tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58413771663708663492024-10-25T00:35:19.562-04:00<center>ADVICE ON NATURAL NUTRITION, TRAINING, <br> AND CREATING A BALANCED HOME FOR YOU AND YOUR DOG</center></br>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-14897875778638272532008-11-04T13:45:00.004-05:002008-11-04T13:56:51.676-05:00

These little cuties - Basho and Suki, respectively - belong to my friend Melanie, who's been working doggedly (sorry) to get Barack Obama into the White House. While Mel has been dialing 'til her fingers turned blue to get the word out, Basho and Suki are clearly doing their part to spread the word: Whether you're for or against, young or old, human or... not so much, don't forget to vote!

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-72935903623639329422008-10-29T11:40:00.004-04:002008-10-29T12:07:26.365-04:00

I know it's been many, many moons since my last post - life seemingly got in the way, and I've been carried away with it ever since! But I'm pleased to say that things seem to be getting more manageable and I'm gradually easing back into the Wonderful World of Dogs. Right now, the biggest part of that is taking my incredibly lengthy and long overdue final exam with Animal Behavior College. I

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-68124665325115910202008-07-03T10:12:00.004-04:002008-07-07T11:05:35.077-04:00

If you've spent any time at all around dogs, you know that feeding time is a Big Deal. And if you've spent time around multiple dogs, you know how easily that Big Deal can turn downright nasty without some order in the chaos. Everything is heightened when the food bowl comes out, so here are a few tips on how to make meal times safer and more pleasant for everyone involved.(1) Stay calm. Want a

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-6195392365925599922008-07-02T08:51:00.004-04:002008-07-02T10:51:40.283-04:00

Workout Wednesday!Life with your dual pooches may be smooth sailing most of the time, but double dog walking duty can make for stormy seas, if you don't take the proper approach. Here are five tips to make walking your doublemint pups a pleasure, not a chore.(1) Start with one pup, and build from there. Walking puppies is simple enough, because they're... well, little. But if you have more than

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-83794661894651432542008-07-01T10:40:00.004-04:002008-07-01T10:58:10.145-04:00

The winner of The Dog-Ma's first monthly Petsmart gift card giveaway is Amie, who left a great - and very insightful - comment on the Workout Wednesday post, "Pit Bull Leash Training - How to Walk a Whirling Dervish." Though the winner of the raffle was chosen randomly, Amie did have some great points in her comment relating to my phrase, "...a tired pit bull is a well-behaved pit bull." Amie

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-41138771881064900372008-07-01T08:48:00.002-04:002008-07-01T10:17:05.692-04:00

So, you've decided to populate your home with not just Dog, but Dawgz. My life with one dog was amazing - Moonshadow was my boon companion, my best friend, and I was pretty much her universe. Now, three years after sweet old Moon left this mortal coil, I am the proud keeper of two pups - Killian and Adia - from the same litter. I am no longer the center of anyone's universe. They love me, of

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-62279239220021758852008-06-30T09:57:00.004-04:002008-06-30T11:07:31.753-04:00

When I was working (and living) at Clean Slate Animal Rescue, we had anywhere from ten to forty dogs living with us at any given time. Granted, those dogs weren't all in the same room at the same time, but I don't believe there were ever less than five dogs with us wherever we roamed. While I don't necessarily advise that everyone live with that many pups underfoot, my time at Clean Slate did

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-72328133035360720832008-06-11T08:46:00.005-04:002008-06-11T09:31:45.276-04:00

One sunny afternoon in Kentucky, I put Dave's handsome American Staffordshire mix, Lou, on leash and headed for the wide world. It was a gorgeous day, and I thought it high time that Lou get some one-on-one training time. Did I mention the leash I put on was extendible? And attached to nothing but a regular collar on Louie's big, tough, bully neck? If you know anything about bullies, alarm bells

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-61006742247370633212008-06-10T10:03:00.011-04:002008-06-11T08:45:57.063-04:00

If you've ever witnessed a dog fight, you know the feeling: the sense of helplessness and horror when fur flies and snarling bodies rocket toward one another. If you've witnessed a pit bull fight, that feeling is magnified a thousand times, as a dog aggressive pit bull is physically and mentally engineered to fight to the death. Regardless of how much you may love that bully face, as a pit bull

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-8848666066211594162008-06-09T10:07:00.003-04:002008-06-09T10:54:09.858-04:00

If you've ever had a puppy, you've probably learned one thing quite well: dogs chew. And if you've ever had a pit bull puppy, you've REALLY gotten that lesson down. There are three reasons why your pit bull will chew you out of house and home - they are high energy, have extremely strong teeth and jaws, and are very social, so prone to separation anxiety (which they cope with by chewing). Each

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-12296415842710842062008-06-08T13:10:00.004-04:002008-06-08T14:31:55.151-04:00

Summer is upon us, which means it's time to pack up the jalopy and head for the hills. And what vacation is complete without your favorite pooch alongside? Unfortunately, pit bull owners know firsthand that - thanks to bad press and public misconceptions - traveling far and wide with a bully in tow isn't always so easy. Here, then, are five tips for a safe and happy vacation with your favorite

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-67401737220304775622008-06-08T12:53:00.003-04:002008-06-08T13:03:57.723-04:00

This week's theme came as a result of a conversation I was having with my friend Jan recently, who was talking about her friend's new pit bull puppy, a silver pit named Element. Naturally, I'm always excited when I hear that a pit bull has gone to a responsible home, and I immediately started peppering poor Jan with questions: How old was the puppy? Did the new owners - who have two young sons -

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-30420103550988250102008-06-06T10:33:00.005-04:002008-06-06T11:22:52.217-04:00

The loaded crates in our Oregon living room, after the November 7 transportNovember 7, 20062:00 a.m. - Dave is on the phone with the volunteer rescue coordinator at the Merced County Shelter, California. Cheesecake, Spoon, and Tiger are passed out on the living room floor, and I am trying desperately to stay awake while Dave reads through the list one more time. The list is Merced's weekly PTS -

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-87775063884966669162008-06-05T08:20:00.006-04:002008-06-05T10:57:57.683-04:00

I talk a lot in this blog about proper canine nutrition, but there's definitely a flip side to that coin: the dog guardian who is fastidious about Fido's dinner, but who spends almost none on his own. When I was at Clean Slate, it was not uncommon for us to spend hours preparing dinner for all of the residents, and then throw together a peanut butter sandwich at ten p.m. for ourselves. Not

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-56558187022497429302008-06-04T08:38:00.004-04:002008-06-04T09:47:13.002-04:00

With obesity now considered epidemic in both U.S. people and pets, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a weight-loss program for dogs and their owners to do together. In this case, Marty Becker, D.V.M., and Robert Kushner, M.D., teamed up with Hill's Science Diet to create Fitness Unleashed! I was skeptical at first, primarily because the project is funded by a dog food

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-54767061123564480062008-06-03T08:50:00.003-04:002008-06-03T08:57:39.426-04:00

This month at The Dog-Ma, I'm pleased to announce that one lucky reader will win a $50 gift certificate to Petsmart on July 1st. Winners will be chosen in a random drawing; you can enter simply by commenting on any blog post in June. Readers will be entered once for every (appropriate) comment made... Which means, if you comment twenty times, you're entered twenty times. Naturally, comments

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-6931125468419348592008-06-03T08:02:00.006-04:002008-06-03T09:06:55.516-04:00

It's a scenario every dog guardian dreads: You're on one side of the road, your pup is on the other, bounding toward you. Between you? A long stretch of highway carrying an even longer line of moving vehicles. You hold your breath, knowing you are powerless to stop what's about to happen.Are you really powerless in that situation? Obviously, prevention is the most effective way to keep your dog

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-82220448259916063992008-06-02T22:55:00.000-04:002008-06-02T18:17:23.598-04:00

I love almost everything about my dogs: the way they greet me when I come home from a long day, Adie's sweet little head-tilt when she hears something funny, the way Killian paws my leg when he wants a belly rub. The one thing I don't love about my dogs? The smell. Most of the time, my pups aren't stinky creatures - that's one of the benefits of a good, homemade diet. However, the healthiest diet

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-38805033953897826712008-06-01T12:28:00.005-04:002008-06-01T22:54:48.366-04:00

Unless you're living in a profoundly dog-friendly city, you've likely come across plenty of places where pups are not allowed. And even if dogs are not actually banned, there are certainly some rules of etiquette to follow in public places to ensure that the welcome banner continues to fly for our four-legged friends. Here, then, are five rules to keep your pup in favor wherever you tread.(1) Are

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-60177254749712694402008-05-18T07:50:00.007-04:002008-05-20T08:24:14.280-04:00

Located just off Route One headed toward Camden, Maine, is a 66-acre, privately owned park known as the Merryspring Nature Center. Though I've grown up in this area, I had no idea of the existence of the Center until someone mentioned it in passing when I said I was looking for new places to take the pups. Barely a mile down a well-traveled side road just behind the Camden Hannaford shopping

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-67821736736024313622008-05-17T08:59:00.000-04:002008-05-18T09:00:39.925-04:00

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-31850054660135363672008-05-12T19:11:00.004-04:002008-05-15T10:02:33.939-04:00

In Dog Star Daily recently, there was a great article about how to properly dispose of your pooch's hazardous waste. And while EnvironMental Monday is typically about your home and immediate environs, it seems to me that there's nothing more pertinent to the world around us than the waste we put in it. There is no dog park where I live, however there is a fairly extensive cemetery where many of

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-76769607661752050612008-05-10T17:01:00.000-04:002008-05-11T17:02:44.078-04:00

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-88413358586579345482008-05-08T07:47:00.006-04:002008-05-15T09:17:04.711-04:00

If you've ever entertained the notion of making homemade meals for your pooch, you may have been dissuaded once you read a little bit on the subject. It can be overwhelming; in fact, there are still definitely times that I question my own sanity - particularly when I'm in the checkout line at the grocery store, with a few items for myself and a whole parcel for the pups. That feeling goes away

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5841377166370866349.post-64351963216254057902008-05-06T17:31:00.003-04:002008-05-13T19:00:35.342-04:00

Recently, I've heard a few somewhat disturbing comments regarding the misconceptions of using food in dog training. Because I've been working with dogs for a while now, I think I just assumed that using food to reinforce good behavior was standard practice. No one really thinks it's "bribery" anymore, right? Or that you're somehow spoiling the dog by rewarding good behavior? Well... Sadly, that

Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13497523401608401787noreply@blogger.com0