There were times when my other 'children' would sneak out of our yard and there at door, would be my Max tattle-taling on others' sneaky escapades. He was Alpha dog of pack and would quickly let others know exactly that - when they had gotten out of line.

To me, Max gave illusion of immorality. He wasn't poster dog of health, as he had always had seizures from time he was a pup; but he was a survivor. And I guess seeing that he had never succumbed to effects of this sometimes horrible condition, I wanted to believe that he could survive just about anything.

One of his negative sides was that he was a constant protector. Very territorial, he demanded utter respect of 'intruders,' and many times, we had to send him to my bedroom to keep his overzealous attitude from harming our guests. But he never complained. A matter of fact, he enjoyed his tranquil moments lounging on my bed away from rest of pack.

Sometimes, Max would lay across room and admire me with his tiny, cherry eyes. Being Sharpei he was, he never lacked gratitude or devotion to me.

His reprisal of water made him a funny candidate at bathtime or on wet, soggy days. He would literally tip-toe like a ballerina across rain-soaked lawn in hopes of diminishing his contact with wetness; and when bathtime came around, he would make himself as stiff as an ironing board as to avoid being carried to 'dreadful' tub. But once he was lathered in soapy suds, Max would tolerate his wash like humble soldier he was.

In retrospect, I wouldn't have traded him for world. Though he sometimes acted like a hyperactive child, his otherwise loving disposition conquered most thoughts of anxiety.

When I noticed Max having difficulty staying on his feet, I didn't want to accept that he was deathly ill. It just couldn't be. He had been healthy just a few days prior. We'd always made certain he had his routine vaccinations, heartworm preventatives, healthy dog food, and periodic checkups. Another sign of his sickness was that he would pull his face together in a grimace. I'd never seen Max pull a grimace, and then when he couldn't lie down due to pain in his rapidly swelling stomach, I knew it was time to take him to vet.

By Jon Dunkerley (slaboflab)

www.web-rover.com

Showing off your dog in front of friends and family is something that I personally love to do. Having an obedient, happy slab of lab is like having an obedient happy child. Have you ever been in a supermarket only to come across a screaming baby and a blushing parent? I know I have, and my first reaction is to get as far away from disturbing scene as possible. I have also been in undesirable situation of being in public with an unobedient dog and I can say, I feel pain of frantic parent!

The term, ¡§A happy dog is an obedient dog¡¨ is one that I really believe holds a lot of merit due to its simplicity. If you have a relatively well behaved dog, that interacts well with family, it is fair to say that rarely will you or anyone else in that family be angry or even worse abusive towards your pet. On other hand if your dog is not obedient to a satisfactory level, and does not interact well with family, one can say that members of that family will have a hard time coping with pet and this trend can only escalate only leading to eventual departure of pet from family.

When teaching your dog basic obedience, it is wize to make sure that you first have an understanding of art yourself. Like people, dogs have unique personalities none of which are same, and it is a good trainer that will take time to figure out dog before trying to figure out how to best approach introducing basic obedience. Furthermore, there are many external resources out there for you to take advantage of in order to help you understand art of training. Books, articles, Obedience Instructors, and internet, are all viable sources that you should take advantage of when seeking advice, or just experiences from others in your situation.

Below I have listed my top ten components to keep in mind when working with your dog. I did not rank them, as they are all very important to keep in mind as they will only aid you in bonding, understanding, and interacting positively with your four-legged friend:

- Know what your doing ¡V Before comensing any type of training, do your research first! To offen, pet owners try to do all work their way, get frustrated and take out their frustrations on their pet. Having an understanding of methodology behind many types of training, will benefit you to know end.

- Consistancy ¡V Being consistent with your approach is very very important when dealing with your dog in any aspect of life. When working with your dog try to use same approach each time. Changing training methods mid session for example will only confuse your dog even more than he-she already is. Furthermore, set up training time at least twice a day, and keep to these times. Training time is important, more sessions you set up more productivity you can expect in long run.

- Keep your sessions short ¡V The attention span of a dog is frail at best of times, thus it is crutial to keep sessions short. Remember keep sessions short but do not sacrifice content. Rome was not built in a day.

- Keep training sessions fun ¡V Dogs as do people, like to have fun, and why shouldn¡¦t they? Training can be fun for you and your pet! Be lively, treat good behavior, praise your dog to no end, make him feel like he is best dog in world, even if he¡¦s not!