Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Information about a variety of issues concerning dog ownership

Wonder Dog Training & Pet Services

Miscellaneous, Puppy Parenthood, Wonder Dog Technique

To all of our San Diego regional friends, Wonder Dog Training is excited to announce that we have expanded our services to include: dog walking, leash training, pet sitting (overnight stays, 24-hour stays, day visits), overnight boarding (in one of our boarder’s homes), small group classes, and a variety of unique board and train programs to suit your dog’s needs.

We are also offering an innovative new “Train While Away” program where we come to you, and train your dog while you are at work or away from home. Once a week, we follow up with you to show you what your dog has learned and teach you how to implement your dog’s new training! Does it get any better than that?

We looked far and wide to bring you only the best and most experienced sitters and trainers. Our sitters are pet first-aid certified, have many years of experience, are bonded and insured, and can even provide your dog or cat with medications, injections, and bandage changes if necessary. Our trainers are the best and the brightest. All of them use a dog-friendly approach, are highly experienced, and have worked with all ages, breeds, and behavioral concerns.

Our service area now includes: Carlsbad, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Oceanside, Camp Pendleton, Bonsall, Fallbrook, Temecula, Murrieta, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Leucadia, Cardiff, Del Mar, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, and Mission Beach.

Click here to visit Wonder Dog Training, see our testimonials and learn more!

Summer Road Trips with Fido

Dog-Friendly Travel, Restaurants, and Parks, Miscellaneous, Training Tips

Summer is just around the corner. The kids will soon be out of school, and the wide open road beckons! It’s time to take that long-awaited road trip with the family, which of course includes your favorite furry friend!

Before you go, here are a few important tips to remember.

Safety and Planning Tips:

1) It’s safer for everyone if your dog is securely fastened or confined during car trips. Consider a soft sided, easy to carry, collapsible crate safely secured in the car, or a dog vehicle harness with seat belt attachment or anchor. Harnesses offer the advantage of allowing your dog to move, but not to the point of causing safety issues. Be sure to secure your dog in the backseat. Dogs can be seriously injured if you have an accident and an airbag deploys.

2) Microchip your dog prior to leaving home, and make sure his ID tag info is up-to-date and includes your cell phone number. You may also want to check out the new facial recognition app for locating Fido. With this new app, it’s a cinch to map your dog’s facial features and register him with Finding Rover in case he ever gets lost.

3) You have heard it before, but it bears repeating! Never leave your dog in the car unattended. Temperatures can rise very rapidly in a short time and be life threatening.

4) Locate animal emergency clinics along your route ahead of time. A first aid kit including natural calmatives such as ginger (for soothing an upset tummy) may also come in handy. Dog appeasing pheromone spray can also help ease your dog’s anxiety. Just spray it on a bandana and have your dog wear it during the trip. Studies show that dog appeasing pheromone spray works as well as Clomicalm (the most often prescribed drug for anxiety), but has no side effects!

5) Does your dog love to flap his ears in the breeze? Then it’s a good idea to invest in a pair of eye goggles (or doggles) to protect his eyes against flying dirt and debris. He will thank you and look WAY too cool all at the same time. (Think Snoopy WWI flying Ace).

6) Bring a spill-proof water bowl, plenty of fresh water, and some durable long-lasting chew toys to keep him happily occupied along the way.

Training Tips:

1) Teach your dog to remain calm, and “wait” or” stay” until you are certain he will be safe upon exiting.

2) Train your dog to eliminate on cue in areas other than the backyard. Use a specific cue, like “go hurry” just before your dog eliminates, and then praise and treat to reinforce the behavior. Teaching your dog to eliminate on cue will allow for faster bathroom breaks at rest stops.

3) Teach your dog how to jump up into your vehicle on cue. For large senior dogs or for those that cannot easily get into your vehicle, a folding ramp can be a great help.

4) Socialize your dog well and make sure he is comfortable and happy in a variety of situations before taking him on a long trek. Take him with you on local trips around town, when running errands , or when visiting friends. Frequent trips to the park, beach, and a couple of outdoor dog-friendly restaurants or coffee shops will make things a lot easier on both of you when you have your summer adventure.

Road Trip! 🙂

 

 

Insurance for Your Pet

Miscellaneous

Wait!  Before your eyes glaze over.  Good stuff here!

At one time or another, all pet parents face the decision of how cover Fido’s medical costs.  Vet bills, especially emergency pet hospital visits, can start in the hundreds of dollars and can easily run into the thousands, Yikes!

Pet insurance decisions can be confusing and overwhelming for many.  Fortunately, there are options, but pet parents struggle with questions about the value and coverage of pet insurance.  But wait…

To assist you with answering these questions and more, we found this great website called petinsurancereview.com that has helpful articles like these:

Is Cheap Pet Insurance a Good Idea?

How do I figure out which pet insurance plan is best for my older dog?

Pet Insurance vs. Savings Account

This site will help guide you through the list of available pet insurance choices, and provide you with the answers you need to make a good decision about this very important matter.

Here are some recent reviews from petinsurancereview.com where customers saved a bunch of money:

Liz from Seattle, pet parent of a Rhodesian Ridgeback

“…Pet’s Best seems to pay about 40-50% of the vet bills, much higher than other companies I’m aware of.”

“…the premium has only moved up slightly in eight years, and is now about $200 a year.”

“Some years we’ve only done his $100 annual exam, but it has really paid off during the years when there’s an incident. Over the last eighteen months, … Pet’s Best has paid over $3000 of the bills”

…and

Natalie Murphy from New York, pet parent of a Sphynx cat

“I’ve been with PetPlan since 2008…“

“Since then he’s had two surgeries (mast cell tumors), a two night ER stay (for vomiting and bloody diarrhea) and countless vet visits over the years. Most recently his ER bill alone was over $4300! Thank goodness I got 100% coverage because after $5K in total vet bills this month, literally all I paid out of pocket was the $50 deductible (and of course the annual premium).”

 

🙂 The Good Doggy Bloggy is not affiliated with petinsurance.com or any of the companies listed on their site.

Renting with Your Dog

Miscellaneous

I recently received a panicked call from a client of mine. Her landlord had given her notice that she needed to vacate her home because her dog “looked” too much like a Pitbull. Not sure how to find a new place for herself and her longtime companion, she reached out to me in a state of desperation. What was she going to do? She had been looking for a new place for nearly two weeks with ZERO luck. No landlords or owners were even willing to consider allowing this dog, despite the fact that this dog was clearly a mixed breed, had no history of aggression with other dogs or people, and was quite well-mannered. Things looked bleak and she was in need of some hope.

The first thing I recommended was that she get her dog Canine Good Citizen certified. This is typically a 6-week group class based on several objectives outlined by the AKC. Many landlords/owners, insurers, and condo associations are now accepting dogs that they would not have otherwise allowed as long as they have passed the Canine Good Citizen test.

This class teaches dogs how to demonstrate polite behavior around other dogs and people in a variety of everyday situations. The test provides evidence that the dog has mastered these skills. For more information about CGC Classes, please visit our Canine Good Citizen class description, which is located at the bottom of the page.

As it turns out, my client’s dog did pass the CGC test with flying colors, and she and her dog were allowed to stay!

If you have similar concerns or know of somebody else who does, I highly recommend you check out this article about Renting with Your Dog. It is chock full of excellent advice, tips, and information. You may find it comes in handy if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.