Well, I have my puppy…name is Guinness…like the beer!  I got him almost 2 weeks ago and my life is definitely not the same.  He’s an active little bugger and keeps me on my toes.  Luckily I was able to use some vacation time from work these last two weeks so it gave me some time to get a routine going.

He knows his name now–tho he most definitely does not always respond.  He is doing well with housebreaking and I’ve started him a bit on clicker training for obedience.  His favorite game is tug and anything is fair game including my feet, legs, hands and arms.  I’m getting good at carrying around a tug toy to substitute.

He’s eating LOTS and I’m feeding raw in the evening and Taste of the Wild kibble in the morning.  He loves his crate and last night he put himself to bed in his crate in my bedroom.  Couldn’t figure out where he was …

All said, he’s adorable!  Teeth and all!

Leanne

I received the comment below from my sister Carol who lives in the Eugene OR area.  It started me thinking about dog parks–we all want a place to let our dogs run loose but there are dangers associated with them.  Since getting this post from Carol, I’ve done some reading about the pros and cons–my thoughts are that dog parks can be great…BUT there really needs to be some rules associated with them and dog owners need to be observing the dogs, alert for inappropriate behavior and be willing to quickly step in if it appears that something is going wrong.  We have to learn to read dog language…and spot the signs of trouble early.

I have used Raab  Park on a very limited basis with Cedar–and I had no difficulty.  Mostly I either walk him or let him run on the beach or in more isolated areas (always ready to put the leash back on if needed).

What do you think about Dog Parks?  Do you use them and have you had any negative experiences?

Leanne

“This is a rather sad story but I feel compelled to share this for the benefit of dog owners that use dog parks as a means of exercise.

I live in Eugene, Ore and frequented the dog parks in the area regularly at least until recently. I have decided to stop due to incidents of aggressive behavior. Last week this aggressive behavior turned deadly for one puppy. A women was in Amazon dog park with her daughters 8 month old puppy when it was suddenly ripped from her arms and mauled to death at her feet. I cannot imagine the sorrow she must feel at being helpless to stop the attack, and her young daughter is devastated.

I believe that the owner of the dog responsible probably just didn’t know the warning signs that lead to this sort of tragedy. As I am a dog owner/lover I wanted to share this story in an attempt to caution others as to what can happen when a good dog turns bad. Dog parks can be a great place as long as everyone seeks out the information they need to teach proper behavior in their dogs.

One more word of caution to parents, small children should not be brought into dog parks. I believe they are being exposed to a very real danger, imagine the tragedy if this had happened to someone’s child.”

Carol

Hi Everyone!

Well I made the decision…I’m getting a puppy.  Cedar is 6 years old and its a good age for him to adjust to a little brother–and, besides that, I just want one!  This will be another German Shepherd–and a boy.  The litter was born just 3 weeks ago and I have 3 boys to choose from.  I’m getting pretty excited and am doing lots of planning.

I’m planning on Clicker Training this new boy and have been learning lots about CT.  Just got back from Clicker Expo in Portland–what a wealth of info I got there–I’m convinced this is the way to train and can hardly wait to have a new pup to start it with.  Bought a couple of DVD’s to help and have a small group of friends that are also into CT and I’m sure will be happy to give me advice!

So…stay tuned and I’ll update with my new pup adventures!

Did you get a new pup recently?  If so, please reply with your adventures and ideas…we can all share!

Leanne

I received this post today from my contact at Peninsula Dog Fanciers Club…its something we all need to be aware of.

Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , OH

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet.  My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male
neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday.  He started with vomiting,
diarrhea and shaking about 1AM on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7A M.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject.
We had her bring the dog in immediately.
In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me? had heard something about it, but …
Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal   Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance
and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal).

Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream.  We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids.

Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids.  At
the point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output
overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values have continued to increase daily.  He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around
150, skyrocketed to 220 … He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.

This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who
has a dog of this very serious risk.

Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grap es could be toxic.  Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats
including our ex-handler’s.  Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Onions, chocolate, cocoa and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too.

Even if you don’t have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them.

Confirmation from Snopes about the above ..

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

Did you see tonights (9/16/09) edition of King5 News? They did a story on local testing of dog toys for high levels of chemicals. Some of what they found is pretty interesting–Check out the results of the tests on
www.healthystuff.org
Click on pets to check out your dogs toys.

Leanne

Please everybody!

Check out the PDFC event on September 26 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. They are offering a chance to see different breeds of dogs as well as demonstrations of Flyball, Herding, Cart pulling etc.  For those of you interested in competitive obedience there is a Show ‘n Go which offers a great chance to practice in a ring setting.

Go to the Event page and scroll to the bottom for the flyer and…I hope to see all you there!

Leanne and Cedar!

Leanne and Cedar

Irritated Sore Feet!

Cedar (every summer) gets an inflammation between his toes—looks like a fungus or yeast problem of some sort.  Last year he had to go on Prednisone and I also have a spray medication called Betagen that seems to help.  But the problem is that, Betagen stings and so he doesn’t like it.  If you have a problem like this with your dog, I think I have found a better solution…there is a product called Super Heal—an organic ointment that is pleasant to use, non irritating and he doesn’t lick it off.  The ingredients include Arnica, Comfrey, St Johns Wort, Calendula and more.  I massage it in thoroughly and his feet look better than they ever have.  You can order this product from www.NativeWild.com

Swimmin’ holes

I had a request from someone wanting to know good places to go swimming with their dog.  I wonder if anybody out there would like to send me ideas of where you go?  Here in Suquamish, I use Old Man Park and the boat ramp in town.  Also, I like Oyster Park on Liberty Bay in Poulsbo and there is no place like Point No Point in Hansville.  I am especially looking for ideas in Silverdale, Bremerton, Port Orchard, etc.  If you have special places that you like, please let me know!

Diet—Raw?

I have asked my friend Dr Dammeyer at Pet Medical Center at Apple Tree Cove, to write me an article for the website on diet in general, overweight pets, etc.  But, I am also curious as to how many of you feed raw food?  I’m wondering about your source of meat and if you also feed raw veggies?  Would you share your recipes with the rest of us?  Here’s what I feed…Cedar gets a dry kibble of the super premium variety (right now he’s eating Prairie venison) and he also gets raw meat.  I have a current supply of organic lamb from a friend but I also buy beef and chicken when its on sale.  He’s an 85 pound German Shepherd and he gets about 2 cups of the dry and 1 to 2 pounds of the meat.  I also add Salmon oil and a high quality vitamin.  He’s 5 years old and looks really good!  Teeth are clean and he smells good!  He’s very lean.

If you’re willing to share your recipe’s or thoughts please send me an email!  I will share the information received with the rest of you.