How many is too many?

Bodhi's Blog: Life on the Dog Ranch

How many dogs is too many?

Hello fellow lab lovers! Sorry for the break in the blog. The ranch has been busting at the seems for several weeks now and it is a lot for an 18 month old to keep up with! 

Of course I was a dog for Halloween!

The word of the month seems to be hoarding. Not a great word in any circumstance and even worse when it is used to describe an animal owner. In the past month, we have taken in two groups of dogs that came from two different hoarding situations and had a third request to take 8 dogs that ended up having to be euthanized due to the extreme health and behavior issues they all had. Where this sounds like the worst option, sometimes euthanasia is the most kind thing we can do for the broken souls.

Nike, 2 year old female, from the first hoarding case

It is easy to get angry at the people that house dozens, if not hundreds, of animals. To look in from the outside and see the mess and destruction a large number of animals creates, you could never imagine living that way. Yet, it happens all the time. The police or humane society go to a house, collect proof of the living conditions and health issues of the animals and remove them from the home. These animals are then taken to the local animal shelter, which is already busting at the seems, and leaves them there until a judge has ruled the owner cannot regain custody of his/her animals. This is a long process, which often involves appeals. During this time the animals sit at a shelter in a kennel/run that is desperately needed for another animal.

Meeting Aspen, from the second hoarding case

Once the judge decides to remove all rights of the owner to the animals the shelter is allowed to move the animals to rescues or the adoption floor. Often, though, it is to rescue groups as the animals are often very under socialized and with multiple health issues. For an average person to walk into a shelter and adopt one of these animals is very unlikely as the animals need so much extra time and attention. 

Clover, 3 year old female, from the second hoarding case

This is where HOTLR steps in, and actually why HOTLR was created in the first place. For those who don't know, HOTLR was created nearly 20 years ago when a hoarder had his labs removed from him and there was not a place for the dogs to go. Looking back, saving those dogs was the first step to saving thousands of labs in the Central Texas area!

Hermes, Nike's brother, from the first hoarding case

So, now comes to the area of how can you help? What can you do? First, consider fostering. This helps us save even more dogs. We are actually boarding several dogs right now as we don't have room for them all at the ranch. Also, if you are going to adopt a dog, consider adopting one of the shyer ones. These dogs often blossom into amazing pets that are loyal to you and love you with every inch of their beings. They may not run up to you and give you kisses the first week you bring them into your home, but when they finally do you will know it is because you have helped them overcome a lifetime of hurt and they are thanking you for it. There is truly no better feeling!

Hera, with her foster sister, from the first hoarding case.

It is also important to remember that people don't start off to hoard animals, it is a slow processes that builds over time. It starts with a person agreeing to take a friend's dog they no longer want or finds a pregnant cat on the street and takes it in. The animals often reproduce within their own home and the owner doesn't rehome the babies, nor fix the adults. This is a viscous cycle that is most often done out of a love for animals and a lack of knowledge about how to maintain a true rescue and, most likely, there are some mental health issues, too. 

Chief, 8 year old male from the second hoarding case

So, now is not the time to say, "How could he do this to the dogs?" As the hoarder wasn't trying to do harm. Most likely just the opposite. Now is the time to say, "I am up for trying this fostering thing and HOTLR has some awesome dogs that need to see kindness and comfort can heal the soul."

If I can do it, you can do it! 

With love, Bodhi!

When the balls drop

Bodhi's Blog: Life on the Dog Ranch

When the balls drop!

Hello again! I hope everyone is LOVING their summers so far. I, for one, am! I wasn't too sure about the swimming pool in May, but now that the sun has warmed the waters up so nicely, I am in heaven! It is like being in a giant bathtub (my very favorite place) with ALL of my family and friends around me. SO MUCH FUN!!

Me hanging out in my suit at the Blanco River!

The pups are loving the water, too. Though, unfortunately, we don't have a lake or big pool for them to swim in.......yet! Maybe one day we will! Then I can swim with the pups and my world will be complete! They are, however, loving the kiddie pools and dreaming of forever homes with access to water!

Gus enjoying the pool!

Not everything is good when it comes to summer, though. This recent heat (100+degrees for many, many days) puts pups and humans at significant risk for heat exhaustion, which can lead to death. With this in mind, the foster pups have been spending most of their time inside with us! Boy, it is a lot of dog hair and cabin fever around here right now. In fact, my mom went on an epic Facebook rant about having too much to do and not enough hours in the day. I solved that problem by dumping my spaghetti on my hair and shirt so that I could get a bath, because as far as I can tell, baths solve ALL problems. 

You know you want a hug!

I do think that she may need a bit more than a bath, though, so I am reaching out to all of you. HOT Lab needs volunteers. I am a volunteer, my mom is a volunteer, everyone that is associated with HOT Lab is a volunteer. This means they all have full time jobs, including me! It takes a lot of work to learn how to be this cute! 

Getting ready for school, but first have to eat mom's ice cream!

Could you be a volunteer? We need people to walk the dogs, to bathe the dogs, to train the dogs, heck, just to sit and watch TV and love on the dogs. We need people to take the dogs to the vet! You would not believe how sick some of the dogs we rescue are and how many trips to the vet it takes to get them better! We also need people to get dogs from the shelter. My mom gets messaged over 10 times each day about a dog going to die if we can't save it, but with no time to go look at the dog, my mom knows it will die. That hurts her heart, which makes me sad, so I am asking for help!

Showin Koko the pool!

Like my loving Tia Rachel Fusaro (don't forget to follow her amazing Volgs!) says, "We're trying to save ALL THE DAMN DOGS!!" But, we can't do that without all of you to help! So, are you ready to become a volunteer? Have extra room to foster a dog? Willing to help plan events or help raise money for the heartworm treatments? Please say yes! 

If so, follow this link: http://hotlabrescue.org/hotlab/volunteer.jsp

Chillin after wearing the pups out!!

If not, think you could ask around and see if anyone else you know might want to help out? Heck, even share my blog! We appreciate all of our supporters and can't thank you all enough for helping us save these amazing animals! 

You say "Tubby" I say "Fat"

Bodhi's Blog: Life at the Dog Ranch

You say "Tubby" I say "Fat"

Hello fellow dog lovers! Coming to you from the lovely Heart of Texas Dog Ranch during this hot, humid day. We recently took in two black lab brothers that were incredibly overweight. I thought, "Boy, they must be stealing lots of their little girl's food!" But, then I was told, not every dog has a little girl! How is that possible??

Bodhi deciding she would rather eat like a dog and only use her mouth. She found herself very funny...ugh

Well, if they weren't stealing a toddler's cheese sticks like my dogs try to do ALL THE TIME, how in the world did they get so fat? Dogs and toddlers have a lot in common when it comes to eating. Both dogs and toddlers only eat what is given to them. Unless you have a sneaky dog that snatches items off the counter or that crazy one who can open the freezer door! He's smarter than I am. I can only open the cupboards right now. PS. Banging pots and pans is a ton of fun, but the dogs never want to participate.

Truthfully, sometimes I miss my mouth more than I hit it!

Back to our black boys, Wally (Walrus) and Manny (Manatee) needed a serious weight loss program and fast. Wally was nearly DOUBLE his ideal weight, needing to loose 50+ pounds, and Manny needed to loose 25+. Both dogs would suffer life long issues if they stayed so overweight. This is when one of my favorite people, Rachel, asked how a person can determine the ideal weight of a dog.

I decided this was an educational moment for my fans, too. Your dog's ideal weight will vary and the easiest way to tell if he/she is over/under weight is by looking at his/her body. You want to see the back rib and an indentation at the waist. If you can see more than one rib, your dog is most likely underweight and if you can't see any ribs your pup needs to loose a few pounds. Now, if your pup is like Wally and has fat bulging over his tail and is as wide as your coffee table (not kidding), then you need to lose more than just a few pounds!

 

Manny (on the left) has no waist line and Wally (on the right) has a bulging waist line and fat on his tail. Both need to lose a lot of weight.

Bonnie has the start of a waist line, but you can't see her last rib, she needs to lose a few pounds.

I often hear, "Well, my vet didn't tell me my pup was tubby!" In fact I am hearing that more and more so I went and spoke to my very favorite vet Dr. Kim. She told me that some vets are unwillingly to tell a client that the dog is overweight fearing the client will become offended and not come back. People, if a professional tells you your dog is fat it isn't to shame you, it is to let you know you need to cut back on the amount of food or treats you are placing in front of them every day.

Both of these dogs are too skinny as you can easily see several of their ribs.

Then, when talking to people about weight loss goals for dogs, I hear, "Well, I only give him 1 cup of food twice a day like I was told." Let's be honest, we can all look at the dog and see he is eating more than that. So, either you are giving him LOTS more food and treats or he could have a significant medical condition. This is when I ask them to show me their "cup" of food. This is often when I see the issue. Just because a drinking glass is called a cup, doesn't mean it holds only a cup. Even my sippy cups hold more than an actual cup (yep, no more bottles for me!). 

While this is a cup, it doesn't count as a cup of food! It actually holds 2 1/2 cups of dog food.

Also, a cup of food is when the food is level with the actual cup and not heaping over. I measured a heaping cup of food and it was actually 1 1/3 cups of food!

This is also not a cup of food.

Now, if you are all worried about your dog being too hungry to reduce the food there are a couple of ways to curb this guilt. You can add some canned green beans or raw carrots to the dog's food. These are super low calorie but very filling. Another option is to feed your dog during training exercises. Instead of giving them treats, use their dinner kibble (measured out) as the treats you give. This extends and slows the dog down, helping the pup "enjoy" the meal more.  If you need more ideas, let me know!

This is actually one cup of food.

And, remember, just because your dog keeps eating doesn't mean he is actually hungry. Instinctively he needs to eat as much as possible because his ancestors never knew when the next meal would come around. Never leave a full dish of food out for your dog. Feed him twice a day. Don't free feed. Beyond increasing the dog's likelihood of becoming overweight, it can lead to significant behavior issues. 

One last thing before I go to bed, don't worry about feeding weight loss food. This is just full of fillers like corn, which provides nothing good for the dog's nutrition. Just feed less of the good food you are already providing. This way you will save money and your dog won't be eating a bunch of junk. If your dog needs to loose weight, lower the amount of food you provide. It won't happen fast, but that is ok, just make sure it is happening.

PS. if you want to get ME a treat I LOVE bananas. I would eat ten a day if my moms let me, but they won't, they say that many aren't good for me. So, if you see me, slip me a banana and I will love you forever!

                                                 Enjoying a banana and peanut butter bread

PPS. Manny has lost the majority of his excess weight and has found his forever home. Wally is still working on losing his weight and finding his forever home, but we know it won't take long for either goal to become a reality.

Scratching, licking and biting, OH MY!

Bodhi's Blog

Life on the Dog Ranch

Hello fellow dog lovers! I am coming to you from the lovely dog ranch that is right now FULL of foster dogs looking for forever homes. I have recently began to walk everywhere and my mom says I am getting into EVERYTHING. I just call it exploring. Just like puppies, everything still goes straight to my mouth, too! How else am I to tell the texture? 

Celebrating Red Nose Day.
Don't worry, the nose went into my mouth plenty!

Today is not about the best chew toys for dogs and babies, though. Today is about the annoying sounds of jingling dog tags. Constantly. From 14 dogs. Jingle, jingle, jingle. Now, I LOVE music and if the jingles had any melody I would be happy, but these jingles are occurring because the dogs are nonstop itching!

Prim trying to hit the itch in her ear!

Have you noticed an increase in your dog's scratching, licking and biting recently? Your dog's tags driving you nuts, too? Well then this blog may help you! Instead of ripping their tags off, or better yet, duct taping the tags together, I decided to help the pups stop itching. 

The cause of most of the itching with my foster pups is seasonal allergies, which tends to manifest in dogs as skin, ear and eye issues. There are plenty of other reasons for a dog to be itching, licking and biting, but if these behaviors came along fairly suddenly and you also notice and increase in eye goop or your dog shaking its head, a good first guess would be seasonal allergies.

The only kind of licking that I like!

What can you do to make them stop? Ban them from going outside? Move to another state? Well, before you put a for sale sign in your yard, I suggest you start with over the counter allergy medicines like Benedryl, Zyrtec (NOT Zyrtec-D as you don't want any pseudoepehedrine) or Claritin (NOT Claritin-D as you don't want any pseudoepehedrine). These human medicines are also safe for your dog and can relieve a good portion of his or her itching.  

Benedryl's typical dosage is 1-2 mg per pound of body weight twice a day. Zyrtec's typical dosage for a dog is .5 mg/pound of body weight every 12 hours. Claritin is a bit trickier, so here is a graph. It is also good to remember, each of these has a generic, which may be cheaper. For Benedryl look for diphenhydramine, for Zyrtec look for cetirizine and for Claritin look for loratadine. And, just like in humans one medicine may work much better for a dog than another medicine. It is also important to remember there may be side effect associated with each of these medicines. For more information visit: http://www.veterinaryplace.com

Bo bitting at his back leg. Itching sucks!

**Now, please remember I am 14 months old, so you need to check with your vet first as I haven't quiet graduated from vet school. Your dog may have underlying or other health issues that could make any of the above medicines dangerous. I am just showing you there are options to help your pooch with allergies.**

Eliza, our newest foster girl, has major hair loss due to untreated allergies.

If these meds don't help your dog, your vet may need to give him a steriod shot or put him on stronger allergy medicines like Apoquel. This is only available through your vet so don't stand in Walgreens looking for it!

Derma-ionx, an all natural topical medication, is also available for the treatment of skin issues. Coconut oil and fish oils also help your pooch's skin and coat stay hydrated which can help with the flaky dry skin.

Hope these tips help you and your pups sleep better tonight! 

Love, Bodhi!

Guess who turned 1?!

Bodhi's Blog: Life at the Dog Ranch!

Guess who turned 1!

Sorry it has been so long since I last checked in with all of you! I have been a busy girl. In the past few weeks I have taken my first plane ride, put my feet in the Pacific Ocean, started walking AND housed over 25 dogs! Oh, and I turned one! 

Boy, life has been so much fun and so busy!

First, let me tell you how much I LOVED the airplane ride! It was so exhilarating. I was so excited during take off that I ended up falling fast asleep soon after and slept through the rest of the flight. Thankfully, my moms woke me up for the landing. I laughed and laughed when the wheels hit the runway. Whooo, what a rush!

                

My moms and I flew to San Diego to see my mom's very best friend since college, Heather! My grandma actually met us out there, too! So, I got to charm Heather and keep grandma wrapped around my little finger for 5 days! We went to the Safari Park, which is amazing. I saw Rhinos, pet sheep, was within inches of mountain goats and watched a bird show. It was fascinating and made me giggle and squeal a ton!

The petting zoo inside of the park. PS. the sheep were in serious need of Weight Watchers.

Watching the Mountain Goats. The babies were just a day old and climbing everything.

We then went to the beach the next day. There were so many people there. People on bikes, roller blades, walking dogs and eating ice cream! I was missing my dogs so much by this point I had to call out "Dog" every time I saw one. Some even let me say hi and gave me a kiss on the cheek. That helped me not get too homesick for the ranch. 

                                        

The sand was amazing. Soft and wet. I liked it but then the water came up and got on my feet. That was it, I was done. No more sand or cold ocean water for me! Those people surfing way out must have lost their minds. I didn't even want to sit on a blanket that was on the sand. That cold water might reach us and my moms are super slow, no match for the waves!

Grandma, mom and I in La Jola.

Then, the parties started! I got TWO cakes and TWO parties in San Diego. The first party was a super fun BBQ celebrating Heather and my birthdays! How cool is it that we have birthdays several days apart and got to celebrate it together. We had a yummy cake and an awesome time.

Cake is yummy!

On my birthday we were flying home. But, before we could do that, my mom got me a smash cake. I was pretty sure she had lost her mind, but she convinced me to taste the cake. That is all it took, I was hooked. I was grabbing handfuls of icing and eating it just as fast as possible. My moms admit that it might not have been the best idea to get a smash cake two hours prior to boarding a plane, but it all worked out. 

My hands and face were so messy!

When we got home I was so excited to see the dogs that I started screaming. When they saw me they started screaming. It was a bunch of noise for a while. Once we all settled down I handed out their presents and we all fell fast asleep.

I crashed hard after getting home!

On the weekend, we hosted another birthday party with our friends and family. It was a blast. So many people came. So many Heart of Texas lab rescue volunteers came. We played games, ate lots of food and of course, had more cake! My mom has since told me that I got three birthday parties for turning one and that means I don't get another party until I am four! We shall see....

My third party. SO MUCH FUN!

As I reflect on my first year of life I have to say the dogs are one of the very best parts. I am so glad I am here and they love me so much. Who wouldn't want to say they live with 15 rescued dogs on a ranch covered in bunnies and fireflies? I am blessed. Thank you all for your support that allows me to live here!

 My ride home from the hospital.

 The pups took to me immediately. 

Tanner and I attempting a nap.

Love my doggies!

Ears, eyes and lacerations, oh, my!!

Bodhi's Blog: Life on the Dog Ranch

Ears, eyes and lacerations, oh, my!!

Whew, what a week we had at the Lab Ranch! I hosted the Amplify Austin party on Wednesday where you lovely donors raised over $30,000 for Heart of Texas Lab Rescue! I was able to raise nearly $600 towards this amount.

I raised how much?

Thank you so much to the following amazing people who donated to my campaign to "Save all the damn dogs" (plugging our amazing volgger Rachel here).

• Courtney Dean and Louie
• Chitra and her amazing Dolph and Freeda
• Wendy, Marc and Lucy
• Shelby Rank and her two pups
• Donna Hopson and both labs
• Carton and Sharon Dillard
• Kari Beggs and Toons
• Ashley Feibleman-the very first person to donate to my page!

Check out my video of my reaction when I was told how much I raised!!

https://www.facebook.com/melinda.biggs/videos/10211533119338834/

Again, thank you all!

Now, on to ears, eyes and lacerations! Boy, what in the world am I talking about? Yes, I have eyes and ears but no lacerations, thank goodness. However, the dogs that come to the ranch tend to come with a number of medical issues that have to be treated before they are ready for adoption. This means lots of money spent at the vet trying to figure out what is wrong, getting the medicine to treat the issues and follow up visits to make sure all is good! 

Eyes.....what could be wrong with a dogs eyes? As it turns out, quiet a bit from dry eye to cataracts and corneal ulcers. From drops to surgery, these conditions can require a lot of time and money to correct. Currently, our lovely Nona, a 9 year old yellow female, has dry eye that was left untreated for so long that it has caused a secondary condition that makes it very hard for her to see. "Her vision is as if she is looking through muddy water" according to the vet.

My mom, Stephanie, putting eye drops in Nona's eyes. 

Ears, oh ears! Everyone with a lab understands the ear issues labs live with. Currently, we have three dogs with either yeast, bacteria or both in their ears and need daily medicine. Our shy boy, Timber, is so freaked out about getting his ear meds my mom has to give him a spoonful of peanut butter while giving him the medicine. This is why it is so important to play with your pup's ears all the time! Get them used to it. 

Also, it is essential that you treat the ears as poor Nona, who has spent her life with chronic ear infections that were left untreated, is now nearly deaf due to the scar tissue that has developed in her ears. This poor girl wouldn't be deaf if her ear infections were treated properly.

I am checking Garland's ears. Yep, she has an infection.

Lacerations.....So many dogs come in with random lacerations. Cuts from fences, dog bites, wounds that we can't even imagine how the dog got them, we see it all. Our lovely Libby came in with a gash that starts at neck around her left shoulder and wraps around her chest and back up to the right side of her neck. This massive wound wasn't treated until she showed up at the shelter. Thankfully, the shelter had a vet and started treating the wound immediately (HOTLR can't get a dog out of a shelter until the stray hold of 3 days is over). 

 

Libby's wound on her chest and neck.

Our newest momma Cleo came to the shelter missing part of her foot. 

Maybe from being caught in a trap!

Beyond lacerations, we see many dogs with skin issues. Most recently have had bacteria or yeast infections in their skin requiring two baths a week with a special shampoo. While most labs love water, few want to stand patiently while being bathed. Where is the fun in that? They want to run and play in the water and want nothing to do with keeping the shampoo on their skin for 10 minutes!

JD bathing Nona

Boy, taking care of all of these issues (and more) on the foster pups at the Dog Ranch is exhausting! I better go take a nap!

Phew, life at the Dog Ranch is exhausting!