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Happy Holidays 2009

12/22/2009

“Thank You!” to our wonderful blog readers. You made this year so much fun for us. You know who you are… and we do too!

Raja and I are headed up north into the snow to check out an Atlantic Coast ski spot and we’ll tell you all about it in a couple of weeks. For now, we wish you health, happiness and peace in 2010!

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Ground Rules for Holiday Visitors in Your Dog’s House

12/15/2009

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If you’re reading this, it’s likely your home is your dog’s castle.

Now here come the holidays and those holiday guests from out of town, so expectant and demanding, might not always cohabit harmoniously with your dog. The following are some tips to help them get along with the 4 legged family member.

Start it off right: Introduce your dog by name to guests, telling them a bit about her and conveying her status in your house. You could say something like: “Tasha came as a rescue and she is our most recent family member. She’s part retriever and part lap dog. That’s how she’s wired. Yes, it confuses her too and we’re very proud of how she has adjusted.”
If your dog is not encouraged to eat table food and random snacks, explain that to guests. For many, the best way to bond with a dog is to give her something she’s not supposed to eat so as to become her “special friend.” Redirect the impetus to share chocolate marshmallow cookies toward the biscuit box of permitted snacks. Say: “Tasha may have five of these a day as special treats. She’s quite the health nut.”
If your dog is free to sleep anywhere in the house at night, you probably will have to bend on this one. It would be best for all if you would close your dog in your room so guests do not hurt her by stepping on her in the dark. (Sure, they could hurt themselves too, but this blog is about the dog.)
Unless you have a fenced property or your dog normally goes out at will, remind guests going and coming that they must make sure not to let your dog out. Tell them you will take charge of the trips outside. And don’t trust the guests. Holidays are notorious times for short attention spans and lost pets.
If your guests unavoidably include children who are afraid of dogs or who have not been properly trained in how to play with dogs, you really will have to take the time to help the child learn how to have fun with your pet without annoying your pet. Seriously you cannot allow them just to work it out. Seriously.
Guests do not stay forever. Well, the good ones don’t. The difficult ones seem to lumber around for weeks and weeks. If you find a guest is not being kind to you dog, remember, this home is your castle… and hers. Speak up. Say: “We never shove our dog (or whatever) in this house. It’s not our custom and if you do it again one of the humans will bite you. Have a nacho.” Smile.

Next week Raja will feature a totally silly, but beautiful, video of Holiday Dogs in Holiday Finery and then he’ll slip up north for a bit of ice skiing so he can blog all about it when he gets back.

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Over the River & Through the Woods: In a Dog Car Seat

12/2/2009

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Sitting pretty and ready to take it on the road.

It’s time to travel back to the homestead or to the houses of friends to spend the Holidays! And Traveling with Your Dog in the Car is going to be a lot more fun if she has a special spot, safe and comfortable, where she is accustomed to sitting when on the road. Just as you would never allow a child to roam about in the car (or would you?), you probably don’t want your dog leaping between the back and front seat.

Most dogs love traveling by car. Dogs are natural nomads; they want to be with their humans all day long. The car is like a house on wheels for them. Safe dog car travel has several options.

For really calm and obedient dogs, the personal padded car seat is a comfortable choice. Seatbelted down, it elevates, cushions and soothes. Your dog can see out without standing up with paws on the window. Look how much fun agility and therapy dogs Chloe, Cara and their sister Bella have in the car. They train well and enjoy taking their special places before driving off.
For dogs who tend to roam about the car when bored, consider a closed carrier. The carrier, for small dogs, can be either a soft sided pet airline carry-on bag or a small crate and either should be strapped to the seatbelt so it cannot move in the case of an accident or a swerve. The back center seat is the safest location.
Larger dogs can be secured in the cargo area of a van, SUV or station wagon by the installation of a safe, strong wire mesh fence that prevents them from being launched into the seating area in the case of a sudden stop.
Larger dogs can also use dog sea belts. Various companies manufacture padded, seat belt straps for dogs that are similar to the “Y” straps on infant car seats. None of these have proven to be entirely safe or comfortable as the straps can dig into the dog’s skin during an accident.

Obviously when driving we all should be as careful as possible and bear in mind that canine travelers cannot be secured as well as human passengers, to let’s take those turns slowly and drive defensively to avoid a quick stop and a bad accident during this happy and frantic time of the year.

Cara's ready for a safe ride to puppy school.

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Travels With my Dog: Observations on the Global Scene.

Happy Holidays 2009

Ground Rules for Holiday Visitors in Your Dog’s House

Over the River & Through the Woods: In a Dog Car Seat

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