Beating the Heat

In our neck of the woods we are in a major heat wave.  High humidity and temperatures in the mid 90's daily.  Needless to say, it is very uncomfortable!  Dog owners must remember if is uncomfortable for them, it is uncomfortable for their dogs.  Since dogs can't speak to us, (at least not in our human language) we need to recognize their signals of discomfort and distress and have techniques and products in place to help cool our pups.

Let me start with a giant reminder...DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DOG IN A PARKED CAR FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME DURING WARM MONTHS OF THE YEAR!!!  Please look online at the multitude of information to teach yourself about just how fast your car heats up (even with windows cracked) and how quickly this can kill a dog.  Also, PLEASE TEST GROUND SURFACE TEMPERATURE WITH YOUR OWN FEET BEFORE WALKING YOUR DOG ON IT. IT CAN AND DOES BURN THEIR PAW PADS!  Sorry for the caps, but as a dog lover, these two issues are especially concerning to me.  That all being said, let me move on.  The "cool" people over at The Uncommon Dog designed an awesome infographic to give you quick, helpful tips and information with just a simple glance.

Kiddie pools are becoming ever more popular to dog owners.  Maybe soon someone will actually market "doggie pools"!  Until then, kid pools do the job.  Whether you have a "soaker" like my Piper or a "splasher" like Murray, kiddie pools do the trick for a quickie cool down.  Piper plops himself right in and stays a while.  You can almost hear the "ahhh" this week when he plunks himself down sending much of the pool water cascading out and down my yard.  Murray is not a soaker.  He likes to play in the pool.  Dunking his head for a ball, kicking his paws, and running and jumping in are his pool time preferneces.  Either way, the result is the same...one cool dog!

Does your pup have a favorite spot to lay in your yard?  Piper likes our patio.  Murray likes to be under our pool deck.  Sometimes all I do is wet them and our patio/ground down for a refreshing spot to nap in the shade.  Wetting down your dog and a shady spot in your yard can do just the trick!

Make sure plenty of fresh, cool water is readily available at all times in the heat.  One fill of a big bowl a day is not sufficient.  Would YOU want to drink water that has been sitting out in the heat all day?  No!  Neither does your dog.  Refresh it with a refill a few times a day.  I even add ice!

Don't be an AC hog.  If you have air conditioning in only one room of your house, make sure your dog gets to spend some time in their with you!  We're all in need of need a cool break, even your dog.

A couple other items that I have found to prolong their cooling off period are "cool collars" and "cool beds".  There are several styles and brand of each of these on the market, so research one that fits you specifically.  Both the collars and the beds are designed to remain cool for a length of time to help keep your dog at a more comfortable temperature.  I have found mine both work very well, and I would recommend looking into both of these.

So, please make sure you are keeping a close eye on your furry friends.  They depend completely on you to keep them safe.  Please don't let them down.

An Award!

We received the Versatile Blogger award from All Things Collie! Thank you so very much!  These collies are some beautiful dogs and their mom writes awesome posts! I really enjoy following them.  Please stop by their blog and say hey!   Now the Versatile Blogger Rules:

Add the Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post.  

Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post.  

Pass the award along to some favorite bloggers.  Contact the chosen bloggers and let them know about the award. 

Share Seven Things About Yourself.  

Seven things about us:
1. I have been blogging for one whole year now!
2. We travel as a family.  Dogs and humans together.
3. I (Murray) have one dog brother (Piper) and two cat brothers.
4. We just found a beehive in our yard!  Ut Oh!
5. We got a new "cool bed" for the summer!
6. This is our 4th award in our blogging lifetime :)
7. I (Murray's mom) am taking a clicker training course online and loving it!  :)

 I would like to give the Versatile Blogger award to the following blogs:

Small Tales
RA HUSKY
Jo's World
A Tail of Two Cardis
The Legacy Chronicles
Mollie & Alfie
Dachshund Nola
Urban Hounds
The Hailey and Zaphod Chronicles
Murphy & Stanley
FRANKly and ERNESTly Speaking
Molly The Wally
bichonpawz
Furries of Whisppy
Sugar The Golden Retriever Dog Blog

I could go on and on as I follow so many amazing bloggers.  I made myself stop at 15.   

Our First Trip of the Summer!

A few pics of our first camping trip of the season!  Good food, some splashing around in the river and we even visited my alma mater!  We had lots of fun!

Are we there yet?

Mom's college

This posing stuff is BORING!

Piper, where you goin?

Out for a stroll

Honorary 5th Grader

Friday, June 21 was "Bring Your Dog to Work Day"!  Friday, June 21 was also MY last day of work for the summer (I teach) and with all of the last day activities a school has, I asked my principal if Murray could come to work a day or two before June 21.  I teach 5th grade and my class had heard tons and tons about my Murray this year.  They heard stories, saw pictures and probably felt like he was some kind of celebrity!  My kids couldn't wait to meet him!  So, on Wednesday, June 19, Murray became a 5th grader for a day.  Other than walking in the noisy hallways during dismissal (it's a bit chaotic), he LOVED his experience.  He loved the kids, the attention, and the open space when the kids went home.  The kids had a half day, but Murray worked all day with me.  He got to roam and explore a bit once the kiddos were gone.  He was very well behaved, other than a couple barks at our custodian BOL!  All in all, a great day!  He was POOPED at bedtime.  In the end our school kind of had a dog WEEK!  Our 2nd grade teacher brought in her two new havanese puppies on Monday, our math teacher brought in her bulldog pup on Tuesday, Murray went in on Wednesday and our kindergarten teacher brought in her schnauzer on Thursday.  I hope this becomes an annual tradition!  It was lots of fun! 

Where did all the kids go?

Summer School

While my teaching (human kids) days are coming to an end for summer, I am just beginning something I have been wanting to do for a long long time!  I have just signed up to take Karen Pryor's online "dog trainer foundations" course.  I am super excited! It is all positive reinforcement based using clickers.  It also includes teachings on how to better understand and interpret dog emotional signals and behaviors.  The whole course will take 12 weeks or less.  My summer vacation is the perfect time!  Murray should be an ideal partner for me to work through this course with.  I am looking forward to our summer learning and bonding together!  I hope to share my adventures along the way here.  Stay tuned...

Murray and Dad doing "down stay"

He graduated "basic obedience" last year...will WE graduate this time together?  Hmm

Happy Birthday Murray!

Happy 6th Birthday to my boy Murray!  You are the most loving, sweetest, silliest and most adorable dog I've ever known.  I am convinced you are made of perfect pure joy.  You love us and we sure do love you!

Love,

 Mom and Dad

New Food!

Every time The Whole Dog Journal comes out with their annual food reviews, I am sitting down with my copy and going through with with a careful eye.  At our house we  had been feeding Taste of the Wild for the past year or more, but got worried and discouraged when a recall came out last year.  We got even more worried and discouraged when supposedly all their tainted food was removed from store shelves, yet I found myself home with a bag weeks after the recall had been out.  It was never fed to my boys, and it was returned quickly.  So, this year when I was looking through the high end foods being recommended, one in particular caught my eye.  I really liked the sounds of Nutri Source Purevita.  I had a few specific things I knew I wanted in my new dog food, and this one had them all and more!  First, I wanted a grain free food.  Purevita carries three flavors of grain free.  That brings me to my next qualification...flavors.  Murray tires of a flavor and starts boycotting foods after too long (or I should probably say NOT too long).  I have to swicth up flavors regularly to keep him happy and eating, so it was key to have two or three choices.  Purevita comes in grain free salmon, turkey and bison.  Next, I was careful to look over the guaranteed analysis to check things like protein and fat levels.  I didn't want a food too high in protein.  My vet recommended around 22%.  I was shocked to see how many foods have really high protein!  I was no happy to find out I had been feeding foods much too high in protein in the past!  Purevita is a touch higher than 22% but I am comfortable mid twenties.  Finally, I wanted a food produced here in the USA.  I wanted to know where the food I was feeding was coming from to keep my worries at bay.  Nutri Source products are made in Perham, Minnesota by a company called Tuffy's Pet Foods

The boys have been enjoying Nutri Source Purevita for a couple months now and seem to be doing very well on it and we didn't have any noticeable digestive issues in our food switch-over.  I am very happy so far.  I am in no way affiliated with Nutri Source, I just simply wanted to share my experience with a good product I have found.  I know if you're anything like me, having some good, high quality, safe foods in the back of your mind is great information to have.  I would definitely recommend Nutri Source Purevita.