Happy
Easter from Paws For Reaction!
I hope everyone is having a great Easter weekend! Don’t
forget to check out the Paws For Reaction EasterHeadquarters to read all the fun Easter themed posts and to see pictures of
adorable pets celebrating the holiday. Speaking of pets celebrating the holiday,
check out my Easter Mountain Dogs! Hazel and Keira played dress-up so they
could get their Easter treats- check out the photos below! Have a Happy Easter!
Happy National Puppy Day!
Hurricane Hazel blew into town: This puppy yells her own story with sass-mouth
Hurricane Hazel blew into our lives one year ago and
things have never been the same. I remember reading books and articles to
prepare. How to Raise the Perfect Dog:
Through Puppyhood and Beyond by Cesar Millan was a good one. Some things
you just can’t plan for. Regardless Hazel has been such a vibrant and curious
puppy. She is so different if you compare her to Keira. From day one Hazel has had
a real sassy attitude- Little Miss Sass-Mouth. She is big. She is bold. She isn’t
afraid of anything! She is pure comedy.
Photos: My mountain dogs enjoying first snow
It
finally snowed in Ontario!
It is very
exciting. Climate change couldn’t have been more obvious this Christmas here in
Ontario, Canada- a province that is usually draped in a thick blanket of cold, sparkling
snow by now. Instead we had a grassy-green holiday season- until today.
Hopefully this will be a big enough sign for everyone to change and make more
eco-friendly lifestyle and diet choices.
Both of the
girls were really excited for snow but Hazel was he most excited. She hasn’t
seen snow since she was a little, tiny puppy. Now she is a 97 lb almost one
year old. Saint Bernese dogs are in their element in the winter time and I was disappointed
that they weren’t getting to experience it. Finally today it snowed and we took
the girls on a hike through a winter wonderland. Check out our photo story in the
snowy forest.
Snowdogs: 10 best cold-weather dog breeds for a family
Active families in cold-weather regions who are
interested in adopting a dog will be looking for a breed that can tolerate the
frigid climate and play in the snow with the children. The list of Nordic dogs
is a long one but not all of those dog breeds will fit into a family with
children. Small children and even older kids need a pet that can tolerate
playing and activity just as much as it can tolerate four seasons. Kids need a
dog breed that is patient and loving to ensure that all play is safe play.
Dealing with a doggy disability: X-rays show the progression of Hazel's broken femur
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Hazel at 9 weeks and 13 weeks
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Hazel, my Saint
Bernese puppy, is
four months old now and much has changed for this fluffy little spit-fire of a
mountain dog. When my partner Robert and I brought Hazel home on March 22 we
noticed that she walked with a limp. I brought her to the animal hospital where
I work the next day and received some bad news- Hazel had fractured her femur
bone in her left hind leg at some point early on in her life. It went un-diagnosed and untreated. The first radiograph showed that bone had completely callused over- making the left leg
shorter than the right.
As
I discussed in my letter from the editor Hazel will walk with a limp, is
guaranteed to have arthritis and hip dysplasia early on in life and may need major surgery. At that time I was still waiting for the surgeon’s assessment.
Later that week I received the news- the surgeon said I should leave the leg for
now but take x-rays monthly to monitor the growth and watch for signs of pain.
If we saw signs of soreness we were to put Hazel on a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) to help with pain management.
Pet
food recalls: April
2015
Nylabone Products Recalls Puppy Starter Kit Due To Possible
Salmonella Health Risk
Contact:
Consumer:
1-877-273-7527
FDA PRESSRELEASE - April 22, 2015 - TFHPublications, Inc./Nylabone Products, of Neptune, NJ is recalling one lot of
its 1.69 oz. package of the Puppy Starter Kit dog chews, because they have the
potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can
affect animals ingesting the product and there is risk to humans from handling
contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their
hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these
products.
Photos: Easter bunny dogs wearing rabbit ears
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Photo by Vaguely Artistic Foter CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 |
Hope you are having a great Tongue Out Tuesday!
"I don't know what we are yelling about!?"
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Photo by Takashi(aes256) Foter CC BY-SA |
Add your own caption in the comments!
Puppy
play biting: How to teach a teething puppy not to bite
It is a painful problem that every puppy owner faces:
play biting. Puppy owners are far too familiar with the feeling of an adorable
fuzzy puppy clamping on to their sensitive skin with those tiny, deadly and
razor-sharp puppy teeth. But play biting is a natural thing for a puppy- she is
trying to use her mouth to learn about the world around her. It starts with the
other pups in her litter. They bite when they play fight but when one pup bites
too hard the other pup will yelp loudly and stop playing. From the beginning puppies
are learning the boundaries of biting and it is a lesson that needs to continue
when they leave the litter to join their human family.
Biting too hard is a behavior that needs to be corrected
right from the beginning if the puppy is going to be able to have good
relationships with other people and dogs. Founder of The Academy For Dog Trainers Jean
Donaldson published an article in 2007 for the Calgary Humane Society about aggressive behavior in canines. She educates about acquired bite inhibition (ABI) which “is
the degree of pressure a dog exerts with his jaws when he bites, and likely the
most significant prognostic indicator in aggression.” Puppies must be taught
not to put force behind their bite because according to Donaldson “ABI has
proven virtually impossible to modify in an adult dog.”
Hope you are having a great Tongue Out Tuesday!
This helps with my aerodynamics.
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Photo by Jelly Dude Foter CC BY |
Hope you are having a great Tongue Out Tuesday!
"Clean teeth are important..."
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Photo by s.scottcrawford Foter CC BY-NC-SA |
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Happy Family Day Canada!
Have a very happy Family Day from my furry family to yours!
Hope you are having a great Tongue Out Tuesday!
"I left some food up there..."
Add your own caption in the comments!