Read All About It

We have had our Beagle, Hoshi for about two years now and she has never been a dog that liked playing in the traditional sense.  She does not fetch or play tug-of-war.  What she does like to do, however, is tricks.  It is as exciting for her as fetch is for a Labrador.  She loves to sit pretty, roll over, crawl, and play dead just to name a few.  She learns at least one new trick every few weeks.  She will do anything for a treat.  Like many dogs, her whole life revolves around how to find and get food.  She learns tricks very quickly because she knows that a correct response will result in a bit a food.  She would do tricks all day if we let her.  Unfortunately, treats would cause weight gain which would result in trouble doing many of her tricks so we cannot let her playas long as she would like.  Dog cologne is something she likes too, so she smells good. Last summer I had a visit from a relative who noted that my dog Poika, a collie, has a matted coat.  Since this relative is a courteous person, and the words most likely just slipped out of her mouth, I realized that the condition of my dog’s coat must be pretty bad.   I had thought about combing or brushing him but he wiggles around and doesn’t like the process, so I just  let it go.  Now, I am in the process of using scissors on him.  I can’t cut too much because winter is coming on and he loves the outdoors.  I cut a few mats each day, and soon I will go over him with a brush and comb.  Any snarled up hair that I miss will be shed anyway.