Why use a crate:

When used properly and not abused, crates are the fastest and most humane method of housebreaking dogs. Dogs are den animals that will instinctively seek out a small, cozy place to rest for shelter and security. Crates act on a dog’s instinct to keep its den clean and unsoiled. Keeping your dog in a crate teaches him to hold it until he can go in an appropriate place, which helps your puppy develop his bladder control. For older dogs, crates act as a bedroom where they can relax and escape the hustle and bustle of kids, other pets, and everyday family life. Also, it’s never too late to crate train! A crate can help break bad habits that improperly trained dogs may have developed over the years.

Plastic or metal?

Plastic kennels are good for travel, and are generally the only method of containment permitted by airlines. Metal wire dog crates are ideal for home use, however. They are generally roomier and more open. They’re also sturdier, so they will stand up to your pet’s movement/ activity and be able to last as your dog’s permanent bedroom.

What size?

A crate should only be big enough for your dog to stand up, turn around, and lay down. If the crate is too big, your puppy will have enough room to soil one side and sleep in the other, which defeats the purpose of the crate. Buy a crate large enough to accommodate your dog’s full-grown size and get a divider panel. This way, you can keep the one crate and have it grow along with your dog.

Accessories:

Always be sure to include appropriate toys and treats in the crate. This will keep your dog occupied and prevent your teething puppy from chewing on the crate’s metal bars. It is also important to purchase crate bedding. A crate cover is great for lowering the number of outside distractions your dog sees, which can reduce barking and stress in the crate. A crate pad will be more comfortable than the crate’s plastic pan. Finally, a bumper like the one included in Pet Dreams Cratewear will help protect your puppy from injuries caused by chewing or leaning against the crate’s metal bars.

For more information:

In addition to Cratewear, Pet Dreams provides a wealth of Crate Training Tips, articles, and FAQs to help you crate train your dog. Weve also recently launched Forums where you can discuss all aspects of training with others and get advice from the experts!

Visit http://www.petdreams.com for Dog crates, Cratewear bedding and Sleep-ezz dog beds.

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My love of horses began at the age of 11 when I worked every summer at a ranch. My twin brother and I would walk about ten miles a day in circles taking children on pony rides. I had never really thought much about horses before that but I was soon hooked for life.

Interestingly I found out years later that my husbands name, Philip, actually means love of horses in Greek.

I, like so many others, discovered the beauty and intelligence and strong connection you can have with horses. They have their own personalities like we do, and if you care to really look, youll see they convey a wide range of emotions. They can be happily prancing, angrily stomping, they can demonstrate sadness, and even apathy and defeat. How a horse reacts is determined by how we treat and care for them.

During one of my summers, there was one pony in particular that was docile with people riding him when he had a saddle on his back, but woe be it to anyone who would try to ride him bareback. I found out the hard way when at the end of the day, I took off his saddle and hopped on. Before anyone could say anything, he was off, bucking wildly and trying to bite my legs. I hung on for dear life (it was my first experience being bucked). Of course in the end, he got me off by slamming me into a tree. I had a bruised leg for weeks. That same week I realized he was out to get me! He demonstrated quite a bit of slyness and would suddenly strike out and kick me as I walked past or if I got near he would try to bite me. I realized for the first time that horses were not just work animals and that he was expressing his displeasure with me. I was amazed and developed a new- found respect. I resolved to establish a relationship, and by the summers end, we were working as a team. There was no more kicking or biting.

Throughout history, horses have been loved and revered by pharaohs and kings alike. There is evidence of domesticated horses going back thousands of years. In fact, in ancient Egypt, it is thought that horses were treated better than the Egyptians and that they would even be fed before the Pharaoh himself. This was due to the ancient Arabian horses incredible beauty, speed and endurance and having saved many lives during war. This animal could withstand the harshness of the desert and maintain its beauty and strength.

The Lipizzan Stallion is another incredible beauty, powerful, yet docile horse. It was said that this was the horse Napoleon choose to ride during war. He was not a large man; therefore his stallion was bred to jump straight up in the air so that he could get a better view of what was going on in the field below.

There are so many different breeds of horses, and they are being bred for different things, speed, beauty, work etc. To me they are beautiful, even spiritual and I know there are so many others out there that feel the same as I do. There are even many beautiful horse posters available to adorn ones walls. I think this relation of man and horse will always be there. Enjoy them! I sure do.

Willie Jones

Willie Jones is a freelance writer, researcher, floral designer, and artist. When Art Inspires, Dreams can Become Reality. http://www.artinspires.com Make sure you enroll in the free motivational poster drawing. All winners receive a free framed print.

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Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

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Theres a horse show across the state in a few weeks, and youre planning on being there with your horses. However, its been awhile since you last pulled a horse trailer, and youre a little concerned about your trailering skills. After all, you want to arrive at your destination safely, with the horses as calm and relaxed as possible.

Guiding a loaded horse trailer down a country road or highway requires practical experience and know-how. Theres very little room for error. What do you do to ensure a safe, uneventful journey?

How to Ensure Safe Trailering

If youre out of practice, or if youve never towed a trailer before, obtaining adequate personal experience prior to the actual event is of the utmost importance. Just as if you were learning to drive for the first time, you should begin by practicing basic driving skills before getting out in traffic with the trailer.

The more experienced you become, the more prepared you will be for anything that may potentially happen. With more confidence and a higher level of awareness and preparedness, you should be better able to handle any unexpected situation that comes along.

Find a level field or a parking lot in which to practice. Mark your course with several highway cones, then, set out to work on the following driving skills:

Ready for the Highway

After youve practiced all the basic driving skills while pulling your horse trailer and you feel confident in your ability to handle the rig safely, youre ready to test your skills out on the road.

Try towing your trailer for short distances, at first. Make sure that you feel comfortable with turning corners in traffic, with backing your trailer, with parking on a grade, and with being able to stop your trailer quickly (should the need arise). Once you are confident in your towing abilities, youre ready to travel any distance with your horses.

Just remember to always be alert when out on the roads. Drive defensively and be prepared for any possible situation.

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The immune system is a very broad and complicated subject that can baffle most brains (mine included) as you delve into the complexities of the system.

Luckily though, the basic concepts are fairly straight forward and should give you some understanding as to why you need to look at your pets health from the pet’s point of view and not yours!

We can start by saying that, in our case (i.e. dealing with animals) the immune system is what protects the animal’s body from harmful substances. These may be bacteria, viruses, fungi, toxins or even, in the case of cancer cells,products of the animal’s body.

For a simple illustration, imagine that the animals body is a country, then the immune system would include customs and passport control at the border posts, the army patrolling the borders to prevent

illegal entry or an invasion, and the police within the country working on crime prevention.

The border itself represents a barrier to entry as do the skin and mucous membranes of our pet. A lot of potentially harmful substances get stopped right there. Those that have the right passport and visa are allowed in (food, water, oxygen etc). However, some insurgents(infections) might bypass the border control, or have false passports and it is the patrolling army’s job to find these and arrest them.

Similarly, some inhabitants of the country might indulge in criminal activities (e.g. cancer cells) and it is up to the police to identify these and get rid of them.

Now remember that the country (the animal) is under constant threat from outside sources (infectious agents)

and from internal criminal activity (production of undesirable cells).To cope with this situation and survive, the passport and customs officials, the army and police have to be constantly ready for action. They have to be well equipped, well trained, fit and motivated!Any slip, and the door is opened for something to go wrong (disease).This is why it is so important that you get the basics of petcare right because these factors support the development and maintenance of a competent and primed immune system!

In addition to the frontline troops, the immune system also has a massive administration system in place that deals with functions such as provisions, logistics, recruitment and so on.

For example. When an intruder(possible infectious agent) slips across the border(enters the body) and is caught by the patrolling army (a branch of the immune system), the prisoner is taken to a safe place (another part of the immune system) for questioning.The authorities (immune system) go through all their files to see if they recognise this intruder.They also have to decide what sort of threat, if any, this intruder poses to the country (the animal).

If they can identify the intruder and decide it is a risk,then they know what they are dealing with and can alert all patrols, border personnel etc to be on the look out for this type of intruder.

If however they do not recognise this intruder (a new infectious agent), then they first have to study the intruder, find out how it operates, train personnel to deal with this new threat, and then get that knowledge out through the organisation. This obviously takes longer to do and involves a lot of paper work and personnel other than the front line troops.

What we have described above is also the basic theory supporting vaccinations. By vaccinating your pet, you challenge the immune system. The first vaccination makes the immune system aware of the potential threat and allows it to prepare and train it’s defences. The second and subsequent vaccinations allow the immune system to test that training by activating the defence mechanisms it has prepared. It also serves as a reminder to the front line troops as to which intruders they need to be on the lookout for.

Unfortunately, the immune system is not a full proof system. Like any other system it can develop glitches and malfunction or it can simply be overwhelmed. When this happens, disease results and we look to other resources (surgery, medication etc) to help the immune system win the battle.

Ironically, in some cases the immune system can work against a happy outcome. Organ transplants are an example. Here, although the new organ is obviously vital for the survival of the recipient, the immune system will go all out to get rid of it because it is perceived as being an intruder! Thus the need for a host of drugs to suppress the immune system and allow the new organ to function in the new body.But of course, the immune system is then operating less efficiently and this opens the door for other insurgents to invade the body.

The immune system is a complex, amazing system that we still do not understand fully. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to ensure that it is in the best possible shape throughout a pet’s lifetime by applying sound basic pet health principles.

Keith Perrett is a Veterinarian.
http://www.pet-health-for-humans.com

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Ignoring the necessity of puppy training could lead to a whole bunch of problems in the future. For one thing, housebreaking needs to be done as soon as possible, for your household’s hygiene – and your dog’s as well. Also, training your puppy more basic things like not going out into the street in busy traffic, or keeping away from poisonous creatures like rattlesnakes, could well save your puppy’s life!

If you want your puppy to grow up to be strong and smart, let puppy training begin at an early age. One of the first things you should remember is that positive reinforcement – also known as reward training – is considered more effective on dogs than the old-fashioned physical punishment techniques. So keep a bag of treats handy, for giving to your pup when he accomplishes important tasks. You also need to have the right equipment and supplies handy, like crates, collars, and toys for your pet to get accustomed to.

Obedience should be the first thing to teach your puppies; agility or speed training could come at the same time, or even later. It’s important that your young pets know who’s the boss, and have absolute faith in you. Using treats and frequent praise as rewards for jobs well done is a great way to build up your pet’s trust in you. Like other animals, even human beings, dogs become fonder of their companions if their companions make them feel good about themselves. It’s important to express to your puppy what you feel after he performs his actions, so he quickly learns which things please or displease you.

One of the most important lessons to teach your puppy is housebreaking. Some pet owners use crates for this task. Crates can be bought in pet stores, at different sizes, so you can upgrade the size of your crate as your puppy grows – the important thing is that you use a crate that’s only big enough for your puppy to stand up and turn around in. Different pet owners have different ideas about how to use a crate for housebreaking, but there’s only one advisable way: when you see signs that your puppy is about to urinate or defecate inside the house, keep your puppy in his crate for a moment. Then release him and immediately open the door so he could go out to do his thing.

Remember that as a rule, dogs don’t dirty up the places where they like to eat or sleep. So your puppy is sure not to dirty up his crate, especially if he thinks of it as a sort of play area. Don’t let your puppy think of the crate as a cage! Keep a toy in the crate or lure your puppy in with treats, to encourage this point of view.

New dog owners may be daunted by the task, but puppy training is not as hard as you think. Look up training tips on the web, or ask your vet for advice. It’s sure to make the process of growing up with your puppy worthwhile!

Puppy-train.com provides you with information on puppy training, dog barking, dog training collars, dog training schools, dog grooming supplies and homemade dog treats. Go to http://www.puppy-train.com/

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The only way to be 100% sure of getting a verified pure breed Maine Coon cat is to buy a pedigree kitten from a breeder. The breeder should be able to present a family tree of your cats pedigree and provide relevant certification.

A recommended place to start a search for a reputable breeder in your local area is the Maine Coon Breed Fanciers Association (www.mcbfa.org) Maine Coon kittens can be instantly recognizable by the long tufty ears and oversized paws, as seen in the classic longhaired American however there is a European strain of Maine Coon, (my own Maine Coon, King Henry comes from a German line) which has a shorter ruff around the neck, and often a fuller, squarer muzzle. The differences are not apparent until the cat is between 12 to 18 months.

In terms of identifying a pure pedigree Maine Coon, youll be relying quite heavily on information the breeder is presenting to you. If you have difficulty finding a reputable breeder, you could try and get a recommendation by talking to individuals at a Maine Coon event or an all breeds Cat show. It is essential you are happy with your breeder – if you are becoming a Maine Coon owner for the first time, you may need to rely on their expert advice.

You can expect to pay anywhere between $500 and $800 for a pure breed Maine Coon. With food, litter, vet bills and cat-sitters for holidays, Maine Coons can be a relatively expensive investment. All Maine Coon owners will agree that they are a truly wonderful breed and will repay you many times over.

IMPORTANT TIP: This could save a lot of heartache, trouble and expense later on; When buying an expensive pet, do not go for the kitten you feel sorry for and looks like it needs help. Any kittens with signs of withdrawal, low energy or general apathy, should really be avoided. Choose an independent, lively, energetic kitten. Pick out kittens that dont necessarily come to you but are, however, interested in their surroundings.

Its best to pick a local breeder and visit them in their home, when youre first making your initial enquiries to check the kittens living conditions, health and welfare of all cats living in the same environment.

Although it sounds like common sense, have questions prepared that will help you to establish whether the breeder can be trusted.

Questions youll definitely want to ask:

1. How much experience does the breeder have? If you need assurance about the breeders ability/expertise ask to speak to someone who has recently purchased a Maine Coon from that breeder.

2. Who are the kittens parents and are they champions? Even if you dont intend to show your cat, youll still want to find out about their pedigree. Thats what you are paying for. If this is just not important, you can sometimes find cheaper Maine Coons that are called pet quality meaning they do not meet the required physical standards for showing. This does not mean they are not perfectly healthy.

3. Does the stud live with the breeder? If not, can the breeder guarantee that the stud has not been subjected to any illnesses e.g. cat flu. Has the breeder bred the stud before?

4. Is there any known heredity illnesses in the ancestral line such as HCM (can cause heart failure) and hip problems?

5. Have any of the other cats suffered from any illnesses for e.g. have any recent litters suffered from any strain of cat flu?

6. If relevant to your situation, ask if the kitten is comfortable around other animals and children?

7. At what point, could the kittens leave their mother (I would be concerned if the breeder allowed the kitten to leave its mother if it is less than 12 weeks).

8. Will a vet check the kittens before leaving the breeders home? How many times? If the Maine Coon becomes ill after it has left the breeder, who is responsible for paying vets fees or could the kitten be returned to the breeder?

9. Youll also want to find out how often the queen is impregnated; because a queen subjected to too regular pregnancies can be prone to producing weak or sickly kittens.

Other things you may want to check/do:

10. The living conditions of the stud and queens e.g. the cleanliness of the cages/rooms and the health/welfare of the cat etc.

11. Will the cats be litter trained before they move to their new homes?

12. Also, the environment where the mother and kittens are living. Are there toys, clean litter, warmth, food and water?

13. Check the eyes of the kitten to evaluate its health. Never purchase a kitten that has weeping eyes.

14. The breeders contract. Have a read of the written agreement before you commit yourself. Pay particular attention to areas of responsibility should the kitten become unwell soon after youve bought him/her.

15. You should book your new kitten in for an all round check with your own vet almost as soon as youve collected from the breeder. If there are any signs of problems, youll want to know within the first 24 hours.

On the whole, Maine Coon breeders are passionate about their cats and love what they do. Theres not a whole lot of money to be made in breeding Maine Coons, and it is very demanding work.

Unless, your gut feeling tells you otherwise, you can expect to be talking to breeders who are totally dedicated Maine Coon lovers.

Copyright 2006 Sarah Crosier

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Do you ever find yourself repeating yourself to your dog or puppy? This article explains how to train a puppy or dog to listen to you first time, every time.

Many dog or puppy owners find themselves blaming their dog for not listening. When you have invested time and effort into training, it can seem like a bit of a disappointment when your dog suddenly decides to stop listening to you, or that something else in his world is more exciting or interesting than you are.

The truth is, dogs just do what works for them. It is up to you, as a puppy or dog owner to teach your pet to listen to you by making ‘listening to you’ work for them. Many dog owners inadvertantly teach their dog to ignore them!

So how do we teach a dog to listen to us?

Dog owners frequently repeat commands over and over. If your dog didn’t respond the first time, repetition isn’t going to help. Repeating commands teaches a dog that either the command is meaningless or that it’s ok to respond in their own sweet time!

We should never ask for a behavior that we aren’t at least 80% sure we will get after asking the first time. If there are too many distractions, we’re in a new situation, or the behavior just isn’t very well learned; then we probably won’t get the behavior we want.

Train quietly. It’s a hang-over from the old military-style dog training that we bellow commands at our dogs. Dogs actually have a powerful sense of hearing, and can hear our tiniest whispers. That’s not to say that a command shouldn’t be clear and audible, but if you only ever bellow commands during training, don’t expect your dog to learn to pay attention to you unless you are bellowing. A dog who has learned to listen carefully will tend to pay more attention.

A bit of meaningless chitter-chatter is ok every so often, but dogs don’t speak our language and we don’t want our cues to become lost amongst the noise. When training, try not to talk too much. Effective communication comes through quality and clarity, not quantity.

If you find yourself in a situation where your dog won’t respond to a cue, and you’re sure he knows it in other situations then ask yourself what is different about this situation? It could be that there are too many distractions for your dog to focus. It could be that the situation is vastly different from any that you have trained in.

Go back to basics when this happens. Remove distractions if you can, and re-introduce them slowly. Start at the beginning in a new situation, even if it means using a food lure briefly to ‘get the behavior’. If there’s too much going on, move away from the action a bit.

Remember to always set your dog up for success. If your dog can’t succeed, you can’t reinforce. If you can’t reinforce, nothing useful has been learned.

While we’re on the topic of reinforcement – make sure your rewards are meaningful. By definition, reinforcement is only reinforcement if it increases or maintains behavior. A full-up dog being offered lousy treats, or a dog-tired dog being offered a chance to chase a ball is probably not going to be too interested in training.

Quit while you are ahead. Don’t try to train for too long. If you train too long you start getting sub-standard behavior. Reinforcing sub-standard behavior will only give you more sub-standard behavior in the future.

Don’t feel like you have to reinforce every behavior you ask for and get. Once the behavior is well learned, stop reinforcing the worst offerings. e.g If your dog is trained to come when called, don’t reinforce if he takes too long to respond. Set him up for success, and reinforce the faster responses only.

Train often. Dogs need to learn to learn, and by training often and training consistently, your dog will learn how to play the training game with you. It should be a game, too. If training isn’t like playing a game with your dog, it stops being fun for both of you.

Be worth listening to. Be someone your dog trusts and respects. Be predictable, confident, calm, and decisive. When you make a decision, stick with it. If you decide that your dog can’t sit on the couch, lead him onto his mat every time he sits on the couch. Don’t give in just because he’s giving you those eyes. It’s another matter altogether if you decide to invite your dog onto the couch as a reward for giving you some other behaviour you asked for, though.

Aidan Bindoff is Editor of Positive Petzine, a free resource for people training their own dogs. Join now, and for a limited time you can download all available back issues (a $29.95 value) for free!

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The only way to be 100% sure of getting a verified pure breed Maine Coon cat is to buy a pedigree kitten from a breeder. The breeder should be able to present a family tree of your cats pedigree and provide relevant certification.

A recommended place to start a search for a reputable breeder in your local area is the Maine Coon Breed Fanciers Association (www.mcbfa.org) Maine Coon kittens can be instantly recognizable by the long tufty ears and oversized paws, as seen in the classic longhaired American however there is a European strain of Maine Coon, (my own Maine Coon, King Henry comes from a German line) which has a shorter ruff around the neck, and often a fuller, squarer muzzle. The differences are not apparent until the cat is between 12 to 18 months.

In terms of identifying a pure pedigree Maine Coon, youll be relying quite heavily on information the breeder is presenting to you. If you have difficulty finding a reputable breeder, you could try and get a recommendation by talking to individuals at a Maine Coon event or an all breeds Cat show. It is essential you are happy with your breeder – if you are becoming a Maine Coon owner for the first time, you may need to rely on their expert advice.

You can expect to pay anywhere between $500 and $800 for a pure breed Maine Coon. With food, litter, vet bills and cat-sitters for holidays, Maine Coons can be a relatively expensive investment. All Maine Coon owners will agree that they are a truly wonderful breed and will repay you many times over.

IMPORTANT TIP: This could save a lot of heartache, trouble and expense later on; When buying an expensive pet, do not go for the kitten you feel sorry for and looks like it needs help. Any kittens with signs of withdrawal, low energy or general apathy, should really be avoided. Choose an independent, lively, energetic kitten. Pick out kittens that dont necessarily come to you but are, however, interested in their surroundings.

Its best to pick a local breeder and visit them in their home, when youre first making your initial enquiries to check the kittens living conditions, health and welfare of all cats living in the same environment.

Although it sounds like common sense, have questions prepared that will help you to establish whether the breeder can be trusted.

Questions youll definitely want to ask:

1. How much experience does the breeder have? If you need assurance about the breeders ability/expertise ask to speak to someone who has recently purchased a Maine Coon from that breeder.

2. Who are the kittens parents and are they champions? Even if you dont intend to show your cat, youll still want to find out about their pedigree. Thats what you are paying for. If this is just not important, you can sometimes find cheaper Maine Coons that are called pet quality meaning they do not meet the required physical standards for showing. This does not mean they are not perfectly healthy.

3. Does the stud live with the breeder? If not, can the breeder guarantee that the stud has not been subjected to any illnesses e.g. cat flu. Has the breeder bred the stud before?

4. Is there any known heredity illnesses in the ancestral line such as HCM (can cause heart failure) and hip problems?

5. Have any of the other cats suffered from any illnesses for e.g. have any recent litters suffered from any strain of cat flu?

6. If relevant to your situation, ask if the kitten is comfortable around other animals and children?

7. At what point, could the kittens leave their mother (I would be concerned if the breeder allowed the kitten to leave its mother if it is less than 12 weeks).

8. Will a vet check the kittens before leaving the breeders home? How many times? If the Maine Coon becomes ill after it has left the breeder, who is responsible for paying vets fees or could the kitten be returned to the breeder?

9. Youll also want to find out how often the queen is impregnated; because a queen subjected to too regular pregnancies can be prone to producing weak or sickly kittens.

Other things you may want to check/do:

10. The living conditions of the stud and queens e.g. the cleanliness of the cages/rooms and the health/welfare of the cat etc.

11. Will the cats be litter trained before they move to their new homes?

12. Also, the environment where the mother and kittens are living. Are there toys, clean litter, warmth, food and water?

13. Check the eyes of the kitten to evaluate its health. Never purchase a kitten that has weeping eyes.

14. The breeders contract. Have a read of the written agreement before you commit yourself. Pay particular attention to areas of responsibility should the kitten become unwell soon after youve bought him/her.

15. You should book your new kitten in for an all round check with your own vet almost as soon as youve collected from the breeder. If there are any signs of problems, youll want to know within the first 24 hours.

On the whole, Maine Coon breeders are passionate about their cats and love what they do. Theres not a whole lot of money to be made in breeding Maine Coons, and it is very demanding work.

Unless, your gut feeling tells you otherwise, you can expect to be talking to breeders who are totally dedicated Maine Coon lovers.

Copyright 2006 Sarah Crosier

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We have a long history with domesticated animals and even the nay Sayers cant deny their roll in society past and present.

There is evidence that as long as 10,000 years ago the Native Americans had domesticated dogs as depicted in early rock paintings. Apparently, the dogs in the painting look remarkably like the Carolina dogs of today.

It has been well documented that dogs and horses of past have been bred to assist us in various ways whether it be pack dog, work horse, hunter or herder. There is no doubt that they have value and have contributed to society in many ways.

The cat however is a very interesting animal indeed. I have yet to see a cat that can herd, or help with the hunt or carry supplies on their backs for us. The cat is strictly a companion to us, that is if they decide to allow you to be graced with their presence. Most cats still have that strong hunting urge as evidenced by your cats offering of that bird he just caught or mouse he brings to you. Most cats get attached to an area that they claim as their own. Some cats get very attached to the people who love them but as a general rule I think the cat feels he is the one who rules and he is allowing you to care for him. Still, we love them.

Horses are a special breed and have a tremendous ability to assist us in ways as only the horse can. Horses have been our mode of transportation much longer than our current ways of getting around. They are to me of such beauty, grace, and power and I always think of them in that way much more than an animal that works for us. They are spectacular.

Dogs however are by far the most domesticated of all animals. They not only help us but they are so genuinely attached to people and their antics are a constant source of pleasure to us. Just look at children or elderly people in an old folks home. If a child finds a stray dog they will surely beg you to allow them to keep the dog. If you take a dog into an old folks home you can see the dog respond happily around them and the smiles on peoples faces are a joy to see.

I had a Springer Spaniel when I was younger and he was the funniest, most easy- going dog around. He was unusual in that he had a very special relationship with our guinea pig. We had the best time watching these two at play. It was the same every day. The guinea pig would wait at the hallway entrance and would stay there until the dog noticed. Then the chase was on! The dog would bark and chase him all the way down the hall. The guinea pig at the last minute would veer to the left and run into the bedroom and go under the bed. The dog was big and somewhat clumsy and would never be able to slow down in time and hed crash into the wall, get up and then go put his nose under the bed and bark. They would do this four or five times in a row and then curl up together and sleep. Those two made us laugh. It was great!

We love our animals, as it should be. Be kind and take well care of them.

Willie Jones

Willie is a freelance writer, researcher, floral designer, and artist. Thanks very much for reading this far. Please come and visit us at: http://www.artinspires.com/for an inspirational poster or two

Make sure you enroll in the free motivational poster drawing. All winners receive a free framed print.

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