August offers many opportunities to honor our dogs, including the Universal Birthday of Shelter Dogs (1st), Spoil your Dog Day (10th), and National Dog Day (26th). Let’s look at a few fun ways to celebrate the four-legged loves of our lives!
Hard to find a hound willing to pass on some choice chow, so find a treat your dog fancies among the vast variety available, including crunchy biscuits, soft bites, jerky strips, natural bones, dental chews, and prescription treats for those with special health concerns.
You can buy a treat to calm an anxious Airedale, clean a Corgi’s teeth, clear an Elkhound’s eyes, develop a Bulldog’s brain, soothe a Spaniel’s stomach, support the joints of a Japanese Chin, keep a Husky healthy, and an All-American amused.
High protein/low fat options are your best bet for waistline-watching pets as well as safe fruits and vegetables – green beans satisfy with a low-calorie crunch, and baby carrots add the advantage of being gentle on the tummy, minimizing the “gassy Golden” syndrome that often comes with other veggies. Air-popped popcorn is a tasty, low-calorie alternative, with the added benefit of being fun to toss to your pup periodically throughout the day – just be sure to skip the butter and salt.
Long-lasting treats (think femur bones, cattle hooves, buffalo horns – which may seem distasteful to us, but are haute cuisine to canines – as well as dental chews, heavy duty Kongs® and Nylabones®) can help reduce stress or keep your dog occupied. As a summer bonus, fill the Kongs® and store in the freezer for a fun frozen treat.
To engage your pup’s party animal, offer a variety of toy types – chew toys, carry-around toys, toss toys, tug toys – and rotate them periodically, making only a few available at a time.
Treat-dispensing playthings add a layer of entertainment and education to chewing activities. Fill a “busy-box” or “feeder” toy with treats and watch your dog figure out that moving it around with her nose, mouth, and paws, pays delicious dividends.
Truly, the best treat you can give your dog is your time, and interactive play presents fun bonding opportunities. Hide-and-seek activities, in which your pooch must find you, a toy, or a treat, by using his eyes, ears and nose are great ways to expend energy, prevent boredom, and enjoy your time together. A simple stash of treats, kibble or a much-loved toy hidden around the yard or house (on those indoor-recess days) with some encouragement to ‘Find it!” will get the game going.
We are lucky dogs indeed, surrounded by lovely local parks to walk on paved paths, or hike through wooded trails for exercise and exploration. Other outdoorsy types may enjoy a dip in the lake, wading or bobbing for apple slices in a backyard pool, or running through the sprinkler.
Canine citizens with solid manners and a social streak could visit a dog-friendly patio, while the introverts may prefer to keep cool snuggled on the couch with their peeps, enjoying a little bit of binge watching.
Here’s hoping you and your canine find many ways to make merry, this month and beyond!
Sources:
–American Kennel Club (https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training)
–American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (https://www.aspca.org/pet-care)
–American Veterinary Association (https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners)
–Chewy (https://www.chewy.com)
–Humane Society of the United States (https://www.humanesociety.org/resources)
–Petco (https://www.petco.com)
Submitted by: Lisa P.
