Archive for October, 2009
Gifts for a Faithful Football Fan
My uncle Arthur is one of the few diehard Detroit Lions fans who has yet to give up on his beloved football team. Through 40 years of mediocrity on the field, bad drafting decisions and injury issues, he has stuck by the beleaguered franchise. In fact, if you visit his suburban Midwest home, you’ll probably see a Lions flag flying just below the Stars and Stripes on the flagpole.
Much to my aunt Jackie’s disdain, the entire basement is decorated in Honolulu blue and silver – the team’s long-established colors. One side of the room is crammed with collectible cards, signed jerseys and esoteric memorabilia. Knowing all about Arthur’s fondness for the Lions, I decided to get him a unique gift for his birthday. To be specific, it’s one of the NFL dog collars I found online – his dog Sanders will be wearing it with pride for the remainder of the season.
Dogs That Pull
To prevent your dog from dragging you down the street, there are a number of measures you can take to successfully train them to walk in stride. For larger dogs, a choke collar is advisable. This collar gives the dog a small pinch whenever they pull on the leash too hard. For smaller dogs, nose collars and dog harnesses are advisable because they will pull back on the dog’s head (nose collar), or front legs (harness) whenever they pull too hard, and train them gradually to walk with you.
In addition to these methods, praise and treats following a tug on the leash or when the dog walks with you in stride will go a long way.
A Puppy Problem to Chew On
Like many dogs, my Siberian husky seeks comfort through chewing. When she was still a puppy, she had no sense of discipline and would chew on any household item that was unlucky enough to cross her path. After going through two pairs of tennis shoes and several Playstation controllers, I started training her to only chew on intended toys and bones. I bought a bunch of rawhide strips and assumed that things would get better.
Unfortunately, my dog demonstrates no intention to actually eat the bones and rawhide strips after chewing them to pieces. She takes special care to hide the evidence all over the house, and on more than one occasion I’ve sat down on top of a sharp wedge of debris that’s partially buried in the couch cushions. That’s when I finally put my foot down and bought some indestructible dog toys online. She can chew and bury those toys to her heart’s content – it’s practically impossible to make a mess.