dogdaze

Spending quality time with your dog is very important especially if you have multiple pets or even children.

I’ve found that since our children came along, our dogs have become more demanding of our attention. It’s not as though we don’t pay attention to them because we do. They love my children and get lots of attention from them too.

But like children, I think my dogs compete for attention. I have been working long hours lately due to staff shortages at work and feel bad about coming home late, feeding the kids and my four-legged babies. Thankfully my husband does help around the house and with the kids.

Sometimes tough, I think we could spend more time with our dogs. For this reason, I am planning a vacation next month and plan to stay home with all of my kids, watch television, play and swim all day. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

I just heard a horrible story about a woman who left her two beloved dogs in the car with the windows partially rolled down while she went sightseeing. Because it was an overcast day, she assumed they would be okay. When she returned, both of her dogs were dead after succumbing to the high humidity and heat.

What was this woman thinking? It’s obvious to me that she wasn’t thinking at all. If she truly loved her dogs, in my opinion, she never would have left them inside her car for even a short time.

I’m sick of hearing stories like this. Will people ever learn NOT to leave their dogs in a vehicle for any period of time during warm, even cloudy days? Tragically, the poor dogs are the ones that suffer. The woman will probably get some new dogs to replace her old ones.

Folks, if you’ve never heard this before, please NEVER leave your pets inside a vehicle, even for 15 minutes. The extreme heat can kill your dog in this short time period. And don’t think it’s okay if you leave the air condition running in your car because even a vehicle can overheat and die in warm/hot weather.

Several years ago, I read a story about a police dog that was left in the patrol car with the air condition running while the officer went in the station for a short time. While the police officer was inside the station the patrol car died and the police dog suffered the consequences.

If these tragic stories save just one dog, than it’s worth retelling. Feel free to pass this advice along to everyone, not just dog lovers.

Keep your four-legged friends safe.

Don’t hold anything back when you take your dog to the veterinarian. Always ask questions, especially if you don’t understand the diagnosis, prognosis or treatment your dog needs.

Most veterinarians welcome questions from pet owners. It lets them know that you genuinely care about your dog.

Several years ago, when one of my dogs started coughing until he passed out, we took him to our veterinarian who ran a series of tests. After determining that our dog had irregular heartbeats that led to fainting spells, our vet referred our dog to the Texas A&M University Small Animal Hospital in College Station, Texas.

After spending a day at the A&M hospital, doctors there were able to diagnose my dog’s illness and prescribed a treatment that prolonged his life. Thanks to their research, care and medicine, my sweet dog got three extra years of quality life.

Americans will be celebrating their independence today in many ways — parties, picnics, family, fun and fireworks. Although most of these activities can include your dog, please don’t subject your best four-legged friend to the fireworks show.

Dogs don’t like fireworks because of the loud noise and the bright bursts of light in the sky. What we see as beautiful our dogs see as loud, scary monsters.

Because the loud explosions of fireworks are what scares dogs most, you can help your dog have a somewhat normal night on this Independence Day by planning ahead.

If you can hear the fireworks exploding outside your house, so can your dog. You’ll know your dog is scared if he paces, pants, trembles, salivates, barks and tries to escape or hide.

The best place for your dog in this situation is in the center of the house, preferably in a small room or bathroom. This will help filter the sound of the fireworks. Leave the television set or a radio on to help further muffle the sound.

Give your dog his favorite toy and a comfortable bed to make him feel at ease. You can even put an old or dirty shirt with your scent on it near his bed for reassurance.

Don’t be overly affectionate to your dog at this time because it may exacerbate the problem. By acting happy you can help redirect your dog’s attention away from the scary sounds.

If you have an outside dog, it’s a good idea to bring him indoors for the evening or at least during the fireworks show. You can even put him in a crate with a bowl of fresh water and don’t forget to leave some white noise — a radio, television or fan.

The most important thing this holiday is to enjoy your family (dogs too) and friends, have fun and stay safe.

Happy Fourth of July!

Most dogs love the water and take any chance they can get to jump right in a swimming pool or lake. Even puppies can swim by doing the famous dog paddle.

My son was in his kiddie swimming pool yesterday and when my husband let the dogs out for a while, they headed right toward the pool and jumped in. Today, we got them their own swimming pool and they had a blast spashing around in it.

Whenever your dog is swimming in a lake, watch him closely so that he doesn’t paddle out too far. Remember that the water gets colder the farther you get from the shore. This change in water temperature can cause a dog to get leg cramps and thus make it painful to continue paddling.

If your dog swims in a chlorine treated swimming pool, be sure he doesn’t drink too much of the pool water because it can upset his stomach. Always rinse him off with a water hose after he’s finished swimming in a pool. This helps get the chlorine out of his coat and prevents skin irritations.

Hope you and your best dog friend have fun swimming this summer!

Now that summer is here it’s time to start talking vacations. A vacation doesn’t have to be long to be fun it can be a simple weekend getaway. And what’s a weekend getaway without your best bud?

Here are some things to remember if you plan to take your dog along on any vacation this summer:

First, be sure your dog wears a collar with proper ID tags that have your permanent address and all phone numbers. It’s a good idea to bring along a photo of your dog in case he gets lost so you can put up posters with his picture on them. A lot of people don’t think about this but losing your pet on vacation can ruin the family experience for everyone.

Before you hit the road, remember to give your dog a light meal and limit their water intake. Some dogs get car sick because they drink too much water before a trip. Don’t forget your dog’s favorite chew toy; it can help keep him entertained while on the road.

Love your dog enough to put him in a restraining harness. This will help keep him stable in the event of a sudden stop. It also will prevent him from sticking his head out the window, which is very unsafe. If a small rock hits and cracks your windshield, imagine the damage it can do to your dog.

Last but not least, never ever leave your dog or any other pet in a vehicle in warm or hot weather because even if the windows are open the temperature inside the vehicle rises to deadly levels fast.

I hate to see dogs waiting inside a hot car while their owners are inside a nice, cool restaurant. In situations like this, it’s best to leave your four-legged friend back at the hotel instead of in your car. If you have to eat while traveling, try the drive-thru of your favorite fast-food restaurant.

Wherever you vacation this summer, make it a fun family experience by following these simple tips. Stay safe, buckle up!

When I have to give any of my dogs oral medication such as a pill, I hide it in a bit of peanut butter and place the small dab in their mouth. They think it’s a treat and eat it right away. This trick usually works on most dogs.

A couple of years ago I came home one night to find that Harley, our blond Labrador that stayed outside, had injured his front leg. Upon closer examination his front right foot appeared almost mangled. It was a horrible feeling to see a dog you love in such bad shape.

I immediately called our wonderful veterinarian who told us to meet him at his clinic. My husband and I loaded Harley into the truck and rushed into town. I prayed the whole way there that the vet could somehow save Harley’s front leg. In the back of my mind I knew the injury was too bad.

I was right. The veterinarian had to amputate Harley’s leg at the shoulder. Taking the entire leg off would be easier for Harley to adjust, the vet assured us. After a few days at the vet hospital, our sweet Harley came home.

Harley did adjust well after the surgery. He has lived inside our home since the day we brought him home from the hospital. He is still the same sweet dog he always was. He’s a little more spoiled now though.

To this day, we still don’t know how Harley got his foot mangled. We have speculated that perhaps he got his foot caught in some kind of trap and managed to free himself by tugging until he got loose.

In order to prevent this from happening again, we put up a nice fence along our 5-acre property so that our babies can run and play in a safe environment.

Living in the country has many advantages and some disadvantages too. Because we live just a couple of miles from town people who no longer want to care for their dogs just dump them out in the country near our house.

Have you ever noticed that some dogs eat their own stool or the feces of other dogs? It’s not uncommon for this behavior in dogs, especially in puppies or younger dogs.

I have a couple of dogs that do this often. They eat the stool of other dogs and really like to raid the litter box — which I find disgusting! I always scold them for doing this but it doesn’t stop them from repeating the behavior.

I’ve been reading up on this subject and have found that there’s really no known reason for why some dogs eat stool. There are some theories, however, that claim dogs that do this are lacking something in their diets or that it’s a behavior that’s passed down to dogs through their ancestors.

There are ways to prevent a dog from eating feces, the main one being to keep your yard or kennel free of stool. There are some products available that you can put on dog food to make the stool taste horrible and make it less appetizing for other dogs.

Because I find this nasty habit annoying, there are some things I’m going to try to keep my dogs from eating stool.