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More dog park issues

Back on the 27th of December 2014 I wrote about liability at dog parks. The simple fact is we can’t take our dog’s safety for granted. Yes, I know we should be able to but the reality of the situation is we can’t trust any other dog to be friendly, unless we know it well.

Unfortunately there has been another dog on dog attack but this time it resulted in death. I have to say I feel sorry for the wee dog and owner, this should never have happened. Talk about traumatic!

The owner of the attacking dog apparently packed up and left in a hurry. I wonder what they were thinking? Is this the first time the dog has done something like this or has it happened before? If it has happened before, why were they there? And of course, do they care? Will they come forward? The least they can do is come forward with whatever explanation they can offer.

The dead dog’s owner appears to be handling this horrible event well. I’m not sure if I would be so understanding and not on a witch hunt at this point in time. It is very obvious they loved their dog and will miss it very much. The unnecessary nature of their loss just makes it worse.

I like the attitude of the animal control officer, waiting until they get the facts before making public demands and even considering options before jumping straight to euthanasia.  Prosecution on the other hand should be a serious consideration.

In the blog ZoePhee by Lauren Miller she has a great blog post, Never Trust Other Dog Owners! A post well worth reading by every dog owner.

I’m going to do my best to follow the outcome of this story, hopefully it is as good as it could be with everyone doing the right thing.

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Orijen dog food

Orijen dog food, made by Champion Pet Foods in Canada, is an award winning dog food. Consistently rated at the top of every survey it is one of the few dog foods I’ll feed my dogs. It doesn’t contain grains, fillers or red meat (except Orijen Regional Red which contains red meats but is not currently available in New Zealand).

The Champion Pet Foods mission is very clear, below is from their website. Click here if you would like to go to the website

AT CHAMPION, OUR MISSION IS CLEAR AND STRONG: WE MAKE BIOLOGICALLY APPROPRIATE™ DOG AND CAT FOODS FROM FRESH REGIONAL INGREDIENTS.

Orijen is often seen as an expensive option. When the cost is broken down to the cost per feed it is surprising to find that Orijen is actually very similar, if not cheaper than other premium dog food when compared at the manufacturers feeding rate. Why? It is likely that you will feed less Orijen than other food due to the lack of fillers. A great side effect of this is because there is less going in, there is less coming out!

I often here of dogs trying to dig into the bags to get to the kibble. That says it all.

But don’t take my word for it. Have a look at dogfoodadvisor.com or another great rating site dogfoodanalysis.com although this can be a bit more technical.

I recommend to every dog owner that you take the time to research the food that you are feeding to ensure you are happy with the ingredients and the manufacturer. If you are, great. If you’re not then it is time to look for a better alternative.

More from the Champion Pet Food website is below

Our Biologically Appropriate™ philosophy represents a new class of foods designed to nourish dogs and cats in keeping with their evolutionary adaptation to fresh meat and protein-rich diets.

Our ingredients are different too.

We don’t buy the bulk commodity ingredients in conventional pet foods, and instead focus on ingredients that are sustainably raised within our region by people we know and trust and then delivered to our kitchens fresh each day and bursting with goodness.

Prepared exclusively in our award-winning kitchens here in Alberta, Canada, ORIJEN is trusted by pet lovers worldwide and certified to meet every international safety standard.

NOURISH AS NATURE INTENDED

WHILE WE OFTEN APPLY HUMAN ATTRIBUTES TO OUR COMPANION DOGS AND CATS, THIS ISN’T THE APPROACH TO TAKE WITH THEIR DIETS.

That’s because dogs and cats evolved as hunters and, despite a modern lifestyle, their anatomical features are adapted to an almost exclusively meat-based diet.

WHEN WE SAY FRESH WE MEAN IT!

OFTEN MISUSED IN THE PET FOOD INDUSTRY, THE WORD FRESH REALLY MEANS AN INGREDIENT IS NEVER FROZEN OR EXPOSED TO HEAT, CHEMICALS OR PRESERVATIVES.

In fact, refrigeration is the only means of preservation for ingredients that are truly FRESH.

REAL FOOD FROM OUR OWN KITCHENS

MANY PET OWNERS DON’T REALIZE THAT MANY POPULAR PET FOOD BRANDS ARE OWNED BY MARKETING COMPANIES THAT DON’T ACTUALLY MAKE THEIR OWN FOODS.

Here at Champion, we’ve been preparing our own foods in our award-winning kitchens for more than a quarter century.

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The dangerous sun & your dog

All too often I am frustrated by people not taking note of the temperature and how it affects their dog. Take today for example, it is 28deg (celcius) with hardly a cloud in the sky and I just saw a woman walking her dog. Now this may not be a problem in some people’s eyes but she was wearing shorts, a singlet top and able to adjust to the temperature. However, the black curly coat retriever doesn’t have that luxury and looked very hot indeed.

Was the owner carrying water? No she wasn’t. How far would they have to walk before the dog needed water to prevent dehydration occurring.

She was wearing shoes, unlike the dog. I felt how hot the footpath was and it was hot enough to make my feet very uncomfortable, verging on burning. I wonder how this was making the dog’s feet feel? Could it be hot enough to burn them? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until the sun had gone down before walking the dog?

 

Then of course the real habit I have major issues with. Leaving your dog in a car on a sunny day causes death on a regular P18 Dog In Car Poster-2basis but it is done everyday. A couple of windows are usually left down slightly, like this makes any real difference. I challenge anyonewho thinks this is an acceptable practice to take the place of their dog on a hot day for just 20 minutes. Have a look at the a chart that shows how the interior temperature of a car is increased at a steady rate until it reaches a level that causes major health implications for the dog, hypothermia and death.

 

I am guilty of doing exactly this in the past. Luckily I never had a problem as most of the time the dogs were only with us in winter. That was before I knew the reality of leaving dogs in cars and how quickly they could die.

It is illegal to break a car window without the owner’s permission and doing so could land you in a whole lot of trouble, even if it was to save a dog’s life. If it was a child I’m guessing it would be a different outcome and you wouldn’t be the one getting prosecuted.

So what do you do if you see a dog in distress due to heat in the car? Try and find the owner, call the SPCA or maybe even the police.

What if you lock your own dog and the keys in the car? Did you know the AA will come out and open the vehicle for free if an animal or child is locked in the car? You don’t even have to be an AA member, that’s how good they are.

 

Think about the temperature before you take your dog with you. It may just be better off left in safety at home.

 

 

This Youtube clips shows vet, Dr Ernie Ward experiencing exactly what a dogs does. It is an eye opener. I encourage you to watch and share it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What’s in dog food?

Many people buy dog food because someone recommended it, be it a friend, vet or total stranger. Others buy on price, brand or advertising. What ever the reason you buy the food, I strongly recommend you read the ingredients, understand why they are there and if the ingredient is actually needed.

A lot of dog food has numerous fillers, ingredients the dog simply just does not need. There may be some small nutritional value but generally the fillers are deemed to be expelled with the rest of the waste for you to pick up.

The big question is how do you get the correct information that is not tainted by a reseller or filled with incorrect details from a friend? You could buy from a trusted reseller (like buying Orijen & Acana from K9 Essentials) or do some research.

The internet is full of articles feeding (pun intended) you all sorts of information, a lot of it generated by the manufacturers of the foods. There is one trusted place that thousands of people head to on a daily basis. Why? Because they are independent, accurate and in language that you and I can understand.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

The description from their website is…

The Dog Food Advisor’s unbiased dog food reviews and dog food ratings searchable by brand or star rating. Find the best dry, canned or raw food for your dog.

They accept no incentive and have no affiliations from any manufacturer or reseller. The information is well researched and easy to understand. While there are a lot of brands we are unable to buy in New Zealand, the majority of commonly sold premium foods are rated and explained.

You can even sign up to receive information about recalls in the dog food industry. Most of them won’t be applicable in NZ but it makes for interesting reading.

Head on over to www.dogfoodadvisor.com and research the food you are currently feeding. Hopefully you will be happy with what you find out, if not find one you will be happy with.

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Welcome to the K9 Essentials blog

What will you find here? Opinionated posts, generally written by Karl on a number of different topics. From product reviews, informative articles through to pure opinion about common dog issues, you are sure to find something to read.

Feel free to leave a comment. If you agree, disagree or find something useful let us know why, but please keep it brief.

Nothing written here is meant to offend. If it does, I sincerely apologise and please let me know why it does offend. I am very open to on topic discussion.

Thank you and enjoy

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Dog Park Liability

dogs in park

You take your dog to the local dog park knowing it will happily play with any other dog. And you expect the all of the other dogs at the park to be just as friendly.  But as anyone who has visited a dog park will know, this is not always the case. Some dog owners are less than responsible when it comes to ensuring their dog will play nicely.

And of course, there are always the unexplained and unusual behaviour of a normally trustworthy dog when it seems to form an instant dislike to another dog.

When a fight breaks out and a dog receives an injury, who should accept liability? In my opinion there is a very simple answer to this question and one I know will meet with a moderate amount of opposition from from some dog owners. The person who is liable is you, as the owner of your dog.

My first rule of thumb is simple, if your dog is injured you accept liability and take full responsibility for whatever the outcome is. If your dog needs vet attention this is at your own cost.

There is only one time when this rule does not apply, if the someone knowingly brings an aggressive or disruptive dog into the dog park.

The second rule of thumb is, if you don’t want your dog to be at risk, don’t take your dog into a potential conflict situation, ever. This might be a dog park, your local on or off leash favourite dog walking spot or just around the block where you know you may run into another dog.

Many people say “but my dog is fine, I have trained him very well”. Does this really matter in these situations? No, it doesn’t if the other dog has not been well socialised and trained. How do you know it is friendly with other dogs? You don’t.

Does this mean you should stop going to the dog park? I don’t think it should but you have to be ready to accept whatever happens. The great majority of dogs at the park will be having fun, socialising and generally minding their own business not wanting any trouble at all. It can also be a great time socially for you as well but don’t forget you should be actively supervising your dogs behaviour and watching for potential problems with other dogs.

And don’t forget to pick up the poo.