Featured Rescue - Noah the Labrador Retriever

So I thought I'd post a Labrador Retriever as the Featured Rescue for today. There are still 20,302 Labs listed on Petfinder.com.

This is Noah. He's a lab mix. He was found in a trap ... doesn't say what kind? He's located in Rochester, NY. If you can offer him a home, he would be eternally grateful.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12391116

Training Rant - Bean Bags and Chains

Ok, so I know this lovely Golden Retriever. He's almost a senior, has been owned by the same people from the day he left his mama's side. Lovely story, eh? Well, here's something to think about ... This dog has some agression issues. Mainly it was in and around the food bowl. It started innocently enough, as a puppy, he would growl at his food while eating it as fast as he could. The owners

Police Dog Not Dead.

So get this one ... Dog not dead: Fake K-9 Claim

Two police officers and a police chief have been charged with filing a false police report and filing a false insurance claim. Turns out they lied and said one of their dogs died in a training accident. They then claimed a $5,000 insurance claim. Money ... what some people will do for it, eh?

Here's another article that has a bit more detail.

I

MA Votes to Ban Greyhound Racing

Forgive me if you were already aware of this, but I thought since I've been talking about such negative things, that I would change the subject! The voters of Massachusetts have spoken and they have approved a state-wide ban on Greyhound Racing.

Read an article that details here. Reports say that dog racing will be slowly phased out by 2010.

For a long time, there has been controversy regarding

Puppy Mill vs. Euthanasia

Ok, so I have a question for everyone. This thought started swirling around in my head after my last post about mills being shut down. I have considered it before and tend to waffle back and forth. I know what my ultimate answer is, though it isn't a pretty one. Maybe some of you would like to give your opinion??

Here it is.

Do you think it is better to pull dogs out of a mill only to euthanize

How much is that Doggie in the Window??

So, I'm sure by now we've all read articles asking us not to buy puppies from Puppy Mills, right? But what, by definition is a "puppy mill"?? Well, Wikipedia defines a "Puppy Mill" as such:

- sometimes known as puppy farms[1],
- are large-scale dog breeding facilities that operate under substandard breeding conditions,[2][3]
- causing the development of chronic health problems, temperament

Training Tools - The Walk

Wanted to put in a word about walking your dog. Walking is important, but PLEASE use your common sense! We wouldn't want you to get tasered ... read this article to learn what not to do and how to prevent being tasered while walking your dog. Here is another article about the same guy that is a little more ... well, you'll see.

Please look into the laws of the area you live in. If you are not

Featured Rescue - Riggs the Shih Tzu Puppy

An interesting comment was made this week about certain dog breeds and their high demand. Now, please keep in mind it was a simple comment and likely wasn't made to suggest that these dogs should be bred because they are in demand, but I am going to comment on this topic in general. Don't take offense and don't think that I am making this post in reply to the comment. I am simply grabbing the

Sweet Justice - Man who cut off dog's ears

Well, whoever says there is no justice in the legal system of Ontario is only somewhat correct. Turns out that there remains a certain amount of "jailhouse justice". One of yesterday's headlines is:

Man jailed for cutting off dog's ears gets taste of own medicine

Check out the article ... it is an interesting read. I always have to smile when an animal abuser gets something of his/her own

Asshat Rant - Retire your old dogs, don't dump them!

Every day I could find fodder for an Asshat Rant. That's unfortunate and I wish it weren't so. Today's 'fodder' is only one of many. There are so many out there who do this, that comm-925163014@craigslist.org is only one of many. Here's the ad on craigslist. I have screencapped it and jpg so if the ad is removed, you can still view it.

How sad is this? 12 year old beagle needs a new home ...

The Good, The Bad and the Fugly ... Design-A-Puppy

While surfing this week I came across an ... interesting breeder. Company's name is Design-A-Puppy ... Good grief. What will we think of next?? I'm thinking ... beware ... BYBer ... possibly of the worst kind (if there IS such a thing ... 'worst kind' ... perhaps all BYBers belong in this category)!

Taking a parusal around their website, you may note that the only pages that have any info are

Training Tools - A Tired Dog

I'm going to touch briefly on my mantra of a Tired Dog is a Good Dog. I know that some people know this - but I wonder some days at how many people know it but don't fully understand it.

I'm sure that we can all agree that your dog is a blank slate waiting for you to teach it. Each and every behaviour is a learned one - whether you meant to teach it, it came with your dog, or it was a behaviour

Go to Jail ... Do not pass GO

I was moseying around the internet and found this tidbit about a self-proclaimed "rescue" turned convicted animal abuser.

In the first week of October 2008, Sandra I. Cortes, 44, of Annandale was found guilty by Judge Peter W. Steketee in General District Court of 27 counts of animal cruelty. See the news report on the Washington Post site here. Brenda E. Dodson, 30, a caretaker with the

Featured Rescue - Calli the Cocker Spaniel

For those interested in a Cocker Spaniel, why not consider adopting one from a shelter? This is Calli. She was a mother at a puppy mill. She is living with a foster home who has reported that she is coming along well.
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12091895

There are currently 2,365 Cocker Spaniels available for adoption from shelters and rescues across North America.

Training Tools - Choke Chain

So, how many people out there have been told that their dog should be trained on a choke chain? I was told I should use one for my reactive dog.

I know they work and I know that some people swear by them. Personally, I don't like using them. We are required to use them at the Pound for all the dogs that come in (with no history on the dog, it is difficult to work with anything else), but on my

Breeding - ACA and Puppy Mills

I did a little research in the last week or so about an organization called American Canine Association (ACA). Why did I do this research? Well, I had contacted a breeder and asked if their dogs are registered. When I received their response, it said that their dogs were all registered with ACA, I decided to do a google search and see what I could come up with.

ACA is a dog registry, yes. After

Training Rant - Couches

Well, life is a bit crazy at home right now. We're dog sitting, so we have 5 dogs at home. Now, normally 5 dogs is not a problem - provided they are all trained properly and are able to live together. Don't forget we live in a 900 sq ft loft. Yes, we have acreage outside, but the indoors are somewhat lacking for space. We have had to do some retraining with the 2 extra dogs and I thought I'd drop

Featured Rescue - Sebastian the Boxer

Boxers are beautiful, often misunderstood dogs. They can be high energy or can be quite calm and cool. Today, there are 5,844 boxers available through petfinder.com that are looking for new homes through rescue.

Sebatian is one of those many dogs. He is about 1 year old and is currently located in NY State. If you can offer a place in your home for Sebastian, contact Best Friends Boxer Rescue