Two weekends ago the dogs and I packed up our bags (and my dirty laundry) and hit the road for a long weekend in VA Beach. Despite sitting in terrible traffic on the way up there, the trip was incredible. We stayed with my "big sister" who gave me my class ring in a beautiful lantern ceremony during our boarding school days at Chatham Hall. We've remained dear friends since our high school days - she's the kind of girl you can go a year without speaking to, and the moment we see each other it's as though nothing has changed! Our friendship always falls right back into place, exactly where we left it, no matter the time or distance between us. Of course, add to the equation that she loves animals, and so kindly opened her home to me and two dogs, and you've got yourself one fun weekend!
The dogs had a great time! Hush got to see the ocean for the first time, both pups got to race on the beach, and basked in the attention fawned on them all weekend!
I'll post more about the trip soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share this picture of the girls and I. I had spent the entire day at the beach, did not have on a lick of make-up, and my hair was still full of ocean water. That said, I think the love my dogs and I share just makes this photo glow. I've even considered photoshopping poinsettias into the background and using it for my Christmas card picture this winter.
Word on the street is Milly had a great time at Kitty Hawk. With the exception of an upset tummy on day one, she was happy as a clam, and active the whole time. I still haven't seen her yet, but here are some of the pictures from her trip! Aren't you jealous?? I wish I could go to the OBX!
I’ve often joked that my dogs live better than I do, and I now think this is actually true! Milly has a surprise in store for her this weekend – a trip to Kitty Hawk! I am green with envy that she’ll be spending the weekend on the beach, playing in the surf and sand, and having attention fawned on her, while I’ll be in sticky, hot, old DC.
As you know, I sometimes let my ex-boyfriend keep Milly for anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks at a time. Whenever he has her I use the time to focus on organizing my life, and training Hush. Two dogs can be a lot of work at times, especially while living in a small apartment, working full time, and trying to maintain a social life in a bustling city as a single 26-year old with a tendency of over-committing herself. Add into the mix that one of those dogs is in heat, and training to be a show dog, and sometimes it’s enough to make me want to rip my hair out. Of course, I adore my dogs, and I would not trade them for the world, but there are moments where it is stressful trying to manage everything.
Each year my friend Tina, you might remember her from some posts about apple picking, or know her from Love, Tina Marie, organizes a trip to the Outer Banks over Memorial Day Weekend. My ex and I have many of the same friends, and Tina is one of the many friends we share. The OBX trip is always planned many, many, many months in advance, and when the invitations went out I was not sure what sort of terms I would be on with my ex, he RSVP’d first, so I opted out. Next year, however, I plan on going on the trip! :)
When I got a gchat from the ex today asking if he could see Milly for an afternoon or a couple of days, I said sure. He asked when he could see her, and I told him I’d have to figure it out. Then, he asked if she could go to Kitty Hawk this weekend. Well, I couldn’t think of a single reason why I should say no. She’ll get exercise, she loves the beach, and everyone going on the trip loves her. Of course, I couldn’t make it that easy for my ex, so I promised he could take her with him under one condition… he return her with some wonderful portraits of her at the beach. The ex is a great photographer, and he was happy to oblige with my terms. So, tonight I’ll be packing Milly’s beach bag, and he’ll pick her up tomorrow night, then at noon on Friday they’ll hit the road.
Of course, I sure do wish I had some fun locale to escape to for the weekend. Oh the irony, my Golden Retriever lives and vacations better than I do.
With a cold front hitting much of the country, and snow blanketing many cities, it’s a great time to be outside with your favorite fur friends for play time in the fluffy white stuff! But, with the cold weather, one potentially lethal substance seems to be everywhere: antifreeze.
It’s in windshield wiper fluid and coolant, which I know I personally seem to be buying in droves these days. If your car is leaking coolant, it can be dripping on your sidewalk, or you may store your extra bottles in a corner in your garage. Please, be extremely careful. Do not let your dog lick your driveway, or anywhere antifreeze may have leaked from a car, and make sure to keep products containing antifreeze far from reach of pets (and children), and your garage locked. Should any spill, clean up every last drop.
Antifreeze has a very sweet taste, which makes it particularly attractive to dogs, who do not realize the substance is toxic. Ethylene Glycol is added to antifreeze to lower freezing points, and is the sweet smelling and tasting chemical making antifreeze lethal. Just a teaspoon of antifreeze can quickly cause a small dog to go into kidney failure and be lethal, and not much more is needed to kill a large dog.
I know when I think antifreeze, I automatically think of its uses in automobiles, but we can’t forget our holiday decorations that may contain it, too. Snow globes are very popular this time of year, and these tend to be manufactured in China. Like many products from China, snow globes are transported to this country on large cargo ships. To prevent the liquid inside of the globes from freezing (which would cause the glass globes to break), antifreeze is added during manufacturing. Keep your snow globes out of your pet’s reach this holiday season, and should one break, make sure to thoroughly clean up not just the broken glass, but the liquid as well.
Remember, with all of our decorations and holiday treats, dogs are tempted to counter surf or jump on tables this time of year. Because of this, it is extra important to never leave a dog unattended in a room, or within reach of a surface holding a snow globe. The sweet scent and flavor of antifreeze is just too good for many pets to pass up, and the results are almost always lethal.
Should your dog show signs like staggering and vomiting, immediately check out your veterinarian. For extra precaution, companies like Sierra produce less toxic propelyne-glycol-based antifreeze.
As you can see, the Midwest Canine Camper is quite spacious. I decided to test it out, and Milly loved having me in there with her. The Chihuahua is our friend Madeline, who Milly has known since Maddie was just 8 weeks old, and smaller than a squeaky toy.
For a long time I've wanted a portable soft crate. A soft crate is perfect for safe car rides, and many come with carrying cases. They are light enough that even little me can easily lift and maneuver the crate. Plus, many have great options like outside pockets to stash your portable bowl, a brush, a leash, or a copy of your dog's records.
After lots of thought, I went ahead and ordered the Canine Camper. I found mine new on ebay, and saved $35 by buying it there. It's a very nice hunter green, it has removable flaps that roll up to give your dog windows and ventilation, or can be left down for privacy.
Right now, I'm staying with some friends, and the soft portable crate is ideal. This way, while I'm at work, Milly can be crated, but when I'm at my friends house I can quickly and easily disassemble it (you just lift it up and zip the sides to assemble it, so it's super fast and easy, no true assembly required) and put it out of the way so there is no mess in the living room.
Milly seems to love it. I highly recommend the Canine Camper to any dog owner. I got the 36" size (that is the length), which is a bit smaller than Milly's metal crate, but she still has plenty of room in it. This size is perfect for riding in the back of my Subaru Outback, too! The 36" does fit most Golden Retrievers that are within the breed standard, just an FYI.
Whenever I visit my hometown of Camden, South Carolina one thing I don’t look forward to seeing are dogs loose in the beds of pick up trucks (I see it all the time there). I cringe every time I see this, because it is extremely risky and dangerous for the dog. Over 100,000 dogs are killed each year because they jumped out of a moving pickup truck bed or were thrown from an open vehicle as it was driving down the road or highway. Many states have tried to pass bills to regulate transportation of dogs in pick up trucks, but the legislation rarely passes. California has a law stating a dog must be in a crate or cross tied while riding in the bed of a pick up truck, and violators can be fined $50 to $250. For more information about states with tethered dog laws visit:http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/rpt/2009-R-0203.htm.
If you must put your dog in the bed of your truck put a sturdy crate that has plenty of air vents in the center of the truck, secured down ropes or tethers. The next safest way for a dog to ride in a truck bed is tethered on a short leash, with the leash attached to a harness, not a collar. I frequently see people with seeming good intentions tying their dogs with long ropes or leashes attached to the dog’s collar in the truck bed – in the event of an accident this could cause your dog to hang to death, literally strangling your dog.
At the bare minimum, a dog riding in a truck bed needs to be tethered with a secure and short leash attached to a harness to prevent strangulation and death in the event of an accident.
If you decide the bed of the truck is not the place for your dog, just putting a dog in the cab of a truck, or letting a dog ride loose in the car is still dangerous. I recently asked a vet how many patients she sees that are victims of car accidents, and she said too many to count, and then noted none had been properly restrained. Each year over 100,000 of dogs are injured, killed or become unnecessarily lost in car accidents – these injuries are completely avoidable.
You might be the safest driver, but there are some things on the road you cannot prevent. A dog in a pick up bed could jump out, you might have to swerve to miss something and the dog could fall out, you could have a blow out and the dog could go flying, or what happens if you are hit by another car? Not to mention there is a huge risk of flying debris, dust, dirt or pollen hitting the soft tissue of your dog’s eye -- resulting in infection, injury and painful trauma. If your dog rides in the car with you, no matter how tempting, please do not allow it to hang its head out the window, trust me, eye injuries are not fun. If after reading this you are still tempted to roll down the window and let your dog see the sights, please invest in a pair of Doggles for eye protection.
Photo by: Travel Pets While this dog is wearing proper eye protection, it appears to not be restrained with a harness or seat belt.
A dog loose in a car, though a bit safer than one unrestrained in a truck bed, is still not safe. If you were to have an accident your dog most likely would fly through the windshield, and if it did survive, it might be terrified and run into on coming traffic. Also, always remember to keep your pet out of the front seat to protect him or her from airbags. An airbag deploying could very easily kill your beloved pet.
In the event of a crash, pets go from furry friends to flying objects and can cause serious injury or death to themselves and others. In fact, the British Columbia SPCA reports, a 50-pound pet, when traveling at speeds of 50km/hour (approximately 31 mph), has the weight of approximately one ton!
Types of dog restraints for automobiles:
Selecting the right restraint for your dog is enough to make your head spin – there are so many options on the market. In the end, it all boils down to personal preference based on many individual factors. Below I will explain various ways to help you make the most educated decision possible when selecting the restraint for your dog and your vehicle.
The safest way to travel with your dog is to have him crated, and this is far and away the safest if you are traveling with any equipment or tools in your car that could shift during impact. Equipment or tools can be deadly in an accident, not only to the driver, but to the dog too. The crate method, though safest, is only an option if you have the space available. The crate does not need to be tied down (though that will increase safety), but it does need to be a sturdy crate that is latched shut. The vet I spoke with said dogs that are crated in accidents frequently can survive even when the humans do not, and it makes sense. In essence, you are creating a protective barrier, much like rollover bars on a race car, for your dog. Less safe than a hard sided crate, but still a safety option, is a soft sided crate. If you go this route, I highly recommend securing the soft crate.
Another way to restrain your dog is using a dog seat belt. These are a convenient alternative to crating, because they are small in size (about the size of a regular dog harness) and you can keep it in your car at all times. There are many different types, but they all incorporate the car’s seat belt with the special harness to restrain your dog. The only draw back with these types of harnesses is your dog has to be on the seats for them to work, and if you have nice leather seats this might not be your favorite solution. Dog seat belts are a great way to travel if you are transporting dogs that get along, but if the dogs in your car do not get along you will need to have them crated.
For small dogs, a dog car seat is an option. Available in numerous styles, they are secured with your seat belt or with an included restraint attachment that connects to your seat or seat belt. Dog car seats elevate small dogs so they can look out the window, and are padded for added canine comfort.
The last way, though safer than riding loose in the car, but not nearly as safe as being crated or restrained with a seat belt, is for SUV and station wagon owners – the dog barrier. These barriers, the safest are the types that are physically bolted into the car’s ceiling; prevent your dog from coming over the back seat. However, in an accident, the rear door/hatch of an SUV or station wagon may open, and the dog would not be restrained if this occurred.
If you own a sedan or similar car your dog most likely rides on the seats anyways. To protect your seats you can purchase seat covers, and to protect your pooch for under $40 you can purchase a dog seat belt harness or similar restraint.
So before you ask your pooch, “want to go for a ride?” think about what would happen in an accident, and properly restrain your best friend. A properly restrained dog, even if an accident does not occur, will also keep the driver safe, because the dog cannot come to the front of the car, and distractions are kept to a minimum.
Why Restrain Your Dog?
Dogs can distract the driver by moving around in the vehicle, trying to jump into the front seat, or barking excessively. Driver distractions are a leading cause of accidents..
Heaven forbid you were involved in an accident; your pup might escape from the car and become lost. Accidents are scary, especially for dogs, and their instinct to flee the situation goes into over drive during traumatic experiences.
In the event of an accident, your dog could be seriously injured, maimed or killed if loose in your vehicle.
Other equipment or items in your car can injure your dog in even the smallest fender bender.
It doesn’t have to be this way! These injuries are completely avoidable. By being safe, aware, cautious and educated you can prevent this from happening to you and your pet. You can help others by taking the time to educate them and raise awareness of safe pet travel.
