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May 16, 2003 - Volume 44 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 |
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Off To The Doctor I've often heard the alarming phrase, "My dog doesn't need a check-up; he's always been healthy." Didn't you know that an annual veterinary exam is the key to a long-lived, healthy pet? The annual exam is much more than just a cursory check-up. It is most often during these exams that a veterinarian can pick up the early warning signs of a serious problem that will affect the dog in the future. Serious problems can often be corrected or at least slowed in progress when they are detected early.
Moving onward from the head, the next stop on the Nose to Tail exam is the chest.
There is quite a bit more to an annual exam than most people think. Without regular check-ups, some dogs will not display any symptoms, and owners will often find themselves with an extremely sick dog on their hands, and sometimes it is too late to save them. Please make sure YOUR pet gets in to see a vet at least once a year, even if she has always been healthy; after all, prevention is so much better than cure. If you're not keen on the Vet visits, get your parents to take you in and get a treat and just get used to the smells, the staff, etc...... On the other paw, I know none of us like the thermometer in the bum.......but know you're not alone.
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Reminder The boating & sailing season is here ...... When out, please make sure your dog is wearing his floatation gear, or that he is below in bad weather. Here's one of the boating canines, George, checking on how breakfast was coming while 'parked'.
Classified (To our advertisers: we'd love to hear if your ad in the Woof was successful. Please drop us a line and let us know.) Birthday Wishes Wanted (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.)
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ASK MAM'SELLE Dear Mam'selle, Looking forward to your advice, Dear Brock: When you bark to tell her that someone is coming, etc., that's your job. She should tell you, 'Thank you for telling me; I have it under control,' by saying to you, "Good boy, that's enough." My mom says, "That'll do!" and we all be quiet. That's where the other part is - my mom never shouts or yells. When people shout and yell, we think they're joining in on the barking - what great fun! However, the easiest thing your mom can do is, once she has said it once, that's it. The next bark and she comes directly to you and puts her hand around your muzzle and quietly and firmly says, "Enough!" That's it, big boy ... get the hint and shut-up! I'm sure you keep it up because she keeps repeating her self. Ask her to stop and just say it once, and then follow through with the consequence. You, my big black furry beast, might want to bark and then listen for her response before losing it in the sound of your own voice. See you on the Agility course, trail and at the beach! Your white goddess....."Poutine" ^..^~~!
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Correspondence Hi gang, Well, I just wanted to write to let you know my mom is taking me to Winnipeg, MB, where she has a new job. We are on our way and by the time you read this, we will be there. It was fun learning how to do agility and I hope mom will get me back into it when we get settled in Winnipeg. I really like it. I will miss you all, and thank you, Peni, for training me to listen more to my mom. All the best.
Phydeau Phun A teacher asked her students if they could use the words 'defeat, defense, and detail' in a sentence... Johnny, ever the quick wit, answered with, "De feet of de dog went over de fence before de tail."
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Tips and Tales by Miss Trouble Guess what? I went on my second ferry ride ever a couple of weeks ago. I'm starting to be a world traveller! We went to Mayne Island; Peni had invited Mom and I to go with her when she was doing lessons with some of the Mayne Island dogs. She said it would be good for me to meet other dogs, and besides, Mom needed to take some pictures for her. Mom and I drove out to Sidney and met up with Peni and the gang, and Judy and Mindy were there too. Mindy and I rode together in the back seat with Mom while the rest of the gang rode in their crates. We got on this big boat thing, much bigger than the little one I'd been on before going to Mill Bay, and after awhile, there was lots of noise, and stuff started moving past the window of the van and we were moving, but Peni wasn't driving. I sat right up and watched, 'cause there was all this water everywhere I looked! It took a long time, but eventually, after we stopped, Peni started the van and we drove off the boat and met up with Glen & Ben (Ben's a beautiful black pup!) We followed them to the place where Peni was going to work; it was a nice park area with tasty green grass and a lovely view of the water. All us furfaces got a chance to get out and stretch and stuff (you know what I mean) and then we had to just lie down and be good. Sweep gets used to demonstrate different things when Peni's teaching, but hey, I got used once too. All the Mayne Island dogs were learning how to meet and greet other dogs, so since I'm sometimes "attitude" minded, I was supposed to play the bad guy, the dog who kicks up a big fuss when you meet him, the one who tries to eat your dog or you. Sorry, Peni. I kinda let you down; I behaved myself and didn't do anything wrong! Or was it wrong that I didn't misbehave? Now I'm confused!!! |
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When there was a break for all the furfaces, and the human people were talking about stuff and looking at papers, Mindy and I took Judy and Mom for a walk through the Japanese Gardens. This is a very lovely garden that the people are working on; it's just behind the field near where we were. Mom did her picture taking of the dogs and their people working and learning; it looked like they were learning fast too. I saw Oskar and Toby start to really pay attention to what they were being told. Met up with some old friends there too; Chilidog from Mexico was there, and so were Abby and Ben, both of whom I'd met before. Birdie and Skeeter rounded out the group; a nice bunch of furfaces all these guys. By the time we were ready to leave, I was exhausted; it's hard being good. We climbed back in the van, found the ferry again, and finally got back to Sidney. Let me tell you, when I got home, I slept like a dog! Think I heard that we might be going again one day, so I'll get to see my new friends again. If you go on our web site, you'll see some of the pictures Mom took.
Woofs of Wisdom "If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise"
Sick Call Finnegan is still on the disabled list. It turns out his problem is a disc in his back - not much fun. But, he manages to get out to some of the CGN times and is up for little walks. Hopefully we'll see more of him soon. He's missed on the Trail walks. And then there's Tazz. She took up a new hobby on the Easter weekend - rock collecting . The bad part about that was she collected it by eating it. She's recovering well from surgery and has a lovely rock to use for Show and Tell when she returns. And last but not least, Pixel (corgi) is limping after she did an 'assoverteakettle' when nosed by a big lab. Barks and woofs to all of you from the Woof Gang.
What's Missing Here? A while back, my friend Rollie, (Cocker spaniel) had suddenly started to hate his crate and was constantly barking. Now his brother wasn't doing this and they're 9 years old and very close litter mates. I mean Rollie just would not stop. He would not go in the crate and when put in, he went crazy, barking even more. He barked and barked all the time. Hmmm.......what could be causing this huge change in this little guy who is not a barker and loves his crate? His family were going crazy not knowing what was going on. Rollie was not giving that "urgent" bark, or the "hurry, I'm desperate" bark; it was just plain bark, bark, bark. His brother wasn't paying him any attention or joining in. Rollie was on his own in this. We thought and thought........ ran through all the ideas of WHAT COULD HAVE CHANGED OR HAPPENED TO MAKE HIM NOW THE CRAZY BARKING DOG FROM HELL. As it turns out, the only thing that had changed was that at the same time all this behaviour on Rollie's part started, Rollie's Mom had run out of Milk Bones and was giving the boys Graham Crackers instead. They had gotten a bad container of Milk Bones (full of mealworms) and were boycotting Milkbone. Well, after about two months had gone by, a Milkbone Product Replacement Vouchers arrived and Rollie's mom bought another bucket of Milk Bones. Rollie stopped barking. He rushed into his crate at night and had to be dragged out again in the morning to go out; he loved his crate again. This crazy barking dog was only barking for Milk Bones !
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Slick's Flicks 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 store) Adult Movies Family Flicks Geeesh.......... I can smell the popcorn now! REMEMBER TO LICK UP ALL THE CRUMBS OFF THE FLOOR!
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The Purrrrrrr Did you see the story in the paper the other day about the cat who was inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame for saving his owner's life? (Since 1968, there have been 19 cats making the list.) Beau, a four year old hero, kept throwing himself against his owner's bedroom door until she woke up and discovered that their apartment was on fire and got them both out to safety. He attended the ceremony in Toronto in furson, although having never travelled before, and being in a strange place, he was understandably nervous. To be honored this way, we furfaces have to save a human life, and demonstrate 'courage, loyalty and intelligence.' Now we felines are that way all the time; look at me. I protect my people from rats and mice, I defend my property against strange dogs (unless they catch me off guard like Slick did one day - boy, the top of the fridge is high!) I'm loyal to the hand that feeds me breakfast, and I'm super intelligent. You don't catch me falling for that old pill in the cheese trick. Tuna, maybe, but not cheese. I can sit up and shake a paw if I feel like it, I can come when I'm called if I feel like it, and if I feel like it, I'll sit on your shoulder and purr in your ear. Just let a dog try to match that! I bet that ceremony was something to see. Lights, cameras, reporters - all of that. Oh, yeah, did I mention that there were a couple of dogs there too? Go figure! Cleocatra (Cats rule... dogs drool!)
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Creative Captions Last week's picture and the captions are: |
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And this week ..... Captions please!
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