In the northeast, we are having one of the warmest winters that we’ve had in a long time. It’s nice to have such mild weather, but one thing that my owner didn’t think about was the fact that the fleas and ticks are living longer than they usually do. In fact, we stopped doing my flea treatments, and now we are trying to get rid of fleas that are in the house.
This is not fun for any of us. But it’s a good reminder that just because the calendar says it’s winter in the northern states, it doesn’t mean that the fleas are gone unless you have really had a good prolonged hard freeze which we have not. It’s a lesson learned the hard way.
Wish us well in ridding ourselves of the fleas naturally. We will be back to let you know what works, and our progress.
A few weeks ago it was time to check the cars to see if they had enough antifreeze in them. This is something that people put in cars so that the liquid that circulates around the engine doesn’t freeze.
It’s great for cars, but terrible for dogs like me. I heard that about 3 Tablespoons could be enough to kill a 20 lb. dog, imagine what it could do to a little 7 lb. dog like me! It has a sweet taste, so we are tempted to lick it….that includes licking it off our paws if our owners don’t keep us from stepping in it. Then we get very very sick and if it’s too much, may become so sick that we die.
It attacks our nervous systems and kidneys, and we act like we’re drunk within 1/2 hours to up to 12 hours depending upon how much we get into our systems. If we don’t get treated in 3-8 hours, it may be fatal.
We just wanted to share that today since it’s the time of the year, especially around here, when everyone is making sure that they have enough antifreeze in their cars, and if they put it into their cars themselves, there’s just a chance of it spilling on the ground, and a dog finding it or walking in it and then licking either the puddle of it or licking it off their feet.
No, I don’t mean where do I go to run around and play, or any of the other things that you might be thinking, I mean, well, GO. You people have it pretty easy because you can use a toilet, for us, snow, especially the 2 feet that we had around here in New Jersey for the past couple of days, can make it difficult for us dogs. Some of the neighbor dogs are really big, so they think this is fun, but for me, if I go out into the snow like it is now, there’s a good chance my owners won’t be able to find me!
Some little dogs can be trained to use a pee-pee pad indoors, I used to do that, but now I think it’s embarrassing and hate to go inside, so last night at about 2 a.m. my owner had to dig a little area outside for me.
You can see me staying close to the cabin where we live where the snow is not deep, but if you look to my right, below is what you will see.
I am really tired of the snow, and look out the window and bark at it when it’s coming down now. I can’t wait for spring, how about you.
I’ve left my owner inside typing (lucky owner) while I’m outside barking because we hear guns going off in the woods….it’s hunting season! We feel sorry for the deer and other animals that are being hunted, which is kind of strange, because both my owner and I like eating meat.
It made me think of pet safety…around here small dogs have to be careful not only of hunters if we decide to wander off in the woods, but also of bears in the summer, and other animals….even dogs….that are bigger than us.
We have done some posts in the past about pet safety in the winter and during the holidays, and thought we’d give you links to them to save my owner a little typing…the information is important and the same whether it was typed in 2008 or now:
There is a chill in the air where we live, it’s not fall yet, but we’re getting a little taste of it, and it reminds us of the cold months that are to come.
That makes me think about my dog friends in the neighborhood that spend the day outside while their owners are at work. I don’t really understand how they can do it because I’m such a little dog, but for some dogs, it’s probably okay.
Still, it there should be a comfortable place for dogs who spend hours at a time outside in the cold, and even winter, months.
