July 7, 2010
By Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net
HEAT WAVE – HOT WEATHER TIPS

For pet owners, a heat wave like the one we’re currently experiencing requires taking extra care to ensure pet safety. NEVER leave any animal inside a parked car during the summer- a car can heat up to 120 degrees in just a matter of minutes even on a much cooler day than today. Leaving car windows open wont help! Pets can quickly suffer heatstroke, brain damage, and death if left trapped in high temperatures.

Make sure your dog or cat has plenty of fresh, clean water at all times. Consider floating ice cubes in water bowls to help keep the water cool. Keep animals inside, in air conditioning if possible. If you don’t have air conditioning, try placing a large bowl of ice in front of a fan to circulate cooler air.

Dogs are particularly susceptible to heat related problems, in part because they can only cool themselves by panting and sweating through their paw pads. Short nosed breeds, (Boxers, Pugs, Pekinese, Shih Tzu’s etc) and well as longhaired, overweight, and very young or old animals are especially at risk

Signs of heat stress in dogs include:

• Heavy Panting
• Glazed Eyes
• Rapid Pulse
• Unsteadiness
• Vomiting
• Deep red or purple tongue

If your pet does become overheated, you must act quickly to lower their body temperature!

Move the animal into the shade and immediately apply cool (not cold) water over their body to gradually lower the temperature The dog should be taken to the veterinarian’s office or to an emergency veterinary clinic immediately. Most dogs will not drink water at this stage of heat stroke, so don’t waste time trying to get them to drink. Get to the vet’s as quickly as possible.

Remember, if it’s too hot for you, it’s too hot for your pet!

June 6, 2010
by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Did you know that not all dogs can swim? Most people think that swimming comes naturally to dogs. We have all seen the funny videos of little dogs doing the doggie paddle in the air when held above the bath water by their owners, but that movement doesn’t mean they will be able to swim, stay afloat or tread water.

Being on an Island, dog owners should consider this when out at the beach, near a lake with their dogs, or hanging out by the pool. We are lucky that nowadays there are life jackets made for dogs, scamper ramps to help dogs out of a pool and dog trainers willing to teach dogs to swim. But that doesn’t mean your dog is going to like it or have a swimming technique come naturally to them.

Some things dog owners should never do when trying to get your dog to swim, is force your dog into the water by dragging or throwing a dog in. It’s not only cruel, but can scare a dog or make the dog fearful of water. If you have a puppy, you want to start young introducing the pup to the water, always, always monitored by an adult and never left alone near a body of water. Keep the puppy leashed, and it you have a dog life jacket (properly fitted for the dog’s size), have the puppy wear it. You can get the puppy accustomed to wearing it, by having the dog wear the vest for a few minutes at a time while indoors or on a short walk. While the puppy is leashed you can go into a pool or in the calm water on a shore and just have the pup wade in the water along side of you. Let the dog go in on its own or if you have a dog or friend with a dog that likes the water – that will often help your puppy have less fear.

When teaching the puppy how to swim, make sure that you eventually take the life vest off during lessons for short periods of time, so the dog learns to become buoyant on their own. Owners can assist by helping hold up the dog’s body from the mid to back section of the dog:

Photo, American Boxer Club.

Some dog breeds do take much more naturally to the water as that is what they were bred for. Labs, Goldens, Portuguese Water Dogs, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, to name a few are natural water dogs, but they still may need help along the way learning. Some breeds are not designed for long swims or swimming at all. My Pit Bull Max, is an excellent swimmer, but his mouth is so wide that he tends to inadvertently swallow a lot of water while swimming. Which can make him sick, so his swim time is never more than 10 to 15-minutes, and that is in and out of the water.

If you are unsure how to teach your dog to swim, the best thing to do is to hire a skilled dog trainer who knows how to do this properly. (Interview the trainer to be sure they know how to teach this). In teaching a dog to swim it’s best to be in the water with the dog as some dogs can panic, and you or the dog trainer can help assist them out.

Another thing to consider is if you are at the ocean beach, be careful of throwing a ball or stick into rough surf – this could easily knock down a dog and injure the dog. Dogs can easily be tossed around by a wave. Some bay beaches have a quick drop off, and if your dog is not used to swimming, a deep drop off can be dangerous. While we all want our dogs to cool off, not every dog is suited to swim. So take steps to enjoy the water with your dog, but safety first!

Writer note: The life jacket can also be a safety precaution while out kayaking or boating with your dog. Also a long line, not a retractable leash, a long leash made of cotton that can be purchased at most pet stores in 10, 15, 25 and 50 in length, is a great tool while teaching a dog to swim. If the dog is over enthusiastic and not on a leash the dog can keep going and going. Believe me I have witnessed this in person. Funny at first, scary when the dog was pretty far out into the bay, luckily for the owner the dog turned and finally headed back. If the owner had a long line, he could have gently pulled the dog back towards the shore.

I owned a Doberman who was not a graceful swimmer at all, and her rear end always tended to sink, so her doggie paddle was more in the air than in the water. She also jumped off the dock once, and we had to coax her around the shore. She did it, but was panicked and exhausted when she came out. While she loved the water, she was smart enough to know her lack of swimming capability and only went out so far (where she could still stand!), not all dogs are that smart!

Don’t let this picture fool you, her back paws were touching here!
And this was clost to the shore of the bay.

June 2, 2010
By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

June is Adopt-a-Cat Month

Did you know that June is “Adopt-a-Cat” month? It is appropriate, June being the time of year where kitten population seems to explode around our area. Most rescue organizations are inundated with unwanted mother cats and kittens, or feral kittens that were tame enough to be captured. Fortunately we have some wonderful organizations that take in many of these cats and kittens, but unfortunately they can’t take them all. Due to lack of space, funds to feed and care for them and specifically not enough people adopting them. A few of these organizations have actual “catteries” which are bigger than some people’s apartments, but the hope is not that they will live at the cattery forever – it’s that they will find a forever home. So if you have been thinking about getting a purring, snuggly cat or kitten, why not head down to your local shelter and see what is waiting there. While a kitten is irresistible, ask the shelter workers about a full grown cat that may have been there for a while, stuck in a cage, without the hope of adoption. An older cat may have outgrown the mischievousness antics of a kitten and make a nice transition into your home.

Some local places to look for you new furry friend are:

• Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) – www.arfhamptons.org
• All About Spay & Neuter – www.allaboutspayneuter.com
• Forgotten Friends of Long Island – www.forgottenfriendsoflongisland.org
• Freeport Animal Shelter – www.freeportanimalshelter.com
• Last Hope Animal Rescue – www.lasthopeanimalrescue.org
• Grateful Paw Cat Shelter – www.laphuntington.org
• Little Shelter – www.littleshelter.com
• Kent Animal Shelter – www.kentanimalshelter.com
• S.A.V.E.S., Inc. – www.northfork.com/saves
• Southampton Animal Shelter – www.southamptonanimalshelter.com

*Writers note: Every cat I ever had was a stray or feral kitten – that lived long healthy lives well into their late teens. Some of them being smartest cats I have ever met, to the funniest characters – the cats that adopted us were a joy to own, easy to take care of and a big part of our family.

May 28, 2010
Summer Safety for Pet Birds

by Susan Chamberlain of 14KaratParrot

Summertime can be the best time of year for your pet bird if you take a few precautions:

• Keep your bird’s flight feathers trimmed. Escapes often occur during warm weather when doors and windows are opened more frequently. Don’t want to have your bird’s feathers clipped? Be sure your pet is safely inside its cage when doors are likely to be opened.
• Keep ceiling fans OFF when flighted birds are at liberty inside your home.
• Make sure window screens are in good repair. This will help keep insects OUT and your birds IN!
• West Nile Virus is active during the summer. Be sure to prevent standing water in your yard.
• Take your bird outside safely in its carrier or travel cage.
• Whether traveling or at home, be sure your bird can seek shade inside its cage or carrier to prevent overheating. Never place an acrylic carrier or cage in direct sun.
• Remove fresh foods (eggs, fruit, vegetables, etc.) from your bird’s cage after a few hours, as spoilage happens more quickly in the warm months.

So enjoy your summer with your bird and of course keep safety in mind while doing so!

May 26, 2010
By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Go Fly a Kite

Wait, what? Kites for a Cure? What does Kites have to do with pets? Okay, I know what you are thinking, you can’t take your pet to the beach to fly a kite – well you would be correct. So how does the best event of the Hamptons summer season, “Kites for a Cure” tie in with pets? Let me tell you a story. As some of you know I used to own a Doberman, Shanna who lived until she was 12.5 years old, was a two-time cancer survivor and an amazing dog. But what you may not know is I got Shanna just two weeks after my dad passed away from his battle with Lung Cancer. He was just 52 and I was just 22. I was fortunate enough to have really good friends chip in so I could purchase, (simmer down rescue folks, all my pets have been rescues except her!), her from a local breeder. A puppy was indeed perfect timing, at such a difficult time for our family. A good friend of mine who is Doberman savvy went with me to look at a few different litters, the first place we went, well let’s just say, not so much, 2nd place, on the other side of the Island – had just what we were looking for. There were 3 puppies left, 2 boys and a girl. The boys were picking on her and she stood her ground and defended herself, I looked at my friend and said, “that’s my dog!” (I have two older brothers – so you can get the picture now!)

So we drove home and I can tell you my mother wasn’t too pleased when I came at midnight with my bundle of joy, plopped her down and said, “Mom, I got a puppy!”

How cute, my mom wanted to resist, but she just couldn’t. We did have much older dog at the time – who passed away from cancer 6 months later. So a puppy was just what we needed to help us pour our energy into. And it didn’t hurt that Dobies are naturally protective, a built in security system – thank you very much. The landscapers made fun of her goofiness when she was a pup, but when she got big, it was pretty funny to see how scared they were of her. (evil grin!)

Shanna was an amazing dog, had a spoiled life, went most places with me (Ocean Beach, Parks, Hamptons, Horse shows, you name it, I took her). She accepted her puppy brother Max (my pit bull), when I brought him home, acted like a momma dog to him, oh and didn’t take any crap from him either. But she loved him too:

I have always been involved with pets or in the pet industry one way or another, but Shanna really steered me more in this direction – Max helped too, but 2nd child syndrome! When Shanna was 8 years old, she had to have her leg amputated due to freaking Cancer – but she kicked Cancer’s butt, hopped all over the place on her 3 legs, and adapted so fast. She was an inspiration everywhere she went. She also earned her CGC (Canine Good Citizen award) and was a registered therapy dog.

Okay, so really how does this tie in with Kites? Well the second summer after I moved myself and the dogs (after a 5-yr stint in Lindy), to the East End, I saw in the local paper an ad for “Kites for a Cure” benefiting Joan’s Legacy Lung Cancer Foundation, now called Uniting Against Lung Cancer. This was incredible as I had never seen an event like this to raise awareness and funds to fight Lung Cancer. (The most under funded and stigmatized cancer of them all). This event was in Southampton and didn’t cost $500 to attend ($25 donation & Free Parking!). I was there! (And yes I left the dogs at home!) I was totally blown away (ok, pun intended, but really), this event was just incredible, hundreds of kites in the sky, beautiful, so much fun, and come on you’re on the beach! It was fantastic. So the following year, I contacted them to be involved. I have been working with the most amazing team, Uniting Against Lung Cancer and Great Ink ever since. Joan’s Legacy still lives on, as Uniting Against Lung Cancer and was founded in 2001 in memory of Joan Scarangello, a Southampton resident and non-smoker who lost her battle with lung cancer. In just seven years, the foundation has awarded more than $10 million in research grants to find a cure for the disease that will claim an estimated 160,000 lives in the U.S. this year. Joan was the reason for this beautiful group of people who started what is now a nationwide Kite flying phenomenon and more – to help fight Lung Cancer, whether you smoked a day in your life or not.

My dad went to the beach with us as kids, but he preferred the being on the boat fishing or golfing. He also liked cats better than dogs, but think he would have loved Shanna! Shanna was an inspiration, Kites is an inspiration. If you have yet to come to this event, you are seriously missing out! Where else can you act like a kid, color in a kite, (yes people there are literally art stations on the beach to decorate your kite!), and then go and fly on a kite on one of the most beautiful beaches?

I am telling you this is the best event of the Hamptons summer season – and there is no traffic anymore to get to Southampton – the made the road bigger a few years ago. So really you have no excuse! Oh and you never know you might just rub elbows with a celeb or two.

The event is from 4pm – 6pm, is $25 in advance, register here: http://www.unitingagainstlungcancer.org/events/SHKites10

or $30 day of. Parking is still FREE. So who’s coming? I would suggest getting there by 4pm so you can take your time coloring in your kite. Here is one I did three years ago, don’t be jealous you can show me up!

If you look closely on the bottom there is also a paw print on that kite.

“Kites for a Cure” Saturday, May 29th, 4pm – 6pm, Coopers Beach, 268 Meadow Lane, Southampton, NY. www.UnitingAgainstLungCancer.org See you there, and oh yea, please leave your pets at home!