Relieving Stress in Dogs

After last night's storms I heard many stories about anxiety and thunder and all the attempts to calm your dog. Did you know that some dogs feel static charges before a storm? There are many capes, wraps and shirts on the market that can possibly help ease some anxiety. Here is a great article about what is available and what is in the works as far as research to help our dogs!


To read the article, please click the following link:

Putting the Squeeze on Doggy Anxiety

Chicken Jerky From China May Harm Your Dog!

FDA records show that three big brands may be tied to chicken jerky illness in dogs. To read the article, please click the following link:

Warning - Chicken Jerky Dog Treats

Bottom line, do not buy food or treats that are made in China. This would include the dog foods sold in grocery stores and Walmart. That is why you can get a 40 pound bag for $20, if it is even that much. There is nothing in the ingredients but fillers, by products of animals and if it says animal by products it could be from any animal. It also contains glutens and if it has grains it is not the whole grain that we eat but the hulls and unedible part of the food. Your dog's body is not absorbing any nutrition which is the cause of scratching, extra shedding, runny eyes, chewing on paws and 5 piles of poo everyday. That is why you have to feed 3-4 cups a day! Spend the extra money on quality food such as Wellness Core or Nature’s Variety at Petco or buy from Doggiefood.com. When feeding high quality food, large dogs will eat around 2 cups a day and your dogs will have fewer potty problems and skin and coat issues! Same applies with quality treats. In the long run a bag of food will last twice as long and you are not feeding junk that could harm your pet.

Phew. What's That Smell?!? SKUNK!!!!

We all have had a close encounter or our dogs have actually been sprayed!! Here is a sure thing on how to de-skunk Fido:

Better than Tomato Juice as a Skunk Rinse

I keep it in my dog files. We have skunks all the time. How about you? Any skunk stories out there?

Kyle Dyer Interview

What a class act and brave lady! I have alot of respect for her, realizing the situation, the mistakes that were made and encouraging everyone to learn from her experience. We continue to pray for her healing.

To read her interview, please click the following link:   Kyle Dyer

Oh No Banjo! Not the Corn Cob!

Ended the evening with an excellent set of classes, came in to eat dinner, and had just sat down when we realized that Banjo had eaten some turkey and unfortunately one cob of corn! The problem - the cob from corn does not digest well. As soon as we realized what he had done off to the emergency vet we went. One stomach surgery and four hours later, Banjo's stomach was empty and we had the cob. It was broken into a couple of pieces but still large enough to have caused a blockage in his intestine. He is now asleep and we may be able to pick him up tomorrow. He will be on bland food and in the "cone" for two weeks!

I wanted to share this story so that everyone would be aware of how dangerous corn on the cob can be for dogs. If they are in the trash it is wise to take the trash out immediately. If they are on the counter, remove them from the counter or place them where you dogs cannot reach them.

I have seven dogs and two are trash eaters and counter surfers! If you have a counter surfer, management and training is the key. Banjo is two and just started surfing off and on about 2 months ago. Remember, everytime they get something off the counter it reinforces this behavior. We have helped Banjo's behavior by picking up and making sure nothing is in his reach in the kitchen, however last night we let our guard down. We will continue to work with Banjo and his surfing but wanted to give you some incentive to manage and train if you live with a dog where food is a level 10 distraction!

Below is a picture of Banjo's stomach contents. The pink thing is a Valentine's Day dog treat that is still in the shape of a heart! The rest is turkey and the cob that the vet removed from his stomach.  Little man is doing well and resting at the vet's office, hopefully he will come home later today!

A Penny Saved, is a Lesson Learned!

It was Saturday morning and I woke up planning on taking all the dogs on a hike. I broke them up into two groups because they are all on different levels of training. I decided I would take Glacier, Dixie and Penny in the first group. I got them all loaded and off we went ready to hike. I got to our destination and parked, which was close to a busy street, and proceeded to get the dogs out of the car. I let Penny out first. I then turned back to the car to get Dixie out, when Penny caught the scent of something and started backing up. I had not turned around yet, but Lynda, who was hiking with me, called out that Penny was slipping out of her collar! I whipped around and Penny had completely slipped her collar! I shut the car door and immediately called Penny to me. Penny‘s expression turned playful, she bounced away from me and turned and went into the street. I stepped away from the car, she turned and looked at me, I called her again and this time she started toward me. I was relieved she was not in the street anymore however; she did not come back all the way. She stopped about 3 feet from me, ears perked up, prancing and seemed to be a little confused as to what we were doing. Once again I stepped backwards and said, “Penny come!” I could see the wheels turning in her head; it was time for her to make a choice. I knew if she bounced away again she was going to take off. I said, “Penny, cookie!  Let’s get a cookie!” As she approached, I reached out, showed her the treat and petted her head. I gave her the cookie and reached around to hold her while I put her collar back around her neck. Penny then received twenty treats with the words “good girl” after each treat!

Tonight, as I sit with Penny, I have been thinking how differently things could have turned out. I sat here just a week ago readjusting Penny’s collar because it seemed a bit tight. I adjusted it to where it was snug and I could put two fingers in it and I tried to pull it over her head. The collar was just right. However, I think what happened, was over the last few days as Penny and Banjo ran around and wrestled in the backyard, it became loose again. I did not check it before we left since I had just adjusted it. The other thing that occurred to me was that when Penny’s collar slipped off, she had no identification left on her because it was all on her collar. Penny is microchipped but that only works if she is picked up by animal control or if the person that finds her takes her to see if she is chipped. Everyone will not take the time to do this. Because of this, I have decided that I will no longer attach the leash to the collar that has my dog’s I.D. tags hanging on it. Now, I will walk them in a harness, and I will double collar Glacier. This way the walking collar stays attached to his leash and I will check it before each walk. If the walking collar loosens and slips off or even unclips (which has happened to a client) he will have all his I.D. on him, including a microchip.

The last, but most important point, is please train your dogs to come to you! My rule for recalls has always been that when my dogs come to me they will ALWAYS get reinforced with very HIGH value treats. All of my dogs are food motivated. When all seven are playing in the backyard and are at the far end of the property, I ring a dinner bell and they all start running towards me. As they get closer I start saying, “Come, come on, let’s get cookies!!” When they reach me I have high value food waiting for them! They have had meatballs, leftover meat from dinner the night before, a can of cat food, dog food, cheese, hotdogs and even frozen doggie yogurt! Their reward for coming always rotates so they never know what they are getting. I also make coming inside very valuable. So sometimes when they reach me I say, “Come, get cookies, let’s go INSIDE!” When we reach the kitchen, out come the treats again! I have also put treats in my pockets and have hidden in different areas of the yard. This is really fun at night! I yell “Come” in a high playful voice. When they find me, everyone gets a treat! I have also surprised them by just calling them out of the blue, as they are all lying around sleeping. They jump up and come to me and are given treats. Also, remember; do not call your dog to you to do something that they don’t really like. At my house that would be things like getting a bath or Dremeling their nails. When I need to do these tasks, I walk over to them and gently take their collar and walk them to where I need them. This may or may not need a treat. For example, if it is to take a bath, they get a treat for walking with me to the tub and then another when they get in the tub!

When your dog finally comes to you, it should never end in a negative response from you, no matter how frustrated you are. If it ends in a negative, why would your dog want to come to you in the future? This may seem like a lot of work, but actually it is just a bunch of fun games to play with your dogs and the pay off could be priceless! Penny is quietly sleeping in her dog bed thinking of her great hike today and I am thinking how glad I am that she is there!