Top Ten Tips for Tackling Ticks (say that 3 X fast!)

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photo courtesy of N.I.H., copyright A.D.A.M.

I'm hearing from all you dog lovers out there that ticks are a particularly troublesome problem this year. Unlike fleas, these gnarly little creatures cannot be as effectively annihilated with a hit of Capstar (Eek!) or other product for an infestation.


I hear your cry. Since my recent camping experience, we have found that more than a few of these little boarders came home with us. I've asked our staff vet, organic lawn care professionals, natural pest control professionals and the info gods at Google, and learned that there is no definitive, all-encompassing way to slam these parasites. Everyone seems to have a different take on the best practices.


Weeding through the options and propaganda, here's my top ten picks for you to try, if you find they're pestering your Rover too. For those of you who prefer an all-natural approach, you can read the post at the link for more ideas.


1. Avoid walking your dog through treed areas, if possible. Consider that Rover may be the key word--roving or walking under treed areas. Avoiding tick infested areas such as the woods for hiking (my bad!) is your first line of defense against these critters.


2. Groom immediately after walking through treed areas, using your fingers, seeking the ticks, while giving affection. Continue this practice daily until your pet is tick-free for about a month. Begin again anytime you walk in treed areas. 


3. Keep your dog on a tick prevention product, following instructions correctly.


4. Treat your yard regularly, especially if you have trees or find a problem with ticks on your dog.


5. If you get a problem, treat your house, also.


6. Vacuum carpet, bedding and furniture frequently until all problems abate. Also, wash pet bedding in hot water regularly.


7. Bathing makes finding ticks easier, if your dog has thick or dark fur. This can be an easier way to find and remove them.


8. Removal should be done by extraction, pulling the tick away from the pet's skin in a perpendicular motion. Remember to check between the toes also, and use tweezers for removal in these tougher areas to access.


9. Live ticks must be crushed with a blunt instrument, to assure death; these suckers have tough exteriors. If you're squeamish about crushing them, you can drop them into a small amount of alcohol, which will have the same effect.


10. If you have other pets in the home, treat them also.


Finally, if you do experience a tick infestation, seek your veterinarian's advice on any further treatment, vaccines, or tests that your pet may need. Dr. Jacki will be glad to see you, if you experience this problem. She may be found at 4PawsHouseCalls, where you will find her phone number and other helpful information.



Comments? Questions? Ideas or thoughts? Please toss me a bone: The COMMENT link is just below the post.


Sources: Dr. Jacki Bert, Drs. Foster and Smith, Bug Brigade Pest Control

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Dogs with Cat Problems, or Perhaps it's the Other Way Around

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© photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2008

Patches

A Rare Moment of Camera Friendliness

I probably don't mention it often enough, but I do have a cat. Her name is Patches; she was adopted shortly after Xena,  our 12 10/12ths Retriever mix. Xena and Patches grew up together, playing tag and hide-and-go-seek for years. Patches used to hide when she heard Xena coming and give Xena a right-cross from behind a couch. She was quite a pistol in her youth. These days, not so much. She finds more pleasure in locating a warm spot to curl up in, with an occasional lizard hunting trip onto the screened porch.

Patches, like Xena, has arrived at her senior citizen years, despite the fact that cats live much longer than Retrievers. The two still frequently nap together, although they quickly disperse whenever I get the camera out to capture this. Patches is quite camera shy.


Enough of that. Let's get down to business--Tanner and Oliver business. Tanner, I expected, would be more of a challenge, coming into Patches life when she was about 9 1/2. She was not terribly thrilled to have a hyperactive youngster join the family--especially one who was larger than her already. Little did she know that this juvenile would outsize her by 7 times before he was done growing.


Nevertheless, Patches has always been able to take care of herself. A lightning-fast swipe of the paw past a delicate doggie nose and she quickly made her point with Tanner. He stopped chasing her to beg for a tag game very quickly, and she no doubt thought she was quite a tough girl. These two are easy housemates now. But...


Along came Oliver 2 years later. He's still another story. Oliver refuses to give up on his invitations to play with Patches. After all, she is exactly the same size as him. Why shouldn't they be best friends? "I hate to tell you Oliver, but it is just not going to happen. She's set in her ways and that's that."


So, I guess Oliver and Patches both have a problem. But so do we. When young Tanner discovered Patches' litter box and food dish, he thought he had found Heaven. Until we installed a cat door in the door to the laundry room, where her "stuff" resides, he was forever into it.

The cat door was the perfect fix. Instead of buying one from a store, our carpenter simply cut a kitty sized entry way out of the door, and trimmed it nicely before painting it. You can see in the photo, that it is neat and convenient for her, while keeping the 2 Retrievers out. Perfect!

Unfortunately, it is now also convenient for Oliver. I suppose when he grows out of his adolescence, perhaps we'll have more luck keeping him out of her "room". He needs to learn, but she also needs a safe place to eat and take care of business. Using a baby gate has been our solution, at least for Oliver's younger years, to separate kitty and pup for a more peaceful home for Patches. The gate is sometimes left open when company comes, in order to ease their confusion. As you can imagine, Oliver and Patches can put on quite a show for our guests at these times.


It goes something like this: Oliver charges up to Patches, offering an enthusiastic Play Bow. Patches swats him and turns her back. Oliver runs around to face her and tries again. Patches repeats the swat. And so it goes. Poor Patches! Or maybe it's poor Oliver?

Perhaps I will write to Dr. Jacki (All Things Dog Blog's ASK THE VET Columnist) for help. That's a great idea. Maybe. She might just tell me I need to consult a trainer. She'd be right, of course. Yet, somewhere deep inside I know that he also needs to grow up a bit. Perhaps I'll simply have to continue letting Patches train Oliver herself, while guarding her private space. She's doing a pretty good job of keeping the canine gang at bay, especially when she's out-numbered 3 to 1. Should I rename her something tough? Hmmm?!


NOTE: Just in case you missed it, Dr. Jacki is now taking questions for her ASK THE VET column, right here at All Things Dog Blog. Numerous columns have already been published, and Dr. Jacki's columns are quite popular with readers. Feel free to write to her yourself at the link above.

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Learning to Speak Dog: The Play Bow

© photo copyright 2009 Carrie Boyko

Oliver Demonstrates a Play Bow

One of the first recognizable doggie communications we all see in our pups is called the Play Bow. Named for the front legs dropping to the elbows, while the rear stays up, the play bow is an invitation, doggie style, to play.

The Play Bow can be used with people, dogs and other pets. Dogs do not discriminate. Before Marc took his rabbit back to Virginia, Oliver often invited Robby to play. I never managed to catch one of those play bows on camera, much to my chagrin. Oliver still invites our cat, Patches, to play. Unfortunately for Oliver, Patches has outgrown her playing days, and would prefer to smack him in the nose when approached with his juvenile enthusiasm. Her response is something akin to "Get out my face, you dawg!"

Despite Oliver's diminutive size (tipping the scale at 8.2 pounds), the cutest Play Bow in our family is still Xena. She may be nearing 90, but she still enjoys a good wrestling match--generally with Tanner, whose size matches hers much better. At her age, she's not really interested in learning how to wrestle with a peanut sized sparring partner like Oliver. Really! What's the point? She's going to win simply by her size alone. No contest.

Racing would not be much different. Although Oliver could easily keep up with her, dogs generally wrestle at the end of a race, so that's that. Why bother?

No matter who offers the play bow, it is always a pleasure to see--cute and innocent--let's have fun! We should all be so lucky as to have life be so simple.
Want to learn more about your dog's language? Check out this book:

The Mothering Instinct is Golden!

© AP Photo/The Daily Reporter, Rob Morgan/Scanpix

This Golden Retriever Took Over Nursing

the Youngsters of a Tiger,

when Mama Tiger Abandoned Them

This is not a current event, nor is it anything we haven't all already heard. But it is a heartwarming image that will remain with me forever. My two retrievers have always struck me as nurturing dogs. This Golden Retriever mama, Isabella, whose own puppies were just weaned, took over for a zoo tiger, when she just didn't have the instinct to take care of them. "Isabella licks them, cleans them and feeds them. Tom Harvey, the owner of Safari Zoological Park said that it's a miracle."


What can you say except Wow! Isn't adoption great? This dog didn't care if the puppies were boys girls, rabbits or monkeys; she just wanted to nurture their little cries and nuzzling mouths. This is the epitomy of motherhood, foster parenting, affection, and social action.

Toy Dog or Athletic Dog?

© photo copyright Toni Boyko

Oliver's First Nap with Tanner

When my family decided to take the dog plunge for the first time, it was with much sales effort on the part of my kids. I finally was sold by the tactics of my middle son, who assured me that a puppy would provide needed companionship when they could not have a friend over to play. In addition, I envisioned a rough and tumble, high activity level type of dog to keep this middle son as calm as was possible. Fortunately, I was successful with our choice to adopt Xena, a Golden Retriever/Black Labrador mix.

I had purchased a book on how to choose a dog. It was a very helpful book which explored all the possible reasons for getting a dog, how each breed fits into your needs and explained what the special needs of each of these breeds are. I devoured it, enjoying every page, and emerged with a list of 2 possibilities that seemed to best suit my family--Golden Retriever or Labrador Retriever.

Each had its own pros and cons, but both were supposed to be athletic dogs, which I knew was a must with my 3 athletic kids. I wanted a dog who could run with them, play fetch, swim and wrestle without being injured too easily. After all, with two boys destined to be 6'2" or more, I wanted a dog who could take the punishing toughness of the upcoming teenage boy play. I had a lot to learn.

Although I don't doubt the information in the book, many of the passages about toy-sized dogs suggested that a lower energy family or no children were better for these smaller dogs. I can see, of course, how a rambunctious child could easily injure a toy dog, but my impression had been that these dogs were too delicate to go for runs or be athletic in any way.

© photo copyright

Oliver at about Age 4 1/2 Months

That's where my impression was dead wrong. Oliver, our 8 pound Papillon, pictured at the top of this blog, came to us a 3 pound ball of fluff with a cold. He was not only quiet, but cuddly, sleepy, and downright lethargic. My impressions from that book, read so many years ago, were cemented.

Then the cold went away, and the true Oliver emerged a bundle of energy and growing confidence. We taught our 2 retrievers, Xena and Tanner, how to play gently with Oliver. "Down, stay, play with your snout". When paws were used in play, I simply touched the paw and said to Tanner, "No paws." He learned quickly and well. Tanner and Oliver bonded immediately, playing a form of a floor game which can only be called "Tanner is the mountain." Oliver climbed all over Tanner, chewing on his ears, playing tug with his tail and washing his snout. Tanner basked in the attention as though he were a king and continues to love this playtime, even as it is entirely different from the big-dog style play that he and Xena engage in.

Now that both are involved in agility training, I have met many toy-sized dogs who are amazingly athletic. I realize every day how much more there is to learn about these fabulous animals we share our homes with. Some of our agility "friends" are Toy Poodles, Jack Russell terriers, and other Papillons, to name a few. When I visited a competition, I was surprised to see that Papillons and Jack Russells were the major contenders in their size category. Agility is sort of like wrestling, where dogs compete against like-sized dogs.

Oliver recently returned to agility training after a hiatus, and he quickly showed me that he was eager to accomplish the challenges ahead. He clearly was excited about the many fun things he was asked to do. So my delicate toy dog label is melting away, and a new one is coming into place. Oliver showed me this week that he can be athletic, and most importantly, that he enjoys it. I'm looking forward to seeing him run a whole agility course....except that he is much faster than I am. I guess I better take up sprinting.

© photo copyright Carrie Boyko

Tanner and Oliver Love to Nap Together

If you have a toy dog who needs some extra mental challenges and fun playtime with you, Agility training might be just the ticket. This is a kit of equipment that I have at home for practice. Although it is not exactly the same as the real stuff, it does provide good extra practice.

On Wednesday I will be sharing some tips on getting your cat and dog to coexist peacefully. Although I have had some success, we are still a work in progress. Hope to see you again soon.