Tag Archives: dog tips

Dog tip – Everything old is new again

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Teddy and pile of toys

New toys are best – unless you fake out your dog!

Dogs seem to have ESP for new toys. We can walk in the house with a dozen bags of groceries, clothes, sundries. They don’t care. (Unless the grocery bags have cheese, of course.)
But one bag with a dog toy – they know! And they’re jumping around, trying to see, sniff, and get their grubby little paws on the loot.
And if your dogs are like ours – they have tons of toys. And they walk right by the toys they adored last week to get to the new ones.
This week’s tip is a plan to reignite the love they lost for all those old toys.
The first step is to sort through all the old toys. Just touching the toys, or gathering them in one spot, might rekindle your dog’s interest, but be insistent. We use a laundry basket and just go through the house gathering toys as we go.
Sort the toys next. Anything that’s got irreparable holes in it, toss. Be ruthless. Phydeaux may be staring at you with those big puppy-dog eyes, insisting he loves that particular toy more than breathing. Don’t be swayed. If the toy isn’t worth fixing, and Phydeaux hasn’t looked at it since the havoc was wrought, out it goes.
During our toy sweeps of the house, about a fourth go into the trash. Don’t feel bad about it – the toy did its job and met a fun end. Your dog enjoyed it thoroughly.
The next step is cleaning. We cheat. Soft toys (stuffies, plush, ropey toys) go in the washing machine and dryer (air fluff mode – no heat). Yes, the squeakers (those that still work) may fill with water and stop working temporarily. As you move them from the washer to the dryer, give them a squeeze to eject as much water as you can. Don’t worry about the rest – it’ll evaporate.
Latex, vinyl, and rubber toys go in the dishwasher. Delicate, or low heat settings, and top rack so you don’t melt the toys. Again, when they come out, give them a squeeze to rid squeakers of excess water.
Then comes the fun part. Pick about half a dozen of the toys to keep out and put the rest away in a covered storage bin. You can even put the new toys in a plastic bag and bring them into the house again, as if they’re coming home for the first time. Have a great play session with your dog. Every single toy is brand new again!
Rotate through the toys whenever your dog seems to be losing interest. Have another storage bin for the “used” toys – take away one toy for each one you take out, and throw away any toys that can’t be fixed. As the “new” bin empties and the “used” bin fills, schedule another cleaning day.
Which is not to say that our dogs never get new toys! There’s always something new and fun coming into our house – but we get full value from every dog toy we buy!

 

 

In Defense of Crate Training

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I don’t want to argue with you.
Crate train your dog.
I don’t care if he/she is already housebroken.
I don’t care if he/she isn’t destructive while you’re gone.
I don’t care if he/she hates, loathes, and despises the crate.
Do it anyway.

It’s a discussion we often have here in the shop and we hope we’ve given some people reason to reconsider their decisions to discard their dogs’ crates.

Everybody has “stuff” – jobs, school, appointments, social commitments, etc. Much as we’d like to, we can’t be with our dogs all day every day. Which means our dogs have the opportunity to get in all kinds of trouble. Which they don’t, because they’re crated.

For the sake of argument, we’ll say that your dog is a perfect angel when you’re not there. He/she never eliminates in the house, never chews anything he/she shouldn’t, doesn’t bark all day, and never, ever puts a foot wrong.

You still need to train your dog to be comfortable in a crate.

Why, you ask? Because there will probably be a time when your dog, for whatever reason, needs to be crated – in the animal hospital, in a boarding facility, at the groomers. And if you ever want to join our community of dog-performance people, your dog will most likely be crated at obedience, rally, and agility trials. If your dog is relaxed, and calm, familiar with a crate, it will make his/her life much easier. And yours.

Crate training can even help with separation anxiety. If you teach your dog to love his/her crate, then it’s a familiar, comfortable place when you’re away.

We’re not saying that crates have to be empty, stark, dark, places. It can be the Taj Mahal of crates, with cushy bedding and comfy, soft towels to lie on. It’s your dog’s “room” and should be a happy place, not a punishment. And it should be the best place (aside from at your side) ever, ever, ever!

The first step is to dig out that crate from storage. Clean it up and put in a nice, soft bed (or whatever cushion your dog likes). Keep it in the active part of the house – not the laundry room, mud room, or basement. It should be where you are. And start “adding value” to the crate. Leave the door open at first, all the time.

Feed your dog in the crate. Every meal. All the time. Especially if your dog loves to eat.
Play with your dog using the crate. Throw in a toy and tell your dog to “get it.”
Stand by the crate, with the door open, armed with a bunch of tasty treats. If your dog goes in the crate, give him/her a treat. And keep giving treats, as long as he/she stays in. As soon as your pup comes out, stop giving treats. Dogs learn quickly. Yours will soon discover that crate can be a wonderful place to be.

Have we got a Spring allergy tip for you

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Anything that makes life easier/smoother/less stressful is a good thing. A tiny thing that’s making a difference is a simple package of baby wipes near the back door.
Our house is weirdly and awkwardly arranged to the first thing you see when you walk in is the stove. (Unless the basement door is open – then it’s the stairs, or stars, if you take a tumble!) Which has made the stove a staging area for all the things you need as you come in or go out. Keys, poop bags, treats, etc.
Not the most convenient arrangement when you want to cook, but in a small space, you learn to make do.
Anyway, there’s been one recent addition to the flotsam that’s actually making a difference in a good way.
Baby wipes. Specifically hypo-allergenic baby wipes.

French Bulldog Torque and baby wipes

Just a quick swipe with a wipe when Torque comes inside minimizes contact allergy exposure.

Since about the middle of January, Torque’s been having some issues with allergies. At first it was just a bit of paw-licking. Then his paws were a bit raw and swollen, then he started losing some hair under his eyes, along with some redness. In other words, the little man was a mess.
At first we thought it had to be a food allergy that was just coming to the fore, since Hope took him away on vacation in early February and his whole environment changed.
So we put him on an elimination diet. And it made no difference whatsoever. The allergen had to be something environmental. With an extraordinarily warm, wet winter, some sort of mold is probably the culprit.
Torque is a two-year-old French Bulldog. And a very happy, athletic, active two year old. If he’s awake, he’s on the move and we don’t have a lot of time to “fuss” with him. Especially with Booker The Boston bouncing around, egging him on to play.
As soon as Torque steps in the house, we hit the baby wipes package and swipe his face and paws. It helps if we have a treat in our hands (There’s a treat jar on the stove, too, of course.) and ask him to “sit!” as soon as he hits the indoors. We don’t have time, or inclination, to mess with more than that.
The new system seems to be helping. He’s not gnawing at his paws so much and his face looks less irritated.
We have noticed one immediate improvement – the floors are lacking a few paw prints! Especially coming in from the wet weather, we’ve started swiping all the dogs’ paws with baby wipes. It only takes a moment and it’s already making a difference.

 

If your dog is miserable with contact allergies you may want to consider stronger measures – which may include using Pawz dog boots whenever your dog goes outside. They’re particularly effective for dogs with grass allergies.

Dog tip – Bring a bit of home when you travel

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When we go on vacation, we like to take our dogs along whenever we can.

It can be challenging to find hotels/motels that allow dogs – and even then, most will require a “pet deposit.”

When we do find a place we like, we want to be good guests so we’re welcome back. One thing we do is bring our own blanket. The first thing we do when we get in the hotel room is to remove the existing cover/duvet/blanket, put it up on a shelf, and put on our own.

First: we don’t have to worry about anything “untoward” happening on the blanket. It’s ours, and we can easily wash it. Second: we don’t have to worry about when the existing blanket was last cleaned – or who used it last. Third: the dogs are more comfortable with something they recognize as their own. It may be a small thing, but it helps everybody relax and get comfortable in a new place.

Another good idea when you get to your room – check under everything for anything the previous tenant and housekeeping staff may have forgotten. We learned this lesson when one of our dogs found the fast-food container hidden under the bed. He felt very deprived when we wouldn’t let him eat the unknown-origin-and-age french fries, but he got over it and, fortunately, didn’t get sick.

If your dog has a sensitive stomach, you may also want to consider bringing a container of water from home. Just like people, dogs can be sensitive to different tap water in different places. It’s better to be safe than very, very sorry!