Have a great Christmas Day everyone

I have treats for my dog and the day will be spent at home. No worries about putting up with noxious smoke from uncle Bert's Padron cigars or having to deal with endless guilt about leaving my dog at home while I go out and visit others and their pets. This day I will be selfish and enjoy my home, my dog and my time. Next year might be different but that is how I feel today.

Enjoy this day how YOU want to spend it. Give your dog a hug and have a Merry Christmas.

Blog updates

If you have not visited my new page called "Resources and Links" please take a look at it. It has lots of links to some very informative articles on dog care. There is also a nice link to a blog that has coupons and free stuff for pets in general.

So how do you like the new look to the blog? I am enjoying adding some extra widgets and that extra page. If I can think of another page to add I will do that, any ideas?

I would like to get some more of you to leave comments, of course spammers can move on especially the ones who leave links to gaming sites and pushing phentermine diet pills or some other junk that is not related in any way with dogs.

Service dogs

We all know that dogs have helped those who are handicapped. From the Guide Dogs for the Blind to the service dogs for those with mental disabilities, dogs are invaluable to those that need their help.

Something that I have often wondered is if a specially trained dog is covered as health insurance expense like durable medical equipment or does disability insurance cover the expense of a service dog?

If you have a service dog I would like to know if your health insurance covered the cost or not. Leave a comment.

Protecting your dog from the cold

With the winter storms in full swing across the USA right now, I thought it would be a good time to remind everyone to make sure your dog has a warm place to sleep and rest. Dogs can suffer from frost bite and hypothermia so keep them out of cold basements where they could encounter basement moisture which can do a number on their lungs as well as their bodies. Just because you think that it is a shelter from the outside does not mean it is warm. If you can't live comfortably down in the basement, don't expect your dog to live there either.

Also know the signs of frost bite in animals and how to treat it.  A link to such an article in on my links page - just click on the tab above.

Dog breed names

Some names of dog breeds are obvious, they describe what the dog was bred to do. Retrievers and pointers help hunters with their tasks and sheepdogs help with herding sheep. Their breed names often have another descriptive name added to the dog's breed to differentiate the breed from similar breeds of dogs. That other word might be a location, city or country name or the name of the person who help originate the breed.

That being said, now I have to wonder about those made up at the spur of the moment dog breed names. You know what I am talking about, those names that often smack of crosses and mutts. The Cock-a-poos, the Labradoodles, the Peek-a-poos and many others. Oddly enough the Labradoodle is an actual breed of dog that was developed in Australia for work as a guide dog.

When someone came up with the name for the Labradoodle Dogs, I wonder if they could have come up with a better breed name that did not sound like a type of cookie or a breed mix. Something like the "Australian Curl" or the "Aussie Wavy" would have been better. Since the breed has been around for decades now maybe a name change is in order.

Please weigh your dog

Have you ever bothered to check what your dog's weight is? Unless you have your dog at the vet about once a month you probably don't know what your dog weighs. Human weight scales are fine for the job provided your dog weighs more than 25 pounds.

Why do you need to check your dog's weight? For example:

• To properly use spot on flea products they are dosed according to your dog's weight.
• Many illnesses are marked by weight loss, the sooner you realize your dog is losing weight you can have your vet do an exam.
• Just like humans, many illnesses are caused by too much weight on your dog. The sooner you know your dog's true weight you can determine if he/she has any weight related problems if and when they occur.

Sights at the mall

Christmas shopping finally hit me today and I got the urge to go to the local mall for that annual gift buying trip. It was while I was at the mall that I saw an older woman walking 2 small dachshunds and pushing a small stroller. It looked too small of a stroller for a child and then it dawned on me that the stroller was for the dogs! Considering that dachshunds have very short legs then it was probably not a bad idea.

Next I saw some really interesting electronic dogs. They were at the electronics store and could do all kinds of "tricks." No thanks, I'll take the real thing over a robot any day of the week.

I'll be out shopping tomorrow so I will see if I notice anything odd and doggy related. I have got to remember to take photos next time.

Dogs can get "high" on smells

Dogs can get high on all kinds of smells. You can see their reactions by rolling in the most obnoxious smell, curling their upper lip or just digging and sniffing and digging some more. I have seen dogs get a kick out of the smell of Ben Gay cream, a deep wrinkle treatment lotion that my mother use to use and of course that dead animal smell. Yuck, just plain yuck.

Oh well, it keeps us busy with giving them baths and the doggy cologne business is booming I suppose.