Next to food and love I think one of the more important things  we can do for our dogs is to socialize them.
Dogs are pack  animals and are the happiest when they are with a pack, whether the pack is dog or human. It is best to start as pups and to take them everywhere. Introduce them to other socialized dogs, no the dog park is never a good place for puppies. Too many big dogs that will scare the poo outta your baby. Even if that 80 pound Lab is just running up to your puppy to say hi it could make your baby feel like a dumpling on a buffet table. Start with dogs you personally know to be friendly.  Always  make it a happy experience.  If your pup is unduly scared at the begining it will make it 10 times harder to ever get him around dogs again. Take it slow and easy …don’t rush him.
When you are out and about let other people pet and love your dog so he learns to trust people. Join a doggie meet up group that has your type of dog.  Meetup.com is a great place to start. You might even find a group you want to join for yourself.

If you haven’t started socializing your dog yet it isn’t too late. I start with friends and work up from there. I put a bag of dog treats outside the door and when company comes I have them grab a handful ( make sure they are the real yummy ones not some old dry dog biscuit). Then when your dog settles down let your company give your dog some treats. Keep this up every time someone visits and soon your anti social dog will turn into the neighborhood social butterfly.

Ok enough about food for now. I have had a request to discuss toys. Personally, I think we are the best toys.  We are sturdy, we don’t wear out…too fast, we can’t get stuck in throats, get spread all over the place. and most of all. we are more fun than dirt!!

Having 12 to 15 little dogs around the house constantly  I have found most toys on the market don’t work well for me.The fluffy little stuffed toys are usually torn into pieces within minutes of the first throw. Plastic toys …the same. So you really need to be careful about the toys you get so you aren’t running to the vets because your dog has become impacted by a toy he ate. I guess with all toys, they need to be picked up if you aren’t around.

I make a lot  toys myself from old towels, sheets, tee shirts, etc.  I cut the fabric into long wide strips and fold them into more narrow strips. Once I get three strips to this point I tie them together at one end. Then have hubby, or whoever is around, to hold that end while I make the rest into a very tight braid. Wah lah,  a great inexpensive tug to play with. Take the tug and start tying knots into it until you get a ball to throw. Tie the ends together and you have a ring frisbee/tug toy.
Here are a few sites that have good toys for a reasonable price.Petedge (www.petedge.com) is a wonderful site. If you have customers, doggie clubs, or lots of friends with dogs, you can get together and buy in bulk on this site and really save. Dog.com is another. K9tuff.com has some wonderful toys that are very durable.

Now let’s get back to the best toy of all… You.  Besides the usual toss, tug, and wrestle type stuff you do everyday with your dog, try dance, or agility.  I am starting agility with my daycare gang. Some are turning into real superstars,
some…well…. not so much, but we are all having a blast with a lot of laughing and good times.  It doesn’t have to cost an arm and leg. Go to your plumbing supply store and  get some 1/4 inch PVC pipe and start with a few jumps. Use
your imagination. Toys R Us has tunnels for very little. For a walk board a plank on 2 blocks will work while training.
For people without a lawn,try dance. With winter coming on, this is a great thing to do with your dog inside.  There are many sites that can get you started. I taught my Chihuahua Popi to step back and forward and to come around me.
With just those few things you can turn on the radio and have a blast.
Go to You Tube and type in Dancing dogs and get an idea of what you want and then start searching the net for sites that will help you to teach your dog.

Play hide and seek. Make your dog sit and stay and then let him see where you hide a snack. Tell him to find it. Award him with lots and lots of praise. Do this several times and then stop. We don’t want to make him bored. Later in the day do it again ..once. Then raise the bar by placing the treat under a can or something and make him figure out how to get it out.  Do this a few time and then the next day start again. You never want the dog to get bored. Just keep progressing with this game little by little until you are hiding stuff all over the house.
Stop thinking, Oh my dog is too little,too old, too fat, too whatever to learn. If you make it fun, take it little steps at a time, have a clear idea what you want to achieve, you can become your dog’s favorite toy.

As long as you make it fun and make your dog think he is the greatest thing
since homemade dog food he will learn and both of you will have a wonderful time.

What are your thoughts???

One of the issues I am asked a lot  by my clients is, what people foods are good for my dog. The answer … most of it.  It depends on how it is presented, how much of it, how it is prepared. A lot of things go into feeding your dogs human food.
In my last blog I said to put human food on your dog’s food. But you need to be somewhat informed on how to do it. A little cooked or uncooked veggie and meats mixed into your dog’s bowl will keep things interesting for them. When preparing the foods don’t include spices, your dog is very much the purist and there is just that much more of a chance of a reaction.

I am including a link of a list of food and products harmful to dogs that Missouri scenic rivers posted,http://www.missouriscenicrivers.com/baddogfoods.html and from there you can find links from the ASPCA with more on the subject.

A client of mine found out the hard way about Pancreatitis. It is a condition that comes from feeding too rich of food. In her case it was jumping right from Beneful, (oh please…don’t even get me started on that sugar ladened,dye loaded,dog killing crap, I don’t have enough room on my hard drive for it.) to Wellness Core dry and Wellness canned mixed together without doing the adjusting period of at least 2 weeks. Her poor little dog got so sick it ended up spending 3 days in the clinic. It is a very scary illness and very possibly a special diet for the rest of his life.

But they can also get Pancreatitis from your weekend BBQ. That charred grease filled hamburg you dropped belongs in your trash not your dogs belly.
Also all that yummy fat off that steak…why aren’t you eating it….ohhhh it isn’t good for you. Then ask yourself…..Why am I feeding it to my dog?? It is even worse for him.

As I was going thru the list I was really surprised by some of the stuff there.
Broccolli fed too much can make a dog sick. And liver. I always thought this was good for them. But again given too much can make them sick.

The holidays are coming so remember to put your beautiful Poinsettia plants, nuts, candies, and cookies up high. Also don’t think you are being kind to your little one by giving him a xmas dinner of turkey,gravy and all the fixings, you may find yourself at the Vet’s office to start out the New Year.

Those are my thoughts and concerns….What are yours?

Hello and welcome to the Home Away from Home blog. This blog was created for you to get to know me and my passion about dogs,a place to get info on keeping your dog happy and healthy, but most of all a place for discussions. Also a place where my customers can come to let me know what they like about HAFH, what they don’t like, (can’t change if one doesn’t know) and maybe something they would like to see me do in my services.

So let’s get started

To me, the most important thing is food.

I am not going to suggest a certain diet. If you do the BARF, just dry, canned and it works for your dogs ….Fantastic. Although I can’t in good faith go along with the vegetarian diet. Get a grip people …..

What I would like to talk about is the quality of the food you are giving your dog. You really need to look at what is on the side of your dog food bag and stop believing the commercials and vet’s that tell you to pick up a bag of Science Diet from the front office.

Most vets have been given a few weeks of nutrition in Vet school, and guess who gives it….Hill’s !!!!

Here are the1st 5 ingredients

• Corn meal,
• chicken by-product meal (including white meat, dark meat, liver and other internal organs)
• animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid)
• dried beet pulp
• vegetable oil
• dried egg product

If you see colors (red, green, yellow) that is food coloring. We try very hard to keep it from our diets, why are you giving it to your dogs. Food coloring will give your dogs liver and kidney cancer.

I know quality food can cost a lot but so can a lot of vet visits when your dog start getting allergies, skin problems, cancers, and on and on.

When customers ask what I feed my dogs I tell them that personally I like Canadae Wellness, or Blue Buffalo. Here are the first 5 ingredients in Canadae

Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb, potatoes, peas.

And what I also do is cook a little chicken and some veggies and mix then into the food for a little different taste. If I am being lazy I will pick up a can or 2 of Wellness or Evo 95% chicken. I only put a teaspoon in it for a little different taste. I find doing additives like meat and veggies is easier to keep your dog interested in his food than integrating new foods every other month or so.

So here are my thoughts to get us started, let’s hear yours.

Technorati Tags: dog food,   commercial food, raw food

At Home Away from Home, we take great pride in providing quality service to our clients, and exceptional care for their pets. Click the comments link below to see what our clients have to say about us. And, if you’re a client and would like to let us know how we’re doing, we invite you to leave a comment as well.

We look forward to hearing from you.