Something hit close to home last week and I thought it would be an appropriate time to share with everyone because ticks are most prevalent from April-October in MA. Most people are familiar with the idea of Ticks being able to transmit Lyme Disease to people and to dogs. I had heard about this, but never actually saw it happen, until last week. I’ve been helping a family in Wayland to train their black lab puppy, Boo, for a about 4 weeks now. She is 4 months old and unfortunately contracted this debilitating disease from a Dear Tick while playing outside.

It was soooo sad!! The poor little girl was unable to even walk… What took the family by surprise was how rapidly the dog went from being just fine to such a suffering state. Of course, the family was very responsive and took her straight to the vet where she was diagnosed and treated. I’m happy to say that she recovered quickly and seemed happy and healthy last time I was there. I get to go see her tomorrow for some distraction training 8^)

There are many different Tick and Flea meds out there (Frontline, Advantage, K9 Advantix)… I’ve used Frontline for about 4 years and it’s been working well. Check out 1800PetMeds for good prices.

Almost everyone knows the character of Cruella De Vil, the fur-hungry villan of 101 Dalmations. Although 101 Dalmations is fictional, dog-napping is not as uncommon as one might think. Just last week, there were two articles detailing the capture of dogs.

The Times of India reports in the article “Thieves Take a Fancy to Pug” that the dog snatching has not been an isolated incident and that purebred dogs can be profitable for purloiners. Another article, “$5,000 Reward Offered for Stolen Puppy”, tells of how a pug puppy was seized from a car in a church parking lot in Fort Myers, Florida!

Coincidentally, both of the dogs that were stolen were pugs… Personally, I think that it is because pugs are so adorable that people can’t help but want them. However, I’m a little bias!

-Elizabeth

Recently, a commercial that aired in India for the company, Vodafone, has come under fire for featuring a pug running after a bus. According to telecomtiger.com, the Animal Welfare Board of India claims that the pug was made to endure tough physical exercise for the commercial. Vodafone, and the film production company hired to create the commercial, have both denied that the pug was subjected to any cruelty whilst working on set. We found the commercial in question on YouTube. What do you think?

Living in the city with a dog can definitely be a drag sometimes, especially when your pooch is a little stir crazy. As the weather warms, take a drive to Elm Bank. Approximately half an hour from Boston, Elm Bank not only welcomes dogs, but provides doggy poop bags to encourage visitors to pick up after their canine companion! Chopper had a blast running at full speed!

Hi Readers!

Elizabeth here! I had the most AMAZING weekend because I got to spend it with my favorite pooch, Emperor Chopper! Having Chopper around is great not only because he is a ball of fun, but because he is teaching me about being a responsible dog owner.

Chopper, giving his best “look back” pose.

On Saturday, we had a bit of drama. We had to take Chopper to the Veterinarian’s office! Friday night, Chopper started to make funny noises; he would elongate his neck and snort. Being the overprotective nervous type, I rushed him the emergency room only to learn that Chopper was “reverse sneezing.” Reverse sneezing is something can be set off by a myriad of things including eating, excitement, even pollen! These spasms are most common in Pugs and Boxers because they have “flat faces”. Chopper’s spasms appeared to be from a slight cold he had developed. Just to be safe, we took it easy Saturday night and watched old movies.

Despite being a bit under the weather, Chopper was his chipper and handsome self. We had a marvelous weekend and I cannot WAIT until he stays over again!

I saw an article that www.DogChannel.com has teamed up with DigitalPost Interactive to launch a social networking site. I looked into it a little more because I’m familiar with dogchannel.com and have been pleased with the amount of information that you can find on their site.

I signed up for this social networking site because I wanted to see what was so special about it and why this article was posted on CNNMoney.com of all places. Signing up was easy and when I got into the site I was surprised to see what I had the option of doing, because I hadn’t seen this anywhere else.

They gave me the option to create an “avatar” of my dog and a model dog park… Then I can invite friends to my dog park to hang out. It was kind of neat getting to “build” a dog that looks like whatever you want it to (of course I tried to build mine like Chopper). The user interface was simple and low tech. It was pretty fun so I thought I would pass it along. If you’d like to give it a try, you’ll be right around the 25,000th dog lover to do so. Check out Club Dog at www.DogChannel.com.

Last week, we wrote about a common situation involving dog owners who allow their dog(s) to walk off leash and the proper etiquette to deal with those canines (and owners) who are a bit unruly. Only one day after, we received a thoughtful email commenting on the post. Here at snifbostondogs.com we love it when our readers voice their opinions! Please read the letter below from an insightful reader!

Hey there!
I just read the blog on snifbostondogs.com I absolutely agree that if your dog does not obey you when he/she is off leash you absolutely should not have them off leash unless you are on your own property. Also, I would never allow my dog to be off leash while walking down the sidewalk or around a crowd of people. However, I live in an area where there are many wooded areas and trails that I often let my dog off leash on. I believe that if your dog is well behaved and well trained there is such a thing as a “verbal leash” If I see another dog, or person up a head I command my dog to heal and I put his leash on him. I do not see this as being a problem. The main reason this story caught my attention was just the other day, I was walking with my dog down a trail I have walked down too many times to count. We saw two labs approaching and I stopped my dog and put his leash on. As we continued down the trail we passed by the two dogs and walker. The dog walker then blurted out to me “ever heard of a leash law”! I said yes, and my dog is on a “verbal leash”. I have been walking this wooded trail with my dog for years and have never had a problem. She said that she was the dog walker and her dogs would attack. I said nothing else to her and continued on my way. I was so mad! I felt like telling her that her employers should pay to TRAIN their dogs before they pay to have them walked. It is unfortunate that the dogs with bad behavior, due to the owner not training them properly, ruin it for all the GOOD DOGS out there!

If you’d like to share your thoughts on the issue, leave a comment below or write us at blog@sniflabs.com. Who knows, you may even be selected to be published on our blog!