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How Do You Train a Deaf Dog?

Yesterday I wrote about my friend who found out her dog is deaf. She had asked me if I knew anything about training a deaf dog, so I looked into it. I searched online for resources on the topic, and I also posted a request for help in the forums. The result? A wealth of information! Training Techniques TOUCH Both the replies in the forum and the Deaf Dog Education Action Fund emphasized how important physical contact, like pats and petting, is to training deaf dogs. Which makes sense. When one sense is out of commission the others have to … Continue reading →

Teach Your Dog to Fetch

My dog Lally learned to fetch from an ex-boyfriend’s dog. She watched him chasing a ball around the yard and soon started chasing it herself! You don’t need a dog to lead by example, though, in order to teach your dog to fetch. Teaching your dog to fetch will probably be easiest if your dog already likes carrying things in his or her mouth. But that isn’t a requirement! Tell your dog to sit. If your dog doesn’t know how to sit yet, you can teach him that first. Bring a toy a few steps away from where the dog … Continue reading →

Test Your Dog’s Intelligence

A researcher from the University of British Columbia has developed a basic canine intelligence test. Want to know how smart your pup really is? Try this quick and easy test. With your dog watching, take a treat and place it under a can. Keep track of how long it takes your pet to retrieve the treat! Less than fifteen seconds is considered a very good time! You may have a four-legged smarty on your hands. With your dog watching, set up three cans and place a treat underneath one. Take your dog out of the room for a few minutes, … Continue reading →

Cutest Book EVER!

Have you ever bore witness to something so incredibly cute that it made you… ovulate. I dare you to look at the unequivocally adorable illustrations that fill Charlie the Ranch Dog and not turn into a puddle of mush… or want to spawn, ASAP. I about died from the cuteness the first time I paged through the charming children’s book courtesy of HarperCollins. But then, when my 6-year-old daughter and I actually sat down to read Charlie the Ranch Dog, I discovered the story was as delightful as the pinch-your-cheek cute pictures. Continuing in our week-long series of super summer … Continue reading →

The Greatest Game

When my husband and I got married, we received what would seem to others like an unusual gift from his older sister. Next to the beautiful hand-painted serving bowl she gave us, she included a book: “50 Games to Play with Your Dog,” by Suellen Dainty. Jon and I didn’t own a dog, plus that’s not exactly the sort of gift one expects to receive for a wedding. However, my sister-in-law and I are close, and she knew me well enough to know that I’d wanted a dog all my life, and that I was eager to get one as … Continue reading →

Stop Chasing!

I was out walking the dogs the other day when two young men on bicycles stopped me and asked for directions. As the boys started to ride off, Lally suddenly took interest and wanted to chase them! The chase instinct is one of the strongest instincts in dogs. Pursuit and hunting behaviors are strong in both domesticated and wild canines. Your dog may want to chase: Running people or children. Bicycles, skateboards, and roller skaters. Cars. Other animals. Moose once chased after a ride-on lawnmower. It was a short lived chase; after three or four steps, he lost interest and … Continue reading →

Balto (1995)

When I first picked up “Balto” for my kids, I didn’t know it was based on a true story. I was fascinated to learn the history behind the film, and I’d like to share a little bit of that with you before we leap into the film itself. Back in 1925, a huge outbreak of diphtheria swept through Nome, Alaska, leaving many children on the brink of death. The people badly needed diphtheria antitoxin, but the closest source was in Anchorage, nearly a thousand miles away. Another team brought the medicine as far as they could, then it was passed … Continue reading →