Blind dogs can play outside

In school, my biology teacher let us chose a partner and let us run around in the building. The catch: One person had to close his/her eyes and the other one had to direct him/her  by using only the voice. You can image that with the stairs, plants and people around, none of us were actually running, if fact the “blind person” was really slow and careful and even ducked where there was no need to duck down, just because of some shadow or noise. The purpose of this little experiment was, to explore how we use our other senses, if one is gone.

Meet Kellar, an English Springer Spaniel who was sadly born blind. A lot of dogs in shelter who aren’t “normal” have a highly lesser chance of getting adopted, because potential parents thinks, with a blind dog, you cannot do anything. Well, Kellar proves them wrong!

Watch this endearing video of Kellar playing fetch with his mommy.

Do you want to know how fast Kellar learned the basic commands for catching his toy?! Just one week! He has a vocabulary of over 200 words now and is just as happy as any other dog.

Please don’t give up on a dog just because s/he is disabled. Give them a chance and they will surprise you!

The staff at your local shelter will give you advice when you are adopting a blind dog/ puppy.

this is not funny!

There are many ways to annoy your dog. I already talked about using hairspray on your dog, dying fur or putting him/her in a funny costume but I just came across something which really bothers me. 😦

I better start from the beginning. A good friend of mine just got her first tattoo. It is not a huge tattoo but it took three hours to be completed. She said getting a tattoo hurts like hell. Of course, pain perception of everyone is very different and it also depends on the location of the tattoo, but it always hurts!

You might wonder why I’m telling you this? Well because people are not the only ones who endured the pain of getting a tattoo. Look at these pictures, yes sadly you can believe your eyes.

[Warning! People of a nervous disposition shouldn’t read further]

New contestants!!!

Here there are!!! The entries for July’s “dog of the month” contest!

Thank you all very much for sending me those great pictures!!

Now it’s your time to pick the winner wisely:

choose NOW!

Hey there!

I’ve got something you’ve waited all month for… the cute candidates for July’s “dog of the month” contest!

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It wasn’t me..!!!

Have you ever wondered what your dog does if you are not watching? You may have noticed that your dog doesn’t always stay by your side.

Why is that? Well there are thousands of reasons for it, but some dogs just want to have fun, and that fun was captured on camera. Most of the pictures were taken while the dogs thought that their owner, well their best friend isn’t nearby to watch them, see what can happen:

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So what if you leave your kids with your dog? Depends of course on your dog and the person who is left with him/her. Dogs endure a lot of things, especially from children. They can be unbelievable patient.

On the other side, if objects like the television or a card game gets more attention than your dog, he/she might do something to attract your interest 🙂

time to dress up

Hey there!

In my last post I talked about hair, well fur. Weather you dye it or not (which you shouldn’t, I hope I made that one clear) some people have other methods to change the outer appearance of their dog(s). Often seen on Halloween or other occasions are dog, who don’t really look like dogs anymore..! What am I talking about? No, not about dogs in little sweaters, this is by the way for some breeds like Chihuahuas  indispensable to life, at least in winter, because they are unable to regulate their body temperature as well as we humans do. Tiny dogs with little fur who live in places where they naturally shouldn’t be living, need additional warming when it gets cold outside. So don’t laugh at the poor little dogs in winter wearing something warm.

If you have a look at the dogs, you won’t think that dogs wearing sweaters are such laughing stocks anymore, but judge yourself:

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furry facts

don't use hairspray on your dog!

What to wear? Which color matches my pants, which my shirt?

Dogs don’t have to ask themselves this kind of question! Lucky them? You betcha! Would they care about how they look? Nope not really, but sometimes their owner care a little bit too much.

Some people style the fur of their dogs just like their own. They comb, braid and put the fur up in weird looking hairstyles.

Lhasa Apso

There is nothing wrong with taking good care of your dogs fur, especially dog breeds with long fur like the Lhasa Apso or Afghan Hound need a lot of attention, but not as much as the fur of Pulis or Komodors.

Puli

Their fur looks a bit like human dreadlocks, and without taking care of it, it would be a big matted mess.

But apart from that look which might still look natural, some people love bright colors, and not only on themselves, so they dye the fur of their dogs(!) You might think “so what? That tiny bit of color doesn’t do any harm, I dye my hair since the age of 16!” But you should know, dying your dogs fur can stress them out during the process, cause them to be a little less self-conscious (they hide more) and it can irritate their skin 😦

dyed fur... too colorful?

it’s your turn to vote!

You may choose more than one winner 🙂

June’s candidates

May I proudly present the candidates for June’s “dog of the month contest”:

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showing teeth

We all brush our teeth 2-3 times a day but do we think of you dogs teeth? Well should we? Yes we should! At least if you want to be able to look at your dogs smile for a long time.

Just like we do, dogs develop tartar, abscesses and many other tooth problems. Therefore it is very important to keep your dogs teeth in good shape!

It is not the easiest thing to brush your dog’s teeth though. But don’t worry, there are special toothbrushes for dogs and even special toothpaste which make it more comfortable for both of you. Of course your dog has to get used to this new thing in his mouth which he/she cannot chew and swallow. My dog always wanted to eat the toothpaste, because it was meaty flavored 😀

finger toothbrush

prodental triple head toothbrush

Additional to using a toothbrush you can give your dog bones. They are really good for helping the teeth clean – they are nature’s toothbrushes! 🙂 But please don’t give your dog chicken bones or any kind of bones which can split!!

Here is a sweet little example of how you can keep your dogs teeth clean, starring David Hewlett and Mars:

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