K9 Kids Club - by Kayleigh

I had a great time at K9 Kidz Club.  We did lots of activities, like bean bag race – where you put a bean bag on your head and go over jumps with your dog without it falling off, relay race – where you had to perform tricks with your dog like twist and spin, egg and spoon race holding your dog to heal in and out of cones, recall race and Rock paper Scissors which was my favourite.  Rock paper scissors is where you stand back to back with your dogs in front of you and get them to do sit, down or stand and have to beat the other dog.  Each time you won or your team won you got 5 points. At the end we had the sack race and then our parents had to join in and do the sack race, this was really funny.

Kayleigh, Kahlua and Harley


http://www.barkingmadtraining.co.uk/

Milly Versus The Warts

Milly, my 14 month old Springer Spaniel developed a small lump in the corner of her mouth which over the course of 3 weeks developed into 2 large unsightly lumps that protruded from the corner of her mouth and was surrounded by other small lumps. The vet stated that they were probably warts and that I should leave them unless they interfered with her eating etc.  I took her back to the vets a week later as a couple of the warts had doubled in size and several more smaller lumps had appeared, including on the opposite site of her mouth. The vet suggested that Milly should have a general anaesthesia to perform a biopsy and then to remove the larger warts by surgery. This approach was not only potentially expensive, but was entirely unacceptable to me in terms of stress and discomfort to my dog to address a condition that is easily treated in humans. I therefore decided to research the matter on the internet with a view to applying an alternative course of treatment.

True dog warts are caused by Canine Papillomavirus. Viral dog warts, called papillomas, generally range from skin-color to whitish-yellowish and have a cauliflower-like appearance. Papillomas can appear anywhere on the body of a dog, with the most common areas being the face, muzzle, mouth, genitals, and rectum.

Papillomavirus dog warts most often appear on young puppies and adolescent dogs (up to 2 years of age) who still have developing immune systems. Papillomavirus dog warts are also seen in senior dogs whose immune systems are beginning to decline. The immune system of an adult dog is generally strong enough to fight the virus before warts have a chance to emerge.

After extensive research I decided to treat Milly’s warts with Thuja and Vitamin E oil, and have had fantastic result. There was no clear guidance concerning appropriate dosages, so I finally settled on 30c per day of Thuja and rubbed Vitamin E oil onto the warts 3 times a day. I used the following easily available products.

Milly is now wart free ! I told a friend about the treatment that I had applied to Milly as I knew that his Rottweiler had a large wart on his back which caused it some discomfort. He applied the same treatment and within the space of several weeks the wart had completely gone.

In short, this worked for Milly and my friend’s dog. It is far less expensive, stressful and uncomfortable for your dog than aesthetic, biopsy and surgery.

See photos below which show Milly’s warts at the start of treatment and then 3 weeks later as well as my friend’s Rottweiler photos.

I hope this information helps you ...... Sandra

Milly's warts before treatment

Results after 10 days

Results after 3 weeks

Friends Rottweiler before treatment

7 weeks later

Evening Walk with our 4 Legged Friends

On 17th July, around 80 friends of Barking Mad and of the Forest of Marston Vale ventured out together on a group walk around Millenium Country Park, and what a superb evening it was! The park covers 225 hectares and is a fabulous mix of woodland, grassland, meadow, lakes and wetland habitats criss-crossed by 17 kilometres of traffic free, surfaced cycle paths, grass footpaths and bridle ways. There’s a fantastic surfaced path that takes walkers through the beautiful wetland reserve area as well.

The walkers set out in groups, with the growlers heading off last. Despite maps being given out and the route being well signposted, 2 groups got lost! You know who you are…..Richard, Tom, Michelle. Merica et al!!

Because the weather was so hot, the walk was shortened but was fab nonetheless, with lots of opportunities to catch up with old and new friends and for dog walkers to pick the brains of the Barking Mad Dog Trainers.

The walk was followed by a superb BBQ by the lake and the kids amongst the group got an opportunity to play on the outdoor climbing area.

Walkers paid £5.00 for the event and this money has paid for 5 new trees to be planted at the Forest Centre so a huge thank you to everyone that was involved. The Forest is one of only 12 community forest across the UK and is a registered charity so its a very important facility to support and enjoy.

All the dogs behaved impeccably and we all look forward to being able to do this again very soon. 

For more information:-
www.marstonvale.org/millennium-country-park
www.barkingmadtraining.co.uk/

Anglian Wolf Society Trip Report

Peyto and Kaya

Club Trip  

On Tuesday, Lesley and some of the gang from Barking Mad in Broom ventured into the depths of the Bedfordshire countryside to visit the Anglian Wolf Society.

The Sanctuary, which started in 1999 supports and raises funds for Wolf conservation and their primary aims are:

-educate and inform the public about wolves
-promote and support wolf conservation
-provide a place where people can study or work with wolves

Their guide for the day was Phil Watson, the society’s founder, who was obviously a wealth of information on all things wolf related and it was great to hear him talk about body language and also to have a real good chat about wolf hybrids as pets, but more on that later!

There are 4 wolves kept at the sanctuary, Chesa and his brother Peyto, and Chesa’s daughters Aiyana and Kaya.

Chesa inspects the guests

The group were met in the car park to be briefed about health and safety and then were walked in 2 groups down to the wolves. As you would expect the handlers were very respectful of their wolves and we were walking into ‘Alpha Male’ Chesa’s territory so they didn’t want to put undue stress on him, particularly if he was unhappy with any member of the group. All was well though, although he kept a very keen eye on Mike at all times, eyeballing him as he went to the toilet!

The wolves are kept in large cages of about 1/2 acre. Chesa lives in one cage with Aiyana and the other 2 live next door!

Peyto and Kaya posing for the cameras

The wolves were born in captivity, with Aiyana and Kaya being born at the sanctuary itself.  Wolves are born paranoidily scared of humans so the cubs are taken away from their parents at 10 days old to be hand reared and they see no other wolves or dogs till they are 3 weeks old so they are accepting of their human carers.  After their 3 weeks, they then get to meet other dogs and play like normal canine pups. When Chesa and Peta first came to the sanctuary themselves as pups they got all the normal imprinting and conditioning training that you’d hope a normal canine pup would get such as being taken to country shows and walks in the park!  Clicker training was also done with all the pups when they were younger. Phil described them as super intelligent and uber quick learners! The problem with wolves is that every February (breeding season), all learning is wiped clear. At 18 months, the territorial genes switch on with a wolf, which means increased territorial marking and aggression.

Aiyana

So, wolf hybrids……. Wolf hybrids have been becoming increasing popular due to movies such as the Twighlight Series, and the question is do they make good pets? Phil's response was a very categoric NO!  When you cross a wolf and a dog, they have hugely unacceptable levels of predatory and territorial instinct, which makes them a difficult and dangerous houseguest. There is also a shyness gene that in many wolf hybrids just will not go away. There are many example of this in the Czech Wolf Dog (approx. 22% wolf), with many cases being reported where the dogs are so debilitatingly shy that they are afraid to leave their homes.

If you get a wolf hybrid that is approx. 12% (F3) wolf, they can be kept as a ‘pet’ but they'd be extremely challenging and would need to be kennelled outside. 6% (F4) would still have all of the territorial and predatory instincts but could be lived with. The question for potential purchasers of these wolf hybrids is can you really guarantee what % of wolf you’re getting and there is no way of measuring it?

Helen with their pet hybrid - maybe 7-12% wolf

The visit should have finished at 12ish but Phil was so interesting to listen to and the wolves so beautiful to watch that the group didn’t want to leave! They stayed and watched the wolves being fed, tripe and chicken was the order of the day! 

Dinner time!

The group finally left at 2.30 and on departure were treated to a display of howling! Awesome is the only way to describe it. There is no doubt that they will be revisiting the Anglian Society again really soon!  

Waggy Woodlands Dog Walk

Fabulous evening walk last night with friends from Barking Mad and the Forest of Marston Vale. Thank you so much to everyone that joined us. Coming along and paying your £5.00 raised enough money to buy and plant 6 new trees at the centre. :))

Due to the very high temperatures and wide range of dogs from puppies to old codgers we only walked a small portion of this huge site before chilling out at the forest centre for a burger, a drink and a natter. For more details on the Forest of Marston Vale project visit their website http://marstonvale.org/

Keeping Your Dog Safe in The Hot Weather

Symptoms of Overheating in Dogs

On a 29-degree celsius day it takes only 10 minutes for the interior of your parked car to climb to 39 degrees. In a half hour, it can reach 49 degrees. And leaving windows partially open doesn't drop the temperature inside the vehicle.

Keep in mind your dog has a higher body temp than you do and she can’t cool down as efficiently as you do, either. Your dog is designed more for insulation from the cold than cooling down in the heat.

You have sweat glands all over your body, but your dog's are confined to her nose and the pads of her feet. A dog that is heating up can only normalize her body temperature through panting, which just doesn't get the job done under extreme conditions. In a very short period of time, an overheated dog can suffer critical damage to her brain, heart, liver and nervous system.

Symptoms of overheating in dogs include:

Heavy panting	Elevated body temperature
Excessive thirst	Weakness, collapse
Glazed eyes	Increased pulse and heartbeat
Vomiting, bloody diarrhea	Seizures
Bright or dark red tongue, gums	Excessive drooling
Staggering	Unconsciousness

Some dogs are at higher risk for heat-related illness than others, including brachycephalic breeds (dogs with flat faces and short noses), older dogs, puppies, dogs that are ill or have a chronic health condition, dogs not used to warm weather, any dog left outside in hot weather, and dogs that are allowed to overexert themselves in the heat.

From Overheating to Heatstroke

If your dog's body temperature gets to 42°C or higher, heatstroke is the result. The cells of the body rapidly start to die. The brain swells, causing seizures. Lack of blood supply to the GI tract causes ulcers. Dehydration leads to irreversible kidney damage. All these catastrophic events take place within a matter of minutes!

In the early stages of a heat-related illness it can be difficult to assess your dog's condition, since it's normal for him to pant when he's warm or while exerting himself.

We can't stress enough how important it is for pet owners to take every precaution to prevent overheating. By the time a dog is exhibiting symptoms of heatstroke, it's often too late to save him.

How to Help an Overheated Dog

If you think your pet or any dog is experiencing heatstroke, you should take immediate action and move him to a cool area, preferably with air conditioning. At a minimum you should move him to a shady spot.

Next, try to determine his condition. If he’s standing, or if he’s at least conscious and panting, offer him small amounts of water to drink and take his temperature if possible.

If his temp is 40ºC or lower, remain with him in a cool environment, watch him carefully and keep offering small drinks of water. A large volume of water all at once might cause him to vomit, which will add to the risk of dehydration. When he seems more comfortable, call your veterinarian for next steps. The vet may want to evaluate your dog even if he seems fully recovered.

If the dog is unable to stand on his own, is unresponsive to your voice, touch or the sight of you, or is having seizures, check for breathing and a heartbeat. At the same time, have someone contact a veterinary hospital (or make the call yourself if you're alone with your pet) to let them know you'll be bringing him in right away. It's important to alert the clinic you're on the way so they can prepare for your arrival.

Begin cooling your dog down by soaking his body with cool water – cool, but not cold. Use a hose, wet towels or any other source of cool water that is available. Take his temperature if possible. Concentrate the cooling water on his head, neck and in the areas underneath the front and back legs. Carefully cool the tongue if possible, but don't let water run into the throat as it could get into the lungs. Never put water in the mouth of a dog that can't swallow on his own. Put a fan on him if possible – it will speed up the cooling process.

After a few minutes, re-check his temperature. If it’s at or below 40ºF, stop the cooling process. Further cooling could lead to blood clotting or a too-low body temperature. Get the dog to a veterinary clinic right away, even if he seems to be recovering.

Tips for Preventing Overheating

Provide plenty of fresh, clean drinking water at all times. If your dog will be outside for any length of time in warm weather, she should have access to complete shade. Periodically encourage her to play in the sprinkler or hose her down with cool water to prevent overheating.

If your dog has a long coat, give her a summer cut. Her fur can be shaved to a one-inch length to make her more comfortable when it’s hot. Just don’t go any shorter than an inch, because her coat protects her from the sun.

Exercise your dog early in the morning or after sunset, during the coolest parts of the day. Don’t overdo exercise or play sessions, regardless of the time of day. And if it gets to be 32°C, your pet should be indoors where it’s cool.

Don’t walk or exercise your dog on hot pavement. Not only can it burn her paws, but the heat rising from concrete or asphalt can quickly overheat an animal that is close to the ground.

And once again, never leave your dog alone in a parked car on a warm day. Leave her where she's cool, hydrated, and waiting in comfort for your return home.

K9 Kids Event Report by Lia with Jazz

We all had an amazing time at k9 kids today!  The theme was sports day and the 1st activity was a bean bag race where we had to run over jumps and through hoops and then grab our dog and let them do it but instead of a bean bag we used a treat bag! 

We also did relay race where we had to do spin for a bit then twist and then legs. The other great activities we did were a egg and spoon race, recall race, jumping bag race and lots more.  It has been one of the best k9 kids I have ever been to! 

Lia with Jazz