Is your dog cool?

I mean really, really cool?

Then sign him up for Spike’s Pack!

To submit your dog for consideration, submit a large photo and a short biography of your dog to spike@askspikeonline.com.

Guest post by: Tax, The Wonder Dog Spike’s Little Brother

This week in a unanimous vote, the city of Lancaster, California passed an ordinance requiring all owners of pit bulls, Rottweilers, and mixed breed dogs deemed “potentially dangerous” to:

• Have microchip implants and vaccinations at the owner’s expense.
• Be kept indoors or in a securely fenced yard or enclosure constructed at the owner’s expense.
• Wear a muzzle and a 4-foot-long leash held by a controlling adult when taken off the owner’s property.
• Complete an approved obedience course at the owner’s expense.
• Be spayed or neutered at the owner’s expense.
• Be covered by liability insurance valued at $300,000 per occurrence obtained at the owner’s expense. Continue Reading

Recently, Lola and I were chatting, and I offered to write a guest post on her blog about the probems many people encounter with their new puppies.  She posted it last night, so head on over and check it out.

This year to celebrate Spay Day 2009, I have begun raising money for a shelter for a local shelter.  To help me help the Humane Society’s Mountain Shelter, you can donate by voting for my picture here.

We are very proud to announce something we have been working on for the last few weeks in addition to our normal duties, providing our readers with entertaining (I hope) information on canine behavior.

Today, January 26th, we have launched a new site, Spike’s Lost and Found, in an effort to assist lost dogs reunite with their families.  The beauty of this project is that the site can be updated with an e-mail.  Once I have approved the post, the site will be updated with the information contained in the e-mail.  The post will then have a notification sent out on Twitter to all of the followers of @spikeslostfound alerting them to a new posting on the site.

Families who have lost their dog, as well as people who have found a dog, can use this site to find each other.  If you find yourself in need of such a service, you need only e-mail us at lostandfound[at]askspikeonline[dot]com.

UPDATE: Through a very scientific process requiring multiple rocket scientists, a super computer, and many Red Bulls (collecting the commenters’ names, placing them in a hat, and drawing a winner), @shweetpotato and her Baby are the winners of the three dog frisbees.  Thanks to all who entered.

Since we have had some bearable and playful weather here in Georgia, Mom and I have decided to give away three Frisbees given to us by Iams for some active dogs to play with, some inactive dogs who need the exercise, or someone who wants to start teaching their dogs to play Frisbee.

These are excellent Frisbees.  Tax and I have a set of them, and Tax gets more use out of them now than I do.  They seem to be pretty durable, but they are certainly not to be used as as chew toy.  A picture of the set is below.

To enter the drawing for the giveaway, do the following.

1. AFTER 6 AM EST tomorrow (Friday, January 23, 2009), but BEFORE 6 PM EST Sunday, January 25, 2009, follow me on Twitter.  If you are already on Twitter, follow me here.  If you are not yet a part of Twitter, you can join here (signing up is easy, free, and only takes a few seconds) and follow me here.
2. Send me a “reply” on Twitter, introducing yourself with “#spikegift” somewhere in the message.
3. Leave a comment to this post with your Twitter username as your name.  It is imperative that you provide a valid e-mail address (it will not be displayed, except to the lazy Web guy), so that you can be contacted if you are the winner.

The winner will be chosen at random and announced as an update to this post on Monday.

Past winners include: @shanajean’s Darcy.

UPDATE: Through a very scientific process requiring multiple rocket scientists, a super computer, and many Red Bulls (collecting the commenters’ names, placing them in a hat, and drawing a winner), @shanajean and her Westie puppy, Darcy, are the winners of the Winter Snowman toy.  Thanks to all who entered, and we invite you to check back on Thursday for an announcement of the next giveaway item(s).

In celebration of all of the recent snowy weather across the United States (unfortunately none for Tax and I to play in down in Georgia), Mom and I have decided to kick off a series of giveaways with a winter snowman to our readers.  It has a great squeaker in the belly, and it is filled with stuffing.  Tax has one, he loves it, and he has yet to rip out the stuffing, so it seems to be pretty durable.  The photo below shows the snowman hugging a plant.

Btw, the plant is not included.

To enter the drawing for the giveaway, do the following.

1. AFTER 6 AM EST tomorrow (Friday, January 16, 2009), but BEFORE 6 PM EST Sunday, January 18, 2009, follow me on Twitter.  If you are already on Twitter, follow me here.  If you are not yet a part of Twitter, you can join here (signing up is easy, free, and only takes a few seconds) and follow me here.
2. Send me a “reply” on Twitter, introducing yourself with “#spikegift” somewhere in the message.
3. Leave a comment to this post with your Twitter username as your name.  It is imperative that you provide a valid e-mail address (it will not be displayed, except to the lazy Web guy), so that you can be contacted if you are the winner.

The winner will be chosen at random and announced as an update to this post before 11 PM EST on Sunday evening.

Mom was right.  I should have discussed this right after potty training.  This is one of the most important things to teach your dog, as it can save their life should they be in impending danger.  It is also something that can greatly reduce your stress as a parent.  This article has been spurred by a request from a reader whose German Shepherd will not come when called in the backyard, while his siblings seem to understand it well.

It was stated that the dog will come inside with a leash on, but that does not necessarily mean that he has a true understanding of the COME command.  Continue Reading

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFdiDvqBuQY]

I have never ridden in a motocycle’s sidecar, so I cannot recommend it.  Rose and her friend make this look like a lot of fun, and if it is anything like when I stick my head out of the window in Mom’s car, I am in!  Now, where can Ifind someone who rides a motorcycle?

TEACHING THE SIT COMMAND

Mom says that the “SIT” command is the #1 control command.  If a dog is acting out, all you have to say is SIT and the dog is back under control.  Mom said that she has noticed that the SIT command is also used in grocery stores for children.  Parents say SIT and the children SIT down in the cart!

In this post, we will only be covering teaching your dog how to SIT.  You are on your own with the kids. Continue Reading