Dog Versus Cat

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Dog Versus Cat post. Here’s one of our posts from earlier in the year: Kitty Vs. Puppy - The Age Old Battle.

While scrolling through my RSS reader I came across this great picture from the PuppyParade. I’m not too sure where it originated from…the flickr post just mentions that he’s not sure of it’s origins either. However, I do agree that it’s too funny not to share.

I’m not sure if this is real or fixed up with Photoshop. Either way what a great photo:

Dog Versus Cat

Here’s a link back to the original flickr user Nikko Myers.

You have to love the look on the puppies face. I’m going to have to tally the score at cats 1 dogs 0.

Do you have any great photos like this you’d like to share? If so, send me a message through my contact form and I’ll do my best to add it to the site.

Who Would My Dog Vote For: Obama or McCain?

Happy Election Day! With all the hoopla surrounding the election today I decided to get a political post up on the puppy in training site and try and find out who my dogs would vote for.

I’m not a very political person and while I do keep my ears open to the election, candidates, and coming propositions for the most part I try not to get into those heated political debates. However, my dogs on the other hand may argue otherwise. After doing a little online research I came across some striking differences between Senator Obama, Senataor McCain, and their pet ownership.

Senator Barrack Obama Has No Dogs Or Any Pets

After researching with Google I found out that the Obama’s don’t have any pets! This could be disastrous for the candidate if they were trying to pull the pet lover vote (looks like they obviously are not). However, possibly to try and sway the dog/pet lover vote Obama win-or-lose has promised his two daughters a dog after the election.

Following the report the AKC launched a poll to choose a breed of dog for the Obama’s. From the AKC website:

The Poodle clinched the nomination after the breed battled it out with the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier in a race almost as tight as Clinton and Obama’s run for the Democratic nomination for president. The Poodle won by a (dog) hair, with just a few hundred votes separating the top two contenders.

Might I suggest adopting any breed of dog mixed or pure-bred from one of the many impacted shelters across the nation as we talked about in Tough Times For Cat And Dog Adoptions.

Is the promise of a dog after the election enough to sway the pet lovers vote…

Senator John McCain Owns A Whopping 24 Pets

After reading about McCain’s stable of 24 pets I’d have to say that he’s on the complete opposite side of the spectrum compared to Senator Obama’s pet ownership policy. A report from the Times Online website:

He (McCain) has four dogs, including Lucy and Desi, named after the black-and-white television sitcom I Love Lucy, which rather dates the 71-year-old candidate. He also has a cat, a parakeet and a shoal of fish, including one called Lucky, and once owned a ferret and an iguana named Henry, who turned out to be Henrietta and laid an egg.

Okay, now we may be going a little over board with 24 pets. Being the dog lover that I am I dug a little deeper to find out exactly what breeds of dogs live in the McCain household. From WikiAnswers:

1. An English Springer Spaniel named Sam
2. A Yorkshire Terrier named Lucy
3. A Yorkshire Terrier named Desi
4. A Mixed breed named Coco

Linus, Stetson, and Derby’s Choice For President Is…

My dogs liked this bit from the Times Online on the importance of a dog in the White House:

A dog is an essential tool of government. There is nothing like a furry friend to feature in a distracting publicity photo during a domestic or international crisis and to provide private consolation when times are hard.

As my dogs pointed out to me their choice for President was clear. John McCain is the pet lovers choice in this election. While the number of pets a candidate has seems like a very insignificant and silly way to choose a candidate…if you’re on the fence on which candidate is the correct choice then this may be the one reason that pushes your vote in one direction or the other.

What do you think? Did you vote today?

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

Halloween is right around the corner and I thought it would be the perfect time to write a DIY (do it yourself) on How To Make Your Own Dog Costume for Halloween.

Last year I wasn’t too creative with Stetson and his first Halloween costume. However, Target has some great costumes and Stetson and I both dressed up as bee’s (I guess you could say we were a swarm of bees). This year we decided to do a little more preparation and after researching the internet and posting about The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet I got really excited about designing my own dog costume for Derby and our Halloween guide dog meeting.

Derby’s Dog Costume - Simba The Lion

Here are some images of Derby in his dog costume as Simba the Lion:

Derby chomping on his prey (looks like a piece of grass or twig)

Derby the happy dog!

Derby giving us his best lion pose!

Don’t mess with Derby the lion.

Derby smelling the grass.

I’m sure everyone’s now wondering…what a brilliant costume! How did you do it?

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

I was secretly hoping I would get a yellow Labrador Retriever or a Golden Retriever so I could dress them up as a lion for Halloween. If you saw my post on The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet then you would have seen the Golden Lion who was actually supposed to be Lambert the Sheepish lion. A very random reference, but I just recently saw the short cartoon when watching Disney’s the Fox and the Hound…I’m a kid at heart and still watch cartoons.

Anyhow, I’ve been searching for a lions mane since I got Derby and couldn’t find anything suitable until Halloween costumes started rolling into the local Walmarts and Targets. While walking through Target I saw the perfect Lions mane…it was the hair on the wolfman’s mask. So here are the step-by-step instructions for constructing your very own dog costume.

Items you will need for this project:

• Wolfman Mask from Target
• Elastic band
• Piece of Velcro
• Extra Collar
• Sewing kit (needle and thread)
• Knife or Scissors
• Optional - rubber band

Instructions

1. Go to Target and buy the $9.99 Wolfman mask.
2. Grab a knife or scissors and unstitch the hair from the latex mask.
3. With rudimentary sewing skills attach the collar to the lions mane (this will keep it in place when costume is worn.
4. Next, attach the velcro under the neck. This will keep the lions mane closed around the neck area.
5. Finally attach the elastic higher up from the velcro just under the chin. This helps to keep the hair from sliding back behind the ears.
6. Optional - take an extra piece of hair from the mask and attach it to your dogs tail with the rubber band.

And the final results…we won Most Original Costume at our Guide Dogs of America meeting! YAY!

The Fearless Lion

Farm animals about to be preyed upon by the mighty lion!

Thanks to Joe for the wonderful photographs at our GDA meeting.

Let me know if you have any questions about How To Make Your Own Dog Costume. I, myself am not very creative nor very crafty, but was able to piece this one together.

By the way, you may have noticed the DigitalPhotoShoppe.com on the Derby images above. My mother takes some great photographs and is an expert at fixing them up with Photoshop. The images above were all taken by my mother and edited using Photoshop. If you have any questions or would like to see some other great photos or Photoshop tutorials then go check out her new site at Digital PhotoShoppe.

Did your dog wear a dog costume for Halloween? If so, what did he/she dress up as?

Ever Wonder How Your Dog Escaped?

Have you ever quarantined your dog to a specific room or area of the house and assumed there was no way for him to get out? However, to your amazement he somehow free’s himself from his special area in attempts to get the ultimate reward (spending more time with you).

In the video below this Beagle proves that not only can his breed win the Best In Show at the Westminster Dog Show and be the top dog in the Puppy In Training article The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet, but this multi-talented breed is also a great escape artist.

Is this dog the MacGyver of the doggie world?

MacGyver’s Dog

The most amazing part of this video to me is: The Beagles were not BARKING or HOWLING!

My Dog Linus The Escape Artist

Another shining example of a great escape artist was when I first got my Australian Shepherd mix dog Linus. I did my best to spend as much time as possible with Linus when he was a puppy. However, I couldn’t spend every hour of every day watching over him. During his second week at home I had an appointment and was going to be gone for about 2 hours. I knew this would be an eternity for Linus and didn’t want to just throw him in his crate for 2 hours. I wanted to give him extra space to move around including a pee pad and his water dish. So, instead I put him in the bathroom and used the box his crate came in to block the door entry (I wanted to be sure fresh air would circulate to him. I also didn’t want him to scratch the bathroom door).

The crate box was approximately three feet high and as a 10 week old puppy Linus had no jumping skills, balance, or height…he couldn’t even reach the top of the box standing on his hind legs. I figured this was sufficient to keep him from escaping the bathroom. I propped a chair up against the box making sure there was no way he could move the box and chair out of the way.

I said my good bye’s to Linus knowing he probably start crying when I left. After about 2 hours I returned home from my appointment. I opened the front door and Linus came running up to greet me. I was happy to see him, but thought “how in the heck did you get out of the bathroom?” The box was still blocking the entryway, the chair was still firmly propped up against the box, but Linus was free.

At this point I was wishing I had a camera on Linus (just like the one in the video) to see how exactly he escaped. Upon further inspection I noticed pieces of box all over the bathroom area and also saw a round hole approximately 4 inches in diameter in the middle of the box. I knew there was no way Linus could jump the box. He didn’t move the box and slip out the side. My only guess is that he became frustrated with the box and started chewing on it. The hole in the box gave him a little step for his hind legs so his short front paws could reach the top allowing him to propel himself over. Lucky thing for me there were no accidents in the house.

Never underestimate your dog. They are much smarter and more resourceful than you sometimes think.

Do you have any stories about your dogs great escape? Do you have the next puppy MacGyver?

Stetson Missed This Years Puppy Trials

…but I missed the Guide Dog Demonstration We were late for the Guide Dogs of America open house this year and we missed the Guide Dog demonstration. I felt even worse about missing the demo when I heard that our friend Dustin was one of the dogs in the demonstration. Everyone told me he did really well and lucky for me Joanna and Camry took a short video of Dustin and posted it to their blog.

Lucky for me we did get a chance to check out the other activities at the open house.

The Puppy Trials

The puppy trials are my favorite part of the open house and I was hoping to take Stetson through the event. Unfortunately, Stetson was in the kennels and I didn’t even get a chance to see him. I did get a chance to snap a few photos of the contestants and obstacles in the trials.

Puppy trials began at 11:30am. Here’s what you need to do when you arrive (a reference for next year…hopefully I’ll have a puppy I can enter):

1. Check in at the Entry Table when you arrive.
2. Listen for your number to be called to start the obstacle course (10 numbers will be called at a time).
3. Return your number to the Entry Table to receive your participants ribbon.
4. Announcement of Puppy Trials

First Place winners of each age group will have a permanent place on our Top Dog Plaque, which will be displayed in the kennel building. Stetson’s brother Stuart finished first in our age group last year.

In the picture below do you see the obstacle to the left? Those are hot dogs on a stick and marshmellows. This little yellow lab has his eye on the prize, but he successfully avoided those little wieners.

The first time I introduced Stetson to stairs he was horrible. He liked to pull and run up the stairs even when I told him to heel. However, after a lot of practice Stetson became a master at the stairs. This yellow lab looks as thought he’s mastered the stairs as well.

Last year Stetson successfully ignored the ducks and llamas. The duck is actually on the right side outside of the picture. Sorry for the lousy picture the shadows were not treating me well in this photo.

Some of the other obstacles the puppies have to navigate are basic commands in the grass, walk through a pile of wood chips, simulation of a dining room environment, vet check, and sitting quietly on the bus.

Other Stuff Happening At Open House

For small donations they have food available including a bake sale at the Girl Scouts booth. The regular silent auction has tons of great baskets and last year we bid on several coming home with a basket full of cat products (my mom loves cats). This year nothing caught our fancy and we didn’t bid on any of the baskets. There’s also a children’s auction.

We also went on the GDA campus tour this year (I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Stetson in the kennels). We toured the grounds and the dorms, but didn’t get to go in the kennels

There’s also a raffle that included some great prizes. I think the coolest prize would be to “Spend A Day With A Trainer”. Unfortunately I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t get a chance to buy any raffle tickets.

There’s also a puppy kissing booth and several booths with GDA and other merchandise.

If you missed the Guide Dogs of America Open House then hopefully you’ll visit next year. I plan on going and hopefully I’ll have a new puppy to take through the puppy trials.

Fun Dog Pictures By You The Reader

Here’s a collection of fun dog pictures I’ve received during the past few months. Over time I’ve collected several images sent to me from the readers of this blog. I’d like to thank everyone who has sent me a picture without you this post would never have been made.

I’d like to encourage you to please keep them coming. I love reading stories from other people and also the pictures that accompany the stories. I hope you enjoy these pictures submitted by you the reader:

Fun Dog Pictures

I had to include a couple of bunny pictures that I received:

Yep You Smell Like a Rabbit

Kitty Loves Bunny

Lets Tear This Gator Apart! — Puppies At Play

Garcon? Having Fun With Photoshop!

What’s This Goat Doing On My Back?

You might be wondering why included a picture of a baby goat standing on someone’s back. Well there’s an interesting back story to that picture and here it is:

If you take a look at the comment section a while back on our Piglet raised by a Dachshund family posts you’ll see this comment:

This reminds me of one of our dachsi’s, Gidget…she is a longhair and a couple of years ago there was a newborn goat show up in our driveway… I got the baby goat and put it in a box, had my husband go into town and get some baby formula and a bottle. Even tho I had to feed Buttercup with a bottle, Gidget stayed in the box with her and cleaned her and took care of her until she was about a month old. I couldn’t get Gidget to leave that baby goat! The only time she would leave, would be to come and get me when the baby was hungry!
Love the story!
We are crazy dachshund people too…we have three. Two are longhairs and one is a short hair. Our first, Schautzi lived until she was almost 15. When we brought our daughter home from the hospital, Shautz decided that was her baby and no one but me or my husband could go near the baby without Schautz’s permission!
They are such a wonderful breed….
Kind, caring, and protective of their humans!

Unfortunately, the hard drive on Susan’s computer crashed and she did not have copies of pictures of Gidget and Buttercup. However, she did have this one of Buttercup standing on the back.

Once again thanks everyone for sharing and please if you have a fun dog picture send it to me and I’ll try to post it here on the Puppy In Training website.

This Dog Loves The Swimming Pool Slide

I’m lucky that I get many great dog and puppy emails from friends and family. I like posting a lot of these to my blog rather than forwarding them on to others. I’d like to thank Carole for sending me another great dog video.

When I saw this little video today it reminded me of our old family dog a Border Collie Australian Shepherd mix (?), Maffy who loved the swimming pool.

This email came with a short story that is listed as a MUST READ before watching the video:

Who’s Swimming In My Pool?

These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture, every time they came home, after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were watching for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So, they set up their video cam and left. This is what they found out.

Dog Slide

I’m sure the video is accurate, but I don’t think the story is true. After receiving this email I went to YouTube.com to either upload or find a link to the dog slide video. There were already several of the same video posted. The first was the 25 second video you see above. However, I also noticed the same video, but it was 1 minute long. I watched that one as well and if you pay attention you’ll notice someone is holding the camera and starts walking towards the pool at the end of the video. Here’s the link to the 1 minute video: Dog Slide Video.

The story above says that “…they set up their video cam and left.” As you can see from the second video someone was actually there recording the dogs.

Whether or not the story is true it’s still a great video. I don’t think Stetson or Linus would like the slide (neither of them are real fond of water), but I could picture their pal Dustin having some fun on that water slide.

Do you have any interesting dog or puppy videos you’d like to share? Send me a link or email if you’d like to share your video.

Dog Or Mop?

Today was just like every other day reading through my feeds on Google Reader, getting the latest and greatest news, and taking a look at some of the many dog and puppy pictures that come through my feeds.  While scrolling through the many blog posts I enjoy on a daily basis I saw a picture that I could have sworn was a mop head being thrown over an obstacle on a dog agility course.

Thanks to our friends over at The Days Of Johann an Agility Dog I had the pleasure of seeing this great agility dog picture and wanted to share it with the readers here on Puppy In Training.

Johann found this pic at Reuters and we agree with Johann that “this is one of the coolest dog agility photos we have ever seen!”

Dog Or Mop

Here’s the caption straight from Reuters:

Eva Meyer watches her Puli dog ‘Fee’ during a photo call for a dog show in Dortmund April 24, 2008. More than 6,000 dogs will compete for the title of the best pedigree hound on May 2 to 4, 2008 in Dortmund.

What do you think?  Dog or Mop?  Do you have any interesting photos of your dog?  If so, I’d love to see them and maybe post them here at Puppy In Training.

Great Video Of Gin The Dancing Dog

Have you ever seen a dancing dog before? A couple days ago I received an email from Carole about Kate and Gin the dancing dog from the TV show Britain’s got talent. I watched Gin, a border collie dazzle the judges panel and the audience as well.

The original link that Carole sent me apparently has been moved from Youtube. Hopefully they’re not having copywrite issues, but if they are then the video below may get disabled eventually as well.

Here’s a video of Gin on YouTube:

Gin The Dancing Dog

Dogs Are Amazing

It’s pretty amazing some of the things you can teach a dog. Stetson, my guide dog puppy in training will (hopefully) be a full-fledged guide dog in about 6 months assisting his blind companion to move around more freely. Gin the dancing dog obviously has a different talent. It’s great to see all of her energy channeled into such a great act.

I’ve seen many other working dogs including Arson Dogs, Service Dogs, Search & Rescue Dogs, and Therapy Dogs. Every one of these working dogs is very talented in their own right. It’s definitely my pleasure to be able to work with Stetson (hopefully) a future guide dog.

Ralphie The Wild Animal

My parents dog has a similar energy level and is probably just as agile as Gin the dancing dog. However, I don’t think they’ve channeled his energy in quite the same way. If you’ve ever seen him (his name is Ralphie after Ralphie on the Simpsons), you’d think he had springs in his feet. He bounces around and can walk on his hind legs (I haven’t seen him walk backwards yet). If only they could channel that energy into something positive he could be the next contestant on Britain’s got talent (if we were in Britain).

Have you ever seen a dog like Gin the dancing dog before?  What other talents do dogs possess?

Children Versus Dogs Round 2

It’s a never ending battle between children and dogs. Yes! We have written on this subject before. If you don’t remember take a look back at our article: Children Versus Dogs. As you can see from that article it was a choice between the destructive nature of children versus dogs.

This time around the two combatants go head to head.

We ask the question: Can a child outrun a dog?

Take a look at this weeks image below. Hopefully no one was injured in the making of this clip.

Child Vs. Dog Round 2

What lesson can be learned from this little animated gif? I’d say not all dogs are good with children. The dog in the image appears to be a little to hyperactive for a small child.

So, the next time you are looking to get a dog please keep in mind that not all dogs are the same. The energy level of some dogs may be too much for a small child.

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