Wordless Wednesday: Breaking in the new car with a trip to the park

We got a new car!

This is Frankie.

Someone hit my car a few weeks ago, and we needed a new one. We got a beautiful Hyundai Elantra from Orlando Hyundai!

After about a week of getting used to her, I finally let Lulu and Jasmine check her out. So we took a drive out to Lake Baldwin Park!

10 Doggy rules for a dog park

Welcome to the Dog Park.

There are lots of rules humans should know about: no violent dogs, no food, all dogs need to be up-to-date on vaccinations, clean up after your dog, etc.

But the dogs have rules too. Our dogs have come up with some rules you should make sure your dogs follow.

1. To say hello, sniff a butt. This is totally normal, don't be scared.

2. Go potty first and foremost. That way you don't have to stop in the middle of a run.

3. Some parks have dirt spots. These are especially good when it's hot out. You can dig a hole and sit in it and be nice and cool. Just be sure to fill it back up.

4. There are big metal things that water comes out of. Sometimes the humans fill up buckets for us. Those buckets are for drinking water -- NOT TO STAND IN.

5. Sometimes you'll see something on the ground that you'll want to eat. It might smell good, but don't eat anything your human doesn't give you. Some people do bad things, and you don't want a tummy ache or a visit to the vet.

6. But there is lots of smelly stuff. Take it all in.

7. And sometimes, there's stuff smelly enough to roll in! But whether there is or there isn't, be sure to get a good roll in.

8. You'll meet other doggies to play with. But be nice and don't play too hard.

9. And if you see dogs playing rough, it's best to stay outside the fight... and let your human know!

10. And when your human says it's time to go home, be sure to catch up with them.

Have fun!

How about a little Monday Mischief? Lulu and Jasmine get spunky

 

The weather has been greatly lately -- perfect for beagles who want to be outside. We've been trying to spend more time outside, but I've been busy working. So Lulu and Jasmine are starting to get rambunctious outside by the pool. Look at the mess they made!

So we got to take a ride to a park Saturday for the first time in... forever!

Ahhhhhhh!

We went over to Doctors Dog Park in Apopka. It's a HUGE park, with large areas for big and small dogs, and it's got some shade too. 

By the time we were done at the park, Lulu and Jasmine were pretty exhausted, but Jazz had time for a little more silliness.

Your foot is comfortable.

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A good, stinky time: Fleet Peeples Park in Winter Park

If you're a dog owner in Central Florida, you've probably heard of Fleet Peeples Park. This Winter Park dog park is considered one of the best around. Most people love it, dogs love it.

But would Lulu and I love it?

Fleet Peeples is nestled along Lake Baldwin. And part of the lake is fenced in and available for the dogs to romp in the water. The park is huge! On top of the large off-leash area, there's also a big trail with a sidewalk that's great for a dog who wants to sniff around.

But not everyone likes Fleet Peeples. For one thing, there's no separate area for small dogs, like most area parks. That means yorkies are mixing with pits and aussies, and there are LOTS of them. For another, the park is not completely grassed. There's lots of dirt, which mixes with water from the lake and can make things quite muddy.

Then it appears not everyone is picking up after their dogs. I didn't see anything, but boy, could you smell it!

I don't think people are deliberately not picking up after their dog. I think it's tough to keep track of the pets because the area is so big.

Lulu had no problems making friends when we went. She ran a bit and played mostly with the small dogs. You could hear a few fights here and there, but generally the dogs all seemed to play well together.

Lulu didn't want to play in the lake, since she's not a big water fan. But it was really hot that day. She drank water from one of the drinking areas, but eventually she just laid down in the dirt.

Lulu didn't get dirty, but there is a dog wash area that's quite nice, right by the human restroom. There was a long line to use it. Everyone had towels with them.

Overall, I think it's a nice park. We will try to visit again when it's not so hot.

Fleet Peeples Park is located on Lakemont Avenue, on the shores of Lake Baldwin in Winter Park. It's not easy to get to, but if you go to the Friends of Fleet Peeples Park website, they have easy directions to get to the park.

Wordless Wednesday: A dog park postcard

A team of beagles. We took this on Saturday.

Don't forget...

DOGGY DAY OUT ORLANDO... 2!!!!

When: Saturday, April 20 from 3 pm to 5 pm
Where: Dr. Phillips Park on Buena Vista Woods Blvd. (MAP)
Admission: Free!
Benefitting: Pet Food Xpress


What we will be collecting at Doggy Day Out Orlando 2:

• Dog food: Small bags, 3.5 to 5 lbs. 
• Cat food: Small bags, 3.5 to 5 lbs. 
• Dog treats 
• Cat treats 

Must be new and unopened!

More details here!

Diary of Lulu in a Thundershirt, Day 6

To read Day 5 of the Diary, Go Here.

The first thing we learned today was that Lulu did not have the Thundershirt on tight enough. If you recall, she took it off the first day, so I had to put it on her.

We met with my trainer and he readjusted her Thundershirt. We then walked around two Petcos. Sadly, no dogs at either to test the shirt out on.

Then we took her to Dr. Phillips Dog Park, for some "field testing."

She is usually one of the first to greet the dogs at the gate... waaaaaay on the other end of where she is now in this picture. As you can see, she's found something else she'd rather do.

Doesn't mean that she didn't mix it up either. But it was different. She only howled a couple times at dogs coming into the park. But she definitely met all the dogs by the time she left. And today there were a lot of them.

Great Dane. Luna is SEVEN MONTH OLD!! Yikes.

And when we got back to the car, Best Friends Pet Care was there with free treats! Score! Lulu got a cookie and a peanut butter and banana ice cream. She loved both... and would have eaten more!

One more thing to mention -- Lulu is still barking at noises outside the house. Again, I don't quibble with this. BUT -- isn't that something the Thundershirt should be dealing with?

Lulu the beagle becomes a hot dog: Summer, your dog and health issues to watch for

It's Florida in May. It's hot. Very hot. But the other day I decided it'd be a good idea to take Lulu to the doggy park anyway. It'd been a while since she'd been out socializing since I've been busy with some personal changes, and she enjoys it.

A lot.

There weren't many dogs out, but she did meet some new dogs and got to run around a bit, but it wasn't long before I noticed she might have been getting hot.

Lulu rarely goes into the pool, and when she does she never stays for a long period. This time, however, she just walked around it, I guess trying to keep her feet cool. So I decided to take her home.

And in the car she panted like a fiend, even with the air conditioning on.

According to Pet WebMD (yes, there is such a thing), a symptom of heat stroke can be heavy, fast, and/or erratic panting. But she showed no other signs: no heavy drooling or frothing at the mouth, he tongue and gums looked fine, and she didn't feel hot to the touch. And eventually she cooled down. 

More and more people are taking their dogs to doggy parks, and in the summer that means looking for the signs that your dog may have a problem. VPI Pet Insurance.com recently put out a release on what dog owners should do to prevent your dog from having a heat problem at the dog park. Aside from watching for the signs and keeping the dog hydrated, you should also maybe not go to the park between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (we went to the park around 3:30). This way the dog is out of the sun when it's at its highest point.

But heat exhaustion/stroke is not the only problem pet owners should be aware of at the dog park. VPI's list also includes:

• Sprains and Soft Tissue Injuries
• Lacerations and Bite Wounds
• Kennel Cough/Upper Respiratory Infection
• Insect Bites
• Head Trauma
• Parasites
• Parvovirus

VPI compiled this list based on last year's dog park-related medical injuries. Sprains and soft tissue injuries are the most common -- the more the dog is outside, the more likely it can get hurt. All kinds of illnesses can come from insect bites, including lyme disease from ticks and heartworm issues from mosquitoes.

The best advice is to have an eye on your dog at all times when the dog is outdoors, and make sure to check the dog when you are finished being outside. 

Don't forget -- you can follow us on Twitter via our Life With Beagle account, or on Facebook, just like the page for "Lulu the Beagle."

FACTOID: What exactly are the DOG DAYS of SUMMER? According to Wikipedia:

"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, the dog days of summer are most commonly experienced in the months of July and August, which typically observe the warmest summer temperatures. In the Southern Hemisphere, they typically occur in January and February, in the midst of the austral summer. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.

So the "dog days" actually have nothing to do with an actual dog. Good to know.

Lulu the beagle checks out Dr. Phillips dog park, or "how dogs say hello"

Oftentimes to me Lulu seems very lonely. Beagles by nature are very social creatures -- they want to say hi to anyone and they hate being by themselves. At my parents' house, while she was alone 8 to 10 hours a day during the week, she also would have the cats to beat up on, and most of the time she would have my niece to wind her up. She could also go out in the backyard, where neighbors would come by just to say hello to her.

At my house, all she has when I'm not here is my cat Galadriel. Who hates her. Passionately.

I was strongly reminded of this today when I took Lulu for her morning walk. She was doing her business in the doggy area when a couple came walking by with a small dog on a leash. Lulu did what she usually did -- running back and forth along the fence, barking like mad. If the couple had planned to come in, I'm pretty sure that changed when they saw her.

So I decided it was time to get Lulu some puppy socialization.

In southwest Orange County there's Dr. Phillips Community Park. It's a nice little park tucked away from everything. It also has the closest dog park to me (that I could find). I'd never been there before, and it was a Tuesday morning, but maybe I'd get lucky and we'd find some dogs.

The doggy park is away from the playground and splash park, along the fitness trail. Along the way we met a lady with a puppy who was quite nervous about Lulu sniffing her dog, and another lady with a beagle named Ruthie (sadly they were just leaving).

The park splits up big dogs and small dogs (under or over 30 pounds), with a wash area in the middle. Since the lady with the puppy was in the small dog area by herself, I decided to let Lulu try out the large dog area, which was bigger so she had more room to sniff and run on her own.

As soon as we got in, these two huge dogs came right over to Lulu. I don't know what they were -- they looked like wolves. They were beautiful. And they wanted to get to know Lulu. Except she was afraid to get to know them. As they began what I can only determine is the traditional doggy greeting (is smelling a dog's butt really the equivalent of shaking hands?), Lulu backed away, tail between her legs. Fortunately they weren't too forceful, but since she was clearly uncomfortable around them, I decided to move her to the small dogs area as soon as there were more dogs.

She definitely seemed happier there:

Dr. Phillips Community Park is off Buenavista Woods Boulevard, off Apopka Vineland Road. On top of the dog park, they have a fitness trail, a playground, a splash park, ball fields, a pavillion and other amenities. The dog park area itself is tiny for little dogs, and there's no shade other than trees. But there are water fountains and dog bowls, and benches for us humans. Overall it was really nice, and I think Lulu and I will be returning.