Labeling Prong Collar Users

I am the proud owner of two beautiful, very large and very energetic chocolate Labrador Retrievers. I am also the proud owner of a pair of prong collars to go with these beloved canine companions as well.

I can understand that the look of prong collars can be a bit overwhelming and scary but when used properly, they are a dog owners best friend (besides the dog of course). It is not the fact that so many animal lovers do not believe in using these training collars but rather the perception they place on those dog owners that choose to use them.

Recently I happened upon an online post from a dog owner who traveled a great distance to make a very sizable charitable donation to an organization close to their heart. Upon arriving at the organization, with a large check in one hand and her beloved 18-month old Bullmastiff on a prong collar in the other hand, this person was told to leave. Why? Because her dog was deemed "aggressive" due to the prong collar it was wearing.

Indeed, this dog was nothing more then a very large and energetic puppy that was placed on the prong collar as the owner didn't know how he would react surrounded by a bunch of other animals in close quarters. The owner was being responsible and yet was told to leave due to the stigmatization associated with a prong collar.

Now, I am not one to condone the use of prong collars to abuse or punish dogs. However, when prong collars are properly used, they act as a security blanket for both dog and human. It is sad that some people see a prong collar around a dog's neck and automatically believe the animal is either being abused or is highly aggressive. Usually those with prong collars are the most loving and mushy dogs you have ever met - they just have more size and energy than they know how to control.

To learn more about the Prong Collars and the proper use of Prong Collars, please feel free to read my article on Prong Collars & Lab Training.

Long Drool of the Midwest

People who visit our home continue to ask why we cover our beautiful wood floors with big black indoor-outdoor mats. Instead of answering, I figure a video is worth a thousand words. *laugh*

No, she doesn't have a glandular problem - she's a Labrador Retriever. Watch this chocolate Lab beauty (our own Dakota) drool 70% of her body weight while waiting to eat her cookie.

Busy Lab Mommy

It seems obvious that I have been slacking a little in posting blog entries as of late. That is not to say that life is boring with the Lab Brats but rather that so much has been going on that I haven't had much chance to get to posting on our blog.

Between playing in all the snow, finding new and interesting games to play indoors, continued dog training, and the normal life with Labrador Retrievers, the Lab Brats have been keeping us active. The good thing though is that no matter how much we want to sleep in during these cold winter days, owning Labs helps to get us humans to keep our bodies moving.

And, of course, if we try to ignore our Labs, we suffer the consequences. What do I mean? Well, let's take Cheyenne for instance this morning. We have -16F degree wind chills outside today which make it impossible for man nor beast to go outside. So, we played a couple of games of "Find It" in our house. Needless to say, this was less than what Cheyenne needed to help expel some of that Lab puppy energy (even though she is 3 years old).

When we weren't looking, she went into the paper recycle bin that we keep open on our home office floor and grabbed the top cereal box that their daddy has just put in there this morning. With the collapsed box in her mouth, she pranced up and down our hallway - throwing her head from side to side and then plopped herself down in the living room and began to shred it. *laugh*

No matter how many times I returned it to the recycle bin, she would sneak into the office and pull it back out again. This happened 4 times before I was able to control my laughter and became stern with her to leave it.

Is she in trouble? Heck no! She is a bored Lab and this was natural for her to do. She already knew that the cardboard in the bin is nothing we would be upset at for her grabbing so she decided that if no one was going to play with her than she was going to entertain herself and that she did.

So, as you can see... our lives are never boring but quite the opposite... for we are owned by Labs and love every minute of it.

A Funny Thing...

A Lab walks into a bar...

No, wait! That isn't how it goes...

A Lab lay at her humans' feet while watching television one day. Among all the noise of the daily news, she decides that now is a good time to clean herself as only a dog can.

While making sure her privates are all cleaner than a Lab puppy's breath, she pauses ever so subtly as the sound of a deflating balloon fills the air. She realizes at that moment that she has passed gas directly on her own face and up her nose. She continues to smell the air that has now wafted around her nether regions.

Shame does not come until she hears hysterical human laughter and looks up to notice her human mommy laughing so hard that tears are rolling down her face. It is at that moment that embarrassment comes as she gets up from her comfortable position and with head bent low sulks away while the fit of human laughter continues to roar behind her.

Yes, my friends, this was our very own Cheyenne just a couple of days ago... my face and side still hurt from the uncontrollable laughter that only our dogs can bring into our lives. Thank you my precious Lab for never ceasing to make me laugh!

Lab Boredom

In all my years dealing with Labs, I have learned something new just recently - there are stages to Labrador Retriever boredom.

Seeing as Cheyenne is on "rest" given her stretched ligament, playtime in our house has dwindled significantly. There has been hardly any play: no ball throwing, dog park going, bear fight romping, etc. About the only game we have been able to play has been the well-known Lab Brats game of "Find It".

Needless to say, boredom set in and it set in fast. First, we would get stares during those times of day where playtime is normally scheduled. After a few days the stares turned into pacing. The pacing became barking and "talking" in our faces while doing spins in the air to get our attention. A few more days passed when everything changed and this Lab Brats mommy became very concerned.

Cheyenne began sleeping all the time and when she was around us, she would hardly lift her head. Her crate became her normal place to hang out (on her own with the crate door open). Kisses became less as she hardly wanted to be around us.

At first I thought that maybe she was getting sick or her leg was really bothering her. So, I decided to test her and brought out her favorite squeaky for a few minutes of play.

Her eyes lit up, she danced the dance of a thousand Lab puppies while barking her frantic "throw it" bark. She was alive in there... longing for the moment when her favorite toy and her would become one again. The moment where she can run and be free... a normal Labbie.

No my friends, Cheyenne was not sick... unable to be a normal Lab due to her injury and tight activity restrictions... she was utterly depressed. I knew that dogs can have the normal range of moods such as humans but until that very moment, I had never witness desperate depression such as this... it is sad, never-wrecking and definitely unfitting to the Labrador Retriever dog breed.

My heart is most definitely looking forward to the day when the veterinarian clears her for normal play once again. She doesn't just deserve it... she needs it!