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Tara Belle’s Tips
for Pet Lovers
FIVE THINGS DOGGIES CAN’T RESIST
Woof, everyone!
All doggies are different, but there are some things we all have in common. My column this time is on "Five things most doggies can’t resist." Here they are, along with some helpful tips for helping us be good:
1. The cat’s litterbox—Believe me, doggies do like to snack in the litterbox! (And that can make us sick.) My trainer says a barrier or gate between the dog and the litterbox area, that only the cat can get through or over, may be the only solution for this one.
2. The cat’s food—Same as above, OR feeding the cat on top of a higher surface that the dog can’t reach but the cat can.
3. The waste basket –We doggies are almost always fascinated by stuff in the waste basket, especially paper towels and tissues. Prevention is the best solution. Wastebaskets with roll-tops, or step-on tops, or fancy designer cans with wooden tops. can help us be soooo good. Just be sure the kind you get is safe and no pet could get his or her head stuck!
4. Moss in the potted plant—Wiggie Wag! This is really fun to play with and shake. My trainer says just forget about using moss. Throw it out. The plants don’t really need it, and we doggies will be better off! (P.S. If you have a doggie (or cat) that tends to eat the plants too, be sure the plants are not on the toxic plant list on the ASPCA poison control site (see www.aspca.org ,)
4. Squirrels--What’s wrong with chasing squirrels?
Till next time, Luv……….…..Tara Belle
Previous Columns:
Tara Belle’s Tips
for Pet Lovers
By Tara Belle T.
Woof! My tip this month is about that green stuff you use for automobile coolant (anti-freeze). Please don’t forget that it is very toxic to pets. It has a smell and taste that are attractive to animals. If it leaks on the pavement and they lick it, even a small amount can be fatal.
But here’s the good news! There is a brand you can get that is classified as “non-toxic.” It’s called Sierra Anti-Freeze and Coolant. The toxic stuff is made from ethylene glycol, but Sierra Brand is made from propylene glycol, which is much less toxic. That’s why it’s safer for pets, wildlife, and even humans, than the regular kind. And the cost is about the same.
They carry it at Pep Boys. So please, as a favor to pets and wildlife, ask them for it and use it in your car. It is much safer for the environment.
Wiggie Wag and thank you—Tara Belle
SAFE DRIVING WITH PETS ON BOARD
Wiggie Wag Everyone!
At this time of year, I know lots of people will be driving somewhere special and maybe taking along their pets.
Does your doggie have a doggie car-seat or seat-belt harness?
Pets need to be secure in the car, just like people. If an accident happens, an unsecured person or animal can be a hazard to other passengers in the car, as well as being in danger themselves.
My seat-belt harness is especially designed to hook up to the regular seat belt .(They're available at pet suuply stores.) Mom says the back seat is the safest, so I get to be a back seat driver.
For small doggies, they also make travel seats that keep them secure, but sit them high enough to look out of the window.
And here's a special warning! Never let your pet sit in the front passenger seat if your car has air bags. Those are just as dangerous for pets as they are for small children!
Another good way to help us stay safe is to let us ride in our crate, with the crate strapped in or placed in a secure part of the car. When Mom and I go out of town, she puts my crate in the back of our SUV, and I snooze in it for most of the trip.
Probably the most dangerous way for a pet to ride is loose in the car with a leash attached. If they got thrown forward, the leash could catch and, well you know…
So…think safety! And when we finally get there, be sure to snap on our leashes before the car door gets opened.
Luv to everyone………..Tara Belle
LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT
You know that saying, "Little things mean a lot?"
I believe it’s especially true for doggies.
I made a list of little things that are important to us. So from us to you, here’s our list of small stuff that means a lot:
Touch us a lot. Being touched and stroked is almost as rewarding as a food treat.
Keep our water dish clean and full of fresh water.
Check our collars to make sure they’re not too tight. Remember , we have to wear them 24-7, and sleep in them, too!
Please be sure we don’t have fleas. With things like Advantage and Frontline, doggies never have to see a flea again.
Brush us every day, or at least every week. It makes our skin feel good and tells us you care about us.
Let us go out everyday to sniff the trail and leave some messages.
Give us a daily routine we can count on--meals at a certain time, walks at a certain time and a bedtime routine so we understand when it’s time to go to sleep.
Smile at us and tell us we’re good dogs.
Us doggies love you so much, and we appreciate little things like these.
Till next time, Wiggie Wag……....Signed, Tara Belle
JASMINE’S TEMPTATION
Hello again, everyone! This month I have some tips about helping your doggie be good.
We doggies have certain things we just can’t resist. Sometimes our humans have to help us be good by being sure we don’t get tempted.
Take my friend, Jasmine. One of her worst temptations is tissue paper in the trash can, especially if it has someone’s personal scent. Jasmine is already a year-and-a- half, but she still cannot be trusted, period. She gets it out, chews it up, and makes a terrible mess. So her mom has to be sure all the trash cans are either empty or covered if she leaves Jasmine alone in the room.
Jasmine’s not the only one. Most doggies can’t resist tissues or sometimes, just any kind of paper they can get out of the trash. For this problem, designer trash cans with wooden tops or the kind with metal step-on-buttons can help keep peace in the household.
Family socks are also irresistible, and again, especially if they have your scent on them. And get this--if we pick up a sock, and then you chase us, we get to run away with family members following behind, and it’s a great game. That makes the process of getting your sock even more rewarding.
Once doggies are well trained, our humans can tell us to STAY, and then to GIVE, or DROP IT. But even better, is to keep temptation off the floor and out of our reach.
Sometimes, we just need you to help us be good.
Luv…..Tara Belle
HOME ALONE.
Woof, woof, everyone!
When you leave the house and we doggies have to stay behind, we sometimes get separation anxiety!
When humans get anxious, they may chew their nails. When doggies get anxious, we may chew anything we can get our teeth on. Most destructive activity takes place when we are left alone.
So, here is a tip my mom and I learned from my trainer to help doggies be more comfortable when their humans have to go somewhere:
--Always follow a definite routine for saying goodbye. Just before you go out, stop, hold up one finger, look us in the eye, and say goodbye with some special words that you use every time. Be calm, not emotional.
Do this even if you’re leaving your doggie in his crate. My trainer likes to tell her doggie, “Watch the house.” Her doggie just looks at her and says, “No problem,” and settles down for a nap.
When my mom leaves, she holds up one finger and tells me, “Be Good. I’ll be back. I love you.” I know everything will be okay, because she says that every time, and, she comes back every time.
Holding up one finger is an important part of the routine, because it gives us a hand signal to go with the words. We soon learn that the signal and words mean you’re leaving, but you will come back. Once we learn that, it’s very comforting.
Try it, and see if it doesn’t help your doggie when you have to leave. And here’s another tip:
--Don’t leave us with the run of the house. Have a special familiar place that we always stay when you go. Either in a roomy, comfortable crate, or maybe in the kitchen behind a puppy gate. (But please not in a small room with the door closed ‘cause that can make us feel more isolated, and we might try really hard to get out, which could hurt both the door and our paws.)
P. S. It’s also nice to leave on some low music or television sound. Personally I prefer TV myself, ‘cause my mom and I watch television together a lot. So it’s a familiar sound that makes me feel more comfortable when she’s gone.
Wiggie wag, and luv to all ....Tara Belle
Tara Belle’s Tips
for Pet Lovers
Wiggie Wag, everyone!
Learning to come when called can be pretty hard for doggies. Sometimes we would rather do other things. (I know.)
Like all training, it takes a lot of patience and work from our human.
Here are some good ideas my mom and I learned from our trainer for teaching dogs to come when called:
--Never call your dog for anything we won’t like, like discipline, or a pill. Instead, just go and get us. (If you call us, and then something bad happens, we will remember. Next time, we may not come to you!
--When you call us, first say our NAME in a happy voice! Then call us with enthusiasm! Lean over with open arms to welcome us!
--Very important: Start praising as soon as we start moving toward you.
--When we get to you, give us a treat, or just lots of affection. Make it a happy occasion, so we’re always glad we came when you called.
--Sometimes, call us for no reason at all, and then give us lots of love.
Luv to everyone……Tara Belle
Woofs:
"When loved ones come home, always run to greet them."
"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." -- Robert A. Heinlein
"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." -- Sydney Jeanne Seward
"Dogs are like kids, cats are like roommates."--Cat Common Sense.
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.” –Ogden Nash.
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" --Dave Barry