Bling Bling Puppy Blog

In January this year, the American Kennel Club announced the 10 most popular dog breeds based on registration numbers in 2007. In order here is the list:

1. Labrador Retriever
2. Yorkshire Terrier
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Beagle
6. Boxer
7. Dachshund
8. Poodle
9. Shih Tzu
10. Bulldog

Before you decide which dog is best for you, it is a good idea to do a little research on which breed you are interested in. Some breeds take more special care than others. Also, different breeds have different tempermants so you will want to take that into consideration. Lastly, certatin breeds seem to be more prone to health problems than others. You also want to make sure that you get your dog from a reputable source, and not a grungy puppy mill.

While you are having fun in the sun, you want to be careful to avoid dehydration, and that goes for your dog as well. If you are going on a long drive make sure that you bring along plenty of water and a bowl for your dog to drink from. If you are outside, and have access to a hose, your dog would probably like a good dousing to avoid overheating as well. Lastly, remember to take some time to find a good shady spot to rest when you get too hot.

We have taught our dog not to beg and he very rarely does that. However, his newest thing (not that dogs don’t do this) is to try to get “goodies” out of the garbage can in the kitchen. It seems that the little bit of meat and gravy is just to hard a temptation for him to resist. It seems that the most effective way to stop his goodie snatching moments is to use a negative tone of voice with a short “a”. After a couple of those he usually backs off. If you can get your dog trained by using the tone of your voice, it is usually very effective. They respond well to your voice, and will get used to the different tones you use to express your intentions to your dog.

It has been the wettest, most overcast Spring I can remember. It has also been unusually cold as well. By now, we usually would have enjoyed a good month and a half of decent weather. Today is the first full day of bright yellow sun that we have seen for weeks. Unfortunately, Spring is almost over. We were able to let the dog play outside for a while today for the first time in a weeks.

At last my dog has been free from his itching fit. We have been able to take off his rediculous transparent red collar for a change. We hate to put that thing on him, but while he is having an itching fit, there is little else we can do to stop him from scratching himself silly. While the collar is on we can proceed to check him for fleas and any other skin problems. We are just continuing to keep an eye on him for the next few days.