Funny dog photo

I wonder why people love to pose dogs doing human activities? It is one thing to dress them up but please don't let them smoke cheap Backwoods cigars so they can end up with all sorts of health problems. I think I would much rather see the dog skate boarding or surfing than smoking, but that's just me.

What are those spots?

My family had a black lab 20 years ago that developed boils on her rump. Just small bumps that were not really noticeable until they burst one morning and she was covered in blood all over her back. I had just moved out of the family home and the dog remained with my parents who had no clue as to how she developed the bumps or why they caused blood filled boils.

I was notified of the situation by a frantic phone call from my mother who reported to me that the dog was bleeding to death and wanted me to get there right away. I arrived to find a healthy dog that needed a bath and someone to check where the blood was coming from. After cleaning up the dog and my dad popping his head in the bathroom at one point to suggest a few acne solutions for the problem, at which I told him politely that THAT was not the problem, I checked the dog and found that the boils had sealed back over and were now clean.

After that unknown episode of boils, the dog never had them again. Her skin healed up nicely and she died of old age a few years after that.

Strange things your dog might eat

Dogs have different taste buds than us humans. What we would consider pur yuck would become a delicacy in their eyes. You might have seen your dog munching on kitty roca at one time (kitty roca is a term for cat poop covered in kitty litter) and chastised the dog for doing something so foul. In fact rotten meat and other deteriorated items are what a dog might eat if it was a wild dog. Rotting meat to a dog means it is easier to digest and poop from another animal is often still inside a dead animal and it is eaten too.

Other items that dogs will get into and eat thus causing ill health to them are:

• Chocolate
• House Plants
• weight loss supplements
• Human vitamin pills
• Onions

......and a variety of other human medications and chemicals. So keep an eye on what your dog gets into and don't panic if it is a rotting carcass.

Interesting blog comments

A while back I wrote a post about acne breakouts in dogs. I never thought it would get much attention but it has....from blog spammers. I get at least one comment a week for that post with a link in the comment for human acne medication or creams. Give me a break guys, do you ever read the blog? It is about DOGS for goodness sakes. Oh, well back to deleting spam comments.

Indoor dogs that shed

If your dog is kept indoors year round then you are well aware of the fact that your dog sheds year round. On the other hand if your dog was housed outdoors then your dog would only shed twice a year.

The indoor dogs' body has adjusted to the climate control of your home. It no longer has to grow a thick coat for winter to protect it against the elements. Because your indoor dog now sheds year round it is important that you brush your dog everyday otherwise you will be vacuuming everyday the entire house to keep the dog hair under control. You will need to check your furnace filters for dog hair almost every day since dogs can shed quite a bit.

There are a few dog breeds that were strictly developed to be house dogs. They have thin skin and very short coats. They do not fair well as an outdoor dog. If you have such a breed then you just have to take extra precautions to keep your home dog hair free and your dog well groomed.

Does your home owners insurance cover your dog

In my last post I talked about the difficulties in obtaining home owners insurance when you own a "dangerous" breed of dog. In that post I was just concerned with getting home owners insurance to cover the house but what about your dog? Does your home owners insurance cover you should your dog get out and either cause an accident, damage property or injure someone? Mine does. In fact it is something you should ask about when you get an insurance quote. Most insurance companies that have a large number of rural customers have that type of an insurance rider on their policies. I know that Farmers Insurance company has that type of policy at no extra charge but other companies charge extra. It is well worth looking into.