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Getting a New Dog?

Have you decided it’s time to adopt a dog? Of course, my hope is that your decision includes rescuing a dog from your local animal shelter. If this is the case, you may want to keep a few things in mind before it’s time to bring your new furry friend home. A lot of these things me and Maggie had to learn the hard way. As I’ve said before, adopting a new dog can require some adjusting for both you and your new pet, so you want to try and be as prepared as possible. I adopted Maggie home on a bit of whim and I’ll be the first to admit that I may not have been as prepared as I should have been before bringing her home. Because of this, our transition period may have been a bit more stressful for both of us than it needed to be. So, allow me to share some of our experiences with you in hopes that it will make your process a little easier.

First, I want to stress the importance of having a plan! This doesn’t only apply to a plan for how you want to first introduce your dog to its new home (although you need to have one of those too), but also a long-term plan of how you want to raise your dog. Know what behaviors you deem unacceptable, and how you plan to address them when the need arises. You also want to make sure you have all of the essential supplies needed for a dog prior to bringing them home. This includes food and food bowls, a leash and collar, toys, a crate and bedding, and whatever else you feel you might need. I personally found myself in quite a predicament with this one as I had some of these things but not all of them, particularly a crate. This created a situation where I needed to go buy these things but did not want to leave Maggie out in the house alone just yet. Luckily for us, I was off work for a few days and Amazon’s next-day shipping came to my rescue.

Another very important part of being prepared to bring home a new dog is including the rest of your household in the process. This was not a problem for me, but I have seen many people struggle when adopting a new dog and the entire household is not on the same page when it comes to rules and boundaries. Dogs need structure and guidance, especially in a new environment and without it they are likely to develop some unwanted behaviors. In addition, if you have any other pets, make sure you closely supervise their interactions until everyone is will acquainted.

Lastly, remember to be patient with your new furry friend. They have likely been under some stress while awaiting adoption and now they are in a completely new environment, so give them time to adjust before getting too frustrated with behavior issues. Dogs are frequently returned to the shelter because people have unrealistic expectations of how they should behave when they first take them home.

Best of luck to all of you and as always, remember, Adopt Don’t Shop!

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Ah-Choo!

Anybody who has spent some time in the southeast region of the United States knows that the pollen down here is no joke! With pollen season in full swing right now, I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about allergies. Many of us suffer from the miserable sneezing, runny nose and itchy, watery eyes that come with seasonal allergies, but what many of us don’t know is that our beloved pets could be suffering as well. The American Kennel Club states that signs and symptoms of possible allergies in dogs includes:

·         Itchiness

·         Red, inflamed skin

·         Diarrhea

·         Vomiting

·         Itchy ears

·         Sneezing

·         Itchy, runny eyes

·         Chronic ear infections

·         Constant licking

In addition to these symptoms, the American Kennel Club also lists hives and swelling of the face, lips, eyes lids and ears. These symptoms suggest a more acute allergic reaction and should always be treated quickly as these reactions can be more severe a potentially dangerous for your pet.

Allergies are a pretty common problem in dogs and just like with people, there are a number of things that can cause these allergies including food allergens and environmental allergens, like pollen, dust and mold. It can sometimes be difficult to determine the cause of allergies in dogs but for the most part food allergies will be a constant problem while environmental allergies tend to come and go with the seasons. My sweet recue pup Maggie suffers from allergies to pollen and every Spring her eyes get very red and itchy and she walks around sneezing most of the day. In addition, she also sometimes experiences itchy skin, especially on her paws, which is a very common sign of seasonal allergies in dogs. With everything completely covered in pollen this time of year, the poor thing has a sneezing fit pretty much every time we walk out the door and usually continues sneezing frequently the majority of the time we are outside. Her allergies probably wouldn’t be nearly as bad if she didn’t feel the need to aggressively sniff practically every blade of grass but, ya know, dogs will be dogs, so we’ve learned to deal with them as best we can.

For us, treating Maggie’s allergies has been fairly simple. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that pollen was the cause of her problems. Ideally keeping your dog away from suspected allergens is the best treatment, but that isn’t exactly practically for us. So, instead I make sure she gets wiped down every time we come inside and regular bathes to minimize contact. When I can tell that her symptoms are bothering her, I also give her some Benadryl which usually takes care of. Keep in mind that while Benadryl is safe for dogs, it isn’t always effective for all dogs and you should always talk to your vet before giving your dog any kind of medication.

Hopefully, your dogs are allergy free but if you think your dog could be suffering from allergies I recommend reading this article from the American Kennel Club for more information and talking to your vet about possible causes and treatments for your dog. And as always, remember, Adopt Don’t Shop!

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It’s Playtime!

How do your dogs like to play? Playtime is essential for dogs of all ages and helps keep them healthy, physically, mentally and emotionally. But there are so many different ways for dogs to play and your dog may prefer certain play activities over others. These activities can be with humans, other dogs, or even by themselves and include things like fetch, tug-of-war, chase, wrestling (or play fighting), and solo play with toys. Maggie regularly engages in all of these activities but not all dogs enjoy all of these things and there are plenty of other activities you can come up with to provide your dog with their much-needed play time. There is no set standard on how your dog needs to play, but it is important for puppies and young dogs to engage in play with other dogs and humans in order to learn appropriate social behaviors. Not socializing your puppy, and not continuing to socialize them as they grow up, can lead to a number of unwanted behavior issues including aggression and anxiety when introduced to new dogs and people. As our dogs get older the amount of playtime needed and how they prefer to play sometimes changes. Older dogs tend to not need or desire as much playtime as they did when they were younger and may not enjoy the same activities, such as vigorous play or playing in large groups of energetic dogs. This has definitely been the case with Maggie, over the past couple of years her energy levels have subsided some and while she still enjoys a nice long play session every day, she’s usually pretty wore out afterwards. In addition, when I first got her she wanted to play with ALL the other dogs ALL the time but now she seems to prefer playing in smaller groups (2 to 4 dogs usually) and is a little more selective of which dogs she wants to be friends with. Luckily, she has several doggie friends that frequently visit our neighborhood dog park and she gets the opportunity to play, chase, and wrestle with them almost every day, weather permitting. I can definitely tell a difference in her when she hasn’t gotten enough play time, too. She gets restless and doesn’t behave as well because she has too much pent-up energy. So, sometimes even when the weather hasn’t been great (at least in my opinion) we have to venture out for some potentially messy play time.

Happy playtime everyone! And as always, remember, Adopt, Don’t Shop!

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Saving Lives

I think I’ve talked enough about us for a moment, so I want to take a few minutes to talk about some of the great things our local organizations are doing for the animals in our communities. As I have mentioned before, I adopted Maggie from LifeLine’s Dekalb County Animal Shelter. LifeLine Animal Project is such an amazing organization that has made it their mission to help transition Atlanta into a no-kill community. They manage Dekalb and Fulton County’s Animal Services and have their own private shelter in Avondale Estates. In addition to the animal shelters and adoption programs, LifeLine also provides communities with low cost vaccine and spay and neuter clinics, as well as other community outreach programs. Click here to read more about this great organization. There are also a number of other wonderful animal rescue organizations in the area including Paws Atlanta and Atlanta Humane Society, just to name a couple. I personally follow the three organizations I named on social media because I love to hear the happy stories of dogs finding their forever homes and stay up to date on information in the animal rescue community and ways I can help when possible.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to volunteer recently, between work, school and taking care of little Miss Maggie, the time just hasn’t been there. But none the less, I was delighted to follow the story of LifeLine’s “Life Saving Weekend Event” at their Dekalb shelter this past weekend. The event took place from March 15th-17th with the goal to find homes, either forever or foster, for 75 dogs because the shelter was so full they had to resort to keeping some of the dogs in temporary crates. In order to make some room, all adoptions at the Dekalb shelter were completely free, which includes spay/neuter, vaccines, and microchipping. Now, I know a lot of people advocate against free adoptions because of the chance that the awful people that do things like fight dogs for profit, but these organizations do everything in their power to ensure all of their animals are going to loving homes.

Social media has become a great tool for these types of organizations to get the word out about adoptable pets, community programs, and events like the “Life Saving Weekend Event”. Even though I’m not in a position to contribute to the event or adopt/foster another animal, it was great to watch the event unfold and hear about all the animals that were rescued during it on social media. Although the event got off to a bit of a slow start with only 17 adoptions on the first day, it was a success and the shelter was able to find homes for 100 animals, 25 more than their original goal!

Please take the time to check out the great organizations mentioned in this post and as always, remember Adopt Don’t Shop!

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Adventure Time!

I don’t know if some of you noticed but SPRING IS IN THE AIR! The first official day of Spring isn’t until next week, but these recent warmer temps have definitely put a lot of us in Springtime mode already. Which means its time to get outside and do some adventuring! Maggie and I love to go out and explore the great outdoors when the weather is nice. She is a little sensitive to the heat, being a boxer mix she has a harder time cooling herself off when its extra hot and humid, so Spring and Fall are our ideal times to get out and about. Honestly, Maggie would be perfectly happy spending lots of time outside when its cold too, despite having short hair she tends to get hot pretty easily, so she loves to run and play outside when its cold. However, I am a cold natured person so spending more time than I have to outside in the cold is definitely not enjoyable for me. So, we compromise and do most of our longer outdoor excursions in the Spring and Fall.

Maggie loves to be outside doing just about everything but one of all-time favorite things to do is hitting some hiking trails. Hiking is great activity for both of us. Its wonderful exercise and everyone needs to spend a little time enjoying their natural environment, especially our furry friends. It’s an activity that I’ve always enjoyed and as soon as I got Maggie I recruited her as my all-time hiking buddy. This has worked out perfectly because we both thoroughly enjoy it and, as a young female, hiking alone isn’t typically recommended. Maggie may be super sweet and friendly with almost everyone she meets but she is also very protective and attuned to her surroundings, so nobody is sneaking up on us with her around. Plus, she might be a big lovable baby, but she at least looks intimidating to somebody with ill intentions.

We’ve ventured out to quite a few trails in the three years since I got her. Some of our favorites include Mt. Yonah, Raven Cliff Trail, and when we want something a little closer to home, Suwanee Greenway Trail. The Atlanta and North Georgia areas have so many trails that are great for all experience levels. One of my favorite resources to use when looking for somewhere to spend the day is Atlanta Trails. This website has a lot of great information on trails in Georgia, as well as some into Tennessee and the Carolinas. They have a map feature, so you can find trails close to home, or far away if you’d rather, and a detailed description of each trail listing distance, difficulty, recommended gear, and whether or not the trail is dog friendly. In addition, the site also has some lists compiled to make it easy to find the right trail for you and whoever your hiking buddy may be.

So happy hiking guys and as always remember, Adopt Don’t Shop!

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Food! Food! Food!

Since my last post was primarily centered around special treats for our furry loved ones, I wanted to take some time to talk about giving people food to dogs. Most of us are guilty of sharing our food with our pets at some point or another, at least I know I am. I try not to give Maggie too much people food but sometimes it’s hard to say no especially when they’re giving you looks like this.

But sometimes we have to say no for their own good. While it is perfectly fine to share some of our favorites with our pets, some common people foods aren’t just bad for dogs but can actually be toxic. Some of these are pretty well known, like chocolate (especially dark chocolate), and others should probably be known simply out of common sense, like alcohol and tobacco. But there are also many others that aren’t as well known and unfortunately often lead to serious injury and sometimes even death. Of course, none of would knowingly give our pups something that would hurt them, but it is a common occurrence simply because people are unaware. Recently my sister sent me a Snapchat video of her sharing some grapes with her dog. To which I immediately replied, “NOO!! Don’t give her those! Grapes are toxic for dogs!” She called me right away, in a complete panic, she had no idea that grapes are incredibly toxic to dogs. Luckily, the dog was fine and had only been given a half of a grape at this point, but had she not sent me that video the outcome could have been tragic. This is just one small example of why you should always double check before giving your dog any kind of food that isn’t specifically made for them.

There are tons of great resources to find information on what people foods are good for dogs and which ones should be avoided.  American Kennel Club provides some great lists on what people foods are good for dogs, some that can be given in moderation, and which ones should never be given to dogs. Some of those that should never be given to dogs include the well-known chocolate and alcohol, the about mentioned grapes and raisins, as well as onions, garlic, avocado, and macadamia nuts. All of these foods have the potential to seriously hurt our pets. In addition, we should always be mindful of the ingredients in the things we give our dogs. For instance, peanut butter can be a great treat for dogs and happens to be one of Maggie’s favorites. But some peanut butters contain xylitol as a sweetener which is very toxic to dogs even in small amounts, so you have to make sure that any peanut butter, or any food for that matter, does not contain this dangerous ingredient before giving it to our pets. When in doubt, hold off on the people food until you can check with your pet’s veterinarian.

And as always, remember to Adopt, Don’t Shop!

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Happy Birthday Maggie!

Now I know I can’t be the only one that believes in celebrating our furry friend’s birthdays! I think it’s great to celebrate all the love and joy our pets bring to our lives! Even though they don’t know it’s their birthday, they still appreciate a little something special every once in a while, and I can’t think of a better occasion. Since Maggie is a rescue, we don’t know her actual birthday, so we just celebrate with a little something on the anniversary of her adoption every year.

I’m sure not everyone believes in celebrating your pet’s birthday but if you’re like me and love an excuse to spoil your 4-legged BFF, there are so many ways you can do so. Some people like to go all out with a full-on doggie birthday party, like these guys.

For Maggie’s birthday we tend to keep it a bit more low-key though. Her birthdays usually consist of some king of new toy or a special treat, or both! This year I didn’t have much time so I just stopped by our local PetSmart on my way home from work and got her this “birthday biscuit” and a new plush toy.

Plush toys are definitely her favorite but only because she finds so much joy in destroying them. For that reason, they are generally reserved for an occasional treat since even the “toughest” ones don’t last more than 5 minutes.

There are also several recipes to make your dog their very own birthday cake! One recipe that I was planning to try out this year but didn’t get around to, is a very easy, limited ingredient, grain-free cake. Maggie has a bit of sensitive stomach sometimes and is also allergic to grain, so I felt like this would be a great option for her. The recipe only consists of 4 ingredients: egg, peanut butter, apple, and baking powder, and only takes about 25 minutes to make. You can find the complete recipe at Spoon Full of Sugar Free. Since this recipe is so simply and I didn’t get around to making it for her birthday, we’ll probably do a trial run on it before her next birthday rolls around. There are also premade cakes and cake mixes available to purchase if you’d rather go that route. Chewy.com has a great selection of these including Pooch Cake and The Lazy Dog Cookie Co.’s Pup-Pie. Of course, there are several other options available and you can also go the treat-free route with new toys or beds or whatever it is that your pet enjoys most. However you decide to celebrate, just make sure you’re pet’s special treats are safe and healthy! And as always Adopt, Don’t Shop!

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Who Saved Who?

Everyone knows that dogs are “man’s best friend,” but the bond between people and their canine companions can go much deeper than some people realize. This is something that I can personally attest to. I have struggled with terrible anxiety for most of my life. I’ve seen doctors and counselors and tried multiple medications and techniques to manage it but for the most part this only provided me with temporary relief, if any at all. In 2016, I was going through some major changes in my life. I had recently moved, changed jobs, and started going back to school, all within the timeframe of just a few months. This pushed my anxiety into overdrive and I found myself back in my doctor’s office discussing treatment options again. I didn’t, and still don’t, like taking medications because of the risks and side effects involved but I needed to do something to get my anxiety under control. This is when my doctor asked me if I had a pet or would consider getting one. At first, I was confused by the question, what did having a pet have to do with my mental health? At the time, I didn’t have any pets and hadn’t really considered getting one with everything else going on in my life. When I explained this to my doctor, he suggested I look into getting a dog as an emotional support animal (ESA). This only furthered my confusion, I had never heard of an ESA and didn’t feel like I needed a service dog. But my doctor explained that having a dog for emotional support wasn’t the same as a service dog, an ESA is meant to provide comfort and alleviate stress and anxiety simply through their companionship. I was a little skeptical about the idea of dog helping ease my anxiety, but I have always loved dogs and had always had a family dog growing up, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot.

Shortly after this conversation, I found myself at my local animal shelter filling out Maggie’s adoption paperwork and this decision definitely changed my life. The transition into dog ownership wasn’t always easy and it was quite an adjustment for both of us. But fast-forward almost three years later and I can’t even tell you when the last time I had to take medication for my anxiety. Maggie has taught me a lot about life in general. I feel like I’m more patient and mindful in my daily life, and just happier in general. She also seems to have a way of knowing when I start feeling stressed or anxious because whenever I do, I always seem to have a sweet pup snuggly pup right in my lap to make me feel better. While this may not be the best option for all people struggling to manage stress and anxiety, I highly recommend you consider the benefits of adding a furry friend to your life for when things seem a little tougher than usual.

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The Importance of Animal Adoption

I don’t think I need to explain to most of you how important animal rescue is, but I’m going to do it anyways. We’ve all seen the stories; the sad, scared, and usually sick dogs nursed back to health by local animal rescue organizations and placed in loving forever homes. These stories are great, and it makes us feel good to hear about these deserving animals finally living happy lives, like this guy. 

Images like this truly warm my heart and show how a little love and care can transform an animal’s life, but, unfortunately, millions of animals never get a happy ending like this. According to The Humane Society of the United States, “Every year, 2.7 million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States, simply because there are too many homeless animals for shelters to care for.” The key word in the statistic is adoptable, these are healthy animals that lose their lives to no fault of their own. You may at this point be asking yourself, “Why?” Why are there so many homeless animals that it is impossible for local rescue organizations to care for them all? The answer is simple though, not enough people consider adoption when looking for a new pet. Despite there being millions of wonderful, loving animals in need of a home, people often still choose to buy pets from pet stores and breeders. Because of this puppy mills have become incredibly prevalent. For those of you unaware, The Humane Society of the United States defines puppy mills as, “factory-style breeding facilities that put profit above the welfare of dogs.” The animals in these facilities are kept in atrocious conditions. Seen solely as an instrument to make money, these dogs spend their lives locked in dirty cages without any kind of affection and bred repeatedly until they are no longer able to produce offspring, at which point they are simply discarded on the streets or killed. Now, nobody would knowingly support such an operation, but the individuals involved in puppy mills have learned how to hide their cruel practices. Puppy mill puppies are frequently sold in pet stores, flea markets, and online to unsuspecting customers that only see the cute little bundle of fur they want to take home with them. Don’t get me wrong, there are still legitimate, responsible breeders out there, but because of the deceptive practices puppy mills use to hide their actions, it can be incredibly hard to tell one from the other. Adoption is really the only way to be 100% sure your hard-earned money isn’t going to support one of these cruel breeding facilities. So, if you or someone you know is considering adding a pet to your home remember, “Adopt, Don’t Shop!”

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Meet Maggie

This sweet, freckled face mutt is Maggie. I adopted Maggie when she was around two years old from Dekalb County Animal Shelter in February 2014 and now, almost three years later, I can honestly say that it was the best decision I ever made. Over the past three years, she has been right by my side through every up and down, good days and bad, with unwavering loyalty and unconditional love. This dog is so full of life and love, it’s hard for me to imagine how she ended up in a shelter but after taking her in it quickly became clear that life hadn’t always been so kind to her.

When I adopted Maggie, I had been wanting a dog for a while, but I hadn’t fully committed to the idea. I had been looking casually looking online at adoptable dogs and came across one at that I wanted to meet, a two-year-old male boxer named Bruno. So, my best friend and I drove over to Dekalb County Animal Shelter to see him but unfortunately Bruno wasn’t a good fit. But we decided to stick around and see some of the other dogs. Walking through the shelter was such a heartbreaking experience for me, they were overcrowded and understaffed with so many dogs desperately needing a home. We ended up taking a few different dogs to their outdoor play area but none of them seem quite right at the time. As much as I wanted to give them all a place to call home, I knew I had to be realistic and make sure it was a good fit for both of us. So, when I saw Maggie hopping up and down like she had springs in her legs as we approached her kennel I just knew she was going to go home with me that day. The shelter had her listed as a 2-year-old boxer/pointer mix and said she had been picked up as a stray a couple of months before but didn’t have any other information on her beyond that.

Taking Maggie home was quite a transition for both of us. She was deathly afraid of riding in the car and it didn’t seem like she had ever lived inside before. On top of that, she had some serious trust issues with men which leads me to believe someone was abusive towards her in the past. It has taken a lot of work and patience from both of us, but she is now completely comfortable at home, loves car rides, and has a lot more trust in people. She is still a little weary of men she doesn’t know but has definitely come a long way and I think the bond she has with my dad has helped with that tremendously. While she can be a handful at times, this dog has changed my life and helped me become a better person and it brings me so much joy to see how far she’s come since I got her. Rescue has definitely been a life saver for both of us!