Bringing Home a Puppy

Posted by Clare Bristow | 2 Comments

australian-shepherd-puppy It pays to be organized when you are bringing home a puppy from the breeder; if you are bringing home a shelter dog, they're more likely to be used to traveling in cars, but the following suggestions are still relevant.

You will want to make the journey as stress free as possible for your puppy - he is leaving his litter-mates, mother and home, so not only will he find being separated from them stressful but he will have to contend with new sounds and people too.

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Filed Under Puppy Care, Blog

Talk to Your Puppy - it's all part of socialization

Posted by Clare Bristow | 4 Comments

zoe-the-schnauzer People often tell me they believe Zoe knows exactly what's being said in a conversation, and to a certain extent I think she does.

I'm sure it's because I always tell her what we are doing and where we are going - even Fritz picks up on certain words now, though I think he takes his lead from Zoe! I don't use long sentences, just specific phrases.

Dogs, particularly puppies, love to hear the sound of your voice and by talking to them they feel included in what you are doing - it's all part of bonding and [tag]socialization[/tag]. Having said that, try not to talk incessantly to your dog because he will tune out and won't be paying attention when you do ask him to do something important!

Here are some words and phrases, together with their meanings, I routinely use and which are now part of Zoe's vocabulary:

Inside and Outside - when we go into and out of the house;
Upstairs and Downstairs - when we go up and down the stairs;
Kitchen, Lounge, Hall, Bedroom - the 4 main rooms she goes into;
Grooming - time for grooming;
Where's Susan - go and find Susan (plus a growing number of other names); and
Let's play and enough - the start and end of playtime;

You'll be surprised at how quickly your dog picks up on words and phrases, particularly if you use the same intonation each time you say the word - and it's fun to do too.

What's most important though is that people will compliment you on having such an intelligent and sociable dog - and what dog owner doesn't feel proud of their dog when they are told that?

Keywords: bonding with puppy, socialization

Filed Under Puppy Socialization, Blog

Famous Dog Names - 10 of the best

Posted by Clare Bristow | Leave a Comment

scottish-terrier One of the advantages of dogs is that they are themselves. Unlike humans, dogs don't have the need to compare themselves to others and see how they measure up - so choosing a famous dog name will not make your dog feel he has to live up to the name!

I found this great article on the Savvy Dog Lover web site that sets out the 10 Most Famous Dogs of the 20th Century.

There are some [tag]good dog names[/tag] to choose from. If I was choosing a name I'd seriously consider Fala, the name of Franklin Roosevelt's dog which was a Scottish Terrier.

Here are five other famous dog names:

Belka - one of the dogs that went into space aboard Sputnik 5 (Strelka was the other dog);
Barry - a Saint Bernard rescue dog who reputedly saved over 40 people;
Gibson - a Great Dane who is included in the Guinesss Book of Records as the tallest living dog ;
Nipper - the HMV dog; and
Faith - the only known bipedal dog.

I hope this gives you some more ideas for choosing a dog name.

Keywords: choosing a dog name, Choosing a Puppy Name, famous dog name, good dog names, name of franklin roosevelt dog

Filed Under Choosing a Puppy Name, Blog

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