Here are some ideas for indoor activities for to get you dog the stimulation he needs in the frigid winter months:

Puzzle toys – Fill a toy with treats for your dog. Some toys require the dog to work to get the items out while others dispense them as they roll around. These toys come in various shapes and sizes, and some can even be frozen to make your dog work harder

Find the Treat – What dog doesn’t love a treat!? Searching for treats is highly enjoyable for dogs since it feeds a dog’s natural desire to hunt. You will see how keen your dog’s sense of smell is when he sniffs around for the treats you hide! The way to teach your dog this game, is to show him a treat and then show him how where you are hiding it. Make sure it is an accessible place like beneath a piece of of furniture or under the corner of a rug. Encourage your dog to get the treat. For the next treat, hide it without showing him where you put it and then encourage our dog to get the treat. It may take a few tries, but with such a delicious reward, your dog will catch on in no time!

Hide and Seek – You may think this is just a game for kids, but your four legged friend will love playing hide and seek with you. To begin, start by hiding around a corner. Your dog will likely follow shortly and you can playfully jump out and say “Here I am!”. If there is another family member around, have someone hold the dog, while you hide somewhere else. Then call his name from the other room. Your dog will begin excitingly looking for you. When he finds you cheerfully say “here I am!” again and give him lots of praise.

Memory game – This is is a great game that helps enforce the sit and stay command. While your dog is an the stay position, let him see you hide several treats around the room. Then tell him to come find the treats. After he has mastered this, make it more challenging by letting him see you hide the treats, and then take him into another room. Distract him, for a few minutes. Then bring him back into the room with the hidden treats to see if he remembers where all the treats are!

Roll the Ball – Use a ball that won’t pop (basketball, soccer ball). Get down on your hands and knees and push the ball, then have your dog push the ball. Once your dog figures out how to push the ball, have him push the ball to you.

Kibble Hunt – It is likely, that when you feed your dog, his bowl is empty very quickly after he starts eating! Make meal time more challenging by placing small piles of kibble throughout the house. Begin by making the kibble easy to find. And if your dog catches on quickly – make the piles a little more difficult to find!

As the weeks passed, we got less and less strict about watching Bingo every second of the day. He potty trained quickly and for the most part chewed on toys …. however, his favorite non-toy item was cardboard boxes and paper towels, which didn’t really cause us very much alarm and mostly only made a mess.

Bingo and Molly love to play fight. Molly is only two years old and has plenty of puppy spunk in her still! When they fight, they make all kinds of crazy noises. But last week when they were wrestling, two rooms away from me, I heard a noise that sounded more like distress than play fighting. I yelled for them to settle down, and started my way into the family room. As I approached I started to rush when the sound of distress remained constant.

When I got there. Molly was spinning in circles, unable to control her bowel or bladder. When I got up close, I realized she had an electrical cord in her mouth, I tried to calm her and get her to let go of the cord, but her muscles were spasmed and tightly clamped on the cord. Thankfully I had a moment of clarity and pulled the cord out of the wall. Immediately the cord fell out and she ran to the
door. I let her outside and she ran around our large yard. She did about 50 laps in the few minutes we were outside. I sat on the ground waiting, for her to come to me. Bingo sat calmly next to me. I dare say, I think he was as frightened as I was. Finally she dashed past me and into the house. She was panting frantically and looked, well, strung out. She parked herself under my desk in my office and wouldn’t let me approach her.

I called the veterinarian’s office and while I was on hold she finally calmed a little and let me pet her, but wouldn’t let me near her mouth. When the veterinarian’s office finally got back on the line, they asked me a few questions and told me to bring her in immediately. Molly started to calm quite a bit.. .. and so did I. They took us in right away and the veterinarian tech started examining her. To be honest I felt ashamed and frightened. I told her – my dogs have NEVER chewed on an electrical cord before. The tech smiled and said, and “I bet she won’t ever do it again!” She put me at ease by sharing a story about her dog doing the same thing once after having owner the pup for 5 years.

When the veterinarian came in she checked all her vitals and although her heart beat was a tad high, her vitals were good. The veterinarian explained though, that they would need to check her  potassium and electrolyte levels, because when dog is electrocuted, it can effect these components of the blood, and if it is skewed, can cause organ damage and even death. She said that even if the  dog appears ‘fine’, their potassium and electrolytes can be off. If that was the case, they’d need to keep her overnight for continuous IV fluids. The good news was that it would be totally treatable.

It took three people to hold her down, but the veterinarian finally got a look at the inside of Molly’s mouth, and found a black mark across the bottom of her mouth, and some minor first degree burns on her lips.

After waiting [what felt like] forever, the veterinarian came back with the good news that her blood work looked good. But I had one more thing to watch for. An electrocution can cause fluid to build  up in the lungs. She said if it was going to happen to her, it would happen in the next 24 hours. I needed to watch for labored breathing and if I heard it, bring her to an animal ER immediately.

I thanked he doctor effusively, and asked, “Do you see a lot of this around the holidays?” (Even though I hadn’t even started my holiday decorating yet!) She said, “Yes, we do see this quite a bit, but even more so, we see dogs and cats that have swallowed glass or hooks from ornaments.”

“I guess I’ll be doing wooden ornaments this year?”

“Hang them with ribbon,” she said, “we use ribbon in our house.”

You may have heard this tip over and over, but it always bears repeating:  NEVER EVER leave your dog in the car.  The temperature in your car can rise to dangerous levels in just minutes.  Leave your dog home, if you can’t take a pet with you when you leave the car.

HYDRATE – HYDRATE – HYDRATE!  Your dog will need more water in the hot summer months.  It is advisable to carry a folding dog bowl (if you were a client at the end of the year you received a folding bowl in a holiday basket – if you came on as a client after that, please ask Michelle for a bowl!) when you take your dog out for a walk or hike…

…And when you do take your dog out for a walk or a hike – try to do it in the early or later parts of the day when the heat is not quite as stifling.  Remember also that the heated pavement can burn your dog’s sensitive paws.  Be sure to walk your dog in an area where grass is available for him/her when walking.

Overheating can come on quickly for a dog.  It is best to prevent it from happening at all.  If you do see signs of overheating, cover your dog in a cool wet towel and take him/her to the veterinarian immediately.   Signs of overheating include: unusually rapid breathing, fainting, vomiting and tremors.

Tails on Trails Blog is for informational purposes only.  Tails on Trails is not a veterinarian and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and the content of this site is not intended to be a substitute therefor.  If you are in need of medical assistance please consult a veterinarian.

If you’ve been following the Tails on Trails Blog you are already familiar with all the efforts that have been happening with theses dogs.  Here is a summary and an update.

• For nearly four months, Tails on Trails owner, Michelle Cohn, has gone to Duckett farm EVERY DAY to feed abandoned strays, Duckett and Riedel.
• 
• The only known human interaction these dogs have had, has been with Michelle.  She literally had them eating out of her hand.
• On Saturday, Michelle secured their rescue when they willingly went into a pen she placed, with the help of Mid-Atlantic German Shepard Rescue..
• 
• Michelle wants to foster the dogs to get them ready for adoption.
• Ducket and Riedel have explored this world as a team, it would be incredibly stressful for these dogs to be be separated.
• Yesterday, she brought them to Pits and Rotts Rescue to start Duckett and Riedel on the road to adoption.  Today they are at the vet.
• Michelle had a verbal agreement with Pits and Rotts Rescue that Michelle would foster the dogs until they were ready for adoption and that every effort would be made to keep Duckett and Riedel together.
• They have been at the rescue for ONE DAY and there is already talk of separating the dogs.
• Michelle has offered to take Duckett and Riedel into her home for fostering, pay for all their expenses, yet the Pits and Rotts Rescue continues to post info about the dogs and ask for money, refusing to let Michelle foster them.

Please show your support: Go to the rescue’s Facebook page and tell them to KEEP DUCKETT AND RIEDEL TOGETHER.  Just click on the message icon in the top right corner!

Pits and Rotts Rescue page:  http://www.facebook.com/search.php?ref=ffs&init=q&k=100000020&q=pitsrotts4life%40aol.com#!/prfl.rescue?sk=wall

We are also on Twitter @tailsontrails with hash tag #keepduckettandriedeltogether

In Michelle’s own words:

“I have continued feeding them everyday. Sometimes they are waiting for me at a distance. They usually don’t go over to eat while I am still there. Yesterday, however, was a bit different. It had rained all day so I thought perhaps they were sleeping in the shed they hide out in on occasion. I drove up and found them asleep under some trees at a distance. I wanted to get them to come and have their food so I shook the container. They didn’t respond. Of course, I was terrified they were sick or worse! I couldn’t imagine them not popping their heads up for food. As I moved closer, I could see they were breathing…and as I got closer, realized they were snoring! I wasn’t prepared to take a picture due to the rain, but how adorable they were sleeping under the trees. I woke them up by asking them if they were hungry. They popped their heads, gave a good stretch, and yawned. They got up and came and ate right out of my hand! Making progress with these cuties!”

Stay tuned for future updates on this compelling story of an animal lover and her strong commitment to animal care!

A pet first aid kit should contain:

• sterile gauze pads
• gauze rolls
• first aid tape
• scissors
• 3% hydrogen peroxide
• antibacterial ointment
• antiseptic wipes
• eye dropper
• muzzle
• leash
• digital thermometer
• antihistamine (Benadryl or generic)
• blanket or stretcher

If you do buy a kit instead of put one together – it’s important that you open and take inventory of the items and be sure you know how to use them. Also – if the kit contains a muzzle, be sure to see if it fits your dog!

The kit should contain the phone number for the Animal Poison Control Center: 888-426-4435. If you ever have to call be sure to have the following information available:

• Species, breed, age, sex, weight and number of animals involved
• Symptoms
• Name/description of the substance that is in question; the amount the animal was exposed to; and the length of time of the exposure (how long it’s been since your pet ate it or was exposed to it).
• Have the product container/packaging available for reference.

Additionally you should have the name, address and phone number of the nearest animal emergency hospital. Here is a sample list of emergency centers in the Tails on Trails service area:
Midway Animal Hospital
8268 Veterans Highway
Millersville MD 21108
410-800-4344
OPEN: 24/7/365

Anne Arundel Veterinary Emergency Clinic, Inc
808 Bestgate Road
Annapolis MD 21401
410-224-0331
OPEN: 24/7/365

Dogs and Cats Veterinary Referral
6700 Laurel-Bowie Road, Rte. 197
Bowie MD 20715
301-809-8800
OPEN 24/7/365

April is Pet First Aid Awareness month, and a great time to take stock in your preparedness!

If you know Michelle, you know that it is impossible to suppress her passion for animal care. Dubbing the the black dog Riedel and the white dog Duckett, she has visited the pups daily since Christmas in an effort to get them familiar with her, so she can rescue them. Michelle is not deterred by bad weather:

(No kidding: the name of the towing company is Doberman Towing!)

While their breed mix hasn’t been confirmed, it is thought they may have some Shepard, Chow and or Spitz in them. Here is the latest shot of Riedel, however Duckett remains elusive to the camera!

Of late, she has become concerned because as the pups are growing into adults they are also growing into their herding instincts. Riedel and Duckett have been dashing out onto Riedel Road chasing cars, to satisfy this primal urge. It is frightening, and these dogs need a safer environment.