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Our little girl, Izzi, just graduated from Puppy School at PetSmart this past weekend, and tonight we’re taking her to their Doggie Halloween Party.  With Halloween fast approaching, I came across this article the other day, and thought I’d pass it along.  It’s about how to keep your dog safe on what can be a very scary night for them.

TIPS TO KEEP DOGS SAFE ON HALLOWEEN

Bark Busters, a dog training company, offers tips to keep dogs safe on Halloween.  Based on the expertise of Bark Buster’s network of dog behavioral therapists, these guidelines for dog owners help ensure the safety of pets during fright night.

Bring your dog indoors. Even if you have a fenced yard, bring your dog inside where he cannot be harmed or overwhelmed by little ghouls and goblins. If he is an outside-dog, bring him in a few times before the big night to get him comfortable with being indoors. Remember, it is a natural instinct for dogs to protect the family from strangers, and on Halloween there will be plenty of strangers.

Keep your dog restrained. If your dog is timid or scared, or if he tends to love people a little too much, put him in a separate room away from the front door. This will limit his excitement, aggression or chance of running outside and getting lost or injured.

Reassure your dog. If your dog seems to feel unsettled by Halloween activities, just act as normally as possible. By over-reassuring your dog or giving him extra attention, you inadvertently can communicate to him that there must be something to worry about.

Have your dog get used to costumes. Your dog may regard his family members as strangers once they don their Halloween costumes. Before the kids put them on, allow your dog to scent the costumes. Keep masks off while your dog is around.

Check your dog’s ID Tag. Be sure identification tags are secure on your dog’s collar–just in case.

Keep candy away from your dog. Many candies–especially those containing chocolate or xylitol, an artificial sweetener–are toxic to dogs. Problems can range from a mild upset tummy to vomiting and diarrhea, or even death. For your dog’s safety, be sure to keep all sweets and their wrappers well away from him.

Protect your dog from candles and pumpkins. Agitated or excited dogs (and their swinging tails) can easily knock over a lit candle or pumpkin. Keep such items out of your dog’s reach, or consider using a battery-powered candle that does not burn.

Think twice about dressing your dog in a costume. While some dogs do enjoy being dressed up, many don’t. Experiment first to see if your dog likes being in a costume. If he shows any resistance, don’t do it. Tie a fun bandanna around his neck and he’ll be happier and safer.

Consider carefully and be prepared. Think carefully about taking your dog with you on trick-or-treating rounds. You may unintentionally instill a new fear of strangers in him, creating a wariness that could last long past the holiday. If you do take your dog, keep a firm grip on his leash. Dogs do not understand that the person jumping out at you will not hurt you; they often think they can only help you by acting aggressively. Neither children nor adults in costumes should approach a dog without the owner’s consent.

Last Thursday, we took the Duster out for one last spin.  The wind had a chill to it, but the sun was shining, and it was a great day for a drive.  We headed off to the Cedar Rail, just past Harriston.  The home of some of the best (Schneider’s) foot long hot dogs.  They also make the best milkshakes I’ve ever had anywhere, but that’s not exactly an October drink.  Before we headed out I had my anti-freeze level checked.  Did you know that after a number of years anti-freeze looses it’s ability to keep things from freezing.  Mine was good to…oh, about room temperature.  You may wanna get yours checked in the coming weeks.  We got home from Harriston, I added a little bottle of Sta-Bil to the gas tank, filled ‘er up, parked her, and like Shania says…kissed my car good-night.  Only 333 miles this year!  Here’s hoping for a better summer next year.

Our puppy is 18 weeks old today, nearly seven pounds, can jump up on the love seat, and has discovered peanut butter.  Next: Cheez Whiz!

Our little Granddaughter, Georgia, turns 4 years old today.  The sweetest little girl in the world is four!  Where has the time gone.  And it’s her first official day of JK!  I was just thinking how many things have changed in the past four years.  Now, when we buy a Disney movie, it’s automatically Blu-Ray.  Today, I’m blogging about her.  Was there such a thing as blogs 4 years ago?  I signed up for Facebook 4 years ago.  The reason?  So I could get access to all those Granddaughter pictures.  And even though we will see her today, I still can’t wait to see those first-day-of-school pictures.

Tomorrow (Thursday August 27th) is Cruisin’ for a Cause at A&W’s across Canada.  I’ll be hanging out for a while at the Bleams Road location.  Here’s the deal.  It’s a fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis.  $1 from every Teen Burger sold goes to MS.  The Bleams Road location is having a Cruise Night that kicks off at 4:00 in the afternoon, and runs until 8:00.  And if you’re like me & miss the days when a car hop would hang a tray on the window of your car, this’ll be a great flashback for you…they’re also doing a Car Hop from 4-7.  There’ll be Root Beer Chugging contests, and the Great A&W Root Bear will be there too.  Hope to see you there.

Izzi!

Two little hands slap up against the glass of the screen door.  A little nose presses up against the screen. And a little girl shouts “Boat!”.  This was our 12th summer vacationing at the same cottage along the shore of beautiful Lake Huron.  And it’s the first time we’ve been able to bring our little Granddaughter, Georgia, along for a few days with just Gramma & Grampa.  One of the things Carole & I do at the cottage is to keep the binoculars handy & whenever somebody spots a boat sailing by, they shout “Boat!”, and we take turns looking.  We didn’t intentionally teach Georgia our little tradition, but sure enough…I think it was about Day #5.  The whole family was up visiting by then.  Most of us inside, when all of a sudden…”Boat!”  It was just the cutest thing.

You’ve heard the term “Soul Mate”.  How about “Soul Spot”?  I believe there’s one out there for everybody. And I’m heading out to my soul spot (where my soul mate has been since Friday) right after I get off the air today.  It’s just a little cottage, no dishwasher, no air conditioning, no big screen TV.  Nothing fancy, but it’s Lake Huron, waterfront.  I think this is our 12th year up there. Back in 2002, we spent two weeks up there for our 25th Anniversary.  Of all the places in the world we could’ve gone to, we both agreed this spot was special.  And at the end of October, it’s not the warmest location.  Because I’m the luckiest guy alive, I get to travel to a lot of awesome places, but I’ve never connected with any place like this.  The best sunsets I’ve ever seen, and the calming effect of the lake….just sitting there, looking at it all day long…there’s nothing like it.  I’ll see you on the 20th.  ’Till then, have a great summer!

It was 1994.  That was the year we lost my dad.  After a dream Carole had, we decided to move closer to my mom. Within a couple of days of that dream, a house came up for sale just 3 doors away.  As we were signing the papers, the people selling us the house realized that the giant maple tree in the backyard was the sapling that was given to their son years ago by my dad when dad was a custodian at nearby MacKenzie King School.  A few years ago, when we had grandkids, we hung a little swing from the tree that we referred to a “Dad’s Tree”.  And it was just this past week, as we were taking turns pushing Georgia & Owen in the swing that Carole & I both thought (although we never said anything out loud) that it was almost like Dad was there with his great grandkids.  Saturday night, during that big windstorm, we lost the limb that the swing was hanging from.  That particular limb was perfect.  It went sideways a bit, before it turn upward.  It was the only limb that the swing could’ve ever been attached to.  Sure, we can rig the swing up elsewhere, and we will, but it just won’t be the same.    

A wet dog.  Because it means you’re lucky enough to have a dog.