If you're in the Greater Toronto area and you're new to dog ownership and training, or have a dog with issues, or just want to be a better dog owner and trainer, you must take lessons with Steve Barker. His website is Steve Barker Training.
I've seen Steve at work with dogs, and he is a natural. He has studied many different techniques and theories of dog training, and has years of experience with dogs including problem dogs.
Steve helped me with foster dogs I had; I've seen first-hand how very, very good he is. Steve took one hyper, hyper foster dog, showed me how to get the dog's attention and use positive training methods to make the dog more secure in my leadership and more attentive to my commands. The change in the foster dog was amazing.
I applied the techniques Steve taught me with two older dogs I owned, and found that old dogs can learn new tricks, especially when Steve is teaching them.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Guess I won't get my vanity plates 4XMAS *sniffle*
Considering the Orwellian thought process ("thought" might be stretching it) of the vanity plate review board at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, guess I won't be getting any of...
ONTFIBS SUK
FIGHT 4 YR RIGHTS
ONT = BAN LAND
Ontario is such a bureaucratic nightmare, someone who had vanity plates for 20 years had the renewal rejected for the most spurious, ridiculous, political-correctness-gone-mad reason. Read about it here and here.
ONTFIBS SUK
FIGHT 4 YR RIGHTS
ONT = BAN LAND
Ontario is such a bureaucratic nightmare, someone who had vanity plates for 20 years had the renewal rejected for the most spurious, ridiculous, political-correctness-gone-mad reason. Read about it here and here.
Keeping your pets safe over the holidays
Year end is a busy, often frantic time of year for many people. Please take the time to read these articles about keeping your pets safe, and implement the suggestions. Don't let the holiday season be tragic for a beloved pet.
CityTV has a good article on pet safety. Read it here.
Yvette Van Veen, an excellent dog behaviourist and writer, has easy-to-understand explanations of why some dogs bite and how to prevent dog bites. Read it here.
And another article by Ms. Van Veen about why not to get your child a pet for Christmas, a very sensible approach that doesn't deny the child the pet but explains why not to get the animal until after the holidays. Read it here.
Here's hoping the holidays are safe and happy for all two- and four-legged beings.
CityTV has a good article on pet safety. Read it here.
Yvette Van Veen, an excellent dog behaviourist and writer, has easy-to-understand explanations of why some dogs bite and how to prevent dog bites. Read it here.
And another article by Ms. Van Veen about why not to get your child a pet for Christmas, a very sensible approach that doesn't deny the child the pet but explains why not to get the animal until after the holidays. Read it here.
Here's hoping the holidays are safe and happy for all two- and four-legged beings.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Until I get permission from the author to reprint with copyright attribution, you'll have to read this wonderful piece on The Refuge, a UK message board.
It's a new Night Before Christmas.
It's a new Night Before Christmas.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
"Dalton trimming the fat"
So reads a Toronto Sun headline today. What, he's decapitating some OntFib MPPs?
I see that the McSquinty Marketers are set to introduce yet another useless, feel-good ban. Which leads to the fact that people who support or accept bans are unthinking dolts who do not realize that these nanny state laws just whittle away at one's personal rights, one by one, until the real rights are gone and it's too late to cry.
McSquinty and his minions are chewing away at individual rights like rats on a rope, and most people can't see the process, that bans affect only the law-abiding, and that ban upon ban upon ban just turns the forest of one's rights into toothpicks.
Which will probably be banned in the end.
I see that the McSquinty Marketers are set to introduce yet another useless, feel-good ban. Which leads to the fact that people who support or accept bans are unthinking dolts who do not realize that these nanny state laws just whittle away at one's personal rights, one by one, until the real rights are gone and it's too late to cry.
McSquinty and his minions are chewing away at individual rights like rats on a rope, and most people can't see the process, that bans affect only the law-abiding, and that ban upon ban upon ban just turns the forest of one's rights into toothpicks.
Which will probably be banned in the end.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Unthinking, uninformed celebrities and PETA
Do the celebrities who support PETA - Bill Maher, Charlize Theron, Joaquin Phoenix, and Dita Von Teese are named in a PETA press release, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Pam Anderson, Paul McCartney, Rue McClanahan are named in others - realize that PETA kills animals?
Have these celebrities investigated PETA's own adoption rate? If there is one?
Do they know or care that PETA has a huge freezer in its headquarters? Do they care enough about animals to have asked what it's for?
Do they know or care that PETA is under investigation by the DEA for use of restricted drugs by PETA employees to kill adoptable animals, including a mother cat and her kittens, obtained under false pretenses? That these PETA employees lied to veterinary clinics and shelters to obtain the animals they killed and threw into dumpsters?
PETA members are apparently going to picket the American Kennel Club's championship dog show. Do these people know or care that they're picketing responsible breeders who care about where their animals go, that the responsible breeders are not the cause of sheltered animals?
PETA Director Daphna Nachminovitch is full of it. Responsible breeders are not the problem. Irresponsible owners are the cause of sheltered animals.
Why don't these people have the guts to find and picket puppy mills? Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens from mills? Backyard breeders?
How about PETA putting some of its tens of millions into educating the public on responsible pet ownership? Or running some animal shelters?
Because PETA doesn't want us to own pets.
This PETA manoeuvre is part of its campaign to end pet ownership. Of any kind. Forever.
Why don't these celebrities ask Ingrid wazzerface why she accepted medical treatment for her broken arm? Medical treatment, painkillers, antibiotics...all tested on animals. Which testing she purportedly abhors. But not enough to refuse treatment.
Is Ingrid more important than a child with cancer?
Why don't these celebrities ask the PETA vice-president why she uses insulin for her diabetes? Insulin that was tested on dogs? Which testing she purportedly abhors. But not enough to refuse treatment.
Is this vice-president more important than a senior with a heart condition?
PETA thinks all medical research tested on animals should end. Well, then, they should bloody well refuse all medical treatment. So should all the celebrities who support PETA. To fail to do so is supreme, shameless hypocrisy.
Have these celebrities checked out PETA's donations to and support of Animal Liberation Front, whose members have harassed and assaulted people and put human lives at risk?
Have these celebrities bothered to check out PETA's financials? Asked where the tens of millions are being spent?
Do these celebrities know that Ingrid wazzername uses PETA for her personal vendetta against a particular type of dog (which the nit calls a "breed") and promotes breed-specific legislation that kills unoffending dogs and makes responsible dog owners into second-class citizens?
To me, Petaphiles are blithering, babbling, unthinking, uninformed idiots, led by raving money-grubbing hypocrites.
The celebrities' failure to do due diligence on this organization is to me a very good reason not to spend any money on their movies or music. and let the distributing companies know why. Don't watch television programs they're in, and let the advertisers know why. Hit 'em in the pocketbook.
Don't donate to PETA. Donate to those who use your hard-earned dollars responsibly. Donate to reputable shelters and rescues who keep the animals alive, not kill them. Donate to the organizations who are fighting for our right to have a pet animal.
PETA has blood on its hands, greed on its face, and lies in its eyes.
The above advertisement was gleefully filched without consent from the Center for Consumer Freedom. Since they never wrote me to say "no" to my use of it, I'm assuming their answer is a "yes".
Have these celebrities investigated PETA's own adoption rate? If there is one?
Do they know or care that PETA has a huge freezer in its headquarters? Do they care enough about animals to have asked what it's for?
Do they know or care that PETA is under investigation by the DEA for use of restricted drugs by PETA employees to kill adoptable animals, including a mother cat and her kittens, obtained under false pretenses? That these PETA employees lied to veterinary clinics and shelters to obtain the animals they killed and threw into dumpsters?
PETA members are apparently going to picket the American Kennel Club's championship dog show. Do these people know or care that they're picketing responsible breeders who care about where their animals go, that the responsible breeders are not the cause of sheltered animals?
PETA Director Daphna Nachminovitch is full of it. Responsible breeders are not the problem. Irresponsible owners are the cause of sheltered animals.
Why don't these people have the guts to find and picket puppy mills? Pet stores that sell puppies and kittens from mills? Backyard breeders?
How about PETA putting some of its tens of millions into educating the public on responsible pet ownership? Or running some animal shelters?
Because PETA doesn't want us to own pets.
This PETA manoeuvre is part of its campaign to end pet ownership. Of any kind. Forever.
Why don't these celebrities ask Ingrid wazzerface why she accepted medical treatment for her broken arm? Medical treatment, painkillers, antibiotics...all tested on animals. Which testing she purportedly abhors. But not enough to refuse treatment.
Is Ingrid more important than a child with cancer?
Why don't these celebrities ask the PETA vice-president why she uses insulin for her diabetes? Insulin that was tested on dogs? Which testing she purportedly abhors. But not enough to refuse treatment.
Is this vice-president more important than a senior with a heart condition?
PETA thinks all medical research tested on animals should end. Well, then, they should bloody well refuse all medical treatment. So should all the celebrities who support PETA. To fail to do so is supreme, shameless hypocrisy.
Have these celebrities checked out PETA's donations to and support of Animal Liberation Front, whose members have harassed and assaulted people and put human lives at risk?
Have these celebrities bothered to check out PETA's financials? Asked where the tens of millions are being spent?
Do these celebrities know that Ingrid wazzername uses PETA for her personal vendetta against a particular type of dog (which the nit calls a "breed") and promotes breed-specific legislation that kills unoffending dogs and makes responsible dog owners into second-class citizens?
To me, Petaphiles are blithering, babbling, unthinking, uninformed idiots, led by raving money-grubbing hypocrites.
The celebrities' failure to do due diligence on this organization is to me a very good reason not to spend any money on their movies or music. and let the distributing companies know why. Don't watch television programs they're in, and let the advertisers know why. Hit 'em in the pocketbook.
Don't donate to PETA. Donate to those who use your hard-earned dollars responsibly. Donate to reputable shelters and rescues who keep the animals alive, not kill them. Donate to the organizations who are fighting for our right to have a pet animal.
PETA has blood on its hands, greed on its face, and lies in its eyes.
The above advertisement was gleefully filched without consent from the Center for Consumer Freedom. Since they never wrote me to say "no" to my use of it, I'm assuming their answer is a "yes".
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Wonder what it's like in Ontaristan?
Well, there's a blog that lets you know....read The Black Paper.
Read about the discrimination and violence against responsible dog owners of all breeds, thanks to the Ontario Liberals' unfounded, unjust, vague and shoddy breed specific legislation.
Read about the discrimination and violence against responsible dog owners of all breeds, thanks to the Ontario Liberals' unfounded, unjust, vague and shoddy breed specific legislation.
Remember...no crapola for Christmas.
Give the gift that lasts, instead. Donate to a worthy cause. Here are links to some of my choices, if you don't have your own.
Banned Aid
Law Dogs USA
Abandoned Cats Rescue
Etobicoke Humane Society
A caveat....make sure that you investigate any organization soliciting funds before you donate. There are many, many organizations trying to suck money out of you on what I consider false pretenses. Peta is one, H$U$ is another. Do your due diligence.
Banned Aid
Law Dogs USA
Abandoned Cats Rescue
Etobicoke Humane Society
A caveat....make sure that you investigate any organization soliciting funds before you donate. There are many, many organizations trying to suck money out of you on what I consider false pretenses. Peta is one, H$U$ is another. Do your due diligence.
Great new blog
Tip of the hat to KC Dog Blog....Jim Crosby has started his own blog, Canine Aggression Issues with Jim Crosby. You can read Mr. Crosby's bio here.
Distance = disassociation?
First of all...I've thought of a new name for the Ontario Liberals. They're now the McSquinty Marketers. They don't govern, they market, pandering to gain approval from the unthinking.
Christina Blizzard of the Toronto Sun has an interesting column today, read it here.
Her interpretation of Mikey Bryant's seat in the Legislature and the seating arrangements for the other MPPs gives me great amusement. Is McSquinty trying to disassociate himself from Mikey? Hey, I would too, given that Mikey and the McSquinty Marketers legislated law-abiding people into second-class citizenship and utterly p*ssed them off, and most of Mikey's "initiatives" are being repealed by the courts.
I agree with Ms. Blizzard's take on George Smitherman's chances for being Premier. Being openly gay and an ex-addict don't play in the sticks and may not play well in urban areas, despite his marriage.
I am curious about one thing, though. If McSquinty steps down half-way through, can voters sue him for false advertising and breach of contract? Leaving before his four-year stint has ended, apparently a planned act considering previous media columns, means to me that he lied to the voters by running for election.
I don't care whose bee-hind is parked where when the cameras roll, I still question McSquinty's attitude towards women. His refusal to boot Kinsella from his power cabal for publicly demeaning a female (Tory) MPP is to me proof that McSquinty has a bad attitude towards women. Second proof to me is the fact that there are no women leading the "power" ministries of Finance and Attorney General.
Haven't had time to read the Throne speech and dissect it, I'll work on that.
Christina Blizzard of the Toronto Sun has an interesting column today, read it here.
Her interpretation of Mikey Bryant's seat in the Legislature and the seating arrangements for the other MPPs gives me great amusement. Is McSquinty trying to disassociate himself from Mikey? Hey, I would too, given that Mikey and the McSquinty Marketers legislated law-abiding people into second-class citizenship and utterly p*ssed them off, and most of Mikey's "initiatives" are being repealed by the courts.
I agree with Ms. Blizzard's take on George Smitherman's chances for being Premier. Being openly gay and an ex-addict don't play in the sticks and may not play well in urban areas, despite his marriage.
I am curious about one thing, though. If McSquinty steps down half-way through, can voters sue him for false advertising and breach of contract? Leaving before his four-year stint has ended, apparently a planned act considering previous media columns, means to me that he lied to the voters by running for election.
I don't care whose bee-hind is parked where when the cameras roll, I still question McSquinty's attitude towards women. His refusal to boot Kinsella from his power cabal for publicly demeaning a female (Tory) MPP is to me proof that McSquinty has a bad attitude towards women. Second proof to me is the fact that there are no women leading the "power" ministries of Finance and Attorney General.
Haven't had time to read the Throne speech and dissect it, I'll work on that.
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