Keep your pooch safe when it’s cold outside…

1. Don’t shave your dog down to the skin in the winter!  There’s a reason it’s called a coat!  A longer coat provides more warmth.  If you own a shorthaired breed, consider getting him a sweater with a high collar or turtleneck and coverage from the base of the tail to the belly.
2. When you bathe your dog in the winter, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk.
3. Wipe off your dog's legs and stomach thoroughly when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice.  Otherwise, he might ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals when licking his paws.   Also, his paw pads may bleed from snow or encrusted ice.
4. Never leave your dog (or cat) alone in a car during cold weather.  A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.
5. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs.  If you are working on housebreaking and your pup appears to be sensitive to the weather, consider paper-training him inside until it warms up.  If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.
6. If your dog spends a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities, increase his supply of food, especially protein, to keep him and his fur in top shape.
7. Don’t let Rover go roving off-leash on snow or ice or during a snowstorm—dogs can lose their scent and become lost.  More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure your dog always wears his ID tags.  Better yet, have your pooch micro-chipped.
8. Coolant and antifreeze are lethal to dogs (cats, too)!  Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle.  Consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol.  If you think that your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, you can call the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center Hotline:  (888) 426-4435.  A call might mean the difference between life and death!  A consultation fee may be applied to your credit card.
9. Make sure your pooch has a warm place to sleep.  Keep your senior pooch, puppy or shorthaired breed away from drafts and off cold, uncarpeted floors.  A cozy dog bed, a blanket or pillow will do the trick.

And for our feline friends:

• Keep your cat inside!  Felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed.  Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.
• When it’s cold, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars.  When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt.  If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to startle the cat away.  It’s so easy to do and requires so little effort!

Puppy Mills

Thinking of getting a dog this year?  We’ve all been tempted by that cute little puppy in the pet store window. Before you give in to the temptation and buy that furry bundle of joy, there are some things you should know. 
For one thing, that adorable little puppy probably came from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding operation, commonly known as a puppy mill.  Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and often unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization.  The breeding stocks at puppy mills (including the parents of that cute little puppy in the pet store that caught your eye) are bred as often as possible in order to increase profits.  Unlike that lucky puppy that will most likely go home with a nice family, the mom and dad will probably never make it out of the mill.

Impulse Buying

All right, we’ve all done it.  I still do it – but NOT with puppies – at least, not any more.  I’ve purchased pups from pet stores in the past.  Back then I didn’t know any better but now I do.  Yeah, I still pass them in the window and sometimes think, “Why not?  I’m here, that little guy is here, it’s meant to be.  Some one is going to buy him – why not me?”  My advice on this is, Walk on By!  Whenever I get the urge to see and hold puppies, I head over to North Shore Animal League or Little Shelter or some other shelter.  There are plenty of puppies there to get my “puppy fix”.  If I do fall head-over-heels in love and take one home, I won’t be part of the problem.
Harsh Realities
By buying a pet shop puppy, not only are you likely perpetuating and supporting a cruel industry, you—the consumer—run the risk of taking home a sick puppy!   Dogs from puppy mills have been reportedly diagnosed with ailments such as respiratory infections and pneumonia, as well as hereditary defects like hip dysplasia.  They may also be poorly socialized to people and other animals.  Also, your new “purebred” puppy might not really be a purebred.  Dogs at puppy mills are often bred indiscriminately and lineage records are sometimes falsified to misrepresent that the dog is a purebred when, in fact, the animal is a mixed breed.  Responsible breeders do NOT sell their dogs through pet stores.
How You Can Help
If you’re looking to make a puppy part of your family, check your local shelters first.  There are so many amazing dogs that need homes.  If your heart is set on a specific breed, keep in mind that one in four shelter dogs is a purebred.  Additionally, you can do an Internet search for breed-specific rescue organizations.  If those attempts still don’t give you the purebred puppy you’re looking for, you’ll need to learn how to choose a responsible breeder.

If you’ve already purchased a pup from a pet store, so be it.  But, please, please,PLEASE think twice before doing so again because…

NOW YOU KNOW!

How to Choose a Responsible Breeder

Responsible breeders are individuals who have focused their efforts on one or a select few breeds.  They are experts on the breed’s health, heritable conditions, temperament and behavior.  They acquire and grow their expertise through breeding, historical research and ongoing study, mentoring relationships, club memberships, showing, raising and training of these breeds.  Responsible breeders are well suited to educate and screen potential buyers/adopters and provide follow-up support after purchase or adoption. Responsible breeders take lifetime responsibility for the animals they have bred.

Practices of a Responsible Breeder:

• Never sells puppies to a dealer or pet shop.
• Screens breeding stock for heritable diseases and removes affected animals from breeding program.
• Affected animals are altered and may be placed as pets as long as health issues are disclosed to buyers/adopters.
• Removes aggressive animals from breeding program; alters or euthanizes them.
• Keeps breeding stock healthy and well socialized.
• Never keeps more dogs than they can provide with the highest level of care, including quality food, clean water, proper shelter from heat or cold, exercise, socialization and professional veterinary care.
• Has working knowledge of genetics and generally avoids inbreeding.
• Bases breeding frequency on mother’s health, age, condition and recuperative abilities.
• Does not breed extremely young or old animals.
• Often breeds and rears dogs in the home, where they are considered part of the family.
• Ensures neonates are kept clean, warm, fed, vetted and with the mother until weaned.
• Begins socialization of neonates at three weeks of age.
• Screens potential guardians; discusses positive and negative aspects of animal/breed.
• Ensures animals are weaned (eight to ten weeks of age) before placement.
• Offers guidance and support to new guardians.
• Provides an adoption/purchase contract in plain English that spells out breeder’s responsibilities, adopter’s responsibilities, health guarantees and return policy.
• Provides accurate and reliable health, vaccination and pedigree information.
• Makes sure pet-quality animals are sold on a limited registration, spay/neuter contract, or are altered before placement.
• Will take back any animal of their breeding, at any time and for any reason.

You CAN and SHOULD meet the breeder in person and view the breeding stock, puppies and living areas for yourself.  When meeting a breeder and touring the facility, you may not be able to determine if the breeder practices all aspects of a responsible breeder, but you can readily look for yourself for the practices indicated in red.  Those should be your minimum requirements when choosing a breeder.  In addition, talk to the breeder about any concerns you may have about his/her practices.  Any responsible breeder should welcome a dialogue and respect your concerns without taking offense.  If the breeder becomes defensive – beware!

NOW YOU KNOW!

Be Gone, Beggar, Be Gone!

You sit down at the table with your family for dinner and Fido is right there, circling like a vulture.  Maybe he even whines, paws at you or tries to grab the food from the table himself.  Is he so persistent that you finally give him something just to shut him up and make him go away?  Well, that worked for about 10 seconds and now the cycle starts all over again!  Of course, you just taught him that if being annoying doesn’t work, then being really, really annoying does!  Shouldn’t the family dinner be about enjoying your dinner and interacting with the human members of the family?  Well, it can be!

All feeding of your dog from the table MUST stop!  It’s best not to feed tidbits from the counter, either.  Your dog will have trouble making a distinction between food from the table and food from the counter.  In addition, you don’t want to add “Counter Surfing” to your dog’s repertoire of behaviors.  The entire family must consistently ignore all of your dog’s begging behavior.  Do not look at him, talk to him or touch him.  If he gets in your face, turn your body the other way.  If your dog does not receive a reward for begging, the behavior will stop.  Dogs do not continue a behavior that is not rewarded.

If your dog is a persistent beggar than, no doubt, he’s been rewarded for begging in the past.  When you decide not to reward him any more, beware!  The begging is bound to get plenty worse before he gives up!  Why?  Because it has always worked before and your dog will do what he has learned works.  When it stops working, he won’t be convinced at first and will try even harder to make it work for him.  But, fear not.  Stick to your resolve, don’t give in and, eventually Fido will give up begging as a dead-end behavior.

If his begging is so persistent that you think you can’t take it, don’t give in!  That will only teach him to be an even more persistent beggar.  Instead, put him in his crate or try putting him on a leash.  Tie the leash to a chair or wedge it in the door while you eat.  Tie your dog so that he is in sight but not able to reach the table.  Praise your dog when he is lying or sitting quietly.

You can also try distracting your dog with a nylabone soaked in broth or some other tasty chewy, just BEFORE you sit down to eat.  Don’t wait for him to start begging!  Remember, when your dog fixates on chewing his bone, he is much less likely to bother you at the table.

After the meal is over, you can reward your dog for good behavior with tidbits from the table if you so choose.  Just be sure to put them in his bowl and have him perform a sit-wait before you place the bowl on the floor.  Don’t allow him to go to the bowl until you have released him.  Now you are practicing good leadership while rewarding good behavior!

My dogs have never been rewarded from the table (at least not from me!)  They know traditional begging is useless and don’t bother.  They occasionally try it with guests (hope springs eternal, after all!), but they don’t persist.  They do beg, but they do it MY way and that’s a way I can live with.  They sit or lie quietly around the table, ever watchful.  They’ve learned that NOT begging is the only successful way to beg.  They know that’s the only way they will be rewarded, when the meal is over, with tasty little morsels in their food bowls.

These photos of Bam Bam would seem to tell a different story but all is not as it appears.  I had to pose my pooch for these photos and, I must confess, he was quite uncomfortable with his feet up on the table (as he should be!)  But, as always, he was a real good sport.