Salty Paws

          Winter is just about here, and for those of us in the northern half of the U.S. that means snow and sometimes a lot of it. I love the snow, my dogs, especially Frankie, love the snow. It is a great time for all. we go out back and play. I toss snow balls and the lab tries to retrieve them, and the husky usually busies herself by trying to burrow into the snow. If its deep she will often times disappear in one area and pop up in another, it is an amazing thing to watch. When the snow falls it is not all fun however.

          Usually people will shovel their walks and then throw down a layer of salt to keep ice from forming. I can't say I blame them, salt is cheap and very effective, but salt can do very bad things to your dogs paws. It is very corrosive and can lead to infections, also if there is salt on their paws, dogs will often lick their paws till it is clean. That may seem like a good thing but it is not. After a few days of walking on salty side walks and liking their paws clean salt can start to build up in a dogs system, it can lead to low blood pressure, muscle weakness, cramping, and all kinds of stuff that is just down right nasty.

          Thankfully it is not to hard to keep all the bad things salty paws can cause from happening. It can be as simple as a damp cloth. If you walk your dog and it has been snowing, simply wipe your dogs paws thoroughly with a damp cloth. Some people will invest in little booties for their dogs. I tend to stick to the back yard or other snowy areas for my dogs. If there is snow, there is usually no salt. I will still wipe my dogs paws if I am coming from an area I am not sure of. Better safe than sorry.

          If you do come across an infection on the paws of your dog, don't hesitate to get them to the vet. Most likely they will need antibiotics to help fight off whatever infection there may be. Your vet will be able to provide the proper treatment for this. If you notice your dog having trouble sanding or sitting, or moving around, this may be a sign that they have ingested to much salt and you should get them to the vet immediately.

          Thanks for reading, I know this one was short, but I thought it important to write. A few minutes with a damp cloth wiping your dogs paws, after a good walk, can save a lot of pain for your dog. It will definitely keep your furry family members healthy and happy.

Nick C
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Dog Food Is Not Always Good Food

          Let me first say I have never been one to spoil my dogs. In my opinion dogs that are spoiled are dogs that are in control, and it should be the other way around. You should be in control at all times. That said I, learned some valuable lessons about not only what dogs eat, but how they eat over the past week. Nicole, that would be my ever lovely and vivacious wife, and I decided to try to make our own dog food a few weeks ago. We did this primarily as research for an upcoming article on the topic of, you guessed it... how to make your own dog food. We did all the research and learned all the Do's and don'ts about what should go into home made dog food. Once we felt like we knew enough, we made the food. As to how we made the food... Keep checking in with us and you will get to read all about it soon.

          Once we completed the home made dog food, we tried it out on our dogs. Needless to say, Jasmine was a total pig about it, she scarfed down that food in a few seconds. Frankie loved the food and they both started doing the happy dance whenever meal time was near. We made enough food for about a week and near the end we started to transition them back to their regular dog food. We mixed in a little more of the old dog food with each meal and before long they were back on their old food. Frankie was fine with the change back, but then again Frankie is a scrapper. We rescued her off the streets of North Philly, she had been abused and was terribly malnourished when we got her. She survived by eating whatever she could find as a pup, until we got her at about 8 months old. So needless to say she has an iron clad gut. Jasmine on the other hand did not do so well, she began to have diarrhea badly, and she became noticeably sluggish. It got so bad that Nicole had to take a day from work to look after the poor thing.

          During her day off she decided to put them back on the home made dog food. She made up a big batch and fed Jasmine that day around noon. No transition time, no careful measurements, just BOOM here ya go... the home made stuff. She fed her another helping that evening, and to my complete surprise Jasmin had recovered, she was dancing around, no more diarrhea, no more whining in the middle of the night to go out. In 6 short hours she was seemingly cured. Now I can not say that it was the change of food that did it for sure, but I have a strong suspicion that it was. I was going to come home that day and we were going to get her to the vet, however, by the time I got home all was well.

          The more I look into this home made food the guiltier I feel for having fed her dry dog food all these years. Sure the nutrition is there in dry dog food, but only what is required. If you make the food yourself, I am sure you will find your dogs will become more active, and will be even more excited about meal time... If that is even possible. You will also endure that your dog will be getting a truly nutritious meal. It will be fresher and tastier, and you will have control over what is going into your dogs body, not some nameless company. I don't find anything wrong with big dog food companies, I just find I feel better when I make the food myself. I will never again have to worry about a dog food recall. Yes it is one more weekly chore I have to add to the long list of chores I already have to do, but it's one I don't mind doing.

          So a big thank you to Nicole for having the foresight to know that switching back to the home made dog food would make Jasmine all better. And as always remember to keep you furry family members healthy and happy. I know my lovely wife will be sure to keep our furry family members healthy and happy.
　
Nick C
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

My Obsessed Dog

          I debated whether or not to talk about this. I was unsure if the problem affected a lot of people. I looked into it and found I was not the only one with an obsessed dog. I know, I know, you are probably sitting there wondering how a dog can be obsessed. Let me first say that I am not one of those people who believe in doggie psycho therapy. Dogs live in the moment, and I have found that this trait makes it easy to help a dog with an obsession.

          So what exactly is a dog obsession. I never heard the term before I found my dog staring at a spot of light drooling and licking at the floor where the light was. I thought it was odd at first, so I called her and nothing seemed to break her concentration on this spot of light. I had to go over and physically remove her from the room where the light was, she spent the next 20 minutes whining and pacing. At this point I decided to do a little research. As it turns out, dogs can become fixated on certain things. Usually this is not a problem, however when the dog exhibits this behavior over and over and a habit forms it can be nerve wracking for the poor dog, and stress related conditions can start to occur.

          I was not sure how to treat my dog for this light fixation. I tried to keep her away from all the spots of light in the house, obviously this did not work, and it was exhausting. You would be surprised how quickly the sun moves across the sky! Every 15 minutes I was hiding a new spot of light, it was not only exhausting, but futile. I was not treating the problem. Whenever she saw light she got hyper anxious, it was sad to see. Dogs can fixate on just about anything, from spots of light to door knobs to tires, it can be anything really. After a lot of experimentation I found only one thing worked. It took a lot of time but ultimately she has stopped trying to kill little spots of light all over the house.

          If your dog is showing signs of obsession, you will need a lot of time and patience. I took my dog to a room that had plenty of light, the sun shining through the blinds provided plenty of light spots on the floor for her to kill. As we entered the room she ran right to a spot of light and began to bite at it. I let her do this for a few min, and I ignored her. I took a tennis ball and started to bounce it on the floor. She loves to chase this ball. It had no affect on her. So I started to bounce the ball off the wall, all the while ignoring her behavior around the light. After about 10 minutes of bouncing the ball around the room she took notice. She became confused... Chase the ball or kill the light. Eventually she chose the ball and I rewarded her with lots of hugs and rubs when she played with the ball and ignored her when she went to the light. I did this for about an hour a day for about a week with different stimulation, a tennis ball one day, doggie treats the next, a tug of war rope the next. After about a week she was more interested in playing and began ignoring the light. I did this all over the house and today, I am happy to say she can lay in the sun with out trying to kill the little spots of light on the floor.

          It is important to pay attention to your dogs behavior. If your dog is behaving out of the ordinary it could be a clue that something is wrong, and the sooner you know the sooner you can help. Thank you for reading, and remember to keep your furry family members healthy and happy.



Nick C
DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com

Why is a Dogs Nose Wet?

          I was having some trouble coming up with something to write about this week. I looked over all my usual notes, I checked out the websites, I even spoke with a couple of dog owners to see if I could get a feel for something. I asked my ever lovely and beautiful wife, and even she was drawing a blank. So I asked her; isn't there anything you have always wondered about dogs? Is there anything you don't know about them but would like to know? She came back with a question I didn't see coming. She asked me; why is a dogs nose cold and wet? I sat and thought for a moment... nothing came to me, I asked a few other people and all I got were the blank stares. I was stumped. So I did some research, looked in books, looked online, asked an expert or two and this is the answer I got.... No one really knows. I mean what a let down. How can no one really know, in today's world, with all the technology, I can't get the simple question like, why is a dogs nose cold and wet, answered. So I dug deep, and I found a few things the I thought could be the answer, and somethings that I just thought were ridiculous. I shall relay what I found to you.

          A dogs nose is cold and wet because it is a way for the dog to stay cool. Dogs do not have sweat glands so they pant to cool off, their paws are one of the few places on a dog that is porous enough to help them keep cool as well. Some think that a wet cold nose is another way for dogs to stay cool. The nose is wet, the moisture is wicked away into the air thus keeping the nose cool and the dog it belongs to cool and happy enough to use that slimy cold nose on you.

          A dogs nose is cold and wet because it is a way to enhance the olfactory senses. As we all know dogs have great sniffers, if the dogs nose is wet scents stick to the surface of the dogs nose and are enhanced due to the moisture.

          A dogs nose is wet because they are constantly licking it because they have long tongues. I can't believe this is a serious theory, but it is out there, its all over the web... and we all know if it came from the web it must be true.

          A dogs nose is cold and wet because it is a good indicator of whether your dog is sick or healthy, cold and wet = healthy, warm and dry = sick. I don't know about this one. My dogs sleep... a lot... and when they wake up their noses are usually warm and dry, but before to long they are cold and wet, I am not sure if this is a good indicator of a dogs health. I myself will stick with the tried and true method. If your dog is lethargic and not playful, something is wrong and its time for a visit to the vet.

          Oh I love this one. A dogs nose is wet because they put their nose in the water to drink.... What?!?!?! Ok. it gave me a chuckle, but the person I got this from is convinced this is the reason. I tried to explain the nose doesn't actually go into the water when a dog drinks, but she would have none of that silly talk. Nose in water when drinking is why the nose is cold and wet. Who am I to argue, seriously, no one else seems to know.

          This one is my favorite, a dogs nose is cold and wet because it helps the dog know when it's butt is clean, so they know when to stop licking it. I read this and thought, it cant be serious, its a joke right. Wrong. Apparently if a dogs nose is not cold and wet they will never know when to stop licking their butt. I am still laughing about this one, even as I type.

          So we have covered a lot in this article, everything from a dogs body temp regulation to butt licking. Thank you for reading, and if you know why a dogs nose is cold and wet... Please comment and let us know! As always, remember to keep your furry family members healthy and happy.


Nick C
DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com

More Than Just Walking the Dog

          I was out and about the neighborhood yesterday, and I noticed a lot of people walking their dogs. That was great to see. However I did notice most of those people out walking their dogs were not really walking their dogs, more to the point, their dogs were walking them. I saw three people with in one block of each other being dragged along by their dogs. This is not a good thing. There is a right way and a wrong way to walk your dog, and letting your dog take YOU out for a walk is definitely the wrong way. When your dog is out in front, pulling you along, that is the same as saying to the dog, you are in charge I will follow your lead. It can upset the whole chain of command. Yes dogs follow a chain of command. Whether you realize it or not doesn't matter to the dog, the dog knows there is a chain of command and it will follow it. When you allow your dog to lead during a walk you are putting the dog in a leadership role. This is something that should never happen. You are the one that is in charge, and if you are not there will be many problems down the line.

          When you are walking your dog you should be in the lead, and your dog should be following you. If your dog tries to pull out in front of you, stop them and make sure they know your the one leading. I usually accomplish this by stepping in front of the dog with one leg and I do not let the dog pass, I do not stop walking either, I simply make sure the dog is just behind me or by my side. If the dog is persistent in trying to pull ahead of me, I stop walking and turn my back to the dog. When the dog settles down, I will begin to walk again, and if the dog again tries to pass me I block the dog with my leg again, and say a command such as heal, or back, until the dog understands that this is where its place is, and eventually I can stop stepping in front of the dog and just say "back" and the dog will slow down and get behind me. Depending on the dog this could take anywhere from three days to a week walking your dog two to three times a day. There are some other things you can do to help the process along, such as keeping the leash short so you can better control where your dog is able to go, and that makes stepping in front of the dog an easier task. Once the dog is walking at your pace, you should give the lead some slack, this is not to say you can allow your dog to walk in front of you, but the leash should be slack and the dog should stay by your side. Once you accomplish this, walking your dog will be so much more enjoyable. Your dog will walk at your pace, the lead will be so loose it will feel like your dog is walking without the lead at all, and that is the goal. You should be walking your dog not the other way around.

          I have know people who let their dogs lead while walking and almost always it leads to other issues. Once a dog is in control it will try to keep control the only way a dog knows how. This can cause your dog to nip at people or even at you, your dog will not do the things you want it to and instead it will do what it wants to do when it wants to do it, after all that is what the top dog does. Once a dog starts to growl and nip, it is a short road to a full fledged bite. Can all this come from letting your dog walk you? I say yes it can. Once you give up control in one area, the dog will begin to seek control in other areas. Feeding time may become dangerous for example. All of this does not happen over night, but a little at a time, and before to long it becomes a serious problem. If you are starting to see signs that your dog is doing what it wants and not what you want it to, it may be time to take your dog for a walk, and let it know who is in charge. Once you have control in this area, you will be surprised at how quickly your dog will start to comply in other areas.

          A lot of people think they can get a dog and it will be a simple task to keep it, as if it were a stuffed animal. Dogs need time and attention, if you can not give both you may want to think about another pet choice. If you have the time and you are willing to guide and teach your dog as it grows, you will be rewarded with a calm, loyal, friend who will do anything for you. So remember, walk your dog, do not let it walk you. If you do this, it will go a long way to keeping your furry family members healthy and happy.

Thanks for reading.

Nick C
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Product Review - Crazy Critters Dog Toy

          I have been thinking about doing product reviews for a while now. I finally decided to jump into it with both feet. I will be reviewing one doggie product a month, the reviews should be out right around the 15th of every month. I will buy the product, use it for three days or rather let my dogs use it for three days and see if its worth while. The rating will be from one to five tail wags, five being the best of course. For my first review I decided to go with a dog toy called Crazy Critters. I have heard so much about it the past few months I figured it would be a great jumping off point for the product reviews.


          This product prides its self on the ingenious idea of having a furry dog toy with no stuffing, this way there is nothing your dog to pull out of the toy and potentially hurt its self by swallowing stuffing. It also promotes 2 squeakers. One in the head and one in the tail, and the toy itself is 22" long. Since there is no stuffing it can work for any sized dog. It is a toy that got its start with as seen on TV. The price is quite reasonable at 9.99 + tax. There is a photo below showing what the product looks like right after purchase. Now to let my dogs have a go at it, and hopefully I can let you know how it goes.



          Day 1: As soon as we squeaked the squeaker the dogs went nuts, they had to have it. So I tossed them the critter and Frankie the husky jumped on it and immediately tried to kill it. She shook the critter around, tossed it and pounced on it. She absolutely LOVED it. Jasmine our black lab spent most of her time trying to steal the toy away from Frankie, without very much success. After about 20 minutes I noticed the squeaking had stopped. Upon investigation, I saw that Frankie had ripped open the toy and chewed the squeaker until it had broken. The squeaker in the head did not last very long, I was able to get the squeaker Frankie had so diligently removed, and put it somewhere safely away from the dogs. The squeaker in the tail was exposed over the next 20 min, I removed that from the toy just to be safe, I didn't want my dogs potentially swallowing the plastic squeaker. Jasmine finally had her turn with it, and she was more or less just laying with it, giving it a chew every now and then. I took some pics of them playing with the toy (shown below) so you could see how much they love this thing.

         

        

        

           Day 2: As you can tell by the photos below, the crazy critter looks more like a furry rag, I was going to toss it but Frankie still loves to play with it, as does Jasmine, even with the squeakers gone, the still seam to love chewing on it. I am thinking I could have gotten a dollar store tea towel and they would have loved that as well. So for now I am happy to let them play with it, there is no more danger because the squeakers have been removed. One more day to go, lets see how the crazy critter holds up over the next 24 hours.

          Day 3: Ok so I am not sure what this toy is anymore. The dogs still love it, it looks like a rag that has seen better days. I took a final photograph, (seen below) so you can judge for yourself. Frankie seems to be the one that loves this toy the most. This is not surprising to me at all, because if it moves and is small and furry the hunt is on. She doesn't play with it much while I am here but I can tell she chews on it all day long however because when I get home it is wet and even more mangled then when I left it in the morning.



          Ok I have had three days to observe this product with my dogs, The fact that they got the plastic squeakers out so easily is a concern for me, however this toy has gotten more attention than any of the other toys they have since we got it. So I am in a rough spot here. The dogs love it but it can be potentially dangerous if you have a dog that will eat just about anything, including chewed up plastic squeakers. If not for the squeakers I would have given this toy a very high rating, but because of the danger factor, I am going to have to give it 2 1/2 Wags, I would say this Crazy Critters is a great toy with lots of supervision, or you could just cut them out to ensure your dog can play safely.


          Thanks for reading, I hope this review helps. As always, remember to keep your furry family members healthy and happy.



Nick C
DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com

Stray Dog Found, What to Do?

          I started to do some research for this article, and I found that the the suggestions range all over the place when it comes to this topic. So I found myself not really knowing which advice was worthy enough to be passed along to you. One suggestion was to keep rope in your car and if you find a stray, rope off the area. Are you kidding me, like the dog is going to magically stay in the area where you put some rope up. So I guess, according to this person, you need to keep stakes and rope in your trunk. That sounds more like a vampire killing kit than a dog rescue kit to me. So I decided to junk all the stuff I found and just go with good ol' fashioned experience and common sense. So here goes nothing.

          First and foremost, when you find a stray dog, be sure to stay safe. Approaching a dog you are not familiar with can be dangerous, especially if it is wounded. If you have any hesitation about approaching the stray at all, don't. Call animal control and let them take care of the situation. Contrary to popular belief animal control will not euthanize the dog immediately, they will most likely try to adopt the dog out first. The time they will keep a dog varies from county to county. If you have concerns, ask them when they arrive what their policy is. If however the dog is approachable and friendly, you should get it to a safe location first. The owner of the dog is more than likely frantically looking for their dog, so have a look around and you may just luck out and find the owner quickly.

          Check the dog for identification, any kind of tag can be a good lead. My husky got away from me once and took off... those of you who own huskies know how they are, once they start running there is no catching them. A friendly older couple found her, saw the rabies tag and called the vet where she got her shots, and they in turn called me. I was so relieved when my lovely wife called me on the cell to tell me Frankie (the husky) was found and I could stop looking. If there is a contact number for the owner, all the better. So any kind of info is good info.

          If there is no information the dog may be chipped, and if you can get it to a vet that has a reader, all the info will be there, address, phone number, owners name. If you have done all this and still no leads, you may want to consider bringing the pooch home and giving it some food and water, there is no telling how long a lost dog has been wandering. If you bring the dog home, think about putting up a few signs in the area, lost dog found, with your cell number. Place an ad in the paper as well. If you get a call, don't just give the dog to anyone who claims to be the owner. I know it is sad to think about it, but there are some nasty people out there who will take strays and have them fight. So be sure you are giving the dog back to the correct owner, ask for a description, ask for the dogs name see if it responds, ask if there are any distinguishing features. Once you are sure you have the right owner, you can return the dog.

          Now I know what your all thinking, what if I don't find the owner???? If you don't find the owner you still have options. You can call it fate and keep your new found friend. If you just can't care for the dog long term, think about no kill shelters. You may even know someone who is in need of a furry friend. There are so many avenues open to you if you have found a lost dog, there really is no reason not to help out. If your a dog owner and you have ever had your dog get away from you, you know how heart wrenching it is, it is not a fun experience.

          So if you see a stray, don't just drive on past, or cross the street. See if there is anything you can do to help, you just may make someone very happy, and there is no better feeling than that.
Thank you for reading, I hope this article gives you a few tips or ideas for the next time you see a stray. And as always, remember to keep your furry family members healthy and happy.

Nick C
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com