Is the Vet Scale Wrong?

Last week we took Cody to the Vet for a check-up and to get two shots he was overdue for.  What do they do at the vet which strikes feat into normally calm dog owners?  Weigh your dog.

Apparently the verdict with Cody wasn't good at the last vet appointment.  He weighs 58 pounds which is a 6 pound increase the last time we were at the vet.  Since this is a pretty significant weight gain for a medium sized dog this led us to ask, “Is the Vet scale wrong?”  We couldn't believe that Cody has gained 6 pounds since our last vet visit.  He doesn't look that much heavier and he hasn't been running or exercising any less.  This just didn't seem feasible to us.   We were curios, does the vet calibrate the vet scale?  Yup, apparently every week.  Mmmm, is it the vet scale really old?  We were told only a few years old.

We then started to analyze what we were feeding Cody and Sierra.  Since both of them had been having stomach “issues” we've been feeding both dogs chicken and rice.  The thing is we didn't really stop with the chicken and rice and have been giving Cody rice for quite awhile.  Hey both the Singing Dogs seem to enjoy it so we didn't think it was bad for them.  Could rice really cause a 6 pound increase in a dog in a couple months though?

Cody's got to look good for Summer (just like us).  🙂  So we are going to try to start walking and making sure his diet is a little more balanced.

We still believe the vet scale is wrong though.  It's gotta be, right?

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Spring has Sprung, The First Day of Spring

first day of springIn case you didn't know or have not heard March 20th is the First Day of Spring.  Today it's been a bit brisk but overall it truly feels like the First Day of Spring and Spring has Sprung… finally!

We had snow in Maryland only three days ago which was pretty crazy and the temperature kept bouncing up and down.  Last week it seemed like Spring was here for Good but unfortunately it wasn't.  Only two days after Spring left temporarily as the temperature dropped again into 20's which wasn't that much fun and then we got snow again.

Yesterday I had to get Sierra and Cody into their dog raincoats for walking since it was raining.  It seemed like the bad weather would just keep coming back.  Then we woke up today and it was windy but the temperature wasn't bad and the sun was out.  We let the dogs outside and they were running around in the yard enjoying themselves.  I played Frisbee with them.  It truly felt like the First Day of Spring after such a long, harsh, and miserable winter this year.  We like snow and sledding but it we thought it was a bit much.  At least Cody and Sierra like to wrestle in the snow.

What did you do for the First Day of Spring?  Take a long walk?  Ride a bike?  Are you planning on doing anything fun during the Spring and Summer?  Let us know below.

Dog honks Carhorn telling Owner “Come Back & Let me Out!” [VIDEO]

boxerIf you are someone who doesn't think dogs are smart than you haven't seen this Boxer from Great Britain.  A video on Facebook has gone viral of Fern, the Boxer in question, honking the car horn in the driver's seat of her owner's parked car.

Graham Haddow, Fern's owner, was just up the street in Broughty Ferry, Scotland when he heard a continuous car horn going off, “I started running because I thought something was wrong.  It was only when I was a few yards from the car I realized everyone was laughing, and taking photos, and everything was ok.  There was Fern with a paw on the horn.”

Checkout the video posted on Facebook by Cameron Wighton who lived in the Broughty Ferry neighborhood.

“Boxers tend to be quite mischievous and real characters.” added Harrow.  Probably Fern just didn't want to be left in the judging from her face.  At least the car horn did what it was supposed to do, get people to notice Fern in the car.

*Article originally published here

[Source – Courier]

Singing Dogs were not on The One Show

I got another email from the Icon Films producer about the Singing Dogs yesterday.  Sorry to inform everyone but unfortunately… Cody and Sierra's “Dogs Have the Blues” video was not featured in the Canine Concert documentary about dogs and music the other night on The One Show.

Due to time issues the video was apparently cut out of the documentary at the last minute before it aired on TV.  Even though we posted about the Singing Dogs being featured on the BBC One Show the other day it seems the producer didn't realize our video was edited out until after the show aired in Britain.  We were told before The One Show aired on the BBC channel one that Cody and Sierra were going to be featured which is why we posted about it.

Oh well, that's show business sometimes.  You think something will happen and at the last minute it doesn't.  Most people don't know this but our Anderson segment when I was talking with Anderson Cooper was cut down a lot.

If you are in the United Kingdom and want to see Cody and Sierra's videos on the BBC or TV in across the pond, please share our videos and let people know.

 

Singing Dogs will be featured on BBC One Show

bbc one show

UPDATE: Unfortunately our video was edited out of the documentary on The One Show at the last minute before it aired. 🙁

Hey everyone, we just got some great news from across the pond as they like to say.  A documentary is going to air on the BBC One Show in the UK (United Kingdom) called “Canine Concert” and it will feature Cody and Sierra.  The documentary is about dogs and music and who better to showcase that than the Singing Dogs?

Unsure of which video they are going to use since we sent the production company a bunch of videos and said they could use whatever they thought was best for the One Show documentary.  I believe they will be using our Dogs Have the Blues video since I sent that one to them via a cloud sharing service.

The documentary that will air on the The One Show “Canine Concert” is extremely short to my understanding, about 5 minutes or so.  At least that's what they originally told me.  Still it will be exciting that Cody and Sierra will be shown on TV in the UK.  They are “English Shepherds” after all and Britain could be considered their “homeland.”  Check out their great version of God Save the Queen if you haven't.

According to the production flyer Icon Films, the production company that made the documentary, sent it will air on the BBC One Show on Thursday, March 13th at 7:00pm on the BBC One channel.  As of this writing it hasn't aired since the UK is 5 hours ahead of the United States but will soon.

We will keep everyone updated once we get the documentary from Icon Films.  They will send us a DVD of it once it airs on the BBC One Show and the Singing Dogs and I will be excited to get it.  We just hope it doesn't take too long.

If you live in the UK (or Great Britain) and saw the documentary on The One Show, let us know how you liked it “Canine Concert” and if you saw Cody and Sierra.

We use Dog Seatbelts, You Should Too

dog seatbeltsI just thought I'd take a minute out of our day to encourage everyone that reads and follows us to use Dog Seatbelts or harnesses when transporting your puppies in a vehicle.  It's not just safe for our dogs, but safety for us humans too.

Most people are not aware but in the event of an accident having 1 person, or in this case a pet, not secured properly can be fatal to the other occupants inside a vehicle.  Many crash tests and real-life circumstances have shown that 1 unsecured body can seriously hurt others in a car.  That's why we feel it's necessary to use some sort of restraint for our dogs even if an auto accident is unlikely.  Better to be safe than sorry in our opinion.

I've written before about dog harnesses and restraints and posed the question on this blog, “Do Dog Seatbelts Really Protect your Dog?”  Studies have shown that dog seatbelts are not quite as effective as you would hope since there are no industry-wide standards for dog harness testing.  Test conducted in collaboration with the Center for Pet Safety, a non-profit advocacy group, and Subaru have shown that many of these dog seatbelts fail to perform properly.

While I appreciate the studies that the Center for Pet Safety and Subaru conducted and I believe that there should be some industry standards for pet harnesses, I still feel safer if both Cody and Sierra are secured in the car.  At least we have some safety mechanism in place and this makes it so that they can't roam around our car while it's in motion.  This can be distracting and dangerous for us.

That's why we use Dog Seatbelts and we encourage others to use them as well if you are inclined.  We'd love to hear people's thoughts about dog seatbelts and dog harnesses though.  Do you use dog seatblets?  Why?  If you don't have a dog restraint system in your car, have you thought about buying one?