hippiechick wrote: 
  poor little sweetie.

the trainers I know use a shaker can for the barking.  it's just a can with something hard (dry beans maybe?) in it, and when you shake it it makes a lot of noise.  A few shakes and "NO". 

Barking is a tough habit to break!

 hippiechick wrote: 
A friend once told me that dogs have a different sort of point of view of consciousness. They don't distinguish between their interior and exterior environment as much as we.

Their impulse and their bark are much more integral. It may be communication, but also a natural expression of their interior.

It shocks them that you would respond to it other than to maybe bark or talk.

Since I now have a kitty living with me I have been working diligently to get Maggie to stop barking, so yesterday I took a new tack and squirt her with a squirt bottle when whe started barking. You would have thought I waterboarded her! She jumped into my arms and curled up as tightly as possible. Still barking though. I feel so guilty doing it again.

Men get credit for rescuing animals

Quick action saves 12 dogs from blast, fire in Cape Cod

 phineas wrote: 
Not just middle-aged, all rovers!

 

 rmgman wrote: 
Some kind of upper for middle-aged dogs?

The BIG news: Pippin will be 8 years old on March 22nd.

Have your cards and greenies ready for delivery.

Hopefully her little legs will make it around the track (at least one lap) in next month's Relay For Life.

 Beez wrote: 
we had a dog that went mostly deaf. she could hear sharp sounds. we would get her attention with a loud handclap and she learned a few simple hand signals. gesturing toward the door was asking if she needed to go out. toward the kitchen meant food. hand down near the floor meant time for pettin'.

I am sure Bosque will still respond to your conversations. give her lots of hugs for us.

 Beez wrote: 
Well dangit, now you're spreading it around :(  (the tears part).  I guess just go the extra mile to make her a part of the day with her other senses... find stinky things for her to enjoy :)

Seriously, sorry to hear that.

 Welly wrote: 
If not responding is a sign of a deaf animal, then all of our animals are deaf!!

Thanks all.  I just sobbed when I figured it out.  I can't believe she won't be able to hear me talking to her anymore.   I have Sid, but he always falls asleep during our conversations.  Bosque always listened.

news flash

a visiting lemon beagle peed on a curtain and a chair here...
his name was 'spot'

now i know why.

he otherwise behaved like an airport drug sniffing dog, but alas
found no contraband.

any further developments i will alert the dog news dept...
...good day

 Welly wrote: 
My older one is pretty much deaf also. But on the positive side, she doesn't bark as much.

 Beez wrote: 

Sorry to hear that Beez.

We have a deaf dog. It takes some getting used to, but we're learning how to communicate.

 Beez wrote: 

 Beez wrote: 

Bosque lost her hearing.....

The local San Antonio hockey team is sponsoring their second annual Pucks & Paws Night, where owners are welcome to bring their dogs to the game, with a portion of the proceeds going toward a group that finds Forever Homes for our furry friends!   

 maryte wrote: 
yes, this was so lovely!

YAY VETS!   BOOOOO PUPPY MILLS!!!
Vets go extra mile for puppy mill dogs

EVERETT, Wash. - Veterinarian Steve Weinrauch was watching TV with his wife a few weeks ago when he saw the heart-wrenching images of 600 dogs rescued from three filthy kennels raided in Mount Vernon.

He couldn't just stand by - he knew he needed to get involved.

And now dozens of dogs rescued from kennels in Mount Vernon are getting the medical help they so desperately need, thanks to the hard work of Weinrauch and other veterinarians and volunteers.

"We saw what happened and we thought we'd like to get involved and help out," Weinrauch says.

Weinrauch teamed up with Dr. Giles Little, who opened the doors to his Renton Banfield Pet Hospital.

Now the clinic's ER is constantly busy. On a typical recent day, there were 28 dogs, dozens of volunteers and hundreds of procedures - all to give the rescued dogs a shot at a new life.

"We're basically trying to make them as adoptable as we can," says Dr. Giles Little, veterinarian owner of Renton Banfield Pet Hospital.

Everett Animal Shelter, which is housing many of the dogs, is very grateful for the vets' timely aid and assistance.

"Knowing that these animals had been without care for a long time and that they were all going to need care, I mean, it was a pretty expensive prospect," says Hilary Hager of Everett Animal Services.

And there's a lot of work to be done.

"We're seeing a lot of rotten teeth, a lot of tartar, of lot gingivitis, dental infection, dental disease," says Weinrauch. "We're also seeing a lot of ear infections, really really bad skin."

But one by one, the furry little guys are getting the help they need - one step closer to the homes, lives and love they deserve.

"We're so grateful that they were able to do this for us," Hager says.

Weinrauch says he never doubted it was the right thing to do.

"Might as well send them home shipshape, take care of them and make sure they all go home happy," he says.

It will still be a little while before the dogs are ready to be adopted.

But anyone who is interested in adopting can visit the web site of the Everett Animal Shelter.