The Dog Blog

I am, first and foremost, a person that loves dogs.  And like every animal lover, I was absolutely horrified by the events that led to NFL quarterback Michael Vick serving 18 months at Leavenworth Penitentiary for conspiracy related to his dogfighting ring.  What he did to those dogs was cruel and unthinkable and nothing can make that go away.  Recently, Michael Vick made news when he mentioned that he would someday like to get a dog for his children and I’ve been inundated with opinions from all sides.

All too well we know of many dogs` continuing connection to the receiving end of a shock collar. Not the best confidence booster in the world, is it?  However, this blog is less about the evils of shock collars, (as evil as they are) and more about the connections one gains in the world of positive dog training. Nothing equals the pleasure (well almost nothing) of being able to use those connections to make life better for dogs.  Shock collars will not magically disappear without ongoing intervention of determined individuals spreading the good word. Often it is one dog, one person at a time. In a recent discussion with facebook colleague Tony Cruse, he hoped, with his positive methods, to influence the widespread use of shock collars on farms neighboring those of a client.

There is lots of talk these days about giving second chances, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that in most cases. However, why not do our best to give every puppy and every dog owner a first chance? We have the ability to go a long way towards resolving the shelter problem and to change the quality of life for dogs and their owners by letting all prospective puppy buyers know that they should only consider buying housetrained, chewtoy-trained, socialized and mannerly pups and then continue to raise them according to Open Paw’s Minimum Mental Health Guidelines. Please email the URL to this page to every dog owner, prospective dog owner or dog professional that you know.

Imagine you’re an 88-year-old grandmother with a live-in caretaker. One day your children decide it would be a great idea for a toddler to come and live with you. Your peaceful world is suddenly turned upside down. The noise! The chaos! The constant bids for attention from the rambunctious tyke! What’s happened?

What’s happened is exactly what happens to many older dogs when their owners decide to bring home a puppy. Sometimes owners feel the tincture of youth will infuse the senior dog with a new lust for life. Others simply can’t stand the thought of losing their older dog and the house becoming deafeningly silent, and feel a puppy would ease the transition. And sometimes owners (or more often, their children) want a puppy, and don’t consider the impact it might have on the original four-footed resident.

A typical training call might go like this:

"We’d like some help with our new four-month-old terrier puppy.”