Miscellaneous

The lawns here in SE Michigan are scorched already this summer; Global Warming is changing everything. I hope the Great Lakes don't dry up! Normally, in the past, our lawns don't turn brown until mid-August. Fortunately I got rid of my lawns decades ago replacing them gradually with plants that do not need much water. If you look closely you might see some snapdragons which seed themselves and often also survive the harsh winters here. You can see how dry the soil looks but the roses are green and rather lush. I cut them back to the ground in mid-November. They've grown this tall since early spring. (Clicking on photos enlarges them; afterwards, clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner returns you to the page.)

Here is a close-up of the poppy seen on the right in the first photo. Not what I would have chosen but these puppies fit my criteria: - they don't need much water coming from an arid region originally, and even though they are annuals, they self-sow so I don't need to plant them.

The roses are species roses, Rosa rugosa,  found among sand dunes along the salty, sandy ocean sea shores. They're tough. They also do fine with little water, have a magnificent old fashioned rose aroma, seed themselves, are not susceptible to black spot and most other rose problems, have flowers that are bee-magnets, can be cut back to the ground in the winter so I can pile snow on top of them without harming them, have lots of thorns so pets avoid them, have a couple of big explosions of bloom and then have sporadic flowers all summer and fall. I even have one volunteer with white flowers. (Volunteers are plants that arrive in your garden without being planted there. When a seedling sprouts that I don't recognize, I leave it for a few years in case it might become a new member of my plant family. I hope the next tenant of my home does not replace everything I have with a sod lawn.)

Here is the same garden in the spring before the roses are up with Columbines that survive the drought and also self-seed.

Vinlands Hringa, above, will be seven on June 30 and lives with Barbara and Ric.
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Back to the questions/comments: -  Here are some random questions (or statements) that did not come from one of my puppy owners. I want to address them briefly. I'm paraphrasing.

The two puppies (7 months old and a year old) are chewing up shoes, cords, even when the owners are home.
* - Two things: - 1. You need to be aware of where your puppies are all the time until they are old enough to be trusted and are well trained. If you are not aware of where they are, there will be trouble. If you cannot watch them, they need either be in their crates or in an enclosed, gated area like your kitchen to minimize damage and trouble. They are like toddlers. When you have toddlers in your home, you have to baby-proof your house so they are safe. The same thing is true with puppies. If there is trouble, they will find it.
2. Two puppies at the same time? That is never a good idea no matter what breed of dog you are adopting. They will inevitably gang up on you. If they are both young, they will take longer to train because they will support and encourage one another. You are supposed to be your puppy's companion. They don't need a canine companion.

He walks his dogs daily and they go to the dog park often. His dogs are the only ones that bark all the time.
*- 1. Dog parks teach dogs to be out of control. Are they having fun? Absolutely. What are you teaching them however? It's OK to be wild and crazy? If you want a controllable adult dog, you need to control your puppy. It's again, like having kids. If you raise kids or puppies without rules, then you will have a teenager, canine or human, who is difficult or impossible to control.
2. People who visit dog parks may just release their dogs and then talk to one another while the dogs play. The humans may not be aware of the interactions going on. It may be hard to call your pet and regain control if a situation develops. Dog parks are like kiddie playgrounds in some fast food chains: - a great place to exchange bacteria and viruses. Some dogs owners do not believe in inoculations against diseases like kennel cough, parvo, lepto, rabies, etc.
3. Our dogs are genetically programmed to bark. Allowing them to bark uncontrollably will make controlling them as adults virtually impossible. It takes weeks, perhaps even months to reduce the barking that herding dogs like Icelandics are apt to do. When your dog is a puppy it is significantly easier to train than when it is an adult. They are, again, progammed to learn stuff from the alpha dogs in their pack when they are young. You ARE their pack when you adopt a puppy and it will be receptive to your directions. After they are adults, when the die is cast, they are still trainable (tractable) but it takes longer.

They have a new chair that they think the puppy is going to chew on if they are not home!
* - When you are not home or when you are home but cannot watch your dog, crate or confine your puppy to protect it. As adults if it can be trusted, you might relax the rule. Chewing might be related to new adult teeth erupting. Many, probably most, puppies outgrow chewing after they are mature. Removing the puppy or the tempting objects usually works. What's the old Mae West line? "I can resist everything except temptation." Remove either the puppy or the temptation. This is also what you do with very young humans. Give them something better, more attractive and hide the object you want protected. (This advice comes from someone who has had floor molding, stairway posts, curtains, bedspreads, phone and electrical cords, carpets, etc. chewed on. Each of my pups has been attracted to something different which has meant that I have had to learn and to adjust my priorities with each new pup. None of them chew on "my" things as an adult.)

What do you do when your puppy is overly assertive/aggressive to another pup when playing? How do you prevent it from escalating each time if it happens more than once? How do you deal with another puppy that is overly assertive/aggressive to your pup? How do you teach them anything about these situations if they aren’t an everyday occurrence?

First - it's sometimes hard for a beginner to know when puppies are just playing and when they are being nasty. Puppies are going to bark and growl when they play together; that is normal. If the barking becomes excessive; one of them is doing a lot of really annoying barking, then that is excessive. (If it bothers you, then it's probably too much.) If one puppy is hurting the other puppy, then that is obviously too rough. It's probably better to err on the side of caution than to let them play too roughly, isn't it?

* - As soon as the assertive or aggressive play starts, regardless of which puppy starts it, remove your own puppy in order to protect it (and the other pup of course). You do not necessarily need to punish it. The simple fact that they no longer can play together is often enough of a punishment. They will get it. They are not stupid. Dogs are problem solvers. I have seen both Pila and Totty hold an assertive puppy down with one foot and their chest thereby stopping the rough play. Do the same thing: - try the "Step on the Leash"* method of control. You could go one step further by changing the scenery, removing yourself and the puppy. (Although that may be personally embarrassing, it is necessary sometimes.) They will figure it out sooner or later: - If you play rough, you will not be allowed to play. That means, naturally, that you have to be paying attention to, watching your puppy. Don't get sidetracked by talking with another human. Your responsibility is to your puppy regardless of what the other human might think. If you do not sideline your puppy, you are teaching it that the behavior is OK.

*Step on the Leash. One of the earliest lessons in my Puppy class is Step on the Leash. Easy to teach and extremely useful at the Vets or the Groomers. Practice at home and in dog class at your school. Do it the first few times when no human or canine is around. "Down" your puppy. Step on the leash carefully just a few short inches from where it is attached to the collar. Hold on to the lose end of the leash the whole time just in case it wiggles free while you are practicing and later on when you are at the vets. Fold your arms, look away from the puppy and say nothing to it. To begin with it may fuss or struggle; ignore it. Pretend you're reading a book or fixing lunch. Do not look at it or talk to it. It cannot win even once. Soon even the most stubborn puppy will give up. It may sit quietly or it may lay down quietly but it will give up. Ignore it. When you are ready, release it and reward it with a treat immediately perhaps saying something as simple as "Good Quiet!" - but only if it has been good and also quiet for a minute or several.

The Step on the Leash will allow you to talk with the Vet or Vet Tech or Groomer and pay for the visit with cash, check, or credit card. Be sure there is not another dog nearby that could annoy your dog while it is completely under your control. Practicing first before your visit will prepare the puppy so it will know what to expect in a real life situation. The key is to completely ignore the puppy (while still being aware of it in case of trouble, of course.)