Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Keeping Your Pets Safe on 4th of July

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Our town fireworks took place last night. Thankfully we live a far enough distance away that the noise registers as a quiet, BOOM! Luckily for me, Sampson and Delilah are rarely bothered by loud noises. A couple of weeks ago we had a clap of thunder in the middle of the night that literally shook the house. Delilah barked once and I don’t think Sampson even moved. (Although he has been known to run outside to bark at the sky with particularly loud boomers.)

Fireworks in our neighborhood are an entirely different matter though. Often times the neighbor two houses over has a raucous party and lights off firecrackers. Fireworks THAT close to home can really set my dogs off.

I’ve been following our local animal control’s Facebook page and discovered that July 5th is the busiest day for shelters. Why is that? Because so many pets are terrified of the noise and chaos and get scared and run off.

I think this goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. Don’t bring your pets around fireworks. A spinning, wiggling, sparkly firework could possibly tempt an animal in a game of chase, which could result in severe burns or worse.

Below is a list of a few extra precautions you can take to help keep your pet as safe as they can be this 4th of July.

  • Even if your pet is micro-chipped make sure they are wearing a collar with your name and phone number on it.
  • Try and keep your pets inside when fireworks are taking place. If they must go outside to potty, go outside with them. If possible make sure they are on leash.
  • Run the air conditioning (or fans) along with some loud music or play the TV loudly to help dull the noise.
  • Have the number for your local animal control readily available. (You don’t want to be trying to look something up when you are in a blind panic.)
  • Have a current picture of your pet handy, just in case.
  • Don’t leave your pet alone if you can help it. If you must leave them alone, consider making a nest for them in a small area of your home, one where they cannot hurt themselves and consider leaving the air conditioning and music on in there to help muffle the noise.
  • If you have tried all of these and nothing is helping, consult your veterinarian to help find something that will work for your pet. There are many natural as well as prescribed solutions that might help.

And remember, it’s not just pets that don’t care for fireworks, some combat veterans have a real problem with loud noises, especially those that sound like gun fire.

To help spread the word, Sampson and Delilah made a little public service announcement.

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You can help us spread the word by sharing this post on your social media platforms, or if you’d just like to share the photo, you can grab it on our Facebook page.

This is the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Grab the badge and the linky code and join us!

While Barks and Bytes is for everyone, we request only blog posts be linked up and as a courtesy to other hoppers, please add the code to your post or link up to Linda or I.

Heart Like a Dog



Wrapping Up Engagement – Barks and Bytes

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Today we’ll wrap up the two part “Engaging Your Readers” series. You can find the first post HERE.

Another poop post? When will you grow up?

Isn’t my snappy wit and sparkling personality engaging enough? 

The last thing to discuss in Engaging your Reader is connecting with other bloggers. This, in my opinion, is one of the MOST important things you can do. Not only do you make some really cool friends, you get the opportunity to expose yourself and your blog to readers who might have never found you.

Elaine said, “I’ve found connecting with other bloggers has been one of the most surprising and rewarding parts of blogging.”

When I first started blogging, I had no idea of the amazing connections I would make. I wonder if all blogging niches have such a wonderful community?

So, how exactly does one go about connecting with other bloggers?

Comments

Comments are important. When I get a new commenter, I ALWAYS head over to their blog and check it out. I think that’s a nice thing to do, and I think most bloggers do that.

Caren Gittleman said, “These are all wonderful tips. Another thing I try to do to increase engagement, is to respond to as many comments as I can. You would be amazed at how many bloggers do NOT do this and nearly every “Blogging 101″ item that I read, lists that as one of the top things on their “must do” list. People like to feel as if they are appreciated and heard………on Dakota’s blog I am not nearly as good about responding (because I do not get alerts when people comment), but on Cody’s blog I am quite good about it…I am proud to say that every brand I have been (and am) aligned with, listed “engagement by ME and my readers” as being more important than actual numbers…A brand once told me, “I would rather advertise on a blog that has 50 ENGAGED readers, than one that has 5000 who are doing nothing””

Responding to comments is good too. But as you may have noticed, I don’t respond to every comment. (Once upon a time I did, back when I had a few comments per post, but some posts have a large number of comments and it’s just not feasible for me to answer every one.) What works for me (as most of you know) is my Follow-Up Friday post, where I answer questions and highlight awesome comments. I think it’s a great way to connect with my readers and share the linky love as well. If answering comments works on your blog, you should stick with it. Why fix it if it ain’t broken?

I think that’s awesome that you found a brand that feels that way about engagement.

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, ” I have gotten so bad at replying to peoples comments on my blog, that was my new years resolution to respond more and I’ve failed at it. I blog each day and I run out of time which is a lame excuse. If someone asks me a question I answer it on their blog because really do people remember to search back to see if you answered their question? I know I don’t have time for that unless it was something I really needed a answer to. I do a blog hop each day which your right I need to switch it up as I don’t think it helps me get any more followers but it does help me with a plan for the week.”

This is more along the lines of the way I think. Unless I ask a specific question on someone’s blog, I rarely go back and look to see if they responded to my comment. Blogging is a lot of work, especially if you are posting daily and reading blogs and leaving comments. At some point, something has to give!

As for the daily blog hop, see my response to Jackie’s comment below. BUT you do have your Nothing But Norman, which is unique to your blog. 🙂

Clowie said, “When a post sparks comments from people that don’t usually comment, I try to figure out why – but I can’t say I’ve figured it out yet!”

That’s a very good point. When you have a post that gets a lot of comments, look at it and see, what is different from what I regularly post? Did I personalize it? Was it funny? Controversial? I would say if it’s vastly different from what you have been writing, then perhaps the new material is something your readers are looking for.

Blog Hops

Blog hops are a great way to connect with other bloggers.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “One thing that I would add is that if you join a hop, engage with the other hoppers. The idea of a hop is to help build readership, but if you don’t engage then others will not engage with you. Hops are great tools for people that need direction or suggestions for post topics and a great way to meet new bloggers.”

Exactly. Linda and I do our best to visit each of the blogs participating in our hop and thank them. Not only are we sharing our readers with you, you are sharing your readers with us. That’s a very valuable resource!

Jackie Bouchard said, “I guess I’m predictable since I pretty much only blog on M & W so I join Mon Mischief and Wordless Wed.!”

I wouldn’t necessarily say that Jackie. If you like it and your readers like it, that’s the whole goal.

Other ways to connect

Of course, there’s always the direct approach. Many times I reach out to other bloggers via e-mail or directly on social media, whether it be a Facebook IM or a direct tweet. 

Non-Blogging Readers

Talent Hounds said, “What is challenging to me is to reach beyond the blog groups, which have been a wonderful start, to a broader audience and engage them. ”

I think one of the keys to this is to share on Social Media. A majority of people on Social Media aren’t bloggers, if you can get your posts into their hands, I think that’s awesome.

NOW, my question for you, how do you get people to share your posts on Social Media?

Heart Like a Dog

This is the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Grab the badge and the linky code and join us!

While Barks and Bytes is for everyone, we request only blog posts be linked up and as a courtesy to other hoppers, please add the code to your post or link up to Linda or I.



Team Sampson – #MultiPetMania

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How do those of you with multiple pets manage your training?

Let me just say when you are working with a food motivated dog like Delilah, training two dogs is not easy.

The first time I took out the clicker I was determined to teach her high-five. Of course I knew nothing about shaping a behavior, I simply put the food and clicker in one hand and held up my other hand and said, “High-five.”

Delilah looked at my hand with the treat and focused on that. Sampson meanwhile was sitting on the sidelines observing my feeble attempts.

I tried again and again and all Delilah could focus on was the food in my hand. Finally Sampson’s patience was wearing thin (like mine wasn’t?). He got up, walked over, high-fived me, took the treat and went back to the sidelines.

Schooled bitch.

Delilah still didn’t get it.

I reached out to a positive trainer and asked, “What do you do when the dog is too focused on the treat?”

“Try using a treat of lesser value,” she responded.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was using a green bean.

What I learned from that experience was this: When you first start working with food and a food motivated dog, you need to let them get used to the idea of food/clicker before you actually start shaping the behavior you’re looking for.

Delilah is so siriusly food motivated, she will push Sampson aside in order to dive under the counter for a crumb.

Don’t get me wrong, Sampson has his moments as well, as can be seen in my “I heeled my dog with a chick pea” blooper below.

When I really want to work on a challenging task, I need to separate the dogs. Things like nosework in the house is easy, I put one dog in a room with a gate and work with the other dog and then swap them out.

Working on walking behaviors is a bit harder. After all, walking two dogs separately is twice the time, which I never seem to have of late.

When Sampson had his ACL injury last year, the dogs got separate walks as Sampson just couldn’t do the same distance as Delilah.

Delilah was highly reactive to dogs barking at us from their yards. When Sampson was on the DL Delilah and I focused on getting her past these yards while walking.  Before we began working on this skill Delilah was constantly trying to prove she was a bad ass dog that took no shit. Delilah’s philosophy was I’ll get you before you get me. You could see the change in her demeanor as she approached the yard. (Whoever said dogs don‘t remember, is full of shit. She remembers quite well, thankyouverymuch. Much better than some people I know.)

I worked very hard with her to stop being on such high alert and we were successful at it. We reached a point where she would look to me for treats instead of looking for trouble with another dog.

Sadly Sampson has still not learned this skill. He sees another dog or a person and he starts bouncing around like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.  Just Sunday he was ready to jump up on a parked car because he thought someone might be in there.

Because of this, I have to be on high alert.

I’ve come to know which homes have dogs and do my best not to be on the same side of the street as those dogs, especially if the dogs are in an e-fence. There are a couple of dogs contained by these fences that love to charge to the edge of their yard, causing me to just about shit my pants and my dogs to jump and lunge.

It’s easier to cross the street when we approach these houses. The dogs have learned when we cross and it’s almost automatic. It doesn’t stop Sampson from acting the fool, but it helps me maintain a semblance of control.

The things dogs see

Do you see what I see?

I don’t know about you, but when I’m walking my dogs, I talk to them. Which is how I get some crazy commands.

A couple of weeks ago Sampson started his schtick and I don’t know why but “Team Sampson” came out of my mouth. And he looked at me and I said,”Come on, Team Sampson, we got this. Look at me, watch me, we got this. I’ve got cookies.” Once we were past the distraction the dogs got rewarded.

And that’s how Team Sampson was born.

Being watchful allows me to start the “Team Sampson” routine before he starts acting up, it prevents me from looking like a complete buffoon.

Which is how I found myself with Sampson bucking like a bronco this past weekend. And as I focused on “Team Sampson” I realized that Team Delilah knew the routine and was dancing along beside me, like a dream on a leash.

Now I just have to find the time to walk them individually so we can work on walking past dogs who are walking past us.

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