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TIPS & TRICKS

Puppy ears will benefit from a little training through the teething stage. Collie expression (=”what a sweet face!”) is dependent upon nicely carried and properly tipped ears.

The materials that are available to us now make the training of Collie ears quick and easy.

First: for propping the lower two-thirds of each ear as well as positioning the ears in the correct relationship to each other, we cut MOLESKIN (1) into a u-shaped tab, coat the tab and inside each ear (lower 2/3) lightly with surgical cement (2), place and press the left shank of the U into the left ear and the right shank of the U into the right ear. The horizontal portion of the U should be short enough to hold the ears in a comfortably upright position and long enough to prevent any distorting of the natural shape of the ear.  The long edge of the U-tab is placed on the line were the ears tend to crease naturally.  The bottoms of the U reach down to the nubby projection in each ear.  (We will illustrate with a photograph, to follow).

Materials and Sources: (1) MOLESKIN by Dr. Scholl, available at all Drug Stores, Bimart, etc.  (2) SKIN BOND by Smith - Nephew, and the solvent for it, UNI-SOLVE by same, available through us or from Samaritan Pharmacy, 3615 NW Samaritan Dr. #102, Corvallis 97330.        

Secondly:  apply one drop of TEAR MENDER (3) to each ear tip and fold upper 1/3 of the ear down past the ear crease line and press/hold the ear trip for a few seconds. Keep the inner edge of the tip aligned with the inner edge of the lower portion of the ear.         Tear Mender acts like rubber cement but a solvent for it is available.

Material and Sources:  (3) TEAR MENDER is available at True Value and at Ace Hardware stores. (4) MEDICAL ADHESIVE REMOVER, STOCK #7731, by Hollister, is available at hospital and other pharmacies or directly from Hollister, Inc., Libertyville, IL 60048, 1-800-323-4060

BOOK REVIEW: DOG BEHAVIOR ...by Dr. Ian Dunbar

A veterinarian, animal behaviorist, and director of SIRIUS Puppy Training, Dr. Ian Dunbar has made it his priority to figure out just why dogs do what they do. After all, Dunbar reasons, “If we are going to ask dogs to come and live with us, it is only fair that we try our utmost to understand dogs as dogs.” Dunbar shares his findings in Dog Behavior, one of a series of popular books put out by Howell Book Press under the umbrella title of An Owner’s Guide to A Happy Healthy Pet. While this short book—142 pages—is by no means comprehensive, it is surprisingly packed with intriguing and invaluable information that will help the befuddled dog owner interpret their beloved’s seemingly bizarre antics. Dunbar answers questions like, why doesn’t my male dog raise his leg? Why does my female dog raise her leg? Why does my puppy lick the lips of my older dog? Dunbar further explains how to utilize our improved understanding of doggie behavior to train our canine partners in more gentle and effective ways, sans corporal punishment. Written in a friendly, just-the-facts-ma’am style, Dunbar’s Dog Behavior serves as a solid introduction to the mind of the dog (as far as we humans can figure). For those who want to delve deeper, Dunbar provides a list of recommended books and videos in the last chapter.

Julie Mayeda (thank you, Julie! E&L)