Jobs for dogs

Your dog may not be up to doing an Executive Job Search but he or she can still have a job. I am betting your dog has a job right now and you don't even know it. Do they bark when someone comes down the driveway or knocks on your door? They are performing the job of an alarm or watch dog. Does your dog give you comfort when you are feeling blue or when you get home from work or school? Then your dog is a therapist. Does your child want to go out and play but you say Ok only if they take the dog with them? Then you know your dog will act as a deterant to anyone who might want to harm your child.

Dogs in art

If you were old enough you would remember when those old paintings of dogs playing poker were very popular then you would have seen one example of how dogs appear in human art. Putting human attributes such as smoking pipes and gambling has always been quark of artists. Some websites have even used those paintings online to advertise cigars online, which would make sense, since those paintings do look like old time advertising posters.

Later, when photoshop was introduced to the public, those dogs with the really big eyes started to become popular. They appeared on birthday and greeting cards. posters and t-shirts. They soon disappeared from vogue. I wonder what the next big thing in dog art will be?

Pet insurance for your dog

I know that our dogs cost at least $200 each a year in vet bills. That is not for accidents or sickness but one visit to the vet for their annual physical and vaccines. I have been tempted to purchase some cheap insurance, the health kind, for the dogs. Yes there is health insurance for dogs.

The only place that I know that sells it, is at the vet's office. I wouldn't want to buy any online since I would have to contact me vet to see if she accepts that insurance to begin with. It is almost like purchasing health insurance for humans - you have to see if your doctor is on their "approved" list.

Halloween has gone to the dogs

The dog costumes below are extremely creative. Yoda and the Wizard of Oz costumes for dogs are simply hilarious. Check out all of the pages.

Fun stuff

It is time to show another photo of a dog and dog owner enjoying each others company. What better than a lick on the face. Warning, please don't use this method as a one of your acne treatments, it is sure to get some eewws from your family.

How to stop dog from eating

My little dog seems to have ballooned in to a chub. I have tried all kinds of methods to help him lose weight but so far nothing has worked. I am tempted to go to the vet and get some appetite suppressants for him. On the plus side he is very active. He does not waddle but runs around and explores our large property like he was when he weighed a lot less. Maybe I shouldn't worry that much, but I do.

Looking for a dog?

Are you looking for a dog or puppy? Have you tried your local city or county animal shelter to adopt a pet? I have had great success with shelter dogs over the past 20 years. Some were surrenders and others had unknown backgrounds. Of our 3 current dogs, 2 were shelter dogs. One, my min pin has an unknown background. He was found wandering the streets. He was at the shelter for 7 days before he was available for adoption. He had a waiting list of people that wanted him. I was the only one who showed up at the adoption time. The shelter's policy was list first then whom ever showed up from the list had first dibbs on the dog. I was there and ready to take him home. He has been with us for 5 years now. The other dog was a surrender and we were looking for a puppy and fell in love with an unruly 6 month old Husky mix. Both of them enjoy the rural country life we had to offer them.

If your local shelter does not have what you are looking for, there is another option for looking at shelter dogs. The website is called Petango.com - Adopt a dog today! They also list plenty of cats too at Petango.com - Adopt a cat!

There are so many available dogs and cats that need homes right now that it is not funny. Many animals were surrenders due to the economy. I personally prefer dealing with a shelter rather than a rescue. A rescue it seems makes you jump through all sorts of hoops before you are even allowed to see a dog. The shelters just checks on your permanent address and to see if the dog and your family is a good match. Their adoption price is also much more reasonable than rescues.

Can you fit another dog into your life?

Dog cancer

Having a beloved dog die of cancer just 6 months ago, I was rather interested in the news story about a dog owner and their dog trying to raise money for research into dog cancer. The video news below shows Tula practicing for the competition she will be in to raise money for the cause.

Tear stains on white dogs

I have never had a white dog. A good friend of mine has a miniature poodle that is white. She is always cleaning the light brown to almost orange tear stains that her dog has. I have asked her in the past why does her dog have such watery eyes that they stain the fur. Even with my darker colored dogs I have hardly ever noticed that they had excessive tears. She thinks her dog has allergies and just puts up with treating the stains with under eye cream, stain remover. It told her to get the dog to the vet but she insists that all dogs have that problem and there is nothing the vet can do about it.

I would like to hear from white dog owners with this problem. Can you tell me why white dogs have tear stains?

Career with dogs - professional dog walker

Have you ever thought about being a professional dog walker? New York City seems to have cornered the market on them. If you have ever travel new york, or seen the big Apple on TV or in the movies, you would have seen at least one professional dog walker. They are the people with at least 5 or more dogs on a leash. I wonder how they handle the pooper scooper laws with all those dogs?

Playing with your dog to help with training

I have always preferred to train a dog the fun way - by playing with them. The video below shows you how to can use a simple game like "hide and seek" to train your dog to come when called.

Halloween and time to dress up your dog

Only a few more weeks to go till Halloween. Are you dressing up your dog for the occasion? In my next few posts I will have links for dog costumes you can make and online stores where you can buy ready made dog costumes.

Dressing up your dog is not limited to Halloween. I have seen a few weddings where the family dog was the ring bearer and was outfitted in a tailored tux complete with a ruffled tuxedo shirt. So stick around while I go and dig up those links to post on here in the next few days.

The Italian Greyhound

Puppy

Greyhounds are the large sight hounds that are often raced. Whippets are smaller versions of the Greyhound. Still smaller than the Whippet is the miniature Italian Greyhound. Cute, fast and friendly they are a tad more fragile than the Whippet.

Adult

They are the smallest of the sight hound group, standing under 15 inches at the shoulder. They are light weight with most of them weighing between 8 - 13 pounds. They are fast little devils with a top speed of 45 miles an hour so you had better keep an eye on them when they are out and about.

The breed is not recommended for cold climates. These little dogs love to be warm and will burrow into warm clothes and blankets. Their fragile legs make them an unwise choice for families with children that like to rough house with their pets. Often at time these dogs overestimate their jumping abilities and end up breaking a leg.

They make great companion animals and are very loving and devoted.

Goofy names for dogs

The name Goofy is a goofy name but actually there are some goofier ones. "Bear" is one of the most popular ranked names at the AKC. Of course how many own dogs named "Dog"? Or "Dawg" to be fancy? Then there is the play on different spellings for words and name like our dog. She was originally named "Katie" but my daughter insisted on calling her "Kay-Dee" or "KD". Then there are the misspellings of words and created words to become names. Some of them are fantom (Phantom), socrotees (Socrates) ,phentermine (Friend of mine), gaggle (a play on the name Google) and a host of others.

I would like to hear about your dog's goofy name, leave a comment.