Barking Up The Wrong Tree

What to call Obama’s dog?

Barack Obama has been elected to do what is arguably one of the toughest jobs in the world.  He has a highly responsible position and as such his decisions will form part of history.  He has the world’s economy to sort out, jobs to find for out of work US citizens, wars to reign in and yet the decision he has that appears to have generated more publicity and attracted more media attention than anything else is what dog he should have and what the dog should be called.  Talk about the world’s obsession with man’s best friend!

So I give in, come on then, for a bit of fun, which dog breed do you think Obama should have and what name do you think he/she should be given and why?

Leave your suggestions below!

$155,000 paid for clone of family dog

We are all upset when a pet passes away and we all wish we didn’t have to be parted, but one family took it a step further.

The Otto family from Florida were distraught when their family labrador, Sir Lancelot, passed away and they had his DNA frozen.

Nina Otto said:

“The only sad thing about dogs is that they have such a short life, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could live your life with the same dog.”

In July, they decided to bid on a biotech company’s auction to have a clone of their dog made.  Just one week ago, the family waited impatiently at Miami International Airport and were delighted to see their new three month old labrador puppy, Lancelot Encore, step off the plane from Korea.

The replica of Sir Lancelot Senior did not come cheap and his $155,000 price tag was raised by the Otto family by selling several pieces of expensive jewellery.

The family also have nine other dogs, ten cats, four birds and six sheep – let’s hope they don’t want to get them all cloned!

Dogs in the snow

As we all wake up again to the sight of thick, white snow and groan at the thought of making our commute to work, are our dogs also groaning?

Some dogs love the snow; I’ve known a dog love to run round and dive headfirst into the white stuff, but not all dogs feel the same way.

I opened the back door this morning to let my shih tzu out and she took one look and ran as far indoors as she possibly could.  Perhaps it’s the small dog mentality more than anything, after all, their little legs are not far above the ground so they probably feel the cold more than their taller counterparts.

There is little more refreshing than taking a walk outside in the cold, fresh air with your dog by your side and watching him or her bound around the snow.

If your dog really doesn’t like the cold, then there are things you can do.  You could always buy a dog coat or even dog boots to protect their paws from the cold but usually, once your dog is outside they forget all about the cold.  Give them a good rub down when they get back in and let them curl up by the fire with you and lock the world outside.

Cinema screening for dogs

Yes, this is not a play on words – a cinema in Suffolk will be allowing dog owners to take their furry friends into the special preview screening of the latest Disney film Bolt.

The dogs will even have their own pic n mix, and owners are being provided with a doggy poop bag, just in case the dogs get too excited at their first venture into the cinema.  Tickets are being priced at just 95p.  I’m always saying there are not enough places to take your dog and if this event was close enough, I’d be taking my shih tzu.  I’m not sure it would be good in the long term though as I think it might ruin the film and my popcorn if every now and then I caught a whiff of a smelly dog or its poop!

Leiston Cinema in Suffolk says that this strange event is the ideal way for them to celebrate their 95th anniversary.

Wayne Burns, manager of the film theatre, said: ”All dogs must be kept on a short lead and accompanied by a responsible adult aged 18 or over and cats are most certainly not permitted to see the film.”

The screening is 11.30am February 8th, and the official launch of Bolt is on February 13th.

Mediation for dogs

Whether you own your own dog or not, there is little more annoying than an incessantly barking dog, especially early in the morning or late at night when you’re trying to sleep and your neighbour doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it.

In Phoeniz, Arizona, the local School of Law is offering a free mediation service to help people overcome and resolve issues about barking dogs. The problem is really widespread there apparently.

The area is not the first to offer this service as another area, Chandler, also offers this service. Indeed, they say that the barking dogs mediation service is now so popular that it accounts for a quarter of all their mediation appointments. They have been offering it since 2007 and have deal with over 150 cases.

I don’t think I’ve heard of mediation being used in this country for this purpose yet, but you know what they say, whatever America does..