Great Kong Ideas for Your Dog
How to Celebrate National Rescue Dog Day

Great Kong Ideas for Your Dog
At Second Home we know dogs love their Kong toys, especially when they are stuffed with delicious treats or food. The Kong is safe and nontoxic for dogs and provides lots of stimulation.

“When stuffed with food, it provides dogs with a healthy outlet for their natural desire to chew and lick,” according to the article, “How to Stuff a Kong Toy” at Fetch by WebMD. A stuffed Kong can provide a dog some “work” to do so he doesn’t get bored or destructive, the article said.

A Kong can be filled with a variety of food including your dog’s meals of kibble mixed with canned food or even yogurt, cottage cheese, or a mashed banana, the article said.

At Second Home, one of the Kong treats we offer to our dog guests includes rubbing peanut butter on the toy. Sometimes we place little treats in the peanut butter to make it special.

Other times we use pumpkin on a Kong, which is for dogs with allergies. Then we also use canned food for dogs who won’t eat peanut butter or pumpkin.

We are careful not to shove peanut butter inside a Kong and only place it on top or around it to avoid a tough cleaning process.

Please note that Second Home Pet Resort does not use peanut butter with xylitol in the ingredients. While peanut butter is great as an occasional treat for dogs, remember that not all peanut butters are alike. “Xylitol is an increasingly common sugar-replacement sweetener that’s in hundreds of products, including some brands of peanut butter,” according to the article, “What Kind of Peanut Butter is Safe for Dogs?” at Preventive Vet. “It’s an ‘all-natural’ sugar substitute that’s fine for people, but it’s extremely poisonous to dogs and poisons thousands of dogs each year.”

How to Celebrate National Rescue Dog Day
Rescue dogs have a special day on May 20. It’s National Rescue Dog Day and there are many ways to celebrate the special rescue dogs who are out there needing homes.

Founded in 2009, National Rescue Dog Day was meant “to bring awareness to the countless number of amazing dogs waiting in shelters for their forever home and to recognize all the amazing ways rescue dogs impact human lives,” according to the article, “National Rescue Dog Day 2021: What is it and how can you make a difference?” at PetsRadar.com. Additionally, this special day “looks to promote humane education for young children, and to encourage spay/neuter.”

According to the article, some of the things you can do to promote the day include:

• Donate to your local shelter by providing financial donations or even pet supplies needed at the shelter.
• Put together a fundraising event for your local shelter, which can include a bake sale or concert night.
• Make sure to spay/neuter your pets and that your pets wear a collar with ID tags.
• Foster a dog before a home is found.
• Volunteer at your local shelter or rescue.
• Educate young children about “the importance of kindness, unconditional love, and responsible care of all animals,” the article said.
• Adopt a new pet for your family. It’s so rewarding!

When you adopt a dog, remember that they “are dependent on us for food, shelter, medical care, and quality of life, but they definitely pay it forward!” according to the article, “National Rescue Dog Day: May 20th” at MetLife.

Get the family together, do your research, and plan before you adopt and bring home your new best friend.

Dispelling the Myths That Shelter Animals Are Bad

There are so many dogs and cats across the country languishing in shelters. They are in desperate need of homes. Unfortunately, many of them have been deemed unadoptable for a variety of reasons.

Shelters take in about 5 and 7 million homeless animals, according to the article, “Shining a Light on Shelter Myths” at ASPCA.org. And “as ridiculous as anti-shelter arguments are, they reveal destructive myths about shelter animals that need to be called out every time they arise.”

According to the article, some of the myths include:

• Dogs end up in shelters due to being seized in criminal cases or they were deemed too aggressive to safely own. Just because at least half of dogs and cats come to shelters as strays, it doesn’t mean they are aggressive. An animal’s current behavior and health is what’s important.
• Shelter animals are not clean but puppy store animals are. Puppy stores receive their animals from puppy mills where dogs hardly ever leave filthy, wired cages where disease spreads.
• Older cats and dogs do not bond. This is very untrue. “Age is not a determining factor in an animal’s affection toward humans or its ability to bond with them,” the ASPCA article said.

According to the article, “Why Adopt a Shelter Dog? 10 Myths About Shelter Pets Debunked” at Be.chewy.com, “Yes, animal adoption is a big deal—you’re welcoming a new furry family member to their forever home—so you want to make sure you make the right decisions. But that doesn’t mean you should skip the shelter.”

The Be.chewy.com article discusses the following myths:

• Rescue dogs cannot be trained. Any dog who comes into your home will need some type of training. Plus, you can train an adult dog.
• Many shelter dogs are shy or scared. Every dog has an individual personality. Oftentimes a shelter dog you adopt will need time to decompress.
• Rescue dogs are not potty trained. This depends on the individual dog. Either ask a shelter staff member for a potty-trained dog or be willing to help train your newly adopted canine.

Often, people do not believe purebred dogs are available at the shelter. While shelters have a lot of mutts, “about a quarter of the rescue dogs are purebred,” according to the article, “5 Ridiculous Myths About Rescue Dogs” at Petguide.com. For those who want a specific breed, there are breed-specific rescue groups out there. Just do some research.

While some people think rescue dogs are simply unhealthy and sick; that is just another myth. “Dogs that are taken in by shelters are given a complete health exam by a veterinarian before being put up for adoption,” the Petguide.com article said.

Just remember, when you adopt a dog from a shelter or a local rescue, just provide the basics: love, leadership, patience and guidance, the Petguide.com article said. Your newly adopted dog will be happy you did, and so will you. Before you know it, your new family member will be eating out of your hand.

How to Prevent Hairballs in Your Cat
How to Celebrate National Pet Parent Day
Best Ways to Exercise Your Dog Mentally and Physically

How to Prevent Hairballs in Your Cat
We love our cats. They are fun, cute, cuddly, sometimes sneaky, sometimes like to knock things off the table, and then there are the hairballs. If you have a cat who gets hairballs, what can you do?

When you first encounter a hairball it can be quite undesirable and nasty to look at. Your cat basically will vomit up the hair, according to the article, “How To Treat Cat Hairballs” at PetMD.com.

The hairballs occur because of your cat grooming himself and then swallowing hair. While some “hair will pass thorough their digestive tract and into their feces with no complications,” the article said, sometimes in cats the hair gets into the stomach and becomes a hairball. “After hair has accumulated in the stomach and a hairball is formed, it will then be vomited as a long, tubular hair mass that may be covered in slimy mucus.”

There are things you can to do prevent and treat hairballs. The PetMD article offers the following tips:

• Laxatone, an oral gel that binds hair in the stomach so the hair passes easier
• Over-the-counter hairball diets available in certain cat food formulas
• Prescription diets that you can discuss with your veterinarian

You can try to prevent hairballs in your cat as well. According to the article, “7 Tips to Prevent Hairballs” at PetSafe. Some things you can do include:

• Brushing your cat and do it more during shedding seasons. “Removing the loose and dead hair from your cat’s coat before your cat can ingest it is probably the best way to prevent hairball from forming in the first place,” the PetSafe article said.
• An active cat who engages in regular exercise and play can keep the digestive system working.
• Try pumpkin, a great fiber-rich treat.
• Ensure your cat has lots of water.

How to Celebrate National Pet Parent Day
There’s a day for just about everything. And while we have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, did you know there is a National Pet Parent Day? It’s a great way to celebrate being a parent to your pet.

Celebrated on the last Sunday of April, this year the day falls on April 24. Thankfully, back in 2007, this very special day started “to acknowledge the many Americans who consider their pets to be beloved members of the family,” according to the article, “Ways to Celebrate National Pet Parents Day” at PetPlace.com.

Pet parents take care of their pets on a daily basis by feeding them, walking them, cleaning the litter box, taking them to the veterinarian, playing with them, and even taking them on vacation.

How can you celebrate this very special day? Here are some suggestions, according to the article:

• Go to the park with your dog. Your dog will have a great long walk and you both can take in the sights and smells.
• Cuddle up with your pet in your lap. Provide extra kisses and belly rubs.
• Get out and go for a drive. You can even choose a destination.
• Prepare a special meal that you can share.
• Organize a pet food drive and bring together your community to help pet parents in need.

You can even make it memorable. According to the article, “Top tips to make this National Pet Parents Day one to remember” at Animal Wellness Magazine, consider these suggestions:

• Adopt a shelter pet and become a wonder pet parent all over again.
• Buy your pet a new toy and bask in the happiness it brings.
• Volunteer at your local animal shelter

Whatever you decide to do to celebrate National Pet Parents Day, remember it’s your day so celebrate it in your style.

Best Ways to Exercise Your Dog Mentally and Physically
Since April is Canine Fitness Month, it’s a great time to exercise your dog both mentally and physically.

As with people, dogs can become sedentary, become obese, and lack mental stimulation. According to the article, “Canine Fitness Month: Exercises Anyone Can Do” at Vet Organics, dogs need to be active at least 30 minutes a day and so do humans. “Now is the time to build exercise, playtime, and games into our daily habits to keep all of us, canine companions included, mentally healthy and physically fit,” the article said.

The article offers some ways to get out there with your canines:

• Walk at any pace that is comfortable for you and your dog. If you’re just starting, begin with a shorter walk.
• Fetch anyone? It’s a great game. You can try a Frisbee, ball, or stick.
• Take the stairs, but be mindful of senior dogs.
• Try obstacle courses, which you can do at home.

According to the article, “Enriching Your Dog’s Life” at Fetch by WebMD, while we all have lives that are busy, our dogs are often home alone a big part of every day. “If you give your dog ‘jobs’ to do when she’s by herself, she’ll be less likely to come up with her own ways to occupy her time, like unstuffing your couch, raiding the trash or chewing on your favorite pair of shoes,” the Fetch by WebMD article said.

Provide a food puzzle toy for your dog. These sturdy containers have food or treats inside but dogs have to work to get the food out. They “require time, patience and problem solving,” the Fetch article said.

There are so many activities you can do to help stimulate your dog mentally and physically. It will help you both in the long run.