Saturday, December 27, 2014

Dogs Are Couch Potatoes Too

When not in motion—my dog Tidbit was a couch potato!

Tidbit was a pretty high-energy dog—Chow/Australian Shepherd mix. However, being a rather prissy dog, she did not like sitting on the floor or on the ground.

Old Dogs Adapt To New Surroundings

When my dog Tidbit could no longer hop up on the couch, my roommate Scott purchased a love seat sleeper that was low to the floor. (We had recently moved and left my old living room furniture behind.) Being able to curl up on the sofa once again made Tidbit a happy dog.

My old dog Tidbit easily adapted to her new love seat and continued as my canine couch potato for nearly a year before she passed on. While I now find sitting on Tidbit's sofa rather comforting at times, it is also a bit sad to see the empty piece of furniture in my living space.



NOTE: Don't miss my review of the sofa sleeper on Amazon and my article about the sleeper love seat for Tidbit on Bubblews.

Then Came My Rescue Dog

Sadly, my shelter dog, Valentino, was pretty much terrified the first time I helped him up on to the love seat, acting as though punishment was the result of getting on the couch in his past life.

It took weeks of inviting Valentino up on to the love seat before I finally saw him jump up there on his own when he thought I wasn't looking. Funny thing, roommate Scott was sitting right there in his swivel chair two feet away and Valentino didn't mind being seen on the little sofa by him. In fact, the pair posed for a couch potato buddies picture. (I guess you can tell who the pack leader in this house is not, ha!)

Nowadays, my high-energy hound dog Valentino is becoming quite content as a couch potato—for part of the day, at least. Generally, it's the latter part of a day that Valentino enjoys loafing on the sleeper, after he has worn himself out (and me) with our long walks around the neighborhood and on the beach.

It was quite a milestone this past week when our shelter dog Valentino turned into a couch potato, one who could care less who sees him on the furniture!



Dogs Enjoy A Comfortable Couch or Bed As Much As Humans

I have never had an issue with my dogs on my furniture. In fact, I rather enjoy a snuggle on the sofa with my dog or my dog warming my feet at the foot of the bed.

Most articles I read about family dogs on the furniture are about how to keep the dog OFF the furniture. Although, I did find that dog trainer Jim Burwell agrees with my Yes! to dogs on furniture.

But of course, since I enjoy reading books for kids, one of my favorite series of dog books are those about Amos and his couch adventures. All dog lovers should own at least one of the Amos books to read with their children, including the dogs in the family! I suggest beginning with Amos: The Story of an Old Dog and His Couch.


Dog Lovers and Readers: Share your thoughts about dogs on furniture. Let me and my readers know if you have a couch potato dog buddy too!




You are welcome to leave a comment here on this Dog Pawsitive Tidbits article and we would also love it if you would dog blog along with us this week for PAWSit Hop Saturday



Get the InLinkz code for your PAWSit dog blog post.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

HoHoHo Christmas Morning Beach Dog

My dog Valentino and I celebrated Christmas morning with a long walk on Lanark beach to catch the holiday sunrise here in Carrabelle, Florida.


I wish you a very Merry Christmas Day and my dog Valentino woofs you a Ho, Ho, Ho!


Saturday, December 20, 2014

House Training Dogs With Bells On

Some dogs run to the door and bark to let their owners know nature calls and they need to go out to potty. My dog does not.


I did a bit of creative thinking while house-training my new dog Valentino. I needed to train him to let me know when nature is calling him. So, I hung a Christmas doorknob bell hanger on the inside of my front door.

Within minutes, I heard the ringing of the bells. But of course, he was taking them down, with the thought of them becoming his newest chew toy, I imagine.

I calmly said, "No," as I returned them to the doorknob. We did this a few times until Valentino settled in for a nap as I worked on my computer.

When my dog awoke I knew he would need to go out, as always, but this time I continued my work online. Of course, I lent an ear for bells in the background and I had my cell phone camera ready for the ringing of the bells.

My Dog Valentino Rings My Bell

Sure enough, it worked! Only this time Valentino did it right. He nudged the hanging bells with his nose, sat down in front of the door, and peered through the cutout in the wall to see if I might be listening. From me he got a "Good boy!" And out the door we went to respond to nature's call.

For a few days this became a game and I heard those jingle bells ring more often than need be. After a few days he finally understood that I as trainer knew when he really needed to go out. Now, he uses his door bells only when nature calls. And you can bet Valentino rings my bell first thing of a morning!

I did some checking and discovered this delightful (Made in the USA) dog potty training doorbell. You can bet I'll soon replace my Christmas doorknob hanger with these dog friendly bells as a functional piece of dog decor for my door.


How does your dog let you know when nature is calling him to take care of business? Do you have a dog training tale to share?

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Calming Canine Concert

I discovered by accident the calming effect music has on my dog. Once introduced to a quieting concert of background music that my roommate plays for himself while reading his Bible, my canine Valentino went from active to calm within minutes.

Once Valentino has eaten his breakfast and taken his morning walk he settles in for a snooze in front of the cable television with the Music Choice Soundscapes streaming into his hound dog ears like a baby's lullaby.


Valentino Snoozes to the Tune of Soundscapes



Calm Your Canine is available at Amazon
Roommate Scott and I learned quickly not to disturb our canine companion while he naps to any calming sound effects. (Gives new meaning to the idiom 'Let sleeping dogs lie.')

We also make good use of an audio CD of similar sounding music to calm our shelter rescue dog while teaching him to relax and enjoy frequent car rides which seemed to cause him anxiety at first.


BlogPaws

We are linking our sleeping dog up with Wordless Wednesday hosted by BlogPaws. Join us with your pets and animals paw prints each week in this blog hop for animal lovers.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Only You Can Help Shelter Dogs

It is true—Only YOU can help shelter dogs, and other pets and animals, find that much needed Forever Home.


My dog Valentino shares his shelter dog pawsitive tidbit with you today...



Gilligan, the Dachshund from Wags Ahoy! stopped by Dog Pawsitive Tidbits with a comment the other day. Off I went to repay the visit and I made the most delightful discovery while reading his blog post about a Chihuahua named Shorty.

Gilligan's article was about dog adoption, specifically shelter dog adoptions, and specifically written for and linked up with Tuesday's Tails Blog Hop. So we walked on over to Dogs N Pawz to learn more about this weekly hop and its Opt to Adopt blog campaign.

We learned that all we need to do to participate in Tuesday's Tails is to be a blogger and a person concerned enough about the plight of shelter animals to blog about one of the shelter pets each week. This is done, of course, in hopes of helping to find its Forever Home!

So, even if you can not provide a home for a dog or a cat, you can still help dogs and cats find their way into the hearts and homes of an animal lover. Yes, you and I can help!

My plan is to contact my local shelter, Franklin County Humane Society, from whence Valentino came, and select a good dog to share with you each week. We will, of course, be linking up with Tuesday's Tails Blog Hop when we do.

Won't you join us by sharing your blogging voice on behalf of shelter pets anywhere and everywhere?




Ruthi and Valentino would also like to have you join us each week here at Dog Pawsitive Tidbits for PAWSit Hop Saturday, where we blog anything and everything about dogs!

Grab the PAWSit InLinkz code for your blog post.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Wind Beneath My Ears

An early evening walk on the beach with my hound dog with a storm blowing in the breeze allowed snapshots of the wind beneath my wings ...er, ears!

My dog Valentino with the wind beneath his wings.

Valentino appeared ready for flight, 
Much like the hound dog upon this kite!

Sparky Dog Kite Available on Amazon


Note: For more images of our windy weather walk visit abitosunshine for a discombobulated view.




We are linking this article up with BlogPaws today for another Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

My Dog My New Best Friend

Valentino First Steps to Forever Home
On the fifth day of November 2014 I brought a shelter dog into my home. This past week was spent in celebration of one month together, building trust and respect of one another.

There is no doubt in my mind that I have been fortunate to find—my dog Valentino—my new best friend.

Handshake of Friendship
Every day of this month with Valentino has been a day of training for him and for me. I am amazed at how much we have learned together in such a short time. We've made our pact in a handshake of friendship between a woman and man's best friend.

Valentino learned this trick in less than one week with no treats involved, just a "Smart boy!" exclamation of joy from me and a tail wag from him when he heard that sweet sound of success. (Yes, in our dog training we are learning that food need not be his only reward.)

Whoever said you can't teach an old dog new tricks sure was wrong where me and my three-year-old Redtick Coonhound are concerned!

My Dog Valentino
I think that I might never see
A hound quite so precious as thee.
Of loving friendship we partake
And to that end is our handshake.
We train together day and night,
We run and play, and life is bright.
You prance upon my heart and home
To sit and stay, no more to roam.
©Ruth Cox


Dog Pawsitive Tidbits: Visit your local animal shelter, just as I and many dog lovers have done. There you, too, shall surely find the most precious of dogs to adopt as your canine companion and new best friend.





Join us for PAWSit Hop Saturday!

Blog your dog tale and link up with us each week. Be sure to share this dog blog hop with your friends and other dog lovers.



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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Tree Stump Dogs

I guess because I come from a family whose business is tree service it is natural that my dogs would be inclined to perch themselves upon tree stumps.

Pictured below are my dogs Tidbit and Valentino, ten years apart, both standing on a stump of a tree. Tidbit loved to jump up on the stump to oversee the cutting of firewood and she could stand on the stump forever if I were brushing her. Valentino is just beginning to learn the tree stump traditions.

My Dog Tidbit - Overseer of cutting of firewood.

My Dog Valentino - First time standing on a tree stump.




I am linking my beautiful tree stump dogs up with Wordless Wednesday over at BlogPaws. Come join the blog hop fun with your pets and their paw prints!