Q for dog owners-info please

[KayTee]

One suggestion - basic obedience training with a good instructor. Nothing helps bond a new dog to you like learning to train together, and believe me, these classes are so entertaining that they should charge admission to watch 'em! These classes help socialize the dog to people and other dogs, and even if you think you know all there is to know about training a dog, you (and your dog) will learn a few things anyway. The obedience clubs around here give a discounted rate for their classes to people who can document that their dog came from a shelter or rescue system.

[CyclaSutra]

CC- I've got an opinion about doggie names. I read somewhere in a dog training book (a google might help here but I'm late to get dressed for a bike commute) that the best dog names are two syllables and end in a vowel. Why? Because "Slate" and "Duke" sound too much like single-syllable commands: sit, stay, down.

Apparently, dogs can remember their name better if it is much different than the command.

That being said, my little Mojo is so smart, he opens his eyes from snoozing on the couch when you call him "boy," "dog," "bud," or just spell out his name.

And my other pup, Java, potty-trained really quickly when we hung a small cowbell on the door. When the door opens, the bell rings. Quickly she learned that when she wanted to go potty, she just rang the bell.

Good luck!

[Tuckervill]

My mother trained her cat to ring the bell when she wanted to go out. She rings it to come back in, too!

I loved the picture of the Jack Russell in the backpack! A rare thing happened in my house last week. A Jack Russell passed away of old age.

All the others I've known have been hit by cars, bitten by snakes, lost when they escaped, or in one of my cases, killed by a coyote. That was my 10 lb. JRT named Ladybug. She once jumped out of a boat going full speed on the lake, because she thought she really could walk on water. Luckily, she was on a leash and harness, and I just reeled her back in. You can see why I might find it hard to believe that Lou Lou stays where she's supposed to be at all times!

However, the Old Broad, Percy, had plenty of run-ins, but she was 20 when she died last week. So, you can see how I might think it's quite possible Lou Lou DOES stay where she's supposed to be, too!

May Lou Lou be as lucky as Percy.

Karen

[pooks]

We adopted our Jake (a yellow lab) from a shelter when he was 18 months old and have never regretted it.

I've seen people biking with labs. I don't know how difficult they are to train for that, though.

I would think in general that the best dog for this would be a breed that has a strong desire to please its human. I read that the best way to determine that desire in a puppy is to walk away and call the puppy and see if it immediately wants to follow you, or if it takes off in other directions. I wonder if the same test would work for a mature dog?