I don’t usually like to rate dog parks because I really do love them all and I feel like they are all equal. But to paraphrase the book “Animal Farm,” some parks are “more equal than others.” I’ve visited, run, explored, peed-on and inspected each one of these dog parks in Manhattan, New York City, and this was my true, impartial, doggie-reaction to each.
When it comes to Lyme disease and exposure to the biting bugs that carry the disease… i.e. ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, horseflies, etc. … your dog may be your “canary in a coalmine.” In other words, because your furry friend is rambling through areas of higher exposure to these bugs than you, it may get exposed to Lyme disease before you do.
Recently, a Washington, D.C. TV station WJLA partnered with Ellipse Analytics to test several brands of wet dog food for the drug pentobarbital, a common euthanasia drug used to put down pets and zoo animals. Of all the brands tested, the popular brand Gravy Train, repeatedly came back positive for pentobarbital, according to the station. Out of the 15 cans tested, nine tested positive and the FDA currently allows no traces of it in any dog foods or treats. The results of the study have prompted the FDA to announce plans for a full investigation.
If you’re a dog like me, you like to run around in the yard, check the trees, bushes and plants for new smells and mark the place up as best you can. I also like to chew on blades of grass every now and then… they give my sensitive belly a bit of relief.
But what if your master sprays your running place with weed killers, fertilizers or insecticides? Since that stuff kills bugs and weeds and is a POISON, doesn’t it stand to reason that it might be harmful to us dogs, too?
It’s pretty fun to do the fetch game with your dog, and what better thing to throw than a tennis ball, right? Well, just imagine the toxins in a typical tennis ball and it doesn’t take long to speculate on some of the things that can go wrong.
My owner has been asking other dog owners this question for months…
“What do you do when your dog is freaky?”
He’s a first-time owner and isn’t used to some of the freaky things we can do. I don’t know what the big deal is.
While I was at my favorite dog park today, I was viciously attacked by an unfixed male Pomeranian. You may laugh when you see the picture of one below. They look like stuffed toys, but I will tell you this guy was literally the wildest dog I’ve ever encountered. And those who know anything about dogs know that it’s the smaller dogs that tend to be the craziest.
We’ve noticed that the trend seems to take place more often on open trails where waste bins are few and far between. We get it. It literally stinks to drag your dog’s solid waste any amount of time, so it’s easier just to drop it on the trail. Why not skip the step of bagging it? If you’re on a trail, just use a long stick or branch to sweep your dog’s poop into the underbrush and give the planet a break?
For dog-friendly areas that are more frequently traveled, we understand that you look like a bad dog-owner citizen if you let your dog openly defecate in an area without doing anything about it. So you bag it… but don’t people get just as mad at you if you drop it someplace nearby instead of putting it in a trash can? Take a few extra steps and find a waste bin!