I didn’t go to Best Friends this time. It’s a nationally-known animal shelter in Kanab, Utah. I do go to their website now and then, just for fun. They do very good descriptions of the personalities of many of the dogs and other animals they have there. I think it would be enjoyable to go to the shelter sometime and do some volunteer dog-walking, but only if both my husband and I were willing to come home with at least one more family member!

Today I spent some time at Petfinder.com, which has a logo that says 15 years, 17 million adoptions.  It is a clearing house for over 13,000 animal rescue groups in the US and Canada.  Currently, over 300,000 dogs, cats, and other animals are listed on it.

You can search Petfinder on its sidebar by animal, by breed, by location, and by animal rescue groups. You can also search by state, so I chose the state where I live, Colorado. I was impressed that over 200 organizations were listed. There are sure a lot of people working with animals in need. A lot of the work is repetitious and not particularly interesting, like keeping kennels clean. Kudos to the workers!

So I poked around Colorado, and discovered a number of interesting things.  I looked at some breed-specific rescue sites, went to the lists of adoptable dogs at the two shelters I knew about near us — uh oh, better not get too interested in any of them — and I spent quite a while reading about a program that operates in some of the prisons in this state. They do intake evaluation and vet work, the dogs live in the cells with prisoners, and there is a lot of training done. (I didn’t see any mention of what methods they use.) Dogs adopted from this program do cost $450 or so, more than from other places, but this is not a tax-supported program and you are getting a dog who has been trained.

If you have the time and money to include another dog or cat in your life, do check out Petfinder! I expect I will be back there in the future myself.

Dog Rescue on My Mind is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Camp Run a Pup is quite a special place, a “Bed and Biscuit” dog inn, located in the Chicago area, not far from O’Hare airport. They give loving care to their dog guests while the dogs’ people are out on vacation or business trips. To find out more about the B&B, click on the picture. — Rosana

Is it possible to pick the perfect puppy? I’m happy to tell you yes, with some effort on your part. The first step is to buy or borrow a book on dog breeds. Look up the breed you are considering and read about them. A puppy will always demonstrate the traits it was bred for. If digging drives you nuts, don’t buy a Terrier. If you don’t want a dog that barks and herds you, a Sheltie is not for you. If you can’t spend a good part of your time playing and training, don’t buy a Border Collie. Do your research. If possible, talk to a trainer, groomer or veterinarian. These people see what happens when a dog becomes stressed. A breeder is likely to tell you that the breed they deal with is the best. Well, of course! Why else would they be breeding them?

A lot of people say, “My puppy picked me!” In other words, their puppy ran right up to them, and they bought it. They have just brought home a very dominant, demanding pup, which is fine for some people. However, most people will find it stressful to live with this dog. A much better choice for MOST people is the puppy who kind of hangs back, and then when coaxed, comes over and allows you to pet and play with it a bit. Do not ever purchase a puppy who runs and hides or is afraid of loud noises. In other words, you clap your hands and the puppy freaks. This puppy will be very difficult to train and will have noise issues its whole life.

All these rules hold true even if you’re not getting a purebred dog. Do not – I cannot express this strongly enough – Do Not get two puppies at the same time. Never be tempted by littermates. Several things will happen when you buy littermates… Neither will bond to you because they will bond to each other. You cannot train two dogs at once. A dog does not need another dog to play with; they love to play with you!

Be very careful when selecting your new family member. Remember, a dog is not a disposable plaything; a dog should be forever.

The Happily Ever After Puppy is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Here’s the quiz, at the popular dog website Dogster:

http://www.dogster.com/breeds/finder/

And here’s an even better resource, Paws to Consider: Choosing the Right Dog for You and Your Family, by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. It’s at Amazon, and has a lot of great customer reviews:

Choosing a Dog Breed is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Intelligence of dog breeds is an important factor in choosing a dog. The more intelligent ones can be more satisfying to train… but if you don’t train these dogs enough, they may find things to do that you won’t like! Our LarryDog is part #10 (Australian Cattle Dog) and #3 (German Shepherd), with some Chow and maybe other things. He’s one of the smarter dogs we’ve had.

Of course, intelligence and trainability aren’t exactly the same. Our Basenji, Sunbeam, was incredibly smart — typical of her breed — but training? If she felt like it. I was once on a email list for Basenjis with the motto “Where it takes 100 people to outsmart 1 Basenji.”

The online bookstore Dogwise has a lot of great breed books and other things to help you choose a dog breed that will suit you.

Click here to go to the category Choosing a Dog at Dogwise.

The 10 Smartest Breeds of Dogs is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

We wanted a dog that would be a good guard dog, as there have been a lot of thefts in the region of Mexico we’re living in, by Lake Chapala not far from Guadalajara. Our quarter-acre yard is completely walled and fenced, so any dog would be safe in it.

A friend emailed me the information that Lola was available, and we went to see her. On the way over, Kelly commented that what would really be essential– besides all the practical matters — would be the bond we felt with the dog.

Keep scrolling down for photos that give an idea of that bond! We took her home with us within an hour!

I got there first, as Kelly had an appointment. Lola was a total love, but what really surprised me was how mellow and laid-back she was, not at all like the two Dobermans I mentioned in a recent blog post. They are several months older than her but intrinsically much more high energy. Lola was more my style, with all the hours I spend on the computer.

She let me touch her all over — adored it, as you can see. She wasn’t mouthy. She’s quite beautiful and has lots of soul in those big brown eyes…

We don’t know a lot about her history but she is purebred, though with no papers. She’s been at several homes recently but hasn’t worked out for one reason or another. (She isn’t housebroken, we were told, but we’re being vigilant and there have been no accidents.) She’s been spayed and had her shots.

When Kelly arrived, they hit it off just great too:

Once home, we crated her for a while, and after a few hours she and LarryDog got acquainted. We couldn’t believe how well that went. The cats are still wary of her but Lola is showing great self-control.

Last night our friend Linda, who had been the “go between” came over to dinner with her husband Bill. They gave Lola very high marks and commented that she will be an excellent guardian. Lola demonstrated her agreement by soon producing the first two barks she has done here. She has a deep voice already!

A Rottweiler means lots and lots of training, and she and I are at it already. She already knew some things, thanks to a local trainer who had already worked with her once or twice. She’s very biddable and very smart.

We are very lucky.

Here’s a family portrait Linda took last night, in our yard:

A Six-Month Old Rottweiler Has Joined Our Family! is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Similar thefts happened at quite a few houses in our neighborhood the same day, and robberies like this are increasing all along this Lake Chapala area. We foreigners are seen as rich (whether or not we are by U.S. standards), but the Mexicans of all classes are having similar problems.

A friend of ours in another town lives with a very protective, very large Doberman and two other large dogs. She and her husband have not had any problems. We had lunch with her yesterday and she suggested we add another good-sized dog to be more of an outside dog. (LarryDog prefers to be inside a lot. Since at 10 or 11, he’s a bit of a senior citizen, he does have some rights.)

So we’ve been thinking about it. Our friend Rosie stopped in this morning with her two magnificent young Dobermans, and it was fun to see them running around our yard.

I’ve never gotten a dog JUST for protection, and I wouldn’t do it now… But I’d enjoy having another dog to love… and it would sure give me a lot to write about for this site! As it is, I have a nice little book on multi-dog households that I’m going to re-read.

Will we get another dog? Puppy? is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Xoloitzcuintli is pronounced, roughly, show-low-eets-queent-lee, which explains why this rare breed of dog is often just called a Xolo. You might know it as a Mexican Hairless.

I’ve been intrigued by these dogs for years, hearing that they have spiritual healing qualities. (Well, arguably, all dogs do…) Then a few months ago, I went with some friends from where I’m living now, by Lake Chapala outside of Guadalajara, Mexico, to the town of Colima. There is a tradition of pottery dogs there, and I bought several reproductions of pre-Columbian dogs. You can see those posts here:

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/pottery-dogs-of-colima.html gives a little history and shows one of the pottery dogs I bought.

http://www.mexico-with-heart.com/blog/2006/11/dogs-in-tombs-of-colima.html has some great photos from a book I bought. You can really see the love!

I’ve acted on dreams before…

Dreaming of a Xolocuintli is a post from: Training Dogs Blog

Some of the things we came up with have to do with training, most don’t exactly. I’m sure each person’s list would be very different. For what it’s worth, here’s ours as it stands right now. We have had mixed-breed rescue dogs and am not averse to one again, but for starters I *am* thinking of a purebred dog for the predictability.

• A breed that likes training, which is different from a smart dog. Our Basenji was very smart but had next to no desire to please us. She was more like a cat in that way.
• Not a huge dog.
• Not a dog with a long coat that requires lots of grooming. Been there, done that.
• Probably not a dog with a flat face, due to their snoring and because my husband prefers other dogs’ looks. This is negotiable; Pugs and Boston Terriers do interest me.
• Not a terrier: we are writers who work at home and we need a dog who who has a lot of lazy time. We’ve had two different dogs in the hounds category and they worked well in this way.

We haven’t decided about size. Nor about when!

UPDATE: Several months later, we got a rescue Rottweiler puppy, several months old. So much for “Not a huge dog” but we adore her!

Thinking Ahead: What Will My Next Dog Be Like? is a post from: Training Dogs Blog