The Akbash dog

One of the not so common dog breeds is the Akbash. Commonly seen guarding sheep herds this breed of working dog is a "guarding" of livestock. Very often the pups are raised with sheep so they learn to protect them. They are native to Turkey and the name Akbash means "whitehead." The dog is large 90 to 120 pound animal and is not shy. Their selective breeding has made them more inclined to think for themselves and less of a companion dog. Because of their prowlness, predators are inclined to want to get rid of whiteheads so they can feast on some lamb chops.

I bet you have seen those dogs guarding sheep herds, I have.

Snow Hound

It is snowing today and it is the favorite weather of one of my 3 dogs. She is a husky mix and just loves cold weather. This is the dog, that on slightly warm days, will make a bee line to her water bowl (which is a small livestock water tank) and jump in it and lay in the ice cold water. Cold weather is what she loves. She previously came from a family with a small baby and lived in town. At the age of 6 months old she found herself at the local dog pound, surrendered by her owners as being too active to be around their baby......duh, baby + 6 month old puppy? What were those people thinking? The woman already knew she was pregnant or already had the baby when they got the pup.

Well she ended up with us after I saw this beautiful young dog at the pound. I got her spayed, tattooed (her spay tat) and licensed and she has now been with us for 5 years.

She is overly friendly and when she wags her tail, her whole body moves. She almost falls over backwards when she sits and wants you to rub her tummy. A neighbor saw her spay tat and made a stupid remark about tattoo removal, which I ignored. Since he never bothers to get his animals fixed, I am sure he has no clue what the tattoo meant.

Yep, she is enjoying our late season snow storm.

Dying for attention

Do you think that the owners of these dogs are waiting for spring to arrive?

Some blogs that I have visited claim that dying dogs is a fad going on in Japan, but I guess those people have not seen the dog shows here in the USA that have taken the colorful dogs one step further and have cut their coats to look like boxes, other types of animals (I saw one made to look like an elephant) and inanimate objects. They have awards for the best one that includes trophies and cash. And to think, most people are just worried about removing dark circles and tear stains from their dog's fur.

Puppy care pack

If you have ever adopted or bought a puppy, you often received a "puppy pack." The pack often contained puppy food, a booklet about caring for your new pup, a vet records book and coupons for more puppy food. Those puppy packs are freebies that breeders and rescues can get from the major dog food companies. Did you know that anyone can get those new baby gifts? You can apply online to get puppy packs. Just go to the dog food company website that you are interested in and look for breeder packs or samples.

Dogs on coins

Have you ever wondered why us coins are so boring looking? I have. Let's face it, dead presidents and landmarks can only be done so many times. Why don't we take a look at what other countries have done. For example, China has put dogs on coins (see the photo below).

Other countries have put dogs on coins too. Here is a list of just some of them:

• Gibraltar
• Turkey
• Australia (2006 - the major dog breeds to commemorate the year of the dog)
• Canada (sled dogs of course)
• Ireland

So you want to be a dog trainer

You have thought long and hard about what you want to do as a career and you want to be a dog trainer. Before you invest your time and money on that career choice you should know that not all dog training teaching schools are the same. Unlike other career choices, dog training is mostly unregulated. That means almost anyone can claim to be a dog trainer. The schools that offer teaching degrees in dog training can vary from worthless to a full rounded curriculum.

What you will need to do is thoroughly investigate the school you plan on attending to become a dog trainer. I have also seen individual dog trainers offering dog trainer certification programs ranging from several hundreds of dollars to several thousand. This is where it gets tricky, you are paying for the trainer's reputation as much as the teaching fees. Depending on the trainer, the price can either be reasonable or outrageous. Either way you must find out if the program has any successful graduates and contact them for their opinion of the program.

Another way to become a dog trainer is to get hired at Petco or Petsmart as part of their in house dog trainer program. Both stores have their own training program. Mostly you will be selling something to your dog owning students as part of your "career" at the pet stores. You will be expected to push for more dog training as well as pushing products.

The world of dog training is a case or tread carefully and beware of rip-offs.

Airline travel for your dog

At one time dogs were only allowed to be transported by plane in the cargo area of the craft. In older planes that meant the cargo area was not temperature regulated but was pressurized. It was often a cold journey for the dog. The dog was often treated like an old luggage set. Then came specialized animal airlines that catered to high priced pets and livestock. They commonly transported racehorses and zoo animals. Very often they had room for dogs and other pets in their airline. The advantage was that on long journeys the animals were accompanied by a vet during the flight. The tickets for such a flight was expensive to say the least.

Some airlines have allowed dogs in the cabin with their owners but the dog must be a small breed and the carrier fit in an area where it will not be in the way of the function of the flight crew or other passengers.

Of course if you happen to find an airline that allows you to have your small dog with you during the flight then you must know one thing.........never let your dog out of the carrier during the flight. No matter how tempting it is to give your pup a hug or let someone else hold him, don't do it. It is against airline regulations and could get you and your dog kicked off of the flight. The pilot has the authority to land at the next available airport and remove you from the plane.

Naughty dog!!

I have just discovered a new and naughty habit that my little dog has picked up - chewing a hole in my husbands jockey shorts! I discovered this little mishap the other day when I picked up hubby's underwear in the middle of our bedroom floor. I thought he had dropped them while taking them to the laundry room. It wasn't until I looked at them closely when I saw a dinner plate sized hole in them. I asked hubby what happened and he was as puzzled as I was, that was until we figured out that the dog must have liked the taste, smell and location of where the hole was and assumed (excuse the pun) the dog chewed the hole.

Now we have to keep the door to our bedroom closed so that our dog does not get into the habit of looking for dirty laundry to chew on. I would have probably come unglued if he had picked out some of my lingerie to snack on. I can be thankful that our dog does not have a chewing habit unlike my BIL who has a beagle that use to destroy his shoes once he left for work. Funny thing was, the beagle would only chew his shoes and nothing else.