Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from April, 2016

5 Pet Friendly Ways To Go Green

With Earth Day approaching again, it’s time to reconsider and revamp your green practices. As a proud pet parent, you may be wondering how you can get your furry friend involved in supporting the environment.  In honor of Earth Day, Dr. Carol Osborne, DVM, shares her best tips with us: The Scoop on Poop - Use biodegradable bags when cleaning up after your dog. A regular plastic bag can take decades to decompose; whereas a biodegradable bag will begin to breakdown in just a couple of months. For cats, consider using an environmentally friendly litter such as one that is plant based or made from recycled newspaper. Feeding Close to Nature - Dr. Carol is a major advocate of feeding your pet an organic, home-cooked meal. All natural meals benefit your pet’s health in exactly the same way that it benefits yours. The environment and your pet’s health will benefit from cutting out kibble all together. A homemade diet decreases personal cost, wasteful production of packaging

Train Your Dog With These Simple Tips!

By Aly DelaCoeur There are many different things you can spend your time training your dog to do.   It all depends on what is most important to you.   What I do know, however, is that positive reinforcement is one of the best ways to teach dogs to do just about anything.   Below are some of my top training tips on how to get a reliable recall from your dog of commands and how to set them up for success. Start your training sessions with luring the dog. It is the fastest and easiest way to train. An example, while teaching sit, hold the lure by the nose and slowly raise it up and over the dog’s head to get their butt to lower.   However, make sure to remove the lure after about 6-12 trials so it does not become a bribe. Dogs learn through association. Because of this you want to limit your movement to the hand prompt to avoid your dog picking up on a different movement. Your tone of voice can also influence what your dog learns.