Newsletter

Spring is upon us, and that means spending more time outdoors! If you'll be tending to a garden thing spring season, make sure you are sticking to pet-friendly plants! There are so many different types of plants and garden items that could quickly become dangerous to your pet if ingested, so talk to us if you have any questions about your plants. We've created this guide to help you create a safe outdoor space for your furry friend to enjoy. 

 

Research Plants Before Gardening

There are so many different types of plants that can quickly become dangerous to pets, so make sure you are researching before adding something to your garden. The most common poisonous plants include:

 

- lilies

- sago palm

- tulips

- oleander

- philodendrons

- azaleas

- autumn crocus

- marijuana plants

- yew

- cyclamen

- chrysanthemum

- english ivy

 

These are just some of the most common poisonous plants for pets, but there are many others. The best way to determine if a plant is safe for pets is to research the individual plant type before adding it to your garden. Many vegetables are also poisonous to pets, such as onions, garlic, leek, and chives. Tomato plants and unripe tomatoes can also induce vomiting if ingested due to a substance called tomatine. This substance fades as tomatoes ripen, which is why it is safe for pets to eat fully developed tomatoes. Other safe garden veggies include carrots, beans, peas, celery, and zucchini.

 

Keep Pets Out of Your Garden

Another way you can make sure that your pet does not ingest any potentially harmful plant is to take measures to keep them out of your garden entirely. That could mean adding fencing, potting plants out of reach of animals, or perhaps keeping plants in a greenhouse. Raising your garden beds or using hanging baskets can also keep your pet and plants safe. 

 

Choose the Right Mulch

Some mulch can be poisonous to pets, like cocoa bean mulch. This mulch has a sweet scent that could actually attract a curious nose, but it can be deadly if ingested by your pet. Avoid using this type of mulch, and instead go for something like pine, cedar, or hemlock mulch which is not poisonous. However, still make an effort to keep your pet out of these areas because some mulch can cause internal injuries, like the pine needles in pine mulch. 

 

Fertilizers, Pesticides & Herbicides

Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers all help our gardens thrive, but they are absolutely dangerous for your pet to ingest. If you see a pesticide warning on neighboring lawns, try not to walk your pet in those areas. Make sure you wipe their paws after coming inside from a walk to make sure you remove any traces of pesticides that they may have picked up. It is possible for your pet to lick the chemicals off their paws and get sick, but a quick cleaning can avoid this problem. When putting down fertilizer, keep your pet indoors or far away from the area. Even organic fertilizer and compost is hazardous to pets, so just try to keep your pet away from any fertilizer whenever possible. Things like decaying plants, bones, fish meal, and blood can all smell interesting to your pet, but they can cause a variety of major health emergencies if ingested. Toxins that exist in these spaces can cause poisoning and even death if consumed by your pet, so keep them far away. 

 

This spring, make sure you are gardening with your pet's safety in mind! Call our office if you have any further questions about garden safety tips for your pets. 

The first five reasons for barking are rarely the cause of excessive or annoying barking. They are usually specific to certain situations and are short-lived. The sixth and seventh reasons are those most likely to be considered problem barking, and they are not unrelated. Barking for companionship can turn into barking for reward: The dog barks to get its owner’s attention, the owner comes to the dog to tell it to be quiet, perhaps petting it or playing with it, before going away again. The dog is quiet while the owner is there, but has learned that barking will bring the owner back. Thus the system of barking and reward is established.

 

A solution, again, is to spend more time with your dog and have it near you rather than tied up somewhere separate from you. However, if your dog is separated from you and it begins to bark to get your attention, do not immediately go to the dog. It must learn that barking will not guarantee your presence. By spending more time with the dog at regular intervals not instigated by barking, your dog will feel more assured that it will get sufficient attention from you and will not have as much inclination to bark for companionship.

 

 

Teach Your Dog To Stop Barking By Understanding Prevention Steps

 

How do you teach a barking dog to distinguish between friends and strangers?

The solution is to show the dog that certain individuals like garbage collectors or the mailman are, indeed, friends. To accomplish this, the dog has to be introduced to these people and given an opportunity to get to know them. While this is not always practical, it is nonetheless a potential solution. As you restrain your dog, stop delivery people and have a short conversation with them, letting them meet the dog for a brief period. Repeat and lengthen the process over the next few weeks. Eventually, your dog should accept these individuals and all should be well until your regular mailman is sick and another person takes his place.

 

What do you do with a dog that barks at guests in your house?

One solution is to take the dog to another room and give it something to do. Or, if the guest comes to your home often and you don’t want to have to lock up the dog every time, work to gradually introduce one to the other. Have the guest get on his knees, pet the dog, offer it a treat, and more or less become part of the family. Let your dog establish the speed at which this relationship develops: Don’t force it or your dog may become alarmed by a pushy guest.

 

How do you deal with a dog that barks at the phone?

This is simply a case of a dog that has been rewarded for barking at a ringing phone. When the dog barks, someone eventually answers the phone and it stops ringing. To stop your dog from doing this, have a friend call and let the phone ring until the dog loses interest. Continue over a period of days, and in time, the dog will learn that barking at the phone accomplishes nothing.

 

Finally, what do you do with the dog that barks while you are away from home?

There are several possible solutions. One is to act as if you are leaving, then stand outside the door until the dog barks. When it does, return and scold verbally. Another is to get your dog a companion—but you might end up with two barkers! A third is to use a sound-activated tape recorder. When the dog barks, the sound switch turns on the tape recorder for a minute. The tape plays your voice scolding the dog. Some systems can repeat as many as 45 times while you are away.

 

The best way to reduce your dog’s barking is to pay attention to the reasons for the barking. If you can satisfy the dog’s needs, barking will automatically be reduced. By the same token, learned barking can be extremely persistent. Internal rewards can cause the cycle to go on for years.

 

The best solution to barking is prevention, so be aware of the possibilities and work to stop problem barking before it starts.

The pet business continues to boom with an overall focus of health across the board. Here are the hottest things happening right now and what we can expect in the future.

 

Natural Pet Products

Natural pet products continue to grow in popularity. That’s because most pet owners understand the high levels of toxicity in synthetic products plus there’s more of a concern for the environment.

 

The biggest natural pet products right now are:

• Holistic foods

• Cat litter

• Holistic grooming products

• All-natural flea and tick products

• Natural fiber toys

 

Specialty Pet Services

Pet services continue to grow with the increase in popularity. These aren’t always conveniences, but some things that are needed for the pet to maintain a happy life. The most common right now are:

• Dog training

• Pet sitting

• Holistic and upscale spa services like massage and Reiki

• Pet photography

• Pet behavioral consulting

• Self-serve dog washes

• Yoga

• Pet communicators

 

Other Popular Trends

As pet owners continue to increase their spending, luxuries seem to be topping many of the lists for trending products and services. Some other popular trends occurring now include:

 

Mobile pet grooming – special vehicles arrive at your home to perform grooming services.

 

Pet-friendly travel – hospitality and vacation locations are catering to pet owners and their furry friends.

 

Travel apps – apps that help to connect consumers with places to take their dogs and cats.

 

Pet health insurance – while they’ve been around for some time, popularity is getting larger recently.

 

What to Look for in the Future

As we move forward, you are going to see some more trends emerging. Pet parents are expected to see continued increases in the industry and spend more money shortly. Online shopping sites, like Amazon, have been selling record amounts of pet products and those numbers will continue to increase. Look for more innovative services, concepts, and products to emerge over the next year.

Feel like Grumpy Cat is everywhere these days? It’s not just you.

 

The famously dour feline has had a big few years since her owner posted her on Reddit in 2012. With multiple books, licensed product lines, pet food endorsement deals and even a starring role in a made-for-TV-movie, Grumpy Cat has transformed from the star of a popular YouTube video to a full-fledged brand. From TV to the big stage, Grumpy Cat even had a Broadway debut in Cats in October 2016 for a one night only appearance.

 

Grumpy Cat’s owner won’t say how much the cat has made, but one tabloid pegged the figure at $100 million (a figure the owner denies). And yet, it’s still not enough to make Grumpy Cat smile.

 

 

Grumpy Cat isn’t the only living meme raking in the dough. Boo, the Pomeranian dog, has signed off on licensing deals with companies like Crocs, published three books and secured a spokesdog gig with Virgin America Airlines. Of course, fame has a dark side: like many celebrities before him, he was the subject of a death hoax. Not to worry – Boo is alive and well.

 

Other rich pets include Chris P. Bacon, a pig who was born without the use of his hind legs who has learned to get around on wheel legs built out of toys by his owner; Lil’ Bub, a cat whose underdeveloped jaw gives him a permanent slack-jawed expression; and Tuna, a Chihuahua with an overbite that gives the pup a permanent expression somewhere between a grin and grimace. All three have millions of social media followers, book deals, product lines and endorsement deals that keep them raking in cash hand over paw.

 

Think your pet has what it takes to be the next A-list meme? Only one way to find out – break out the camera and get something cute on YouTube or post on Reddit. The good news for you is that it doesn’t look like the Internet’s love of animals is going away any time soon.