tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-159758642008-02-18T21:34:05.266-05:00howboyBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-8251999931847661712008-02-18T21:04:00.004-05:002008-02-18T21:34:05.360-05:00

It is of course ridiculous to say that I consider my dog an artwork. (btw did you know that "ridiculous" now means cool; somebody told me that yesterday in the dog park. Sick! :) Okay, so language is pretty f'd up (but in a good way). But serially, from the beginning I thought this 'dog thing' I seemed determined to do (for reasons I have never clearly understood and have therefor to be taken

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-86580731484902078612008-02-16T21:37:00.003-05:002008-02-16T21:42:06.946-05:00

Most breed evaluations on the web will make note of breed limitations or unusual characteristics. Here's a very nice, short bit about the Shih Tzu, that is very true (in my experience) but also nothing you can't cope with; it's just useful to know in advance. about the Shih Tzu on amazines.com

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-9007538264484229652008-01-20T16:32:00.000-05:002008-01-20T16:35:23.664-05:00

From the folks who brought you the amazin' icanhascheezburger website: ihasahotdog

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-80981483190662780852008-01-19T15:46:00.001-05:002008-01-19T16:17:26.703-05:00

Is this expression based on how dogs are treated or on how hard they work? I think it's more the former. If you are working like a dog, it's like being beaten into submission. "Working like a dog," as an expression, is akin to "it's a dog's life." Because otherwise, dogs don't work very hard, and most dogs lives are pretty darn good. No matter that dog valorizers will surely disagree: Some

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-17360862241547313762007-09-22T18:05:00.000-04:002007-12-02T18:55:38.118-05:00

I've been putting off this post but it feels inevitable that I should weigh in on the question of what is a Great City Dog. The caveat is that any breed can be a great city dog; it depends so much on what you do with your dog. I see all kinds of dogs in our local dog park, Trinity Bellwoods in Toronto, and some are great and some are not so great but it rarely has anything to do with breed. That

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-62677493157989506502007-08-30T00:04:00.000-04:002007-08-30T00:44:55.613-04:00

My dog has started being afraid of going out at night. It started one night with fireworks... stupid me; I wanted to see the Canada Day light show on the CNTower... I didn't think; she came along and there were kids setting off fireworks all over the place. Oreo took off across the park, stopping only when she got across the street on the far side. Also she's also been spending time with a

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-19456341620312335622007-07-29T23:12:00.000-04:002007-07-29T23:57:13.778-04:00

As I entered the dog park off leash area the other day, one dog decided to run at me and bark. Another followed and before you know there was a whole pack of them. I'm pretty good with that sort of thing, knowing that some dogs just sort of "do that," but this one dog was pretty "brave" and as he got closer and louder, it kind of scared me. Which was, no doubt, his point. His owner came

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-48428518674760764272007-06-09T17:05:00.000-04:002007-07-29T23:12:09.186-04:00

Great article in the Star today about dog licensing in Calgary: http://www.thestar.com/article/223399 City licenses are unnecessary when most animals are microchipped and have rabies tags. People don't want to pay for licenses that are redundant. But if there are other services, like effective return of lost animals and humane housing and care for strays, then maybe... com'on City of Toronto,

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-84366138182994995612007-04-30T19:40:00.000-04:002007-04-30T20:32:11.668-04:00

According to a new study that is to be published in June, Vitamin D, which the body creates automatically when exposed to sunlight, helps prevent cancer. This is good news of course, but not all that surprising because people have been saying for years that daily exposure to sunlight has a whole host of health benefits. Read more on CBC.ca or on Slashdot. Dog owners get more than your average

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-80131072721258354212007-03-15T20:08:00.000-04:002007-03-15T20:23:29.781-04:00

Lost Dogs The Kitchen, NY 2006 by Jen Delos Reyes The "Lost Dog" posters were about a friend who had to evacuate from Lebanon but couldn't find an embassy that would allow her to take her dog. Posters were posted around the Chelsea neighborhood in NY that would be read by dog lovers/owners who then would be informed about an aspect of the current situation in Lebanon that they could relate

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-83278973044975652962007-03-12T22:29:00.000-04:002007-03-12T22:50:36.094-04:00

We were in the park the other day and ran into someone with a cute dog and a digital camera. She was taking pictures like crazy and started taking pictures of Oreo. Turns out photographer Jessica Dunkley has a way with dogs, as you can see from this very small sample of her work below. More of Jessica's photos can be seen here. We so often don't take pictures of our pups, or have pictures of

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-83996434660249654522007-03-12T20:00:00.000-04:002007-03-12T21:34:22.423-04:00

Dogs are mentioned during the Exodus that when the Jews left Egypt, the Torah tells us that not even one dog barked (Exodus 11:7) whereas the frogs of plague invaded even the ovens where they died. So are not frogs more worthy than dogs, having given up their lives? Apparently not, for, accoring to this writer, it is easier to give up your life than it is to keep your mouth shut! [ src ] There

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-32179645754568016012007-03-02T09:35:00.000-05:002007-03-02T09:59:27.510-05:00

Walking your dog is not going to be easy today. People are being asked to stay indoors, city-wide, due to downed power lines. Some streets in our neighbourhood, Queen W., are blocked while hydro crews work. I heard from a neighbour that there are telephone poles on fire in north Toronto. Wear boots, there are great pools of water everywhere, watch for downed lines and if you see one, go the

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-2732780399530211332007-03-02T08:53:00.000-05:002007-03-02T09:11:40.850-05:00

What's with Randy Jackson? dawg this? dawg that? We're not the only ones not impressed Does he even own a dog? Um, he's not this Randy Jackson: btw, our votes go to Lakisha Jones: http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season6/lakisha_jones/ second, Chris Sligh http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season6/chris_sligh/

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-38920069004298124852007-02-14T19:31:00.000-05:002007-02-14T20:24:19.207-05:00

I'm having trouble finding facts about how dogs manage in cold weather. The web is rife with the following type of stuff: "General rule of thumb is that whatever length of time it takes for YOU to get uncomfortably cold, then that would be the same for your dog. A shorthaired dog would be minutes, akin to you going out in a t shirt and underwear only. A full coated oes is more like going out

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-17776559459374388212007-02-12T23:50:00.000-05:002007-02-10T13:11:12.111-05:00

This is too good not to blog immediately. On CBC TV (that's Canada dude!) a short bit by a comedian about how a heckler was put in his place by the bouncer... I'll try not to ruin it for you, the bit's not posted yet, but it should be shortly. Best Story Ever on CBC TV So, where was the bouncer for Michael Richards (a.k.a. Kramer)??? Which might lead us to a "society for the prevention of

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-72798560711299417942007-02-10T10:34:00.000-05:002007-02-10T11:45:28.276-05:00

As New York Times reporter David Carr put it, about having his own blog, it's like "a large yellow Labrador: friendly, fun, not all that bright, but constantly demanding your attention." - in a Village Voice article about the art market. This is the first GCD(Great City Dogs) breed evaluation, appropriate because I originally wanted a Lab, a yellow Lab in fact, but ended up with this instead.

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-87404381064714520452007-01-22T22:12:00.000-05:002007-01-22T22:19:38.518-05:00

A lot of people think dogs are all about dominance, who is the leader of the pack. This idea fits in pretty nicely with the (imho) hooey about survival of the fittest and the exploitation of the many by the few in human populations. But if you really watch the dogs in your local dog park, I think you'll find the story much more complicated. Big dogs are not necessariy dominant, nor even the

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-46240010417714220902007-01-07T21:22:00.000-05:002007-01-07T23:44:20.141-05:00

Dealing with the death of a pet can be difficult and people have developed a variety of ways of dealing with it practically, and also for coping and ritualizing the experience. The Globe and Mail in Toronto has a story in today's paper about it, but they don't post anything online for free anymore, which pretty well means nobody reads it ha ha. The links, compiled by Kimberly Noble, might be

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-85552717681022001392007-01-01T18:36:00.000-05:002007-01-01T19:56:05.557-05:00

We love the dinosaur that acts like a dog in "Night in the Museum". Ben Stilller does a great transition in this movie, from panicked newbie night security guard to seasoned dog proprietor as soon as he realizes the manic dinosaur is less interested in eating than fetching. Everybody knows how to play fetch, including, apparently, dinosaurs. Does anyone out there have an idea about whether (

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-29891455612468597282006-12-30T19:18:00.000-05:002006-12-30T19:44:45.426-05:00

It would make a certain kind of sense if dogs occupied about as much space in the media as they do in real life. Nobody's ever measured as far as I know. Bart Simpson's dog Santa's Little Helper is reported by Wikipedia to be the main character in 10 episodes and very soon 400 episodes will have been produced. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa's_Little_Helper

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-1167197642829186182006-12-27T00:24:00.000-05:002006-12-27T00:34:02.843-05:00

James E. Mumford described the versatile character of the Shih Tzu: "A dash of lion, several teaspoons of rabbit, a couple of ounces of domestic cat, one part court jester, a dash of ballerina, a pinch of old man (Chinese), a bit of beggar, a tablespoon of monkey, one part baby seal, a dash of teddy bear and the rest dogs of Tibetan and Chinese origin." from Wikipedia def. Shih Tzu

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-1166883441809455022006-12-23T09:06:00.000-05:002006-12-23T09:17:21.933-05:00

" ...a study at the University of California Berkeley reports that if humans keep their noses to the ground they can indeed follow a scent much like a dog (though not as effectively as a bloodhound, the sad-faced dog that can detect a scent four days old with a nose said to be a million times more sensitive than a human's)... " Reported on CBC News Dec. 18, 2006. My first reaction was "No way!"

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-1164343632195891022006-11-23T23:42:00.001-05:002006-11-23T23:47:12.196-05:00

I stumbled upon this today. Where've I been you might ask! Meetups of every conceivable kind, one even for doggy outdoor play dates. [ link to off leash meetups home ]

howboytag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15975864.post-1162536743889779112006-11-02T21:32:00.000-05:002006-11-03T01:52:23.963-05:00

CBC Radio interviewed Bill Roberts, a psychologist at the University of Western Ontario, after hearing about his study disproving the concept of canine bravery. Turns out the study was pretty specific, testing whether a dog would go to a bystander for help if its master was in trouble. They staged different situations and tried them out on a bunch of different breeds, none of which performed

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