5 Fireplace Safety Tips for Dogs

November 9, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Keeping Your Dog Safe Around the Fireplace

Fall is most certainly here. The air is crisp and cool. Soon, there will be frost on the pumpkins, which means it’s fireplace time! Who doesn’t enjoy snuggling with loved ones (furry or not) next to a roaring fire? Before lighting that first log, take a few moments to dog proof the area.

Get a Fire Screen

Getting a screen to prop in front of your fireplace is a must. Not only will the screen keep your dog from poking his nose into the fire, but it’ll also keep popping embers from flying out, which can cause your dog harm and create a house fire. As tempting as it may seem, keep the screen closed once you’ve started the fire. This keeps everyone safe, including you.

Don’t Get Too Close: Four Foot Rule

Remember, the metal screen and glass doors (even pulled back) will get very hot quickly, so keep inquisitive noses at least four feet away. Some dogs enjoy lying close to a warm fire because it feels good, so continue to follow the four foot rule.

If your dog gets too close, ask your dog to back up or come to you. Training is good, but I feel a management tool may be better in this situation. By setting up or installing a sturdy freestanding gate around the fireplace, you’ll easily block your dog’s access to the fire. Personally, I really like Northstate SuperYard gates. They’re sturdy, but also bendable, offering different configurations for your specific fireplace layout. Plus, these gates have soft pads on the bottom, which prevents scratches on hardwood floors.

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Purchase a Carbon Monoxide Detector

Replace smoke detector batteries and purchase a carbon monoxide detector if you don’t already have one. Carbon monoxide is just as deadly to dogs as it is to humans, so a detector is important. Keep a carbon monoxide detector in your living room or wherever your fireplace is located to monitor air for any CO2 levels. If it should alarm, immediately open windows and remove yourself and your pets ASAP. Then, call the fire department.

Keep Toys Away From Fire

The four foot rule applies to your dog’s toys and bedding too. Keep these items far away from gas or wood-burning stoves, as this stuff catches on fire quickly. If your dog wants to play, toss his toys in the opposite direction of the fireplace hearth to prevent any accidents. Dogs are super smart and will quickly learn that fun things happen away from the fireplace, so they’ll likely start hanging over there.

Always Supervise

We all know to never leave a burning fire unattended, right? Well this applies to monitoring your dog around the fire too. If you need to leave the room for whatever reason, bring your dog with you. Fireplace accidents happen in seconds, so prevention is the best cure.

Now, I think it’s time to light that log. Enjoy!

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Training Your Dog to Give Kisses

November 5, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Get Your Dog to Give Kisses on Cue

Training Your Dog to Give Kisses — Multiart/iStock

Who doesn’t love a big wet kiss from their dog? Okay, maybe there are a lot of you out there who would rather not receive a wet one, but maybe you know someone who loves receiving kisses from her dog. Well good news! You can train your dog to give kisses on cue, allowing you to clearly communicate to your dog when he is welcome to give kisses.

What You’ll Need

• Treats – I suggest using something that can easily slather onto your hand, such as peanut butter, cream cheese or a roll on treat.
• Training Location – Begin your dog training in a quiet, distraction-free area. This will help your dog learn quickly.
• Marker – Choosing a marker is very important, as this is what informs your dog he has made the right choice and performed the desired behavior. A marker or conditioned reinforcer is a word or sound that you’ve associated with a reward, such as “good” or” yes” or clicker.

How to Teach Your Dog to Give Kisses

Once you’re all set up in your training area, start with a hungry and calm dog. The reason I say to work with your dog while he’s hungry is because you want him to be motivated to work for the food reward. You also don’t want him to be full of energy, so he can focus better.

Step One

Put a small amount of your lure (peanut butter) in the palm of your hand or on the back of your hand, and then present your hand to your dog. Once your dog shows interest in the food, give your marker word “good” and provide your dog with a secondary treat from your pocket. Most dogs will give your hand a lick when they smell the yummy lure in your hand. If this is the case, you don’t need to provide a secondary reward; just give your marker word “good” and allow the lure to be his reward.

Practice this step in small sessions multiple times a day for the next couple of days. Once your dog becomes fluent with the lure, you can move onto the next step.

Step Two

Begin to fade the lure by only using a very small amount of peanut butter on your hand. Add the cue while your dog licks your hand (kisses) and mark the behavior with “good.” The key to fading the lure and adding the cue is to only use the food lure intermittently, meaning you don’t need to reapply the peanut butter right away if your dog licks the reward off the first time. You can reward with a less valuable reward like a Charlie Bear or soft dog treat. Once your dog does the behavior without or with little food, you can move to the next step.

Step Three

Now, you’re ready to begin training your dog to give kisses on cue. Continue to practice in the same place without distractions to facilitate success, present your un-baited hand and give your cue “kisses.” When your dog performs the behavior, give your marker word “good” followed by a high value reward! Once your dog is 90 percent compliant with performing the cue on command, begin fading the reward like we discussed above.

Enjoying Your Dog’s Kisses

Once your dog becomes fluent with this new behavior, you can really use it in any capacity you’d like: as a fun trick to show your guests, a normal greeting routine for you and your pup, a way to tell your dog you’ve had enough kisses or even a way to wake your family members up when they won’t get out of bed!

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How to Protect Your Car Interior From Your Dog

November 4, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Use Car Door Covers and Seat Back Protectors

While test driving new cars, something we hadn’t done in many years, I cringed looking at the soft leather seats and spotless interiors. Dogs can wreak havoc on car interiors. I was painfully aware of this, but it was time to trade in our old car. I was conflicted. Maybe we should just choose an older car and cover the entire thing in shower curtains. I was getting nervous.

I did drag the car buying process out longer than I should’ve, but I had to figure out a way to both keep our investment looking great and prevent dog hair and drool from collecting in its crevices. So, I started looking for car door covers and seat back protectors.

Car Door Covers

If your dog enjoys placing two front paws on your car’s interior door panels, you need a car door cover. While our Rottweiler doesn’t stand on the door handle (he just drools on them), our Bull Terrier does and scratches happen quickly. When looking for the perfect car seat cover for dogs, I stumbled upon these car door covers and they’re amazing–and they look great too.

We purchased two Krunco Waterproof Pet Car Door Covers in black to match our black interior. I was very worried they wouldn’t stay in place. However, their reviews on Amazon attested to their durability and also provided a few quick DIY steps if the door covers should shift. The only place to purchase these covers is on Amazon. I encourage you to browse through the reviews to see if the covers are right for you.

Hands down, I’m beyond happy with these door covers! During the entire six-hour car ride, they never budged despite a restless 118-pound Rottweiler. Each cover has a strong plastic tab that slides in between the door panel and window; this holds the cover in place. Many smaller dogs will stand on the door handle or right next to the window, so these covers come with Velcro tabs to further secure it in place. And yes, they stay in place even when rolling down the windows.

We purchased the 28″ wide by 22″ long door covers, which easily covered both sides, top and bottom of the door panels of our Audi Q5. They wash easily and maintain their size; I would highly recommend these car door covers. My only warning is to remove them before guests sit in the middle or back seats. Our guests were trapped because they couldn’t figure out how to open the door since the door handle was covered. 🙂

Seat Back Protectors

At first, I didn’t really think we would need this type of front car seat cover until I looked at the leather on the back of our previous car’s front seats; they were scratched and scuffed. Yes, we’ve tried cleaning and moisturizing the leather backs, but some damage remained. After researching the few brands available, I decided on CubGear Seat Back Protectors. They have a lifetime replacement guarantee. Plus, their Amazon reviews were excellent with many happy customers.

Wow! We ordered two seat back protectors in black, and they were super simple to install. There’s no irritating bungees or straps encroaching into your space up front, and they fit like a glove. My husband doesn’t say much, but even he admitted to how sharp they looked–they disappear into the interior. Cleaning is easy too; just wipe with a damp cloth. I was completely shocked at how much dog hair, slobber and dirt came off the seat back protectors when I wiped them down. They’re definitely a great investment.

Look beyond dog-proof seat covers and protect your car!

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Car Seat Covers for Dogs

November 3, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Where to Find Car Seat Covers for Dogs

After buying our first new car in more than eight years, I took one look at the leather seats and promised to keep them safe from slobber and nail scratches this time. When I began my search for the perfect car seat covers for dogs, I quickly became overwhelmed and confused. There are thousands of dog proof car seat covers out there! So which ones really work?

I took a deep breath and decided to choose a product that works for both my car and dogs. Then, I mentally created a list of what I wanted in a dog proof car seat cover: it must stay in place, be made of waterproof material that works, have straps that don’t permanently damage the car’s interior, must be easily washable and finally must look nice. Since Sobek, our Rottweiler, would probably use the car seat more than anyone else, I needed something that would last!

I started searching hundreds of products, reading through a bazillion reviews and asking pet savvy friends for recommendations. Interestingly enough, no one really liked their dog proof seat covers and many friends made their own versions with shower curtain liners, which work better than the $200 car seat cover for dogs that lasts only one trip. Well I’m not crafty, so I needed a pre-made version.

Best Car Seat Cover for Dogs

After narrowing down options, I finally purchased a car seat cover that promised to protect my precious leather seats. Installation was easy. It took me 10 minutes, half of which were spent reading the instructions. The car seat cover fit perfectly with no sagging or bunching. It covered the entire backseat with extra fabric extending to the floor. I would’ve liked a bit more fabric length wise and an overhang to cover the sides of the second row seating area.

We tested out 4Knines Dog Seat Covers during a long six-hour trip, and it held up really well. Now, keep in mind this car seat cover had a 118-pound Rottweiler squirming around in his new seat belt harness. Plus, he sheds every second of the day and drools too. We gave this product a workout!

The Results

Not only did this car seat cover for dogs look sharp in our new car, it also did its job. Once we returned from our trip, we removed the cover to wash and the leather seats still looked perfect. I must say, the 4Knines seat cover washed and dried well, and easily fit right back into our car. All straps stayed in place; however, the bottom seat cover did shift a bit, which was disappointing. To help fix this issue, we pushed small luggage pieces on the floor board, which helped keep the bottom cover portion in place. The sides would still shift, but once Sobek settled down, it was minimal. This is an instance when extra side fabric would’ve come in handy.

Overall, I find 4Knines dog seat covers worth the price. I would most certainly recommend them. My only suggestion is possibly purchasing it one size larger than your car’s seat dimensions, so extra fabric hangs over the sides. You can tuck the extra fabric under the seat and floor mats.

Now that my darling leather seats are safe, it’s time to find protectors for my window side panels and front seat backs. Hair and slobber go everywhere!

Dog Harnesses for Large Breeds

November 2, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Seat Belt Harnesses for Large Dogs

This isn’t a rant or maybe it is. I’m not sure yet. We need crash-tested seat belt harnesses for larger dogs (weighing more than 90 lbs). Over the last two years, we’ve had tremendous progress keeping our dogs safe during car accidents. I just wish there were products especially made for large and giant dogs that have passed independent crash-testing in the U.S.

So I started searching for one. When asking fellow Rottweiler and Mastiff pet owners how they restrain their big dogs in car rides, many dog owners admitted to crating their dogs or using seat belt harnesses that haven’t passed crash tests in the U.S. Putting your dog in a crate sounds great if you have an extra large SUV, but many well-known crate brands failed crash tests in 2015. One kennel brand passed with flying colors, but not one made for large and giant-sized dogs. Sigh, back to square one.

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Car Safety Restraints for Large Dogs

There are a couple of options, but it’s important to understand the risks too. Personally, I believe any type of restraint during car rides is better than none.

More Funding Needed

Until the Center for Pet Safety receives more funding to test giant dog car safety products, we’ll have to assume our big dogs are completely safe using other brands of safety restraints. Before pointing fingers at CPS, they studied the largest population of dogs, which includes dogs under 90 lbs. Labradors and Golden Retrievers are among the top five popular dog breeds.

Products That Passed Overseas

Many giant dog harnesses and crate brands are tested successfully overseas. I would certainly choose these products over those that haven’t been tested. From my understanding, Germany has the toughest crash-testing standards, so this must mean something.

Dog Harnesses

With that said, we purchased the Allsafe Harness made for dogs under 110 lbs. Sobek is technically 118 lbs, but there’s really no other option out there. When researching this harness, Allsafe passed crash-testing criteria in Germany, U.S. and Sweden. However, the largest tested dog dummy was 70 lbs, so I’m not exactly sure this harness can hold a 118-lb dog in his seat.

The dog harness lead that clips inside the seat belt buckle is long, so provide plenty of movement in the backseat. But when watching seat belt crash-testing, this extra length allows dogs to fly off the seat and spring back, causing a secondary impact. The harness fits well and is easy to put on a dog. Allsafe does offer an expensive option of a retractable harness lead that moves forward and retracts like a regular seat belt (definitely worth looking into). Overall, it worked well for Sobek.

Dog Crates

MIM Variocage crates have passed crash-testing in many different countries and were recently tested using CPS criteria. The cage has crumble zones that worked during CPS testing, as noted on MIM Variocage information. However, the straps holding the crate in place broke during impact. Now, understand that an unrestrained dog would have probably been launched out the back window. This dog crate, instead, kept the dog dummy inside the vehicle and the emergency escape door worked perfectly after the crash. With that said, it seems tie downs are the biggest challenge and not the crate itself.

Warning though, you’ll need a very large SUV if you’re purchasing this crate for a giant dog. Options are pretty limited, so expect your big guy or gal to squish in due to low width and height options. If you think about it though, the crate is probably more comfortable for your dog than the economy seat in many airplanes.

Click your dogs in!

Check out my recommendations for car safety restraints here. You’ll likely notice several familiar brand names. Give Allsafe harness a try for your big dogs. So far, it seems Allsafe is the safest dog harness for our huge beasts!

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