Wag Reflex

Riverdance Dog

Mini is very talented. Sure, her owners probably spend a fortune on floor refinishing, but it's too cute to make her stop.

Via Buzzfeed.

--Spanno

Kung Fu Corgi

Cricket the Kung Fu Corgi is definitely ready for Halloween. If this isn't a cheap Disney cartoon yet, it soon will be.

Get your pup ready for Halloween with these dog costumes.

--Spanno

Dog Whisperer Magazine Launching Next Week

A new cult-of-personality magazine will launch next week featuring the affable Cesar Millan, called Cesar's Way. If you love Cesar Millan, you'll probably love this magazine. If you hate Cesar Millan, you can go back to reading O, Every Day with Rachael Ray, or back issues of Rosie and George.

Articles in the first spectacular issue will include "Can Your Dog Fix Your Marriage?" by dog and relationship expert Jada Pinkett Smith and "7-Day Doggie Detox", which will create a spike in veterinarian visits. You'll also find out what Sandra Lee is "cooking" for her dog. My guess? Something from a can.

Read more about the magazine at WSJ.com.

--Spanno

The Ultimate Tailgating Dog

If you love football tailgates and want your dog to participate with dignity you can find some cool college-theme gear here. If you love football and want to completely embarrass your dog, you can do this:

Photo courtesy of jessicaemily01's photostream.

--Spanno

Keyboard Dog Ups the Ante for Keyboard Animals

Words cannot express the level of talent this dog possesses. Mad keyboard skills? Check. Singing skills? In aces. Eat your heart out, keyboard cat.

--Spanno

To Boldly Wear What No Dog Wants to Wear

This has to be the most awkward costume I've ever seen on a dog. And I've seen a lot of crazy costumes. The Bud Light can nacelles are a nice touch.

Photo from popurls.com.

Sadly, Amazon.com doesn't have this particular costume but they do have a very broad selection of canine Halloween costumes.

--Spanno

Space Games Make Dogs Safer

In My Smart Puppy we teach Space Games. These are games you play with your dog that teach him or her what to do in certain situations. In "Mine!" you teach your dog that when a human being gets near something, you back off, sit and something wonderful will happen. Here is a perfect example of why this is such a darn good game to play:

"My husband and I had a moment of miscommunication-I thought he was keeping our son upstairs. He thought I wanted him downstairs. He brought him down and set him in the LR by his toys. I was making coffee and got Lily's food ready not realizing he was there.

I set her bowl down and released her to eat. I never saw my boy come scooting into the kitchen from the DR door behind me. I turned around and saw him lunge toward Lily's bowl. Before I could even move he grabbed a large chunk of her food.

And what did Lily do you might ask? Why she immediately backed away from her food bowl and sat down. Her tail beat gently on the floor and her ears and face were soft and relaxed. I was so proud of her."

YEAH Lily!

This points out why we don't say, "Leave it" during "Mine!" "Leave It" is great, we teach that too, but guests and children won't always say the word at all, never mind correctly. Exactly the case here.

Luckily, dogs don't need words. Dogs need practice, praise and clarity. This wonderful mother and dog-woman took the time to teach Lily that backing away from anything was always well worth doing. It wasn’t optional, but Lily clearly understands by her wagging tail and relaxed face that this is a task she is more than happy to do.

And the only place these games exist is My Smart Puppy. Good news, each book comes with a DVD in the back, so you'll get lots of help learning just what to do. Or, you can come find us at MySmartPuppy.com - we have a free, moderated message board – and we will help you with all your dog (and cat) questions.

--Sarah Wilson, MySmartPuppy.com
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Sarah Wilson is a pet behavior specialist, author, media personality, and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex. Sarah's books include, "Dogology", "My Smart Puppy", and "Good Owners, Great Dogs", all available now.

Joy on the Beach

From the time I step out of the house, Pip suggests the beach by racing toward the path, then turning to stare into my face, You coming? Huh? Huh? You coming?” When I step in that direction, she races to the top of the stairs down to the water. She spins toward me  again, open mouthed and eager, "We're going, right? We're going?" And when I say "Yes" she disappears down those stairs so quickly that by the time I reach the top with my comparatively, she is already at the water's edge, willing me to join her.

As I make my way down the many steps, I laugh. I often laugh at Pip's unadulterated life glee. It can be exhausting, especially in her youth, but now after four years together, we are in synch. Maybe she has calmed a bit (or I have perked up a bit) - either way, we enjoy each other.

Finding a suitable stick, I crunch over the large round stones that make up a version of Maine beach. It's no place to go barefoot. Pip vibrates with anticipation as I approach. I’ve waited for high tide so the rough-edged barnacles are now well under water, out of reach of Pip‘s suburban-soft paw pads. All I need to do is move my hand infinitesimally and she starts bouncing in place. “Throw it, throw it, throw it NOW!” They launch together, my stick and my dog, heading out at the same instant.

There is something oddly peaceful about chunking a stick for a water-loving dog. She explodes into action with each toss, acting as if it were the first, the last and the best throw ever. Something calming about watching her bee-line out so fast that she leaves a wake behind her, and something that puts a smile on my face again when I see her turn, coming back to me.

After fifteen minutes or so, I call it quits. If she were a child, Pip would stand shivering, lips blue from cold, earnestly pleading, "But I'm not cold, why do I have to come out ?" It's a call I make for her. Our dogs are so much to us, we need to be common sense for them. I’d always rather quit too early than be too late. But not Pip, she’d rather never quit. That makes me smile, too, even as we head back toward the house.

--Sarah Wilson, MySmartPuppy.com
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Sarah Wilson is a pet behavior specialist, author, media personality, and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex. Sarah's books include, "Dogology", "My Smart Puppy", and "Good Owners, Great Dogs", all available now.

Pet Fennec Fox

This makes me want a Fennec fox. Do they make good pets? Anyone have one? One of the issues I could see is that they're nocturnal. Then again, my Beagle mix is essentially nocturnal. She sleeps all day. Oh, and all night. Really she's awake for only a few hours a day. Lazy dog...

Photo courtesy of deadstardo's photostream.

Update (7/29/09)

Here's Scout and Doggie (pictured above) playing.

--Spanno

Mystery Mutt Now Less Mysterious

Once again, here's my dog, Cassidy. If you had to guess, what mix of breeds would say Cassidy is? For reference she's 30 lbs.Take your time.

If you guessed Beagle and something else, you're right where we were. But what else is she? How would you find out? And maybe she's not a Beagle. Maybe she's something cool--like a Doberman/Mini Pin/Raccoon mix. It could happen...right?

To unravel the mystery of Cassidy, we got the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It comes with a little paperwork and some cheek swabs. Here's everything:

All you do is swab the dog's cheek, like so:

Yeah, she's overdue for a teeth cleaning. You have to make sure the dog doesn't interact with any other dogs for a few hours. Otherwise you might get some really fun results. After the swabbing, I sent it off to the BioPet people for analysis. In the meantime we went back to our usual guessing. Coonhound/Chihuahua?

Two weeks later we got the results. They came with some documentation on understanding the results and a nifty certificate of ancestry.

Drum roll, please... The final results are as follows:

• 37-74% Beagle
• 10-19% Bichon Frise
• 10-19% Pekingese
• 10-19% Shih Tzu
• < 10% Brittany
• < 10% Saint Bernard

So there you have it, little Cassidy is a Saint Bernard mix. It was so obvious!

If you want to know what your mystery mutt is, check out the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It won't tell you why your pet looks like it does or why it acts like it does, but it's kind of fun to know a little more about its strange parentage.

--Spanno