What Does the Word STAY Mean to You?

For my students, who know that pointing your finger at your dog to make him stay as you back away repeating the command only proves that your dog doesn't know how to stay ...

Stay

I pulled into the crowded parking lot at the local shopping center and rolled down the car windows to make sure my Labrador Retriever Pup had fresh air. She was stretched full-out on the back seat, and I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there.

I walked to the curb backward, pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically,

Now you stay. Do you hear me?

Stay! Stay!

The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady, gave me a strange look and said,

Why don't you just put it in PARK?

Disclaimer: Don't leave your dog in alone in a car on a hot day! Don't leave the windows open with a large enough opening that your dog could escape from the car if he broke his stay.

Boarding or Pet Sitting? - That IS the Question

When you travel or work long hours, should you choose a quality pet boarding facility for your pet, or should you consider pet sitting for your pet? Here are a few questions to ask yourself and you make your decision.

Pet sitting offers advantages to boarding in that your pet remains in his or her familiar environment; therefore your pet experiences less stress. Some boarding facilities will allow you to bring your own food, others charge extra for you to bring your own food, and still others charge extra if you don't bring your own food! Usually, your dog remains less stressed if you provide the food that s/he is accustomed to.

Some advantages to boarding are the opportunity for day care or interactive play at your discretion and close supervision during regular business hours.

First consider the number of pets or animals that you have. If you have more than one or two pets to board, then even with two or more visits to your home daily, pet sitting will be no more expensive than most boarding facilities that you would choose to care for your pet.

Another question we ask our callers is what species of pet(s) do you have? Very often cats, cage animals and livestock with access to pasture will do just fine with a once per day visit. A once per day visit usually costs only slightly more than a pet boarding fee. Some pets or animals are not candidates for boarding ... farm livestock, some reptiles, aquarium fish, and the like must have a visit to the farm or home.

Another question to consider is whether your pets have all of the vaccinations that might be required by a quality boarding facility. All cats and dogs are required by North Carolina law to be vaccinated for rabies after 16 weeks of age, but other vaccinations are generally a decision for you and your veterinarian to make. If you have to fully vaccinate one or two pets in order to take them to a boarding facility, your 2-night trip might end up costing $200 or more in vaccination charges and veterinary visits.

Clearly, the distance of your home or farm from the business center of the pet sitting service that you have contacted may affect the cost of the service. At TLC Dog Training and Critter Care, we absorb mileage charges up to 15 miles from our primary business location, but for mileage to a job site greater than 15 miles, we must charge a mileage fee of $.50 per mile.

Another issue to consider is the age of your pet. Generally speaking, dogs younger than 18 - 24 months are not good candidates for in home pet sitting, as they are more likely to go exploring and get themselves into trouble in the home. If you normally house your dog outside in a safe enclosure, then age becomes less of an issue. Pet sitting is usually a better option for a mature, thoroughly housetrained pet.

Other things to consider are your dog's reactions to loud noises, thunderstorms, and other unpredictable things that may happen near your home. If your dog is fearful of strange noises, then you could return to a damaged home! In a boarding situation, your dog is safely confined, and should s/he become frightened, s/he can't really get into a lot of trouble.

Finally, is your dog or cat fearful of strangers entering your home? Might your pet hurt a stranger that enters your home? If your pet will be stressed every time that someone appears to care for him or her, then perhaps boarding is a better option.

Consider your options carefully. Should you decide to board your pet, make sure that you choose a boarding facility that is licensed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Should you decide to hire a pet sitting service, ask for references. Your pet sitter should minimally belong to one of the nationwide professional pet sitter organizations, like the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters (NAPPS). Make sure that anyone coming into your home to provide a service has their own workers' compensation insurance and professional liability insurance.

Peanut Product Recall Affects Dog Owners

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled potentially tainted peanut butter pet treats. This includes dog biscuits manufactured by Grreat Choice, Healthy-hide and Carolina Prime Pet.

Please visit the United States Food & Drug Administration at http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html to learn more about pet products that have been recalled.

Nutritional Deficiencies May Affect Your Dog's Behavior

Dog aggression can be caused by many things, but researchers in Italy have recently published a study that links deficiencies in Omega 3 fatty acids to aggression in otherwise healthy appearing dogs.

In trying to resolve aggression in your dog, it is critical to rule out the possibility that your dog is unhealthy in any way. Ear infections, impacted or infected anal glands, an abscessed tooth, joint pains, or hidden systemic illness ... all of these can cause pain to your dog, and alter his or her normal behavior.

Make sure that you feed your dog a high quality diet, that s/he is current on required immunizations, and that s/he is free of internal and external parasites. Regular veterinary checkups will help you keep your dog in great condition.

Before embarking on any training regimen to correct aggression, visit with your veterinarian first!

Ten Training Truisms

1. Dogs are genetically wired to engage in certain behaviors that extend individual longevity and assure continuation of the species. These behaviors include socializing, playing, predation and feeding, guarding resources, defending territory and personal space, vocalizing, digging, chewing, eliminating and reproducing. The goal of training is not to eliminate these behaviors, but to modify their expression so that the dog can fit into our society.
2. There is a narrow window of opportunity when the dog is between 7 weeks and 18 weeks of age that desensitizing a dog to novel situations and teaching them to accept even unusual situations in their daily lives with humans is relatively easy. This process is called socialization. Older dogs can be reprogrammed, but the process is time intensive and takes a great deal of patience on the part of the owner. A problem behavior or behaviors that have been reinforced for 2 or 3 years or more will not be unlearned in 8 weeks.
3. Dogs don't know right vs. wrong. They know pleasant vs. unpleasant. Dogs have no moral compass, as much as we would like to believe in the Hollywood version of dogs like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.
4. Dogs are very context sensitive in their learning. This means that although they may appear to know a behavior in one location and with one person, they will not generalize the training to a new location or group of people without additional training. A large part of training is teaching the dog, from the ground up, in many different locations.
5. Dogs do not have an agenda (See #3 and #4 above), although they do express emotions like fear and joy. They live in the moment. Dogs do not seek revenge upon their owners by peeing on the carpet, digging in the garden, or chewing up a prize piece of furniture (see #1 above).
6. All dogs bite (see #1 above). They just have different triggers and thresholds for biting.
7. Dogs are social animals. To isolate them from meaningful human and/or animal contact is to create or exacerbate problem behaviors.
8. A minor punishment, such as verbal discouragement, usually serves as an attention reinforcement to all but the most sensitive dogs.
9. Non-lethal punishment is usually a temporary "fix" for problem behaviors. If the underlying reinforcement for the undesired behavior is not changed, and the dog is not trained into a new, desirable behavior, then the dog will return to engage in the previously learned undesirable behavior.
10. There is no such thing as "permanent" behavior change or "cure", even in the best trained dogs. Desired behaviors must be variably reinforced and undesired behaviors must be ignored to maintain a given level of training. Training and maintaining good manners must be a lifelong commitment on the part of the owner.

Coping with the Sudden Loss of a Pet

Two of my clients and friends recently lost their beloved pet dog to a sudden illness. The loss was totally unexpected as the dog was only four years old, and was in apparently good health. While it's always difficult to say goodbye to our companions, such a sudden loss can be extremely difficult to face.

When a pet dies suddenly, even if we are not at fault, we may blame ourselves. "I should have been more careful, more tolerant, more aware, more ... ". When we may have some responsibility in our pet's death, it is even more difficult to face the guilt.

I have owned many dogs during my lifetime. Some have died relatively young, some have died accidental deaths, and some have lived full lives before their deaths. In some cases, I had to make the decision to euthanize my companion because he or she was in pain, or even worse, because I did not have the financial ability to pay for extended treatment. After these many years, I know for sure that I will eventually lose my pet, but it never stops me from engaging in the joy that I know a relationship with a pet can bring.

Grief is a personal journey. When I am faced with the loss of a pet, I recall the good things that my pet and I did together. I recall the time that I spent with my pet, as well as the money that I did not spend on clothes or cars so that I could spend that money on my pet.

Especially if I feel implicated in some way in my pet's death, either by action or inaction, I try to remember that no one is perfect in their ability to care for their pet. We all make mistakes from time to time. And our pets may not be able to tell us that they are hurting. From personal experience I know that making the choice to euthanize can be devastating.

I take time to grieve. For people who do not hold pets dear to their hearts, it is hard to understand the depth of the grief that we pet lovers can experience upon the loss of a pet. Be kind to yourself during this period. One of the most therapeutic ways that I grieve is to make a detailed photo album/scrapbook of my pet. This helps me to remember the fun times that we had together, from infancy to death.

I try to memorialize my pet by purchasing something permanent to remember him or her by. One of my favorites is a beautiful plant or tree, planted in memory of my pet. Others may give a gift to an animal charity or veterinary medical research to remember a pet.

I wait for a while before purchasing or obtaining another pet. If you get another pet too soon after the death of a beloved companion, especially a tragic death, it is likely that for the first 2 or 3 years of the new pet's life you may unintentionally compare your new pet to the old pet. The period of grieving that you need is individual.

Some people believe that they can never get another pet because it is too painful to lose them. My philosophy is that choosing another pet to fill a void is an honor to your previous pet. You are not replacing your beloved pet, and you will always have his or her memory, but you remember the fun and know that you can provide a good home to a new pet.

The words of the Garth Brooks song "Last Dance" perfectly describe my feelings about the circle of life that we experience with our pets.

http://www.planetgarth.com/lyrics/the_dance.shtml

Medical Alert - Raisin & Grape Toxicity

Everyone knows that chocoloate is poisonous to dogs, but did you know that grapes and raisins can be also? As few as 5 grapes or raisins can induce fatal renal failure in dogs.