Warm weather is fast approaching, so I thought this would be the proper time to talk about leaving your dog in a hot car. We all know that when it’s warm outside, it’s even warmer in the car. Every year thousands of pets die from being left in hot cars while their “parents” go to work, shop or run errands. Within minutes the temperature inside a car can raise 10 degrees or more.

It just takes a few minutes of extreme heat to cause heat stroke, dehydration and even death to your dog. An Animal Protection Institute study shows that even moderately warm temperatures outside can quickly lead to deadly temperatures inside a closed car. With an air temperature of 85 degrees, in ten minutes the temperature inside your car will be 102 degrees and in half an hour 120 degrees.

A dog’s normal body temperature is 101 to 102 degrees, he can withstand a body temperature of 107 to 108 degrees, but only for a short period of time before suffering brain damage and even death.

Dogs are designed to conserve heat. Their sweat glands, which exist on their nose and the pads of their feet, are inadequate for cooling during hot days. Panting and drinking water helps cool them, but if they only have overheated air to breathe, dogs can suffer brain and organ damage after just 15 minutes. Short-nosed breeds, like pugs and bulldogs, young pets, seniors or pets with weight, respiratory, cardiovascular or other health problems are especially susceptible to heat-related stress.

Heatstroke can come on quickly and result in brain damage or death. Watch for symptoms such as restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark tongue, rapid heartbeat, fever, vomiting, or lack of coordination. If your dog shows any of these symptoms, get her or him into the shade immediately and call your veterinarian. Lower the animal’s body temperature gradually by providing water to drink, applying a cold towel or ice pack to the head, neck, and chest, or immersing the dog in lukewarm (not cold) water.

You wouldn’t leave your kids in a hot car, so why would it be fine to leave your dog there? In many states, it’s against the law to leave a pet unattended in a parked vehicle in a manner than endangers the health or safety of the animal. If you see a dog in a parking lot, locked in a hot car, take down the car’s color, model, make, and license-plate number, have the owner paged inside nearby stores, and call local humane authorities or police immediately, you might just save a life!

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Your dog loves to go for rides, but he’s a holy terror when it comes to getting out of the car. Sound familiar? You stop the car, get ready to let the dog out and when you open the door, he’s off like a bullet into busy traffic with no need to listen or come back. What can you do to stop this?

A car ride on top of a new place can make any dog excitable, so how do you control him? It really is pretty easy to keep Fido under control. There are a few things that you can do to make it easier to unload the dog.

The first thing you can do is to invest in a car seat or a car harness. These attach to your seat belt system and keep Fido secure while giving him the ability to move enough to lay down or look out the window. If you would like to confine your dog to the back area of your SUV, you can also invest in a vehicle barrier that will keep him from climbing in your lap while you are driving.

You also want to keep your dog’s leash on him while he is in the car. You don’t have to tie it to anything, but have it there so if he tries to make a quick get-away you can snatch the leash and take him under control.

Now, this time when you open the door, stand in front of it, blocking your dog. Do not let him out of the car until he focuses on you and is calm. When he has calmed down, step out of the way with leash in hand and say, “Let’s go.” This is his cue that he can exit the car. It is very important that you don’t let him out of the car until he calms down. He will learn that being calm gets him out into the world faster.

See, isn’t that easy!

Stumble It!

Flea and tick season has arrived in the midwest! Which means it’s time to get started on flea prevention on both your pet and in your home. Preventing fleas includes treating three different areas: your home, your yard and your pet.

Indoor Flea Prevention
Indoor flea prevention starts with vacuuming. You will want to vacuum high traffic areas daily and other areas weekly. This will help remove any fleas or larvae that are present in your carpet. When you change the vacuum bag, be sure to put it in a plastic bag and seal it to prevent the fleas from getting back into your home.

If you have a severe flea problem, you may want to treat your home with an insecticide, such as a fogger or spray. Virbac offers a great fogger that works really well. You will want the fogger to contain IGR or insect growth regulator, which stops the flea’s life cycle by not allowing them to develop into adults.

You will want to wash your pet’s bedding in hot water weekly to kill any fleas that are present. Don’t forget to treat your car, garage, basement or any other areas that your pet spends time.

Outdoor Treatment
Outdoor treatment involves treating the yard, kennel, patio, and any other areas in which your pet frequents. Fleas like moist, warm areas that contain organic debris. So, get out the rake and get busy. Remove any organic debris with the rake to expose the areas where the fleas are present and to allow the yard treatment to reach these areas. Once you have these areas cleaned out, you can treat them with Siphotrol Yard Spray. It covers 5,000 square feet and can prevent reinfestation for up to 4 weeks.

Pet Treatment
Treating your pet for fleas is easy with a topical spot-on, such as Frontline. Frontline is a once a month treatment that is applied to the back of your pet’s neck. The medication is spread throughout your pet’s body by his or her hair.

For severe infestations that need to be taken care of immediately, you can use a flea dip such as Adam’s Flea & Tick Dip. Adam’s kills and repels fleas, ticks, lice, gnats and mosquitoes for up to 7 days. It is easy to apply, you just sponge it on and let it dry, no rinsing required. You can also use an oral medication, such as Capstar, which kills fleas within 4-6 hours and is effective for 24 hours; however, I wouldn’t recommend you use this on a daily basis.

As you can see, it is pretty easy to keep your pet and your home flea free. Prevent infestation before it happens by starting to treat your pet and your home now!

Stumble It!

I would start with the basics. You want to desensitize him to touch first. This will allow you and others to easily groom him as well as brush his teeth and make it easy for you to check him for bumps, etc.

When you are doing this, you will want to have plenty of treats on hand as this will help him associate these things with something pleasant, food.

You’ll want to start by quietly touching him, like you’re going to brush him. When he behaves, praise him and reward him with a treat. Then you can add a brush, and do the same. When it comes to doing his teeth, you’ll want to first put a little doggy toothpaste on your finger then let him lick it off. Praise him and give him a treat. Repeat each day going a little farther until you can easily stick your fingers in his mouth and touch his teeth. Once you can do this for 30 seconds or so, add the toothbrush.

Once he’s ok being handled, you’ll want to get him used to other people. Start by inviting a couple of friends over. Keep the dog on a leash. Have your guests hand feed him his treats until he is relaxed around them. Repeat this process over and over, each time having different people come over. Eventually, he’ll look forward to people because it means treats!

Once he is used to people coming and going, it’s time to hit the streets. Take him for a walk on his leash, when you approach someone have him sit/stay. Allow the person to pass, then praise him and reward him for sitting quietly. Once he does this, try it with him walking by the person. If he barks, put him in a sit/stay. Once he has mastered walking with people around, it’s time to move on to other dogs.

You will want to start by allowing him to watch other dogs from a distance. When a dog comes into sight, give him a treat and keep giving him treats as long as the other dog is in view. (This goes back to the new visitors he learned before, new people = FOOD). If he barks or doesn’t want the treat, move farther away and try again. Keep repeating the process until you and your dog can approach another dog without barking.

Allow them to sniff. If someone gets aggressive, immediately turn with your dog and walk away. Repeat the approach process. This will be the most frustrating part, but it will eventually sink in that barking and fighting is a no-no.

If your dog is the opposite and tries to run away, stay positive and act like meeting the other dog is no big deal. Don’t pull him toward the other dog or talk soothing to him or even pet him. Doing this reinforces the fearful behavior. Only reward him when he starts to relax and explore what the other dog is all about. Let him approach things he’s scared of on his own terms.

With a lot of patience and love your dog will adapt.

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We all know there is an over abundance of reality TV shows right now. Well now Animal Planet has jumped on the reality train with Groomer Has It. Groomer Has It is a competition between 12 dog groomers for the title of Groomer of the Year, a mobile grooming truck and $50,000. The show is hosted by Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. It’s a battle between the celebrity dog groomers and the “other guys.”

The groomers are judged by veterinarian Dr. Karen Halligan, champion dog handler Xavier Santiago and leading U.S. grooming expert Joey Villani will decide which contestant does not make the cut. (Hahaha “cut!” pun intended). They are some tough cookies to impress. They are really straight foward and let you know exactly how they feel.

The entire show is filled with dog puns, they live in the “Dog House” when they get in the bottom two, they “Return to the Dog House with their tails between their legs.” The show is like a train wreck, you know you should, but you can’t look away.

But, that’s just my opinion, so watch it for yourself and let me know what you think.

In the meantime, for all of the real groomers and pet owners, stop by PetSupplies4Less.com for tips on grooming your pet as well as grooming supplies. They stock everything from shears to clippers to tubs, tables and dryers! Don’t forget to check out the sale section as there are always good deals on clippers and other grooming supplies!

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