Slavenka has posted a link to an interesting talk by Ian Dunbar on dog training. An article in the San Francisco chronicle compares Dunbar's methods with those of Cesar Milan.
I admire Dunbar and I don't like Milan's creed that dogs are like wolves and need to be dominated. Dogs aren't wolves. Many thousands of years ago they diverged in their evolution and have lived alongside humans since then, adapting to our lifestyle.
Friday, 30 January 2009
Thursday, 29 January 2009
a dog goes out in the mid-day sun
Penny has helped with the garden today and done some sun-baking. All very well, except for the fact that the temperature reached 44°C today. (That's 111°F.)
'Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun,' as the song says.
But I think Penny's not mad, she's just loyal. So every time I ventured out to see how the poor sad plants were coping, or looked around to check there was still water for the birds and insects, she came out too.
The plants had a terrible time and not all the insects made it through the day, either. Here's a lovely beetle that died in the heat.
But this praying mantis made it, because I found it trying to get a drink from the tap - no luck of course, because of water restrictions the tap was off - and brought it inside for the day to sit in a jar on a little wet sponge.
Penny was quite chirpy for most of the day but flaked out on the floor of the kitchen when the power went off (and our cooling went with it). Thank goodness it was only for an hour or so.
Tomorrow is predicted to be equally hot. So once again it will be a restful day for Penny, except for those little excursions to check the garden.
'Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun,' as the song says.
But I think Penny's not mad, she's just loyal. So every time I ventured out to see how the poor sad plants were coping, or looked around to check there was still water for the birds and insects, she came out too.
The plants had a terrible time and not all the insects made it through the day, either. Here's a lovely beetle that died in the heat.
But this praying mantis made it, because I found it trying to get a drink from the tap - no luck of course, because of water restrictions the tap was off - and brought it inside for the day to sit in a jar on a little wet sponge.
Penny was quite chirpy for most of the day but flaked out on the floor of the kitchen when the power went off (and our cooling went with it). Thank goodness it was only for an hour or so.
Tomorrow is predicted to be equally hot. So once again it will be a restful day for Penny, except for those little excursions to check the garden.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
travel by plane with a dog
Mary left a comment on my post, hotels in Germany that welcome dogs, saying that a friend of hers had seen a dog in the cabin of the plane on a Lufthansa flight. When I checked it out I discovered many airlines allow small pets to travel in the cabin.
Qantas doesn't appear to allow any dogs except registered guide dogs, who must lie near their owner's feet on an absorbent mat. In first or business they lie in front of the seat and in economy the adjacent seat is left empty so the dog can lie on the floor there.
However, sure enough, Lufthansa allows dogs in the cabin. But...the maximum weight, including the carrier, is 8kgs and may be a maximum of 55X40X20cm. What kind of dog would that be? I guess Ms Winnie the pocket beagle could qualify, but Penny sure wouldn't, so I won't be going on any planes with her in the near future.
Of course, she could travel in the hold, but the recent story about the dog who got loose in the hold and grounded a Qantas jet doesn't fill me with confidence. What if it had happened when the plane was in the air?
Qantas doesn't appear to allow any dogs except registered guide dogs, who must lie near their owner's feet on an absorbent mat. In first or business they lie in front of the seat and in economy the adjacent seat is left empty so the dog can lie on the floor there.
However, sure enough, Lufthansa allows dogs in the cabin. But...the maximum weight, including the carrier, is 8kgs and may be a maximum of 55X40X20cm. What kind of dog would that be? I guess Ms Winnie the pocket beagle could qualify, but Penny sure wouldn't, so I won't be going on any planes with her in the near future.
Of course, she could travel in the hold, but the recent story about the dog who got loose in the hold and grounded a Qantas jet doesn't fill me with confidence. What if it had happened when the plane was in the air?
Monday, 26 January 2009
chicken jerky from China a world-wide danger
Have readers in other countries been warned about chicken jerky from China? I thought it was just an Australian problem but now I've seen a warning on Dog Blog for pet owners in the US, so I thought I would pass it on immediately. Dog Blog reports that the FDA issued a warning IN SEPTEMBER 2007 but does not have the authority to demand a recall.
I'm not going to feed Penny any sort of chicken jerky at all - unless I make it myself!
PS I've just found a chicken jerky recipe with clearer instructions.
I'm not going to feed Penny any sort of chicken jerky at all - unless I make it myself!
PS I've just found a chicken jerky recipe with clearer instructions.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
animal lovers help Greek pets in need
When I posted about German animal lovers helping pets in need, I received an interesting comment from Anna Sioki. She gave some great links to animal welfare organisations in Greece.
I've been to Greece many times in the past - when I was a PDO (pre dog owner) I didn't know what I was missing and thought it was important to travel the world to educate myself. Now, of course, I realise I can learn everything I need to know from my dog, and I can't imagine a greater pleasure than walking in the dawn listening to the magpies sing and smelling the dog poo - oops! I meant the mown grass and the eucalypts.
Anyway...back to those days in Greece. I remember the dogs mooching around the ancient sites and the village streets. I sometimes wondered who fed them, but as a non-dog person that's as far as it went. Now, I wonder if a trip overseas would be as relaxing. After all, these days I carry a dog-leash in my handbag so I can whip it out if I find a lost dog. I guess I couldn't do that for the pooches I might see wandering around in other countries.
Anna gave a link to a Greek welfare organisation where the text was in Greek, but there is an English page and a German one, which I guess might indicate these are the two main language groups who visit Greece as tourists.
On the Greek page there is a blog that looks interesting. I wish they would include the widget that translates pages, but maybe that's not so easy for a language in another alphabet. There are plenty of photos of appealing dogs and other pets - in need of a home, presumably. I felt sad to read on the English page that there is still work to be done to educate people that it is better to neuter strays rather than poison them.
The organisation was formed in association with the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF), which is a British organisation that:
By the way, you might like to have a look at the GAWF site, just to see the cute little dog-face icon that follows the cursor.
I've been to Greece many times in the past - when I was a PDO (pre dog owner) I didn't know what I was missing and thought it was important to travel the world to educate myself. Now, of course, I realise I can learn everything I need to know from my dog, and I can't imagine a greater pleasure than walking in the dawn listening to the magpies sing and smelling the dog poo - oops! I meant the mown grass and the eucalypts.
Anyway...back to those days in Greece. I remember the dogs mooching around the ancient sites and the village streets. I sometimes wondered who fed them, but as a non-dog person that's as far as it went. Now, I wonder if a trip overseas would be as relaxing. After all, these days I carry a dog-leash in my handbag so I can whip it out if I find a lost dog. I guess I couldn't do that for the pooches I might see wandering around in other countries.
Anna gave a link to a Greek welfare organisation where the text was in Greek, but there is an English page and a German one, which I guess might indicate these are the two main language groups who visit Greece as tourists.
On the Greek page there is a blog that looks interesting. I wish they would include the widget that translates pages, but maybe that's not so easy for a language in another alphabet. There are plenty of photos of appealing dogs and other pets - in need of a home, presumably. I felt sad to read on the English page that there is still work to be done to educate people that it is better to neuter strays rather than poison them.
The organisation was formed in association with the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF), which is a British organisation that:
provides Greek animal protection societies with project funding, expert assistance, training and practical help, including assistance with neutering campaigns. Over the past twenty years, GAWF has provided more than a million pounds (sterling) towards animal welfare work in Greece.Amongst a list of eminent patrons of GAWF is Rolf Harris, which of course gives it lots of credibility in an Aussie's eyes!
By the way, you might like to have a look at the GAWF site, just to see the cute little dog-face icon that follows the cursor.
hotels in Germany that welcome dogs
I can't imagine it here in Melbourne - hotels welcoming dogs as paying customers. In Berlin these hotels exist - canine visitors must be accompanied by a human, of course. Here's the site, Gridskipper where I came across this surprising information. Though perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised. I've stayed in Germany a number of times - on two occasions for some months - and I remember I was taken aback to see dogs in restaurants. In fact, seeing I was PDO at the time (pre-dog-ownership) I didn't like the presence of dogs.
Not sure what I think about it now...
I presume Gridskipper has done research. When I clicked on the links for the hotels themselves I didn't find any information about dogs being welcome, but I guess they might not want to actually encourage people to bring dogs!
Not sure what I think about it now...
I presume Gridskipper has done research. When I clicked on the links for the hotels themselves I didn't find any information about dogs being welcome, but I guess they might not want to actually encourage people to bring dogs!
Monday, 19 January 2009
visiting other dog blogs
I just responded to a visit by Teddy in the US. When I was reading his blog I saw that he made a resolution on Blog Action Day to click on The Hunger Site each day, because sponsors give food to the hungry each time people click. There are some interesting items for sale on that site - though I haven't seen any dog-related ones yet.
And that reminded me of something I read in the Oxfam shop the other day. They are a wonderful charity, in my opinion, and I like the way they help people to help themselves rather than just giving handouts. In a leaflet they say one way we can help the environment is by feeding our dogs dried food because it contains all a dog needs.
I'm not willing to do that. They say dried food is preferable because canned food contains too much water but I think they aren't taking into account the fact that many of us feed dogs food that otherwise wouldn't be used. For instance, I recently bought a pack of turkey wings that were on sale in the supermarket because they were going out of date, and I'm also thinking of Noah and his canine family who eat fish heads.
I must admit that we haven't had much success with fish heads yet!
And that reminded me of something I read in the Oxfam shop the other day. They are a wonderful charity, in my opinion, and I like the way they help people to help themselves rather than just giving handouts. In a leaflet they say one way we can help the environment is by feeding our dogs dried food because it contains all a dog needs.
I'm not willing to do that. They say dried food is preferable because canned food contains too much water but I think they aren't taking into account the fact that many of us feed dogs food that otherwise wouldn't be used. For instance, I recently bought a pack of turkey wings that were on sale in the supermarket because they were going out of date, and I'm also thinking of Noah and his canine family who eat fish heads.
I must admit that we haven't had much success with fish heads yet!
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