Friday, August 7, 2009
Uno Momento
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Stop! Don't Eat That!
As the description of my blog clearly states, dogs do stupid things. One of those puzzling activities includes eating a variety of household and garden items. Some usual consumed subjects include anything from and in between: tissues, underwear, socks, candy wrappers, rocks, tennis balls, children’s toys, fuzz from the floor and whatever else catches their attention.
Needless to say, eating these things can have potentially dangerous effects on your dog’s health. Underwear just isn’t meant to be eaten…well…I guess you can refute that statement if you’ve been in an adult superstore lately and your mind is in the gutter, but you get my point.
Tissues aren’t usually a problem; they just make a huge mess around your house, but other items aren’t so forgiving on your dog’s digestive system. Some dogs may over-groom themselves or lick carpet/hardwood floors (okay the floor thing might just be my weird dog) and collect fuzz bunnies that have called your floor home for the past few weeks. This isn’t harmful unless they somehow ingest a lot of hair and fluff that can cause them to vomit. However, that should be the extent of the problem since dogs don’t have Velcro-like tongues like cats and, therefore, don’t usually get hairballs.
The big problems lie with the more solid or sharp objects. Eating candy wrappers may not seem like too big of a deal because they’re small, but they can become a choking hazard or cause intestinal blockage. One wrapper might just pass through their system, but if you’re one of those people who crumples all of your wrappers into a colossal aluminum ball, that can be a problem.
So next on the harmful list comes the clothing category. For some reason dogs have been known to eat socks, underwear, and other smaller clothing articles. Maybe they have foot fetishes and like the way your foot tastes after a hard day’s work. Nasty. I don’t know. Anyway, these obviously have potential to cause blockage in your dog’s digestive tract, but you may just be that one lucky person who gets to assist your dog when that thong comes out the other end.
Quick story about dogs and underwear. My boss brought his husky into work at the doggy hotel for group play a few months ago. My co-worker was the one watching the dogs and doing the usual poop scooping. She noticed our boss’s dog having problems pooping and called for help, because she couldn’t tell what was coming out of him. My boss went running back, whipped this object out of the dog’s butt and ran to throw it away. He went back to the room a few minutes later saying that his wife should have learned by then to pick up her thongs. Embarrassing? Yes. Funny as hell? Yea, that too, but he was also lucky he didn’t have any serious problems to deal with.
Now come the big kahunas of the victims to dog’s taste buds. Rocks. Toys. Tennis balls. Any of these are, more likely than not, going to require surgery to be removed. Paul Firm, a truck salesman at
“We would be in our pool and we would throw a ball to Z to go fetch, then he would bring the ball back and drop it in the pool. When we weren’t paying attention to him and his ball, he would pick up a rock and drop it into the pool. One time he jumped up to put it in the pool and must have swallowed it on the way up,” says Firm.
It took a few days for the family to realize that something was wrong and had to rush him over to the vet.
Firm says, “They x-rayed him and said ‘Oh he ate a rock.’ So they scheduled surgery and he had a ‘rockectomy.’”
Two surgeries, four weeks and about $5,000 later, Zeus was back in the yard, ready to play.
No one knows when a dog’s bad luck is going to catch up with him. They eat strange things and will continue to do so. It’s pretty much the luck of the draw as to what they’ll find next. It’s not possible to have an eye on your dog 24/7, but it is possible to reduce his risks of eating crazy things by picking up around the house and keeping things out of reach. Just cross your fingers that your dog is one step ahead in the evolutionary line.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Traveling Tails
It’s that time of year for vacations and outdoor extravaganzas with your family, friends, and extended family members of the four-legged variety. So how do you know where your pets will be welcomed, what to take with you to keep them comfortable, and how to plan the trip over-all?
There are hundreds of great hotels around the country that allow pets and even have services and special amenities for the fuzzy ones. I’ve done some in-depth research for Dog Living Magazine as to some great cities around the U.S. with plenty of dog-friendly activities, shops, boarding and awesome hotels that offer extras such as dog walkers, free treats, food and water bowls, blankets, and even their own doggy room-service menus! If you want to check some of these places out on your own I’ve made a list at the end of this blog post. Also, visit sites like fidofriendly.com and dogfriendly.com to find more attractions in the area you’re staying.
Okay, so now we have the “where” taken care of, but what do we do about making sure our dogs have a good travel experience, stay safe and healthy, and over-all just have a dog-gone good time? Well, let’s start from the basics and go from there.
Before going on any trip farther than the county lake, make sure your dog takes a visit to the vet to confirm he’s in good shape to hit the road and to get updated on all vaccinations, heartworm meds and flea meds. Get a copy of his vaccination records if you’re going to be bringing him in a hotel or boarding him while on your vaca. Also, get a rabies tag for his collar along with any other tags you would like to add (one with your address and phone number – yea you can add your blackberry number too) in case he gets a little frisky on the ride and takes off. There’s no worse way to ruin a vacation than to lose your dog, or even more horrible, never finding him again because you didn’t get him a little extra bling for his collar. Oh hey, it never hurts to get him micro-chipped either! Quick. Painless. And more secure than a collar tag.
Now that you’re confident your pup can be found and returned to you if the worst of the worst happens, let’s plan. After you’ve done your research and found the places you want to stay and things you want to do, make sure you call ahead of time to confirm that these places are truly dog-friendly, and also ask about weight and breed limits. You don’t want to end up on the other side of the country and have to board your dog the entire time because he was 5 lbs over the hotel limit! Ah!
Don’t you like to make sure you have your favorite shoes, comfy pillow, nummy snacks, and all the other comforts of home while you’re on the road? Try to pack things that make your dog comfortable too, such as favorite toys or blankets, and maybe even their food dishes if you have room. One thing you don’t want to go without, however, is their regular food. It’s not a great time to experiment with their digestive tract and pyrotechnic skills. If you’ve ever switched their food before, it can be a disaster if not done gradually. Things shoot out from both ends! Yea gross, sorry.
“Nationally known veterinarian, Dr. Jeff Werber (www.drjeff.com), also warns that municipal water systems vary from place to place, so don't just let Fido drink the local water — the abrupt change could give him diarrhea. Instead, start with a gallon of water from home, and "water your dog" along the route, topping off the gallon from a local water source at each stop. That way, the change is gradual.” – Edmunds.com
Before you actually head out the door, you’re going to need to make sure your dog is going to make it to your destination safely. This means crates for flying and even crates or certain seatbelts for car rides. It’s always necessary to check with different airlines for their policies. If you’re traveling by car, you don’t want your dog to be tossed and turned around ever single corner. Most dog owners know from experience how unbalanced and uncoordinated your dog can be on winding back roads. It’s easy to find restraints that actually connect to the seatbelts in your car that keep your dog from flying everywhere. Another alternative, perhaps if you have an SUV or van, is crating your dog; however, you need to make sure the crate can be fastened to the car, otherwise the crate and your dog can end up being projectiles if you were in a wreck or in cases of sudden braking. If you’re going the route of crating, try to add some blankets or cushions to the bottom so your pup isn’t uncomfortable or sliding around on the plastic. Last time I checked my own bed was made of fluff and not solid hard stuff. One last word of caution if you’re driving to your destination: If you have a truck DO NOT let your dog go freestyle back there. Over thousands of dogs a year are tossed or jump out of truck beds.
Lastly, just make sure your pup gets breaks from the car ride to walk around, go potty, and maybe play a little bit. Be careful as to how much water your dog gets on the ride too. You know how quickly your bladder is screaming if you drink tons of water and pop on the road, and your dog is no different.
So take some advice, do some research, and get ready to have a great vacation.
Here’s a good quick checklist of things to bring:
- Bed
-Food and water
-Food and water bowls
-Crate
-Seatbelt harness
-Any medicines
-Shot records
-Collar and leash
-Bags to pick up after him
-First aid kit for any injuries
-Contact info for vets in the area you are traveling
Here’s a list of cities with some great hotels and attractions:
Westward Look Resort
Lodge on the Desert
For fun look at: Rillito River Trail
The Tides
Mayfair Hotel and Spa
Aqua Hotel and Lounge
For fun look at:
The Tower
Grafton on Sunset
For fun look at: Skybark
Soho Grand Hotel
Loews Hotel
For fun look at:
Hotel Monaco
Palomar
Hotel Madera
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I'm Hungry
In the last few years Americans have been cracking down on healthy eating habits, losing weight, and going organic. Now that we’re getting ourselves straightened out, it’s time to look at what our dogs are eating, and try to make their lives as best as possible. I know I want to live as long as possible, and though I’m sure my dog doesn’t sit there and contemplate life in her free time, I’m sure she enjoys her days and would like to continue sniffing strange things and running around as long as she can.
So how do you know what’s healthiest to feed your dog? Well, that’s both easy and difficult to answer and many people (and vets) will tell you different things. To put it simply, dog foods with fillers are bad. Fillers are ingredients in your dog food like corn and preservatives that have no right being in your dog’s diet. It’s similar to when we go to the store to buy cranberry juice. We have the choice of cranberry cocktail (filled with sugars and preservatives) or the real thing that’s made of real juice.
“Mel”, a member of Yahoo Answers, says, “I feed my puppy Canidae. I know that it is expensive, but I would rather feed my puppy an all natural dog food than a food with fillers.”
That was the easy part. Now it gets more difficult. Once you’ve figured out which foods are more natural and healthier for your dog, you have to figure out how much time and money you’re willing to spend. High-end natural and organic dog foods might be the way to go if you have the cash but less time, or you might end up deciding to go with freshly prepared meats and veggies that you cook yourself. The debate here is that some vets will tell you to stay with a high-end kibble because it’s more balanced to your dog’s needs, and others will tell you it’s best to cook for them so you know exactly what they’re eating to avoid preservatives and other filler ingredients.
Yahoo Anwers user, “Goldenly Addicted” says, “I've always believed home-cooked is the best but there are so many people who are saying kibbles are bad & there are also [some] who say home-cooked is bad. So, I give them both. My dogs get the best of both worlds.”
If you’re preparing your dog’s food, you need to make sure it’s a balanced meal for your dog, and not just one food group. If you want to learn how to make a balanced meal, take a look at some of these food articles that Doctors Foster and Smith have to offer - http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=2+1659. Also, avoid table scraps. Greasy bacon is NOT good for your dog, just as it’s not really good for you.
“Home made is more than just throwing a few ingredients together. It needs to be nutritionally complete if you go that route,” says Yahoo Answer’s “Walking Lady.”
And pleeeeease, as much as you see those precious (I think hideous) little dogs on TV commercials eating their canned food, DO NOT feed your dog canned food. You will rot their teeth out of their mouth, along with flooding their tiny bodies with more preservatives than Vladimir Lenin’s dead carcass.
Try recipes from Dr. Pitcairn's book "Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats" or “The Healthy Dog Cookbook: 50 Nutritious and Delicious Recipes Your Dog Will Love” by Jonna Anne, Mary Straus, and Shawn Messonnier. There are tons of books out there if you check some out at your local pet or book store.
I wish I could add some recipes of my own, being the dog lover that I am, but I’m also a vegetarian who can’t stand the sight of raw meet, let alone the touch of it. As much as I’d like to feed my dog cooked meals, I’d have to hire someone to prepare it for her, which I’m pretty sure my wallet will not allow. As of now, I’ll admit, my miniscule paychecks can only pay for Eukanuba, which may be top of the line at any ordinary pet store, but really isn’t high-end when it comes to the many other expensive premium dog foods you can hunt down.
If you’re interested, here’s a list of high-end natural dog foods:
Solid Gold
Merrick
Blue
Taste of the Wild
Blue Diamond
Innova
EVO
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Choke vs. Poke - and Everything Else
Numerous types of collars have been made for dogs throughout the years - mainly for training purposes. How do you know which is best for you and your dog? How should they be used properly? What are the dangers with certain variations in collars? All of these questions need to be answered before the purchase of any collar to ensure the safety and health of your dog.
The majority of dog owners use a regular flat buckle collar, especially once their dog learns to walk well on a leash. Other types of collars include: choker collars (choke chains), which many people are familiar with; pinch collars (prong collars), which are newer and becoming more popular; harnesses, which go around the dogs chest; and probably the newest training collar is the head halter or head collar (brand name: Gentle Leader), which goes around the nose and back of the head.
The largest problem among dog owners is they don’t know how to use these collars properly and don’t realize they are not made to be everyday-use collars (with the exception of a buckle collar and sometimes harnesses). They are made for training purposes, meaning that once your dog knows basic commands such as “sit” and “stay”, these collars assist in enforcing these commands until good habits are formed while on a leash.
Yahoo Answers member, “Dee Dawg” says, “The dog still needs to be trained. The tool [training collar] is only used to administer correction, and before corrections can be effectively administered, the dog must know what the handler wants it to do….A correction should only be issued when the dog ignores or refuses a command that it knows. Then the correction is effective.
These collars are not meant to punish your dog by choking/pinching when your dog pulls away from something or for you to hold it back. If they don’t know the basic “leave it” or “stay” they will have no idea what you want from them just because you’re choking them.
“Kip’s Mom”, a member on Yahoo Answers, says, “When used properly, NO collar is cruel. When used improperly, EVERY collar is cruel.”
When used improperly, a choker collar does exactly as its name suggests. It chokes the dog, which in the severest of circumstances can cut off air circulation or even collapse the dog’s trachea, causing permanent damage. Prong collars can also cause damage, but not as severely as a choke collar if used improperly. As a caution, the prongs can also bend or snap over time, which can cause serious injury by gouging or cutting the dogs neck. Even the head halter - which given its name Gentle Leader, sounds a lot more pleasant than the previous collars – can cause injury if used improperly. Although you’re not choking or pinching your dog, the way this collar sits on your dogs head, if pulled harshly or in the wrong direction, it has potential to cause injury to the neck or spine. However, when used correctly, these are probably the most humane and beneficial of all the collars I have listed.
“BMTHESPIAN”, a user on Yahoo Answers, says, “I personally refused to use them [head halters] because when a dog pulls it forces the neck around, putting undue stress on the neck. As I have a breed that is prone to cervical vertebral instability (wobblers) I'm not willing to take that risk.”
The last type of collar is the harness. It rarely causes injury but isn’t very advantageous as it gives the dog the full force of their body to pull on the leash. (Actually, I remember when I was a child my parents bought one for my Golden Retriever. It didn’t help whatsoever.)
BMTHESPIAN says, “Harnesses put the force against the strongest part of the dog and actually encourage pulling and do little to actually train a dog.”
Although I mentioned earlier that most of these collars should only be used for training, I will tell you that I use a Gentle Leader almost every day with my German shepherd mix, Charliey. I would say I have a good reason for doing so, however; because my dog actually only weighs 30 lbs less than I do. Since a Gentle Leader goes around her nose and back of head, she doesn’t have the force to be able to pull me off my feet. If I used a buckle collar every time I took her outside near the lake behind my apartment, I guarantee once she saw a Canada goose I would end up on my butt being dragged through the dirt trying to hold on to her for dear life. Personally, I’d rather keep my clothes clean and not have my skin ripped off from being dragged, so I use her Gentle Leader a great deal of the time. The trick is…I know how to use it properly.
If you're not sure what some of these dog collars look like, check out this website. They even have more types than what all I talked about here.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Peaceful Pit Bulls
Over the years, the breed has received a bad rap from being kings of the dog fighting world. But is that their fault or humans? I'd put money on it being the fault of humans any day.
Out of 21 people surveyed, 11 said that Pit Bulls are misrepresented and shouldn't be punished for reputation alone; eight said it depended on the situation, and only two people saw the breed as a complete threat.
Yahoo Answers user "Nighty" says, "I think Pit Bulls are only as dangerous as their owner makes them. By nature I feel they are not inherently vicious dogs. They simply have been bred to be fierce."
The majority of people surveyed obviously seem to accept Pit Bulls as a tolerable member of dog society. Then why are they banned from so many counties and cities throughout the U.S.? Perhaps I got the rare end of people surveyed or possibly one idiot with a lot of power and money had an issue with Pits and got their way by having the breed restricted or banned. Some cities and counties have made Pit Bulls illegal to own or breed altogether.
Kathleen Abt, a kennel assistant at the Clermont County Humane Society of Ohio, says, "Punish the deed not the breed...I see so many well-behaved Pits come into the shelter, usually strays. And only the owner can claim them out. Since Ohio law says any Pit Bull or bully breed is not adoptable.
*According to www.animallawcoalition.com a bill to completely ban Pit Bulls from Ohio failed.*
If laws are passed to ban these animals it can make the situation worse. More dogs are being euthanized, more money is being spent to do so, and outlawing the ownership of the breed doesn't always mean an improvement in safety. Other breeds are going to fill the gap and become replacements for Pit Bulls, especially when it comes to idiots wanting money for fighting dogs.
"Poppy," a member of Yahoo Answers, says, "Banning almost never works. It just makes things happen under the radar, therefore, making things more dangerous."
Pit Bulls are being targeted unjustly. Many breeds such as the Chow Chow or the well-known "bully breeds" such as Bull Terriers and Bull Dogs also have a high potential to be dangerous if not raised properly. That's what a great deal of this controversy comes down to - raising a dog. If you're socializing a puppy from its earliest days with humans and dogs, taking him to the dog park and training classes, more likely than not you're going to have a good chance at raising a well-mannered and friendly dog. It's when dogs get neglected, aren't fed regularly, are rewarded for aggressive behavior and even left to self-mutilate in a cage that things can go very wrong. Even to a lesser extent, not socializing a puppy and allowing them to terrorize at a young age can turn them into a nightmare. That's with any breed. Although Pit Bulls are often rescued from the worst of circumstances, such as in the Michael Vick case, they still have a chance of turning around. In the Vick case alone, a majority of the 53 Pit Bulls he used for fighting were able to be adopted out to families or turned into therapy dogs. THERAPY DOGS. Think about that for a second. That must mean there's a glimmer of hope.
When it comes to personalty, I take nurture over nature in the case of Pit Bulls. Many people would agree. Others would say they're personality (aka aggressive tendencies) comes from nature. Okay, but let me put this thought in your head. Have you ever seen an "angel child" with the rudest parents ever, or a church-going family with teenagers who drink and do drugs? I know I have. In my experience with Pit Bulls, I've only met the sweethearts of the breed, but I'm not ignorant in knowing that isn't always the case. The breed has one flaw that makes them different from all other breeds, when it comes to nature versus nurture, and that's their extremely strong jaw. This is the trait that makes them born killers if trained to do so. Most people don't even know the breed well enough to know this fact about them or they mistake them as having a locking jaw. People believe what they hear. So if word on the street says Pit Bulls are mean then they must be. Right? Ha! Educate yourself people.
Ponkigal, a Yahoo Answers user, says, "Although I've never owned this breed, they're already banned from different states because of their aggressiveness, and most of them have been trained to attack or kill. I don't believe this breed is a born killer, but most are taught as such."
Not to knock this person, but not a single U.S. state has banned Pit Bulls. Yes, cities and counties, but not an entire state. Bills have been proposed, but because of lovers of the breed, they haven't been passed.
Pit Bulls, like many breeds, are extremely loyal dogs, meaning they will do pretty much anything for their owner. This has to be taken very seriously when it comes to raising a puppy. They can be raised to fight and kill, raised to protect, or raised to love and snuggle. From the very extreme ends, they will do what they are taught and praised for.
When it comes to breeding and raising a Pit, Ponkigal says, "I think they [cities, counties] should have some kind of enforcement to make sure that those who own Pits have enough experience to be able to handle a strong breed and does not intend to engage the dog in criminal activities."
I like this idea, but it would be extremely hard to put into effect. People are always going around the law.
"The public has given this breed a bad name. And guess what? It's our fault when there is a bad Pit Bull. It's because someone started slacking," says Abt.
I can't sum it up any better than that. Pit Bulls got stuck with a bad reputation, when the majority of the time, the dog's mistakes and faults are due to human failures to raise a dog to public standards. The best we can do is open people's eyes to see the good side.
For more information on the breed, here's a list of websites.
ASPCA Info
The No Kill Nation
Pawsitive Pit Bulls
Thursday, May 7, 2009
To Shave or Not to Shave
Summer is finally within sight, which means hotter weather and panting pups.
Each summer I have to deal with a doggy dilemma - my friends always tell me to shave my long haired German shepherd mix, who has hair that feels more like a Golden Retriever. I've heard both sides of the spectrum as to whether or not you should shave your dog in the summer months, but have settled on shaving being a poor decision.
Some people will say that the long hair is making your dog miserable, they can't sweat, and you therefore need to give them a trim to keep them cool. This is rarely the case. Although it sounds paradoxical at first, it can be harmful to take off the winter coat in summer months. Shaving them down means taking away their sun protection and leaving them exposed to the elements, which can cause sunburn, skin cancer, or even cause them to have a stroke. Skin is skin, whether it’s on a dog or a human.
A dog’s coat is also its insulation. Fur keeps the cold out in the winter and keeps the heat out in the summer, just like insulation in a house. The least severe problem with shaving can be the fur not growing back properly, which isn’t usually life-altering unless you have a show dog.
Besides mentioning sun protection and insulation, Yahoo Anwers member “BCs Do It With Intensity,” makes these points, “…Naked dogs equal easy targets for ticks, flies, mosquitoes, wasps, hornets, etc.” This member also says, “A shaved coat may not always grow back in the way it should, and could conceivably take years to grow back properly. In some cases, it never grows back (acquired alopecia). Every time a double-coated dog is shaved, the new coat can come in thicker than the time before. They shed for a reason, that's one of the ways they regulate their body temperature.”
After surveying a group of 17 people, I found that a majority knew about the health risks in shaving a dog; however, this would only make sense because those surveyed are well-informed dog owners. To my surprise, only three said they shave their dogs or think it’s okay to shave dogs for style. Eight people said that dogs should never be shaved, and six said they thought it was okay to shave for the comfort of the dog.
Although I’m pro-fur, there is one exception in my book - the Shih Tzu. I’m going to out myself right here as a hater of Shih Tzus and other extremely pampered dogs. The dogs themselves and the way owners treat them repulses me. That being said and having no relevance, most Shih Tzus I have encountered (which is a lot because I work at a pet hotel) either have a filthy long coat that has never been washed or they have been shaved in some awkward way that makes them look like an Ewok from Star Wars. Being that Shih Tzus aren’t usually the best jogging buddies and are usually safe from the sun’s rays inside in the air conditioning, I would vote for shaving an oily, grimy coat even though they would look like shaved rats.
“Shih Tzu Lover,” a Yahoo Answers user, says, “We don't shave our Shih Tzu for summer. I, personally, think a shaved Tzu looks terrible but if it benefited my dog I'd do it.”
Key words there are “if it benefited my dog.” Dog owners need to research what is actually beneficial versus what they believe is beneficial.
I receive a lot of harassment for leaving my dog’s coat on in the summer – usually from people who have no idea about the health aspects. I’ve been too concerned about what effects shaving would have on my dog and whether or not her coat would grow back normally for winter.
On the more vain side, I would probably shed a tear if my dog came out looking hideous as if it were my own hair that got chopped off.
Also, if you do decide to shave your dog and are going to be out in the sun with your four-legged friend try a PABA-free sunscreen on your dog’s skin.
