German Shepherd puppy crate training

This is a great video showing how to train a puppy to go into his crate.

Crate training should be fun and happy for your puppy.

Lots of great tips.

Plus Manfred is a really cute GSD.

A Trip to PetSmart

Last week I took a trip to my local PetSmart.

Walking around the store with his owner was a handsome young German Shepherd Dog. He was about fourteen months old, the owner told me. She was taking him to PetSmart regularly to socialize him.

I scratched him between the ears and he almost immediately began to lean with his head against my leg and hand.

How I miss the German Shepherd lean. They just use you as a leaning post and love it when you just let them stand there.

It is ok to let just one do that. My wife's aunt has two adult German Shepherds, now the lean gets to be a problem. Over 160 pounds of dogs pushing on your lower legs is a bit of a handful.  Often I encourage either Louis or Lady to stand in front while the other stands behind me, if they both lean equally then they merely push against each other!

From the Pound

Over the weekend I had a story in mind. It is written from the view of a dog in the local pound or animal rescue. In my mind the main character is a dog, but it could also perhaps be a cat too, it depends on the readers imagination.

The story is a flash story, these are deliberately short pieces of creative writing, some consist of as few as fifty five words. Some may be as long as one thousand words.

This stiry is less than about three hundred words.

The dog or cat is waiting for its owners to come and claim him back, but has heard that he only has one day left before he is taken away to be put to sleep. The dog only recognises that his life can be saved by his own people.

To read the story in full CLICK HERE.

A Close Shave!

Last night, my wife and I were returning home from the cinema after seeing the movie "The Help."  Great movie by the way.

Well as we turned into the driveway, my wife slammed on the brakes and shouted
 "NO!"

There on our driveway were two skunks merrily playing and stopping to eat the cat food that our neighbor puts out for his cats.

The pair of skunks were quite unconcerned by the cars headlights and continued in their chase and eat game for several minutes.

Only when my wife sounded the car horn for what must have been the fourth or fifth time did they wander off, non too quickly to hideunder our neighbors trucks.

Havong bee n sprayed only a few weeks ago by a skunk in the back yard, and having had Polly skunked twice in four and a half years this time I was not going to get out of the car quoetly. I made sure the skunks knew I was there, talked loudly and sang. They were not going to be surprised by me this time and I ,made it safely into the house without the aroma of skunk filling my nostrils.

Dog Days: My Memories of a German Shepherd

Not long ago, and in part as a memorial on the ninth anniversary of his death. I posted these three stories about Brett on my hubpage.

The stories recount the years from 1988 until early 1995 when Brett and my first German Shepher Suki shared my life.

These are reminders of the funny things both dogs did and the story is the first part of a trilogy.

In the second part I will introduce Hariska Intrigue (aka Polly) that will complete the life of Brett and the third part will bring us fully up to date with the life of Polly as an international traveller and Queen of the Pawcific Beaches of California.

Dog Days: My Memories of a German Shepherd

My German Shepherd Playing in His Pool

What is cuter than a dog playing in a pool on a hot day.

I thought this video was great.

The Dog: Haiku

One of my other hobbies is to write poetry. A particular form which I enjoy is the Haiku.

Haiku are a Japanese form of poem, originally a warm up for Japanese poetry competitions they have been adapted for Western writers who produce the three line verses with 5, then 7, then 5, syllables per line. The form reduces pictures to their most basic to conjour up powerful images.

I created this series of four Haiku to honor the dog. I go from the puppy through the ages of the dog to old age. This is a poem for the well cared for dog, the loved pet, companion that I think we all share a love for.

To read The Dog Haiku   Click Here