18WT 029:  Pets - Caring For Them In The Summer!

July 20, 2021  Patrick Heller / Janet McCue
 

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Here are some links to products that we talked about in this episode. Some of these links may take you to Amazon's website.

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Our Two (2) Lazy Pugs!
18WT 029:  We are going to talk about pets today! Pets in the summer time. In Arizona it is summertime almost all the time is how our hosts begin. Janet points out that they are owned by two pets as Patrick asks for a review! Let us know how crazy Patrick is Janet says, how funny he is she corrects. To whit he replies, how crazy Janet is, and she claims to not be crazy. He of course calls her Crae-crae midstream of asking YouTube viewers to leave a review and smash the like button please subscribe as well. Janet points out that he is the ding-a-ling bell, he calls her blonde. Lol

She tests him with bunny ears, you can only see on YouTube, and she tells him to start the show! Our Background ~ we are owned by two pugs; brachiocephalic dogs (short nosed, smush-faced). Patrick gives her crap for using big words. Short nosed squishy faced dogs he says. Cute but not healthy she says. To the best of her knowledge there are sixteen breeds that fall under this category; not including the mix breeds. Such as pug-a-poo, chihuahua-pug. Etc.…

  Our girls she says, are Cushla, age 9 a black triple coat pug and her sister Cailin age 8 ½ a fawn double coat pug. these two are biologically sisters, which explains why they are both multiple coated. They both love being brushed, Daddy’s girl “sassy pants” Cushla will come up and push her sassy pants sister Cailin aside to get brushed. You have to tell them it is their sisters’ turn when it comes to brushing. You could make another pug from these two nearly daily. It also makes them very non-heat friendly. So we took them to Phoenix from NY.

Patrick explains that a triple coat is by definition, (guard hairs (the outer coat), then the middle part of the coat, and a downy undercoat). Most breeds that have them are known for being winter friendly like the Siberian Husky, newfoundland, Bernese mountain dogs, big, long hair thick coated dogs, chow’s etc... He tries and throw in a few small dogs that Janet isn’t buying.

  Dogs that used to have leaner coats due to cross breeding have thicker coats and changes in body. Like pugs, which come from Chinese Royalty. They used to be shiny, thinner single coated dogs with long legs and longer noses. They did not have the pushed in nose like they do now.

They live in Phoenix, AZ; (the Queen of heat); the summer will go through a period where it is known as the basic one hundred days of one hundred degrees day and night both. Patrick and Janet both explain how it goes. Crazy weather, like the opposite of Alaska.

  Probably not the best place to bring a brachiocephalic triple coat dog. But these are their babies, so they did. They both agree that if you get a dog, they deserve your love and attention. Don’t get a dog and tie it to a chain outside by a doghouse, please just don’t bother. Now that we seem to be coming out of the pandemic Patrick points out, the pets are getting lonely at home because they really liked their owners being at home 24/7. Or even worse was the people that went and adopted a pet through a shelter and then when things began to ease up, they either returned them to the shelter or left them on the side of the road to fend for themselves.

  So let’s move on to things to consider about your pet when you are taking care of them in the extreme heat. It is similar to taking care of them in the extreme cold, some of the same things apply, some, not all. You have to consider temperature.  First off, it is Always hotter on asphalt, cement, pavers, your patio, deck any outside surface than whatever the temperature is.   Patrick compares it to riding a motorcycle, 65 degrees becomes 35. But, if it is 97 degrees outside, the concrete (like sidewalks, driveways, & bike paths) is about 145 degrees. The asphalt (like parking lots, most roads, & some paths near lakes and in city parks) is about 150 degrees or more. So hot you can fry an egg, Janet did it, but they haven’t done it with Kyle. Jogging paths, park paths, old school track paths, are asphalt. Asphalt is hotter than concrete. A lot of homeowners here and in other parts of the south use cool-crete. Whatever the name of the stuff is, it is a patio that doesn’t get hot.

  Janet had Miss Taz prior to the pugs. Patrick refers to her as Janet’s Rottweiler. He then proceeds to explain how he met Taz, with her enormous bark while breaking into Janet’s house (at her request). Him lying, upside down, foo stuck in a window and what sounds like a Rottweiler barking. Then all six pounds of Taz comes flying in and kisses him.

  So, if you have the ability to walk your dog before the sun comes up when it is a little cooler, then please do.

But here is a not so funny note for you that may not know it. Here in Phoenix by August and weeks of high heat the asphalt and concrete and everything else do not cool down at night anymore. Because that is when hit the one hundred days of one hundred, you can feel and see the asphalt move under your feet.

  So even at 5am when we walk our girls the asphalt is still going to burn their dogs’ feet. On go the booties, cause two pugs are a bit to carry across the road.  The morning air is stifling, not refreshing as you would hope for that hour of the morning to be. Think about it, if you take a deep breath and it is hot in your lungs, then it is the same way for your pet. They just cannot tell you that it is.

  But when our hosts barbecue, the pugs have to be outside underneath Mommy’s feet at all times according to Patrick. When your dog is panting that is how they regulate their heat. The harder they pant, the hotter that means they are. When their tongue is dripping as they pant, you have had them outside too long. I know that some of you are thinking that this is basic knowledge. But others are sitting there thinking, I had no idea. Dogs cannot sweat, like people can.

  As Patrick says, you can take the pug to water, but you cannot make them drink. But he wheelbarrows them to the ice water to get a drink.

When they first put the booties on their girls every spring, they prance. Every video is true, times two, the pugs lift step and pick up their feet like they wish they could shake them off but can’t. It doesn’t matter what type of shoe they use. Disposable rubber that come in packs like 12 or 24 to a package. They look like balloons, are bright colors and considered a one-time use product. These are great for your travel pack; in case you go somewhere and find that the ground is hotter than expected. Janet has long nails and find these hard to put on the girls’ feet. Patrick seems to get them on their feet without problems. Everyone always comments on how cute they are in their booties. Especially since Cushla is black and the booties are orange. The other a rubber soles and the upper part is a canvas material. They have a strap that goes around the ankle, so they tighten up nicely. Like police dogs wear.

  Both of these it took time for the pugs to get used to walking in, but they did. We put them on them in the house and let them get used to wearing shoes that way. Now when we take them for a walk in their shoes, they do fine with them and don’t try and kick them off. One key is to not pull the booties up too high; it keeps it loose on their paws.

  Patrick continues on how he bullies the pugs around (lol) and how they push back. If they step on you and don’t want to move, good luck. They can put your body parts to sleep easily. Patrick woke up with a sore arm one time after both pugs slept on his arm, together.  When people ask how do you know if it is hot enough to need booties. Janet tells them she tests the pavement in bare feet. Then Patrick calls her cranky, gives her a bit about being allergic to cats and she says she must be allergic to him.

  Then Alcohol comes into the conversation and the go off into left field. Once they get past Tequila Tuesday they go on with the show.

So next up is how to keep them from overheating so fast. They decided on what is called “Kool collars”. They are called that because it is a collar with a pocket the length of it and one side mesh and the other canvas. The collar buckles up and adjusts and comes in a variety of sizes.   It comes with these ice packs that are reusable. So when it is hot, they pull the ice pack out of the freezer and put it in the collar and then put that on each pug it helps cool them down and they don’t start panting so quickly. Patrick makes a joke about pugs and weight as they discuss how old the collars are. The collars are durable, and the pugs are tuned in to the sound of the collars coming out of the freezer.

  They are both sure that they have the name wrong on the collars. Check the show notes!  They also take water with them. There are two ways that they have to do this. Their girls both will drink from a sport bottle, and they have one they keep in the fridge that is theirs. When they go for a short walk or a potty walk, along it comes. Patrick says this is spoiling, Janet calls this training. Patrick feels like the trainer for a boxer. He squirts water in their mouths. They are a little hesitant about it. They were both bottle baby’s and one of them used to drink from a spray bottle as well. Patrick cured her of that. Janet explains how she uses a wine bottle carrier to take the bottle, doggy bags, and anything else with her that is needed on walk.

The other way is for longer walks; they carry a small bag with them. Inside the bag is a collapsible bowl made of rubber. You can find these at any pet store or online. They are very handy. Especially if they bring water for them and just want to give the pugs a drink without bringing a separate bottle for them. These are like camping mugs, both girls know about this and are good with it also. So when we get home from a walk, we give the girls fresh water. Ours will go right to the bowl if we put ice in it.

  They also picked up a cooling gel bed for them. They had just picked it up and don’t know how it is going to work yet. They like to lie on the tile floor because it is cool. Janet had also heard of freezing a damp towel in a bag and pulling it out when your dog is really hot to help cool them off. In the past when she had a dog that seemed to be too hot, she put them in a cool bath which they liked. They have since found that both pugs are using the cooling bed more and more without any coercion. The key is to keep their belly cool.

They chose not to buy a powered bed that needed plugged in because what happens in a power outage. Patrick compares the current one to a waterbed. The mattress is much thicker, but you can feel the coolness from the water.

  There are also cooling vests that you can get for your pets. They work the same as the cooling collar, just on a larger scale. they don’t keep the girls out long enough in the heat to worry about getting these, so they haven’t personally tried them. But they am sure they work, since they are the same basic as the collar and they love those, having had them for nearly 7 years now.  For them, the bottom line is, if their girls started to overheat, they would find a place to take them inside, (legal or not); they would find a way to douse them in water which would help them cool down also.

  They simply do not leave their girls outside in the yard here for a variety of reasons. The heat, the chance that today would be the day, the first day they would see a scorpion or a spider in the yard or home that could injure the pugs. There are other reasons that have to do with their safety, not the weather or time of year.

  Even in the lush green yard they had in N.Y., Janet was careful not to leave the house open and pugs outside if she thought she would fall asleep inside. And she never left the house while they were outside. She was known to fall asleep on the patio in a chaise lounge with the pugs, under the shade. But that is different.  They have even slept outside in the winter here in Arizona on the futon in the morning.

  And then there are cars. If your dog is in the car with you never leave them alone in the car. Even with the windows down it is not healthy for them. And yes, it looks cute when they hang their head out the window as you drive down the road, or as they bounce around in the ack of your truck. However that is how they get eye damage, anything can fly through the air and into their eyes. As for the back of the truck, just like if the car window is down to far, our dog can be thrown from the vehicle in a sudden stop, turn or accident.

  Then Patrick brings up sitting in the car while his parents wen into a store. Janet says it is different now. They then discuss less agriculture in Arizona, more pavement, more tall buildings. Patrick makes horse and buggy jokes about Janet moving to the valley in 81. Lots of highways didn’t exist. Lots of fields and animals did. As she tries to explain, he has too much fun teasing her. But the truth is all of the pavement and blacktop and concrete and steel, and glass is hotter than fields.

  Let’s talk about the joy of owning a pet. No matter what type of pet you own, they can bring joy and comfort. It is proven that pets bring their owners a sense of calm and lessen stress. A good reason to own a pet like a dog or an outside pet is for exercise. They make a lot of jokes about Janet carrying two twenty-pound pugs home the last two blocks from a walk. They do manage to laugh about everything.

  If you have to get up and take care of the pet it is good for you as well. Movement and laughter and love help keep you young, help you either lose weight or stay in shape. If your dog is fat and sassy…well just saying, chances are that you might be as well.  Laughter, they don’t know about your pets, but theirs are definitely clowns. Pugs are in more commercials, tv shows, movies, etc. You seem to see them everywhere. Theirs are fat and sassy from Patrick. He says the weight is from him, the sassy from her.

  Pugs are known for being funny, cuddly silly, follow you everywhere shadow dogs. Their girls are always playing, even at their ages, running and chasing each other, chewing on each other. Cailin flops on her back, yips and kicks her feet up until someone or her sister comes and plays with her. There is a huge teddy bear that Frankie wrestles with every day, if they could ever get it all on video. Frankie gets under the bear and stands up and moves it. Or there is the rumble in the jungle and NASCAR all at once.

  She is the primary family clown; her sister is the let’s lie upside down everywhere and get cute enough to be carried clown.  Kyle however will carry her everywhere and because of that, her sister just sists and looks until he comes and carries her too.

  But mention dinner time, open the fridge, the microwave goes off and they both come a running.  Before they sign off Janet brings up that she saw an accident and small dogs were thrown from a pickup and the big dog jumped. She was near enough to help. Janet’s sister Julie (R.I.P) is the reason Janet bought goggles for the pugs. She didn’t want to worry about pugs getting an eye injury.  Then she brings up car seats for pugs, a friend’s pugs Stephie & Smokey & shopping and Patrick “Anyhooo’s” her as they sign off.