dog

Please feed me!

Those of you who have been regular visitors to this blog will know that Ray is extremely food motivated. Even immediately after a meal, he will still want to checkout out any interesting food possibilities. Continue reading →

The Ray Trails!

The Summer of 2013, being Ray’s first Summer with us, proved an interesting period for all of us. Because of his health, he spent a lot of time just laying on the grass and generally watching any activity from the local birds, chipmunks and squirrels. It was not entirely of his choosing because, in order to control his activity level, he was always leashed. He was not allowed off his leash in the garden until the late Fall. Continue reading →

Delusional Squirrel!

Ray is probably typical of his breeds (Shepherd/Rotti) in that he is prey driven. When he is in the garden, he loves to chase rabbits and squirrels and, when inside, will often play a rather rough game with various squeaky toys. Continue reading →

Dear Santa

I often just look at Ray, especially when he is sleeping, and feel very content with having him here. He has found a home where he is loved and he reciprocates so readily. When he is out walking, his gait is generally very light and his tail is held up high (even though his nose is down!). Continue reading →

Rainy days ‘n’ Sundays

The other Sunday, all three of us went on a walk downtown with (unbeknown to Ray) a specific store in mind that was not going to be too receptive to having him inside as it sold lots of specialty consumables usually of U.K. origin. We arrived there at 9:55am and noticed that they were not going to open until 10:00am so decided to wander around just to kill those few minutes. Continue reading →

Devious Dog.

Ray absolutely loves peanuts, and he also loves bread, so you can imagine what he is like when I have peanut butter on toast! Continue reading →

Cats & Dog.

Having lived with Ray (my first dog) for just over 18 months now, and after having had 5 cats as pets over the course of many years (Tim-Tim, Skeeta, Friday, Scooter & Robinson), I guess it was inevitable that I would start to draw comparisons. I have often heard both cat and dog owners aggressively defending their particular choice of pet so, while not wishing to start a war of words, here goes! Continue reading →

Oops…….Poops?

Ray occasionally has this unfortunate habit of (well there is no delicate way of describing this) pooping in unusual situations! Continue reading →

Ray …Fetch!

Fetch! How difficult can it be? I have tried two different ways of teaching Ray to Fetch with a tennis ball. The first way is probably simply the intuitive way. You throw the ball and when your dog grabs it, he gets a reward. Eventually he will learn that bringing it back to you will get him the reward a little faster. The theory is great! Continue reading →

The Lululemon Touch

One significant issue that we are continually working on is Ray’s obvious discomfort around people he does not know. If somebody “invaded” his space, or made a move towards him, or reached out to touch him, he was likely to bark and lunge towards that person. Clearly this is an undesirable response so we have been slowly introducing him to the concept that good things can happen around people he does not know. Continue reading →