05.28.08
Healthy Spot, New Green, Organic & Modern Dog Product Retail Store
On Saturday, May 31st, Santa Monica, CA will have a new dog retail store that opens up called Healthy Spot (www.healthyspotla.com). Healthy Spot will offer organic, green, and modern dog products and services in their store located at 1110 Wilshire Boulevard at the intersection of 11th Street in Santa Monica, CA.
In this store, there will be a styling salon, spa, and small doggie daycare. Healthy Spot’s goal is to cater to dog owners who are concerned with the numerous pet product recalls that occurred last year, by selecting specific brands for nutritional value, manufacturing and distribution processes, and past product history that have been carefully screened. This process will enable patrons to trust the food and treat products carried in the Healthy Spot store.
Healthy Spot has applied their stringent pre-selection process to all product categories in order to provide the highest quality offerings for their customers. Products include bio-friendly toys that reduce dogs’ exposure to allergens and toxic chemicals, beds composed of recycled materials, organic pet toys and apparel, and all-natural grooming products. Healthy Spot maintains priority in helping the earth and strives to minimize the negative impact on the environment through product and practice.
For those interested in green products, there is a product called The Pet Loo which is an in/outdoor potty for dogs. The Pet Loo is basically a backyard in a box that is a lifelong cost effective solution. Unlike wee wee pads, there are no replacement parts required, and as a result, helps to save our Earth from the plastic wee wee pads that are thrown in the trash. For more information, please visit: www.dogservicenetwork.com/thepetloo/general_info.html.
05.27.08
Maintaining a Nice Garden, While Having a Dog
There is no such thing as having a plant that is doggie proof from getting damaged. However, there are ways that you can have a nice garden and preventing it from getting messed up by your dog.
One way is to have a sturdy wire fence put up that surrounds your garden, this may prevent small dogs from getting mischievous in the garden, but that may take away from the lovely appearance of your garden. Another option may be to have a picket fence setup to surround your garden and burying the fence deep into the soil with perhaps rocks at the base to prevent dogs from digging below the fence.
Create “mulched or grassy paths” between the flowers and plants. Dogs like to follow paths to take care of their business and will most likely follow the path you create that leads then away from your garden.
It is also your responsibility as a dog owner to understand what plants and flowers may be harmful to your dog such as: yew, wild black cherry, azalea, rhododendron, hydrangea, nandina, oleander, English ivy, daffodil, tulip, lily of the valley, foxglove, hyacinth, rhubarb and castor bean.
When leaving your dog outside, do not tie your dog to the tree, because it may lead your dog to develop aggressive behavior. If your dog is left outdoors for too long, it may begin to start digging, so make sure to not keep your dog out for extended periods of time. Finally, make sure your dog has soft grass or shaded soil to lie on to keep it comfortable outside.
05.26.08
Does Your Dog Pee When You Come Home?
Does your dog tend to urinate when you come home or when meeting people who visit your home? Don’t worry, this is normal behavior for dogs. Some dogs demonstrate signs of being submissive by rolling over to show their belly or by urinating.
For puppies, urinating can be them showing both excitement and submission. In order for you to help your puppy correct this problem, it involves you taking control of their excitement and teaching them when to act submissive.
To control your puppies excitement, you will need to make you coming home, not such an event. This can be achieved by:
- Calmly greeting your dog rather than making a huge ordeal or acting overly excited when seeing them
- Have your dog approach you and your house guests, rather than having your dog being the one approached
- If you see your dog begin to roll over or urinate, back off immediately
- Do not scold your dog when submissive urination behavior occurs
To correct your dog’s submissive behavior, teach your dog that it does not have to act submissive to others. This can be done by training your dog to become house trained. Provide positive reinforcement for when your dog urinates outdoors or if you are training your dog to go indoors, in the designated area within your home. While ignoring bad behavior such as a dog training to go outdoors ends up urinating indoors.
Remaining persistent with your training will help guide your dog in the right direction.
05.24.08
Keeping Your Dog Safe During Hot Weather
There are precautions that need to be made in order to keep your dog safe during hot weather. Just like humans, we have to be aware of dogs becoming dehydrated and/or suffering from a heat stroke. Here are a few safety measures to keep in mind:
- Make sure your dog has plenty of cool water available
- When it really hot out, it’s recommended to keep a few ice cubes in the water bowl to keep the water cool for your dog
- Never leave your dog in a closed vehicle on a hot day, not even with the window cracked open a little – When it’s hot outside, it’s easy for the car to heat up to at least about 90 degrees in as little as 5 minutes
- Be aware of heat stroke symptoms such as: panting, dehydration, failure to respond to commands, rapid heartbeat, etc. – if your dog shows these signs, they need medical attention
- Just because it’s hot out, don’t soak your dog into cold water – it can cause your dog to get hypothermia from making their temperature drop so quickly
- Learn about the different houseplants that can be poisonous to dogs
05.21.08
Dogs In The Workplace
The HON Company, a designer and manufacturer of office furniture, conducted an online survey that targeted more than 600 consumers. The survey conducted helps to gain a better understanding of whether or not pets are allowed in the workplace and what type of influence there is when pets are allowed in the workplace.
The HON survey found that 30% of employers allow pets in the office. Of those people:
- About a quarter (24%) of those people are allowed to bring dogs into the workplace
- 12% are permitted to bring fish
- and 8% are allowed to bring cats
The Warehouse Office Furniture Mart, which is one of The HON Company’s dealers, encourages a pet friendly environment as a workplace as well as for customers who walk into their showrooms.
Employers who permit their employees to bring pets into the workplace, could potentially reap the benefit of lowering the rate of their absenteeism. According to the HON survey, “millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get alone”.
For those who are allowed to bring their dogs into the workplace, but are concerned about relieving your dog from its bathroom needs, you may consider using a product called The Pet Loo, which is an indoor potty for dogs, that requires no replacement parts. For more information on this product, please visit: http://www.dogservicenetwork.com/thepetloo/general_info.html.
05.20.08
Doga, Which Means Yoga For Dogs
Nowadays, things that are designed for people, also have a purpose for dogs! There’s doggie clothes, daycares, beds, potties, and now there’s doga! Doga is a type of yoga that is specific for dogs.
The way Doga works is the owner attends the Doga class with their dog to help their dog do certain positions and stretches. Some of these classes may also require the dog owner to massage their dog and apply pressure in certain areas to enhance relaxation.
The idea of a dog doing yoga may take a little time to adjust to, but believe it or not, dogs throughout the day do certain doga positions already such as:
- Chaturanga Pose, which is when dogs lie on their stomachs while someone strokes their back
- Chair Pose, which is when dogs sit on their hind legs with their front paws in the air while someone holds them from behind
- Savasana Relaxation Pose, which is when dogs lie on their backs while someone rubs their belly
Doga is a great way for dogs to find relaxation, help with digestion, and lower their blood pressure. Dog owners also benefit, because doga will help to calm a dog’s behavioral problems.
05.18.08
Heartworm Protection For Your Dog
With the change of season and the warmer weather, dogs are at higher risk of receiving heartworm. This is because heartworms are parasites that are transmitted through a dog getting a mosquito bite. Mosquitoes ingest immature heartworms called microfilaria. When a dog gets a mosquito bite, the immature heartworms are transmitted to dogs, and then develops into a mature heartworm that resides near the vessels of the heart and lungs.
A mature heartworm can grow to be 12 – 14 inches in size. The infection could lead to your dog having symptoms such as: coughing, fatigue, fainting spells, trouble breathing, all eventually leading to heart failure.
Veterinary offices can provide you with prevention medication that is to be given to your dog once a month such as chewable beef treats, tablets or topical products, all of which works to kill off any immature heartworms that may have been received from the prior month. Though you may already be giving your dog its monthly heartworm prevention medication, it’s recommended to bring your dog in for an annual blood test just to make sure they are not infected.
If your dog does happen to be infected with heartworm, there is medication available called immiticide that kills mature heartworms. Your dog will need to be hospitalized when undergoing treatment. After your dog has received treatment, it will need have a lot of rest, can only go on leash walks – no running, so that the body can breakdown the mature heartworms in the bloodstream.
05.17.08
Inflation Impacts the Price of Dog Food
As commodity prices have risen across the U.S., pet retailers and manufacturers are finding ways to stay afloat and profitable. PetSmart, one of the largest pet retailers, has increased the price of Hill’s Science Diet dog food by $2 per bag, while manufacturers are creating smaller packages for several of their brands such as Pedigree and Purina. For the most part, dog owners are brand loyal, because their dog can tell the difference in the foods they’re being fed.
Stores are cutting back on the number of new stores that are being opened. Since gas prices have also risen, people are becoming more conscious about their spending and trying to save money by reducing the amount of driving necessary, and therefore are doing more shopping at certain stores – meaning, rather than going to a pet store to purchase dog food, people will just go to their local supermarket since they’re already shopping there.
For a while, spending in the pet industry has remained unaffected by the state of the economy; however, the inflation of commodities could be the beginning of the pet industry becoming negatively impacted and we could see spending decline for certain pet products.
Dogs In Europe Kick It Back With a Beer
In Holland, a beer called Kwispelbier, has been manufactured specifically for dogs. What is Kwispelbier exactly? It’s dog beer made of water, beef extract, Malt Barley extract, lactic acid, and potassium sorbate. It does not contain any alcohol or carbohydrates.
Though this product is not carbonated, it still has the ability to become frothy just by shaking it.
This product has recently been put on shelves in England and is being sold for about in Euros for 1.99, which equates to roughly $4 in the US.
It’s great concept, because now when people kick back and watch sports on television – so can their dog!
05.16.08
Dangers of Salmonella In Dog Food
The U.S. government has recently reported that between 2006 – 2007, 200 people were ill from contracting Salmonella from dry dog food. Salmonella cannot only be received through the contamination of dry dog food, but tainted dog treats as well.
What exactly is Salmonella? Salmonella is a bacteria that causes humans to have diarrhea. It’s a germ that passes from the feces of one living person or animal to another.
Other ways to identify whether or not you have Salmonella is if you’re suffering from either fever or cramps.
Salmonella can resolve on its own without any treatment within 5 – 7 days. Prescription medicine is not usually necessary unless the infection spreads to the intestine.
To limit your exposure to obtaining Salmonella, make sure to clean your hands prior to touching any of the food or treats as well as afterwards.
