New Year, New Flea: Shedding that Winter Coat

Twenty ate-teen (2018) is just around the corner and it’s time to put on the good boy collar and turn a new coat. Every dog has bad years, with the getting into the trash (perfectly good leftovers thrown away?!), and the barking at leaves (I swear it was the mail truck), and the jumping (so, I’m not supposed to love my hooman?). This year I—we—will put our best paw forward and be the goodest dogs ever to set an example for all the little ones, hooman and pupper.

    Christmax will come and go (everything is gray, so I don’t really see a difference anyway) and the leftovers will make an extra jowl. Afterward, we will put on our good boy collars and come the first time we are called, stop jumping, and stop barking at nothing. I’ve had some learning experiences in my dog years and I want to share them with you. I’ve compiled a few tips and tricks to shed last season’s coat.

Tip 1: If your hoomans got you a big, fluffy bed for just you—USE IT! Don’t ignore your hoomans’ grand gesture to be your humble servants. That means don’t sit on the furniture and stare at your new bed.

Tip 2: If your hoomans have raked all the leaves in the yard, DON’T run through them and mess up their work. They are raking the yard so you can smell it better.

Tip 3: Conversely, if it has snowed, DO run around in the snow. The hoomans love it. They think it’s adorable and pupper-like.

Tip 4: Before Christmax, if there are gray boxes under the tree (that doesn’t smell like a tree), don’t chew them, the chew toys are on the inside and you have to wait for them to be given to you—like a good dog.

Tip 5: During the winter, it’s not our fault that our fur falls out at an alarming rate, and our hooman know that, too. So, when they’re sweeping, don’t stand, walk through, or lie in their sweep pile.

Tip 6: Hoomans love to give us new toys, and you’ll probably get a lot of new ones for Christmax. Don’t chew them all to bits in one week, ration them; you know they will last for weeks—maybe months—if you pick one and stick with it.

*Hoomans, don’t forget that your furbabies love to have a warm, family Christmas, too. Their paws are just like our hands, if your hands are cold outside, so are their paws. If it’s cold outside to you, it’s cold outside to them as well. Don’t forget to bring your animals in this winter, especially at night. And if you’re able to care for a stray, give it a thought; they deserve love, too.