Dog Licensing

Well...by law, you need to license your dog. So, I took it upon myself to get an application for those who live in Southern California. Now there are no excuses...

http://www.laanimalservices.com/licenseenglish.pdf

Tags: dog licensing, register

It's getting HOT!

With the temperatures rising as we get deeper and deeper into the summer months, it is extremely important to prevent your dog from overheating. Dogs cannot tell you when their temperature rises and it is our responsibility to ensure that our pets have sufficient shelter from the sun, adequate water to drink, and a way of cooling off when the summer sun rises.

Monitoring your dog closely in high heat is not enough however. It seems that pet owners tend to drop their guard when the temperatures level off, either in the Spring and Fall, and owners think the dangers are passed. Failure to realize that exersize and subsequent confinement, whether in a hot car, crate or doghouse is enough to send your dog's body temperature skyrocketing.

A dog's body temperature is normally between 101°F and 102°F. Dogs regulate their body temperature by panting, expelling heat out, causing an evaporatory reaction. If he can not expel the heat fast enough, his body temperature rises. A rise of 3 degrees to a temperature of 105°F is all it takes to send your dog into a dangerous situation. At this temperature, the dog can no longer cope with reducing his body heat and the oxygen demand goes up to where the dog can not keep up, and his temperature continues to rise.

When the temperature hits 108°F, the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and intestinal tracts start to begin breaking down at a cellular level, and the damage can progress at an alarming rate. Even immediate treatment and effective cooling to bring his temperature down can leave the dog with internal damage that may affect his health in long term ways.

Leaving your dog cooped in a hot car is a sure way to bring on heat stroke. A hot car is like an oven, with temperatures that can rise an astounding 34°F per minute! People have been known to break windows to retrieve dogs in danger from hot cars, if they don't do it themselves, the Humane Society most assuredly will.

Early Signs of Heat Stroke

• Rapid breathing, dry mouth and nose, rapid heart rate, and gums that leave their healthy colour for dull, greyish-pink, or red, are all early stages of heat stroke. This IS an EMERGENCY! Even at the earliest stage of heat stroke, you may be fighting for your dog's life. You must get him to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
• These symptoms can be followed in minutes by collapse, seizures, coma and death.

This was written by Krista Miffin

Tags: Heatstroke, warm weather

A proposal

So, those of you that are in Southern California and browsing my site...I have a proposal for you...

I need a very young puppy to use in a presenation on the 19th of July. The presentation will be infront of 160 3-6 year olds, so I need the puppy to still be in sleepy mode so the kids can hold him/her. A 9-12 week old puppy would be perfect and I would need him/her for a total of 3 hours (the presentation is an hour, but its getting there and back that makes it a 3 hour excursion).

What do you get out of it? I will give you a free lesson or 2 to get you started on the right track with your pup. This will also be a way to soclialize your pup with small children.

What do ya say??

hey there!

Sorry to disappear again. I am back and will be for awhile. I was away at a conference so I was unavailable all weekend.

stay tuned...

Pitbulls

I just got new clients, Kourtney and Amir, who have a 3 year old, BEAUTIFUL Pitbull. His name is Newt and he is such a sweet dog. He knows his basic commands besides heel, but has dog aggression and terrible separation anxiety (they have the windows and doors to prove it).

Anyway, I am very excited to start with them which will be this coming Tuesday.

Now I just want to say a few things about Pitbulls...

They are very sweet dogs, infact, they are terrible watchdogs because they love people. Those that have attacked are due to bad breeding or owners lack of parental guidance.

You always see stories about Pitbulls attacking humans. However, by default, the attacker is usually reported as a Pitbull when in fact they are not most of the time. It's ridiculous but it's the truth. These dogs get a bad rep for no good reason. You know what? Cocker Spaniels and labs are more dangerous to humans than Pitbulls are! I know, it's hard to imagine, but it's true! Pitbulls are people dogs, it's just the way it is.

On a different note...dogs. Pitbulls are BRED to kill dogs. That is where all of the problems come in. Even Pitbull breeders will tell you to never allow your dog to be in an offleash area with other dogs no matter how socialized they are. Pitbulls give no warning and can snap just like that. Being a dog trainer, I know what they are capable of with other dogs and well, I have to admit, sometimes I even get nervous when Quinn goes around one no matter how socialized they seem to be.

So, those who decide to own a pitbull, just know as much as you can about the breed before getting one. They are the most common breed to populate the shelters and irresponsible dog owners are to blame. They can be hyper but loving and dog aggresssive. How is that for a short description?

There is no reason to ban the breed, they just need responsible dog owners. Straight up, any dog can attack a human...Pitbulls are no different. They are just more widely reported because of the reputation they undeservingly got.

Tags: Pitbull Terrier, Pit Bull, Dog fighting, Dog Aggression

Dog Beach

Well, I am back from a long birthday celebration. I feel like I am coming down from a vacation, but I actually didn't leave Los Angeles, it was a vacation IN Los Angeles. It was an action packed birthday weekend plus 2 days...we did a lot of things.

One of which I would like to talk about...Long Beach Dog Beach. We took our dogs to the beach to check it out yesterday. It was so awesome! The beach is huge, it's very clean and my dogs loved it! I was so surprised that Quinn actually went into the Ocean! She is usually chicken about things so I didn't expect her to go in as far as she did.

It was a really great day, I highly recommend it. It's so nice that you can literally spend the day laying out like you would a regular beach. Alot of people did. I didn't bring my camera...so mad. I will next time though. I can definitely see the beach probably gets crowded on the weekends, but the weekday was AWESOME!

The address is:
1 Argonne Ave
Long Beach, CA 90803

There is plenty of parking...the actual parking lot we drove into was $8.00 which was pretty high, but I just learned that there are meter parking if you enter from Bennett that is $.25 every 15 minutes. There was also a lot of street parking on Argonne if you are willing to walk.

You are to only have one dog per person, and you have to keep them on the leash until you get to the dog zone.

My experience was great...definitely check it out if you can!

Tags: Long Beach, dog beach, dog zone

I am away until Wednesday (June 21st)...

I will come back and be brilliant with my posts. See you soon!!

YEAH YEAH...Santa Monica Dog Beach

My best friend, Carrie, is moving to Santa Monica...what a great excuse to visit her...(not that I need one)

New leash on life for SM dog beach

By Kevin Herrera
Daily Press staff writer

CITY HALL — Elected officials here want to change state law in order to allow for a dog beach that could be located on a stretch of sand south of Wilshire Boulevard.

The City Council tonight will consider whether or not to support a bill in Sacramento that would allow proponents of leash-free dog beaches to set aside an area at Dockweiler Beach for man’s best friend to run free. The council has drafted a resolution calling for the bill to be amended so that Santa Monica State Beach is included.

California State Parks, which owns the beach here, prohibits dog beaches. The City Council last year instructed staff to work with state officials in authorizing a dog beach pilot program. Those efforts have been unsuccessful, according to city staff.

“We are hoping so much that it will pass,” said Georja Umano Jones, president of Unleash the Beach, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a dog beach in Santa Monica. “Most of us live here because we love the beach. We also love our dogs and consider them a part of our family, but we are not allowed to take them to the beach … I used to walk on the beach all the time before I got my dog, but now I almost never do because I can’t just leave my dog at home.”

Read more...

Tags: Santa Monica, dog beach, California, dog park

Highly Contagious Dog Flu Strikes Oceanside Kennel

OCEANSIDE, Calif. - Dozens of dogs are being treated at an Oceanside kennel after contracting San Diego County's first documented case of the dog flu, it was reported Thursday. The virus is highly contagious, and dog owners should be on the lookout for sneezing and coughing canines, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

County animal health officials said yesterday that while the mortality rate for the disease is low -- 1 percent to 5 percent -- severe cases can develop into pneumonia.

-four dogs are believed to have been infected with the virus at the Oceanside facilities of the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence, which trains dogs for six months to aid disabled people, the Union-Tribune reported.

Read more...

Tags: Dog flu, dog health, San Diego, Oceanside Kennel

Now offering Thank Dog Walking too!

Jamie is going to extend her services to dog walking as well. I will be updating my site with all of the new information. Just giving everyone who comes here a heads up so you won't look any further for pet services...

Tags: dog walker, dog walking, pet sitting, pet walker

Now offering Thank Dog Sitting!

I am partnering up with my sister so that I can offer pet sitting. This will be especially good for my clients because she knows a thing or two about the training, therefore, your dog won't get out of training while you are gone. She is very reliable, loves the doggies and will be reasonably priced. your dog will be able to stay in his own home as not to stress out having to leave and stay at an unfamiliar environment.

I am very excited for this addition and hope you will consider hiring her! Yay Jamie!!




Tags: Petsitting, housesitting, dogsitting, catsitting

How to give dog relaxing massage

Follow these steps to give your dog a light, restorative massage. Our tips come from canine massage practitioner Linda Knight.

Make sure you don't work on your dog when you're upset. Your intent is to bond with him. Center yourself. "Energy will flow where it needs to be," she said.

1. Cue your dog it's massage time. Go to the same place at the same time every week and he will come to expect it. After a while, your dog will go to that spot when it's time and wait for you.

Your dog may want to stand, sit or lie down. Let him lead you. Never force a massage on him.

2. Talk to your pet and stroke him gently from head to tail. Do a hand-over-hand stroke from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. Repeat three times.

3. Brush lightly down each leg. Feel for hot spots, lumps, bumps. Work slowly and lightly.

4. Sometimes a dog will present an area where his problems are, such as rear or belly. Give them a nice little scratch and work the area.

5. Massage the paws using short, easy strokes, moving upward. Rotate each of the pads lightly. If your dog freaks, let him pull back.

Use passive touch. Put a hand over and under a paw to get him used to having them handled. Then move along until he's comfy with more. Down the line, you can press gently on the paw pads, but no more than 1 to 2 seconds.

4. Follow the inside of the leg upward to the belly, stroking upward.

5. Always keep both hands on your dog so he knows where they are. With your left hand underneath his belly, pat your top hand on his back, pushing your hands lightly toward one another. This compression is used on larger muscles.

6. Grasp the base of the tail and gently rotate to loosen. Compress. Work toward the tip.

7. To finish, tell your dog that the session's coming to an end. Stroke from head to tail two or three times. Start and finish the same way, hand-over-hand.

-- Connie Bloom

Beacon Journal pets writer

Meet Sarah Hills and her dog Sienna...

Sienna is an Australian Shepard. He is a little under a year and had developed a bad habit when on the leash (he is good with other dogs when off) of barking and whining when other dogs are around. He also had become quite insecure and backs up when he gets nervous and his first reaction is to aggressively bark. The final straw was him snapping at a friend of the home while they were walking by him.

The first time I met Sienna, he gave me quite a greeting. He barked ferociously and would back up and it took everything for Sarah to control him. Everytime she held him back, he would fight 10 times worse. I wasn't able to touch him at all during the evaluation because he was so scared of me.

We have been doing basic obedience with him and Sarah has done a brilliant job with following through with the training. She calls me when she has questions so that we can try to work it out over the phone so she can keep progressing with the actual lessons. It's been a pleasure working with her.

Anyway, Sienna has made really good progress. Sarah can take him to places and lie him down and he will stay. This was unheard of when we started. I met with her today and she informed that things were getting better, however, her dog took two steps back in which we worked on today. It happens. I will come back and edit this diary with more of her progress...I lost track of time...I have to leave.