with their kindness, warm our hearts and bust our guts. But, let’s admit it, as wonderful and unpredict- able as pets can be, they can also be mind-numb- ingly redundant, something you tend to realize when your Schnauzer barks at a passing car … again.
A
In fact, one of the things that unites and keeps the pet com- panion community as tight as it is owes to the fact that we share
so many Get of down the
same issues, whether they be about groom- ing, behavior or … Gypsy!
from that mailman! Tell someone your
dog’s urine is burning your grass and you’re bound to hear about their troubles with
the local homeowner’s association re-
garding their “leopard-skinned” lawn. Relate that your cat is relentless in scratching your fur- niture and prepare to listen to horror stories from the Ethan Allen crypt. Hey, we’ve all been there, over
and over and over (and over) again. We know because we hear about the same few problems all the time here at Petsguide, all the time. It got us to thinking, if pets bring with them some very common issues, could there be pet experts out there ready to supply some very common, and useful, tips for dealing with them? The kind of folks who wouldn’t just nod a compas- sionate head in regards to your lawn, but suggest a dietary supplement or planting a sturdier grass as a solution? We talked to some of our favorite experts, checked out others on the web, and they gave
s we all know, pets are creatures of infi - nite powers and depth. One need only gaze into the eyes of a dog or feel the steadying rhythm of a cat’s purr against their chest to know that. Pets can surprise and soothe us
com), and they agree that the key to solving the problem lies in understanding its origins.
“Barking is not a bad behavior,” Botello said. “Dogs bark because they are stressed; you’ve left them alone and they begin to act territorial.”
Botello believes a good solution is to “educate yourself and understand crate training. What you
featurearticle
run. You have to know what your dog requires to physically wear it down.”
Atkinson says that if you investigate what triggers barking, it’s possible to numb your pet to their effects. “For instance, if there are kids going by your yard skateboarding and the dog can see them, he’s going to bark. But if you take your dog to where lots of kids are skating, it will desensitize it that stimulus.”
to
PHOTOS Ever wonder why
PET
those photos of dogs and cats, you know the
ones you see on the Internet and on calen- dars, look so beautiful and soulful, but when- ever you try to take a photo of your pet they either
look distracted, disinterested or I’m Outta Here? We asked pet photographer Robert Semrow
(
thepawtographer.com) for some helpful tips. As usual, as with so many pet issues, Semrow says, “The biggest challenge is not with the animals, it’s with the humans.”
Semrow said the single most important thing a person can do when taking pet pictures is to have patience. “We’re so quick to want to get that pic- ture, we’re nervous and fi dgety and the animals feed off our energy. Now they have this nervous energy and we expect them to just sit there and look natural.”
Be aware of your surroundings. “You want the dog or cat to stand out. If you take a picture with a bunch of trees or lawn furniture cluttering your
us some great tips on some relatively easy, quick and straight-forward solutions to some of the more common problems.
TricksoftheTrade
accomplish by denning the dog is to calm the dog. If they can’t act when they’re denned, they become submissive, they can’t feel territorial.”
BARKING This is one of the most common issues dog train-
ers hear about. But common doesn’t necessarily mean simple. We talked to two excellent trainers, Theresa Botello of Brat Dog (
www.bratdog.biz) and Dan Atkinson of Kind to Canines (kindtocanines.
Atkinson says one of the most common rea- sons dogs bark is inactivity. “Most dogs, like most people, don’t get enough exercise,” he said. “And it’s not just a matter of taking them for a quick walk. Say you have a Weimaraner, well that dog shouldn’t be walked, it needs to be
Common Problems, Quick
Solutions
picture, your animal is not going to pop the way it should.”
Don’t be afraid to get dirty. “I want to be down on the same level as the animal,” Semrow said. “I call it full-contact photography. I don’t want the animal looking up, I want it looking straight into the lens so I can get that great, full-eye ex- pression. There are such deep emotions in their eyes.”
petsguide winter/spring 11/12 3
By Steve Lowery
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