There’s no doubt we want nothing but the best for our dogs. Sometimes what we term as “the best” for our dogs can often be translated to what allows our dogs maximum freedom, particularly at home. For example, freedom to run in a fenced yard, freedom from having to be in the crate while we’re gone, freedom to go in and outside through a doggy door whenever they want are all highly desired by pet parents. Indeed, there’s no timelier discussion as we just celebrated our country’s freedom and independence. The Importance of Freedom Lots of reasons come to mind why we set goals of freedom for our dogs. First of all, freedom equals fun, and who doesn’t want to have fun? We want to run, play and bask in the sun in our time off. What dog wouldn’t want that, too? Freedom for our dogs often means convenience for … Read More
Why Hire a Daily Dog Walker?
It’s easy to see the need to hire a dog walker or pet sitter while you and your family go on vacation. Of course, someone needs to be around to feed and let the dog out, grab the mail and check on the house. But what about when you’re not on vacation and just at work? Why then would you want to hire a daily dog walker? There are lots of great reasons to hire a daily dog walker, but here are just a few: You have a new puppy! – Congratulations! There’s nothing more exciting than getting a new puppy. Expect to be the most popular, or should I say “pup-ular,” person in your family and gang of friends for a bit. Everyone will want to come see the new puppy. But what about when all the excitement ends? Where is everyone when a mid-day potty break is in … Read More
Charitable Feature: Best Friends Animal Society
In April, I was presented with the opportunity to visit Best Friends’ Animal Society in Kenab, Utah. For those who don’t know where Kenab is, it’s about 3.5 hours northeast of Las Vegas, NV by car. Best Friends is a national organization that serves a couple functions. Not only do they operate several animal shelters across the country, but they financially support a network of about 1,400 other shelters nationwide, all with a mission to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets, and a vision of a better world through kindness to animals. (You may remember that Best Friends hosts an annual “Strut Your Mutt” fundraising walk here in St. Louis every fall.) In my time there, I was able to tour the sanctuary, Best Friends’ flagship shelter facility and headquarters, home to about 1,700 dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses, pigs, goats, mules, sheep and 1 … Read More
The “Four-Legged” Approach to Good Behavior
Image courtesy of http://jonathanturley.org One of my most cherished bosses in the world once used the analogy that there are 3 “legs of the bar stool” of that particular company that supported our department and its efforts. Without one of those “legs” the entire operation would come crashing down. I love the first day of group dog training classes, where I get to share my philosophy on training and get students on the same page before they even bring their dogs to class. This is where I, too, get to use my own “bar stool” analogy when it comes to obtaining good dog behavior. Except in my version, there’s four legs to the bar stool. Let’s face it, when there’s something as unpredictable as dog behavior at stake, you want to make sure you’re on the most stable foundation possible… Leg 1 – Nutrition What you put in Fido’s mouth … Read More
Tips for End of Season Doggy Swims
Photo credit: Seth Casteel – Little Friends Photo Well, here we are… Another summer almost behind us. Before you pull out the fall sweaters, tailgate equipment and pumpkin carving knives, there’s one left thing to do. Yep, that’s right… Close the pool! What? You don’t have a pool? (Congratulations, you’ve just saved years off of your life in checking Ph levels.) That’s okay, because many of the municipalities around town do have public pools, and many of them offer end of season doggy swim parties before closing down for the season. But this sort of event can be a little tricky, especially for a first-timer dog – or person for that matter… You must be really willing to trust perfect strangers with the capability to protect not only their dog, but your dog, from harm and injury. Nevertheless, end of season public dog swims do exist and can have their … Read More