Hello and thank you for visiting the blog again today. Sophia and I are back at home and all cleaned up after visiting one of the most beautiful dog parks in our state. Today we took a trip to Friends Of Alum Creek Dog Park. Deep inside Alum Creek State Park, there are many different areas of the park where one can explore and visit with their family and friends and for us, most importantly, with their dog.
Inside of the park a family can enjoy many things such as boating, camping, disc golf, fishing, hiking, walking, and horseback riding. There’s a lot of stuff to do. But inside of this park is an awesome dog park including a dog swim area.
This is really exciting because the large and small dog parks are auxiliary to the Dog Swim area where the primary focus is the water.
Ok. So what’s the big deal? Maybe for you, nothing! You may reside near the beach where this is an everyday occurrence and you couldn’t care less. For my city dogs, this is a big break from the norm and gets them out onto different terrain. As pet parents, we should have a little heads up on what to expect from a trip to the beach. That’s all I am saying.
FRESH AIR, SAND, AND SURF
Now of course, all of the common sense rules apply just the same as for any trip to the dog park. You’ll want to keep an eye on your fur baby and when necessary keep them under direct control. But now that you’ve made it to the shore what exactly should watch for?
If you are a first-timer to the beach or any sandy area, here are a few tips to utilize in caring for your dog. Our personal experience with this topic makes this list of tips both short and practical.
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#1 Careful of sand ingestion! Playing in the water and the sand is a blast but if your dog eats the sand, this could lead to complications.
#2 Rinse off before leaving the park or beach so the salt and sand do not have an opportunity to dry onto your dog’s fur. Your dog may accidentally ingest more salt and sand by licking their fur before bath time. This just lessens the possibility of accidental ingestion. You are also reducing the likelihood of fecal impaction from the sand. Fecal impaction is painful for your fur baby and this only becomes worse until the dog passes the material from its body.
#3 Watch for No-see-ums after your trip is over and everyone has returned home. No-see-ums are tiny little bugs with a painful bite. And they can easily travel home with you. Good ventilation is extremely helpful in managing these little pests. Beaches are definitely one of the places No-see-ums operate. They are typically found in mud, sand, and debris at the edges of ponds, lakes and springs, tree holes, and slime-covered bark. It’s funny but each of those items and places mentioned intrigue most of our dogs and attracts them like magnets… making it easier for the No-see-ums to contact your pet.
If you have never been bitten by a no-see-um expect it to hurt! A person can get rid of No-see-ums but please do not be too casual about this. The female insect may require a bloodmeal to produce more eggs, depending upon their species. Without being too technical about the species – and again – it depends on which one it is — she can lay from 25 to 110 eggs per bloodmeal. These insects live a few weeks in a natural setting but as you can see, they will produce lots of eggs if they can just get that bite that leads to the blood.
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Good ventilation is extremely helpful in managing these little bitty pests.
MORE ABOUT MIDGES
For managing any infestation from this insect, what you will need is ventilation. Be sure to rinse off and wash up really good after visiting a sandy, muddy park area. Midges can and do travel home with you readily and easily after visiting these coastal areas.
If you have larger concerns on this matter- utilize the option to prepare in advance. Type in ‘midge alert’ for your local area or for the location you’d prefer to visit. If the Midges are swarming you’ll know to select another park and visit someplace else instead.
Personally, upon leaving the parks we ventilate by leaving the windows open on the way home if it’s not too hot of course. But then again, if it’s steaming hot out – forget that – we’ll shut the windows and blast the AC. Once we’re home again we have the screen doors secure and the doors open for lots of fresh air movement with ceiling fans in motion. That’s how we’ve done it and those are the key dog park points that I have for you today.
Here at thedoggyperspective.com we’re all about preparing and motivating new pet parents. Or pet parents that have owned dogs for a while but may not be as aware as they could be. Our goal is to help you to enhance the relationship between you and your doggie so that is enjoyable for both of you and that they may live long healthy and productive lives. Through this, we sincerely hope you may be the recipient of lots of love and cuddles.
FROM OUR TABLE
And now it’s time for From Our Table. So it’s been several months since Sophia and I have reviewed any toppers for you but I do want to take you to Applaws Taste Toppers in Gravy. These are one hundred percent natural. These are meant to actually compliment dry dog food. Sophia and I picked up a couple of different packages. The first one is chicken breast with white beans, peas, and pumpkin recipe and the second Taste Topper is lamb with zucchini, carrot, and chickpeas recipe. Because this is a Topper…you guessed it! It is extremely wet. The moisture Max is way up there at 92 to 93%. Calorie content-wise your dog is looking at 502 kcals or 567 kcals. These Toppers have no additives, the ingredients are very limited, plus this is a grain-free item. For pet parents looking for something really nice to feed their animals that won’t bother their digestion and actually help to boost their immune system these are perfect. Now, you can use these to top dry dog foods, or you may mix them directly as a blend. And finally, if you are so inclined, you may skip the dry dog food altogether and simply serve your fur baby the Topper alone as a healthy small meal. Go ahead, because the manufacturer only uses natural ingredients that you yourself would be happy to eat, there is no guilt in livening up doggy meal time. Applaws offers a delicious range of flavors your dog will love. Our choices today include these yummy ingredients for a 5.0 star rating and great taste experience: lamb broth, lamb, lamb liver, zucchini, carrot, chicken breast, chickpeas, locust bean gum and that is it.
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As I was saying, remember this doesn’t have to be just a Topper. It can be a treat or just a tad bit to eat. You know your pet best! It’s also going to depend on your situation. If you’re traveling and didn’t bring a lot of food with you but you did tuck a pouch of the topper in your bag or backpack, then your dog is not going to have to go hungry for a very long time.
If you will be serving these solo and don’t want to break the bank when you do this, we’re going to serve no more than 3 pouches daily. Adjust serving size according to the weight of your dog. The creator, Applause, recommends that you feed up to 3 pouches to a dog that is up to 20 lb in weight or that you feed up to two pouches at a maximum for a dog that is up to 10 lb in weight. We do believe that what you’re getting is going to be plenty as this is a 3oz envelope of food perfectly packaged. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have my favorite ziplock but then again there’s not that much food to serve. Once you open the envelope obviously you’re going to be serving the entire thing.
If these have been in your bag for a while – don’t fret. They weren’t meant to be refrigerated from the start. They are fine served at room temperature. On the off chance the full serving is not consumed,[3 oz] then please refrigerate any unused portion. Later, before you serve the unused portion – bring it back up to room temperature.
Will It Keep?
Sophia & Me purchased ours just at the beginning of August 2022. The expiration date on this is for August 13th 2023. As you can see, the shelf life on this is very very good. If you won’t have the occasion to serve them right away there is no rush. You may keep them in your dog’s pantry for a good while.
Ratings?
Applause Taste Toppers do have a very good rating because they are super healthy for dogs with limited ingredients. This is real whole food so they actually have almost a 5-star rating in some cases [this depends upon the flavor of the food selected] you’ll find the star rating anywhere between 4.4 stars and a perfect 5.0 Stars across the internet.
Find these Taste Toppers at petco.com, chewy.com, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus, and Amazon.com. By now you know how I feel about Amazon.com as well as chewy.com! They just have everything and are super reliable so if you have access and can place your orders at Amazon or chewy.com, I encourage you to do that so you can have them quickly and you can have them at fantastic prices.
The reviews from pet parents are excellent. The reviewers are raving about their dogs enjoying the food, and about how the dogs are excited about the food right from the opening of the pouch. Also being bragged about is the lack of adverse reactions. I have seen this for myself and can tell you the food is highly digestible. The quality of the dog stools is good. Stools are not runny, and not hard. These are big healthy poops without much odor. That is exactly what to expect of high-quality dog food.
Until next time, Happy Pet Parenting!
Hey thanks for this post!
Dogs parks are sure fun! I haven’t visited any beaches with my fur baby so this is a great preparation and information to help me get a glimpse in what to expect.
Definitely going to keep an eye out for the sand, I wasn’t aware it can be harmful to our babies, and those food I’ve got to check out!
Thanks again!
You are welcome Sarah. Thank you for your comments. We are 100% certain that your fur baby will love these dog foods. Happy pet parenting!
Good article, a bit of an eye-opener since I used to take my furry children to the beach all the time on the South Carolina coast and never had a thought about midges. I was pretty focused on water and shade, but oblivious to those nasty little biters. I think I used to think of that bright, near white sand as almost sterile. Looking back, my Border Collie Ellie was often agitated after a beach visit but thankfully, hopefully any possible midge issue was mitigated by rinses and open windows, which we did as a matter of course anyway.
One thing Ellie used to do was try to drink the ocean…have you heard of that before??
Sounds like you’ve got the right idea on post-park care. There is a large number of pet parents thinking in this same manner. What we enjoy about lots of these parks are the resources available for visitors. Many of them contain bare minimum dog wash centers which may be no more than a water hose on an outdoor faucet but if we take a moment to notice…it’s there. Thank you for your comment. We are glad to learn that our article caused you to focus in on your dog’s hygiene. Ellie most likely is simply enjoying the beauty environment. And yes, I’ve heard of that. I would say that Ellie is in the same class of dog considered to be an ‘athlete’. Professional competitive dog surfers drink the ocean all of the time. Take a look right here.
Many thanks for such a great article.
Me and my buldog love to spend some time on a shore. She looks so happy when there is a water outside of the house to play with. But it was a big surprise for me, you to mention about trouble bugs hiding in sand. I probably have not met them before as I followed same steps you described. Good wash and ventilation.
But it made me think that I can catch some of them myself, can I?
Yes Artur Mak, unfortunately midges bite people too. A case of the midges isn’t fatal but it is pesky. Thank you for reading our article and leaving a comment. We hope the article links were of use to you also.
Thanks so much for this valuable post. It’s something to think about especially when it comes to my furry friend. Fortunately, I don’t live near the beach to worry about the no-see-ums-midges. Even though I have thought it could be fun to take my dog for a walk at the beach, now I will think twice about it. However, I took my dog twice a week to the dog-park just to let him run around for a while. I also love the dog food you recommended here. I’ll be sure to check it out.
Thank you, Vai. You’ll try the dog food? That’s good news. There are pluses to not making your home so close to the beach. Midges avoidance is one of them. But never deny yourself that occasional trip to the beach. Prepared with these tips you and your fur baby are sure to enjoy. We appreciate the comment. Happy pet parenting!