Welcome! 
Dog of the Day
"Who is next in line to pet me?"
Best Friends!
"That is the spot!" 
Dog Walking on a beautiful day!
blue cape
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
It Is Starting To Feel Like Florida Again
Welcome! Dog of the Day"Who is next in line to pet me?"Best Friends!"That is the spot!" Dog Walking on a beautiful day! 
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Walking Poop-er Puppy"
Thank you Sandy Mann for puting this article together for our puppy raisers. Very good information!
Hi, everyone – the “walking poop-er puppy” and the “will busy-in-coat puppy” – these are puppies that generally will not do #2 unless they have walked a certain distance and ones that will hold it until they have to go so bad, almost nothing will stop them from going.
This issue comes up from time to time with puppies and I wanted to give those of you who may be dealing with it some pointers (thank you to Karen for some great ideas on this one).
For those of you whose puppies do #2 very quickly and that never busy in coat or on a walk, count your blessings ! For those of you who don’t currently have a guide dog puppy, please keep this information in the back of your mind in case the puppy you get is like this or in case you puppy sit a puppy that will not busy quickly.
NOTE: Most young pups will poop the same number of times that they eat. In other words, if they eat 3 times a day, they will generally poop 3 times a day. Some older puppies will only poop once a day even though they are fed twice a day – get to know your puppy’s schedule and you will be more than half way there….
If your puppy is very young, the best thing you can do to avoid this problem is to take the puppy outside about 5 to 10 minutes after he has finished eating and tell him to busy. Keep the puppy moving around you in a circle until he goes. If he stops moving, use your leash to get him moving in circles again. You can also take one or two steps away from the puppy in order to get him up and moving again. If he doesn’t do #2 within 5 minutes of moving around in circles, put him back in his kennel for 5 to 15 minutes. Then take him outside and try again. Repeat until the puppy goes #2 then reward BIG TIME – using “Good busy”, lots of petting, go inside into the air conditioning if that is what the puppy likes, some play time or a nice long walk. Do not take the puppy for a walk unless he has busied first. We don’t want the puppy to get in the habit of walking to find the perfect spot to go – this is a big problem for guide dog users.
As the puppy gets older, you will need to know your puppy and whether or not he should be ready to busy (especially true for #2). If you think he will need to busy, give him up to 3 minutes to do it. If the puppy busies when he is told to, tell him “good busy”, give him a pat and take him for a nice walk or play with him so that the walk/play gives him an extra reward for doing his busy quickly. If you were planning on going into a store, put the puppy coat on the puppy and have a nice outing (the chance to work and get attention are part of the puppy’s reward in this scenario). If you are at home and the puppy doesn’t do his busy in 3 minutes, he goes back in his kennel for 10 to 15 minutes, no long walk, no playtime. After the 10to 15 minutes, take him outside again and keep him walking for another 3 minutes or until he busies.
For ALL puppies - Before you go in a store or on an exercise/training walk – try to give your puppy ample time to busy (both #1 and #2) before you go in a store or on a walk. If he busies #1, and won’t do #2, try moving a few feet to a new location and see if that helps. Make sure the puppy goes in circles around you (remember to plant your feet in one spot) and give him the busy command. If he goes #1 and #2, you should be good for a certain period of time depending on the puppy’s age. For small puppies this may only be ½ hour.
If you are at a store and the puppy won’t busy, you can try putting the puppy in coat, walk into the store for 2 to 4 minutes then go back outside and try to busy your puppy again (removing the puppy coat first of course). Repeat this until your puppy has done his business.
If your puppy starts to busy while in a store – immediately give the puppy verbal (say “No!”) and leash correction. If he hasn’t actually done his business in the store, and the puppy is small enough, pick him up, tuck his tail between his legs and quickly exit the store. If he is too big to pick up, have him sit immediately! Take a few steps and an immediate sit, a few more steps and an immediate sit, etc., all the way to the door. Take him to an appropriate location, take his puppy coat off and tell him to busy. Praise him if he does his busy when you tell him to. Of course always carry cleanup supplies including a couple of plastic bags (sometimes one is not enough), paper towels and some wet hand wipes (these work for cleaning up the floor and your hands afterwards). If your puppy has made a mess in the store, clean it up immediately and remember, it happens to all of us at some point or another.
If the puppy starts to busy on route (a working walk) or during an exercise/fun walk - immediately give the puppy a leash and verbal correction. Then pick a place not too far down the road/sidewalk, etc. where you chose to allow the puppy to busy. Remove the puppy coat if it is on and tell the puppy to busy. Praise him if he does his business when you tell him to.
If you puppy already has a habit of busying at a specific location on route or on an exercise/fun walk- first give the puppy ample time to busy (but no more than 5 minutes) before starting your walk. Make sure you keep him walking in circles around you while telling him to busy. If he doesn’t busy, try putting him in his kennel for a few minutes so he doesn’t eliminate in your house, then take him outside to try again. If he doesn’t busy when told the second time, you have two options – 1) put him back in his kennel and try again in a few minutes or 2) if waiting another 10 to 15 minutes is not an option, go ahead with your walk, but make sure you take precautions indicated below so that he isn’t allowed to busy at a place of his choosing.
Regardless of whether your puppy busied before you started your walk or not, he may still try to stop and busy at his “selected” place. To avoid this, stop a few feet before you get to the location he typically does his business. Remove his coat if it is on and then tell him to busy. Praise him if he goes and then continue on your walk. Make sure you walk QUICKLY past the location your puppy likes to poop and do NOT let him sniff the area.
If the puppy didn’t busy before you started your walk and if he doesn’t busy when you tell him to before you reach his preferred busy area, stop the walk and go back home (do not go past his “normal” busy location). Make sure you give him time to busy at a location you select before you go inside. If he doesn’t busy, make sure you immediately put him in his kennel so he doesn’t go in the house.
If you are successful in getting him to busy before his selected busy spot, try to reduce the distance you travel each day before asking him to busy. Each day stop a few more feet sooner than you did the day before. Eventually he should start doing his business when you tell him to before the walk.
I hope this helps.
Thank you for all you do for your puppies.
Sandy
Hi, everyone – the “walking poop-er puppy” and the “will busy-in-coat puppy” – these are puppies that generally will not do #2 unless they have walked a certain distance and ones that will hold it until they have to go so bad, almost nothing will stop them from going.
This issue comes up from time to time with puppies and I wanted to give those of you who may be dealing with it some pointers (thank you to Karen for some great ideas on this one).
For those of you whose puppies do #2 very quickly and that never busy in coat or on a walk, count your blessings ! For those of you who don’t currently have a guide dog puppy, please keep this information in the back of your mind in case the puppy you get is like this or in case you puppy sit a puppy that will not busy quickly.
NOTE: Most young pups will poop the same number of times that they eat. In other words, if they eat 3 times a day, they will generally poop 3 times a day. Some older puppies will only poop once a day even though they are fed twice a day – get to know your puppy’s schedule and you will be more than half way there….
If your puppy is very young, the best thing you can do to avoid this problem is to take the puppy outside about 5 to 10 minutes after he has finished eating and tell him to busy. Keep the puppy moving around you in a circle until he goes. If he stops moving, use your leash to get him moving in circles again. You can also take one or two steps away from the puppy in order to get him up and moving again. If he doesn’t do #2 within 5 minutes of moving around in circles, put him back in his kennel for 5 to 15 minutes. Then take him outside and try again. Repeat until the puppy goes #2 then reward BIG TIME – using “Good busy”, lots of petting, go inside into the air conditioning if that is what the puppy likes, some play time or a nice long walk. Do not take the puppy for a walk unless he has busied first. We don’t want the puppy to get in the habit of walking to find the perfect spot to go – this is a big problem for guide dog users.
As the puppy gets older, you will need to know your puppy and whether or not he should be ready to busy (especially true for #2). If you think he will need to busy, give him up to 3 minutes to do it. If the puppy busies when he is told to, tell him “good busy”, give him a pat and take him for a nice walk or play with him so that the walk/play gives him an extra reward for doing his busy quickly. If you were planning on going into a store, put the puppy coat on the puppy and have a nice outing (the chance to work and get attention are part of the puppy’s reward in this scenario). If you are at home and the puppy doesn’t do his busy in 3 minutes, he goes back in his kennel for 10 to 15 minutes, no long walk, no playtime. After the 10to 15 minutes, take him outside again and keep him walking for another 3 minutes or until he busies.
For ALL puppies - Before you go in a store or on an exercise/training walk – try to give your puppy ample time to busy (both #1 and #2) before you go in a store or on a walk. If he busies #1, and won’t do #2, try moving a few feet to a new location and see if that helps. Make sure the puppy goes in circles around you (remember to plant your feet in one spot) and give him the busy command. If he goes #1 and #2, you should be good for a certain period of time depending on the puppy’s age. For small puppies this may only be ½ hour.
If you are at a store and the puppy won’t busy, you can try putting the puppy in coat, walk into the store for 2 to 4 minutes then go back outside and try to busy your puppy again (removing the puppy coat first of course). Repeat this until your puppy has done his business.
If your puppy starts to busy while in a store – immediately give the puppy verbal (say “No!”) and leash correction. If he hasn’t actually done his business in the store, and the puppy is small enough, pick him up, tuck his tail between his legs and quickly exit the store. If he is too big to pick up, have him sit immediately! Take a few steps and an immediate sit, a few more steps and an immediate sit, etc., all the way to the door. Take him to an appropriate location, take his puppy coat off and tell him to busy. Praise him if he does his busy when you tell him to. Of course always carry cleanup supplies including a couple of plastic bags (sometimes one is not enough), paper towels and some wet hand wipes (these work for cleaning up the floor and your hands afterwards). If your puppy has made a mess in the store, clean it up immediately and remember, it happens to all of us at some point or another.
If the puppy starts to busy on route (a working walk) or during an exercise/fun walk - immediately give the puppy a leash and verbal correction. Then pick a place not too far down the road/sidewalk, etc. where you chose to allow the puppy to busy. Remove the puppy coat if it is on and tell the puppy to busy. Praise him if he does his business when you tell him to.
If you puppy already has a habit of busying at a specific location on route or on an exercise/fun walk- first give the puppy ample time to busy (but no more than 5 minutes) before starting your walk. Make sure you keep him walking in circles around you while telling him to busy. If he doesn’t busy, try putting him in his kennel for a few minutes so he doesn’t eliminate in your house, then take him outside to try again. If he doesn’t busy when told the second time, you have two options – 1) put him back in his kennel and try again in a few minutes or 2) if waiting another 10 to 15 minutes is not an option, go ahead with your walk, but make sure you take precautions indicated below so that he isn’t allowed to busy at a place of his choosing.
Regardless of whether your puppy busied before you started your walk or not, he may still try to stop and busy at his “selected” place. To avoid this, stop a few feet before you get to the location he typically does his business. Remove his coat if it is on and then tell him to busy. Praise him if he goes and then continue on your walk. Make sure you walk QUICKLY past the location your puppy likes to poop and do NOT let him sniff the area.
If the puppy didn’t busy before you started your walk and if he doesn’t busy when you tell him to before you reach his preferred busy area, stop the walk and go back home (do not go past his “normal” busy location). Make sure you give him time to busy at a location you select before you go inside. If he doesn’t busy, make sure you immediately put him in his kennel so he doesn’t go in the house.
If you are successful in getting him to busy before his selected busy spot, try to reduce the distance you travel each day before asking him to busy. Each day stop a few more feet sooner than you did the day before. Eventually he should start doing his business when you tell him to before the walk.
I hope this helps.
Thank you for all you do for your puppies.
Sandy
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Do You Want To Go For A Walk?
"Am I supposed to look at the camera?"
"Ready?" 
"Are you following us?" 
"Did I blink?"
"Did you say something about a treat?"This Blog was done by Alli Marshall an intern at Southeastern Guide Dogs. Thanks Alli I LOVE the pictures. But can you tell me what their names are? HEE HEE...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Grape Toxicity
For the past few years, there have been discussions flying around the veterinary community as to whether grapes were toxic to dogs and what attribute of the grape was actually causing a problem. Dogs were suddenly appearing with signs of kidney failure that had no known exposure to any commonly known toxins such as anti-freeze. With the Pet Poison Control Center having operated in Illinois now for over 10 years, enough data has been collected to say that yes, there is a connection in some dogs between ingestion of grapes or raisins and kidney disease. Researchers are still looking in to what it is in the grape that might be causing the problem. Some were speculating that it was a pesticide on the grape which has now been disproven. Others thought it was a substance in grape seeds which has also been disproven. The odd thing about this apparent toxicity is that not all dogs are susceptible to it and the current thought is that the problem is due to something in the grape skin itself. Despite on going research, I would recommend that no dog be given grapes or raisins. It is obviously not worth the risk.
The other unexpected toxicity issue which has popped up is what is called Cycad toxicity or poisoning associated with chewing on parts of a palm trees in the Cycad family. Palm trees in the Cycad family, including Saga and Cardboard Palms, have a potent toxin that causes rapid and severe liver damage. I would advise not including these palms in landscaping where dogs might come in contact with them. If these palms are around, obviously prevent the dog from putting any of the plant in his or her mouth. Below is a partial list of common plants that can cause toxicity issues with dogs.
Potentially Cardiotoxic Plants:
Lily of the Valley- Convallaria majalis
Oleander- Nerium oleander
Rhododendron species
Japanese, American, English, and Western Yew- Taxus species
Foxgove- Digitalis purpurea
Kalanchoe species
Kalmia species
Plants that could cause kidney failure:
Rhubarb (Rheum species)- leaves only
Plants that could cause liver failure:
Cycad, Sago, Zamia Palm (Cycad species)
Amanita mushrooms
Plants that can cause multi-system effects
Autumn Crocus (Colchicum species)
Castor Bean (Ricinus species)
Plants containing Calcium Oxalate Crystals
Peace lilies, Calla lilies, Philodendrons, Dumb Cane, Mother in Law, and Pothos plants contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. These crystals can cause mechanical irritation of the oral cavity and tongue when plant material is ingested. Clinical signs that are usually include regurgitation, oral pain, trouble eating, and anorexia. The signs are rarely severe and usually respond to supportive care.
Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum sp)
Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopiea)
Philodendron (Philodendron sp)
Dumb Cane ( Dieffenbachia sp)
Mother in Law plant (Monstera sp)
Pothos (Epipremnum sp)
Thanks everyone for taking such good care of our dogs and continually watching out for their well being!
Jerry L. Edington, D.V.M.
Director of Veterinary and Breeding Services
The other unexpected toxicity issue which has popped up is what is called Cycad toxicity or poisoning associated with chewing on parts of a palm trees in the Cycad family. Palm trees in the Cycad family, including Saga and Cardboard Palms, have a potent toxin that causes rapid and severe liver damage. I would advise not including these palms in landscaping where dogs might come in contact with them. If these palms are around, obviously prevent the dog from putting any of the plant in his or her mouth. Below is a partial list of common plants that can cause toxicity issues with dogs.
Potentially Cardiotoxic Plants:
Lily of the Valley- Convallaria majalis
Oleander- Nerium oleander
Rhododendron species
Japanese, American, English, and Western Yew- Taxus species
Foxgove- Digitalis purpurea
Kalanchoe species
Kalmia species
Plants that could cause kidney failure:
Rhubarb (Rheum species)- leaves only
Plants that could cause liver failure:
Cycad, Sago, Zamia Palm (Cycad species)
Amanita mushrooms
Plants that can cause multi-system effects
Autumn Crocus (Colchicum species)
Castor Bean (Ricinus species)
Plants containing Calcium Oxalate Crystals
Peace lilies, Calla lilies, Philodendrons, Dumb Cane, Mother in Law, and Pothos plants contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. These crystals can cause mechanical irritation of the oral cavity and tongue when plant material is ingested. Clinical signs that are usually include regurgitation, oral pain, trouble eating, and anorexia. The signs are rarely severe and usually respond to supportive care.
Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum sp)
Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopiea)
Philodendron (Philodendron sp)
Dumb Cane ( Dieffenbachia sp)
Mother in Law plant (Monstera sp)
Pothos (Epipremnum sp)
Thanks everyone for taking such good care of our dogs and continually watching out for their well being!
Jerry L. Edington, D.V.M.
Director of Veterinary and Breeding Services
Monday, February 7, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)