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. 

End of Winter Bath

Our dogs' hindlegs have gotten smattered with winter rock-salt and sand, their paws are perhaps a bit salty even after a good paw-washing, and their coats are all-around smellier than we want to admit. It's almost time for that end-of-winter bath!

A lot of us have gotten behind on washing our dogs because as soon as we wash off all the gunk and the instant they have that nice silky fragrant coat again, they go pouncing in dirty puddles and shovel their way through telltale yellow snow-banks. 

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.

"Green" Dogtoys and Accessories

I've lived in places where -- not only do dogs eat butcher scraps and chew on regular-old sticks, but  -- people actually use what they own until it is completely beyond salvaging. Places where kids don't have stuffed animals, much less dogs. And here in New York, we give our dogs stuffed animals knowing full well that they'll rip them to shreds in twenty minutes, in search of the squeaky center!

With the heyday of the stuffed animal for doggies, even our dogs are generating lots of non-biodegradable waste. There's no need to involve our dogs in the mess we're creating of the planet.

Uncharacteristic "Pawz"

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

Start Your Dog's New Year Off Right: Save Some Trees!

Happy first day of the year! In this last year of the first decade of the new millennium, let your dog's New Years resolution be: "This year, I will not pee on trees!"

Most people think the term "Curb Your Dog" has two meanings: 1. To keep your dog under control and out of trouble; 2. To pick up your dog's scat.

But why is it that you usually see "Curb Your Dog" signs near trees? Dog urine and leavings are poison for trees, grass and flowers. Saplings and young trees haven't got a chance against a barrage of neighborhood dogs marking their territory.

Biodegradable Doo-bags

Years ago, I collected a series of tiny little sturdy, re-usable, nicely-designed Reisenthel and Envirosax bags for grocery shopping, etc., so I never needed another plastic bag.

But when I started dogwalking, I had to collect a bin full of plastic bags to accommodate all my dogs. I hate throwing away all those plastic bags, don't you? So a few weeks ago I wrote to a compostable plastic bag company and they sent me some samples. I can report that they (BioBags) work really well, much better than using old bags from the grocery store.

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?