Winter Preparedness

November 14, 2020November 14, 2020Leave a comment

Our favorite time of the year is coming! Time to roll in the snow, play catch with snowballs, and plow through powder! Below you will find some tips on how to keep your Pup safe & some suggestions on how to have fun in the cold!

Safety First

Be sure to play in areas that you are familiar with! The snow can hide secret dangers such as sticks, rocks, pipes, etc. Make sure your pup isn’t leaping and bounding in areas that could contain these sharp items, and instead play in areas that you know well.

Keep snowballs from accumulating in your Pup’s fluff! Boots, jackets, gaiters are all great options for keeping your Pup’s fur free of snow and ice clumps. Be sure to get them comfortable wearing these items before big outings. Fresh haircuts are also helpful in keeping snowballs at bay. Keeping leg & foot fluff closely trimmed will do wonders. Snow & ice clumps can cause painful knots and dreadlocks. If you get snow clumps, coconut oil & Musher’s Secret are very helpful.

Don’t eat any snow! Snow can carry bacteria and parasites, and most snow salts are unsafe for digestion, so though it may look like a lot of fun, try not to let your Pup eat snow.

Swimming season is over! When outdoor temps drop below 45, it’s a good rule of thumb to avoid swimming. Especially if you’re far from a warm, dry place. Dogs can get hypothermia too.

Snow clumps can be a nuisance for fluffy Pups

Fun & Games

Nosework is an awesome game to play in the snow! The snow makes it more difficult to pick up scents, so placing items/toys/treats in the snow can be quite the brain game. Pieces of cheese work great!

Snow mazes are fun for everyone! Dig out a snow maze in your yard or a nearby park and have your Pup run through. You can combine mazes with nosework for even more fun.

Sink a ball in the snow! Toss a ball into the snow so it sinks a bit and have your Pup jump in after it. Make sure you do this in an area that you know doesn’t contain hidden dangers.

Skijoring is a great bonding & physical exercise! It literally connects you and your dog and gets you both outside, working out your bodies and your minds.

Bonding & Exercise! (photo from akc.org)

Sometimes Home is Best

There are a lot of outdoor winter activities your dog is not interested in. Use your best judgement when deciding on bringing your Pup along. You know them best, after all.

Sitting outdoors at local watering holes or restaurants. Even with a coat on, your Pup can get very wet & cold sitting outdoors watching you and your human friends sip on beer. And it’s not always as fun for them as it is for you.

Shreddin’ Mt Bachelor is for humans. Bringing your Pup along to wait in the car is not fun or comfortable. A warm couch is a better option for them. If you can’t leave them alone in your hotel, look into some dog care options 🙂

Places to Get Outdoor Gear

Ruffwear is local AND they make excellent products!

Hundr is a company in the UK that takes old human outdoor clothing and recycles it into new, fashionable dog gear!

Backcountry has a lot of different brands under one roof… roof, roof! Woah sorry I got carried away.

Curing Boredom for You & Your Pup

September 16, 20201 Comment

Oregon is on fire. So is California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado. Which means there is a whole lotta smoke covering most of our country. A lot of us our stuck indoors, and a lot of our Pups are stuck indoors too. So I thought I would share a fun dog craft with everyone!

This is a Snuffle Mat. I know it just looks like a mess of fabric, but trust me, it’s actually a pretty fun game. It’s used for easy nosework and offers great mental stimulation for your housebound Pup. They are mass produced, come in a variety of styles, and sell for about $40+ in stores. But the good news is you can spend about $5 and make one yourself! It helps cure hours of boredom for you, feels great to make your Pup something they love, and helps your Pup work out his brain while stuck inside!

They are super easy to make, but I’m not going to lie, they take A LOT of time! If you’d like me to make you one, please shoot me an email! I make them and sell them for $20 and all profits go to the Oregon Humane Society!

Supplies:

Scissors
Plastic Sink Mat (pictured below, you can find these for about $4 at ACE)
Felt or any super soft fabric, remember your Pup is going to be shoving his snout into this! The softer the better! (Thrift stores are excellent places to find super cheap felt/fabric! You can also recycle some unwanted clothes!)
Patience & maybe a good show to binge

Steps:

Begin cutting felt into strips, about 1″ wide and about 5-7″ long. They don’t have to be exact, having them vary in dimensions will spice things up on your finished mat 🙂

2. Begin by inserting one strip of felt through two neighboring holes in the sink mat, then tie it off. Continue looping the felt strips through holes and tying them.

loop felt through holes in sink mat and tie them off

3. Continue tying the felt to the plastic mat until every hole, and every direction has fabric through it.

tie felt through every hole, in every direction. this photo is of the bottom of the mat, so you can see how it should look.

That’s it! You’ve made a Snuffle Mat! Now break up some treats and nestle them into the felt “fingers” and let your dog go to work! If you’re really bored you can make several of these and place them around the house full of treats! That way your Pup can get a little extra brain work in!

you can see how thick the felt becomes when you’re finished, and the challenge it will present your Pup. we like using soft treats that are easy to break apart & tough to fish out.

* There are a lot of tutorials online if you need some video guidance

Is a Tired Dog a Happy Dog?

July 24, 2018August 28, 2018Leave a comment

You might be familiar with the phrase “a tired dog is a happy/good dog”, but what does that really mean? If you have a dog it’s pretty obvious, exercising a dog leads to them sleep which causes bad behaviors to happen less frequently. But if your dog is passed out and too tired to do anything, does that make them a happy dog? Does it make them a good dog? Or does it just make them an exhausted dog?

Physical exercise is very important for dogs, and the activity you choose is equally as important. A dog running on a treadmill is getting plenty of exercise, but a dog who gets to go on a run with his human is getting a little more from the activity. Participating in exercise with your dog presents an opportunity for bonding, and your dog will be much happier working out with you than alone. It’s important to set time aside in your day specifically for your dog.

You can take your dog to the dog park to exercise and socialize, but if you are staring at your cell phone the entire time it effects the outing for the dog and they may not be as happy or well exercised as you’d hoped (they may also get into some trouble without you even knowing). Try bringing a ball or favorite toy to the park, and rather than checking pointless emails, take the time to connect with your pup through a game they love. My dog happens to be weird and not care much for toys, so rather than play fetch, we play hide and seek at the park. I will hide and he will use his nose to seek me out, once he finds me he gets a reward. It’s essentially nose work, but rather than searching for treats he’s searching for me! This gives him both mental and physical exercise!

Mental stimulation is equally as important as physical, and can have better results in less time. Nicole Ellis is a dog trainer who found that her own dog was, “more tired after 15 minutes of scent games than after a 30-minute walk around the neighborhood.” Dogs are smart, and most of them want jobs to do, so giving them some brain activities will help give them peace of mind.

Please keep in mind that all dogs are different and require different amounts of physical exercise. Old dogs require lessexercise than 8 month old puppies. A Newfoundland requires less exercise than an Australian Shepherd. Dogs with injuries require special workouts. Your dog will normally let you know their limits, but don’t always rely on that, and maybe run it by your vet.

This is a great guide on how much exercise your dog may need depending on breed, age, and size. But like I said, every dog is different and no one knows your dog better than you.

Here are some great articles on physical and mental stimulation:

“A Mentally Stimulated Dog is a Happy Dog” by Nicole Ellis

“Is a Tired Dog a Good Dog? (Or a Happy Dog?)” by Dan Estep & Suzanne Hetts of Animal Behavior Associates

And some ideas on how to give your dog mental stimulation:

Prevent Boredom

Brain Games