Different dogs have different intelligence levels. Just like humans. Some dogs are a bit, ahem, ‘sharper’ in their earlier months. Some are simply the opposite. But generally, I find that six months old is about the time average puppies start to respond to conditional training. That is, training that uses a repeated reward system to build upon their memory.
We love the Kong products (in fact, I just reviewed another one here). For Mollie (our puppy pictured here), the small / petite size works best. It’s simply a rubber toy with a pocket that holds small dog treats. If you have a dog that gets bored of toys quick, this might be a great solution.
This past summer we turned our deck into a zen-like retreat for my husband and myself. Complete with Buddha statue and soft lighting. We wanted our dogs to enjoy it too.
Our house is situated next to a state route and while not heavily traveled, those that do travel it rarely keep the speed limit. Our yard isn’t fenced and while we have a trolley-runner for the dogs in front of the house, behind the house is nothing. I wish I could say that our dogs were trained enough to stay on the deck, but they aren’t.
My dog ran away. What do I do? Where do I start looking? Could he have been hit by a car? Will he be scared and bite? So many questions, and such little time to panic. You need to be smart in this stressful situation.
On March 17th 2019, the Luck of the Irish was not with me. Brody, the fear aggressive Bull Mastiff that lives next door, was once again the biggest dog in our yard. Even though he isn’t supposed to be there.
I have a great tip for you today. If you shop on Amazon, you could be helping your favorite local or national pet charity by using Amazon Smile.
I’ve heard mixed thoughts on the elevated dog dish. On one hand, it’s generally a good senior dog bowl so they don’t have to bend down to get food as well as taller dogs for the same reason. On the other hand, it’s not good for some dogs because it can be a factor in stomach bloat. I’ve been through this emergency – it’s terrifying.
Years ago, I recall sitting in the car with my parents and recently adopted Yellow Labrador, Reilly, at our local drive-in. We all enjoyed a burger and fries (Reilly, with his own treats). It was a warm Summer day, and we had the windows to the car open. People were coming and going, and occasionally families or those venturing solo walked by the car as we ate. Even though Reilly was fairly new to our family – for about a year or so – he never showed any signs of aggression towards us, nor any strangers for that matter. Like many dogs, he loved attention and enjoyed the company of people. The Animal Rescue League, where we had adopted him from, didn’t provide much information at the time of adoption, other than he was six months old and had previously belonged to a Mennonite family. We felt proud to have stumbled upon such a magnificent dog.
Max is my 14-year-old craigslist miniature schnauzer. When he entered my life, he was 7 years old. The story that the “free to go home” family gave me was that their teenage daughter had a baby and having a dog was too much for them. However, they also had a giant schnauzer and a golden retriever.
Meet Ace, the speed eater. His main joy in life is eating. Doesn’t matter what. And the quicker he can eat it, the better; it means the more he can eat! He will finish his food first for the chance of vacuuming the scraps of his brothers and sisters.