In response to popular request I have decided to start an advice column, here on our Frisbeelab web site.  I will accept questions for my advice via e-mail and will select those that I feel are best each week and post them on this page.  ...along with my advice, of course. 

I will entertain questions from either dogs or bi-peds (some call them humans), naturally giving preference to dogs.


 

Dear AbbyDoodle,
I have two questions. My name is Gray Dawntreader, and I am a supposed Papillon/Sheltie mix. My human recently got a new bike and I like to run so she would like to have me run next to her when she uses her bike. The only problem: It wouldn't be safe to attach a leash to the bike, and we can't afford a K9 Cruiser. I'm not reliable offleash, so we can't go offleash. My sister Cookie, a German Shepherd, is reliable offleash around the neighborhood so she can do it offleash. Do you have an idea?

Also, what breed do you think I am? Most people say Papillon/Sheltie. The Papillons part is certain, but some people say that they think that I am a purebred Papillon of BYB lines. (Which doesn't bother me.) The shelter listed me as a Sheltie mix, but I think I'm mainly Papillon. What do you think?

I attached some pictures.



Gray Dawntreader

Dear Gray Dawntreader,

I have never gone biking so cannot speak from first hand experience. A brisk walk (well maybe not so brisk) suits me just fine. So after that disclaimer, here is what I was able to find that may solve your dilemma while not totally exhausting your human's pocketbook. Two are devices that can be attached to your human's bicycle which will keep you away from the bike so you won't get run over by the back wheel (hopefully)! They are listed in no particular order:

• WalkyDog USA
• Springer Dog Jogger
• Bloopee
- This one scares me a bit. While it's the most economical (make it yourself) it looks like you could indeed get run over.

AbbyDoodle

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Dear AbbyDoodle,
I am a ten month old black lab, I have only played frisbee a couple of times but I am great at it! (it's my human that has a problem throwing it!). I do, however, like to bite the frisbee while I am bringing it back. Any suggestions on what kind of frisbees to buy and where to buy them?  Maybe we should buy a dozen cheap ones and a couple of nicer ones?
Thanks,
Licky Lena

Dear Licky Lena,

Whatever you do, don't buy cheap Frisbees! They break and don't fly well. Tyronne (also a black Lab) ruins standard competition Hyperflites in a couple of rounds of Frisbee. He uses Hyperflite Jawz Discs except in competitions. Ty has never put a hole in a Jawz and even uses a Jawz instead of a tug when he competes in Flyball. While the price may seem excessive (about $15), every single Jawz Ty has purchased is still in service.
A couple things you should know about the Jawz discs:

• They don't float. If you throw them in a pool or lake they will sink.
• Dues to a slightly heavier weight, they drop faster when your human throws them. He/she should be sure to get a little more height on his/her throws and get good spin on them.

AbbyDoodle

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My name is Grace, I am a five year old terrier mix. My brother Zeus, a great pyrenees, is six. We are both very good, smart dogs but we are very worried that we might get excited and run out of the yard. Our guardians live in a house where the landlord doesn't want them to put up a fence. Our guardians want to move soon, so they don't want to put up an electric fence just so they can tear it out in a year or so. our guardians now our safety should come first, but electric fences cost a lot of money. My brother Zeus gets along fine with other dogs , but I on the other hand am not so nice. We were put on a steak and leash under supervision of course, for a while, but we pulled that out of the ground going after a beagle. Our guardians are afraid that might happen again. it makes sense to put us on a leash but our guardians work all day and don't have time to walk us every time we have to go out. they do walk us when ever they can but only have time to give us a quick run-out before they leave in the morning and every two hours after they get home. Kind of cheap we know but we love them and they love us. how should we tell our owners to contain us?

very sincerely,

Zeus and Grace

Dear Zeus and Grace,

Hmmmm...... I'm not keen on leaving you outside all day in an area only protected by an electric invisible fence. Other dogs who are not wearing electric collars could come in and fight with you.  The only way I would recommend you  stay outside when no one is at home is if the yard were fenced..... and then only if you had shelter like a doghouse.

One solution would be to hire someone to stop in during the day to let you out. A better solution (perhaps cheaper too) would be to have a friend do it.

There is also Doggie Day Care, but if you're not friendly with other dogs,,,,, I don't think that will work.

One of your humans could quit their job..... yeah I guess that's not feasible....... Perhaps get a job with varying schedules, work from home, etc. ..... or they could take you to work with them.   Likely, none of those solutions are viable either.  Perhaps your humans  could alter their work schedules slightly with one going in earlier and the other leaving later.  Perhaps they could work it out where you can be left alone for a reasonable time and you won't have to go out.  You guys should be OK to be in the house each day for 8 hours aren't you?  If not the only solution sounds like hiring someone to let you out.   I'm sure there are people in your area who do that.

Good Luck!

AbbyDoodle

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Hi Abby,

Our Dad wanted us to write and see what we can do about our little brother. You see, Dad had some papers that he was working on and Jake started to "read" them with his teeth. We know that Dad should not have put them on the stairs, but he did.

Dad even wrote a letter to someone big that he had to send the papers to, and told her that they were messy because of Jake. Will Jake get into big trouble with this person? Dad sent a letter with Jake's picture in it, hoping that the lady will smile.

Our Jakey is growing up, but can you recommend something that he can read without the hassle? He has Tug and bones, but he likes paper.

HELP ABBYDOODLE!

Dear Jakey's family,

Did your Dad actually use the "my dog ate my papers excuse"??????  Sounds a lot like the 
old "the dog ate my homework" excuse that even school kids can't get away with any more.   
If the lady falls for that old trick your Dad sure is lucky.  Maybe Jakey's cute picture will help.

Rather than suggest something for Jakey to read (certainly not papers), I recommend that your 
Dad go to the local butcher and get Jakey a nice big beef bone to chew.  It won't help much 
with his reading, but it should keep him from eating any more of your Dad's papers.   Another 
suggestion that will help is to take Jake out each morning and get him some serious exercise.  
The dog whisperer guy says everyone should walk their dogs for an hour every morning and 
then again at the end of day.  Good luck!  In a perfect world... maybe, but it would never happen 
in our household.  However a 10 - 15 minute round of fetch or even better, Frisbee, will help 
Jake burn off some excess energy.  

Rudy, as a pup, was quite destructive until he started playing Frisbee and chewing bones.  It 
worked for him and I'll bet it will for Jakey too!

A crate will also help keep Jakey out of trouble if he is put in it when no one is around to 
supervise him.    

Good Luck!

AbbyDoodle

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dear abbydoodle,

hello, my name is dale, and im a seven year old rescue brittany spaniel. and i really want to be a therapy dog! 

my guardians, saw many therapy dogs at a fair they went to last night, nearly all the flyball dogs were 
also therapy dogs! i want to be just like them! but my guardians are still unsure of what the duties of a therapy 
are and how i become one. please help abbydoodle!

from,

dale (the future flyball, frisbee, therapy dog!)

Hi Dale,

A friend of mine, One Eyed Jack is a Brittany rescue who performed a cool Frisbee demo at the Fair on Friday.  Jack is also a therapy dog.  I hope you got to meet him.

Actually, I have NOT tried for my Therapy Dog certification yet but hope to one of these days.  Rudy and Tyronne are both Therapy Dogs International (TDI) therapy dogs though.  There is a lot of information on their web site that will explain all the detail See http://www.tdi-dog.org/index.html. 

Most of the Therapy Dog organizations require you to pass a certification test.  In the case of TDI, their certification test is based on the AKC's Canine Good Citizen Test with a few things added in to ensure a dog is comfortable around people on walkers, crutches, wheel chairs, etc.  Naturally only dogs who are extremely friendly need apply. 

I applaud your interest in becoming a Therapy Dog.  I know Rudy, in particular, really enjoys the work.   Rudy and Ty visit nursing homes, assisted living facilities, private homes, camps and schools.  Rudy's a pro and knows to turn around and sit with his back at someone's feet to enjoy the petting.  That sounds like fun to me too.  I'll have to make it a priority to get certified as well. 

As you're obviously from somewhere in or near Monmouth County, NJ, I am going to ask Rudy or Tyronne  to write to you personally and send you the contact info for the certified TDI tester in the area who certified Tyronne last year. 

Good Luck!

AbbyDoodle

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Dear Scully,

That's an easy one!  Skyhoundz has a few videos for sale via their website. See:

http://www.skyhoundz.com/dvd.html

If your Mom just needs some pointers to sharpen up her Frisbee throwing, she can find them on the Skyhoundz web site here:

http://hyperflite.com/training.html#throwing

I assume the pointers in the videos and website will still work even if you are upside down ..... down in South Africa. 

AbbyDoodle

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Dear AbbyDoodle,

My name is Spike and I'm an, "Olde English Bulldog". I will be 3 years old in June, and I love to play.

A few weeks ago, I had an incident where I ran out in the road, I didn't have my collar on and I ran through our Invisible Fence, which very seldom happens, after the UPS truck that was parked next door. The Fed-Ex guy always has a treat for me, so I thought this guy in the brown uniform would have something for me too, even though I hate the sound of their trucks. He had something for me alright, he hit my in the head with his computer pad that they carry and believe me, it was not only a little tap, he lifted high above his shoulder and came down with it. I don't know why he reacted this way, I was only looking for a treat and if he would have been a bit more observant he would have seen that my tail was wagging the entire time. I even had my owner's sister witness the incident because she was in the yard with me at the time and came out after me. She started yelling at the delivery guy, and asked what was wrong with him, that there was no need to hit me the way he did. She even told my owner that the delivery man starting yelling that he hates dogs and that I always try to attack him. Well, what he thinks is attacking and I think is playing are two different things. I had to go to the vet and luckily I had no serious injuries; however, my owner, who just adores me, had to watch for signs of a concussion that day and into the night. My owner called the UPS driver's supervisor and she told her that they are allowed to use any means possible if they feel they are in danger and when asked to be removed off the route she replied that she could not do that. I know now that he does not like me, but since he hit me so hard that day, what do you think I should do to him the next time he comes on our property to deliver a package. The driver filed an incident report on me for coming off my property, and my owner, let the police officer know that the driver should have used other means in keeping me away from him if he was afraid of him. The vet even gave her a name of a spray that he should use instead of hitting me. She forwarded the information to the police officer and he told her he would see that he got it, and she also wanted to talk to the driver and have him meet me so he could see just how loveable I am. He has not got in touch with her since the incident and that was about 3 wks. ago.

I need some suggestions from you in how this matter should be handled, because I don't want this driver to think he can just whack me on the head because he's not fond of dogs! I personally think he should not have a job like he does, because I bet there are some pretty bad arse(sanitized by AbbyDoodle) dogs out there that would rip him up if he tries to hit them.

Please let me know how my owner should handle this situation.

Thank you.

Spike   

Dear Spike,

Ouch!  I can't imagine how that UPS guy would confuse a sweet looking guy like you with a dog who was trying to attack him.  But what were you thinking ......... running out into the street!?!  You're lucky you only got a bump on the head.   I would suggest you just forget about the guy.  He is the one with the problem, imagine going through life afraid of every dog you see.  Clearly he's in the wrong line of work.

Your human (IMHO dogs shouldn't have "owners" .... in fact in Boulder, Colorado dogs legally have guardians, not owners) has probably gone about as far as is advisable.  I like the idea of giving the driver the bottle of spray and if he would come meet you that's even better, but don't count on that happening any time soon.

So shower your FedEx driver with sloppy licks next time you see him and forget about the UPS guy for now.  Maybe one day the UPS guy will have to deliver package to your house.  If so, perhaps you can get even by using his leg as a fire hydrant. 

Your pal,

AbbyDoodle

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Dear AbbyDoodle

I am a 16 year old Mutt. I live with a wonderful family, but I don't think my youngest owner likes me. He's nice when his mom is around, but sometimes I'll bark when she leaves and he'll hit me softly and tell me to stop. Maybe he's just stopping me from interrupting his mom, but I think he hates me.

Sincerely,

Looking for answers in Nevada

Well I'm not too happy to hear anyone is hitting you ..... softly or not.  In addition, what's this stuff about you having "owners"?!?   You know in some places (like Boulder Colorado), dogs have "guardians" not owners.   We're living feeling caring individuals and not some silly human's property, to do with as they will.

In addition, at sixteen years of age, you're old enough to be my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandmother (or Grandfather).  It ticks me off to think someone would be so stupid to hit you. 

So, the problem is what to do about it?!?  I'm thinking your Mom likely is aware of the situation.  We need her to put a stop to it.  My suggestion is to cry like the youngest "monster" is killing you the next time he lays a hand on you.  Make it so loud that your Mom hears you.  Hopefully that will cause her to put a stop to his actions.  If that doesn't work, please let me know and we'll get the ASPCA after the little twit.

Your pal,

AbbyDoodle

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Dear AbbyDoodle,  

I have a big problem with an overpowering big sister.  I need your help. 

I live in a house with 2 humans, 3 felines, my sister and myself.  We are chocolate labs.  My sister is a year older than I am.

Regards,
Down in the Dumps

Dear Dumpster,

Suck it up!  Stop being such a whiner and exert yourself.  Sisters always exhibit type A personalities, and rightly so.  As a sister, myself, I can attest to the fact that we're smarter.     My suggestion to you is to stand your ground.  Let her bark.

Pretend you don't hear your humans if they try to get you to move.  With any luck, eventually your humans will get tired of hearing her bark and shut her out of the room and you'll have the bed for yourself. 

AbbyDoodle

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Dear AbbyDoodle,

Please help!  I am a 4 year old Golden Retriever ....and now my humans want to get a cat.  I live alone now and am perfectly happy getting all the attention.  What can I do to prevent them from getting a feline?

Your help will be appreciated!

Perplexed in Indiana

Dear Perplexed,

Having a cat around isn't so bad.  Eventually the cat will get used to you, as you will to it.  I live with a cat named Ralph, who is really a pretty good guy.  Actually he was here first as he is about twelve years old.  I like Ralph because after he gets fed he often walks away without finishing his food.  Cats get a lot better food than dogs, so it's always a race to see which one of us dogs get to Ralph's plate to finish it off.

If you do get a cat here's what I suggest.  When no one is around, except you and the cat, scratch the arm of a couch about 18 inches from the floor.  Be sure to scratch enough to make a hole or two.  You may have to do it a few times but eventually your humans will send the cat to the veterinarian to have his claws removed.  That will save you a lot of grief when you try to play with him! 

AbbyDoodle

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