Why does my dog beg so much?!

I've always wondered why my dog begs so much! Every time we sit at the table to eat she nudges your leg for food, every time she smells cheese she jumps at the counters to try and get some and every time she hears a bag of food being opened she is right there beside you! Why is this?

When you are eating and you dog smells the delicious food, they can't help but want to have a bite. Begging is found in many different breeds as a personality trait, but it is very easy to correct. I had no idea that there was even a way to stop them! I love my dog and every time she gives me the puppy face while I'm eating, I always give her a bite. It's hard to resist that cute little face. Here's some tips on how to break your dog from this habit:

1) Don't feed your dog directly from the table ( I am guilty of this!)

The lengths my dog will go to
get food!

2) Only feed your dog table food if they are behaving
3) Put the table scraps in their dog dish
4) If possible, keep your dog away from the dining room
5) Make sure you feed your dog before you eat so they are no longer hungry while you are eating
6) Bribe them to stay away from the dinner table with a treat

Every dog is different so you will have to find out what works with your dog, but it is possible to break the habit of begging!

Until I did this little bit of research, I always gave my dog food right from the table and it became so bad that she always expected it! Now that I know possible steps to help prevent begging, I will definitely be using them. I already feed my dog before we eat, but she seems to never be full!

Now I know that it is our fault that our dog begs so much, and I now know how to help her stop! All of the research I did came from here.

Kahlua's food

I often hear the question: "What kind of food should I feed my dog?". There are so many different kinds of food that it is very hard to decide what to feed you furry family member! There's soft food, hard food, vegetables, meat and many, many different brands of food. I mean how do you pick?!


When we got Kahlua this is exactly what was going through our heads! We asked the breeder what she normally feeds the dogs and her answer was Purina One SMARTBlend Lamb & Rice Formula. This food had all of the necessary vitamins and protein that Kahlua needed while she was a puppy, and it was smaller pieces to avoid choking. This food also had the nutrients that are found in the mothers milk, so they still get everything that they need to grow nice, healthy and strong.

Soon, Kahlua grew out of that food, because she was too old for it, she needed some better food with the proper nutrients and vitamins that she needed at that age. We decided that Purina Beneful Original With Beef was the right food for her. She loved the taste and loved to chow down on the fun food (different shapes). We also tried the Purina Beneful Original With Chicken, but she liked the taste of the beef better. We stuck with Purina because that is what her breeder fed her dogs and we thought that it was a good choice.

Kahlua started to get bored of the Beneful Original With Beef and we also noticed that she was gaining weight from this food because it had more fat in it than Purina One. She stopped eating because it was always the same kibble and bits. She wanted to spice up her food a little bit, who can blame her? So we were on the lookout for another food that she might like more than her Beneful. We tried the Purina One SMARTBlend Lamb & Rice Formula again and she absolutely loves it and is still eating it to this day! It is the perfect blend of real meat pieces and kibble. She eats her dinner in seconds every night! Why she started to dislike this food the first time is beyond me because she is right back on it!

On special occasions like her Birthday, Thanksgiving or Christmas, we give Kahlua a little bit of a different meal. We give her Purina Beneful Prepared Meals. She absolutely loves them and devours them whenever we give them to her. Another thing that we do for her once in a while to change things up is to put a little bit of gravy on her food and she also loves this.

The food you buy your dog really depends on what they like. If they don't like their food you just have to keep on trying something new to please them! Would you be satisfied eating the same disgusting meal every day? so why would you treat your furry family member that way? Also, you have to watch the ingredients in the food. Really good food will have vegetables and real meat with lots of protein, other foods will have lots of gluten and such. You should listen to the breeder you got your dog from or you veterinarian when it comes to what food is good for your dog.


All of the research I did for this blog came from here.

Kahlua and Lady's first play date!

Recently Kahlua had her first play date with Lady Riddell. It was a rough start. We thought that they would click instantly because their personalities are so alike (hyper), but that wasn't the case at all.

It all started when Lady arrived at our house. She was all happy and excited to see me! We kept Kahlua inside so that Lady could get used to the backyard. We also had the neighbors dog, Mugsy, over. After Lady had a couple of minutes to sniff around we let Kahlua and Mugsy out to say hi. Lady was really nervous and her hackles were sticking up (Hackles: hair on the back of the neck, like when cats get their arch). All Kahlua wanted to do was play with lady, but her barking just made Lady more nervous. They all took about ten minutes to sniff each others butts. It was really funny because they had a dog butt sniffing train going on! (I wish i would have gotten a picture!!!).

After a research on the internet, I have found out why dogs insist's on sniffing other dogs butts. It is their way of shaking hands as us humans do! By smelling another dogs butt, they can detect lots of useful information such as: "...the sex of the other dog, whether the dog is in heat, what the dog ate lately and whether the encounter is likely to be a friendly one." A dog smelling another dogs butt can also be considered a form of stress reliever for the dog, it has a calming affect. It is very weird that dogs must sniff butts to find all of this information out.. could you imagine if we had to do that too?! I'm glad that we have the handshake instead!!  

Anyways, eventually Lady settled down. All of a sudden, out of no where, Kahlua started racing around the backyard. Lady chased after her and got her cornered a few times and they really were starting to have fun! (Mugsy is an older dog so he just stood by and watched from a distance). Afterwards they each got a treat for being good, and a nice cold drink of water. It was time for Lady to go back home. I would say that it was a very successful play date and that Kahlua and Lady are on the road to a very long friendship!



All of the research that I did for this post came from here.

Happy Birthday Princess!

My dog was born November 13th 2007. Recently she had her 6th Birthday. Unfortunately I was gone most of this day this year, but when I got home in the evening I spent all night with her. We played tug-of-war, one of her favorite games, as well as soccer. She was so happy and it made me extremely happy to be able to celebrate on this special day with her. To finish up the night, I gave her her Birthday gift. I got her some Chew-lotta Milk-Bone's. She indulged in her favorite bone until it was time for bed. She had a wonderful Birthday.

The way that dogs are born is a little different then the way that humans are born. Sheltie litters can vary from four to six puppies and the puppies are in the uterus of the dog from fifty six to sixty six days (about two months). The litter that Kahlua was born into consisted of four puppies. Unlike humans, dogs are equipped to handle birth more independently. The mothers know exactly how to give birth and owners are suggested to be bystanders and let them do their thing. I think that it`s pretty amazing how the dogs just know what to do and have that instinct. The mother of the litter is also the one who cuts the umbilical cord with their teeth and helps the puppies take their first breath by licking off the sac from their face so they can breathe.

We got Kahlua from a breeder in Wallaceburg, Ontario. We went and visited her and picked her out after awhile of searching for the perfect contenders for our new family member. We were not aloud to take her home just yet though. It was too soon to take her away from her mother. It is safe for them to be separated from their mothers at around seven to eight weeks old, and it is recommended that they be with their new owners by twelve weeks old to get used to their new family.

I`m so glad that we chose Kahlua that day! She has made my life so much better ( so corny but 100% true!).

All of the information I researched for my blog came from:
here
here

Clean or Dirty?

My dog Kahlua HATES water! Anything that has to do with getting wet or going near water she absolutely loathes. Whenever she hears the word bath, even if we say the word bathroom, she runs away and tucks her tail underneath herself. Why is it that some dogs love water but others can't stand it?

It is said that it is purely the dogs breed and instinct that decides whether they will like water or not. Because Kahlua is a smaller breed, she tends to not like water where as a larger breed of dog would be more likely to like it. There are obviously some exceptions to that rule of thumb. When smaller dogs are in a bath, they feel like they are being submerged in water, so they feel like they might drown. This is why some dogs will start shivering and try to get out of the bath, because they don't want to drown.

Kahlua is very weird when it comes to getting cold and wet. She will not go near the bath and she will also steer clear from the pool, but when it snows out she will want to be outside all of the time. My dog absolutely loves the snow, but I cannot figure out why. It is cold and wet, just like in the bath, but she loves to play in the snow and get covered in it! If only she could talk and explain to me her reasoning...

We now take Kahlua to the doggy spa (groomer)
about every 4 weeks to keep up on her personal hygiene. We used to do all of that for her, but she would not come near us afterwords like she was holding a grudge against us. We have to drag her in through the spa doors, but in the end it is completely worth is to see her all clean and pretty and happy to see us when she is done.

I have come to the conclusion that if it were up to Kahlua, she would rather stay dirty and stinky than be bathed and clean.

My Little Pumpkin

This year for Halloween, my dog Kahlua was a little pumpkin!She was so cute and got lots of compliments. Some people think that it is really cruel to dress dogs up in clothes, but honestly,I think it is the cutest thing on the planet! My dog thinks otherwise.Whenever I put a piece of clothing on her, she hates it! She won't even move in it unless she is bribed with a treat (in this case she will move as much as you want her to, and she becomes your best friend).

Usually on Halloween we will take Kahlua for a nice long walk around the neighborhood so she can meet some new people and have a good time in her costume. Unfortunately, this year it was raining on Halloween. My mom did take her for a short walk to see all the costumes, but they got a little wet.  My dog is a chicken when it comes to getting wet. She hates it, and only gets wet when it is absolutely necessary. So going for a walk was not a pleasant experience for her this time. I was very disappointed that only a few trick-or-treater's got to see my little pumpkin (no pun intended haha). So I decided to take advantage of the situation and plan her costume for next year! 

I really wanted her to be one of these guys, because I find all of these costumes adorable! But my neighbor knocked on my door not even 5 minutes after I found this picture. She bought a Halloween costume for my dog for next year. It is decided that next year my dog is being a hula girl!! I'm so excited for next Halloween!! I can't even describe how cute Kahlua looks in her bikini (haha) and her grass skirt!

Dressing up dogs in costumes for various occasions like Christmas and Halloween is more for their owners than for the dogs, but it makes holidays fun.  I have seen pictures of dogs who have been dip dyed by their owners, and I think that is a bit overboard, as I think that the dye would be harmful for a pet, but there is nothing wrong with putting them in a cute little dress to celebrate a special day. 

A bunny or a dog?

Lately my dog has been behaving more like a rabbit, rather than a dog. She hops at the sight of food and she loves to chow down on carrots. Sometimes she even eats their poop in my backyard (gross). I wonder why they act so alike.

When my dog was a baby, we always fed her big carrots. The reason behind this, is that she would chew on everything because of her teething! Walls, base boards, shoes, slippers, etc. were all chewed up and she got yelled at all the time because of it. We started giving her big carrots to chew on, that way, she was eating the carrot and the coolness of that carrot felt good on her teeth and she no longer wanted to chew on all of our stuff. Sure enough, this became a habbit and four years later,  she is still eating carrots and considers them as healthy treats!

We have rabbits in the backyard that she loves to sniffout  and chase. One time, we let her outside and she went to lay down on her favorite bush ( the bottom of the bush is cool in the smmer and she lays on it to cool off) and out popped a bunny! She was so shocked that a bunny was in her bush! The expression on her face was priceless. If she could speak, I'm more then sure that the words she would have said wouldn't sound very pretty.

She might act like a rabbit more than she acts like a dog, but I'm certain that she's not the only one... I mean this quality that she has only makes her more adorable than she already is!

                                                       Kahlua's Thanksgiving dessert

The difficulties of grooming a Shetland sheepdog!

Shelties are well known for their beautiful fur coat, but that coat is extremely hard to keep well groomed because of the thickness and of the length of their fur. Shelties have a double coat. The under coat is very short and thick and is to help keep the dog warm. The top coat is long, straight hair that is water-resistant and protects them from the cold.

Shetland sheepdogs often get their fur tangle up and matted around their ears and by their butts because of the fact that they have so much hair and both of the coats get tangled up. To keep their fur from tangling you have to brush them regularly and, you also have to keep them clean. I would recommend giving your sheltie a bath every 6 weeks using a normal dog shampoo, mane and tail works also. DO NOT USE a shampoo that is for shed control, because it will stop the dog from shedding and they will either not grow in their winter coat, or they won't lose their winter coat for the summer, which makes them extremely hot! 

Shetland sheepdogs shed twice a year. They shed their heavy winter coat for the summer and then they shed their summer coat to grow in a winter coat for the cold outdoor temperatures. Shelties also need usual dog care like clipping their nails and brushing their teeth. Please keep in mind that if you cut a shelties hair, it will not grow back and full and nice as it was, and it is also very bad for their skin. This is a condition called alopecia. 

As long as you keep up with their brushing and their personal hygiene, this dog is pretty easy to care for and groom.

Here is a short clip that shows you how to groom a Shetland sheepdog.

What is the history behind the Shetland sheepdog?

I've always wondered where my dog originally came from and what she was used for way back when. Everybody always tells me that she's like a mini Lassie, but does anybody really know about it?

My dog is called a Shetland sheepdog; she is like a miniature collie which is the type of dog that Lassie is (collie). They are often referred to by their nickname "sheltie". She originated from Shetland, an island just north-east of mainland Britain and they were used as herding dogs. Herding dogs are used still today to help keep animals such as sheep, cattle, and poultry guarded from theft and their predators. The dogs are able to move the animals by nipping at their ankles gently and running around them. This explains why my dog sometimes bites my ankles and loves to go zooming around in circles in the backyard. She is a very intelligent dog, ranked the 6th smartest dog in the world out of 132 breeds. My dog is very energetic and loves to play and go for walks. She is a very friendly breed, she does not bite (other than the odd ankle) and is very good with children. Shelties can be used as watch dogs because they're very smart and they can distinguish right from wrong. This type of dog ranges from 11-24 lb, but of course can be slightly more or less. For example, my dog weighs around 28 lb, the result of giving her too many treats :). The Shetland sheepdog has three different coat colors: sable (tan), tricolor (white, black and tan) , and bi-black (black and white). With these coat colors, there are some modifications that can happen depending on certain genes that the dog's parents contain.

All I knew about my dog before I did this little bit of research was that she came from a breeder in Wallaceburg, Ontario and that she was sable. I had no idea that she came from Shetland and that the breed was named after the island. I guess you learn something new everyday!

The little bit of research I did came from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetland_Sheepdog

                                           I would like to introduce you to my princess, Kahlua