I went on vacation!

Hi everyone! Penny here, wishing everyone a happy Dogs on Thursday! Since we last barked, my family took me on vacation to Highlands, NC. We stayed in a wonderful pet friendly hotel.Here I am in my car seat... riding like a good girl. It was very interesting to be able to travel. The best thing about being in Highlands is that it was about 15 degrees cooler than where we live in Georgia. Wow! I felt like running around and being outside! Mommy and Daddy were amazed at the difference in my attitude in the cooler weather.

Our hotel was great, but of course, I had to be on duty to protect us. I didn't get a lot of sleep the first night, because I stayed awake and stood at the foot of the bed to make sure everything was good and secure. I will admit that by the third night fatigue got the best of me and I had to snuggle up by Mommy and get some sleep. A dog can only do so much, you know.

There were two dogs in the room next door to us: a West Highland White Terrier named Zoe and a Yorkie named Cookie. Evidently Cookie was a rescue who had had a bit of a rough life before she found her forever home. I'm really sorry she had a tough time, but honestly, Cookie had a little problem with personal space -- she was always in my face! I like to maintain a certain distance from other dogs... at least till I get to know them better. But I guess Cookie was ok. She really liked to bark! She and I alerted everyone to comings and goings around the area for which we were responsible. I was glad to have a little bit of help for a change, to be honest.

Highlands is a very dog-friendly town. I was able to sit at some outside tables with my family while they had dinner (and of course, they ordered food for me too!). I was treated like the Princess I am everywhere we went. I even supervised while Mom & Dad went to mine for gemstones:Mommy ended up getting some very pretty jewelry made!

We only stayed 3 days, but it was a good trip. I'd have liked to have stayed a bit longer in the cooler weather, but I understand I had to come back to work guarding our house. A dachshund's work is never done.

Dogs are amazing...

Although this video was posted over a year ago, I hadn't seen it before this week and thought I would share it with you.




Wasn't it awesome?!

Happy Dog's on Thursday,
Tina, HoneyDew and Sampson too.

Shed Happens

I frequently get asked if there is anything that will make a person's dog shed less. And the answer is no. There is not anything you can feed your dog, put on your dog, bathe your dog with, etc that will eliminate shedding. It's biologically impossible.

Dog (and cat) hair grows in three phases: Anagen-the growing phase, Catagen-the in between phase, and Telogen-the resting phase. Telogen hairs are the ones that are falling out, or shedding. The individual hairs are not on the same cycle and thus some hair will always be in the Telogen phase. Occasionally a severe illness will push all hairs into the telogen phase and they will all fall out, but this is not a desirable way to end shedding.

Your best bet is to brush regularly and collect all the Telogen hairs in one spot. Then you can dispose of it before it gets dropped off all over the house!

Obviously some dogs (typically those that require routing grooming or clipping) such as poodles, bichons, and certain terriers don't shed as much. Their hair cycle and biology is a bit different but don't expect these breeds to never lose any hair. Remember, people don't "shed" but we still lose hairs just from regular "grooming!"

Shaving your dog (and I'm talking about the dog that are not meant to be shaved) does not make your dog shed less. It makes them shed shorter hairs. These hairs are often them embed themselves in clothing, furniture, etc and are near impossible to get out!

Now if you want to shave your dog for other reasons that is your prerogative. But I'm going to come right out and say it (and I don't mean to offend anyone) but I hate, hate, hate when people shave dogs not meant to be shaved. Think Goldens, Shelties, Border collie, Collie, Aussie, Pyrenees, Husky, Malamute, Lab, German Shepherd, etc. Yes, I have seen people shave short haired dogs like labs. I don't understand it, but I see it. Be aware-repeated shaving of these dogs often causes the hair to eventually fail to regrow like normal. It will be fuzzy, short, dull, patchy and irregular in length. It's easy to spot a dog that has been repeatedly shaved-in my opinion, they look terrible. Sort of like what you would expect a hypothyroid dog on cheap dog food to look like. So consider yourself warned!

As far as shaving your dog to keep them cool the jury is out. I have read lots of threads on shaving on a well known veterinary forum and the opinions vary widely. I will stick with recommending not to shave and encourage use of the good old AC but others will likely have another opinion.

Out...

...enjoying the 'dog days of summer'. We hope you and your canine pals are finding ways to stay cool and making the most of the summer we have left. We are! We will be back with lots of pictures to share and will be looking forward to seeing yours too!

In the meantime, Happy DOT's from
Tina, HoneyDew and Sampson too!