Dog News

Fun Fact Friday! A Dog's Sense of Sound

Posted on October 21, 2016 by Michael Moll

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

Dog with ear up listening

 

Fun Fact: A dog's sense of hearing is 4 times greater than humans!

Aside from a dog's super-smell power, hearing is their second most powerful sense. Dogs have a frequency range that is double that of the human ear. That is why we notice our dogs being alert to sound seconds or even minutes before you can hear the same sound. On the downside, loud and abrupt noises that may be totally normal to our ears can prove to be very uncomfortable to our canine companions. A lot of dogs grow super agitated and timid during thunderstorms - and this is why.  

Dogs have roughly 18 working muscles in their ear allowing them to rotate, raise, lower and tilt them in many different directions. They are able to move their ears around with a tremendous level of flexibility, playing a huge role in their ability to focus on exactly where a specific noise is coming from.

Unlike humans, dogs also have the ability to hear two different sounds at one time, one sound in each ear. So the next time you think your pup is ignoring you, remember that they are probably listening to you and another sound, they are just more interested in what they are hearing with the other ear.

 

Source (Image): Bright Mags
Source (Image): Scent Hound

Posted in Fun Fact

Dealing With Dog Shedding

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Michael Moll

TAMING THE HAIR IN YOUR HOME
husky dog in pile of hair

Almost every dog owner deals with the ongoing frustration of hair everywhere. Some dog breeds shed more than others and for different reasons - other than just being furry. The most common reasons for shedding are old, damaged or extra hair (double coated breeds). Although hair kinda comes with the territory of having a pup, there are ways to help reduce floating hair in your home.

Regular Brushing- daily brushing helps to remove the loose hairs before they have a chance to find a nice spot to land, like all over your black couch. Be sure to talk to your local groomer or pet store for the right type of brush for your dog's coat. This makes a big difference in successfully catching up all those loose fly-aways while brushing.

Regular Bathing- frequency of bathing depends on how “dirty” your dog gets on a regular basis. Typically once a month (if your dog is not constantly rolling in mud) is a good guideline to follow. A clean coat is generally a healthier coat. Make sure to get a gentle and moisturizing shampoo, conditioner is not a must, but it doesn't hurt!

High Quality Diet- feeding your furry friend a high quality balanced diet is key to maintaining healthy skin and therefore a healthy coat. Speak to your veterinarian regarding the best diet recommendation for your dog.

Bug Control- prevent your pet from unwanted parasites like fleas, mites and ticks. These are all parasites that will affect the health of your pet’s skin and coat. They cause itching, redness and irritation which leads to shedding.

Allergy Control- if your dog has seasonal or environmental allergies be sure to address these based on your veterinarian's recommendations. Typically it just takes medication or medicated shampoos. Itchy skin means increased shedding - aka more hair!

Vacuum Often- vacuuming as often as possible will obviously help with the hair and debris in the environment. Don’t forget to vacuum your dog's bed.

Regular Veterinary Visits - there are many skin conditions and internal diseases outside of the scary ones that can cause hair loss in patches. Regularly visiting your veterinarian will help to ensure that if any conditions arise, they will be treated accordingly.


You will never be able to eliminate shedding, but being mindful of these basic points can help to significantly reduce the daily hair balls flying around your home!

 

Source (Image): Bully Rubs Pet Care
Source (Image): Animal Health Care

Posted in Helpful Tips

Dog Meme Monday!

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Michael Moll

DON'T FORGET YOUR COFFEE THIS MONDAY MORNING!
dog in coffee costume

Posted in Dog Meme

Fun Fact Friday! Whiskers

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Michael Moll

Purpose Of Dog Whiskers 

up close dog face

 

Have you ever gazed over at your canine companion’s whiskers wondering “what are those long toe ticklers really for?” Fun fact, those strange looking coarse hairs around your dog’s muzzle, chin and eyes are actually packed with nerves. These particular hairs are very different than the rest of the fur on your dog's body. They play an important role in sending sensory messages to your dog's brain, much like the way our sense of smell, touch, sight, sound and taste send feedback to our human brains.


A dog’s whiskers aid him or her in determining the shape, size and speed of nearby objects, helping your dog with overall spatial awareness. They are also able to feel vibrations and subtle changes in the air through the follicles at the base of the hairs. This can be especially helpful in sensing danger approaching, providing an extra keen awareness of the surrounding environment. This is part of why dogs seem to have excellent medical intuition.


It is important that we understand the role whiskers have in our dogs lives, since some people find it tempting to trim whiskers for cosmetic reasons, but please don't. It will cause severe confusion for our pups, like losing one of our own five senses would.

 

Source (Image): Psychology Today 
Source (Image): CertaPet

Posted in Fun Fact

Reading Dog Body Language

Posted on October 12, 2016 by Michael Moll

It is important that we know how to read dog's body language. This can help us to determine if it is safe for us or our canine companions to approach another dog. Below are some helpful descriptions of dog body language. 

 

dog body language

Relaxed 

  1. Ears up 
  2. Head high 
  3. Mouth open
  4. Loose stance 
  5. Tail down and relaxed

Playful and Excited

 
  1. Pupils dilated
  2. Ears up
  3. Mouth open (tongue may be out)
  4. Front end lowered (like a bow)
  5. Tail up 
  6. Looks like they are ready to run

Alert 

  1. Eyes wide 
  2. Ears forward
  3. Smooth nose 
  4. Tail high
  5. Body tense
  6. Mouth closed
  7. Slight forward lean

Dominant  Aggressive    

  1. Ears forward
  2. Nose wrinkled
  3. Lips curled
  4. Teeth visible 
  5. Mouth open and C-shaped
  6. Stiff stance
  7. Hackles raised
  8. Tail raised

Fearful Aggressive  

  1. Ears back 
  2. Head can be raised or slightly raised
  3. Pupils dilated
  4. Nose wrinkled
  5. Lips curled 
  6. Hackles raised
  7. Body lowered
  8. Tail tucked (or raised if just being aggressive)

Anxious   

  1. Yawning 
  2.  Lip licking 
  3. Brief body freezing
  4. Head turned 
  5. Shaking
  6. Drooling
  7. Lack of focus
  8. Sweaty paws 

Frightened     

  1. Eye contact brief
  2. Ears back 
  3. Mouth closed 
  4. Body lowered and crouched
  5. Tail down

Submissive 

  1. Eyes partially closed
  2. Head turned to avoid eye contact
  3. Ears flat and back
  4. Rolls onto back
  5. Tail tucked 
  6. May pee 
  7. Corners of mouth back

Before you approach any strange dog, look for signs of relaxed or playful body language and always ask the owner if it is ok to approach.


Source: Modern Dog
Source (Image): Dog Listener
Source (Image): Modern Dog

Posted in Helpful Tips

Fun Fact Friday! Determining Your Dogs Age in Human Years

Posted on October 07, 2016 by Michael Moll

Dogs VS Human Aging 

dog lifestages

 

There are many myths that float around about dogs, one of the biggest being about the way dog's age in comparison to humans. It has been noted that for every year a dog is alive, it equivalents to 7 human years. This is inaccurate! It is true that dogs age much faster than humans, but the rate in which they age is dependant on their size. Small dogs (<20 pounds) age the slowest and large dogs (>90 pounds) age the quickest. 

Every dog is considered a senior by the age of 7-8 years old, but the difference in human years between a small and large or giant breed is significant. Therefore a giant breeds life-span is said to be much shorter than one of a small breed. 
Below you can see the comparison between small, medium, large and giant breeds aging vs humans. 

 

dog aging chart

 

Source (Image): Science
Source (Image): Pet Health Network
Source (Image): Woofipedia

Posted in Fun Fact

Chocolate Toxicity In Dogs

Posted on October 05, 2016 by Michael Moll

Chocolate And Dogs

dog eating chocolate

As we move closer to chocolate infested holidays - you know, Halloween and Christmas - it's super crucial to think about hiding places for your chocolatey treats. Most dogs will take any opportunity the eat something sweet if they can access it, so you need to ensure that everyone in the household understands just how bad chocolate is for our furry friends. Chocolate Toxicity is not a myth - it is a certain recipe for severe consequences.

Chocolate contains a substance called methylxanthines (caffeine and theobromine). The level of methylxanthines in chocolate varies based on the type (dark, milk, white chocolate). Theobromine is similar to caffeine as it is medicinally used as a heart stimulant, blood vessel dilator, and smooth muscle relaxant. Theobromine toxicity can result in very severe clinical signs if it is left untreated. Symptoms include:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Increase in body temperature
Increase in reflex response
Muscle rigidity
Hyperactivity
Increased heart rate
Decreased blood pressure
Seizures
Weakness
Heart Failure
Coma

Basically, chocolate is a huge NO for our dogs. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is. This makes baking chocolate and high-quality dark chocolate the most dangerous. Toxic doses can be as low as 20 mg of chocolate. If your pet ever ingests chocolate, it is crucial that you contact your veterinarian as well as the Pet Poison Helpline @ 1-800-213-6680 immediately.

Below are some helpful charts from PetMD outlining the different types of chocolate and the amount of theobromine/caffeine per serving.
 
Common Household Items Serving Theobrominea Caffeinea
Ice Cream Rich Chocolate 1 cup ( 148g) 178mg 5.9mg
Peanut M&M's 1 cup (170g) 184mg 17mg
Ready to Eat Chocolate Pudding 4 oz (108g) 75.6mg 2.2mg
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar 1.55 oz (43g) 64mg 9mg
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup 2 Tbsp (39g) 64mg 5mg
Hershey's KISSES (Milk Chocolate) 9 pieces (41g) 61mg 9mg
Hershey's Semi-Sweet Baking Bar 1 Tbsp (15g) 55mg 7mg
Cookies, brownies, commercially prepared 1 Square (2 –3/4” sq x 7/8") (56g) 43.7mg 1.1mg
KIT KAT Wafer Bar 1 bar (42g) 48.7mg 5.9mg
REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups (2pk) 2 cups (45g) 32.4mg 3.2mg
Doughnut, cake-type, chocolate, sugared or glazed 1 Doughnut (3' dia) (43g) 12.6mg 0.6mg
Chocolate Chip Cookies , made with margarine 1 Cookie Med (2 1/4" dia) (16g) 20.3mg 2.6mg
Milky Way 1 bar (58g) 37.1 mg 3.5mg
Generic Hot Fudge Sundae Topping 1 Sundae (158g) 77.4mg 1.6mg
REESE'S PIECES Candy 1 package (46g) 0mg 0mg

 

Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, processed with alkali [Dutch cocoa] 1 cup (86g) 2266 mg 67.1mg
Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares 1 cup, grated (132g) 1712 mg 106mg
Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened 1 cup (86g) 1769 mg 198mg
Baking chocolate, unsweetened, liquid 1 oz (28g) 447 mg 13.2mg
Puddings, chocolate flavor, low calorie, regular, dry mix 1 Package (40g) 238 mg 7.2mg
Desserts, rennin, chocolate, dry mix 1 Package, 2 oz (57g) 242 mg 7.4mg
Puddings, chocolate flavor, low calorie, instant, dry mix 1 Package, 1.4oz box (40g) 189 mg 5.6mg
Syrups, chocolate, HERSHEY'S Genuine Chocolate Flavored Lite Syrup 2 tbsp (35g) 68.3 mg 2.1mg
Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, processed with alkali 1 oz (28g) 685 mg 20.2mg
Candies, chocolate, dark, 70-85% cacao solids I bar (101g) 810 mg 80.8mg
Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, plain 1 Tbsp (5g) 92.6 mg 10.3mg

 

Source: PetMD
Source (Image): Pets4Homes
Source (Image): MADMIKESAMERICA

Posted in Helpful Tips