Wecontinuallyupdateourskillsandknowledgesothatwestaycurrentwiththebestpracticesthatcanhelpyouandyourdog.
cheerfuldogschroniclesLivingwithDogs:PlayItSafe
Issue31cheerfuldogs,happypeople
“Scratchadogandyou’llfindapermanentjob.”–FranklinJones
Itcan’tbesaidoftenenough:Toysaregreat–astrainingrewards,for
dog-dogplay,fordog-humanplay—andyes,asmentalstimulation
whenFidoishomealone.Dogsleftinamoonscapeenvironmentget
bored,andidlemindsoftenturntomischief.Toyscanmakeallthe
difference.However,notalltoysarecreatedequal,sochoose
carefullywhichonesyouleaveyourdogunsupervisedwith.Hereare
someguidelines:
Dogquotes
Supervisefirstencounters.Everytimeyourdogplayswithorchewsonsomethingnew,itshouldhappenunderyour
watchfuleye.Makesureyourdogplayswiththetoyappropriately—thatis,usesitthewayit’smeanttobeused.
Gnawingon(ratherthanswallowing)achew,forinstance,orrollingatreatballratherthantryingtocrackitopenwith
histeeth.
Choosechewsandtoyscarefully.Lookfordurable,non-toxicmaterials
(somerawhideshavebeenpreservedwitharsenic,forexample).Andalways
buytoyscreatedfordogs,notplasticthingsfromthebargainbinatthe
supermarket.Treatballsshouldhavetwoopenings,notone,topreventa
vacuumeffectthatcancauseyourdog’stonguetogetstuck.
2
….Playitsafe
Neverleaveyourdogalonewith…1.A
rawhideorotherediblechews.Youneedtobe
aroundtotakethechewawaybeforeit’ssmall
enoughforyourdogtoswallowandpotentially
chokeon.2.Anythingyourdoghasn’tplayed
withbefore.3.Anythingwithpartssmall
enoughtoswallow,suchassqueakers.
Knowyourdog.Somedogsplaygentlywithall
toysandneverbreakortearanything.Others
areonamissiontotakethingsapartatthe
seams—nothinggivesthemgreaterpleasure.
Thegoalistofindtoysthatkeepyourdog
happyandconstructivelyoccupiedduringalone
timeviamentalstimulationandfood-and-fun
delivery.Ifindoubtaboutwhat’ssafetogive
yourdog,alwaysconsultyourveterinarianor
dogtrainer.
DogsInAction:ConservationDogs
Amongthemanyimportantjobsheldbydogstoday,
conservationworkisasmallbutcrucialniche.Conservation
dogsaretrainedtofindwildlifeandplantsamplesusing
modifiedsearch&rescueandnarcotictechniques.Theperfect
dogforthejobishighenergywithacompulsiveplaydriveand
toyfocus—themore,thebetter.Manyconservationdogsare
shelterrescues,givenupbyfamilieswhocouldn’tcopewithan
always-ondog.Thisdriveisnecessarybothforthehigh-level
trainingandforworkinginthefieldalongsidebiologistsand
wildliferesearchersroughly300daysoutoftheyear.
Oneprimaryjobfunctionofconservationdogsisfindingwildlife
scatandhair.Toabiologist,suchsamplesaretreasuretrovesof
information,revealing—throughDNAanalyses—aspecies’
presence,populationsize,reproductivestatus,andfoodhabits.
Othervitaljobsincludesearchingoutendangeredspeciesfor
monitoring,suchastheTiger
QuollinAustralia,andkiwiin
NewZealand;orinvasive
species(suchastheyellowstar
thistle,aweedthatoverruns
nativeplantsinNorthAmerica
andcankillhorses).
cheerfuldogs.comYourgo-totrainerforenlighteneddoglovers
Website:cheerfuldogs.com
cont.
cheerfuldogswalking.comProfessionaldogwalkingyoucantrust
Website:cheerfuldogswalking.com
Tel:96303884
Email:[email protected]
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