Getting Ready For Summer

All the pack uses sentinel during the whole year, but as we approach summer we get ready to add tick repellant monthly...we do that at the vets suggestion when we take the dogs outdoors into wooded areas such as when Marcie is bike riding or we are boating and making shore runs.   It is pretty cheap, about $6 per dog per month.  Sentinnel does not prevent ticks, so remember to do tick checks as well.  Swim lessons are also a great idea.  The Red Dog Spa offers them, you don't need many but at least a couple to help young dogs, or older dogs who have never been introduced to water, understand the balance involved in staying safely afloat during swimming....any dog can have difficulty swimming---people always assume dogs can swim and often make jokes about the doggy paddle---but the reality is that dogs who can swim do NOT splash much--so if your dog is swimming splashy, they may need a lesson or two to get their balance and confidence in water...last summer we took the dogs to a dog park with a pond area and a couple brought their boxer puppy in--he was adorable and a little bigger than Boo, and when he got into the pond and lost his footing he tried to find safety---he was near little Boo so when he panicked --well he tried to hang on Boo, pushing her under---and under--and under until  she was desparate to get away...Marcie had to rush into save Boo before the puppy drown her...or held her under so long she ended up with respiratory problems like pneumonia.  It was VERY scary to watch, and the owners did not even realize what was happening....standing around laughing about how they were playing....as it warms up you may also be heading to a swim hole near you--so buy a dog vest, get a couple lesson for your dog, and buy some toys that FLOAT--- we have tossed in several "floating" toys that are now at the bottom of the lake because they didn't!  Boo and Tulla can be pretty insistent that they will fetch that toy and exhaust themselves swimming in circles where it went down until we can distract them--and they are STUBBORN about it--so TEST your floating toys first!  Aound here the spring temps have already jumped from 55 degrees to 75 degrees during the day, very warm for early March, so in addition to adding extra times to get a drink, we have had to add allergy pills to Kodi and on occasion, the other dogs diets.  When Kodi comes in he chews his feet and has inward sneezes, so we know it is SPRING--other people wait for the GROUNDHOG to see his shadow--we wait for KODI TO SNEEZE!!!