Rendell appoints dog-law enforcers 

As promised, Gov. Ed Rendell is taking steps to clean up the state’s reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East.

Hunting Lolita 
I have a confession to make; last weekend at the Scottish Festival in McPherson, I met someone new. Her name is Lolita. She is short with piercing eyes that give her narrow face a stern, solemn expression. Her skin is dark and feathery soft, and glistens in the sunlight.

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Acts to Strengthen State Dog Law; Protect Animals, Consumers 
Governor Edward G. Rendell today proposed sweeping changes to the state’s dog law and related state regulations that are designed to improve the conditions under which dogs are bred and sold in Pennsylvania.

Fading puppies illness a devastating experience 
Question: Ive been raising beagles for about 15 years and just had my first exposure a devastating experience with what Im told probably was Fading puppy Disease.

Castrating The Oversexed Beagle Puppy

Castration is the best way to deal with an oversexed Beagle puppy. He will not get better as he grows older, as some people would have you believe; he will get worse. Destructive acts such as tearing up bedding are all part of the sex urge, and eventually he will mount people’s legs to the intense embarrassment of those concerned.

Castration, if done young, has no bad effect on the puppy at all, and the result will be fairly speedy. If left until the Beagle is really a confirmed nuisance, it takes much longer to have effect. Most vets do the operation overnight and let the puppy go home next morning. There need be no stitches in the incision. After a week the puppy is quite over it. Some vets put in stitches, but these do occasionally get infected. So keep an eye on the puppy’s backside for at least a week to see that all is healing well.

A castrated puppy should be strictly dieted to keep his figure. He is inclined to beg for food. There are no harmful effects after castration. All male beagles kept as pets would only benefit by this operation. They are much nicer to own, and remain happy.

Beagle Information

Here we will post information about Beagles which you may find useful.

Doggie duo work to unchain pets in Durham 

If you get up from your seat at Amanda and Casey Arrington’s Durham home, there’s no guarantee you’ll have it even if you return in a few minutes. That’s because one of their seven dogs will likely claim your spot. On a recent visit, Sophie, 7, with Chihuahua face and dachshund body, trotted as quickly as her stubby legs could carry her and plopped upon a still-warm sofa cushion just vacated by a more…

MOUNT VERNON The 10 dogs at Wednesday evenings Pet Blessing at St. Pauls Episcopal Church seemed puzzled by the proceedings. The four cats, however, were just plain annoyed. more…

Beagle Hypochondriacs

What makes human hypochondriacs so odd and disturbing is that they really do believe that they are suffering from an illness in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Beagle hypochondriacs are in many ways far more innocent. They have simply learned that certain actions are rewarded, and behave accordingly. Given the inventive repertoire of behavior that dogs are capable of thanks to their playful propensities, and given how strong a drive social attention is for a dog, they are adept at forming such associations in their minds and sticking with them.

beagles that have been genuinely sick and who get a lot of attention as a result are the prime candidates for the “sick pet syndrome.” They can quickly discover that when sitting quietly or acting normally they are ignored, but if they suffer a sudden relapse of an alarming symptom, their owner immediately rushes over, pets them, makes concerned cooing sounds, and so on. Dogs that suffer gastric upheavals, as all dogs do, often get extra attention and sometimes special food. It doesn’t take long for certain dogs to learn that bouts of vomiting and diarrhea are rewarded with hamburger and rice dinners, while behaving normally results in the same old dry dog food. Dogs have acquired such imaginary ailments as lameness, paralysis, muscle twitches, and runny noses, among others.

The surefire test for whether a Beagle is faking an illness is to leave the house and then sneak back and peek through a window to watch what the dog does when no one is around to provide the immediate reward of attention. Many alarmed owners, concerned that their pets are suffering from some horrible disease, who refuse to believe that it could just be an act, quickly become converted when they see their lame or paralyzed dogs get up and prance around the house when they think no one is there.

The solution, once it is clear that it is an act rather than a true illness, is simply to ignore the dog whenever he is performing his routine, and to pet him and give him extra attention and food treats whenever he is acting normally, or even just lying quietly. This exactly reverses the previous reinforcement schedule, under which the dog was rewarded for acting goofy and ignored for being normal.

It might seem that a dog that can put on an act only when it has an audience must have some ability to understand the mental state of its audience, a conclusion that seems at odds with the experimental evidence that dogs lack a “theory of mind” and an ability to imagine what others are thinking, perceiving, and feeling. But most likely the dogs in these cases have learned a fairly simple association.

Dogs that seek attention seek that attention from a human, so the presence of a human is the stimulus for its learned behavior. This is no different from a Beagle that learns to jump up on a bag of dog food - it is the simple presence of an object associated with a reward that is the trigger for the behavior. A dog does not have to grasp the idea that another being is watching and interpreting his actions; all he has to learn is that taking such an action when a person is present results in a reward - and doing it when no one is present does not.

The Salisbury Post

Salisbury Post - In fact, they went out of their way to find a blind beagle. Shortly before they got Charlie in June, Mara and Jimmy had They believe that some breeders, dog owners and animal shelters are too quick to euthanize blind dogs. “Dogs with handicaps
Source: www.salisburypost.com

puppy mills group s pet peeve; Society says most store dogs
Delaware State News - Cindi Brown, a sales associate at CR Pets in Camden, cradles three puppies for sale at the store, a beagle, a west highland The agency also warns that breeders who advertise on the Internet often operate puppy mills, despite insisting that they run
Source: www.newszap.com

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Palo Alto Weekly - Sadly, however, there are almost no responsible breeders of pit bulls in this country. The VAST majority of pit bulls are bred by completely irresponsible breeders. Indeed, the pit bull community has a FIT when laws (such as that passed in San
Source: www.paweekly.com

Hunting Lolita
Dodge City Daily Globe - He then becomes the “Beagle,” as his assignment in the partnership is to walk through the trees and brush and “kick up” the Other raptor species must be purchased from certified breeders out of state. At any time, a wild-trapped native bird can be
Source: www.dodgeglobe.com

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Acts to Strengthen State Dog Law
Yahoo Finance - We are taking strong steps to protect consumers, reputable breeders and kennels, and the defenseless animals whose health and Sheep & Wool Growers Association - John Weinstein - Allegheny County Treasurer - John Gibble - president, NE Beagle
Source: biz.yahoo.com