Jason:  Okay, ladies. Take it away.

Lucy:  All right. This is Lucy Waite. I am in Southern California. I am the Field Service Manager for Southern California and Arizona. It is -- actually, it was stormy rainy yesterday, so we got some of our good winter weather yesterday. But today where I'm sitting, it's sunny and mid 60s. We don't get much snow here. There's some areas in my zone where there's snow, Flagstaff, Arizona, sometimes in parts of California, the skiing areas. We do get tons of rain, so dealing with rain.

Puddles and gutters that are flowing with rain are usually the biggest things that occur.  Puddles can be things that dogs might avoid, so that's something you might want to work on with your dogs, getting them comfortable walking through puddles. Although you might want to avoid the puddles as well. So depending on where you are, use your best judgment. One thing to do, if you're working on getting a dog comfortable with puddles or enjoying walking through them rather than avoiding them, is to use the clicker. You can just go out and heel your dog to a known puddle and step-by-step take a step into the puddle with the dog and when they step in the puddle they get click and food reward and just step-by-step go through the puddle that way. Then they'll enjoy going through the puddles more or be more willing to rather than going around them. 

Other things to consider might be gutters with rushing water. You might have a dog that stops prior to the curb edge, so just being aware that that could be the thing that's preventing them from getting all the way up on the curb edge and then taking that one big step over the rushing water. 

Let's see. Raincoats, I looked up today. Raincoats are $24 from the Guide Dogs Gift Shop. They're nice. They have a reflective strip. That's one thing you can always consider, and the raincoats also prevent wind. They have a little bit of added benefit in that they can keep a dog a little bit warmer, but not as warm as when you're out in Chicago weather or something. Let's see. Anything else about rain? I don't know if people have specific questions about rain.

Jason:  Anyone have any questions about rain for Lucy? 

Sherry:  Hi, Lucy. It's Sherry from Toronto. How are you?

Lucy:  Hi. Good, thanks.

Sherry:  Good. I bought two other raincoats other than the one from GDB because it doesn't really -- the one from GDB doesn't cover their stomach. So I've boughten one from Ruffwear that has the panel that goes down the front because when I was working, I didn't want to bring in a sloppy, wet dog to work, and then my poor puppy smelt all day. I found that the Sun Shower coat from Ruffwear is a really good coat. It's a bit more expensive. And also RC also carries a good raincoat that covers the tummy area, also, because it wraps underneath. 

Lucy:  Excellent. Did you get the pro purchase program from Ruffwear?

Sherry:  No, because apparently they told me that they don't offer it to Canadian clients.

Lucy:  Oh. Right. 

Sherry:  They only offer it if you have an American address. 

Jason: Is that only online, to get it online?

Sherry:  Yes. Well, no. Actually the Ruffwear coat that I bought, I had to go to a store in Toronto called Dog Father, and it's quite expensive.

Jason: I know it. It's at Young and --

Sherry:  - Young and Rosedale.

Jason:  Young and Rosedale. Yeah. I know.

Sherry:  Yeah. I paid almost $100 for that jacket. My first puppy raiser asked me where I got the coat. She found it on one American site -- I think maybe Amazon -- and she got it for $49. I wanted to die [laughs].

Jason:  And they've got their Black Friday sale on right now on Amazon just so you know.

Sherry:  Oh, good to know. On both American and Canadian?

Jason:  Yeah.

Sherry:  Okay. When I phoned Ruffwear to ask them about the percentage and if it applied to Canadians, they said no, only if you get it shipped to an American address.

Jason:  Okay. Who's going to volunteer?  

Lucy:  Yeah. Someone with an American address can buy a whole bunch of them and then deliver them up to Canada.

Sherry:  Exactly [laughs].  Or if you know you're visiting a puppy raiser, you get a whole bunch of them, ship to your puppy raiser and pick them up and bring them back.

Jason:  I have a question. Jason here. Sherry had mentioned about when your dog gets all wet in the rain, they're going to smell like a wet dog. Is there anything that you'd recommend that you could -- I don't know -- like spray on them, or something that would take the scent of the wet dog smell away when your dog's been in the rain?

Lucy:  You know, they do make some nice mild scents. I can't think of a brand right now, but I have seen them at pet stores. Stuff that you can get that has a little bit of oil in it, so it's a coat conditioner [crosstalk 00:06:27] maybe a lavender scent.

Jason:  Uh-huh.

Sherry:  Yeah. I was wondering if those sprays might, with some dogs if they have itchy skin, if those sprays make it more irritant to them.  So some of them do have an oil base to them?

Lucy:  I have seen some with oil base, a spray, a spray with an oily base. Yeah.

Sherry:  Okay. So it's more like a coat conditioner as you said.

Lucy:  Yeah. Exactly.

Sherry:  Okay.

Lucy:  Yeah. The other thing talking about wet dogs is that problem that you get them inside and immediately they shake. So thinking about that and trying to have them shake just before you go in the building, maybe under the overhang of the building before you go inside.

Sherry:  How do you get them to shake?

Lucy:  [Laughs] Usually they're just going to do it. If you stop in a dry area, they're just going to naturally do it. You could use the clicker and click that behavior because -- yeah, I've known plenty of dogs to know the command shake, just pairing the word shake with when they're doing it. They can catch on to that pretty easily.

Sherry:  Oh, cool. Okay.

Frank:  This is Frank in Wisconsin. My dog when I take off her harness, she'll shake. And so a lot of times just before I come in, I'll take off her harness, and I'm just holding the leash and then she'll shake. For some dogs, that's kind of like, okay, I know it's all right for me to shake. She's pretty good that way.  

Jason:  Okay.

Lucy:  Yeah. There's definitely a natural behavior for them to just fluff their coat back up when the raincoat comes off and the harness comes off. 

Jason:  Any other questions about rain for Lucy?

[Crosstalk 00:08:36]

Frank:  My dog she will walk around puddles and walk me right through them. I don't know if anybody else has that problem, but she loves to walk around them, and I end up walking right through them. I don't know if that's normal for guides, or if it's just my guide that does it. 

Lucy:  I would think a lot of guides would do that. They're going to avoid getting their feet soaking wet. Yeah. So like I said, you can walk with them through the puddle and make it a real positive experience using food. But once they have their own mind, they're likely to avoid the puddle, especially if it's a habit of theirs.

Frank:  Okay.

Jason:  Any other questions about rain? Thanks. Okay. Let's move on to snow. 

Lucy:  All right.  You want the snow. 

Jason:  Yeah. We've gone from late fall to the dead of winter. Lauren, are you the snow expert?

Lauren:  I am the snow queen. I am.

Jason:  Frozen 2 comes out today, by the way.

Lauren:  [Laughs] Yeah. Near and dear to my heart is protection in the snow. I also wanted to just super quick, somebody was asking about sprays, body sprays. You guys were talking about that a little bit. I just wanted to mention that I've found a couple that are really nice and gentle. I think the really natural ones -- I've found a couple that are very, very natural. There's nothing artificial and not necessarily -- it's not a recommendation because different dogs are sensitive to different things. But just generally speaking, I'd say the more natural that you can go the better. Try it on a little section first for a week and see how that goes. 

The one that I love is made by Cloud Star. They make different treats, and they're very natural company. There's a lavender and mint one that I really like. And it's just -- I have it right here. The ingredients list is water, natural conditioner base, aloe vera juice, essence of lavender, essence of mint, and then they have vitamins in there too. I don't know why.

Jason:  Cloud Star?

Lauren:  Yeah. Cloud Star. Yep. Yeah.  

Jason:  Okay. Great.

Lauren:  I've had a lot of luck with that one. Anyway, I just wanted to add that. For getting on to snow by far, the main consideration in really snowy areas are paws, your dog's feet. Because you've got so many cities use tons of salt and ice melting chemicals, which is great for traction and to keep the ice from building up and helping you not to fall, but it's really, really hard on paw pads. And a lot of our dogs -- so you all have the Ruffwear Bark'n Boots. Not all of our dogs love them. Some of them will walk slower in them. Some of them don't walk at all. So there are some alternative booties if you're interested. Protecting your dog's feet is just such an important thing. 

The booties that I always recommend, and I know some of you have tried them. I know Roxanne loves them. The disposable booties, the Pawz, are a nice alternative because dogs that don't like those heavy, structured boots, they can feel the ground in the Pawz booties because it's just a layer of rubber between them and the ground. They are much more -- they feel much more comfortable. Their gait is much more natural. So it's a nice alternative. Most of our dogs wear a size large, the purple bootie in the size large. There's a lot of wiggle room as far as size, so if your dog is a little bit smaller, between a medium and a large, the large will shrink down to fit their feet. Does anybody else have experience with Pawz?

Jason:  Are those the balloon boots?

Lauren:  Yeah. 

Jason:  Yeah. That are great.

Lauren:  Yep. The balloon boots. They're not for escalators. Any of the alternative booties or most of the alternative booties ae not appropriate for escalators because they could get caught. The Ruffwear, those are the only ones you want to use for escalators. They're wonderful boots. It's just not all dogs love them, and it is nice to have an alternative. The Pawz booties protect feet from burning, ice melting products, and the salt. And it prevents that lovely crow hopping. 

Sherry:  Yeah. It's Sherry from Toronto. On my guide dog, Atlanta, I use the Pawz on her front two paws, and I use the Ruffwear on her back paws. 

Lauren:  Great. Yep.  

Sherry:  Now, the only thing that I'm noticing though with the Pawz, and I've used them for the last six years because she's okay with using the Ruffwear in the back, but she hated those booties in the front. 

Lauren:  Yeah, because of the dewclaws.

Sherry:  So I started using the Pawz, but I noticed that their pads start to sweat a bit inside.

Lauren:  Yeah. They do tend to sweat. They're not for long term --

Sherry:  - Yeah. I usually take them off when we go inside or into malls, but I'm wondering have you used the Musher's Secret together with the Pawz? Is that something that is necessary or not really?

Lauren:  It's not necessary, but it is nice to have that extra layer of protection. So the Pawz, as you know -- the Pawz, for people who don't know -- Pawz are disposable. They come in a pack of 12. You can reuse them, but they don't last very long because they're just a natural rubber. They're like a balloon. They will break down, and their nails will eventually go through. So if you're using them, keep an extra set on hand just so that you can change them out if you need to. And you can put the Musher's Secret on as well. You can always use Musher's Secret. It's a really nice conditioning product. It helps to protect. You can rub it on your own hands, which is always nice. It's non-toxic and it absorbs really well into the paw pads. Then, like I said, it does give the paws that extra layer of protection. It may help a bit with the sweating too. I don't know if that would be the case. I would be interested to know. It might. 

I think that the sweating aspect of Pawz is just something that probably you just need to avoid it by removing the bootie as soon as you get to your destination. Some people do use the Pawz indoors for traction too, like for older dogs, so they can wear them for a bit indoors.  I think different dogs sweat at different amounts, so you just have to be careful. They're really nice for protection against the ice --

Sherry:  - Oh, I agree 100 percent.

Lauren:  And it's great, Sherry, wearing them on the front because you put them underneath the dewclaw. You don't put them over the dewclaw. They go under that way that dewclaw's not rubbing. And then using the Ruffwear on the back, it's a wonderful combination.  

Sherry:  Yeah. She does very well, and when I go to put her Ruffwear in the back, she automatically picks up her foot for me to put them on. She's good that way. But the Pawz in the front, it's a little bit more hassle, but I use food reward. Once I put them on, I give her praise and I give her food reward so that when I go to put the next one on, she's fine.

Frank:  This is Frank in Wisconsin. What I sometimes do is not only to protect them from the salt and stuff, but my wife buys the little baby socks, and we slip the socks on and then put the Pawz on over them. That insulates them. They can take the cold a little bit better because they're not directly on the concrete or in the snow. Then we just use them as throw aways. We don't use them over and over again. She seems to be doing pretty good with it, my guide Raven, and she doesn't mind them at all. 

Lauren:  Great. 

Jason:  Okay. I have a question. What do you do -- and this happened to me actually, and we got our first snowfall in Toronto last week -- when you get up in the morning to go to work or whatever, and the plows or the street clearers haven't come yet, and you've got the sidewalk is full of snow. There's no pathway for you and your dog to navigate. What do you ladies suggest in that situation?

Lauren:  Yeah. In that situation, well, first, I think it's so important for the dog to learn the route before the snow, which is why I always recommend try to graduate before there's snow so the dog can learn a route the right way. Then once it is covered with snow, they can remember where that sidewalk is. A key part of working a dog through the snow is having your cane, using your cane in conjunction with the dog, going back and forth. So you can either work the route sidewalkless. You can transition into the street for that particular route, if it makes sense, so just change the way that you work that route, work it like you would any sidewalkless route. And you can use your cane in that situation to make sure you know where the edge is on a given day because it's always changing. It melts a little bit. The plows plow a little bit more. It's always changing so that's where a cane can really come in handy. 

If you cannot work the route as a sidewalkless option, then really going through -- the dog will remember where the sidewalk is. So you just kind of have to be creative. Wear really good boots and go out to the place where the sidewalk is and just tromp right through it. You can also use your cane. Sometimes getting one of the support canes with the ice grip tip can be helpful because you can just use it to plunge right through the snow and use the gripper tip to find where the sidewalk is, see where the ice is. It's almost like four-wheeling through.

Sherry:  Jason, have you seen those in Toronto? 

Jason:  I haven't, no, but I haven't really looked either.

Sherry:  Okay. Because I haven't seen those yet for the canes.

Lauren:  Let me see where I -- 

[Crosstalk 00:21:55]

Jason:  Which one?

Lauren:  Yeah. They sell them. They have an ice grip tip, and then they also have a single safety spike. So there's a multiprong ice grip and then a single spike.

Jason:  Who has that?

Lauren:  Maxiaids.

Jason:  Maxiaids?

Lauren:  Yeah. M-A-X-I-A-I-D-S.

Jason:  Okay.

Frank:  Lauren, what's the maximum amount of time you should be out with your guide? I sometimes worry that their feet are going to get too cold if I'm traveling a distance in the snow and it's subzero temperatures. Do we have a rule of thumb or some gauge to go by?

Lauren:  You know, there's no set temperature. I think that if there are warnings about low temp, if you have to worry about your exposed skin and they're recommending not being out for more than 30 minutes, that's when you ought to make sure that if you're going to be out, get to where you need to be. In that type of weather and those types of conditions, I recommend adding a coat to your dog's gear, for sure. Anything below, I'd say -- our dogs are pretty good until it gets to be down into the -- this is Fahrenheit -- down into the teens or single digits, that's when you want to start adding a coat. 

There are some really nice -- and if you're going to do that, there are some really nice coats that are very low profile, very easy to use, and just a single layer can make a big difference for a Labrador. They've already got the nice double coat. Some dogs have a thicker coat than others, but just adding that single layer can really make a difference. Or if you prefer, you can get the warm, cozy coats. Ruffwear's got some good ones. RC Pet Stock has some good ones. The one that I really like is stretchy microfleece. There's no buttons or snaps or anything. It just slips right over their head, and you put their feet through the front, and it just goes along their body. It covers a little bit of the tummy, and it's nice and comfortable. It's soft, stretchy, and I'm going to find for you the name of it. It's Gold Paw Stretch Fleece. It's a pullover. [Crosstalk 00:24:44]. Yeah. Gold Paw --

Frank:  - I have a Ruffwear winter coat for Raven. It's Ruffwear and she seems to do good in that. I just worry about their feet getting too cold in deep snow. 

Lauren:  Yeah. Feet, a couple things to do, make sure the hair is trimmed between the pads or the toes because that's where those ice balls can collect. If they're walking through the snow with no booties on, the main thing that can happen is the balls of ice collect between their toes, and that's what causes most of the discomfort when it comes to cold and ice. Otherwise, their feet are usually, as long as you've got something on there to protect the skin, it's usually fine as long as they're moving. 

If you're at a bus stop for a long time, that's when you're going to start to worry a little bit if you've got the really low temps, down into the single digits Fahrenheit or below, negative. That's where hanging out for a long time is not recommended. A little bit is fine. You can wait 5, 10 minutes for the bus, but I wouldn't -- it's not a good idea to wait longer than that, especially if they don't have that protection. You'll know, too, because they're start hopping, lifting their paws.

Frank:  Yeah. That's when you worry about it, when they start hopping, and you know that it's uncomfortable for them. Of course I usually always have the boots on them in the wintertime, any time it's cold in the wintertime. Especially if it's teens or lower, I make sure I have boots on her and a winter coat. But I was just wondering if, even with the right protection and everything, is there a maximum amount of travel time if you're walking? We usually walk three to five miles a day, and I just don't know if that's too long a time or distance for a guide in zero weather or teen weather.

Lauren:  Yeah. I think moving is a big part of it. If the dog's moving and they've got some protection, they're probably going to be fine doing the regular route even when it's really cold. But again, if there are temperature warnings, frostbite warnings, good idea to just do what you need to do and then get back inside. I would forego the exercise route for that day, forego anything extra, just do what you need to do and then get back in. It's the standing around and the waiting, those are the things than can really start to cause a problem.

One thing I wanted to add about coats, too, is that because they can be bulky, even the thin one, it adds a little bit of extra girth, we can just individually, if you're having trouble putting on the harness or if the harness feels tight, we could help you to adjust the harness, just talk you through adjusting the harness, what it should feel like, or send out a longer belly strap if you need one for the winter coat. 

Frank:  One other question. My dog loves to go out in our backyard and run around and play and bury her face in the snow and she runs around. What I usually do is set the timer so that she's not out there more than 10 or 15 minutes. Is that appropriate?

Lauren:  I think that if she has the freedom to come back if she needs to, I would say she could probably be out there a little bit longer as long as it's not really, really cold, like those really low temps. But if it's in the 20s, again Fahrenheit, 20s, 30s, yeah for sure. She's fine.

Frank:  Okay. We haven't hit the subzeros yet, but later on in the year, we'll hit subzeros. But mostly it's been in the teens, and she just loves to run and bury her muzzle in the snow and play. She just has a lot of fun. I just want to be mindful of how long she's out there.

Roxanne:  This is Roxanne. I'm in the Chicago area. Just a couple weeks ago, we had snow and it got down to -- I think we had windchills down close to zero, maybe below. I don't even know. And I've got a new guide that I just brought home in June, and he was fine out there sniffing and looking around. I didn't even put a coat on him because he's made a pretty thick coat already, so any type of coat on him, he is wearing Pawz when we're out walking. But if I just take him out to relieve, I don't even put the Pawz on then. He's got Musher's on his feet every day, so we can just pop outside and relieve. But if we're walking on the salty street, then we do the Musher's. 

This is something I've told Lauren before. I heard this from a vet a long time ago because I wanted to know, well, how long can my dog stay outside if it's 20 below or 15 below and we're walking home from the train. His rule was if you feel cold, your dog probably has another 5 to 10 minutes before the cold really hits them. That's not discounting -- if it's a really, really bad day, the polar vortex type weather, that kind of stuff, where nobody should be out. But if you're just walking home from the train and it's cold and you're not feeling cold because you're moving, your dog's probably okay.

Jason:  We've talked about snow. Lauren, you touched a little bit on ice. What do you recommend for -- you're walking to the train or the bus or wherever in the morning, and again, the salters haven't been out and the sidewalk and the road is a sheet of ice?

Unidentified:  Be very careful [laughs].

Jason:  Not much you can really do, I guess, is there? I find my dogs tend to want to pull me faster when it's slippery, so I've got to --

Roxanne:  Yeah. Because it looks like it's fun.

Jason:  Yeah. 

Lauren:  Well, a couple things. Unfortunately, trial and error works really well with ice. But if you don't want to rely on that, yeah, dogs do learn that you fall when they go fast on ice. Then they usually start to get a lot better once they realize that you're slipping or if you fall. However, if you don't want to rely on that. 

What Lucy was describing for puddles works really well for ice as well. I would prepare, take some time, find a weekend or an evening where you don't have to worry about getting to work and you can just heel your dog. Go outside, have your dog in a heel, harness or not. Harness is good because then they'll pattern a little bit better. So just go out and how them when we get to this stuff -- they can tell the difference once they check it out, they start to learn. 

Because at first, dogs that haven't been exposed to ice before at first don't really know what it is. So once they're introduced to it and you show them that it's something that you need to show caution for, maybe show it to you, if you click for it, feed them at it, and then walk slowly, encourage that nice, slow pace over it by using your tone of voice, speaking very calmly, "That's a good girl, good boy," and then stop, feed, another few steps. Then once you're off of it, speed back up again. Just that kind of handling to teach them that this is something we need to be careful off. This is something I want you to show to me and stop for rather than going around and having me walk on it. So yes, it's a process for sure. 

And then wearing something on your shoes is a great idea. I just did a home interview with somebody in Calgary who had the coolest boots that had built in -- Canadians, tell me if you've seen this -- they have -- not spikey spikes. They were appropriate for working with a dog, but they flip right out of the sole, so you can flip them back into the sole of the boot if you're not using them and then you -- you open up the spikes in the sole.

[Crosstalk 00:34:46]

Jason:  Icers or something?

[Crosstalk 00:34:49]

Sherry:  They're called Pajar, P-A-J-A-R. 

Jason:  Say again.

Frank:  There's a lot of shoes like that that the ice fisherman use, if you're ice fishing, and they just stretch over your shoe or your boot, and they give you really good traction. You just have to remember to take them off before you go indoors because then they become really slippery indoors, but they're great on the ice.

Jason:  So for those in Canada, Mountain Equipment Coop probably has them, for those in Canada, I would imagine.

Unidentified:  What are they called?

Frank: They're just ice fisherman shoes, slip-ons, and they stretch, they just stretch over your shoe.

Unidentified:  No, the other thing --

[Crosstalk 00:35:33]

Sherry:  Pajar. The boots are called Pajar. They're a Canadian boot, but they're not cheap.

[Crosstalk 00:35:45]

Lauren: There's different things. Let me just -- so there's a few different things. There's the boot. There's a couple of different boots. There's boots that have built in spikes. The gentleman that I talked to, they were not Pajar. I'm familiar with that brand. They were much less expensive. I wrote them down somewhere and I'm not finding it. And then there's the kind that you can put over your shoes. Yaktrax are one that are really nice. It's Y-A-K-T-R-A-X. And Columbia also makes a really nice, grippy, ice boot. They came out with it last year. That's another one that I'll -- I'm going to look it up right now. It's a proprietary sole that has -- they're not spikes, but they have an ice gripping tread. I'm going to tell you what those are right now. 

Jason:  I would think that most outdoor stores would have these kind of things.

Lauren: Yep, or you can order them.

Jason:  Or get them online.

Lauren:  Yeah. Definitely. 

Amit: Jason?

Jason:  Yeah? 

Amit:  May I ask a question.

Jason:  Hi, Amit. How are you?

Amit:  Yeah. I'm good.

Jason:  You don't have to worry about this. You're in Santa Barbara.

Amit:  No, I don't. That's true [laughs].

Jason:  But you guys also do DC, aren't you?

Amit:  Yeah. Yes, exactly. I'm heading to the board right away soon. I actually wanted to bring up something. I have an eight and a half year old black lab, and as he's gotten older, I've noticed something that sort of crept in, especially in the cold season. When we are outside, sometimes near the ocean in the winter in the evenings it can get very cold. Nothing like Canada, but cold by California standards. If there's no carpet on the floor, you can sense that he's a little bit uncomfortable. He only has so much hair on his belly. What I've noticed is with age, as soon as we're out, he really wants to be relieved. So there's a little bit of -- I've begun notice it in the winter season. One has to be very careful when he's out, especially when I'm in DC always on a cold floor, he would need to go more frequently. I don't know if there's any sense of that, if something that's [inaudible 00:38:46] we know this with older dogs?

Lauren:  I wouldn't think it would have anything to do with the weather unless his bladder shrinks because it's colder, but that seems a little weird. Yeah, it sounds maybe more age related or -- have you noticed a different amount of drinking that he's doing, if he's drinking a little more water?

Amit:  No, I think the drinking is the same. And what is very interesting is that before we head out, he's always relieved. What I find really interesting is that even though he's just been relieved, soon after being in a cold place, he would want to go. 

[Crosstalk 00:39:47]

Lauren:  - something to ask a veterinarian.

Jason:  Do you have something, Louise?

Louise:  Yeah. I actually have a little girl, and she's a smaller dog. Ever since I've had her -- and we've had colder winters here when we go out and we go -- if we've been out in the colder weather, I find that she wants to pee more. It's something she does, and I know to make sure I give her more opportunities, but she'll go. She doesn't beg to go, but I notice she'll shake to give me the warning that she's got to go. Her body language is different. It doesn't get a cold as other places, but I'm just saying is for her living here with a little bit of cold weather we get, she does -- we go for a six or eight block walk, and it's zero here, would be 32 there, she will go and she'll want to pee when we start the route. She'll want to pee before we go inside somewhere because going from the cold to the heat to the heat to the cold, her body changes. It's just something to make others aware of that can happen to a dog.

Lauren:  That's fascinating. That's interesting.

Frank:  Lauren, this is Frank again. I notice with my dog here in the wintertime in Wisconsin, her skin gets much drier because of the heat being on in the buildings. My vet recommended giving her fish oil capsules. Is this a problem that anyone else has had, or anybody else have any other recommendations? 

Lauren:  Yeah. Lots of graduates deal with that in Arizona as well when it's so hot and dry. So the same thing, yeah, fish oil is something that a lot of people use. Just recall that it also has some calories, so it might cause your dog to gain some weight over time. 

Kelly:  This is Kelly. I put coconut oil in my dog's Kong in the morning, and it keeps her hair or her fur really shiny and skin very supple. 

Lauren:  I've heard of other people using coconut oil as well. Yeah. 

Unidentified:  Is that safe for dogs?

Lauren:  I have not heard otherwise.

Unidentified:  I use it also.

Jason:  Just getting into the aspect of safety, one other topic I want to touch on was now that we're getting into the holiday season, do you guys have any -- can you suggest any holiday gifts for our dogs that you would recommend that are safe for them to either play with or chew on?  I know that this changes. 

I know that when I was at the school last time, they were quite keen on the deer antlers. My vet says he's seen so many dogs wreck their teeth on them that he recommended not to give them that. So I always hear different things from different people. Do you have any thoughts about safe holiday gifts?

Lucy:  Yeah. I would recommend not, as your vet said, no deer antlers. I have seen some of them split. Because each antler is so different, I don't think they can regulate them like maybe Nylabone can regulate their bones. 

Sherry:  Well, my guide dog, Atlanta, has broken both molars each side on a Nylabone.

Lucy:  Yeah. Every dog is a little different with the Nylabone.

Sherry:  It depend so on how -- I think depending on how they chew. 

Jason:  Tell me about the Nylabone again.

Sherry:  Well, Nylabones are usually good for dogs, but depending how severe your dog chews, they can break their teeth.

Jason:  So what do you recommend in terms of safe toys and stuff?

Lucy:  What they sell at Guide Dogs and what Guide Dogs officially recommends is Gonut, which comes in some different shapes, a round donut, a figure eight that you can use for tugging, and more of a long rod shape. So those are rubbery. They're nice for vigorous chewers and they're not going to, hopefully, split their teeth on them.

Sherry:  I also find that West Paw is also very good. Have you heard about West Paw?

Lucy:  West Paw?

Sherry:  West Paw, the company with the Zoomie and they have actually also sticks like Gonut does, and they're for intense chewers. I know a lot of the puppy raisers are starting to use West Paw with their puppies. 

Lucy:  Oh, okay. I just looked it up. Yes, I have seen those West Paw. They're probably -- probably a vigorous chewer could probably get through them --

Sherry:  Yeah. You just have to watch your dog.

Lucy:  Yeah. I think Gonut --

Jason:  - Is it a bone?

Lucy:  It's more of a rubbery material, and it comes in many different shapes. Yeah. Like any toy, you have to monitor your dog. Some toys that I've found that are interesting are from Outward Hound. They're puzzle toys. You can get food puzzles, so you feed them in a maze shaped bowl, which is sort of fun and slows your dog down a little bit. They also have a myriad of different puzzles. So your dog has to figure out how to open doors to get the food. That can keep them busy for a long time, especially if you're not able to get your dog out to exercise, at least exercising their mind can be good for a dog who's not getting a lot of physical exercise.

Danette:  This is Danette. Major has lost a tooth because of a Nylabone. So what Guide Dogs and others have suggested, it's called a Flexi Nyla and it looks like a regular Nyla, but it's kind of rubbery. Anything that bends, they say, is good, bends and springs back. It's called a Flexi Nyla in chicken flavor.

Unidentified:  Yes. I have one of those.

Danette:  Major, I had to remove 20 different Nylabones, and now he has one Flexi. 

[Crosstalk 00:47:12]

Jason:  What do you recommend for treats? I know that changes from time to time too. What are the official dog treats that Guide Dogs recommend?  I know it was Belly Bites a couple years ago when I was last there, but maybe it's changed.

Lucy:  I'm not sure what they're using in training.  Do you know, Lauren?

Lauren:  I think the most recent one they added was the Real Meat which is -- I think it's a Canadian Company, actually.  

Jason:  Oh great. Real Meat?

Lauren:  Yeah. Real Meat. I don't know if they're available at places like PetCo or PetSmart yet, but they have really similar products that are. So really any --

Sherry:  - Are they low in calories?

Lauren:  Well, yes and no. It depends. It's just meat, as the name would suggest, so it's a really clean treat. There's not a lot of extra stuff. And you can give a small amount, and it packs a wallop for a -- it's just got a lot of flavor, and it's just a really, really motivating kind of treat. So you don't need to feed them a lot. It's jerky and it smells really good. It's just like regular people jerky, but without anything extra in it. There's little bites, like they have little shreds, or they come in larger pieces. You can break them into little pieces. 

I think that Wellness has a similar product. It's not quite as clean, but it's mostly meat. It's got 95% meat. It's that soft jerky kind of treat. But as far as what they're using in training, I know that Oregon had added the Real Meat products, and I think they're still using Tricky Trainers. Are they, Lucy? Do you know?

Lucy:  Yeah. That's the last think I had heard is the Tricky Trainers. Yeah. 

Jason:  Tricky Trainer?

Lucy:  Yeah. 

Unidentified:  I haven't heard any Charlie Bear. The last time --

Unidentified:  Charlie Bears are good.

Jason:  These are like little cookies or they're meat things?

Lauren:  Well, for high value, the softer the better, that really soft, savory, small bit is the best thing you can use for a high value reward. Charlie Bears are crunchy. Dogs love them. It's just that it's not as high value because it lasts longer on the palette. 

Louise:  Charlie Bears, if you use them moderately, they're low calorie. They're very low calorie. 

Lauren:  Yes. They are. Three calories a piece, which is really nice. So they are really good, and they do use those in training too, so those are good. 

Unidentified:  I found some organic peanut butter treats that are really low calorie, and I forget the brand. I like them because Kimono loves peanut butter, and I just put a few into her kibble bag with the kibble and Kimono insists -- it's something unique, different for her to have a treat when she's rewarded. To mix it with a cup of food, I might put half a dozen or a dozen in, just a small handful in with her kibble, and they come out as just a higher reward or just as something different.

Jason:  Okay. Any other questions for our panel?

Sherry:  Yes. I have a question, Jason. 

Jason:  Yeah. Sure.

Sherry:  Lucy, I live in an apartment, and when the weather gets really, really cold, is it okay to play with your dog in the apartment hallway where there's carpet? Can your dog get rug burns on their paws?

Lucy:  Well, certainly, they could, if it's really vigorous play and lots of quick turns. I'm imagining the carpet is sort of an indoor/outdoor carpet, so it might be pretty rough on their paws.

Sherry:  Actually, no. It's more of a softer industrial in the hallways. It's very low pile. 

Lucy:  Yeah. I would think if you go overboard with any kind of play out there, that could hurt their paws. But I think already they're paws are pretty toughed up just from being out on the sidewalk and crossing roads that a little bit of play is not going to bother them.

Sherry:  Okay. Good.

Lucy:  Now, I don't know about your neighbors.

Sherry:  I have really good neighbors. They all know Atlanta, so they're cool. I'm lucky that way. 

Jason:  Always check with the neighbors. Get them on side.  

Sherry:  Oh, yeah. They all love Atlanta. They all come out when they see her, so I'm good that way.

Jason:  Can I just ask -- I'm writing all this stuff down. I missed the cream that you put on their paws, something Secret?

Lucy:  Musher's Secret.

Jason:  Musher's Secret? M-U-S-H?

Lucy:  Mm-hmm.

Jason:  E-R-S?

Lucy:  Mm-hmm.

Jason:  And then the boot with the ice catcher thing?

Lauren:  Pajar. P-A-J-A-R.

Jason:  And there was another one too, something tracks?

Lauren:  Yaktrax.

Jason:  Which one?

Unidentified:  Yaktrax.

Jason:  Yaltrax. Thank you.

Unidentified:  You're welcome. 

[Crosstalk 00:54:01]

Lucy: - excellent winter survival guide, which has a lot of that information on our website. 

Sherry:  Yeah. That guide's very useful.

Jason:  Okay. So that's a great resource, actually.

Lucy:  Yes. So don't rewrite the whole thing, Jason [laughs].

Jason:  Okay. No, I always -- sometimes the answer's the most obvious. Check the website.

[Crosstalk 00:54:33]

Unidentified:  And did you find out the name of those Columbia boots?

Lauren:  I was wrong. Columbia does have some good ones, but it's actually Merrell that has -- it's the Artic Grip.

Sherry:  Yeah. Artic Grip for the ice, the Merrell, yeah. 

Lauren:  Yeah. Really good. I've heard great things about them. 

Jason:  Okay. Well, it's almost 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Does anyone have any final questions for our panel? We've had a good session here, great aession, actually. Thank you.

Mary:  This is Mary. I've got a question.

Jason:  Okay.

Mary:  When you're putting your coat, and the dog's don't want to relieve with their coats on, and it's cold outside, what do you recommend? 

Unidentified: Take the coat off. They'll relieve very quickly.  

Mary:  Yeah, but is just [laughs] --

Unidentified:  - I know you're hands wind up freezing, but ...

Jason:  Any other questions?

[Crosstalk 00:55:39]

Unidentified:  What was the name of that toy that was something like a puzzle?  

Lucy:  There's a company called Outward Hound that makes a lot of different puzzles, Outward Hound. 

Unidentified:  Okay. Thank you.

Jason:  We've got a lot of good gift ideas here, both for our puppies and for ourselves, apparently. 

[Crosstalk 00:56:12]

Amit:  When those boots were being described I was thinking, wow, those would be really nice. I was like, no, they're not for me. 

Louise:  I have an idea for Mary with the jacket and the dog not waiting to relieve. 

Jason:  Yeah, Louise, go ahead.

Louise:  One thing, Mary, I make sure the first couple times you relieve a dog with the jacket on, take them to a spot they're used to and they've been really rewarded at beforehand. I use, a lot of times, when I relieve the first time in a new spot, I always kibble reward as soon as they've gone and make it a positive. As soon as you get that jackpot, when they do it in a raincoat or a snow coat or any kind of coat, do a triple, a jackpot right behind each other. That will get them to do it right the next time. It was how I got my girl to relieve in a raincoat when I wanted her to do that. 

Jason:  Perfect, like anything else.

Louise:  Yep. And you can use the clicker if you want, to mark that she did it, the dog did it, and then the rewards. But I just use the straight jackpot when the do something super, super in a spot you just don't think they're going to do it and a time they're not going to do it. And I use a jackpot, one right behind another. That really confirms, especially if you know you're going to reuse that same spot within that time and that weather.

Lucy:  Set her up for success so you know she's most likely going to go first thing in the morning, so put the coat on first thing in the morning, even if you don't need the coat that day, and then she'll likely go with the coat on.

Jason:  All right. Well, I think we're going to wrap it up now. It's top of the hour. I want to thank Lucy and Lauren, our esteemed panelists. The only gift we have for you is our thanks. Sorry, ladies.

[Crosstalk 00:58:25]

Jason:  And I want to thank Kelly and Amit for helping me do this call. And on behalf of your Alumni Association, we hope you guys have learned something. I know I have. I've got a list a mile long of things to buy now, so cha-ching.

[Crosstalk 00:58:40]

Jason:  Yeah. It's like Black Friday. Revenge of Black Friday. Okay, everyone, thanks for the call, and I'm going to stop recording now. 

[End of Recording]