Circus Animals. Tortured to Entertain You

Yes, even in a city as progressive as Bellingham an animal circus still came to town. The Shrine Circus was at SportsPlex Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We were there all 3 days protesting them. We stood on the sidewalk and peacefully held our signs depicting how animals are tortured in a circus. Most people hung there head as they passed by, holding their child's hand. Some asked questions, some took literature, some walked in saw the animals in chains and turned away and left. A tiger sat in the parking lot, drugged, rubbing its head along the bars of the metal cage.

Please take a moment to write a letter to our Mayor Dan Pike about how we encourage and support animal free circus in Bellingham.

Doggie Socials easter party

Hope you can join us for our annual small dog easter party on Sunday April 4th from 10am to 12 noon

Enjoy our regular Doggie Social Event, easter egg hunt and special bunny cookies!

Normal requirements and fees apply. For more information, check us out at www.tails-a-wagging.com

Fabulous Fidos

I can't wait to tell you about a new class we are offering FABULOUS FIDOS!

This class is an intermediate level class that focuses on different aspects of the relationship between guardian and the companion dog. In it we build on basic obedience skills, adding more advanced skills such as attention, team work focused on heeling and Rally Obedience type exercises, impulse control exercises including recall past difficult distractions and stay with multiple distractions, skills building trust and relationship such as games, tricks and agility skills and some basic off leash distance work incorporating trust, relationship, attention, obedience and play.

This is also a great class for mildly reactive dogs, with permission from instructor.

Hope to see you there!

Canine Papilloma Virus

When ever dogs play with each other (dog parks, day care, play dates ect) there is always the risk of transmission of disease. Just like kids playing at school, they can pass things like colds and flu... With dogs we concern ourselves with other things.

Primarily:

Internal Parasites (worms)

External Parasites (fleas)

Viruses

Here at Tails-A-Wagging we counter balance the risk of disease by having an extreme cleaning regimen, as well as a physical environment that limits the ability to spread disease (rubber floor/walls) Everything the dogs come in contact with is cleaned every day. The floors, the playroom walls, the yard, toys, toothbrushes, beds ect. We also require all dogs who attend day care to be current on DHPP, Bordetella and Rabies, and show proof of a negative fecal test every 6 months.

We will spend some time over the next month talking about certain canine disease and concerns, but for today lets talk about CPV.

Canine Papilloma Virus is a viral wart that can be transmitted from one dog to another with normal play.

Certain viruses are able to cause the growth of small round skin tumors commonly referred to as warts. It is important to realize that viral warts are a specific condition and that a growth on the dog’s skin may or may not represent a viral wart.
Human warts are round, somewhat flat, and relatively smooth. Viral warts in dogs tend to possess frond-like structures creating more of a sea anemone or cauliflower-like appearance, though they can be smooth as well. The classical canine viral wart patient is a young dog with warts in or around the mouth or eyes. In such cases where warts have a classic appearance in a classic patient, diagnosis may be obvious but in older patients with warts in locations other than the face, other types of growths become more likely. Because growths can appear harmless but behave malignantly, removal and biopsy are often recommended.

Viral papillomas are round but often have a rough, almost jagged surface reminiscent of a sea anemone or a cauliflower. They occur usually on the lips and muzzle of a young dog (usually less than 2 years of age). Less commonly, papillomas can occur on the eyelids and even the surface of the eye or between the toes. Usually they occur in groups rather than as solitary growths.

HOW IS THIS VIRUS TRANSMITTED?
The infection is transmitted via direct contact with the papillomas on an infected dog or with the virus in the pet’s environment. The incubation period is 2-3 months. This virus can only be spread among dogs. It is not contagious to other pets or to humans. To become infected, the dog generally needs an immature immune system, thus this infection is primarily one of young dogs and puppies. Beyond this, transmission details are sketchy. It is not known whether the infected dog must actually show visible lesions to be contagious, nor how long after regression of lesions contagion is still of concern.

ARE VIRAL PAPILLOMAS DANGEROUS?
Not really. They should go away on their own as the dog’s immune system matures and generates a response against the papillomavirus. There have been two cases published where viral papillomas progressed to malignancy but this is extremely rare and by no means the usual course of the infection. Typically, it takes 1-5 months for papillomas to regress with oral growths tending to regress sooner than those around the eyes.

TREATMENT
In most cases, treatment is unnecessary; one simply allows the papillomas to go away on their own. Tumors can be surgically removed or frozen off cryogenically. Sometimes crushing several growths seems to stimulate the host’s immune system to assist in the tumor regression process. Some veterinarians have also showed using the antibiotic Azithromycin effective.
Boosting your dogs’ immune system is also the best chance of the warts going away. Antioxidant supplements and added Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are a good addition to your dogs diet.

Since the papillomas is considered contagious to other dogs, if we find a lesion we suspect might be canine papilloma virus your dog will be removed from the play group and sent home. Your veterinarian needs to determine if it is indeed CPV. If you dog is diagnosed with CPV you cannot bring your dog to day care, and you need to let us know to cancel your dogs scheduled days. Your dog needs to be lesion free for 10 days in order to return to day care.

New Dog Toys.. WE LOVE

I have to tell you about my new favorite dog toys. ok, not only MY favorite, but my dogs favorite. We love the Dog Magic, the dog Spinny and the Dog Tornado.

Basically they are dog puzzles. As many of your know, all of my dogs eat form some kind of puzzle toy at every meal. Usually its a kong, but we also use, Talk to me Treat balls, Bob's A lot and Orbee balls. THEN... I found these! So easy to use, easy to clean and keeps my dogs thinking.

It was very interesting the first time I gave them the puzzle. Each dog tackled the problem differently. Pudge is all about muscle... getting to the food with brute force. Percy, systematically took his time and bit by bit he figured it out. Meg, got mad at it and barked, but eventually took her time and got thru it. Morocco... he ate a bit then kept coming to find me to assist him. What a baby... Sorry, Morocco. Its all for you. No cheating. It took him the longest.

I like using these to give my dogs options for activities. When our dogs have their own jobs, I can leave them and they look at me and say "see ya, I have my work to do" and they have no anxiety about me leaving.

Check them out... all are at PetStop in Sehome Village 738-3663

Does your Dog Have A Great Life?

What makes a dog happy and content? How do you know your dog LOVES his life?

Best way to know is to understand that dogs, as social-thinking animals, need to be kept active with both mind and body. They need stimulation of new situations, adventures, social interactions and activities.

Here is an example of a dogs perfect day:

Wake Up

Have Breakfast, enjoy scavenging his entire meal from a few activity feeders that dispense food a bit at a time. A fun tip is to hide these in the house! Meal time is no longer 30 seconds of scarfing his food, now its 30 to 60 minutes of pure bliss! Using his natural scavenging instincts.

Go for a walk with the family. New Routes are particularly enjoyable. Practice sits an downs at each stop.

Play with food stuffed toys whiles family is away during the day. Try a "bucket" filled with a few stuffed Kong's, a bully stick layered with several plush toys. This is a fun game in of itself... going thru all the items in the bucket (bucket is a new, clean container that has never been used for cleaning products)

Pre arranged play date, afternoon of doggie day care or trip to an acceptable dog park for some much needed social time. Dog need friends too! Someone they can have predictable interactions with. Dog parks can be tricky- as you never know who is going to be there (good or bad) so plan ahead, let other well manners pooch parents know when and where to meet up.

Enjoy another walk or maybe some back yard play time with the family. Spending at least 15 minutes practicing training or learning some new tricks.

Dinner: Enjoy scavenging meal from a different activity feeder.

Off to bed in a big, soft bed, especially for him.

Does that seem like your dogs typical day? It should be... bored dogs are frustrated dogs and we know that energy HAS TO come out some how. Are you planning how that energy is released thru planned activities or seeing the negative side effects with reactive barking, destruction of house items, digging and all around bad manners.

Take some time to think about what your dog wants the most. Fun ways to keep his mind and body entertained

Do our Dogs Need to Wear Coats?

We get this questions a lot... dogs have their own coats right? So why on earth do they need to wear a top coat?

The answer lies with you...Our dogs are indoor dogs. They sleep in our beds, sun bath on the kitchen floor and lay by the fire. Since we have acclimated our dogs to the indoor thermostat its fair to say they have lost some of their adaptability to the elements. By the time you need a hat and gloves its time for Fido to get a coat.

Now, what type of coat? Yes, my dogs are true fashion-istas but were are taking about practicality here, not fashion. The coat needs to be easy to get on and off, no leg holes please. Its needs to cover their chore/chest. It needs to fit snugly and be secured with clips or Velcro. The outer shell should be water proof with a fleece lining for comfort. It should be machine washable and have a bit of reflective aspect to it too.

Be aware there are boy coats and girl coats, for anatomical reasons... no one wants Buddy to put on a girl coat only to wee on the coat when he goes outside!

Where do you get a dog coat? Best is at a local store. Take your dog in with you, try it on. PetStop in Sehome Village and Bow Wow and Woofs in Blaine are my favorite. Good selection of top quality coats. Your dogs coat should last a lifetime, so expect to pay $40 to $80 for it, depending on their size. For jumbo dogs check out NeoDogWare.com a local company who caters to giant breeds.

So... remember when you find yourself reaching for a bit more than your own coat, Fido has needs too.