Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Under the Weather...

I took Seamus and Stella for a walk yesterday, and during our walk Seamus decided to poop. To my surprise, I noticed that he had some mucus and blood in his stool. I immediately called the Vet and I was able to get an appointment for him right away.
The Vet checked his stool sample and did not find any parasites. I told the Vet that Seamus is been grabbing Stella's food from her bowl. The Vet thinks that Stella's food might have caused him some stomach problems. 
The Vet also noticed that Seamus was a little dehydrated and gave him some fluids. He prescribed an antibiotic and put him on a chicken and rice diet for few days to see if he gets better.
Today, Seamus is been active and eating the homemade chicken/rice food. Hopefully, he has only an upset stomach caused by Stella's food. I will keep him on this diet for a few days and monitor him for any symptoms.


Friday, April 15, 2011

Trivia

The answer to the trivia question is: the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America was formed in 1962 on St. Patrick's Day.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Wheaten Terrier Trivia

When was the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America (SCWTCA) formed? Indicate the year and date.

Leave your answer in the comment section of this posting. I will announce the correct answer on Friday.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Wheaten Terrier lovers

I just want to thank all the Wheaten Terrier lovers who have visited my blog. So far, I had visitors from USA, Finland, Norway and India. I hope you enjoyed Seamus' photos and all the posting.
I also welcome your comments. If you have a Wheaten Terrier, I would like to hear from you too, so leave your comments below my postings.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Clicker Training

The use of a clicker is a great way to train a dog and to teach a specific behavior.
I heard about the clicker training method during Seamus' dog training class.
At the beginning, I was kind of skeptical, but I decided to give it a try. In the first few lessons I just introduced the "click" sound to the dog. I just clicked and immediately gave Seamus a small food treat. By doing this, he associated the sound of the clicker with a yummy reward. After doing this for few days, I then followed with the introduction of a specific command, followed by a "click" and the food treat.
I was very surprised on how fast Seamus was responding to this method. In few weeks, Seamus learned the basic commands.
Seamus is so well trained now, to the point that I just stand by him and when he hears the sound of the clicker, he immediately sits and when he hears the next "click" he does the "down" command. I don't even have to say the command!
What is best of this method is that I don't have to say the specific command over and over again in order for him to obey.