Angel Animals Network: Recent Comments

Comment on Walking the Dog, Cat, Bird, Ferret, or You Name It

2010-03-09T16:56:49Z

Terry, this is normal. He doesn't know that the world looks like that. It only needs some time. My cat got used to the new surrounding on the second day and wouldn't want to go home then

Comment on Walking the Dog, Cat, Bird, Ferret, or You Name It

2010-02-18T09:48:26Z

It was a pleasure to read and I'm a bit envious. My cat never left our apartment. When we took him to the countryside he was scared, shouted all the way in the car, sneaked info my jacket sleeve (!) and when we relased him on the grass he crawled under the house basement and didn't go out until the evening. That was our fist and last exoerience of taking him out...

Comment on When have you taken a roller coaster ride of emotions with a sick pet?

2010-02-07T20:06:32Z

First and foremost, I am so sorry to hear this about Leaf. I will pray he will be just fine. I can understand very much all you are feeling.
My roller coaster began when my lab died from bone cancer-- I was devastated. Then Frankie becoming paralyzed. I could not understand at the time why God was "punishing me" because I love animals so much. But part of what I realized is I was given the animals I have been because he knew I would do all I could for them-- that gives me peace. Even though I've had some roller coasters with them, I would not trade any of my time with them-- they bring me so much joy.
I hope Leaf brings you years of more joy.

Barbara Techel
Award winning author of the Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog Book Series
My passion is bringing a positive face and voice to animals with disabilities
Frankie is Official Mascot for National Disabled Pets Day and
Wisconsin Pet Hall of Fame Companion Dog
http://www.joyfulpaws.com
http://www.frankiethewalknrolldog.blogspot.com

Comment on The Crazy Dogs of Winter

2010-01-09T23:12:47Z

I live with three cattle dog types, so I go outside every day with them for at least 20-30 minutes, whether I like it or not! But I can think of many indoor games to keep a dog busy. Train your dog to associate a clicker with a reward. Then “click” to define the precise instant that your dog does what you want—moves the right way or makes the right decision. Clicker training has been used to teach dolphins that they would get a reward once they performed a trick. They had to perform the trick first, then return to the trainer for the reward. The clicker marks the behavior in the instant that the animal will be rewarded for. Find helpful information about clicker training at www.clicker training.com.

When you’re housebound by bad weather or laid up with an injury, exercise your dog’s mind by playing games for thinking dogs. To use your new clicker training skills, look up 101 things to do with a box at www.clickertraining.com/node/167.

Play hide and seek with your dog. Teach her to wait while you hide (easiest with a second person to hold the dog). When you call out the release word, your dog can begin searching for you. When she finds you, reward her with praise and/or a treat.

Play the toy recognition game. Start with one toy in your hand or on the floor and click/reward when the dog noses it. After several repetitions, say the name of the toy before the dog touches it or picks it up. Once she has learned the name of one toy, introduce others as dummies. Make it easier by putting the other toys farther away so her chances are greater for choosing right toy. Once she has learned to select the first toy by name, you can begin to train the names for other toys the same way. Using one toy at a time sets her up for success and makes the learning quicker. If your dog only stays focused for short periods of time, play this game in short sessions. In a more advanced version of this game, select a toy and ask your dog to find the matching toy (please make sure there are two matching toys first!).

Play a similar game using scent discrimination. Use a group of two or more similar objects, like wooden clothespins. Rub the scent from your hands onto one of the objects. Handle the rest of the objects only with a pair of tongs (like kitchen tongs). As with the toy recognition game, set your dog up for success by gradually adding other objects. In this game, stay silent and reward your dog when she finds the correct object by its scent.

Teach your dog tricks, like “shake hands” and “rollover”, teach her to walk on different surfaces, like a 1” x 8” board placed on the floor or a piece of indoor-outdoor carpeting. Get a small throw rug and teach your dog to “go sit on your rug” (use target training and a clicker to shape this behavior). Now that you’ve seen a few examples, I bet you’ll think of more.

Many of these games are included in the Not Without My Dog Resource & Record Book, by Jenny Pavlovic, available this spring at www.8StateKate.net.

Comment on Walking the Dog, Cat, Bird, Ferret, or You Name It

2009-12-22T09:02:26Z

Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and detailed information you offer! I will bookmark your blog and have my friends also check up here often. Thumbs up!

Comment on What ways have you found to help animal rescue organizations?

2009-12-17T16:00:56Z

a Grayson HERE IS WHAT I AM WONDERING....
With all of the sports events in every major city why can't each event (basketball, hockey, baseball and football) ask
the people attending to bring say one can of dog food or donate a few bucks. Can you imagine how many dogs could be fed by one football game? Every major event could take
turns with helping humans with canned goods and with cats
and dogs with food. Most people would do it . What is... See More
2 or 3 more dollars to the amount they pay for tickets? Think of it . How many football games a week? How many hockey?
How many basketball and soon baseball with thousands of
people attending.

Also ask radio stations to help spread the word that you and other shelters need
help. Usually Country/Western stations are more prone to help out. With
a little effort a lot can be done. Contact the owners of the various teams or
the PR person , tell them what good PR for their team .

Give it a shot ....

Bea
Bea Grayson
beagrayson@sbcglobal.net

Comment on Division of Labor - The Way of the Pet

2009-12-07T11:11:35Z

Cool,

Keep up the good work,

Thanks for writing about it

Comment on What experiences have you had with pets or animals in nature in which they showed you that you and the animal had communicated?

2009-12-06T18:50:55Z

Communication with our companions is not difficult if we are open to it. It requires little effort once we recognize it for what it is-communication without human words. In my opinion it's more of using our senses and natural reflexes first, then letting our brains sort out what is being conveyed to us. One quick example, one time I was in the den, which connects to the kitchen. One of my dogs sat in the doorway to the kitchen staring at me. It was after dinner so food wasn't the issue. I asked him "what's wrong?" and walked into the kitchen and looked around. Nothing looked out of place. I then walked into their safe room-where I put the boys (3 male dogs) when I go to work. There was the answer, the water level in their bowl was low. This particular dog did not like to drink out of the bowl when the liquid fell below a certain point. It was his out of the ordinary behavior that tipped me off that something was out of sorts. His quite stare said something is wrong but not drastically wrong. There are other examples, more detailed, but this one hits on my point, let your body's ancient, invisible senses send the signal something is different right now and then let your brain figure it out. I also think the more we open ourselves up and become receptive to our companions' communication, the more they will try to tell us. Their body language, stares, grunts, nasal noises, posturing, different barks-whether noise level, duration, or tones, even when one of my dogs blows air out of his nose in several different ways, I've learned he (or they) is talking with me. The same works on from the other side, my dogs pick up on things I convey to them by various methods I found to be effective. The more you and your companions successfully communicate, the more they will try and communicate. Listen to your instincts. I might not always be successful in figuring out what they are trying to say to me, but that doesn't stop me from listening. They pick up on this and seem grateful, I'm convinced of it. Also, some of my dogs are more prone to communicate more frequently than others. I'm not sure why this is, perhaps one is the designated talker of the group...

Comment on What Does Your Choice of Pet Say about You?

2009-11-26T11:19:05Z

Quite inspiring,

I completely agree with this,

Particularly with the cats,

Obviously its not true for everyone though,

Thanks for bringing this up

Comment on Whose Happy Birthday Is It, Anyway?

2009-09-13T06:04:25Z

My Boston Terrier's 12th Birthday was 3 days ago, I took off work, spent the whole day with her doing things I knew she loved to do, She got flowers, Balloons,cake, presents, decorations,and treats, she had visitors, and friends over,She was told a million times how much she is loved,it was her first Birthday she could not see, she is blind from diabetic cateracts, she was happy, and gets around the house well.