Removing ticks is not difficult

Removing a tick from your dog is easy, but make sure you do not touch the tick with your fingers (use gloves and tweezers).

1.Grab the tick by the mouth parts or head, not the body.
2. With a smooth motion, pull firmly straight outward without twisting the tick.
3. Clean the spot where the tick bit your dog with a disinfectant.

Good luck!

Black dogs often overlooked at shelters

I have two black dogs. They are real beauties with their shiny black fur and brown eyes. Both are rescue pets. I am lucky to have them, but black dogs are not adopted as often as lighter colored dogs from shelters.

Many factors enter into what dog a person chooses to adopt when going to a shelter to rescue a pet. Eye contact, visibility, and interaction are things that lead to this choice.

Often, the lighting is poor in a shelter and black dogs are more difficult to see by people browsing by the kennels. Darker eyes are not as easy to catch and make contact with. This makes eye contact less frequent between the dog and prospective owners. Also, the interaction is less frequent if people are not actively engaging the dog because they are not as visible.

When two dogs of equal temperment, one light colored and one black, were up for adoption, the lighter one was almost always adopted first. Many great pets are being passed up because they are unnoticed at the shelter.

Give each kennel a long look to get to know the dog that is inside. Those black beauties waiting for adoption make wonderful pets.

Keeping your dog’s eyes safe

Your dog is very vulnerable to eye injuries because he is not able to talk to you. He is lower to the ground than you are, often has his head out of the car window when going for a ride, and is probably at your side when you do projects that involve chemicals, cleaners, or paint.

We all know that feeling of having a little eyelash in our eye. It hurts, scratches, itches, and is very uncomfortable. Injuries that involve scratching of the cornea, or damage to the eye in any other way such as chemicals in the eye, are very painful and your beloved pet cannot even tell you about the pain he feels. The injury is usually left untreated because you do not know it exists, and your dog suffers through the pain.

If you follow these simple tips, you will help to drastically reduce your dog’s chance of getting an eye injury:

1. Do not spray any cleaners, deodorizers, or chemicals around your pet. Just make sure your dog is out of the area.

2. Do not let your dog put his head out of the window when you take him in your vehicle.

3. Always keep your dog on a leash when you take him outside of your yard so that he does not get injured running through brush, get in a fight with another dog or cat, or get injured on a broken fence wire.
4. Do not get shampoo or anti-flea/tick products in your dog’s eyes. Wipe his face and around his eyes with a wet cloth with no shampoo on it.

Have a great week!

Top 10 breeds that bite

I believe that a dog’s disposition is greatly determined by how the owner treats and trains the dog, but the CDC recently published a list of the top 10 dog breeds that are most likely to bite a postal worker.

This list was put together based upon data from last year regarding dog bites and postal workers. I own a Rotty and a Doby, and both are gentle as can be, while our neighbor owns a Golden Retreiver that would bite without warning if it had the chance.

Don’t let this list give you the wrong impression of these breeds, or a false sense of security with other breeds.

1. Pit Bulls
2. Rottweilers
3. German Shepherds
4. Huskies
5. Alaskan Malamutes
6. Doberman pinschers
7. Chows
8. Great Danes
9. Saint Bernards
10. Akitas

Heartworm passed by mosquitos

Did you know that heart worms are transmitted by a mosquito?

When a mosquito feeds off the blood of an animal with heart worm disease, then feeds off the blood of another animal, the heart worm larvae are injected under the skin of the second animal. The larvae eventually make it through the bloodstream to the right side of the dog’s heart where they settle in.

The female heart worm can grow up to 12 inches long inside your dog’s heart, and will eventually have about 100 – 1000 offspring or larvae of her own that grow inside your dog’s heart. The heart worms will travel to your dog’s lungs when they run out of room in the heart, and if your dog is not treated, he will die of heart failure.

The prevention and treatment of heart worm is easy! Talk with your vet to come up with a plan that is best for your dog.