Best Place to Purchase Baby Gates-- "Babies R Us" (thank you Gary Biba) *Important training tool to maintain sanity----Baby Gates limit muddy paws to tile, guests can enter home without dog paws, dogs can't bolt out the door, etc.
Best Newsletter on Natural Dog Care & Training-- The Whole Dog Journal 1-800-829-9165
Best Food Puzzle-- Kong stuffed with "kibbleloaf" (some canned dog food mixed in with canine's dry food). Put in Kong and freeze for 4-6 hours.
Best Place to Purchase Plush Toys-- Goodwill (just cut off plastic eyes and hot glue fabric together).
Best Shampoo-- Dr Bronner's Magic Soaps (Lavender, Peppermint etc). I use 1 part soap diluted with 8 parts water. For Goldens (and other long hairs) add 1 part Aloe Vera juice.
*Any shampoo will kill fleas that are on a dog, just leave shampoo on canine for 5 minutes.
*If your hands feel dry and rough after bathing your canine, shampoo is too harsh for your canine's coat.
*Frontline, but use half the recommended dosage, get the smaller size but don't save an opened vial.
*Halo Pets makes an all-natural flea dip made from essential oils that can be added to shampoo or diluted into a daily flea spray.
By Kathy Heck
One of our Goldens is a poop eater, and she is not even brand loyal. It can belong to her packmates, strange dogs, kitties, deer, etc. If it is poop, she goes for it. The technical term is coprohagia. No one knows why dogs eat poop, but they do. Logic tells us that if it bothered them like it bothers us, they would not do it. But it is still a very disgusting behavior especially from an otherwise darling Golden girl. In addition, it usually results in some extremely gross vomiting at a future point in time.
With three Goldens in our household, this has become a labor-intensive problem. None of them are allowed to poop unsupervised, and all poops are immediately picked up and placed out of harm’s way. Of course, a stern “No!” works when you are standing there, but that also means every outdoor moment must be supervised—at least until the other two dogs are emptied. With great diligence, we can control the backyard poop scene.
However, visits to our subdivision’s fenced park with our “doggie play group” have proved to be more challenging. The park is bordered on one side by a greenbelt that is frequented by deer. At night they graze the watered grass in the park and do what deer do—poop. Our little darling discovered deer poop and developed several nasty intestinal infections (giardia) compliments of Mr. & Ms. Deer. Or, as our Vet humorously put it, “due to dietary indiscretions.”
What to do? For the backyard problem with our other dogs, we tried putting meat tenderizer in their dogfood; then, we tried adding a commercially available tablet to their foodno success. The next step is "booby trapping" stools with Tabasco saucewe’ll let you know how it works. Thus far, supervision has been essential.
However, our time in the park is supposed to be “off leash, run & have fun” time (we go at the crack of dawn to avoid children and less dog-friendly folks). So, to control poop eating in that situation, our Vet suggested a muzzle like the Greyhounds wear. By searching the Internet, we discovered the National Greyhound Association’s website (National Greyhound Association, P.O. Box 543, Abilene, KS 67410, Telephone: 785-263-4660, Fax: 785-263-4689, Internet: www.nga.jc.net).
The NGA supply catalogue offers a variety of muzzles. However, I was mystified as to which one to order. I did what any smart shopper does and picked up the telephone. I jokingly told them I needed to speak to their “muzzle consultant” and was transferred to a wonderfully helpful woman in the order department. I explained our problem and she said, “Oh, what you need is a plastic kennel muzzle. The other models are fine, but you would need to add a poop shield to them.” Since “poop shields” are not listed on their order form, I guess she was kiddingbut who knows?! After I stopped laughing, I ordered two muzzles: a medium and a large. They are solid plastic in front to prevent eating and have large air holes on the sides. The muzzle has worked well, and the medium is a perfect fit for our petite 8-month-old female offender. Thankfully the strap is royal blue so it perfectly matches her collar—a girl does need to know how to accessorize, but this is a bit much!
