Dog training

No means no!

Ray has always had an independent side which he periodically shows us. Typically it surfaces when the route we take him is not going where he wants to go, so he just comes to a stop and we play a “waiting game”. There are times when he suddenly decides to cooperate, which often happens if we offer to cross the road and then there are times when he plants his rear firmly down on the sidewalk and looks at us.

“I weigh almost 80lbs so … are you going to bend over and try and pick me up?” Continue reading →

Ray on Facebook?

“Colin, I was just reflecting on my FB life and realized the person I talk to most is an 80 lb. German Shepherd mix named Ray. Coincidence? I think not.” Continue reading →

Tail Wags!

When I decided to document my first 18 months of living with Ray (resulting in “Who Said I was up for Adoption?”), it soon became obvious how Ray’s perspective on things would be very different from my own.

Ray was a very challenging dog**, and was an instant education for me in all things canine. Trying to understand almost 80lbs of rescued German Shepherd/Rottweiler with an attitude, produced sufficient material that each chapter in “Who Said I was up for Adoption?” was split into two parts … my perspective on the events, followed by how I envisaged Ray would see them. Continue reading →

A Dog’s Life?

As many of you already know, Ray’s separation anxiety is still an issue. This means that he goes everywhere with us, which in turn means that our options for going out for dinner are very limited.

We have a very nice restaurant that allowed Ray on their sidewalk patio (pressure from the servers was successful … they all love Ray!), but this year the patio layout changed which presented a problem. Continue reading →

Ray’s new friend?

As many of you already know, Ray’s history before being rescued from being a stray is an unknown. At his initial medical checkup at our local shelter, he showed no signs of physical abuse although his reactions to various circumstances suggested otherwise. Continue reading →

It’s Vet Time!

Contrary to the subject line of this Post, it is not currently vet time for Ray however, I have recently read a number of Posts about some dogs total aversion to the vets. The Posts were followed by a wide collection of suggestions from readers around the world about how to overcome this. Ray never had an aversion to vets … or did he perhaps? Continue reading →

Ray’s story!

It is funny remembering all the hurdles we faced in our early years with him, and thinking about how he is today. The initial 18 months (the time-frame covered in his book) were certainly interesting for me, in that I experienced first hand his “lunge and bark” routine. Shortly after that I was made aware of his “startle response” . I “startled” him, and his “response” was to leave two sets of claw marks down my chest. Continue reading →

“I am your dog!”

I came across the text below a few days ago, and thought it very appropriate to share here. So often I hear about a dog who has obviously lost some of its appeal as a family member, or I see a dog being dragged along on its walk by its owner. To many people, it would seem that when the “cute puppy” grows up, it becomes little more than a liability and an inconvenience. The writing below is attributed to author J.D. Ellis Continue reading →

Power of Observation!

What aspects of this pic get your attention? Continue reading →

Oh Ray!

In June 2013, we were aware that our recently adopted Ray had heart-worm, as well as a list of lesser issues Continue reading →