S.O.S. Dog Talk!

Yappy New Year!

2012-01-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

Yappy New Year to all the SOS folks! I, for one, am excited about all the great things that will happen this year.

Let's start the year off right with a prayer for animals:

Dear God, you have given us care over all living things; protect and bless the animals who give us companionship and delight, make us their true friends and worthy companions. Amen.

Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Love-Family/Pets/Multifaith-Prayers-For-Animals.aspx#ixzz1iJWnM7Os

It's Christmas Time!

2011-12-08T14:00:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Now is a great time to reflect on the year and to be thankful for the blessings in your life. Give all your fur-kids a hug and have a fun, safe, meaningful Christmas season.

Puppy Love: Love Your Puppy, Start Training Early!

2011-06-06T17:51:00.003-04:00

Everyone loves a puppy (well, most people do). They are so cute, active and clumsy. You can't help but smile and giggle at them. Here is a spur-of-the-moment video taken of a new Border Collie puppy visiting one of our Advanced Obedience Classes. She is 7 weeks old and look at everything she can do! Puppies are smart and their little brains are eager and ready to have fun with you while they learn.

Teaching an old dog new tricks

2010-12-31T19:16:00.006-05:00

Lil Abner is a Service Dog for his owner, Mrs. Pat. Abner didn't start his training until he was 4 years old! Which goes against the old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." You can train your dog at any age!

Now at the ripe ol' age of 8, Abner has earned Canine Good Citizen (C.G.C.) and Therapy Dog International (T.D.I.) certificates as well as a Novice Rally title. Abner's now has a new accomplishment to put under his collar.

Lil Abner and Pat go to a retirement home every Wednesday which enabled him to achieve a new title. In order to earn a T.D.I.A. certification, dog and owner must visit a retirement home or similar organization 50 times. Abner and Pat love visiting the retirement home and making the residents happy.

Abner is a super little dog with lots of love to share. A Saling's Dog to be proud of!

We love ya, Pat and Abner -
Brenda, Mike, and all the Saling's Gang

Fall is in the Air!

2010-09-21T15:40:00.003-04:00

Ah, fall is upon us...brisk air, crispy leaves and harvest veggies. Ok, so maybe not so much in Florida but we do have extra spunky pet-kids when the weather does cool off!

Tis also the season of dog shows! Good luck and have to fun to all!

2010-02-18T21:44:00.002-05:00

Wiggles and Spins will have a booth at three upcoming events in the Central Florida area. Feel free to stop by and visit!

February 20 - Suncoast Animal Rescue's Annual Mutt March at Highlander Park in Dunedin
March 13 - Veterinary Healthcare Associates' Shamrock Walk Run near the Public Library in Winter Haven
April 17 - The SPCA's Pets on Parade at Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland

Purchases over $20 will receive a free gift! But even if you don't stop by our booth, the causes are worthy. Check out the links to learn more about the Fido Idol, Doggie Project Runway, obedience demonstrations, breed rescue information, so much more! Oh, this is also a great opportunity to work with and socialize your pet. Have fun!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T19:03:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! Feel free to post your Halloween pics if you'd like to share. Below are pics of Collies, Sierra and Sydney, wearing festive scrunchies and the other pic is of my Lilly as a guilty Prisoner and Keyser as Police Officer.

Random Thoughts

2009-04-24T08:34:00.002-04:00

Here is a new post that we can use just to post whatever you are thinking about at the time! Of course, feel free to continue to use any of the below posts as well if you'd like. Have fun!

Bragging Corner!

2009-02-12T19:06:00.002-05:00

Tis the season for Dog Shows. Cindy and Tango recently competed in Open Obedience and not only earned a leg but also won second place! Congratulations guys!

Disaster Preparedness

2008-08-18T08:50:00.003-04:00

We are in the middle of hurricane season here in Florida and since there is a Tropical Storm, forecast to become a Hurricane, bearing down on the state, I thought a post about disaster preparedness was appropriate. There are many resources out there but the Humane Society for the United States is one of my favorites (for all animal issues). They have an Emergency Services Animal Rescue Team that has been involved in saving thousands of pets over the last several disasters in the U.S. and abroad.

Here are some links to resources:
Planning Ahead for your Pet video

Disaster Preparedness Quiz

Disaster Preparedness for Pets brochure

More resources from the HSUS

Our Journey to Healthy Skin

2008-08-02T14:19:00.007-04:00

Ok, get ready to read. It's a long post but many people struggle with this so it may be helpful for others.

At about 1.5 years ago Keyser, my GSD, had an allergic reaction to something that he was exposed to during a lunch and potty break on our way to Blue Ridge Georgia. We had just got onto Hwy 475 when we realized we needed to get him to a vet pronto. His muzzle was swollen and lumpy, he had just thrown up his lunch, and he was staggering. We stopped at a gas station to find a phone book to find a vet (it was after this trip we got a GPS). Luckily there was a PetSmart with vet a few miles away. They treated his reaction and kept him for about 3 hours. He bounced back rather well and the remainder of our vacation held no other scares.

Keyser has had skin problems ever since. We also began having a tick problem. I really don't remember what came first or when they actually got really bad but it seems like he had skin issues before the bad ticks. At any rate, I'm positive they exacerbated the skin allergies.

After many vet visits and rounds of antibiotics for fungal and bacterial infections, after allergy tests and after allergy food diets, I began to look for alternative medicine solutions.

A classmate, Cindy, was working with a holistic vet with some issues with her dogs. From our conversations, I began to cook home-made real food for Keyser, a meat and two veggies. We also began supplementing this diet with Dinovite, Missing Link, and Hylamotion. After several months of doing this his coat was beginning to look better.

While this home-made diet and supplements helped, he was still itchy much of the time and we'd go back and forth with episodes of itchiness and infection. It takes much more real food to sustain a dog; Keyser was eating about 5 pounds of food a day and was still very thin. He just wasn't holding weight. I began to wonder if there was something else we could try.

My mom learned of this Anti-Fungal diet and both of us researched it. I thought that if this was good for people to get rid of fungus in their bodies, then why not dogs? I mean Keyser had been diagnosed several times with fungal infections, namely yeast. He had it on his whole body especially his underbelly and in his ears. It is very uncomfortable and causes them to smell badly. So, since the home-made diet was very very time consuming and fairly expensive, we decided to try him on Innova's Evo brand of high-grade dog food (may be purchased from Chuck's Natural Food Store in Brandon). I also began giving him natural anti-fungals, like Oregano Oil and Garlic. He also started taking Probiotics. Fungus will destroy the healthy bacteria living in the stomach and intestines and take over. Antibiotics also kill this healthy bacteria. Probiotics are important because healthy bacteria is what helps the body digest food efficiently. Good numbers of healthy bacteria will keep fungal organisms in check as well.

On the anti-fungal diet, supplements and probiotics, he began to show a drastic improvement. Keyser's coat has thickend up, he feels good to touch, he doesn't smell sickly, he has put on weight and kept it on. Throughout this process and still now, we give him Benedryl for itching as needed. We were also treating the house and yard for ticks and no longer have an issue. We do still add some veggies or yogurt to the Evo dry food too on a regulat basis. It may always be a work in progress but we are all much happier now!!!

Below is information on brands and where I got them. They are expensive but I think well worth it.

Oregano Oil - Oreganol P73 by North American Herb and Spice
Garlic - Kyolic Formula 100 (I've also given the minced garlic in water that you can buy at any grocery store)
Probiotics - FloraMore by Renew Life (if you want a good probiotic for yourself, Dr. Ohira's is the best. It is just too expensive for all of my family to use)

I'm sure there are other good products out there, this is just what we've found and had success with thus far. Please let me know of any questions. Hope this helps!

Learn anything new this summer or go anywhere?

2008-08-01T14:30:00.004-04:00

Keyser learned to swim on a recent trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia. He can still be alittle clumsy but gets pretty smooth once he's out there and he loves it!

Anyone go on any excursions with your dogs or have they accomplished something extra special? I know Mrs. S said that Cherakee conqured his issue with the broad jump, that's great!

Welcome to S.O.S. Dog Talk!

2008-07-22T14:29:00.002-04:00

Welcome to SOSDogTalk.blogspot.com! S.O.S. Dog Talk is a forum for all the Saling’s Obedience School folks to get together and discuss our dogs. Do you ever wonder what other’s are doing with their dogs outside of class? Want to discuss training? Allergies? Behavior? What happened at the Vet’s office? Dog Parks? Or anything else on your mind? Discuss it here!

Oh, you can also post Photos of your dog! Share your funny, sweet, cute, and silly memories here!

*Note: This blog is Public. That means that anyone in the world can read it and also leave a comment so always be aware of what information you are putting out there for all to read. This is a Beta version, so to speak, of the Saling's Obedience blog and adjustments will be made along the way as necessary. It can be made private if the students would rather have it private. Also, since it is available to the public, there is a possibility of someone leaving a rude or inappropriate comment or spam. Saling's Obedience School is not responsible for this and will not be liable in any way. Any inappropriate comments or images or links will be removed ASAP.

So that being said, have fun and please let me know of any suggestions you may have! :-)