Halloween is too Scary!

Wearing our Halloween kerchiefs 

We like doing tricks to get treats!  I think all dogs do. But not all dogs like when humans do trick or treat on Halloween.

Sure, some dogs like to get dressed up in costumes but some dogs don’t.  DixieLee and I don’t like to be dressed up.  We like pretty collars and even kerchiefs but say no to anything else.

Our job is to protect our house.  We get overwhelmed when lots of peoples come to our house on Halloween night.  And it’s not just that there are lots of them, they don’t look like friendly peoples, some look very, very scary!

And then there are the “treats”.  In our house, we get treats that are sort of healthy.  On Halloween, most treats are not so healthy.  In fact, some of them are so bad they can make a dog died.  Lots of peoples buy chocolate candy and chocolate is poison to dogs!

Chocolate isn’t the only treat that is bad.  Some candy is made with Xylitol, a make believe sweetener.  Xylitol is poisonous to dogs and cats!  Treats that peoples think are healthy, like raisins, can make dogs really sick too.  So if your humans give chocolate or other treat to the peoples who come to the door, make sure they keep it out of reach.  Even though we know certain things are bad for us, they can be awfully tempting.

Empty candy wrappers are also tempting but if you eat them the foil and cellophane can get caught up in your belly and make you so sick you could died or at least have to go to the vet and get an operation.  Everyone knows that operations are not fun so it is best not to eat stuff you shouldn’t.

There are things we don’t eat that are also dangerous for pets at Halloween (and other times too).  Candles make a house look spooky but they can cause a big fire if they get knocked over by a super excited tail.

Childrens like toys called Glow Sticks.  Glow sticks and glow jewelry are fun toys for children to carry on Halloween.  If you live in a house with cats, tell them that glow sticks are really pretty but that they should not chew on them.  The stuff that makes the glow will make you sick!

DixieLee and I going to stay in the bedroom and listen to pretty music on Halloween and let Mom and Dad deal with the scary peoples that come.  We can trust them to do a good job one day out of the year.

Have a happy and safe Halloween,

Zeva

P.S.  For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com

Paper and Poop

When DixieLee came to live with us five years ago, I didn’t like it. 

I liked being the only dog.   Mom and Dad thought it would be good for me to have another dog to play with. I loved going to daycare and dog park and playing with the other dogs so having someone to play with all the time did sound like a good idea until I met DixieLee.

Of all the dogs I met, she was the most unfriendly.  I know she had a bad life and I tried to be understanding.  

At first she had to eat in her crate because she thought I was going to steal her food.  I tried to tell her we had more than enough food but she didn’t listen.  Seriously, Mom buys extra big bags of food and the man in the brown truck brings more even before we run out.  It’s like magic!

It’s been five years now and DixieLee and I are totally BFFs.  I teach her stuff and she teaches me stuff.  I taught her how to lick her lips when she wants a cookie.  It doesn’t work all the time but Mom and Dad think it’s cute and if we both do it, they usually give in.

She taught me how to eat paper.  Since she came to live with us, she has stolen paper towels off of the counter or from the trash, taken them to her crate and eaten them.

DixieLee says that paper towels sometime smell like food and so they must be food.

Mom went back to work recently and it gets a little boring around the house so I decided to try eating paper towels.  Still don’t see the attraction but it is something to do.

Mom is not happy. She said that eating things that are not food is bad for us.  Eating paper can mess up our poops and then we would have to go to the Vet and we would not like what the Vet needed to do to make us good again.

Mom told Dad to be more careful and to make sure that the penny can is on top of the trashcan so that we (really DixieLee since I don’t do trash) can’t get into it without sounding the alarm.

Looks like it’s almost time for lunch and I need to get to the cabinet to supervise Dad while he feeds us. 

Being a helpful sister,

Zeva

P.S. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com

Sweet Dreams

I was having a nice quiet sleep when all of a sudden DixieLee yipped really loud. She scared me awake and I jumped off of the bed. I guess while I was having a good dream about lying on the bed, watching the birds, she was have a bad dream.

I ended up sleeping on the sofa because she was whimpering and shaking. She was moving around so much that she even woke Mom up. It’s a really good idea not to wake up DixieLee (or any dog) when she is whimpering and shaking cuz she just might think you are the bad person and snap at you.

Mom talked whispery to her. She said things like “DixieLee is a good girl” and “It’s okay now” and “Mom is right here” until she settled down and slept quiet.

When I asked her the next morning what she was dreaming about, she said she was sorry she woke me up but she didn’t remember any dream. Dogs are like people like that. Sometimes we remember or dreams and sometimes we don’t.

Scientists did tests so they know that dogs dream because of something called REM (rapid-eye-movement). They said that when a dog’s breathing gets irregular and their legs start to move, they are dreaming.

Puppies and older dogs are more likely to have running legs because of something called pons in their brains. Pons in adult dogs are strong and keep the leg muscles from acting like they are running. All this science stuff is complicated but it is important to know.

The scientists also say that dogs dream the same way that people do. They could even have nightmares. I think DixieLee was having a scary nightmare when she woke me up. They say dogs probably dream about things that happen when they are awake. Like a Black Lab might dream about chasing birds and a German Sheppard might dream about chasing bad guys.

All this talk about dreaming is making me tired. I think I’ll take a nap and maybe dream about sitting in the sunshine.

Sweet Dreams,

Zeva

P.S. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, check out pawpalsboutique.com 

Saving Lives

October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.  DixieLee and I and Fox, Dana, Cassie and Nico, the dogs who lived with Mom and Dad before we did, were all adopted.

We have lots of friends who were born at houses where the humans are “respectable breeders” and that’s okay with us.  Sadly, we all can’t be “mutts” (sorry, mixed breeds), so having good and responsible humans who loves a particular breed sell puppies is okay.

We want to encourage peoples who want to share their lives with A DOG, no matter of parentage, to please look to the shelters instead of “Pet Stores” who get heir puppies from Puppy Mills.

I don’t even like to think about Puppy Mills, never mind talk about them. They make me cry. 

“SOME” of the puppies get to go to good homes but some don’t’ and I can’t talk about the Mama dogs.  My heart breaks.

So, let’s get back to Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.  How do dogs end up in shelters? Lots or reasons and they are all sad. 

Some are strays, they got lost, ran away or their owners left them on the street to fend for themselves. 

Some are rescued from horrible homes where they were mistreated.

Some had loving families but something happened to the family, like they had to move and couldn’t take their pets or they didn’t have a job anymore so they had no money.

Some are untrained and their owners don’t want to put up with “bad behavior”.

Super sadly, some had their humans die and no one is left to take care of them.

And the super super saddest is that the pet got old and their owners don’t want them anymore.

Please help us spread the word that October is National Shelter Dog Month.

If you can’t adopt, foster, if you can’t foster, sponsor, if you can’t foster, volunteer, if you can’t volunteer, donate, and if you can’t donate, educate.

And don’t forget, cats and other pets end up in shelters too.

Love,

Zeva

P.S. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, go to pawpalsboutique.com