Snakes And Lizards

By ONLY for PET LOVERS

 When you think of the cast of characters from the legendary 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, you could certainly make the case that the most popular character is not Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow or the Cowardly Lion. For many movie buffs, the real star of the movie was Toto, Dorothys black Cairn terrier.

One things for sure, Toto was definitely the toughest character in the cast. The movies producer searched for months to find the exact dog described in L. Frank Baums vivid tale, which was first published in 1900. The films casting department was given copies of the illustrations drawn by artist W. W. Denslow for the books first edition and was told to go out and find that dog.

Numerous dogs, most purebred Scottish terriers, were brought in to impress Oz producer Mervyn LeRoy, but he wouldnt bite. He felt the dogs didnt look enough like Denslows drawings. The tale of the tireless search for Toto was even picked by the entertainment newspaper Daily Variety and thats where dog trainer Carl Spitz first saw the article. After examining Denslows illustrations, he knew the dog the artist had drawn was a Cairn terrier and he just happened to have one named Terry.

Spitz rushed right down to the studio and he was greeted like royalty, or at least Terry was. As Spitz came into the studio, with Terry trotting along at his side, people connected with the Oz film started yelling, “Theres the dog! We found Toto.” Terry was a five-year-old female. Toto was supposed to be a male. But, of course, thats what acting is all about.

Though a tried-and-true film veteran by the time she got the role in The Wizard of Oz, Terry did suffer from a bit of stage fright early in her life. Born in 1933, Terry was adopted by an elderly couple who lived in Pasadena, Calif. But when the couple first got the dog as a puppy, Terry was so shy that she hid under the bed for three straight weeks. The couple took the dog back to the breeder and demanded their money back. The breeder then took Terry to Spitz to try to train the dog out of her crippling shyness. Spitz met with some success, but the breeder never returned to pick up the dog. So, Spitz kept her, never thinking that the dog had a glittering future on the silver screen.

One day a director from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer came to Spitzs kennel looking for a dog for a film he was doing with Shirley Temple. The director liked Terry. Spitz didnt think it would work out, but went along with the challenge. To Spitzs amazement, Terry loved acting and appeared in the movie, Bright Eyes, in 1934. She went on to appear in other films before getting her big break with The Wizard of Oz.

Her shyness now a distant memory, Terry spent two weeks at Judy Garlands house to get to know the young actress before they began filming Oz. While on the movie set, Terry learned lots of new tricks, including escaping from picnic baskets, jumping through open windows, leaping from a closing drawbridge, and grabbing a hot dog off a roasting fork.

The clever Cairn terrier had no problem with most of the stunts, but Spitz later admitted that Terry never liked being confined to the picnic basket that sat on the back of Miss Gulchs (Margaret Hamiltons) bicycle. Terry was only too happy to jump out as the nasty neighbor rode down to the county sheriffs office.

But the canine star never got accustomed to the powerful wind machines used in the tornado scenes. When the machines were turned on, she was known to hide behind a number of the leading actors, quivering in fear. She also didnt like standing still when crew members needed to test the sound and lighting. So, during the technical rehearsals, a stuffed dog was used as an understudy to give the star a breather.

Terry enjoyed undertaking all sorts of tasks in the film, and she took a particular liking to pulling back the curtain on the great Oz to reveal the mere mortal who utters the signature line, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!”

Terry earned $125 a week for her performance, and was a real trooper. During the filming of The Wizard of Oz, one of the Wicked Witchs soldiers accidentally stepped on one of Terrys paws while chasing her in a scene. The intrepid pooch ended up with a sprain, but soldiered on despite her injury and completed the film on schedule.

Treated as a full-fledged cast member, Terry even attended the films premier at Hollywoods Graumans Chinese Theatre in 1939. Her performance drew so many admirers that Cairn terriers surged in popularity during the 1940s. People identified Terry so strongly with the role of Toto that Spitz legally changed the dogs name to Toto. Talk about typecasting!

Toto went on to make many more films, and was reunited with the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, in a 1942 comedy called Twin Beds. Onscreen and in real life, Toto and Hamilton got along famously.

During her nine-year movie career, the worlds most famous Cairn terrier made 13 films, and her passing in 1944 left a tremendous void in Hollywood among the ranks of canine actors. Terry/Toto had become as popular as megastar Rin Tin Tin. Not bad for a shy gal from Pasadena.

Robert Grayson is a correspondent out of New Jersey for Only For Pet Lovers. Check out our site to view the rest of our articles and register for our online community for pet lovers like yourself. To keep up to date on what’s going on in the pet world, visit our site and check out the pet news section.

A Cat Behavior Training Crash Course
By Jay Schindler

 There is more to cats than the cuddly and lovable pets who purr on one corner of the house. At times, they can be a menace to housekeeping too. Scratches in furniture, broken ornaments, and ruined stockings are just a few things that misbehaving cats can do.

There are reasons why cats misbehave. And by knowing these reasons, cat owners can be capable of controlling their pets’ actions.

Here are some things about cats which cause misbehaviors together with tips on how to make them behave.

- Cats misbehave when they are bored.

Cats that don’t have much to do have no choice but to do obnoxious things. They may be looking for attention, or they just needed something to do to spend their energy.

Whatever the case may be, these can be solved by allotting time for your cat to play with you. However, do not do this immediately after your cat misbehaved. Your cat will associate its misbehavior with you giving it more attention.

- Cats are naturally nocturnal animals.

Cats are more active during nighttime. They can do more exciting activities by that time.

With this in mind, make your cat busy in the morning. By doing this, the cat will be too exhausted to do things when it is time for his owners to sleep.

-Cats misbehave when they are sexually-driven.

Expect misbehavior when cats feel that it is time to mate. Expect a lot of misbehavior for cats who are confined inside their homes when it happens!

Surgical procedures can be done to prevent misbehaviors caused by sexual urges. Female cats can undergo spaying; male cats can undergo neutering.

- Cats misinterpret owners’ reaction to its misbehavior.

Owners usually get mad when their pets misbehave. But they are vague in telling their pets that they are mad. When owners reprimand their pets for misbehaving, cats think that their owners just want to play with them.

Owners must be clear with their reactions. If their pets misbehave, owners would make it clear that it is a punishment and not a game.

Remember that cats seek reward. They avoid punishment. Do not make misbehaving enjoyable to your cat by giving it a lot of attention when it happens.

By associating punishment for misbehaving cats learn what should not be done.

-Cats enjoy playing with certain things in the house.

There are things that cats love. It may be a curtain, or a pillow.

The good thing is they hate certain smells too. Spray unpleasant smells on those things to keep cats away.

By knowing why pets misbehave owners have more chances to correct these bad habits!

Learn about horse facts and penguin facts at the Animals Facts site.

The Meaning Of Your Cats
By Jay Schindler

 A lot of people think that cats work on their own agenda, not paying much attention to their owner - provided they have clean litter, food, and water. Cats can behave in odd manners at times, which can easily confuse their owners and make it really hard to determine what the cat wants. As much as cat behavior can be confusing, there are some ways that you can solve common cat behavior mysteries.

A common behavior that almost all cats do is push their heads into any type of object that will allow them to do it. You’ve probably seen your cat do this before, probably against table legs, TV stands, or another object. This can be noticed more when you have other people who own animals or those with allergies over at your house. When a cat notices this, he will rub his head against the person. In doing so, he will put a touch of saliva on the individual. In a cat’s mind, he owns what he puts his saliva on.

By putting his saliva on something, that object or person will have a familiar scent. Although this can be very annoying, you have to understand that other people in your home are seen as odd or weird to your cat. When a cat does this, he is simply trying to make the visitor belong. When he brushes up against them and puts his saliva on them, he is trying to put his scent on them - which in his mind will mean that they belong in his territory.

Even though marking someone or something with saliva is beneficial to the cat, saliva is one of the most common forms of pet allergies. When someone wipes the saliva off of them, the scent will be gone and the cat will go back and attempt to do it again. Even though it may appear that cats target those with allergies, cats are actually just trying to make the visitor belong at the house. If the guest simply cannot take the saliva, allow the cat to rub himself on their pants leg a few times. Normally, this is all takes for a cat to leave the person alone.

Those of you who an indoor cat should expect the cat to spend quite a bit of time lying near windows. During this time, you may hear your cat make very strange noises or weird movements. You shouldn’t fear though, as he is simply acting out his hunting instincts. Whether it’s another cat or object outside moving about, the cat will see it and simply go into his native hunting instinct.

As most already know, cats love to play. They love to played with, especially with toys. They will pounce on things on occasion, which should always be expected. If you try to prevent this type of behavior, your cat will take a very negative approach and you’ll end up with a lot of broken things in your home. You can always play with your cat using a string, as he will love to chase the string around the room.

The longer you own your cat, the more odd behavior you’ll see him exhibit. Cats behave in strange ways, although they always have a reason for behaving the way they do. If you can understand why your cat behaves like he does, you’ll have no problems keeping him healthy and happy. If you simply pay attention to your cat and the way he behaves at times - you’ll be able to understand him better than ever before.

To read about snake facts and cheetah facts, visit the Animals Facts site.

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