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Six Ways To Reduce Holiday Stress In Your Canine

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 The Holidays are right around the corner: Holiday shopping, meal planning, parties, guests, you name it. It can be a stressful time of year, especially for our furry family members. They don't know about holidays or what the big excitement is about, all they know is that energy is up and their human companions are stressed out. This in turn, causes them to be frantic and stressed out as well. Here are signs of stress in your animal companion: Loss of appetite Lack of energy and interest in things they used to love Lip licking and yawning Boisterous behavior  or excessive whining Hiding and cowering when you call to them Chewing on furniture and things they are not supposed to chew on when they haven't done that in ages. Velcro dog-- basically following you around EVERYWHERE and being right under your feet all the time. They seemed to have forgotten they are potty trained.  These behaviors could also be an underlying health problem. It's a good idea to take
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Do I Need To Groom My Dog?

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  As pet parents, we are busy. Our typical day not only involves work & maybe two-legged family member responsibilities, but also feeding our four-legged members and making sure they receive proper mental & physical exercise. It's a lot! In the midst of it all, many pet parents forget to groom, brush & bathe their dogs on a consistent basis or at all. Grooming helps keep your dog's coat, skin, ears, paws, claws and sanitary areas clean. Without proper grooming, dead skin & dirt can easily pile up causing infections.  According to the American Kennel Club, most breeds should be groomed once a month. Some breeds need more. Let's break down the needs based on coat length: Short-haired dogs: Short-haired dogs should receive baths about once every 4-6 weeks & brushing should be minimal. Double coated dogs: These are the breeds of dogs that shed their undercoat seasonally. Brushing should be done 1-3 times a week and with a brush that goes through the undercoa
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7 Signs It's Time to Change Your Dog's Food

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 We have all heard the age old advice not to change your pet's food and that they should stay on their chosen pet food for the rest of their lives. Not True. Like humans, dogs change physiologically over time and their food needs to be adjusted every now and then to ensure proper nutrition. So, how can you tell if your dog is not getting enough nutrients (or too much) from their current dog food? Here are seven signs that it's time to change your dog's food: Changing your dog's current food can sometimes be a tricky task. It's hard to wade through all the different varieties out there. As an owner, sometimes it feels like you need a PhD in dog food just to figure out what works and doesn't work for your pet. Transitioning your dog's food must be done over a 7-10 day period. Starting with about a 20-25% "new" food mixed with the old. Gradually increase the percentage of new over the time span until the old food is phased out. Sometime
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4 Halloween Treats You Can Make For Your Dog

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The holidays are starting folks, and it starts with Halloween. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Whether you are trick-or-treating this year or just staying home, you can still celebrate! I have already bought candy for all the two-legged children walking the neighborhood. Candy is delicious, but it is not the best for our health. It's definitely not healthy for your dog. Below, I have gathered a few recipes for your beloved canine in lieu of store bought candy. But before you get cooking, please read these safety tips for animals on Halloween: Keep human candy away from pets. A lot of the candy given to humans can be toxic to your pet, only give your furry family member treats that are made for dogs. Don't keep lit pumpkins around your pets unsupervised. Keep wires and electrical cords out of reach from chewing mouths. Don't dress your pet up in a costume unless they are comfortable being in a costume. Don't leave your dog out in the yard on Halloween.
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10 Signs Your Dog is Stressed

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Stress... Ughh. We all get stressed. As humans, we know that familiar feeling of strain or pressure that slowly creeps up on us. And, we have figured out ways to reduce our own stress (hopefully!). Prolonged stress can wreak havoc on our health and well -being. Our canine companions can also feel stress. Just like us, they need ways to reduce their stress or the body will respond through illness and disease. Unfortunately, we humans don't speak dog and dogs don't speak human. It's up the the canine owner to recognize the signs your dog is exhibiting through "dog language" that they are stressed. To recognize the signs of stress in your dog, you must first know your dog's baseline behavior and body posture. Often, stress cues in your dog are very subtle and can mimic normal behaviors. It's up to you as the human to know your dog's normal communication behaviors and then differentiate when something is off a bit: Pacing and Shaking : Dog's wil
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Toy Aggression

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In a past post, I wrote about how to deal with food aggression . Today, I will talk about TOY aggression. Both are types of resource guarding in which your dog is exhibiting signs of aggression towards humans or other pets that approach your dog when it's in possession of something highly desirable. At first, this can seem somewhat tame and a little bit annoying, but if not dealt with, it can lead to a dangerous situation for all humans and pets involved. Signs That Your Dog May be Resource Guarding : When you (or another pet) approaches your dog when in possession of a prized object, do they: Refuse to give it up when asked? Snap? Hoard all toys and treats sometimes hiding them? Growl? Exhibit jealous behavior like butting another dog out of the way when you are petting the other dog (Congratulations! You are the prized object!)? If you answered "Yes" to any of these, your dog is exhibiting signs of resource guarding. At first, some of these may seem cut
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Disaster Preparedness for Pet Owners

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Emergencies are a type of event that you don't know you are going to have until you are having it. Some emergencies require a brief absence from your home, other emergencies require permanent evacuation. Your four-legged companion is part of your family. If you have family evacuation plans in place for your two-legged family members, shouldn't you also have them for your four-legged? It's always a good idea to have plans in place well before you actually have an emergency. Here are a few things you should think about while you a planning out your emergency protocol: Rescue Alert Sticker : These are those little stickers on your front door that tell emergency workers how many pets you have, what they look like, their names and your veterinarian's phone number. You can get a FREE sticker here .  Evacuation Plan : If you are not safe in your house, your pets aren't either! Please make sure you don't just leave them behind to fend for themselves. Develop a p
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