A Cool Treat for
Your Hot Dog!
H elp
your dog beat the heat with an easy-to-make frozen treat that will
have him singing “cock-a-doodle-doo!” And this treat
comes with a bonus: it won’t add extra calories and pile
on the pounds the way biscuits and other treats can. Use homemade
or canned chicken broth, preferably low in sodium. Simply pour
the broth into ice cube trays and place in your freezer. When frozen
hard, pop the cubes out and zip them into a plastic freezer bag.
Next time your dog begs for a treat, offer him a Chicksicle. Some
dogs aren’t sure what to do with this funny frozen thing
at first, but most catch on quickly and look forward to these cool
cubes. One cautionary note, just like kids and purple popsicles,
dogs eating Chicksicles can make a serious mess. We recommend Chicksicles
only as an outside treat.
 The
Dog Days of Summer
Help your buddy beat the heat!
Kids! Click
here to download a fun crossword puzzle that you might
find handy when the weather gets HOT!
Some Don’t
Like It Hot, Count Your Dog One of Them
It’s
a beautiful day, sunny and warm. You park your car, with your dog
inside, and dash into a store. “Hey, it will only take a
few minutes,” you say. Even a few minutes is sometimes all
it takes to fry a dog’s brain or kill him. Cars heat up fast.
On an 80-degree day, a parked car can become twice as hot in minutes.
Parking in the shade or rolling down a window or two may not help
much. One expert advises that if the temperature is over 60 degrees,
don’t even think about it. If you put in him in danger in
this way, in some states, you’re breaking the law! And as
for jogging in the summer sun: Don’t take him running on
a hot steamy day. Remember what dehydration does to you and your
children. Dogs need water – and, sometimes, plenty of it.
Remember: dogs get heat stroke too – this isn’t just
a people thing!
 Heat stroke (hyperthermia)
happens when the body can no longer successfully regulate its temperature.
This occurs when air temperature exceeds body temperature and the
body sends excessive amounts of blood to the surface of the skin.
This deprives critical internal organs of adequate blood supply.
The vital organs then begin to shut down. This process is accelerated
when the body lacks sufficient fluid. The signs of heat stroke
are easy to spot: excessive panting, blackened tongue and/or gums,
anxiety, lethargy, vomiting, disorientation, dizziness, rapid pulse,
confusion, uncontrollable thirst, glazed eyes, and uncharacteristic
clumsiness or lack of coordination. If you see one or more of these
symptoms and it’s hot, suspect heat exhaustion. The first
thing you should do is cool your dog off: squirt some cool water
into his mouth, give him a bowl of water (not ice cold water),
wet his body, especially chest, neck, and throat (but do not cover
him, even with a wet towel), and you might even immerse him in
cool water. And, of course, move to a cool location. The point
is to get his temperature down and hydrate him. Then call your
vet – in severe cases hydration or the use of drugs may be
necessary. The very best way to “treat” heat stroke
is to be an intelligent dog owner and NOT allow it to happen. If
it does, it’s hard to think of an instance when it won’t
be your fault.
 Dog’s perspire a little around their paws,
but their primary means of controlling body temperature is panting.
They wear a coat throughout the year, and they simply cannot control
their temperature as well as humans. While you may be perfectly
comfortable, your dog may feel awful. Young, old, sick, or overweight
animals or breeds with narrow nasal passages are particularly sensitive
to the heat. The latter include the Bulldog, Shihtzu, and Pekinese.
Overweight dogs have a problem because heat does not quickly escape
through the extra layers.
Dogs, of course, are both sensitive and tough. The trick is not
to ask them to do things in the hot weather that evolution has
not designed them for or that conditioning has not prepared them
for. No dog would ever choose to be locked in a hot car – he’d
instinctively know that he could get really sick or die in there.
If you and your dog are out running or walking, give him small
amounts of water regularly – this is far more beneficial
than a long drink each time you think one of you is thirsty. Be
a good friend: carry a bowl and a water bottle just for him. Also,
swimming or running in water is a pleasurable way to exercise a
dog in warm weather. And, of course, place his dog house in a
nice cool, shady, breezy location – raising it off the ground
on a platform that air can flow through will help keep it cool.
For additional information on the proper care of your dog in the
summer heat, visit the following Web sites:
Dancing with
the Dogs
 Dogs
got rhythm! “Dancing
with the Stars” can
be fun to watch, but dancing with the dogs is where it’s
at. And it’s nearly as international. It’s
a lot of fun, and when you watch a dog dancing performance you’ll
see just how much your dog may be capable of. Take a look
at some of the videos on YouTube,
one of our favorites is entitled “k9 freestyle dog dancing
show.”
If you’d like to teach your dog to dance, visit Dancing
with Your Dog. If
you have a brilliant dog who’s just a little bored, this
will perk him up and get him shaking his “tail.” You
can buy VHS cassettes or DVDs that will teach you how. Or
you may decide to read Dancing with Your Dog – The Book. A
spiral binding ensures that you can comfortably leave it open while
you and your pal learn the moves. Search inside the book
and more at this Web
site.
Be sure to visit Sandra
Davis’ Web site. Ms.
Davis worked with horses for years before moving on to dogs. She
became active in Canine Musical Freestyle in 1994. In 2002,
she invented the dog sport K9 Dressage, which is based on equine
dressage. Her
Web site explains: “This competitive sport combines the discipline
of obedience along with freestyle movements presented in a format
patterned after equine dressage. She believes that requiring
the dog to work both sides of its body equally when performing
a variety of movements will produce a more balanced and flexible
animal.” For additional information on dog dancing,
search the window on popular culture – the Wikipedia – under “Musical
Canine Freestyle”. Or
do your own “freestyle,” use “Dog Dancing” as
your Wikipedia search terms.
 The sport of Canine Musical Freestyle started in 1989. It’s
a demonstration of team work and obedience training. Success
is only achieved through the hard work of human and canine. The
humans wear flashy costumes – sometimes, the dogs usually
go au naturel. Everyone seems to have a great time
and the result is a bonded pair and a happy, exercised, and incredibly
well socialized dog. Some Web sites you may enjoy visiting
are:
Dogs in Time
Before
He Became President, John Quincy Adams Had a Friend Named Blanche
Who Couldn’t Forget Him
 John
Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
served as president of the United States from
1825 to 1829. Below is an excerpt from a letter by him – dated 28
March 1835 -- that appeared in Forest
and Stream (now
known as Field
and Stream), 25
March 1880, p. 150. In it, he expresses great
affection for his white terrier,
Blanche. Blanche did not accompany Adams to the White House,
she could not have lived long enough. Apparently, he did
have a pet alligator while president, a present from the Marquis
de Lafayette.
I
gave to my dog [born in 1799] the name Blanche, and educated her
myself. Her principal good quality was that common to all
the terrier breeds, being an admirable rat-catcher, and in that
capacity often useful. But as she grew up she acquired the
habit of a lap-dog, and whenever she had the opportunity would
jump up into my lap, and there coil herself up and go to sleep. If
I were sitting at a table reading or writing, so that she could
not get into my lap, she would come and lay down between my feet
and go to sleep in the same manner. . .
 In
1803 I was elected a member of the senate . . .
Three
years later, in the summer of 1806 . . . I took lodgings at Concert
Hall [kept by the person Adams left Blanche with in 1803]. On
the first day that I dined at the common table, where there were
perhaps thirty persons, I felt while at dinner, a dog laying down
between my feet, which were under the table. It was my poor
Blanche, whom I had not to my recollection seen for nearly three
years, and whom, I am almost ashamed to say, I had forgotten, while
she had so faithfully remembered me. On my pushing back my
chair she jumped into my lap with all the lively caresses and marks
of attachment and delight usual to her kind. She was not
accustomed to jump into the lap or lay down between the feet of
any other person but me. |
