Keep Your Dog Safe on Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

‘Tis the season for friends, family and holiday feasts—but also for possible distress for our animal companions. Pets won’t be so thankful if they munch on undercooked turkey or a pet-unfriendly floral arrangement, or if they stumble upon an unattended alcoholic drink.
Check out the following tips from ASPCA experts for a fulfilling Thanksgiving that your pets can enjoy, too.
Talkin’ Turkey
If you decide to feed your pet a little nibble of turkey, make sure it’s boneless and well-cooked. Don't offer her raw or undercooked turkey, which may contain salmonella bacteria.
Sage Advice
Sage can make your Thanksgiving stuffing taste delish, but it and many other herbs contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and central nervous system depression to pets if eaten in large quantities. Cats are especially sensitive to the effects of certain essential oils.
No Bread Dough
Don't spoil your pet’s holiday by giving him raw bread dough. According to ASPCA experts, when raw bread dough is ingested, an animal's body heat causes the dough to rise in his stomach. As it expands, the pet may experience vomiting, severe abdominal pain and bloating, which could become a life-threatening emergency, requiring surgery.
Don't Let Them Eat Cake
If you’re baking up Thanksgiving cakes, be sure your pets keep their noses out of the batter, especially if it includes raw eggs—they could contain salmonella bacteria that may lead to food poisoning.
Too Much of a Good Thing
A few small boneless pieces of cooked turkey, a taste of mashed potato or even a lick of pumpkin pie shouldn’t pose a problem. However, don't allow your pets to overindulge, as they could wind up with a case of stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse—an inflammatory condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. In fact, it’s best keep pets on their regular diets during the holidays.
A Feast Fit for a Kong
While the humans are chowing down, give your cat and dog their own little feast. Offer them Nylabones or made-for-pet chew bones. Or stuff their usual dinner—perhaps with a few added tidbits of turkey, vegetables (try sweet potato or green beans) and dribbles of gravy—inside a Kong toy. They’ll be happily occupied for awhile, working hard to extract their dinner from the toy.

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It's a rainy November day but they doggies could care less.  Here Cleo the Great Dane and Phineas the terrier touch bases.... no: noses!

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A day at The Doggie Den is full of goings out and comings in.  Very busy.  And each one has to do it his or her way.

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PixieTurns1 Year Old!

Had to track Pixie down to get her to her own party but she kind of enjoyed it once she got started.  Just didn't like the idea of competing for her ice cream!

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Sam Shares His 5th Birthday with his Puppypals

Can you believe how generous this little guy is with his birthday treat??

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Dog Days of August

August is a time when we love being outdoors with our dogs: on the beach, in the park, on our boat,  in the yard, by the lake... wherever recreation can be had.   Here are some things to remember while soaking up this last month of summer:


                                     
When they first go out, dogs don't always realize how hot it is.  They want to run amidst all the wonderful scents of high summer.  Pace your dog when it's hot even if he's overly eager at first.  If he gets too hot and cannot expell all the excess through panting, he may get heatstroke.  Symptoms of heat stroke are lethargy, dry panting or shallow breathing, shaking, and convulsions.  If you suspect your dog has heatstroke, wrap him in a damp, cool (NOT COLD) towel and get him to the nearest veterinarian quickly.

Along with exercising your pup, take time to rest in the shade.  On hot days alternate 10 minutes of exercise with 15 minutes of rest.  Better yet, rest in the shade during the heat of the day and exercise with your dog at in the early morning and evening when it's cooler.

There's nothing about beaches that dogs don't love.  Be careful she doesn't eat the marine life, though.  To her it smells like a feast, but some forms of sea life are toxic to dogs.  And if she goes near rotting fish, she'll likely roll in it and think she's in heaven!

Boat owners love taking their dogs out on the water and the dogs seem to enjoy it too.  Make sure he has shade to lie in somewhere on deck.   In a rowboat a blanket under a seat works fine.  ALWAYS use a life preserver designed for dogs, and keep your dog on a leash.  Dog safety on boats is a lot like child safety - they can never be unsupervised.

Finally, wherever you go BRING LOTS OF COOL WATER AND A DOGGY DRINKING DISH!

                                         Your friends at The Doggie Den wish you
                                                      the best summer ever.

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Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun

Duggy the golden and Sophie the lab have a THING goin' on!

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Baby it's COOL inside

Dog days of summer out there but inside The Doggie Den it's cool enough for ACTION!

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Duggy's Morning Towel Trick

Duggy the golden retriever has a towel from home that smells familiar and comfy.  And does he know how to work it!

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Sweet June Birthday

Zack is the elder of our golden retriever pups.  He's the sweetest, gentlest guy EVER.    We just adore cuddling him and he reciprocates by rolling onto his back for more belly rubs.  Today we celebrated Zack's 10th birthday!   And he's been coming to The Doggie Den for almost that long.  We remember what a heart-breaker of a puppy he was (sigh!).

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Keep your dog safe this summer!

Six Tips for a Pet-Safe Summer

The last days of May signal the unofficial start of summer for folks, young and old, across the country. But with these carefree months of no homework and summer Fridays comes an increased risk for illness or injury for our furry pals.

From unpredictable weather to unusual routines, our animals are exposed to all sorts of hazards during June, July and August, and your pet is counting on you to keep him safe. Check out our top six tips for keeping your animal secure all summer long.

-	Give your pet access to plenty of fresh water at all times. Even the healthiest pets can suffer from dehydration, heat stroke and sunburn if overexposed to the heat.
-	Avoid lathering your pet with any insect repellent or sunscreen not intended for the four-legged kind.
-	Keep your pet away from matches, citronella candles and lighter fluid, which if eaten can irritate the stomach, lungs and central nervous system.
-	Be cool near the pool. Don't leave pets unsupervised around a pool, lake or high waters-not all dogs are expert swimmers!
-	Never leave your dog, cat or any other animal friend alone in a car! The inside of a car can heat up very quickly-even with a window open.
-	Be prepared! From tornadoes to floods, we've seen the devastation severe weather has brought to pets and their families these past few weeks. Develop an evacuation plan well ahead of time in case you're forced from your home in an emergency.

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Chosing the Right Doggy Daycare

You may be really busy some days. You could be planning an event in your home not suitable for your dog to attend. You might have to work late. It just does not seem to you right that your dog should suffer for your situation. What is the solution? It could be a private dog walker or sitter. It could also be to place your canine in Doggy Day Care.

What Is Doggy Day Care ?

Doggy Day Care is the canine equivalent of kiddie day care. You enroll your doggy. You then drop him or her off in to care of the doggy day care facility. You can leave him or her there for a set amount of time. This depends upon your situation and the hours set by the doggy day care.
In this safe environment, your dog can play. He or she can make new friends - school buddies. Doggy Day Care is a great place to socialize. It relieves you of the guilt of not being able to walk the dog or play with him or her at some times. You are being a responsible owner. You are providing your dog with an alternative. Doggy day care is a solution to your problem and can be great fun for your dog.

How To Find And What To Look For

Doggy day cares are not difficult to find. They advertise. They are in telephone directories. You can also ask about them from friends with dogs and fellow doggy park walkers. There may be a posting at your vet’s or your vet may recommend or know of 1 or 2 operations.
Listening to all suggestions does not merely tell you the location.  It is also a tool in finding the right doggy care for you and your pet.
• Ask your friends who they use and why. Get their opinion on the facilities, the people who operate it and the employees.
•  Pay a visit to the doggy day care when it is in operation. You need to check out the facilities and talk to the employees.
•  See if the facilities are roomy and clean.
• Do the dogs have enough supervision? Are there enough employees for the amount of dogs? Do they supervise or let the dogs do as they please? What seems to be their philosophy of dog handling?
•  Are there enough toys, water bowls and other items to serve the dogs?
•  Does the doggy day care ask the right questions? Do they demand that all dogs have certification of their shots - up to date, of course?
•  Do they ask you for clear instructions? Do they understand what you expect and can they deliver it?
•  Does the doggy day care ask for specific information on you and your dog? Do they know the number of your vet, your emergency number and any other pertinent information?
•  Do the employees care about the animals and deal firmly with bullies and aggressive animals.
Before you enroll your favorite dog, you need to ask all these questions. You also need to visit the establishment a couple of times. Only then can you make a decision that this is the doggy day care for your dog.

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Happy Birthday Quincy!

Our cutest Westie loved his birthday treat, but he did decide it was ok to share with his pals Peso and Cosmo (who were most appreciative).

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Dog Day Afternoon

Oh for the life of a dog who goes to daycare!  How did you spend your afternoon??

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Meet Ericka our new Daycare Supervisor

Ericka came to us from another MA dog daycare where she only worked part time.  We're delighted to have her at The Doggie Den as a full time daycare supervisor.  The pups love her ... and she gets them to listen!!  Watch her give Peso his treat for his 6th birthday.

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Luck o'the Irish from a Maltese

Duke came to school dressed to party today!  He was fine with the Irish sweater, but the hat was too much.

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Morning Madness at The Doggie Den

When the dogs arrive for playime in the morning, they're full of beans!

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TrainingTip: No Free Lunch!

As a part of basic doggie manners I teach all my clients doggie and human the importance of the Nothing In Life is Free (NILF) protocol.  Basically the dog sits (or whatever other behaviour you like) in exchange for a reward, resource, valuable article whatever you want to call it. I look that this as being the dog saying "please" for his dinner, to go outside, for affection, to get his leash on, for a cookie, to play a game like retrieve or tug. It's just good manners and it instills not only polite, calm manners in your dog, it also a great, non-aversive way for the human in the partnership to be considered the one in charge.

One of the most valuable things to teach a dog within the NILF program is to "Wait" at an open door until released by a verbal cue.

This from a politeness point of view alone should be enough to want to teach it, but let me make it a little more enticing for you. How about safety, yours and the dog's?

I have four dogs and going for a walk it a highly valued resource for them (as it is for most dogs but with four, large canine pals, well that's 16 legs, plus mine and a combined weight at the door of over 300 lbs not including mine, wanting to get out into the great beyond). So it's dangerous for me in a very big way.

My front door leads right into our street (doesn't yours), which means that any dogs who plough past me through the door will go right out onto the road (albeit not a busy one, but it only takes one car right). So it's dangerous for the dogs.

To teach the "Wait", leash your dog (one at a time if you have more than one dog, kennel the other dogs) and go to the door. Saying nothing at all, wait for your dog to default to a sit, all you need to do is wait which will be difficult for you as being human we just love to talk, but don't, just be silent and wait.

When the dog sits (ignore any and all other behaviour) move your hand to the door knob, your dog will likely get up, so take your hand away from the door knob and again wait for the sit.

When you get the sit, hand goes to the door knob, remove hand everytime the dog breaks the sit. Once you are able to put your hand on the knob, trying opening the door a crack. Your dog will probably get up again from the sit, close the door and wait for the sit again.

Repeat over and over again, opening the door only a crack at first so you can easily close it if the dog breaks the sit and you won't catch Fido's nose or paw in the door.

The object is to get the door all the way open and then use your release cue to allow the dog out of the sit and through the door way.

Just a refresher - your release cue is the cue/phrase that you use after your dog provides you with a requested behaviour such as a sit. It lets the dog know that he is no longer on your time, there's nothing worse than a dog who does the sit and then walks away as he warrants. My guys have all been taught a formal stay but they also know that when asked for a sit or lay down, they stay in the requested position until I say "all done". Your cue could be "all done", "ok", "that'll do" or "banana cream pie", dogs don't speak english to say what you want, just make sure you say it and say it consistently.

It doesn't matter if you go through the door first, the dog does or you go through together, what matters is that the dog doesn't go through until you give the release cue.

Now both you and your dog's are safe, plus they are well mannered and calm.

Reprinted from Canine Minds and Manners Calgary Dog Training, a blog by Kirsten Rose, Certified Professional Dog Trainer


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Shiloh and the Gang Celebrate

Shiloh the yellow lab had a lot of ummmm.... participation? with her birthday treat.

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