Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: newsoxy.com, July 5, 2010

A scuba-diving dog was trained by his owner in Russia. Dachshund Boniface is the first dog to professionally enjoy scuba-diving in the world. The dog loves the water and enjoys diving on the Pacific coast.

Boniface’s owner, Sergey Gorbunov, is a professional diver in the city of Vladivostok. Initially, Sergey noticed that Boniface felt a little discomfort and tried to come out of his helmet when he was taken into the water. However, as time passed, he began to enjoy his teaching sessions. He even grew accustom to his wet suit and helmet.

Once in the water, the dachshund made high pitched protracted sounds as he learned how to dive from his master. “Boniface used to be nervous upon witnessing him diving into the water and that had triggered the idea in his mind to teach his dog scuba diving,” Sergey Gorbunov said in a statement. “Underwater he did not think that his dog experienced any stress,” he added.

Boniface’s first professional dive was at the depth of 2 meters. His owner hopes that he will be able to teach him even greater personal achievements. The duo dives in the Pacific Ocean on a beach near the settlement of Slavyanka.

Saturday, July 10 from 10am-6pm – Wags & Whiskers Family Fun Fair @ Maple Ski Ridge

Come join us on a summer day for some fun and fundraising in support of the SC-SPCA. Festival Details include a variety of vendors, animal demonstrations featuring dog agility, reptile show and horses, food, music provided by Idette and the Sunrunners and lastly games and activities for all ages. www.MapleskiRidge.com

A fair for adults, kids, and their pets too!
Games, bouncy-bounce, music, animal rescues, vendors, horses, reptile show, pet costume contest, Purrrfect Pet Tricks contest, Dazzle Dogs, agility demos, food and more!

Saturday, July 10, 2010
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Maple Ski Ridge, Rotterdam, NY (click here for directions)

FREE ADMISSION – RAIN OR SHINE – PETS ARE WELCOME

If you have any questions please contact Becky Smith at bsmith@schenectadyspca.org

More info here: http://www.schenectadyspca.org/index.php/community/wags-and-whiskers

We love FetchDog and had to share some recent new arrivals to their on-line store.

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Houndabout Stroller Kit $59.00 – Buy Now $10 Off Coupon Code CAA3221

Huge sale going on now at FetchDog!  Save up to 70% off

Don’t forgot to enter the Stylish Dog Home Sweepstakes!

Source: www.nj.com, April 4, 2010

It took a Facebook post for Pia Silvani to learn she was named as one of the top dog trainers in the country.

Silvani, the director of training and behavior at St. Hubert’s Dog Training School in Madison and a respected expert in dog training, was named last month to “Bark” magazine’s list of the 100 “Best and Brightest” personalities in the dog world.

The honor came as a surprise to Silvani, a Hunterdon County resident – she found out only after a friend posted the Facebook note.

“Bark” called her one of the country’s top teachers, citing her “amazing career as an internationally recognized canine coach and one of the training and behavior world’s go-to people.”

That career began not with dogs, but with people. Silvani began coaching various sports and aerobics as a teenager. After she and her husband adopted their first dog, she saw an opportunity to combine her love for dogs with her passion for educating others, and became a dog trainer. More than 30 years later, Silvani now largely develops courses and coaches the 25 trainers at St. Hubert’s training facility in downtown Madison.

“I love working with other trainers,” she said.

She still trains dogs, although mostly on a private basis, working with dogs with aggression problems. Her way with canines has led some of her clients and coworkers to call her the Dog Whisperer of New Jersey. While Silvani says she’s flattered by the comparison to Cesar Millan, the California dog guru with the eponymous television show, she is quick to point out their differences.

“Our methodology is not the same,” Silvani said. While some trainers use more punitive forms of training, Silvani said her style is much more reward-based.

For many dogs, including the hyper-energetic puppies in Silvani’s beginners class last week, that pretty much translates into one thing: food.

Leading six smiling and slightly stressed puppy owners through drills, contests and play time, Silvani instructed her human students to reward sitting up, lying down and following with treats.

Summit resident Romaney Berson said her six-month-old dog, Snoopy, had made significant gains as a result of Silvani’s class – most of the time.

“He’s fabulous in the class,” Berson said. “He’s much slower at home. It’s harder to train my family.”

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Happy Tails Books publishes compilations of stories from people who have adopted dogs. Their breed-specific “Lost Souls: Found!” series showcases the love and joy these adopted dogs bring to their new homes in an effort to raise awareness of, and funding for dog rescue organizations.

Happy Tails Books is currently working on books about Chihuahuas, German Shepherds, Pugs, Boxers and mixes thereof, and they’ve asked me to share their information in case you’d like to submit a story about your adopted dog(s). Guidelines and a submission form are located at http://happytailsbooks.com/submit.htm. You can send in a complete story about your dog (600-1200 words), a paragraph about something sweet or funny he/she did, a training/health challenge and how it was solved, a poem, or a recipe. They are also looking for high resolution, professional-quality photos for the front and back covers. Be sure to list the rescue you are associated with in the submission form (if applicable – dog don’t need to be from a rescue, they just can’t be purchased from a pet store or breeder), as rescues earn points from each story submitted or book purchased, and then the points turn into a donation at the end of the year.

Contact Info: Kyla Duffy, Happy Tails Books, Editor In Chief. 303-807-0412, kyla@happytailsbooks.com Boulder, CO

Source:: Associated Press, October 30, 2009

Four-legged screen stars are vying for the Fido Film Awards, billed as the canine equivalent of the Oscars.

Nominees announced Friday include the animated dog stars of “Bolt” and “Up,” the titular mutt in “Marley and Me” and — in a rare non-canine choice — the dapper, George Clooney-voiced “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

They are competing for prizes in categories including historical hound, rom-com rover and comedy canine.

Award organizer Toby Rose said the past year had scene “an unprecedented run of dog successes at the international box office.”

The Fidos call themselves the world’s first international awards for canine screen stars. The winners will be chosen by a panel of British film critics and announced at a Nov. 22 ceremony in London.