Dear Readers:
This is the first of our Spring Newsletter series - Not a regular newsletter! This special edition will include per first aid tips, pet emergency management information as well as dog training advice from trainingyourlab.com.

Spring is a wonderful season. It gets us all out of the house. Time for hikes, more doggy park hours, longer horseback rides, kayaking trips, terrace lunches and dinners and so forth.

In order to get our fantastic followers ready for the spring we decided to issue a Special Spring Pet Safety Newsletter Edition. Within the next week and a half you will be receiving at least 5 or 6 email newsletters providing you with valuable pet safety information. This is the only time you will receive that many in such a short period of time because April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month! Please make sure to read these newsletters and forward them to your pet parent friends, dog park buddies and FAMILY. Information sharing will highly increase the chances that all people that come in contact with your pet(s) know what to do and what to avoid to reduce and avert preventable accidents.

Severe weather most often occurs during the spring, when warm air begins to invade from lower latitudes while cold air is still pushing from the Polar Regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year due to snowmelt, many times accelerated by warm rains. In the U.S., Tornado Alley is most active by far this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold air masses from spreading westward and instead force them directly at each other. Besides tornados, super cell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or even tornado warning is usually issued.

So do a bit of research to find out what your area’s natural and manmade hazards are and plan accordingly BEFORE it’s too late! Check out the NOAA Interactive Hazards Map here.

Allergens that cause spring allergies in many of us--trees, grasses, weeds, dust mites, molds and insects--can cause skin infections, itching, sneezing and other reactions in our canine friends as well.

Constant paw licking, body rubbing and excessive scratching are all signs your dog may have an allergy. Hair loss, odor, rashes, a "flaky" or "greasy" feeling coat are other symptoms. Itching can also be caused by contagious mites, fungal infections, autoimmune skin diseases or hormonal abnormalities, so it's important for your vet to distinguish the source.

Symptoms of airborne allergies are most often observed when dogs are between six months and four years old, but tend to become more severe with age. Dogs often show symptoms at the same time every year, usually when the seasons change.

Treatment can begin once an allergy is diagnosed. Simply washing the offending allergens off of your dog is often a great first line of defense. Washing your dog's paws after spending time outdoors or frequent bathing of the entire body may also provide temporary relief. Oral supplements and medications may also provide relief, although something like fatty acid supplementation may take months to be effective. Over-the-counter antihistamines for humans provide relief in some cases, but never give these to your dog without asking your veterinarian first, as many also contain other ingredients that can be deadly for dogs, such as pseudo-ephedrine, ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Allergy vaccines, oral or topical steroids or oral cyclosporine can treat very severe seasonal allergies.

Careful observations and a trip to your veterinarian are the first steps in helping your dog survive allergy season. Enjoy your springtime outdoors!

SOURCE: www.newyorktails.com

According to Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) insurance claims, here are the most common allergies dogs suffer from:

• Otitis externa, 14.2%
• Atopic Dermatitis, 14.1%
• Secondary pyroderma, 5.2%

Cats, although they suffer fewer allergies, also get asthma in addition to otitis externa and atopic dermatitis.

A quick stroll down the lawn and garden section of your local nursery presents a world of beautiful flowers and greenery to enhance your outdoor world. But it can also reveal many potential pet hazards. If you are a pet owner, you must use caution in storing these products. Limiting your pet's access to them can help ensure both a beautiful lawn and healthy.

• Insecticides. These are used to reduce the number of annoying and damaging insects. Some can be highly toxic to pets.
• Herbicides. These are used to reduce weed growth. Generally, most are only significantly toxic if ingested from the bag. After application to the lawn, the toxicity level is reduced.
• Fertilizers. These help make lush dense lawns. They are primarily toxic if large amounts are ingested. Once the lawn or garden is fertilized, toxicity levels are quite low.
• Baits. Several gopher, vole, mole and other vermin baits are available.

Source: PetPlace.com

ASPCA ANIMAL POISON CONTROL
CENTER NUMBER
1-888-426-4435
A $60 consultation fee will be applied to your credit card.

KEEP THAT NUMBER IN YOUR CELL PHONES, IN THE KITCHEN, IN THE GARAGE & ON YOUR HOME PHONE REGISTRY (POSTING IT AT THE OFFICE MIGHT BE HELPFUL IS FAMILY OUR FRIENDS CALL YOU FOR HELP

As you have probably noticed by now Wag’Ns main tag line reads Defining Pet Emergency Management, but what does that mean?

The concepts of pet emergency management are based on the regular emergency management concepts, but with a wagging (or purring) twist.

There are four cycles in Emergency Management: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery

Mitigation for pet parents includes learning how to prevent emergencies. In this case it would be learning about Things that can be harmful to your pets (foods, plants, chemicals, etc), Situations such as safety while driving, travelling with the pets , preventing aggressive behavior thru adequate training etc. Pet Proofing your residence (sharp objects, fire risk, keeping medication away from pets, holiday hazards, etc) These are just a couple examples. Identification of hazards. Know what your breed or pet’s hazard risks are (ie: hip dysplasia), know the hazards your community is at risk of (natural man made). Pet Insurance is also a great financial mitigation tool along with microchipping/tattoo of pets.

Preparedness in the context of Pet emergency management would be to learn the skills of pet first aid, acquiring pet first aid kits, having more than one evacuation plan (shelter in place versus evacuation) and kit and learning what to include in that kit. It also involves learning about Community Emergency Response steps (join your local CERT ) If you know what responders are trained to do, how is trained and equipped to do what you can better prepare for your family. Expectations versus reality.

To learn more on how to join your local CERT team visit www.citizencorps.gov then click on State Directory

Response - the third step in the cycle – is characterized as the immediate action to save lives. This when you implement your preparedness plan. When a disaster strike YOU are the first line of defense for your pet’s emergency. You are your Pets 911! In large scale emergencies, the capabilities of local responders may be diminished as they become overwhelmed.
That is when you neighborhood buddy buddy system gets activated. The best way to remain calm is to run drills while you are in the preparedness stage. Remember that no plan can be considered a good plan unless it is rehearsed in various conditions.

The quality and value of your response depends on your level of preparedness. Have the evacuation kit handy and know how to use it.

Recovery begins in the initial hours and days following the emergency/disaster. It can last for weeks or even months. Wag’N is here to help you better mitigate, prepare and respond to emergencies impacting pet health and safety.

To learn more about emergency management visit the Emergency Management Network.

And/or the FEMA site.

To Find More Pet Prepredness Information visit:

I got an email yesterday from Lauren Schwaar-- she writes for a Labrador training blog. We've spoken a few times in the past because we both have dog-related sites.

Anyway, she wrote to me asking if I could read a new dog training report that she had just written. At first I said no, because she was only going to make it available to her own email club. But after some tough negotiations, I finally agreed to review the report on the condition that I could give it to you as well.

The report is called the “5 Pillars Philosophy”. The first part of the report is about her dog training story. Although I think it will ring true with a lot of us, it's not super exciting. However, at the end of the report, she slipped in the actual “five pillars” that she learned from a very knowledgeable dog training expert (she says who in the report as well) that really make dog training a breeze in my opinion.

At the end of the report, she says something about giving away some videos out of the new dog training course that she is going to be releasing in a couple weeks called Response Revolution. So even if the report doesn't make you jump out of your chair with excitement, I have a feeling there will be a lot of helpful training information to come.

So click here if you want to check out the report:

PS: The course she's going to be offering in a couple weeks looks like it may be really helpful for anyone who wants to successfully train their dog to do more than sit, but I'm going to make sure I can get a hold of a copy to check out first so that I can make sure it will be worth your while.

Next update is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1st - Don't worry, there won't be any pranks involved!