Spring Forward With Your Fur Baby
03/25/2024 11:26AM ● By SPONSORED BY BEVS
After months of being trapped in the house, humans and pets can rejoice because spring is finally here. The days are getting longer, and the temps are getting warmer, which means we can stay out longer with our pets. But warmer weather also signals the start of flea and tick season.
PEST PREVENTION
Officially, the pest season starts in April, but in Vermont, it will begin as soon as evening temps stary above freezing. That’s when fleas can bite and annoy not only our beloved pets but also infest our homes as well as lead to tapeworms in our pets. How does a tiny flea give a pet a giant tapeworm, you wonder? Simply by ingesting a flea while grooming or ferociously itching themselves. That’s all it takes.
Ticks can also cause a host of nasty illnesses in pets besides just attaching to their skin. Tick bites can lead to Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in animals—and humans.
So, now is the time to prepare! It’s best to treat your pets before they come in contact with fleas and ticks. Topical treatments, chewable pills, and flea and tick collars are the most widely used preventatives. (Personally, I use all three: a pill for one dog, a collar for the other, and topical treatments for our cats.) But you can choose the method that works best for you and your pet.
Flea and tick collars are great because they last around seven months, but if you have young children who might touch them or your pet comes in contact with furniture, you might want to try another method. The same is true with topical treatments, which can last up to three months but contain chemicals that need time to dry. So, in those instances, pills are the most convenient. Check with your veterinarian to see what they recommend.
Take Your Dog Sugaring
In Vermont, when daytime temps are above freezing and nights below freezing, that can only mean one thing: It’s time to collect that beautiful tree sap that turns into Vermont’s famous maple syrup.
Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works , located just 2.7 miles outside of Montpelier, is one place you can visit to learn all about the sugaring process—and it’s a great place to take your dog.
Open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm, Morse Farm is a throwback to a simpler, quieter time when generations of the same family worked together to carve out a living on the land.
You and your pup can visit the sugarhouse, walk the “maple trail,” which winds through the sugar bush, and then stop for a visit with Rex and James, the Morse Farm goats. Pieces of folk art and antique farm implements dot the property, making it a fun adventure for everyone.
To cap off your day, check out the dog-friendly Morse Farm store, brimming with maple products as well as an assortment of Vermont specialty foods and gifts. And, of course, you’ll have to try the farm’s renowned maple creemee (a swirling tower of Morse Farm maple syrup-flavored soft serve piled high upon a sugar or waffle cone), named an “exceptional creemee” by New England Traveler Today. www.morsefarm.com
PALMER’S SUGARHOUSE in Shelburne, VT, is
another great sugaring season option. While
only service dogs are allowed to enter the actual
sugarhouse, visitors and their pups can hit the
Nordic trail system with views of the Adirondacks,
listen to live music, or visit the farm’s barn.
For over 50 years, Palmer’s Sugarhouse, a family- run business, has opened its doors to the public for an event called Sugar on Snow. Every Saturday and Sunday, March 3–April 14, from 9 am to 4
pm, Palmer’s has special Sugar on Snow tastings, as well as sugaring demonstrations, free maple samples, maple products for sale, live music, and horseback rides (weather permitting) offering views of the Adirondacks.
Palmer’s Sugarhouse is a friendly, comfortable family experience with plenty of parking and is handicap accessible. Schedule your visit to enjoy all that sugaring season has to offer. www.palmersugarhouse.com
Furry Friend Fun Run
Is your dog a sprinter or maybe a slow and steady strutter? Whatever your canine’s capacity
for speed, show it off at the 26th annual Mutt Strutt at Little River State Park in Waterbury.
Scheduled for April 21, the race begins at 10 am, and you can register your pup for $10 until April
10, $15 until April 19, and $20 on the day of the race.
Awards are given to the first-place finishers in each 10-year age group by gender and dog weight. Contact Maryellen Copping at [email protected] for more info.
