Avoid These Common Collar Dangers
FROM THE WHOLE DOG JOURNAL
Even the best collars have the potential to cause harm to your dog if not used wisely. Here are some tips and cautions for proper, safe collar use:
Don’t Leave Collars on Unattended Dogs. Any collar left on an unattended dog has the potential to catch on something and hang the dog. In fact, some agility and barn hunt venues don’t allow dogs to wear collars while they are running the course, for fear that the collar could get caught on something. It is also possible for a dog to get her lower jaw caught in the collar.
While hanging potential is greatest with a choke collar (yes, this sadly happened to a St. Bernard of mine when I was young and too dumb to know better), it can also happen with regular flat collars. I do leave flat collars on my dogs – the tradeoff is that if you remove collars, your dog has no visible identification and may be harder to capture if she does somehow escape. You have to decide what hazard is a more likely threat to your dog’s safety.
Don’t Leave Collars on Playing Dogs. Dogs who are playing together can get tangled in each other’s collars, especially if they engage in mouthy play. This, also, happened to one of my dogs: while Darby and Keli were playing, Keli got her jaw caught under Darby’s collar and then spun around, twisting the collar so that Darby was being choked. Fortunately, I was able to pick up Keli and un-spin her, releasing the tension on the collar and allowing the dogs to separate. Neither dog was harmed – but it could have been significantly worse. Dogs have broken their jaws, and others have choked to death in this way.
If you feel you must leave a collar on your dog when he’s playing with other dogs – say, at a dog park – make sure it has a quick-release buckle, or better yet is a safety or breakaway collar, which will release under pressure.
Watch Out for Tags on Collars. Dangling tags can catch on crate wires and heater vents. You can tape tags to the collar so they don’t dangle, or look for a dog tag “pocket” that holds the tags flat against the collar. Slide-on ID tags are available from a variety of sources. Alternatively, you can use a collar with your number stitched on it, or use a light-weight ring for the tags that will bend and release under pressure.
If you need help deciding what’s best for you and your dog, our newly updated ebook Guide to Collars, Leashes, And Harnesses can guide you in making collar decisions that are compatible with your training goals and philosophy.
The Endearing Canine Head Tilt May Indicate Focus
Dogs that tilt their head to one side as they look at a human are charming, but the gesture may actually be a sign that they are concentrating. As researchers studied a group of “gifted” border collies that can memorize multiple toy names, they noted the skill correlated with a tendency to tilt their head, and the dogs also had a preferred side, just as most humans prefer to use the left or right hand.
Dogs that tilt their head to one side as they look at a human are charming, but the gesture may actually be a sign that they are concentrating. As researchers studied a group of “gifted” border collies that can memorize multiple toy names, they noted the skill correlated with a tendency to tilt their head, and the dogs also had a preferred side, just as most humans prefer to use the left or right hand.
5 Reasons for Your Dog’s Destructive Behavior
From: Whole Dog Journal
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Deadly Plants for Pets
from Dr. Karen Becker and Health Pets
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- The tragic loss of two dogs in South Carolina is a grim reminder that now that warmer weather is here, it’s important to guard against the potential pet-related hazards posed by both outdoor and indoor plants
- Common outdoor plants that cause poisoning in dogs and cats include the sago palm, lilies, plants containing cardiac glycosides, and blue-green algae
- Indoors, common toxic plants include plants from the Araceae family, plants containing either soluble or insoluble calcium oxalates, kalanchoe, the corn plant/dragon tree, and spring flower bulbs
- If you suspect or know your pet has sampled a potentially poisonous plant, err on the side of caution by calling your vet, the local emergency animal hospital or a 24/7 pet poison hotline
Certain dogs more prone to ADHD-, OCD-like behavior
A Toy Safety Guide
While parents of human children can rest secure that their kid’s toys have to pass strict federal standards, pet parents have no such assurances. Sure, the FDA regulates pet foods, but when it comes to other products, including toys, there’s no agency or set of laws in place to protect your furbaby!
Pet Insurance and Pre Existing Conditions
So, a friend told you about the great experience he/she had with their Pet Insurance company. This is just the type of recommendations you’ve been looking for. You dive in, but quickly realize that the pre-existing condition that your special furbaby has is not covered. Drat.
READ MORE for more information that may help as you pursue getting Pet Insurance!
AVMA backs bill to require warning label on products containing xylitol
The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) is supporting the proposed Paws Off Act, a bipartisan House bill that would require xylitol-containing products to be labeled with a warning that the sweetener is toxic to dogs. Xylitol is used in a broad array of sugar-free foods and dental products, and xylitol poisoning calls to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center rose from slightly more than 200 in 2005 to 6,760 in 2018
After Encounter with Speeding Cab, Husky Needed Help from Angel Fund
One hot day in July, Nicole Espina took her Husky, Vasily, out for a walk in Mar Vista. “It was really, really hot,” she said. “Normally we would walk for half an hour to an hour. But I didn’t want him to get heat stroke so we went back home early.
“Usually, when I get to to my front door, I unleash him and he goes in. But this time, he pulled a little Houdini on me and he ran out toward the street.”
A taxi was speeding down Venice Blvd. near her home at the time. “The driver was looking down at his phone, one of my neighbors said, and he didn’t see my dog,” Nicole said. Vasily lost what was a terrible mismatch with the cab. The major physical problem was a broken leg, she said, “but the encounter also has had a heavy mental toll, too.
“He’s crying every day,” she said in in a recent interview. “The first few days Vasily was home, you could tell that he wasn’t the same anymore. When I would take him out, he was traumatized by what had happened there [in the street near her front door].
She said that Vasily “has been shaking, quivering and crying and he’s in pain. He’s suffering. A lot of my friends are like, what are you going to do? and I honestly don’t know what I can do.”
Nicole has been staying at home most of the time because of her dog’s trauma. She said that he also has had sores from an infection, although Dr. Wendy Brooks, who treated Vasily at Mar Vista Animal Hospital, told Nicole that she expected him to recover soon.
Nicole who is not working full time, was short of cash and the hospital suggested applying for help to Angel Fund. Nicole did so and received a grant matched by the hospital. That was a huge help.
“I’m so grateful for Angel Fund,” she said. “Without it, I don’t know what I would’ve done to get the money to properly have my dog’s medical needs taken care of. Angel Fund took a lot of stress off me and was a huge relief.”
Dr. Brooks, who is owner of the Mar Vista hospital, was concerned about air in Vasily’s chest cavity but after hours of observation concluded that it would subside on its own and didn’t need what would have been expensive treatment, Nicole said.
She was given Vasily – now four years old – by a friend she made while visiting in Russia a couple of years ago.
Nicole had been studying at UC Davis but decided to take some time off in 2016 after two years because of the pressure she felt to maintain her 4.0 grade-point average. “The pressure of maintaining it just got to me. I was very devastated and my Mom suggested I take time off and travel,” she said. She decided to do that – something she could afford because of a settlement she had received after a traffic accident several years ago.
After spending time in the South Pacific and Asia (she is a native of the Philippines), she said, “I found myself in Russia.” A scuba diver, she lived nearly two years in Irkutsk, Siberia, but found a real highlight of her time there when she went to Lake Baikal.
“They have this tradition that they go in the water, usually in January. It’s sort of a cultural or religious thing. Baikal is one of the clearest, largest lakes in the world. I was so stoked to go ice diving!” She regards her time in Russia as “the best time of my life.”
She returned to the United States with Vasily in 2018 and tried living in New York City for a short time but then returned to California. Although she had grown up in the Bay Area, she decided to come to Los Angeles. She now teaches some free-lance Yoga via Zoom and is hoping to sell some of her paintings and pottery online to supplement her finances.
She’s also thinking about going back to college, perhaps online. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school and I would need a refresher course,” she said.