Funny Stuff is all around

Archive for June 25th, 2008

Though massive in stature, your Mastiff is also a sensitive dog. Positive training techniques work best with Mastiffs. They will respond well to firm, consistent, kind training.

All dogs respond better to kindness.

* Give commands in quiet tones. * Be patient. Bull Mastiffs tend to develop slowly, both emotionally and physically.

* Be firm. To be firm means using a deep tone of voice that commands respect from your pet. The object of using this firm tone is to train your dog to pay attention the first time you speak.

Use specific training commands for each action, such as “sit,” “down,” or “off.” A confused pet cannot learn well what is being taught.

A helpful hint when training is to say the dog’s name first, then give the command.

*Train your Mastiff when he is alert. Mastiffs, especially, should rest after eating. Schedule your training sessions with your pet before meals. Positive training includes giving your Bull Mastiff dog treats and praise when they are obedient to a command. Treats can be handed out generously while your dog is first learning. As training continues, increase your expectations and decrease the treats so your pet will learn to obey when given a command.

Training sessions should only last about 10-15 at a time, several times a day. Your Bull Mastiff dog is capable of learning many things at a rapid pace. Start training and socializing your dog as soon as you bring him home. This time of training is a critical time for building a relationship of love and trust between you and your Bull Mastiff dog.

Bull Mastiff dogs are great pets and because they are so easy to please, they really can be trained with very little effort. You will be happier, and your dog will be happier, if your Mastiff is well trained. So, give it a try – you’ll be glad you did!

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While theories abound about the exact origin of the French Bulldog, the most prevalent opinion is that around the mid 1800’s, Normandy lace workers from England took smaller bulldogs with them when they sought work in France. In the farming communities north of France that the lace workers settled in, the little Bulldogs became very popular as ratters and loyal family companions and their population began to swell. These little bulldogs were in fact “culls” of the established Bulldog Breeders in England, who were generally more than happy to sell these undersized examples of their breed to fanciers of the “new” breed in England. This was especially true of the “tulip” eared puppies that cropped up at times in Bulldog litters.

The name bulldog originated around 1567 and was used for numerous ancestors of modern bulldog breeds. English bulldogs were originally bred for bull baiting. Bull baiting was used as a form of entertainment in which a bulldog would try to suffocate a bull by latching onto the bull ring in it’s nose. Bull baiting was banned in 1835 and this feature of the bulldog was slowly breed out of it.

Bulldogs are extremely intolerant of heat. They must be kept in an air-conditioned area with limited trips outside when the outside temperature is over 80 degrees or the humidity is high. Close supervision is required during outside activity, especially in spring and summer to prevent over-exertion leading to over-heating. They also are not usually capable of prolonged physical activity whether the temperature is very warm or cold: a Bulldog is not for someone who enjoys taking a dog for long walks through the countryside.

Contrary to popular beliefs, bulldogs are generally docile, friendly and gregarious. Breeders have worked to breed aggression out of the breed, and as such the dog is known to be of generally good temperament. Bulldogs can be so attached to home and family that they will not venture out of the yard without a human companion. Due to their friendly nature bulldogs are known for getting along well with children, other dogs and pets.

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The Truth About Cat Food Nutrition - An informative story of the pet food industry and what to look for when choosing a cat food.

Play piano music by ear is the passion of many, or probably all of us, on some level or the other. After all music is the food of the soul without which the world would probably be deafening silent.

Music as a Profession

Those of us who make music part of our life style need at times a little more than just normal stores to get the items we are looking for. Here is where a musical instrument dealer steps in as the best choice available.

A musical instrument and piano chords dealer usually specializes in one brand type and carries anything and everything available possible under that particular brand. In these specialized stores one can find items that perform on a professional level.

Where to Look For a Musical Instrument Dealer?

Nothing can be easier. Do your homework and research on the Internet for the nearest musical instrument dealer by brand and type of instrument you are looking for. Call ahead to make sure they have in stock what you are looking for so that you will not make the trip for nothing.

If you cannot find a physical musical instrumental dealer store close to you, you could choose to shop online. The variety might be better and at times cheaper however, don’t forget about shipping and handling which adds to the price tag in the end.

Other Advantages of a Musical Instrumental Dealer

Often a musical instrumental dealer will carry antique, rare items, which are hard to get in other music stores. Some even have personalized items from known stars, which they sometimes will put out for sale by auction.

Another good thing about musical instrumental and piano scales dealers is that if they do not carry an item you need they can order it for you right from the manufacturer thus, saving you money and time. Dealers usually acquire their merchandise directly from the factory thus the saving is considerable in these stores.

The Music Professionals

The love for music is within all of us and on some level or the other we are all a professional of some kind of music such as singing under the shower, humming to the radio or signing in the mirror while drying our hair.

Music is enjoyed at many levels and can bring joy to ones life; so welcome it as often as possible. It is even doctor recommended for its beneficial effects on humans, animals and even flowers.

How do mutual funds work? A mutual fund is a basket of bonds, stocks and other securities. This creates a diversified portfolio for the individual investor or investment company and mutual funds are usually less of a risk than investing in individual equities. This is because investors are able to spread their money across a varied collection of securities which include bonds, stocks and money market instruments. Therefore, the investor is not “putting all his eggs in one basket” with just one stock or one type of security.

Most investors these days the definition of a mutual fund. However, many do not know what the mutual fund ratings are. Mutual fund ratings are the numerical scale that is placed on funds to determine the history of their performance. Thus the best performing mutual funds will have the best mutual fund ratings.

Although the rating is not indicative of the amount a fund will grow or will perform, it is closely related. Judging by the history of the fund in which you are looking at you can tell within a good percentage of the time whether this fund will do similar or better than another similar fund.

Showroom411.com is a website that brings together information on all kinds of building topics. It has consumer reviews and DIY informaiton and videos. It also has a great section on Green Living.

Here is a list of some of the tips for living earth friendly.

1) Get off unwanted catalog and junk mail lists

2) Sign up for electronic bills

3) Minimize your marketing material - smaller point and fewer pages.

4) Minimize meetings - do more via email, phone and video

5) Coast to stop signs - slow down and cost to a stop sign to conserve gas.

6) Open the window, turn off the light - Don’t turn on the overhead lights unless you need them to work.

7) Turn off your computer - If it is not your web server, turn it off before you go home at night.
Use the required paper quality for the project - don’t print drafts on high quality paper.

9) Read the newspaper online - You can get more news in less time anyway

10) Buy more 2nd hand things - Why not use get something you need from someone else who has it but no longer needs it? Save on manufacturing and check craigs list.

These are just 10 tips from the 100’s of ideas you can get from browsing the Green Listings.

I feel so bad for my dog, the poor guy was running in my dining room and slipped on a phone case and took a dive for the curio cabinet . I am an awful parent, he broke his leg and actually had to get stitches in his back because the fall broke the glass on the cabinet and it hit him on the way down . We also had to put one of those plastic halos around his head so that he couldn’t get at his cast and stitches and tear them out with his nails and teeth. The vets gave us strict orders on how to put the halo on correctly, but apparently my sister didn’t listen and put it on incorrectly . Apparently my sister is dyslexic, because she put the halo on backwards . If it is on the correct way, my poor puppy wouldn’t be able to reach his stitches of pull off his cast with his teeth . Of course, she put it on him wrong she he could reach . The halo hung over near his paws and he could reach his mouth over its edge to get at his legs. So, yes, he did tear out his stitches. This happened to all of the stitches and even the cast so we obviously had to take my dog back to the vet to get them put back in, then the vet tried to put the halo on once more and show us the correct way but apparently my sister is smarter than the vet so she didn’t listen . Yes, she thought she knew better than a vet how to take care of an animal. I don’t even know if my sister can spell “animal.”

Althought gift credit cards can be useful and much-appreciated gifts, it is important to understand what they are and how they work, and to check the terms and conditions of yur particular gift credit card. Each issuer has different gift credit card fine print, and some of the clauses in the fine print can be costly.

Gift credit cards are actually not credit cards in the traditional sense of the word. A holder of a traditional credit card makes purchases on credit, and pays the bill later, when it falls due. A gift credit card is a stored value card, or debit card. A certain amount of money is deposited into the gift credit card by the purchaser at the time the gift credit card is issued, and only that amount of money may be spent using the gift credit card.

If you think about the old-fashioned paper gift certificate still issued by many major retailers, you will have a more accurate notion of the nature of gift credit cards than if you think about credit cards in general. Gift credit cards are not really credit cards at all - they are more like plastic gift certificates.

Some retailers have switched from using paper gift certificates to issuing gift credit cards. While these store-specific gift credit cards have the disadvantage of being limited to use in a particular store, this is offest by the benefit that generally charge lower fees than more general gift credit cards.

Gift credit cards are issued by major credit card providers, such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, both directly and through banks. Each gift credit card issuer has their own particular set of terms and conditions.

Some issuers limit gift credit cards to use within the USA. Others will not allow gift credit cards to be used for certain purchases, such as air tickets or hotels. American Express will not issue gift credit cards to the residents of five US states, because, according to American Express, “restrictive legislation” makes it prohibitively expensive to do so.

It is important to be aware of the problems with gift credit cards. If you have chosen the right gift credit card, you will be able to give a gift which is as flexible as cash, but as personalised as a gift certificate. If you have received a gift credit card, you have no choice about the issuer, so make sure you read the fine print, so you can avoid any unwanted fees or complications.

Is your “baby” about to turn 16? Time sure does fly doesn’t it? I remember when my oldest was just a baby and now she’s a junior in college. My second daughter just turned 16 and it was fun to throw her a Sweet 16 Party%.

Since we live in Florida and my daughter’s birthday is in May, we went with a beach themed Sweet 16 party and had beach theme decorations and party favors. You can choose a fantastic theme for your party depending on where you live and what month you will be celebrating the birthday.

Beach themes are always very popular and easy to do during the summer months. Kids love a pool party, beach party or any party that is around water. Choose beach themed Sweet 16 Party Themes and decorations to carry the fun theme through the whole party.

For the child that has always been the princess, what better theme than a Fairytale Cinderella party theme. Take your decorating cue from the movies you’ve seen with princesses. Cinderella wore a blue and white dress. Baby blue and white is an easy theme to recreate with bows, ribbons, birthday cake and more. Blue is also one of the most popular colors for the Quince court. Party favors for a Cinderella themed event would be carriage candle favors or Cinderella’s slipper elegantly crafted from crystal. What guest wouldn’t love to receive one of these party favors?

Butterfly themed parties are also very popular and allow you to be creative in your colors. Is your favorite color orange? Imagine all your decorations in a brilliant orange with butterflies gracefully flowing overhead. Birthday cakes designed with butterflies that look like they’ve just touched down for a taste of the sweet icing. Butterfly party favors such as butterfly place card holders at each guest’s seat or butterfly key chains would provide your guests with a thank you memento they can use at home.

Is the Sweet 16 party party going to be held in the cooler Fall or Winter months? Take advantage of the holidays and incorporate that theme into your party. Party in October? What fun a costume party would be. November? Use the beautiful colors of chocolate brown, rust, and yellow to create decorations so beautiful you won’t want the party to end. December? Decorate in the traditional Christmas or Hanukah color schemes – sure to get the party rolling. Party favors can also be tied to the holidays. Autumn leaves bookmarks are perfect for October or November. Winter wonderland inspired gel candle favor would be a lovely gift for December and January parties.

Tying your sweet 16 party favors and decorations to the time of the year makes it easy and fun to decorate for the party.