Keeping My Dog Safe From Poisons

With the kids (and me), there are always things left around the house that our dog might get into.  What are the things that I should watch out for to protect him?  I don’t want something that I left out after the game to make my doggie sick…

All dogs, but especially young dogs, are naturally curious creatures.  This is why we advise dog owners not only to know and be vigilant about potential poisons in and around the home, but also to learn to recognize the signs indicating a dog has eaten something poisonous, and then know what actions to take.  Just because something is safe for people to eat doesnt necessarily mean it is safe for our dogs to eat.

By following these tips, you can help protect your dog from accidental poisoning:

• Toxic foods include chocolate, avocado, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, alcoholic and caffeinated drinks, macadamia nuts, and chewing gum or candy containing xylitol (a sweetener that is safe for humans but toxic for dogs).
• Serious danger to pets continues from antifreeze/coolant, even though animal-friendly products-made with propylene glycol, not ethylene glycol-are now available.  Always wipe up antifreeze leaks or spills of any size. Pets are attracted to the sweet taste and can die from kidney failure if they ingest even a small amount of this highly toxic substance.
• Store poisonous baits used to rid your home of pests (rodents, snails, insects, etc.) in places that your dog cannot access.  Like antifreeze, some baits smell sweet but are very toxic to pets, causing severe internal bleeding.
• Keep pets away from common household cleaners (the fumes can be noxious) and heavy metals (such as lead) found in paint chips and linoleum.
• Consult with your veterinarian before giving your dog any vitamin, herbal supplement or medication made for humans.  Even small doses of medications of any kind-whether for humans or pets-can be lethal to pets.  Keep all medicines well out of your dogs reach.
• Many plants-even dead or dried-are toxic to pets. Whatever part of the plant may be dangerous (leaves, fruit, seeds), learn about the types of toxic plants that may grow in your home and surroundings (both cultivated and wild), and keep your pets away from them or remove them entirely.
• Keep your pets off lawns or gardens that have been treated with fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides.  If your dog has walked on treated lawns, wipe his feet clean as soon as you get home to avoid the possibility of him licking his paws and ingesting the poison.  Store all such chemicals in places your pet cant reach.
• Other toxic substances found outside include mushrooms and garden mulch.
•  Ask your veterinarian for a detailed list of all potentially poisonous items, substances and plants found around your home. 

Possible Symptoms of Poisoning (Toxicity) in Your Pet:

• Vomiting/upset stomach
• Labored OR shallow breathing
• Drooling
• Increased OR decreased heart rate
• Fever
• Hyperactivity OR sluggishness/lethargy
• Increased thirst OR lack of thirst or hunger
• Dilated pupils
• Stumbling or staggering
• Seizures or tremors
• Loss of consciousness

If you think your dog has ingested a dangerous substance contact your veterinarian or local animal hospital immediately.  If you are advised to bring the dog into the clinic, be sure to take along the packaging of the suspected substance or a sample of the plant you think your dog may have eaten. This can help the veterinarian know how best to treat your pet.  For more information or clarification, please contact us at Great South Florida Dog Trainers.

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Your Children and the Family Dog Playing Together

My kids like to play with our dog, but he gets a little too aggressive and the kids get scared.  What can I do?

We all want our kids to have a great experience with the family dog.  That is one of the “great family experiences” that follow all of us from being kids ourselves to being parents.  The trick is to balance the freedom and exuberance with safety and well-being.  We don’t want to completely hinder the play.  We also don’t want to have the kids scared whenever they see the dog.  Here are some tips that you should consider:

• If your kids are under the age of eight, there should always be an adult supervising the play activity or any activity between the kids and your family dog.
• Never “play rough” in the house.  Kids playing rough with the dog is never a good idea and we don’t want to introduce rough play and crazy canine excitement as the norm inside the house.
• Have your dog on a leash when he is playing with the kids.  This allows you to easily separate them if you feel anything is getting out of hand.
• Teach your kids not to push and poke the dog as a part of playtime.  This quickly heightens adrenaline and emulates a “tag, you’re it” environment.  Your dog will respond by nipping and jumping.  This is normally a frightening experience for the kids.
• Never play “tug-of-war”.  Your kids’ hands will get too close to your dog’s mouth.  As your dog tries to reacquire the “tug-of-war”, he might mistakenly bit your kid.  Again, this is not a good experience for your child.
• Play games like “chase the ball”.  Get four or five tennis balls and have your kids throw one out for your dog.  As he gets the first ball, throw the second and have your dog chase after the second.  Continue this process while you are picking up the discarded tennis balls and throw them.
• Hide toys and goodies around the yard and then have the kids encourage your dog (by pointing and calling him) to find them.  Praise him when he does.
• Practice obedience commands with your dog.  Have the kids call him to them with the “come” command.  Walk him on a leash in a circle around the yard.  Teach him to sit.

Tell your kids that if they ever feel afraid while playing with your family dog, stop what they are doing immediately and slowly stand up.  Stand still for about 30 seconds.  You can tell them that you want them to play like they are pretending to be a statue.  After that, slowly back up until they are away from your dog. 

During this time, you should also intervene, if you feel that it is necessary.  If your child can complete this by themselves, it will help build their confidence around dogs and minimize any potential of “fear of dogs” in the future. 

Our goal is to have a great time as a family and to instill a love of dogs in our kids.  Try some of these techniques and I am sure that you will experience some great results.  As always, please contact us if you have any questions at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Dog Safety at Home with Workmen

I am pretty sure that my dogs will be fine when friends come over, but sometimes I am not too sure that they are “happy” when we have a plumber or electrician come to fix something.  Should I keep them out so that they can “get used” to the contractor or should I put them away?

You must remember the one thing that our dogs want more than anything else in the world.  They want to feel safe.  As their leader; their teacher; their boss; it is my top priority to make sure that they always feel safe in any situation.

Let’s first look at the situation when we have some family friends or neighbors over. These are people that I know and I have a pretty good idea how they are going to react with my dogs.  If they have been over in the past, I also have a pretty good idea how my dogs will react to them.  Are they good friends or “Oh, it’s you again”?  When I am answering the door, I am greeting them with a relaxed, safe body language.  My dogs can read this interaction and understand that I am in charge and that these “new animals” entering our house (territory) have been approved by me.  Since my guests have already met my dogs on a prior visit or understand that they are coming to a house with dogs, they are already prepared for the situation and they won’t communicate inappropriate posture in their body language.

When we have people visit, we are normally with them most of the time. Because of this, we can constantly reassure our dogs that everything is OK.  We can also demonstrate the appropriate way for our guests and dogs to meet to determine the level of interaction that would be appropriate between the two.  The bottom line is that when we have guests over, we have already (knowingly or not) prepared for the event so that our dogs will feel safe through our leadership.  Everything is fine.

Now, let’s change course and talk about having workmen or other contractors in our home.  The first thing that we should understand is that the reason we have workmen over is because something is broken.  We are already slightly stressed over that.  When we greet them at the door, we are not greeting a friend, but a stranger.  As we are trying to assess this individual, our body language communicates that we are not completely confident and that we have a little bit of a “defense mechanism” in place.  All of this puts our dogs on warning that they might need to come to our rescue.

We also have no idea if the contractor likes or is afraid of dogs.  They might have dogs, but beat them on a regular basis.  The contractor will display that aggressive/disrespectful body language to our dogs.  On the other hand, they might love dogs and our dogs might just want to play with them while they are there trying to fix our problem.  All of this adds confusion to the situation and diminishes our dogs’ focus on our leadership abilities.

With this said, we have found that it is best to put our dogs in a secure location in another part of the house when we have contractors over.  This allows us to be in control of their experience so that we can continue to show our leadership and keep them safe.  It also allows the contractors to work in peace and to get their job done as quickly as possible. 

It would be best to be with your dogs while the contractors are there.  Have them in your office with you or in the back yard playing with you.  This allows you to redirect their attention back to you if they start to become too focused on the sounds the contractors might be making.  It is your way to confirm “It’s OK, you are with me”.  Maintain your leadership and role of caregiver and you will secure your dogs’ respect, love, and obedience.  If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in Weston.

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Playing With Your Dog Outside in Summer Heat

Yes, I know that it is never "cold" down here in South Florida, but it really starts to get nasty into the summer months.  Should I change the way I play with Wolfie during this time?

In a very quick and simple answer, "yes".  The most important factor that should be taken into consideration is the summer heat.  Perspiration is the way that our body regulates its temperature to stay healthy and survive.  We perspire through our skin.  This gives us a very large ability to regulate our body temperature.  Wolfie perspires through his mouth; panting.  This affords a far less opportunity for body temperature regulation in extreme situations (hot South Florida summer day).

Because of this, we have to take extra precautions during the hot, summer months when playing outside with Wolfie.  Here are some tips:

• Only play outside before 9AM in the morning and 7:30PM in the evening as the sun is low on the horizon.  Never play for more than 15 minutes without taking a break.
• Always have plenty of water for Wolfie.  Even if he seems uninterested, guide him to the water from time to time.  Make it a game and splash the water in the bowl to get his attention.
• If you have a pool and Wolfie enjoys the water, throw the ball in the pool to have him jump in and retrieve it.  This will naturally cool him off.
• If Wolfie likes the water and you dont have a pool, use your hose to crate a rain shower so he can jump up and try to "eat the rain drops".
• If possible, play on a grassy, cool surface.  Concrete or asphalt can get hot quickly and since we are normally wearing shoes, we dont know just how hot the surface is.  If you have to play on these surfaces, get down and put your entire palm on the surface to check its temperature.
• Mix up your playing with some active fetch and chase the ball with more quiet grooming and scatter feeding.
• Put a leash on Wolfie and practice some attentive walking.  This is a slower exercise and also helps to promote focused obedience. You can also practice come, sit, and stay while you have him on the leash.
• Short snouted dogs are more susceptible to heat exhaustion than long snouted dogs (Pug vs Lab).  Because of that, take extra precautions when playing with your short snouted dog outside. You might think about shortening your play times or playing earlier in the morning and later in the evening.
• It is OK to have some quiet, outside time during the day if you manage it properly.  Quiet time bonding is also a very important part of your relationship with Wolfie.  Go outside and sit in the shade with Wolfie.  You can read a book or tweet on your tablet.  Give Wolfie a toy, a goodie, or scatter feed.  Still have plenty of water for Wolfie.  Dont stay out for more than 30 minutes and come inside if Wolfie becomes too active or it gets just too stifling. 
• When you and Wolfie come inside, make sure that he still has some water to re-hydrate.

Heat exhaustion is a very serious issue for dogs in the summer.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.  If Wolfie appears overly lethargic after being outside, call your veterinarian immediately.

"Mad dogs and Englishmen to out in the midday sun"

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