Wonderful Springtime

Finally the dreary winter has let go of it's death grip and the springtime has come rushing into our lives.   The pets and people seem to have a bit of spring fever as we push ourselves to start planting gardens and flowers.

Our canine companions are just as eager to get out and over exert on walks and play time.   We, as their guardians must watch out for their health.  Older pets as well as ones who have packed on the pounds and become sedentary during this long cold spell must be gradually worked into a new routine.  Especially if you like to bike with your dog, be aware that a dog will run until it drops from exhaustion.   Take it slow and begin with daily, short walks.

Our older companions and ones with health problems need to be walked in the early morning hours when it is cool.  Morning is the optimum time of day to walk your dog as it most closely resembles what their wild ancestors did.   The pack would wake, then roam long distances searching for a meal.  After eating a meal they would rest during the heat of the day and maybe again trek and eat at night. Likewise, after a nice walk with our companions, come home to a measured meal for your pet.  It is not recommended to free feed (leave food out all the time) because it creates bad habits for your dog.   In puppies it makes house breaking very difficult and in seniors, giving medication that must go with a meal may be a problem because your pet may not be hungry at the time you are scheduled to give the medication.   It is also impractical if you ever have to board your animal while you go on vacation.

Spring is a good time to take a close look at your pet and access his/her weight or overweight issues.  First, read on more than one website about the brand of dog food you are feeding.  Is this the best you can feed for the amount of money you are paying ?   Maybe there is a better brand where you can feed less food and have lower stool volume.  These better brands may costs a bit more but work the digestive system less.

Second, stand your canine companion up on all fours and look at his general outline.  Does the body go in at the waist area like you would expect?  If you are unsure from this angle, run your hands along the ribcage.   You should be able to feel every rib on the dog.  Not prominently, but not with a layer of fat over them either.  When you head to your veterinarian for your yearly shots ask them to weigh your pup and then their opinion as to a weight loss program.

Third, you have a good food and you want to know how much to feed.  Read the label but do not take it as written in stone.   The company wants to sell dog food so they want you to feed a lot.  If you have a sedentary dog who only gets out when you walk him then you can feed just two meals a day to an adult.  Puppies should have three meals a day. Conversely, if you have a high drive / energy dog that never stops, he may require more food to keep a steady weight.  Each meal should be placed in a bowl and left down for fifteen to twenty minutes.  After that time, pick it up and put it away until the next feeding.  This teaches your pet to eat when the food is present.  

Fourth, and most important is not to sabotage your pets weight loss by feeding people food or dog treats.   The dog treats of today are very high in sugar and salt unless you make your own or get some from special gourmet bakeries.  They pack on the pounds and sometimes make the pet not even interested in eating normal dog food at all.   If you are using treats to train, pick something low in salt and sugar, then figure out about how many calories you are feeding during your daily training sessions.   Remove the approximate equal amount of calories from their daily portion of dog food.  Practicing this will allow you to give treats and still maintain your dogs figure. 

Spring is a wonderful time of year indeed.   Pets and people alike eager to get out and enjoy the fields, flowers and fauna.   Use this time to take stock of your canine companion and spiff them up to be the best they can be slowly.   A few simple ideas kept in mind will have you and your dog in tip top shape by fall. 



                                                                     © Pawearfulllegacys

Pet Emergency Preparedness

At some point , in your life, you may find yourself facing an emergency.  Whether big or small, it is always best to prepare for yourself and your family which should include your pets.   Far too many people hear the tornado sirens or get that call to evacuate for flooding or fire and have nothing planned for the animals they have chosen to take into their lives.

Just as you would prepare yourself with essential provisions if you had to leave  home in an emergency, you need to pack a bag for your pet as well.   The easiest way to figure out what should go in this pack is to start at the beginning of a normal day caring for your animal.   For example, if you feed in the morning and give medication then write down a list of how much fed, how many times per day, what medications, dosages, and approximately how much water you see your animal drinking.  By the end of the day you should have your list complete with the basic essentials you will need to keep your pet healthy while away from home.  Type up a list of medical problems (past and present),  temperament issues (good or bad), shot information, and anything else pertinent to your animal in case you become separated and someone else must care for your pet.   Add to the bag a basic first aid kit of gauze, scissors, self adhering vet wrap, antibiotic ointment, peroxide, cotton balls, needle nose pliers, and tweezers and you are about ready.

Purchase or make, for each animal, a quick clip well fitted para cord collar with current owner information tags.   Include on them your name, address, home and cell number and a vet clinic that has records on your animal.   Often you can not get copies of rabies tags so engraving more than one tag with various information, especially the vet's phone number, can save much heartache if a lost or frightened pet bites someone.  

Keep the pets bag stocked with everything but the water, making sure to change out the dry pet food every four months to keep it fresh.   When you are readying your own water  add  the amount  your pet will drink  if you are going to keep the animal on the move with your family.   If dropping the animal off at a shelter the go bag will serve as a big help to the temporary guardians.
No matter what the emergency is, leaving a pet behind in the home to fend for itself is not a viable option.   Far too many die from lack of water or heat stroke when officials would not allow owners to return to their homes in time to care for the pets.  Setting them free is also not an option.   With any major disaster, there are operating shelters that one can drop their animals off at to be cared for rather than die a horrible death. 

Just remember that preparedness plus practice equals calmness when the time comes to act.





                                                            ©   Pawearfulllegacys

Tell Me Your Story

My readers are all so dear to me.  I know each one of you has a great story to tell and share as well as a favorite pet you would love to show to the world.  I would love to help you with doing that.  I encourage all readers of my blog to write a short favorite story of their pet along with a favorite picture of said pet.  Your story can be about anything from rescuing your companion, how your dog rescued you, silly things your pet does, ways your pet helps you, the only limits on the stories are your imaginations.  Any companion pet story is welcome, I am in no way limited to only dogs in my life.  After the stories and pictures are collected I will feature a few of them in my blog. 
Thank you to all who read my writing and wish to learn more about the best way to care for, teach, and co exist with our beloved animals. 

Crazy Pets?

It’s time to become aware, if your pets start acting erratic!

Posted on 09/19/2013 13:01 by Rising Stormclouds Comment

It’s time to become aware, if your pets start acting erratic!

The above statement is truly something one should always try to remember. If you have pets, from mammals, to birds, to fish, pay attention to them. Specifically, their actions. Take note when creatures seemingly act out of the ordinary, or act like they want to get out of the house, cage or aquarium, no matter what.
Animals, birds, and even fish, can sense when major earth changes are about to happen. A dog may start barking for no reason, the hackles raise up along their back or it might start pawing at the door wanting out if it senses an impending earthquake. A horse in a corral might start jumping and bucking or whinnying loudly if it senses changes in the weather. A fish in an aquarium may even jump out of the tank if it senses a change in the barometric pressure.

I don’t know about snakes or spiders doing the same as with the other creatures, because frankly, I’ve never had a snake or a spider as a pet. I would think they would also sense an earth change coming, but seeing that particular reaction, might be really difficult, as compared to all the other creatures.

The animals can sense the micro-tremors of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis and probably even if a sinkhole is about to open up. They can even sense the micro changes in the atmosphere before tornadoes come into existence, or lightning storms.
If I was in a city nearby the ocean, and all the birds suddenly left town at once, I would take notice, and get the heck out of dodge. There might just be a tsunami or an earthquake about to hit. Either way I would not want to stick around to find out.

If you only will take the time to notice, your very own pets may one day save your life. Watching wildlife and your pets is a form of situational awareness. This skill can be honed everyday if you just use it and be aware of your surroundings at all times.

This entry was posted in Animals/Pets and tagged animals changes in the weather climate lightning storms micro changes nature

Using your Canine Companion as a gear carrier

• Using your Canine Companion as a gear carrier…

  Posted on 10/24/2013 12:34 by Rising Stormclouds 2 Comments

  Some people might think about training their dogs to be able to help carry gear in a bug-out situation. Besides the fact that dogs make great companions, awesome protectors, great guards, and can help in hunting, they can also eat just about anything a human can. In survival, this factor is a major plus. They can be easily trained to do a great many things, including being able to carry gear, or pull a gear sled behind them. I would not recommend that you make your dog do both, carry a pack and pull a sled. Your dog is not a horse.

  Of course, even after training your dog to do this, it would behoove you to continually have the animal practice, so if the day comes where you have to bug out, the dog will be comfortable in doing so, with no problems arising. As with each family member, each dog should have a pack already geared up and at the ready, and packed in with the rest of the family’s gear bags. Training packs would do well enough for teaching the dog how to handle the weight and the pack itself. Just like the human counterparts, working out takes time, and you will want to do it slowly so the animal doesn’t over strain it’s muscles, or pull tendons.

  *Every dog should be able to carry about 20-25 % of their body weight comfortably. This depends upon the age and health of said animal. Puppies and older dogs carry less, around the 5-10% range. For reference, two liters is about 4.4 pounds.
  The dog’s capability can be hampered by temperature, terrain and weather with sand or uphill travel causing more strain.
  Dogs can pull much more than they can carry on their backs, and they would be comfortable in pulling a sled weighing in at a little under ½ of their own weight efficiently.

  *Recommended backpacks can be found on the web by typing in dog back packs. Make sure each pack fits correctly up over the ribcage. The types listed below have good padding. The straps won’t rub the dog wrong, the chest straps help to keep the pack even between the legs – front and back as well as the sides. They even have an included handle on the back that helps the owner pick the dog back up if the dog falls and needs help back up. In case of traveling in white-out blizzard or ha-boob conditions, it would be wise to connect a leash or tie a line to your dog so that the whole family can stick together and no one including the dog gets lost.

  *The types I like are ….
  Mountainsmith Dog Pack $38-70 .. depends upon size.
  EzyDog Summit Backpack Dog Trail Pack $56
  Kyjen Outward Hound Backpack $31
  These can be found at Amazon, or do searches for dog-packs, or dog back-packs.

  Now, if you would rather have your dog pull a gear sled, then a full body padded harness would work well for the animal, with the drag line attached at the point right behind the head, and in between the shoulders of the dog. This gives them the maximum amount of strength in pulling the gear sled. A sled could simply be a child’s play sled, with gear packs tied on. Make sure however that the heaviest items are against the sled, so as not to make the sled top heavy, or it could fall over on your dog more than you’d like. Your dog is not going to be able to up-right a fallen over sled, so how you pack it is very important. The drag sled should have rounded front runners, so the animal can get the sled over most objects laying on the ground. Small wheels attached to the runners would help the animal in case your walking on hard surfaces such as concrete, because dragging anything over concrete is extremely difficult. The wheels would also make the sled quieter. The weight of the sled itself has to be considered in with the weight of the gear. Don’t over-load your dog, or your dog might just stop and not continue. Taking breaks is also necessary, making sure the dog gets plenty of water along the way.

  There are pros and cons to everything when it comes to survival, and each must be weighed carefully when making decisions that could affect you and your family in bug out situations.

  *This information in this article was given to me by PawEarFull Legacys who is the writer of Chew’in da Bone at http://chewindabone.blogspot.com

  
  

  
  

  This entry was posted in Animals/Pets Gear Bags and tagged Activities Dog Dog sled Family Pet Recreation Weight