Out and About

 Hi,
With the approach of summer you may be planning a few days off in the countryside,
so the flavour of this blog is "out and about".
I am writing this on unlucky Friday 13th, a day when some people would prefer
to stay safely in bed all day. (Actually there a few who would like to stay
in bed all day on any day of the month). Luck is a funny thing, you may believe
in it or just consider luck is the out come of random statistical happenings.
Locally there was a recent case of a dog that happened to have luck on his side.
The incident was about a dog named Cochyn an Irish Setter, who had luck on
his side on 10th April, when he was rescued by Cardigan RNLI volunteers.

The lifeboat teams were out on a training exercise in their lifeboats when the
coastguard received a 999 call from a member of the public reporting that a
dog had been seen falling down the cliffs at Mwnt in west Wales. Because the
lifeboats were close by they were able to rescue the dog very quickly.

Cochyn escaped with little more than cuts and bruising and was happily reunited
with his owner on Mwnt beach.
I must add I am always very concerned about dogs running free on cliff tops.
It only takes a second for things to go wrong. It is always safer to keep a
dog on the lead when out walking.
There is an exception to this rule and that is if you were walking through
a field when you became surrounded by a herd of cows. In this case release your
dog because it will usually easily out run the cows and should be safe - as
for yourself -ah!, well that's for a another blog in the future.
With the hope of some very warm sunny days ahead, we have to remember to consider
our dogs when we take them out with us either walking or in the car. This includes
the following

Always provide your dog with plenty of (preferably) cool water to drink. You
may find places for your dog to drink but carrying a small bottle is sensible.


When resting during a walk (or even at home) make sure your dog rests in a shady
place out of direct sunlight. (Many short coated dogs can get sunburn especially
underneath if they lie for long periods in direct sunlight)


Never leave your dog in a locked car or with the windows closed or in an unshaded
spot (remember the sun moves round and a shady spot can become unshaded quite
quickly)


PS. If you require a non-spill water bowl, to carry with you in the car, take
a look at the feed bowl catalogue on the dog care website:-

http://www.dogtraining-tips.co.uk/catalogue-feedbowls.htm

Sunny Days

During the recent hot spell, I noticed that our medium coated German shepherd seemed to be panting excessively. Although I put this down to the hot humid weather I still decided to take the dog to the vet for  a heart check. Fortunately every thing was fine and there were no problems.

The situation reminded me of an incident, many years ago when the family had two Rhodesian Ridgeback Dogs.
These dogs originate from a hot climate and have a short coat so they are reasonably heat tolerant.

At the time we lived in a small market town and I used to take the dogs, on leads, along several roads before reaching an open space where the dogs could run free.

One very hot day, hot enough to melt some of the tarmac on the roads, I took the dogs for a walk to the usual place for a short exercise session. On returning home I noticed both dogs were distressed and panting excessively. I was quite worried at the time and checked over the dogs as best as I could. I noticed that during these examinations I had got road tar over my jeans transferred from the dog's paws.

This struck a chord, I remembered that dogs partly transpire (that's "sweat") through their paws. The coating of tar on the dog's feet was partially sealing the pads and preventing transpiration. The paws were fully cleaned and washed with both dogs returning more or less to normal within 15 minutes.

This sort of event is not common, however, it shows how easy it is to get caught out even if you are very careful about your dog's welfare.

In case we are treated more hot days later in the year:

Always provide your dog with plenty of cool water to drink.

Make sure your dog is located in a shady place out of direct sunlight. (many short coated dogs can get sunburn especially underneath if they lie for long periods in direct sunlight)

Never leave your dog in a locked car or with the windows closed or in an unshaded spot (remember the sun moves round and a shade spot can become unshaded quite quickly)

But of course you know all this already, don't you.

Best regards,

DD

PS. If you require a non-spill water bowl, to carry with you in the car, take a look at the dog care website:-

   www.dogtraining-tips.co.uk


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