Swimming in Humidity

Hi all....  given the humidity and heat, I just wanted to post a quick reminder about the possibilities for dog-swimming at Prospect Park. Don't keep your dogs indoors! Just give them lots of water, sit in the shade a lot, gallivant in fountains and go swimming!

To reach Prospect Park Lake's paddling area, head to
the northwestern tip of the large body of water indicated by the map.
Dog Beach is at the northwestern (upper) tip
of the little body of water at the top of the map.

So, easiest to reach from Prospect Heights and Park Slope is Dog Beach. To get there, start at what is called the Tennis House, off of the 9th St. entrance, and walk to the foot of the path leading downhill. It's just a tiny little cove in which to take a dip and play a wee bit of fetch, and there are lots of other dogs there too. 

However, for real swimming, and plenty of room for full-on fetching, and without competition for space with other dogs - I really like bringing my pups a little further into the park, to Prospect Park Lake, which has a less dog-visited beach. 

Stress, Boarding & Bloat

When we first got Jet -- my childhood black lab -- from the pound, his eyes were not so much pleading, as full of fear. He had a clear history of abuse and neglect, and was such a nervous creature that a year after taking him home we were hardly able to touch his nose without a snap! Since I was a kid, I was able to spend hours every day with him, investing the time he needed to trust humans again. After a few years, he finally let me stroke his paws and his ear-tips. Like even the most adventurous human, he needed a calming, consistent environment, a sure sense of home.

When I was twenty, my parents moved to Chicago and took Jet with them. When they went out of town they boarded Jet at a kennel in the city. This made me incredibly nervous, since Jet was a biter and did not like other dogs, and I knew the kennel kept him caged pretty much at all times. I just could imagine him barking for days on end (he would bark so much his voice would get hoarse) - and my parents were away for two weeks.

And yes, he died of Bloat in there. I don't mean to be alarmist, but I have a strong feeling that it was the stress of being boarded in a kennel that triggered the attack.

Raw Food for Dogs

Think about it: How long have dogs been eating dog food? About as long as we've been eating processed foods like Lucky Charms and Cheezits.

1978 

After World War Two, the same consumption patterns which took hold of our culture, took hold of our dog's foodbowls.

1963 

We have been feeding our dogs a lot of the same kind of junk we've been eating ourselves.

1982

Just like we ate raw, unprocessed foods for thousands of years, so did our dogs. There are countless reasons to feed your dog raw meat:

1. Raw food can greatly reduce the risk of your dog developing health conditions of all kinds, ranging from simple diarrhea to the greatest risk to dogs after cancer - bloat (see the next entry for more info).

2. Raw food is often less expensive than kibble. You need to feed your dog more kibble to satisfy her/his dietary needs. Over the course of a week, a healthy adult dog needs to consume about 15% to 20% of their body weight. If your dog weighs 20 pounds, you can expect to feed her/him 3-4 lbs of food each week.

3. Raw bones act as a natural tooth-brush, and fortify teeth with calcium. Adults love a good RMB - Raw Meaty Bone.

Blizzards and gizzards

With a blizzard coming our way tomorrow, our dogs are probably going to be trudging through lots of driveways smattered with what looks like green-blue snow. This winter, antifreeze is everywhere undertoe, and we as owners should remember once more, that dogs lick their paws. Antifreeze tastes sweet! Because it's tasty, animals go looking for it. More than a few dogs are accidentally poisoned with automotive antifreeze each year.

Uncharacteristic "Pawz"

Does your dog usually tug ahead of you? Is s/he suddenly full of uncharacteristic pause, footdragging and whimpering on walks? 

Fussy, fussy

Back when I walked dogs down the grassy streets of a medium-sized Midwestern college town, I used to assume that those people who cleaned their dogs' paws had a diagnosable disorder.

But like everything else, the definition of "disorder" is relative to context. Since I started walking dogs in Brooklyn, I've learned that what seems neurotic in a spotless environment, is common sense in a world of sidewalks strewn with the leavings of Brooklyn's thousands of dogs.

Oh my goodness, talk about a city full of dogs with fussy stomachs. What to do?