Tamara
A Beautiful Summer Day.

Madam Kallee, CTD, CGC - 1994-2005 - Certified Therapy Dog and a Canine Good Citizen

Madam Kallee, CTD, CGC - 1994-2005 - Certified Therapy Dog and a Canine Good Citizen
I am so pretty!

Kallee, T.D.I., CGC - Certified Therapy Dog and a Canine Good Citizen - 1994-2005

Kallee, T.D.I., CGC - Certified Therapy Dog and a Canine Good Citizen - 1994-2005
I loved to pose for the camera.

Hat Girl.

Hat Girl.
The things I do for my mom!

Happiness.

Happiness.
Bubby knows how to scratch a tummy.

Best of Friends.

Best of Friends.
Mine! No, Mine!, No Mine!!!

Whew !

Whew !
Bubby wears me out!

This is the Life.

This is the Life.
Just relaxing with bubby.

Kallee and Mr. Monkey

Kallee and Mr. Monkey
See Mr. Monkey? Wanna play?

Miss Cool.

Miss Cool.
I loved to wear my shades.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

How to pick a groomer or boarding and training facility.

The reason I am writing this post is to let people know what questions to ask when shopping around for a new groomer for your pet, or a boarding facility for vacations where you can't take your pet and finally, a training facility to help your pet become not only a member of your "pack", but also a member of society's "pack." If you find yourself in the position of having to find another groomer, trainer or boarding facility, here are a few questions to ask.

GROOMING:

1. How long has the groomer been grooming?
2. Did they go to a grooming school?
3. Are they certified by National Dog Groomer's Assoc. of America or any other Assoc. and do you drug test?
4. May I stay while my dog gets its groom?
5. May I schedule a time to come and look at the area where my pet will be groomed, bathed and dried?
6. Do you use muzzles on certain breeds, even if not needed?
7. Do you use organic products when bathing?

TRAINING:

1. Is the trainer a certified master trainer?
2. Where did they get there training and certification?
3. Do you use pinch collars to train?
4. May I schedule a time to come and view the training area, and see some of your training dogs?
5. Do you have group classes and one-on-one training? What about keeping the dog for a certain amt. of time for training?

BOARDING:

1. What are your rates?
a. Do you require up-to-date vaccinations including Bordatella?
2. Do you kennel dogs together that come in together?
3. Do you have indoor/outdoor runs?
4. How many times are the dogs let out to potty?
5. Do I need to bring my own food, bowls, and bedding?
6. May I schedule a time to come and view the boarding area and play/outside area?
7. Do you bathe the dog before pick up, or do I have to request that?
8. At anytime are strange dogs put together?
9. Do you give medications if brought.
10. Do your kennel personnel know animal CPR?

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Unwanted Urination.

Preventing Unwanted Urination.

There are a number of reasons why dogs have problems with
inappropriate urination and in some cases defecation.

Unfortunately most dog owners don't understand why this happens and
are unsure what to do. It can even happen to dogs that have been trained and housebroken. Many dog owners who are unable to address the problem simply take
their dog to the pound as they assume there is no alternative to
the problem that they are unable to solve.

Unwanted urination is a very common problem that many dog owners
face and is more common than most people would assume. You will need to eliminate any medical reasons first, as there could be bladder infections that are causing the urination, but aside from that there are other reasons why dogs will urinate.

One of the most common reasons for a dog to lose control of it's
bladder is from excitement and you will generally see this happen a
lot more with puppies. With puppies this is a lack of bladder control that will generally stop, as they get older.

Puppies are often unaware that they are urinating when they get
excited and to reprimand them for doing this will cause confusion. To get angry with your dog for excitement urination can lead to other problems where the dog will begin to urinate from submissiveness rather than excitement thereby creating another
problem that will need to be addressed.

With excitement urination the best cure is prevention and that is
achieved by not allowing your dog to get overly excited. And the best way to stop your dog getting over excited in certain circumstances is to expose him/her to those situations more often until they no longer get excited to the extent that they urinate.

Puppies will eventually grow out of excitement urination as they
develop better bladder control. Submissive urination is something that is common in the wild, where dogs, being pack animals, show their submissiveness to the leader
of the pack by lowering themselves and urinating.

Where a dog is showing signs of submissive urination this is
effectively a sign of insecurity and is very often associated with
dogs that have been abused. It can be difficult to correct submissive urination and quite often the best method is to ignore what is happening and focus on
developing a better relationship with your pet and help to build
it's self confidence.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Voice your opinion about Michael Vick's dog fighting ring.

http://blog.myspace.com/thehumanesociety

In the Herald Dispatch, they have a "dog" blog, and the blogger finally has some really useful information! Use the above address and click on the link to send a letter to the NFL about Michael Vick's involvement in dog fighting. The NFL has not suspended him, but suspended PacMan Jones before he was found guilty for an incident that didn't involve cruelty to animals. What makes Vick so special. He abuses animals. Dog fighting is a "sport" that is unfortunately gaining popularity in the US. Use your words to tell the NFL that their treatment of this situation is unacceptable.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Boredom

Dogs are a lot like children. They need stimulation or they will get bored and we all know the trouble children can be when they get bored. Bored dogs are generally unhappy dogs and they are also the dogs that are most likely to get into trouble with other animals and humans. The happiest dogs are often the working dogs as they not only have a purpose in life but they also get the praise and regular
attention of their owners. Even simply getting your dog some toys of it's own to play with can add a lot of fun and happiness to it's life, but more importantly
getting the dog involved in family activities will have a positive
effect on it's mental state and happiness. Dogs love to be taken for walks or a run along the beach. They get to look at a different environment and interact with
strangers and other dogs. This social interaction is very important for the overall well being of your dog and it is something that needs to be done on a
regular basis. One of the benefits of dog training schools is the fact that your
dog will get to interact with other dogs, however training your dog
at home also has it's benefits as you will be learning each others
personalities when working closely together and your dog will still
get the opportunity to socialize with other dogs when you take it
for walks in the park and similar activities. Anytime you spend with your dog will increase the bond between you.