Bark City Doggy Daycare

Most dogs shed, though there are some dogs that don't ( Click here for a list of dogs that don't shed). Some dogs shed more than others. Some shed on a daily basis all year long, and some shed seasonally in the spring and fall. If you have a dog that sheds all year long, I feel for you, I really do. But, when should you start worrying that your dog's shedding problem is beyond the normal scope and is an actual health problem? When you start to notice this: Any of the above problems could be linked to an underlying health problem that will need to be addressed by a veterinarian. It could be anything: allergies, hormones, a dietary deficiency (or over abundance), stress or a skin condition like mites and ringworm. It's important for your veterinarian to properly diagnose what is causing your dog to abnormally shed in order for the right treatment to be administered. If you dog has normal shedding that is driving you absolutely nuts-o, here is one thing you ...

Dogs can suffer from depression, just like humans. But, dogs do not speak human. They speak dog and sometimes it's hard for us humans to figure out what they are saying. Here are 10 signs that your dog might be depressed. Please keep in mind that just because your dog may be exhibiting one of these signs, it does not necessarily mean they are depressed. A lot of these signs could also mean they are injured or sick. Bottom line, it's best to know your dog's personal language. Pay attention to how they communicate on a day to day basis in order to understand when your dog is acting out of the ordinary. Change in Behavior : This is the most basic sign. Is your dog acting out of the ordinary? Have they lost interest in things that used to excite them? Example: Walks, favorite food, no longer greeting you at the door. The first thing to do is check out the environment. Have you had a new life change (new baby, a big move, ect..)? Sometimes, a dog will sense your own mood an...

One thing you can always assume about a dog is that there is a 99.99999% chance they will never turn down food. True, there are some dogs that are a little more mature about mealtime than your average gobbler. And, some will walk away from a bowl when they are genuinely full. But, there are some dogs that are completely obsessed with food and act like they are starving to death all the time. If you have a food obsessed dog, the first thing you must do is take them to the vet to rule out a serious medical condition. Here are some of the physical reasons your dog may seem obsessed with food: Aging Bacterial overgrowth in the intestines Cushing's disease Diabetes Exocrine pancreatic insufficency Hyperthyroidism Reaction to medication Inappropriate diet Once you have ruled out a medical condition, you may start to deduce that your dog's food obsession is psychologically based. There is a theory that dog's are opportunistic eaters with a hereditary trait from thei...

"Leave it" is a training skill that could potentially save your dog's life. Before you start to train your dog on how to leave something on the ground, it's best that they have already mastered "sit" and leash walking . Below, I have outlined how to teach your dog how to "Leave It", but first I would like to explain how to go about teaching your dog this skill: 1. Only teach your dog a new skill for about 15 minutes a day in 5 minute sessions. "Leave it" is a good skill to practice during commercial breaks. 😏 If you go all hard core on the training and do more than 15 minutes a day in 5 minutes sessions, you risk over saturating your dog and stressing them out.... or they will just become plain ol' bored with the task and not listen to you. 2. In my steps, you will see "P/R". This means "Praise and Reward". Praise= a "good job" or "good boy/girl!" with lots of happy enthusiasm. Reward= a tr...

In the past, I have written about choosing a pure bred vs. a shelter dog , how to choose a shelter dog and how to choose a dog breeder . But, I have yet to write in  more detail about dog breed personalities and traits. I am not saying that every individual dog of a specific breed is basically a clone of another of the same breed. As all dog owners know, individual dogs will have their own quirky personality specifically for them. What I am saying is that when choosing a dog breed, you must know historically why that dog was bred. Once you have that gem of knowledge, understanding why your dog does what it does will help you ease a lot of training frustrations. After all, some things may just be a bit more hardwired into your dog than you think. There are seven main dog breed groups in the dog world: Herding, Hound, Sporting, Terrier, Toy, Working and "non-working" (Basically, anything that doesn't fit into a nice tidy category). I provided examples of breeds for ea...

A heartworm is a parasitic worm that is transmitted by mosquitoes to your dog. It is easy to prevent, but can be difficult and costly to cure. Your dog can become infected when bit by a mosquito that is infected with the heartworm larvae. There is no way you can detect if a particular mosquito is infected, but it only takes a bite from ONE infected mosquito for the larvae to be transmitted to your dog. Once the larvae has been transmitted to your dog, it takes about 7 months for it to mature into an adult heartworm. These little buggers travel through your dog's body and lodge into the heart, lungs and blood vessels to reproduce. Adult worms can get up to about a foot long and can live 5-7 years reproducing and causing permanent damage inside of your dog. A dog can get up to 250 worms inside there body! YUCK. If left untreated, the infestation will eventually kill your dog in a not so nice way. Luckily, there are readily available preventatives you can give your dog in the f...

So you got a new puppy and for most of the day this little fur ball is the cutest thing in the world. But during particular times of day, your little wiggly butt turns into a beast of incessant barking and biting. Let's face it, those puppy teeth HURT. So what's up with that? Chances are, your puppy is tired and overstimulated. Puppies need A LOT of sleep, and I mean A LOT. Dog's sleep more than humans (lucky them), but a puppy needs more sleep than most people think. The younger the puppy, the more sleep they will need. A newborn puppy will sleep about 22 hours a day and use the rest of it's time for things like nursing. At 3-months, your puppy will need about 15-20 hours of sleep a day. This sleep is crucial for body development. Things like: building muscle, brain development and improving the immune system. If your puppy does not get enough sleep, you get a cranky, destructive teeth chomper that is at risk for infections and illness. NOT GOOD. The problem is th...