You may be like a lot of people today (including myself), you’ve purchased pee-pee pads, you have installed a “mock” grassy area in the corner of your house and these are great for emergencies, such as hurricanes, late night pee-pee breaks, etc. but your dog needs to venture outside everyday at a minimum of three times a day. Dogs enjoy the feel of the the grass on their paws, doing their kick-backs in the dirt and sinking their paws into the wet beach sand. The smell of the outdoors is like sweet perfume to your dog. They love to investigate every blade of grass and every tiny bug.
To leave your dog locked indoors is abusive to your dogs physical and mental well being. Taking your dog on at least 3 walks a day will lift their spirits, initiate social skills and stretch their muscles (it gets the blood flowing). I suggest a walk after meal times and periodically throughout the day. I walk my dog 6 times a day. I know this may be difficult due to your personal schedules, I recommend personal dog walkers, neighbors, family or friends to assist in the daily walks. PLUS, it’s really great quality time for you and your dog and as a bonus, you get a little exercise too!
Always make sure your dog is on a leash when outdoors. This is SO incredibly important. Unless your dog is in a secured fenced in area, your dog should be on a leash. I don’t know how often I see people walking their dogs without leashes and it strikes fear in my heart. Dogs love the chase – if they catch a smell that interests them, they are going to follow it (and that could lead them directly in front of a moving vehicle). I recommend purchasing a harness and not a collar to attach the leash to. A well fitted harness will pull on your dogs chest compared to your dogs throat with collars. Never purchase a choke chain or those horrific choke chains with spikes digging into your dogs neck. They are called “CHOKE” for a reason.
Take into account the weather, if it’s winter and you need a coat, chances are your dog will also. Also, even though t-shirts and sweaters are cute – your dog is already wearing a fur coat. In the summer, pack away those items with your winter clothes, dogs can easily overheat.
Jaxie, my son, is a chihuahua with allergies. We are still trying to narrow down exactly what triggers him, but it seems to be the great outdoors unfortunately. Maybe it’s the grass or the treatment the landscapers use on the grass, or the pollen, we are still not 100% sure. So, when Jax comes back from a walk he gets a thorough wipe down with aloe based sensitive skin baby wet wipes (we get ours from Walmart). I wipe his legs, paws including between each pad and his entire undercarriage (aka … belly, penis, butt, chest and neck). He also is getting a couple different all natural allergy supplements to help (I will write a separate blog describing what we have been using and what is working right now). I also try to keep his skin moisturized with extra virgin coconut oil rubs which he realllllly loves!
DOGZAR wants to help keep your dog . . . SAFE, HEALTHY and HAPPY!