Category Archives for "Dogs"

0 How to stop biting nails

poproxy360 asks: I can’t stop biting my nails, so they never grow. What should I do?

Hi poproxy360 –

We mutts get away with this a lot more than you peeps.  We bite at fleas, chew our nails and whole paws, and lick ourselves everywhere, with no concern at all.  Whereas you guys have to take a lot more care to avoid this very natural act, especially in public – as well as a lot of other ones like picking your noses, scratching your behinds, digging wax out of your ears, and extracting popcorn kernels from your teeth.

But it sounds like you’re more concerned about what the nailbiting does to your nails than any public displays.

This is good.  Bitten and chewed nails keep you from looking as cool as you hope, they keep your nails from growing long and pretty, and putting your hands in your mouth a lot is pretty much the best way in the world to catch every cold, flu, and other illness that’s running around!  So you’re right to want to stop doing it.

Well, I do know a few things you can do.  The first I suggest is that you simply Continue reading

1 Does dating hurt or help school performance?

pizzasquare asks: Does dating affect test scores differently for boys and girls? What I mean is that, if a girl went into a relationship with a boy, would her academics be likely to drop or raise? And what would be the case if a boy entered a relationship with a girl?

Hi pizzasquare –

This is a great question, and I’m going to give you a really weird answer to it: Does buying a puppy raise or lower academic scores?

It’s not hard to come up with an answer. Let’s say a good student who spends three hours a night on homework buys a puppy and falls head over heels in love with it. From the moment she gets home, she wants nothing more than to play with the little ankle-biter, to cuddle him, to dress him up, to take him on walks, to show him to her friends, to post pictures of him online, all that. Then when she studies, she wants to have him there with her, but she’s constantly distracted by how amazingly cute he is when he sleeps (because he’s very bored by her history book unless he can chew on it). Then she wants to have him by her on her bed when she sleeps as well, and he wakes up every couple of hours needing to play or pee. What happens to her marks in school? They plummet! She goes from an A-student to a C-student in a matter of weeks!

Okay, but let’s look at another Continue reading

0 Does Handsome know Shirelle writes AskShirelle?

Audreykimberly146 asks: Does Handsome know that you make this website?

Hi Audreykimberly146:

Absolutely, Handsome knows all about the website.  I’m a pretty bright dog (in some ways), but I could never have set up the technology or the relationships to make this website work.  Handsome just has such a huge respect for my opinions that he’s gone to great trouble to help me do this, and help out people all over the world.

There are, however, a few things Handsome doesn’t know about.  He doesn’t know about my other social media, which involves what we dogs bark and howl at each other from distances; he doesn’t know what I learn by sniffing everyone all over; and he doesn’t know just how good it feels to be a dog, to run like crazy, to bark like I’m insane, to jump on everyone, and to never have to wear clothes (except on certain irritating occasions when he puts a shirt on me, finding it just hilarious).

But about this website, oh yeah, he knows it almost as well as I do.

Thanks!

Shirelle

0 Is Shirelle a boy or a girl?

aana asks: Are you a boy or a girl? (Please say girl!)

Hi aana –

You’re so funny.  Absolutely, I’m a girl.

I don’t have any puppies (and I can’t, because of an operation), but in every other regard, yes I’m fully female.  Like other female dogs, I’m extremely protective (you do NOT want to walk into our yard uninvited!), and very nurturing of those I love.  We wander less than most male dogs, and bark more.

But other than that, there’s really not much about me that comes off as Continue reading

0 What to do when someone you think is above you likes you

Mandhie asks: So school reopens for another academic term, and there comes this tall, handsome guy whom the girls over here in my school die of when they see him. I go for supper, since my school is a boarding school, and he takes a seat with the cute guys at a certain table. Some minutes later, I walk in the dining hall and he starts looking at me. I personally didn’t realize, until my best friend highlighted me, that he was staring at me – especially because I am not that popular as compared to some. I asked her who she was talking about and she pointed at his direction when he wasn’t looking. You wouldn’t believe it, Shirelle!! He is sooo cute and tall! I asked my best friend again if she was sure he was looking at me, and she said yes. At that moment, I felt like I was in a high school movie when a cute guy comes to school and suddenly spots the non-popular girl when the popular ones are there. I decided to act like I didn’t care, but I was melting inside. Then I caught him taking the quickest glance at me. I felt so different! After supper, the popular girls in school went straight to him and were asking him questions, and this time, I saw it again: he was looking at my direction to see if I were still there! And I could see a satisfied face when he realized I was not gone. Now my friends say we are a perfect match just because we are both tall. But apart from that, a lot of people have been telling me how beautiful I am, though I actually don’t see it myself. Up till now, Shirelle, we have been staring at each other, and I feel so shy and my heart skips a beat when I see him. Then today, I ALMOST bumped into him and it was different altogether… he keeps on looking at me… What is the problem? I’ve never felt such feeling towards a guy before… What does that tell me, please!!

Hi Mandhie –

So let me get this straight – you’re a nice girl, but have never been super-popular at school.  A new boy, very tall and handsome, comes to the school.  You go into the school dining room, and he can’t stop staring at you…?

RUN!!! HE’S A VAMPIRE!!!  HE’S EDWARD AND YOU’RE THE NEXT BELLA!!!  (Just be sure you don’t run to any werewolves for help, okay)?

Okay, little doggie humor there.

The truth is… this is downright dreamy!  I don’t see anything wrong here at all!

The fact is, for all us creatures with larger brains, we get used to being treated a certain way, and it makes it really hard for us to accept things being different, even when they’re a lot better.

For example, I have a friend named Continue reading

0 How does Shirelle type?

aana asks: Weirdddd….. How can a dog type? What do you use?

Ah aana, you’re very right.  I’ve tried to get a very large typewriter that I could use with a “hunt and peck” method, where I’d put my paw down on each letter, but I certainly can’t use a normal one.

I use a special technology that enables my words to be typed out without my using my paws.  There are lots of these technologies out there these days, for the use of people who have certain disabilities, that allow them to express themselves if they don’t have the use of their hands or voices.  Well, what I use is kind of like that – though I don’t know any other dogs who are also use them.

I am a very lucky pooch!

Cheers,

Shirelle

0 How to control jealousy

prettyndsweet12 asks: Do you have any tips on controlling jealousy?

Hi prettyndsweet12 –

Jealousy is one of the most powerful emotions we have.  Note the word “we.”  We dogs can be very jealous – as any pooch who Handsome’s ever found adorable and cuddly has learned!  “RRROOOWFF!  I’ll teach you to let him scratch your belly!!”

All cultures have stories of jealousy.  In The Bible, the first kids ever born have enough jealousy between them that one kills the other!  That’s some nasty stuff!

I really like your question, because you didn’t ask how to get rid of jealousy (which is impossible), but how to control it.  And that’s something anyone can do.

The trick is to realize that jealousy actually comes from a Continue reading

1 Is it wrong to be jealous of people who still have their parents?

Salvatore asks: As you know, my father died a few months ago. Now, whenever my friends talk about their dads, I feel that something is burning inside me. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I think it may be jealousy. Please tell me how to overcome this feeling.

Hi Salvatore –

I have written about jealousy a few times.  Usually it’s about romantic jealousy, which can be anything from heartbreaking to fun to, as we know, murderous!

But the jealousy you talk about is something very different.  What happened to your father – and to you and the rest of your family – is absolutely unfair.  There’s nothing you have done – or could have done – to deserve this pain.  And when you hear other kids talk about their fathers, there’s no way it won’t hurt.

Though, of course, unless they’re purposely trying to make you feel bad, this isn’t their Continue reading

0 What to do when a sibling lies about you

Cookie Vidal asks: I’m 12 and my brother is 17, and he always blames me for things that I didn’t do, like putting bones in the sink. I’m getting sick and tired of him blaming me, so how do I make him stop?

Hi Cookie Vidal –
Remember a while back, when you asked me about your brother’s airheaded irresponsibility, and I said to accept it as a phase, and not feel that he’s a bad guy in any way?  Well, I’m starting to change my opinion.

You see, we dogs don’t lie.  It’s not that we’re too moral (we’re NOT!); it’s that we simply can’t.  Our brains don’t work that way.  Because of this, there’s a lot of confusion in our dealings with humans.

The most common example is when kids play fetch with us, and tease us by pretending to throw the ball and not actually letting go of it.  We run to chase it, and can’t find it.  The kids laugh at our confusion.  Now if they do it once, it’s not a problem, but if they do it more, we begin to think that their making that throwing motion doesn’t mean a ball is coming, so we stop responding to that sight.  We don’t have any sense of the child’s joke, because we don’t think that way.  So then the kid wants to really play fetch again, and it doesn’t work, because we’re not responding the way we have to in the Continue reading

0 Why are some conversations boring?

iriss asks: what is the most boring conversation for you ?

Hi iriss –

Like most dogs, I really like attention.  I love it when people come over to our house and I run up to them and they’re all excited and pet me and kiss me and throw balls for me and tell Handsome how beautiful I am.

And then, once they’ve done that for a few minutes… they stop.  They get talking about work or sports or movies, and they get glasses of tasty drinks, and they walk around, and forget all about Continue reading