{"id":3844,"date":"2017-10-21T14:32:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-21T14:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=3844"},"modified":"2017-10-21T14:32:02","modified_gmt":"2017-10-21T14:32:02","slug":"dog-park-safety-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/dog-park-safety-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Dog park safety tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>While frolicking in the park can be great exercise and a good time for our playful pooches, some canines may return home from the dog park with more than just new four-legged friends. Medical conditions commonly associated with a visit to the dog park include sprains, bites and head trauma.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3845\" style=\"width: 760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/puppy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3845\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3845\" src=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/puppy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/puppy.jpg 750w, http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/puppy-300x208.jpg 300w, http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/puppy-50x35.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">IMAGE FROM <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/bordeaux-mastiff-dog-animal-white-869032\/\">PIXABAY.COM<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>As park visits increase during the warm months,\u00a0<a class=\"linkOnClick\" href=\"http:\/\/www.petinsurance.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-include=\"300457216\">Nationwide<\/a>, an American provider of pet health insurance, reminds dog owners about the importance of safety when visiting their favorite dog park.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The dog park can be a great place for friendly dogs to socialize and exercise, but there are safety measures dog owners need to be aware of,&#8221; said\u00a0<span class=\"xn-person\">Carol McConnell<\/span>, DVM, MBA, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for Nationwide. &#8220;Many of the medical conditions on our dog park-related injury list can be avoided by taking necessary precautions, but some are out of the owner&#8217;s control. If any of these issues occur, dog owners should head to their veterinarian or emergency animal hospital for treatment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Below are a few simple but important tips for helping to ensure a fun and safe trip to the dog park:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Obey all posted rules and regulations.<\/li>\n<li>Visit the dog park without your dog during the days and times you anticipate going to see if the &#8220;regulars&#8221; are a good fit for your pet.<\/li>\n<li>Pay attention to your dog at all times and ensure that playtime remains friendly. If your dog or another dog is playing too rough, it&#8217;s best to remove your dog from the situation.<\/li>\n<li>Many dog parks have designated areas for large and small dogs. No matter your dog&#8217;s stature, be sure to keep them in the area allocated for their size.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t bring a puppy younger than 4 months old.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your dog is up to date on vaccinations and flea\/tick preventive.<\/li>\n<li>On warm days, avoid the dog park during peak temperature hours.<\/li>\n<li>Bring water and a bowl for your dog to drink from.<\/li>\n<li>Look for signs of overheating, including profuse and rapid panting, a bright red tongue, thick drooling saliva, glassy eyes and lack of coordination. If this occurs, take your dog to a veterinarian immediately.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As park visits increase during the warm months,\u00a0Nationwide, an American provider of pet health insurance, reminds dog owners about the importance of safety when visiting their favorite dog park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,15],"tags":[1153,1929,1086,1152,283],"class_list":["post-3844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlight","category-opinions","tag-dog-care","tag-dog-park","tag-pet","tag-pet-care","tag-pets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3846,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3844\/revisions\/3846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}