Snowdon Adventures

Friday, 1^st October 2010, 9:30am: car is packed, dogs are in and here we go! Destination Snowdon. We set off early to arrive before dusk, the last thing I wanted to do was to pitch up our tent in the dark. Weather did not surprise us, rain and more rain. We were lucky enough to pitch up before it got dark, all dry resting in the tent before heavens opened again. In a way I was glad we arrived early as light allowed us to dodge humongous piles of cows’ extremities when deciding on right place to rest the tent. The owner of the land obviously blamed unruly cows she has who “broke in” to the field to use it as a toilet. All in all, besides smelly deposits, quite comfortable and dry we decided to stretch our pack’s legs and investigate the area for potential drinking spots known as PUBs. Soon after, the rest of Midland Mally Group has arrived in the dark and torrential rain. The rest of the night was spent on discussing travel and the next day treck.

Rose early and after a cup of coffee we hiked to the assembly point for all interested in getting to the top of the mountain. All our friends were there! Shar Wolf pack arrived in the big truck ready to collect money for the dogs and all were in high spirits.

8:30am: we set off! Start of the hike was not the easiest one. At least I forgot how hard it was last time when I was a couple of years younger! We decided to leave young Jaeger at the base with those who did not fancy aching joints and legs next day, what a good choice that was! Guinness has set his working mind on and pushed ahead of others setting high tempo even for us. The gap between us and the rest of the team was widening buy the time we reached half way point. Last 30 minutes before the summit was causing burning sensation to my muscles and even Guinness stopped pushing so hard until he noticed furry little creature running on the slope of the mountain. I nearly took off the ground, being saved only by the walking belt and  sturdy hand of my partner on my neck. That was the moment of cold sweat and many French words. We finally reached the top spot and celebrated with coffee and bowl of water for the dog, gathered feedback from others on the very poor weather conditions and armed in optimism moved to our steep way back. I wished gentle leader was to hand then… Guinness set off with the speed of light, probably thinking of his dinner. ROK lead was not helping in anyway by bouncing and pulling me further down the slope. Additional slip on collar and a pair of extra hands tamed the speeding ball of energy enough to move down instead of sliding down on my backside.

All sore but very happy we have returned to assembly point. Our strong mind and young legs took us, up and down this not kind to people mountain, in total of 5 hours.

With dogs asleep we were patiently awaiting other part of out team. Rejoined two hours later we directed our feet to first dog friendly PUB to feed the thirst of Guinness. Very good day had by all, next time I promise to do some training beforehand to avoid  all round stiffness of my body…. Dear body, Next time, I promise!

On the way up

Finally there!

www.malamute.org.uk

Seasonal Fears

Recently I have completed a survey asking about pet’s fears. From final results it was apparent that owners of pets are concerned for their furry balls of love and season of loud noises and fireworks. More than 50% admitted to over-fuss their pets without actually knowing that this reaction will make it worse. Fear of fireworks usually does not get better on it’s own, in fact it’s likely to get worse over time and you might end up looking for an animal behaviourist for some serious help.

Each animal react differently to stress. Loud noises and fireworks can make you pet withdrawn, constantly hiding in the dark corners, tense, jumpy or aggressive. Remember that you have to be calm but do not comfort your animal when is hiding or running around panting. This can make your pet worse off in the long run, especially when you are not at home and they are less able to cope. Keep your animal inside during the display of fireworks, take your dog out to toilet before it gets dark and try not to overfeed in the evenings. A firework going off when your dog is outside can lead to fear of evening walks, fear of leaving the house and even aggression caused by stress. Instead prepare a den for when your pet likes to hide and let them hide making sure that there is always fresh water nearby so there is no risk of dehydration and overheating.

In severe panic attacks animal can overheat which leads to dehydration and might cause seizures. If your dog is heavily panting, drooling excessively and has dilated pupils try cold wet towel under his belly to keep the body temperature down.

There are also other remedies such us calming drops or tablets, DAP and specialist sound CDs you can purchase to help your animal cope. There is quite a few companies on the market producing natural remedies so please research and choose appropriate for your dog/cat.

Guinness in his den

www.malamute.org.uk