Ten Peeves that Pooches Have About Humans

1 Blaming your farts on me..... not funny... not funny at all !!!

2 Yelling at me for barking. I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG

3 Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?

4 Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose. Stop it!

5 Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.

6 The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain.

7 Taking me to the vet for 'the big snip', then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!

8 Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.

9 Dog sweaters. Hello ??? Haven't you noticed the fur?

10 How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth. You're just jealous.

Now lay off me on some of these things. We both know who's boss here! You don't see me picking up your poop do you?

EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY. A DOG ALWAYS OFFERS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. CATS HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT!

Info sourced by Stephen

Swiming Pooches - Written by Sharon Haslam

Have you ever taken your dog down to the sea and allowed them to take a dip? I am currently working with two Spinger Spaniels and I thought I would do something a bit different with them today so I took them to a small cove around Golf Del Sur area where they could go into the sea and have a swim if they so desired. Little did I know how much fun they would actually have and I should have worn a bathing suit as I ended up as wet as the dogs did! I didnt even have time to take off their leads and they were splashing around and leaping about in the waves! We spent a good half an hour having so much fun and I hadnt realised just how much they loved swimming. Now we will be making this a once a week stop off so they can blow off some steam and I can sit and watch them and laugh at their silly antics!!

Obviously these two dogs have been used to the sea since they were pups so please dont just go down to the waters edge and throw your dog in which many people do. You have to teach them they have nothing to fear. How would you like to be thrown in at the deep end of the pool and not know how to swim, panic maybe?? Remember dogs have emotions and feelings too so make it as fun as possible for them even if it does take a lot of time to get them feeling comfortable, it shouldnt be a stressful experience.

Unfortunately many of the areas with a beach here in Tenerife have recently become not accessible for dogs so do make sure you check first before you allow your dog to go romping along the beach and splashing about in the waves or you could end up with a hefty fine!
As a final thought, its always a good idea to gently hose your dog off once you get home to get rid of any salt or debris left on his coat. Happy Swimming!

Article written by Sharon Haslam - Dog Trainer - to contact Sharon ring 699 109 837

Happy Tails Dog Training

Dog art and shake that fur...!

Video of dog exhibition in Manhattan "A Thousand Dogs" photos from well known photographers and starting from early days of photography to the present day . Must of been difficult to get a shot of a pooch in the old days with slow shutter speeds though...!

The exhibition was in aid of raising enough money to help a thousand dogs and cats. Cool idea.....!

Nikki the blog editor takes some neat shots of dogs see the pic of me and the rest of the doggy contributors, I think I look pretty cool..!

Infact one of her digital art photos is for sale in The Live Arico shop. (see image below)

Nikki is thinking of having a doggy exhibition to raise money for the dog rescue centres of Tenerife - Watch this space..!

You can see more of Nikki's art work on LondonArt

'Other side of the door' - Nikki Attree

Check out this very educational film about dogs shaking... great slow motion shots of mutts shaking it about, apparently us pooches don't all have the same style of shaking, could of told them that..!

Fascinating stuff though..

Shake that fur

Gnasher's rant about docking of tails..!

Docking of tails what is that all about...!

It has been said that docking, amputation  of our tails when we are pups is not painful. Excuse me, but dogs have a nervous system and therefore we feel pain, pups might not squeal but that does'nt mean it doesn't hurt.

And why is it necessary, well people who defend docking say the procedure is necessary and even beneficial for some dogs. They say that a lack of tail will mean less injuries and inconveniences. Ok but think of it, if we would take off tails,limbs or anything else, of course there are likely less injuries because they are not existing anymore!

Docking is basically unecessary and only being done for aesthetic reasons for showing your dog in dog show competitions..!

Dogs need tails, a very important function of tails is communication. That is how we show happiness by waging our tails. Its really difficult to see if a pooch is in a good mood or not when he hasn't got a tail...! This can cause serious miscommunications and eventually fights, as dogs without tails are unable to communicate fear, play or aggression

.

Makes me so barking mad that in this day and age this barbaric procedure is still taking place, its just not natural for dogs not to have tails, Dogs were made with tails and dogs should have tails...!

How taking the dog for a walk can lead to love..!

June McNicholas, a health psychologist, said having a dog could increase your chance of getting "chatted up" by up to 1,000 per cent.

"Having a dog is the perfect ice-breaker," said Miss McNicholas, who conducted trials with dog owners in the West Midlands.

She sent a number of people out to go about their daily outdoor routines, half of them with a dog and half without. In addition, 52 dog owners and 43 non dog owners were asked to list all the people with whom they had some level of social contact in a four-week period.

The research showed that 40 per cent of dog owners said that they made friends easily as a result of having a dog.

"We found that just having a dog, regardless of how the owner looked, would increase the chance of someone talking to them by over 1,000 per cent," said Miss McNicholas.

Read rest of article written by Nick Britten for the Telegraph - click here

Walkies..!

I am going to have a bit of a rant today, about people who don't walk their dogs properly. 

Every morning when I take my pooch for a walk I see a couple drive up to the car-park near my house and release their dog from their car, they then slowly get out, light a cigarette each, watch their dog roam around for a bit   while leaning on their car, no attempt at all is made to walk with their dog or throw a ball !.

About 2 minutes later when they have finished their cigarettes they call their dog, get in the car and drive away. 

Great, that dog has had a really satisfying walkies Not...!

Dangerous Dogs in Tenerife (info taken from Sharon Halslam's website)

Information on Potentially Dangerous Dogs/Dangerous Dogs:

Potentially Dangerous Dogs

Royal Decree 287/2002 of March 22 regulates the requirements to own canine animals deemed to be potentially dangerous, developing the legislation established under Law 50/1999. This page is intended exclusively as a brief explanatory guide on the requirements necessary to own potentially dangerous dogs in Spain.

How do I know if my dog is classified as potentially dangerous?

The Royal Decree classifies the following dogs as potentially dangerous:

a. Those belonging to one of the following breeds and their crosses:

* Pit Bull Terrier
* Staffordshire Bull Terrier
* American Staffordshire Terrier
* Rottweiler
* Dogo Argentino
* Fila Brasileiro
* Tosa Inu
* Akita Inu

b. Those animals that have all or many of the following characteristics:

* Strong musculature, powerful or athletic constitution, robustness, agility, vigor and endurance.
* Strong character and marked courage.
* Short hair.
* Thoracic perimeter between 60 and 80 centimeters (24 and 32 inches), height at the shoulder between 50 and 70 centimeters (20 and 28 inches) and weight over 20 kg (44 lbs).
* Voluminous, square, robust head, with a wide and large skull and muscular and pronounced cheeks. Strong and large jaws, robust, wide and deep snout.
* Broad, short and muscled neck.
* Broad, thick, deep chest, with arched ribs and short and muscled back.
* Straight, parallel and robust forelegs and very muscular hindquarters, with relatively long hindlegs at a moderate angle.

c. Those dogs with a record of aggressive tendencies or prior attacks to humans or other animals.

What are the requirements necessary to own a potentially dangerous dog in Spain?

The requirements are:

Potentially dangerous dogs must be identified with a microchip. They also must be registered in the Town or City Registries created to that end. The dog owner must have a license, issued by the municipality, valid for five years. In order to qualify for a license, the owner must meet the following requirements:

* Must be 18 years or older.
* Must have a clean police record showing no convictions for the crimes of homicide, torture, assault, sex-related offenses, drug trafficking, association with illegal armed groups, or otherwise having been banned by court order of the right to own potentially dangerous animals. These requirements must be documented with the appropriate certificates issued by the police authorities with jurisdiction over the owner’s place(s) of residence during the two years prior to the application for license.
* Must be mentally and physically able to own and control potentially dangerous animals. This requirement will be documented with the appropriate certificates (certificate of physical aptitude and certificate of psychological aptitude) issued by authorized centers in Spain.
* Must have proof of contract of an insurance policy on the animal(s) with a liability coverage of at least 120,000 euros.

The owner must report any changes to the information included in the license to the Town or City Registry within fifteen days of the effective date of the change.

What are the safety measures required by law?

The safety measures required by this legislation are the following:

When a potentially dangerous dog is in a public space, the owner or person responsible for the dog must carry the owner’s license and the certificate of inscription of the dog in the Town or City Registry. In addition, the dog must wear at all times an appropriate muzzle, and must be restrained by a non-extensible leash or chain no longer than 2 meters (6,5 feet). At any given time, one person cannot lead more than one dog.

Potentially dangerous dogs located in an open, delimited space (land lot, porch, terrace, etc.) must be restrained by a chain or leash, unless the space is properly enclosed.

Finally, owners must report missing or stolen dogs to the Town or City Registry within 48 hours after the animal is determined missing.

Please also be advised that the list of Dangerous Dogs can differ from one municipality to another within Spain. A full list can be obtained from the local council in any borough.

Information provided by Tenerife Insurance Services.

Written by Sharon Haslam Dog Trainer - Tel: 699 109 837 

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