It’s Summer – Time to Swim

When it is summertime, enjoying the water with your dog can be great fun.  Swimming is as good for dogs as it is for people – a health promoting sport with great fitness benefits placing minimal wear and tear on joints.  Just like people, most dogs can handle the physical demands of swimming.  Some dogs are more proficient than others.  They come hard-wired with more energy and efficiency in the water and better equipped with webbed feet!  However, with the help of a quality life jacket, a pug can enjoy the water as much as a lab.

If you want swimming and water fun to be a part of your dog’s life, think carefully when first exposing your dog to water.  Before starting a swimming program think about how your dog responds to water.  Does she splash in every puddle; play in every water bowl and run to any large body of water?  Even with a naturally water loving dog, never use compulsion to force your dog to enter a body of water.  Just placing a puppy in a kiddie pool can create fear.  Always let your dog choose to play in water.

The best way to create a water loving dog is to ensure their safety.  Even a dog with natural swimming ability can benefit from a good life jacket.  The jacket promotes water confidence and will increase swimming time by reducing fatigue.  When fitting, buy the smallest jacket possible as long as the chest straps fit comfortably and it offers enough support and buoyancy. 

Choose your dog’s swim locations with care.  If you wouldn’t swim in the water, don’t allow you dog in the water.  Check for any swimming hazards; submerged junk, fishing hooks or equipment, broken glass, wildlife that may harm your dog.  Remember, a pool with steps is always more difficult for a dog to negotiate than a body of water with a walk in, gradual entry. 

To start your dog on a lifetime of fun in the water, pick a warm sunny day, a clean, safe body of water with a gradual entry, take lots of floating toys and treats for rewarding water confidence.  

Click here for life jackets

The Hazards of Pesticides, Herbicides & Pets

“I think it’s a good idea to minimize pesticide exposure of any sort, not only because of what we know, but because of what we don’t know.” Donald Weston, University of California-Berkeley, February 2010

Contrary to what lawn care companies, veterinarians and chemical companies  would have us believe, herbicides (weed killers) and pesticides (bug killers) can be harmful to our pets and to our family.  So many products available in the marketplace are broad spectrum biocides, and by their very nature can harm organisms other than targeted species.  This includes you and your family, neighbors, pets, and all other forms of life. 

Despite the level of care you may be giving your pets, animal companions are at high risk of being poisoned by home, garden, and pet maintenance practices.  Pesticides and herbicides are the culprits.  The smaller bodies of our pets make them more susceptible to chemicals, and their behavior patterns make them more likely to be exposed to toxic chemicals.  Chemicals that may seem harmless can be a real life and death matter for cats, dogs, birds, horses, rabbits and other pets.  Pets are more vulnerable to pesticides and herbicides because they walk through chemically-treated areas, unknowingly and absorb pesticides through their mouth, nose, feet and eyes.  Pets are also susceptible to secondary poisoning from catching, and eating, poisoned prey.  Both dogs and cats eat rodents, mollusks, and bugs – all considered undesirable species often controlled through the use of pesticides. 

Flea and tick products that are designed to kill are another known risk for pets.   Most people assume the products applied to the back of the dog and cat’s neck stay on top of the animal’s coat and repel, and, therefore, are safe.  The reality is, the products are absorbed through the skin and enter the bloodstream.  The main active ingredient in most spot-on products is a pesticide that kills insects by paralyzing their nervous system (the same way nerve gas works).  The pesticide, however, cannot distinguish between an insect’s nervous system, a dog’s nervous system, or a human’s nervous system.   If the applied chemical can be absorbed through your pet’s skin, it can also be absorbed through you and your family’s skin when you pet the dog or cat. 

“Of course, as bad as these products may be for pet owners and caregivers, they often are worse for the pets themselves.  Based on the very limited data available, it appears that hundred and probably thousands of pets have been injured or killed through exposure to pet products containing pesticides.  As with small children, pets cannot report when they’re being poisoned at low doses.” Natural Resources Defense Council Health Hazards from Flea and Tick Products

The good news. . . there are many natural products that will safely control and repel fleas and ticks.  Talk to the Pet Pantry staff.  They are well versed in safe, natural solutions for flea and tick control. 

 Signs your dog or cat is having an adverse reaction to a flea/tick control product:

  • Lethargy

  • Loss of appetite

  • Drooling

  • Lack of coordination

  • Labored breathing

  • Increased excitability

  • Elevated body temperature

  • Vomiting

  • Diarrhea

  • Seizures

If the symptoms continue, contact your vet immediately.

Forget fashion! Your dog needs a warm coat with a good fit.

Why Dogs Need Coats - excerpted from the Whole Dog Journal and originally written by Nancy Kerns.

 Putting a coat on your dog shouldn’t be about making a fashion statement. Rather, it should be about keeping a chilly dog warm, thereby preventing hypothermia, a dangerous condition characterized by a reduced internal body temperature. (The normal canine body temperature is 100.5 to 102 degrees. A dog whose temperature drops below 95 degrees can die.)  Thank goodness, the majority of our dogs are living inside with us.  They are not developing thick undercoat and the stamina to endure colder temperatures.  Think about how we feel on the first cold days of fall. 

 A dog’s natural protection against cold varies from breed to breed. Labradors and certain Northern dogs (Huskies and Malamutes, for example) have developed with special physiological responses for coping with cold. However, many other breeds (and certain individual dogs) benefit from extra warming layers in cold weather, including:

• Thin dogs, who may not have adequate fat stores to keep themselves warm
• Extremely short-haired dogs and/or breeds accustomed to exotic climates
• Immune-compromised dogs, who should be protected from the stress of cold
• Older dogs, especially those in poor health

Warming up these dogs actually helps them stay healthy, by sparing the dog’s body from having to generate as much heat as it would have to otherwise. By simply slipping an extra layer on these dogs, you can help them preserve their physiological resources for the maintenance of general health and vitality. 

Shopping tips
 If you shop in stores, you have a huge advantage over catalog shoppers. You can try several coats on your dog to check their fit and ease of application, and you can examine them closely for good-quality zippers, seams, and Velcro fasteners, and thick, warm fabric.  It is amazing to watch a dog’s reaction when the right coat is put on their body.  They relax and move normally. 

The only drawback to shopping for a coat in person is finding a store that carries a broad-enough selection of quality designs to choose from.  (Editor’s note. . . Pet Pantry takes pride in our large selection of quality coats that will truly keep a dog warm.  Our staff is fully trained to help you properly fit your dog.) 

 Also, keep your dog’s body type in mind as you examine coat candidates. Some designs are clearly intended for deep-chested, narrow-waisted dogs like Greyhounds. Others better suit block-bodied dogs such as Golden Retrievers. Check the placement of the closures to see whether they can be adjusted to accommodate your dog.  And with male dogs, always make certain everything clears their equipment so they are not urinating on the coat.  

Canine Conditioning

Canine Conditioning
 Mental conditioning is essential for your dog’s well-being. Play with your dog! Frequent play periods are the best way to mentally condition a dog. Tug-of-war and hide-and-seek are great games to relieve your dog’s stress while increasing the focus on the owner and strengthening the human-canine bond. Pet Pantry carries many safe tug toys that will stimulate a dog’s play drive. 
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