Happy Father's Day!
"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace." - Milan Kundera (b. 1929) Czech author
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Product Review-RESQ/CO. Leash
Weasley here:
A few weeks ago mom bought me a black Mimi Green harness and she decided I needed a snazzier leash to go with it, intead of this boring old blue one. So she ordered me a black rope leash from Resq/Co.
It arrived in this cool bag:
and when I opened it, ta da! A truly beautiful leash.
I tried my leash out for the first time Friday night. The taste test went well
Mmmmm, chewy!
Mom said the leash seemed very sturdy and fit my harness well
and I sure looked GQ in the pictures she took of me on some stairs we passed. I think the black looks very nice against my lovely light fawn coat.
The Resq/Co. website says "each of our leashes utilizes materials that will withstand the elements, evade corrosion and last the test of time." So hopefully I will be rocking this leash for years to come!
Note from Mom: at this time RESQ/CO. only sells leashes but according to their site they will have Spanish inspired collars in the near future.
From the Resq/Co.website: "Drawing inspiration everywhere from dog beach to the horse stables, our leashes were designed with the discerning sea, horse and dog lover in mind who values craftsmanship & quality above all else." Hhhm sounds fancy. Being the discerning puglet I am, I was curious to see if the product would love up to the claims.
It arrived in this cool bag:
According to the website Resq/Co. leashes are all American made and feature quality 5 tuck hand spliced rope (whatever that means), leather tags, and brass hard ware (snazzy!). Another nice thing about the Resq/Co. company is that they give a portion of their proceeds to a variety of human and animal welfare organizations. New charities are features on the daily section of their website.
I tried my leash out for the first time Friday night. The taste test went well
Mmmmm, chewy!
Mom said the leash seemed very sturdy and fit my harness well
The Resq/Co. website says "each of our leashes utilizes materials that will withstand the elements, evade corrosion and last the test of time." So hopefully I will be rocking this leash for years to come!
Note from Mom: at this time RESQ/CO. only sells leashes but according to their site they will have Spanish inspired collars in the near future.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Weasley Explores Paulus Hook
Last Saturday, we took Weasley, who has now had the complete series of puppy shots and can walk on the ground, to the Paulus Hook section of Jersey City a neighborhood populated with old brown stone houses, restaurants and shops. (There is also a dog park but Weasley is a bit young for that).
First we took Weasley by Canine Canteen a doggie boutique with three friendly black lab greeters.
Weasley had a great time playing with the labs, I could not get a very good picture because he would NOT stay still.
After our walk we went to brunch at The Light Horse Tavern the food at this place is good and the staff is very friendly. Outdoor cafes are a great place to socialize puppies and work on some obedience skills, one of my training goals for Weasley is for him to be a really good "cafe dog." During brunch, Weasley got a ton of compliments and the manager even came out to see him, he recognized the origins of his name too since he commented on him being in "Gryffindor"
Have a lovely weekend!
First we took Weasley by Canine Canteen a doggie boutique with three friendly black lab greeters.
Weasley had a great time playing with the labs, I could not get a very good picture because he would NOT stay still.
Later he met 2 long haired dogs, one was a Peke and I believe the other was a long haired chihuahua. Weasley seemed a little more intimidated by these two, maybe he isn't used to dogs with long hair?
After our walk we went to brunch at The Light Horse Tavern the food at this place is good and the staff is very friendly. Outdoor cafes are a great place to socialize puppies and work on some obedience skills, one of my training goals for Weasley is for him to be a really good "cafe dog." During brunch, Weasley got a ton of compliments and the manager even came out to see him, he recognized the origins of his name too since he commented on him being in "Gryffindor"
Have a lovely weekend!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Puppy Class-What To Look For?
Most informed dog parents these days know that the critical canine socialization period occurs before the age of three months. For new puppy owners that means two things: 1) The breeder or rescue group responsible you got your puppy from needs to have started the socialization process and 2) you need to keep the process going and find a good puppy class ASAP.
Weasley started his puppy pre-k class last Sunday at Its Your Dog on Sunday. Even though the facility is nearly an hour and a half from our home in Jersey City I love the trainers' philosophy so much that its totally worth it to me to make the trip. Of course I can only speak for myself but here are three things I looked for in a puppy class:
1) A 100% Totally Positive Trainer- The benefits of positive training methods over correction based techniques are so overwhelming that there is absolutely no reason to go to a trainer who doesn't use them 100% of the time. If you want to build a loving relationship with your puppy, and who doesn't, positive training is clearly the way to go. All of the research into animal training, including the training and education of humans, indicates that positive training is far more effective then negative or fear based techniques. Personally, my all time favorite dog trainer is Patricia McConnel I highly recommend all of her books and her blog
2) A Trainer You Like and Who Makes You and Your Dog Feel Good: Considering that anyone who understands positive training methods work for dogs should know that they also work for the humans responsible for the dogs, I've seen a suprising number of positive training afficianados in person and in the media who are darn right negative, nasty, and punitive when it comes to dog owners. Yes, the dogs behavior is the owners responsibility and some people make stupid mistakes in regards to their dogs, but praise rather then criticism is the method dog trainers should employ when dealing with both species. I once took an introductory Rally-O class with Bob at a facility that shall remain nameless. Despite it being an introductory class the trainer seemed to think that I should know all of the Rally-O signals and signs ahead of time (she was from the dog show world as where most of the attendees). The trainer made me fool so foolish and flustered as she again and again called out my mistakes, while asking me to move from technique to technique before we had mastered the foundation, that I nearly left the class in tears. I'm sure I over-reacted but Bob and I decided we most definitely did not need that class and I never went back, and wound up out 100 dollars. We took another fun class at a different faciltiy and had a lovely time.
3) A Puppy Class that Emphasizes the "Soft Skills" A Dog Needs to Be A Good Pet- For sure basic obedience is important, we all want dogs who sit, stay, come, leave it, etc. and definitely young dogs can learn those skills. However, far more important for a family pet, is a dog that enjoys meeting new people and other dogs (or at least tolerates it well), plays nicely, has good bite inhibition, tolerates being touched all over, and does not mind being grabbed. A good puppy class should work on those skills and assign MORE importance to them then sit, stay, leave it, etc.
One thing I love about Weasley's puppy class is that it is 99% playing with other dogs. The trainers supervise and group the dogs by weight and size. Periodically, the owners and the trainers, step in to grab the dogs and reward them after being grabbed. A technique called "gotcha" by the trainers. After being grabbed and rewarded with a tasty treat the puppy goes back to playing so they learn that being caught by the owner is a good thing and not the end of the fun.
Periodically , puppies wait at the side lines while another group plays. This is a great time to work on skills like "look at me". I practice calling Weasley's name and reward him when ever he glances away from the action to take a look at mom.
Weasley will continue in his puppy class until he is 5 months old and then will transfer to basic obedience where he will begin working on sit, stay, lie down, etc. We have already started on some of those skills at home so hopefully it will be a breeze!
Below very blurry pictures of Weasley's first class!
Weasley started his puppy pre-k class last Sunday at Its Your Dog on Sunday. Even though the facility is nearly an hour and a half from our home in Jersey City I love the trainers' philosophy so much that its totally worth it to me to make the trip. Of course I can only speak for myself but here are three things I looked for in a puppy class:
1) A 100% Totally Positive Trainer- The benefits of positive training methods over correction based techniques are so overwhelming that there is absolutely no reason to go to a trainer who doesn't use them 100% of the time. If you want to build a loving relationship with your puppy, and who doesn't, positive training is clearly the way to go. All of the research into animal training, including the training and education of humans, indicates that positive training is far more effective then negative or fear based techniques. Personally, my all time favorite dog trainer is Patricia McConnel I highly recommend all of her books and her blog
2) A Trainer You Like and Who Makes You and Your Dog Feel Good: Considering that anyone who understands positive training methods work for dogs should know that they also work for the humans responsible for the dogs, I've seen a suprising number of positive training afficianados in person and in the media who are darn right negative, nasty, and punitive when it comes to dog owners. Yes, the dogs behavior is the owners responsibility and some people make stupid mistakes in regards to their dogs, but praise rather then criticism is the method dog trainers should employ when dealing with both species. I once took an introductory Rally-O class with Bob at a facility that shall remain nameless. Despite it being an introductory class the trainer seemed to think that I should know all of the Rally-O signals and signs ahead of time (she was from the dog show world as where most of the attendees). The trainer made me fool so foolish and flustered as she again and again called out my mistakes, while asking me to move from technique to technique before we had mastered the foundation, that I nearly left the class in tears. I'm sure I over-reacted but Bob and I decided we most definitely did not need that class and I never went back, and wound up out 100 dollars. We took another fun class at a different faciltiy and had a lovely time.
3) A Puppy Class that Emphasizes the "Soft Skills" A Dog Needs to Be A Good Pet- For sure basic obedience is important, we all want dogs who sit, stay, come, leave it, etc. and definitely young dogs can learn those skills. However, far more important for a family pet, is a dog that enjoys meeting new people and other dogs (or at least tolerates it well), plays nicely, has good bite inhibition, tolerates being touched all over, and does not mind being grabbed. A good puppy class should work on those skills and assign MORE importance to them then sit, stay, leave it, etc.
One thing I love about Weasley's puppy class is that it is 99% playing with other dogs. The trainers supervise and group the dogs by weight and size. Periodically, the owners and the trainers, step in to grab the dogs and reward them after being grabbed. A technique called "gotcha" by the trainers. After being grabbed and rewarded with a tasty treat the puppy goes back to playing so they learn that being caught by the owner is a good thing and not the end of the fun.
Periodically , puppies wait at the side lines while another group plays. This is a great time to work on skills like "look at me". I practice calling Weasley's name and reward him when ever he glances away from the action to take a look at mom.
Weasley will continue in his puppy class until he is 5 months old and then will transfer to basic obedience where he will begin working on sit, stay, lie down, etc. We have already started on some of those skills at home so hopefully it will be a breeze!
Below very blurry pictures of Weasley's first class!
Awards Wednesday
First of all, Pixel Blue Eyes gave us
Pixel is a really sweet pup with a fun and funny blog. We love reading all of her adventures. Liebster is German for beloved so its a very sweet reward to recieve! This award is for blogs with less then 200 followers. I am passing this award on to:
The Adventures of Tank
A Day in the Life of Pugs
Pupparoos
Pug Network
Pawfect Days
All of these blogs are great if you have not checked them out already, do so!
Then our super cool friends at Weinerful Life gave us
Mom will be answering the questions.
1. Favorite Number? 7 because it seems like a magic number, plus I like that there are 7 children in the Weasley family in the Harry Potter books.
2. Favorite nonalcoholic beverage? Coffee for sure!
3. Facebook or Twitter? Blogger is my favorite but Facebook is fun too, I love the Pug Sluts group.
4. Your Passion? Dogs!!!!!!!! (and to a lesser extent food)
5. Favorite Pattern? Hmm maybe gingham, or anything with a retro vibe.
6. Favorite Day of the Week? Saturday
7. Favorite Flower? Lilly of the Valley
We are passing this on too: Two Cats and a Pug, Pip, The Slimmer Pugs (now Pugs and Purrs), Tweedles, Finn Howard,Wilma the Pug, and Life is Art....Art is Life.
We want everyone to know though that we LOVE every single dog and cat blog on blogger, its the best discovery we have made.
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