05Dec
If you’re traveling this holiday season, are you taking your dog or leaving them home? This week we’ll be having a mini-series on how to decide about your travel arrangements, travelling with your dog, leaving them home, and how to make the holidays a bit safer for your dog! Please weigh in with your ideas on how to help, too!
Deciding to take your dog or leave them home is a difficult decision, but it’s important to think about the dog’s comfort. Are they homebodies, or do they thrill to the open road?
Will you really have the time to spend with your dog? Are there other dogs where you’re staying that might not like your dog? Does your dog get along well with other dogs? Is there room for your dog? Does your dog get carsick? Is it worth the risk of travelling by air for your dog? Can you find a good hotel in the area?
Can you find a good boarding place?
Are there neighbors or friends who might be willing to take care of your dog or have them as a doggie houseguest?
Part 2
Tags: dog safety & health
21Nov
We all want to share the good things in life with our dogs- and Thanksgiving is a good thing. But please, don’t overfeed your dog, or give him things that could hurt him, like bones or too much gravy. Spending the day after such a nice holiday at the vets’ with your dog miserable beside you will completely ruin the holiday. Instead, spend time with your dog if you can, and give them treats just for them, like those below. If you can’t be with your dog or watching them, consider crating them with a stuffed kong or other delicious treat.
Here are some ideas for safely treating your buddy this Thanksgiving!
After Dinner Delight
Ingredients:
Leftover turkey
potatoes
squash
cranberry sauce (take it easy on this one, dogs don’t need a lot of sugar in their diets!)
any other vegetables (not onions!)
Directions:
Mix together all of the above, and drizzle lightly with a tablespoon or two of gravy. Don’t give your dog more than one serving (approximately how much he’d eat anyway). Make certain there are no bones in the meat. Remember, while hot food tastes great to humans, dogs’ aren’t used to it. Let his food cool thoroughly.
Tags: dog products, dog safety & health
28Oct
Happy Halloween, Agility Fusion!
Please be careful with your agility buddies. Halloween isn’t just a time of candy (a danger to dogs!) and trick or treaters (who can frighten your dog badly) it can also be a time of animal cruelty. Please keep a close eye on your pets, especially the beautiful black ones!
Have fun this holiday! I’ve heard of pet trick-or-treating, and Halloween dog agility could be a lot of fun! Enjoy your weekend with your pet, and remember, treats should only come AFTER their tricks!
Tags: dog safety & health
17Oct
Petside.com published an interesting article about dognapping being on the rise in the United States, and the AKC verifies it as well. How horrible! Keep a close eye on your pet when they’re out in your yard, at the dog park, and keep them indoors or secured at night.
I can’t imagine the agony of having one of my pets stolen for who-knows-what! Please, everyone, be careful!
Tags: dog safety & health, Events & News
23Sep
As we head into the colder months, it gets a little harder to exercise our dogs throughout the north.
Walking is an important conditioning exercise. Sometimes the weather is too hot or too cold to walk outside safely, and some owners have difficulty walking the distances their dogs need to walk. Doggie Treadmills make walking the dog much easier, and safer in inclement weather, and are a boon for apartment dwellers.
Treadmills are easy to train with lots of positive reinforcement, if you go slow and steady. They’re also wonderful for strengthening the hamstring/gluteal section of your dogs body (hind end 
) if you use the incline properly. For an active agility dog, endurance exercises can be a godsend since it builds muscle tone and encourages deep-chested breathing. Make certain to warm-up and cool down your dog properly before and after their treadmill session, and to monitor them carefully.
Treadmills are also very useful in after-injury care, since it controls the dog’s pace and allows them to build up muscle.
Tags: agility safety, dog safety & health
If you’re traveling this holiday season, are you taking your dog or leaving them home? This week we’ll be having a mini-series on how to decide about your travel arrangements, travelling with your dog, leaving them home, and how to make the holidays a bit safer for your dog! Please weigh in with your ideas on how to help, too!
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