“Help me find a new home"

"Please! I am a good dog, it is just I have a high prey drive.  I just LOVE to sneak like a cat and try to catch something… birds, cats, dogs those small yappy types.  I just cannot help it. I promise you, I am a good dog. I just like the challenge of the hunt.” Duke goes on to tell you “Just look at my photos, I am a happy, people LOVING Boston. I just like to be the only one getting the attention. What is wrong with that?”

Several years back Duke was one of my Alabama Boston Terrier Rescue fosters, and was adopted to a wonderful family. Duke has gotten a little older and his needs have changed.

Duke wants to tell you what he is looking for in his next family.

"I am looking for a human adult that needs someone to be their constant companion. I am looking for a human that will let me share the couch and bed with them. OH Yes, I am looking for a human that likes to take walks, run and play in the yard. Who Knows I might even learn to like hiking in the woods, But remember I will want to hunt for those pesky critters that I can sneak up on and catch... NO I am not sure what I will do with them if I catch them.  I might need a human I can share a fresh meal with along the trail....Just kidding, I know you humans are not into raw meat.  Okay just a little bit of dog humor.... " 

 Here is what his current family tells us.

Dana Barrow Johnson tells us, “NO Cats or small dogs. Due to his highly developed hunting instinct, he will go after them. While we do have young children, we also advise no home with children". "While Duke has never snapped at our children", Dana Barrow Johnson cautions, "He does growl and lets them know to 'settle down' or 'leave me alone'. Duke responds to the energy in the home. If kids are loud and wrestling, he will amp up and engage."

Because Duke was a rescued dog we approximate him to be five years old.  Currently he is 16 inches to his shoulder. He weighs 43 lbs. In his new home Duke will need firm, loving human leadership and training to smooth out a few rough edges.

Duke LOVES people and will follow his adults from room to room to lay at their feet, forfeiting his naps.

He loves to lay with his adult on the couch. He LOVES to sleep with people. Duke seems to have developed a very protective approach to "His people", so he is not happy when other dogs want to share attention. 

Duke needs some training to teach him not to lunge and pull while on a lead,

He loves to run and jump!  So he needs to be exercised till he tires.

Very strong. Can get his chest up over a four foot fence while jumping for squirrels.

Very reactive to stray dogs coming alongside 'his' fence.


He rings a bell to go outside, is crate trained and is a WONDERFUL watch dog. He knows sit, down, bark and jump.

He knows the words 'treat', 'want a piece of ice' and will kennel on command to 'kennel up'. He gets 'mouthy' with people in play, but will stop at the words 'no teeth'. One thing about his discipline... he gets louder and harsher if you do. I can generally turn him from his growling/stare down with his BT siblings if I speak 'baby talk'...only attend to him and scratch his ears deeply (he loves that). Most of the time that works but if you get stern with him and there is another dog in proximity, it's almost like he takes it out on them.

He eats 3/4 cup of Iams proactive health mini-chunk food, twice a day. At (6am and 5pm)

He is kenneled while we are at work from 7ish to 3:30 or 4.

He is a WONDERFUL dog and needs to be with an owner who can exercise him, NO cats, no children and likely no other dogs.

I can't stress enough how loving a dog he is. His coat is the softest I have ever felt in my life! Or that I've ever had in my life. When people pet him, they remark on how soft he is.

To follow up you may either Contact Alabama Boston Terrier Rescue or Dana for more information call 731-614-7003

Please let us know if you know of someone whom we should contact that might provide Duke a home. Thank you, Dear Friends.

Alabama Boston Terrier Rescue

https://www.facebook.com/AlabamaBostonTerrierRescue/?ref=br_rs

edited by Julie

Is That Slime In My Dog’s Water Bowl????

Have you ever rubbed your fingers inside your dog’s water bowl and felt a slippery substance? If so, their bowl is way overdo for a cleaning.

Before talking about what that slime is and how it affects your dog’s health, let me ask you a quick question: would you drink out of  glass that has not been washed for weeks? I hope the answer is no! Well, just like how you deserve to drink out of a clean glass, so does your dog.(I might have been guilty of refilling Tallulah’s bowl without cleaning it out first.  But now that I know what the slime is, I will always be attentive to clean out her water bowl.  Hopefully you will be too…..

The slime mentioned earlier is called biofilm. It is a thin, gooey film of bacteria that adheres to various surfaces. While biofilm does contain some good bacteria, it also contains bad bacteria that could make your fur baby sick.

Listeria, E. coli, and legionella are all organisms that call biofilm home. If your dog’s water bowl is not cleaned, this bad bacteria will reproduce and their water will become contaminated. Bad biofilms have been linked to urinary tract infections (UTIs), bladder infections, middle-ear infections, and more.

So how do you stop biofilm from forming?

YOU HAVE TO WASH YOUR DOG’S BOWLS! This is what I do:throughout the day, every time I refill their bowls, I wipe them down with a paper towel (note: biofilm needs to be physically broken up). Then at the end of the day, I wash their bowls in hot, soapy water.  

Top Cleaning Tips:

1) Change water daily

2) Wipe bowls in between cleaning

This will help break up the biofilm.

3) Clean regularly

According to the NSF Organization, “Pet dishes should be washed daily, either in a sanitizing dishwasher or scrubbed by hand with hot soapy water, then rinsed. If handwashing, place the dishes in a 1:50 bleach rinse (one cap of bleach in one gallon of water) and soak for about 10 minutes once per week. Rinse thoroughly and allow to air dry.”

4) Use Stainless Steel Bowls

Okay, so this isn’t technically a cleaning tip. But, it’s recommended to use stainless steel or ceramic bowls versus plastic bowls. Plastic dog bowls are very porous and can get scratched easily. For this reason, it’s much easier for bacteria, algae, and mold to collect and grow.

Fluffy Needs A Bath!  How To Pick The Correct Shampoo?

When it comes to bathing your pets, it can be very tempting to reach for whatever shampoo you might have in your shower, or grab the dishwashing soap from your kitchen.

 While this may be okay every now and again, the regular use of human shampoo, even the baby “tear free”, can actually lead to worse skin problems for your pets.

The problem with human shampoos for your pets

Human and animal's skin are not the same. Shampoos for people are formulated to have a pH level (acid:base balance) that is less likely to cause irritation of our skin. It just so happens that the natural pH of your cat or dog’s skin is not necessarily the same as yours.  In fact, it often is not. When you use one of your shampoos on your cat or dog, you run the risk that the shampoo you are using could actually cause inflammation and irritation of your pet’s skin. This irritation and inflammation will make your pet more itchy and it will increase your pet’s risk for a bacterial and/or yeast skin infection.

 The problem with dishwashing soaps

Ironically, it is the very thing that makes Dawn and other dishwashing soaps so effective at treating wildlife that are affected by oil spills and at destinking your pets when they’ve been “skunked” — their excellent grease and oil removing ability — that makes these soaps inappropriate for regular bathing of your pets. When used for routine bathing of your pets, dishwashing soaps will quickly strip your pet’s skin of the natural oils that help to nourish and protect it. This leaves the skin less well-hydrated and decreases its ability to keep bacterial, yeast and allergic irritants at bay.

What shampoo should one use for your pet?

1. Stick with a pet formulated shampoo.
2. Every breed and animal's skin pH is different. There are a lot of options on the market, so some-trial-and-error might be necessary.
3. When in doubt, call or visit your vet. They can help you decide which shampoo will be best for the job at hand and which is least likely to irritate and dry out your pet’s skin. If required for your pet's condition or type of skin, they can recommend a conditioner also.

Edited by:  Jan Mitchell