Making A Dog Bed

I'm sensing a theme here (woof ;-)

So we bought our pup a dog bed. We bought it from one of those large chain pet supply stores (love going in them, but my Visa doesn't!!). Our dog is a large breed - he's a shepherd cross and is about 75 pounds and is 27 inches at the shoulder, so we bought him a large bed.

It cost $100.00.

It is, basically, a large piece of foam with a giant zippered cover. The cover is very durable, and is covered on one side with faux fur for additional comfort. But still.... a hundred bucks? Really??

Hmmmm. If I had a sewing machine....

You could go to any fabric store, I'm sure, and get a tough nylon sort of fabric, and a zipper long enough for one side. Then all you'd have to do is make it into a giant pillow case and fill it.

Foam is only one option for filler - you could even save Styrofoam and use that instead (tip - make a second bag to go inside to hold the Styrofoam - this one can be less durable fabric - so that when the cover gets dirty and needs washing it's easy to remove the filling).

I wish I'd thought of this idea before Hubby went to the pet store with his MasterCard ;-)

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Dog Training That Works

More on the subject of dogs... not only have I been witness to the construction of the best dog fence ever (yay Dad!!), but I've also dealt with pretty darn good trainers as well.

Our current dog had aggression issues towards other dogs, which made him hard to walk. We enlisted the aid of Custom Canine, and learned some really neat tricks as to how to get through to our pup.

Their training is completely non-aggressive and psychology based (for instance, they don't use choker collars). They focus on speaking the language of the dog - as in, understanding what motivates certain behaviour and creating different motivation.

For example, let's say your dog is pulling on a leash. Other training methods would advocate yanking on a choke collar to curb this behaviour.

Custom Canine, on the other hand, considers the dog's motivation for pulling: he wants to go!! So what do you do? You stop. (Or more specifically, you take the dog by the collar and turn around in a circle and then stop.) Once the dog has stopped pulling (allowing the leash to be slack) then you start walking again. If the dog starts to pull again, you stop.

The dog will eventually figure out that if he is to get anywhere, he mustn't pull on the leash.

There are many many similar tips and tricks such as this that they teach, and believe me, they work. A simple way to sum up their method of dog training is that it's not dog training so much as it is owner training ;-)

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Building A Good Dog Fence

Yes, this blog is truly "anything and everything", lol.

Friends of mine just got a new pup, and it took me back to my childhood and all the dogs we had. We were talking about dog fences (they have a nice sized yard in Coquitlam) and it reminded me of the wonderful fence my Dad built for our Husky when I was in high school.

(For those of you unfamiliar with the Husky breed, they DIG, and are professional escape artists).

Anyway, about the dog fence:

Supplies:

• Diamond wire
• Logs
• Shovel
• Hole making tool (don't you love my high tech terminology? ;-)

Procedure:

• Make holes at even intervals where the vertical posts will be.
• Dig trenches in the ground to connect the holes.
• Attach diamond wire to vertical posts, with the bottom of the wire touching the bottom of the trenches.
• Lay logs in the trenches and attach the bottom of the diamond wire to the logs.
• Fill the trenches, burying the logs.

The net result is a dog fence that even the most over zealous digger can't get beneath. It's a lot of work to install this particular fence, but it's worth the effort.

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Christmas Is Coming!!!

We set up the tree today, and decorated the house. The kids and I had a blast, while Hubby watched with a smile. Happy December, everyone!
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Migraine Auras

I get migraine auras. I'm having one at the moment, so I thought I'd look it up, and found this awesome vid at Mayoclinic.com.

The only symptom I suffer from is the visual aura, and sure enough as they say, it lasts about thirty minutes. I have yet to identify a trigger, although I do chart them. Luckily for my peace of mind they only happen about 3-4 times per year (and December is a common month for me, which makes me think maybe it's Christmas stress?). Who knows.

All I know is that as I'm typing this, it's fading away... yippeee!!
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