Linda Liebrand is the owner of an Entlebucher mountain Dog, a high-energy, intelligent breed originally bred for herding cattle, guarding farms and pulling carts.
Her new book “Entlebucher mountain Dogs – What I wish I Knew” is about what you can expect if you decide to own this very high-energy, working breed. I thought lots of of That Mutt’s readers would relate because so much applies to any high-energy breed! Um, weimaraners?
You can follow Linda and her pet dog Alfie on their blog Alfie’s blog and on Facebook and Instagram. Her book is available on Amazon. (Paperback, hardback and Kindle formats.)
Linda is giving away a paperback copy of “Entlebucher mountain Dogs – What I wish I knew” to two readers of That Mutt. She will ship anywhere in the us or UK. To enter, leave a comment at the end of this post. Update: The giveaway has ended. Congrats to Christina M. and Lisa M.
I hope you take pleasure in this Q&A:
Q&A with Linda Liebrand, author of “Entlebucher mountain Dogs – What I wish I Knew”
That Mutt: What is your favorite dog-related book and why?
Linda Liebrand: I recently stumbled across the Survivor Dogs series by Erin hunter and got sucked into the world of lucky and his wild pet dog pack for weeks.
Seriously, if you’re a pet dog person who enjoys YA fantasy books then get ready to get addicted to this series. The pet dog characters are amazing, and the story is fast-paced and exceptionally engaging. The dogs are spiritual, kind and ferocious in equal procedures and it feels like you get to live life like a wild pet dog for a while. It’s actually books for kids – but hey, it’ll be our little secret!
TM: What pet dog training tool or pet dog product has benefited your pet dog the most recently?
Linda: one of my greatest training fails with Alfie is that I never really managed to show him how to walk nicely on the lead without pulling.
It wasn’t for lack of trying, but after nearly two years of daily training, he still pulled like a tractor despite all the best training recommendations we received from various trainers. I threw in the towel and gotten a gentle leader, and we haven’t looked back since.
At seven years of age, our Alfie is still an exceptionally energetic dog, and I never leave the house without the gentle leader if Alfie’s coming along, especially considering that the arrival of our baby boy. After some people asked me why my pet dog wears a muzzle, I gotten a red one that looks a little friendlier than the black one we started off with.
Alfe doesn’t like it much to be fair, and he looks very indignant whenever I put it on. but often the nose collar is the only difference between my bringing Alfie along to places or not – so he puts up with it.
TM: In the last few years, what belief or routine has a lot of improved your life with dogs?
Linda: When we first brought our Alfie home seven years ago, we had no idea how much energy he’d have as a puppy and adolescent dog. I thought a basic long walk a day would be enough, along with some fun pet dog classes every week like I’d made with my previous dog, a German Shepherd. It turns out Alfie had other plans, and his batteries never ran out.
At first, I tried to give him a lot more and a lot more exercise to burn off his limitless energy, but the only one who got worn out was me! Alfie happily carried on playing and inventing mischief when we got home from our walks, and he didn’t clear up until I locked him in his crate at night. It wasn’t until I met with our third (!) pet dog trainer that I knew that I needed to exercise Alfie’s brain as well as his paws and I started taking him on what I like to call ‘working walks’.
Instead of simply walking him for an hour, I built in fun brain games and exercises for him to do during the walk. I hid toys and treats for him to sniff out, we practised obedience and impulse control – basically, anything that I could think of that would engage his smart brain and help tire him out. That way I added some much needed mental stimulation to his day, and he turned into a happier and somewhat calmer dog. We still do working walks to this day.
TM: What recommendations would you give to a friend about to get her first dog?
Linda: Take your research seriously, and don’t just look at pet dog pictures on the internet. meet pet dog breeders and people who already own the type of dogs that you’re considering. Ask them what’s good about the breed, and what’s bad about them and try and imagine living your life with that type of dog. never choose a pet dog because of their looks.
The worst example of this I’ve ever heard of was when I volunteered at a pet dog rescue home a few years ago. someone asked for a pet dog that would match their furniture, absolutely crazy and they would have probably been better off with a goldfish bowl than a dog.
Once you get your puppy, be sure to future-proof him or her as well as you can. Když WE dostal Alfie před sedmi lety, děti nebyly na našem radaru vůbec a my jsme nemysleli na to, že ho socializují s dětmi. Když jsme se rozhodli mít dítě, Alfie bylo pět let a já jsem se musel snažit, abych ho socializoval s dětmi. Přál bych si, abych na to myslel dříve, protože by to pro nás bylo mnohem jednodušší.
Nyní miluje našeho batole k bitům. Mým doporučením by tedy bylo pokusit se přemýšlet dopředu do budoucnosti a socializovat vašeho domácího psa s lidmi všech věkových skupin a schopností.
TM: Jaká je nejhorší doporučení, která slyšíte, když se to týká psů?
Linda: Když se naše dítě narodilo jeden z našich sousedů, zeptal se, jak Alfie zvládne velkou změnu – než jsem měl šanci odpovědět, pokračovala: „Není to vtipné, jak prostě„ vědí “, jak být kolem dětí“.
Zdvořile jsem se usmál a řekl ano, ale v mé mysli jsem přemýšlel o tom, kolik práce přišlo na přípravu našeho domácího psa pro příchod dítěte a jak jsme na ně museli sledovat každou sekundu každý den, abychom jim ukázali, jak jim ukáže, jak jim ukáže chovat se kolem sebe.
Alfieův život se změnil stejně jako náš, když se dítě připojilo k naší smečce, a my jsme ho připravili co nejvíce, jak jsme mohli předem. Někteří psi nemají tak štěstí – když jsem se dobrovolně přihlásil do záchranného domova pro domácí zvířata, často jsem přemýšlel, proč se zapnuli dokonale úžasní rodinné psi. Když jsem se zeptal svého nadřízeného, jednoduše pokrčila rameny a řekla, že je to další „první dítě se nedokáže vyrovnat“ Případ, kde se maminky cítí ohromeny dítětem a hyperaktivním, nepřipravený pes.
(Viz tento příspěvek Mutt: Jak připravit svého domácího psa na dítě.)
TM: Spí Alfie ve vaší posteli?
Linda: Alfie je povolena na veškerý náš nábytek a často spí v naší posteli, když je můj manžel mimo město. Vrhne se na vrchol postele, kopne si tlapy pod peřinou a položí hlavu na polštář s povzdechem obsahu.
Děkuji, Lindo!
Chcete -li vstoupit do prozradí a vyhrát brožovanou kopii knihy Lindy, stačí zanechat komentář níže, takže vím, že chcete na kresbě. Máte vysoce energetické nebo nešťastného psa?
V pátek 25. května si vyberu dva vítěze náhodně. Musím vyhrávat poštovní adresu USA nebo Velké Británie. Vítězové budou informováni e -mailem. Aktualizace: Prozradí skončilo. Gratulujeme Christině M. a Lisa M.
Objednejte knihu:
Kniha je k dispozici v brožované podobě, formátech pevné vazby a Kindle na Amazonu.
Související příspěvek:
Možná si pamatujete Alfie z mého příspěvku před několika lety: Jak unavit hyper psa!