EverythingDogBlog: The Final Word - Poop

Final words on dog poop: just pick it up!

13. Learn to read your dog's "Gotta Go!" and pre-poop signals. Some dogs slow down and walk in a straight line, like mine does. Some dogs sniff the ground or circle round. Some dogs 'go to curb' (that's where we get the phrase, curb your dog) or the grassy edge near the curb, or go into the bushes where it is difficult to locate the poop to bag it.

14. Remember never to put the poop in your compost pile. It simply isn't digestible by the composting critters.

15. Thanks for being a responsible dog-person picking up and making a good deposit of your dog's poop!

Remember: Pick up poop. It's the law and it's the right thing to do!

(For more on dog poop, see the previous four blogs and stay tuned for even more!)

EverythingDogBlog: On Poop, Part #4

Poop - pick it up. It's the right thing to do and it's the law.

10. Each time you see someone else picking up after a dog, thank him or her. A little kindness goes a long way and that person will stand up taller because of the recognition.

11. Dog poop is not good for the environment because dogs are omnivores (they eat meat like carnivores do, and plants as herbivores do). If they were totally herbivores (vegans, in other words), it would not matter as much but now, as dogs become more common (who doesn't have one or want one, or two?), we have reached and overflown the carrying capacity of the land to process the inordinate amount of dog poop deposited on the land. It stays and stays, sometimes all winter long, collecting flies. Some dogs even scoop up other dogs' poop to snack on, and who knows which dog deposited it or whether that dog had worms or other creepy crawlers.

12. When walking at night, wear something 'flashy' that reflects light or put one of those cute new lights on your dog. Take a flashlight along to locate the poop (and for other reasons).

See the previous EverythingDogBlog and the next one, too, for more helpful hints.

EverythingDogBlog: Dog Poop, part two

Just bag it. It's the law and it's the right thing to do. . . .

4. After your dog 'goes,' ask him to Sit and Stay while you 'take care of [his] business.' That way he won't pull you onward before you can finish up.

5. When you get home, tie a bag on the loop of the leash right away - for next time.

6. One of the 20 tasks for the AKC (American Kennel Club) STAR Puppy Class Program is to always carry a baggy with you. The training instructor will ask at least once during the six-week course (STAR is Socialization, Training, Activity, Responsibility) for you to "show your bag!"

For more tips, check out the previous EverythingDogBlog and check the next blog, too!

EverythingDogBlog: Poop, Part Three

Just bag it. It's the law. Plus, it's the right thing to do.

7. The best baggies for a large dog (lab, golden or larger) may be the plastic bags newspapers come in. For 'littler' dogs, those cute poop bags that come in a cute bone-shaped or hydrant-shaped container that attaches to the leash, may be just right. A really big dog might need a plastic grocery bag. Wish there were something between a grocery bag and a newspaper bag, though.

8. The best place to deposit the contents of a poop bag is your toilet (then flush) but the next best place is your trash. Many people put the tied bags outside their garage, sometimes in an old wastebasket with a lid, and then double bag them up to place in the large garbage can for garbage collection days. Your garbage collectors really appreciate the double-bagging.

9.When you get home, don't forget to wash your hands with warm water (and soap) for the time it takes you to sing Happy Birthday. Actually this is a good habit even if your dog doesn't deposit a deposit.

For more poop tips, read the EverythingDogBlog that appeared last time - also the next one. And, thanks!

EverythingDogBlog: The Real Scoop on Dog Poop!

Just bag it. It's the law. Besides, it's the right thing to do. (first in a series of five)

1. Take two baggies with you on a dog walk - one (or both, sometimes) for your dog, and one for one of the piles you find that someone else left behind

2. If you are really brave and see someone not picking up his dog's poop, rush over, pick it up and hand him the bag, saying something like, "Here you go. I used to sometimes forget a bag myself so I've learned to carry several." He will be so astonished, he will accept it!

3. Keep a baggy tied to the hand loop (handle end) of your dog's leash so you always have one. You can also find tiny cloth bags that Velcro on to the dog collar and contain an emergency poop bag or five!

Next: More tips.

EverythingDogBlog is Back!

Small Dog vs Big Dog

Why are small dogs different from big dogs? Or are they?

Why do small dogs tend to be more yappy and hard to housetrain? Why do they jump up on us more? Is there a difference between small dogs and big dogs?

I believe small dogs yap more, jump up more, are harder to housetrain because that is behavior we accept in small dogs but don’t accept in big dogs. When small dogs bark, we tolerate it more because big dogs are louder when they bark so we don’t tolerate it as well in them. When small dogs nip or jump up, it does less damage than when a large dog does it. When they have an accident in the house, it is a smaller accident.

Dr. Stanley Coren from Canada has a column in Psychology Today about dogs: he discusses the possible differences between small dogs and large dogs, and the reasons behind them in this column.

Book Review: A Dog's Gift (service dogs, children, veterans)

A Dog’s Gift: The Inspirational Story of Veterans and Children Healed by Man’s Best Friend, by Bob Drury (Rodale, 2015, 226 pages, $24)

A uniquely well-constructed story, A Dog’s Gift opens as a golden retriever is giving birth to a large litter of pups. The book then sidetracks a dozen or so times back and forth to tell the complete story of Paws4People, a service dog training organization – from its origins to a special dog-child team in Maryland, to training the pups in prisons and on military bases, to fundraising, and finally to joyous reunions, and then to the most intriguing aspect of all: the process of matching a dog to a veteran or a child. Every so often (actually at the beginning of each chapter), A Dog’s Gift returns to the golden retriever and another newly born pup (a unique, exciting and comforting approach to a book about dogs).

Paws4People, like Topsy, just grew!  It was gradually founded by a young girl, Kyria, who had a natural-born affinity for dogs and for helping others. Beginning in high-school, Kyria took the family dogs to special education classes to help bring out the best in those students. Today, she teaches college courses and heads a large, non-profit organization, Paws4People, that selects, trains and matches service dogs with deserving veterans (Paws4Veterans) and children (Paws4People) who need them. Or rather, the dogs do the self-selecting of which veteran or child they want to be trained to assist.

The Bump

The Bump is the most intriguing and unique aspect of Paws4People and Paws4Veterans. Bumping takes place in a large room in a correctional facility where the dogs are trained. Veterans and children accepted into the program meet each potential, partially-trained dog partner, one at a time, and it is the dogs that decide who they want to live with and work with for the rest of their lives. They seem to know which person will love them the most and the dogs give that love right back for all to see. Then the dogs receive up to a year’s worth of specialized training for the tasks the dog’s chosen person needs help with.

I am totally sold on the idea of The Bump, however, I am less sure of some of the out-dated terminology (alpha, command) and some of the husbandry methods, like feeding 8-week old puppies only twice a day. However, it all seems to work wonderfully!

A truly inspiring book, A Dog’s Gift, at the least will drive you to your computer to look up the Paws4People website and hopefully, donate and help spread the word. On the other hand, you just might be driven to become a volunteer for this or another worthy service dog organization!

(Caveat: Your local public library probably has a copy of A Dog’s Gift but it might have a waiting list!)