By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Dock Diving made a splash this weekend returning to Long Island for a 2nd time in the past few months with the most recent event that just took place in Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Friday and Saturday, July 29 & 30, 2016.  DockDogs, a Canine Aquatics Competitive company, was hosted by the Greater Westhampton Kiwanis & Hurricane Educational Foundation held at the Westhampton Beach High School.

My dog Cody tried out and competed, but he is still a novice at it and didn’t do great – but we only are in it for fun – he loves, loves, loves to swim, but jumping off the dock can be a bit intimidating for newbie dogs.  While he jumped in 5 times total in two days, he really only got to go up and try/compete a total of 8 runs.

Awesome photo by Cathy Pratt Williams of Precious and Few Photography!

Cody!

The first time he tried it was at the dog shows at the Oyster Bay Planting Fields in May – and he was able to try as many times as he wanted with the NADD AKC Diving Dogs.  He jumped a few times then, so it was great to be able to try again with him this weekend.  Many of the dogs at today’s event were pros and just so much fun to watch them fly through the air, like this dog, Tango the Pit Bull – what a sweetie! And he competes a lot.

Tango the Pitbull

Pet vendors and people from all over brought their dogs to try it or compete.  There were dogs there from Arizona and Connecticut, Queens and of course LI.

This pup was from Arizona

If you missed it and you are thinking of trying out with your dog, first remember it is for fun – and if your dog actually is good at it then competing may be for you.  Your dog needs to have a strong toy drive, be able to swim well – and loving to swim really helps.  You have to give your dog time, some dogs take right to it where others, like my own dog, don’t always jump, no matter how much they love their toys or the water.  And that’s ok, he had fun is what counts.  One of the local DockDogs instructors is hoping to start Long Island Dock Jumpers, email LIDockJumpers@gmail.com for more information.

Thanks to Terrie Bauer and everyone who helped put this event together – we know how much work it takes to put on any event!  For MORE pictures of the event, click here! I also really enjoyed the music and MC for the event – he did a great job the entire time.  If you missed this event and want to be sure to never miss another pet event happening here on our isle and beyone, click here to sign for the free weekly Pet Events Newsletter!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

While we are enjoying the warm weather and summer activities – our pets may not be.  One thing many people tend to forget or not even think of is pet safety and heat.

While there are many ways your pet can overheat; too much exercise in the heat of the day; squished face pets like bulldogs, pugs, Frenchies, Shihtzus who can’t breath that great to begin with – they have a hard time with the heat; and lack of access to water for your pets especially if they are outside for any length of time in this hot and humid weather.

Of course this time of year the major concern is pets left in cars.  It amazes me year after year, that I still see people on a warm day leaving the windows open a crack and leaving their very furry dogs in the car – while they go into a store. According to a study done by San Francisco University, and if you haven’t seen this video of a veterinarian sitting in a hot car which shows how quickly temps rise during a heat wave.

Why not try it yourself, without your pet of course.  Next time it is a beautiful 75 -80 degrees, go sit in your parked car crack the windows a bit and sit in there for 10 -15 minutes. Don’t cheat by drinking water or turning the AC on.  Now imagine yourself in a fur coat without the ability to sweat. Are you hot yet?

Sometimes people think it’s ok to run into the store for 5-minutes during the summer and leave their pets in the car.  But what if you get stuck in the store, there is a long line, problem at the register, etc., and there you are in the air-conditioned store while your pet is sweltering in the heat, causing heat exhaustion or worse death.

What to do if you see a pet left in the car during during the warm spring, summer and fall months:

• Call Animal Control of the town the car is located in. *Helpful tip, program the Animal Control phone #’s of all your town municipal animal shelters into your phone so you can quickly access them.

• Call the police, tell them the location, make/model color of the car, give them the license plate number.  Take a photo of the car, license plate and pet inside the car.

• Stay until the authorites arrive to be sure the pet was safely evacuated from the hot car.

• Know the laws in your town, city and state.  Some people may take actions into their own hands if the animal is in severe distress in the hot car and may get in trouble for bashing in the window of a car to save the pet.  Some areas the laws are changing where you would not get into trouble.

Check to see if the car is running, sometimes people leave their car locked and running with the AC on, water in a bowl to run into a store for 5 minutes.  It may not be ideal, but they are making the effort to make sure their pet is cool while they do their errand.  This also goes for people who are traveling alone with their pets on a road trip, and may have to stop to use the rest stop.

Pet owners should also know if you are caught doing this or someone reports your car with a pet in it to the police, the police have the right to break into to your car with whatever means necessary, call animal control and have your pet seized. You may be issued a summons, arrested for animal cruelty, or more. So the next time you are running up to the supermarket on a hot day, please, please, please leave your pets at home in the AC!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Out walking your dog lately and notice all the Pokemon people out and about?  Well it can be challenging to navigate through the crowds of kids (and adults) while walking your dog, here are some tips to help make this craze a little less stressful for you and your pup, and you thougth this post was a joke!

1. You want to make sure you dog doesn’t actually step on one of the Pokemon characters.

2. Be sure to clean up after your dog so Pickachu and his friends are safe from stepping a pile of duty.

3.  When approaching the zombi-like humans walking looking down at their phones, let them know you’re coming – my own dog nearly got stepped on countless times in the last few days.

4. While daylight may be new to many Pokemon Go fans – realize their eyes may not have yet adjusted to the bright sunlight and they may not see you or your dog right away.

5.  Sudden movements may startle your dog – like the kid who was so excited he got one broke out into a dance stomping his feet – scared the crap out of my dog and me too.

6. Some Pokemon players are bringing their dogs along with them, great! Luckily my dog is super dog friendly, but their dog may not be, so always get their attention (the humans) and ask if your dog can say hello to their dog.

7.  Make sure while crossing the street at a crosswalk, give them a wide birth, suddenly no one seems to look both ways or gives you and your dog any room to pass them.

Okay, okay – poking some fun at Pokemon – it seems like a fun thing for millennials to do, gets them out, social and forming their own community.  It’s nice to see, but really be careful, my dog Cody did get scared by that foot stomping kid and they really are NOT looking where they are walking.  Could actually be a great socialization tool for your dog weaving your way in and out of the Pokemon peoples.