Dog Blog - Dog Product Reviews

I have a wonderful relationship with my husband’s parents. My mother-in-law offered to dog-sit for us when we went on a last-minute, 10-day Christmas trip becaused the kennels and dog sitters were all booked. We delivered the dogs to her house with their food, toys, snacks and bed. We checked in by phone twice while we were gone and she mentioned she was feeding them the same food her own dog eats, and giving them table scraps, and “spoiling my granddogs.”

When we picked up the dogs, they had red, irritated areas on their skin, they had gained weight noticeably (in 10 days), and they had picked up two bad habits: begging and snatching at our food, which they had never done before. They refused to eat their own food for two days after we got home (a premium food that we think is superior to the grocery-store brand my mother-in-law feeds).

We got them back to health and didn’t say much about it to my mother-in-law, because she was so nice to take our two dogs for that long on short notice. Now we’re planning another vacation in October and she’s offering to dog-sit again. I’ve told her we’ll just board them at the kennel, but she insists that’s a waste of money and keeps urging us to leave them with her.

How can I make it clear to her that we’d rather not without hurting her feelings for her past generosity?
G.L., Garland, TX

Dear G.L.,
Your mother-in-law was generous in offering to take care of your dogs before, and now, and you’re right to be considerate of her feelings and grateful for her help in the past.

The most direct way to handle this is to have a sit-down with your mother-in-law (with your husband present to show his support). Tell her that you’re very thankful that she was able to help you out before, and that you could not have gone on your Christmas trip if it had not been for her. 

I assume you retrained your dogs to mind their manners since they returned home, so don’t mention the bad habits they picked up. Instead, focus on the dietary requirements of your dogs. Separation, a new routine and a new home (even a temporary one) can lead to digestive distress, so the problem may not have been entirely your mother-in-law’s fault. However, the weight gain probably was. If you’re boarding your dog at the vet, tell her you’d feel better if a veterinarian kept an eye on their digestive distress while you’re gone.

However, there’s another way to approach it. Why not give your dogs a vacation, too? Make reservations at a dog spa/day care center. While you’re gone, the dogs will be able to interact daily with other dogs during group playtime. Some of the fancier pet hotels include petting time, reading time, snack time and other extras designed to make dogs feel good and have fun. At the end of the week, the pups can have a day of pampering with a bath, brushout, nail and teeth treatment and a trim, and go home to you refreshed and renewed.

If you go this route, tell your mother-in-law that you’d like to take the opportunity to give your dogs a vacation with playtime in which they can work on social skills, supervised by professionals, plus a spa day for each. You might also mention to her that that there are a lot of couples out there whose in-laws don’t have the slightest interest in their dogs, don’t welcome the dogs into their homes, want the dogs locked in another room when they come over, and basically don’t want to have anything to do with them. Let her know that you recognize that you’re lucky to have a mother-in-law who’s dying to have the “granddogs” over to spoil them. Then make a date to meet her and her dog at the local dog park or dog beach for a playdate.
Got a question about dog etiquette? Send it here.

One of my neighbors lets his dog poop in my yard almost every day. He has a medium-sized mix, so these land mines are somewhat sizable. I’m not a dog hater (I have two of my own) but I wish he wouldn’t let his dog “go” on my grass. How do I raise this topic without alienating one of my neighbors?
B.C., Carlsbad, CA

Dear B.C.

Most dog owners these days know to pick up after their dogs, whether they’re at the park, on the sidewalk or anywhere else. But there are still some who think that leaving land mines outdoors is okay.

You could try a sign in your yard. I’ve seen one that’s made of wrought iron that is very attractive and small. If you can’t find one like that, perhaps a small sign like the real estate agents place beside the road would do the trick. Be sure the wording is tactful. You might even use humor to deflect any hurt feelings. Say something like, “We love ‘em too, but we don’t want ‘piles’ in our yard. Please pick up after your dog.” Or try, “Pick up after your dog, please. It’s only human.” Something that your other neighbors won’t mind seeing every day.

If you don’t want a yard sign (or if that doesn’t get the point across), you might want to have a friendly chat with your neighbor. One friend of mind with a similar situation was able to get a neighbor to stop letting her dogs pee on her grass (it was turning her yard yellow) by getting to know the offender. She’s be sure to be outside getting her mail or pulling weeds as the woman walked by. She would greet the woman, stop to pat the dog, and talk about the weather or the neighborhood or traffic … something they both shared. As they got to know each other, the neighbor stopped letting her dogs make their stop at that particular yard.

If your neighbor is more of a hard case than that (or if you don’t want to invest the time needed for that approach), perhaps a more direct chat would be in order. Greet your neighbor, compliment the dog, then say something like, “I’m trying to keep my lawn in better condition, and I’m training my own dogs not to go on the front lawn. If you could keep your dog from going on my lawn, it would be a big help.”

Your homeowner’s association may be willing to remind everyone of city ordinances concerning picking up after dogs, or even write a letter to the neighbor directly.

Of course, the coward’s way out is to leave an annonymous note at the neighbor’s house stating that dog owners are expected to clean up after their pets. It’s brutal, but it works. I once got an anonymous note in my mailbox when my grass was pretty shaggy. The not mentioned that neglected lawns bring down everyone’s home values. I was horrified, but my lawn has been mown, walkways edged and bushes clipped ever since. (By the way, don’t put anything in someone’s mailbox; it’s illegal.)

Got a question about dog etiquette? Send it here.

I walk my dog through our community of 100+ homes, many of which have children under 12. My dog is big and shaggy and lovable, and kids always want to pat him. The problem is that he jumps on kids. I don’t want to scare them or hurt them (liability is an issue here, too). I’m working with Peabody on training him not to jump on people, but in the mean time, is there a tactful way to warn kids that he jumps?
R.H., Salt Lake City, UT

Dear R.H.,

I’m glad you’re getting the jumping under control. Those of us who allowed our large-breed pups to jump on us when they were little often find it more difficult to deal with this problem when they’re not so little. The fastest way to deal with a dog who jumps on people is to involve a professional trainer. Then, anytime you run into someone during a walk, consider it a training opportunity. Be prepared to spend some time working on this issue with your dog in the beginning. As he realizes that jumping is not acceptable, you’ll have fewer instances of it and will be able to cover more ground on your walks.

Meanwhile, here’s an idea that may help you. Involve the kids in Peabody’s retraining. As children approach you, say something like, “I wonder if you would help me train my dog not to jump on people.” Almost any child will eagerly agree. Any who are afraid of dogs will likely back off. Ask the children to stand with their hands at their sides until Peabody is in a proper sit before they pet him. Make it a game. Their positive reinforcement is good for the dog. You’re also 1) warning the kids that he jumps and 2) teaching them a little bit about dog behavior and training. You might even consider getting Peabody a vest or t-shirt that says “dog in training” to help communicate to people that it’s not helpful for them to rush up to him and pat him.

A dog who is otherwise well-behaved should be able to break this habit in a couple of weeks at the most … if you have the help of a professional trainer.

Got a question about dog etiquette? Send it here.

By Guest Blogger Ron Hevener

Mother Nature and common sense tell us not to get between two dogs that are fighting, but, usually, it’s wasted advice. Few of us can stand by when dogs are settling their differences with their own kind, especially if one of them is ours. So it was when Steven pulled Bella off a Shih Tzu during a routine walk and, in the heat of the fight, she grabbed his pants.

At first, it almost sounds funny (a vacationer in Cape Cod, struggling with his own dog as she pulls off his pants). But, what happened next wasn’t funny at all. As the other guy hurried off, a police officer was driving by and witnessed Steven scolding Bella.

“What are you doing, slugging that dog!” he demanded. 

“Excuse me? I was not slugging my dog!” Steven said, surprised. “I would never ’slug’ my dog.”

“Yes you were. I saw you slugging that dog in the face!” Clearly, it was a matter of the vacationer’s word against a hometown cop.  As Bella looked on in confusion, Steven was written up and told that there would be an investigation.

Two days later, police arrived where he was staying, and they took him away in handcuffs. He was jailed, required to post bail, and hire an attorney. One of them asked for a $5,000 retainer.

Have we gone overboard with laws for animal protection? All we have to do is look at animals, themselves, for the answers. Is Bella afraid of Steven? Does she cower around him?  Does she act like she expects to be hit?  We don’t need laws or courts to tell us these things. 

At the time of this writing, Steven and Bella are home, but they have a court hearing coming up. If he was such a threat to her - if they were really worried about a dog being hurt - don’t you think Bella would have been taken away from him? Maybe this isn’t really about dogs. Maybe it’s not about animals at all.  

Are such laws being correctly understood and applied or have our beautiful animals been used to get something on the books that hurts them worse than anyone ever thought?    The court is treating this as a felony.  Does any of us realize what a felony conviction does to someone’s life - and to the animals that depend on him?  Is this how dog lovers want laws against animal abuse to be interpreted and carried out?  Bella lacks for nothing in her life.

When her canine mate, Jenny, was sick, Steven paid thousands of dollars to save her. Does over-zealous law enforcement mean we must pay for lawyers, have our reputations smeared, lose our jobs, lose our pensions and go to prison for training dogs not to bite? It’s true that animals don’t speak our language, but they do learn by example. And, as anybody who sees a spoiled kid throwing a temper tantrum in a grocery store knows, so do we.

Animals do not stand alone in our society. They cannot be born, raised, trained or cared for without someone who takes on that responsibility. What happens to Bella now? What happens to a dog in whose name such laws were passed if she loses Steven - the one she loves and depends on because a law meant to protect her ends up wrecking her home and destroying her life instead?   

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Author/Artist RON HEVENER specializes in animals and the romantic, adventurous people who love them.  Mr. Hevener’s collectible figurines and the prints from his novels (“Fate of the Stallion!” … “The Blue Ribbon” … “High Stakes”) are now bought and traded throughout the world. Today, Ron Hevener’s illustrated animal stories are published regularly in magazines, newsletters, newspapers and on websites around the globe. He is currently on tour - speaking at bookstores, libraries, theaters, schools, gift stores, pet stores, dog shows, art shows, horse shows and public events. “Life is a movie,” he says. “On With The Show!”  …  www.RonHevener.com

Did you know there are more pets than people living in the USA? There are just under 300 million people, and 360 million pets. That’s astonishing. Not only that, but spending on pets has surpassed the candy industry and the toy industry. We sure do love our dogs!

More than half of dog owners purchase a Holiday gift for their dogs. Depending on which study you go by, between 8 and 50 percent of dog owners do something special for their dog’s birthday.

This is fascinating to me, because I believe it reflects some social trends. I don’t have specific research to prove this, but here’s my opinion. Dogs are the new kids. Women are waiting longer to have kids, and more women are electing not to have children. Those of us who can’t have kids still want a little brood to watch over, care for and nurture. Couples, whether married or not, want to find out what sort of parents they’d be. Singles want a heartbeat at home with them, someone to run around with on the weekend.

So here we all are - single and married women, married couples, empty nesters, gay couples and even older kids - lavishing all our nurturing instincts on our dogs. Call it role-playing, substitution, whatever you like. As a culture and as individuals, we have a lot to give. And we want to give it. Good for the lucky dogs who are on the receiving end of that.

Lisa Woody