Is your dog turning your garden into a minefield? The first step to solving the problem may be understanding WHY. Here are some ideas!

1) The Denning Instinct: Evolution has provided dogs with an instinct to dwell in a protected area. If such shelter is not provided, the dog will dig to obtain it.

2) Temperature Control: In extreme environments, dogs may use earthen dens to control body temperature. Some dogs dig dens to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Providing a protected, warm area in the winter and plenty of liquids, shade and occasional sprays with water in the summer can help eliminate this need to dig.

3) Hunting: Some dogs, such as terriers, are relentless diggers. Such breeds have evolved to use digging as an essential part of their hunting repertoire. Underground there are countless bugs, dead animals, old trash pits and live game.

4) Self Care: Occasionally digging will be an instinctive expression of self-care,such as
stashing bones or surplus food. This behavior keeps the dogs’ living areas clean and
prevents interference from scavengers.

5) Exploration and Territoriality: Dogs often dig because of their instinct to explore. There is a high survival value associated with being intimately familiar with the territory. Thus, dogs may dig to locate potentially dangerous or useful items.

6) Mimicry: The technical term for this is “allelomimetic behavior.” Dogs often will imitate other animals, as well as people.

7) Reproductive Behavior: Walker explains that females in the wild will dig series of dens. This nesting behavior is quite common, and providing a proper whelping box typically will address this sort of digging. Dogs also may dig to escape from the yard and attempt mating. Neutering, of course, provides a permanent solution for this digging.

Aggressiveness and Frustration: Digging, especially at a fence or gate, usually is associated with frustration. Being pack animals, dogs want to join others (human or canine) and feel stressed by their isolation and confinement. Male dogs also may display aggression in response to human teasing or canine challenges.

9) Social Interaction Needs: Some dogs require a home range much larger than a fenced-in yard can provide, and they may attempt to escape simply to increase social contact. Walks, a canine companion and a fence that allows a greater range of visibility may help.

10) Attention-Seeking Behavior: Digging, as a random exploratory behavior, may become an entrenched habit if a dog is “rewarded” with considerable negative attention because of its digging. Ignoring the digging while giving positive attention for an incompatible desirable behavior generally is the best approach.

11) Lack of Stimulation: Dogs will also dig out of boredom.

12) Anxiety, Trauma and Threat: Dogs often dig when feeling sick or especially anxious. “Dogs that are extremely ill will sometimes go off and try to dig a hole in which to lie and die,” Walker says. Likewise, when dogs are feeling threatened or insecure, a den may provide comfort and help them relax.

Source

Once you’ve begun to realize why your pet is digging, training him out of the behavior will become much easier. Good luck!

Top 10 Dog Breeds for 2007

These statistics were gathered by registration information in the U.S. Do you own one of the top 10?

Interesting Fact:

“For the first time since 1935, the Bulldog has broken into the top 10. The organization says that this breed has recently gained appeal to a very wide range of dog lovers. The Bulldog is both docile and adaptive, and can thrive in small or large homes. It’s also one of the few dog breeds to be adopted as a mascot for some sports teams.”

Read the whole article HERE!

Take your pet to work!

Pets enhance our lives in so many ways. We see articles everywhere about pets reducing stress, aiding the disabled, enhancing the quality of life of their owners, and just being great. Here’s another amazing thing that pets can do for you!

“On the stress front, one study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology surveyed businesses that allowed pets in the workplace vs. others that do not. The study found that even when employees did not have their own pet at work, they reported less stress, and felt that the animals improved their work environment. In this study they also found that pets increased cooperation between employees, and improved their mental health and mood. In fact, people reported that the pets improved the organization as a whole (sounds like my hypothesis may be a good theory for us being kinder to each when we are kind to animals!)!”

Read the rest of this great article here!

Pets have everything these days!

Boingboing.net noted this amazing new pet product. Great for curious dogs!

It’s no substitute for taking your dog out for his daily “explorations”, but it’ll certainly keep him busy in the back yard!

As summer starts to heat up, it’s important to make sure your pet stays cool! Dogs can overheat easily, especially during the next few months. Check out these ideas, posted by Catherine Leigh, a licensed veterinary nurse, for keeping your dog safe from the heat! (Source)

Heat stroke can strike when you may not suspect it. Those 100-plus-degree-days at the end of July are sometimes less dangerous than the first few warm days of summer when your pet is less acclimated to the heat.

A dog’s normal body temperature should be between 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. According to veterinarians Roger W. Gfeller and Michael W. Thomas, temperatures over 106 degrees is a life-threatening emergency.

Preventing heat stroke is always better than treating it after the fact.

Dogs with heavy coats can be kept trimmed short during summer months.

When you’re on an outing with your dog, make sure to provide them with plenty of rest, shade, and cool drinking water, even if you feel fine yourself. Don’t count on your dog to limit himself.

At the first sign of overheating, you need to start helping your dog to cool off, and seek veterinary care immediately. If your dog can still drink, offer cool water. After doing what you can to lower your dog’s temperature, get him to a doctor without delay. Minutes count.

Is your dog begging? Want to help him stop? We loved this article (by Michelle Posage, DVM, a Veterinarian who deals exclusively in pet behavior diagnosis and treatment) on how you and your dog can break the habit together!

“The simple approach of only feeding Fido from his food bowl is very effective. But what if it is too late for prevention and begging behavior is already well established? Actually, the same approach works here, too, but it will not be as simple.

• Feed your dog first. Make sure she has a full stomach before you sit down for your own meal.

• Exercise your dog. Try to fit in a game of fetch or a long walk before dinnertime. A tired dog is usually a good dog.

• Segregate. Keep your dog in a crate or behind a gate during meal time. Alternatively, teach your dog to “down” and “stay” on a pet bed while you are eating. Reward this behavior with treats.

• Use distraction. A food puzzle toy can be a great reward for leaving you alone while you eat.

• Yelling and hitting does not work. This approach will usually backfire by rewarding the dog with attention or causing anxiety or aggression.

• Remote punishment, such as the squirt of water from a spray bottle, can be helpful when training a stubborn dog (and if you lack patience). Timing and consistency is the key here. You must be prepared to spray your dog within seconds of the unwanted behavior every single time it occurs.”

Read the whole thing HERE !

We loved this article about students working with shelter dogs!

“Ken and Barbie are not the perfect couple. They have fears to overcome, and they lack social skills, probably due to the way they’ve been sheltered all their lives.

Catherine Brown is helping them work through their issues. But she’s not a therapist; she’s a teenager. And Ken and Barbie aren’t dolls; they’re dogs being cared for at the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina.

The Daily Reflector of Greenville reports that all are part of a program that pairs pups with people who try to help them become suitable companions.”

“We’ve been working with the puppies to socialize them,” said Dr. Linda Kuhn of East Carolina Veterinary Service. “We’re trying to teach them some good dog manners so people will want to adopt them.”

Kuhn, whose children attend The Oakwood School, began about a year and a half ago recruiting Oakwood students to participate in training exercises with dogs at the Humane Society. Since then, students from some other area schools have joined the program, which meets once a week after school.“

Read the rest of this article HERE

Natural Flea Repellents

Flea and tick season is nipping at the heals of summer-time. Is you your dog suffering from fleas and ticks? Does he continually bite and gnaw himself to itch the flea bites? Before heading out to the pet store for a chemical flea treatment, try these natural options for flea and tick prevention.

Chemical based flea and tick preventatives are a concern for the environment, and the safety of your pet.

If you notice your pet acting dizzy, lethargic or nauseated after applying any commercial brand flea & tick preventative, discontinue use of the product, quickly wash it off the animal if possible and see your veterinarian immediately. Be sure to take the product packaging to the veterinarian’s office so they can see what products(s) may be poisoning or causing allergic reactions in your pet.

When preventing fleas, you need to think of flea prevention not only for the pet, but also for the areas where he lives, including your yard.

Repelling fleas & ticks in your yard
Cedar is a natural repellent for fleas and ticks. When landscaping your yard, try using cedar based mulch. If you dog is in a kennel style enclosure, try making a perimeter of mulch around his enclosure as a barrier for the fleas.

Source

Pet Dreams Fact:

Our Traditional Gusset Bed (which fits crates) allows you access to the inner stuffing through a small zipper in the inner pillow. You can add cedar chips to the bed to help repel fleas!!

Pet Dreams has just launched a brand-new Affiliate Program!

If you have a pet-themed website or a blog and would like to make money (and who doesn’t?), this could be a great program for you!

This is a great program for AKC Clubs, Kennels, Trainers, and more. We’re very excited, and we think you will be too!

Jean Donaldson’s Top 10 Dog Training Tips

Jean Donaldson, author of The Culture Clash and Dogs Are From Neptune, directs The San Francisco SPCA’s Academy for Dog Trainers. She offers these tips for training your Pup.