Adventure Dog Blog

My dogs are well protected against ticks, fleas, ear mites, and mange with their Revolution treatment once per month. However, they still get hassled just as much by mosquitos. But what can you do for a dog that’s getting bitten? If you spray them with repellant, they are likely to ingest it by licking themselves.

The Buzz Off Bandana (made by Buzz Off)is made just for dogs and provides protection by repelling mosquitos. It also says that it’s good for repelling ticks and other biting bugs.

You can purchase the Buzz Off Banada at places like Orvis, check out their site for details.

Blue Sky Dogs New York brings you dog friendly travel services like Best Friends Weekends & Day Trips, Canine Country Days, Dog Friendly Travel Planning, and adventure gear for dogs.

Best Friend Weekends offer worry-free, all inclusive vacations with accomodations, activities, meals, and transportation options. Past weekends have included activities like wine & cheese receptions, guided hikes, dog friendly dinners and more.

Day Trips can include things like transportation and boxed lunches with visits to dog friendly vineyards with playtime and treats.

Canine Country Days get you away from the city with your canine friends to enjoy activities like hiking, rolling, climbing, sniffing and playing. Includes transportation, digital photos, treats, water, and unlimited fun.

Blue Sky Dogs also offers custom travel planning should you hope to make a getaway with your dog.

Visit the Blue Sky Dogs website for more information on their services.

Maybe you like to go camping but want your dog to sleep somewhere other than on top (or inside!) of your sleeping bag. The Mutt Hutt is a tent for dogs, designed just like tents for people except it has a dog door!

This tent uses an EasyPower frame, meaning it sets up in seconds, and has zippered doors, ventilation panels, and a clip on rain fly. It also has something they call a “dog activated” dog door, meaning your dog can come and go as it needs to when nature calls!

Now you can have a little house for your friend no matter where you go! Check it out at Ruff Wear.

Located in Ingleside Illinois, Camp Dogwood offers four-day Spring and Fall camps for people and their dogs. With plenty of activities to choose from, you can customize your day with things like agility, obedience, nature hikes, frisbee, tracking, canine olympics, beach parties, clicker training, cooking with and for your dog, dog massage, herding, flyball, freestyle dance, and more.

All camp packages include lodging and meals with rates per person including up to two dogs. With double, single, and shared rooming options, or tenting and local hotels. Group rates and discounts are available for groups of five people or more.

Dogs are allowed to sleep in bed with you if you wish, all meals are provided (bring your own dog food though!), most sessions attract at least 100 human campers, roommates can be arranged for you if you like, all dogs must be up to date on their vaccines, and credit cards are accepted.

Visit the Camp Dogwood website for more information.

Little Mr. Meaty finds himself getting cold in the first ten minutes of a walk outdoors in the snow. Anna, on the other hand, can handle even long walks in winter as long as it isn’t ridiculously cold. On the worst days though, even she can been seen shivering and lifting up her feet one by one.

I’ve begun the hunt for booties for my dogs and have discovered that dog boots don’t come cheap. I have been hesitant to buy just any old boots, because I want something that is quality. If you’ve ever tried to keep a sock on your dog’s foot to protect it you might have an idea why just any old boot probably won’t do. Dogs have uniquely shaped feet and require not only something that will fit properly and stay on, but also something very durable along with warm.

Muttluks makes a line of footwear for dogs that comes both in all-season and fleece-lined versions. The fleece-lined boots come in black, blue, green, pink, orange purple and red. They have waterproof fabric on the exterior, an inner fleece lining, an easy quick fastening strap, quick drying cuffs, reflective material on the strap, leather toe cover, heavy duty stitching, and boot bottoms made from treated water and salt resistant leather.

Visit the Muttluks site to get more information.

Living in Mexico, there have been several occasions where I’ve wished I had some sort of light on my dog’s collars. Sometimes Anna will hear a noise in the bush and take off in the night, chasing away some perceived threat (probably a lizard or chicken). Other times, we’ve been going to a fire at the beach or the disco on the weekend, and the walk involves several dark trails.

The Beacon, made by Ruff Wear, is a flashing safety light that you can fasten to your dog’s collar, making them visible up to a half mile away. It has a 130 hour battery and a lightbulb that never needs replacing. Plus, it’s waterproof and submersible up to 300 ft.

To purchase or learn more about The Beacon, visit Ruff Wear’s website.

Hoping to take a trip with your dog? Dog Paddling Adventures offers trips for every season, like Spring hikes, padding & camping, fall hikes, and skijoring and snowshoeing.

Dog hikes are offered in many beautiful locations, and are also sometimes offered in combination with pet photography or animal communication workshops. Paddling & Camping are offered as one day trips or mutli-day retreats. With customized trips, women’s retreats, and lots of beautiful vacations. The Fall hikes are like the Spring hikes with beautiful conservation areas and parks to explore, and various workshops available. In Winter, learn skijoring, go snowshoeing, take winter hikes, and go kick sledding with your dog!

All of these adventures include photos of you and your pup! All of the gear required is provided, including full instruction and delicious meals. Even better, costs associated are per person, not per dog, so you can bring as many of your pups as you’d like!

Dog Paddling Adventures is located in Toronto, Ontario. Find out more by visiting their website.

Mr. Meaty, being a pug, has huge bulgy eyes and he’s always getting dirty and stuff in them. Not only that, but he often comes home from the park with eye injuries. Life just isn’t that fun when your eyeballs stick out further than your nose! With all the trouble he’s had, I’ve been considering buying him a pair of Doggles.

Doggles are goggles for dogs! Doggles have shatter-proof, anti-fog lenses that block 100% of UV light and keep wind and debris out of your dog’s eyes. You can buy Doggles Originalz, special colors for small dogs, and Doggles with an interchangeable lens system. You can also get a pair of Doggles with prescription lenses custom made!

If your dog likes to ride in the back of a truck, in the sidecar to your motorcycle, or maybe has eyeballs like Mr. Meaty, you might want to consider a pair of Doggles!

Visit Doggles.com!

When travelling with your pet, or venturing into the wilderness, you need to be aware of various dangers that you wouldn’t necessarily be mindful of without your four legged friends around.

My dog Anna likes to put anything and everything in her mouth. Like a baby, she explores everything with her lips and tongue. A dog like her can run into real trouble when travelling to new places simply because she’ll encounter various dangers she wouldn’t normally find at home.

The Cane Toad is one of these dangers. According to the Australian Museum Online, the “natural range of Cane Toads extends from the southern United States to tropical South America.” However, the species has been introduced in many other regions of the world, and you’ll find them in abundance in places like Australia, Florida, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, parts of Japan, various Carribean Islands, and several other parts of the world.

The Cane Toad is dangerous because it has two large poison glands located behind the eyes and is highly toxic if ingested. The poison is also very harmful if it comes into contact with mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose and mouth. Dogs can, and do, die from Cane Toad poisonings.

However, according to the Department of Agriculture and Food in Western Australia, “seeking veterinary assistance ensures that most dogs survive, with a 2004 study of 90 cane toad-poisoned dogs in Queensland reporting a survival rate of 96 per cent following veterinary intervention.”

Anna encountered a Cane Toad one night and thought it was a very yummy thing to have in her mouth. I was talking with friends when one pointed out that Anna had something. I turned to see her with a Cane Toad! I immediately ran over to her, yelling at her to drop it, which she did, and then I chased and scared her away from it. She began smacking her lips a bunch and I was terrified that she had been poisoned. We immediately rushed home where I rinsed her mouth out thoroughly with water, and waited. Luckily, she showed no other signs of poisoning and all was well.

Cane Toads are nocturnal, and you can do a lot to prevent encounters by keeping your dogs indoors at night. It’s also very important to train your dogs to respond to a “drop it” command should you ever find them with one in their mouth.

Click here for more information on protecting your dogs from Cane Toad poisoning.

Click for more general information on the Cane Toad.

Active dogs spend time running through the bush, sniffing in the undergrowth, and exploring the wilderness. When you take your dog hiking, camping, walking, or trekking, your dog is at risk for catching heartworm, fleas, ticks, and various parasites.

As I was bringing my dogs down to live with me in the Mexican jungle, I knew ticks and fleas were going to be a big problem. I talked to my vet and he recommended using Revolution.

Revolution is an FDA approved, topically applied medication that prevents fleas, ticks, heartworm, mange, and ear mites. Once a month, you simply apply a small amount of Revolution to the skin of your pet’s neck. The body absorbs the medication and your pet is protected for one month.

In Mexico we lived in a home that didn’t have four walls and the dogs were offleash almost all the time. They liked to run off in the bush to sniff around, chase chickens and other animals into the trees, and generally ran amuck. Without a prevention plan, the dogs would have been infested with ticks and fleas. We were living in the jungle where it wasn’t unusual to find tick balls in the bush, huge piles of ticks just waiting for a creature to brush past!

With treatment once per month with Revolution, the dogs still came home with a few ticks now and again, and I did discover one flea, but overall it’s been a very effective method of protection against pests and parasites.

Get more information on Revolution!