Upcoming Events
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Agility Training
Every Saturday
April - Nov.
When: Sat. @ 9.30am
Where: Howe Park
(Howe & Cottage in Sacramento)
Cost: $75 for 6 weeks
ALL STAR DOG TRAINING
916-339-0744
allstardogtraining.net
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Doggy Dash & Bark
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Sacramento 16th Annual Doggy Dash and Bark at the Park Festival
2K & 5K run/walk and pet festival benefiting the Sacramento SPCA
Saturday May 30th at the William Land Park in Sacramento. Registration begins at 7:30am, festivities begin at 8am, walk and run begin at 8am. For all the details, go to www.sspcs.org |
Search the Web,
Help Rescue Pets!
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Every time you use the Dogpile search engine, a portion of the revenue generated goes to pet charities.
www.dogpile.com
Join Dogpile in the fight to end animal cruelty and find loving homes for all adoptable pets. They're making it easy; just search the Web on Dogpile to help raise money for pet charities. Download the Search & Rescue Toolbar to help them reach their goal of raising one million dollars for pets in need by the end of 2009! |
Pooch Pictures!
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Baby Phat
Yes, this is a real dog and not a doll! I met Baby Phat while working at an SPCA function. She's a 1 1/2 lbs mini Yorkie and sweet as can be. |
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Greetings!
The Shoe was on the Other Foot!!I hope you're all out walking your dogs and enjoying this beautiful weather! I couple of weeks ago I had to go to a wedding in Oroville. The couple getting married were close relatives and I really wanted to go. Since I couldn't leave the dogs, I had to (you guessed it) get a dog sitter! So, with the permission of the doggie parents, my sitter Suzanne, her husband and their Bernese Mountain Dog, Quini came over to watch the dogs. They did a great job and I'm very grateful! Thanks Suzanne! I can't tell you how relieved I was to know that I could go to the wedding, have a good time and not worry about the dogs!! And that's the feeling I sincerely hope all of you have when you leave your pets with us. The cute picture below is of Lola. She was the couple's dog who was in the wedding and at the reception at the Country Club. Now that's a pampered Pooch! I also want to take this time to thank everyone that voted in the KCRA A-List contest. You helped me make the top 5 list and I deeply appreciate your support!Thanks for Reading! Chris Wagner  |
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The Vet's Corner
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT HEARTWORMS IN CATS
Heartworms are a parasitic worm (about the diameter of thin spaghetti) that normally live free floating in the right ventricle of the heart and nearby blood vessels. The parasites are transmitted from one cat to another by mosquitoes. Previously it was thought that felines were not at a significant risk of getting Heartworm and that preventative treatment was not needed. We are learning this is not necessarily true. The need for pre-exposure preventative medication in cats depends on the incidence of Heartworm in your area. Your local veterinarian is your best source of information.
Heartworm is diagnosed with blood tests, and/or X-rays, along with other tests. In the cat, the presence of Heartworm is difficult to detect with a blood test alone. Preventative medication is often started without testing unless signs of a Heartworm infection are noticed.
Heartworm has been diagnosed in all 50 states and also worldwide. In most areas of the country Heartworm is an important pet health care issue. One worm can cause sudden death or sudden (acute) respiratory signs that are indistinguishable from asthma without a medical work up.
Any area where dogs can get Heartworm, cats can get them as well.
Many cat Heartworm infections are overlooked since feline Heartworm disease does not commonly present with the same symptoms as dogs and the signs and symptoms look and act like other cat diseases.
This edition of The Vet's Corner is presented by Dr. Sweet
Blue Ravine Animal Hospital
www.blueravineanimalhospital.com
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Dry Dog Food
How Does Yours Measure Up?
Chris Wagner
Pet Sitter Extraordinaire!
Owner, Waggys Petsitting
Gone are the days when you only had a couple of choices for dog food - Alpo or Purina. Given all the advances in dog food, do you ever wonder where your dog food stacks up to the best?
The Whole Dog Journal is a very well respected subscription based monthly guide to natural dog care and training. Their mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on effective holistic healthcare methods and successful nonviolent training.
They recently put out a Special Report that identifies the "Best of The Best" and the "Not Recommended" Dry Dog Foods.
Here's the Top Ten in each category. This is not a complete list, so if you don't see your dog's food on the list, want more details, or you would like the phone number for one of the manufacturers, please let me know and I'd be happy to help you. You can find many of "The Best" dog foods at sBarkles in Folsom or at Bark Avenue in El Dorado Hills.
THE BEST NOT RECOMMENDED
Artemis Pet Foods, Fresh Mix, Beneful
Natural 6 Mix Fresh Mix Adult Formula
Azmira Holistic Animal Care Dad's Bite Sized Meal
Lamb Meal and Barley Formula
Bench & Field Pet Foods Diamond Original Formula
Original Formula for Active Adult Dogs
Beowulf Natural Foods, Back to Basics The Goodlife Recipe,
Chicken Formula Beef Formula
Breeder's Choice Pet Foods, Avo-Derm, Gravy Train Dog Food
Pinnacle
Pinnacle Holistic Chicken & Oats Formula
Burns Pet Health HiPro Dog Food
Brown Rice & Chicken Formula
By Nature BrightLife, By Nature Organics, Iams Proactive
By Nature Pet & Animal Feeds. Health Adult Lamb Meal &
BrightLife Canine Formula Rice Formula
Canidae Corp. Kibbles 'n Bits Original All
Life Stages Formula (Savory Chicken &
Beef Flavor)
Canine Caviar Pet Foods Max Adult, Nutro Prod.
Chicken & Pearl Millet Formula
Castor & Pollux Pet Works Organix, Natural Choice Adult Lamb Natural Ultramix & Rice
Organix Adult Formula
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Dog Trainer Spotlight
Amanda Mills
Pawsitive Rewards Dog Training
916-899-8641
pawsitiverewards.amanda@yahoo.com
Who's Walking Who?
Does the thought of walking your dog make you cringe? We all know that taking our dogs on a walk is good for everyone but it's easy to find excuses not to when your dog is pulling, lunging, barking, or being obnoxious. Dogs are like children - they act on impulse and do what they want until we teach them another way to act. There are a few simple things you can do to help your dog learn to walk politely.
First, use the "red light, green light" method. When your dog pulls on the leash you stop (red light) and remain stopped until your dog loosens the leash, once your dog loosens the leash go forward (green light) and continue on with your walk. You may have to repeat this several times in a row when you are first teaching your dog to walk with a loose leash. Over time your dog will learn that in order to get to walk forward it must walk with a loose leash.
The second tool uses what your dog loves most . . . food! Reward your dog for walking politely by saying "good dog" and giving your dog a small treat or a piece of dry dog food. Your dog will learn that walking politely with a loose leash is a wonderful thing to do because it gets food and the behavior will naturally increase. Food can also be a useful tool for distracting your dog and having it focus on you in certain situations. When walking, be on the lookout for triggers that might cause your dog to pull, lunge, or bark (people, dogs, bikes, skateboards, etc). Start feeding your dog food or treats as soon as you see a trigger (try and do so before your dog sees a trigger) and continue to do so until the trigger passes or is no longer in sight. This teaches your dog that the trigger equals food and there is no need to pull, lunge, or bark at it.
Integrate these tools into your walks and they will become something that you and your dog look forward to!
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