Monday 25 November 2013

5 Things to Do When Your Mom is Ill

Hey pups! Mom is snuffling and coughing and forever taking paracetamol so you know what that means for me: boring, long days.

1. Be happy with the walks you do get, even if they are short. At least Mommy is still trying to exercise you and you know fresh air is good when you are poorly. We went for a short game of fetch on the nearby field and I still love every second even if it wasn't as long as usual. (On a separate note it is best not to walk if there are going to be firework like noises and you are afraid of them because that will cut the walk even shorter!)

2. Have plenty of toys and chews around to entertain yourself with while Mom is in bed dying. My selection includes but is not limited to: antler, rawhide chews, toys, balls, stuffies and other.

3. This is more of a don't do. Don not under any circumstances get into any mischief. Mom might not appreciate it as much as she does when there is no fever or stuffy nose. Ripped up paper towel strewn across the living room  or a chewed up pen is not the way forward; stick to your own chews.

4. TLC will cure anything so stick by her and beg to be let into bed with her until she relents. Or if you really are too big- this is for the Irish Wolfhounds and Great Danes out there- just collapse by their bed and stay there forever. I find that facial or hand licking also works very well (but not if you have just eaten or licked something yucky).

5. And finally be yourself. Your Mom picked you out of all the other puppies in your litter or of all the other dogs in you shelter for you. And she loves you for you- sick or not!


Licks and Wags,
Dina

Saturday 23 November 2013

My Read List

Hey guys! I am really boring you this week, aren't I? I should really hand over back to Little Miss Me-Me-Me but what can I say? I'm a rule breaker and I'll hog her blog (excuse the rhyme) for one more day and hand over tomorrow. Moving on to the actual topic today, I wanna ask you guys (and pups!) what sorta books you like to read? I love a lot of things and am a big reader but today I'll be sharing the animal shelf of my bookcase. Are you ready? Then let's a go-go!


The whole shelf. I don't know what your standards are and if to you that is a lot or not (to me it's not that much) but I don't own them all (I wish) and most are from the library.


Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor. I haven't read it yet but can't wait to. I've heard a lot of positive things about this book from other bloggers, dog owners and trainers; I must say from the first 10 or so pages I read I like it.


The Power of Positive Dog training by Pat Miller. Another dog training book and another recommendation. I've not read this one either (to save me typing it I've not read any of the following books apart from a couple) but the snippets seem good and give me the impression it gives a more hands-on approach to dog training.


Marley and Me by John Grogan. I have done a post about this book in the past (here) so I won't spend time on this one, I'll just say: It's epic!


Here we have 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance (in Polish :) and Brain Games for Dogs by Claire Arrowsmith. I got 101 Dog Trick when holidaying in Poland in 2009-I think- and this is one of the one I have read cover to cover. It was before I got a dog and it inspired me to do stuff with Dina, our current 'Roll in a Blanket' trick comes from here. The other one I've not read (surprise, surprise) but it is along the same lines as 101 Dog Tricks but with a bit less formal way of training. 


When Elephants Weep by Jeffrey Masson. This book I've heard mentioned as a reference in previous books (such as Zoobiquity or Making Animals Happy- both very good and a deserving read) and am gonna see what it is about. Well, in more detail, I already know it is about the emotions of animals.


The Tellington TTouch by Linda Tellington-Jones. I talks about the TTouch and how it works. Methods of applying it and various success stories.


Shy Boy by Monty Roberts and Whispering Back by Adam Goodfellow and Nicole Golding. These two books reflect my second passion: horses. They are both about natural horsemanship and life using the principles of it. Shy Boy is about training a wild mustang out on the range using only natural horsemanship and is written by the leading man in the field; Monty Roberts. The other is about a couple who run a farm that helps horses using natural horsemanship.


Last but not least we have The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Bekoff (again in Polish). I've not read this one yet but will be one of the first or second one of this list that I do read. It has the same focus as When Elephants Weep but of course with different content. :)

These are not all the books on my 'Animal Shelf' but they are the ones I think are the most interesting to share with you guys. I have supplied links along the way so do feel free to check out the free preview on amazon.com. The links I have provided are to the USA Amazon as most of you guys are indeed American but all the books are available on UK or whatever Amazon you happen to use. I whole-heartedly encourage you to read them and expand your knowledge of the animal world, not just canine but feline, equine and all other animal as well as there are many thing that we can apply from one species to the next. 

Hugs,
Dina Mom

Friday 22 November 2013

They're on to us!

Hey guys! I snagged Dina's post today cos I thought this was too funny to not share with you guys:

I do not own this photo!
Help, they're on to us!

Hugs,
Dina Mom

Thursday 21 November 2013

Whatcha think of my new toy?




Personally, I think it is amazing- my new favourite!

Licks and Wags,
Dina

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Wordfull Wednesday:

You know the world has gone crazy when you have orange clouds
Licks and Wags,
Dina


Tuesday 19 November 2013

Favourite Shots

Hey pups! Mom was going through our photo folder and we got a bit nostalgic so we put together this little video: Favourite Shots! DM: Blogger won't read the video off YouTube so I have to do a link)  Hope ya'll like it!

Licks and Wags,
Dina


Thursday 14 November 2013

Pretty Please with Cherries and Crushed Nuts on Top

Please. please,pleeeeeeeeeeeeease can you stop taking photos so we can go back to fetch! I am begging you!

Licks and Wags,
Dina

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Training Tuesday: Roll Over Continued

Hey pups! As we've not really done anything exciting with the Paws Up trick (just added verbal cue and practised on different objects etc...), I've decided to go back tot the earlier trick of roll over and work on that a bit, extending it into a 'Roll Yourself in a Blanket' trick. Hopefully it will consist of Dina picking up a corner of a blanket in her mouth, rolling over whilst holding it, dropping the blanket and putting her head down (like this:)

From Google Images




This is the first behaviour chain I'll be teaching so any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. Wish us good luck!

Hugs,
Dina Mom

Monday 11 November 2013

Walk Photos

Hey pups! Yesterday we went for a nice long walk. There weather was perfect: lovely and cool with a birth and clear blue sky. Be prepared for the photo overload:





Yesterday's photo



Look at that sky


My X-Mas ball






















Licks and Wags,
Dina