Humane

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 →

High five, Shake a paw etc.

For anybody who is not familiar with a “hand bump” (also referred to as “fist bump”), it is simply a greeting gesture very similar to a handshake or a “high five” except that a closed fist is offered. Acceptance is a simple reciprocal movement so the knuckles of both parties touch. Continue reading →

Separation Anxiety and Hardwood Floors

When Ray came home with us in March 2013, and upon entering our house, it became very clear that smooth hardwood floors were an unknown commodity to him. Continue reading →

Precious moments of peace.

We recently took Ray on a trail walk as he seems to love a more natural environment. He buried his nose in the fallen leaves and, moving with purpose, followed scents that we could only guess at. Every now and then he would stop, lift his head and look around, then back into the leaves his nose would go as he once again followed his instincts. Continue reading →

Rocket Boy!

Ray impresses me in so many ways. Of course, he being my first dog probably means that I am easily impressed however, at this moment I am just thinking about his sprint capacity! I have watched him take off after a squirrel, and seen him charging around the garden at high speed having a “zoomie”, and can only admire both his power and his style. Continue reading →

Excuse me please.

Given that Ray is my first experience of living with a dog, a number of his idiosyncrasies I simply put down to probably typical rescued dog behaviour. These would be situations like laying at my feet when I am preparing food; staring at me while I am consuming food; standing behind me hoping that I’ll trip over him and drop some food; climbing into the refrigerator (figuratively speaking of course) with me, just hoping that his mouth will bump into food. Continue reading →