Wednesday 28 October 2015

Happy Halloween!!!

How to Keep Your Dog Happy on Halloween

        Although Halloween festivities are fun and exciting for us, often dogs are filled with anxiety on this day. People constantly coming to the door, ringing the bell, dressed in scary costumes is confusing and disorienting for your dog. Here are a few things that you can do to keep your dog happy and comfortable on Halloween night. 

  1. Give your dog lots of stimulation before the trick-or-treating festivities begin. Take them for a nice long walk/hike to help get out any extra energy they may have or take them around while you run errands. Either will help to expel your dog's energy and help to keep your dog cal, and relaxed for the evening.
  2. There are TONS of FREE dog walking groups, events and clubs that you can be a part of on Halloween; such as the Kitchener/Waterloo Halloween Dog Pawrade! Its a fun event where you can bring the whole family for a walk in the park! There are fun prizes for best DOG Halloween costume.
    1. Dog Costume ideas: Lobster, Spooky Ghost, Cowboy, Crayon, Bone, Pumpkin, Skeleton,Cat and the list goes on!
    2. Get creative and no need to spend a bunch of money, grab an old T-shirt,markers, and some paper or whatever art or crafting supplies you have around the house and let your imagination run wild!
  3. Keep human treats (such as candies or chocolate) out of reach from your dog to ensure that they do not get sick from ingesting anything that could be harmful to them. 
  4. Once the trick-or-treating begins, make sure to keep your dog in a different room away from the door with the radio or television on, this will help to keep your dog calm when the door starts to continuously ring. 
  5. Do NOT bring your dog out trick-or-treating with you, this will only stress them out and make them nervous, keep your dog safely at home this Halloween night. 
  6. If having a Halloween get together, make sure that your pet is away from those festivities as well, the costumes could scare the dog, they could get out through the constantly opening door, or someone could feed the dog something that could make them sick. For your pet's safety and your peace of mind, leave them in their crate, in an off limits room to guests, or make other arrangements for your fur baby. 
Remember, not everyone loves this special day as much as we do, keep your pet safe this Halloween and have an awesome night of spooky fun!
 

Tails wags from the Completek9 Team 

Wednesday 14 October 2015

Is My Dog Overweight?

Signs That Your Dog is Overweight

Often, people do not realize that their four-legged family member is putting on the pounds because many pet owners do not know what the signs of obesity in pets are. Obesity is common in all dogs of all ages, however it is most common in dogs that are middle-aged. A study showed that 52.7% of dogs in America are overweight or/and obese. Here are a few signs that your pet could be overweight, what the main causes of obesity in dogs is, and a few tricks to getting your dog (and as a bonus yourself) in good and healthy shape. 



Signs Your Pet is Overweight:



Main Causes of Obesity and Overweight Dogs:
  1. Constant access to people food 
  2. Being given treats often
  3. Lack of exercise 
  4. Being feed more than the suggested amount that is recommended
  5. Imbalance between energy intake and energy use
  6. High calorie foods

Getting Your Dog Into Shape:

  1. Measure your dog's food
  2. Cut out Snacks and stop given your dog table scraps
  3. Create a walking schedule (start off walking every other day as to not cause problems to your dogs joints, then progress to more and more as you see progress)
  4. Know what you are feeding your dog by reading the ingredients that are in your dog's food
  5. Play time with either you and the family or other four-legged friends (better yet, BOTH!)

As irresistible as those puppy eye may be, remember that those daily table scraps and treats are doing more harm to your dog's health then they are benefitting them. Keep your dog healthy and go out and enjoy the outdoors!

Tails Wags from the CompleteK9 Team



Thursday 1 October 2015

Building Trust - A Personal Experience

Building Trust


Those of you who know Brooks, know the struggle I have had with him and water this summer. It's be a long time training and working together to find way to manage his obsession. Today I finally had a huge moment that made me realize how far we've come. 

Since the summer began I haven't let Brooks in the water off leash as he would swim away and not return. He loses all focus in the water and would shut me out. On top of that he would demand to be in the water screaming, pulling, nothing would snap him out of it. With training we worked on only allowing him on a long line in the water, calming him down before going in and having him use his brain in the water like with a surf board and certain toys.


Things have been getting better as the summer has gone on but I haven't had the trust built up to try him without a long line in the water. I was nervous that Brooks wouldn't come out of the water if I let him off leash. I was afraid of what might happen and I didn't trust him.

So now almost 7 months later I had a boost of confidence in mine and Brooks relationship. I decided today on our walk to let him show me that he can listen and I can trust him. When we got to the part of the walk that I usually call him to leash him up I let it be to see what would happen.

In the first few minutes, he ran to the water about 10 minutes before we got there but once we got to the lake he followed along in the water and came out within 15 minutes. Then he walked with us and was going in and out of the water happily with out fighting!

The feeling I had seeing him in and out of the water and following me and listening - it was so amazing. I've worked so hard to get this with Brooks and I saw the results for the first time today. Don't get me wrong, we still have a lot of work to do - when I am around rivers with him I am still to nervous because of the vastness and the heavy currents. But this was my glimpse of hope that we can cope with this water obsession and even get over it.

Brooks has been a huge lesson in patience for me the last almost 7 months. He has taught me to never give up and push even harder for what I want. He has showed me how important it is to give back to him and give him a chance to show me that he can be trusted.  I am over the moon excited about all the things we have accomplished together as well as how much we will accomplish in the years to come. 

Just a note for everyone, to make sure to give back to your dogs and give them a chance to show you what they can do. They will make you proud and if you work hard enough you will reach the goals made!

Thanks for listening!

Heidi - from the Complete K9 Team