Lola

          It is once again time to feature a dog that is in need of a home.  The dog we have chosen is one of our Most Wanted Flower Pets in the month of April; this is a program the Delco SPCA has to help find homes for a few special dogs that have been there for a while, during the month of April.  From the moment I met Lola I was taken by her good nature.  As you can see from the pictures she is a young dog that enjoys lots of affection.

           If you are interested in adopting Lola you can visit the Delaware County SPCA and ask for her by name or you can give her ID number which is 40826. If you have any questions feel free to call them at 610-566-1370.  You can also check out their web site http://delcospca.org/.  I really hope one of you out there can find it in your heart to give this truly deserving dog a home.  Since Lola is one of the Most Wanted Flower Pets, the fee for adoption is dramatically reduced to $20.11 through the month of April.

          I got the chance to have a little play time with Lola and she was so willing to please, and such a lovable dog it is hard for me to understand why she has been there so long.  Lola has been without a loving home for far too long.  I hope someone out there can find it in their hearts to adopt Lola and give her a home, where she can be given the chance she deserves.  Can you be the one to help this loving dog stay healthy and happy for many years to come?

Nick Carreno

DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Communicating With Your Dog

          There are many reasons to love dogs.  In my opinion one of the most unique things about a dog is the fact that they can communicate with us.  Now I am not talking about the dog that barks out I love you, and no I do not think dogs have the capacity to talk like we humans do.  They do however communicate with us.  It is one of the things that make having a dog such a wonderful experience.  Dogs more so than any other pet have the capacity to let us know what they want.  If you think about it you will realize I am not insane.  How many times has your dog let you know they wanted to go outside, or they wanted to play, or maybe when they needed food?  It is truly amazing when you think about it.  Dogs are one of the only animals that know what it means when a human points.  So not only are they capable of letting us know what they need, and want, as well as what they may be feeling, they have the capacity to understand what we are telling them.

          Dogs use body language more than anything else, we humans use it an awful lot as well.  We can tell how another person is feeling just by the way they hold themselves.  The same is true for dogs.  Many people think that there is some special gift to be able to read a dog, when in reality all you need is a little knowledge and some experience.  There are people who don’t even notice when a dog is trying to communicate, much less what they are trying to say.  At this point I would caution not to project human behavior onto any dog.  Yes they can communicate, but they are still dogs and live in a totally different reality than we do, but that is a subject for another article.  That being said, if you do enough research and you watch your dog closely, you will be able to see more than the standard let’s play or I need food signs that your dog may be tossing your way.

          Most people assume when they see a dogs tail wagging that the dog is happy, but if you look closer at the dog you will find that this is not always the case.  For example, if the head is hung low, and the ears are back, and the tail is wagging, clearly the dog is not happy, it is more nervous or anxious.  This could be due to being in a new situation, or around people the dog is not familiar with, the ears back tend to show nervousness and fear, the head hung low is a submissive posture that lets everyone around the dog know that they are not a threat.  The tail wagging in this case would show nervousness.  Now let’s assume we have an aggressive dog in the same situation.  The dog is in a place he is not familiar with around people he does not know, but instead of a low hanging head and ears back, this dog has his ears straight back, his head is up, his teeth are bared, the hair along his back is up, and his tail is wagging.  If you see a dog like this I would not stick around.  This dog is letting everyone who can see him know that he is fearful to the point of attack if needed.  The ears back and teeth bared are a warning to back off, the hair up along his back is showing extreme nervousness, and the tail wagging is a way to let everyone know he is unsure of what he should do next. 

          The above situations are two examples of how a dog may react to a crowd of strange people.  The signs are all there, one dog is no threat, and the other is.  Thankfully it is easy to spot a dog that is ready to bite, at least it is for most people.  Some of the other things to look for when trying to “read” your dog would be, the dogs posture, is the head up or down, up usually means confidence, head down is a submissive gesture, when a dog lowers its head to you, it usually means they are trying to let you know they are not a threat.  Tail up, down, between the legs, these three are good indicators as to your dog’s mood.  Tail up means confident, dominant. Tail down means calm, submissive.  A tail between the legs means fear and anxiety.  Ears are another good thing to look at when you are looking for clues to what your dog may be trying to say.  Ears up and forward usually mean the dog is curious about something or has heard something that they are trying to get a better read on.  Ears back are usually a bad sign.  Ears back often mean fear or aggression, which makes sense; aggression will often follow fear in almost every living thing on this planet.  A very old small green man once said fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate…  Very wise words for a little green man.   Barks and growls are another, often misread, way a dog will communicate.  When a dog barks or growls it is usually in some kind of context, such as playfulness, an alert to let you know someone is at the door, or a warning.  It depends what the rest of the dogs body is doing as to what the growl or bark means.   I hope some of these things will help you figure out what may be going on in your dog’s head. 

          I have been reading dogs all my life and have gotten pretty good at it.  You will find after a while of trying you will not even need to think about it.  Before long you will be communicating with your dog.  As for how a dog knows what you are saying.  Think body language.   If you are angry a dog will know it, if you are nervous, scared, happy, your dog will know it.  So it is more important that we know how to read our dogs, because they can already read us.  The better you are at knowing what your dog is feeling and needing the better you can take care of them.  This will go a long way to keeping your furry family members healthy and happy.  

Nick Carreno

DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.ocm

A Dog Cannot Say I’m Sick

          I have seen many a sick dog, the sad thing is most times their owners do not even realize they are sick until something drastic happens.  Dogs may not be able to say I am sick, but they do have a way of communicating to us.  Whether or not we realize they are trying to communicate with us is another story.  I have two dogs, and I can always tell when one of them is not feeling well.  It does not always require a trip to the vet, but it does prompt me to keep an eye on them to make sure things don’t get any worse.

          So how do you know when your dog is sick?  Your dog will let you know.  You cannot expect your dog to come moping up to you and say I don’t feel so well, but what you can expect to see is a change in behavior.  No matter what kind of dog you have I can assure you they have a pattern.  It is the one thing all dogs have in common, they are ruled by routine.  They go out at the same times every day, they know when you’re getting home, and if your late it throws the routine out of whack and they do not like it too much.  They will lounge in the same spot at the same times, they will sleep in the same area every night.  You see what I am saying.  Dogs truly are creatures of habit, even more so than we humans. 

          If your dog breaks its routine, it may be a signal to look more closely.  Make sure they are eating when you feed them, make sure they are actually going when you let them outside.  If your dog breaks its routine it does not always mean they are sick.  It could just mean you have a bored dog and they want to play.  However if they are not eating, or they are not greeting you at the door as they normally would, or they are not producing anything when the go out, or when you walk them, it could be a sign that your dog is sick.  Especially if they are not eating or going to the bathroom, in that case you should take them to the vet and have them looked at as soon as possible.

          So you think your dog is sick, how do you know when to take them to the vet?  That is not as easy a question to answer as you might think. Everyone has their opinions of when it’s time to take the dog to the vet.   If your dog is sluggish and does not want to play, it could mean you have very sick dog, or it could mean you just came in from a three mile hike and they are tired.  It is really up to you to know your dog.  You will know when your dog is not right.  For me, I take my dogs in at the first sign of illness.  I don’t want to wait around and see if things get worse.  I would rather take them to the vet and find out they are fine, instead of waiting around and realizing I should have taken them sooner.  It is always better to err on the side of caution.

          There are all kinds of things that can go wrong with a dog.  They can come down to anything from a mild cold all the way up to ingesting life threatening parasites.  It is always a good policy to keep an eye on your dog, and know when they are telling you things are not right.   Paying attention to your dog is often the best way to keep your furry family member healthy and happy for all the years to come.

Nick Carreno
DoggieDiaries4U@gmail.com

Scarlet Needs a Family

          It is once again that time of the month when I make my visit to the Delaware County SPCA in search of a dog that needs help in finding a home.  I walked in and was greeted by Justina, and she informed me that she had a dog that was in need of some help finding a home.  They had her in the back office and I was told her name was Scarlet.

          Justina lead me back to the office where I saw Scarlet laying on a makeshift doggie bed they had set up for her.  Scarlet saw me come in and immediately bounced over to where I was standing and very cheerfully and not so subtly made it known she wanted some love.  I stooped down and started to pet her, she was such a happy dog.  I still cannot understand why they were having such a hard time adopting her out.  Scarlet is a pit bull, and that may be part of the reason, but anyone who spends more than five seconds with this dog would know what a great find she was.  It is such a shame pit bulls have a bad reputation. 

          Scarlet was a stray as well as pregnant when she was found.  She was brought to the Delco SPCA on December 12^th.   She had her pups not to long after she was brought in.  Of course there was no problem finding homes for her pups.  Everyone loves a puppy.  Scarlet remains, still in need of a happy home.  The folks down at the SPCA let me know that Scarlet loves children.  I was told that she gets very happy and playful whenever a child is near.  She would make a great family dog.  I even considered taking her myself, but my hands are full with the two dogs I have.  I have put an extra effort out in trying to find Scarlet a home.  I have asked friends and family to put the word out.  If you are reading this and you are thinking of adopting a dog, you cannot do much better that to adopt Scarlet. 

          Since Scarlet has been there for a while the adoption fee has been reduced quite a bit in order to help her find a home.  She would be great for any family with children.   Children should be over the age of 8.  She is not so good with cats however.  If you have a dog, you can bring your dog there so they can meet and see if Scarlet would be a good fit.   Her ID number is 38841, if you are interested you can feel free to drop by and see this loveable dog for yourself.  If you have any questions feel free to call them at 610-566-1370.  You can also check out their web site http://delcospca.org/.  I really hope one of you out there can find it in your heart to give this truly deserving dog a home, and help to keep her healthy and happy.

Nick C
DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com

Home Cooked Food for Your Dog

          I am happy to say that we have been making our own dog food for a few months now.  I have written on this topic before and if you will recall, the last time I wrote about dog food it was because Jasmine (our black lab) got very sick when we transitioned her from the homemade food back to her dry dog food.  Since that time, Jasmine and Frankie (our Siberian husky) have been enjoying a steady diet of homemade food.

          Jasmine has lost a lot of weight.  It’s funny, but we have been trying to get her to lose weight for a few years now, and nothing seemed to be working.  We would exercise her daily, we cut back on the amount of food we would feed her three times until she was eating a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening.  We had no idea her weight loss would be the result of homemade food.  She is now 20lbs lighter.  She lost the weight so fast it gave us pause and we took her to the vet.  The vet was shocked and did a full work up on her, she is in perfect health.  We are now feeding her 2 cups of homemade food in the morning and 2 cups of homemade food in the evening.  She is slim, her coat is so much softer, and she has so much more energy.  She is a completely different dog.  Frankie has lost a few pounds as well, though she was not overweight to begin with.   The big difference with Frankie is her coat.  Huskies have a very thick coat and they tend to shed… a lot.  Since we have been giving her the home made food she has not been shedding nearly as much and her coat feels like incredibly soft.

          You might think making dog food for your dog will be labor intensive.  I won’t lie to you, at first it was.  We now have a routine and we make the food once a week, sometimes we will make a batch that will last 2 weeks.  It is not all that hard to do, it takes about 30 minutes to put together, and a few hours of cooking time, but that is as easy as boiling some chicken.  There is no need to worry about spices or seasonings, dogs don’t need that stuff.  In fact it’s better for the dog if you don’t season the food.  Too much salt is a bad thing for a dog.  The cost is a little more than buying the dry dog food we used to, but honestly the difference is not that much.  The benefits we see from the homemade food outweigh the little extra cost.  I used to think people that feed their dogs homemade food were spoiling their dogs.  It took Jasmine getting sick for me to see how much better homemade food is for my dogs.

          I am giving you the recipe we use for our dogs below.  Try it for a month and see what happens.  It can’t hurt to try; right?

This recipe will feed two medium dogs for about a week.

You will need.

Chicken legs (2 family packs approximately 32 legs)

8 cups of medium or long grain rice

2 big family sized packages of frozen vegetables (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)

To cook the rice, put 8 cups of rice into a large stock pot add 16 cups of water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the rice has absorbed all the water

For the Chicken legs you can boil them for a few hours or until the meat is easy to remove from the bone.  You can also put them in a crock pot in the morning, when you come home they will be ready.  Place on a cookie sheet to cool.  Once cool remove the meat from the bone, do not forget to get the small bone, it will come off with the meat, do not let that get into the food, it could harm your dog.  Make sure you save the water you cooked the chicken in.

Boil the vegies until done.

Once the chicken is deboned, the rice and veggies are cooked you can combine it all, mix in a little of the chicken stock you saved from cooking those chicken legs until it is a nice consistency.  Store it in the fridge and use that to feed your dogs. 

You should warm the food to just about room temperature before feeding.  You can do this by putting the food in the microwave for a few minutes.  Make sure you test the food before you give it to your dog.  You don’t want to accidently burn them, and microwaves are famous for creating hot and cold spots. 

          I hope the recipe is clear.  If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at doggiediaries4u@gmail.com.  If you try this for a month I am betting your furry family members will love you for it, and it will make the all the more happy and healthy.

Nick C

DoggieDiares4u@gmail.com

Dog Flu H3N8 Update

          After posting this article, our friends at the local SPCA contacted me to inform me there is a vaccine for this strain of flu (H3N8).  The Delaware County SPCA has vaccinated all there dogs as of the new year, and they are offering the shot and boosters to the public for a small fee.  It is good to know there is a vaccine available for this flu.  So get your furry family member vaccinated, it will help to keep them healthy and happy.

Dog Flu H3N8

          Last week we took Jasmine to the vet.  She had lost so much weight with the home made dog food we felt a trip to the vet was in order.  We got some very good news.  It turns out that Jasmine is now at her optimal weight all her tests came back negative and the vet is thrilled to see her doing so well.  While I was waiting to pay the bill I came across a pamphlet about the dog flu.  I asked one of the nearby vet techs if the dog flu was a problem in our area.  She told me that it was in fact a very serious problem in Pennsylvania.

          The dog flu is actually a subtype of the type A influenza virus and is known specifically as H3N8.  It is highly contagious, and this virus causes acute respiratory infection.  While this in its self is usually not life threatening, it can cause pneumonia.  If pneumonia develops due to the flu virus, it can be life threatening.  This is not the norm however and most dogs will overcome the illness in 14 to 21 days.

          The dog flu is often times mistaken for kennel cough because the symptoms are very similar.  Some of the things to look out for are a runny nose, low grade fever, listlessness, coughing.  If your dog has these symptoms, a trip to the vet is in order.  If your dog does have the flu, he or she will probably recommend that the dog stay with them so the proper care can be given.  Though this flu is highly contagious, and is not much fun for any dog unlucky enough to catch this flu.  The H3N8 is usually not life threatening.  In fact it is the secondary complications that can become life threatening, and the chances of that are very small.  If taken to the vet and given proper care most dogs will get over this illness in a week or two.

          If your dog spends any time around other dogs, in a dog park for example, do not let your dog near any dog that is coughing or has any one of the symptoms listed above.  If your dog comes into contact with any dog that has this flu, your dog will catch it.  The best thing you can do to avoid this is to be observant, keep on the lookout for other sick dogs in places where your dog socializes with other dogs.  If you do this, and take your dog to the vet at the first sign of any illness your furry family member will continue to live a long and happy life.

          Thank you for reading; I hope the information in this article will help keep your furry family members healthy and happy for years to come.

Nick C

DoggieDiaries4u@gmail.com