National Dog Week officially starts tomorrow, September 22, and runs until September 28. To kick things off, Animal Planet’s Good Dog U host Joel Silverman (with help from his pup Foster) has written a fun book titled “What Color is Your Dog?” which focuses on two main points of dog ownership: Building a trusting relationship with your dog, and training the dog based on his personality.

The duo are traveling around the country on a 100 city book tour in a decorated Bil-Jac Dog Food tour bus giving free training seminars at humane societies and other pet groups. As you can imagine, Joel has answered a lot of questions, and has kindly provided me with a few of the most common!

Q: What steps should a family take to pick the right pet for their family, and also to prepare for the arrival of the new pup?

A: Realize that with this decision comes a 15-year commitment to love and care for this pet. Really ask yourself if your family is ready. If you have two children in diapers and both parents are working, now may not be the best time for a new addition. Wait a few years. The chemistry between the family and the pet is very important. Spend some time interacting with the animal and determine if it is a good fit for your family.

Q: How long does it take for a dog to develop a level of trust and understanding with their owners?

A: It just takes time. Some dogs may take 2-4 weeks to have a noticeable change. The first
step in training any animal is to establish a friendship with them. Find out what they like and
don’t like. Then, spend the next few weeks really developing a relationship with him and making
sure that he understands you are there to help and nurture him. Through this step you will
establish trust with the dog. This trust lets him know that you are there to protect and guide him.
You do not want to establish a dominate leader role right from the start as this could set you up
to fail with any dog. If you have a truly aggressive dog that will bite, then I recommend getting a
professional to help you train him.

Q: What are some of the benefits of kids having pets?

A: It is absolutely essential for a child to grow up with a pet. It gives children the opportunity to care for something. All the responsibility of feeding, walking and loving a pet translates into children being caring with other children. It also teaches them to treat the animal how they want to be treated. Ask your kids to put themselves in the place of their pet. Ask them how they feel when they are loved; how they feel when they are disrespected. Your dog feels all these things too. This becomes a very real way of teaching children the golden rule.

“What Color Is Your Dog?” can be ordered from Joel’s website and from Amazon.com. You can also share your own stories at Facebook.com/BilJacDogFood.

[images used with permission from joel silverman]

Post from: Blisstree

It’s National Dog Week!

I have so many questions about the whole idea of getting engaged and how it seems to occur so suddenly to everyone between the ages of 25 and 30.  I’m wondering if I am completely alone here or if there are others my age who find this whole societal pattern worth investigating…

• Why is there still so much tradition? The sex roles in our country have progressed in so many ways, but the engagement/proposal process seems to be stuck.  Boy buys diamond ring, boy plans cute way to pop the question, girl is surprised, girl says ‘yes’, girls spends a year planning a ceremony with a white dress and colorful bridesmaids.

• Is it primarily the male who decides that ‘it’s time’? Related to the idea of tradition, it seems that the man still proposes to the woman in most cases, so is he the one controlling the decision?

• Is there a level of maturity that humans reach at this age that allows for lifetime companionship?

• Do couples feel rushed or pressured by other couples who are engaged/married?

• Do couples who get engaged during this age range have a higher or lower success rate in marriage as couples who marry at other ages?

• Do we feel like American culture and societal pressures push us to get engaged during this period of our lives?

I am really so happy for all of my friends who are now engaged and I love that they have reached the point in their lives where they have found a perfect mate and are ready to be married, but I just want to understand this cultural tradition a little bit more.

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Engagement Seems To Be Contagious

Here are some simple questions to ask each other to determine your level of compatibility related to sharing space:

• Do you want a TV in the bedroom?
• Do you ever want to get a pet?
• Do you have a strong feeling about interior design decisions?
• Where do you like to skimp and splurge on furniture and household financial decisions?
• Do you like to paint interior walls or hang art on the walls?
• What purchases do you think we should split?
• Will you be having friends/family stay with us?
• Do you do your own laundry and how often?
• What should we do if there is an issue with the apartment?
• What TV programs do you need to watch?
• Do you save everything or do you feel comfortable throwing things away (pack rat vs. spring cleaning)?
• What is your early morning routine? (coffee, exercise, shower, etc.)
• What is your late night routine? (reading, quiet time, bath, etc.)
• How clean do you like to keep the apartment?
• How will we split household chores? (cleaning, garbage, dishes, etc.)
• Do you use any fragrances (perfume, cologne, candles, air freshener)?
• Do you allow people to wear shoes indoors?

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Questions To Ask Before Moving In Together

If you are in a trusting relationship, then there is no need for excessive use of the phone to keep in contact.  Unanswered phonecalls and delayed responses to text messages can cause unnecessary stress, doubt, and worry.  It’s possible that your significant other actually loves talking to you and hearing from you, but has a life outside of being attached to the phone. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself about your relationship involving your significant other and the phone to find out if you need to re-address the amount of time that you spend communicating (or miscommunicating) by phone:

• Do you call when you have nothing to say?
• Do you argue more over the phone than in person?
• Do you feel anxious if he doesn’t answer the phone?
• If he doesn’t answer, do you call again right away?
• Do you go over the monthly limit of minutes or texts on your cell phone bill regularly?
• Do you feel angry or sad if he misses a call from you?
• Do you try to keep him on the phone even when he says he is busy?

I have to admit that in past relationships I have been guilty of all of these problems, and now I am also able to recognize how often they occur in other couples.  Don’t feel terribly if you answered “yes” to a lot of the above questions…it’s really quite common!

Take time to talk to your significant other in person about the situations that have come up the questions listed above and express how you have been feeling.  It will help enormously to let him know how his actions make you feel, but also help you to realize that you need to adjust issues of frequency and expectations surrounding phone communications.  A simple solution might be to just call and text each other less!

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Do We Talk Too Much On The Phone?

If you have been in a serious relationship for a long time you probably think that it is moving towards engagement and marriage.  As the years tick by on your relationship calendar and you take significant steps forward (like moving in together, meeting each other’s families, taking vacations together, and adopting pets) you naturally just develop feelings towards lifelong commitment.

The common problem that I have been noticing is the feeling of waiting.  Due to stereotypes about the male “inability to commit” women find themselves suppressing their feelings of wanting to get married.  They fear that even bringing up the issue will push their man away and they will lose the relationship completely.  What does this mean for a relationship?

It means that there is unaddressed tension between the man and woman because they are not discussing their future in an open way and they are not being honest about their inentions with one another.

In this situation I think women should just put it all out in the open.  If they completely intend to marry their boyfriend, they should let him know.  Obviously don’t jump to this step too soon, but it is important to be honest so you don’t find yourself waiting for something that will never happen.

If you find that you have a definite feeling of “waiting” in your relationship, then do something about it!  Stop waiting for him to make a decision about your future together.  Don’t be too intense about it, but do have a talk. It may be the scariest thing in the world to imagine your boyfriend telling you that he never wants to marry you, but if that is the absolute truth then you need to find out and start moving on.

But in many cases you will be happy to find that it’s the opposite…guys just need a little push sometimes.  They need you to put that idea in their head and help them to realize that the time has come to make movements towards the next step.  It won’t be a quick or easy conversation that wraps up everything in a bow, but you shouldn’t keep waiting…you should start the communication now.

Being on the same page is extremely important in a relationship and finding out what your individual plans are for your future is a good way to make sure your lives are going in a healthy direction.

Image: sxc

Post from: Blisstree

Are You Waiting For Him To Make Decisions?

I’m interested to know what the general consensus is on discipline. I’ve included a few polls on all of my blogs, in search of answers to a few questions. Please take the time to answer each poll question honestly. You will remain anonymous, so there is no pressure to give anything other than a completely honest answer. Thank you for your participation, in advance.

Post from: Blisstree

Are You My Mother? Then Why Are You Scolding Me?

1. How did you find out you were pregnant?

Uhhhh….which time? The first time around, I missed my period and was sleeping all the time. A test confirmed my suspicion. After that, I just always knew. Whenever I started feeling tired and nauseated, I just knew. With my last pregnancy, I had an IUD in my body….but I still knew.
2. How did you tell your partner (if you have/had one)?

I always just told him and then started crying (and is was not happy crying after the first two.) The last time, I walked into the kitchen and threw the pregnancy test stick at him. I was soooooo mad that he did not get the vasectomy he was supposed to. But now I’m so glad that he didn’t!
3. Did you secretly hope for a girl or a boy?

I always wanted girls to dress up, but the boys were always better babies. When they arrived, it did not matter what sex they were. I fell in love with all of them!
4. Did you feel ready to have a child?

Never. I never felt ready to have another baby. I was usually pregnant again, by the time my current baby was 6 months old. After the shock wore off, I was always excited.
5. What bit of advice did you get that you hated?
‘Try to get a nap.” Uhhh…hello? How am I supposed to nap when six other kids are running around? 

6. What bit of advice did you get that you appreciated?

My mother in law always told me to enjoy them, despite the stress of raising them. She said, “Stop and just look at how cute they are, sometimes. ” I love any advice she offers because it comes from a woman who knows my pain, even more so , since she had 13!

Now it is my turn to tag people:

Eliza ~ Babylune

Cyndi~ Busy Family Meals

Bill~ Inside Fatherhood (yes, a man! I want his side of the story too)

Elizabeth~ Career and Kids

Post from: Blisstree

Pregnancy Tag…I’m It!!