Showing posts with label books about dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books about dogs. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

human obedience class [a shared post]


"Welcome to human obedience class,the class will meet every Tuesday night for four weeks,
do not bring humans who do not like other humans,
or cannot communicate in a civil way, this means
no Congressmen, people of the left or right, bankers,
tech support or customer service reps or
radio or TV talk show hosts.
We will teach basic obedience:
come when called, stay when told, feed when commanded.
The class will instruct you on  basic obedience:
how to get humans to stop
when you want to sniff something, pee on a bush, growl at a squirrel
or a cat, walk in a crooked line, throw a ball when looked in the eye
and given the command of three barks. How to make a  human take you into
bed, let you on a sofa, buy those gourmet bones.
In class two, we will learn how to maintain eye contact with humans,
triggering the "guilt response," where humans say "awww, puppy"
and offer a treat, a hug, walk or a meal.
In the third class, we shall learn to move pull humans along a path while
they curse and shout and make curious noises. We will
teach them to wait patiently while we sniff for food and sniff other dogs.
Class four is about learning to not emotionalize humans.
They are not like dogs,
they have poor instincts, are easily confused,
possess few natural hunting or survival skills,
and generally impaired senses of smell. It is impossible to train them
well if they are emotionalized, they are simple, elemental creatures,
very needy, with very short attention spans. They are not only
willing to be manipulated by dogs, they seem to love and need it.
Classes are important if you wish to live with humans.
Training is not about obedience, but communication.
We need to show them how to be safe in our world.
First, we will learn to read human body language,
how to read their posture, facial expressions, rear ends
when they move.
Humans make a wide variety of sounds, they are given to shouting,
waving their arms, making loud gutteral and whining noises,
especially when they are running after dogs, shouting commands.
They are nearly helpless when left alone, especially outside,
they have no instincts to speak of, speak too much and
need exercise several times a day.
Among the lesson topics: how to communicate with rescue humans
who have been abused – most humans seem to be – how to choose a human.
We all love humans here, and want to help them.
We believe the only way to choose a human is, in fact, to rescue one,
there are so many of them in desperate
need of a dog, it is almost immoral to choose a happy and healthy one.
Be prompt, bring leashes and some treats for training – humans call them donuts."

For more incredible writing, visit Jon Katz at Bedlam Farm. His books are wonderful, as well!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

a giveaway - just in time for the holidays!

Okay, y'all, happy Saturday! As I said in my last post, we're all ready for our next giveaway. And this time, it's the perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer for the animal lover in your life. Or for yourself. No judgment here!


This book, Paws to Reflect is only available for Kindles right now, but when I got a copy of the hardcover edition, the authors were nice enough to send me a copy for this giveaway, too! Aren't they awesome? I think so!

I've been pretty vocal about how God uses Claire all the time to teach me important lessons, and this book is full of short stories along those same lines. Each devotion is short and to-the-point, so it's perfect to keep with you when you've got five minutes to sit and take a breath from the busyness of life.

Want to win it? Here's how to enter, plus some reminders:
-- Just leave a comment below sharing a life lesson that you've learned lately. --- Be sure to include your email address too, so I can notify you if you win!
-- Enter by Wednesday, November 14th at 6:00pm, because that's when the giveaway closes. Good luck!
  

Friday, September 21, 2012

you'll thank me for telling you about this stuff.

I was doing a little browsing last night before bed, and I have to say that I found some pretty share-worthy things - just in time for today's post! I've also read a ton of great books lately that I wanted to let you all know about, too! Grab a pen and paper, and get ready for information-overload...
  • Life+Dog posted this article about how to recognize anxiety in dogs and how to help them.
  • Tails Inc. featured a video that our dear friends Lauren and Dexter made - and Paige made an appearance too!
  • Tatiana Garrett wrote a fantastic article for Tails Inc. entitled "Animal Lovers Must Love People Too", which I completely resonated with, as both a social worker and animal lover.
  • Ashley and Winnie from Hot Diggity [one of our favorite pet boutiques back home on Cape Cod - you know, aside from The Black Dog] have started a new weekly blog featuring cool new products at their store that you should definitely check out. And yes, shipping is available!
  • HuffPo recently posted an article about why dogs sleep curled up, and they linked to VetStreet's article about why dogs sleep belly up. Both are questions that I've wondered myself...
  • Thanks to our friends at Dog Milk, I came across this dog tag, which is perfectly fitting for Claire. It's been added to our wish list, of course, since Christmas is just a few months away!
  • I found two new sites that I quickly became obsessed with: Hugs and Inubar, which are definitely worth checking out for an assortment of toys and other designer products for your pet.

Lastly, some books that you absolutely must pick up, simply because they are amazing:

Wallace by Jim Gorant

Unsaid by Neil Abramson

The Dog Who Danced by Susan Wilson


A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron [the sequel to A Dog's Purpose]
    

Monday, October 11, 2010

today's trial run.

Well, Claire and I have been living in our new house for almost two weeks. She has adjusted pretty well to this new living arrangement, which is great, especially since it's the first time I've moved since she has come into my life.  However, in the past two weeks, Claire has managed to break out of her crate three and a half times. This is new for Claire. Normally she stays in the crate on the two or three days during a work week that she is not at Bark-O-Lounge (*) and when I get home, we go straight to the park for a few hours to run around. Claire has never had a problem being in the crate, though I'm sure it gets awfully boring for her. I try to make sure that she has one of her Nina Ottosson toys in there with her, but as great as they are, they do not ensure eight solid hours of entertainment. At first, I was bewildered by Claire's behavior... but then my roommate Lissa and I realized that we apparently have some guests in the house: mice. (UGH!!) Claire has probably been seeing them run by her crate, which prompts her to use all of her strength to squeeze all 50 lbs through the incredibly small space between the door and the frame of the crate. Either that, or she does some kind of magic trick following in Houdini's footsteps. In Claire's defense, all of the times Lissa and I have found her, she has been curled up on the couch or wagging her tail frantically as we come in the door. She has not yet (knock on wood) destroyed anything once she has gotten out of her crate. My fear is that Claire is going to hurt herself by pulling this stunt, and that I will be at work when this injury happens.


Given Claire's new skills at breaking free, Lissa and I - after much deliberation - decided to let Claire try and make it a whole day without being in the crate at all. The last time I tried this was when she was 9 months old and she chewed up my blinds, my couch, and two library books (one was entitled - and I kid you not - "The Well Adjusted Dog." The library manager laughed when I told her, though I was mortified.) I was experiencing so much anxiety about this that I didn't sleep much last night, and I prayed all throughout today. All I could imagine was walking in the door to see the house torn to shreds. However... I am happy to say that Claire did wonderfully during her trial run! My house is still in tact, our furniture is exactly the way we left it, and most importantly, Claire is in one piece as well! I was ecstatic! She's going to day care tomorrow and Wednesday, so let's pray that Trial Run #2 is great on Thursday, too!





(*) Note: Stacey, Sheila, and Rob are the BEST and there isn't anyone else I would trust to take care of my baby for 8-10 hours a day! Please check out their website, and then bring your dog there for day care - you will be extremely happy and so will your dog!)

Sunday, October 10, 2010

recent favorites.

Since Claire came into my life, I have been somewhat obsessed with books about dogs. I am convinced that ANYONE, dog-owner or not, will love these books. So you really have to take my advice and pick them up at the library. You'll laugh and cry as you turn the pages. Some of my favorites... And please note that it is absolutely a coincidence that there is a labrador retriever in every single cover photo.

W. Bruce Cameron - A Dog's Purpose
(I read this in a day.)


Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain
(And this one, too.)

John Grogan - Marley and Me
(Mind you, I could not see the movie after I read the book because I cried so hard at the end.)

Jon Katz - Izzy and Lenore
(A true story - an amazing story.)