Bond with the dog – what does it actually mean?

There are quite a few indicators that show you how strong your bond with you dog is. One could be when he never comes to you out of own motivation or nearly always stays in other rooms instead of being in the room you are. When you take him for a walk and he rarely comes back when called or everything is more exciting than you, this can also be a point. When the dog shows aggressive behavior when feeded, this could be a sign that he doesn`t see a social partner in you. Logically, this is also influenced by the bond.

In the end, the bond is like an imaginary leash. When I do have a good relationship with my dog, he will literally stand next to you. When it is not the case, he won`t even be at the end of the leash, but anywhere on the other side of the yard. As with people, dogs have a strong bond to some humans, whereas having a weaker one to others. But what is important here?

Offer your dog appreciation, security and reliability

A fundamental basic of having a strong bond with your dog is appreciating the dog as the creature that he is. All animals have needs – like humans. Many of the needs are similar, others are different. Carrying the dog in your arms, lifting him up whenever a dog is coming close, coloring the claws, not offering a place to retreat or applying physical force (yep, also throwing the leash at the dog) has nothing to do with species-appropriate interaction. In contrast, he will most likely look for my companionship, if I respect his needs. Why should he NOT do it, if he finds everything he needs when being in your proximity?

Obviously, you should be reliable – so, be consequent and consistant! That concerns EVERYTHING you do. If I insist on “come!” today, then I cannot be consistent tomorrow. Also, when you feed the dog and give the command to eat, there is no day where the dog decides when to start. Particularly pack animals like dogs need someone they can rely on. This is why it is so important that you take the leading role.

As a consequence, your dog will feel safe. He can feel safe, no matter what might happen. You care for the food that magically comes out of a can or box and that doesn`t look like a fresh rabbit. You lead hime through the crowd of people through the inner city. Also, you are the one that know the best smelling yards and greatest other dogs you meet when having walkies.

Pay attention to your dog

Spending time together does not necessarily mean quality time. When everbody does his own stuff and there is almost no interaction, you miss the potential of improving the bond with your dog. In times of digitisation, you can recognise that on the example of walkies. Here you have numerous opportunities to play with the dog, let him go sniffing and marking, searching for objects or training commands. However, if you spend the majority of time with Facebook, Instagram and other apps, it doesn`t have anything to do with attention. It is the same, when I`d just walk the dog without having any communication. If the dog looks for eye contact and you are busy with other things or not attentive, what should the dog do then? (7 tips how to spice up your walkie and daily life with dog)

But also inside, you can do many things to strenghten the bond with your dog. Most of us already know that humans release the hormone Oxytocin whenever you e.g. cuddle with someone like dogs. However, the same effect is recognizable with dogs, which is a quite interesting fact. We can therefore cuddle the “bonding hormone” out of the dog! So, what are you waiting for?

All in all, you should not only spend sufficient time with your dog, but also have quality time. It doesn`t matter, if you spend some time with your mobile phone or other things. But it is about recognizing the dog as a social partner and to not spend the majority of time with other (less important) things.

Spend enough time to get to know your dog!

All of the described tips and support is logically only applicable, when you know your dog well. Very well. Of course, everybody claims to know the own the dog by heart. But if you are honest and think about: Have you really tried ANYTHING what your dog could like?

• Did you throw balls, frisbees and sticks to bring back?
• Does you dog liek to swim?
• Are you sure that he doesn`t like carrot slices?
• What about agility? Or brain games?
• He also may like to do spectacular stunts or simple tricks?

This small variety of acitivties is extendable much more, of course. As a consequence, it is worth it to spend much time! But isn`t it a great thing to go through life with your dog together and get to know each other better by doing so? I am always happy when Jake carries the newspaper, while I have enough to carry after my purchase. He really likes to do that and I can literally feel what a great pack we are. I have the impression that he walks with pride when carrying the newspaper. But it may also just seem like that, because it is so big and his legs so short.

Every human being is unique. Every dog is unique. Believe it or not. Consequently, the personalities and needs always differ at least a bit. The one dog loves to fetch balls, whereas for others (like Jake) fetching balls makes no sense. For them, searching for delicious pieces of cheese is much more enjoyable. After a while, you find out a lot of new things. Here is the chance to strenghten the bond by fulfilling the needs.

When we have spent a significant amount of time and know our dogs very well, we can offer them life quality. A crucial role play is the appreciation of the species dog and the respect for their needs. Our reliability and consistance makes the dogs feel secure, because he just needs to follow us. Now, nothing stands in the way of having  strong bond with the dog!

Der Beitrag How to bond with your dog – the first years erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

From Yukon down to Vancouver Island

On our way back south, we indeed met some old friends again. The bison herd was still relaxing on and off the street. Also Jake got to know those big friends and even greeted them by “barking”. But that barking was so quiet that I would describe it as an air blast coming out of his mouth. Is it possible that someone was scared?

We now took a slightly different route back to Vancouver that is to say via world-famous Whistler at the Pacific Ocean with its ski resort. In summer you can do anything there, including hiking, sledding and…hiking. Staying there costs a fortune, but for just looking around it is worth it.

Our joint time was coming to an end on Vancouver Island which we arrived by ferry at Nanaimo. There is a beautiful road from there through a rain forest called Pacific Rim National Park. At the end of the road is Tofino, where parts of “Free Willy” was filmed (the movie with that little kid and the orca). I am sure that there are countless more boring places when you hike through a rain forest or walk along coast promenades with your dog.

Vancouver Island and its captial Victoria – also the capital of the federal state British Columbia – was an absolute highlight again regarding its architecture, nature, artistic diversity and flair.

A farewell with obstacles

Unfortunately, my girlfriend Lena had to leave us and go back to Germany, because she started her voluntary social year couldn`t wait longer. As we got ready in the morning of the flight`s day, Jake came back to the car with blood in his face. A big shock! In the days before, his right cheek became thicker and thicker after getting stitched by a bee and now it literally burst open.

We raced to the next possible veterinarian, who luckily could care for him. She told us that Jake had an allergic reaction to the stitch and that was the reason for his cheek getting thicker and thicker. With a funnel made out of plastic we could take him along shortly after and drive to the airport.

Our last weeks in Canada

Jake and I spent our last weeks on a horse ranch in Chilliwack, a two-hours drive from Vancouver. The ranch was guided by two lovely ladies.

I had a nice and small room in the horse stable. But in contrast to the stalls of the horses, I had an own bathroom, a sleeping couch, a table and a real floor, like a “normal” room. It was great, in particular because those horses were successful competitors at canadian championships in dressage. The two ladies also had three dogs and for the first time, I learned to understand social interactions between dogs, rank orders between them and in general how to deal with dogs.

We made several trips such as to “Hell`s Gate” close to a town called Hope. I was there already at the beginning of the journey. My girlfriend and I had no idea back then when we were looking for the next place to sleep and ended up in Hope, where we were looking around a bit. In the town hall, there was nothing but a brochure and lots of DVDs of the first “Rambo” movie. Interesting. It turned out that the movie was filmed here and in the close surrounding (and not as suggested in the movie, in a US-American town). Now on the second trip, Jake also came along. The imagination that my dog Jake was walking through the same streets as Sylvester Stallone when he wrote film history is kind of funny.

Furthermore, a very special event was a small barbecue. It was organized by some friends who belong to the Native Americans. The special thing was not only watching the traditional preparation of salmon, but also the fact that this regular event is organized to improve the exchange and communication between Native Americans and all other population groups.

Bye-bye Canada!

Our journey was coming to an end and after we finished all our preparations for the flight, we were ready to start. It was indeed a weird feeling when I checked in the transport box with Jake inside and to hope that everything goes well. Small dogs normally are allowed to go along the passengers, but bigger ones have to stay in an apart room at the baggage area. My nervousness reduced when a kind neighbour gave me some of his gin. The effect of alcohol is much stronger up in the air and I could think of something else.

We arrived in Frankfurt and after I got my luggage, Jake was coming on a different belt shortly after. He was really confused, but that`s not surprising after a sixteen-hours trip. I was just happy to be back safely at my family.

A dream came true. I got to know the country Canada and felt in love with it. But an even longer-lasting impact on my life was the adoption of a dog. We now had a new member in our family and everybody was already excited to get to know that dog from Canada!

Der Beitrag The Jake Story: A road trip through Canada | Part 3 erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

Which provider of dog sled tours is the right one?

When you inform yourself about the offers, you should pay attention to a couple of things. An important aspect surely the reachability. In my case, the Rhoen was the closest region with an elevated probability of having snow during winter. As a beginner you should not directly start with a 3-days experience, but with a taster of a few hours or a day trip. Furthermore, I always try to directly book at the provider`s homepage and not via third providers or travel companies. After I have set my criteria, I found a good offer after a while and booked it via phone.

Here, you should also check the offer very well: Often, the deals sound nice and good, but in a lot of them, you are only a passenger, but not the driver of such a sled. In contrast, I wanted to drive it on my own – despite the risk of falling off the sled (more about that later…).

First contact with the musher and the dogs

I really would have loved to have Jake with me, because his home is world famous for its sled dog races, mushers and huskies. But as a short-legged Huskymix, he could probably join me only if he was sitting on the sled as a passenger. The expression of the dogs` faces would surely have been priceless. But yeah. The Rolling Stones are right: You can`t always get what you want. Instead, my girlfriend came along. Also good! ?

Finally, we arrived the place in the late morning. The musher – the dog sled leader – was already waiting for us. Around 20 dogs are living in that compound what you can hear far enough. We were introduced to the dogs and got an introduction into the use of the sleds. On that day, there was snow, but not enough to sled with a real one. That`s why everyone got a sled with wheels instead of skids, which is not a big difference compared to a “real” sled. I can`t even say that, because I have no experience in order to compare them. But I still claim it. Just to sound like an expert.

Tracking through the woods and a risky situation

After the musher harnessed the huskies in front of the sleds, we were finally ready to go. After the start of the musher and my girlfriend, I also could release the brake and the energetic dogs could finally do what they love the most – RUN!

All dogs were freaking out and yes, so was I. This vitality gave me a great feeling and I was already feeling as a member of the pack, also because we all felt the same: “Go, go, go!” I really had to pay attention, because I underestimated the acceleration – despite the note of the musher before. He was in control in the front and the two dog teams just had to follow him. We didn`t have to show more skills than simply not falling down. Sounds easy, right?

Well, yes. Kind of. After a while, you feel more secure about sledding and you get great ideas like taking photos. Which I did. However, it was not a good idea. After shooting a few pictures I am not very focused on the sled anymore. I was drifting more and more to the right and tried to direct the sled back to the middle of the track with one hand. That was no easy job, because I was holding the camera in the other hand and I was getting closer and closer to the trench. Then, I was driving half on the track and half on the trench.

However, after a while I could direct the sled back on the track, which needed a big effort. Who is falling off the sled and lets dogs run? That would have been quite embarrassing, but everything luckily went well. Finally, it was a good thing to make photos. I have no idea what the dogs were thinking when I was in trouble and honestly, I don`t wanna know it.

A great highlight comes to an end

After around 2 hours through the beautiful countryside and woods the dog sled experience came to an end. Now, the tongue of the dogs was much longer and visible. However, they still could have run many more hours. It is truly remarkable how strong and persistent the – not even that big – huskies can be. Even for me, the whole trip was really demanding and that experience was the reason why I now have so much more respect for what sled dog teams accomplish during mulit-day or ultimative races like the Yukon Quest or Iditarod. There, the race is not only much longer, with sometimes below than -50° degrees it is also ice-cold.

During a sled dog-sled ride you get a very good sense for the original form of transportation in the coldest regions in the world. It is so much fun and left an intensive and lasting impression. I can really recommend it to anyone who dares to make that. And even for those who are not that persistant, it is possible to experience that kind of event: You can also do it as a passenger on the sled.

Der Beitrag Adventure dog sledding: A unique experience erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

But STOP! *drum roll*

Because in this article, I will give you 7 tips how to make your daily life with dog more exciting 🙂

1. A day trip

For me, day trips with dogs are a nice thing in many ways. You don`t need to plan much ahead, all you need is a good place to go to. Walking to the next ice cream shop in the next village or on the other side of the city, a ride to the next park or forest, a beach at sea or a city trip: there are almost endless possibilities to spend the day with the dog different from usual. While doing so, you even do something good for your health at the same time. Dogs really like familiar procedures like daily walkies on “their” route. However, they also like to discover new paths, smells and to get to know new four-legged friends. I normally take Jake anywhere and that`s why you would probably meet me in a café not only with friends, but also with my boy.

2. Jumping into a river or lake together

When it`s hot enough, most people like to jump into cold water in order to cool down. There are numerous options to do that like in a (public) swimming pool, lake for bathing or ocean. Of course, it is a bit more difficult with dogs, because they are not allowed to join us anywhere. But often there is a lake or river close by to enjoy a cooling. Next to the fact that it makes so much fun for most of the dogs, swimming is one of the healthiest sports activities.

As with humans, muscles are trained and relieved at the same time, because the body weight is lighter in water. In particular, it is a great way to train dogs after a surgery (not directly after, because of the high danger of infection of unhealed wounds), or to train older dogs in general. Furthermore, swimming promotes the cardiovascular system, obviously also those of humans. What`s your excuse to not go swimming then? 😉

3. Finding a new good friend

Wouldn`t it be awesome to have Facebook for dogs? They could just meet each other to howl through the streets and mark the most exciting trees. In the countryside, it is still okay without social media for dogs. After one or two weeks, you know where to find all the other two- and four-legged friends.

In contrast, it may be more difficult in the city. However, there are also good options to meet new friends. Make sure other people with their dogs recognise you sometimes and you also recognise them when you walk your dog along your route. Dog meadows are a good opportunity to meet new friends as well. For Jake, it is the greatest thing to meet one of his old (or newer) buddy and to celebrate this by doing a triple salto backward piked. Old friends are always good to have, but also newer ones! That is why is it always a good idea to expand the circle of friends, isn`t it?

4. Travel with dog

A travel with dog obviously needs some planning in advance. Where do we go to? Where do we stay the nights? How do we get there? How does our daily routine look like? These questions are important and eligible and should be clarified. I`d suggest to proceed step by step:

You could make a weekend trip to the sea or a city trip in order to check you and your dog for suitability of such events. Meanwhile there is a sufficient number of dog-friendly accomodations. On campsites it is mostly no issue anyway. For those who prefer more comfort, lots of hotels are available as well. Just pick a destination and google or check airbnb!

If you are already experienced with travelling with your dog, you probably know some good places. If not, check the closer coastal areas!

5. A new trick

I am not the biggest fan of training my dog all kinds of circus acts. However, a dog might be happy about that, because he would be cognitively challenged andpraised a lot after making a handstand. Also, it is indeed kind of a cool thing to present one or two tricks whenever friends come to see you. If you are someone who likes to do that, think about a new trick and surprise your buddies again! But also if you don`t train lots of tricks, just try it out. It doesn`t have to be a double salto yet…

6. Practicing an exercise as good as possible

Everybody knows that feeling: hundreds or thousands of times we told our dog to sit or stay, but there are those days, where it just doesn`t work. At least there are those situations where you doubt about the receptiveness of your buddy. Even well-known dog trainers say that a dog won`t listen always.

Obviously, it is much worse with humans. However, if you belong to those persons who never ever disregarded an order or who always listened perfectly to your parents, I encourage you to stop reading here. Write a guidebook instead how to become a perfect human. But please mention my name in the preface, because I would obviously be the creative input and starting point of your book.

The fact that our dog doesn`t listen always well is – to be honest – mostly the case, because we do not practice enough. Commands or tricks can`t just be practiced and will stay saved for the rest of your dog`s life. That`s why I regularly practice all of the different things again and again.

A good example is the recall. The dogs are playing and running around, but you want to go after a while and call “come, Hillary!” (are there people who name their dog “Hillary”?). But Hillary doen`t come and still has a lot of fun or finds that blade of grass much more interesting. In my opinion, only one thing really helps here: practice, practice, practice. Whenever it is possible. Felt a thousand times, I saw people calling their dogs and if they come, they don`t get any reward and are leashed instead. Why should Hillary come to you then? Understandably, Hillary would prefer to play with her buddy Donald (are there people who name their dog “Donald”?).

7. Changing a habit

Routine and habits in dealing with your own dog is right and important. It makes daily life easier and gives us a structure. The dog gets his food after the walk, we do our stuff and have our usual day. This is also the case in the cooperation with the dog. We unleash the dog at the same point like we always do and everybody is happy.

However, I`m a friend of variation. I rarely unleash Jake at the same point like I did the day before. Sometimes, he can directly go exploring the very first trees. But another time I walk further than actually necessary before unleashing him. Jake mostly looks a bit surprised and one thing is recognizable: He looks at me more often and his focus is higher than usual. He is literally forced to follow me and therefore also adapts his habits. As a consequence, we rarely have a “regular” walk and this is why his attention span baseline is higher.

Just pick any habit and change it. Just because. And check out what comes up then!

The more of the 7 tips you finally implement, the more likely you will recognise a change in the relationship to your dog. Because of being so excited, your dog may look like Jake:

Der Beitrag 7 tips to spice up your daily life with dog erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

A dog as a new travel buddy

The adoption was quite cheap, because the price was 130 dollars including all vaccinations plus a small “starter package” like a leash or collar. What made our decision to adopt him pretty easy was not only his charismatic appearance. Also, we thought that we couldn`t do anything wrong. If everything works well, we keep him. If not, we would bring him to another shelter. That would not have been bad, because he would have seen so many different places and the next owner would not have had any concerns about vaccinations or papers.

The one employee asked us, if we ever made any experiences with a dog. Of course. Not. Absolutely not. But I said yes. What else should I say in such a situation? Imagine, you see some young (20 and 19 years old) tourists from Germany that look more like potatoes than dog experts entering your shelter and who want to adopt one of your dogs. Would YOU say okay? In particular, when the two never had a one? This could bring you to the limits of your tolerance. But it worked and that`s great (a few years later I let her know about Jake and she was really happy). We couldn`t believe it, but now we had one more little bread bin in our car.

With a short-legged Husky through a crazy Alaska

In my opinion, you should never take any route twice when you travel. That`s why we decided to take a detour via Alaska before going back to the south of Canada. We left Jake`s hometown where the Klondike River flows into the Yukon River and took the ferry to the other side.

Soon, we already arrived the US-American border of the most northern federal state, Alaska. Surprisingly, the border control was quite relaxed (okay, what kind of terrorist conquers the border from Canada to Alaska to blow a tree?). In contrast, the street was anything but relaxed. You can rarely drive faster than 30 km/h, because otherwise you would destroy all axes of your car. But who cares about the speed when you drive on the Top of the World Highway. Its endless views definitely feel like you were driving on the top of the world.

Sometime we made a break in the middle of nowhere. Far and wide no civilization, so I just walked down the street to spend some fluid to the plants. I do that and want to turn around, when someone from a hill calls “What ya doin here?!“. In Alaska, “someone” isn`t just someone. This “someone” was an older man with a shotgun in his hands. Or was it a hunting rifle? Well, I didn`t give a shit, because I just wanted to leave. I just said something like “nothing, nothing, sorry” and turned around in order to get back to the car. While doing so, I just hoped to not get shot in the middle of nowhere. But as you assume, everything went well, because I am just typing those words into my laptop. Generally, I am an open-minded person and like people, but after pissing on someone`s land I prefer to not have much to do with the owner.

One night in Alaska…

We continued our journey and sometime it took hours, until we saw another car. It turned night and we moved on contrary to our self-imposed rule to only drive during the day, because

a) you wouldn`t be fucked completely when your car has a breakdown and

b) you could marvel at the beautiful landscapes.

The reason for our night trip was that we had to be in Whitehorse the next day in order to get Jake`s necessary vaccinations and papers. At around 3 am in the morning, we saw a transporter lying skewed at the roadside. The scenery now was very flat, like a stone desert. No tress, no animals, nothing. The transporter got closer and I assumed that someone`s car had a breakdown. As I was driving slowlier, I saw around 10 men standing behind the car. I lowered the window and stopped behind the car and discovered what was in it. While I was realizing that there was a whole weapon arsenal in the transporter, I asked them like a stupid moron if they need help. One of the guys replied quite clearly that I should leave now, which I did with joy. Just to be sure, I tested how good the acceleration of the 190 horsepower was.

But what has happened here? In the middle of nowhere in Alaska, 10 men stood behind an apparantly broken car that was filled with so many weapons that even John Wayne would have applaused. Was it an illegal arms deal? If so, how are you making an appointment where you have no point of orientation? And why were there more people than one van can transport? This was surely one of the weirdest experiences I ever made and I still cannot explain myself what was going on there.

The king of the wilderness

The tour in Alaska came to an end, but there were two more highlights to follow. At dawn I discovered something in the bushes close to the street. We already saw some animals like elks, bisons or black bears, but this moment beat all previous ones. It was a grizzly bear! He was a bit away but still recognizable.

A little bit later, Alaska showed us its true beauty. Big lakes with mountains in the background, like one pictures Alaska to oneself. On that route, there was something like a cyclepath between the road and lake. Nothing special, until we saw another grizzly. It just walked along the cycle path and parallely, I could film from like 10 meters away (Caution: never use technical devices while driving!). The pictures speak for themselves, but still it is so much more intense in reality. So close to the king of the wilderness.

Right after the boarder to Canada, we saw another grizzly and consequently, that trip was an unbelievable and intense experience. By the way, so was it for Jake, who stayed awake for the whole trip from Dawson City via Alaska to Whitehorse.

Der Beitrag The Jake Story: A road trip through Canada | Part 2 erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

In 2011, my school life came towards an end and I more and more asked myself what to do now. Like many other young adults I felt the urge to make a long journey. For years, I already had in my mind to go to Canada one day, far into the wilderness.

After school life is one of the few moments to make dreams come true, so it didn`t take me much time to decide to just do it. I took all my savings, sold my beloved small car and with the support of my family I had an amount of money that was enough to survive. Luckily, my girlfriend Lena also came along.

Let`s go to Canada!

With a Work and Travel Visa we went to the West of Canada for three months, more precisely to Vancouver. In my opinion, this city is really impressing and – besides Sevilla – one of the most beautiful ones that I have seen so far. The cleanliness, friendly people, the sea, the snow-capped mountains and the diversity of cultures make Vancouver one of the most liveable cities all over the world.

We both were yet too young to rent a car (20 and 19 years) and that was the reason we already decided to buy a car before we went to Canada. A car where you can sleep in. Because it`s much cheaper than always sleeping in hostels. We know that very well, since we slept in one of them for two nights. Accordingly, we bought a very nice Chevrolet Astro Van on the second day. You just go to some car salesmen, decide and on the next day you got a car.

We started our trip up country via the touristic highlights Banff, Lake Louise, right through the middle of the Rocky Mountains. It is indeed interesting to see those attractions, but actually it was also disappointing. For me, a large number of tourists stands in contrast to the idea of Canada with its loneliness, tranquillity and wilderness. What does it matter when I can say that I canoed on Lake Louise? I think it`s also a good story that I was too stingy to pay 35(!) dollars for canoeing for 30 minutes. After let`s say one minute, we already left the place, but there was time enough to take a souvenir photo.

In contrast, the car journey was worth every second. Just turning on the speed control and watch.

When we just got past the Rocky Mountains, the alternator of the car broke and we had to stop just before Calgary. That was the first time we got to know the friendliness of Canadian people. Two older guys gave us enough power to start the van up again. The did not left us before one of them came back, only to give us a bag full of cherries. A small, but quite “refreshing” gesture. Sadly, the alternator forced us shortly after to stop again and so we left the highway and wheeled to a small industry park. We were extremely lucky, because we wheeled directly to the parking lot of a garage. They changed the alternator and we could continue our ride.

The breathtaking landscapes at the beginning now changed into boring, flat areas – Alberta. It sounds like the name of a German cow, but in reality it is the federal state directly next to British Columbia. It is so flat that even German cow Alberta would love it here.

No Money, but a lot of cherries

After some detours, we came back to the South of British Columbia in a small village called Okanagan Falls which is placed at the beautiful Skaha Lake. Our travellers cheques were all redeemed and a bank transfer of the rest of our money from Germany did not work. As a consequence, we had no money for a whole week (okay, that was a lie. According to our travel book we still had 2,37$). It turned out that this place was in the middle of a wine-growing region (!) and it was time for the harvest of cherries.

We just asked some random people and ended up on a research facility and untreated fruit, where we helped out for two days. Unfortunately, they didn`t have more work, but luckily, their neighbors needed all the help to pick their cherries. You should know that a neighbor in Canada is not just a neighbor with a garden. It is more a neighbor with a big garden. A very big garden. Or even a whole plantation or farm. We had enough work for a whole week, earned a few hundred dollars and with a succesfull bank transfer we now could continue our journey, but where should we go to?

Into the Wild…

One option in the beginning was to travel the whole way from western Canada to eastern Canada, but flat Alberta kind of deterred us. Spontaneously, the idea came up to do something quite crazy -> driving from the most southern point close to the US American border up to Alaska! After I have watched several films, documentations, books and in particular the movie “Into the Wild” and read the book of the same name, Alaska became some sort of place of longing. The story is inspired by the true story of a young man who made a long journey to Alaska, self-discovery and stuff. I don`t wanna say too much, but the whole story was kind of cool. Wilderness. Nature. Loneliness.

No sooner said than done: In the first place, the destination was Dawson City, the famous and formerly biggest gold mining town all over Northern America. One way: 3200 km north.

By and by, the distances between the places and towns got longer and longer and the civilization appeared to be removed. After a couple of days, we reached the Alaska Highway. A tarred road, far off the big traffic. You really appreciate that, if you find yourself in such regions. What you now see more and more, are wild animals like caribous, black bears and one in the middle of the road chilling herd of bisons.

After around one week we reached Yukon. The federal state equals Germany`s area four times, but only contains 35.000 inhabitants. It corresponds the real imagination of a lonesome, wild life in the North of Canada. Right at the beginning there was a touristic attraction, the Signpost Forest at Watson Lake. Throughout the last decades, more than 100,000 signs were brought here from people all over the world!

Now, there were gas stations every few hundred kilometres, some with showers for the travellers. The petrol price now has doubled compared to the South and was more expensive than in Germany – What cheek! We took the last section with around 600 km via the capital Whitehorse.

Just a few villages were indicated in the map. Okay, actually it was a couple of houses. But the houses had names like villages. Meaning that the there were villages consisting of a single house. You find that out first when you drive endless distances and at one point you ask yourself if that village should have come already since long. Well, it doesn`t matter, since at every stop there was “World Famous Chickenburger/ Pizza/ Steaks/ Fries“. Main thing, something full of fat. Yummy!

The North of Canada, gold diggers and the animal shelter

At some point, the forests changed to a barren landscape and the North Pole was in reach (just another 2895 km) – Dawson City. Here, my life should change long-lasting, but let`s have a look at the “town” first. During summer, Dawson has around 2000 inhabitants, during winter just one half. Only because the temperature is around minus 50. Wimps. Every corner of the village reminds one of the legendary gold mining time. Saloons, the architecture, a steamship, everything that history teachers would love. The famous Jack London, well-known by literary scholars and alcohol abusing, lonesome backwoodsmen (“The Call of the Wild“, “White Fang“), lived not far from here and still today, you can visit his former accomodation.

Everything blended into the picture, except the cars…but, well. We had one ourself, so. On the next day I googled, if there wasn`t an animal shelter by accident. Of course every dump has one…not. But Dawson indeed had one. So, why not just going there and adopting a dog? 🙂

By that time, I didn`t know yet, what consequences this idea would have…

To be continued in the next part of the Jake Story!

Der Beitrag The Jake Story: A road trip through Canada | Part 1 erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.

… A few years later now I am sitting at my desk and typing those sentences into my laptop. I decided to write a blog. But why? Aren`t there already enough dog blogs out there? What is the blog exactly about? And why should you read it? For me, those questions are quite important for all of those, who made the same decision or will do so. For that reason I wanna describe the main motives why I started this blog and why it can possibly be interesting for you.

Vacation and traveling with dog

From the beginning on, our journey through life was “predetermined”. When I got the idea to adopt a dog during my stay in Canada, I didn`t know how much influence this would have on my life. On the same day when I adopted my dog Jake, I was directly going on a long journey from the North of Canada via Alaska down to Vancouver (Read the whole story here). The dog never knew it different from being on the road, breaking new grounds and going along with me anywhere. And I do so, too. He likes to be in a car, doesn`t have any problems in a train and is therefore no problematic factor when being on the way. Up to now, he has seen a couple of countries (e.g. many parts of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Kanada and the USA), and others are to follow. If vacations, real road trips or long-lasting stays, he joined me at almost all occasions. The stays and countries were so different and exciting and so were my experiences that in my opinion are worth to be told. Because I truly believe that several dog owners can benefit from these experiences.

Mobility with dog

A good point to add to the previous paragraph is the almost unlimited mobility with the dog. Rarely, he was a reason to not make some decisions. A city trip to friends, traveling with dog and even a whole study was possible to do. Only in extreme cases like a trip to South America or a concert of the Rolling Stones, it made sense to not have him at my side. In all other cases, I am free in my decisions and he can join me whereever I want (and dogs are allowed). We often mastered putative obstacles or found even better alternatives than our actual plans.

Own study

Not only did I learned a lot during my Psychology studies at Maastricht University, but also about the interface between human and animal. In addition to the core areas of Psychology, I could also specialise in animal psychology and therapy. Therefore, there is also a scientific interest in the interplay between dog and human. The relatively young research of dogs already found some interesting and important insights. Consequently, this is also the case in the interaction between us and our four-legged friends. How do humans interpret behaviors of dogs? How do dogs perceive humans? What kind of opportunities does the integration of dogs in different life areas offer? Which influences do both have on each other?  What do we know today? What do we not know yet?

There are a lot of exciting topics that are worth to be investigated and shared.

Observations and experiences in part-time jobs

Over a period of more than two years I had a student job as a parcel deliveryman and caught sight of lots of things. You ring at around one hundred doors every day and consequently, often people open the doors together with their small, four-legged bodyguards. For the majority of perceivable dog owners, that moment was pure excitement. It seems like a devil`s circle, consisting of a barking dog and a stressed person. Often, people felt sorry for their dogs and tried to calm down the dogs by talking or making movements, but it hardly made the situations relaxed. Even when you can have a small talk with those people, I couldn`t do more than simply watching those situations.

But it was my voluntary work at a dog shelter, where I could do more. There, I experienced the biggest possible confirmation of my way of treating and interacting with dogs, because I received the direct feedback on my appearance, communication and body language by their reactions. Some tricks were not only some hocus-pocus or just applicable to my own dog, but also to different dog personalities and breeds.

Furthermore, working at a small zoo for several years probably had the biggest impact. The focus of my work there was to provide children, disabled people and adults with deeper insights into domestic species with the help of different projects and topics. It is no secret that a lot of people feel better, happier and more relaxed in the presence of animals. But making own first-hand experiences is different and an event that should not be missed. With the experience of hundreds of such courses, I developed a deep conviction that animals generally and in particular dogs offer a bunch of opportunities to improve our quality of life. I wanna share my thoughts about that as well and ideally be part of a raising awareness of these insights.

Daily walkies

When you take your dog for a walk, you sooner or later meet other dogs with their owners. Like in normal life, you make good or bad experiences. But from the positive as well as the negative situations, you learn a lot new stuff by having conversations, exchanging thoughts or simply by observations. By getting in contact with other people and dogs, I always could extend my knowledge and become a better partner for my own dog. That`s the reason why more and more people talked to me and asked me how things go that well, including walking the dog without a leash, the social character of him or the almost unlimited mobility to take him anywhere. Normally, I describe a few basic methods one can apply to get the dog`s attention and make him listen to them. I often noticed then that even basic stuff is missing. There is a lack of knowledge about how dogs perceive the world and the owner. But actually only a few things are enough to make good progress.

In a lot of conversations, we talked about the topic dog trainers. There are many great dogs and owners who do have a dog trainer or do not have one. But there are also many who have problems despite having a dog trainer or without ever looking for one. What I hear from time to time is that someone found a dog trainer, but didn`t like it much. I personally think that there are a lot of great dog trainers, but for many dog owners it is virtually impossible to visit them, simply because they are too far away. I`m a country child and know what I am talking about. So the offer is there, but not reachable. I really enjoy sharing my experiences and knowledge in conversations, but I asked myself how I could do that more detailed and also in a way that is accessible anytime, anywhere and for everyone. What could be better than a blog?

My dog Jake

My dog Jake obviously is the main factor and biggest motivation to start Cosmopolidog. I love him and that`s not surprising, since everybody at least likes his dog a lot. But what I noticed over the course of a few years is his positive appearance and influence on other people. When I walk in a pedestrian zone in any city, I often recognise people smiling or nudging their partner, because of that sweet, short-legged and blue-eyed dog. I could be jealous, but actually I feel great about that. When I am sitting anywhere and enjoying my icecream or coffee, Jake just calmly sits there and enjoys life to the full. But not only does his first appearance make people happy, so does his character after becoming familiar with him. If it is at the university, leisure time or at work, I never could have imagined that I would have so many conversations with other people about the dog.

Jake also has a positive influence on other dogs. It also depends on the other dogs, of course. Whenever another dog is friendly or interested in Jake, so is he mostly. Whenever another dog shows aggression or rejection, Jake calms the situation by staying relaxed or pulling back. He never shows any aggression and his even-tampered character can sometimes even change the other dog`s mood. All in all, you could describe him as a highly compatible and lovely boy.

For me, the cohabitation with the dog is unlike in the beginning, of course. Many things have changed, including our togetherness. I now understand him much better and so does he understand me better as well, too (i hope at least a little bit). But one thing has never changed. I can simply look at him the whole day and feel happy. In his presence, I am a happier person and I enjoy the privilege to have him.

My motivation for the blog

Altogether, these things reassured me that I share my experiences and tips in order to get a grip on problems with the dog. The term “dog trainer” is not protected and everybody can call himself a dog trainer, which is good and bad. There is no basic definition of good dog training, because there are different approaches. But what one likes, another person may not find a good way of training the dog. In my opinion, we today are on a good way to recognise dogs as social partners and not only as a human`s subject. And I think that the pluralism of education methods made sure that the “better” methods asserted. Contrary, everybody can call himself a “dog trainer” and bears the risk that the quality is not given when someone is not suitable to be one.

However, I would not call myself a dog trainer, because this is simply not what I am. I think a suitable description would be “the guy with that dog“. But I am not the one guy, who has a patent solution for all dogs and humans. I provide options and suggestions, give insights into the world of dogs but at the same time always strive to question my own views and convictions, get inspired and try to improve myself.

I am deeply convinced that most people have a big potential to have an awesome and relaxed life with their dogs. With the help of Cosmopolidog, I want to invite you to win your dog as a best friend and get new insights here and there. Are you in?

Der Beitrag Hello World! erschien zuerst auf Cosmopolidog.