Back in 2015, when my springer spaniel, Cassie, was tripping frequently, my veterinarian recommended that I have her step over poles to remind her to pick up her paws. Little did I know we were actually doing cavaletti. Cavaletti was borrowed from horse trainers in order to train dogs to learn to master body positioning. … Read more
A few years ago, on the Wednesday morning before Labor Day, one of my cocker spaniels, nine-year-old Chipper, limped down the stairs. What caused it? All I could think of was that he had lunged at another dog and been jerked by his leash. He didn’t fall over, or cry out in pain. This happened … Read more
The last Father’s Day that I can remember temperatures in the upper 90’s in the Chicago area was in 1988, the first of the greenhouse summers—the summer when Yellowstone burned. That was the first year that people talked about global warming. I hope this summer isn’t like that. My grandfather died that day, on Father’s … Read more
At 1:30 in the morning, I heard my cocker spaniel, Buffy, pacing my bedroom. She never does that. Normally, she hardly moves since, in the winter, I often cover her with a towel and it is still in place when I get up in the morning. I heard her nails clicking on the spaces between … Read more
The first nice days of spring have finally arrived after weeks of cold and rain. But this time of year always makes me wary for pets, especially dogs. Back when I was a young teen, on one of the first warm days in early May, my dad took our 7-month-old mixed breed puppy Rexy for a long walk. He had let him run lose to get some exercise, but the skittish dog saw some people and ran into a busy street—getting run over by a car.
The weeds, the dandelions─yuck. Should I spray an herbicide? But what about my dogs? How can I do this safely? So I usually put it off until the weeds get the better of me and I just have to spray them and try to keep my dogs off of the lawn for a day, or at least try. Most herbicides state, ‘safe’ for pets after it has dried. But are they? Here is what my research uncovered:
It’s raining and you are walking your dog downtown. Suddenly he yelps then collapses. Puzzled you grab your dog—then you feel a burst of electricity run through you. You too could get shocked, collapse and possibly die from electrocution from contact voltage.
What is contact voltage?
Cassie tripped as she walked on the driveway, caught herself and kept walking toward me. How many times had this happened today? At least ten, or was it closer to twenty? I watched her walk, awkwardly curving to the left. My vet thought she had arthritis in opposite legs, causing her to trip and walk abnormally. A week later, she couldn’t walk and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We had to put her down less than a week later as her condition deteriorated.
Ataxia or abnormal gait, takes many different forms, most of which are neurological, although there could be joint issues such as arthritis.
Cassie and I used to walk over three miles back and forth to work, most days every week, even through the winter. We walked residential streets and at least a dozen times a year a loose dog would approach us. I tried to avoid all encounters knowing if Cassie got into a fight, she wouldn’t stop. So as a dog approached I’d pull Cassie close to me and yell at the dog in a loud, low voice to go home, to go away, while waving my arms. This worked for almost every dog, who realized they’d have to take on me as well as my dog. Never raise your pitch when yelling at a dog – this can cause more excitement in dogs.
