Dog playing with fawn or is it really play?

Found this cute video on You Tube. To the uneducated about dogs and deer, it looks like they are playing. Watch the video first then read my comments below -


 

 The dog is happy just running around with the ball. The deer on the other hand is seeing a predator that is just a bit crazy. The deer attacks the dog with its very sharp front hoofs. That is an act of aggression in a deer, not play. At one point in the video you hear the dog yelp in pain. The deer must have gotten the dog good with the hoofs.

Another fact from the youtube video page is that the people who claim to have "rescued" the deer feed it cat food. Who in their right minds feeds a herbivore meat?

Looks like you get all kinds on YouTube. 

The advantage of owning a small breed dog

When I became a small breed dog owner several years ago, I never thought that having a small breed would cut down on grooming time and costs. I don't have to give my small dog a bath in the bath but take him to my stainless steel sink in the kitchen for a quick wash down.

Using spot on flea products are cheaper since they sell them by the ml for the size dog.

Yes there are advantages to having a small breed dog.

Calloused elbows

Calloused elbows on dogs, have you seen them? They usually occur on larger breeds but can occur on all breeds. They are caused by the dog laying down on hard surfaces. Dogs that are kept on concrete are more apt to develop callouses on their elbows.

To prevent calloused elbows and to treat them is to provide the dog with something cushy to lay on. Be it an old quilt, egg crate mattress pad or even a small throw rug, your dog will appreciate it.

It will take a few months for the hair and skin to return to almost normal on the dog's elbows if you provide something for the dog to lay on.

Dog spinning in circles - what does that mean?

I have occasionally met dogs that have habitually chased their own tails. They would spin in circles. I was curious as to what causes this so I tried to look it up. Some people and dog trainers put it down to dogs that are raised in kennels and don't get out often enough. They assume that the dog learns to spin in circles as a way to combat boredom. Unfortunately that does not explain the dogs I have known to spin - they never saw the inside of a kennel or even a dog carrier. I do have another theory.

I have a dog that I have to put on a tie out cable when the electric company comes out to read our meter. She is on the tie out for about 1-2 hours on the date of the visit. She is not fond of the meter reader since she doesn't like people snooping around "her" house without her owners around. One day she had to go outside to poop and I put her on the tie out, just in case the meter reader showed up. Sure enough the meter reader was there about 5 minutes later and I saw my dog spinning on the end of the cable. The meter reader got back in his truck and left and then my dog got loose! She only followed the truck to our property line but I then had to fix the cable tie out. I had a set of small hoist rings and used one of them as a temporary ring. It was then that I realized that maybe the dogs that spin had been on a tie out at one time in their lives and learned to spin to break the chain or the connectors. If that is the case then those dogs are pretty smart.

GSP RESCUE

Thanks for the article from Jermaine Haynes

Our German Short-haired Pointer recently passed away and I would like to get my parents another one. Even though they say that they don’t want another dog ( we had our last dog for fifteen years), I feel like they would enjoy one. I didn’t realize that there were a lot of German Short-hairs up for adoption. A lot of the dogs are used for bird hunting. Apparently  after the short-hairs are too old or not good at bird hunting anymore that they are put up for adoption. That makes me sad. I don’t know how you could just put a dog up for adoption, but I guess that people don’t look at these dogs like pets, but workers. Anyway, there are a lot of websites that are German Short-hair rescue sites. I have found a lot of really cute dogs that need a home. I am going to try and find one before Easter so that I can surprise my parents with one when I come home. I can’t wait!