Monthly Archives: July 2011

Arabella! Dog of the Week!

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

Arabella is a beautiful Border Collie (cross?) with a wonderful temperament and lovely manners. She has only been in Waikanae a couple weeks but I expect she will be in hot demand. She gets on well with the other dogs … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments


Bad Press for Shelters

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

Dear Marika, I meant to ask if you had seen the last episode of ‘Make the Politician Work’ on Sunday (TV1 7.00 pm)?  It featured Simon Power working at the Auckland SPCA.  I could hardly bear to watch and wound … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Welfare | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment


Moe! Dog of the Week!

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

Moe is a playful and sweet, 7 month old, who has been brought up in the puppy run of Newtown and has now been down in the dog run for 2 months. He is confident and confortable playing with most … Continue reading →

Posted in Adoption | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment


A Moment at the Park

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

I had a moment recently where I called someone on their bullshit. This is not like me at all. I don’t like confrontation and I usually let most things pass. But this women, kneed her dog in the head when … Continue reading →

Posted in Aggression, Background, learning, Methods | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment


Clyde! Dog of the Week!

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

Clyde is part of the same littler as Mylie, Kylie and Pixie. They are reportedly Mastiff /Greyhound crosses, although some of them look  more like German Shepherds! Clyde is now 10 months old and still hasn’t even been on trial … Continue reading →

Posted in Adoption | Tagged , , | 2 Comments


Territorial or Anxiety? Does it Matter?

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

I have had a number of cases where someone is fed up because their dog is regularly peeing around the house. A few things strike me as similar in these cases. First: The  issue has been going on for some … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, learning, Training Methods | Tagged , , | Leave a comment


Advanced Dog Walking Skills

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

After attending the 2011 Volunteer appreciation evening for the Wellington SPCA last month, I started chatting with the new CEO, Iain Torrence and Nick Taylor, the manager for the Newtown branch, about introducing an intermediate and /or advanced dog walking … Continue reading →

Posted in Activites, CPDT certified, learning, Training Methods | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment


Being the “Pack Bully”

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

I started reading books on wolf behavior because of all the talk about “Wolf Pack Theory” this is the general idea (not an actual Scientific Theory) that you can predict your dogs behavior based on how wolves act. This idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Aggression, Book Review, Communication, Training Methods | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments


New Tag Time!

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Marika S. Bell

It is that time of year again. I received a lovely letter two weeks ago from the Porirua city council that said in no uncertain terms if I didn’t register my dogs by the 1st of July, they would send … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Welfare | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment