www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEuekImXSPQ
Lyrics

He looks like skin on a bone pile
A cat wouldn’t give him a chance
But When he stretches his long legs out
A fox ain’t got a chance
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

Sad faced mooneyed creature
His ears hang down to his knees
The she hounds call him a has been
An old aged home for fleas
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

But when he gets a certain kind of look on his face
The she hounds run for a hiding place
Cuz when he takes a notion all the girl dogs know
He’s a dynamite up tite outa sight backyard romeo

He leeks like ugly warmed over
Some dog lovers have said that
But he’s got more sense in the end of his nose
That they’ve got in their head
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJSC25Ue8Gg

Lyrics

A black eyed dog he called at my door
The black eyed dog he called for more
A black eyed dog he knew my name
A black eyed dog he knew my name
A black eyed dog
A black eyed dog.

I’m growing old and I wanna go home
I’m growiing old and I don’t wanna know
I’m growing old and I wanna go home.

A black eyed dog he called at my door
A black eyed dog he called for more

Heidi “writes songs which combine her influences of Folk, Country and Rock in her own unique style telling stories of women losing themselves to their jobs, the loss of farmland to development the light friendly feeling a snow day brings to a community and the loss of a beloved dog.”

Sorry, I was not able not find any lyrics.

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions.

Under the proposed dog-breeding measure, people could only have 50 breeding dogs and would be required to feed animals daily, provide annual veterinary care and not breed animals more than twice every 18 months. Breeders also would have to follow rules for the dogs’ living space and house animals indoors with unfettered access to an outdoor exercise yard. . . “We’re tired of being known as the puppy mill capital of the country,” Schmitz said. “We’re tired of having dogs being treated in such a substandard and cruel way.” . . . Schmitz’s group says Missouri has about 3,000 high-volume breeding facilities.  . . (more)

Apparently Missouri  legislators were unable to address the issue so Missourians for the Protection of Dogs collected 190,000 signatures to get it on the ballot.

New York Post
“My Dog Ate What?” Tomorrow at 10 on National Geographic Wild‎

Having survived Leo, our Rhodesian Ridgeback who himself survived stealing and eating: 500 Tums, one glass cookie jar filled with two pounds of cookies, three chickens, 26 donuts, five pounds of eggplant Parmigiana, 100 honey balls, 20 granola bars (with wrappers), and the only pair of Chanel shoes I’ve ever owned, I couldn’t wait to watch the new weekly show, “My Dog Ate What?”  No dog could have been as bad as Leo and lived — right? Wrong. . . .(more)

Fox News
Labradoodle Pioneer Regrets Fashioning ‘Designer Dog’

The man who bred the first labradoodle – and in the process made the mutt a desirable accessory – says it’s the great regret of his life. The coveted accessory has pushed out other breeds in terms of desirability. . . (more)

Oregon Live.com
Win $500,000 for your local dog park

How would you redesign your local dog park if you had $500,000 to spend on its renovation? Answer that question and your ideas will reshape your local park into the WagWorld Dream Dog Park. . . (more)

Allentown Morning Call

New U.S. stamps raise awareness of shelter pets

If you want to spread the word about the need to adopt shelter pets, meow is the time. A postage stamp aimed at spreading the word goes went on sale Fridayon sale Friday.  .  . To help publicize the campaign nationally, comedian Ellen Degeneres has promised to donate 1 million meals to shelters nationwide.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQtxvtKKd6Y

Lyrics

Some time ago I was sippin’ on some coffee and havin’ some ham and biscuits when a motion caught my eye through the truck stop window. It was a little lost puppy; half-starved and shakin’ from fear. Well, I just had to make friends with him so I picked him up and put him in the cab. And, buddy, he took to that truck like he was born there. Well, I named him Little Joe and as I watched him sleep on the seat beside me that’s when I knew that Little Joe would be with me for a long, long time.

Well, a few months later I was talking to my old friend Teddy Bear on the old CB and not paying much attention to my back door. Little Joe started barking up a storm. I looked up and saw a Smokey in the mirror and I slowed my rig down just in time. But, you know something, Teddy Bear heard Little Joe barking and he said, “Hey Big Red, let me talk to your partner!” And I said, “You’ve got it, good buddy.”

“How’s the old Smokey situation, Little Joe?” And Little Joe said, “Rough (Ruff).” Aw, that just tore him up and the next two hundred miles just flew by ‘cause everybody on that CB wanted to talk to Little Joe.

Well, one night we were headed through the Smokies in East Tennessee and Little Joe started acting real (sic) nervous. I heard the sounds of lightning (sic) on the old CB and suddenly we were in the worst storm that I’d ever seen. All at once I saw headlights coming straight at my rig! Someone was blinded in the rain! So I swerved fast and just barely missed a camper full of kids. But the shoulder gave way and we crashed over the side of the mountain. And when I woke up my truck was on fire and I couldn’t move. But, somehow, Little Joe grabbed me by the collar and pulled me away from that burning rig.

Well, I was in the hospital the next time I woke up and the doctor was there to break the bad news. The accident had taken my sight. Oh, God, now I can’t even drive! And that’s when I realized how helpless Teddy Bear must have felt before the miracle happened that made him walk again. And then I thought, we-we-we-where’s Little Joe? No-ain’t nobody said anything about Little—Where’s Li—Oh, I was so sad. ‘cause I figured Little Joe had given his life to save me.

Well, my brother asked me to come live with him and when he opened the door to my new room I heard an old CB just a-blarin’ away. Well, I couldn’t wait to grab that mic and the first voice I heard was my old buddy Teddy Bear, ratchet jawin’ in the distance. So I broke for him, and he came right back to me. Why, it was almost like old times again. Teddy Bear was a-yackin’ away, unloading all the latest new on me and getting louder and louder. But all of a sudden the sound of an engine seemed to drown Teddy Bear out. And I said, “Hey, what’s going on?” Teddy Bear said, “Open your front door, good buddy, I’m just outside.” Lord, the roar of engines seemed to rock the house. And, all around me I could hear familiar voices and slammin’ doors. Aw, I couldn’t hold back the tears. All my friends were there.

And then I heard something I couldn’t believe. Little Joe? That bark? Why it had to be Little Joe. And no sooner than that he was all over me. And I put my arms around my old partner and the tears were streaming down my face. And then I felt something strange. Little Joe hadn’t worn a collar before. And attached to the collar was a handle. A hush fell over my friends. And I realize, Lord, my new eyes were standing at my feet… Little Joe.

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions.

Coyote vs. Greyhound: The Battle Lines Are Drawn by Juliet Macur  “Unlike the greyhounds familiar to most Americans as racers and pets, Hardzog’s are trained only to chase and kill coyotes for sport.” 

That is a disturbing story.

Justices Reject Ban on Videos of Animal Cruelty
By ADAM LIPTAK “The Supreme Court, in a major First Amendment ruling, voted 8-1 to strike down a federal law that made it a crime to create or sell dogfight videos. . . ”

Dog-Fighting and the First Amendment  Huffington Post (blog) commentary by Geoffrey R. Stone on the above decision.  “The proper response of the government is to punish dog-fighting and other forms of animal abuse more severely, but not to prohibit speech that is otherwise …”

USA Today

Family dog is my father’s keeper through his heart ache
by Janice Lloyd
“A dog has come to the rescue in an unfolding family drama that has no clear end in sight. My oldest brother has a Golden Retriever who has adopted my father since last Thursday, giving him a comfort he can find no place else right now. My dad is 93 and showing signs of dementia . . . Sophie, my brother says, seemed to sense immediately that Dad needed a care taker. She rose to the occasion. She curls up with him on the sofa and puts her head in his lap. My dad rubs her head and smiles at her. My brother says “she doesn’t even do that with me.”

Carrie Underwood wants you to help feed shelter dogs by joining Pedigree’s Facebook group in 2010.  “For every new Facebook fan in 2010, Pedigree will donate one bowl  of dog food to animal shelters (they’ve already donated 877,000 bowls of food!), and will match a portion of monetary donations to the non-profit Pedigree Foundation, which has so far raised $323,000 to date. . . “

St. Petersburg Times

Fort De Soto dog park makes Southern Living’s Top 5 in South 

by  Waveney Ann Moore  “Southern Living has named Fort De Soto’s Paw Playground, which includes a beach for dogs, one of the South’s five best dog parks. . . .Southern Living was wowed by the pooch-friendly amenities — drinking fountains for pets and owners, plastic bags for poop clean-up and doggie showers.  “We loved that they included hoses to wash your dogs down,” Thuston said, noting that it’s no fun to carry a sandy dog home. . .”

This song has been used in the movies at least twice. Once in the movie Old Dog Tray (1935) “While the music background is “Old Dog Tray,” the cartoon features a little pup who gets into some fantastic adventures and mishaps with soap bubble, and old farmer Alfalfa to go along. They sail off into the air on their bubbles until their bubbles burst.”

Also in the 1952 movie  about Stephen Foster  “I Dream of Jeanie”  “Starring Bill Shirley as Stephen Foster, Eileen Christy as Jeanie McDowell and a very charming and talented dog portraying Foster’s faithful companion.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OfOSeywnRI

Old Dog Tray by Marie Burns from Good Dog album [MP3 sample]

Lyrics

Old Dog Tray

The morn of life is past,
And evening comes at last;
It brings me a dream of a once happy day,
Of merry forms I’ve seen
Upon the village green,
Sporting with my old dog Tray.

chorus:
Old dog Tray’s ever faithful,
Grief cannot drive him away,
He’s gentle, he is kind;
I’ll never, never find
A better friend than old dog Tray.

The forms I call’d my own
Have vanished one by one,
The lov’d ones, the dear ones have all passed away,
Their happy smiles have flown,
Their gentle voices gone;
I’ve nothing left but old dog Tray.

When thoughts recall the past
His eyes are on me cast;
I know that the feels what my breaking heart would say:
Although he cannot speak
I’ll vainly, vainly seek
A better friend than old dog Tray.

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions.

St. Petersburg Times

A veterinarian provides a hospice service for pets
By Alexandra Zayas Apr 19, 2010

“. . . McVety is a hospice veterinarian, part of a growing movement to revolutionize the way animals die. It’s modeled after human hospice, focusing on pain and grief management and creating a comforting scenario for families and pets when the end comes. Some veterinarians have been doing these things for the past few decades, but hospice care is only now becoming a recognized field in veterinary medicine. It’s no surprise. Pets have evolved into family members, and better medicine means they’re living longer with serious illnesses. Meanwhile, more and more people have had good experiences with human hospice. The demand is high. McVety performs five in-home euthanasias a week. In one day this week, she had four. . .”

New York Times

Where Creativity Wags Its Tail 
By JOHN BRANCH  April 18, 2010
“Competitors at Intergroom used clippers, hair spray, glitter and paint — among other tools — to transform dogs into works of art. . . . Angela Kumpe had won the “creative challenge” event the past two years at Intergroom, one of the more prestigious competitions on the calendar. First, she clipped and colored a standard poodle into an ode to Elvis Presley — Elvis on one side, a guitar on the other. Last year, she turned a dog into a peacock. She is one of the best at canine topiary. . . ” (photo – Sami Stanley and Skye, who had a dragon on her side)

Hobbit says he would never allow anyone to do that to him!

The House of Barking Dogs 
By MOLLY J. MURRAY – April 14, 2010
LUCCA, ITALY — We called it “The House of the Barking Dogs.” It is about half a mile down a twisty road from us and sits high above the road. We called it that because the man who lived there kept, it is said, about 40 large dogs in his small, two-level garden. The area was surrounded with chicken wire and a corrugated metal roof provided some shelter for the animals. The dogs were a three-minute warning for us. When we heard them bark we knew that somebody had passed under their enclosure and was on their way to see us. . .”

Can You Hear Me Now? 
By ALEX KUCZYNSKI
. . . a few months ago, a new family moved into the neighborhood, with large dogs that live outdoors. They bark. If we walk by in the street, or open the front door, or open the rusty garage door, or receive a delivery – or, it sometimes seems, if we do so little as turn over in bed – they bark. . . . I tried listening to those barking dogs.  What did they want? Were they cold? Angry? Sad? Hungry? I tried a few traditional, neighborly methods to lessen the barking – a genial conversation – and didn’t get much traction. A friend, who is a dog trainer, recommended a device that emits a fixed high-frequency ultrasonic sound that deters the dog from barking. It looks like the remote control for a garage door. If you’re nearby and the dogs start barking, you press a button and the device emits a sound that is annoying and puzzling enough to the dogs that they stop their yapping. After a week of using my handy deterrent, the dogs stopped barking automatically as soon as they saw me. ”

I don’t approve of  punishment type devices as a rule because I believe in positive reinforcement as an effective mechanism of dealing with problem behaviors.  However what to you do when the problem behavior is someone else’s dog and they are not dealing with the problem? 

The Hydrant blog has this to say about the device “. . .I could rattle off a list of a dozen such products, all of which have earned them seriously low-achieving marks after a few short weeks in play.  Because it’s almost always the same in the end:The product works great at the outset …  only to lose its mojo quickly down the line once the inevitable desensitization sets in.  Why? Because the success of these devices relies on the simple element of surprise. Most dogs, in fact, are merely baffled into bark inactivity. They still have the basic desire to bark away their boredom, or howl out their anxiety, they just happen not to have a reason to do so now that they’ve been so oddly interrupted, and thankfully distracted … for now, anyway. . . I have serious reservations about the philosophy that underlies the need for such products.”

Television

PBS

“Through a Dog’s Eyes“  a documentary narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, based on the book by Jennifer Arnold, will air on Wednesday 4/21/10  at 8:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. Central on PBS.

“Through a Dog’s Eyes will change the way you feel about your own dog. The documentary follows a handful of people as they journey through the heartwarming and often challenging process of receiving their service dogs. Jennifer Arnold, founder of Canine Assistants, discusses her teaching methods and the life-changing impact these dogs have on the recipients and their families. She gives us a glimpse of puppy-rearing and training, and takes us inside the intense and sometimes nerve-wracking experience of matching people with their dogs. Ádám Miklósi, Ph.D., one of the world’s foremost experts in dog cognition, also discusses the science behind Jennifer’s training philosophy.  You’ll also follow the families home and watch their relationships with their dogs unfold. Sometimes what began as love at first sight deepens. Occasionally the initial chemistry doesn’t last. Overall, it’s a bonding process that, as with any relationship, takes work and time.”

On the show’s website, you can view a series of videos on dog/human relationship topics:

Dogism #1: Dogs don’t speak human. Learn how to communicate better with your dog.

Dogism #2: Dogs Evaluate Situations Differently Than Us.

Dogism #3: Dogs don’t deliberately do things to make us angry.

Dogism #4: Dogs are emotional creatures.

Dogism #5: Dogs work for rewards.

Dogism #6: Dogs learn better what is ok rather than what is not.

Dogism #7: Dogs need physical and mental stimulation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs-Ltx8ZApQ
Lyrics
I’m just a walkin’ my dog
Singin’ my song
Strollin’ along
Yeah it’s just me and my dog
Catchin’ some sun
We can’t go wrong

My life was lonely and blue
Yeah I was sad as a sailor
I was an angry ‘un too
Then there was you
Appeared, when I was entangled
With youth, and fear, and nerves
Jingle jangle
Vermouth and beer
Were gettin’ me mangled up

But then I looked in your eyes
And I was no more a failure
You looked so wacky and wise
And I said, lord I’m happy
’cause I’m just a walkin’ my dog
Singin’ my song
Strollin’ along
It’s just me and my dog
Catchin’ some sun
We can’t go wrong
’cause I don’t care ’bout your hatin’ and your doubt
And I don’t care what the politicians spout
If you wanna companion
Well just go right to the pound
And find yourself a hound
And make that doggie proud
’cause that’s what it’s all about

My life was tragic and sad
Yeah I was the archetypal loser
I was a pageant gone bad
Then there was you on time
And wagging your tail
In the cutest mime
And you was in jail
I said woof, be mine
And you gave a wail
And then I was no longer alone
And I was no more a boozer
We’ll make the happiest home
And I said lord I’m happy
’cause I’m just a walkin’ my dog
Singin’ my song
Strollin’ along
It’s just me and my dog
Catchin’ some sun
We can’t go wrong
’cause I don’t care ’bout your hatin’ and your doubt
And I don’t care what the politicians spout
If you need a companion
Well just go right to the pound
And find yourself a hound
And make that doggie proud
’cause that’s what it’s all about
That’s what it’s all about
That’s what it’s all abow-wow-wow-wout
That’s what it’s all about

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions

www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8DJPH5yFm4