Paws-itive Press
Hints for the Care of Your Dog
By Barbara Masi
New dog? One that has been in the house for a while? There are still some hints that we can share to make your life and the life of the dog a bit easier. This article is specific to dogs – we will cover cats in another column.
First of all, we do hope you adopted your new pet. Adoption is so important as there are thousands of dogs “humanely euthanized” every day across the USA. I am personally against putting to sleep (killing) any animal that has the potential of being adopted – those with injuries that can be repaired, older dogs that are “thrown away” by their family and even those that need attitude adjustments in order to live peacefully with a family and / or other pets. Of course those that have terminal illnesses are understandably taken out of their pain and sent to the bridge through humane euthanization.
Sometimes things frustrate us and we say “there must be a better way” and we would like you to share any of your discoveries with us by e-mail to this writer. Hopefully some of the ideas I am sharing here will help you with finding the better way.
Dog eats too fast? There are many dogs that gulp down their food which is unhealthy. Slowing them down can be done with a slow feed bowl. Stainless ones are expensive – plastic ones not recommended. Some people try putting a rock in the dog bowl so the dog will eat around it – but the dog learns to push the rock to one side and the food to the other and still gulps the kibble. However a six container muffin tin from the dollar store can work. The intention is to make the dog work for their food which slows them down a bit………usually enough to stop them from choking on the kibble.
Teeth problems? Be sure to start as early as you can with brushing the dog’s teeth. This is important for certain breeds that have notoriously poor teeth – but all dogs should have their teeth brushed at least three times a week. This enables you to have fewer dentals with anesthesia and it is always dangerous to have to put a pet under for any type of surgery. Also, there are places that will do non-anesthetic dentistry. This is good for general cleaning but they cannot go deeply into the gums or do any extractions.
Leash and collar issues? I am not going to get into the dangers of the retractable leashes here – let’s just concentrate on the proper lead for your dog and the collar. I have personally witnessed the spring clasp on the lead come apart and a dog get loose from the owner. I like to ensure that the dogs are safe and there won’t be such an incident again so I use a carabiner between the lead and the collar on all my dogs.
Bedding – I hate the struggle with the bedding on wash day. Even with the zippers on both sides, sometimes it can be difficult to get the foam bedding back in properly. So weekly washing is a chore and I decided to try covering the bedding with a fitted crib sheet. This enables me to change the sheet often while putting fabric freshener on the actual cover and bedding. Then I can do the zipper cover once a month rather than weekly. If your bed is bigger – like the one I use for my Irish Wolfhound – a twin size sheet will work.
Thinking of adoption? – Make sure YOU want the dog in the family. I cringe when people say they are getting a dog for their children. Children promise to take care of the dog until a month after the dog comes into the house. Then they have other things to do – play with a friend, do homework, watch a TV show – any excuse to not have to walk and feed the dog. So get a dog that makes YOU happy and have the children share the responsibility for caring for the animal.
I believe that children can get along fine with dogs if they are well trained – the children not the dog. Most of the dog bites that happen to children are because the child instigated it – and the parents blame the dog because they were not in the room when it happened. Never leave a young child alone with a dog – especially a big dog. Teach – teach – teach. And I am totally convinced that – child or adult – it is easier to teach the hound than the human.
© Barbara Masi 2015
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Barbara Masi has been a resident of Boynton Beach for 35 years and an animal advocate all her life. Although having many breeds of dogs in the past, she has devoted the last 15 years to the re-homing of retired racing greyhounds and is the founder of a group that trains them as service dogs and donates them to veterans. Barbara works with local school children in educating them about animal kindness and anti-bullying through PBSO’s Animal Kindness Unit. Through her employment, she has the opportunity to interact with a variety of local animal groups and businesses, allowing her to share their knowledge of all animals to us at AroundWellington.com.