Doggone Etiquette —

Lucky Dog!

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:           

Are you ready for the big haunting night of ghosts and witches and spooky TV characters coming to your house? Did you give the okay for your own costume? So how do you look – handsome? Scary? Or maybe you aren’t sure just what you look like. Or perhaps you and your people scrubbed the whole idea. No matter. There is something else happening this weekend that’s a lot easier to live with, even if it’s not much easier for you dogs to understand. Times are changing. Just wait.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:            

Never mind the costume/no costume bit, the best thing you can do for your dog is to keep him safely at home. A frightened dog will bolt and then run for cover, and Halloween is not the night to be out looking for a lost dog! At home, keep him away from the door and as far away as possible from the candy you’re handing out. (A few special dog treats would go over well as a reward for that very good dog.)                 

There is one thing all of us – dogs, kids and adults – can be thankful for this weekend. Fall arrives officially on Sunday morning, so we gain an hour’s sleep by setting our clocks back on Saturday night. The “trick” (in order to get our “sleep treat”) is to convince Rufus to sleep that extra hour on Sunday morning! The tiring confusion of Halloween just might do it.                     

All animals have internal clocks that change with the seasons, and even our overly-domesticated dogs aren’t always triggered by the abrupt way people decide to make these seasonal changes. It’s interesting to observe how individual dogs react to our ticking clock method. Some will accept it and never miss a beat, while other dogs will need a couple of days to get the hang of that simple difference of one hour. A dog that reacts to shorter daylight and longer nighttime is simply obeying the signals sent by Mother Nature. Your alarm clock has nothing to do with it.                       

I know you thought I would never mention costumes again, but canine clothing (another form of fancy apparel) is sometimes a necessity. For example, if your dog is small and its own fur coat is a bit thin, you might want to look into a doggy coat for winter walks. Regardless of any dog’s size or the length of its hair, its age and health have everything to do with whether or not an additional (man-made) warm coat is sensible for going outdoors in cold weather.           

We’ve already had snow followed by summer-like sun, which in turn was followed by freezing winds, so it’s not too soon to plan on how you’ll keep Rufus warm for winter. Just don’t think that keeping the dog house-bound is what he needs in the way of warmth. So long as he’s healthy, plenty of exercise in cool (or cold) weather is the way to go.

The only warning about all this is to keep the dog in his winter attire away – far away – from the log fire, whether that is indoors or out. Sparks do fly and not all fabrics are fireproof. Come to think of it, no dog’s very own coat is fireproof either!    

               

Until next time – BE GOOD!

-  Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me! which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award last year.