puppy

p>I've just received the email below from Dogs Trust. If anyone could offer Ivy a home the contact information is at the bottom of the text. What a poor little pup - hope she finds someone special to love her. Here's the email:

Staff at Dogs Trust Darlington, Co Durham, have launched an urgent appeal to dog lovers in the North East to foster a beautiful, partially blind and deaf puppy in their care.

Ivy, a white Whippet cross, was born at the rehoming centre in October. While the three month old pup’s six siblings have found homes, little Ivy was not so lucky.

I've reported some odd dog stories over the years - dogs seem to be able to find danger everywhere. They get stuck in holes, wells and under floorboards. They eat all kinds of things they shouldn't, and they even cause their owners to have accidents at home or out and about. But this Monday morning brought a story that I had not encountered before.

We went for a walk on Cannock Chase today, and Buddy and Star found some friends to play with. The child in the photo detected a child-friendly Lab and came straight over. From then on Buddy lay on his back to have his tummy rubbed by the child. All would have gone on peacefully, were it not for the presence of an enthusiastic German Shepherd Dog puppy and Star, because all of a sudden they both wanted in on the action. The child was happy to fuss all three, and Buddy was happy to lie on his back in the middle of it all!

Over the years of putting DogCast Radio together, I've gathered some great advice from the various trainers, breeders and other experts I've interviewed. Here are some tips for dealing with a puppy.

Start as you mean to go on

I was talking today to the owner of a Jack Russell Terrier puppy. She was bemoaning the fact that her young dog had done heavy damage to one of her doors and doorframes while trying to get to her. She was upstairs at the time, he was shut in downstairs, and he was desperate to join her. I asked what I thought was a reasonable question.

"Do you have a crate?" I inquired.

We were in the middle of a training class, so she misheard me, "A gate?" she questioned.

"No a crate," I replied, but she still looked puzzled. "You know - a cage."

Her face immediately creased into a look of acute disgust, "Oh, I don't want a cage!" she exclaimed, as if she was proclaiming something as self evident as the statement, "Oh I don't want to have my dog thrown into the lion enclosure at the zoo."