Puppies, Dogs, Owners, the Generic Public and Allergi

I have never allowed a dog to lick my face, and am currently trying to train Wash not to.
I have been told that this is weird, odd and I've had people ask me "Why do you bother?" and  beyond the simple answer of "I know that they clean themselves with that tongue" the answer is easy, because of allergies.

I mentioned in my last post that most dog toothpaste is  flavoured with Peanut Butter but unfortunately that's not the only thing to be on the look out for. Some dog foods, but mainly many dog treats (especially home made treats) are flavoured with peanut butter. These are fairly easy to deal with for your with dog- just make sure you take the same care reading the ingredients to your dog's food as you do to your own.

Where it becomes tricky is when it comes to other people's dogs. You have no control over what other dog owners feed their pets, so I would just suggest you avoid letting a stranger's dog lick you.

Strangers often see a dog and leap at the opportunity to give it a treat. If you have concerns, whether for yourself or perhaps your dog has an allergy of its own, kindly explain that your dog doesn't eat treats but instead they could pat your dog.

I had a friend who was walking her dog and a stranger walked up and fed her puppy a reeses peanut butter cup without asking or thinking about what she had just fed the dog. Not only was it peanut butter but it was a human treat that contained chocolate- which is toxic for dogs, not to mention small puppies.I feel that I need to mention that the puppy was fine, but his owner was very upset. KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR STRANGERS.

Many owners will suggest putting a big glob of peanut butter on the inside of a dog's Kong toy to give them an extra treat and challenge but if you're like me and that doesn't work for you some people suggest cheese wiz, but since cheese dulls a dog's nose, I just use some doggy toothpaste.

If you have an allergy, any allergy, then you know that generally speaking people are in the dark about how serious it can be and especially don't consider them when feeding their dog. You don't have to avoid other dogs, just be aware :)

Maybe I should get Wash a little nut free tag to go on his collar, specially if I'm going to get him certified as a therapy dog.

-Brandolyn.