Life of a Hound.com

Second hand Smoke can be dangerous for your pet

ABC’s new hit comedy Middle (Wednesdays 8:30 pm ET) has introduced a new basset hound to the show.. and boy does she have troubles!

Doris, a female basset hound, who has spent years living with two chain smoking aunts has developed emphysema. Frankie, the mom stuck in the middle, takes Doris to her house which is a smoke free home. What happens next… well you’ll just have to watch the show.

Yes, the above is fiction, but it does bring up a concern with pets in smoking homes. Studies have shown that just like humans,  second hand smoke can harm any pet. Emphysema and other respiratory diseases can be related to second hand smoke. And long nose breeds, particulary basset hounds have a greater chance of getting such diseases.

Fortunately in our home, no one smokes, so this is not an issue. However, in some homes it is an issue. If you are a pet owner and smoke, I encourage you to stop and think not only what you are doing to your pet, but more importantly, what you are doing to yourself. The data is out there and the research has been done. Smoking is extremely dangerous to your health.

For more information on the effects of second hand smoke on pets, please visit Science Daily.com

For an effective system that will help you quit smoking TODAY, click here.

We just took Lilly to our vet the other day for her checkup. Found out that the little bumps on her left ear may not have been the result of fire ants, but simply a minor fungus. The bumps are turning into scabs and that clued our vet into thinking this was fungus related. Not to gross anyone out, but it kind of looks like athletes foot for the ears!

Our vet prescribed an antifugal cream called Tresaderm to apply to her ear once a day.  Still too early to see any results as this is only the second day she has been treated. We will keep you updated on her progress.

We did notice that Lilly’s large ears tend submerge in her water bowl when she takes a drink. I wouldn’t think that this would be a cause for the fungus, but who knows? Short of using a clothes pin to pull back her ears, anyone have any ideas?

During the past couple of weeks, we have had a lot of much needed rain here in central Texas.  And with the rain comes fire ants afterwards.  A real pain to deal with, but hey… this is Texas.

We all know that basset hounds are by nature, very curious dogs. They like to get into everything and Lilly is no exception.

Well, Lilly learned a lesson last week that there are some things you just do not stick your nose in and one of those is fire ant hills. The other afternoon after coming home from work, we noticed Lilly had some bumps on her left ear.  After further observation, we determined that these were possibly fire ant bites. A trip to the vet confirmed this.  Lilly did not seem to be in pain or discomfort,  she just had these bumps on her left ear. Our vet gave us some hydrocortosone cream and told us to call her if the bites look worse or Lilly has some sort of discomfort. Well, neither happened and we are happy to report that the bumps have disappeared and Lilly is doing just fine.

I have already declared war on the fire ants. A trip down to the local home improvement store for some fire ant granuals has already “fried” those pesky little devils!

It’s been over a week now since we’ve gotten Lilly, our new basset hound, and boy can we tell a difference in how much she has grown! She seems to be getting more longer and taller all within a week! Of course basset hounds usually grow this way. According to professional dog trainers and veteranairans, basset hounds usually get all their height within the first year. A year or two after that, they fill out. Basset hounds can grow up to 60-70 pounds! We love holding and carrying Lilly as much as possible, because in a few months this is going to be almost impossible to do!

Lilly tends to eat a bunch. We have to limit her food to 1/3 cup, three times a day. We are currently feeding her Royal Canin Baby Dog 30. She loves it and comes recommended by our veteranarian.

In the meantime, we just keep watching our “Baby Lilly” grow and grow.