Sometimes it appears that a dog licks excessively.  Dogs will lick for a number of reasons.

Licking is primarily a submissive social signal allowing dogs to show deference to dominant "pack members".  Puppies will lick to solicit food from their mothers when they are being weaned and continue to lick to show that they are hungry.  Other dogs lick as a sign of affection or because they like the taste of your skin. 

Licking is usually harmless however if carried to an extreme can be a problem and a sign of stress, boredom or alleries.  Obsessive dogs will sometimes lick their fur off injuring their skin requiring a veterinarian's intervention.

If your dog is licking in excess, a vet visit may be required.

A hot car can kill your pet.  If stuck in traffic with no air conditioning the accumulating heat can be deadly.  In as little as ten minutes a car's interior can rise from 85 F (30 C) to 100 F (38 C) and within half an hour the temperature can soar to 120 F (49 C).  Cracking the window open will not do much to alleviate the temperature increase.  If your animal is stricken with heat you must get its body temperature down gradually by hosing the animal completely over with cool water.  Place the animal in a cool place preferably with air conditioning or in a heavily shaded area.  Place ice around the neck of the animal and get to the veterinarian as quickly as possible.

Lets keep our four legged family members safe from the heat.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 apple chopped or grated

1 egg - beaten

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed

3/8 cup water

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray cookie sheet with vegetable oil.  Dust surface with flour.  Blend flours and cornmeal in large mixing bowl.  Add apple, egg, oil, sugar and water.  Mix until blended.  Roll dough on floured surface to 7/8 inch thickness and cut into desired shape and size.  Bake 35 - 40 minutes then leave in oven for 1 hour.  Makes 2 dozen

It's common for dogs to yank on their leashes when being walked.  A simple solution is to use a "Gentle Leader" that hooks onto a leash.  Instead of wrapping around the dog's neck it's attached with a nylon strap above the muzzle and behind the ears.  Looking somewhate like a muzzle, it doesn't prevent a dog from opening its mouth unless the leash is pulled.  Tugging forces the dog to turn its head back toward you and tugging harder only makes its head turn more sharply so that the dog stops the behavior eventually.  Also try stopping when your dog tugs on the leash and refuse to move until the dog stops.  In time the dog will modify its behavior.

Hope this helps make your leash walks more enjoyable for both you and your dog.

Pete and I would like to thank you for being such loyal and consistent customer’s to Hometown Kennels & Grooming over the last 2 years. Your satisfaction is very important to us, and we hope we have been successful in providing you and your dogs with excellent care and customer service.

For the last two years, we have charged the same daily boarding and day care rates to care for your four legged family members, even with many facility improvements. As much as we would like to maintain these rates for another year, we find that we must increase the rates in order to enhance the quality care for your pets, by continuing to make improvements to our facilities.

Effective June 1, 2018, our new daily boarding rates will be $19.00/day/dog, and our day care rates will be $17.00/day/dog. If two dogs from the same family share a kennel then the rates will be $32.30/day/ 2 dogs, and our day care rates will be $28.90/day/2 dogs. Grooming fees will remain the same, and are based on your dogs size, temperament, and coat condition. All rates are subject to HST.

This price increase will allows us to continue to care for your dogs with the quality you’ve come to expect, and still keep your costs reasonable. We anticipate no additional rate adjustments for the next full year.

We hope you feel this is still a great value, and we appreciate your patronage. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at 519-536-0954, or [email protected]

 

1 jar baby food dinner, vegetables and beef, strained

1 cup rice

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 whole egg

1 package unflavored gelatin

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup powdered milk

1 package of yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 beef bouillon cube

Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.  Add yeast, egg, oil, baby food and disolved beef bouillon.  Knead and form a ball.  Roll out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut 2 inch circles. 

Bake on un-greased cookie sheet 30 minutes at 300 degrees.

Refrigerate

If your dog is a shorthair breed think about getting a warm coat or sweater with a high collar.  Look for a garment that covers the dog from the base of the tail to the top of the animal to the belly to cover underneath.

Never shave your dog down to the skin in the winter.  Longer hair in the winter reqires more frequent brushing due to dry winter air and static electricity and when you bath your dog make sure that the animal is completely dry before taking it outside.

Puppies especially do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs so in cold weather take them outside only long enough so they can relieve themselves.

Dogs suffer from separation anxiety for many reasons however much of it is caused by boredom. 

It could be separation anxiety if your dog chews on things that smell of you and only chews on these when you're gone; if your dog pees or defecates while you're gone; the dog barks continuously during the day and shows these behaviors when left alone even for short periods. 

To deal with this problem make departures and arrivals low key' interact with your dog on your terms not his, give our dog more exercise, hide chew treats around the house to give the dog something to do and consider confining your dog to a smaller place and leaving the radio on.

Hometown Kennels would like to let everyone know, the kennels and grooming will be closed from Jan 12/18 to Jan 20/18.  We will be having a week away for some family time and R & R.

We wouldl like to thank everyone for their business, and look forward to seeing everyone soon.

From our house to yours have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Is your dog suffering from itches?

Any dog irrespective of the breed or size may have itchy woes. Skin conditions are the foremost reason people bring their dogs in for veterinary care.

In this blog post, we explore how to help your itchy dog with the much-needed healing relief.

Why is your dog itching?

The first thing to remember here is that – Itching is a symptom, not a disease!

There are hundreds of recognized skin disorders in the dogs. Your dog may have any of the underlying conditions that are causing him to scratch himself. Having said that it is always advisable to seek an expert opinion from the vet since it could also be something far from lethal like cancerous skin tumors

1. Allergy – One of the major cause of itching in dogs can be allergy due to parasites (fleas or ticks), environmental allergens (such as pollens, grasses or plants), chemicals used to cleanse homes) or food allergies caused due to some new foods or treats.

2. Skin infections – Like humans, dogs too can suffer from eczema or Fungal irritants like ringworm.

3. Hot spot – Is your dog constantly trying to lick or scratch his skin? This red inflamed skin lesion or acute moist dermatitis is commonly called a hot spot. Consult your vet for antibiotics or a medical recovery collar to prevent your dog from trying to lick or scratch it.

4. Diet – An unbalanced diet may cause dry flaky patches in your dog’s skin.

5. Climatic changes – A lack of moisture in the air can lead to dry skin and repetitive scratching.

How to help your itchy dog?

 1. Access to clean drinking water – Whether you are a dog or a human, water helps wash away impurities from the system. Ensure that your pet has access to drinking water all through the day.

2. Coconut oil has strong antiviral and antibacterial properties. Not only it can reduce yeast and fungus on contact but it also has a healing effect on irritated skin, hot spots, abrasions, and cracked paws.

3. Bathing – Normally dogs need a bath once every three months. If you bathe your dog too often it could rob his skin of vital natural oils and may cause itching.

An oatmeal bath can also provide some much-needed relief to your itching dog.

4. Neem oil – Like coconut oil, Neem too has powerful antibacterial properties. You may massage a diluted mixture of neem oil into your dog’s skin irritations to help reduce the itch and keep the fleas and ticks away. You may also use Erina EP shampoo that has the goodness of neem.

5. Vitamin E – Great for the skin, Vitamin E can help your dog’s skin regenerate. Break a Vitamin E capsule and place it directly on your dog’s skin. Gently rub the oil into the affected area and leave to fully absorb.

6. Yogurt – If your dog has a yeast infection, try mixing yogurt to his diet. This will aid his digestive system and keep the yeast infections away.

7. Apple cider vinegar – An excellent home remedy for your dog’s itchy skin, it can soothe your dog’s skin and fight off any bacteria that could be causing the itch.

Mix equal parts of water and apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle. Shake gently to combine and spray directly onto your dog’s affected areas.

8. Baking Soda –Prepare a thick paste by using a 50/50 mix of baking soda and water. Apply to affected areas of your dog’s skin, leave for 20 minutes, and then rinse off.

9. Brush your dog every day – this helps control and eliminate itchy and irritated skin.

We recommend once again that in case the problem doesn’t clear up in a couple of days or the condition looks intense, please consider seeing a veterinarian.