I was Tagged!

I’ve been tagged by my good Chi friend MILO!


Name Four Jobs that you have had:
1. Babysitter
2. Best Friend
3. Footwarmer
4. Hiking Guide

Name Four Places that you have lived
1. In my old house in Morristown
2. At my grandma's for two weeks
3. My furever home here with my family
4. In my mommy's room

Name Four Places that you have been
1. Morristown
2. Knoxville
3. Oak Ridge
4. Lancing

Name Four Places you Would Rather Be
1. At the park
2. In the woods
3. The agility course
4. Gonna visit South Carolina one day

Now tag four Pups!
1. Buddy Doughnut
2. Sammi
3. Tiggles
4. Bonzer

Misery Mills- Disgrace

Puppymills - A National Disgrace

Hundreds of thousands of puppies are raised each year in commercial kennels.

Puppy mills are distinguished by their inhumane conditions and the constant breeding of unhealthy and genetically defective dogs solely for profit.

Very often the dogs in puppymills are covered with matted, filthy hair, their teeth are rotting and their eyes have ulcers. We have seen many dogs whose jaws have rotted because of tooth decay.




The dogs are kept in small wire cages for their entire lives. They are almost never allowed out. They never touch solid ground or grass to run and play.






Many of the dogs are injured in fights that occur in the cramped cages from which there is no escape.



Many dogs lose feet and legs when they are caught in the wire floors of the cages and cut off as the dog struggles to free themselves.




Very often there is no heat or air-conditioning in a puppymill. The dogs freeze in the winter and die of heat stroke in the summer. Puppies "cook" on the wires of the cages in the summer.





Female dogs are usually bred the first time they come into heat and are bred every heat cycle. They are bred until their poor worn out bodies can't reproduce any longer and then they are killed. Often they are killed by being bashed in the head with a rock or shot. Sometimes they are sold to laboratories or dumped. This is often by the time they reach five years old.




Puppy mills maximize their profits by not spending adequate money on proper food, housing or veterinary care.





The food that is fed in puppy mills is often purchased from dog food companies by the truck load. It is sometimes made of the sweepings from the floor. It is so devoid of nutritional value that the dogs' teeth rot at early ages.


Dogs in puppymills are debarked often by ramming a steel rod down their throats to reputure their vocal cords.



Puppies are often taken from their mother when they are 5 to 8 weeks old and sold to brokers who pack them in crates for resale to pet stores all over the country.
The puppies are shipped by truck or plane and often without adequate food, water, ventilation or shelter.
Innocent families buy the puppies only to find that the puppy is very ill or has genetic or emotional problems. Often the puppies die of disease. Many others have medical problems that cost thousands of dollars. And many have emotional problems because they have not been properly socialized in the mills. Don't bring this misery into your home.


There are over 4000 federally licensed breeding kennels.
Approximately 3,500 petstores in the United States sell puppies. They sell approximately 500,000 thousand puppies a year. It is estimated that the puppy industry in Missouri is valued at 40 million dollars a year. The puppy industry in one county in Pennsylvania - Lancaster - is valued at 4 million dollars a year.
There are seven states that are known as puppy mill states because they have the majority of the puppymills in the country. They are: Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
There is federal law, the Animal Welfare Act, and many states have laws that purport to regulate puppymills, but the fact is that those laws are rarely enforced.
. Pet stores often tell customers that their puppies come from local breeders or quality breeders. Don't believe them, ask to see the paperwork and find out where the puppies really come from.

If the people of the United States refused to buy a puppy in a pet store, the misery of puppy mills would end. Please tell everyone you know about the puppymill and petstore connection.
Buying a puppy in a pet store has significant risks for the purchaser and their family.
A state funded survey in California found that nearly half of the puppies sold in pet stores were sick or incubating diseases. This doesn't count the ones suffering from genetic diseases. Imagine bringing a puppy home from a pet store only to have it die from parvo and cost thousands of dollars in vet expenses because of genetic problems like hip dysplasia.

Some dogs are so psychologically scarred from the mind numbing boredom of being imprisoned in a small cage for year and years that they have developed repetitive habits like going round and round in circles for hours and hours or barking at the wall for hours.

Puppy Mills are 'Sin'Mills.

STOP PUPPY MILLS!

Are you Sheltie Educated?

Don't buy/adopt a sheltie if you aren't familiar with the breed.

Here is one of Fly's breed lessons!

HISTORY OF THE SHETLAND SHEEPDOG IN BRIEF-

The Sheltie (sometimes referred to as the miniature or toy Collie)came from the Shetland Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger counterparts, this breed was not developed simply by selectively breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller sizes.

Rather, he is a descendant of the Collie and while the Sheltie's exact origins are not known it is believed that other types such as the extinct Greenland Yakki dog, the Kings Charles Spaniel (not the Cavalier), the Pomeranian, and possibly the Border Collie were utilized in their development.

During the early 20th century, additional crosses were made to Collies up until the 1940s to help retain the desired Collie type. In fact, the first AKC Sheltie champion's dam was a purebred Collie bitch. It was at this time that the Shetland Sheepdog was known as the Shetland Collie.

The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the English Kennel Club, with the first registered Sheltie being a female called Badenock Rose. The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.

Ironically, the Shetland Sheepdog is only rarely found in Shetland, having been replaced by the Border Collie. It was thought that the Sheltie herded the small sheep of the Shetland Islands, but many now feel that with their diminutive size they were used primarily to chase off scavengers, birds, pests, and wayward livestock which may have wandered into the crofter's gardens.


KNOW YOUR SHELTIE!

KNOW THE BREED!

TAKE THE LEAD!

Atopica Information

ATOPICA WARNING/INFORMATION!

Canine Dog Skin Allergy Issues & Treatment Options such as Atopica
Atopic dermatitis, Atopy and Canine Dermatitis are names for skin conditions in dogs, often those allergic to airborne allergens. Potential allergens can include pollen, dust mites, trees, weeds, mould spores, even people dander! Tiny allergen creating creatures live in all of our houses, in carpets, beds and other soft furnishings. They feed on skin scales that are constantly falling from people and animals then litter our environments with hard to see fecal pellets of half-digested food and enzymes. It is these minute particles that contain the troublesome allergens.

Dogs often respond differently to area allergens than people do. For instance, people react to troublesome allergens with sneezing and congestion, whereas, a dog's allergies usually result in itchy skin, ears and paws instead.
Our pet allergy relief section has products to reduce or help destroy area allergen causing particles including laundry detergents, sprays and solutions.
Atopic dermatitis often shows itself in the first two years. Dog skin allergy symptoms include rashes, very itchy skin, scratching constantly, rubbing the face often and/or frequently chewing on their paws Others will have red hot to the touch ears, and/or frequent ear, bacterial and yeast infections may occur.
Atopy is diagnosed using different methods, including ruling out other issues with similar signs such as lice, flea infestation or sarcoptic mange. Food allergies can also cause similar skin problems and can exist concurrently or separate from allergies to airborne particles. Veterinarians often try food allergy tests first and a change in diet before proceeding further. We personally had success with merely changing foods based on food allergy testing.
Sensitivity testing can also be done, allergens are injected under the skin to see whether there is a reaction to the potential allergen. Once diagnosed, there are several dog allergy treatment options available, including Atopica.
One canine skin allergy in dog treatment option is oral medications. In the past, cortosteroids such as prednisone and dexamethasone have been used to treat atopic dermatitis, however, Corticosteroids are usually given on a short term or limited basis as steroids often have long term side effects and can interfere with the dog's immune system and ability to fight infection. Recently, an oral form of cyclosporine known as atopica, from Novartis, has been released in hopes of treating dog skin allergy issues without long term side effects of previously used meds.
Atopica is usually given once a day in the beginning and eventually tapered off to a schedule of every other day or less. The most common side effect seen with cyclosporine is an upset stomach which may manifest itself through a loss of appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. In this case the dosage is usually reduced, however, the upset stomach issues usually resolve themselves after a week or two and the dog can then proceed with the recommended dose.
As with any drugs, Atopica can have side effects and/or interactions with other pet medications, and should therefore be administered carefully. Consequently, atopica and other cyclosporine products are not a good solution for every dog, including pregnant or lactating females. Please visit closely with your veterinarian regarding the pros and cons of this and any pet med treatment before you decide which treatment to use for your specific pet's needs.
Another treatment option sometimes recommended by veterinarians is a hyposensitising vaccine, what we might call "allergy shots" formulated to your pet's specific needs. A vaccine is created focused on your dog's specific allergen sensitivities. The vaccine is injected into the dog beginning with a very small dose and then gradually increasing the dose. The goal is for the dog's body to slowly get used to these allergens to where it will stop reacting adversely to them. The down side to allergy shots is that they can be very expensive and that they have to be given somewhat often in the beginning, sometimes every day. Many pet owners do not like the idea of having to give their dog a shot themselves and/or it can be difficult to take their buddy into the vet every day. In addition, they can take up to 9 months to start to show any real benefits and only about 60% of dogs treated will show results.
In certain cases, your dog's veterinarian may recommend shampoos like Relief and badly infected skin problems may need antibiotics and washing as often as twice a week until conditions improve. Other oral med treatments such as antihistamines, antibiotics and/or cortisone tablets may also be recommended as treatment options.
In general, treatment of canine dog skin allergy issues is more a matter of controlling the symptoms than actually curing the cause. There can be set backs along the way and it will probably take some trial and error on different treatment methods to determine what pet medications and treatment plans will work best for your specific dog.

Reasons Mutts are GOOD!

So you'd like to get a dog, but you're not sure what kind. Purebred? Mutt? There are certain advantages to owning a mixed-breed dog, believe it or not.
1. Mixed-breeds are often healthier. With purebreds, there are certain health problems that are particular to the breed. Mixed-breeds may develop those health problems, but they may escape them thanks to their mixed heritage. Some purebreds have health problems simply due to certain exaggerated breed traits -- like short faced dogs with bulging eyes tend to have eyes pop out! A mixed breed may be less likely to experience something like that.

2. Mixed-breeds can live longer than purebreds. A healthier dog can live longer than a dog that is predisposed to major health issues. Genetic issues that are caused by recessive genes may not show up in a cross-breed thanks to other dominant genes from the parents.

3. Mixed-breeds often have the best qualities of each parent breed. Look at the popularity of "labradoodles" -- the personality of a Labrador and the low-shed coat of a Poodle.

4. A shelter pet will cost less than a purebred pet. Purebred puppies can cost several hundred dollars from a reputable breeder! A shelter pet may come with an adoption fee of a hundred dollars -- AND a coupon for a free neutering.

5. A shelter pet often knows that you saved them, and will be all the more loving and loyal -- and rewarding for you!

101 Ways to Help

If you cannot adopt or foster a dog, could you help:

1. Transport a dog?
2. Donate a dog bed or towels or other *bedding* type items?**
3. Donate MONEY (collect your change for a week or a month and donate that!)?
4. Donate a Kong? A nylabone? A hercules?
5. Donate a crate?
6. Donate an x-pen or baby gates?
7. Donate a food dish or a stainless bucket for a crate?
8. Donate a leash?
9. Donate a collar?
10. Donate some treats or a bag of food?
11. Donate a harness, collar or a gentle leader?
12. Walk a dog?
13. Groom a dog?
14. Donate some grooming supplies (shampoos, combs, brushes, etc.)?
15. Go to the local shelter and see if that dog is the breed the shelter says it is or go with rescue to be a second opinion on the dog?
16. Make a few phone calls?
17. Mail out applications to people who've requested them?
18. Provide local vet clinics with contact information for educational materials on responsible pet ownership?
19. Drive a dog to and from vet appointments?
20. Donate long distance calling cards?
21. Donate the use of your scanner or digital camera?
22. Donate the use of a photocopier?
23. Attend public education days and try to educate people on responsible pet ownership?
24. Donate a gift certificate to a pet store?
25. Donate a raffle item if your club is holding a fund raiser?
26. Donate flea stuff (Advantage, etc.)?
27. Donate hw pills?
28. Donate a canine first aid kit?
29. Provide a shoulder to cry on when the rescue person is overwhelmed?
30. Pay the boarding fees to board a dog for a week? Two weeks?
31. Be a Santi-paws foster to give the foster a break for a few hours or days?
32. Clip coupons for dog food or treats?
33. Bake some homemade doggie biscuits?
34. Make book purchases through Amazon via a web site that contributes commissions earned to a rescue group?
35. Host rescue photos with an information link on your website.?
36. Donate time to take good photos of foster dogs for adoption flyers, etc.?
37. Conduct a home visit or accompany a rescue person on the home visit?
38. Go with rescue person to the vet to help if there is more than one dog?
39. Have a yard sale and donate the money to rescue?
40. Be volunteer to do rescue in your area?
41. Take advantage of a promotion on the web or store offering a free ID tag and instead of getting it for your own dog, have the tag inscribed with your Club's name and phone # to contact?
42. Talk to all your friends about adopting and fostering rescue dogs?
43. Donate vet services or can you help by donating a spay or neuter each year or some vaccinations?
44. Interview vets to encourage them to offer discounts to rescues?
45. Write a column for your local newspaper or club newsletter on dogs on dogs currently looking for homes or ways to help rescue?
46. Take photos of dogs available for adoption for use by the Club?
47. Maintain web sites listing/showing dogs available?
48. Help organize and run fundraising events?
49. Help maintain the paperwork files associated with each dog or enter the information into a database?
50. Tattoo a rescued dog?
51. Microchip a rescued dog?
52. Loan your carpet steamcleaner to someone who has fostered a dog that was sick or marked in the house?
53. Donate a bottle of bleach or other cleaning products?
54. Donate or loan a portable dog run to someone who doesn't have a quarantine area for quarantining a dog that has an unknown vaccination history and has been in a shelter?
55. Drive the fosters' children to an activity so that the foster can take the dog to obedience class?
56. Use your video camera to film a rescue dog in action?
57. Pay the cost of taking a dog to obedience class?
58. Be the one to take the dog to its obedience class?
59. Go to the foster home once a week with children and dogs to help socialize the dog?
60. Help the foster clean up the yard (yes, we also have to scoop what those foster dogs poop)
61. Offer to test the foster dog with cats?
62. Pay for the dog to be groomed or take the dog to a *Do It Yourself* Grooming Place?
63. Bring the foster take out so the foster doesn't have to cook dinner?
64. Pay a house-cleaning service to do the spring cleaning for someone who fosters dogs all the time?
65. Lend your artistic talents to your club's newsletter, fundraising ideas, t-shirt designs?
66. Donate printer paper, envelopes and stamps to your club?
67. Go with a rescue person to the vet if a foster dog needs to be euthanized?
68. Go to local shelters and meet with shelter staff about how to identify your breed or provide photos and breed information showing the different types of that breed may come in and the different color combinations?
69. Go to local businesses and solicit donations for a club's fundraising event?
70. Offer to try and help owners be better pet owners by holding a grooming seminar?
71. Help pet owners be better pet owners by being available to answer training questions?
72. Loan a crate if a dog needs to travel by air?
73. Put together an *Owner's Manual* for those who adopt rescued dogs of your breed?
74. Provide post-adoption follow up or support?
75. Donate a coupon for a free car wash or gas or inside cleaning of a vehicle?
76. Pay for an ad in your local/metropolitan paper to help place rescue dogs?
77. Volunteer to screen calls for that ad?
78. Get some friends together to build/repair pens for a foster home?
79. Microchip your own pups if you are a breeder, and register the chips, so if your dogs ever come into rescue, you can be contacted to take responsibility for your pup?
80. Donate a small percentage of the sale of each pup to rescue if you are a breeder?
81. Buy two of those really neat dog-items you "have to have" and donate one to Rescue?
82. Make financial arrangements in your will to cover the cost of caring for your dogs after you are gone - so Rescue won't have to?
83. Make a bequest in your will to your local or national Rescue?
84. Donate your professional services as an accountant or lawyer?
85. Donate other services if you run your own business?
86. Donate the use of a vehicle if you own a car dealership?
87. Loan your cell phone (and cover costs for any calls) to s/one driving a rescued dog?
88. Donate your *used* dog dryer when you get a new one?
89. Let rescue know when you'll be flying and that you'd be willing to be a rescued dog's escort?
90. Do something not listed above to help rescue?
91. Donate a doggy seatbelt?
92. Donate a grid for a van or other vehicle?
93. Organize a rescued dog picnic or other event to reunite the rescued dogs that have been placed?
94. Donate other types of doggy toys that might be safe for rescued dogs?
95. Donate a roll-a-treat or Buster cube?
96. Donate clickers or a video on clicker training?
97. Donate materials for a quarantine area at a foster's home?
98. Donate sheets of linoleum or other flooring materials to put under crates to protect the foster's floor?
99. Donate an engraving tool to make ID tags for each of the rescued dogs?
100. Donate frequent flyer points so that rescue can fly a dog from another area to safety?
101. Offer to be a rescued dog's flight escort, especially if your work requires you to travel frequently or you work in the travel industry?

Christmas Tag!

I was tagged by Gunner!

Here's what'ya do:
It’s a Christmas tag!!! This is what you have to do.

You have to write a letter to Santa Paws with 5 requests in your diary. Then you have to give whoever tagged you 5 bones or treats. Then tag 5 more cats or dogs.

Dear Santa Paws,

I have been a very good gurl this year, I am wooz wonderin' if I could have a giant stocking filled with bones and toys! I also want a box of bullysticks! Ooo, and you know that Furminator? I want that too! I also want a big sack of Loofa Dog toys!!! Did I miss anything???Oh, yeah, and I also want Cesar Millan's new book "Be the Pack Leader" so I can foil my mommy's evil plot, bol!

I luff you Santa Paws!

Luff,

Firefly aka The Goodest Sheltie Ever

Mommy is Going on a Trip!!!!!!!!!!!!! Waa!

Hi My furrilicious friends!

Can you believe my mommy is leaving me to go on a 3 day trip to Nashville?! The nerve! She is going with the Junior Beta Club this weekend and won't get back until Tuesday around 8:00 PM. I wish she wouldn't leave me! Bad things happen to me when she is gone! I get all anxious and rip things up!

Mommy wrote a whole manual on how to take care of me for her man. It consists of over 6 chapters and contains detail info. Her mom griped about me "just being a dog". Mommy said "Pets are people in fur. They require the same needs!". So, I am supposed to get exercise, grooming, watered, and fed while mommy is away. If I don't get to play, I'll teeeelll on her mom!


So, I won't be checking in until Tuesday!



LOVE,



Firefly


P.S. Boo Nashville! Kidnapping my mommy away!

THANKS GIVING TAG!

IT'S THANKSGIVING TAG!!!!

I was tagged by GUNNER!

Here are the rules:
Because it’s Thanksgiving time, there is a change to the rules. Each player needs to tell seven special things they are thankful for. Tagged dogs must post the rules in their diary and their 7 things. Then choose 7 pups to tag and list their names. Let them know by pawmail or rosette that they have been tagged and to read your diary for the instructions on how to play.

Seven Things I’m Thankful For:

1.) I am Thankful for great pup pals like Tiggles!
2.) I am Thankful for Loofa Dog toys!
3.) I am Thankful for the Food and Nutrition Forums!
4.) I am Thankful for my overbearing mommy Amber!
5.) I am Thankful for my Kitty Fred!
6.) I am Thankful for STEAK!!!!!!!Turkey too:)
7.) I am Thankful for the INTERNET!Bol.


I'm tagging,

1. Java (haha! And I shall give him a great big hug too!)
2. Meridian
3. Tiggles
4. Princess
5. Chipper
6. Chloe
7. Moose



HAPPY EARLY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reguarding Thread in Health Forum

I know alot of dosgters right now read my diary, and some who have probably seen my topic on the health forum:
"My dog on her medications, need serious help!"
Well, I did not like what I wrote, and some people seriously made me cry. I am not lying. I joined dogster, I do understand I am being mature can be treated like an adult, but some 20+ year old people made me, 13, brake down and cry. Sobbing and wailing.


Here is my reply to the forum, since it was shut down:

"Alot of people said I shouldn't even have started the thread If I wouldn't listen to them."

Newflash! I DID NOT ASK FOR OPINIONS ON WHETHER OR NOT TO BREED MY DOG.

I wanted to know the effects of steriods on puppies in the womb.

I am not breeding Firefly during this heat. Firefly is affect reproductively by her medications. I got a PROFESSIONAL OPINION ON THE STERIODS.


MY VET!!!! He confirmed my worries, and I am okay with that. Steroids will also lower her chances of becoming fertile.


So, YAY for you all. You got your wish! I can't breed her until May. I am NOT PUTTING MY DOG AT RISK.



I will still breed her when she is off steroids, so I do win too.



Questions? Comments?

Call 1-800- KISS-IT

Bol, no, P-mail.


-Firefly