Just want to share our new item, dark glasses! We really look cool with them. When we got our shades, strutting along the by-ways has been an issue attracting attention. The issue though is more of a celebratory experience. Photographers stop to take snapshots of us, or stop to pet, and even provide us with treats! Yet we're just regular dogs with needs, peeves and deeds.
We do have pet peeves. Number one on the list is costuming. More and more dogs are being dressed with costumes. I suppose Halloween is an exception. To many people, costumes look cute, but they are uncomfortable! Our fur coat is our "clothing! Now that I'm on a row, issues regarding dressing-up dogs will be further discussed.
Limiting our mobility is just one of the issues. Others are lessening dog efficiency. For example, our ears, need to be free and clear. Dog ears have at least 17 muscles, efficiently used for spectacular sounds that make our life exciting. So please don't cover our head with hats or scarves that often cover or block our ears. Our paws, are thickly padded and we love the feel and sense of the ground we romp, run or touch on, therefore shoes should be out of the question!
We do want to be healthy and assured that excessive fluids, toxins and waste are easily eliminated, so don't cover our pooper, or weewee-er! Long strides and impromtu rompings are always inviting, so please keep clothing with tight armholes off us. Our tail wags for good reasons. If people take the time to know about dogs, they will discover tail-wagging is indicative of friendliness, but also could mean "get out of my face!" So stop with the tail bows and ribbons, and worse yet, keeping our tail tucked under some polyester!
Why do, humans dress dogs with sweaters, shorts, hats, scarves, shoes, dresses, pants, t-shirts, jewelry, and whatever stuff they find to create a different image for their dog? Humans dress dogs because its cute. Trust us, we dogs don't care for cute. We prefer the natural look, meaning, no clothing of any sort. Appreciate our natural coloring, and fur covering. Do you know it can be quite cuddling and endearing to feel our fur, skin, stomach, ears, tail and paws. We LOVE when people stroke us directly on our fur and skin, its a comfortable, calming and peaceful feeling.
Hygiene is another issue. Too many times humans skip our baths and brushings. Hello!? We do accumulate grime, dust, and insects that should be removed. The concept that dogs should not be given frequent baths because body oils will be removed causing dry skin, is a myth. Give us a break! We want to be CLEAN Wash us! Let us, worry about the release of natural body oils. Another thing, use a dog shampoo with basic cleaning ingredients, and even a conditioner does help keep our coat squeaky clean and shiny.
Remember too, when bathing us, wash all areas. Particularly the pooper and weewee area. Why? We don't like flies swirling around our privates. It is kind of nice that you brush us first, before bathing. This way the excess loose hairs does not mat down with the attached hair, as well as keeping our body "cooler." Why people forget to wash our paws is amazingly strange. They are part of our bodies! Sometimes humans just spray the paws with water, without scrubbing them. We want our paws clean even between the toes, as they often become hide-outs for ticks, and we have a difficult time removing them ourselves. These ticks not only make us itchy and leaves inflammation spots, it sucks our precious blood!
A deep and reasonable scrubbing is appreciated Wow, some people have long nails and scrub too hard! Our skin can tear and be irritated. Please, scrub with the soft tips of your fingers in a methodic manner to get all areas clean, and we will feel great with a warm thorough rinse.
While on the subject of finger nails. Our digits shaped with beautiful paw nails should not be clipped everyday. We enjoy beautiful shaped nails versus stubby short nails. Our pedicure should be monitored with tender loving care. We stand, run, romp on these paws and play so hard we forget we overwork our muscles, causing muscle fatigue. Of course, the best any dog can have is a professional canine therapeutic massage as a preventive measure of muscle aches and pains.
I've got to get to the ears. When bathing us, please don't pour or spout water into our ears! Not a good thing. Just fold our ears down to cover the ear canal, so water will not enter this fragile and sensitive area. Water entering the ear canal is too uncomfortable for all dogs. This is the very reason why after baths, we madly run around rubbing the sides of our heads on the ground or flooring Immediately after a bath have a soft absorbent towel nearby to dry the ears inside and out, as well as drying us around the neck and chest first, then move up and around the rest of the body. Many people don't even towel the wet off dogs' coat, they think if we do our "dog shake," all is well. No! We want to be toweled dry! We love soft, thick, absorbent fluffy towels. We don't want rough, thin and non-absorbent towels.
Another pet peeve is the hair electric dryers. Dogs don't enjoy been air-dried with a hair dryer! Please stop this method! We know it is a quick way, but the hot air is extremely uncomfortable. More about our ears. Cotton tips are alright if done cautiously and sparingly. But better to use a soft cotton thin towel or tissue to mold into the ear, and twirl around to dry and clean. We love the comfort of these careful soft touches.
All dogs have a sense of smile. We don't show our fangs, because it actually makes us look a bit aggressive. But, we smile with our eyes, and sometimes with angle nods of our head. We do love the fact of having our teeth and gums clean. BUT, do not use human toothpaste! Its ingredients can be harmful for us. Dog toothpaste are available as well as unique tools to brush our teeth.
Oh yes, tastes and smells are senses to help us LOVE and crave the best dog foods! We even crave foods that are not good for us. So for a healthy long life, please feed us nutritiously, and beware for us, the number of foods we should not eat, as we cannot always fend for ourselves.
I, Churchill Graham and Francesca Le Bon Bon, enjoyed our visit with you.
Author JudithCatherine Lam is known for her passionate care for dogs, a trait that demonstrates as a Health-Care Professional Certified Canine Massage Therapist.
Under the auspices of CanineVisions For A Healthy Dog, other ventures are CanineVisions Photography; CanineVisions Cooking For Dogs; CanineVisions Maui Dog News; CanineVisions Health & Behavior and CanineVisions Concierge. A Public Relations & Marketing Consultant and previous owner of an Advertising Agency has proven JudithCatherine to be successful in branding CanineVisions in unique ways.
