Sunday, January 31, 2010

Hot Diggity Dog! Get ready for Spring!


Before I continue with today’s blog article I would like to say thank you to those who have shown just how much they appreciate Steeler’s work as a Therapy dog by putting him on a billboard. This is one of many firsts for him! When Steeler came back to me years ago he was a handful. He kept my body in black and blue marks for months with his outrageous behavior. I am proud of how far he has come through much work, love, and guidance. It is the public he greets on a weekly basis I believe, that keeps him in check and makes him the happy go lucky guy he is. I also thank the family that probably made the hardest decision in their life when they returned him to me.
Toward the right of the blog you will see Steeler sitting proudly under his billboard, drool and all, and we look forward to attending yet another children’s fair. This year we’ll take movies!

Hot Diggity Dog! Get ready for Spring!

So, you’ve decided to do some gardening in the North forty and you’re struggling with that old rusted wheelbarrow that you inherited from your father’s father, which is now piled high with a heavy load of dirt. All of a sudden it starts to lean a little to the left, then a little to the right, and your struggle is not due to the heavy load, no, you are strong enough to handle that, but it is due to the rusted bolts on the original tire which is now flat, however it is the glue that holds the wheelbarrow together!

Just fifty more yards to your destination, and you are there, home free! Your eyes narrow and hold their gaze upon the spot where you intend to dump the load of dirt, when all of a sudden, plop! You struggle to keep the wheelbarrow upright, but you can just see it deep inside your soul like a slow motion movie. Going, going, gone! You have inadvertently hit one of the holes to China in which that damn dog of yours dug! Of course, on any other day, Fido is the love of your life, your cuddle bug, your big oaf. Today though, he is that damn dog!

So let the analyzing begin! Dogs dig for many reasons but the number one cause is boredom and here I go again speaking from a trainer’s perspective. Proper time and energy spent with your dog can help, really! Providing your dog with brain stimulating toys such as stuffed Kongs, treat dispensing balls, talking balls, or giggle balls can also help when you are not around to keep a close eye on him. When you are home to watch him check out
Nina Ottosson's interactive Dog toys , these are pricy but if you are handy you can make them yourself. Most of these toys can be found in major pet stores or pet catalogs. In fact, interactive toys are gaining in popularity which is a good thing.

Working daily on obedience training can help as well. This keeps the dog’s mind active and makes it think, and the dog that has to think, is a tired dog. Tired dogs of course, are good dogs!

Yeah, yeah, I know, sit, down, stay, heel, over and over again is sometimes boring when the dog already knows all of those commands. Well, if it’s boring for you I wonder how boring it is for the dog. Don’t be afraid to spice it up a bit, teach some hide and seek games, high fives, or take anything a dog does well, even if it’s an annoying habit, and put a command to it! This makes training a bit more fun for the both of you.


If there is a certain area of the yard that seems to be problematic when it comes to digging you may find success in either a noise or water activated sensor alarm. If it is a smaller area such as a garden, try using underground fencing and place it around the border of the garden. If laying wire is not for you then look into the wireless fencing, it keeps the dog contained to a certain area and it’s portable so when you visit Aunt Betsy you can take the fence with you. Of course if you are to use any type of electronic fencing please teach the dog the boundaries first. I am reminded of my brother who carefully laid the wire for his garden boundary, but did not take the time to teach the dog where that boundary was. Hence the dog bounced back and fourth getting little zaps to the neck until if found safety on the deck. When you do it this way, you may find yourself with a dog who never wants to leave the house!

The second most common reason for digging is to get to the cool or warm earth underneath, so provide your dog with adequate shelter to get out of the elements. In the winter months use a heated dog bed and for summer months use the cool mats which stay cool for hours. Raised pet cots also do well in keeping a dog cooler in the summer months.

Another idea that works well is actually building or buying a child’s sandbox and redirecting the dog to dig in there. As humans, we are great at telling a dog ‘No’, but we are not great at showing them what they are allowed to do! When they are not redirected, you end up with the same frustrating problem all over again.

Fill the sandbox with similar dirt you would find in your yard and hide some toys and treats just underneath the soil, then teach the dog to find them. This will eventually have the dog return to the box to see if there are other goodies awaiting him. When you catch him digging in the yard tell him no, redirect him to the sandbox, then praise and reward him for digging in the right spot.

Dog pens are another option, this gives the dog limited access to the yard when he can’t be watched and keeps the digging contained to the pen area. Building a pen that suits your taste rather than buying a standard chain link pen from the store will work just as well. Of course you’ll want to get that wheelbarrow fixed before trying to haul the cement that will steady the fencing posts!

Also, keep in mind the breed you chose to be your companion. Some dogs are bred to hunt vermin and digging comes with the territory, you can’t, and shouldn’t, take the breed out of the dog! This is where doing your homework before selecting a dog will help.

So until next time, if you are up North, enjoy the snow that covers the holes!






Tuesday, January 19, 2010

“Our Hero” Enhanced dog water! . WHAT?







Okay, so Peter and I are out shopping with the big guys in tow (Chance & Steeler of course) and while in Ollie’s Peter came upon the dog aisle as I meandered around the rest of the store looking for more crap to spend my hard earned cash on. Suddenly I neared the dog (okay a bit prejudiced); pet aisle and I heard his voice.

“Hey, sally, look at this.” Pete said holding up a bottle of what appeared to be water with a picture of a dog on it.
“What the heck is that?” I asked.
“Bottled water for dogs! With flavoring!” He said with such enthusiasm like we really had to have it.
‘Tsss.” I said with a wave of my hand as only I can do. (well, me and every other wife in the world) “We don’t need that, put it back.”

Flavored water for a dog, what will they think of next? I mumbled. After all, my hard earned money needed to go to good crap, crap for me! Crap that may or may not last more than a week!

But as I wandered through the aisles I came across cases and cases of bottled water for dogs and then I could not resist. Temptation grabbed my hand and made me pick up a bottle of this flavored water and read the label. Hmm, amino acids, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals listed right on the front of the bottle! It was the electrolytes that sold me. So for 99 cents I bought a bottle. Let’s not go crazy now; to buy a case would be wasteful if they didn’t like it! The bottle said, “It could be served as a treat or water replacement in conjunction with a healthy diet.” Having gotten only one 32 oz bottle I decided to serve it as a treat. After all, for a water replacement I‘d have to buy five gallons to cover a days water intake by all my Newfs!

Mom Abby and daughter Emma are my picky eaters and there are occasions where they may turn their noses up and not eat the full meal given, which can lead to guarding if I don’t pick up the bowls right away, and trust me, with my mind, well let’s just say sometimes I forget to pick up a dish or two after feeding. So I started to add the flavored water into their food to see if they would;
(A) Leave any morsels behind,
(B) Continue their pattern of, maybe I’ll eat it, maybe I won’t, or
(C) Eat the whole kit and caboodle at one sitting.

As stated earlier, it was the electrolytes that sucked me in because I give a lot of advice daily on dogs which have been vomiting and having diarrhea. I find myself endlessly telling owners to pinch the skin above the shoulder to see if the dog is dehydrated and then I suggest they give their dog children’s Pedialyte to keep up the electrolytes and help with any dehydration. So, my mind definitely pondered as I read the bottle of this enhanced dog water.

Could there be something tastier and as easily accessible out there for consumers other than children’s Pedialyte to help with this?


The bottle I purchased was called ‘Water Exercise Recovery’ and I found out later that there are three different types of water the company makes. I chose this bottle not because I was an informed consumer, no, that would be too easy, but because I did not fully see the label before buying the item so I thought they were all just flavored water!
This is a great reason to always have your reading glasses with you when shopping! I should have learned that lesson when I recently picked out and used my latest hair dye!

My general consensus is that the water did seem to have the dogs eat their full meal at once, no leftovers, and the ingredients are there for dehydration. I would however, still like to check out the ‘Hip and Joint’ or the ‘Healthy Aging’ since my guys are getting up in age.

On another note, I noticed when I mixed just a little of this bottled water in with the regular water that my males drink, they hardly touched the water at all. In a way this is good because it makes my job of filling up the bowl ten times a day much easier, but not real healthy over all for them. We drink to live and live to drink!

So I would suggest to you, my compadre’s, giving it a try both ways. If you have a picky eater it may help that situation.

But like ‘Everything Dog’, regulations of food, treat products, and toys are poor, so I suspect that it will just be a matter of time before something goes wrong when more manufacturers produce this for dogs and cut corners to make that extra buck.

'Our Hero enhanced flavored water" by century foods has three different varieties ,
1) Water for healthy aging,
2) Water hip and joint
3) Water exercise recovery.

(I am personally waiting to see if they come out with "water for menapausal and cranky bitches")

Well, until next time dawgs, have a drink on me or for me! Your choice!

(Brief on Electrolytes)
Electrolytes exist as solutions of acids, bases, or salts. These solutions are normally formed when a type of salt is placed into a liquid such as water, and it dissolves into its component elements. Primary ions of electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium, hydrogen phosphate and hydrogen carbonate. Of course electrolytes as we all know are important for hydration and are critical for nerve and muscle function. (Probably why we get muscle cramping when we are dehydrated.)

Below you’ll find some of the ingredients in Our Hero Dog water.

Ingredients: water, whey protein concentrate, phosphoric acid, Potassium citrate, calcium lactate gluconate, potassium sorbate , natural and artificial flavors, magnesium gluconate, nacinamid, thiamine mononitrite, pyridoxide, hydrochloride.

crude protein,(min) 1.0% moisture (99.5%)I soleucine min 0.05% leucine min 0.09% calcium min 0.01% phosphorus min 0.09% potassium min. 0.001% thiamine min. 0.3 mg/kg chloride min 0.010% magnesium 0.001% niacin 22 mg/kg ,pyridoxine min 0.2 mg kg

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Do shed, or not do shed, that is the question.



I am often asked what can be done for a dog that sheds a lot and the first thing that comes to my mind is, what breed of dog are we talking about, because some breeds are prone to seborrhea, red mange, or hypothyroidism. So top of the list would be a health check. Second guess, barring any medical problem, would be plain old dry skin and dull coat from not enough omega fatty acids. I always try to supplement my dog’s food with 3-6-9 fish oil gel caps from Puritans pride. I don’t go nuts over special shampoos that claim to help shedding because if you really think about it, the simple act of washing, then brushing, and drying your dog is going to rid it of the dead hair for about a week anyway. You can probably remove just as much hair with a slicker brush and it takes less time. If you have a short haired dog, get a large spray bottle, fill it with water and a bit of some doggie cush, cush cologne, spray the dog and wipe it down with a dish towel. You’ll be amazed at the amount of dirt and hair that comes off the dog, and again, less time consuming than a full bath. Don’t get me wrong, if the dog has dry or itchy skin a good oatmeal bath can do wonders, so bathe away my friend, but don’t buy into non shedding shampoos, unless of course you have money to burn.


A dog’s skin and coat are conditioned just as much from the nutrients it gets on the inside as it does with daily brushing on the outside, so giving omega fatty acids daily can make a difference in a dog’s coat within two weeks. For those interested, Puritans pride usually has a sale going on, and I have not yet found a better deal in a drug store as I have found online with Puritans pride. (Click on the title of this article and it will take you to their site) I also found that fish oil pills help greatly with… well… dog and people stinkers! Please don’t even ask how I discovered that, just know that it works! ( and I say this with a little dignity, very little!)


My last group of six dogs was very different from the six I have now. They consisted of, 1 Belgian Sheepdog, 1 Chow/Lab mix, 1 Sheltie/St Bernard mix,(I know) 1 Bearded Collie, 1 St. Bernard and 1 Cocker Spaniel. All very different breeds with very different coats, all ate the same food, and all had equal inside and outside time, so which do you think caused most of the problem with shedding? Most would think it a tie between the Belgian Sheepdog and the Bearded Collie because of the long hair, coming in second may be the Sheltie mix, and St Bernard, then the Cocker, and lastly the Chow/lab mix with its very short hair.

Of course we must factor in the seasonal changes, colder weather brings in more of a coat than warmer weather and with the winter thaw comes more shedding to get ready for the spring/summer seasons. If there’s a female heat cycle happening you can also expect some extra hair loss at that time. Well guess what, all six of my dogs seemed to shed the same amount of hair! Hmm, why? They were different breeds, different sizes, and different coat lengths.

Dogs actually shed all year long, there is no real start point, and what I mean by that is that new hair does not push out old hair, it is continual and although it does have something to do with the cold and hot weather, it also has to do with the amount of time the dog spends in natural light (sunlight) as opposed to spending time in artificial light (inside lamps). Why? Enter photoperiod (The duration of an organism's daily exposure to light), which triggers the amount of shedding you will see in your dog. Dogs which spend a lot of time in natural light will shed more at one time in the spring/summer than a dog that spends more time in artificial light. The dog in artificial light will continue to shed all year long as well but it will be consistent so it may seem like lesser amounts at once than a dog that spends most of its time outside in natural light.

By the same token, some breeds have slower hair growth then others and the hair may stay in the “resting/transitioning phase” longer which can contribute to less shedding, thus leading some breeder’s to play on the words "This breed doesn't shed." . in order to sell their dogs. All dogs shed, all year round, so really what they should be saying is that breed X has a slower hair growth rate so you won’t see as much shedding as you might see from breed Y.

Of course genetics, health, and feeding have a lot to do with it as well. A cheaper grain filled food may yield dryer skin leading to a poor coat condition by causing hair breakage and loss. Illness such as hypothyroidism will cause poor appearance of the skin and coat, as well, stress in a dog can also cause hair loss.

So, getting back to my dogs, in the end it seemed like my short haired Chow /Lab mix Maxie was the worst shedder out of all 6 dogs, but actually, I think it had more to do with her hair length because it seemed to stick like tiny needles into every nook and cranny of every piece of furniture I owned, whereas the longer haired breeds lost their hair in a clump which was much easier to clean up. What did they all have in common aside from the food? All spent the same amount of time in artificial light.

I would have to say that if you want your dog to have a nice thick coat some of the things that can help are natural light over artificial light, a dog food that is well balanced (always with a meat listed first, not grains) and good overall health. Supplements that contain omega fatty acids such as the fish oil or Derm Caps are a nice added bonus as well but check with your vet before using any over the counter meds even if they are just vitamins. Vitamins are the most poorly regulated meds on our store shelves. You want to get the right amount into your dog and some of the omegas do come in your dog's food.

Here are the different growth phases that your dog’s hair goes through.
1 Anagen: is the phase of new hair growth
2 Catagen: is a transition phase where the hair stops growing and the outer root sheath attaches to the hair.
3 Telogen: is the resting phase where the hair doesn't grow or shed.
4 Exogen: is when the hair falls out and the hair follicles move back into the anagen stage

A good article on omega fatty acids: what they do for the body and what to use as omega fatty acids. I use fish oil but you may choose to use another source.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1662&aid=666

For a list of breeds that shed hair at a slower rate making them more allergy friendly copy and paste the below link. When you see a dog of interest click on it and a separate page will open on that breed. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/lightshedders.htm