dogdaze

Shoes of any kind are endangered at my house thanks to my precious pooches. They love to chew up sneakers, flip-flops, boots, you name it, and they chew it.

This is a big problem because I love shoes, almost as much as I love dogs.

Keep in mind that dogs are not trying to be destructive when they chew up your favorite pair of Nike running shoes, they are just trying to figure out what it is. They are exploring the world in your living room, bedroom and even your closet.

As a responsible pet owner and shoe lover, I have learned to leave nothing of value out for my dogs to destroy. I make sure all of my footwear, accessories and other valuables are put up in the closet or out of my dogs’ reach.

My poor husband however, has not been trained to do this. He has lost dozens of shoes over the years. But that’s not all, he’s also lost leather wallets, sports watches, baseball caps and even cold, hard cash.

For those of you who can relate to this problem, take a few minutes and read about dogs’ destructive chewing before it’s too late. The Human Society of the United States has some great information on destructive chewing behavior.

Good luck saving your shoes.

I was 30 minutes late to work this morning because my Akita, Mia, decided to run away again. She does this almost every morning when I first let her out. She just looks at me and takes off.

Usually, she’ll come back after an hour or so. I don’t know why she runs off like that. I guess it’s because she’s a dog and roaming is natural behavior for a dog, but come on … every day!

A fence we had built with the purpose of keeping our dogs safe surrounds our 5-acre property. The fence does a good job of keeping them in except when one of our Labs digs under the fence.

Mia is an expert at finding these escape routes.

My biggest fear is not that she will get lost but that she could get attacked by other dogs, trampled by cows or hit by a car.

After this morning’s adventure, I turned to the Internet for answers as to why Mia was running off like that. I came upon an interesting article at petplace.com that deals with this subject.

This site was helpful because it also includes articles on dealing with dogs that beg, dig, chew and destroy things, and even dogs that eat stool! There are even articles with tips on dog training, and dealing with overactive, uncontrollable dogs.

I will be visiting this web site often, thanks to Mia and her friends.

I have a sweet dog that thinks her name is “Bad Dog” because I call her this often. At first, Nana would knock over the trash in the kitchen and search its contents as if mining for diamonds. She would find a pea among the piles of trash and be thrilled.

She has moved on. Now, Nana thinks it’s fun to chew on the entertainment center, sofa, and even the crate that we put her in when we are gone.

I don’t believe that Nana suffers from separation anxiety as much as I think she is just bored. She has toys and lots of dog friends. I even leave the television set on when I leave so she can watch whenever she wants.

Other than tearing things up, Nana is a wonderful dog. Maybe I should start calling her that.

What exactly is separation anxiety in dogs? What are the signs of it? How do you treat it? The answers to these questions and more can be found at metpet.com

As most pet owners know, potty training a new puppy can be a real challenge. Some of my friends say it’s harder to potty train a puppy than it is to potty train a child. I agree.

The most important thing to do when potty training a puppy is to remember that it is a baby and as with most children you will need lots of patience. Take the time and effort to properly potty train your puppy and you will be pleased with the results.

Thanks to the Internet, there are a lot of sites that can be helpful when undertaking this challenge. I came across a good article that offers 10 tips on how to potty train a puppy .

Good luck with the training, a labor of love that truly brings greater rewards.