The American Red Cross issued a press release today launching their pet safety campaign. The new campaign for canines will help pet owners keep their furry friends safe during the hottest
days of summer. The Dog Days of Summer campaign promotes Red
Cross pet safety trainings and programs, which are especially important
as we enter the peak summer months.
Nail Trim Diaries
I’m still working on Nemo’s nails. Well, I’m working on all the dogs nails, but it’s Nemo I’m concentrating on… Today marks a milestone: I had the Dremel on and touched his nail! And he didn’t flip out! Whoohoo!!
I have been working on Nemo’s nails for awhile now and had done every tiny step I could think of before actually touching the moving Dremel to his nail. Finally I ran out of small steps! And I had to do it. (You see, I dislike trimming nails as much as my dogs do.)
Here are some of the steps we went through over the past three weeks. After successful completion of each step, Nemo earned a click and a smidge of some really delicious (and smelly) wet cat food.
- Ask Nemo to lay down (for my ease of getting to his nails)
- Touch his foot gently with my hand
- Touch a nail gently with my hand
- Hold his foot in my hand
- Manipulate each toe with my hand
- Wiggle each toenail with my hand
- Add duration to each of the above (so when it comes time to really trim those nails, he’ll be used to me doing those things for the several seconds it’ll take me)
- Turning the Dremel on and feeding (Dremel does not touch his feet at this point)
- Turning the Dremel off and stopping feeding
- Touching his toe with the Dremel OFF (not running at this point)
- Holding the running Dremel while my other hand handles his foot (Dremel did not touch nail)
- Touching the running Dremel to a toe very briefly
That’s how far we’ve come to date. We still have a long way to go — the three times I touched his nail with the running Dremel today didn’t take enough off his nail to even notice. But it’s progress! A little bit more practice and we’ll have it!
Puppies – Do It Right
I got a phone call yesterday that made my day. Someone was interested in getting a puppy and called to talk about the differences in breeds. Before she ever got the puppy! This rarely happens, unfortunately. Most people get the pup, wait until there’s trouble, then tries to learn all about the breed they’ve got.
I’m so happy when someone does their homework before bringing that puppy home. I spent as much time with her on the phone as she needed – a reward for doing it right!
We discussed the pros and cons of the breeds she was looking at, the training that would be involved, as well as other issues like family dynamics, schedules, and the needs of the puppy.
It was such a joy to talk to someone who was interested in getting as much knowledge as possible before the puppy arrives. They hadn’t even decided upon a breeder yet — they wanted to gather all that information before even choosing the breed! I love it!
For anyone out there who’s thinking about getting a puppy, please do your homework first.
Find out as much as you can about the breed:
- What is is bred for?
- How big will it get?
- What are the exercise requirements (note: you will be involved in the exercise — dogs don’t exercise themselves no matter how big your yard is!)
- How much grooming is involved?
- How much shedding?
- Does the breed have known health issues?
Here’s a great resource for anyone with (or interested in getting) a puppy: it’s called Before You Get Your Puppy and you can get a free download of it here. The very same author has another book called After You Get Your Puppy — both books are excellent and the price is terrific. You can get both books together from Amazon.com for only $13.57.
R.E.A.D. Debut
Tango and I got a call to fill in as R.E.A.D. volunteers at a local college. The college houses a young reading education program for kids who are kindergarten to fourth grade and who have troubles reading.
We volunteer through a local therapy dog organization called Wags for Hope – a local non-profit organization that provides volunteers
with their pets to bring joy to the lives of others.
We’re looking forward to working with the children – it will give us good practice for the fall, when the R.E.A.D programs begin in earnest at the beginning of the school year.
Eventually, I’d like to get Lily certified to participate, but we’ve got some work to do before that happens. Her reaction to other dogs is less than perfect. She’d relish the opportunity, however, to sit with the children – she so enjoys quiet attention.
Nemo, on the other hand, will have to wait a few more years. He’s far too social for this kind of program. The focus of the program is on the children and their reading skills, not on the dogs. In fact, the most helpful dogs are the quiet, unobtrusive ones. Something Nemo is definitely not! He likes chaos, and is happy to provide it. With some more training and some maturity, it may be a possibility. Or, more appropriately, I need to find a program that matches Nemo’s personality, rather than expecting him to change to match the program.
Where Not to Buy A Puppy
Puppies are flat out adorable. Doesn’t matter what breed, they’re just so danged cute! That cute face is what makes most people lose their mind and impulsively pick up that pup. And once you’ve held an eight-week old grunting and wiggling puppy, I dare you to put him back down and say “No, thanks.”
So, before you even think about getting a puppy, take a moment to read this short (I promise) entry. Don’t make the mistake too many of my clients make – impulse buy. You’ll pay for it later, and perhaps, even the pup, too, will pay later.
Don’t buy a puppy from a store, online, or from an ad in the paper. Where, you ask, am I supposed to get a puppy, then, if not from those sources.
If you’ve got your heart set on a purebred puppy go to the AKC website and find the parent club of the breed you’re interested. (Sorry, puggles, labradoodles, and goldendoodles aren’t purebred, no
matter what the “breeder” tells you — they’re good ol’ American Mutts.) Contact the parent club to find a few reputable breeders in your area. Interview those breeders and make an educated decision on which one is right for you.
If you’re looking for a designer dog (those puggles, labradoodles and goldendoodles) look no further than your local shelter or rescue. They are chock full of mixed breed dogs – good, healthy dogs (and pups!) you can get for a fraction of the cost the “breeders” charge. And you’re saving a life!
If you’re not particular about what breed or mix of breeds your dog is, the shelter or rescue groups are a good place for you to look as well.
Don’t forget Petfinder.com – this is a great resource that makes it easier for you to check multiple shelters and rescues — even those that aren’t in your state! They have both purebred and mixed breed dogs listed on their site.
I’ve purposely excluded newspaper listings, internet listings, and pet stores. And there’s a good reason for that. Too many people and companies only want to move merchandise. And puppies are merchandise. They aren’t interested in finding the best home, they’re interested in moving inventory. The dogs are mere commodities. The people and their companies are getting rich at the expense of the life of the dog.
Puppy mills exist. And if you buy your pup from a store (either online or in person), you are most likely supporting that puppy mill. And as long as people buy the pups, the horrendous treatment will continue. You can stop it – don’t buy from a pet store or from an internet store!
An easy way to tell if you’ve found a good source for your dog is to ask this question – are they interviewing you as hard as you’re interviewing them? Or do they simply care if you have the right amount of money? If they’re interviewing you, they’re worth spending some time with. Ethical breeders care about their pups and aren’t shy about finding out what kind of home you’ll provide for their pup.
Lucky’s Stable
So the good news is that Lucky’s not in kidney failure! At our vet appointment last week, they drew blood to do a full blood workup on him to check his kidney values. His blood chemistry numbers had gone a little screwy and we needed to make sure we got him back into the norm.
About a month ago, he had an infection somewhere (we couldn’t figure out where, but his white count was very high), so he was prescribed Baytril. I had accidentally given him double his dose of Derramax (I gave him one pill twice a day instead of 1/2 a pill once a day – I almost killed him!) which really did a number on both his kidneys and his GI tract.
The vet advised we immediately cease the Derramax, and instead put him on a different pain killer (tramadol) which was easier on the kidneys. He was also given Sucralfate to help with his stomach ulcers, along with a powder called epakitin, along with plain old Pepcid.
I just got the results of the latest blood work and all the numbers are good! Even the cardiologist liked the numbers, so he can stay on all of his (much needed!) heart medications.
This dog is like a Timex – he takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’!