It's Not For Everyone

I have read that there are peoples who put leashes on their cats and take them for walks but until we went out for our Sunday walk, I had never seen one with my own eyes.

Now I have nothing against cats. We had some cats for neighbors and I would have tried to be friends but they were kind of stuck up. They mostly sat in the windows in the house across the street and stared at me and DixieLee.

We had a stray cat that hung around our house for a few days. I learned that she adopted the family that lives at the end of the street. Mom liked having a cat around because she said that cats scare away chipmunks and squirrels.

If that is so, I don’t think she was doing a very good job.

The other day Dad saw her eating some of the catnip plants in our garden. Mom said it was okay because although she planted the catnip to keep the mosquitoes away, she is happy the cat is enjoying it too.

Anyway, back to seeing the cat walking on a leash. First of all, I’m used to seeing cats run fast. This cat was walking really, really, really slow. Mom saw her first so she detoured us into the park so DixieLee wouldn’t see the cat. DixieLee thinks chasing cats would be lots of fun.

We had to wait a long, long time for the cat to walk a little way down the street and then turn around to go back home.

The lady and the cat were sitting outside when we went by their house and DixieLee and I were very good. The cat however, got stressed out. I think she wanted to climb a tree where she would be safe but she couldn’t because she was on a leash.

From what I have read, it seems that walking on a leash stresses cats out. Cats are pretty independent and don’t like to have anyone tell them where to go or what to do and like the cat we met on Sunday, if they feel in danger, they want to run away.

Peoples that would like their cats to be able to go outside because outside is nice, should think about getting a Catico. If you want more information about Caticos, here’s a link to a blog I wrote a while back about Caticos.

I would be very interested to hear from any cats or dogs who live with cats and see what you think.

All this talk about taking walks is making me want to go out myself. It’s such a beautiful day. Let’s see if using the stare works today.

Love,

Zeva

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A Walk In The Park - Then and Now

Today we went for a big walk in a park I never visited before. It’s not a dog park where dogs can run free.   This park has lots of signs reminding people that dogs have to stay on their leashes and to make sure to pick up any poop.  That’s okay cuz it is a very pretty park with lots of different kinds of trees and flowers. There are lots of roads and paths and benches to sit on.

While we were walking, Mom told me a story.  She told me about how different things were for dogs a long, long time ago in the 1970’s.   I like history and this was about dogs so I paid very close attention.   She  said when she was young and working in the city, she lived not far from this park but said she didn’t bring her then dog (her name was Nico) to this park very often.

Mom said back then, the laws about dogs and leashes were much less strict and people were much more dog friendly.  She said she and Nico could  go for walks anywhere, and they didn't have only certain parks where dogs were welcome like they do today.  Nico could even go outside of their house by herself without being fenced in.  If Mom wanted to go into a store for a minute, Nico could sit by the door and wait. Mom didn’t worry about anything bad happening.  Today, she doesn’t let me off of my leash or out of her sight.

It was interesting learning about the olden days and I sort of wish I could run around with my friends any time I wanted, but I’m glad that I have humans who care about me and want to keep me safe.

I’m also glad that more humans, like my Mom and her friends, are getting together to make sure that the rules that get made about dogs are fair for all dogs and that all dogs are treated well, especially dogs who don’t have furever homes with loving humans. 

When people hurt dogs, they need to be punished a whole lot.  It makes me so sad when I see how badly dogs are hurt by horrible people. And the law shouldn’t say a dog is bad and can be killed because of how it looks.

We are lucky to have humans who love us and take care of us but we need to make sure our humans keep looking out for and try to help dogs who aren’t so lucky.

Your friend,

Zeva

 

 

Walkin' On The Wild Side

I was hanging out with my Mom the other day while she read a post by our friend Eric, The Amazing Dog Training Man.  It was about choke collars and how he doesn't like them. 
I never heard of choke collars so I did some research and OMG!  They don't look very comfortable at all.  Even the ones that come in pretty colors look like they would hurt and the ones with the spike things, no way! They are supposed to help train dogs but if they aren't used correctly, they can seriously hurt a dog.  I also read they are NEVER be left on when the dog is alone cuz they can, well make the dog choke to death.
When I was a puppy, I didn't like to walk on a leash. I used to pull Mom along.  I'm a border collie/lab mix.  It's my job to make sure humans are safe by chasing away the birds and herding people down the path and I couldn't do that on a short leash.
Mom was very patient with me.  It took forever to go for a walk cuz we had to stop all the time and do "training".   Training was sort of fun cuz I got treats when I did things right.  Training got really good after Mom bought me a pretty purple halter to go with my bright pink collar and leash. I started doing walking without pulling all the time.  After all, looking good IS everything and the purple and pink combo is for strutting, not pulling, although I still do lapse when I'm super excited.
There are lots of different types of collars for dogs.  There are martingale collars that are kind of like a choke collar but they don't close all the way and breakaway collars that come apart if they get caught on something. There are head collars which are sort of like a halter and dogs can sometimes get themselves out of them.  And of course there are regular collars with a buckle or snap which come is all kinds of colors and styles.  Some even have real diamonds or other expensive stuff.  I don't think I'll ever get one with diamonds but some sort of bling would be nice.  I do wear my pink buckle collar all the time cuz it's where I keep my identification tags.
For Mom it's all about making sure I'm safe, for me it's about looking good.

The best person to help you and your humans decide what collar is best for you is your trainer. So if you and your humans don't walk well together, ask your trainer if a different collar would help or if you just need more treats.

Here's to happy walks,

Your friend Zeva

P.S. Shameless self promotion - Our To The Rescue Gift Basket includes a nylon lease along with many other "welcome to your furever home" items.