Beagle Blog for Beagle People

Check out my other beagle blog!

2008-02-13T22:09:00.002-06:00

I am migrating to the other site as the main blog so all my more recent posts can be found there instead of here...please take a look!

http://beaglehounds.blogspot.com/

New Animal-Themed Show On Nat Geo

2008-01-03T21:58:00.000-06:00

I've seen a couple of promos for this new show and it looks interesting. I'll be tuning in when I can!

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National Geographic Channel debuts new animal-themed program.

On Jan. 4, the National Geographic Channel will debut its newest series, DogTown, which travels inside the Best Friends Animal Society Sanctuary. The facility, located on 33,000 acres of property in Southern Utah, is one of the largest no-kill animal shelters in the country and houses all sort of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and goats, among others.Each episode of the series takes viewers on a journey inside the Best Friends grounds to meet the dogs and the professional team that works to make sure they survive.Catch the first episode of DogTown at 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET on Jan. 4 on the National Geographic Channel.

The Summer Solution - or, Why Is This Dog Going in My House????

2008-01-02T01:01:00.001-06:00

(Photos at the end of the post - worth reading down for!)

We fostered a sweet old gal named Summer a few months ago. Her name, presumably assigned randomly at the kill shelter she came from, is a bittersweet irony as she is in the winter of her life. The vet felt she was at least 13 years old, which is already near the high end of the beagle life span. Plus he diagnosed a severe heart murmur - a six on a scale of one to six. But as long as it keeps on ticking, so does she. An inexpensive blood-pressure pill reduces stress on her heart.

For the uninitiated, a "kill" shelter is one that euthanizes animals after a particular length of time, often just a week or two, if they are unclaimed as so many are. There are more and more shelters that are "no kill," meaning they are geared more toward finding homes or rescue organizations or other options for the unfortunate pets that come in their door and do not euthanize just to make necessary space. Kill shelters aren't bad places with bad people, it's how things used to be everywhere, and often it's a simple matter of supply and demand. In the more rural areas, the number of strays simply overwhelms the population base of potential adopters. And many helpful people work very hard to get dogs out of the kill shelters as well.

But back to Summer the beautiful white-with-brown-and-black beagle. She has the gentlest demeanor I've ever encountered. This is probably due in part to her age and the medication, of course, but she sleeps basically ALL the time.

Now, any beagle worth its hound reputation can be a major couch potato and ours are no exception. The difference is that a normal, healthy dog is always READY to spring into action if needed, such as when you open the refrigerator or start to prepare food, or go to answer the knock at the door, or put on the shoes you always wear when you take the dogs for a walk. At times like that, you have to be up on all fours quickly. Kind of like how you're supposed to play "ready golf," meaning don't waste time and be ready to hit NOW. So it's being "ready beagle," I guess.

Summer was clearly someone's house pet in a past life as she understood that any pile of soft things is a great place to lie down, and her nails, skin, ears and fur were in great shape when she arrived. She is house trained but has some accidents. At her age, I think that when she needs to go, it means right now, and if a door isn't open, she'll go where she is. She never really signalled to us. In her adoptive home she gets to go out a lot as there is someone home all the time, amazingly, and still she occasionally doesn't make it outside in time.

Her new family have fallen totally in love with her which is easy to do, and they can't imagine giving her up, or putting her through another change at her age. Their solution is to put a doggie diaper on her! Yes, there is such a thing. They are sold at pet supply stores. Summer doesn't seem to mind them according to her "mom."

Speaking of Summer's adopters, it's a nice story in that they specifically wanted to adopt a dog that had a strike against it that made it a more difficult candidate. A 13-year old slug fits the bill, as many people wouldn't even consider taking in a pet at that age, not wanting to have to deal with the inevitable, and most would want a dog with more energy and spunk. So this family took her in, imperfections and all. How cool is that?

Back to the main topic - peeing :) Actually it is not that uncommon for spayed female dogs to have urinary control issues.

Our own Katie started having accidents when she was around three years old. It would usually be later at night and she wouldn't even see it coming. She'd be lying on the couch or a bed and she'd get up and there would be a spot, way more than just a dribble. And since she was solidly reliable in the house and barks at the door to go out, we knew something else was going on. Our vet explained that the spaying operation can lead to a loss of muscle tone in "that area" over time and that there is a pill (Proin is the trade name; it's actually phenylpropanolamine) that works well for this problem. If this was the issue, the pill would be almost immediately effective, if not there would be further tests for other causes. Turned out the pill was the magic bullet and she's had no problems since. She takes half a pill twice a day, no big deal. Over time the dose might need to be increased.

Besides loss of muscle tone due to aging or partially as a result of spaying or unknown causes, other reasons for indoor urination from a dog that "knows" better include:

--The all-too-common UTI (urinary tract infection), usually easily cleared up with a round of antibiotics

--True incontinence from some other medical problem - be sure to check with your vet immediately if you suspect the UTI or other truly medical/physical issue.

--Territorial marking behavior, more likely if the dog is not "fixed" yet; this can be situational, temporary, helped with proper attention, or just not manageable. The range is wide.

--Fear, insecurity other other underlying psychological issues, including temporary confusion in new surroundings or due to a change in household schedule.

--A bad vibe or energy mix in a particular environment that causes a dog to be imbalanced. I know this sounds a bit out there and vague, but sometimes that's about all you can attribute things to. One of our fosters had this problem in a major way in her new home, probably in competition with the pre-existing dog there, while she was fine for months in our house with a one-time exception and is fine as an only dog in her new home.

This is all a long way around saying that a dog urinating inside is no one's idea of a picnic, and it is one of the reasons a dog may be unwanted (although you never get that pearl of information from the owner turning it in). But realize there are often identifiable causes and solutions, so don't give up on a dog before exploring the options.

Just look at this senior sweetheart, Summer. How could you give up on her?

Sweet Potato Chew Recipe - Easy Healthy Yummy Cheap!

2007-12-24T00:58:00.000-06:00

This is so easy to do and WAY cheaper than the store-bought versions. Most dogs LOVE them and they're super healthy.

Be aware that they may not hold up well at room temperature for more than a few days since there are no added preservatives--so either use them up quickly or refrigerate or freeze if they won't be gobbled up pretty quickly . Of course, your dog would prefer you just give him the whole batch at once...

SWEET POTATO CHEWS

--Wash sweet potatoes, peel if desired or just remove knobs and spots.

--Slice into whatever shape you like, such as french fry-sized strips. (The more consistent your pieces, the more uniformly they'll cook up, of course, and the smaller or thinner, the faster they'll get chewy and then hard.)

--Bake at 250 degrees for two or three hours to desired level of firmness or chewiness. (I didn't use any seasoning or oil or spray and they came out fine).

--Allow to cool, then call your dog for snack time and be worshiped!

YUMMMM! WOOF!

(Human) Food Do's and Dont's for Dogs - A Reminder

2007-12-23T23:52:00.000-06:00

Here is a quick refresher on some human food items toxic to dogs and some that are actually good for them. Especially at this time of year with food lying around and perhaps more readily available than usual, and with the possibility that other people will be in and out of your home and may not be as attentive, or you yourself are distracted, better safe than sorry. I hope this is old news for most people, but in case it's not:

AVOID AVOID AVOID:
--Chocolate
--Onions (and, according to SOME things I've read, the entire onion family)
--Raisins (and grapes but raisins are more concentrated so they are worse)
--Most nuts should be avoided as they are not well digested from what I have learned

Chocolate is bad news for dogs as it contains compounds that can be highly toxic. Plus virtually every household has it lying around and it's such a common gift item, you really can't avoid it. Some dogs seem able to tolerate it better than others--the problem is you don't know until your dog eats it if yours is one that seems to suffer no ill effects or one that reacts badly.

The darker or more intensely flavored, the worse it is, with home baking chocolate being particularly dangerous. Remember that dogs will sniff out wrapped chocolate candy in a flash and may scarf it down before you even know they got to it, sometimes wrapper and all. Keep all chocolate totally out of reach. You just can't underestimate the hound nose and drive for food!

If your dog does ingest chocolate despite your best efforts, if the amount seems small relative to your dog's size, keep an eye on her, watching for signs of unusual excitability or any behavior that is not normal for your dog. Be sure she has quick access to getting outside in case she needs to "let it go" on her own. It might give her diarrhea or it could come back up.

If the amount is large or you're not sure or are just panic-stricken, contact your vet's emergency number. Before calling, make note of the type of chocolate she ate and the ingredient list if available, the amount she ate in ounces and how long ago it was eaten, and know your dog's weight so you can provide as much of this information as possible.

Depending on the amount and timeline, you may be advised to make your dog purge by forcing a small amount of hydrogen peroxide down her throat. Follow instructions and don't overdo it; BE PREPARED, this can work VERY quickly! Do it outside if possible, or be right by the door. It may take a while for the vomiting to stop, then the diarrhea may set in. Ahhh, what great entertainment. Of course this will most likely occur late at night or in the morning when you're already late for work or otherwise in a hurry to get somewhere. :)

One of our 25 pound beagles ate a fairly large amount of homemade, solid-chocolate candy once and she was fine. We made her throw it up right away after calling our vet's emergency line, and it was a sleepless night while we stressed out watching to see if she showed any signs of trouble, which she did not. WHEW. She has gotten into sealed bags of candy a time or two as well, but only got one or two pieces before we noticed. She is very clever and can get into things we'd never expect her to if she really focuses!

As for onions and raisins and their respective relatives, they too contain potentially harmful compounds. Luckily, most dogs are not as drawn to either, particularly onions, and few of us have raisins just lying around in bowl or bags. Nor is either a common gift item in my experience!

GOOD STUFF

--Sweet potatoes (see recipe in next post)

--Apples

--Carrots (raw if they'll put up with the chewing, gently cooked to soften if not)

--Berries (I've read recently that raspberries and blueberries are particularly good)

These items can be used as treats or added to regular food, cooked or raw.

Seeking House Pet - Experience Required

2007-12-20T11:22:00.001-06:00

Recognizing an experienced house pet in a new dog.

People ask how I "know" that a newly-arriving foster dog has prior experience as a house pet, as opposed to having been an outdoor or farm-type dog. So I'll share my observations in hopes of being helpful.

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian nor am I a trained animal behaviorist or trainer or anything other than a person who has taken in several dogs and has seen differences in how they act/react to the home environment. Consult a professional if you have real problems! And of course we can never truly know about the dog's prior circumstances, so it's all a matter of interpretation. But there are some traits that I believe indicate a cushy life in the recent past.

First, of course, is house training. If the dog seems to immediately understand the concept of going out the door and doing his business, bingo. Some need a few minutes or hours to confirm the location of the door, or which door to use, while others seem to instantly get it. There are some that need a few days to grasp the concept that one goes outside to do business in EVERY house, not just the one they may have been in previously. "Oh, I see, it wasn't just at that one place where they made me go outside to eliminate, it's this house too. Aha!"

It probably helps that we have other dogs in our home, because there may be some kind of dog signaling, or observation or basic pack mentality that reinforces the process. In some cases, a new dog will want to "mark" in the house. This is more likely with a male and especially one that is not yet neutered, or a young dog. But really it's all about pack status. (Marking means going to various spots and putting a little bit of urine on it to tell others "I was here." Very normal, instinctual dog behavior, and of course VERY unwanted inside the human home!). The one dog we had that marked the most was a spayed, middle-aged female who was relentless the first evening. I believe that she and our Katie were too closely matched in terms of hierarchy and she was trying to take over. Katie just kept looking at the dog and then at us as if to say, "What in the world have you brought here and when will she go away?"

One of our fosters, also a spayed, middle-aged female (hmmm), was perfectly fine in our house, but in her first adoptive home she apparently marked constantly, and the house was fully carpeted. A behaviorist determined it was in response to the pre-existing female Labrador that lived there. Again, a pack/status thing. She came back to us briefly then was adopted into a home where she's the only dog, and is doing great.

Other signs of house pet experience include:

--knowing that when the refrigerator starts to open, you should run and sniff the contents
--knowing that furniture is softer than the floor, and that sofas are meant for lounging
--knowing how to jump up onto the bed when the humans lie down there
--knowing that a leash being put on you means you're going for a walk and you should jump and bark and get really, really excited about this!
--knowing that an open car door means "jump in, we're going for a ride"
--knowing that the humans will be smitten if you curl up next to them on the sofa, and especially if you lick their face and then lay your head on their lap
--automatically sitting for a treat, with or without the command being said
--scratching or barking at the door to go out our come in (or another indication - some dogs just stare at the door, some prance around in front of it, some whine)
--responding appropriately to basic commands such as Sit, Down, Off, Stay, etc.

Contrary to popular belief, shelter and rescue dogs can be completely healthy, normal, and command-trained. Our second foster, the only non-beagle we've had (a hound or rottweiler head with a catahoula leopard dog body!), knew many word commands and had some kind of hand signal training as well; he would occasionally do something like drop to the ground and freeze when an arm moved in a particular way. He was the smart one - we couldn't figure out his "language"!

Well, I didn't mean to make this such a long post, as I know blogging is meant to be short and sweet. So that's all for now. I'm sure there are other behaviors to point out - please share!

Joyce

"We Don't Have "Time" - Ours vs. Theirs

2007-12-19T11:05:00.001-06:00

Fostering = Time; Theirs.

Fostering is really just giving a dog the gift of time.

My significant other/boyfriend and I foster beagles for rescue groups. It is probably the most meaningful thing we've ever done. We currently have Amos, a wonderful old beagle/basset mix who came from a kill shelter in a rural area, un-neutered, no microchip, but healthy, PERFECTLY house trained, and gentle, sweet and happy as a lark. He's a garbage-getter--used Kleenex are a particular treat--and last night he pulled a HEAVY saucepan of pasta off the stove to the floor and had an extra meal.

But I digress.

My point in this post is TIME. Lots of folks say they would be a foster home if only they had the time. No time, busy busy, time, time, time.

To which I say: of course you don't have time. No one does. Except for what you make time for. We all have the same 24 hours each day, and we all have more on the list than gets done in that span. But we all make choices continuously in how we spend those hours.

We already have two beagles of our own, and luckily they are easy, meaning they are healthy, well-behaved, sleep-all-day-while-we're-gone-couch-potatoes, they don't bark all day or chew things up. Basically we just feed them, let them out, and in exchange they shower us with that unconditional "love" that is, in my opinion, unique to the canine-human connection. Since we're going to go through all the motions of caring for our own dogs, how hard can it be to add one more to the mix?

And ultimately, while we may say we "don't have time," it's really the displaced dog standing alone on a cold, hard concrete slab behind bars in a shelter who truly doesn't have time. He may have a week, two weeks, in some cases up to a month, before the inevitable takes place, because in that time dozens more come in and there is no more space and rescue groups cannot take more in until a foster home opens up, so down the hall to The Table he goes. Because I said I didn't have time. So his time is up.

And another beagle was just brought in the door. All he has is time, just not much of it.

Joyce

The beagle rescue our dogs came from: www.houndsong.com; always in need of foster homes and donations.

SNYP! (Spay or Neuter Your Pet)

2007-12-18T10:59:00.000-06:00

SNYP! That is my acronym for Spay or Neuter Your Pet!
In this holiday season, there will be many inappropriate gifts of a new puppy, particularly beagles. Rescues and shelters dread this time of year, knowing they'll be inundated in the coming weeks with unwanted dogs that just didn't work out - too hyper, too much work, too noisy, we're not home enough, someone is allergic, this is the wrong breed for us, etc. etc. All of which could have been avoided with a little research and thought prior to purchase.
All owners should spay and neuter their dogs. All reputable rescues spay and neuter prior to adoption. The beagles that have come into shelter/rescue care are, in large part, the direct result of overpopulation and casual breeding. A quick visit your local shelter will confirm the overwhelming need for rescue, fostering and adoption. Far too many dogs are needlessly euthanized because of the irresponsibility of casual breeders. Breeding should be done directly by knowledgeable experts who show their beagles, are breeding to improve the standard of the breed, or are scrupulous in selling to the public. Please consider this before breeding your dog. Especially unfortunate for beagles it that they are the breed most often used in research due to their manageable size and temperament and ready availability of "stock."

We all can do our part to reduce beagle (and all pet) overpopulation by not breeding them and adopting pets that are spayed or neutered to save a life. I found this wonderful quote on a beagle rescue site and have altered it just a bit:

"If you rescue one beagle, you will not change the world, but the world will surely change for that one beagle."
Joyce

Ho Ho H-uuurrrrpp!

2007-11-30T00:59:00.000-06:00

We ordered some very cool holiday gift items from Drs Foster & Smith, including a basket make of edible rawhide containing 25 rawhide candy canes. Each one has a strip of red and a strip of green rawhide wrapped around it to look quite festive. This was to be our giveaway to our neighborhood dogs and those who come to our next beagle meetup.

We received the shipment and left the on the kitchen table, covered and, we thought, inaccessible to The Beagles. Why do we keep underestimating the power of the hound nose, especially the late-in-the-day HUNGRY hungry nose?

So I got home this evening to see our foster bagel (beagle-basset mix) looking just slightly guilty, and our Katie (first beagle we got in 2001 from a rescue group and the light of our lives) sneaking upstairs with something in her mouth. It was the rawhide basket, still intact but completely empty! Uh Oh. A quick investigation revealed clue after clue - a chair askew near the table, the box lid wide open even though we left it sealed, plastic wrap and a ribbon on the floor in the corner by the window, and no rawhide candy canes to be found.

In my best C-CSI (Canine Crime Scene Investigation) mode, I continued looking around the house and discovered three (and later two more) areas on the kitchen floor where the obviously too-hastily eaten chews had made a return appearance. BLEECCHH. They were essentially just bitten and swallowed, not chewed, so the two dogs had engaged in their own eating competition like the ones that skinny Asian guy always wins with the hot dogs.

And yet they both were DYING of hunger and howling to be fed dinner when they came in from their potty break.

Just another day in beagle paradise!

Joyce

Best Intentions Don't Count!

2007-11-27T11:47:00.001-06:00

Wow, I really had the best of intentions to be a regular blogger when I started this a while back, but I fell off that path immediately. I am trying to get into a habit of posting several times a week. This is my first actual test drive of posting; bear with me while I find my "voice."

Our current foster beagle/basset mix, Amos, is recovering from knee repair surgery. He has never made a peep of being uncomfortable, what a trooper. And a total teddy bear. He'll be a hard one to let go, but he may be going to live in an Alzheimer's unit at an assisted living facility as their resident dog. How great that so many of these places are recognizing the benefits of having a dog around to do what dogs do best - provide unconditional love to everyone!

We had a Howloween party for our beagle friends in late October - 33 beagles and 30 humans in our back yard, the dogs were in costume and we trick-0r-treated in our neighborhood, causing quite a stir! I will posts a couple of photos soon. Just got a new laptop and need to move pictures over.

Signing off for now,

AROOOO!

(Beagle people know that's beaglespeak for whatever needs to be said--it's multipurpose-call it the beagle version of "aloha.")

Joyce
Beagles of Palatine Meetup Group Organizer
Palatine Beagle Blog Author