This is Some Thoughts About Dogs’ weekly segment where we share all the links shared on my Twitter for the past week. Sit down with a cuppa and enjoy.
Tweet of the Week
Could dogs and puppies be languishing in shelters because of rescue scrutiny? Though we all know that rescues need to screen buyers and have the absolute right, and obligation, to find the most suitable home for their animals, a long running concern of mine is that rescue groups could be too fussy. The relatively new blog, Team Unruly, shared an article titled Not Good Enough, looking at this very issue. This blog is written by a number of talented doggy people, but Michelle is the author of this post. She talks about the rigid requirements that rescue hold, that may prevent pets from finding homes.
Rescue, Sheltering and Welfare
This was very nearly my tweet of the week, just because I think it is an incredibly important piece of video for any shelter or rescue group. I urge all shelters and rescues to watch and learn: “Avoiding the three biggest socila media mistakes“.
The Dogged Blog produced some excellent content that also rivalled the tweet of the week position (it was a hard week!). I very much loved “Why shelter killing has nothing to do with ‘pet-overpopulation’“, which is exactly my position on shelter killing. They also posted on free pet adoptions, and how it’s not as bad as many make it out to be.
Saving Pets, again, had good content that I shared. One post was “The craft of spin“, related to the RSPCA NSW. The other was “Community power is changing the future for homeless pets“.
Last week, I shared lots of articles on the Insight program. Here’s another one from Fetching Dogs: “An Insight Into Insight“.
I loved that the Sydney Dogs and Cats home has produced a statistical infographic, pioneering transparency.
And, on the cat front, I shared Shelter Me Inc.’s page, which details how to acclimatise barn cats. They also have a video on feral cat’s use as rat catchers.
Police and Dogs
For the Animals have committed to documenting shootings of dogs by police. See their recap for 9/19/2012-9/30/2012 and also 8/10/12 and 9/18/12.
On a brighter note, in the news, Oakland police getting dog, wildlife training, to try to prevent this type of thing occuring.
Training
For those interested in training their dog to track, there are some nice tracking training videos available on beginner tracking and crosstracks in snow.
A nice infographic on the Premack Principle, and also from the Dog Lover’s Digest, a post on “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch“.
No more excuses (for shock collars).
Training a shaped retrieve from Denise Fenzi.
The risks of Getting Rid of the Growl.
Does your dog have self control?
From Dr Sophia Yin, a response to a reader question: My puppy is TOO perfect, what now?
The blog ‘Life with Riley and Stella’ made a post on their experiences at a Denise Fenzi Seminar.
The crate seemed like a good idea at the time…
Pet Products
CharlieDog & Friends – rescue-inspired plush toys that support rescue.
Ruff Toy Reviews posted their top ten durable dog toys (an infographic) and also reviewed the seamsters rawhide and rubber puzzle toy.
Beautiful wooden dog crates, with the tagline “dog dwellings with a designer touch”.
Dog Science
Inside the science of how dogs think.
Science Looks at Why and How Wet Dogs Shake from Stanley Coren.
In the News
French hunter shot by dog; loses hand.
Cover model blames United Airlines for dog’s death.
Other Stuff
Excerpt from Conservations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot.
Be prepared: A tiny first aid kit for hiking with dogs (Good for people, too!).
Dog bite prevention and awareness conference – 2nd November in Denver.
I did a road trip to Broken Hill and transported two dogs for Adelaide All Breed Dog Rescue. One was ‘Dimity‘, who is a stunning red colour. I also transported her brother, now ‘Todd‘, who’s just a big dope. Both will soon be available for adoption once all their vet work is complete.
