WHAT'S IN YOUR REFLECTION?

Dogs are a reflection of their human’s behavior; their human’s training capabilities, their human’s values. 

Hi, I’m Parker – a dog blogger.  I write to humans about creature-based issues. For all their intelligence, I find most humans loveable but clueless and in need of ‘training”. This week I’d like humans to understand that their behavior can have a devastating impact on the health of their pets. Let me explain.

Most of my canine kind:

• that are obese have couch potato type humans that spend more time watching TV at home and 

  computer screens at work while snacking on high-calorie junk;

• whose breed suffers from degenerative diseases are a reflection of humans that are hell-bent on 

  overbreeding their kind;

• who lose their teeth prematurely have humans that have forgotten to take proper care of their own 

  teeth and little to no care for their dog’s dental hygiene

• that tend to destroy household items are left at home alone for an average of 9.5 hours a day with 

  nothing to do but tear up things;

• with the tendency to have far too many ‘accidents’ in the house were not properly house trained in 

  the beginning.

This topic seemed important when I overhead a conversation that Jet (my foster mom) had with a suit (my term for business types) that knocked on her door one day.  He was peddling something but seemed like a nice sort. They discussed how one of Jet’s family dogs looked, i.e. five fries on the high side of a Happy Meal. Her name is Mandy.  She belongs to Jet’s mom.  Mandy should have weighed 3 lbs. but weighed 5.3 lbs. Jet and her mom changed her food to low-calorie, served it in measured portions and walked her (almost daily). Today, at the age of ten, Mandy weighs 4 lbs.  When motivated, she can now run faster than you can read this sentence.

I’m not trying to point fingers (paws) at my human readers about their pet’s behavior so that they feel guilty about it.  I’m trying to alert my human readers about their pet’s behavior to remind them that they are accountable for it.

So my lesson of the week: don’t blame a dog for the bad things he or she does since most of the time their behavior is a reflection of your commitment to properly care for them. Take a look in the mirror. We (your pets) will be there looking back at you.  What kind of behavior (yours) do we reflect?

LETTER FROM A FAN

Dear Parker: We live in an area of the US that has horrible storms they call hurricanes.  My humans prepared in advance for these mega storms by creating an emergency kit. What should they have in the 911 kit for me?  - Your devoted reader, Crackers the Cocker Spaniel

Dear Crackers:

What a great question!  Humans need to make sure they have what is needed in their disaster kit in advance of an event.  The experts at the ASPCA recommend humans pack the following items for their pets, including:

•    Pet first-aid kit and guide book (ask your vet what to include, or visit the ASPCA Store to buy one online)

•    3-7 days' worth of canned (pop-top) or dry food (be sure to rotate every two months)

•    Disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)

•    Litter or paper toweling

•    Liquid dish soap and disinfectant

•    Disposable garbage bags for clean up                                   

•    Pet feeding dishes

•    Extra collar or harness as well as an extra leash

•    Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof

    container with a two-week supply of any medicine

    your pet requires (Remember, food and medications

    need to be rotated out of your emergency kit—

    otherwise they may go bad or become useless.)

•    Bottled water, at least 7 days' worth for each person

    and pet (store in a cool, dry place and replace every

    two months)

•    A traveling bag, crate or sturdy carrier, ideally one for

    each pet

•    Flashlight

•    Blanket (for scooping up a fearful pet)

•    Recent photos of your pets (in case you are separated and

    need to make "Lost" posters)

•    Especially for cats: Pillowcase or EvackSack, toys, scoop-

    able litter

•   Especially for dogs: Extra leash, toys and chew toys, a week's

    worth of cage liner.

Here’s a link to the ASPCA disaster preparedness for pets website.  I recommend all pet owners (including the kids) conduct a thorough review of this page every year. 

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/disaster-preparedness/

Your Pal, Parker

LIVE LIKE A DOG

Jet is my foster mom.  She rescued me from a kill shelter in Texas.  She writes so my homage (pretty cool word for a dog) to her is writing my own dog blog.  For my new readers, this column isn’t for my creature kind; I write to teach lessons to humans.  – They are in need of learning a lot more than animals that are born with most of the knowledge they need to live fully.  This brings me to my topic of the week: living a better life.

I’ve noticed the older humans get, the more bad habits they pick up.  They laugh less, work more, and insert moments of joy in their schedule like appointments.  Humans would be better off living the tenants of a dog.  Specifically:

Love abundantly.

Forgive quickly.

Play enthusiastically.

Greet warmly.

Bark softly.

Growl lovingly.

Chase purposefully.

Give regularly.

Serve fervently.

Seriously, you have to admit this is a good way to use your time on earth. Test my theory.  If you lived this way and died tomorrow, wouldn’t you say it was a great life? Of course for a dog (or any pet), how well we live or die is, to a certain degree, based on how we are treated by humans.  – Guess that’s true for humans too.

So my lesson of the week: live like a dog and you will live fully and die honorably.

LETTER FROM A FAN

Dear Parker: I was playing with my pal, Rosco - a cool Boxer - and he accidentally bit me. He was VERY sorry. The area is all puffed up like the ball in my toy box. Do I need to do something about it? – Frisky from Seattle.

Dear Swollen in Seattle:

A dog bite, even accidental, must be treated due to the bacteria 

hanging out in our canine mouths. The bite, though small, could 

have been deep enough to reach the subcutaneous tissues and 

muscles. It’s pretty typical for a small bite to close up on the 

outside and seal in the bacteria inside. This causes infection 

and the bump you see is an abscess that will likely need to be 

excised (not as bad as being neutered) and with antibiotics you 

will be good to go. Get your humans to take you to the vet – 

pronto!              Your Pal, Parker

BETTER THAN A CRACKER JACK PRIZE

Each breed of dog has unique skills that enable the canine to perform better than other breeds (and all humans). I should know since I’m a dog. Here’s an example. It's been estimated that dogs can identify smells somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans can. Due to this gift, one of my favorite canines, the bloodhound, uses its 300 million scent receptors to easily find the trail of a lost child. German Shepherds are often used to detect bombs

for soldiers, rat terriers like me, are bred to run down rodents whereas Golden Retrievers have the disposition to work as a service dog to help the disabled. Each of us has a natural ability to fulfill a specific role or purpose in life.

It’s confounding to me that humans don’t realize they are like dogs in this manner. So many humans struggle to figure out what they are supposed to be, to understand what their purpose or calling is in life. And then there are other types of humans that know what they should be but are scared to pursue their purpose so it becomes a ‘hobby’ rather than a vocation.  I looked up the definition of both words and hobbies seem a lot more fun than vocations, so why in dog’s heaven would any human relegate so little time to what they do best and love most?

Michelangelo said, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”  Like Michelangelo’s marble, I think humans are born with what they are meant to be already inside them so why spend so much time letting it out? It’s like keeping a dog trapped in a small cage all the time.

My foster mom, Jet, knows a carpenter who spent 15 years building houses for a living only to finally realize what made him happy was making custom furniture. I heard about a woman running the family store for 21 years when she really wanted to be a schoolteacher.  Are these humans confusing their job with their purpose? Are they confusing what someone says they should be with what they are supposed to be or confusing what they should do to make a living with what they should be doing to make a life? Maybe they have a hearing problem because if humans could hear their soul talking as well as dogs can hear a stranger a block from their house, then they would know what they are supposed to do.

My lesson of the week… Jet says that living your purpose is like being a five-year old and finding an awesome prize in a Cracker Jack box – delightful! Purpose, not a paycheck, should dictate your path because you can’t feed a soul until you fuel your purpose. Humans! Look for the prize: your calling and then own it and pursue it with passion like a dog would a treat.

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LETTER FROM A FAN

Dear Parker: I’m bored sitting at home all day. I like to be active and do things that use my bright brain. My mom wants to know if you have any suggestions of what I can do?  - Your forever fan, Dixie.

Dear Dixie:

You should consider agility training.  It’s like doggie physical education class and the chess club all in one. You’ll be busy using your brain to figure out what to do and then use your body to do it so you’ll get a workout that is more stimulating than just a few hours at the doggie park or daycare center. Be sure your humans let me know how this works out. - Parker

THE REAL 'INCONVENIENT TRUTH'

In October, a new law to shut down puppy mill operators went into effect in Texas. Upon enforcing compliance, two operators dumped (literally) a multitude of Spaniels and Maltese dogs on the streets.  A local news commentator reported the mill owners were dumping their dogs because the new legislation was “too strict”. I nearly choked on my doggie bone. These dogs were dumped because they are not operating a lawful enterprise that provides humane conditions for their animals.

Maybe I’m just a dog, but even I can tell that the reporter isn’t acting like a well-informed journalist whose job it is to report; instead, she’s acting like a jaded lobbyist whose job it is to persuade.  If she had checked the facts first, then she (and her viewers) would have known the inconvenient TRUTH: this legislation isn’t strict enough.

The law doesn’t hurt professional breeders; the law eliminates disreputable puppy mill operators. Even my canine pals know the difference. Professional breeders' first priority is operating a clean, safe living environment for dogs to breed within reasonable timetables. These breeders adhere to legislative compliance to protect their animals while also allowing the owners to run a successful enterprise.  The puppy mill operators have one priority, profit. Their dogs are housed in over-crowded, unsanitary conditions without veterinary care, food, water, or socialization. Most of their cages are stacked on top of each other so dogs below are drenched in urine and fecal matter.

The new law requires the mill operators to provide their dogs with nourishing food, access to water, and an hour out of their cage each day. This ‘journalist’ must be on crack if she thinks providing basic life needs is too much to demand.

My lesson for the week, this reporter (just like Gore) should get their facts straight before sharing them with others. - Doubly so when it relates to the treatment of animals because the truth is, it is a lot more than just ‘inconvenient’ for mill dogs to live in such abysmal conditions. As a dog, I can’t vote, so my bark is bigger than my bite but most of my readers are humans who can make a difference.  Support this legislation and go to www.THLN.org where you can find out how to vote on other legislative issues that support animal advocacy.

LETTER FROM A FAN

Dear Parker:

It got really cold last night and my pal Ringo was left outside all day and night. He’s a tiny guy with short hair.  Is he okay when it is below 40 degrees outside? - Jax

Dear Jax:

In cold weather like this, even hairy big dogs need protection, that includes shelter, to protect them from moisture, harsh wind and lower temperatures. In general, smaller, short-haired dogs should be inside. Consider a coat, designed for dogs, for your pal if he likes to be outside for long periods.  And, make sure his humans are not fooled by a dog’s ability to survive through exceptionally cold nights.  That doesn’t mean it is easy, smart or pleasant.  Even a bed in the garage next to a house wall that will emit some warmth is better than forcing a dog to stay outside in exceptionally cold weather.   P.S. Tell Ringo I love his band.

                                                                                                               Your pal, Parker