Philippine Dog Finder

Is Your Dog Digging a Hole to China?

Ed note: I’ve had dogs that have dug holes (and thoroughly enjoyed it!). Sometimes to just dig, possibly eating the dirt in the process, and others have taken a treasure, like a beef bone and found the best spot to bury it. Generally, I don’t think dogs will obsessively dig unless they’re after a critter underneath the ground or possibly just suffering from boredom. If you just can’t seem to stop your dirt diggers, here are a few suggestions (taken from the WWW) on ways to end the backyard “path to China”.

The Whole Hole. There are dogs that dig one hole and just keep re-digging it and there are those that dig many holes. If there is more than one hole, fill them with the same dirt, packing it down tightly with a shovel, but do not put dirt in his favorite. Fill it with water and keep filling it at every opportunity. Most dogs do not like that and get discouraged. They do not like getting their feet wet.

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by Dr. Eurell

(From WRO Newsletter, As Reprinted in the CRC Newsletter)

Considering adding another dog to your home? Adding a new puppy or dog to a household where dogs and cats already reside takes time and effort to be successful. Jo Ann Eurell, DVM University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Urbana Illinois, has a special interest in animal behavior and she offers a few suggestions to make the transition a safe and smooth one.

First, assess your household’s current pet status before you add another animal to the mix. If you have an aggressive dog, the nature of the aggression must be identified and managed. Consider the physical condition of your current animals. For example, an older arthritic dog may be less tolerant of a puppy’s boisterous behavior.

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by Steve Wolfson

While out and about, I will sometimes encounter a person on the street walking their Rottweiler and after inquiring about the dog’s background the owner most often adds “I bought it as a show dog, but decided not to show it. Not wanting to burst the owner’s bubble, mentally I will conclude the dog was never intended to be of show quality, and for all concerned I let the owner remain with the fantasy. Thinking about this particular problem, I thought it appropriate to discuss and define what exactly is, a show dog.

Many new exhibitors in their zeal to purchase a show dog can be easily confused by breeders and or, sold a bill of goods as to the attributes, the “show ability” of the pup they have just bought. How useful a tool it would be if we all had a template by which to define and measure what a show dog is before we put money down to buy one.

A variety of strange things occur to dog and owner on the way to the show ring. Sometime, somewhere down the road the show specimen which came with a high price tag turns out not a show dog at all, but merely a nice family pet. Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Not completely, since things which are made of flesh and blood don’t always turn out the way we want. Nonetheless, a new prospective buyer, or even a old prospective buyer can profit with a solid definition to work from.

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