Blogs

Here's an unsettling video that's making the rounds. A mastiff rescued from an ice pond appeared on a TV news show, and bites the KUSA anchor.

I'm posting not for shock value but for discussion and education. Can anyone see it coming? Were there any signs? What could have been done to prevent it.

Dogblog note: Since dog lovers tend to be animal lovers overall, I'm passing on this press release from Anchorage Animal Care and Control on some birds available for adoption.

Adoptions begin Sunday -- the same day AACCC hosts its Valentine's Pet Adoption Fair.

Birds Involved in Animal Cruelty Case Available for Adoption Soon

Murphy

Here's Anchorage Animal Care and Control's Adoption of the Week, courtesy of Brooke Taylor, AACCC public relations coordinator.

What are the dog-friendly businesses in Anchorage? The staff of the ADN's 61 Degrees North is working on a story on dog-friendly businesses and is looking for suggestions.

Obviously, there's Petco. And I've heard that Sportsman's Warehouse allows dogs. Are there others you know of?

List them here, or email Julie Wright at jwright@adn.com.

Thanks for the help.

Use this space to discuss anything you'd like, or just stop by and say hello.

Use this space to discuss training issues -- brag about successes, lament setbacks, or bounce a question off the group.

I spent a delightful afternoon yesterday hanging out at a dog park in Las Vegas with longtime Dog Blogger kariabre, aka more recently as Baily Mesa Big Carl. It got me to thinking what a shame it is that Anchorage has no fenced dog parks.

I've announced Pet New Year on the blog already but here are the latest updates, courtesy of Brooke Taylor of AACCC.

Benefits to the public
$5 rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats provided by Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center;
30 free microchips for first dogs and cats attending provided by Alaska SPCA;
free nail trims with donations to a rescue group provided by Golden Days Pet Grooming;

Mickey
Here's Anchorage Animal Care and Control's Adoption of the Week, courtesy of Brooke Taylor, AACCC public relations coordinator.

What do you use as a reward for training? Always treats or food? Has anyone had success reward-training with toys or just praise? Do you prefer one method over the other? Does the dog understand the toy is a reward?

I bring this up because I recently struggled trying to teach a relative's Yorkie the sneeze trick. Both mine learned it relatively fast, so I'm wondering why this one struggled. She is food motivated but not ravenously so like mine. She likes toys but didn't easily grasp the concept that the toy was a reward.

Use this space to discuss training issues -- brag about successes, lament setbacks or bounce a question off the group.

I'm on vacation out of state and left the dogs behind. While I try to appreciate my independence from them, I'm drawn to every dog I run in on vacation. On this leg of the trip, we're visiting my nephew's 3-year-old Yorkie. She's a delight. Very well socialized, with only one bad habit that I've seen: She's been known to pee submissively when people get her excited by fawning over her when they meet.

Use this space to discuss anything you'd like, or just stop by and introduce your pack.

I went to a bootie-making class at ACT yesterday, and it was a breakthrough! Not only are they easy to make, but the ones I made for Lucy pretty much solved our extreme-cold walk issue. She was picking up her feet immediately once she got off the plowed roads.

Use this space to discuss training issues -- brag about successes, lament setbacks or bounce a question off the group.

Pet New Year at Alaska Mill and Feed is coming up Saturday, Feb. 4, but here's a fun addition to the program: an all-breed talent show event sponsored by Advocates for Dog and Puppy Wellness.

Important: Deadline for entry is Saturday, Jan. 21, so if you're interested you'll have to email your entry right away to be eligible -- it's first come, first served.

Check out the following attachments for more information.

Here's a note from Brooke Taylor, public relations coordinator for Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center, on the seizures of more than 100 animals in two weekend cruelty cases.

Use this space to discuss anything you like, or just drop by and say hello.

Took Eddie and Jillie to Petco today for separate walks. Jillie, at 2 years old, sure loves to please. She didn't pull at all, ignored other dogs when I did, and snapped into a perfect heel when I asked her to. We walked, we ran. She got an A+.

If you haven't read the story about the animals rescued in two separate seizures over the weekend, check it out.

Knowing how animal lovers like to pitch in, I'm reprinting the list of items Anchorage Animal Care and Control Center needs to help with the sudden addition of about 100 animals -- dogs, cats and birds.

Here's what you can do:

• Non-clumping cat litter, preferably a clay litter
• Parakeet food
• Small, clean blankets and towels

Are you continuing to exercise your dogs now that the temperatures have dipped? Are the walks the same length? Or, are you like me and have shortened your walks -- and paid the price with overactive indoor dogs?

The problem in my pack came from an unexpected place -- Lucy, my Chessie. The Yorkies are good to 5 below with booties and a coat, but I haven't had the time to find a bootie that stays on Lucy. She can handle the hard-packed roads better, but the softer trails find her picking up her feet after just minutes.

He's an interesting report at physorg.com on how dogs' seemingly delicate pads can withstand cold and ice.

Their pads benefit from the same system as the Arctic fox, and it works as a counter-current heat exchanger, says the report.

The report says that not all dogs are the same, and their normal environment plays a role. That explains why my Yorkies do better in snow than, say, Paris Hilton's. :p

Use this space to discuss training issues -- brag about successes, lament setbacks or bounce a question off the group.

Eddie has a busy therapy dog weekend coming up, and I'll be watching him to make sure it's not too much. It started with an early morning trip to the groomer's today. Then I'll whisk him straight to the adult mental health unit at Providence, where we're covering a shift for a Pet Partner who couldn't make it. It will be a new room and a different age group, so he may be uncomfortable.

Just a head's up to what looks like it could be a fun dog show on TV Saturday. The 14th annual Purina Incredible Dog Challenge National Finals is set for 1 p.m. (AST) on NBC.

According to a press release, the event features top dogs from around the world competing in Olympic-style events such as Dog Diving, Freestyle Flying Disc, 30-Weave Pole Race, Jack Russell Hurdles and Agility. The 2011 competitors represented the United States, Japan and Poland.