May 2010

  • The AKC's Mutt Controversy

    By erika on 5/27/10 3:09pm
    Add Comment

    In a move which is more controversial than most people might think, the American Kennel Club has approved mutts (which they have dubbed "All-American") as entrants to certain AKC events.  The skill-based contests, Agility, Rally, and Obedience, now allow mutts to compete.

    This move has hackles raised on both sides of the fence.  On the mutt side, if you ask a lot of people involved in animal rescue and animal welfare, the AKC is the single worst thing that ever happened to dogs.  


    Read more >

  • Dog Bite Prevention Week

    By sarajean on 5/25/10 12:29am
    Add Comment

    The best advice I’ve ever heard when it comes to avoiding getting bitten by a dog is this: don’t mess with a dog you don’t know. That’s pretty easy to do, right? Yes, it makes a wide assumption that any dog could bite, but in reality, any dog could bite. When provoked by a young child, my dog—then in the care of a friend while we were moving—did bite.

    Though she did not cause much harm, she did have to be “put to sleep” over it, something I never understood at that age (I was nine) and never really got over. I haven’t really had a dog since. (We did try to have a puppy when my daughter was a baby, but that didn’t work out and we found her a better, baby-less home.)

    Here are some tips to avoid being bitten by a dog.

    Read more >

  • Golden Retriever Puppies eat boy ALIVE

    By lisala on 5/15/10 8:38pm
    Add Comment

    There are few things that are more likely to evoke "awwws" than puppies. The combination of cute puppies, with a cute kid, is fatal. In this instance, we have William Lavinger, a 10 year old with 14 Golden Retriever puppies who seem intent on smothing him with devotion.

  • Itchy Dogs: A Rant

    By Lipps on 5/9/10 11:50am
    1 Comment

    Charlie Negranus: in a couch castle.Charlie Negranus: in a couch castle.I love my dogs. I have two Rat Terriers. Charlie and Maple. Maple is the headstrong alpha female, Charlie likes to be on the couch, sleeping. This is my rant.

    Charlie has allergies and his paws, in time with spring, are turning into red itch-bombs. That is now his favorite activity: chewing on his paws. He is so bad that when we tell him not to do it, he slinks off to another room to carry on unnoticed. I feel bad for him, and last year we tried medicine, creams, powders and behavior techniques. The bottom line is, the dog's feet itch like crazy and nothing helps. As bad as I feel for him, the constant licking and juicy sucking noises always coming from his location are almost unbearable.

    Read more >