The Smiling Pit Bull

Natural Drives: What do you do?

When most people talk about their animals they often think of them in terms of species as in "I have a cat' or 'I have a dog' kind of terms. People may even think of their particular species in terms of breed. I have a Great Dane or a Boston Terrier or an American Pit bull terrier. I, personally, often think of my dogs in many ways; sweet, eager to please, active, and sometimes I even think of them as tired, though not nearly enough of the time.

In recent weeks, actually since graduating from a Canine Studies Program, I have also come to think of my dogs in terms of chewers and scavengers; Zack is a chewer and Zoe is a scavenger. This is not all they are, but this is one area that I learned needs to be exercised frequently to prevent a dog from becoming anxious, and often getting into mischief. Dogs, just like people, have natural drives; chewing, scavenging, digging, etc. Just as some people need to get out and exercise to relieve themselves of pent up energies and de-stress, there are people like myself who find joy in getting lost in a good book. Reading is a great de-stressor for me and I would be content sitting for hours with a great novel, likewise Zoe and Zack find similar enjoyment in chewing and scavenging.

While watching my Zack it becomes obvious that he appears to experience pure bliss at the prospect of chewing one of his rubber toys, though it has to a super tough rubbery toy or else he will destroy it. He absolutely loves to chew. I would even take a guess that it was this urge that may have contributed to the demise of half of his canine tooth prior to us rescuing him. No need to be alarmed, we found a wonderful canine dentist who performed a root canal, among other things, and he is now 100%.

My Zoe on the other hand will scavenge all day if she could. She actually appears to be on a mission to find any morsel of food that may have found its way on to the floor, and at times those morsels that haven't yet made it. Yes, naughty little scavenger that she is, however, rather than reprimand her for doing something that is a part of her natural drive, it is far more beneficial for her and for our relationship to allow her to to scavenge appropriately, which led me to purchasing the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball. This is a great tool/toy and Zoe has enjoyed endless hours of fun with it - no, not all in one sitting. So I am now in the habit of feeding Zoe her usual raw diet (just less of it) and then I will let her play with the Omega ball filled with Evo dry food for 20 minutes. She has a ball - literally - and is a much calmer dog for the rest of the evening. Of course, that also includes an hour of exercise as the Omega ball is no miracle cure and you will still need to exercise your dog...just in case you thought you could get out of it.

Sweet Dreams

After a day of fun Zack is in desperate need of a nap...

Mega Fun at Mega Dogs

I don't know if this is the case with all pit bulls, but my Zoe adores the water. Living in Seattle - a city surrounded by water - would seem the ideal location for my Zoe to live and swim, but sadly this has proven not to be the case.

Although we are surrounded by water here in Seattle, gaining access to these bodies of water are a different matter. It appears that most of them are proving to be off limits to our four legged friends, with the exception of Edmonds Beach and Magnuson Park, which are dog friendly, but also happen to be off leash parks (something I am opposed to frequenting for issues of safety, more specifically, my dogs safety).

So you must imagine that I was very excited when I learned of Mega Dogs; a doggy swimming pool in Woodinville that is heated, fully enclosed and available for private bookings. So your pooch has the opportunity to enjoy a frolic in the pool, with the owner swimming along side! Aside from the convenience of online booking, your dog's safety is also guaranteed by the water jackets provided free of charge for all visiting pooches.

Get out of the city and take a dip at Mega Dogs - you will be glad you did!