Evidence Is In: Dogs Make Poor Water Managers!!

Seeing is Believing

We recently heard from the owner of a naughty five year old Jack Russell terrier—a perky little pup who likes to chew on (operating) sprinkler heads—NO! NO! Fido! Aside from the astronomical cost of doggie dental work these days, this is a very bad habit—nothing can wreak havoc on those finely tuned pieces of equipment like lots of tiny, very sharp and pointed teeth owned by a water-loving pooch. Once the very precise notches that direct the water are damaged, the angles of the water’s application change, rendering the sprinkler nozzle essentially useless. They cannot be repaired, and should be replaced for top efficiency.

We would highly suggest that you run your sprinklers at night, somewhere between midnight and seven the next morning. Please note this is not just our idea but the recommendation of the Regional Water Authority as well as water conservationists, because it is the ideal window in which to run your irrigation for the best results. (There is a pesky myth that links turf grass mildew problems with nocturnal irrigation schedules, but we don’t live in a high humidity environment, like the deep southern states, for instance.) Constantly overwatering and always soggy turf are usually the culprits if it shows up in this area. At night, evaporation is at a minimum since there is virtually no wind and no sun. You save water. You save money on repairs—since Fido should be sleeping soundly, inside the house, away from the chew-toy irrigation equipment. We have been offered other “aversion therapies” for Fido, but we are gentle, animal loving people and don’t go for that rough stuff.  Try our way first!

There is another water dog story we’d like to share, just in case you don’t know that letting your pup play aimlessly, and for long periods of time with the hose can be FATAL.

My pal who lives next door, adopted a five year old, eleven pound, long-haired daschund named Shorty—yup, his real name was Hansel (former partner of Gretel), so you understand why he’s now known as Shorty or “Short Stuff”. This was in the summer of 2006, with eleven days in a row of temperatures over one hundred degrees, and man, it was hot, hot, hot. Shorty had just discovered the wonders and delights of playing “hosie” in the driveway—he chased, bit and attacked the hose as if it were a badger, what the breed was once trained to find, and, um, “do away with”. He chewed the ends off the “hosies” one by one, and replacement was futile. Shorty really loved this game and his owner loved watching him play— for extended periods of time.

On one of these last eleven over one hundred degree days I returned home to find my pal sitting out front, distraught and in great distress. He sobbed, “Shorty’s in the hospital and he might die.” More probing brought out the facts and it was obvious that the little guy had swallowed WAY too much water while playing. He had become comatose and the vet found him to have” hyponatremia”, or water intoxication. He had overdosed on water and had diluted the salt in his blood to the point that left untreated, he surely would have died. I’m happy to say they have shortened “hosie time” considerably since then—at least it’s a start and Shorty seems to be OK with the limited play time. I have been talking to him about taking the Blue Thumb Pledge but, he just ignores me.

So the moral is, “Dogs are not qualified to manage your water usage, no matter how cute they are—and letting them play unsupervised where they can destroy hoses, other irrigation hardware, or themselves is unwise, foolish, not a good idea, bad, very, very bad.”

 Become a Blue Thumb online at www.bewatersmart.info  and oh, sign up those little four-legged water wasters you have running around in the backyard shredding the hosie.