The Dog Company: Newsletter

December 27, 2002 - Volume 34

Materials in this newsletter are the sole possession of the authors and Dog Company. Please do not copy or use in any fashion without written permission

Please become active in your own communities by giving food every month for people and dogs. When you buy a bag of food for your dog or cat, perhaps another bag or a smaller one or bag of cookies or a dog toy. Do it every month !

The Dog Company donates each month and so does Island Dog sports. When we win food as prizes in a tournaments, we give back....... by donating our food... of course we keep the ribbons and the memories for ourselves!

YOU CAN HELP THE SPCA too. Here is how it works: you just drop off or mail your Canadian Tire money to your local branch. Donating HBC or Zeller's points is just as easy. You provide the branch's number at the time you make your purchase and the points accumulate locally for the SPCA.

(Note: the Victoria SPCA branch number is: 966 995 622)

For readers outside of Canada, I know of a lot of ASPCA (U.S.) and the RSPCA (England,Scotland & Ireland, Australia) do something like this. However, in other parts of Europe, etc, I am not sure. If it isn't happening where you live .....make a difference ...... and get it started!

What a great way to start the NEW YEAR!

Woof ... Sweep ^..^~~!
(Thanks, Finnigan, for telling me all about the SPCA programs)

Announcement: Due to staff holidays, the next issue of the Woof will be on the 14th of January, not the 10th.

Wanted: Your 'articles', your 'For Sales', your 'Want Ads', your birthday wishes, your letters to Mam'selle, your names, your ......... ????? By Wed. Jan. 8th .... for the next Woof, please...... mailto:peni@dogcompany.com

(Disclaimer: Advertisements posted by the Woof are done as a service, not as an endorsement. Please communicate directly with the ad contact for further information on any items.)

Dear Mam'selle,
This is me, resting my knee....
Melancholy Monty

Dear M.M.,
Ouch! Your mom told my mom that you would be out of commission for at least 6 weeks. I heard you were running at the park and didn't see that the ground gave way a bit and you really hurt your knee due to the unlevelled running surface at the Dog Park. That is one of my mom's pet peeves to the Parks Dept. You're not the only dog that has hurt themselves, and not only that, but the Parks Dept. or the town or whatever also needs a trash can so people will pick up after their pets.

Thanks so much for the picture; you do look very Melancholy. I am looking forward to seeing you on one of our "low key" (you're really learning what that means) walks when you're able to get out for a bit! We are all thinking of you and will be glad to have you back in sports soon.

Dog Parents ... please note the running surfaces you're throwing balls or Frisbees on. Walk out into the fields and check it out to see if there are ground dips, etc. and if so, don't throw the balls or toys in that direction. We dogs are focused on the toy, not the surface. We rely on you to keep us safe.
Woof ... Poutine... ^..^~~!

Dear God,
We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent IDs, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?
Sincerely, The Dog

Isolate him; make sure he thinks the world is a strange place.
Soothe him whenever he is frightened; tell him its o.k. and stroke him gently.
When he struggles to get out of your grasp, let him go. This teaches him that you have no control.
Hold the leash tight every time something frightening happens or you see another dog coming. Even better, say, "Uh-oh," as you pull the lead really tight, and, "BE NICE !"
Never let him play with other dogs. If you do, let him be a bully or let him get beaten up all the while the other dog owner is telling you that it's o.k. for dogs to "WORK" it out.
Don't neuter or spay your dog.
Allow him to growl Tell yourself, "It's O.K, he really doesn't mean it."
Leave your dog with children unsupervised. Allow children or even adults to tease and harass him because he is such a "Good dog."

At this hectic time of year, with all the holiday happenings, you might tend to forget some of these things..... what the heck... you might not think about them at other times either. Living with Peni, we two know that these things won't happen with us, but for some of the other pups out there, these might be part of their lives. Sometimes it'll be because their people just don't realize that what they're doing is sending their dog the wrong message; other times, it's because the people just don't know how to fix it or make a change.

So here's to a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION......Young or old, any breed..... if things are going along with some kind of frustration daily between you and your people, come and join our fun, interactive, full of adventure, dog obedience training. There are Trail walks, Streetsmarts, Games and more fun to learn by.

If things are great between you, and you're looking for still more fun and adventure, come join our dog sports. www.islanddogsports.com or 656-1659

Woof...Hamish (young guy) ^..^~! and Jiggs (old guy) ^..^~~!

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
Josh Billings

There's a 'pet carrier' available at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus stores? It's an "Isabella Fiore" design.... and only costs $365 US!

'Recuperating'.... 'recovering'... 'mending'.... 'down time'..... 'taking it easy'.... whuff! I'm so tired of hearing those words. They all seemed to mean the same thing - I wasn't allowed to do anything I wanted to. But I need to back up a little... to the first week in December. I started to not feel well - kind of draggy, and no bounce in my step. It hurt to lie down and to get up and then there was another symptom..... one that involves those little bags that Mom packs in her pocket! ('nuff said about that!) Anyway, Mom kept a pretty close eye on me, and when it seemed like I was having problems for too long a time, they took me to my doctors. The doctors looked at my insides with a machine a bunch of different times, and since they didn't like what they saw, they... gulp... they cut a big hole in me and looked around some more. I was asleep for that part, thank goodness.

Now, this is where all that recuperating and stuff comes in. When Mom brought me home, she wouldn't let me do anything. I couldn't go outside by myself.... someone always went with me and watched to see what I did... (how embarrassing!) I couldn't trot ahead on a walk.... I had to stay on leash and walk right beside them. I couldn't go on a long walk.... we always turned around much too soon. I couldn't play with other dogs... Mom always told their people I'd had "surgery" and had to 'take it easy.' I couldn't have anything to eat except this real blegh tasting food. I had to have a pill every morning and night... Mom stuffed it down my throat so I couldn't spit it out. And bedtime? Huh! I had to sleep in the living room because I wasn't allowed to jump up on the bed... "You might pull your incision open if you jump."

Like I said, I got really tired of all of this. I was supposed to take it easy for ten days.... what a bore. But by Day eight, I was feeling really good, so Mom started very slowly relaxing the rules a bit, but she didn't give in on everything. I did get a bit of my regular food.. good thing too... I'm sure I've lost a lot of weight... maybe now I can have my whipped cream again. My stomach still looks funny, 'cause my hair hasn't grown back yet, but I'm not having any trouble with anything, anywhere!

So with any luck, those 'recuperating' words are gone. I guess it was smart to take it easy... I sure wouldn't want to have to start all over. I've heard Peni say, "Down time is important" and this was one of those times. I'm ready and raring to go now though... Flyball.. here I come! (Ooops... Mom says not yet!)
HRH Trouble (athlete with attitude)

McDuff.... for a sheep dog or a German Shepherd
Excavator.... for the dog who likes to dig
Yoga... for a very quiet, agile dog

GRRR ... Wuff! Yep, it's time to pop the popcorn ( I like mine with a bit of butter) and a big bowl of water.

These are all available at the video stores
Family Flicks........ Old Yeller! ( I cried like a pup)
Scrooge (the 1955 version)

Adult Movies.............. Soft Fruit....Australian it's a "chick flick"
Mr. Deeds......(comedy?)

Geeesh.......... I can smell the popcorn now! REMEMBER TO LICK UP ALL THE CRUMBS OFF THE FLOOR
Wuuffffff .......Slick

The Dog/Cat Wars: A Time Line

23 Million BCE - Giant sabre-toothed cats walk the earth. Dogs spend a lot of time indoors.
1 Million BCE - Humans invent the stick. Dog/cat hostilities drop to nil as dogs everywhere become engrossed in exploring the possibilities of this fascinating new object.
2,500 BCE - The rise of the Egyptian civilization, which reveres the cat. Dogs are stuck with low paying jobs and substandard housing which results in an anti-cat sentiment that will last for centuries.
400 - 800 CE - In the Dark Ages, cats are nearly eradicated as superstitious Europeans let their dogs freely attack the supposedly demonic felines. Cats seem doomed......until....... (to be cont'd )

Cleocatra (Miss Trouble's feline sister)

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