May 22, 2023 • 16 mins
Maria chats with frequent guest veterinarian Dr Amber Karwacki from Heart+Paw.
With the warmer months ahead, Dr Karwacki talks about fun ways to exercise your dog; gradual exercise if your pet has been sedentary; and lots more!
With the warmer months ahead, Dr Karwacki talks about fun ways to exercise your dog; gradual exercise if your pet has been sedentary; and lots more!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea. Fun I heart radio.
Welcome to Maria's MutS and Stuff,and with me she is. She's
actually the goat because she is myfifth time guest, doctor amberkar Wacky.
Thank you so much for once againjoining me. I'm Maria's MutS and Stuff
(00:23):
because you always are chock full ofsuch great information about our pets. Well,
thank you for having me again.I love being here. I know
you do. I know it's somuch fun. Well, we're in the
month of May and the weather issort of getting better in a sense.
Right, it's not summer yet,and I guess it means it's time for
those of us or oh, don'texercise their pets as much as they should.
(00:47):
Now it's a good time, rightto get our pets out and get
exercise. It also helps us too, right, we'll walk your dog,
take your cats out, not reallytake your cats out. Let's talk about
that, um so so obviously withdogs, it's really good to walk your
dog, right for the obviously,you know, for the exercise and everything
(01:08):
else. And I always tell thisto people and tell me if I'm right
in thinking this, because I justremember like from a first dog many many
many many years ago, when dogsgo out and they sniff like that is
sort of it's mentally stimulating and it'slike they're reading the newspaper. So that
is almost that is as good asphysical exercise, if that makes sense.
(01:30):
Is that a fact with dogs?That is? And like there there'll be
some trainers that talk about, likeif you can paying a weight where you're
living and whatnot, to let yourdogs kind of just follow their nose as
there as the walk and they canlike see where they want to go,
versus me like you have to walkthis way now in the city the whole
herd, right both you're like outsidelike a field or trail, like letting
(01:52):
them kind of follow the sense wherethey want to see and have their own
little adventure right right. And it'sinteresting because I live in the city,
but I do out with my dogbecause sometimes if I want to go one
direction, but I could tell likehe he smells something, say, you
know, on the corner of abuilding and it's going to a different block,
So I just let them do that. That's good to do, correct,
(02:15):
Yep, that absolutely is, becausethat's that's letting them like explore their
world, and it's don't even usetheir scenting abilities, which are much better
than what we do. So it'ssomething stimulating for them to do. Right.
So okay, so that obviously isgood for dogs to get them out
walking. What else could listeners dowith their dogs, because I know we
have to go into cats too,So let's let's do dogs first. So
(02:38):
dogs, depending on the where you'reliving, along with walking hiking, if
you can go into like the woodedareas or like the mountains or what not,
that's something different in a lot differentsense for them. For the older
dogs or those that are having jointproblems, swimming is wonderful as well because
it takes the weight off for theirjoints allows them to use them. But
the biggest thing you to watch ifyou're doing in like a lake or a
(03:00):
pond. One if you're in anarea where there's like algae in the ponds,
that is no good because they can'tdrink that water. Which you also
want to watch like the branches orthe tree limbs that might be under the
surface that they can get caught onor stuck on. So you want to
know what they're going into, rightright, Okay, what about if it's
(03:20):
an older dog, like, becauseI know it's still good for them to
walk, but it's okay for themto not walk or do as much like
just say, your dog, it'sswimming before, is it? Like do
you gradually introduce it to them?Like what's best for like senior dogs?
Yeah, so you can gradually introducethis something. If your dog likes water,
they absolutely hate water, just don'tpush it because that's adding just additional
(03:44):
stress to their life. Walking forthe older dogs is good. I usually
tell those owners like, let yourdog dictate how far this walk is going
to go, and when they wantto turn around, listen to them because
they're going to be tired. Andthen for them there is you can do
like yoga and stretching for them.Obviously it's not the same as us.
They're not going to get up intotree pose not that would be amazing when
(04:09):
when someone does. I would loveto see the too. But you could
do like stretching and like range ofmotion, like taking their limbs and like
stretching them out and then bending themback. And just if you're not sure,
just ask your vetinary, like how'sa good way to stretch my dog's
limbs and whatnot. So that keepsthem kind of like motion going and their
muscles you know, limber and whatnotfor them. Right, is it good
(04:31):
and okay to give your dog likeor your cat too, like a little
I always call it a massagy,but like a little massage like say down
their spine or their back legs,right, because that probably feels good like
it does to us. Yes,yeah, as long as you're not doing
like hard pressure, no no hotstones or anything like that that we love
to get right, right, butjust doing it like yep, gentle massage
(04:53):
is good for them. Wow.And the same for cats too, yes,
yep, yeah, as long asthe cat likes being kind. There
are some cats that just don't arelike the no touchy cats all right,
don't do that right, So ifyour cat is the one that likes to
be touched, then then it's goodtoo. So what are some exercises or
things to do? Because I know, you know you're not going to put
a leash on your cat and walkit around. So what's good for a
(05:15):
cat um just to you know,to keep it healthy. Some exercise or
some different things to do. Nowthat the weather's getting nicer. Yeah,
So for them. Um, ifyou have a house where you can do
it. I do it for myKiddosum. I put birds feeders at different
windows so they havenitly go around tothe different windows to see where the birds
are. Um. And they lovethat to see that at by squirrels.
They hate the squirrel right right athim. Oh that's fine, okay.
(05:41):
Or you could do like the wandtoys are like the laser point is where
you're interacting with them, but itgives them something interactive to chase. Right.
Um, they're actually going for thetoy or the laser pointer or something
like that for them, right right, Okay, So that's good too.
So between cats and dogs, theseare these are good tips to get out
and to get them exercised. Whatare some of the things that we should
(06:03):
be careful about with the weather gettingyou know, some parts of the country
it's getting warmer, faster or whateverwith and this I guess pertains more to
dogs than cats, since cats forthe most part, unless they're an outdoor
cat, but yeah, they're inside. But yeah, so for inside,
but yeah, for outdoor. Whatare some tips or some things that the
(06:24):
listeners should keep in mind. Sowatching like the heat. So if it's
too hot for you to go outflowrun or like a long walk, it's
the same thing for your dog,and especially the dogs we call them the
break east of fox, the shortnose dogs like your pugs, your bulldogs,
your Frenchies and whatnot, because theycan't breathe as well as everyone else.
So if it's really hot outside orhumid, we want to limit their
(06:46):
walks like the morning or the eveningand the cooler hours, and making sure
you have a water bottle for them, just like you have a water bottle
for you, right right, Okay, And are there certain and I'm sure
there are, because now that thingsare blooming, are they certain types of
bushes or flowers that we should keepthe pets away from because it could be
poisonous or just not good for them. Yeah. I mean I usually kind
(07:12):
of runs to stay away from everything, but then you know, the dog
is very curious. Yeah. Theone big one, depending on where you
are in the country, the crocusall and bloom where I am at,
those are definitely poisonous for the dogsfor them. Majority about the or plans,
So okay, if you're not surewhat it is, I would just
keep your dogs away from them,because especially if you can't identify it and
(07:34):
something does happen, then you know, the veterinarian we're sing going, Okay,
what do I have to do totreat your dog when I don't know
what's going on or what exactly heate? So sure best to avoid?
Yeah, yeah, no, thatmakes sense, especially like if you're doing
your gardening. It's nice to haveyour dog around, but you really should
keep your dog away from that becauseyou're right, if they dig up the
(07:54):
bulbs and everything, like I wouldassume like any type of bulb is probably
bad for them, right, canbe bad? Yeah, especially if they
saw a whole could we go aforeign body? And then um, it
was a sad a while back.I don't know if it still as they
had the chocolate mulch with cocoa powderin it. Oh my gosh. Every
vet just went ballistic over that,going you did what? Now? I
know, Like I don't understand whywould why? Who came up with that?
(08:16):
Obviously someone who doesn't have pets,But I mean why because it smells
like I don't understand. Oh,it's smell good, I don't know,
look good for the ground. Butthen the dogs are eating and getting chocolate
poison Texicity, and it was likemajor because the more cocoa that it's in
chocolate, the worst it is forthe dogs. So they're just like please,
just just could we just cannot getYes, No, it's true,
it's true. I remember when thathappened. I was like, oh my
(08:39):
god. I mean, yeah,it smells good, but you know what
make hot chocolate in your house?And that smells but you know what I
mean, buy a candle by candleexactly, buy a chocolate candle. Oh
my goodness. So also, Iguess too this time of year because I'm
trying to think of all the thingsthat happened now that it's springtime. Um,
people putting fertilizer down on their lawns. Yep, yea furlizer or the
(09:01):
pesticides is they have the pesticide personcoming out. Usually they steaked along,
which is good after twenty four hours, especially with the pesticides. I don't
it might be longer for fertilizers becausethey stay in the grass longer. You're
usually okay for your dog to walkon the grass. You just don't want
them eating the grass, okay.So you know, if you see the
(09:22):
steaks, you know, saying thatthings have been done, because if the
pesticide company comes out, they havethe steak and show that it was there.
The homeowner though, can remove itvery quickly as they wanted to.
So definitely, if you see thesteaks, keep your dog away from the
y as precaution. But just Isay rule soun. Just assume everyone put
fertilizer or pesticides down and just youknow, get them in the habit of
(09:43):
not eating grass or picking things outof like dirt and stuff like that so
they're safer. Yeah, no,that makes sense because I know sometimes I
mean I just remember like years agoin my mom's neighborhood, some people would
go would have the lawn guys putfertilizer down, but they didn't put like
notes, you know, sometimes sometimesthey flag it, so like how do
you know? So it became like, okay, just don't have the dog
(10:05):
walk on that grass because I don'tknow, and kind of assume that you
know, oh it's a lawn andall the lawn guys are back out doing
their jobs, so you know,it's like yeah, yeah, and especially
I guess too, it's bad rightif the pets, if the dogs get
it on their paws and they gohome and they lick their paws. That's
(10:26):
bad too, yep, yeah,yeah. And if you're not sure,
if you think you're a dog mighthave stepped in something you're not sure of
them, just doing a quick footwashwould just plain water should be all you
need to do when you get inside. Isn't just to get that off of
him? Oh that's good. Okay, No, that's good. That's a
good little nugget of advice. Sothis is a silly question, and I
mean, I'm assuming that it iscorrect, but just like because they're talking
about how pollen is so bad becausewe had such a pretty much of a
(10:50):
mild winter throughout the country. Umso everybody is sneezing and coughing and all
allergies our pets get are affected thesame way. Correct, Dogs and cats
are yet affected by pop. Yeah. Yeah, they don't sneeze and whatnot
like we do, or get therain noses, but they get itchy and
they can get like skin infections andear infections. This is the time of
(11:11):
ear. I double up on likemy applicle, which is the prescription allergy
medication and whatnot, because I knowmy allergy kids are about to hit my
door and want their medicine. SoI do see an uptick every springtime because
they do. They have the allergiesto the pollen and the grasses and the
trees just like we do. Soif it's a high pollen day, similar
(11:31):
to the foot bath, you know, you could just take like a wet
paper towel and just like wipe yourdogs flow down, like just wipe his
whole body down to get that additionalpollen off of his coat. So that
way he's not it's not in contactwith them longer than it needs to be.
Oh, that's a good idea.And I guess maybe wash the dogs
beds maybe a little bit more often. Yeah, especially if you have your
(11:52):
windows open. Try to keep liketheir beds aways from the windows and things
like that as they lie near thewindow or like my cat slipt away in
the windows kind of out of luck. Right, They're not going to change,
No, it's true, So youjust have to be like more aware
of it and stuff. I guess, um, yeah, And not every
dog or cat reacts to pollend.So if your dog's not showing any signs,
(12:13):
your cat's not showing any signs you'regood. They're just like not every
human reacts to pollen the same way, right, But but it's so you
said, the dogs, they don'tthey won't be sneezing like we do.
They usually, yeah, they usuallydon't sneeze. They get itchy, so
you'll see them like licking their pawsor scratching accessively, or like rubbing up
against like the sofa or you orthe carpet um, but less the sneezy
(12:33):
for them. Wow, Okay,And so I guess, and I guess
this will be true as it getswarmer. It might even be better to
just keep the windows closed and putacon, I guess, instead of the
fresh air. I I don't know. You know it's like half of one,
you know, six of one,half a dozen of another, because
you're like, oh, fresh air, it's so healthy, But maybe it's
not. Yeah, it's like it'san end your dog. Like I do
(12:54):
spring allergies myself too, so likeI'm on my allergy meds right now.
So if your dog doesn't allergies butit's control on allergy medication, then you
can leave them open. Orchard doesnot affect it at all. If your
dogs like severely affected and has troubleeven with allergy medicines on board, then
I would consider that like keeping thewindows closed your acods. That way the
filtration is there for them. Ohokay, oh that's good. That's all.
(13:16):
These are all very good little piecesof advice. So one last piece,
because I know we touched on itearlier when you said about you know,
let the dog follow its pattern,like where it wants to go to
walk and sniff and all that.Um, what if it's somebody? And
this always makes me crazy, butI know there are people who don't take
their dogs out on walks. Theyjust let them go in the yard and
(13:39):
go to the bathroom and come backin and just say they're listening to this
and go, okay, it's aNew Years spring. Let's take Fido out
for a walk, even though hehasn't really walked so much? Is there
like not that there's a limit,but how much like how how much should
the person start a dog who hasn'thad any and whatever the ages? I
(14:01):
mean obviously not a puppy, butif it's like a young adult or a
senior, how how long first forlay ten minutes and then increase it or
is there a set time. Yeah, so I don't only have set tens.
It turns on your dog because likeI don't one of those people.
I don't walk my dogs a lot, but I have a huge backyard and
like you run them in it.They have an agility course out there,
(14:22):
so they're many. Yeah, theyrub a lot. So like my dogs
I could take out on a walkand they could probably do a fair amount
without tiring. Yeah, so oneof us like watching your dog, is
it hot out and stuff like that? Watching dogs those sides like if they
go two blocks and they're like,I'm done right, then let's head back
to the house because and ease intothings like I say, like maybe go
(14:43):
like ten fifteen minutes, see howthey're doing. Just like we wouldn't go
right out and run a marathon.That's crazy, right, So same for
them. So you know, goa few blocks, go like ten minutes.
If your dog's like, hey,I'm still gearing to go, keep
on going. If your dog's likeblowing down looking at you like really really
we're going, then we turn around. Then you turn around, right,
(15:05):
And so yeah, just knowing,I mean it's like for anything else,
just watch your animal and they willgive you the sign like right, because
if they're panting a lot, it'slike I'm done yeah. Or they started
really fast and within five minutes they'relike like going really slow and dragging their
seats. They're done right exactly.Or they start to turn around to go
back towards where you live. Thenyou're like, okay, looking back,
(15:26):
like it's back there, it's backthere, right, why aren't we going
that way? So well, Ireally appreciate all your time and all your
tips. These are great, greattips. Um uh so, Doctor Amber
karwacky of heart and paw. Thankyou once again, my fifth time guest.
You you lead, you are ifit was the Olympics, you are
(15:48):
the gold winner. So I'm sureI'll find a reason to talk to you
again soon. But I really doappreciate all your knowledge and your time to
let me and my listeners know aboutpets and the right thing to do.
So thank you. No, Paul, I love being on here and talking
with you. Never been a greatoperator. And just see you later. Mordicator
It's Maria's MutS and Stuff. Whata great idea. Fun I heart radio.
Welcome to Maria's MutS and Stuff,and with me she is. She's
actually the goat because she is myfifth time guest, doctor amberkar Wacky.
Thank you so much for once againjoining me. I'm Maria's MutS and Stuff
(00:23):
because you always are chock full ofsuch great information about our pets. Well,
thank you for having me again.I love being here. I know
you do. I know it's somuch fun. Well, we're in the
month of May and the weather issort of getting better in a sense.
Right, it's not summer yet,and I guess it means it's time for
those of us or oh, don'texercise their pets as much as they should.
(00:47):
Now it's a good time, rightto get our pets out and get
exercise. It also helps us too, right, we'll walk your dog,
take your cats out, not reallytake your cats out. Let's talk about
that, um so so obviously withdogs, it's really good to walk your
dog, right for the obviously,you know, for the exercise and everything
(01:08):
else. And I always tell thisto people and tell me if I'm right
in thinking this, because I justremember like from a first dog many many
many many years ago, when dogsgo out and they sniff like that is
sort of it's mentally stimulating and it'slike they're reading the newspaper. So that
is almost that is as good asphysical exercise, if that makes sense.
(01:30):
Is that a fact with dogs?That is? And like there there'll be
some trainers that talk about, likeif you can paying a weight where you're
living and whatnot, to let yourdogs kind of just follow their nose as
there as the walk and they canlike see where they want to go,
versus me like you have to walkthis way now in the city the whole
herd, right both you're like outsidelike a field or trail, like letting
(01:52):
them kind of follow the sense wherethey want to see and have their own
little adventure right right. And it'sinteresting because I live in the city,
but I do out with my dogbecause sometimes if I want to go one
direction, but I could tell likehe he smells something, say, you
know, on the corner of abuilding and it's going to a different block,
So I just let them do that. That's good to do, correct,
(02:15):
Yep, that absolutely is, becausethat's that's letting them like explore their
world, and it's don't even usetheir scenting abilities, which are much better
than what we do. So it'ssomething stimulating for them to do. Right.
So okay, so that obviously isgood for dogs to get them out
walking. What else could listeners dowith their dogs, because I know we
have to go into cats too,So let's let's do dogs first. So
(02:38):
dogs, depending on the where you'reliving, along with walking hiking, if
you can go into like the woodedareas or like the mountains or what not,
that's something different in a lot differentsense for them. For the older
dogs or those that are having jointproblems, swimming is wonderful as well because
it takes the weight off for theirjoints allows them to use them. But
the biggest thing you to watch ifyou're doing in like a lake or a
(03:00):
pond. One if you're in anarea where there's like algae in the ponds,
that is no good because they can'tdrink that water. Which you also
want to watch like the branches orthe tree limbs that might be under the
surface that they can get caught onor stuck on. So you want to
know what they're going into, rightright, Okay, what about if it's
(03:20):
an older dog, like, becauseI know it's still good for them to
walk, but it's okay for themto not walk or do as much like
just say, your dog, it'sswimming before, is it? Like do
you gradually introduce it to them?Like what's best for like senior dogs?
Yeah, so you can gradually introducethis something. If your dog likes water,
they absolutely hate water, just don'tpush it because that's adding just additional
(03:44):
stress to their life. Walking forthe older dogs is good. I usually
tell those owners like, let yourdog dictate how far this walk is going
to go, and when they wantto turn around, listen to them because
they're going to be tired. Andthen for them there is you can do
like yoga and stretching for them.Obviously it's not the same as us.
They're not going to get up intotree pose not that would be amazing when
(04:09):
when someone does. I would loveto see the too. But you could
do like stretching and like range ofmotion, like taking their limbs and like
stretching them out and then bending themback. And just if you're not sure,
just ask your vetinary, like how'sa good way to stretch my dog's
limbs and whatnot. So that keepsthem kind of like motion going and their
muscles you know, limber and whatnotfor them. Right, is it good
(04:31):
and okay to give your dog likeor your cat too, like a little
I always call it a massagy,but like a little massage like say down
their spine or their back legs,right, because that probably feels good like
it does to us. Yes,yeah, as long as you're not doing
like hard pressure, no no hotstones or anything like that that we love
to get right, right, butjust doing it like yep, gentle massage
(04:53):
is good for them. Wow.And the same for cats too, yes,
yep, yeah, as long asthe cat likes being kind. There
are some cats that just don't arelike the no touchy cats all right,
don't do that right, So ifyour cat is the one that likes to
be touched, then then it's goodtoo. So what are some exercises or
things to do? Because I know, you know you're not going to put
a leash on your cat and walkit around. So what's good for a
(05:15):
cat um just to you know,to keep it healthy. Some exercise or
some different things to do. Nowthat the weather's getting nicer. Yeah,
So for them. Um, ifyou have a house where you can do
it. I do it for myKiddosum. I put birds feeders at different
windows so they havenitly go around tothe different windows to see where the birds
are. Um. And they lovethat to see that at by squirrels.
They hate the squirrel right right athim. Oh that's fine, okay.
(05:41):
Or you could do like the wandtoys are like the laser point is where
you're interacting with them, but itgives them something interactive to chase. Right.
Um, they're actually going for thetoy or the laser pointer or something
like that for them, right right, Okay, So that's good too.
So between cats and dogs, theseare these are good tips to get out
and to get them exercised. Whatare some of the things that we should
(06:03):
be careful about with the weather gettingyou know, some parts of the country
it's getting warmer, faster or whateverwith and this I guess pertains more to
dogs than cats, since cats forthe most part, unless they're an outdoor
cat, but yeah, they're inside. But yeah, so for inside,
but yeah, for outdoor. Whatare some tips or some things that the
(06:24):
listeners should keep in mind. Sowatching like the heat. So if it's
too hot for you to go outflowrun or like a long walk, it's
the same thing for your dog,and especially the dogs we call them the
break east of fox, the shortnose dogs like your pugs, your bulldogs,
your Frenchies and whatnot, because theycan't breathe as well as everyone else.
So if it's really hot outside orhumid, we want to limit their
(06:46):
walks like the morning or the eveningand the cooler hours, and making sure
you have a water bottle for them, just like you have a water bottle
for you, right right, Okay, And are there certain and I'm sure
there are, because now that thingsare blooming, are they certain types of
bushes or flowers that we should keepthe pets away from because it could be
poisonous or just not good for them. Yeah. I mean I usually kind
(07:12):
of runs to stay away from everything, but then you know, the dog
is very curious. Yeah. Theone big one, depending on where you
are in the country, the crocusall and bloom where I am at,
those are definitely poisonous for the dogsfor them. Majority about the or plans,
So okay, if you're not surewhat it is, I would just
keep your dogs away from them,because especially if you can't identify it and
(07:34):
something does happen, then you know, the veterinarian we're sing going, Okay,
what do I have to do totreat your dog when I don't know
what's going on or what exactly heate? So sure best to avoid?
Yeah, yeah, no, thatmakes sense, especially like if you're doing
your gardening. It's nice to haveyour dog around, but you really should
keep your dog away from that becauseyou're right, if they dig up the
(07:54):
bulbs and everything, like I wouldassume like any type of bulb is probably
bad for them, right, canbe bad? Yeah, especially if they
saw a whole could we go aforeign body? And then um, it
was a sad a while back.I don't know if it still as they
had the chocolate mulch with cocoa powderin it. Oh my gosh. Every
vet just went ballistic over that,going you did what? Now? I
know, Like I don't understand whywould why? Who came up with that?
(08:16):
Obviously someone who doesn't have pets,But I mean why because it smells
like I don't understand. Oh,it's smell good, I don't know,
look good for the ground. Butthen the dogs are eating and getting chocolate
poison Texicity, and it was likemajor because the more cocoa that it's in
chocolate, the worst it is forthe dogs. So they're just like please,
just just could we just cannot getYes, No, it's true,
it's true. I remember when thathappened. I was like, oh my
(08:39):
god. I mean, yeah,it smells good, but you know what
make hot chocolate in your house?And that smells but you know what I
mean, buy a candle by candleexactly, buy a chocolate candle. Oh
my goodness. So also, Iguess too this time of year because I'm
trying to think of all the thingsthat happened now that it's springtime. Um,
people putting fertilizer down on their lawns. Yep, yea furlizer or the
(09:01):
pesticides is they have the pesticide personcoming out. Usually they steaked along,
which is good after twenty four hours, especially with the pesticides. I don't
it might be longer for fertilizers becausethey stay in the grass longer. You're
usually okay for your dog to walkon the grass. You just don't want
them eating the grass, okay.So you know, if you see the
(09:22):
steaks, you know, saying thatthings have been done, because if the
pesticide company comes out, they havethe steak and show that it was there.
The homeowner though, can remove itvery quickly as they wanted to.
So definitely, if you see thesteaks, keep your dog away from the
y as precaution. But just Isay rule soun. Just assume everyone put
fertilizer or pesticides down and just youknow, get them in the habit of
(09:43):
not eating grass or picking things outof like dirt and stuff like that so
they're safer. Yeah, no,that makes sense because I know sometimes I
mean I just remember like years agoin my mom's neighborhood, some people would
go would have the lawn guys putfertilizer down, but they didn't put like
notes, you know, sometimes sometimesthey flag it, so like how do
you know? So it became like, okay, just don't have the dog
(10:05):
walk on that grass because I don'tknow, and kind of assume that you
know, oh it's a lawn andall the lawn guys are back out doing
their jobs, so you know,it's like yeah, yeah, and especially
I guess too, it's bad rightif the pets, if the dogs get
it on their paws and they gohome and they lick their paws. That's
(10:26):
bad too, yep, yeah,yeah. And if you're not sure,
if you think you're a dog mighthave stepped in something you're not sure of
them, just doing a quick footwashwould just plain water should be all you
need to do when you get inside. Isn't just to get that off of
him? Oh that's good. Okay, No, that's good. That's a
good little nugget of advice. Sothis is a silly question, and I
mean, I'm assuming that it iscorrect, but just like because they're talking
about how pollen is so bad becausewe had such a pretty much of a
(10:50):
mild winter throughout the country. Umso everybody is sneezing and coughing and all
allergies our pets get are affected thesame way. Correct, Dogs and cats
are yet affected by pop. Yeah. Yeah, they don't sneeze and whatnot
like we do, or get therain noses, but they get itchy and
they can get like skin infections andear infections. This is the time of
(11:11):
ear. I double up on likemy applicle, which is the prescription allergy
medication and whatnot, because I knowmy allergy kids are about to hit my
door and want their medicine. SoI do see an uptick every springtime because
they do. They have the allergiesto the pollen and the grasses and the
trees just like we do. Soif it's a high pollen day, similar
(11:31):
to the foot bath, you know, you could just take like a wet
paper towel and just like wipe yourdogs flow down, like just wipe his
whole body down to get that additionalpollen off of his coat. So that
way he's not it's not in contactwith them longer than it needs to be.
Oh, that's a good idea.And I guess maybe wash the dogs
beds maybe a little bit more often. Yeah, especially if you have your
(11:52):
windows open. Try to keep liketheir beds aways from the windows and things
like that as they lie near thewindow or like my cat slipt away in
the windows kind of out of luck. Right, They're not going to change,
No, it's true, So youjust have to be like more aware
of it and stuff. I guess, um, yeah, And not every
dog or cat reacts to pollend.So if your dog's not showing any signs,
(12:13):
your cat's not showing any signs you'regood. They're just like not every
human reacts to pollen the same way, right, But but it's so you
said, the dogs, they don'tthey won't be sneezing like we do.
They usually, yeah, they usuallydon't sneeze. They get itchy, so
you'll see them like licking their pawsor scratching accessively, or like rubbing up
against like the sofa or you orthe carpet um, but less the sneezy
(12:33):
for them. Wow, Okay,And so I guess, and I guess
this will be true as it getswarmer. It might even be better to
just keep the windows closed and putacon, I guess, instead of the
fresh air. I I don't know. You know it's like half of one,
you know, six of one,half a dozen of another, because
you're like, oh, fresh air, it's so healthy, But maybe it's
not. Yeah, it's like it'san end your dog. Like I do
(12:54):
spring allergies myself too, so likeI'm on my allergy meds right now.
So if your dog doesn't allergies butit's control on allergy medication, then you
can leave them open. Orchard doesnot affect it at all. If your
dogs like severely affected and has troubleeven with allergy medicines on board, then
I would consider that like keeping thewindows closed your acods. That way the
filtration is there for them. Ohokay, oh that's good. That's all.
(13:16):
These are all very good little piecesof advice. So one last piece,
because I know we touched on itearlier when you said about you know,
let the dog follow its pattern,like where it wants to go to
walk and sniff and all that.Um, what if it's somebody? And
this always makes me crazy, butI know there are people who don't take
their dogs out on walks. Theyjust let them go in the yard and
(13:39):
go to the bathroom and come backin and just say they're listening to this
and go, okay, it's aNew Years spring. Let's take Fido out
for a walk, even though hehasn't really walked so much? Is there
like not that there's a limit,but how much like how how much should
the person start a dog who hasn'thad any and whatever the ages? I
(14:01):
mean obviously not a puppy, butif it's like a young adult or a
senior, how how long first forlay ten minutes and then increase it or
is there a set time. Yeah, so I don't only have set tens.
It turns on your dog because likeI don't one of those people.
I don't walk my dogs a lot, but I have a huge backyard and
like you run them in it.They have an agility course out there,
(14:22):
so they're many. Yeah, theyrub a lot. So like my dogs
I could take out on a walkand they could probably do a fair amount
without tiring. Yeah, so oneof us like watching your dog, is
it hot out and stuff like that? Watching dogs those sides like if they
go two blocks and they're like,I'm done right, then let's head back
to the house because and ease intothings like I say, like maybe go
(14:43):
like ten fifteen minutes, see howthey're doing. Just like we wouldn't go
right out and run a marathon.That's crazy, right, So same for
them. So you know, goa few blocks, go like ten minutes.
If your dog's like, hey,I'm still gearing to go, keep
on going. If your dog's likeblowing down looking at you like really really
we're going, then we turn around. Then you turn around, right,
(15:05):
And so yeah, just knowing,I mean it's like for anything else,
just watch your animal and they willgive you the sign like right, because
if they're panting a lot, it'slike I'm done yeah. Or they started
really fast and within five minutes they'relike like going really slow and dragging their
seats. They're done right exactly.Or they start to turn around to go
back towards where you live. Thenyou're like, okay, looking back,
(15:26):
like it's back there, it's backthere, right, why aren't we going
that way? So well, Ireally appreciate all your time and all your
tips. These are great, greattips. Um uh so, Doctor Amber
karwacky of heart and paw. Thankyou once again, my fifth time guest.
You you lead, you are ifit was the Olympics, you are
(15:48):
the gold winner. So I'm sureI'll find a reason to talk to you
again soon. But I really doappreciate all your knowledge and your time to
let me and my listeners know aboutpets and the right thing to do.
So thank you. No, Paul, I love being on here and talking
with you. Never been a greatoperator. And just see you later. Mordicator
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