Bonfire Fright: Keeping dogs safe and happy during firework season

Let's look at the numbers. According to a 2007 survey of 3774 people:

80% of dogs are frightened by fireworks
45% of owners say their dogs are terrified to the point of sedation.

So what is a responsible, concerned dog owner to do during the season of bonfires and sparklers? Dogs Trust has produced a quick reference guide to help calm and protect man's best friend.

Dogs Trust Firework Code:

* Don’t leave your dog alone in the house – he may panic and injure himself.

* Try to settle your dog before the fireworks start – if your dog is in familiar safe surroundings it will help him cope with the noise.

* Walk your dog before dark – make sure your dog is well exercised and has relieved himself before the fireworks begin.

* Keep your dog busy – play games or enjoy some reward-based training to keep his mind off the noises.

* Be careful not to reward your dog for reacting to noise – if he’s upset giving him attention may inadvertently reward him for being afraid. It may be better to act as if there’s nothing to worry about.

* Provide a safe hiding place – at noisy times around Bonfire Night, make sure your dog has somewhere safe to hide in his favourite room. Close the curtains and turn up the volume on your TV or radio to drown out the firework noises.

* Seek advice from your vet – They will be happy to help. You can also ask about DAP – Dog Appeasing Pheromone, a scent that can comfort your dog and help him cope with his fears. Be sure to give the medication prescribed before the noise begins.

* Never force a dog outside when fireworks are being let off, and even if your dog enjoys Bonfire Night, never let him off his lead outdoors when fireworks are being let off.


Dogs Trust Veterinary Director Chris Laurence comments:

“Some dogs seem to be more sensitive to noise than others, but many dogs are very upset by fireworks. The more a dog is frightened by noise, the worse a noise phobia is likely to become so it is important to minimise the problem. Taking up the actions in the check list will help dogs cope.”

If you have any extra helpful tips on helping dogs cope during the fireworks, please do add them to the comments.

[Image source: mandj98 on Flickr]

Dogs Trust Stray Dogs Report 2008: Eighteen stray dogs put to sleep every day

Dogs Trust's eleventh annual Stray Dogs Report¹ has revealed that an estimated 96,892 stray dogs were taken in by local councils in the UK last year, 6,710 of which were put to sleep for want of a home. In fact, on average, eighteen dogs are put to sleep every day².

Despite the sustained efforts of animal welfare organisations and local authorities, on average 11 stray and unwanted dogs are handled by local authorities every hour.

• Five are reunited with their owners
• Three are taken to welfare organisations
• One is rehomed by the local authority
• And every 80 minutes, a dog is put to sleep.

Please consider visiting your local rescue centre before splashing the cash on a rental Rover.

Dogs Trust's Chief Executive, Clarissa Baldwin, explains that there is still much to be done:

"This is the first year that the number of stray dogs in the UK has dropped below 100,000. But this is still far too high a figure - it's 6,000 more than the number of seats at Wembley! For a nation of so-called animal lovers, it is unacceptable that pets are being treated as throwaway commodities. Dog ownership is a privilege, not a right.

"Dogs Trust is working closely with local authorities and runs extensive education, neutering and microchipping campaigns to help them tackle the issue. As a result the number of stray dogs has dropped gradually in the past ten years.

"However, the onus remains on owners to accept their responsibility. Get your dog neutered and microchipped and ensure he is wearing an ID tag so that if he is lost he can be reuinited with you more easily."

To learn more about adopting a dog from Dogs Trust, please visit our website.


¹Conducted by GfK NOP on behalf of Dogs Trust.
²Some of these will have been euthanised because of aggression or illness.

Happy Dog Stories: Sarah and Alfie

Finding a home for a dog with an ongoing medical condition can be hard, so owners like Sarah Kane who will take on such a dog are much appreciated. Here, Sarah tells Alfie's story:

"It has been just over a year now since we rescued our Rottweiler, Alfie, from Dogs Trust Bridgend. He was known there as Philip!

"'Philip' had spent most of his early adulthood in kennels and was also suffering from elbow dysplasia. He had undergone some keyhole surgery prior to our encounter and had also had lots of hydrotherapy. Due to his condition, he was offered on a part foster basis, but he had been in Dogs Trust for a long while, overlooked by visitors.

"After much thought - and as I already owned a dog with a similiar condition - I could not resist him any longer; after a sucessful meeting with our other dog we took 'Phillip' home.

"One year on Phillip aka Alfie is now 2 years old and you would never know he had suffered from dysplasia; he has made a miraculous recovery, and being so impressed with his development, we even took our other dog to the same surgeon that Dogs Trust used with Alf!

"Alfie is a big boisterous boy, and loves to run flat out in the fields we have near by. He is slightly nervous in some situations but loves children and adults to make a big fuss of him. He is a bit of a soppy dope at times, but you must stay one step ahead of him because he is very clever when it comes to food! Many a times the locks on the cupboard doors have been cheated and we're familiar with seeing a Rottie delighted with himself as he's managed to raid the bin...!

"It is always a risk rehoming a new dog, especially one which is 'breed branded' but with patience and consistancy you will get many years of delight from your new friend. Dogs Trust saved Alfie's life and gave him a new opportunity to have a great quality of life, as well as defying his breed's unfair reputation."

If you have a happy story about your rescue dogs (whether they came from Dogs Trust or not), please email me with a photo and your tale and it could appear here soon! If you're interested in adopting a dog, please visit our website for more information.

Previous Happy Dog Stories: Jennie, Lex and Sassie | Iona and Dexter

'High rise syndrome' sees cats and dogs at risk from falls

We know to keep dogs on the leash near busy roads, and to ensure gardens are safely fenced in to protect them from straying and traffic accidents. But what about 'high rise syndrome'?

The ASPCA has been warning that, come summer time, pets kept in flats can meander close to open windows and end up taking a painful tumble, leading to serious injury or even death. Although cats are the main victims, some smaller dogs that people keep in apartment complexes are also prone to falling from fire escapes and balconies.

It's not exclusive to flats, either. My friend's Rottweiler, having lived safely in a large house for eleven years, suddenly got overly curious about an open window just as her owner turned her back for a second. In the blink of an eye, Sasha sailed out of the window, which overlooked the yard a full storey below. Thankfully she only suffered a short-lived sprain, but needless to say she was kept out of the room whenever it had open windows after that.

There's no need to swelter inside in order to keep your pets safe. Insect screens will keep bugs out and pets in, and common sense dictates that neither dogs nor cats should be left on a balcony or fire escape unattended.

Designed mainly for cat-owners but useful for anyone keeping a pet in a high level flat, the ASPCA's high rise survival tips are a valuable resource.

Happy Dog Stories: Paula and Flossy

A while back I asked any readers of our various social networking sites to send me happy rehoming tales (whether through Dogs Trust or not). I'll be posting the stories from time to time, and here is the first, from Paula Abbot about her 'Newfie', Flossy.

“About four months ago, I had a phone call late in the evening informing me about a Newfoundland that had been handed into the kennel.

“The following day as soon as the kennel was open, I was on the phone; then I went down to see her.

“It was a horrible rainy day, but we still made our way to check her out. When we got there the lady was a little concerned about what we might think as the dog was so obese. And she was ridiculously fat! Luckily the vet assured us her heart was fine considering her weight and there were no obvious signs of poor health, thank goodness.

“My heart went out to her as she was so adorable but so fat with badly matted fur.

“Since Flossy was handed in rather than found, she was already neutered. We collected her the following day and introduced her to our baby Newfie, Nala, and the other dogs in our home. She spotted the paddling pool, sat her large behind in the water and was very happy! My other dogs are well socialised and friends and family come to socialise their pups with my pets so it’s a little like a crèche sometimes…

“The reason for Flossy’s weight gain was that she’d never eaten dog food, only sausages and the like. She was so fat that getting up was an effort. She ate only gradually, and after a while she was even weaned from one commercial dog food to another. She had to be bribed with food just to go on her first walk! She would stop dead and I’d have to drop her lead and walk away before she’d start walking and catch up. Her pads went sore very quickly because she was unused to walking on hard surfaces. Her owners must have paid around £1000 for her and then neglected her.

“By the time of her first injection and checkup after coming home, Flossy had lost two stone and, with the help of some joint supplements and being careful not to overexercise, she plays happily with seven month old Nala, running along the beach and sand dunes. She’s even won an amateur dog contest at a retirement home which Dogs Trust attended.

“I couldn’t be happier with how well Flossy’s settled in after just three months.I’m now known as the lady who walks her two bears down the street!”

We wish Paula and Flossy all the luck in the world. Remember that you don’t have to be punishing a dog to be hurting her – overfeeding, lack of exercise and little attention can be just as hurtful.

If you have a Happy Dog Story to send in, just email me!

How far would you go to save your pet?

An interesting article today on Boston.com caught my attention. Our adoration of our pets is not a new topic, but those impossibly difficult life or death decisions do take us right to edge sometimes.

In the post, Vicki Constantine Croke asks if we are governed by our hearts, our pockets (vet bills can be ruinous), by the pet's quality of life or by any other factors. From my experiences as a pet owner and as Editor of DoggySnaps, I suspect the pet's quality of life is a major factor. I can't think of a single person who owns a pet who could watch it suffer in terminal pain and not step in to make an unpleasant but necessary decision. I also don't know of a single person who wouldn't do everything in their power to bring a beloved pet back from the brink if the offer was there, even if it meant emptying their bank account. And it's this second point that sometimes shocks non-pet owners, who might not be familiar with the strong familial bond that can develop between a pet and their owner.

Croke argues that people who go to extreme lengths to get the best treatment for their pets shouldn't "ever feel compelled to be accountable to those skeptics... animals are capable of bringing out the best in us - our very humanity... science has shown over and over again that pets add real value to our lives - they can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, provide higher survival rates after heart attacks, and calm us in stressful situations."

It's all true. At Dogs Trust we deal with dogs in all states of health. Some are brought into us in a terrible state, others are thankfully rehomed in perfect health. When we say we'll 'never put a healthy dog down', that includes doing everything in our power to make a dog healthy again, provided doing so will leave them with a decent quality of life. This can include missing limbs or being deaf or blind; these are not barriers to being a wonderful family pet, as many owners can testify. Out of 16,000+ dogs in our care last year, fewer than 400 died in our care, including those who died naturally of prior illness or old age.

Dogs Trust does have an emergency fund to help desperate pet owners, although this is extremely limited. However there are also veterinary entitlement cards for homeless owners, low-cost neutering programmes for people claiming benefits and other schemes. Charities such as the PDSA focus on subsidised health care, too. It's important to take care of the small health issues promptly so that they don't become big ones, and insurance is fast becoming an essential expenditure.

So if your pet is ill and the people around you can't understand the expenditure or heart you put into their treatment, just remember that there are whole organisations of people who have every sympathy with you and will help wherever they can.

How do you care for the world's 'oldest' dog?

When David Richardson visited his local RSPCA rescue 26 years ago to choose a dog, he was recommended Bella, a lovely Lab cross who was already, according to the kennel, "at least three years old".

Twenty six years later David is still caring for Bella who, while she only has two teeth left, likes to suck on sweets. Unfortunately, as records are not available, it's impossible to prove that Bella is actually the world's oldest dog, but she certainly ranks high on the list with the record currently held by Bluey the Australian sheepdog, who lived to 29.

At this point, Bella's older than I am in human years, so it's no shock to discover that in canine terms she's around 200! This graceful old lady is seeing out her life, which has already doubled the average life expectancy of the most long-living breeds, in a safe and comfortable home.

So how do you care for an older dog? People are sometimes put off adopting the older dogs in our Rehoming Centres because of fears of endless medical problems and imminent death. However, many of these dogs come to us because the owner has had a change of circumstances (moving into sheltered accommodation, for example) and the dogs themselves are quite healthy and could continue to live a happy life for some time.

Caring for an older dog requires patience and observation. Small health complaints need to be dealt with promptly so they do not escalate; some of the more drastic treatments are too much for an older dog and with early preventative care the recommendation for euthanasia can be avoided. It is worth checking that there is no age cut-off in your insurance policy if you have had a dog from a puppy and he is now growing older.

It is important to note that dogs still require exercise to stay active and supple into their older years. For as long as they can manage it, daily walks should be continued, making them shorter, less intense and yet more frequent as necessary.

Older dogs still need plenty of mental stimulation, so gentle games and toys that require some sustained interest and activity (such as a food-stuffed Kong) could be ways to keep an elderly dog living much longer than you might expect.

Bella has been very lucky to receive two lifetimes of loving care from her devoted owner; can you offer an older dog a peaceful home for their remaining years?

[via BBC News]

The Credit Crunch: how dog owners are feeling the pinch and what to do to save money

At a time when food prices are rising, fuel is expensive, house prices are dropping and repossessions are increasing, it's easy to see how every family might want to tighten their belts.

One sad consequence of the 'credit crunch' in the UK is an increase in the number of dogs brought to Dogs Trust Rehoming Centres. With waiting lists growing, we do feel sympathy for those owners who feel they simply have no option but to give up their pet. Still, we urge dog owners (and those considering adopting a dog) to remember that simple measures such as neutering your dog and taking out pet insurance will pay dividends in the long run.

Some dog owners might think they can't afford to neuter their dog but Dogs Trust works with numerous veterinary practices and local councils on subsidised and free neutering programs. If you claim benefit and live within one of our campaign regions (North East, North West, Wales and Northern Ireland), you might be entitled to help with neutering costs. Follow the link to check if your postcode qualifies and find out more.

If you think you might soon be suffering from housing crisis, Dogs Trust Hope Project might be able to help too. Although the Veterinary Entitlement Card scheme is available only to homeless applicants, resources such as this list of UK-wide dog-friendly homelessness projects (including shelters, housing schemes and advice centres) could stop you from having to make the heartwrenching decision to give up your loyal four-legged companion at an already difficult time.

Some other charities and veterinary groups do offer free health checks, emergency treatments and subsidies. Try ringing around this list of veterinary contacts to find out more.

Many owners aren't in financial dire straits but want to reduce costs and count the pennies, whether short of cash, saving for something special or just a keen bargain hunter. My thanks to Petsugar, which inspired some of these tips:

• Give up your gym membership; what's better exercise than running around with your dog?
• Write a brutally honest list of your pet's needs and work out where you might be spending too much on toys and gadgets that aren't necessary.
• Luxury foods (with luxury prices) might not be offering your pet any more nutrients and could be loaded with extra fat and protein they don't need. Check ingredients, talk to your vet and make a healthy, budget-friendly choice of chow.
• Got a birthday coming up and would rather have something for the pets? Let your friends know!
• Prioritise your dog's health. Regular check ups, vaccinations and fast responses to illness will stop serious problems developing and the associated vet bills spiralling.
• Bargain hunt! Don't skimp on quality when it comes to toys and equipment as this could be dangerous (not to mention more expensive in the long run) but do pay attention to sales and bulk buys that could last a long time.

It's a hard time, but you need not make it harder by giving up your beloved pet. Remember, a dog is for life.

Dogs Trust makes Alltop's pet list | Tell us a story

For people who spend a lot of time on blogs looking for the best posts and articles within their area of interest, content aggregators are very helpful. They are sites which peel off the best of the top blogs, video sites and more and deliver it to you on one page. 'Best' is sometimes categorised by peer review, rating and recommendation or sometimes by editorial choice.

Alltop is creating dedicated channels for the most popular and, in the editorial staff's opinion, best blogs related to any given topic. Their new Pets channel lists none other than this blog in its ranks! So now you can catch up with all the latest from Dogs Trust and cast a quick eye over what else is going on in the world of the pet blog.

Also, I'm hoping to include more of your stories in our blog. A lot of you do send in lovely tales and photos of rehomed dogs having a wonderful time in their forever home, such as this one of Bonnie that was on our DoggySnaps community site. If you'd like to see yours featured on this blog, then email me (including a pic if possible) and you never know - the next post you read could be about you and your four-legged pal.

Kids and dogs: playing happy families

Much of the time, when children and dogs are mentioned in the same sentence, it's in a negative way, when the media reports on rare animal attacks. But millions of households across the UK know that children and dogs can have a wonderful relationship, and a pet is an unparalleled way of teaching children responsibility and respect. Remember, a child should never be left alone with a dog but that doesn't mean they can't play together and form a strong attachment.

To celebrate all the families doing such a good job, I've been pootling around the Internet and blogosphere looking for interesting or funny family tales. One search resulted in this very sweet list of More Than 10 Tips for Dogs written by young Erin who has clearly understood the principles of dog training: "If you are good you get treats but if you are bad, you get in bad situations."

People and dogs have something in common, after all; they're both constantly learning and they both like positive reinforcement. One woman even advocates taking tips from animal behaviourists to improve all your relationships, leading to more than one headline suggesting you train your husband as if he were a dog!. As good parents and pet owners, we take responsibility for teaching children about dogs and vice versa. But sometimes we need help with that, and that's where projects like Dogs Trust's Learn With Dogs come in. The work of our Education Officers, who have made 2,000 visits to schools in the past year alone, the website provides resources and fun pages for teachers and young people learning about how to be an excellent dog owner.

Around the world, all sorts of creative projects are going on to help take advantage of the amazing bond that can exist between children and dogs. In Denver, in the US state of Colorado, the local Glendale community has set up a reading project for children who lack literary confidence. Having met a four-legged-friend, they choose a story and read to the dog, who revels in the attention and provides a non-threatening, uncritical audience for the struggling reader. I wonder if they only read shaggy dog stories?!

From offering emotional therapy to providing potential physical health benefits, there are some very good reasons for having a dog in the family. Owning a dog is always a huge time and energy commitment, and ensuring both children and pets are safe and well at all times can be tiring. Still, a great majority of families would tell you that it's very much worth the end result.

Don't let your hot dog burn this summer...

Well, it's finally sunny here in the UK, and the more responsible sun worshippers are slapping on sun cream, covering up in direct sunlight and keeping hydrated (that's with water, not booze!). But are they doing the same for their dogs?

Paula Boyden, Veterinary Director at Dogs Trust, explains:

"Dogs can suffer from sunburn just like us. Facing a higher risk are dogs with white or light-coloured hair, those with short or no hair at all and dogs that have lost hair through allergies or medical treatment."

Remember that it is also crucially important not to leave dogs in hot cars. Just twenty minutes waiting in a hot car can prove fatal.

You can keep your dog healthy and happy by following just a few tips:

• Keep him in the shade during the hottest part of the day - preferably ion the cool indoors
• NEVER leave her in the car in warm weather
• Avoid long car journeys in hot weather
• Clip fur and apply pet sun cream to easily burned areas: nose, ears, eyelids and belly. DON'T use human sun cream - it can be toxic so visit your local pet shop and get one made specifically for dogs.

More tips (updated July 2009):

• Be extra vigilant with older and overweight dogs as they are more prone to overheat. In a real emergency wet your dog thoroughly and use a household fan to blow cool air over their head and body. Seek urgent veterinary attention.
• If your dog takes a dip in a lake or pool make sure you rinse him as soon afterwards as possible. Never allow your dog to drink from ponds unless the water is clear as algae in the water can produce toxins that are rapidly fatal.

If your dog shows signs of distress – such as excessive panting, blueness of the tongue or collapse contact your local vet immediately. For more advice on dealing with heat and identifying the signs of heatstroke, please visit the 'heat' section of our website.