Hiking the Dog Days of Summer

By Anita DeLelles, LMT

varying factors such as humidity and cloud cover, but the following guide should be considered:

77˚F ambient temperature = 125˚F asphalt temperature (in full sun)

At this temperature, paw/skin damage may occur in 1 minute. 86˚F ambient temperature = 135˚F asphalt temperature

At this temperature, paw/skin burns in under a minute; an egg will fry in five minutes.

Be a well-prepared hiker! Don’t hit the trail without items that will keep you and your dog safe and comfortable. Here are a few essentials that will help you beat the heat:

• Water and Bowl. Take a portable or collapsible water dish and plenty of fresh water for you and your pup. Add some ice cubes to your water bottle to keep the contents cool. Allow your dog to drink a little at a time with no ice. If they overindulge, they may throw up. Ice may cause an extreme body temperature change that could also lead to adverse reactions.

• Doggie Boots and Cooling Vest. Sounds extravagant, right? However, this makes great sense in our harsh desert environment. Dogs have tough paw pads, but it’s not just the heat from which the pads need to be protected. There are many hazards—plant debris, litter, and rough terrain—that can cause injury. Cooling vests are a must if you have shaved your dog’s coat. Even if your dog still has its natural coat, a vest can keep the body regulated if there is a spike in outdoor temperature or your dog overexerts. Fitting the right boots and cooling vest on your dog and getting your dog accustomed to them can take time. Be patient and ask for assistance from a dog professional.

• Canine First Aid Kit. Carry along some basic supplies— either in your own first aid kit or in a pet-specific kit—that will help you to deal with injuries that your dog might sustain on the trail. A few of the items to take would include hydrogen peroxide to disinfect cuts, scissors with rounded tips to trim hair around wounds, bandages and gauze pads, tweezers to remove foreign objects in a wound, and a small sock or bootie to protect a wounded foot. For hot sun protection, pick up some paw and nose soothing balm. This salve relieves redness and inflammation and heals cuts, cracks, and wounds. Paw Soother is a great brand that moisturizes, calms, and heals your pup’s paws and nose to keep them nourished and healthy.

So you’ve checked the forecast and are prepared to head out and enjoy the outdoors with your dog. Here are five of my favorite local trails:

1. Paradise Canyon/Scout Cave Trail | 2.4-mile loop located off Snow Canyon Parkway

2. Turtle Wall Trail | 3.8-mile loop located off Highway 18 north of Snow Canyon Parkway

3. Chuckwalla Trail | 1.7-mile loop located off Highway 18 north of Snow Canyon Parkway

4. Santa Clara Petroglyphs via Anasazi Trail | 2.9-mile loop located off Santa Clara Drive

5. Snow Canyon | 3.5-mile loop in Snow Canyon State Park

Be safe and have fun out there!

About the Author

Anita DeLelles, LMT, is a certified equine and small animal acupressure practitioner with accreditation from the Tallgrass Animal Acupressure Institute and a member of IAAMB. Her Tallgrass training has included two consecutive summers in Bath, England, near where she lived as a child, as well as coursework in Colorado and northern California. Additionally, Anita is certified in animal massage from the Northwest School of Animal Massage as well as human massage in the state of Utah and is a graduate of UNLV. In 2013, Anita and her husband, Ron, opened WOOF! Wellness Center & Training Academy to serve pets and their health-conscious pet parents. WOOF! is dedicated to improving the quality of life for companion and competitive animals through fitness and conditioning, education, and proper nutrition. Anita shares her life with Ron and their overly-pampered cats in Santa Clara, Utah.

Wellness, Training

Rehabilitation

I’M SELLING MY HOUSE. DO I NEED TO STAGE IT?

By Jessica Elgin, REALTOR®

This is an age-old question, and the answer is YES! Staging your home will almost always result in a quicker sale, and you will more than likely make more money.

According to a National Association of Realtors survey, twenty percent of sellers’ agents reported an increase of one to five percent of the dollar value offered by buyers if the home was staged in comparison to similar home sales when the home was not staged. With the average sales price for a single family residence in the greater St. George area being $693,568, it could mean an extra $27,000 in your pocket…if you stage correctly.

There are several things to remember when staging your home, with simplicity being the overriding rule. Buyers don’t want to feel like they are walking into someone else’s home, and they don’t like to feel crowded. This means that everything needs to be trimmed down. Leave no more than three items on any surface, and remove any extra foliage or plants. This will open up the area, making it feel bigger.

Furniture can be tricky. Minimize the amount of furniture in any room. This will emphasize the size of the room while helping potential buyers visualize the use of the space. There is a fine line between too much furniture and too little; rooms with no furniture actually look and feel smaller. So experiment a little with your room staging to get the perfect setting.

Next, depersonalize! Remove pictures of your family and personal items. You want a buyer to imagine his family in the home, not yours. And remember, in this day and age, removing personal items is more than just a staging issue; it is a safety issue. There will be pictures of your home all over the internet. No need to let people know more about you than is necessary.

Finally, the nose knows. Pets, mold, food, stale air….these are signs that a home has been neglected or overused. These odors need to be removed, not covered up. Circulate air, deep clean, and get a deodorizer. Febreeze or a bomb purchased from a local cleaning supply store works great. Many sellers feel that using a fragrance in their home will make it more appealing to buyers. This may be true if the scent is used lightly, but when a scent is used heavily to mask unpleasant odors—mold, pet urine, or some other foul scent—a potential buyer receives a negative message. Additionally, some buyers have allergies or sensitivities to air-freshening scents and perfumes. This can make the viewing process very difficult and uncomfortable. If you are going to use a scent, use one with a neutral smell, and diffuse it lightly.

Once your house feels comfortable and shows well, ask a professional REALTOR® to walk the home with you. Remember, they are with buyers in homes every day. They know what potential buyers are looking for. By taking these extra precautions, selling your home may be easier and more profitable than you imagined.