Monthly Archives: June 2012

Excessive Barking: Boredom

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Excessive barking can be a real problem. It can cause neighbors to become irate and increases the stress in a household to the point where owners decide it just isn’t worth it. But barking is a natural behaviour that does … Continue reading →

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Puppy Farms in New Zealand

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

I had a discussion with a women last night about puppy farms. When she found out what I do, she told me about the puppy she had bought her dog from a local pet store. I explained to her that … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Welfare | Tagged , , | 4 Comments


Trading Up

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

Dogs don’t have a true concept of “theft”. If they want something and no one else has it, It is fair game. Until the dog has learned to discriminate between ‘dog’ items and ‘human’ items, it’s all just ‘stuff to chew’. The … Continue reading →

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Wellington SPCA Appeal Month

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

For the last three years I have been working closely with the Wellington SPCA in  a variety of ways; from taking photos of the animals for the SPCA website, to training the dogs in the shelter, I have been donating … Continue reading →

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Most Misunderstood dog behaviours #3: Trash Talking and Vocalization in Play

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Marika S. Bell

People get nervous when dogs growl, bark, and generally trash talk while they play. While growling can mean “get away from me”,  in play this is rarely the case. The trick to figuring out if your dog’s vocalizations are meant … Continue reading →

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