Flying into the Weekend!

Have a great long weekend and holiday!!

Cut those Toe Nails!

Tip of the Day: Whether you have a young puppy or an older dog it is never to late to begin getting them accustomed to have their toe nails clipped. I can't stress enough how important it is from day one with a puppy to handle their feet. In our puppy class we talk a lot about handling a dog to get them used to grooming and vet visits and often I think people sigh with relief if they have a dog with short hair that won't require grooming visits. Truth be told though, all dogs have toe nails and that is part of grooming maintenance for your pet. Don't expect to do all four feet, start with just one toe. Clip the nail, give your dog a treat and put the clippers away. Do this every day, maybe aim for two toes or a foot but always treat after each clip or have someone feed your puppy while you trim the nails and your dog will offer you his foot for a pedicure! My lab is very patience when I clip his nails because I did this method with him from day 1. I have clipped too close to the quik before where it made him bleed a little bit but he was just as eager to give his foot back because 9 times out of 10 its a good experience. It makes your life a bit less stressful and you don't have to pay someone else to trim the nails. If you just don't like doing the nails yourself and do pay someone, it is still a good habit to reward with treats while the other person does it or work on conditioning at home to get your dog to accept it.

A Hurricane's A Coming

If you are on the east coast I hope you are all safe and not getting dumped on too bad by the hurricane! The rain has started today but it isn't supposed to get really windy and torrential rain until tonight! We spent yesterday getting the lawn mowed, shingling the house, picking up the yard etc. This a.m. doing everything we need to before the power goes out....I'd be shocked if it doesn't.
Do you have a dog that won't go outside when it is raining? Sometimes the easiest thing to do is go out with your dog too! Put on your rain coat, take out an umbrella and sometimes that is all it takes. Scout will occasionally step to the door, look up at me as if to say "you gotta be kidding me" and backups up into the house. However, if I put on my boots and coat and go out he has the best time AND uses the bathroom. Think of the little dogs walking through the grass. Not only do their feet get wet but usually their belly's are getting wet in the grass too. No wonder they are hesitant! Be patient and bear the bad weather with them, use an umbrella and play in the rain!

Time Flies!

Oh Dear!! Falling behind. So sorry to all! It has been such a busy week or so. At work so much vacation time happening you gotta fill in and lose a bit of that extra time you are used to having. I also am getting ready to sit for my CPDT test to become legit...a certified pet dog trainer so that too is consuming my spare time as I freshen up in the areas on the test. The next several weeks may be short blogs, more training blips, until work has settled down and the test is over!

So it was truly a manic Monday today at work! Many emergency style appointments. Skin issues, seizures, hit by cars, wounds. It is important to check your dog regularly, a bit more thorough than petting. By doing that every couple days you will catch things like the start of a hot spot, a small scrape or wound before it abscesses. Good handling techniques will help potentially lower vet bills by catching a problem before it is out of control!

Training Tip

Tip of the Day:  When choosing a pet food look primarily at the first 5 ingredients. A food company has to list their ingredients in descending weight so the first 5 are the bulk of your pets food. In those first five ingredients look for two protein sources, usually a whole protein source like chicken, lamb, herring etc. and then a protein meal, any of the whole protein sources with meal after it. Avoid foods with by-products and ones with food color additives and ones that are vague and list items such as poultry meal, meat by product, animal fat. It leaves the company with a lot of wiggle room.

Finally getting a moment after a long but wonderful weekend. I had one very tired puppy on the ride home Sunday, practically comatose! He swam and he ran and he swam some more. Tucker the other dog definetly gave Scout a run for his money. They played pretty well together but Scout did have to give a few "back off!" corrections.  But overall still buds. On Sunday, two other dogs showed up to camp, a yorkshire terrier and a corgi/jack russel mix. I was so proud of Scout! A lot of times I think people owning big dogs get worried about them with little ones but Scout is very respectful when approaching new dogs. If they give him corrections he backs off or changes his demeanor to make it so the little dogs accept him and will play with him. Photos to come of the half pint dogs and their interactions!

Scout and Tucker Saturday night after a day of playing!