Remembering Sue Weiland (Part Two) 

Just joining the article series You can begin with Remembering Sue Weiland (Part One) . I reached the exit that would lead me to Mary Weiland’s home seven hours after breaking free of the powerful force field that holds Chicago traffic to speeds topping out at 20 mph once one gets on the highway out of town. Turning off of I-94 just before Wisconsin turns into Minnesota, I was spellbound Find Out More…

Services for Addison Lee Carlson, a 71-year-old counselor slain in his West San Jose apartment, will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Southbay Christian Center in Mountain View. Find Out More…

THE chief executive of the trust which runs the DGH has been left ‘distraught’ after her puppy was dognapped. (12/11/2006 15:51:48) Find Out More…

Cards from and for pets are gaining in popularity. Find Out More…

How To Make Your Weimaraner’s Pen Area A Playful Heaven

If your Weimaraner spends any length of time in a play yard, you might be interested in ideas that will help you to make his stay there a pleasure and not an imprisonment. It is amazing how many dog owners have described their dog’s “play yard” in terms of a gravel enclosure with nothing, absolutely nothing, inside it, except the dog. Boredom and ennui are one of the worst aspects of modern dog life. Chewing, digging, nuisance barking, poor appetites, and stool eating are often in some way connected with boredom. These problems often occur in dogs that have become bored by such uncreative play yard areas.

Try to avoid barrier frustration by screening the dog’s area from busy city street traffic or passersby. If you use cyclone fencing, standard green slats that fit between the chain link are available. Shrubbery can be effectively arranged to block disturbing views that encourage barking and fence running. Within the pen, a ditch or a stone row, or even a row of flowers can often keep the dog away from the fence and in the center of the pen. Gravel is the best all-around footing, but cement and grass may be feasible at times. Cement encourages paw sores and cut pads, so avoid prolonged contact with cement. Grass inevitably wears out, but it is aesthetically pleasing and comfortable for the dog. A grass pen with gravel along the sides of the fencing to be the best. The gravel will prevent the grass from being totally destroyed.

Every day introduce a different item into the pen, especially if you leave your dog alone on a daily basis. Favorite toys should always be included, but rotate others to spice up the routine. Rotate water and food in different locations in the pen. When you prune your trees, throw the limbs into the pen for the dog to play with. A large cardboard box enthralls any dog. Sure, the box gets ripped up, and the tree limbs get shredded, and you have to clean up. But it’s worth it in the long run. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be used as vitamin-packed toys. Toss a few into the pen every so often. Bones, if offered, should be large marrow bones. A dog left alone with a small bone all day can reduce it to such size as to risk lodging it in its mouth or throat. Make sure bones are large and solid, but not cooked.

The Weimaraner house does not need to be elaborate but it should provide protection from the elements. In summer, repaint dark-colored houses white to reflect sunlight and heat. The dog should have some options for shade in addition to the house. Trees are best, or a planter of bushes, pruned of their lower branches and with trunks wrapped in tree-tape to prevent the dog from destroying or scratching them.

Finally, do not ignore the possibility of providing your dog with the ultimate diversion and plaything: another dog. Owners with chronic diggers, chewers, barkers, squealers, and house-wreckers have often found that the introduction of a second compatible pet reduces this behavior. You will have to be sure that the new animal gets off to a right start and does not mimic the bad behavior of the first pet. For Weimaraners who must stay long periods in play yards, a companion can change frustration and boredom to pleasure and play.

She likes you, she really likes you! 

Dear Dr. Fox: I have an interesting question you might address. I have a 9-year-old Bichon named Daisy who l…
Source: www.normantranscript.com

Powder Keg, 10/29: When animals attack 
Some people believe that natural disasters can be predicted by watching the behavior of animals. If thats so, youd have to wonder if the end is coming soon even in the sports world.
Source: www.journalstar.com

How To Keep Your Weimaraner Off Of Beds, Chairs, & Couches

When Your Weimaraner Jumps On The Bed: Because of their pack origins, dogs are very social animals and love to be with their people. Most dogs need little if any encouragement to jump up to be near them. With a highly social, friendly dog the solution to too much togetherness is to shock the animal out of the undesirable behavior.

Have a full water pistol or spray bottle handy, and the minute the dog starts to jump up, squirt it in the mouth or face and say “NO!” When it settles back down on the floor, you can pet and praise the dog, but in case it thinks this is encouragement to jump up again, keep the water pistol handy to spray immediately if the animal makes a move. Another way to shock a dog is to have a large cooking pot and spoon handy. The minute it starts to jump, bang the pot with the spoon and say “NO.” The dog will soon realize this is not a positive experience.

Alternatively, if you don’t care about your Weimaraner having the run of the house but still want it in your bedroom at night, leash the dog and hold the end of the dog’s leash. As soon as it begins to jump, correct it with a snap and say “NO.”

A long-term solution is to train your dog to Go to Your Place. Then it will stay quietly all night in its own bed or place.

When Your Weimaraner Jumps On Chairs & Couches: dogs and their ancestors the wolves always like to create a nest for themselves. A dog naturally finds a couch or chair more comfortable than the floor for its nest. In addition, the scent its owners leave on the furniture makes it an even more appealing nesting place for a dog. The best way to break a dog of this habit is to make the act uncomfortable in some way so it becomes pleasanter for the dog to sleep on the floor.

You can use a Setup. Put a bunch of balloons on the couch. Then, with the dog on a leash, walk over to the couch, point at it, and say “NO.” When you’re right next to the couch, pick up a balloon and pop it right in the dog’s face. Then walk a short distance away with the dog still on leash. Remove the leash and go into another room. If the dog wasn’t sufficiently startled by the popped balloon and is still brave enough to jump on the couch, the remaining balloons will pop and frighten it into getting right down.

With a very strong-willed, powerful dog such as an Weimaraner, a popping balloon may not be deterrent enough. You may need to use a stronger Setup. Place a number of set mousetraps on the furniture with a light sheet on top (the sheet will protect the dog from being hurt by the traps). If the dog jumps up, the traps will snap and startle the animal enough to make it give up the couch as a bed.

Hot dogs 

Prodigiously pup-ular ‘Best in Show’ exhibit comes to Park City for a 10-week stay dogs claim the title of man’s best friend. It turns out they may also be man’s favorite art subject.
Source: www.standard.net

Canines rule St. Louis loft district 
From building permits to census revisions, city officials have pointed to all sorts of evidence that downtown St. Louis is finally coming back.
Source: www.kansas.com

TRUST’S CHIEF IN dogNAP HEARTACHE 
THE chief executive of the trust which runs the DGH has been left ‘distraught’ after her puppy was dognapped. (12/11/2006 15:51:48)
Source: www.eastbournetoday.co.uk

Barking: A Weimaraner Watchdog’s Most Important Weapon

A Weimaraner watchdog’s function is to sound the alarm. A dog’s bark carries quite well and makes the perfect warning signal. Indeed, barking’s original function was to rally the pack to respond to a problem or a possible intruder, and it comes naturally to most dogs regardless of size - if you want a watchdog, you want any alert dog that will bark, not one that is lethargic and placid.

Scottish author and poet Sir Walter Scott once received some advice on the matter of watchdogs from a very credible source. Scott began his career as a lawyer working in his father’s law office. His debut at the bar involved the successful defense of a burglar. The burglar, who was in fact guilty of both the crime for which he was charged and several others as well, shared with Scott the following bit of wisdom: “Always keep a small dog that barks, rather than a large dog, which you think may serve as a more formidable guard, but may spend most of its time sleeping. Size doesn’t matter, just the sound.” Scott took his advice and always kept terriers, which are vigilant little dogs, always ready to give voice at any sound or at anyone’s approach.

The first conscious use of Weimaraner dogs for their behavioral characteristics was most likely as watchdogs and guard dogs. For prehistoric people, the world was quite a hostile place. Various animals stalked humans as prey, and campsites were easy targets. A stealthy predator, especially one that attacked at night when the camp slept, could be quite dangerous.

Equally dangerous were attacks from other bands of humans, either because of intertribal warfare or to capture food, goods, women, or children. But the dogs hanging around the campsites on the lookout for food scraps quite naturally caused a commotion whenever a predator or band of strange humans approached. Aside from alerting the residents of the camp in time for them to respond, the dogs‘ warning could even cause approaching threats to seek less wary prey elsewhere. As it became obvious that they made the camps safer, dogs came to serve not only as scavengers but as guardians as well.

It is highly likely that the first specific behavioral characteristic that humans selected in dogs was the tendency to bark. The first domestication of dogs probably involved the adoption of wolf or jackal cubs, and those that proved themselves to be good watchdogs by barking at any disturbance were more likely to be kept and bred by their owners. Those that did not serve this function as well could still be served as dinner.

She likes you, she really likes you! 

Dear Dr. Fox: I have an interesting question you might address. I have a 9-year-old Bichon named Daisy who l… More…

A hospital boss is being blackmailed by dognappers. Kim Hodgson, has received a demand for 2,000 for the return of her pet, a rare Weimaraner cross pup called Blue More…