Take your dog for a long walk before your photo session. “It burns off nervous energy,” Semrow said. “They come back and lay down and have a real calm and very peaceful look about them.”
Don’t call out your dog’s name if it is looking some- where else. “That means come to the dog. They don’t realize the signals. When you go down on one knee, that means come play or let me rub your belly. The dog isn’t thinking, ‘Oh, he wants to take my picture.’ ”
CAT SCRATCH FEVER The most important thing about the cat-
scratching problem is to remember that there is no cat-scratching problem. Cats scratch; it’s what they do. Like men watching football on TV, scratching is in their nature. They do it for pleasure and exercise and to mark their territory, which is pretty much the reason guys watch football. The “problem” is not that cats scratch
but what they scratch, i.e. dining room table legs, plush couches, the men sitting on the plush couches for the past nine hours. The key to solving this issue is to make their present scratching areas unattractive while offering a desirable alternative. We consulted Catscratching. com which, turns out, is not a site dedicated to the wit and wisdom of Ted Nugent, but a great place for answers about this problem.
Get a scratching post, one that has the kind of rough surface, such as sisal, that cats crave. A good post should be tall enough to allow your cat to stretch its body. It’s extremely important that the post is secure. If it topples once, your cat will likely never return.
Since scratching is a way for cats to mark territory, it’s important to put the post where your cat already goes to scratch, i.e. by the couch, dining room table, etc. Gradually, you can move the post to a less popular place, out of the way of humans.
Feed and play with your cat by the post. You can also rub dried catnip leaves or powder on it as an enticement.
To make your cat’s old scratching objects less desirable,
Catscratching.com suggests covering them in aluminum foil or double-sided tape, since neither are very fun to mess with. It also suggests removing your cat’s scent from those areas with pet odor removers or lemon-scented sprays and/or orange peels. Cats hate citrus.
URINE TROUBLE Urine burns happen, especially if you have a fe-
male dog—they tend to squat and deposit their urine in one place. Have a large dog? Again, more quantity. Or tend to fertilize your lawn regularly? The nitrogen
4 petsguide winter/spring 11/12
in the dog’s urine reacts with the nitrogen in the fer- tilizer. If your lawn has a decidedly polka dotted look to it, here are a few things you can do.
At home, train your dog to urinate in one particular area. If you’re walking your dog, start the walk on your own parkway or lawn. Stay there until your dog uri- nates, then continue. Ground cover
hold on as if you were George Jetson (kids, ask your parents). Aside from taking some training classes, which he sincerely wishes you would, trainer Dan Atkinson says your problem could also have some- thing to do with the equipment you’re using.
“A lot of people simply don’t know what the proper training device is that they should get for their dog,” Atkinson said. “Head halter, no-pull har- ness, choke chain, pinch collar…It’s very specifi c to the breed. For example, a bulldog’s pain toler- ance is through the roof, so if you have a pinch collar or choke chain on them they’re just not going to care. You can pull all you want, it’s not getting through to them and so it’s not going to have the desired effect.”
“German Shepherds, on the other hand, have a su- per low pain threshold. The choke chain will correct them immediately. Actually, the choke chain was origi- nally designed in Germany for German Shepherds.”
“If you have a hound, a beagle or basset hound, a dog that wants to track with its nose, you’re gonna want a head halter to keep its head, and nose, up and deter pulling.”
JUMP! JUMP! There may be no more embarrassing
moment in regard to your dog as when he jumps on guests. You are immediately put into the role of boxing referee, trying to sepa- rate the combatants, assuring your guest that
your dog never does that (he does) while yelling out commands to your dog that he doesn’t understand. According to trainers Botello and Atkinson, this
problem arises because people tend not to deal with the issue until it is happening. “Everyone wants to address it in the heat of the moment,” said At- kinson. “But that doesn’t work because it’s all too chaotic.” OK, so take a breath and take in these sugges-
tions.
in those areas should be something strong and urine resistant: clover, for instance, or rye or fescue.
Adjust your dog’s diet. Make sure he’s getting all the water he needs, and think about adding water to his food. Also, a high-quality diet will help since protein is more digestible and there tends to be less waste products. You may also consider a supple- ment designed to neutralize nitrogen in the urine. Consult with your veterinarian fi rst.
If possible, water down the area immediately af- ter your dog urinates.
UNLEASHED We’ve seen it and we’ve been there. A nice walk
out in the fresh air with the dog either turns into a tug-of-war as your pal refuses to be moved or dashes out ahead of you leaving you to desperately
“A lot of people fail to understand the benefi ts of using a leash inside the house,” Botello said. “We think of it as something to be used outdoors, but you shouldn’t be afraid to use it and a training col- lar inside.”
Botello suggests that when you know guests are coming over to coordinate with them. “Have them call you a few minutes before they arrive. That way you have the dog on a leash. Have them knock hard or use the doorbell. You want to desensitize the dog to the sound and be able to provide the proper cor- rection when it is needed.”
Atkinson says one of his pet peeves is dogs that are allowed to rest and sleep at the front door threshold. “Any dog is going to jump and be agi- tated if he’s right there.” He suggests creating a buffer zone of about 10 feet and suggests using a different terrain—carpet, if you have hardwood fl oors—to make the boundary clear.
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