The Human Election

Well, all I hear these days is talk about the election that is going on in a couple of weeks. My humans are reading a lot, watching TV, and listening to the radio. So many issues that affect us all.

The presidential electon doesn't matter to me as much as the local stuff does. There is a lot of legislation concerning dogs in the communities across the country.

There are lots of places where they want to mandate spay and neuter for all dogs. I feel that would be a big mistake. Good people would have a more difficult time breeding quality litters and the puppy mills would be breeding dogs with health problems. The truly bad people would still be breeding "accidents." Dogs will still end up in shelters because their owners put them there (too much work, behavior problems, can't potty train, etc.)

There are also people out there that don't want Pitt Bulls around. Hey, some very nice dogs happen to be Pitt Bulls. It's the people that are bad, not the dogs. The dogs can't help it if their owners don't want to spend the time involved with training their dog. You know what they say, "If you don't give a dog a job to do, he will invent his own fun. His fun is not your idea of fun, so TRAIN your dog." If thye ban Pitt Bulls, and Rottwielers, and Dobermans, and Mastiffs, then what's next? Cattle Dogs (because they are sometimes nippy)? Then Border Collies? Then Beagles? Then sooner or later, all dogs? You get my drift.

I want to know John McCain's opinion of anti-dog legislation. I want to know what O'Bama thinks about dog issues. Personally, I don't trust either of them. It's like the lyrics of my all time favorite song "Meet the new boss. The same as the old boss.... I get on my knees and pray, we won't get fooled again!"

On My Soap Box Again (and my High Horse)

OK! I have a pet peeve. I really have a problem with you humans out there that think dogs are supposed to be fat. Even though I am a lean, mean, jumping machine, there are a lot of dogs out there that have a hard time walking, let alone jumping. Why, just yesterday, at the store where my mom works, there was this Belgian Shepherd (beautiful dogs, by the way). The poor girl was waddling down the isles of the store. She looked like she was a very old dog. When my mom asked how old the dog was, the proud owners said she was five years old. My canine heart went out to my furry friend as her people loaded their cart with two giant boxes of Milk Bones.

Unlike humans, dogs don't choose to be fat. Their owners make them that way. Dogs are being killed with human "kindness." Dogs suffer the same illnesses associated with obesity as humans do. Dogs are dying from diabetes and heart disease at alarming rates. Dogs suffer from bone and joint problems due to the stress from excess weight. Dogs are dying much too young simply because their owners overfeed them. Do you know that more than 1/3 of the dogs in the United States are overweight to obese?

Please, please, people, do what you can to keep your dogs healthy. Feed your dogs on a schedule. Measure the amount of food at each feeding. Don't leave uneaten food out for us to snack on all day long. Tale tje bpw; away after about 15 minutes. Don't feed us table scraps as part of our daily diet. Limit the treats. Ditch the biscuits in favor of baby carrots, peices of apple, and small peices of meat. Also remember that treats are just that, only as rewards for good behaviors, and used during training. Treats are not supposed to be a daily part of the diet. Give us plenty of exercise like chasing balls or frisbees, every day (just a walk isn't enough). Play with us instead of giving treats, we like that better anyway.

Climbing off my soapbox now, but still on my high horse!