Loud Barker

I love Maverick to death, but he has become a big-time barker since “discovering” his voice…a loud and unnecessary barker (most of the time). So MJ and I have done some research about barking and all of the advice that we’ve found say the same things to help your dog stop barking:

1.       Teach your dog the “quiet” and “speak” commands

2.       Distract your dog when they start barking

3.       Encourage your dog to carry a toy in its mouth for walks (if they bark at people)

4.       Try a mouth closing leash/collar

I have been trying to teach Maverick the “quiet” command since the little guy decided he sounded manly when he barks. So far, we’ve had no luck with that command. We also try to distract him when he is barking, but I guess barking is more fun for him than anything else we are trying to distract him with. The third suggestion does not really apply since he does most of his annoying barking indoors and rarely barks while he is being walked. The same applies to the suggestion of a mouth closure leash/collar.

So…now what? There are several reasons that dogs bark:

1.       To warn of danger or intruder

2.       Boredom

3.       Excess energy to burn

4.       Natural barking breed

I think that for the most part, Maverick is just bored and has gotten used to barking at everything now. He may also be a natural barking breed of dog. Either way it is time to step up the effort to curb the barking!

Any suggestions?

Doggie of the Month

There is still 3 days to enter the Southen Dogs Doggie of the Month Contest for October!

Here are the things I need with each entry:
1. A little bit about your dog. likes, dislikes, etc.
2. A picture of your dog.
3. A sentence or two about why your dog should be doggie of the month.

I will be sending a pize pack full of treats and toys to the winner! Get your enteries in today to southerndogsblog@gmail.com

Hoooowl-O-Ween!

I know that here in Charleston were several Halloween-themed pet parties happening last weekend and more scheduled for this upcoming weekend. They are being hosted by grooming salons, doggie day cares, and pet specialty stores. Here are a few events that will be happening this coming weekend:

Dawg Tired and Cat Naps Too: they will be holding their annual Halloween party this Saturday, October 27^th from 10am – noon at their facility on John’s Island. They will have games, treats, and prizes!

Hairy Winston and Pet Helpers: Hairy Winston is teaming up with Pet Helpers to host their annual costume contest this Saturday, October 27^th starting at 1 pm. The contest will be at the Harry Winston boutique (Palmetto Grande Drive in Mt Pleasant). There is a $10 donation required to enter the contest and all of the money will go to benefit the Pet Helpers shelter.

My Three Dogs Howl-O-Ween Party: My Three Dogs will be holding its party full of treats, food, and their costume contest on Sunday, October 28^th from 4-6 pm. They are located on HWY 17 in Mt. Pleasant. Owners and pets are welcome to participate!

Unfortunately, our weekend is jammed-packed and we will not be able to make any of these events but reading about these events made me wonder what cute Halloween costumes are out there for our puppies. Maverick will not be wearing any costumes because he will simply rip them off and/or try to eat anything that we try to dress him in, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to find the cutest outfits out there!

Here are a few of my favorites…



Dinosaur




Captain America




Princess Leia



Stupid Pet Tricks!

This Sunday, October 21st starting at noon a representative from The David Letterman Show will be at Red's Ice House in Mt. Pleasant holding auditions for their "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment.

Here are the stipulations for auditions...

"To qualify for an audition, a trick must be fun, unique and safe. Animals must perform voluntarily and be treated humanely. All types of animals are welcome. Owners must provide all necessary props or other items necessary for their pet's trick. Owners must sign an "Appearance Release & Assumption of Risk and Release From Liability" in order to participate."

I hope all our readers here in Charleston make it out to audition. Please me know if your pet makes it and we will feature them here!

Dogtoberfest!

For those of us lucky enough to live in the beautiful city of Charleston, it is time to get your puppy ready for Dogtoberfest! Dogtoberfest? That is right y’all! Dogtoberfest is a party for your puppy at Freshfield’s Village on Kiawah Island. Come out this Saturday (October 20^th) from 1-4 for the main events. There will be vendors on-site, a Halloween costume contest, wine tasting (hey, us humans needs our fun too!), and live music. There will also be many pets up for adoption, however there won’t be any adoptions done on site. Rather, the adoption group will sign up interested people to begin the adoption process. The wine tasting is $15 and you get a Dogtoberfest commemorative glass.



All event profits will be donated to participating shelters.

Here is the schedule of events for the day…

1-3 Zumba in the Streets! ($10 per person)

3-3:30 Blessing of the animals and On-site Costume Contest sign up

3:30-4 Doggie in Disguise Costume Contest

4-5:45 Wine and seasonal beer tasting

5:45-6 Grand Prize Announcement

We hope to take Maverick. Hope to see you there!

October Contest

Make sure to have your doggie of the month enteries to me by October 28th. I have another great prize pack to send out! Please send an email to southerndogsblog@gmail.com with a little bit about your dog, a picture, and a brief explanation as to why your dog should be doggie of the month. I look forward to all the enteries!

September Doggie of the Month WINNER!!

Congratulations to Rusty Hentschel of Houston, TX!

Here is what Rusty's owners had to say about him...

Meet Rusty. 

Rusty is a 13 year old Border Collie.  Rusty was abandoned in Dallas, Texas when his previous owners left him in a garage when they moved away.He was fostered through Texas Border Collie Rescue and was adopted by Mark Hentschel at 6 months old.Rusty coloring is unusual for a border collie and is called a saddle back.  

Rusty began competing in Frisbee at a year and half, he has also competed in agility and herding. 

Rusty’s passion though is flyball.In his youth Rusty was one of the fastest dogs in the country.  He has travelled all over the country competing in flyball.  He retired two years ago and received a special award from the Nation Flyball Association called Iron dog for competing ten consecutive years.  When he retired at over ten years old he was still running flyball faster than most dogs.

Rusty is a beautiful dog that is all heart. He loves all games and is sweet and kind to all people he meets as well as other dogs.
Everyone that meets Rusty instantly likes him for his sweet personality.
Rusty was diagnosed with inoperable cancer a few months ago and does not have long to be with us on this earth.
By most dogs standards he has had an awesome life, meet thousands of dogs and people in his various competitive sports.
Rusty lives his life in the country enjoying what time he has to be with us on this earth.

Rusty running his last flyball game when he retired.

Thanks,
Dianna and Mark

Ok Rusty, be on the look out for your prize from Southern Dogs!

BarkWorld Expo

It is almost time for the BarkWorld Expo! For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, the BarkWorld Expo is a conference in Atlanta, GA for pet bloggers and users of social media. This year’s expo will be held October 25-27 and it promises to deliver an amazing schedule. There will be speakers from Twitter, ASPCA, and several other organizations. This is a great chance for bloggers and social media users to get together and share great ideas on how to develop their business and blogs. It is also a great place to network! Some of this year’s sponsors include Petco, Yahoo, and IAMS. Get more information about the conference here.

This is said to be an amazing conference. For those of you who are going, I hope you have a great time!

Unfortunately, I do not have plans on attending this year. If anyone out there wants to sponsor my trip, please contact me at southerndogsblog@gmail.com. Hey…a girl can dream, right?

To-Go Bowl

The big day is finally here and we are taking Maverick on his first long car trip. He is off to Tampa, FL to visit his Mimi and Pa. I am very excited about this trip because my dad (Pa) hasn’t seen Maverick since he was about 3 months old. Being the overzealous puppy mom that I am, I logged onto several websites including the SPCAs, and made sure I have packed everything that they told me to bring to ensure a smooth trip. I gotta tell you…the most important thing I saw that I didn’t remember was his medical records. The notebook containing his medical records, shot records, and insurance information (yes we have pet insurance) is now packed in his bag.

I have Maverick’s big bag packed with his food/water bowls, food, toys, and treats but I also have a car bag packed. This has travel version of all of this which will be very handy in the car. I was looking around on the internet this morning to make sure there wasn’t extra info out there that I was missing and I came across this bowl.

How stinking cool is this y’all? It is a bowl that fits in your cup holder. It comes with a splash guard and a lid. The bowl is detachable from the base so it can sit flat on the floor. Plus you can store dry food or treats in the base. This is a very versatile bowl. It can easily go from the car to hotel or park. Now I know why this bowl has won some awesome awards!!

Too bad I found this the morning we are traveling or else I would have bought one for Maverick!

The bowl is made by Furry Travelers and you can buy it here.



Maverick Graduates!

I just want to say CONGRATS to Maverick for graduating his Intermediate Training class at PetSmart!!

His last class was last night and he even won the “spin” contest. I am so proud of him. In the Puppy/Beginner Training class we went through earlier this year, he learned the basic commands like sit, stay, and lay down. This class was similar in that he was learning to do all of these things with distractions built in. Let me tell y’all…he was easily distracted! He is 8 months old today, so he still has some growing up to do but he is doing great with his training overall. Now I just need to step up the training at home so that he will be ready for the Advanced Training Class!



Maverick's Puppy Training class graduation in June.



Maverick's Intermediate Training class graduation in October.
 I love how he is too distracted on chewing the hat to actually wear it.