Now that Father Winter is finally starting to loosen his
hold over the northern hemisphere and Lady Spring is waking up…there is one
thing, regarding the safety of your pets, you need to be on the lookout
for. That is the residue from the salt
and chemicals that have been used to treat our roads and sidewalks.
When the weather starts warming up, more and
more people are out and about walking their dogs. They walk through those chemicals and then
lick their paws to clean them when they get home, thereby ingesting them, which
can cause a fatal reaction. You may not use dangerous chemicals at your home, but that doesn't mean you don't drive through it. Salt, deicer
solution, anti-freeze are just a few of the chemicals that are on the roads in
the winter.
How can you help?
The best thing I have found is to keep a squirt bottle with water and
paper towels near the door. You can
train your pet to sit on a mat by the door while you clean their paws. Of course you can also try avoid walking your
pet through these chemicals, but when the snow melts and turns to water, it
washes these chemicals into the path of your pet, so it’s not so easy to avoid.
You could also put boots on your pet. :) Also, don’t let your pet drink from puddles
while you are out and about. This is a
sure fire way for your pet to ingest these dangerous chemicals. They can be fatal.
If you think your pet may have ingested any of these
chemicals take your pet to the vet immediately.
You can also contact the ASPCA Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435
.
Another thing to be aware of are the potential parasites
that come back to life as it warms up.
Fleas and ticks are the obvious pests, but internal parasites can also wreak
havoc.
Take the time to clean up any
wildlife feces in your yard so that your pet doesn’t eat it. I can tell you from experience that we had to
avoid one park in particular when we would walk Mirage. She though goose poop was the bomb. And of course frozen feces is like a pop-sickle
treat to your pets.
Watch out when planting your spring flowers as well. Some plants are toxic to your pets. Never ever use Coco Mulch if you have
pets. The mulch contains the same toxins
found in chocolate. Make sure the plant
food, herbicides, and pesticides you use are pet friendly. If you must fertilize your lawn, keep your
pet off of it for 24 hours. Personally I
prefer you not use them, but if you must it’s safer to wait until you have a
good rain and it dries so the chemicals can soak into the ground.
Spring is also a time when many female animals go into
heat. This can cause tension in even
altered male dogs. Keep this in mind
when walking your pet and avoid strange dogs.
Even the most mild-mannered pet can react when another dog is in
heat. Of course the best way to avoid
this is to spay and neuter your pet, but you can’t control what your neighbors
do or do not do. Just be safe when
walking your pet when other animals are around.
Take the appropriate steps to insure the safety of you
and your pets as Lady Spring wakes up and blossoms. After this winter I think I might just have
to go overboard with the flowers this year to make up for it. J
Be Well & Be Happy,
Pet~Pourri
