It's a bird, it's a plane - No, it's a flying disc dog

So much stuff going on and I have been negligent in getting back to my blogging.  Now that I have some Friday’s free for the next several weeks I’m going to try to get back to this and maybe get ahead of the game. 

When I last blogged, I talked about heat stroke in dogs, a summertime issue we all need to be aware of and take steps to avoid.  This time I’ll focus on something fun to talk about.  Dog sports.  My newest issue of Dog Sport Magazine features one of my new favorite dog sports – flying disc competitions.

We started attending some flying disc competitions in our area this year because my husband, Rick, was looking to add pictures to his portfolio of dog sport photos.  We quickly became hooked.  Part of my enjoyment, I must admit, is the fact that I don’t vend at these events.  It is a rare dog sporting event that I can sit on the sidelines and just enjoy the fun involved in watching dogs and their people have fun together.  Now I don’t compete in flying disc, or any canine sporting events for that matter, as I am the proud Mom to a Golden mix who is 13.5 years old and has never had an interest in anything other than greeting people.  As a senior she should be employed as a Wal-Mart greeter.  My other fur kid is a 14.5 year old Aussie/BC mix who we adopted when she was 3.  She would have been a good agility dog, I think, but a bad knee sidelined her career and she will not chase anything.  While I love them both more than I can say, Rick and I have always been a little disappointed in the sporting area, but I digress.

Let's go back in time to 1974 and a young man named Alex Stein and his dog, Ashley Whippet.  Stein smuggled Ashley into a Dodgers’ baseball game and then snuck out on the field during a televised game where they put on an incredible show for the crowd.  From that act, Stein and Ashley Whippet became famous for starting a new craze in dog sports.  Today, named after that original dog, the Ashley Whippet Invitation is one of sports premier annual events.  Here is a video of Stein and Ashley preforming.  Do you remember the fashions of the 70's?

Start your dog early in developing an interest in the fun of flying discs.  As Frisbee is the registered trademark of Whamoo, we will refer to them as discs or flying discs.  Get your puppy interested by serving treats or food on the disc.  You can roll it along the floor and toss if for short distances.  Puppies under 6-8 months don’t need to put too much strain on little joints and ligaments, so it is best to entice fun but keep their little puppy paws close to the ground until they are fully developed as joint injuries can come easily to puppies causing small tears that heal with scar tissue.  These injuries might not show up for years.  Conditioning is key to flexibility and keeping your dog injury free.  Core strength is very important in these dogs, as you can see from the pictures, each time they go for a catch the body twists and flexes, putting stress on the spine and core muscles. 


Look at that stretch





Flexibility is key for the spine to twist



 Soft tissue injuries of hips and shoulders are fairly common in the sport of flying disc, as in other dog sports, so conditioning is very important.  There are some fun ways to work on conditioning and flexibility using exercise balls similar to yoga.  This may be another article in the future.

Flying disc is a great sport that you can participate in at any age.  We have watched a 4 year old throw a disc (much better arm than I have on my best day) and watched people toss a disc that appear to have no athletic ability (not a criticism, as I have none myself).  Everyone can participate and have FUN.  That's the name of the game in all dog sports and in anything you do with your dog.  HAVE FUN!!!

Equipment for starting out in flying disc is relatively inexpensive, although I would recommend that you not go cheap.  Cheap plastic discs from pet stores, toy stores, or promo discs are not dog friendly as their rims may be sharp and can slice gums and tongues.  The quality of plastic can also be sub par causing it to crack or break and injuring mouths.  Look for a flexible plastic used in quality discs.  Two major manufacturers of top competition discs are Hyperflite and Hero.  Both companies make discs in various sizes for smaller dogs and bigger dogs; various flexibility levels for puppies and softer mouthed dogs who are just starting out; to super tough discs for more experienced dogs who grab hard and can go through other discs quickly.  Prices range from a few dollars to $15 to $20 for some of the tougher discs.  For starting out you would just need a few to keep the game going.  For competition you need many for the same reason. 

Once you start to compete with your dog there are various levels and types of competition.  Distance/Accuracy and Freestyle are two of the basic competition.  People will start out doing distance and accuracy.  The field is marked off in yards and you will start behind the line and toss for…..distance and accuracy.  It doesn’t matter how far you throw the disc if your dog can’t catch it.  Start slow with good accuracy then build up distance.  Events are timed so the number of throws you get in that are caught means points. Other factors that add points are if the dog catches with his feet on the ground or catches it in the air, but this is just an overview so we will stick with the basics.  At some point you will want to move on to something a little more complicated and showy.  You’ve seen it done on TV and have been amazed at the team that puts their moves to music, has the dog vaulting over the person throwing the discs and catching an endless stream of discs thrown from various positions.  Incredible.  They make it look so easy, but the amount of effort that goes into this is also incredible.  Think that’s fun, you can move on to doubles freestyle and use another human partner making it even more complicated, but it’s twice as fun to watch. 

See even a quick overview of a dog sport takes a lot of space.  I would suggest that if you are interested in learning more about canine flying disc events or participating in them yourself that you look on-line to see if there is a club in your area that is dedicated to canine flying disc.  I live in Clearwater so I’ll give a shout out to a local club, the Central Florida Dog and Disc Club.  Check them out at http://www.cfdiscdogs.com .  You can also check out the information at Skyhoundz (http://www.skyhoundz.com/) and Ashley Whippet Invitational (http://www.ashleywhippet.com/) .

As always remember…….ENJOY LIFE – HAVE FUN WITH YOUR DOG

The Only Good Hot Dogs Are Grilled

Spring has sprung in many areas of the country and it is heading into just plain hot in others.  Now is the time to get out after a long cold winter and enjoy the great outdoors with your dog.  However, just as the summer heat can be hard on you, it can be deadly for your dog.  As humans we can do a lot to combat the effects of summer heat and humidity.  We can dress cooler, carry water, get in the shade or air conditioning and best of all we can sweat.  Sweating is our body’s natural cooling system.  Dogs have much less body area that can be cooled in this way.  The pads of their feet and noses are cooled by evaporation and they can pant, which also helps cool them.  Older dogs and short faced dogs have an even harder time staying cool.  Rising humidity makes it harder for us to stay cool as the air is moist and evaporation does not occur as quickly.  The same is true for dogs.  On top of all this is the fact that many dogs have a long coat that works against the cooling process.

So what do you do with your dog in the summer?  Lock them up in air conditioning all day, move to Canada, shave them down?  No, no and NO!!!  There are some simple things all dog owners can do to make it a safe and fun summer outside with your dog.  The number one thing all dog owners can do to protect against heat stroke in their pets is NEVER leave them in a car unattended.  Sounds so simple to many of us, yet dogs die every year because people just don’t think about how hot it can get in a car in just a few minutes.  Even on a day we would consider mild, the temperature in a car can soar to over 130 deg. in a short period of time.   Also make sure that your dog has access to plenty of cool water during all outside activity.  Water left in the sun can quickly become too hot to drink.  If your dog stays outside for extended periods then make sure they also have access to shade.  It is also a good idea to limit running and other strenuous activities to early morning or late afternoon.  That’s a good thing for you, too. 

Many people think that shaving a dog down in the summer is the best way to keep them cool.  However, unless you have a dog that is typically shaved down, like poodles, cockers or schnauzers, I would have to respectfully disagree (and sometimes strenuously so) with that school of thought.  If you have a long haired dog with an extremely think coat and you feel you must trim them for summer don't shave them down to the skin.  Leave some coat (1.5" at least) so that they don't also risk sunburn.  Your best course of action is to keep them well groomed during the summer.  Make sure they are brushed and combed often to keep the undercoat from matting against the skin and allowing air to circulate through the coat to cool the skin. 

Some signs of heat stroke in dogs are: 

• Rapid panting
• Bright red tongue
• Red or pale gums
• Thick, sticky saliva
• Depression
• Weakness and/or Dizziness
• Vomiting and/or Diarrhea
• Shock leading to Coma

 If one or more of these should occur it is imperative that you treat immediately, before taking the dog to the vet.  A ride to the vet can take 10 to 15 minutes and those are minutes you can't spare.  You must find water to cool the dog's body by wetting it thoroughly.  Make sure the water is cool and not cold.  Cold water constricts the blood vessels which is opposite of what you want to happen.  You need to fan the dog or get it in a car with the air condition turned up.  The goal is to get cool air circulating around the dog.  If the dog is conscious give cool water to drink, but don't force it or try to get an unconscious dog to drink as chocking will occur.  Once the body temperature is 103 deg. F it is time to get them to the vet as soon as possible.

Check out this video for an overview.

Make it a safe summer everyone.  Stay cool and hydrated and make sure you help your dog do the same.  There are many product on the market that you can use on your dog to keep them cool to start with.  Kool Collar make a great product that you can add ice to the inside of the collar if outside or the freezer packs if inside and you don't want the dripping water mess.  There are bandanas that you soak in water and beds that have a cool gel inside.  All of these are great products to use in the summer heat.

As always .... Enjoy Life - Have Fun With Your Dog.

Canine Sports - Something for Everyone

So you are just sitting around watching TV with your dog and wondering what you and your best friend can do together that would get you out of the house and build a better bond.

I would recommend that you start with an obedience class or two.  A solid understanding of basic commands is the basis for anything that you may want to do with your dog, even if it is just taking them for a walk or a visit to the dog park.  If you have not taken classes in obedience then I suggest you look up your local dog club or training center in your area and make that call.  It will be the best thing you can do for you and your dog and the basis for the rest of my article and your life with your dog.

So now we zoom ahead a few months and you have taken some obedience classes and you and your dog have a good understanding of the basic commands and you want to build on that groundwork.  Here is where your choices are almost unlimited.  Actually, they are only limited by the amount of time (and money) you have and in some cases the breed of dog you have. 

I started making a list of a few activities that are pretty well known, such as advanced obedience and agility and kept writing until I had a list that will keep you pretty busy.  So here it goes, fun things to do with your dog:

·    Agility – a course made up of various jumps, contact obstacles, tunnels, chutes and weave poles.  Competitors have a limited amount of time to complete the course with as few errors as possible.

·    Canine Freestyle – an obedience routine set to music and dance.

·    Carting – getting your dog to pull a cart loaded or unloaded around a course in a limited amount of time. 

·    Dock Diving – tossing a floating bumper out over a “dock” into water and having the dog leap out over the water to retrieve said bumper.  Distance is measured.

·    Earthdog – sending certain breeds of dogs (terriers) underground in tunnels to track mice/rats.

·    Flyball – think high speed relay racing/drag racing where a team of 4 dogs jump over a series of 4 hurdles to a box loaded with a ball, grabbing it and then racing back.  (Very simplistic view that requires an article on its own).

·    Flying Disc – can be as basic as tossing a disc for your dog to as complicated as freestyle pairs competitions.

·    Herding – certain breeds of dogs (herding) are taught to herd sheep, cattle, geese, etc. by a series of commands or whistles.

·    Hunt/Field Trials – Sporting dogs retrieve, point, flush and toll various birds.

·    Lure Coursing – Sight hounds race around a course chasing a lure which is on a pulley system.

·    Nose Work – finding objects through their scent.  Drug/bomb sniffing dogs should come to mind, but the field is open to everything from bedbugs and mold to cancer.

·    Schutzhund - is sport that was developed to test whether certain breeds (GSD, Malinois, Dobbies, Rotties) exhibit the traits necessary for police-type work.

·    Skijoring – cross country skiing with your dog pulling you.

·    Dog Sledding – think Iditarod, although a southern variation uses specialized sleds with wheels.

·    Tracking – picking up a scent and following it to the person or item being tracked.

·    Search and Rescue – a specialized group of people and dogs who search for people who have been lost or injured or in the recovery of bodies at disaster sites.

·    Treibball – herding without the sheep.

·    Weight pulling – mainly bully type (muscular) breeds compete in pulling a cart loaded with weights across a distance.

There are many, many more that I’m probably not aware of or just didn’t think of at the time.  I did my list in alphabetical order so as not to give preference to any of these activities although I have my favorites.  If you are not familiar with some of them, don’t worry, you will be soon.

Today’s focus is on Treibball.  A game that uses obedience and herding cues to get the dog to move a "flock" of eight large exercise (Pilates-type) balls set up in a triangle pattern (similar to the traditional racking of pool balls) into a goal area.  The handler stands some a distance away at the opening of a soccer type goal net and directs the dog as to which ball must be moved first and from there in what order the balls must be moved into the goal.  The dog can only move the ball that he is directed to move each time and the game concludes when all eight balls have been “herded into the pen.”  This game/sport is suited to any dog breed and age as it is low impact and, if played for fun, does not need to be timed.  You also don’t need to be athletic to participate, which makes it great for the couch potato team that is just starting out.  The value in this game is developing a working cooperation between the dog and handler.  Don’t have eight balls; maybe you can start a team with 7 other people.

You can find more information on this sport from the American Treibball Association.  They even have a American Treibball YouTube channel!

As my list shows, there are many fun activities that you can do with your dogs.  Each one could and should be a blog on its own.  In the coming months we will discuss several of these activities in greater depth.  Stay tuned for a discussion on flyball and canine flying disc in one of my next blogs.

On a personal note, I’m going to try to get blogs out twice a month at the beginning and middle of the month.  One blog will probably be on a health or safety issue with dogs and the other one will be on a fun topic. 

I know that leaving feedback is sometimes difficult on blog sites as you have to sign up, etc., but I would love for you to become a fan at facebook.com/performancedogproducts or follow us at twitter.com/performancedog and leave me either feedback or an idea.  I welcome all suggestions.  As always remember…

Enjoy Life – Have Fun With Your Dog!

Vampires of the Dog World

Fleas are good at their job.  In one day, a single flea can bite your dog more than 400 times and can consume more than its body weight in blood.  A female flea can lay hundreds of eggs on your dog.  These bites can cause some major problems including flea allergy dermatitis—an allergic reaction to proteins in flea saliva. This is something I know about first hand as our Golden, Jesse, is very allergic.  Flea bites can also, in extreme cases, cause anemia.  Don't think that you are immune to their bites.  Besides making itchy little marks, it has recently been reported that a family in Oregon came down with the bubonic plague from fleas they picked up from their dogs.  Yes, people do still get the bubonic plague.

In addition to fleas, ticks are, in my opinion, the most disgusting of pests.  Tick bites can give your pet such infections as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. And ticks can give those same infections to you.

There are many vet approved oral and topical treatments for controlling both fleas and ticks and we have used many of them.  Discuss with your vet which products are right for your dog. 

About 4 years ago we had a major problem with ticks.  While we were using the appropriate topical treatments that included tick controllers, we were still over run with ticks.  We found two natural products that worked very well for us and I’d like to share that information with you.

The first product we used for indoor control was diatomaceous earth.  It is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder.  It has a slightly abrasive feel and works by cutting into and breaking down the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.  It is most commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and eventually eliminate cockroach and flea infestations.  This is worked into the carpet or put into corners where ticks like to hang out when they are not crawling on you or your dogs.  Make sure you use the human grade and not industrial grade.  This can be purchased on-line.

The second product we used was for the yard.  Beneficial nematodes are underground pest hunters that control over 250 different species of insects that spend some part of their lives underground. They are a very efficient organic insect control method and kill most insects before they become adults. They are small microscopic worms that live beneath the soil.  They like moisture so once applied you will need to keep the lawn watered if it doesn’t rain for a while.  When a beneficial nematode attacks an insect larvae or grub it enters the body of its host. Generally within 48 hours that host insect will either die, be physically altered or unable to produce.  Beneficial nematodes are sold in packets which can be stored refrigerated for about a week. When you are ready to apply them, you simply mix them with water and spread them on the soil.  I recommend using a sprayer or watering can for application.  Be warned you can’t see them.  Ours came on a wet sponge in a zip lock bag.
 
The use of these two natural products cured our tick problem and we have had no reoccurrence since then.  The diatomaceous earth comes in a large container and is more that you will probably need.  Both products worked well for us and we would not hesitate to use them again knowing they are safe and effective. 

Just remember. . . .Enjoy life – have fun with your dog!