Category Archives for "Dogs"

2 What to do if you see an animal being abused

Hachiko asks: There’s this dog (a small one) I really want to keep, but my mom won’t let me (In our religion keeping dogs is okay, but they say they’re unpure and better not to keep) and this dog gets beaten by men who work down-stairs. What can I do? I’m just a girl who can’t disobey her parent’s 🙁

Hi Hachiko –

Of course, being a dog, it’s tough for me to talk from the point of view of those who don’t think we’re just the best things around.  But I have to acknowledge that they’re out there, and that they have the right to their opinions.

Someday, you’ll be an adult, and you’ll have the right to make decisions for yourself, like whether or not to have a dog as a pet.  But for now, you’re right, you can’t have it in your parents’ home.  It’s sad, but true.

But there’s another issue here.  Which is that you’re witnessing an Continue reading

4 What does “Shirelle” mean?

Sazuna45 asks: What does Shirelle mean?

Hi Sazuna45 –

Well there’s a story about that.  You see, when Handsome first got me, he didn’t have any idea of what to name me, but he didn’t want it to be something “clever,” like about my color or breed.  He wanted it to come to him organically, about my essence.

Then, after he’d had me a few days, he started to get a little frustrated at just calling me “Puppy” (or “Knucklehead,” which they’d called me in the Continue reading

0 Who is Handsome?

sazuna45 asks: I’m new here so I don’t know much about you. Can you tell me who Handsome is?

Hi sazuna45 –

Handsome is just the most wonderful, sweet, guy in the world.  He’s also the most irritating, controlling, annoying person I’ve ever met.  You see, he’s my human.  Some people consider him my “owner,” but he’d be the first to tell you that he no more owns me than I own him.  We just take care of each other all the time.

Handsome is the man who rescued me from the dog pound, and who feeds me and pets me and makes sure I have a roof over my head.   So he’s the Continue reading

1 What is a Pack?

sandy9932 asks: What is a pack?

Hi sandy9932 –

A pack, in general, is any group or bundle of things, usually contained.  A pack of matches, a backpack, etc.

But when it comes to animals, “Pack” is a reference to a group of certain sorts of beasts.  If you have a group of fish, it’s called a “school;” birds are called a “flock;” but coyotes, wolves, and dogs, when they collect, form a Pack.

In nature, packs are very powerful things.  Wolves hunt in packs so they can attack animals far Continue reading

0 How to name a dog

dog asks: What is the name of your dog?

Hi dog –

Umm…  I’m kind of confused.  You see, I am a dog!  I don’t own one.  I guess I could if I had puppies, but I don’t.

Rather, I just have a human.  Now I hear people call him different things all the time, but I call him a name I made up.  You see, just like all dogs, I think my human is the most wonderful, brilliant, and best-smelling person in the world.  And there’s no one whose looks make me happier.  So I call him Continue reading

0 How to train a dog

jamz12 asks: How can I train dogs?

Hi jamz12 –
Well, of course, I’ve never trained a dog.  I have spent most of my lifetime training a human – and at this point I’ve got him feeding me, walking me, and scratching me at that place I really love right there, just on the left side of my tummy, where I can never quite scratch myself in quite the right….  Oooooooohhhhhhhh yeah, that’s it…  Aaaaaaahhhhhh!

There are lots of experts out there, who know how to train difficult dogs, or train dogs to do amazing tricks.  But usually, what people really want is to train their dogs to do three things:  1) be safe; 2) not hurt or bother other people; and 3) be easy to Continue reading

0 How does one start conversations with people or dogs?

Vaibhav asks: I can’t talk much with people, especially girls. I can talk with my friends and their parents easily, but with other people it’s hard for me. I’m scared of street dogs also. So can you talk me out of it?

Hi Vaibhav –

Regarding speaking to girls, of course it’s always harder to be “at ease” when you’re with someone where there’s more at stake.  You’re fine with your friends and their parents because you’re comfortable in the knowledge that they’ll accept you as you are, to the complete degree that you want.  But if that’s not the case, and you want and need especially to be accepted by them, and in particular ways, absolutely you’ll be stymied.  I’m great at greeting strangers in a park, but if one of them is holding a hot Italian Sub sandwich, I’m going to be a lot more nervous around them, and worry about how I’m appearing to them, so they’ll like me and want to give me… well… all of it.  And yes, Vaibhav, to a large portion of the population, girls are a hot Italian Sub sandwich!!!

My main trick for talking with people you don’t know and you want to accept you is to ask them about Continue reading

0 How can a teenager handle their need for afternoon sleep

Star asks: Hey Shirelle – Every day I come from school and eat, and then I always sleep and never get the chance to look at my books, and then I always have to go to karate classes at 15:00. What can I do to stop sleeping, or at least read first before I sleep?

Hi Star –

You wrote JUST the right expert on this issue!  Let me describe an average dog’s day to you:  Wake up, wake up owner, go outside, do business, run around, bark at a few things, come inside, eat a little, go to sleep.  Get up, bark at more things, go back to sleep.  Kiss owner goodbye for day, feel horrible and abandoned, go back to sleep.  Wake up, sniff around, chase something, go back to sleep missing owner.  Wake up, sniff around more, not minding being alone so much, bark at what sounds like dogs walking by, go back to sleep.  Wake up thinking owner’s home, realize he’s not, sniff around, chase something, eat some bit of a plant, go back to sleep.  Wake up thinking owner’s home, find out you’re right, go absolutely nuts running around in circles barking to the world your ecstasy, jump all over owner ruining his clothes, play tug of war, go lie down and take a nap.  Wake up when you hear owner pouring out your dinner, eat, beg for some of what owner’s eating, hopefully get some, go back to sleep.  Get up at the sound of your leash, run around in circles, make it really difficult for owner to put leash over your head, go for walk pulling like crazy, get home, sniff around to find what’s happened while you were gone, go to sleep.   Wake up when owner’s ready to go to bed, complain about whatever he does, go to sleep cuddled up.

Now if I’m counting right, I’m describing a dog going to sleep ten times a Continue reading

0 How to deal with the sudden loss of your dog

juicy asks: I lost my dog. I love him very much, but one day I arrived at my house to find he was dead and they had already taken him away. So I don’t know what to do. It was so fast that I didn’t know anything in that moment, and couldn’t believe it.

Oh Juicy, how awful!

You’re suffering from two hurts, both of which are devastating.

First of all, I’m not being conceited at all when I say that losing a dog often hurts people more than losing the people they love most.  It’s not that they love the dog more, but that there’s something so simple and pure about that love, versus the more complex relationships they have with other humans.

There are lots of things I can recommend to you.  First of all, you were right to write me about it.  Talk to others too.  This isn’t a secret, it’s a real valid pain that you have the right to have.

Second, is there some sort of Continue reading

0 How to handle trauma in a dog.

amber95 asks: Hi Shirelle. About 6 months ago I adopted a purebred Pomeranian from my local SPCA. She is my first proper pet, and she is my best friend. We were told that she was used for breeding purposes, but we think that she has psychological issues. Can these be related? And is there anything I can do to help her?

Hi amber95 –

First of all, may I offer my heartiest congratulations!  A first pet is a glorious thing, and I’m so glad that you’ve managed to become best friends within six months.  You should have years of joy ahead of you with this great little lover!  And may I add, thank you so much for getting her from the SPCA – they do such great jobs of saving and rescuing animals, I just love ‘em!

You ask if her psychological issues might be related to her original “job” as a dog for breeding.  I imagine there are specific issues about breeding that could result in emotional damage to a dog, but of course I have no way of knowing about this specific case.  What’s important is that you’re seeing that the dog does have psychological Continue reading