Brr...As the UK seems to be heading for another cold snap, I thought I'd issue a severe weather warning of my own:
Beware of dogs and ice!
A good few years ago I was walking my three dogs by a huge frozen lake. Now these dogs all hated the water even the terrier x Lab, Archie. But this day, Archie decided to fling himself across the ice in a well executed flying spin. His life - and mine if I was stupid enough to risk the ice - flashed before my eyes. How would I tell my children? Could I ever forgive myself? Of course I should have realised that dogs can't know the dangers. To Archie the scary water was now a new pasture for him to explore. There he was,pirouetting amongst the gobsmacked ducks, ignoring my calls and pretending to be Dean - or should it be Torvill? - while I watched helplessly by the shore. Eventually, I remembered I had an ace and shouted, 'chicken!'into the frozen air. He came skating back and, of course, I told him he was a good boy and gave him a treat, while crying into my scarf.
Tip - If your clients house their dogs outside, get them to hang a thermometer in the kennel. It's illegal to keep dogs in temperatures below 10c so if it drops this low, suggest they buy a kennel heater.
And don't forget about you. I won't go all mumsy on you and tell you to wear your vest, but a good hat and a piece of healthy(ish) cake, will help keep you warm. For the easiest and tastiest cake, look in this fab book, How to feed your whole family... The 'wholesome' cake recipes are great.
Did any one see the Trinny and Suzanne Meet Their Match with the dog owning girls? Loved it.
The photograph in this post is used with kind permission from Phil Lee. Find him and more stunning photographs here.
Tip - If your clients house their dogs outside, get them to hang a thermometer in the kennel. It's illegal to keep dogs in temperatures below 10c so if it drops this low, suggest they buy a kennel heater.
And don't forget about you. I won't go all mumsy on you and tell you to wear your vest, but a good hat and a piece of healthy(ish) cake, will help keep you warm. For the easiest and tastiest cake, look in this fab book, How to feed your whole family... The 'wholesome' cake recipes are great.
Did any one see the Trinny and Suzanne Meet Their Match with the dog owning girls? Loved it.
The photograph in this post is used with kind permission from Phil Lee. Find him and more stunning photographs here.
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7 comments:
Good advice Fiona. What a relief that Archie responded to 'chicken'.
Off to check out 'healthy cakes'.
"Did any one see the Trinny and Suzanne Meet Their Match with the dog owning girls? Loved it."
Saw it? I was on it! ;) http://www.minashouse.btinternet.co.uk/02.jpg That's me on the right. They didn't really show our 'after', possibly due to me complaining about the silly shoes they gave me. Fab for a night out, but pants for walking across unkempt grass!
My old dog Buster once ran out onto an icy pond, chasing ducks. He got a big shock when he got to the end of the ice and ran into very cold water. That was the end of our walk, which had only just begun. We both learned our lesson that day.
Lane - it could have gone horribly wrong. He might have thought I was questioning his bravery and performed more leaps and jumps.
Mina - OMG. Where you? I must watch it again on iPlayer. It did look great fun but I don't know if I could give up my army boots and cargo trousers for anyone.
I haven't changed the way I dress most of the time, but I will now occasionally change out of mud-spattered trousers to go to the shops!
I didn't get much airtime - my after wasn't shown, but I did a twirl on the catwalk! I'll be putting some photos up on my websites once I've got them sorted out.
A question. I know it's not related to petsitting but I hope you don't mind.
Peggy is in season. She is 3 years old. It's not really that much bother although she's missing her walks at the moment.
My other dog Teabag is four and she was speyed very young before we had her.
The balance between them is fine. They get on well. Only the very occasional scrap.
Should I leave Peggy unspeyed? Are their any health connotations to this? And do you think having her 'done' would upset the balance between them?
I do believe, Lane, that it may upset the balance between them if it is Peggy who is more dominant? If it is Teabag who is 'in charge', then having Peggy speyed would increase Teabag's authority which would be fine.
How does Teabag behave towards Peggy when she is in season? Are there more squabbles would you say?
Many people spey their bitches to prevent ovarian related tumours but there can be side effects such as a slight bladder leakage. I think this is more common with dogs who are speyed before their first season.
I would discuss the pros and cons first with the head nurse if poss - otherwise you would have to pay for consultaion. She or he should have some leaflets on the subject as well as explaining more fully than I can.
On the whole, I believe that speying the less dominant female is a good thing and speying the more dominant one is not - unless there are medical reasons or they get on really, really well:) Take you time researching this and bare in mind that your vet may only look at the medical advantages to Peggy unless he/she is qualified in canine behaviour.
Hope this is usefully but it is just my opinion:) Good luck.
Thanks for this Fiona. It's really helpful.
Peggy is the dominant dog physically. She uses her weight when she needs to. Having said that psychologically, Teabag is the dominant one as she is bright and the first one Peg turns to in times of trouble. The balance between them seems to be just fine which is why I'm wary of upsetting it. I really don't want Peggy to become any more dominant as I know Teabag could be easily bullied.
Thanks so much for this and I'll look into it further.
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