Helpful Hanks Scary Tail: Guide to a Happy Pet

Hello All, Helpful Hank Here with another installment of Guide to a happy pet.

Recently I started reading (a short read but a good one.) Men and their dogs by Atria Books. It is just a little coffee table book with pictures of famous men and their dogs with a one or two paragraph on them. It has some interesting insights and tales. It features such legendary men as Clark Gabel, Sir Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming as well as people like will Smith and Mark Wahlberg and Others. It is a great little book to have. Another great little book to have is 97 ways to make your dog smile by Workman Publishers, a book I reference often.

The other day I was talking with my best friend, I had mentioned to her that I wanted to dedicate part of my new blog post to tips on keeping your cat safe. She said the best way to keep them safe is to mind after them.

She said her biggest complaint is that one of her neighbors, (she lives in a four-plex and they all face inward towards a common area.) who has Maincoons, keeps them outside a great deal of the time. They go around harassing the other cats and using people planted pots and doorsteps as litter boxes. She lives up against a mountain and it isn’t just irresponsible of the neighbors to leave their cats out it is dangerous. Her neighbors found out the hard way when one of the Maincoons was found dead on the trail behind the property. We are trusted with keeping our pets safe and we have to be aware of the dangers that can befall them. Things like anti-freeze which can end up the in the water in the gutters and can poison them. You should never let them drink water from the street. For those of you who take your dogs to the beach avoid letting them drink the salt water as it can give them an upset stomach and make them vomit.

Halloweener Dog

People like to dress their pets up on Halloween. Some tolerate it some like our Sheltie -Corgi becomes like stone The minute the minute a hat is put on his head and gives us the glare. My Cocker could care less as is with our Lab.

Many of us like to go to different Halloween parties and some parties like the one on Arenas street or the Doggie costume competition at city hall. Here are some tips to keep your pet safe on Halloween. As I said earlier, some pets like to wear costumes some don’t. If you are going to put a costume on your pet, make sure that it doesn’t make them to hot or is to confining. For pets that won’t wear costumes try a Halloween themed scarf or if they are willing one of those bobbly headbands. Try putting it at the back of their neck instead of on their heads they may tolerate that more.

Glow stick (they have them at Michaels Art Supply.) are a great way to make your pet more visible when walking in crowds.

Dogs love sweets and will get at them the first chance that they can. Chocolate can be deadly to them. Keep those bags of trick or treating candy away from your pets as, not only is the chocolate dangerous but foil wrappers can get lodged in their throats and intestinal systems causing them problems.

Scary Tails

If you have large dogs you should put pumpkins up where their tails cannot reach them and knock them over and the candles can start a fire. Your best bet is to use battery operated candles they are much safer as they won’t start fires when knocked over.

If you have an indoor costume party and your pet isn’t real people friendly, then provide them with a quite safe place that they can hang out during the party. If you have pets that are people friendly, you should make sure that food is out of reach because hunger comes first with pets so if they can reach it they will try it at minimum and quit possibly each at much of it as they can. My Cocker started to go after a carrot cake we had for a party that was on they edge of a table we caught him just in time. I suggest that you place some bowls upside down on a table and cover the table with fabric letting it drape down between and around the bowls and then place your dishes on the covered bowls to raise them up keeping it towards the center of the table. This will keep both their tails and noses out of the food.

A Well Lit Pup

When my husband is home we walk the dogs downtown quit frequently. About two years ago, we were walking the dogs at village Fest and down by the Hyatt they was a gentleman who was selling all kinds of different object that lit up. He happens to have collars and leashes so we bought a leash and three collars to try them out. They worked well. In addition, they had replaceable batteries (he even gave us extra batteries.) Over time, we bought more collars and when people would ask we would always tell them where we got them and send business his way. Unfortunately, he is no longer there, fortunately, you can still get these collars and leashes at the manufactures site Visiglo although here they seem to deal more with larger quantity purchases. You can also purchase them at Keep Doggie Safe as well. The prices run from approximately $15.00 on up to about $20.00 for the Visaglo collars.

Their Happy Spot

We all love to see our pets happy and we love it when they smile. All I have to do is say you want to go for a walk and my sheltie’s starts to jump and dance and smile. He has certain areas that I rub (the under ear base) that make him smile. What is it that you do for your pet that puts a smile on their face?

Greeting from the dog and I

We love our pets and we think of them as our little four legged children. It is amazing how close we become with them. They are part of the family we include them in many of our activities. We enjoy making them smile. I know that I myself fall into each of these categories I have spoken to my dogs on the phone, I have signed their names to cards and they are always in the Christmas portrait. Have you ever done any of these things? 70% of us sign our dogs’ names to greeting cards when signing our own. 33% of us talk to our dogs on the phone and 50% of us include our pets in family and Holiday portraits.

Well that’s about all this time around folks. Remember keep your pets safe on Halloween. Like New Years and The Fourth of July, Halloween can be a scary time for our pets, especially if you have a black cat. The doorbelling ringing of trick or treater’s can create upset pets. Keep them indoors in a closed room if need be. Have a Happy Halloween and an Awesome All Saints Day (Nov 1st)
Until next time, I’m Helpful Hank, asking, what have you done to make your pet smile today?

You can contact Helpful Hank with Questions, Comments, and Tips and, Deals at: askhelpfulhank@gmail.com Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009

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