Bark City Doggy Daycare

Summer is right around the corner and soon it will be time to slather ourselves in sunscreen and hope for the best. Did you know that dogs are just as much at risk for sunburn as humans? Dogs at the highest risk for sunburn are light skinned dogs, dogs with short hair, with little to no hair and dogs that spend a lot of time in the water (or soaking up the sun rays). In addition, a dog's nose, ears and underside are the most at risk for getting sunburned. Like humans, genetics and diet play a role in the susceptibility to sunburn. Some dogs are just more sensitive to the damaging effects of the sun. A lot of caring dog owners will use sunscreen on their dogs, but they should never use commercial sunscreen made for humans. Human sunscreen has a whole list of ingredients that are toxic to canines, including zinc oxide. Dogs lick themselves all the time and end up ingesting the toxic components of the sunscreen. For a list of toxic elements, please visit this website--> click he...

Lepto....What? Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects canines, humans and other animals such as livestock and wildlife. It is zoonotic, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. Leptospires infiltrate the body system by burrowing into the skin and spreading throughout the body by way of the bloodstream. It then can infect the entire body by reproducing in the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, eyes and reproductive system. Soon after infection, a fever and bacterial infection of the blood will develop. But usually the body will resolve itself through antibodies. Depending upon the extent of the infection and the body's immune system, even after it has been resolved, Leptospirosis can remain in the kidneys and reproduce. Thus, infecting an animal's urine. Younger animals and animals with a weakened immune system are at the highest risk of complications with this bacteria. Since Leptospires can infect an animal's urine, it is usually passed to an...

Food aggression is a form of resource guarding in which a dog becomes defensive and uses threats, like growling, to force other animals or humans away from a food source. If not dealt with, it can lead to a bigger problem of being possessive of everything-- toys, beds, treats, food, ect... Before I begin on the steps that dog owners can take to deal with a food aggressive dog, I should lay down a common ground rule for all dogs--> Humans (including, and especially, children) should never mess with a dog while its eating. This includes the common myth of making a dog eat out of it's bowl with your hand in it. There are three levels of food aggression: 1. Mild-- a dog will show it's teeth and growl. 2. Moderate-- a dog will snap and lunge. 3. Extreme-- a dog will attempt to, and/or maybe succeed, at biting another animal or human. If you are a dog owner that has a dog with extreme food aggression, your best measure is to get an expert to help you with the problem. Do...

 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 tak...

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...

Many successful dog trainers have done wonders for dogs through positive reinforcement training and behavior modification, but there are some dogs where the rules just don't seem to apply. They need extra help. It's not because these dogs are overly aggressive, trying to dominate you or are basically non-compliant, it's because they are overwhelmed by the world! Every little butterfly, rustling tree leaf, scent or motion seems to send them into overdrive.    How can you tell if your dog is overstimulated? Hyperactivity : Boredom and over-stimulation can often look alike. If you are regularly exercising your dog (mentally and physically) and they still seem to be going bonkers, you may want to evaluate whether you are over doing it and your dog is over stimulated. Yes, dogs like humans can be over-trained. Hiding : Dogs will often try to find a place to hide that is quiet and dark when they are over stimulated. If your dog is hiding somewhere, check your environment. ...

Leash pulling can be one of the most frustrating and difficult behaviors in your furry friend, because dogs naturally want to explore and are reflexively opposed to restraint. Basically, trying to train your dog to walk politely on a leash means you are working against your dog's natural instincts. But, it can be done and it should be done. You just need A LOT of patience and commitment. Before I begin, I think I should clarify the difference between "polite leash walking" and "heeling". Heeling is a competitive exercise in which you are training your dog to walk close to your left leg. In this post, this is not what we are aiming at, but rather we want a polite leash walk (aka loose leash walk): The leash is slack. Your dog is not yanking and coughing around the block. Rather, you and the dog are casually walking from A to B. You are both interacting with each other and your dog is able to sniff and explore. It's a happy experience for both of you! I...

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 ...

Hypothermia is a dangerous drop in body temperature and can be caused by more than just being outside in the cold for long periods of time. There are a lot of factors that play into whether or not your dog is at risk of hypothermia, some of them include: Very young or old dogs. Dogs under anesthesia. Smaller breeds, because they experience faster loss of body heat.  Diseases of the hypothalamus (example: hypothyroidism). The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating and maintaining body temperature.  Shock And... of course... if your dog has been out in the cold or the skin/ fur has been wet for a long period of time. So, how do you know if your dog has hypothermia? A dog's normal body temperature is higher than a human's. The normal range is from 101-102.5F. When it drops to a human range of body temperature (97.6- 99.6F), they are in danger of hypothermia. In fact, if your dog's body temperature drops below 98F, you should seek a veterinarian immediately. ...

Humans and dogs have the same senses: hearing, touch, sight and smell. But, it pretty much ends there in regards to equality. A human generally uses their senses in this order: hearing--> seeing--> smelling--> touch. Whereas a dog uses them in this order: smelling--> seeing--> hearing--> touch. In this post, I am going to break down each sense and describe the variations between a human and a dog. The Nose:  A dog's brain is about 1/10 the size of a human brain, BUT the part of the brain that controls smell is about 40 times larger in a dog than human. Pretty impressive, right? Depending upon the breed, A dog's sense of smell is 1,000- 10,000,000 times stronger than a human's. Dogs have about 125-300 million scent glands compared to a humans measly 5 million. Dogs can smell things that humans can't even fathom.... like emotions. We humans usually rely on our sight to tell us the subtle clues of how a person is feeling. Though, we can easily be t...

The secret of cranberries and maintaining a healthy urinary tract has been passed down from generation to generation. It is now not so much a secret and could be said to be general knowledge. I bet the majority of you have been told to drink cranberry juice when suffering from a bladder infection. But, are cranberries really all that effective for treating urinary tract infections (UTI) and can they be used for canines? Little research has been done on the effectiveness of cranberries on canine urinary tract health, BUT a lot of research has been done on humans. Of all the reading I have done for canines on cranberries, it seems that most veterinarians are using the human research to shed light on canine health. In addition, it seems that a lot of canine owners are praising the benefits of cranberries for helping their furry family members. There does seem to be some confusion on how cranberries help with UT health.  It is often told that cranberries help by lowering the PH ...