February 8, 2012

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Dog Wash To Raise Funds For Japan’s Earthquake Vicitms

March 25, 2011 By 1 Comment

Is it time to take your dog to a dog wash and give him a nice doggie bath?  or is it possibly that time of year when your dog needs his vaccinations?  If so, we suggest you check out the Alicia Pet Care Center Saturday, March 26th, 2011 from 3-5pm for your dog grooming and vaccination needs.  The Alicia Pet Care Center is donating all proceeds to help the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

The entire world has been touched by the earthquakes and tsunami’s devastating Japan and it really hits close to home for us.  As Japanese American’s we know many people who have friends and relatives in Japan and many have had a difficult time getting in touch with their loved ones.

Dog Wash And Vaccinations

Here are the details:

EVENT: Doggie Wash & Vaccination Clinic For Japan
WHEN: March 26th, 2011
HOURS: 3pm – 5pm
WHERE: Alicia Pet Care Center
25800 Jeronimo Rd., Ste 100 Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Dog Wash Japan Earthquake

For more information on the upcoming dog wash go to the Alicia Pet Care Website.

Here’s a link to the Dog Bath’s For Japan’s victims article listed in the Orange County Register.

We’re going to do our best to attend Alicia Pet Care Center Dog Wash And Vaccination, but we have already planned our Guide Dogs of America Outing to lunch and a movie.  Hopefully we’ll have time to rush down to Mission Viejo and donate a little bit of money (and cleanup our pups) to the relief effort going on in Japan.

We’d love to see everyone show up and get their dogs a bath, nail trim, and vaccination.  After all if you’re raising a GDA pup then perhaps it’s time to check that puppy vaccination schedule? What can be better than getting your dogs groomed?  Getting your dogs groomed and having the proceeds go to the victims of the earthquakes and tsunami’s in Japan!

Are you planning on going to the Doggie Wash And Vaccination Clinic For Japan?  If so, let us know how it went in the comment section below.

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What Is The Best Dog Brush?

January 31, 2011 By 6 Comments

What is the best dog brush is a great questions after all you don’t want your dog’s shedding fur all over your house and brushing your dog helps to stimulate the follicles and skin to produce natural oils keeping skin and fur healthy.

I actually have a promotional package I received with several FURminator products in the package (I just gave this away at our latest Puppy In Training Facebook Contest).

I’m always on the look out for new dog and puppy products and great place to look is on Amazon’s Pet Supplies best seller list (Affiliate Link).  Today I noticed the number 1 and number 2 top sellers were  the Furminator deShedding Tool or the Furminator Brush.

In my opinion is the FURminator deShedding Tool the best dog brush?  You’ll notice that whenever I pose a question my answer is almost always “It Depends” and in this case the answer once again is “It Depends”.

FURminator deShedding Tool Review

Product Features

  • Quickly and easily grabs and removes loose and undercoat hair
  • Uniquely designed stainless steel 4-inch blade
  • Reduces shedding up to 90 percent
  • Ideal for all long- and short-haired shedding dogs over 50 pounds
  • FURejector button removes loose hair from blade with ease

Product Description

Reduce your pet’s shedding by 90 percent with the FURminator deLuxe deShedding Tool. Its premium stainless steel fine-toothed 4-inch blade does not cut, but reaches deep to grab and remove loose hair and undercoat hair quickly and easily, leaving a shiny, healthy topcoat. By removing loose, dead hairs, the tool also eliminates shedding and the cleanliness and allergy problems that accompany it. Less hair on your dog means less hair on your furniture and floors. The innovative ergonomic handle makes the tool easy to grip. The FURejector is a conveniently placed thumb button that lets you empty the collected fur from the shedding blade safely and quickly. Just push the button, and the fur is easily released. Get fast, amazing results every time with both long- and short-haired shedding breeds. Reduces shedding better than any brush, rake, or comb, and brings out the pet’s natural oils, which promotes healthier skin and a shiny coat.

My FURminator Brush Review

I have a Furminator Brush, but not the one with the FURejector.  However, I do have the regular brush and I must say it is great at removing fur from your dog.  Lets go over the Product features as described above:

  1. Quickly and easily grabs and removes loose and undercoat hair – YES - A definite yes from me and my three dogs!
  2. Uniquely designed steel 4-inch blade – YES – I’ve seen competitors with very similar designs.
  3. Reduces shedding up to 90 percent – YES – I’m not really sure, about exact numbers, but I’m going to hazard to guess that yes it does reduce shedding by up to 90 percent.
  4. Ideal for all long – and short-haired shedding dogs over 50 pounds – YES – I have Stetson and Dublin who have short coats and Linus who has a longer coat.  The FURminator works well with both dogs.
  5. FURejector button removes loose hair from blade with ease – N/A – My version of the FURminator does not have the FURejector so I have no comment here.

Be careful when using the FURminator brush – the blades inside the are sharp and you need to be somewhat careful when using this device.  This brush is better at removing dead fur and undercoat on your then any other brush I’ve used in the past.  I highly recommend it if you’re interested in reducing the amount of fur floating around in your house.

Have you used a FURminator brush before?  If so we’d love to hear what you thought about this brush.  Does it work well with you dog and does it keep your home fur free (or at least a little more fur free).

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What Are Dog Ear Infection Symptoms?

March 4, 2010 By 6 Comments

I have two dogs with floppy ears (if I include Derby, three) and early on I learned the answer to the question: What Are Dog Ear Infection Symptoms?

Only a few months after I was born my parents got a pure bred Golden Retriever, named Kiko.  I wrote a little bit about her in my Puppy In Training Timeline.  One thing I did not mention in my timeline was the fact that poor Kiko had chronic ear infections.  Later I would discover that this very common in floppy eared dogs and both my Labrador Retrievers, Derby and Stetson have had reoccurring ear infections.

Dog Ear Infection Symptoms

image by seeks2dream

One of the many things we learn as Guide Dog puppy raisers is to inspect our dogs from head to toe on a daily basis.  We do this by first turning our dogs “belly up” between our legs, getting them relaxed, and then feeling and inspecting every part of their body including the ears.  It’s during these inspections that I will first notice any kind of ear infection.  Pretty much every time I’ve found an ear infection in my dogs it begins with one ear being a bit dirty usually from some kind of discharge.   Basically in my experience the discharge can look anything like a little bit of extra dirt to wet looking slime.  Another common thing I’ve noticed is a redness in the ear and also sometimes the inside flap of the ear gets a leathery appearance.  One final symptom I’ve noticed is a change in smell.  A smelly ear is another possible sign of an ear infection.

Those are some of the most common dog ear infection symptoms I’ve noticed.  However, I had one experience with Derby where I did not really notice any unusual discharge.  Here are the symptoms I noticed with Derby:

  • Scratching the ear
  • Redness inside the ear
  • No discharge
  • Shaking of the head

I did not suspect an ear infection after these symptoms, but after a routine check up the vet determined that he did indeed have an ear infection.

Just a couple weeks ago Stetson and I made a trip to the veterinarian’s office to have his ears check.  This time it was a bacterial infection causing the  infection.  Last time it was a yeast infection.  I’m not too sure how many different kinds of ear infections there are, but so far Stetson and Derby have both had yeast and bacterial infections in their ears.  Treatment is different depending on the infection so I would not try to self-diagnose your dog.  If you notice an infection in your dogs ear make sure you get him checked out by your veterinarian.

What Cause Dog Ear Infections

Check out this post at Petfinder.com: What causes dog ear infections, and how can I prevent them

In the petfinder.com article the question is about floppy eared black labs just like my two boys.  Here’s a little bit from the article:

Certain breeds, such as Labradors and others with long, hanging ears, are more at risk of getting ear infections. Other dogs, like poodles, have a lot of hair in their ear canals that puts them at risk for infections when wax and dirt become trapped within the hair. Any breed of dog that has a type of allergic skin disease can suffer with chronic ear infections as well.

After reading that paragraph I guess Stetson is doubly predisposed to ear infections because he has dog skin allergies and floppy ears…no wonder why he seems to get ear infections 3-4 times a year!  I had heard before that long eared floppy dogs are much more likely to get ear infections than dogs with cropped or ears pointing upward like a German Shepherd.  However, for some reason Linus and his floppy ears have been immune to the ear infection (knock on wood).  The difference I’ve noticed between Linus and my two Labs is that his ear canal is much wider than either Stetson’s or Derby’s.  I’m guessing that less debris or dirt gets caught up in his ear canal (because it is much wider) making Linus’s ear a less susceptible to bacteria compared to Stetson and Derby.

How Do I Prevent Dog Ear Infections

More from the Petfinder.com article:

The most important thing you can do to prevent infections is to keep your dog’s ears clean. There are many different ear cleaners available. While over-the-counter products can be helpful, your veterinarian probably has products that are safer and more effective. Some ear cleaners even have medications in them that kill bacteria and the yeast that contributes to infections.

Our veterinarian prescribed a cleaning solution for Stetson and Derby’s ear that we squirt and drain about once a week to keep the ear canal clean.  I’m not sure if this is the medicated cleaner mentioned in the article, but it seems to keep their ears clean.

One final point on prevention: If you take your dog swimming or give him a bath make sure you thoroughly dry out his ears.  If water gets trapped in the ear canal it could be the cause of your puppies next ear infection.

Do you have any tips on how to prevent dog ear infections?  Do you know of any early dog ear infection symptoms that might help prevent a visit to the veterinarian?

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How Often Do You Groom Your Dog?

November 3, 2008 By 11 Comments

I’m going to go with the easy answer on this one: How Often Do You Groom Your Dog? It depends. That’s probably not the answer you were looking for and I can only offer you information based on what I’ve seen and done which is very limited in this area.

Why did this question arise? Well, I’d always heard that you shouldn’t bathe your dog much more than once a month because a dog does not produce natural oils and you’ll ultimately dry out his skin leading to skin conditions. Recently Stetson has had a skin condition and our veterinarian recommend that I try and bathe him about every other week to keep his coat and skin clean. Of course, like a good parent I questioned my vet who told me that Stetson would be perfectly fine bathing every other week.

The boys waiting patiently for their dog grooming session.

That brings to question my entire dog grooming routine. So, after this revelation I wouldn’t to let you know what I do with my dogs and find out exactly how often do you groom your dog?

My Dog Grooming Routine

First of all I wanted to mention that my three dogs all have slightly different fur, but for the most part it’s a short coat. Stetson’s coat is more coarse and he’s a pure-bred Labrador Retriever. Stetson sheds pretty much year round and like most dogs sheds more heavily during the summer months. Linus is a mixed breed (we think mostly Australian Shepherd) and he’s got very soft sligthly longer fur. He’s a seasonal shedder and fur falls off by the bushel about twice a year. Derby is a pure-bred Labrador Retriever and still a puppy. His coat is much shorter than Stetson’s and he’s been lightly shedding most of the summer.

I know every dogs coat will be different and require more or less grooming then my three dogs.

Anyways, on to my dog grooming routine for Linus, Stetson, and Derby:

  • Brush My Dogs Teeth – I try to do this twice a week. We’ve had vet assistants and doggy dental professionals come to our meetings and recommend anywhere from once a day to once a week. I think the majority of people don’t brush their dogs teeth at all.
  • Brush My Dogs Coat - I try to do this twice a week also. This will vary greatly depending on your dogs coat. A long coat requires much more attention and can often require daily brushing if not more….unless you like the dreadlock look. Some dogs may require professional grooming and cuts as well. We have several dog brushes, but prefer the FURminator deShedding Tool
  • Trimming My Dogs Coat – I have never trimmed my dogs coat either myself or professionally. None of my three dogs have a coat that requires trimming. Or family dogs (Golden Retriever, Border Collie, Cairn Terrier) have all required somewhat regular trimmings, but lucky for me my three dogs do just fine without a regular hair cut.
  • Clip My Dogs Nails – I try to do this a minimum of once a week. I don’t think I’m cutting the dig nails often enough. The real problem is I just don’t cut them short enough because I’m afraid of cutting the quick. I’m going to look into using a Dremel to grind the nail rather then the clippers to cut. We like the scissor style nail clippers and find them more effective then the guillotine clippers. We use the Bamboo Dog Nail Clipper with Styptic and File
  • Ear Cleaning – Once a week. If you have a floppy eared dog then you need to keep a close eye on his ears. Stetson has had four ear infections in about 1 1/2 years. Derby has had one. Luckily (knock on wood), Linus hasn’t had one in almost 4 years. The ear cleaning product we currently use was prescribed by our vet.
  • Doggy Baths – The controversial topic…how often should I bathe my dog? This is probable the topic I’ve heard most varying opinions. Once a week, once a month, once a year. I’m going with the safe answer again…it depends. Long coats and short coats will require more or less bathing. Dog lifestyles like camping and hunting dogs who often trot through the mud versus the toy dog breeds who never step foot outside a purse. As I mentioned earlier my vet has recommended bathing Stetson every other week or twice a month. I’m going to do the same for Derby and Linus.

That’s the dog grooming routine. Am I missing anything. Is there something extra you do for your dog on a regular basis. How does my dog grooming routine compare to yours?

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True Or False: A Dog’s Mouth Is Cleaner Than A Humans

March 12, 2008 By 5 Comments

Just the other day my dog Stetson licked my face and as a devote dog owner I had no problem with this (although as a Guide Dog in Training Stetson should not be licking). However, a friend of mine screamed out “ewwww, that’s gross!” I immediately reacted with “A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s!” The funny thing is I’ve heard that line many times throughout my life without any proof.

Is a dog’s mouth really cleaner then a human’s? Sometimes I find it hard to believe.

Dog’s Mouth Vs. Human’s Mouth

Why am I second guessing myself about what I said the other day? Well, as I said earlier I have no proof and haven’t done any research on this subject. Here’s my evidence against the dogs:

  1. My dogs don’t brush or floss there teeth twice a day – I only brush my dogs teeth about twice a week.
  2. My dogs both have “doggie breath” all the time. – Stetson’s is worse than Linus’s
  3. My dogs can and do lick themselves in places I cannot and do not.
  4. Some dogs enjoy eating there own and other animal feces (my parents dog).

I found this great quote on the About.com website:

“A dog’s mouth contains a lot of bacteria,” notes Dr. Gary Ask the Vet” Clemons. “Remember, a dog’s tongue is not only his wash cloth but also his toilet paper.”

The Verdict

So, is a dog’s mouth cleaner than a human’s? After extensive research (filtering through five or six articles on the internet) I have come to the conclusion that no a dog’s mouth is not cleaner than a human’s.

Where Did This Urban Legend Come From?

Evidently Doctor’s started this rumor. Early medical journals found that human bites were more likely to cause infection then a mammals bite including dogs. More recent findings have noted that other than bites to the hand human bites do not have any higher risk of infection than animal bites.

To sum up:

  • Originally it was thought that a human bite was more likely to cause infection then a dog bite. – starting the rumor that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s
  • New evidence shows that this is not true. – thus dispelling the rumor.

Conclusion

Why is a dog’s mouth not as clean as a human’s then? Mainly because of the points I mentioned above. A dog doesn’t care where he puts his mouth or tongue. He therefore collects more bacteria then a human on a daily basis. A dog also doesn’t brush and floss daily.

Have you heard this rumor before? What do you think about this evidence?

Here are a couple articles I used in research:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dogs/a/dog_breath.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_2003_Feb-March/ai_97515424

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Did You Miss Canine Dental Health Month?

March 6, 2008 By 3 Comments

February was canine dental health month and I missed it on my blog. However, I still wanted to get a post up about canine dental health. Last month during our Guide Dogs of America monthly meeting we were visited by a gentleman who performed Non-Anesthetic Dental care.

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of several presentations on non-anesthetic dental care and while I think it is a good thing for your dogs to receive non-anesthetic dental care I myself have not had any of my dogs receive non-anesthetic dental care.

OCGDA Meeting on Canine Dental Health

Dental HealthOne of the great benefits of being a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs of America is the great information and presentations you get at the meetings. During February’s monthly meeting we were taught how to properly brush our dogs teeth and told which toys are okay and not okay for our puppies.

Unfortunately it is rather difficult to explain in writing how to brush your pets teeth here are a few pointers we learned during our meeting.

  • Dog ToothpasteDon’t use regular people toothpaste. Use toothpaste made specifically for dogs. Stetson likes any of the toothpastes I’ve used. Linus prefers the Poultry Flavored Toothpaste
    in the image to the left.
  • At the meeting we were told we can use regular people tooth brushes (soft bristles).
  • Be sure to brush all the teeth on the outside and inside.
  • Remove anything stuck between the teeth
  • Of course they recommend non-anesthetic dental care for you dog if he/she qualifies (I don’t get my dogs this service).
  • Start brushing your puppies teeth early on – it’s much easier to get your puppy used to teeth brushing when he’s small then when he’s full grown.
  • It was recommended that we use the actual toothbrush over the little rubber finger brush. The reason being that the rubber finger brush doesn’t remove sediment as well as the regular brush.
  • Brush your puppies teeth at least once a day.
  • Make sure you use lots of praise when brushing your puppies teeth.

Price List For Non-Anesthetic Dental Care

The main reason I have not used Canine Non-Anesthetic Dental care is because of the price. Here is a price list we received at our meeting. Hopefully this will help you price compare if you are looking for a similar service.

Cleaning Schedule Cleaning Price
Initial Cleaning $165.00
Monthly Maintenance $28.00
Bi-Monthly Maintenance $56.00
Quarterly Maintenance $78.00
Semi-Annual Maintenance $109.00

If you are interested in this dental cleaning program and are local to Orange County, CA then please contact me in the comments area and I’ll send you additional information.

Do you get your puppy non-anesthetic dental care? Do you brush your puppy’s teeth regularly?

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How To Remove Tar From Dog Fur

August 13, 2007 By 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.

Dog Beach

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.

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