Friday, February 28, 2014

Weekly Awards

You guys called out this top picture as an award winner right when I posted it. What do you think Auzzy is thinking? Something evil I'm sure!

Don't Even Think About It... - Auzzy (left) & Rosie (right)
Best Puppy Kiss - Benji
Top of the Class - 
bottom row: Zakia, Bre, Barkley, June Bug
top row: Sterling, Auzzy, Jenni
Best Pretty Please Faces - Lola & Syles
Class Couple - Ziva & Toby
Most Stylish Winter Wear - June Bug
Best Beauty Shot - Sterling

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Canine Body Language 101: "But He Was Wagging His Tail!"

The movement of a dog’s tail is a dead giveaway to their mood, if you know how to read it.
A wagging tale = a happy dog, right? Usually, but not always!
First, check the height of the tail. An upright tail, if wagging steadily, indicates happiness or excitement. When the wagging slows down but stays upright, it takes on a more dominant tone, meaning "stay back" or "I'm in charge". A tail that is tucked close to the body indicates stress and unease. A relaxed tail at the middle height means the dog is content. These signs are harder to notice for dogs with docked tails, but you can still look at the base of the tail to give you some indication.


Content, happy tail
  • wagging back and forth excitedly
  • body posture is relaxed OR shaking with excitement
  • play bow + wagging tail
  • possible addition of ‘butt wiggles’
  • It’s hard to incorrectly identify a truly happy tail wag!

Unhappy tail
  • tucked between legs
  • limp or lifeless
  • clamped against legs to protect himself from a sniffing dog
    • - if your dog exhibits any of these signs he’s telling you he’s uncomfortable. Try to distract him from whatever is causing him distress. DO NOT bend down to comfort him as you would with a kid. Instead, try calling him using lots of excitement and energy and confidently lead him in a different direction. You want to distract him from the source of discomfort. By going down to his level to comfort him you are essentially rewarding him for showing fear.
(source)

When would you not approach a dog who is wagging his tail?
  • Ears are straight up and tensed
  • Neck is elongated and head is tall, giving off a confident appearance
  • Body posture is still
  • Tail is straight up and slowly wagging back and forth OR is completely stiff
  • The stiffer the tail is, the more caution you should take
    • This is a dog who is alert, on guard and could possibly attack. If you see this body language between 2 dogs, walk in between them and force them to walk away from each other. By making them move, you instantly decrease the tension and divert their attention. If you are approaching a dog who is giving you this type of body language, leave him alone, and wait for his body language to relax.


There is also new information that dogs use the direction of the tail wag to communicate as well! An article in the Washington Post describes a study where researchers hooked dogs up to heart rate monitors and had them watch videos of dogs wagging their tail to either the right or left side. Read the full article here!
Their results?
When watching a dog wag their tail to the right, they stayed calm and some even tried to approach the TV screen. But when they saw dogs wag their tail to the left, they got stressed out.
This is a little more work than I would like to do, but it can’t hurt to know!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Lola's Birthday Surprise

The dogs got a nice little surprise this morning - Lola's mom had a special delivery of Auntie Jennie's Barkery pupcakes sent in this morning for all of the dogs to enjoy. And enjoy them they did!

Here's Lola, fully enjoying her special treat.
 Lola was generous and decided to share with her friends.
Teddy licked his lips a bunch after chowing down!
 Lexi daintily licked the frosting off of my hands.
 Mia wasn't quite as dainty about snatching the tasty treat.
 Audra became their new best friend when she started handing out treats!
 Hey Piper, think you got a little something on your nose!
 Bodie, you too!
 Kota wasn't about to be left out either!

We still have some cupcakes left over, so if you're pup is coming tomorrow he'll get to enjoy them as well!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Weekly Awards

Wow! What a good week for pictures! There were so many that I wanted to feature this week that I couldn't make myself narrow it down to 5. So here you are, the top 9 pictures of the week!

Most Inquisitive - Bella (Photo by Amy)
The One Who Knows She's Too Cool For School - Lola (Photo by Amy)
Best Expressions - Rex & Hank(Photo by Amy)
Twins Separated At Birth - Chloe & Diesal
Class Couple - Toeby & Rocky
Dogs in Action - Bruno & Rocky
Most Talented (Biggest Mouth) - Izzie
Most Excited To Be Here - Reese (Photo by Ally)
Most Soulful Eyes - Olive (Photo by Miranda)

Monday, February 17, 2014

Blog Drawing Winners

Alright guys, it's time for the blog drawing winners to be announced!

Dun dun dun....

Olga Cruz
&
Jennifer M. Roberts-Scott

Congratulations to the two of you! Stop in anytime this week to collect your choice of:
1) coupon for 1/2 day of daycare
2) 5lb bag of Fromm food 

Breed Profile - Siberian Husky

We've gained quite a few new Siberian Huskies over the last few weeks, so it was only fitting to highlight them this week. Nakota and Leela have been long time clients, and Leela was featured as our dog of the month in November.
The two sisters have endless amounts of energy, and trying to lure them inside on a snowy day? Forget it. They used to just run around alone outside, until Maverick and Shyla joined the bunch. Now, the four of them can found racing and wrestling outside for hours on end! They love it!

This breed is intelligent, happy-go-lucky and very social. They need lots of exercise to keep them happy, and require a strong-minded owner who knows who the pack leader is.  Huskies aren't the ideal dog for apartment life, but if you are able to give them the proper amount of exercise and devote time to training them, they will be happy. They make wonderful family dogs and are great with kids!





Friday, February 14, 2014

Weekly Awards

Sibling Love - Ziva & Jax (picture by Miranda)

Best Smile - Bodie (picture by Ally)

Cutest Photobomb - Thunder

Cutest Winter Wear - Poppie (picture by Megan)

The One Who Clearly Had The Best Time In The Snow - Blu (picture by Becky)

Best Cartoon Impersonation - Louie (picture by Miranda)

Monday, February 10, 2014

Tricks & Techniques: Curbing Excessive Jumping

We have a lot of daycare dogs who jump incessantly. We see owners bring their dogs in who are pulling on the leash and then jump up on the employees out of sheer excitement. We love that the dogs are so excited to be here, but you and I both want a dog with good manners, right? Jumping up is a bad habit, but one that can be easily fixed with the right technique.


We'll show you how to go from this....
to this... with 3 simple techniques!

Here are three easy solutions, one for when you’re handling the dog, and two for when you are being jumped on. Our training method at Pet U is positive reinforcement. We use tons of praise and belly rubs and head pats when they behave, and just a quick correction that’s over and done with in seconds when they misbehave. The correction doesn't hurt, it just enforces the idea of wrong versus right.


The next time you’re dog jumps, take the leash and give it a quick tug while you say ‘OFF’ or ‘NO’. You have to mean it; your dog will know when he can walk all over you. As soon as all four feet are on the ground, explode with praise and happiness (and maybe some treats). You want to teach your pup that all good things come when 4 feet are on the ground.


If you are the one being jumped up, simply lifting your knee is enough to discourage most dogs. They won’t enjoy jumping onto your knee, and after a few tries will hopefully learn their lesson. For more excited and forceful dogs, you can put a little more energy into the knee right as they jump. Again, it won’t hurt, but it will startle them into rethinking their behavior.
Another tactic is to simply turn your body sideways, so the dog’s paws are forced to slide off.
Remember to explode with happiness when your dog shows the correct behavior!  


The WORST thing you can do is use your hands to push the dog off of you. This turns it into a game, and ultimately winds up increasing the naughty behavior.


I was recently at a friend’s house who had just brought home a boxer puppy. She was SO cute, but had terribly long nails and loved to jump. I like my legs without long red scratches down them, so I started using the knee technique. Within minutes the puppy had learned that I wasn't going to put up with her jumping, so she sat on my feet instead and begged for head scratches. Her owner was impressed!


So there you go, three easy techniques to curb your pup’s jumping habit! Try this at home, and as always, ask us if you have any questions!

Friday, February 7, 2014

Weekly Awards

I absolutely loved this week's collection of pictures. These guys are such goofballs!
Cutest Face - Puchi

Best Moment That Looks Staged But Wasn't - Lola, Olive & Zakia (picture by Megan)

Most Likely To Run Away And Join The Circus- Sam (picture by Megan)

Cutest Puppy Kiss - Loki

Best Beg - Kota

Funniest Face - Maverick