K9 Instinct Adventures

01/16/2025

01/14/2025

“What’s the hardest part about having a dog?” they asked, their tone casual, like it was just another question.

I glanced at the worn leash hanging by the door, my chest tightening. “Letting them go,” I said quietly.

They frowned a little, waiting for me to explain. “They come into your life like they were always meant to be there,” I said, trying to find the words. “They make everything better—simpler, brighter. And you think it’s always going to be that way. But it’s not. One day, they’re gone, and you’re left with all the space they used to fill.”

They nodded, but I wasn’t sure they understood. “It’s not the messes they made or the routines you have to let go of,” I continued. “It’s the absence. You walk into the house, and it feels... wrong. The quiet is heavier. The mornings don’t feel the same without them nudging you awake.”

“So why do it?” they asked, their voice softer this time.

I sighed, glancing down at my hands. “Because the love they give you is worth every bit of the heartache. They teach you how to love without holding back, even when you know it’s going to hurt in the end. And you keep choosing that love because you know it’s one of the best things you’ll ever feel.”

R.M. Drake 🐶 from the book ' Dog People'

Artist Credit : Iain Welch

01/14/2025

01/09/2025

I sometimes wonder why dogs are so good to us.
We don’t deserve it, not really. We’re flawed, selfish creatures, stumbling through life, yet there they are, offering us something pure, something real.
They love us without conditions, without asking for anything in return, just happy to be by our side. Maybe it’s because they see something in us we can’t see in ourselves, a goodness we’ve forgotten or buried under layers .
They don’t care about our mistakes, our shortcomings they just see the person who feeds them, who takes them for walks, who sits quietly beside them in the dark. And somehow, they make us better, just by being there. They remind us that there’s still something worth loving in this messy, chaotic world. Dogs don’t hold grudges, they don’t judge—they just give.
And maybe that’s the lesson we’re too blind to learn: that being good isn’t about perfection, it’s about showing up, day after day, with a heart wide open, no matter how many times it gets bruised.

R.M. Drake 🌞

Artist Credit: Stephanie Lambourne

12/28/2024

Excerpted from Kennel Cough by CJ Puotinen

Most boarding facilities require proof of Bordetella vaccination for dogs who will be visiting. However, because there are many strains of Bordetella, and because no vaccine protects every patient, some immunized dogs contract tracheobronchitis despite being vaccinated. Veterinary recommendations range from vaccinating every four months to not at all.

"There are two kinds of Bordetella vaccine," says Stacey Hershman, DVM, a holistic veterinarian in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. "The intranasal vaccine is highly effective and very safe since it is not systemic but goes down the nose into the throat. I do not recommend the injectable vaccine since it can cause negative side effects like lethargy, fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Kennel Cough eBook from Whole Dog Journal
"I never vaccinate animals more than once a year for kennel cough, and then only if they are going to a boarding kennel. Kennel cough is not fatal in adult dogs, who usually board, therefore it would be over-vaccinating in my opinion to do it more than once a year. Healthy, strong immune systems are resistant and do not catch it, which is another reason not to vaccinate unless the dog is going to a kennel that requires it."

No matter what your dog’s vaccination status, a few natural preventives can’t hurt, especially whenever your dog is exposed to dogs with active or recent infections.

For advice on preventing kennel cough as well as natural and effective ways to soothe the symptoms, purchase Kennel Cough from Whole Dog Journal.

12/25/2024

12/20/2024

K9 will be closed from
December 23 - January 02 for daycare.
Happy Holidays 🎄

12/16/2024

https://youtu.be/Mb0zJ_gVPcU?si=7mzGtTG-hoGaM7Ur

During the long homebound months of 2020 in America and around the world, many of us have spent more time with our dogs and pet adoptions have risen. At New ...

12/15/2024

Dogs generally pull about 60 per cent harder on a leash when wearing a padded harness compared with a collar, even when the equipment is marketed as “anti pull” – putting the people walking them at risk of injury.

Some dogs – especially smaller breeds – pull with a force more than twice their body weight on the collar, potentially damaging their throats, says Erin Perry at Southern Illinois University.

“It’s really very shocking,” she says. “The dogs are almost choking themselves on that collar repeatedly. But the harnesses in our study just didn’t inhibit pulling in any way, and that’s definitely a wake-up call – especially because of the risk to owners.”

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2459747-dogs-pull-harder-on-the-leash-when-they-wear-a-harness-than-a-collar/

Image: CBCK-Christine/Alamy

12/02/2024

In the summer of 1923, Frank and Elizabeth Fraser and their two-year-old dog set out from Oregon, Indiana, to visit family. When they stopped for gas at a service station in Indiana, the dog was attacked by other three dogs and fled. They searched everywhere for him, but in the end could not find him. They returned to Oregon heartbroken, believing they would never see their beloved dog again. After losing all hope, one day their daughter saw a skinny and exhausted dog on the street that looked like Bobby. After his joyful reaction, it turned out to be the missing dog Thanks to the people who sheltered him during the journey, they were able to reconstruct the complete route he crossed.
To see his family again, he crossed almost 2500 miles (4,000 kilometers) in six months. He hiked across the Rocky Mountains in the middle of winter and ended up being nicknamed "Bobby the Wonder Dog." He was the inspiration for the movie "Lassie Returns".

11/07/2024

Fun Thursday

11/06/2024

Nice morning at k9