Stick In The Mud!
Dogs love playing with sticks and love to chew, catch and parade around with them. My dogs, if left unattended will happily gnaw through a stick with little regard to it splintering inside their mouths.
Beware!
The problem is that sticks are sharp – and very dirty. That means that, as the dog runs onto them or grabs them in its mouth, the end of the stick can easily pierce the skin, going through it to penetrate the oesophagus, spinal cord, blood vessels or the dog’s neck. These are horrific injuries that can be avoided! Pieces of stick break off during the game and remain inside the throat and neck. These sticks are usually covered in bacteria including fungi and yeast which cause long lasting infections that eventually kill your dog!
Serious injuries
I have met dogs with paralysis, ongoing infection and in one case, a lovely boisterous collie who lost an eye as a result of playing with sticks. What this research shows is that dogs that are allowed and encouraged to play with sticks can sustain serious injuries that result in bleeding to death, paralysis or acquiring infections that will kill them days or weeks later.
Jane Hamerton has a wonderful dog called Maggie on her website (www.janehamerton.com). Maggie suffered an horrific injury; her tongue now hangs out to the one side permanently – but we think she’s a lovely girl anyway!
My brother’s Labrador, Bella, (mother of my beloved Phoebe Doggie) recently suffered an prolonged and terrifying seizure as a result of eating mould on wood – yet another frightening side effect of enthusiastic stick gnawing.
The good news
Is there any good news? YES! The very clever Paul Blair invented Safestix after his cheeky Jack Russell got hurt playing with a stick. They are made of a durable rubber and have rounded edges so there will be no splintering or sharp edges. They are heavy and long as a normal stick would be but they float too! They are bright orange so they are easy to find.
My doggies just adore their safe stick and before I ordered in a whole batch I got one as a tester. It went down a storm! They chased it into the sea, ran along side each other with it on their mouths and it withstood the the “Destructability Test”. Safestix are nearly 2 foot long but this doesn’t stop my little terrier Maggie who gamely charges off across a field with it, labradors and collie dogs in hot pursuit – they love them!
And where can you get one?
It is very rare for Melrose & Mutt to take on products we have not made ourselves but this is such a great product and has such an obvious and positive benefit for our little friends, that we had to have it!
Order yours today! £10.00 + £3.50 p&p Email me on fiona@melrosemutt.com or just call! 07807 978274 Lets keep our dogs safe and happy!