Feathered and Furry Critters

Training Your Dog to Listen to You

Why Won’t My Dog Listen To Me?

This is a common question that most first-time Dog owners ask me. Before I answer your question, let me ask you a few instead:

If your answers are mostly in the negative, its time you seriously reconsider your role as a sincere Dog trainer and an ideal pet parent.

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Get Your Dog To Listen To You

Before you begin any training, you must first establish yourself as the “ALPHA dog” of your family. Your Dog must know that you’re the leader of the pack and it is YOU who is in charge.

Here is a list of simple DO’s and DONT’s that you must follow if you want to be the Alpha:

Once you successfully established yourself as the Alpha, training your Dog and making him listen will be a lot easier than you can imagine. Remember, if your Dog does not learn to “listen”, all your training efforts will be in vain!

Does your Dog know his name? Does your Dog look at you whenever you call him by his name? This is the first and the most critical step involved in Dog Training. If your Dog doesn’t respond to his name, you cannot have his attention for teaching him any other commands.

To make sure that your Dog recognizes his name, take a treat in your hand and hold it away from your body. Call your Dog’s name. He is most likely to look at the treat in your hand. Continue calling his name untill he turns and looks at your eyes. Give him the treat immediately. Repeat this exercise by holding the treat in the other hand. Once you’re sure that your Dog has learnt to recognize his name, just call his name and reward him for looking at you by petting or with a hug.

You must understand that Dogs respond far better to positive reinforcement than they do to coercion or force.

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Basics of Dog Training

It’s essential for Dog parents like you to know certain basic factors that determine your relationship with your Dog and can go a long way in training him effectively.

Before you begin training your Dog, it is absolutely essential that you build a loving bond with him. This is important as it helps you to understand his needs and instincts and also allows your Dog to have complete trust in you.

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Let us see how…….

How To Bond With Your Dog

Building a bond with your Dog is the first and the most crucial step involved in training him successfully. As soon as you bring your Dog home, you must first try to develop a caring and loving relationship with him in order to win his trust and confidence.

When Dogs are secure in the knowledge that they belong to the family, they are more likely to respond better to their owners’ training commands. Just like with any relationship, there must be mutual trust and respect between you and your Dog.

Trust takes time to develop and respect comes from defining boundaries and treating any breach of those boundaries with firmness and fairness.

Without enforceable limitations, respect can’t be developed. And when there is no respect, building a bond with your Dog is almost impossible.

4 Golden Rules To Building A Relationship With Your Dog :

Love Your Dog and He Will Love You back

Once you’re succesful in building a bond with your Dog, you can rest assured that training him and teaching him new and clever tricks will be a cakewalk.

Learn how to bond with your Dog with this free mini course.

How Your Dog Learns…

Your Dog’s learning period can be divided into five phases:

The Teaching Phase – This is the phase where you must physically demonstrate to your Dog exactly what you want him to do.

The Practicing Phase – Practice makes Perfect. Once a lesson is learnt, practice with your Dog what you have just taught him.

The Generalizing Phase – Here you must continue practicing with your Dog in different locations and in an environment with a few distractions. You can take your Dog out for a walk, or to a nearby park and command him to practice whatever you’ve taught him.

Practicing the learned lessons in multiple locations and in the presence of small distractions will help him learn and retain lessons better .

The Testing Phase – Once you’re sure that your Dog has achieved almost 90% success….he responds correctly almost every time you give a command, you must start testing his accuracy in newer locations with a lot of distractions.

Example: Take him to the local shopping mall and ask him to obey your command. He may not come up with the correct response the very first time you do this, but you must not lose hope.

The idea is to test your Dog to see how he responds in an environment which is new to him. Set-up a situation where you are in control of the environment and your Dog.

There are only 2 possibilities:

Keep on testing until he succeeds. Follow the rule of the 3 Ps – patience, persistence, praise.

Internalizing Phase – Finally, comes the extremely rewarding phase where your Dog does everything he is taught to do even without your commands.

Remember:

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In 2003, police in  Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a  whimpering, cowering dog.. It had been locked in the shed and  abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been  abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog,  which was a Greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton  Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff  Grewcock and known as a willing haven for Animals abandoned,  orphaned or otherwise in need.  Geoff and  the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several  weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.

They  named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

But Jasmine had  other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but she started welcoming all Animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn’t  matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting Animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and,  where possible, deliver a welcoming  lick.

Geoff relates one of the  early incidents. “We had two puppies that had been abandoned by  a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and  another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when  they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and  grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him  on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with  them, cuddling them.”

“But she is like that with all of  our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of  them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to  settle into their new surroundings.

She has done the same  with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea  pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her  nose.”

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became  the animal sanctuary’s resident surrogate mother, a role for  which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and  abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs,  four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray  puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny  Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon  arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her  warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the  greyhound showers Bramble the Roe deer with affection and makes  sure nothing is matted.

“They are inseparable,” says  Geoff . “Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each  other. They walk together round the  sanctuary.
It’s a real treat to see  them.”

Jasmine will  continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be  returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not  be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on  the next orphan or victim of abuse.

It may have been 12 years ago today but I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was without a doubt, the saddest day of my life.

To this day I can not speak of it without a lump forming in my throat. To someone who is not an animal lover I am sure the sadness can not be understood.

12 years ago today, August 20, 1996 my beloved Andrew died. We got Andrew from the Humane Society of Monroe County when he was about 5 months old. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen. He looked like a beagle but he had huge paws and very long legs. He was very clumsy. We would later learn he was a Walker Hound. He was the apple of my eye. I loved that dog more than words can ever express. He was my constant companion. I told my inner most thoughts to him as well as the events of my day.

The Humane Society adopted him out 2 times before we had the great fortune of getting him placed with us. What is it they say, the third time is the charm. The first 2 times didn’t end well. He was adopted to a young couple. Every time he would enter the room their baby would scream at the top of her lungs. The second time the guy he was adopted to got hauled off to jail and the puppy
was left in the home by himself for days until he was returned to the Humane Society.

Then he came to me. He was so happy to receive love and to give love. We were inseparable. Life was GOOD.

For 10 years we shared our life with Andrew. We also had a house full of unwanted an unloved cats and a couple of other wonderful dogs that we found along the road that people had discarded. But no love compared to the love I had for Andrew. Perhaps it was because I had no children of my own, who knows.    All I know is… I loved Andrew.

Then one Sunday morning Andrew started to cough. His cough was like a gag and it was getting worse. We headed for the animal emergency in Toledo. As we were getting close to our vets office we could see a few cars out front. My husband pounded on the door till they let us in with our unresponsive dog. His eyes were just looking at me for help, of which I had none to offer.

The Dr. was checking this and checking that . He was asking lots of questions, but not offering any answers. Then out of the blue he said, “I do not remember Andrew being so big.” I said, “yes, I noticed on the drive  here he seems to be getting bigger.” The Dr. and the Vet Tech looked at each other as if a bolt of lightning had struck. He picked Andrew up as if his 87 pounds were nothing more than a feather.

HE HAS BLOAT!!

The only thing that I knew of bloat was that cattle get it. That was all I knew on the subject of bloat. Large barrel chested dogs are susceptible to bloat but I am sure any breed can get it. Bloat is when the stomach flips and no air can escape. So my beautiful, wonderful dog Andrew was actually blowing up.

The Dr. did the best he could and made arrangements for me to take him to Michigan State University, This is where our Veterinary School is located. After hours of surgery and having his stomach stapled in place so it couldn’t move I was allowed to see him for a few minutes. His eyes were still asking,  “why?” and “can I come home with you?” The next day he ate a little something and then died later that night.

We did all that we could but it was not good enough. Some people reading this will think how stupid!!  You did this for a DOG???

There was never a question of what should we do. The only decision we had to make was this going on MasterCard or Visa?

I will always remember this date, August 20. I hope each of you will find the love of a very special animal as I did with my beloved Andrew. I certainly hope you have a much happier ending. Shelters everywhere need your help with not only cash but supplies and cuddlers as well as opening your hearts and your homes. Please call them and find out how you can help.

And when you do… Tell them Andrew sent you.

For Love of Andrew,

What timing!!
Just in time for me to start my blog
about critters I get a baby kitten.

Now I love animals, all kinds but I must tell you it is
hard for me to come up with something cuter than a baby kitten.

This little guy is jet black with wavy fur, most likely
will be a long haired feline. I would say not even 2 weeks old.
Just barely has his eyes open. What could be cuter?
I got his little angel from the neighbors.
They have many barn cats and not a one spayed or neutered.I am guessing that the mother was trying to move
her litter and lost this one. Or something disturbed her and she sacrificed this
wee one for the safety of the others. Can you imagine being within ear shot
and hearing your baby crying for you but instinct tells you to ignore?

The kids presented this kitten to all of their cats and no one
accepted it so they brought it to me, “Miss Cindy.”

This baby was cold, very very cold. so a heating pad was put under him and soft blankets to cover. I fixed the milk replacer and heated till warm. No luck this baby wouldn’t eat for
anything. But it peed, and then peed some more. I am thinking that perhaps the mother had just fed it good before it was misplaced.

For those who don’t know, the mother cats stimulate the genital area to make kittens
poop and pee. However gross it is the mother doesn’t allow that to remain in the
bedded area for fear of being detected from predators or this case humans too.
So to help the baby poop and pee I use a warm cloth is gently rub on the bottom to stimulate it, just as the mother would.

This baby snuggles down and falls asleep. I check on him throughout the night.
still sleeping like an angel. I didn’t get up for a feeding, not once. I would have gladly done
that. In the morning we pee some more and then some more but trying to get it to
eat is a real challenge. He doesn’t want either the bottle nor the syringe. I
finally get what I hope is enough warm milk into him and now he is sleeping again.
They may be cute at this age but they aren’t much fun. Sleep, eat,
poop, and pee that is about it. I can’t wait till he gets about a week older.
I’ll keep you posted.

At least 10 years ago, perhaps more I was walking by our house in the cold dead of the Michigan winter to feed the birds. I saw out of the corner of my eye something odd in our fire pot. I dismissed what I saw but after the birds were feed my curiosity got the best of me. I had to investigate.   As I approached the fire pot what ever it was moved as if to hide from me. I knelt down and like a rocket a grey cat leaped over my shoulders to make his great escape.

Since this poor creature needed shelter, I went and got straw and put it in the fire pot. The next day I could see where something had spent the night. The thought of this poor lonely cat outside in the cold of winter was very sad .  

We live in the country and we get cats dropped off on a regular basis. We share our home with dogs and cats that no one wanted. We have a cat door. Some of the cats snuck in for a meal and never left.  

A couple of days later a very shy and timid grey cat was peeking in our patio door window where our cat door is. I prepared a dish of food and placed it on the back porch as we watched and waited. But all that happened was the food froze in the cold night.  

The next night was a blizzard but once again that shy timid grey cat appeared. He was so scared.This time I heated the food so the smell would be greater and placed it in the snow drift. he came and ate and left.   Progress!! At least I knew he had shelter and now I knew he was fed.

 I didn’t see him for the next 2 nights and on the 3rd night he once again appeared but as I was able to glance at him ever so slightly I could see that his face was all bloody, as if he may have been hit by a car. I put antibiotics in his food and thank goodness he was so hungry and didn’t notice. We continued our nightly feeding and his face slowly cleared up.

The nightly feedings went on for months, I had an outside Kitty. This was nobody’s cat. How sad it must be to be unwanted and unloved.   Spring was on its way and we were able to leave the back door open.

Slowly we brought his dish closer and closer to the inside of the house, and ever so slowly this cat came in. Soon he was able to navigate the cat door so he could come and go as he pleased. We did use the live trap to take him and have him fixed.   This cat shared our house for a good 5 years before my husband was able to touch him.

Over the next 5 or so years my husband and Arnold as he became to be called shared a special bond. Every night I prepared a whole chicken so that Arnold could have a nice fresh warm chicken breast served to him by that “Special Guy” that loved him so much.

We have many critters as I mentioned before but not a one to be sure loved my husband as much as Arnold. That “Special Bond”, coming from having nothing, having to scrape for everything you have everyday just to keep alive. Not having anyone to care for you or about you. And now, having someone love you so very much. Someone who feeds you chicken, just how you like it. Someone who brushes you with a certain brush till your skin tingles and someone who you can snuggle up close to every night and be there when you wake up to say, “Good Morning Arnold.”   Yes, Arnold really did find heaven when he found our home.

Later today I am taking Arnold to be put to sleep. He has been living for years with no teeth in his head, not a one. Over the past few weeks he has been going down hill fast. He has a huge growth growing inside of him.

Arnold was an older cat when he found our home so many years ago. We are thinking he is perhaps around 17 years old. He has had the life of a King since he has been with us, but life is not fun for him anymore. Arnold always loved to eat and he is not even able to do that today.   It is time, however sad it is.

My husband will really miss his Buddy, they have such a special relationship. In all the time Arnold has been here with us I may have been able to touched him 5 times. The sixth time will be today when I take him to the Vets for the last time. I will hold him and let him know that he is loved  and will be missed very very much especially by his Buddy, Bill.

Good Bye Arnold, thanks for dropping by.

Let me tell you about a little hen we use to have. Now mind you I am a cat and dog person but the neighbors had penned up chicken and one day let them go. Naturally they came to my house. We have a cat door for our many cats, and we have dogs as well. Our cats can come and go as they please through the cat door. We often get strangers that manage to come in and some never leave. But that is another story.

When you have cats you must have litter boxes. The 5 I have located through out the house all have covers on them. One is in my bedroom.
This particular little box is very rarely used. It is off in a dark corner. So imagine my surprise when I lifted the cover to scoop I find a beautiful
blue egg. My little aracana found this perfect spot to lay her eggs. Now mind you, this little girl would have had to navigate the cat door.
AND… gotten by the dogs. So the fact that she got in, looked around and found this spot is simply fascinating to me. What harm could she do?

Everyday she added to her clutch. After about 20 eggs were laid it was time to sit. In the middle of the night you could hear the litter gently being moved, she was a good mother stirring the eggs ever so often. Once a day she would sneak out of the house to eat, drink and poop, then sneak back in. Never did she make a mess. Weeks later in the middle of the night the babies started hatching I could hear the little darling peeping. I waited a day to make sure that all had hatched and then picked up the entire litter box and moved it outside to a waiting pen.

Critter really are amazing.

Welcome to My Feathered and Furry Critters blog.  I love animals, all kinds. I admit I am not real fond of the reptile kind but I would never hurt them. I think animals know when you want to help them, at least that is the way it seems to me. I have had a countless number of animals pass through my home. Those that were not able to be placed or released back into the wild are still here with me.When I was growing up we had cats, but they were outside cats. No matter how much I begged and pleaded with my mother they remained outside cats. my mother always said, “when you get a place of your own… you can have as many cats as you want.” Well guess what? I have lots of cats. I have all shapes, colors and sizes. I got some when they were old and some when they were just born. But the one thing they all had in common was no body wanted them.

I not only have cats but I have dogs also. They like the cats all have the same thing in common No one wanted them.So I have dogs and I have cats. Did I mention I live by an exotic animal breeder?This blog is about all my critters. Those that I have now, those that have been placed and those that I have lost. Some of the stories will have happy endings. Some will make you sad. The tough lesson that I have had to learn while caring for the homeless, the sick and the injured is that nature is cruel. At times nature is very very cruel.Through my caring for all my critters I have remodeled every Vets office in the county I live in. I have now settled on a really nice one, Dr DeLand right in the same small town I live in. He built a brand new office a year or so ago. I know one of the rooms was named after me.

I have a wonderful relationship with a Wildlife Rehabilatator, Betty King. Betty is know all over the State of Michigan for her work with wildlife. My association with Betty came about because when you have cats you get lots of treasures that they like to bring home to show you.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading about the adventures of me and my critters. I look forward to sharing with you about the Feathered and Furry.
I welcome your comments.Till next time,
Cindy