Road Trips & Hot Dogs

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Dogs love Road Trips! My dogs almost prefer a road trip to a long walk. But with the warmer weather, we have to be smart about when we can take our dogs with us, and when they should be left at home.

Warm weather, cars and dogs do not go well together. Dogs can get very sick from heat exhaustion if left in a warm car and can die of heat stroke. The weather doesn’t even need to be that hot for it to be dangerous for our dogs to be left inside a car. If it’s a “cool” 22 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car can soar up to 47 degrees.

Dogs do not sweat to keep cool, they pant. Leaving a window open will most likely not prevent a dog from overheating. It may allow for some fresh air, but the dog can still overheat and die. If you must leave your dog in the car momentarily, keep the car running.

A few years ago, my former neighbour left her beautiful dog in her car while she ran a quick errand. When she came back to her car, her dog was gone. Someone had called the Humane Society and they had taken the dog.  My neighbour had no idea that her dog was in danger. She was only going to leave her dog in the car for a few minutes…. The person who called for help probably saved that precious dog’s life.

To help a dog who is overheated, you should drench him in cold water, offer it small drinks of water and take it to a vet.

DID YOU KNOW? Dark coloured dogs tend to be more intolerant to the heat?

Pet Dog Trainers’ Conference

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Most of the Ottawa Canine School team is registered for the Fall Pet Dog Trainers’ Conference in Covington Kentucky. We usually attend the Canadian conference, but there won’t be one this year and Covington is not too far away. Just a day’s drive away! We’ve only heard great things about the American APDT (ass. of pet dog trainers) and their conferences, so we are very much looking forward to this 5 day event.

If you’re curious about the agenda and think you might like to check it out, the details are now on the website: www.apdt.com

We learn so much at these conferences and always come back with new ways to do things. No matter what your line of work is, continuing education is so very important. Who wants to be a dinosaur? Not me!

Can dogs be vegan?

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I’m enjoying a gorgeous Victoria day, drinking coffee on the back deck and reading the latest VegNews magazine.  My animals are taking a break from the heat and snoozing on the cool tile floor.  Life is good.

I’m taking a break from “vegging out” to share with you something I just read in the VegNews magazine. I never thought that dogs could be vegan too, but apparently, it is possible! V-dogs is a new 100% Vegan dog food that has no corn, no soy, no GMO… though it does contain brewer’s yeast, which I prefer not to see in dog food. What about protein, you ask? It contains 24% plant-based protein. Created by vegans, this is an animal-free, cruelty-free dog food.

From their website (http://v-dog.com/)

“Our first commitment is to the health of Dogs and we’ve done our research – Dogs are truly omnivorous animals that will thrive on a high-protein nutritious balanced plant-based formula. Our second commitment is to minimize our contribution to Global Depletion. With an estimated 80 million dogs in the USA alone, a vegan dog, like a vegan human, leaves a much smaller paw print on our environment for reasons outlined on our website & eco-friendly packaging.”

I’ve recently gone Vegan, and have never felt better, but didn’t even know it was possible for dogs to be vegan. My dogs have been on a raw diet (as in raw meat and bones) for at least 4 years now and love it. I will not feed them processed dog food, full of fillers and “pink slime”, but can dogs thrive on a “vet approved” vegan diet?

I’m all for leaving a smaller footprint on the planet, and eating a vegan diet means that I am reducing my carbon footprint by 2 tons a year. Imagine what it would mean to switch my dogs and cat to a plant-based diet!  It is very appealing indeed.

Would you try it?

 

APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) conference

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The APDT has published the agenda for the Fall conference that will be held in Covington Kentucky. Cincinnati Ohio is just a skip, hop, short swim away! Though Covington is a fair drive from Ottawa, the Ottawa Canine School trainers think it is well worth the drive.

The agenda is packed with interesting options that make it so very hard to choose which session to attend. http://www.apdt.com/conf/agenda/default.aspx

I expect this conference to be inspiring and can’t wait to meet motivating trainers and learn from the cream of the crop.

Friday’s What Would you do? Grooming Salon Edition

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Here’s the scenario. I am taking both of my dogs to the Grooming Salon. As we pull into the parking lot, it is clear that Everest recognizes where we are. He is not happy. Reluctantly, both Hemi and Everest follow me inside the building and into the very small waiting room. The groomer takes Hemi into the back first. Everest is now getting anxious as he knows he is next. Even though he is well behaved at the Grooming Salon it doesn’t mean that he likes it.

A lady and her Chihuahua enter the building. She sees Everest and decides to pick up her dog before coming into the teeny tiny waiting room. Everest is not showing too much interest in meeting this dog (it’s called avoidance). He is air sniffing, but probably more concerned about being at the Salon than worrying about his social life.

What happens next is a shocking reminder that there is the need to get a message out there. Chihuahua lady (sorry, I didn’t have time to get her name) approaches us and bends down to place her dog in my dog’s face. Freeze frame.

What is she thinking? Probably something like: ”Oh, he seems like a good dog. This could be a new friend for my dog. Here you go Chihuahua: a Friend!”

What is Everest thinking? The doggy version of ”Hey, I’m trying to mind my own business over here. Why is this strange dog and his owner looming over me? Is she really going to put that dog in my face? Can’t they see that I’m backed into a corner, not happy and getting more and more anxious? Where are his legs, by the way?”

What is the Chihuahua thinking? ”I am trapped! I am forced into a strange dog’s face who obviously has no interest in meeting me. I know I’m cute, but I may be forced to bite since I have NO OTHER OPTIONS, unless I just go limp and play dead.”

What was I thinking? I didn’t sit back and wait for this to play out. I instantly recognized that this could turn into a bad situation, so I told Chihuahua Lady ”That’s really not a good idea”. She backed up right away, obviously thinking that my dog was aggressive. I told her he wasn’t, and she actually took a step closer to us. I really wanted her to understand WHY it wasn’t a good idea. I explained that not only do the dogs NOT know each other, mine is not comfortable being here, which increases the risk of the meeting not going well. I also explained how in doggy language, direct nose to nose greeting is not a good idea, especially when it is forced.

I think she thought I was overreacting, and perhaps rude. Perhaps, as she learns more about dogs and their behaviour she will recognize that any potential unwanted situation between the dogs was averted. She will also realize that her attempting to put her dog in my dog’s face was rude. And, if the stars are aligned, she may have the insight to see that since Everest was not going to eloquently as her to back off, I had to step in quickly with a clear message.

If you are reading this blog quickly and just want to get to the BOTTOM LINE. Here it is. Please read carefully:

1. Do not pick up your dog and put it in another dog’s face, especially if the dog is a stranger to you.

2. Do not, while holding your dog and putting it in a dog’s face, bend down and also put your face in the stranger’s dog’s face. This is called looming and dog’s find it very threatening.

3. Do not do #1. and # 2.,  particularly when a dog is backed into a corner, in a stressful environment.

4. If you are tempted to do #1 or #2, you should at the very least ask the dog’s owner if it is friendly and if your dogs can meet. Even after doing that, do not expect things to go well.