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

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!

(source)

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.

(source)

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!

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!

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)

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!

 

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)