Raw Food Diet, Day 21- I Feast Hard and Play Hard

The last few days I have been feasting extremely hard on the goat and rabbit I got off the Internet. This raw meat deliciousness has made me so excited that I usually finish my feast in seconds and then try to steal my brother's share. I guess raw meat makes me brave. I even try to take my brother's toys if he's not looking and still eating. The problem is that he is the alpha and he beats me up. I just can't hold in my excitement when this raw meat is around. My brother almost bit my face off yesterday. He thrashed me pretty hard. I don't really care though. I feast hard and I play hard. I also rock hard. My dad got the new Rancid album today and I thrashed around with him to some sweet new tunes. I got so excited I attempted to steal his Subway pastrami and cheese sandwich off the table and got in trouble. My point is that I don't really care about the consequences- raw meat and Rancid, getting thrashed by my brother, getting put in time-out, ocassionally running into a door or choking on a bone- that's how I roll.

Feast hard,
Stanislaw

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brother's big tip: safety first

Accidents happen. Pups can get too excited over a raw feast and choke. They can get broken bones, suffer from heat stroke and get into fights with other dogs. It's important that your human know how to handle the situation if anything were to ever happen to you, and it is imperative that they handle you correctly for your condition. The best way for them to learn how to do this is to sign up for a class in their area, and I know that the American Red Cross offers pet first aid courses all over the United States. A list of locations can be found here, and their information about pet health and safety is here.

If your person isn't able to make it to a class right away, they can get some books that will teach them how to tend to an animal that needs help, and the Red Cross also has a bunch of books that can help them learn all about this at home. Don't be surprised if they want to practice wrapping bandages on you! I didn't mind it -- it was attention! But it goes without saying that they should never practice full CPR on you, and that's where the actual courses come in handy. They'll have dummy dogs that let your person really try out their CPR skills.

Your person should always have a doggy first aid kit on hand, just as they would have one for themselves at home and in the car. A travel-sized kit should be available for you if you're out on a hike or away from home. The Canis Major website has an excellent list of items that should be found in your emergency pack.

Let's be honest: we're curious guys, and we like to try new things with our mouths. This can get us into serious trouble, and so your human needs to learn all about the signs and symptoms of poisoning, and the proper way to handle a sick dog. They should also have the animal poison control phone number in a place that's easy to find or on speed dial, because time is of utmost importance in the case of a poisoning. The ASPCA has a great web page on animal poisoning, and lists this number to call if your person is worried: (888) 426.4435 - Animal Poison Control.

Finally, here are some more helpful resources for your human to check out:

Emergency Dog Links

Animal CPR Instructions

K-9 First Aid

Have a healthy weekend!