Yesterday in a blog comment Sarah asked about the kinds of activities one can do with a Berner, and if there are any especially good dog-related activities for kids. Great questions!
The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America (BMDCA) has a wonderful Info Series that includes short articles about all things Berners, and there is an entire section of articles covering Activities; you can find these articles by clicking HERE and scrolling down the page.
You will see there is an article about Juniors in the Activities section — that article includes info about activities involving kids. Agility is an especially fun event for kids to do with dogs, but so is obedience, Scentwork, and conformation — any activity could be fun if a dog and young person want to get involved with it and have a good trainer.
Zeus (Wildflowers) and one of his humans, Raymond.
The ethical treatment and training of a puppy/dog is a wonderful way to teach children prosocial skills that will have broad and valuable application in their lives. Dr. Ian Dunbar has an excellent video titled Dog Training for Children that families can watch together so that everyone is on board with how we train in ethical and effective ways.
I got in the mood to groom dogs yesterday and Pozy was swept up in my enthusiasm. Puppies grow wild ear frizzles…
I decided the time had come to give her a more polished look.
It is easy to trim ears. Just buy/order an inexpensive pair of thinning shears and thin the ear frizzle. I leave it about 3/4 of an inch or so long but it is not an exact science and doesn’t need to be. If you mess up — no worries because it will grow back (think of the bad parental haircuts you probably got as a kid!)
I also tidied up her feet…
Just a pair of scissors — rounded tips are a bonus but not required.
There is no need to send your dog off to someone for grooming — it is easy to do it yourself. If you must use a groomer for some reason, best to use one that lets you watch (and feed cookies to your dog).
And again, if your grooming efforts yield imperfect results — so what? Nobody takes away your birthday if the dog’s ears are not perfectly groomed.
Sparkle with her imperfectly trimmed ears — my birthday remains on May 24, FYI.
Best wishes for a marvelous Monday.
