Elite Pet Care- Seattle Dog Walker 206-777-5327

Archive for July, 2010

Walking your dog is crucial to its health. Sometimes walking your dog around the block isn’t enough. Sometimes walking your dog for an hour isn’t enough. You know the types, those that will play fetch til they keel over, those that are always looking for a toy to play with. There are some dogs that need more then a walk around the block to tire them out physically and mentally.

Keeping up on your dogs walking routine will also help with your dog training. A tired balanced dog is a well behaved dog! So whether you hire a Seattle dog walker, or do it yourself, make sure your dog is walked daily!

For those crunched on time, one way that I have found to tire dogs out faster is with a dog back pack. These are packs that the dogs carry, great idea, I know! The packs give the dog a “job” and make it feel important.  When you put water bottles in the sides, it also adds weight, making the dogs work a little bit harder on their walks/hikes, thus tiring them out faster. This is great because while the dogs have crazy energy, we as their dog walkers don’t!

Note the walking collar as well as the back pack.

Dog walking gear is sold at pet supply stores. Or online. Shop around for prices as they seem to vary from store to store.
I use the Outward Hound pack for my large dog clients, this website has amazing prices:
http://www.myoutwardhound.com/backpacks-for-dogs-dog-backpacks.html
And I recently bought a small outward hound dog pack from Bark! in Ballard,
http://www.barknaturalpet.com/

There are dog booties if you are going on rocky trails, icy or hot pavement:
http://www.ruffwear.com/Barkn-Boots-Grip-Trex?sc=2&category=7853

And always make sure you bring a light snack for them for energy and plenty of water.
Elite Pet Care offers 3 hour dog excursions and will back pack your dog upon request.

Happy trails!

As a professional dog walker in Seattle, I often am asked the question “what dog food should I feed”
Well the answer is easy. Natures Variety, Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Solid Gold or other all natural filler free foods.

The  pet food industry is a million dollar industry and there are some companies out there that dont care about your pet. As a pet care professional that works closely with your pets, I do care.

So I am going to give you tips on feeding your dogs!

Don’t buy something cuz the commercial said to, do it because you are a smart consumer and know what is good for your dog.

There are dog food companies that are small and focus on dog food.  You don’t hear about them on TV because they take that money and put it into the food, not their advertising budget.
They care about QUALITY. They rely on word of mouth to help spread the news. These companies are Natures variety, Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Solid Gold, etc.

Do not buy dog food that you can buy in a normal grocery store.
Do not buy food you can buy at Target or Walmart.

Look at the ingredients, pick food with NO cheap filler like corn, wheat and soy
No byproducts. No cancerous preservatives like BHT/BHA and ethoxyquin
I feed Natures variety. I feed the kibble, canned and raw! Its amazing food.
Its built for rotation so I can feed salmon kibble, then when that runs out..beef.

Read the labels, do not fall for gimmicks.  Your dogs health depends on it! And your dog has to eat what you feed, so your dogs really depend on you!

Keep an eye on your dogs treats too!

In Seattle there are a ton of pet supply stores that sell great food.

I really likeand recommend:

Bark!: http://www.barknaturalpet.com/

and

Petapoluza: http://www.petapoluza.com/

Seattle is a city where dogs are definitely a part of the family.
As a Seattle dog walker, I drive around and it makes me so happy to see owners driving with their dogs,
eating on the patio at a restaurant with them, etc

When you have a long day at work or need to go out of town, what do you do with your best friend.

Let your pets stay in the comfort and safety of their own home! Pet sitters are a great alternative to boarding and doggy daycare.

Pet sitters are like an extended family member that is always there for your pet siting questions and needs.

Pet sitters keep in touch with you via text messages, emails and picture messages. They leave care notes about
their visits with your pet. Each dog gets one on one attention and love. They arent just a number like they are in a kennel.

Pet sitters customize visits to each pet/owners needs. The dogs are exercised according to their needs, not just thrown in a room and left to do whatever they would like.
(Potty inside is 1 bad habit learned at kennels and doggy daycare).

Some pet sitters are also dog traners so they can work on dog training with your dogs while they are taking care of them.

What to look for in a pet sitter. If you have found my website, you already found a great one!
If I do not service your area, you can google pet sitter and “your zipcode”

Pet sitters should be experts at pet care and should not only be able to watch your pets, but they
should be able to give you tips on toys and food. Tell you what vets, groomers, etc are great.
You will be able to tell a pet sitter that loves their job, is respectable, responsible, etc at your free consultation.
Make sure your pet sitter is insured, bonded, has references, has experience, etc.
The relationship you have with your petsitter is a long lasting one, enjoy it!

Being a dog owner is one of the joys in life! They provide us with some love and companionship and  we do the best we can for them.
But sometimes the things our pets need dont fall into the time frames that we can do them.
Its a fact of life that sometimes our pets need pet care when we are busy.

Say the only time the vet can see the dog is 2 p.m. on a weds.
Well most people work at that time and cant get in. Or  they have a lunch break, but not a long enough lunch break to get the pup, go to vet and sit and wait, then take pup home and go  back to work.
Or Fido needs a professional groom and you dont have 3 hours to wait around for the process to be finished. Or you can drop him off, but cant get off work to go get him.

Or you drop your dog off at boarding and you get home on a saturday night AFTER they boarding place closes. And they are closed on Saturday. And you work Monday.  One great pet service is pet taxi! You can call a pet taxi to pick your dog up from boarding on that Saturday before they close.  The pet taxi will then drive your pup home where you will be happily greeted! So not only will you save a trip to the boarding place, you will save money from extra boarding costs.

Its easy to find a pet taxi, just contact your local Seattle pet sitter. You will meet the pet sitter and fill out
paperwork about your pet. You give them a spare key that they keep in a safe and when you need services, you call and set it up!

Your Seattle pet sitter will provide an abundance of helpful things to make your life as a pet owner easier! yay:)

Jade going to the vet

One of the most common bad behaviors that I see when I am on my pet sitting rounds is door charging.
Dogs that try to get out of the door when ever it is open is dangerous and rude! Alphas always go through a door first
so it is important that you teach your dog to only go through when you say so.
This training is easy! This blog will just focus on dogs that are going to go for a walk.
Your dog is probably going to get to the door before you like Roxie pictured below.  She wants to go and she wants to lead.  No can do Roxie!   (ps she actually knows better and i had to make her misbehave to get this example picture)

Reel her back and stand in between her and the door. If needed back up the dog so she isnt crowding the door. Have confidence and be the leader. Your dog just needs you to tell her what to do. They dont know how to act unless you tell them!

Have your dog sit and stay.Face her and open the door with your free hand.
If she moves a muscle say  “eghttt” deep and stern and take a step forward and make her sit again.
With the door open, keep your dog in a sit and stay. If needed, put your free hand up in the universal “stay” sign.
Give the leash some slack and walk backwards out the door, keeping an eye on the dog and keeping her
in a sit. If she budges, repeat the process of “egth. sit.stay”

You can have your dog sit like this as long as you like. Sometimes I go in a second. Sometimes I make the dogs sit for a minute. This gets them to respect me as a leader and learn that they follow me. We  go when the alpha wants to go… we make the rules. Being PACK LEADER rules!!! And our dogs need and respect the structure and discipline!

Once you are out of the door, you can lighten your voice and give a playful”ok!” and encourage the dog outside.
Once outside, have the dog sit and stay while you close the door and lock up.

Enjoy your walk!

Seattle is a beautiful place to walk your dog! As a professional dog walker in Seattle, I have seen some owners having a hard time walking their dogs. Whether its being pulled down the street by their pooches to not picking up dog poop.

Here are a few tips to make your dog walking experience, and everyone around you too, enjoyable.
First step is to find a collar that works best for your dog while you are walking. This collar should be different then
their normal nylon collar that they wear all the time with their microchip tag, ID tag and county license on it.

Since I have over 10 years of walking dog experience, I have found that the best collars to walk dogs are the martingale(nylon with chain little loop) and the gentle leader/Halti.

Many people use choke chains incorrectly which hurts the dogs throat. If used properly(right behind their ears) Choke chains are perfectly fine and harmless. Think show dog.
If you have a dog that likes to chase things, walk then in a heel so you have complete cotrol over them. Do not allow them to lunge at other dogs. If you need to distract them ,bring treats with you when you see another dog, dont tense up, but be confident. Have your dog sit and look at you.
Put the treat to their mouth and have them mouth it, getting little pieces of it. Do not give them the entire thing
it to them until the  other dog passes. Then give them the rest of the treat.

Always remember to bring bags to pick up dog poop. There are bag specifically made for this or you can use your
old grocery store bags. Even if you dont have a bag, ask a fellow dog owner to borrow one. Worst case scenario, dig a hole and bury the poop or fling it into the bushes. Yes these are things that I have done in the past.  Not picking up poop is against the law and can get you a hefty fine. And it is gross and can spread disease.

Check with your local rescue groups on where to get a low cost microchip.
Dogs are required by law to have a license so if you are in King County you can get your dog licensed at, http://payments.kingcounty.gov/Safety/Animalservices/PetLicenses/FAQ.aspx

If you live in Seattle, http://www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/licenses.htm

For great low cost id tags visit, http://www.simplytags.com/

One aspect of being a dog owner is keeping fido clean and groomed. As we know some breeds require more grooming then others, but for the most part,every dog needs to be brushed at least once a week. Dogs with long or fluffy coats should be brushed every day! I volunteer with dog rescues and we get so many matted dogs that its alarming. The matts pull at their skin and are painful. Some get moist and then harbour bacteria resulting in a skin infection.
The best thing for matted dogs is to shave them. Do not give your matted dog a bath yourself as water worsens mays and like i said can harbour bacteria. Take them to a professional dog groomer.

Bathing once or twice a month is enough for most breeds, some can go months without a bath! Dog have essential oils on their skin so it is best to not over bathe them. If you have a dirty dog, spot cleaning with a clean towel usually does the trick. You can bath them in the tub or outside with the hose!

Some things to keep in mid when you do give your dog a bath: make sure you thouroughly rinse the soap off of the
dog; avoid water in the ears, you can put cotton balls in during the bath and keep soap away from eyes.
Dogs like Pugs and English Bulldogs have skin folds, make sure you clean those out and dry them completely.

Many people put off clipping their dogs nails because dogs dont really like having this done. Or they are afraid to hit the quick in the nail,which is painful for the dog.

If your dog has white nails, you can see the quick and avoid it. If your dog has black toe nails, you will not be able to see it. It is really important to keep their nails trim, so if you cant do it, take them to a professional dog groomer.

Seattle dog groomers that I like are Pet Daddy in Green Lake, http://www.petdaddy.com Pet Daddy has professional groomers on staff and you can also do a self wash with their supplies.

Petapoluza in Fremont also has self wash stations. http://www.petapoluza.com/

If your dog sheds a lot..look at the type of food it eats… corn/wheat and soy are bad for the coat. Corn especially. Get corn out of the diet and your dogs skin will be healthier, coat shinier and less shedding!

Are you looking for a dog walker in Seattle? If you said yes then you have come to the right place. Dog walking is a crucial pet service to ensure the health and happiness of your dog.
I have been walking dogs professionally for over 10 years. I have walked the sweet simple dogs
that are on retractable leashes and walk fine. I have also walked a 220 lb bear head rottie that wants to eat cars as they
pass. I can walk one dog at a time, or 5.

Through the years of dog walking I have come up with a tried and true dog walking method.
I can walk(and teach you how to walk) your dogs with ease. For dogs that need to walk for mental and physical exercise, I walk them
in a brisk heel. I hike them on 3 hr excursions through our beautiful Seattle parks. They will learn how to walk nice and b tired and well behaved for you when you get home!

Dog walkers are great for busy dog owners that are stuck at work all day. Mid day hikes are a perfect break during the day.
For instuctions on how to walk your dog in a perfect heels, stayed tuned for my blog about P.A.W.S.

And look for my upcoming blog about the importance of daily dog walks.