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Pet Tales: Control your pet! Please!

Posted November 20th, 2008 by molulu - 1 Comment »



The member blog entry comes from Shannon:

I’m a pet sitter and this issue drives me BATS!

Twice, in different neighborhoods, I’ve had unleashed dogs challenge the leashed dogs I was walking.

Both times, the unleashed dog was smaller and initiated the confrontation. The worst was when I was walking two dogs, on the side walk, and the other person’s dog was unleashed in the front yard. Instead of doing anything to restrain her dog, this woman just stood there shrieking as I struggled to control my client’s two dogs and keep her dog away from them.

For pete’s sake, people, control your dogs if you love them!

How well do you control your dog when two of you go for a stroll? What are your tactics? Or does he or she control you?





Pet Tales: Admit it. Pet-owning friends just don’t get it

Posted November 7th, 2008 by molulu - 7 Comments »



Today’s Pet Tale comes from Sam, Sophie and Beethoven’s Mom:

I won’t pay anyone to help me train Beethoveen. He is a Yorkie and will be 6 months old Tuesday on my birthday. We spend time with him daily and we just teach him how we want him to be. He is a smart little dog and soon he will be just as obedient as Sam and Sophie.

Sam is a 10-year-old Schnauzer and Sophie is an 11-year-old Bichon. We love spending time with all three dogs. We are very careful to treat them like dogs.

My sister-in-law’s yorkie thinks he is a little boy, and now he does not want his bowl on the floor. He wants someone to hold it while he eats. He wants to ride on the dashboard of the car which is very dangerous. We tend to be more stern with our dogs.

Have any pet peeves you want to share about friends or neighbors? Who knows, maybe they’ll see this and change their ways!




Pet Tales: How much to save a pet?

Posted October 16th, 2008 by molulu - 13 Comments »



Mattie’s comment kicks off this week’s Pet Tales:

“We love our Golden. She’s best buddies with our second dog, a Lab. Between the gold hair and the black, sometimes it looks like we have tweed carpets. Our dogs are dogs are both energetic, but neither one is hyper. We lucked out. I would love another Golden, but we’ve had some health issues with our current one, both knees replaced, and some hip dysplasia, so I think we’re planning on adding another Lab to the family.”

Have you shelled out big bucks for animal emergencies or major pet surgery? Is there a cap set on how much you’re willing to spend?

Since we’re approaching Halloween, vote for these cute creatures in their costumes. Check out the photos you’ve sent. If you haven’t done so, dress up your pet and upload the photos today.




Pet Tales: Does your pet need drugs?

Posted October 8th, 2008 by molulu - 5 Comments »



This week’s Pet Tale comes from comments by Tonya and Malinoisrocks:

From Tanya:

We have an Aussie who has to be be drugged for storms, but she has only gotten worse. She is not destructive at least but will end up having a heart attack.

Some dogs are so afraid they will hurt themselves to get away. Talk to your vet about using Ace (the drug) before a storm hits to help. An outside dog can hang themselves, get away and run and not look back.

From Malinoisrocks:

“Many in the behavioral science community view the tenets—and consequences—of Cesar Milan with much trepidation. In an interview published in the NY Times in February, Dr. Nicolas Dodman, Director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, observed, “My college thinks it is a travesty. We’ve written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training back 20 years.”

That’s the same Dr. Dodman who thinks drugs will solve all dog behavior problems.

It’s so much easier to drug a dog than train it.

Can drugs work sometimes? Sure. Are they needed for things that training can fix? No. Do many people like Dodman like to prescribe drugs because they have no idea how to actually train a dog? Yes.

Dog training is both a science and an art. What works for one will not work for another. Cesar’s methods work for many. Personally, I prefer Millan to Stilwell after having seen both shows.

The main reason I like Cesar is because his “exercise, discipline, affection” mantra is SPOT ON. You don’t have to agree with him, like his show, or use his techniques.

If they don’t work for you, use something else. All the rhetoric of the techniques “setting dog training back” and causing all this harm–where is the overwhelming proof?

People want quick fixes, and the truth is that there aren’t any. Do the work, and your dog will benefit.

(But, what do you guys think? Do you agree with the members’ points? Do you medicate your dog? If so, why?)




Pet does the crime, you do the time

Posted September 24th, 2008 by molulu - 78 Comments »



I just finished reading Dieselmom’s blog entry about pets running around without a leash. Then I read a pretty sobering story about a California woman who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on Monday for her role in an infamous fatal dog mauling.

The New York Times reports: Marjorie Knoller’s two 120-pound Presa Canarios killed Knoller’s neighbor Diane Whipple. Whipple, a 33-year-old lacrosse coach, was attacked in the hallway of her building in January 2001 and bitten more than 75 times. A second-degree murder conviction against Knoller was thrown out in 2002 by the original trial judge, who said the evidence did not support the charge. She was sentenced instead to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and released on parole in 2004. But on Monday, Woolard, who took over the case earlier this year, imposed the new sentence.

As the owner of a pit bull, I have watched neighbors walk a wide path when they see me and Lulu coming down the street. My personal PR campaign involves keeping Lulu on a leash outside at all times. I also have taken training classes to handle her better. In the court of public opinion, that may not be enough.

Regardless of the breed, do you think the new punishment fits the crime? Please share your thoughts.

Bonus question: For the owners of breeds that typically get a bad reputation (pit bulls, dobermans, Rottweilers), how do you overcome the stereotype?

- Photos: (Above) Hera, 2, a Mastiff-Canary Island mix, sits in a cage at the San Francisco Animal Control in this 2001 photo. (Below)Marjorie Knoller (left) weeps as her attorney describes the events of the death of Diane Whipple (right), in a Los Angeles court in 2002. AP -



Check out the AJCPets gallery of Dobberman.




How do you find a good dog trainer?

Posted September 15th, 2008 by molulu - 7 Comments »



This week’s Pet Tale comes from a comment by KT:
As a dog owner I have read and watched many programs on dog training. I enjoyed reading Cesar’s second book, Be The Pack Leader, earlier this year. The only thing is that we don’t all have access to someone like Cesar. Fortunately, we do have an amazing facility north of Atlanta that can train ANY dog!

For those of you who need to train your dog you might want to check out the Georgia Dog Gym. My husband and I have done both group and private lessons with our dog. Our experience there has been amazing! A benefit of using them is that they guarantee their work for the life of your pet! So anytime we want we can take our dog back for a refresher course if need be with no charge.

What should you look for in a dog trainer? For questions about your dog’s behavior, submit a question to our Pet Expert today.

Take a look a the previous Pet Dish entry on Mr. Millan’s visit.



P.S. Oh no! Mars Petcare US recalls some dry pet foods, including Pedigree




Tsst! The Dog Whisperer is coming!

Posted September 11th, 2008 by molulu - 79 Comments »



Good help really must be hard to find. And when you find good help, it certainly ain’t cheap. Perhaps that’s why Cesar Millan (aka, The Dog Whisperer) can charge a premium to meet and greet fans when he returns to metro Atlanta on December 6.

America’s most popular Pack Leader, the man who has worked with the beloved pets of Oprah Winfrey, will conduct a seminar at 2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 6 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Tickets range from $25 to $150 and will be available through TicketMaster starting Sept. 12. Interestingly, those with a more pressing need to meet and greet Millan can shell out $250 to chat after the seminar. (Of course, our AJC Experts will field your questions free of charge.)

As the owner of a rather willful dog, I’ve read Millan’s first book, titled “Cesar’s Way;” and I watch his show, “The Dog Whisperer,” regularly on the National Geographic Channel. I watch Victoria Stilwell’s show “It’s Me or the Dog,” too.

I also have hired a professional dog trainer to help my dog, Lulu, with her “issues.” Let’s just say that she isn’t a fan of Millan’s training techniques.

Do you watch dog training shows? What’s the best advice you’ve learned?




Are you loyal to one breed?

Posted September 10th, 2008 by molulu - 50 Comments »

Thanks to Uga, it doesn’t take much effort to find a bulldog fan or two in Atlanta. What’s your breed of choice and why? (And mixed breeds certainly DO count!)

Also, check out photos of the most popular breeds in metro Atlanta. It should be no surprise that bulldogs and Golden Retrievers made the list.

Photo by Pouya Dianat / pdianat@ajc.com

Hello, everyone. How was “Bark in the Park” over the weekend? Check out the photos. Why don’t you share yours? Upload them!




What’s the priciest thing your pet destroyed?

Posted September 1st, 2008 by molulu - 73 Comments »

This week’s Pet Tale comes from an ajcpets.com comment by Cindy about her dog:

I left a plastic baggie filled with chocolate-flavored nutritional powder on the couch, forgetting that Bob is very fond of eating plastic bags. Got home to discover he’d apparently ripped open a little bitty corner of the bag and carried it from room to room, leaving little heaps of chocolate powder on the newly cleaned (and damp) white carpets wherever he went.

You could clearly see his route by the narrow ribbon of powder winding from room to room. His journey ended in the bedroom, on the bed which was wearing a brand-new white goosedown comforter AND a neat little pile of chocolate-flavored doggie puke studded with bits of plastic bag.

Bad, bad Bob Dog!

Share your tale of pet carnage.

In other stuff:

• Help AJCPets experts! What do you do with an unhappy kitty or picky dog?

• “It’s Me or the Dog.” Lucky for you, this is just a TV show. Take a peek at the photos.



How many dogs is too many?

Posted August 29th, 2008 by molulu - 69 Comments »

Randy DeCarlo was given two years probation Friday for violating Gwinnett County’s nuisance noise ordinance with his 25 barking pets.He could go to jail if violates the terms of the probation, principally keeping his 25 beagles and basset hounds quiet at home in Lilburn. If he chooses to move out of Gwinnett County, probation would be terminated. He faced a possible sentence of 12 years in prison and $24,000 in fines.

But it begs the question: How many dogs is too many? Several metro Atlanta cities counties have answered that question through their ordinances, but now it’s your turn.

Something else you might be interested in:

• Evacuated pets come to Atlanta: People on the Gulf Coast aren’t the only ones needing safe shelter as Gustav lands. The Atlanta Humane Society is taking 115 dogs and cats from the East Lake Animal Shelter in Jefferson Parrish, La.

• Smiling pets: Get your weekly dose of Atlanta’s smiling pet photos!

• Cats Rule!: Check out photos of Atlanta’s sneaky cats in action. Then send your photo!

• Bark in the Park is coming! Register; the deadline is Aug. 31. Then send us photos of your day at the park.• Adopt Cookie, a 10-month-old spayed flat-coat retriever mix needs a forever home. Check out photos of Cookie’s friends who also need a forever home. Cute pets also are available for adoption at Clayton County’s Animal Shelter. Don’t forget to check the Animal Control location near you.

• Dog attack: A pit bull attacked students waiting at a metro Atlanta bus stop.



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