Love your pets

Monday, October 24, 2016

Greyhound

Greyhounds are one of the oldest breeds on record. This breed dates back to ancient Greece and Egypt. Depictions of greyhounds can be found in paintings and carvings dating back to 2900 BC. They were brought to America by the Spanish in the 1500s and grew in popularity, used mostly for hunting hares, jack rabbits, foxes and deer.

Greyhounds are part of a group called sight hounds. These hounds tend to rely on their sight for hunting rather than their noses like other hounds. Greyhounds’ sight is quite formidable. They have a long head with a rather narrow muzzle that widens at the ears. The placement of their eyes allows a 270˚ field of vision (2 times that of a human) which basically means they can see behind their head. They have small ears that are bent toward the back.

The Greyhound’s body is built for speed. They have very muscular hindquarters, they are tall and lean, with a very deep chest. Greyhounds have a very flexible spine that allows them to run in a double suspended gallop. This means all four legs are suspended at two points during their gallop, when they are stretched out and tucked under their body. This allows for great speeds. Greyhounds can reach a speed of 45 miles per hour in 30 ft. So it is no surprise that this magnificent breed has been used for racing. They also love to participate in other dog sports like lure coursing, flyball and agility.

But speed and hunting are not the only things they are good at, Greyhounds are very sweet and lovable family dogs. They love children and other dogs but great care must be taken with smaller pets and other animals. A greyhound will chase almost anything they see moving, so it is very important to have them on a leash when outside and to provide a secure location for them to run freely in.

Due to this breed’s amazing speed, training, specially a reliable recall, is a must. The good news is that they are quite easy to train, they love to please their humans. And though they love to run when there is space, they can be very good apartment dogs since they are amazingly calm when indoors. They are actually known as couch potatoes by many owners, but they are healthiest when exercised daily. A proper diet is a must. Since Greyhounds have a propensity for bloat it is suggested that they rest for at least an hour after being fed; and feeding smaller meals 2 or 3 times a day rather than one big meal once a day.

Greyhounds have a short smooth coat that can be almost any color. There can be Greyhounds in black, white, grey, brindle, red, blue, blue fawn, red brindle and mixtures of these colors. They have very thin skin that can easily tear so it’s important to keep an eye on them when they are running outdoors. Their smooth coat is easy to take care of, needing only occasional brushing and bathing.

They are quite tall, a full grown Greyhound will be about 30 inches tall, but their frames are quite delicate so they tend to only weigh between 60 and 70lbs. Though they are tall they still think they are lap dogs. Greyhounds can’t really sit like other dogs, when they do their backside just hovers without touching the ground. During training, most Greyhound parents tend to teach them a down stay instead of forcing them to sit. With appropriate care a Greyhounds’ life expectancy is 10 to 12 years.

So if you have access to a secure space for running and want a gentle well behaved, sweet family dog then maybe a Greyhound is right for you.

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Monday, October 10, 2016

Teaching target or touch

Teaching your dog to target on cue is a very useful tool. At first we teach it as a way to get our dog to redirect her attention when loose leash walking, or as an alternative to “come”, but it is the building block for many exercises. For assistance dogs, “touch” can evolve into turning the lights on or off, bringing specific items to you, pressing the crosswalk button to cross the street, etc. It is also used in most dog sports to, guide your dog away from you, reach contacts in agility, bring Treiballs to you, etc. And many pet parents have used it to teach their dogs to ring a bell to go outside. It is quite easy to teach touch since we are using your dog’s instinct to sniff.

Insturctions:

Get ready with a variety of tiny, yummy, treats. Reach your hand out towards your pup to smell. When she reaches your hand with her face, “click” or say “yes” and feed her a treat with your other hand. We are using your dogs instinct to sniff your hand to make her bump it or touch it with her muzzle. Move your hand to the side or move backwards and wait for your dog to touch it again, “click” and treat. Once she is consistently touching it every time you put your hand out, give it a name, you can call it “touch“, “target” or “bump”.

Start making the game harder by moving your hand higher up, down bellow or to the side. The faster the game goes the better, keep it fun and be super quick with your reward. You want your dog reaching out as fast as she can in quick succession to keep her engaged.

Once you can get her to target your hand no matter where it is, grab a long, wooden spoon and have her target that. At fist your dog will probably try to “touch” your hand instead of the spoon. Wait a little with the reward and she will soon try something a bit different to get the “click” and treat. This is called shaping, we are making the dog figure it out on her own, with little steps getting her closer to the final product. First she only had to sniff your hand, then we wanted a more marked contact with the hand, then touching any part of the new object, then we start moving farther away from the hand to the tip of the object.

Some dogs prefer to touch with their paw and that is ok for most cases. Make sure you are consistent with your dog, you should only reward what you actually want. We can ask her to “bump” a hand with her snout and later on ask her to “target” a mat with her paws.

Dogs are very smart and with the right reinforcements we can get them to differentiate between objects and how we want them to engage with said objects. Be patient and think ahead… What is your ultimate goal for this exercise? Will it be paws targeting a contact in agility? A muzzle bump to roll a ball playing Treiball? Maybe you want her to not only reach, but lie down on the mat? Or maybe it will turn into a fun trick like “shake” or “hi five”? You can have many cues for ultimately the same behavior and then use these cues to teach separate exercises.

Short training sessions tend to be more productive and effective so work for 5 to 10 minutes at a time, let your dog relax and then try again in a few hours or the next day. Use very yummy treats when you are teaching something new, once your dog starts to “get it”, you can switch to lower value treats or treat less often. Don’t just quit rewarding or she will loose interest, it has to be gradual with some rewarding surprises thrown in sometimes.

Always remember to be patient with your dog and have fun!

Potty Bells

This training tip is an extension to potty training.... We love to have easier ways for our dogs to let us know when they need to go outside. A bell is a great option. The most common bells used are the ones you can hang on the doorknob, but the desk bells placed on the floor work well too.

The first thing to do is ring the bell every single time that door opens. This will start signaling to the dog that the noise makes the door open.

Now to get your pup to ring it we will teach him to target. You can start by reaching your hand out to the dog, the dog will follow his instinct to sniff it and when he makes contact with your hand you will say “yes” or click and then follow with a treat. Once you can get your dog to target your hand every time you ask him to, you can start asking him to target other objects like the bell. A way to encourage this can be a bit of peanut butter or wet dog food on the bell so they will lick it and make it ring. Every time they touch it you will open the door. Once you have your dog targeting when you ask, give him some time to see if he will go touch it on his own. When he does, reward the pup and open the door.

Be sure to stop the treats within a few sessions and then only use a verbal reward such as “good dog, let’s go outside” so the dog doesn’t just ring the bell for a treat. The whole purpose is for them to go outside and go potty not just ring the bell. Beware of the dog that’s too smart for his own good and starts ringing the bell for attention and not for outside needs.

As always make sure your training sessions are short, happy and gentle. Both you and the dog should think this is a fun exercise so if its not working stop and try it again later or give us a call so we can help you out.

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Max Dog of the month

Maximillian

Dog’s birthday:

11/05/08

How did you obtain your dog?

Giddings Animal Shelter – he was there with his brothers and sisters (wish I could find them now…I’d adopt one of them!)

How old was your dog when you got him/her?

10 weeks old

How would you describe him/ her in 5 words?

Athletic, loving, always smiling, gentle, intelligent

What’s your dog’s favorite food?

Bacon and chicken (but he’s allergic to chicken) anytime he gets around another dog’s food that has chicken in it, he tries desperately to get some of it.

What’s the cutest thing your dog does?

Watches TV and actually reacts if there is an animal that comes on the TV. He will either whine because he wants to play with it or barks at it!!

What’s the smartest thing your dog does?

He can find a tennis ball buried underground or hidden behind any object. He’s tennis ball obsessed!

Anything else you’d like to share about your dog?

Max has participated in agility classes and excelled at them. He is also very attached to me. If I take him somewhere with me, he rarely leaves my side.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Cat enrichment

Cat environment enrichment is about providing your cat with new smells, textures, tastes, sounds, toys and fun things to do. Some cats can be happy with a bit of attention, food and a sunny spot to lie down in. But most cats have a more adventurous side, they are cats that need a little more active entertainment. Here are a few ideas on how to enrich a cat’s life.

Free feeding from a bowl can get quite tedious for cats. Cats are hunters and while we are not suggesting you make your cat truly hunt down her meals, searching for food is a big part of their lives and when we take that away from them they can get pretty bored.

So instead of always placing a bowl of dry cat food in the same spot in the kitchen day in and day out, try to engage your cats by hiding the food. Start with spots where your cat can easily find the food and little by little make it harder. Place the food under the table, or behind the door, inside a big box, etc. Then move your cat into another room, set up a few feeding stations and then let her into the room to search! If you add a tiny bit of wet food to the harder hiding spots you’ll see your cat really get into this game. Make sure you don't use hiding spots where your cat is not allowed! Your cat will now use her sense of smell, sight and sometimes even her paws to get to the food.

You can also make an interactive food dispenser. Make some holes in a plastic bottle, fill it with cat kibble and let your cat roll it to get the food out.

Scratch posts are not only fun, they also help with cat nails, but you don’t have to go buy a scratch post. With a shower ring and a piece of carpet, or old bath mat you can hang a very fun scratch station in several spots in your home, best of all is you can use different colors and textures to go with your decor instead of the boring beige they use in kitty scratch posts. Another option for scratching is to cut some cardboard about 3 inches wide and make a long strip, attaching it with tape, then roll the cardboard to create a scratch platform. You can make different sizes and then stick them together to create a tower.

We know most cats get bored with toys after a few days and some even after a few minutes, so we love to make new toys and switch out the old ones. If all the toys are available at the same time, then they all become boring for our cats. By keeping only 2 or 3 out at one time you can prolong your cat’s interest in them, and after a few days switch them out for another 3 and so on.

Interactive cat toys can be made with all sorts of things already in your home. Cut some holes in a box and toss a few cat treats or rattle ball in there… instant toy!

Glue some toilet paper rolls together to create a little tower. Cardboard is easy to paint in any color you like and you finally have something to do with all those boxes in the garage. You can also use cork and ribbons.

Attach a piece of elastic (like the ones used in clothing) on a cat toy (feather, ball, etc.) then hang it from a door knob or tie it to the bottom of the couch and watch as your cat amuses herself watching it bounce every time she bats it. The elastic creates a little resistance and as the cat lets go of the toy it bounces.

Try new materials, with different textures and scents for toys, it will greatly improve your cat’s likelihood to engage with them. Click here for more ideas we found…

Bubbles? anyone? Yes! Cats can amuse themselves chasing regular bubbles for quite a while. Off course, if your cat is really into them you can buy her an automated bubble machine for extra fun, even when you are not home.

Many of our clients have indoor only cats and while this keeps their cats safe, it can also get quite tedious for the cats. These following suggestions have worked quite well to bring the fun of outdoor exploring to our indoor cats. Try a cat harness and see if she feels comfortable enough in it to go on a short walk with you, or use a cat stroller that you can take all the way to a park!

You can express your creativity even further by building outdoor enclosures or tunnels so your cats can enjoy the outdoors in a safe way. You can start with an already made vertical cat run, or go all out with complicated mazes that have ramps, tunnels, hammocks, etc. With these tunnels your cat will be able to see, smell, hear and touch new things while staying safe. Please remember to provide some shade and water while your cat explores outside.

Another great way to bring the outdoors in is by having some cat safe plants for your cat to sniff and even nibble on sometimes. Many of these your kitty can share with you too, like parsley, rosemary, mint, thyme, wheat grass, lemon grass, carrots and lavender. And of course no indoor herb garden could be complete without a bit of catnip.

Cat environment enrichment should engage all your cat’s senses: smelling, touching, seeing, hearing and tasting new things. Try new things often to keep your cat healthier and happier. Remember its supposed to be fun for the cat so if at any point she is showing signs of boredom or distress just try something else. Keep a sense of humor and enjoy your new adventures.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Boarding dog tips

We know boarding your dog while you go on vacation can be stressful, but with help from our boarding pet experts, you can make your dog’s vacation fun too! The following tips have been very helpful for our customers. They make the process go smoothly and ensure your dog has a good time while he’s boarding with us.

1. Bring your pup for a day of daycamp at our pet resort so he can get used to the environment. Our pet friendly staff is ready to introduce your dog to new dog friends and human friends alike.

2. Visit our pet resort ahead of your trip so you can fill out paperwork and take a grand tour, this is the best time to bring vaccination records too so they can be entered in our system. By preparing everything in advance you will be able to dash to the airport without delays on the day you drop off your dog for boarding.

3. Make a reservation at our boarding facility in advance so that your dog’s room can be ensured. Our luxury rooms are limited and can fill up fast, especially during holidays.

4. Bring a towel or blanket that can be washed for your dog to sleep on. Our pet resort can provide one of our blankets and cots as well if you prefer.

5. Bring your dog’s food and medications, including at least one extra day’s worth, just in case. Don’t worry we feed really high end dog food at our pet resort in case your food runs out, but its best not to switch foods suddenly if it can be avoided.

6. Bring a large, safe chew toy. We can put it in your dog’s suite for comfort during his alone time. It is not necessary to bring his whole collection though, we don’t want to misplace a special toy.

7. Schedule extras like daycamp, cuddle time or dog training to fill in the time during your dog’s stay. We provide three walks during the day but these extras ensure even more one on one attention and play time.

8. Schedule a bath with our grooming department so your dog can be nice and clean on his way home. Playing and hanging out can get the dogs a bit dirty.

9. When you drop off your dog for boarding, make a swift exit. The more you hang out saying good bye to your pup the more nervous they tend to get. If you just hand them over they are usually quite happy to go in with their new friends.

10. Likewise, when you pick up, try to stay calm. If you act like it is no big deal your dog will go back to his normal self much faster than if you make a fuss. When you get home, let your dog rest and don’t feed him for a few hours, provide plenty of water and allow access to your yard.