Hot dogs aren't cool

in cars! Or pretty much anywhere.

Hot dogs are not cool in cars!

You might remember a while ago, back in April, I did a tips based post on keeping your dog cool at home, if you don't remember then you can refresh your memory by clicking -here-. Now however the weather is hotting up even more and people seem to be forgetting that while they enjoy being out soaking up the rays or going for a countryside drive, their furry companion might not so much...

We're seeing an increasing number of dogs left in hot cars and not all are owned by members of the general public, who are perhaps blind to the issues. Some are owned/looked after by professionals, who work with dogs only a daily basis, which makes it even more frightening, proving it can and will happen to anyone who chooses to ignore the facts. To find our more about the recent Police dog losses check out this article. The worst part of this story is the fact he had it happen to him before! We need to learn from the mistakes that have already been made. Sergeant Craven is not the first and sadly I doubt he will be the last. A similar thing happened back in 2009 with Nottinghamshire police. While most take it to be common sense, some owners are neglecting their duties to their dogs. If you cannot take your dog out of the car when you arrive at your destination, please don't put your dog in the car in the first place, leave him/her at home. The car ride is not worth being left in your car, which becomes an oven in minutes. If your dog can't be alone, ask a friend, family member or even a pet sitter to watch them for you.

The Kennel Club are behind a newer campaign to try and raise awareness on the issue, which you can check out in full here - Hot dogs are not cool in cars.

The sun doesn't just bring danger in cars, it brings out a whole host of sun loving critters. Everything from bees and wasps, which can give your dog a severe allergic reaction if they sting your poor pup, to Adders, our only poisonous snake here in the UK. An Adder bite is unlikely to be fatal to us 2 legged folk, but to our 4 pawed friends, the consequences can be life or death. Please contact your vet asap if you think your pup has been stung/bitten! To get an idea of some of the damage caused by Adders, you might want to check this out. Tragic. Please don't let it happen to your furry friend.

Everyone wants to enjoy the summer sun with their beloved pets, so follow the KC's guidelines, feel free to take away anything from my tips and be aware of the potential dangers because a safe, healthy dog is a happy dog and a happy dog is your best friend.

Well wishes,

Love & licks as ever,

Rio, Jonny, Buffy, Rafferty, Monroe and Lily.
xo

Movie stars.

As promised, here are the videos we mentioned in our last post :)

Rafferty playing;

Lily being cute;

Our week has been pretty uneventful, so we shan't ramble, but other people have had some exciting events recently, which we'll be sure to post on tomorrow :)

Until then, au revoir!
Love & licks,
Rio, Jonny, Buffy, Rafferty, Monroe & Lily.
xo

P.S As we said last week, if anyone has any ideas for 'summer toys', be sure to drop us some info via the links in the sidebar :) >>>

Keep cool this Summer! (Tips)

So, we mentioned in our last post that the weather here is starting to heat up, which means our girls need some ways to cool down! As promised, here's a list of the things we do, to keep our girls feeling fresh!

Food;
Keep their food light and where possible give them chilled/frozen foods, i.e 'pupsicles'.
You can make a pupsicle out of almost anything, mashed banana, a drop of honey and plain yoghurt for something sweet, or chicken pieces, salt free stock and carrot for savoury.
Turn your summer treat into a boredom buster by freezing foods within a toy, i.e a Kong :)

Doggy safe freezable foods include; Peanut butter, low fat yoghurt, low salt stocks, cream cheese, canned dog food, soaked kibble, chicken/meat pieces, various veggies, i.e carrots, sweet potato, peas etc and other commercial products, such as the Kong pastes or Fish4Dogs salmon mousse.

Always test your pooch with a tiny amount of peanut butter and/or honey before making the full treat, some dogs can have very mild allergies to these, however it is extremely unlikely, all 4 of ours are fine with them :)

Water;
Now more than ever your dog will need access to clean, cool water, but on those days where the tongues come out and panting is heavy, a couple of ice cubes in their water dish will do the trick. Make sure you rinse them first though, we don't want any tongues getting stuck!

Rest;
On hot days your dog(s) will probably rest a fair bit, so make sure they have plenty of 'cool spots'.
Make sure they always have access to shady areas, if necessary provide them a small child's tent to rest in.
If your dog is a sunbather, like Rafferty, dampen an old towel for them to lie on, make sure to keep the towel damp throughout the day, a spray bottle is ideal for this.

Fun;
Nothing beats playing with your dog on a sunny day, so feel free to incorporate some 'keep cool methods' into your fun! Sprinklers and shallow paddling pools make for great (supervised) fun!
There's a host of water friendly toys out there, from brand name retriever toys to the good old tennis ball :)
(Never pour ice water on your dog, or squirt them in the face, they'd like it about as much as you would!)

Other;
Hairless breeds and some white haired dogs may need a little sun cream on the tips of their ears etc.
Easy to overlook, but sunburn can be as bad for your pooch as it is for you :(
When the fun is over and it's time to relax, a small electric fan is great.
Just make sure your dog is dry and that the fan is kept of reach of inquisitive noses and paws!

Hope these tips we've picked up along the way help you have some fun in the sun, whilst staying cool!

Love & licks,
Rio, Jonny, Buffy, Rafferty, Monroe & Lily.
xo

P.S Don't forget; Never ever leave your dog in the car. Thieves aside, your pup would be at very high risk of sunstroke at this time of year. Sunstroke can be extremely dangerous and have serious consequences. If you suspect your dog has sunstroke, please call/visit your vet immediately.
Summer also brings more insects, including bees and wasps, which can give your dog a severe allergic reaction if they sting your poor pup. Again, please contact your vet asap if you think your pup has been stung/bitten.
Now is a great time to give your pup their summer wormer and flea prevention treatment!
And last but not least, remember to watch for poisonous plants in the garden/home and have a safe Summer!

Food, Glorious food!

In light of our recent toy 'Haul', the girls have been going through their treats, so we decided to grab a few more things, ready for all the summer fun!

This time around we ordered;

 Dried duck fillets x2.

 A 6 pack of Salmon mousse.

And 2 Kong pastes.

1 Peanut Butter to replace the one we have, which is almost empty & 1 Chicken and Rice flavour.

Seeing as it's starting to get warm now, we've started breaking out our summer cooling methods :)

A good food based cool down in to stuff your dogs Kong/treat dispenser with paste, mousse, yoghurt or canned food (or a combination) and freeze it!

Voila, a pupsicle! ;) (see above)

We have a few cooling tricks up our sleeves, so we'll do another post soon, explaining a few options to keep your pooch comfortable in the heat.

So that's it for now, hopefully the girls will enjoy their lot :)

Love & licks,
Rio, Jonny, Buffy, Rafferty, Monroe & Lily.
xo

As a side note, there seems to be a lot of confusion over what you can and cannot safely feed your dog...
Most people know the obvious unsafe foods, such as chocolate and onions, but did you know you should also not feed them raisins, grapes, mushrooms, avocado, pork i.e sausages/pork bones and cooked chicken bones?
Even more worryingly unknown, is that you shouldn't feed your dog products containing, or made of, rawhide!
Rawhide is terrible for dogs, as they can't properly digest it.
It's also wise to watch out for additives in kibble, like ascorbic acid and beet fibre.
'Human foods' such as pasta, milk and anything overly greasy/fatty should be kept to a bare minimum too.

Good food is the base of a happy, healthy dog :)

Busy Bees!

So we've all been busy busy busy the past few days here at the Hilton household!

We had God Mummy Emma and God Daddy Chris over for a BBQ Sunday, which ended in lots of yummy treats for all the girls, then today we've been at the vets for Monroe's second injection!
Which means, dun dun duuun, 1 week from now everyone had better watch out, as Monroe will be able to go walkies! Yayy!
We made the appointment for her last jab, but that's a whole 6 weeks away.

Raffertys "date" is drawing closer, 2 days to go! :O
Every Hilton finger, toe and whisker is tightly crossed for her!

We've all just had some dinner, so we're relaxing now ready for tomorrow to unfold :)
Expecting a visit from Auntie Pippy, Auntie Sarah and Uncle Nicky, cue 3 very excited bundles of fur xD

We'll keep this short and sweet and update soon!

Love & licks, Rio, Buffy, Rafferty & Monroe.

Rafferty = Semi Finals Superstar!

Yayyy! Rafferty did it!

A while back, we made a post asking for votes to help Rafferty win a "cutest pets" competition...

Well something must've worked, because Rafferty is in the semi finals!

She will appear in the book and is now in the running for "cover pet"!

We're all very excited here at the Hilton household!

Well done Rafferty, you were always a winner in our eyes anyway ♡

Love & licks* Rio, Buffy, Rafferty & Monroe.

*And many, many thanks!

CHA CHA CHA!

Hi everyone :)
So Mister Sunshine let us down, the BBQ is off :( but not to worry! We're still having plenty of fun!
Granddad, Mamma Angie and Great Mamma are all coming tomorrow, so we're all very excited to see them!!!
Especially Rafferty, she loves to jump all over Granddad and nibble his ears ^.^

A friend of ours sent us something on Facebook that we had to share, so here you are, hope you all find it as amusing as we did*!

Ty to Sarah for the video! :)

Oh and Miss Sarah's little boy, Bailey (yorkie) has become a big brother! Congratulations to his Mummy Milley!

That's all we have to say for now, but we'll be back soon, we might even have some new pictures ;)

Love & licks, Rio, Buffy, Rafferty & Monroe.


*For anyone about to go on a spiel about animal rights, the video/song is amusing, that's all. Chihuahuas are dogs and mine at least are treated as such! Yes, they have clothes and a bag, to keep them warm and to carry them should they need to go somewhere they can't walk. They still go on walks, still get dirty and still like rough and tumble play. :)

Dinner and Daddy!

Afternoon everyone :)

Not much has happened so far today, it's been rather quiet :(
The weather has cooled down lots, so the BBQ this weekend may be off! Come on Mister Sunshine! :D

Mummy found the most perfect Fathers Day present for us to give Granddad! We won't say what it is yet, in case he finds out, but we know he'll love it! Haha :)

Well, with not much more to say, we're off so Mummy can make us all a yummy roast chicken dinner! There had better be some brussel sprouts, they're Raffertys favourite, believe it or not :P

Bye for now!

Love & licks, Rio, Buffy, Rafferty & Monroe.

Feelin' hot hot hot!

Sorry we haven't posted in a few days! We've been really busy, but we're back now :)

So we have some news, Miss Monroe's ears are up finally! (except for when she's tired, then they flop down a little, it's so sweet)... We'll post some pictures soon!

It's been really hot the past few days, the girls are loving all the frozen treats and the fan I put on the table for them!
We're going to go and buy them a small paddling pool soon, for them to have a play in while it's so warm :) Looking forwards to 3 wet chihuahuas jumping on me during my sunbathing sessions! Haha.

Monroe should be going for her injections finally next week sometime :( then we'll decide when she'll be micro-chipped. It feels mean doing it, but it's for the best obviously :) Mummy Rio just has to leave the room haha :( Hopefully she won't sulk too much!!!

Hoping to have a BBQ next weekend, so we'll have a huge picture post when we do have it, to show all the mischeif the girls will no doubt get into :D

Anyway, it's too hot to sit inside any longer, so we'll do a quick picture post, then off to catch a breeze and relax!

Love & licks, Rio, Buffy, Rafferty & Monroe.