Using Treats to Teach Your Dog to Be Safe in the Garden

Happy Dog We all love to pamper our pets whether it’s through spending quality time with them by keeping them active or feeding them delicious treats for rewarding good behavior. Giving our pooches treats is more than expressing our love to them or making them feel special, it’s also an important aspect for dog training too.

When we think about creating a dog friendly garden, we usually think about in terms of worrying about if our dogs will do damage to our flowers or eating toxic plants. By training our dogs to be safe in our gardens, we’re not only letting them have the space to explore the outdoors but encouraging positive reinforcement at the same time so you and your dog can share the space together. The idea isn’t to confine your dog but to ensure they’re happy to play in a designated area.

Think about space

Wherever you choose to have your dog’s play area, ensure the space has enough shady and sunny spots and different sections so your dog can have its own places to hide, explore and play. If your dog does love to dig, consider hiding an assortment of treats around the area where you want them to dig to encourage them to do so only in those places.

Continue Reading→

Outdoor Safety Tips: Keeping Your Dog Safe While Walking In The Snow

Dog in Snow

No matter what the weather is, it’s a fact that dogs love to be outdoors. Whether it’s going for a walk in a sun-drenched park or playing a game of fetch in the snow, our furry friends are perfectly content as long as they get to stretch their legs and have some fun. However, walking or playing outdoors in the dead of winter can have a negative impact on your dog’s health. According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, winter’s dry, cold air can cause your pet to have chapped paws and itchy skin, and in more serious cases, the cold can cause stomach problems and hypothermia in dogs. However, you don’t have to keep your four-legged friend cooped up indoors this winter to protect him from getting sick. Here are a few tips to keep your dog safe and healthy while walking in the snow.
Continue Reading→

Wildlife and Pets: Protecting Your Animals From Outdoor Threats

Many of us are too young to remember the Hitchcock horror classic, The Birds, when flocks of psychotic flying predators began randomly attacking people in a small, northern California town. While this example is pure fiction, in real life birds can be particularly problematic, causing some homeowners and some businesses to hire professionals to remove them from their premises.

Flock of Birds

While our so-called feathered friends can cause structural damage, annoying noises and carry a number of different diseases, larger predatory species are capable of carrying off a kitten, cat or small dog. Depending on where you live, these smaller pets are better off left indoors during daylight hours.

What are some other ways our pets could be at risk from wildlife when they’re outdoors and how can we protect them from these threats? Here are some tips for keeping our companion animals safe from the dangers some types of wildlife can present:

Continue Reading→

Beat the Heat: Summer Safety Tips for Your Dog

We humans may love the summer sun, but our four-legged friends can have a tough time staying cool – could you imagine wearing a fur coat on the beach? Hot or intensely humid weather can be dangerous for our dogs, and there are some particular hazards that we need to keep our pups safe from when the weather gets warm.

Beat the Heat

Hot paws! Asphalt heats up very quickly in the sun, and can cause painful burns to your dog’s pads. Walk your dog on grass instead of pavement, put protective boots on, or even carry them when needed.
Exercise your furry friend during the cooler times of day, like early mornings or evenings, and keep in mind that they may need more breaks for water and rest than usual.
Don’t forget the sunscreen. Light colored or thinly-haired dogs can easily become sunburnt – ask your vet about dog-friendly sunscreen to use on your pup’s skin.
Very senior dogs, overweight pooches and short-nosed Pugs and Bulldogs can very easily become distressed in the heat and might even have problems breathing well. In extreme temperatures, these pups are best kept safely inside where it’s cool.
Leave your dog at home when you’re running errands. The inside of a car can reach dangerous temperatures in just a few minutes, even with the windows cracked on a mild day. Hot cars kill pets.

Continue Reading→

Keep Your Pets Safe During A Natural Disaster or Emergency

It is something no pet parent wants to think about. The stuff of nightmares, even. A natural disaster can strike at any time without fair warning. Tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and even volcano eruptions can take us by surprise. These deadly situations are just as dangerous for our pets as they are for us. Are you truly prepared to keep your furbabies safe?

Emergency Kit

An emergency kit can sometimes mean the different between life or death when disaster strikes. If you make your own, you will have the supplies necessary for your individual situation and animals. A kit would contain everything in a first aid kit and more. A travel sewing kit, a foldable plastic sack for drinking water, a foldable dish for water for your pets, and much more. You can include canned dog food and an extra leash, poop pick up bags, and any medications your dog may need. From injuries to basic needs, you and your pets can be taken care of with a well thought out emergency kit.

Continue Reading→