K-9 Magazine's daily digest had a good bit on Why Dogs Pant.  It is a question I know I get a lot and also get many comments as I walk my panting dog.  Though this article doesn't cover all the reasons dogs pant, it does give you the basics.  Enjoy the quick read!

Why Do Dogs Pant?

Added by Jasmine Kleine | Promoted by: petbuzz

We love to know as much about our four legged pals as possible and one of the questions we often get is 'why do dogs pant?'. After all, when we get hot and bothered yes, we might sweat and breath heavier but we don't roll our tongues out and pant away. So just exactly why do dogs pant? 

Unlike horses, dogs do not sweat through the skin; they sweat through the tongue and nose, so that when a dog is panting, he is not necessarily thirsty. He is just sweating. Naturally if exertion makes a dog pant for long, he loses fluid, which he will have to replace by drinking water. Panting does not necessarily mean thirst, but a thirsty dog will often pant.

Panting: An Early Warning Sign of Something More Serious?
Excessive panting may indicate distress, and dogs should be taken into a shady or cool place or they may get a heatstroke. It is not unknown for dogs to die at shows in hot weather from heatstroke.

If a stroke is threatened, immediately put cold compresses to the dog's head or, if the temperature is extremely high, immerse the dog in cold water until the temperature is reduced to about 103°, which is fairly safe for a dog. Of course the animal must be dried off, or chill may result.

If the animal has not lost consciousness, cool drinks are invaluable. Shutting dogs in cars with the windows closed is one cause of heatstroke. Only thoughtless owners would do such a thing.

So there you have it, dogs pant because they don't sweat in the same way we do. Panting is the dog's own unique cooling system, it allows them to cool their body by sweating via their tongues.

I hope you all find this information useful and maybe even helpful. 

Guilty Dog

I had a client forward me this video.  I know it has been around a bit and even highlighted on Good Morning America.  But it was sent to me in a fun spirit, I always talk in my classes about dog's "acting" guilty when they chew up your favorite pair of shoes or get into the trash.  My lecture is goes something along the lines of it is submissive behavior based on your tone and energy, blah, blah, blah.  Anyway, I had a client in class tell me her dog really knew what she had done wrong and that was that.  I will be the first to admit I think my dog knows exactly what he has done when he eats the cat food.  

So to prove a point, she sent me this video, which I think is just adorable.  Both of the dogs in this video just stole my heart!  Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Don't forget to do something fun with your pooch this weekend!

Dogs Found Buried In Trash

Petside.com had such a disturbing story they including in their newsletter yesterday.  It is an animal cruelty story coming out of Philadelphia that will make your skin crawl.  I believe that knowledge is power, so I am sharing this with you so we can learn from other's mistakes.  Please, if you should ever see anything like this from a neighbor or a stranger, call the authorities and give the animals the best chance of survival.  Please take a moment to read...

This morning news broke of an animal cruelty story that can only be called chilling and disturbing, to say the least. According to the NBC Philadelphia affiliate, two emaciated dogs have been discovered in the backyard of a home in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia. The dogs, two pit-bull mixes, were found starving and buried in trash.
According to authorities, police originally were called to search the home for a suspect believed to be involved in an assault case. Upon arriving to the home and conducting their search, however, they found the bodies of the pit-bulls piled in the trash in the backyard.
Authorities also said they found a starving cat with numerous fleas and parasites in the home as well.

Soon after, police called the PSPCA to come and remove the animals. The dogs were taken to a veterinary hospital for care and are receiving SPCA medical treatment. They're expected to recover.

For what can only be described as their utter neglect, the entire family will face charges of animal cruelty.

 The only good thing here is that the animals are safe now and have a chance to recover and hopefully find good homes. This just makes me sick that people could be so cruel to innocent beings.  These animals depend on us for their basic needs, it is a sick and disgusting thing to do to deny them that.

What do you think?

Know Your Dog

The more dogs I train, the more one thing becomes more and more clear...owners must know the dog they have.  Be it that your dog doesn't like small white dogs, your dog loves all people and wants to lick them, your dog is scared of the environment, whoever they may be, you as an owner have a responsibility to really know the dog you have.

I'm sure you are all wondering where on earth I am going with this.  I am just amazed at how many dog owners don't understand the dog they own.  Training is great, but if you don't understand the proper way to support or manage your dog, you may be missing the mark.

I had a training over the weekend with a very large dog.  Owners of giant dogs have a responsibility to make sure that their dog does not jump, bite, and above all will listen.  It is no longer a matter of obedience, due to the size of the dog, it is about safety.  First, the owners were really not be honest with me or themselves about the state of the dog.  Today I am looking at my bruised body from the amount of bites I took from an over sized dog that never learned not to mouth and learned not just to jump, but to jump up and hold on.  Can I fix this?  Not completely, but I can teach them to manage it and at least reduce a lot of this behavior.

It is just sad that this dog could have been so different with the right guidance from the beginning.  Owners should learn about the breed and breed tendencies if they are getting a pure bred dog.  As well, socialize your dog, not just with other dogs, but the world.  Owners need to understand the tone that works best with their dog, it may be stern, it may be light, but not all dogs respond to the same tone.  Figure out an exercise routine that fits you and your dog's schedule.  Believe it or not, some basic problems can be reduced considerably or even disappear with the proper exercise.  And last but not least, find the equipment that is the best for your dog.  Just because you used a prong collar in the past, doesn't mean it is the right thing to use.  There are so many options out there, start with the least corrective and go up from there, in my opinion choke chains and prongs should only be used as a last resort, not a first option.

Beyond safety and training, knowing your dog will allow you to have a connection with your dog that will benefit your relationship in all aspects.  Having that connection will allow you to know when they are not themselves, due to sickness or otherwise.  It also will allow them to trust you more and that will just open the door for so many things.

For more information on training with Bark & Clark, bark on the link:  Bark!

Dogs Helping Autistic Children

K-9 Magazine has published an article about a new initiative in the UK.  Sheffield based Support Dogs, one of the UK’s leading charities dedicated to training assistance dogs, in February of 2008, launched a £1 million appeal to help it to introduce a unique national initiative to provide dogs specially trained to help children with Autism.  Support Dogs trained the UK’s first Autism Assistance Dog with the support of Irish Guide Dogs, which has run a successful program in Ireland for over three years.

This program is so interesting to me.  I always am amazed at service dogs, but this is very unique in the way the dogs help the children.  

Autism Assistance Dogs make a real and very positive difference to the lives of children with Autism and their families and the work by Irish Guide Dogs has already  identified a number of direct benefits:

·        Improved safety levels for children with autism through control of the child by commanding the dog which acts as an anchor.

·        Improved behaviour and socialisation skills through acting as a constant companion and forming a unique bond.

·        Creates freedom for the child and family to go out from the home, allowing full public access – shops, restaurants, hotels and schools.

·        Expands the child’s capabilities to experience more from life.

·        Calms the child thereby increasing attention span and improving aptitude for learning.

·        Reduces stress for all family members.

·        Teaches the child responsibilities.

·        Positive changes in behaviour, lower aggression level and comfort when upset.

The goals for this new initiative are ambitious, a target of £1 million to fund the first four years of the program (allowing them to provide an inclusive national service with no regional restrictions), train 40 dogs every year by 2012, this meaning that 68 dogs will be trained by the end of the first four years.  Which means an estimated 300 people will be helped and they will have four fully qualified full time Autism Assistance Dog trainers.

This is such a great program and I look forward to hearing the success stories.  

To read the full article, bark on the link:  Bark!

Dog With Expensive Taste

This dog has very expensive taste! Good thing Honeybun is okay.  Have fun viewing this funny little clip!  Happy Friday.

Dog Rescued Then Escapes

This is an odd story all around.  A Pomeranian named Malibu, who was medically prescribed to Shalanon Brooks for emotional support, was rescued from a scorching car only to escape from the rescuers.

Shalanon Brooks went to Six Flags Magic Mountain with Malibu in tote.  Brooks claims that she made the decision to leave Malibu in the car with food and water and cracked windows when the zipper broke on the dog carrier she’d brought.  With the temperature rising over 80 degrees, security officers saw the dog in the car, which was in such distress they believed the dog to be dead.  They broke into the car and rescued Malibu, they then took her to the Six Flags kennel to revived her with water and cool air temperatures.

Once Malibu was feeling better, a staff member was replenishing her water and the little dog bolted, heading for the parking lot.  Unfortunately, she has not been seen since.

Now, Shalanon Brooks is upset and blaming Six Flags for their actions.  She claims that her actions never endangered her dogs life.  However, it is standard practice at Six Flags to rescue any animals left in cars.

I personally believe Shalanon should just thank the staff at Six Flags for saving her dog's life and should blame no one but herself for the fact that she no longer has her dog.  Why would you bring a dog to an amusement park in the first place?  Even if you thought you could bring the dog in, when you found you couldn't wouldn't you figure out a safe place for your pet?  

Below is the video with more of the story, you can decide for yourself what you think would be the proper actions and who is right in this case.

For the full story, bark on the link:  Bark!