Dog Walking Nirvana

Would you buy a product that includes a pamphlet warning that the device may cause serious injury to your eye and face? How about if the pamphlet also warned of rope burn abrasions, severe cuts, appendage amputation and a rather strong warning about never using the product near small children?

I doubt you would but I see these confound things all over the place. The most common type is sold under the brand name Flexi Lead.There are other brands available – usually cheaper made – including one manufactured brand that was recalled last year because it tended to snap resulting in a clasp projectile heading right plunk into your head. To read the recall follow this link. http://www.caninekingdom.com/index.php/Dog-Product-News/Worldwise-Inc.-Recalls-Retractable-Dog-Leashes

It’s been pretty warm lately here on the East Coast so we’ve been walking our dogs in the municipal park which skirts along the shores of a large lake. The prevailing winds drop down from the mountains and whisk along the lake creating cool, dry breezes.

The park includes several large grassy sports fields and a real pretty pathway all along the shore. There are several boat ramps and a few floating docks. It’s a nice place to take a stroll. It’s a nice place for a dog too.

My husband and I share our home with two German shepherd dogs Tsunami, a retired SAR K9, and Annie, who we adopted as an adult. Tsunami tolerates just about any situation but Annie is a ‘reactive’ dog. She is suspicious of strange dogs and people and will react if they get too close into her ‘comfort zone.’

She enjoys getting out of the house for a good walk as well as the next dog though. We’re diligent about keeping her away from other dogs and people. When we see other folks, particularly dog walkers, we go off to the side, feed Annie treats and tell her she is the best dog in the world and wait for them to pass. This works well for all and keeps Annie in a calm, happy state.

Happy Annie

Yesterday, we were walking along the lakeside trail. I noticed a woman with a big dog across a field, heading in our direction. They were fairly far away but they were on my radar screen. At one point we were all walking on a parallel path separated by about 50’ and a row of cedar trees. This was all well within Annie’s ‘comfort zone.’

In the wink of an eye – calamity! The large Lab mix was on a Flexi type lead. For some reason, who knows really, he decided to charge us. Galloping straight at us – I could hear the cable buzzing away just hoping that: 1) it wasn’t one of the extra long 25’ leads, 2) the woman had the strength to hang on when this 100-pound dog reached the end of the lead 3) the cable lead was strong enough and would not snap.

The dog garnered momentum and after 25’ – hit the end of the cable and sure enough – the woman was pulled off her feet, the plastic handle contraption yanked from her grip and the dog was heading straight for us armed with teeth, 25’ of dangling, dangerous, amputating cable and a clanking, useless plastic handle.

Hal, ever the vigilant Marine, quickly handed Annie (who was now in full fight mode) off to me and we retreated as my husband stepped in to avert a disaster.

Hal charged the Lab with hands outstretched which slowed the dog down some – enough so that he was able to step on the amputation-causing wire cable and halt the dog. Once the dog was contained he was – fortunately for Hal – quite people friendly. The embarrassed, bruised woman caught up and all was well. Kind of. The handle of the retractable lead was damaged, the cable could no longer be coiled back and the woman had to walk to her vehicle with 25’ of dangerous, amputation, severe cut, rope burn abrasion causing cable in her hands.

Things don’t always turn out this well. Sometimes the cable wraps around people, children, dog limbs and body parts causing very, very severe injuries – and yes – amputation.

Retractable Lead Wound

In some cases I blame the users of retractable leashes as much as the manufacturers. There are controls on the handle. The cable can be set on ‘lock’ for a pre-determined distance. Unfortunately this distance can be too far – far enough for a dog to plunge onto a busy roadway after a squirrel while mom is obliviously chatting with a neighbor.

Another control allows the dog to run to the end of the cable and if the dog stops for a sniff the lead automatically recoils into the handle as the distance between walker and dog decreases. It’s kind of like Spiderman’s web on vertical mode, ping-ponging back and forth. I’ve seen people think the Flexi was on a short ‘lock’ mode and ouch! The dog is out in the middle of the street or grappling with a nearby pooch, dangerous cable wrapping around everything.

Retractable leads are very popular. Users say they allow their dogs to get more exercise. There are so many pleasurable, safe ways to provide exercise for both you and your dog.
By using a retractable, the handler loses the opportunity to educate their dog on how to walk properly on lead. The dog also loses the association with its handler because they can get, and stay, if they prefer, far away. Giving a dog more line to pull simply means he’s pulling further away, never knowing his limits. Retractable leads foster the dog’s disassociation with the handler, the exact opposite of what we strive for in our relationship with our dogs.

I highly recommend four to six foot leashes. Many laws stipulate that a leash be no longer than six feet. There’s a reason for this. The dog is near you, presumably in control and will not present a danger to others.

 If you want to allow your dog more freedom and a chance to really stretch those legs, teach your dog a reliable recall. Patricia McConnell can lead you through the process in her DVD, “Lassie Come!”

If you are in an area where dogs are allowed off-lead, RuffWear has come up with an ingenious collar which includes an emergency lead when needed.

Unleashed!

It’s really clever and can prove invaluable when you need that control if a situation arises. Visit www.CanineKingdom.com for the newest collections of safe and beautiful leashes.
Semper Fido,
Marilyn

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Influenza. It’s a scary word these days. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19 infected over 500,000 people worldwide (1/3 of the world population) and 50,000 died. Health authorities are scrambling to protect people from the H1N1 “swine flu” virus as 55 million children prepare to go back to school in a few weeks.

Scary days ahead for dog parents too, who are hearing new reports of a deadly dog flu which is sweeping the nation.

Most recently, the H3N8 virus, commonly called the “Dog Flu,” has led to the death of a15-year-old whippet last week, closing Virginia’s Fairfax County Animal Shelter, and, according to experts, is now affecting dogs in at least four other states: Colorado, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The virus was first identified in 2004 and there have been numerous outbreaks throughout the country, particularly in shelters, pounds, boarding kennels, dog show grounds, dog day care facilities, just about wherever large numbers of dogs are housed and where there is an influx of dogs coming and going.
In the past five years, over 30 states have experienced H3N8 outbreaks which are often sporadic and then die out. I would not feel complacent if you do not live in the above mentioned “hot” states, nor would I panic if you do.

Though all dogs become infected after contact with the virus, most survive. Symptoms in dogs can include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and a respiratory infection that may last about two weeks. Generally, supportive care is sufficient, but, one to five percent of infected dogs die from a secondary bacterial infection – hemorrhagic pneumonia. Since most of these outbreaks occur in shelters and pounds, many of the dogs who died may have been debilitated with compromised immune systems unable to fight off infections. But like people, some perfectly healthy dogs have died after viral infection. If your dog starts to display any of the flu symptoms call your vet. Most will tell you to monitor your dog closely. If a fever develops your dog may need antibiotic therapy or even I.V. fluids.

I don’t want to trivialize the virus but I do not see it as a cause for panic. Common sense approaches can help – same kind used during human influenza season. Last spring my husband’s aunt, who is 87, postponed her trip to Australia because of the swine flu – she didn’t want to be trapped, all those hours, in a plane full of strangers, from all parts of the world, breathing, sneezing and coughing. Common sense.

If you live in one of the current endemic dog flu areas, I would avoid dog parks, animal shelters, boarding kennels, groomers, and such – any where there are large numbers of dogs, in close quarters, coming and going. If you are going on vacation and planning on boarding your dog I would reconsider that decision.

Try to retain a home pet sitter and instruct them in proper sanitary procedures, particularly if they sit for numerous clients. Rocal is an excellent disinfectant and can easily be sprayed on shoes and clothing before and after contact with other dogs. Not all parts of the states mentioned above have been affected. Call your vet and animal shelter and ask about virus outbreaks in your specific locality.

This June, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health announced that its canine influenza vaccine – the first approved to protect dogs from the contagious respiratory illness – has received a conditional product license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In one year the product will be reviewed again for formal approval.

This week I spoke with Dr. Jean Dodds, a world renowned vaccine scientist and practicing veterinarian. Dr. Dodds is the Co-chair of the Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust which will determine the duration of immunity conveyed by rabies vaccines. The goal is to extend the required interval for rabies boosters to 5 and then to 7 years.

I asked Dr. Dodds what she thought of this new vaccine.

This July, Dr. Dodds attended the 5th International Veterinary Vaccines and Diagnostics Conference where Schering-Plough representatives spoke of their new canine influenza virus vaccine. “The intent of this vaccine is for pounds and shelters where dogs are already stressed and/or debilitated. The vaccine may also be prescribed for dogs in very large boarding kennels in endemic areas,” Dr. Dodds said.

Vaccines – whether for us or our family members – are a complicated, personal issue. My husband and I choose to skip the flu and pneumonia yearly vaccines. We both had a rather bothersome flu this spring. But there is no way for us to know if a flu shot last fall would have helped. We do not vaccinate our dogs either. Titers indicate that they have immunity to the common dog diseases.

Dr. Dodds stressed that nutrition is ever so important in the development of strong immunes systems. We prepare home cooked meals for our dogs – a variety of fresh, human grade foods.

More common sense – poisons kill. What are you putting on your lawn? What kind of pesticides are you using for fleas and ticks? How often do you vaccinate your dog for other diseases? In these cases less is more.

Semper Fido,
Marilyn

Most of us know that we are supposed to drink some eight, ten ounce glasses of water a day, or is it ten, eight ounce glasses? I never get that right and I most often don’t drink enough. I drink when I get thirsty and experts say that you have already entered a dehydrated state at that point.

How Much is Enough?

But what about your dog? Does your dog drink enough? How much is enough?
Many canine nutritionists believe that there are quite a few dogs out there that do not drink enough water – particularly dogs that are fed kibble – just another reason to consider alternatives like raw or home cooked.
Like oxygen, water is essential to dogs. It helps digest food, absorb nutrients, flush wastes from body organs, hydrate the skin, mouth and nasal passages and control body temperatures. A dog can go days without food but in some conditions a dog can die very quickly due to dehydration.

A dog can lose all their fat and up to half their protein and still survive. But when a dog loses just 10 percent of his body’s water, bodily functions shut down causing serious illness. A 15 percent loss of body water is lethal.
How much water should your dog drink each day?
Sad to say, I can’t give you precise guidelines. A lot depends upon what your dog does, what the temperature is, and what and how you feed your dog. There also seem to be individual preferences. I have had dogs who out drank my other dogs – all apparently healthy.

This Little Guy Should Drink About 3 Cups of Water a Day

There are some charts that say small dogs – under 20 pounds – should drink one cup for every 5 pounds of weight. Water consumption for larger dogs is based upon their caloric intake. Do you know how many calories your dog takes in each day? I sure don’t. I could figure it out I suppose but I don’t feel the need as I adjust their food portions as needed – when exercise varies or if I see any change in weight.
I feel the same about water intake. I don’t measure how much water my dogs drink. I’d rather observe my girls. A well hydrated dog will just look good. Their eyes are bright, their skin, flake free, nice wet mouths, silky coats, happy, energetic. Even senior dogs should look good and they will if they get good food and adequate amounts of fresh water.
Most healthy dogs will drink what they need if… the water is clean and fresh. I know, on walks dogs run up to slimy mud puddles, plop down and lap up horrid water. I know they drink out of toilets.

Puddle Drinkin' Dog

Regardless of those distasteful inclinations, we, as good dog parents must supply clean fresh water served up in clean receptacles. Additionally, I use filtered water. Our water is from a municipal source and is chlorinated. None of us need bleach in our digestive system.
Did you ever notice how much a dog likes to drink out of a hose or from a pouring water bottle? That’s why I like water fountains for dogs. They really entice a dog to drink water. Annie drinks a lot of water – always has. But Tsunami has not been a big drinker.

 Before the Drinkwell Fountain arrived on the scene I would usually call Tsu to her water bowl and try to get her to drink by pouring fresh water into it. Then she would drink.

Developed by a veterinarian whose cat would only drink water from a running kitchen sink faucet, the Drinkwell Fountain has increased Tsunami’s water intake. Maybe it’s the charcoal filter system or maybe water tastes better when it is oxygenated. Here’s lookin’ at you Tsunami!
Semper Fido,
Marilyn

Do you take your dog out for car rides? So many dog parents do. I just came back from a 20 minute trip into town to pick up mail and a few supplies and decided to count the number of cars that had dog passengers.

Surprisingly, more than 2/3 of the cars I happened to see had dogs in them. There may very well have been more – smaller dogs, or dogs lying down – that I may not have spotted. Admittedly this was not a scientific study of any sort – just interesting.

Quite a few of the passenger dogs I noticed were in parked cars. It was pretty warm out and all of the parked cars, with dogs in them, had the windows open – some well trained dogs live in my town. The pooches I saw were either sitting patiently in the front seat – some behind the wheel – or hanging their heads out windows staring intently in the directions dog parents went. Some dogs were loose in the beds of pick-up trucks – a definite no-no for oh so many reasons.

Not a Good Idea

All of the dogs I saw were unrestrained – loose in the car.

My friend Nancy always drove around with her dogs. One day Nancy was involved in a little fender bender – not much damage to her Jeep but her sweet, white, pit bull Neeko, who was sitting in the front seat, smashed her head into the windshield shattering it. Neeko had a big lump on her evidently hard head as she seemed none the worse for wear.

Nancy must have a hard head too because she continued to drive around with unrestrained dogs. As a passenger I constantly pushed this dog or that dog off my neck, shoulder, or lap as they forced their way up into the front seat. “Nancy,” I said, “Why don’t you get some crates and put these dogs up before we all die on the highway?”

Will They Ever Come Back?

Nancy always had a reason not crate K9 passengers. “They really like to look out the windows.” “I like them right next to me. I can pet them and talk to them.” “They’re really well behaved and don’t usually jump around.”

Nancy now crates her dogs. I bet you think I’m going to tell you a tale of some driving tragedy that befell Nancy and her dogs that changed her mind about unrestrained dog passengers. Nope!

One day, I met Nancy at a state park to conduct some search and rescue training. My dog Tsunami was in her crate, in my vehicle, awaiting her turn in the woods. Nancy had Jazz, her veteran SAR K9 and Chief, a big, young German shepherd dog, who was a SAR K9-in-training.

Jazz was first up for a mock search. As Jazz exited the Jeep, Chief expressed his displeasure at being left behind. He began biting frantically on the edges of the partially rolled down windows, howling, jumping all around the inside of the rocking Jeep. “He’ll settle down when we get out of sight,” the ever optimistic Nancy assured me.

We were gone on the mock search for about an hour. Jazz found her ‘victim’, brought us to him, and a big dog congratulation party was had by all. Time to go back to the parking lot and get Chief.

As we neared the Jeep we could see Chief looking out the side window, wagging away and ever so glad to realize we hadn’t deserted him for eternity. I was glad to see that he hadn’t eaten the windows.

Nancy opened the Jeep door and Chief tumbled out along with shards of cloth, stuffing, plastic, leather, carpeting, rubber and what looked like part of a seatbelt. The Jeep was destroyed.

The next time I saw Nancy I noticed that most of the interior of her Jeep was refurbished with silver duct tape and Chief was in a nice big crate strapped down securely in the rear of the vehicle. I didn’t say a word.

Did you know that even in an accident of only 30 mph, a 15-pound dog can cause an impact of more than 675 pounds? A 60-pound dog can cause an impact of 2,700 pounds, slamming into a car seat, a windshield, or another passenger.

While most of us, spurred by safety concerns and government regulations, wear seat belts as a matter of course, we don’t always think about restraining our dogs when they’re our passengers. But going without a restraint poses dangers to dogs and drivers alike. In the event of a sudden stop or accident, a dog can become a flying projectile that can injure you, your passengers or be thrown through the windshield and seriously injured. Accidents do happen – everyday.

Unrestrained dogs can also distract the driver, and cause an accident. Even dog that are normally well behaved can be frightened by something unusual and dive for the driver’s feet or lap. Following a car accident, an unrestrained dog could escape and be hit by another vehicle, become lost or cause another collision. A frightened or injured dog may attack strangers who are trying to help.

A Safe Dog Harness designed for Vehicles

There are many ways to provide a car safe environment for your dog. I like crates. I have large German shepherd dogs. They often get muddied up on hikes, and they can be a tad protective of the vehicle. The crate keeps the girls from mucking up the car and quells their desire to keep the bad guys away from the vehicle. Crate accessories include – crate beds, cooling mats, crate fans, straps to secure crates and sheets to cover them. The girls feel very safe and comfortable in their crates and usually curl up and go to sleep in anticipation of a nice hike or outing.

Soft Crates are Lightweight and Airy

There are so many crate choices available. I like the new Pet Tube crate available at the Canine Kingdom. It’s lightweight, durable, and adjustable in size. It also has generous amounts of mesh allowing for maximum ventilation and viewing opportunities for the dog.

But crates are my choice for my particular situation. I like the back seat Hammock. It keeps the car upholstery clean and teamed up with a quality car seat dog harness, it’s a nice system – providing safety, cleanliness, while allowing your dog to look around. This works fine if your dog is well behaved and not anxious about the outside world.

Hangin' in a K9 Hammock

Tres Chic Tube Crates

Small dog passenger safety solutions include seats with harness restraints. These look almost like baby car seats. You can fit these seats right next to you and enjoy your dog’s company while keeping him safe.

How Adaptable

Watch the roads, stay safe.

Semper Fido,
Marilyn