Hot short nosed Dogs!

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. - Agnes Sligh Turnbull

The lazy dog days of summer, keeping your Bully cool during this time of year, can be a chore. Texas has had now over 40 day's of 100 degree temperature or higher, and with that kind of heat your Bulldog and other short nosed breeds are going to have a tough time. Now, that doesn't mean that long nosed dogs should be out in these conditions either, but that maybe he can stand it a little longer than your Bully.
Short nosed breeds have smaller nostrils and are unable to breathe as well as long nosed breeds, so your Bully heats up faster than others. Dogs only have two ways they can cool themselves, through panting and through the bottoms of their paws. When your dog is starting to pant, he is beginning to get hot and he needs to be put some place cool. Now you may think, well my Bulldog pants when he is in the house with the air conditioning running, and yes that maybe true, but his temperature is not going to continue to rise indoors like it would if he were outdoors in the heat. When Humans are hot, they start to sweat and through sweating our bodies are more likely to cool down. Dogs way of cooling himself is through panting, it is like a built in fan for them, it helps remove the heat that is being produced in their bodies. Have you ever seen your dog place his front paws in his water bowl during a hot day, and your thinking, yuck, whats he doing? He is cooling himself off the quickest way he knows. Dog's sweat only through the pad's of their feet and through their noses. They can be cooled off quickly with cool water applied to their paws so this is the reason why he hangs out in his water bowl. Dogs are less efficient of cooling themselves than we are, so please be aware of your baby during hot days and keep him cool by always having fresh clean, cool water available at all times for him.

If your dog is experiencing any of the following:

Intense panting,

Elevated heart rate,

Drooling extensively,

Lethargy or fatigue,

His gums can become a intense red color at first and then become a pale, grey pink,

He might want to lie flat out on his stomach,

Stagger or become disoriented, and at this point he may start having seizures or collaspe.

You will need act quickly! First, you will need to start, by lowering his body temperature by applying rubbing alcohol to the pad's of his feet, (and keep do it until he is feeling better) and apply cool water to his body. Offer him ice cubes if he is alert and able to lick on them, and if he is not, then place him in an air conditioned vehicle and call your Veterinarian from the car, on your way to his/her office.

Always keep in mind that your dog can experience the same feelings as humans, and does not mean that he can handle situations better (and/or worse) just because he is a dog. You are his human and he is depending on you for protection. Until next time, 4 Toes Up!

Mess-A-Roos' Baby

My little dog- A heatbeat at my feet. - Edith Wharton

Mess-A-Roo, is one of my babies, and back in May she had her first litter. A litter of three males and one female. A friend of the family was interested in one of her babie's while she was still carring them, which I thought was great. He had bought Messy's brother, Red, and has had Red for 2 years now and has took excellent care of him. My thought was, that he would give one of Messy's babie's an excellent home too, so we gave him a male puppy. He was so excited that he couldn't wait for the puppy to get old enough to take him home. John had the pup for about a month, and during that month his life changed, and he began to neglect the dog's severly. When we found the dog's, they were outside in the heat with a temperature of 104, which is a big NO for Bulldogs. They had been there for quite a while, because their toenails were worn down to the quick from walking on his concrete patio. They were covered in flea's and tick's, and they both had lost a lot of weight. John had wanted the puppy so bad, that he picked out a name for him when he was 10 days old and at time that we found the puppy, he still didn't know his name. Is our society so busy that it cause's us to forget about our animals? How can humans that are suppose to be superior to animal's allow this type of situation to arise, when its up to us to take care of them. Why do we take on the role of master if we are not going to live up to it, after all Messy did her part and gave life to her puppies, for us to enjoy! Until next time, 4 Toes Up!

Life with dog's

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912

A dog's greatest love is his human! He show's you his unconditional love, by greeting you at the front door with a wagging tail, an excited jump and sometimes with your favorite shoe in his mouth. He relaxes quietly on your kitchen floor while you cook dinner, and faithfully drool's on the floor while you enjoy dinner. They search for the wounded after a disaster and they can sniff out thing's that are of a harmful nature. They lead us when we are handicapped, and alert us of impending danger. They listen to our problems and they advise us to love more. What would our live's be without dog's, as we've all been touch at some point in our life by a dog, that we have never forgotten. Dog's truly are man's best friend, and we should never forget how they take care of us! Until next time, 4 Toes Up!

Bulldogs-n-Such

My name is Lynn Snider and I have started this weblog to improve the well being English Bulldog's, Boxer's and all other K-9's. I have a great passion for dogs, such a passion that I live and breathe dogs. I have been a moderate Breeder and have had rescue santuaries. I am still a Rescuer, Trainer, and General Consultant. I will have numerous topics of which I will write about. Some will be of interest to you and some won't, but I ask that you give me your input on topics that you would like to discuss (about dogs). I think I have all the answers about dogs sometimes; then my dogs surprise me and I know I have a long ways to go! Another reason for this weblog, is so that I can learn new things too. I am always interested in learning how I can better my dogs and the dogs I rescue. I hope you will join me in my quest to the betterment of dogs! Until next time, 4 Toes Up!