Dear Too Much: Christmas gifts for the family dog often include fun toys, treats and other “special” items. Toys that aren’t easily chewed apart like solid bones, rubber Kongs® and other one-piece objects are best. Fuzzy toys are great to satisfy the “ratting” instincts in terriers. However, use them under supervision since dogs can rip them apart eat the stuffing and the plastic squeaker inside which contains sharp metal parts. As for the red and green rawhides, the dyes or food colorings shouldn’t bother him, but limit the number of rawhides in one day as they may upset his stomach.

Since many of us tend to “spoil” our pets all year long, use the holiday season for an annual update of leashes, collars and harnesses. Just like experts recommend that we change our smoke detector batteries once or twice a year when we change the clocks for daylight savings time.

If you have leather equipment look for small cracks that might indicate leather rot. Do a few strength checks by pulling hard on worn areas, especially around buckles, that might snap under pressure. For sewn nylon or cotton items, check the stitching for broken threads that might unravel and cause weak spots.

One item that should be replaced annually is a Flexi-Lead® Retractable Leash. These leashes get more of a workout than a regular leash. Between the constant rolling back and forth and the snapping down on the cord when using the “stop button” it is hard to know where high traffic areas of weakness might occur.

After inspection, order your pet new items to replace the worn ones and get a new “Flexi” every year. Update your colors and coordinate them like a green leash and red collar to match those rawhides!

              

Dear Lisa: Our neighbor has a 12-year-old German Shepherd Dog, who has been suffering for months with hip disease and a large tumor on his right shoulder. It is sad because she keeps saying, “His brain is still okay!” How can I suggest that her animal’s quality of life is over and she should consider euthanasia? – Sadly Suffering

Dear Sadly: It is hard to view from afar the condition of another person’s dog. While you may be seeing a dog that has trouble walking and a large tumor on his shoulder, you may not have the whole story. He may be on pain relieving medication and the tumor may be something as innocent as a fatty tumor. On the other hand, as an objective observer or one who doesn’t see the dog on a daily basis, you might be more readily able to see changes in the dog’s appearance or behavior.

If you truly feel that the dog is being kept alive longer than necessary maybe to prolong an emotional attachment on the part of the owner, I would suggest the following. Have a talk with your neighbor. Tell her that you remember the days when her dog was young and vital. What a lovely picture that made. Somehow relate to her that this “ideal” snapshot is how you and ultimately she will always remember this dog, once he is gone.

Because we are strongly attached to our pets, we also tend to cling to the last days of their lives with us. Usually in older dogs, this leaves another “snapshot” of possibly a dog in pain and suffering. We tend to remember the final days with the dog because it was the last time we had with them. But in time, that suffering snapshot is replaced with the vital picture that lives forever in our memory. If you can, convince your neighbor that by not allowing her dog to deteriorate at the end of his life, a smoother transition to remembering him as the vital dog he was for the majority of his life is possible.

 

Lisa Peterson, a breeder and exhibitor of Norwegian Elkhounds, is a Delegate to the American Kennel Club. Send questions to ask@lisa-peterson.com or Dogma Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Newtown, CT 06470.