Minou <3

A view from a different angle

Dog park aggression and good, positive ways to react.

Today at the dog park there was a dog who seemed to have a big issue with being territorial of his things and shared areas that he thought were his. One thing I can say about this is that you should NEVER pick your dog up if you think there is going to be an altercation. This is turning the guilt to your side even if your loved one gets hurt or further pestered. You see while all of our first instincts is to want to get our babies out of the problem we are actually making them more vulnerable in the other dogs eyes. We pick he or she up and the other dog thinks, hmmm he can't move right now very well or run away, its a great time to jump up or go after him. Whether a dog is playing or attacking another dog it is never the answer to pick up your dog. 

I would also like to talk about toy-aggression or your dog being possessive. When Shamus was just a little baby at 3 months old he came to me with food aggression along with, toy aggression. What I did personally was whenever I fed Shamus I would go towards his food, he would growl. I would say loud and firm, SHAMUS SIT! Having already taught him sit and down and wait he was easily agreeable. You may have to work on it with your loved one or may not. Either way I kept repeating that. The split-second he would growl or become uncomfortable I would command him to sit. Once this was instilled in him, I could control him and take his mind off of that and onto obeying his master and sitting down and waiting to eat. After a few days of this I started getting braver. I would command him to sit and wait to eat. Then I would move his bowl a couple feet in any direction away from him while commanding him to wait. Then I would say ok once the bowl was moved and he would scurry over. I repeated this periodically and randomly for a couple of weeks. He has never had food aggression since.  Minou can attest to that. She frequently will try to eat his food and when he comes jogging over she'll intimidate Shamus away from his own food. Not fair so I give her a friendly mist from the spray bottle and that's that! =P

Lover boy

Spreading love to all hes in contact with!!!

Socialization is very important to your dogs mental and physical well being. Start socializing today!

What happens if you or I stay inside all day and never see our friends? Gets pretty boring, right? A lot of energy wasted and saved up. Same thing with dogs except they cannot even call up a friend and chit chat. Starting to get where I am going with this? Exactly! Your four-legged friends need to have friends OTHER than you to socialize with regularly. > I take Shamus to the dog park and he runs around (exercises!!!!) and plays with them. He also is exposed to all kinds of dogs. Big to small, dominant to submissive, loud to quiet, fast to slow, and so on and so on. I know that he is exposed to every type of dog and knows how to act when he encounters a dog that may have the same personality traits as one of his friends. This helps me to not have to constantly be fearful that Shamus will go after another dog or feel threatened enough to need to protect himself. Socialize your dog today with people and other dogs. Just keep control of your dog and keep them close if you are just starting to socialize them especially if you rescued or adopted them as you do not know how they will react and if in a negative way, how much socialization they will require before being let off the leash. 

Streeeeeeeeeeeetch!!

Gooooood morning viewers! Sheesh is there any privacy around here anymore??? :P

Snap as he hears the electronical switch go off inside the camera.

and....

He doesnt know I am about to take a picture!! :P

Say 'cheeeeeeeeeese' poopie!!

Smile

Such a good pic of Shamus! Share cute pics of your four legged friends. Subscribe today and follow us on our journey.

Pics from quiet and short dog park trip today!

Its a good thing the dog park is a 20 block walk for Shamus and I anyway. Walking there and back is exercise in its own almost everyday!! =P 

Shamus made two friends today. Did not get a pic of the other guy, will next time. He was rescued from a bad situation and is still learning that no one wants to hurt him. Poor little poopie face. I hope to see him a lot in the future at the dog park. I am confident that all he needs is frequent trips to see his friends and eventually he will run with the pack in a confident and fearless manner. <3 u Iggy

 The proud... The beautiful... Stand tall as one!

 You take the low road, I'll take the high road.

 Those of you who know Shamus, know that he LOVES his little friends!! =P

 This little cutie pie was chasing Shamus all over. "Stay away from my bum!!" he shouted.

Skunky! Enough said.

Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound

I was looking around on some dog sites today and stumbled across this rare breed.  Check out this dog man!! Talk about a 'sensory overload'!! =P

 COMMENTS?


Now lets check on Shamus and see what he is up to...........................................................................................................................................................
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Just as I suspected, passed out!!! hahaaaa <3 u poopie!!

Skunk

Shamus loves his skunky!!!

Dog Park was being worked on today! Bummmmer dude!! =P

Shamus still got exercise but once they opened the gate to bring the machines in I thought it was best to just go even though Shamus LOVES anything with a motor on it!! =P

Come on viewers... start posting pics of your loved ones!! haha

Putting new sand down. Yay

Going to the dog park! Wish you all could come!!!

Going to the dog park!! I'll upload pics of Shamus and all his buddies when we return. Happy Tuesday morning. Its a beautiful day to go run around and stretch those legs. =)

Go visit and spend time with a dog or cat at your local shelter! Make time!!

We know how much love our loved ones get when we are with them. Think about the many dogs and cats in shelters who don't have families yet. They would love if you came to visit even if YOU were not the one adopting them. Quality time is quality time. Plus it helps them become more social which in turn helps them get adopted quicker. Go on Google or ask around and find out where you can go and visit the many homeless animals. Call them up and tell them you would like to volunteer. You could take them on walks, play with them. Give them all the love and attention they can take. What are you waiting for!?!?!?!??? Gooooooooooooooooooo!!

Gooooooooood morning, happy Tuesday!!!

Stretch.... Yawn... Get up and eat poopie face!!! Hello everyone!!

If your dog does not have an elevated dog bowl you should seriously consider getting him or her one.

When your dog is bending down to eat it is putting stress on its hips, back, and shoulders. But if they are eating out of an elevated bowl you can reduce the amount of stress your loved one receives dramatically. You'd be surprised how much of a difference it can make. I got Shamus one and he actually finishes his meal in his normal 5-10 minute fashion. If I can see how much happier he is to eat and drink water then that is enough for me to tell you that you should go out and get your dog an elevated feeder. His first one was fifteen bucks at one of the local marts. Upgraded him to a fifty dollar one and same concept besides that now I can raise it or lower it. Trust me, though its fifty bucks because it looks nice.

Minou vs Shamus's food and water bowls

Minou shoulder

Toys

Its best to only give your dog toys while supervising otherwise they might Chew and swallow them causing stomach problems. With Shamus I found out it was the 'runs and sprays' is what I called it. It can also cause serious damage to the stomach if your dog cannot pass it. When I see Shamus chewing up his toy I take it away at that point. Its that easy to prevent your baby from getting sick from that. Id rather play WITH Shamus anyway!! Thanks for reading and staying in-touch with your dog and our blog. :)

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Minou <3

Good Morning!!! Happy Monday to all! Don't forget to cuddle up with your loved one when you get back from work!

Don't forget to cuddle up with your loved one when you get back from work. I simple hello isn't sufficient either. I realize your lives may be busy but never busy enough for the one you love. What should be topic of conversation today? 

How often does everyone bathe their dog? Shamus is getting his bath today!! =P Cats are lucky they just clean themselves all day. I bathe Shamus once every two and a half weeks. The reason I wait is so that his skin doesn't become super dry. The natural oils help to keep the dry skin problems from coming around. Might I also suggest searching out a conditioning shampoo for your pooch. Shamus uses 'Spa' product line found at Petco. 

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Found a fun and effective way to gain more control of Shamus on the leash while walking.

Heel! Heel! Heel! While heel is the most common method or phrase used in keeping your dog at your side it does not always work.  Shamus took to the heel but he still needs some work on remaining calm when children walk by or a skateboarder or even a cat or other dog. I got frustrated and decided to think about it a little. I came up with this...

While walking I will come to a stop and immediately, with a firm voice command Shamus to 'sit down'. He sits. I then say 'wait'. After I see that he is waiting in the sit position I then tell him 'ok'. With that said we begin to walk again. After just a few steps I come to a stop and command him to 'sit down' again. He stops and sits down. 'wait' ... After I see he is waiting I give him the 'ok' and we begin walking again. I did this on every walk for a couple of days. Next is the tricky part. I would tell him a few times with sounds like 'sit down' and 'wait' and 'ok'. Now I go to a busy street and do the same steps while walking past people and animals. Yay!!! Shamus!!! You did it!! 

Now try it with just stopping and see if he sits... GOOD BOY!! 

Worked with Shamus. Having problems with your dog on the leash? Try this technique. Practice really does make perfect so even if you are sure your dog has got it... Keep going over it with them once in a while. Pop-quiz your dog, he or she will love the exercise you are giving their brain. I reward Shamus with LOVE LOVE LOVE because that is what he can't get enough of. I almost feel like LOVE is more effective as a reward.

Dog park etiquette

 These are some personal thoughts of mine on how to act at the dog park and what to do to have a more peaceful and enjoyable time with your loved one.

It is a smart and healthy choice to pick up after your loved one after he or she does their number two. I have been known to pick it up if I see it and someone else has not. Remember, not everyone takes care of their pet the way you do and if another dog is sick or diseased (poor baby) your dog could become sick as well from coming in contact with feces left uncared for. Plus it smells yucky, duh! 

I also like to observe the inside of the fenced Dog Park to see how other dogs are interacting and to pick out which dogs to keep a closer watch on with Shamus. Shamus likes to 'hump' other more submissive dogs and submits/ plays with the aggressive ones. So it is good to always keep an awareness of other dogs while also keeping an open mind that some dogs just may be vocal. This will also give you an opportunity to make your dog wait calmly and be rewarded with entrance to the party all of his friends are enjoying. =P

It is good to socialize with other dogs and other dog owners. If our dogs see good energy between us, their masters, and each other they sense that they are safe and free to just have fun and stretch out their legs! This is not a common rule as some dogs were forced to be uncomfortable around other dogs and need to be slowly rehabilitated and socialized. Dogs are really big on feelings believe it or not. They lack the ability to speak our language however are so easily affected by our mood and energy.  

One thing that helps everyone is to bring any extra 'poopie bags' that you may have. Most dog parks SHOULD have plastic bags and trash receptacles strategically placed for your convenience and for the dog parks cleanliness and safety of all our loved ones. Even if your dog park has 'poopie bags' it still helps to just bring them. I look at it as I am very happy I have a nice big dog park to bring Shamus too so he can get the daily exercise he requires. Thanks local dog park! To show my appreciation here are some extra 'poopie bags'!!

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Home with Minou <3

Waterrrrrrrrrr yay

Boys will be boys