2007 August | Puppy In Training

How To Remove Tar From Dog Fur

August 13, 2007 By Colby 15 Comments

Have you ever wondered how to remove tar from dog fur? Not long ago while at the dog beach my Aussie mix, Linus stepped in tar and immediately the black sludge clung to his paw pad and fur seemingly impossible to remove.

I love taking Linus to the dog beach. He gets to interact with some of the other dogs, sprint along the sand, and play in the water. Unfortunately, Stetson my guide dog in training is not allowed to visit dog beach (guide dogs rules — he’s not allowed to visit any dog parks). If you’ve never been the Huntington Dog Beach is located between 21st Street and Seapoint Street in beautiful Huntington Beach, CA. They also have a dedicated website at http://www.dogbeach.org. I usually go to the dog beach after work around 6 o’clock and find that it’s usually not too crowded at that time.

Pups Playing at a Dog Beach

Photo By Mike Baird

How To Remove Tar From Dog Fur

I grew up in nearby Fountain Valley and often went to the Huntington City and State Beach. During my youth I remember stepping on tar in the sand and having a heck of a time removing it from the bottom of my foot. I tried water, soap, rubbing alcohol, and none successfully removed the tar from my foot in a quick or easy manner. So, imagine my dismay when a few days ago after returning from dog beach I found a big chunk of tar stuck right in the middle of Linus’s paw and clumped together all over his fur on the bottom of his foot. Well, I grabbed rubbing alcohol and tried furiously to remove the tar from his fur and pad. I’m pretty sure I got more tar stuck to my hand then I did on the towel I was using (the tar I moved from Linus’s paw to my hand was also a pain to get off). I figured there has got to be a better way of removing tar from dog fur, hand, and paw pad. I did a little online research and found two possible solutions.

Goo Gone To Remove Tar From Dog Fur

[UPDATE - some of our readers have noticed skin irritation from Goo Gone even after thoroughly washing their dog. Please proceed with caution when handling any chemicals including Goo Gone around your dog or pet.]

First, people said to try using vegetable oil…hmmm…I’ll try anything once. The second solution was a product called Goo Gone. I made a run to the local grocery store and found the vegetable oil and the Goo Gone. I decided to just purchase the Goo Gone and if that didn’t work head back over to the store for the vegetable oil. I put some of the Goo Gone on Linus’s paw and magically the tar began to melt away. It was amazing! The clumped up tar basically began to liquify with the Goo Gone. After adding a little Goo Gone I’d wipe Linus’s paw with an old rag then repeat the process. After about 5 minutes I had all the tar out of Linus’s fur and pad. My only concern was that the Goo Gone was irritating or hurting Linus’s skin. He did not complain, but I still immediately rinsed his paw with soap and water several times to make sure the Goo Gone was completely off his skin.

I never tried the vegetable oil and I’m not sure if it works better or worse then the Goo Gone, but I highly recommend Goo Gone if you ever have a tar situation with your dog or even if you get some tar stuck on yourself.

I’m sure we are all prepared to wash our dogs after a fun day at dog beach. However, have you run into any special situations where something gross like tar gets stuck in your dogs fur coat? What have you done to remove tar or any other nasty substance from your dogs fur? I hate to use chemicals like Goo Gone so I’d love to know how you remove tar from dog fur. Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Filed Under: Dog Grooming Tagged With: Dog Beach, Dog Cleaning, Dog Entertainment, Dog Grooming, Dog Parks, Dog Training, Dog Wash, Goo Gone, Linus, Remove Tar From Dog Fur

What To Do If Your Dog Has Kennel Cough

August 6, 2007 By Colby 8 Comments

A couple days ago both my dogs started coughing and gagging. Oh boy…now I had heard of kennel cough, but now I was asking the question: What To Do If Your Dog Has Kennel Cough?

I assumed my two dogs had kennel cough and luckily already had a vet appointment set up for Stetson’s ear (he developed an ear infection a few days earlier). I did a little online research to try and find out what symptoms were involved when your dog has kennel cough. A dry cough with unproductive gagging…that sound about like what my dogs were doing. It actually sounds very similar to what my dog’s would do when they pull to hard on their leash/collar. They usually cough a couple times then make that gagging sound.

Kennel Cough?

Photo By tz1_1zt

Kennel Cough In Dogs

Where did my dog’s get kennel cough from? Well, I narrowed it down to a couple different places. First, I heard that the incubation period for kennel cough is usually about 8-10 days. Stetson was at the kennel a little less than two weeks prior to his symptoms. That’s a little longer than the expected incubation period, but I assumed well within the realm of possibility. Stetson has also come nose to nose with two dogs in our neighborhood within the last 8-10 days. He also has puppy class once a week where he meets with the same 5 or 6 dogs for training. Finally, my dog’s have interacted with five other dogs, three of which they had never met before.

After researching and calling my friends to let them know my dog had kennel cough I found out that one of my friends dogs began having kennel cough symptoms around the same time as Stetson and Linus. All three of our dogs played with two new dogs approximately 9 days before we saw kennel cough symptoms. I’m now assuming that one of the two new dogs may have been contagious for kennel cough. However, neither of the two new dogs had shown or has shown kennel cough symptoms. I guess my question now is when are dogs contagious for kennel cough? Can dogs be carrying kennel cough, but never show symptoms? If anyone has answers to these questions please let me know. Otherwise I’m going to check into this myself.

What To Do If Your Dog Has Kennel Cough?

Right now Stetson is taking antibiotics for kennel cough and Linus is not. I’ve read and heard from friends that kennel cough will usually just go away on it’s own without the aid of antibiotics. It’s very similar to the flu in humans. The vaccination for kennel cough is bordetella vaccine which Stetson was on and obviously did not help him. I guess, the vaccine is also similar to the flu vaccine where it defends against the common viruses/bacteria, but not all forms of the virus/bacteria. However, it’s important to make sure the symptoms don’t become worse or it’s probably a good idea to see your vet. Stetson and Linus both act like nothing’s wrong with them and just play around like usual with an occasional cough or gag. I’m going to leave Linus off the antibiotics for now and monitor his health very closely. If he seems to regress at all I will definitely make a trip to the vets office.

I’ll let you know how things go with both my dogs…Antibiotics vs. No-Antibiotics. Have you and your dogs experienced kennel cough? What did you do to help relieve your dogs symptoms?

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert in any of the above information. This is only from my experience and things I’ve read and heard…please don’t take my information as fact and do your own due diligence. If you have any questions please contact veterinary experts. Thank you.

Filed Under: Dog Medical And Safety Tagged With: Kennel Cough, Linus, Stetson

How To Adopt A Puppy

August 1, 2007 By Colby 28 Comments

Our story on how to adopt a puppy began over 7 years ago when we visited a few backyard breeders for my 32nd birthday. Of course, we did not end up with a purebred puppy, but instead found the perfect Australian Shepherd mixed puppy and adopted him almost immediately at our local animal shelter. ———–>

I’ve always been fond of dogs as long as I can remember. Our first family dog was a Golden Retriever who was very personable and friendly. Our second family dog came from the shelter and was some kind of Border Collie/lab mix…we think. He had energy to spare and was one of the smartest dogs we’ve ever seen (if only we could channel his energy). In college, I helped raise my ex-girlfriends husky mix puppy, my roomates mutt and collie. I practically raised my landlords two rescue dogs. One was a Australian Shepherd mix and the other was a doberman pincher mix.

How To Adopt A Puppy

After college I entered the work force and assumed that I did not have the time to raise a puppy/dog of my own. So, for about eight years after college I was without a dog until December 2004 when my latest ex-girlfriend decided to get me a puppy for my birthday. We were looking for either a Labrador Retriever or a golden retriever. I love the personalities of both breeds and was looking for something in the medium to large sized dog. After visiting several breeders and actually putting a hold on a yellow lab I finally decided I wanted to rescue a dog from one of the shelters.

I had been looking to adopt a puppy online at petfinder.com while we were visiting the breeders and came across a litter of Australian Shepherd Labrador Retriever mix puppies. They were at the Carson Shelter in Southern California, only about a half hour from my house. We went to the shelter and they had two puppies. One, a female, had the aussie shepherd tri-color look and the other one, a male, was all black with a small white spot on his chest. I did plenty of research on how to choose a puppy and put both puppies to the test. I very much liked the look of the female tri-color, but tried not to be biased as I know the personality is what counts. After putting the pups through several personality tests I thought both would make great pets, but was leaning towards the male with the white spot on his chest. I was very tempted to take both puppies home with me, but in the end I went with the little male puppy and have not regretted it. Linus is a wonderful dog, a little shy, but has a very sweet personality. I do often think it would have been nice to have adopted his sister, but I’ve heard that two dogs growing up together will often have weird attachment issues and I didn’t want that for my dog/dogs.

The Good And The Bad Of A Shelter Dog

I had read many books on how to adopt a puppy, but reading a book and actually experiencing puppies first hand at the breeders, rescues, and shelters is a whole different story. As I mentioned many of the puppy training books we read discouraged bringing home siblings.

So what have I learned from adopting a puppy? First of all the price is right when you choose a shelter pup…the fee for one of these pups is only $37 with a refundable $50 deposit at the time your dog is spayed or neutered. It is also very rewarding to know that you’ve rescued a dog from the shelter. Even though the dog you chose may have been adopted anyway, the sooner you can get them out of the shelter, the sooner the shelter will have room for another dog that may have been scheduled for euthanization.

There are definite disadvantages to the shelter dog. When I rescued Linus he was not healthy at all. He was very anemic and had very little energy to move around. My ex-girlfriend actually thought he was dead when we got him home because he wouldn’t move out of the back seat of her car. He was covered in fleas (so much so there was dried blood behind his ears), he had worms, and he had a stomach infection that required him to take medication for several weeks.

Volunteering At Rescues…Rewarding And For A Good Cause

I’ve also volunteered for a local dog/puppy rescue called Cuddly Canines. The adoption fee for one of their puppies is $300. These dogs come from the shelters, but are taken in by a foster family and have a loving home for a minimum of two weeks with the family. During this time the puppies/dogs are spayed/neutered, dewormed, deflead, and are current on their vaccinations. These rescue groups do a wonderful job with their animals and provide a great service to the community. If you are interested in fostering a litter of puppies, a dog, or would like to adopt please visit the Cuddly Canines website and give them a call or send them an email.

If you are interested in adopting a puppy I highly recommend saving a pup from an animal rescue like Cuddly Canines.

The Breeders

Finally, I’ve gone to the breeders who charged anywhere from $300 – $1000+. Of course the advantages here are you know the breed of dog you will be getting, you have a general idea of the personality (based on the parents), you know the lineage, you will have an idea of what kind of health issues they may have, and you can find out if the parents are certified for hips, eyes, elbows…or any other possible genetic conditions your breed of dog may have.

Time For Another Dog?

When I’m ready for another dog I will probably adopt a litter of puppies through Cuddly Canines and choose one from the litter. I know this is not for everyone, but please don’t be hesitant to adopt a puppy from a rescue group. This will free up their resources and allow them to save more puppies from the shelters. The $300 donation/adoption fee is a small amount of money considering the dog will not have fleas or worms, will be neutered/spayed, current on vaccinations, and will be in good health. The initial fee for my dog Linus was cheap, but after all of his medical expenses including his neutering the cost was well over $500.

There are plenty of wonderful dogs out there and a variety of ways to acquire one. I highly suggest contacting a local rescue group or shelter and adopting one of their puppies or dogs and of course once you do come home with your puppy get started on their puppy training. The things they learn as a puppy will carry over to adulthood. We’ll talk more about training later…

Fast forward now to 2012. Linus is a 7 year old dog and he’s awesome! I’ve raised 3 Labrador Retriever’s and I’m currently raising a Golden Retriever for Guide Dogs of America and I just wrote an article on How To Choose A Puppy that retells the familiar tale of how I got my buddy Linus from the shelter.

If you’re wondering how to adopt a puppy I would start by visiting PetFinder.com and checking out some of the puppies that are available at your local animal shelters and rescues.

Have you adopted a puppy? Are you in the market to adopt a puppy? Tell us your story in the comments section below.