A New Dog

Last year our dog Ruby died. We took some time to cope with the loss and now is the time for a new dog. After we loved a Great Dane once, there is no other dog we want. Here is a picture of our new puppy Ronja:


While I chose the name of our previous dog - Ruby - my wife chose the name of this one. Ronja or Ronia is the daughter of the leader of a clan of robbers. Obviously she has little manners and does what she likes - and that is exactly the nature of our little Ronja ;-)

Raising a Puppy
Like software development, raising a puppy is a detailed process which can be improved continuously. Today we know more than ten years ago and we want to do much better. There are many misconceptions how to raise dogs and I learnt again that knowing how to handle certain situations is not enough - I have to practice them. For example, grabbing the puppy on time so it will not pee on the carpet is a skill. If you ever plan to raise a puppy I recommend to check out the books by Ian Dunbar, BEFORE You Get Your Puppy and AFTER You Get Your Puppy. These are small books, fun and easy to read. Both books are provided as e-books courtesy of simpawtico dog training in the downloads section. And even if you do not own any dogs, reading these books will help you understand why dogs behave how they do - especially if they have been trained badly.