Category: Dog Info & Tips
Today at the dog park, Mocha was cowered into submission by a pack of dogs. It was an ugly sight.
As soon as we entered the park, a pit bull gunned right for Mocha. Apparently, the pit bull sensed Mocha’s fear and lunged towards him. This noticeably made Mocha even more frightened, so he ran off. Perhaps his previous encounter with a pit bull didn’t help.
Suddenly, there was a chase. Most of the other dogs joined in. Pretty soon, there was Mocha, tail between his legs, galloping as fast as he could away from a torrent of teeth and barks. In the front of the pack was the pit bull.
The pit bull’s owner jumped in and tore her dog away. As soon as she did that, the pack stopped chasing and Mocha shivered between our legs.
The owner apologized. “My dog sensed your dog’s fear. That’s why he chased him,” she explained.
Okay, great. So if she knew that, why didn’t she hold back her fear-sensing pit bull back until Mocha entered the park and became acclimated? I’ve seen other dog owners do that before with their aggressive dogs. Once a new dog enters the territory and becomes accepted by the pack, then the aggressive dog is let free and able to inspect the new dog him/herself.
While the owner was chasing her pit bull around, I heard other dog owners mutter comments like, “Why did she bring him in there?” “Doesn’t she know there’s a dog park for large dogs around the corner?” “What a vicious dog.” One mother even pulled her daughter back from trying to pet the pit bull.
After the fiasco, we retreated to a faraway corner of the dog park. We played fetch with Mocha, which cheered him up immensely. Then I looked up and noticed that the pit bull and owner had left.
Dog owners need to control their dogs. It’s fine, and perhaps even recommended, to socialize their dogs in a dog park. But a dog with a potentially aggressive temperament may need some Cesar Milan magic before playing with others. In my humble opinion, it’s common courtesy and responsible dog ownership.
Woof woof whimper. Whimper whine whine. Woof woof whine. Whimper whine whine.
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Bark! Bark bark bark! Yip yip yip yip yip!
Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof. Woof woof woof.
Woof woof bark! Yip yip yip yip yip!
Translated from Dog:
Daddy took me to a scary place today. A man in a white coat put me on a scale and looked all around my body. The place smelled like pee. I smelled dogs and cats being scared too.
But after that place, Daddy put some water in my food. It made my food soggy and moist. And yummy! OMG it was so good! Thank you Daddy thank you!
I wonder if the man in the white coat told him to do that. I haven’t been eating because the food smelled yucky. It’s the same food Daddy always gives me. Except it was near the bottom of the bag and smelled yucky.
Now that Daddy is putting water into my food, it tastes so good now! Thank you Daddy thank you!
After returning from the dog park, we found a tick on Mocha’s head today. He must have picked it up from the grass or something.
As soon as we found it, we looked online for some ways to remove ticks. Here is the method that we followed:
Removing a Tick from a Dog
What you will need
- Tweezers
- Gloves, like latex dish washing gloves
- Antiseptic ointment or solution
- Tissues
- Scotch tape
What to do
- Get your dog into a comfortable position where he can’t move or jump around too much. We needed two people to do this – one to hold down & distract Mocha, and the other to pull the tick out. Depending on how jumpy your dog is, I’m not sure if one person could do this as easily.
- Put on the gloves. Ticks can transmit diseases, so it’s best not to catch some kind of weird tick virus. Unless it’s a radioactive tick that can give you super powers or something. That would be cool.
- Gently grasp the tick with the tweezers. Try to nab it on the head, or as close to your dog’s skin as possible.
- Pull the tick out slowly. Pull it straight out. Don’t twist or turn, and don’t pull too hard. Those actions can break the body from the head, leaving it lodged in your dog. If you do accidentally break the tick in two, try to remove the head with the tweezers. (Don’t worry if you can’t remove it all; it’s not life threatening. Your dog’s immune system will react naturally, causing a bump that will recede over time. But if you’re really worried, consult your vet just to be safe.)
- Put the tick into the tape. Fold the tape in half over the tick. It should be stuck in the tape now.
- Flush the tick down the toilet bowl (assuming you didn’t roll up a huge drain-clogging wad of tape) or smash the tick between two hard objects, like rocks. Smash it good. That sure felt good, didn’t it?
- Bath the wound with antiseptic and wipe away any blood, if there is any. And you’re all done! Tick removed.
- Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hands thoroughly. Then clean the tweezers with isopropyl alcohol or hold them over a flame. This will make sure any of those weird tick viruses are dead dead dead.
We were able to remove the tick from Mocha successfully with these steps. I couldn’t tell if I had all of the tick though. The little bastard was so engorged on Mocha’s blood that I accidentally squished it as I pulled it out. It looked like I had its head, though I couldn’t tell for certain.
I also heard that these tips could work too, though I haven’t tried them yet:
- Cover the tick with some kind of oil or Vaseline. This supposedly suffocates the tick and forces it to let go.
- Apply some nail polish remover onto a cotton ball and rub it gently on the tick. This apparently suffocates or freaks it out enough to let go too.
- Apply some WD40 onto a cotton ball and rub that on the tick. I guess this is a variant of the first two alternatives.
Those alternatives sound easy enough. I’ll give them a shot the next time we find a tick on Mocha. If you try them out, please let me know if they work or not. Thanks!
We eagerly prepared for Mocha like any good, new parent would – by reading books, watching training videos, watching Dog Whisperer (calm & assertive!), and asking dog-owning friends for advice.
Armed with this info, we prepared by:
- Buying nearly $300 dollars worth of dog supplies, such as:
- a collar
- a leash
- a crate
- dog food
- food & water dish
- dog treats
- chew toys
- a grooming brush
- dog shampoo
- dog toothpaste
- dog toothbrush
- wipes
- an enzymetic carpet cleaner
- a wet vaccum
- flea & tick medicine
- Dog-proofing our apartment by:
- removing items near the ground that we didn’t want chewed
- taping down loose wires
- arranging a space for the crate
- arranging a space for the dog supplies
- arranging a space for the food & water dish
- installing doggie-gates (which were really baby gates)
- Making a list of dog-related businesses nearby, such as:
- veterinarians & pet hospitals
- pet stores
- dog parks
- kennels
- pet-friendly cafes
- Coming up with a dog schedule that included:
- feeding times
- bathroom breaks
- walks & exercise breaks
- training sessions
- Writing down a list of the commands & tricks with which we want to train him
- Preparing ourselves for potential potty accidents, barking, and chewing damages
This list took a long time to put together, because I’m a geek and did a lot of research into which were the most highly recommended & reviewed products or services. On occasion, I’ll post some reviews of the products & services we’ve used, and how effective they were for Mocha. What works for Mocha may not necessarily work for your dog, however.
We also used this list as a loose guideline. Some parts of it evolved over time. The dog schedule morphed into something totally different as we learned more about Mocha and his preferences. For instance, I had alloted more time for bathroom breaks, thinking he needed to be housebroken. Thankfully, Mocha came to us already housebroken. Whew!
If you’re about to become a new dog owner and need some basic guidance, I hope this list helps. It sure helped us.
