The Dog hates the mail carrier.

Is it the shorts? The pinched-off little vehicle? The Clipper Coupon magazine?

Whatever it is, our mail carrier – and it doesn’t matter which one—really sets off the normally mellow dog.

And while it is easy to be snarky about the carrier’s shorts and sensible shoes, it is pretty easy to figure out what is going on here.

The carrier comes to the house; the dog barks, barks, barks. And just keeps barking and the carrier leaves. In your pooch’s mind, she has won. Barking herself almost hoarse means the intruder has been scared off until the next day. Once again, the dog has earned her keep and maybe an extra peanut butter chew.

Well, at least the dog is happy with this scenario. It’s amazing annoying to everyone else of course but as long as you keep her inside and away from an actual encounter with the carrier, there is no actual harm.

In 2013, Phoenix was ranked 11^th in the country for dog bites of postal workers, with 32 attacks. If you are worried that your dog may go from barker to biter, here are a couple of tips:

• If a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at strangers.

• Parents should remind their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may see handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.

So let’s be safe out there, everyone! Including that  little noisy dog at her post

Where is a good place to take your dog in Phoenix during the summer?

Um, even closer to the AC?

If it’s 110, leave the dog at home but if it is a little cooler than that and you both are suffering from cabin (condo) fever, we have a couple suggestions.

Why not head out early and try a splash pad – those lovely little oases where water sprays up and helps cool you down? They’re like community sprinklers.

One shopping center, Arizona Center in downtown Phoenix, even bills itself as dog friendly.

You may have to take your chances at other splash pads. If you dog loves water AND kids, it could be a match made in heaven. Or better yet go down early as possible. Chances are it is easier for you wrangle your Weimaraner into the car and get there than it will be for some parent with a passel of kids. Get there before the munchkin hoard arrives.

Here are some of the Valley’s best splash pads:

• Kierland Commons Splash Pad
• The Splash Pad at Scottsdale Quarter
• Tempe Beach Splash Playground
• Tempe Marketplace Splash Pad
• Kidsplash Fountain at Desert Ridge Marketplace
• Westgate City Center Fountain Park
• Splash Park at Rio Vista Community Park in Peoria
• Adventure Park Splash Pad at Anthem Community Park

Later this week: Possibly the coolest water park for dogs ever

You love her. You want to take care of her. But sometimes making sure your dog is as healthy as possible can be expensive.

So how can you keep your dog healthy without breaking the bank?

In our book, Happy Dog Phoenix pointed out the Maricopa County has free prescription drug card that people can sign up for to get discounts on people drugs as well as dog drugs.

The city of Phoenix now has one too. It offers a break of up to 65 percent at participating pharmacies and can really help out people without insurance or those who have high deductibles or co pays. For more information, call 1-800-931-8872 or go to coast@coastrx.com

Here are some other suggestions on getting a break on prescription costs:

1. Work with your vet: Is there a less-expensive, human drug equivalent? Or generics? Or a cheaper place to fill the drug prescription? Costco and Target fill vet prescriptions.
2. Other discount drug card programs include: Needymeds.org, AAA and AARP.
3. If you buy online, order from a site that belongs to Vet-VIPPS accredited pharmacies. These sites comply with federal and state licensing requirements and quality assurance; other sites may sell counterfeit or expired medications.

Welcome to beautiful October in metro Phoenix!

What’s the sound? – oh, wait. It is the lack of sound – it’s the lack of the sound of a laboring AC trying to cool down the house.  There are still some warm days ahead but people, it looks like we have survived another Phoenix summer. Yea us!

But turning off the AC and opening the doors can set off another set of problems: barking dogs. City of Phoenix gets more barking dog complaints in the fall because people open up their doors and it is easier to hear the neighborhood howler.

If your next door neighbor has their own Barky McBark, I sympathize. It’s not an easy conversation to have but every metro Phoenix town suggests that you two try to work it out before contacting them.

In researching Happy Dog Phoenix, I looked up the dog barking ordinances for each metro Phoenix town. Each city has their own way of responding to complaints, their own requirements for people making the complaint and their own set of fines.

Feeling legally inclined? I have listed each city’s ordinance in the book so you can decide for yourself who has the toughest laws. Or if you have a dog who loves to sound off, you can find the place where you will the least amount of grief.

Until then, stay cool and try to ignore it.

Do dogs dream? Yes.

What do they dream about? Who really knows.

Judging from the Beagle, her dreams involve a lot of chasing and yelping.

Researchers believe dogs dream about things that happen in their lives as a way to sort through their experiences just as humans do. For dogs, this involves a lot of hunting and tracking; for humans, it just means showing up naked in class or being chased by a unicorn.

Like humans, dream time for dogs happen during the REM stage of sleep.

When your dog first goes to sleep, he enters the slow wave or quiet phase of sleep. He lies still, oblivious to his surroundings. His breathing slows, his blood pressure and body temperature drop, and his heart rate decreases.

After about ten minutes, your dog enters the rapid eye movement (REM) or active stage of sleep. He rolls his eyes under his closed lids and dream time begins.

Research shows that adult dogs spend about 10 to 12 percent of their sleeping time in REM sleep. Puppies log more dream time probably to sort through all the new stuff they are learning.

Apparently small dogs dream more than larger dogs. A Toy Poodle may dream once every ten minutes while a Golden Retriever may only dream once every 90 minutes. Again, who knows the reason for the difference – maybe smaller dogs appear larger in their dreams and they want to keep that experience going for as long as possible.

It’s clouding up to be another rainy night in Phoenix and the dog has been snoozing away all afternoon.

I’m a little fascinated by how dogs sleep. My little chowhound seems to be asleep all the time yet the slightest sound from the kitchen will awaken her from her zombie-like trance.

Dog experts say the amount of time spent napping varies from dog to dog and depends on the dog’s age and personality. The bigger the dog; the longer they sleep. Newfoundlands, Saint Bernards, and mastiffs log up to sixteen or even eighteen hours a day. Most dogs sleep about fourteen hours.

The Beagle gets a lot of grief from my friends on her amount of sack time. I explain that it’s her age and that she is just storing up her energy. I am so gratified that she proves me right when she is chasing something down during our early-morning walks. Properly motivated, she can zip along and suddenly she is a puppy in an old dog’s clothes running across the field.

Some dogs do sleep too much. While uncommon, narcolepsy, a condition where sleepiness lapses into unconsciousness, does happen. The breeds most affected by this: Dobermans, Poodles, Dauschunds and Labrador Retrievers.

Next entry: Do Dogs Dream?

With all the recent storm activity in metro Phoenix, Happy Dog Phoenix thought
it would be a good idea to ask an expert about how the monsoons can affect your dog.

We turned to Dr. Billy Griswold, co-owner of Priority Pet Hospital in Gilbert, AZ. Priority Pet Hospital serves the East Valley and they are great providing low-stress preventive, medical, surgical and dental care for dogs and cats.

Here’s what Dr. Griswold said:

“Blowing dust causes many of the same problems in dogs as it does in people. Fortunately, asthma is pretty uncommon in dogs, but dust can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, leading to coughing, sneezing, and eye discharge.

Winds distribute airborne pollen and other allergens greater distances during dust storms, too, so pets with seasonal allergies can have more severe symptoms during the monsoon season in Arizona.

The biggest threat from Arizona’s dust storms, though, is Valley Fever. The microscopic spores of the soil fungus known as Coccidioides immitis are blown far and wide during dust storms. Once inhaled, they enter the lungs of dogs, people, and many other animals.

If the host’s immune system doesn’t respond swiftly, infection results—about four out of every 100 dogs in Maricopa and Pima counties gets sick each year.  Most veterinarians in Arizona see an uptick of new Valley Fever infections during and shortly after our monsoon season.

Classic signs of Valley Fever include a lack of energy, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Cough and fever can be seen as well. Less-commonly, Valley Fever can invade the bone (causing a limp or other signs of bone pain) or the brain (resulting in seizures).

Unfortunately, efforts to create a Valley Fever vaccine for dogs haven’t been successful. The best prevention is avoidance. Digging, sniffing rodent burrows and other desert holes, and an outdoor lifestyle all increase a dog’s risk of exposure to Valley Fever.

Want to know more about Valley Fever? Priority Pet Hospital’s blog has the answers for you.

I am guessing that many of us learned how to treat our animals from the watching how either Dad or Mom treated our childhood pets.

Growing up, I never had a dog. Early on, my parents had a dachshund, Dagmar von Sauerkraut, but like many dachshunds, she suffered back problems and my mother thought it was best if Dag was put to sleep to end her misery and before I could get too attached to her.

Dad tells wild dog tales

Too late. I got attached to Dag through my dad’s wonderful stories of her long after she was gone. He loved telling how she would ride in the car and eat Dairy Queen ice cream if they went through a drive through and how she could stick her long dachshund tongue in a beer bottle to get every drop out.

As he got older, my father’s stories would become a little bit more embellished. But no matter, I loved them and by extension, I loved the dog even more.

For every story my Dad could spin about his escapades with Dag; my mother would counter with a story about the responsibility of having her; the clean-up of her occasional accidents; and the anguish of watching her back go bad.

On the dog front, Dad prevails

Thankfully, my father’s stories won out. So from Dad I learned that pets were privileged members of the family who you could never cherish enough. That you could never go wrong in being generous to them with your time or the treats. They were your companions in ice-cream runs and helpmates in temporarily putting aside responsibilities of day-to-day life. They were one of the good things in life and should be cared for as such.

Thanks, Dad for another great lesson and Happy Father’s Day to all the dog and human Dads out there. We love you all very much!

Where exactly is the snooze button on a dog?

Want to make your dog famous?

Send in a photo of your dog to Short Leash Dogs of Phoenix and they will create a hot dog in your dog’s honor. No joke.

For the Devlin dog, Buddy, they created a hot dog featuring fresh pineapple, grilled onions & red peppers with jalapenos & Desert Smoke BBQ Sauce – guess Buddy is a kinda spicy dog.

My personal Short Leash favorite is the Igby with coleslaw, bleu cheese. Yum, yum, yum. You will return for the Igby alone.

Short Leash Dogs is a food truck that is found throughout central Phoenix and at private events. Here’s the schedule. http://shortleashhotdogs.com/

They are addictive — don’t say we didn’t warn you!