Sherry Antonishen's blog

Some people feel that crates are confining and unnecessarily restrictive to a dog. I believe that nothing could be farther from the truth. To me a crate trained dog will be better trained and therefor eventually allowed more freedom.  Dogs do what is reinforcing.  In other words, they are curious creatures in constant search of treasures.

When watching two dogs interact, we're often asked, "Is that okay?" Dogs can play rough. They grab each other, growl, roll around on the ground... So what is good dog play?

Good play is mutual. Both dogs are engaged and interested in interacting.

Good play is about loose, relaxed, floppy bodies. Play movements should be inefficient and floppy, like a puppy.

Good play is about taking turns. If one dog is on top, that dog should back off after a few seconds and not simply pin the other dog under their body.

My dog is in a down, facing me, about five or six feet away. Waiting. She is patient, but her ears are forward, her body poised, ready for action. Her intent brown eyes alternate between my own and the large pink exercise ball that sits between us.

What are you getting your dog for Christmas this year? Does your dog already has everything?

Here are some of our favourite gift ideas from the folks at SmartDog.

Food Toys and Puzzles

Need a distraction for your dog this holiday season? Have a dog who needs a little extra brain work? Need something for your dog to do inside on a wet west coast day? Here are our top picks in food toys and puzzles for your dog.

Tricky Treat Ball

In her last blog post, Sherry highlighted one leadership style that some people take with their dogs - and that some people take with other people! She explored why that leadership style may not produce the results we’re looking for as a dog owner.

But how can we provide good leadership to our canine companions?

How to be a good leader to your dog is perhaps the most asked question by dog owners. Trainers, of course want to answer this question. The most popular and simple answer is to be the alpha, that is some version of authoritarian style leadership. The “do what I say or else” approach. 

Congratulations on the great new site Victoria Adoptables! We look forward to all the great blogs!

We thought this would be a great place to pay tribute to some rescue cases that we find inspiring.