Posts Tagged ‘choke collar’
Dog Beds vs The Floor, Which Would You Choose?
As pet owners we treat our pets as if they were family. They eat our scraps of food (oops did I say that), the kids sneak their vegetables to them, or did you think the kids were actually eating them?
I know I want the best for my pets. As they get older it is harder for them to become more comfortable. They get achy too. They have joint problems that make it hard to find a comfortable position to lie down. I have tried to buy simple foam or the egg crate foam, but as many times as I had to buy it, it became more and more expensive especially when I always have so many dogs.
I decided to actually use my money wisely, for a change. There are a variety of beds available that I liked for my friends like the heated dog bed or the orthopedic dog bed that have the memory foam in them. I also found, believe it or not, a bed that is heated and gives the dog a massage! I just have to get one and let you know about it later. I will keep you updated.
Charlie’s Chair Needs A Home
I have written about Charlie before, but I wanted to elaborate further on what his condition is and the wonderful people, besides my family, that helped me through it. Let me first tell you about Charlie. He was a bouncy, furry, loveable little boy. He was always up for chasing a ball or, of course, the squirrels. He would always squeak with joy when you came home. When he turned 8 we noticed that he was dragging his back paws. Then he started tripping over nothing. When we took him to vet he was, basically, “diagnosed” with something call Degenerative Myeolopathy (DM for short). It is a condition that affects the spinal column and basically breaks down the body and systems of the body. We were told that there was no cure. He would gradually deteriorate. The vet gave him a few months until he would have to be “put down”.
Well, I found the best website, www.mzjf.com, that contained a lot of information for me and everyone else going through this. I never realized that it was happening to so many. Their forums were wonderful support and had recipes and medicine (through a Pharmaceutical company) to help slow down the progression.
We bought him a wheelchair in February 2008. That was about 6 months after he was diagnosed. He was in doggie diapers and we used a sling to move him around in the house. He happily used the wheelchair for a year before it was his time to cross the rainbow bridge. I wanted to share this information in case you thought you were alone in this. Feel free to contact me through my website to get information on Charlie’s wheelchair as I have it sitting in my garage waiting for someone who may need it.
I have already found homes for his dog harnesses, orthopedic dog bed and other supplies and his dog toys have been handed down to his sister and “cousins”.
Marina the Bear!!
It seems to me that almost every dog I get, and it has been a lot, has to have an amount of fur that would make a dozen great sweaters or make a multiple amount of bird nests. Marina is one of those dogs. Just take a look at her picture! That’s just her face! All of the dog collars I have used seem to disappear in her fur.
I have tried all the newest concoctions out there. No matter what I do she always winds up with the knots behind her ears or the mats under her tail. And we won’t talk about the mess I found this weekend on her hind end. Its fall and it seems she is so furry that I couldn’t see all the leaves she had gathered while going to the bathroom until after she was in the house. Just wonderful. I spent over an hour just brushing and combing her hind end that I never made it to the front or belly. I guess I have to work in stages and maybe one day I can get it all in one day. Wish me luck.
Dogs That Pull
To prevent your dog from dragging you down the street, there are a number of measures you can take to successfully train them to walk in stride. For larger dogs, a choke collar is advisable. This collar gives the dog a small pinch whenever they pull on the leash too hard. For smaller dogs, nose collars and dog harnesses are advisable because they will pull back on the dog’s head (nose collar), or front legs (harness) whenever they pull too hard, and train them gradually to walk with you.
In addition to these methods, praise and treats following a tug on the leash or when the dog walks with you in stride will go a long way.