We ran a Like-Share-Comment & Book Appointment Contest on Facebook from June 2017 to Aug 25, 2017.  It was very successfull, and we had many entries.  The entries came from new and exsiting customers, and through all avenues.

We would like to CONGRATULATE Joanne Jansen, and her fur baby Lily, as the winners of the basket draw.

Stay tune for any further contests or promotions through our Facebook page, the web site, and other social media.

We Are Expanding!!

We would like to thank everyone for their business, we are very excited to announce that we are in the process of building a additional kennel building. This will enable us to service you......and your pooches.

We are expanding our Kennel facility due to the demand. Our facility currently has 6 indoor/outdoor kennel’s. We are in the building process of a additional building that will have 6 more indoor/outdoor kennel’s, this will give us a total of 12 indoor/outdoor runs.

We hope to have the construction completed on the new building by November 2017. If anyone requires our kennel services please call to make your pooch’s reservation

Dog behavior solutions: Jumping up 

Bydogtime 

Jumping-up is primarily a problem of adolescent and adult dogs. Puppies jump-up, but owners rarely see it as a problem. In fact, many owners unintentionally encourage puppy jumping.

For dogs that jump-up to greet people, a variety of dog training texts recommend the owner: shout at the dog, squirt it in the face with water or lemon juice, swat it on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper, yank on the dog’s leash, hang the dog by its choke-collar, squeeze the dog’s front paws, tread on its hind paws, knee it in the chest or flip it over backwards. Surely, this is all a little excessive for a dog that’s only trying to say hello. Confucius once said, “There is no need to use an axe to remove a fly from the forehead of a friend.” Why not just train your dog to sit or lie down when greeting people?

Why dogs jump up

Dogs jump-up for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, most dogs have been trained to jump-up since puppyhood. When the young pup jumped and pawed, most people patted it on the head and scratched it behind the ear, because they were too lazy to bend down to puppy level. And then one day the dog dutifully jumps-up to greet its owner, who in turn greets the friendly furry with a whop on the bonce or a knee in the chest. The dog’s only crime? It grew!

Pawing, licking and jumping-up are all friendly appeasement gestures – the dog’s way of saying “Welcome home. Pleased to see you. Please accept my presence. Please don’t hurt me – I’m a lowly worm compared with you most honored human!” And so what does the most honored human do? But punish the dog for jumping up! Now, of course, the dog has two reasons to show deference – the initial reason and the fact it must now appease its angry owner. And how does it try to appease the owner? By pawing, licking and jumping-up! This is one of the many paradoxes in training – the more one punishes the dog, the more the behavior increases in frequency. Again, the ‘treatment’ is the cause.

Preventing a jumping problem

Right from the outset, reward-train your puppy to sit-stay when greeting people. Rather than trying to extinguish complicated social behaviors with punishment, it is easier to employ a simple counterconditioning procedure and train your pup to perform an alternative and acceptable greeting behavior – one which is mutually exclusive to the problem behavior, i.e., the puppy cannot sit and jump-up at the same time. If your pup sits and stays, you may praise it both for sitting and for not jumping-up. If your pup jumps-up however, you have yet to train it to sit-stay properly and so, back to step one.

Counterconditioning procedures sound like the symphony of simplicity. And they are – in theory. However, it can be a little more challenging to put theory to practice. For many dogs, the word ‘uncontrollable’ is a kindly euphemism for their behavior when greeting people. Many dogs are so excited and distracted that they fail to acknowledge their owner’s very existence, let alone respond obediently to any request to “Sit.” Counterconditioning is the theoretical answer, but troubleshooting is the practical solution.

Set aside time for training

With extreme behavior problems, it is next to impossible to train a dog during the course of everyday living. For example, it is difficult to train a puppy to sit, when returning home from a heavy, harried, hassled and otherwise quite horrible day at work. Similarly, it is a poor percentage procedure to try and train the dog to sit at the front door when a visitor arrives. When the owner is in a hurry to open the door and pays only marginal attention to the dog, the dog in turn pays less-than-marginal attention to its owner. However, by troubleshooting the problem, you may set aside a convenient and specific time to teach your puppy how it is expected to act when greeting people.

Teach your pup to sit, using a lure/reward training method and proof the pup’s response, especially in the front hallway and on-leash outdoors, i.e., in places where your dog normally greets people. Indoors, the dog may be additionally trained to sit in a specific place, e.g., on a mat in the front hall. With one owner watching the dog in a sit-stay on its mat, another owner may periodically open and close the front door and repeatedly ring the doorbell to get the dog used to distractions specifically associated with a visitor’s arrival. If we are going to expect the dog to sit when greeting people, we must make sure that the dog at least knows how to “Sit-stay” in similar but less distracting circumstances.

Training your dog to greet you politely

Firstly – the difficult part – on returning home, instruct your dog to sit (or lie down) on its mat, and delay greeting the dog until it does so. If good Rover sits, gently praise the dog to excess. If bad Rover does not sit, keep trying until he does so. Do what it takes – take hold of the dog’s collar and keep hold until the dog complies. This is no more difficult than routinely dealing with the dog in everyday distracting situations. Only this time, you shall persevere, and eventually, your dog will sit and be suitably praised for its trouble. Other reprimands and punishments are neither necessary nor advisable. Your dog will soon learn he has to sit before you will deign to say hello. Indeed, as soon as your dog sits, greet it with gentle stroking, calm but profuse praise and a couple of food treats.

Now comes the easy part. Once your dog’s exuberance has waned following the customary exultation of sniffs, licks, wags and wiggles, slip out of the house by the back door, ‘return home’ via the front door once more and request Rover to go to the appropriate place and assume the appropriate position, i.e., to sit on his mat. This time, however, it will be much, much easier to get Rover to sit. Rover is not nearly as excited by your return, because he has only just greeted you seconds beforehand. After greeting your dog for the second time, leave and repeat the procedure a third time, and then once more and so on. Rover’s performance will improve with each repeated re-entry.

With repeated exposures to the same stimulus complex (owner at front door), your dog will become less and less excited and therefore he will become progressively easier to control. It will become easier and easier to get your dog to sit with subsequent repetitions. Using troubleshooting procedures, the initial improvement is dramatic. Once Rover’s performance is impeccable, repeat the departure/arrival sequence another half a dozen or so times in order to leave an utterly indelible impression on your dog’s brain – that you are thoroughly pleased and overjoyed with your dog’s newly learned (newly taught) social etiquette and mannerly greetings.

Troubleshooting is especially important for dogs which are kept outside for any reason. An outdoors dog will generally go bonkers when it comes inside. This, of course, is often a primary reason why the dog was relegated outdoors in the first place. A vicious circle quickly develops. The more the dog is kept outside, the greater its exuberance and the worse its behavior whenever it comes indoors. Eventually, the dog will be kept outdoors permanently. Whether you want the dog to be able to come indoors in a mannerly fashion or whether you want to be able to venture into your own backyard without being blitzed by Bozo, the troubleshooting procedures are similar.

Invite your dog indoors and instruct him to “Settle Down and Shush.” Once the dog has calmed down, instruct him to go “Outside” again. Have the dog come inside and go outside several times in a row. Not only does this procedure improve the dog’s demeanor and deportment on each successive ingress, but also it increases the dog’s eagerness for each successive egress. The dog learns to come inside like a civilized canine, and it learns that having to go outside does not necessarily mean it will be left out in the cold ’till the ends of time. When your dog eventually enters in an impeccable, orderly fashion, let it stay awhile.

For dogs living permanently outdoors, go out to greet the dog several times in a row. The first visit will be a disaster. The second will be merely unpleasant. The third will be pretty good, and on the fourth and subsequent visits, the dog will be well behaved. So if the dog’s so perfect, why not bring him indoors for company, comfort and protection? Yea owner!

Training your dog to jump on request

Some owners feel there are times when it is both appropriate and enjoyable for their dog to greet them by jumping-up. To avoid confusion, always herald these occasions with a suitable request, e.g., “Give us a Hug.” Never allow the dog to jump-up unless on invitation. When returning home, first have the dog greet you in a calm, controlled stay, and then once you have closed the front door or changed into dog-jumping clothes, tell the dog to give you a hug. Thus, the previous problem – joyful jumping – becomes the reward for not jumping-up during the initial greeting.

Training your dog to greet visitors politely

Invite 20 friends over, ostensibly to watch a football game on the television but in reality, for a Rover-training extravaganza. When Patrick arrives, it is possible to direct 110% of your attention towards your dog, because there is no hurry to open the door – it’s a set-up, and anyway, it’s only Patrick! It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get your dog to sit or lie-down. Take encouragement. The first time will be the hardest, and from then on, it will be as easy as teaching a possum to play dead. Once the dog is sitting (or lying) on its mat, instruct Patrick to enter. (The door is closed but unlocked, and so there is no need to divert attention from your dog.) Continually praise your dog all the time it remains sitting on its mat. Pat may offer a hand for your dog to sniff and a food treat for your dog to eat. Tell Pat to go and sit down in the living room, and then, instruct Rover to say hello. Pat may pat the pooch and allow it to perform the requisite nose-scan of all the olfactory goodies that normally reside on visitors’ clothing (the intoxicating smell of Pat’s cute Pyrenees) and on the undersoles of their shoes (the remains of that otherwise mighty mound of Corgi copros, which Pat squished on the corner of Folker and 46th).

Once Rover has settled down and got used to Pat’s presence, Pat should make a surreptitious exit and then ring the doorbell once more. Characteristically, the dog will make a wild and woolly rush to the door with all the uncontrolled exuberance of before, only to calm down a mite when it realizes it is only Pat again. Since the dog is calmer, it is more easily and quickly controlled. Pat enters, gives the dog a treat and then sits down to allow the dog a cursory olfactory investigation. This time your dog will not be quite as intent on nose-vacuuming Pat’s pants and soles but will settle down more quickly. Exit Pat stage right, only to ring the doorbell again. A rapid rush by Rover, but then those familiar footsteps, the rhythm of the ring, the cadence of the clapper, a quick sniff at the bottom of the door, a glimpse of Pat’s ugly mug and the sober realization – “Pat! Are you coming or going?” Since Patrick’s presence is now no more distracting than a spare pair of mukluks, it is easy to control Rover and to get him to sit-stay on the mat. Rover gets it right, and so, Rover gets rewarded. Therefore Rover will be more likely to get it right in the future. Pat should leave and return a few more times for good luck, then settle down to warm up the TV and drink down some cold beers (to empty cans for booby traps). Have Pat perform a total of 10 re-entries during the course of the football game. (Keep the beers on the porch as an incentive for visitors to make repeated trips outdoors.)

Now it is time to call Susan and repeat the entire multiple-entry program. And then with Tammy, and then Stacie, et alia, until the whole crew is assembled to watch the game on the box. Within just a single session of concentrated greeting (some 200 greetings with 20 people in under four hours), Rover will learn how to greet visitors at the front door, and you will learn how to control your dog, such that things will be much easier on Monday morning with real visitors from back East. (Or from out West. It works just as well with visitors from all points of departure.) It may be necessary to occasionally touch-up training in the future. If your dog molests any visitors, just ask them to leave and come back in again.

Training game: Strangers on the street

A similar troubleshooting ploy may be designed to teach your dog how to appropriately greet strangers on the street. Again, it is difficult to train your dog effectively during the course of everyday living, e.g., when rushing to post a letter. Instead, at half-time in the ballgame, supply each of your 20 visitors with treats for the dog and then turf them out on the streets with instructions to space out and walk clockwise around the block. You and your dog can set off in a counter-clockwise direction. When meeting each person, request your dog to sit. If the dog sits, praise the good critter, and maybe offer a treat. Also, the ersatz strangers may praise your dog and gently pet it. If your dog jumps-up, instructively reprimand him – “SIT!” Your dog has a choice: 1) sit and receive praise, pats and treats or 2) jump-up and be reprimanded, yet have to sit anyway, i.e., Hobson’s choice. Your dog will happily elect to sit.

The first lap around the block often resembles a post-touchdown pantomime with the dog trying to high-five (or high-four-forepaw) each person it encounters. However, by only the second or third lap, your dog begins to get the idea how to greet people. By the fourth or fifth lap, the dog is perfect.

Try this exercise with a couple of groups of people. In this fashion, it is possible to practice a hundred or so street encounters within the half-hour. Your dog has been given the opportunity to master the required domestic social graces when meeting strangers, so that when on the way to post a letter, you will have better control when meeting real strangers.

Read more at http://dogtime.com/dog-health/dog-behavior/1510-dog-training-behavior-jumping-up-dunbar#YiKmRhrqZZgCodKC.99

Separation anxiety can show itself through symptoms like excessive salivation, barking, whining, destroying items in the home, scratching at walls, doors and floors, and attempting to escape from the crate, or room.

Dog separation anxiety can be unknowingly encouraged by dog owners. Owners make a big fuss when we leave or come home, this teaches the dog that its a big deal when we leave or come home, causing more stress every time we leave.  When you leave your home, place your puppy in their crate, cover with a sheet if this helps, and don't make a big deal about leaving.  When you return home, again don't make a big fuss about being home, get settled yourself and when the puppy is calm in the crate, that's when you would open the door, and take them outside to do their buisness.

Teaching your dog to be indepentant starts when they are a puppy.  You need to teach the boundaries, and reward good behavior.  Crate training is a very important habit to instill in your puppy.  The crate should be your dog’s safe haven, a place he feels secure and enjoys. It should be big enough for him to stand upright without his head touching the top, and he should be able to turn around and lay down easily.  Covering the crate with a sheet when you leave gives the feeling of a den and your dog may like the crate better this way.

When your puppy wines or cries, don't pick them up and cuddle, as this reinforces this bad habit.  You need to teach your puppy patience and calmness and reward their patience and calmness instead

Spend time training—not just classes once a week—often and consistently.  Being consistant is key.  Everyone in the family need to use the same training techniques in order to be successful.  You should be teaching your dog in small steps to be a respectful of humans and have confidence in himself.

Puppies, are a joy to have, although we need to be sure that your puppy doesn't run the house. 

A Stress-Free Way For Trimming Your Dog’s Toenails

The most common reasons for avoiding nail trims are that the owner is afraid of “quicking” the dog, or that the dog fusses and creates bad feelings around the procedure.

 

Nail cutting becomes an event surrounded by angst and drama. For very active dogs who run all day long on varied surfaces, cutting nails may not be necessary. High mileage wears them down naturally.

 

But among city or suburban dogs who are lucky to get a mile or two walk daily, excessively long toenails are more common than not.

One of the consequence of long toenails is painful feet. When a dog’s toenails contact hard ground, like a sidewalk or your kitchen floor, the hard surface pushes the nail back up into the nail bed. This either puts pressure on all the toe joints or forces the toe to twist to the side.

Either way, those toes become very sore, even arthritic. When the slightest touch is painful to your dog, he will fuss when you pick up his paw to cut nails.

Tools Of The Trade

NAIL CLIPPERS 

• Use only “scissor” type clippers. Guillotine style clippers crush the toe, which is painful. Never put the whole nail in a clipper.
• Use small size clippers for better control. Only giant breed dogs will need large ones.
• Keep your tools sharp: either replace or sharpen your clippers regularly.
• File only the insensitive nail around the top and sides of the quick: “Sharpen the pencil” where the nail is the wood and the quick is the lead.

IF YOU CUT THE QUICK

• Use corn starch to staunch the bleeding if you make a nail leak. With shallow cuts, this will be rare.
• It’s easiest if you use a small container with tightly packed powder.

When you are meeting a dog for the first time you need to be aware of some basic precautions to protect yourself.

1.  Be aware you are the stranger, this dog may want to protect their owner from you.

2.  Expect the unexpected

3.  "NEVER" turn your back on any unfamiliar dog when in your care.

4.  Watch the dogs "body language" when greeting a new dog for any danger signs.

5.  Do not take a strange dog out of the owners arms, have the owner put the dog down, and greet them on the ground.

6.  Always move slowly.

7.  Extend your hand in a clenched position or a fist, if they bite you will keep your fingers.

8.  Don't stare directly into a dog's eye, this tells them you are challenging them.

9.  Set your rules right away with a new dog, speak to the dog in a commanding voice.

Have fun and enjoy meeting new four legged friends, but alway protect yourself..........

I would like to thank everyone over this past year for the support and business, during the start up of Hometown Kennels and Grooming. I appreciate your loyalty to Pete and I, during our this time.

With the small business HST rules, we have been able to avoid having to collect HST up until today.

So effective today we will be adding 13% to our services, for HST.

We look forward to our continued relationship with you and your fur babies.

 

Except for a few states/provinces lucky enough to escape, fleas are a problem for most pets. In some southern and western states, fleas are battled year round. However, for most of the continental United States and Canada, fleas really begin to torment pets in the late summer and fall.

Sensing their demise with the first killing frost, fleas begin seeking a warm body on which to exist. Your pet may become one of their unlucky candidates.

With your peace of mind shattered by your pet’s incessant scratching and biting, you may be tempted to call a professional exterminator. However, armed with the latest flea killing products and an understanding of the flea’s life cycle, you can take care of this problem yourself.

Does my pet have fleas?

If you suspect fleas, roll your pet over and search through the hair slowly on the belly and inner thigh areas. Another favorite spot is the back near the base of the tail.

There are at least 2000 species of fleas. The common pet flea is a tiny, dark, fast moving insect with a shiny hard body. You don’t have to actually see a flea to know it’s on your pet. Black specks, that look like pepper, are proof positive. These specks are flea dirt or feces. Not flea eggs. 

A Flea’s Life.....

Adult fleas lay their eggs in floor, bedding and carpeting. With favourable weather conditions, new fleas break out every ten to fourteen days. Interrupting this cycle is the key.

Fleas begin their lives as a pearl-white oval egg about the size of an adult flea’s head. The egg can take up to a week to hatch into a larva. This stage takes from nine to 200 days. The larva then spins a cocoon in which it rests for seven days to a year.

The flea is a hungry adult when it emerges from the cocoon. This is the time when the flea enjoys the hospitality of your pet.

Flea Dermatitis...

Fleas are not only a nuisance, but can pose a threat to the health of your pet. Fleas can carry tapeworm larvae from an infected animal to another. Untreated, tapeworm infestation sucks the reserves of a healthy animal leaving its prey to numerous diseases.

Allergy to the flea bite is another real problem. When a flea takes its ration of blood, it leaves behind saliva containing itch-causing enzymes and other compounds which causes a hypersensitive reaction in some pets. This reaction exhibits itself by red, sore itchy skin and mild to severe hair loss. 

When will it all end.....

The first killing frost should take care of the problem outside, but those that remain on your pet will probably take up housekeeping quite nicely inside your home. Extermination is a three-fold process. You must treat the pet, the yard and your home to be really successful.

Extermination Program....

Your extermination program should begin with a professional grooming, including a flea shampoo. Be sure to notify your groomer if your pet is on oral systemic flea protection, such as Sentanol. Insecticide intoxication can result with pets taking this prescription medication. Extreme caution must be exercised.

While your pet is with the groomer, spray under the seats and carpeting of your car with a spray insecticide that says it will “kill fleas.” If the spray doesn’t say that, it probably won’t. Fleas are hearty lot and require specific insecticides to deal with them.

Now, you are ready to treat the house. Wash or spray your pet’s bedding and sprinkle some flea powder under the cushions of its bed.

Though not essential, a vacuuming of your home can be very helpful. Eggs and larvae inhabit the dust of vacuum cleaner bags. You will want to remove all vacuum cleaner bags and replace with ones in which you have placed a teaspoon of flea powder, moth balls or flakes. This will continue to kill eggs larva and fleas that are vacuumed.

Spray around each room concentrating on baseboards, cracks and crevices of flooring and under furniture. Spray basements, crawl spaces and closets. Fleas exist in these areas even though your pet is never there.

Keep people and pets out of treated areas for a few hours after spraying. To avoid breathing fumes, treat your living areas before retiring at night, and spray your bedrooms in the morning. You will need to spray your home once every 5 – 7 days for a total of three to four treatments.

About five days after the professional grooming and flea bath procedure, see your vet for a flea prevention product.

Flea powder or spray may be substituted with equal success. Often a combination, or change of products works well. Fleas become resistant to sustained use of the same insecticides. Caution – cats must have specially formulated products.

Long Term Success....

For long term success, you may want to treat your yard with insect control formulas sold in most garden departments.

To get maximum benefit from your efforts, quality products are essential. Your pet care professional is one of your best sources for product information in your area.

Holly stopped into Hometown Kennels and Grooming today for a face trim. This gives Holly a pick me up in between her dog grooming appointments. She is ready to go have a great time with her doggie friends. Give us a call at Hometown Kennels & Grooming to get your pooch a mid groom clean up.

 

Our Indoor/outdoor boarding kennels have solid walls to separate the dogs inside. This enables the dogs to have thier privacy, and allows them to settle down and get some rest during their stay at hometown kennels. We hope to be able to provide boarding kennels services to you and your pets.