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

Posts Tagged ‘dog grooming’

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!

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!