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ID Your Dogs and Cats for Safety

Why is it so important to ID your dogs or cats for safety? Having up to date identification on your pet greatly increases the chances of return should your pet escape or get lost.

If your pet escapes your home or yard and is running loose, a neighbor or other person is much more likely to stop to help your pet if they are clearly wearing a collar and tags. 

A collar and ID tag signifies that the pet belongs to someone and isn’t just a stray.ID Your Dogs or Cats for Safety

Having an ID tag with your pet’s name and your phone number makes it easy for the good Samaritan to act quickly without much effort.

Even if your pet is micro chipped, if they don’t have a collar and tags the chances of someone helping are reduced greatly. 

Just think about it. If you saw a dog without a collar and tags running loose, would you take the time to pick it up only to have to take it to a vet or local shelter to be scanned for a microchip??? Highly unlikely for most people.  [Read more…]

10 Tips for Responsible Dog Ownership

Responsible Dog Ownership Top 10 Tips 

When we think about responsible dog ownership we mostly think of providing food, shelter, veterinary care and love. But being a responsible dog owner goes way beyond those minimum requirements. Some questions to ask yourself… How am I providing for my dog’s mental health and well being? How am I and my dog impacting others? The environment? With these and other questions in mind here are my Top 10 tips for responsible dog ownership. [Read more…]

Fido, July 4th Fireworks 6 Simple Safety Tips

More pets go missing July 4th through the 6th because of Fireworks. Sadly, on average only 14% are returned to their owners! Here are 5 Simple safety tips about Fido , July 4th fireworks and Fido July 4th Fireworkshow to minimize the trauma. 

  1. KEEP YOUR PETS INDOORS! Preferably with no access to any exterior doors. If your dog is crate trained, this is a great time to crate them. Place their crate in an interior room, turn on music to help drown out the sounds of fireworks, close blinds to minimize the flashing lights.
  2. BRING OUTDOOR PETS INSIDE! At least into your garage for safety. Dogs can and do jump fences and/or dig out. Even if they never have before, there is higher likelihood of them doing so during fireworks.
  3. DESENSITIZE YOUR DOGS. Prior to these events, work to teach them not to be afraid. You can do so by doing obedience training, using positive reinforcement with food. You can download fireworks sounds from the net, play them very quietly at first while you have your dog do simple tasks such as sit, down and place drills (lots of repetition). Gradually (over time) increase the volume while training. Use high value treats, hot dogs, boiled chicken etc. You can actually teach your dog to like the sound because it has a positive association with food. When you get a new puppy, start right away. This can be a life saving training exercise!
  4. MICROCHIP YOUR PETS! But also make sure they are wearing a collar and have name tags. People are much more likely to approach a dog with a collar on because they know it belongs to someone. Without a collar it looks like a stray. Also the tags make it easy for the good Samaritan to act quickly and easily. These days they have dog collars that you can have your phone number and dog’s name embroidered right on it!
  5. LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME! Don’t bring your dog in the car to fireworks displays. They are likely to escape when you enter and exit your vehicle. Follow tip #1 while you are gone to a fireworks display. 
  6. HIRE A PET SITTER! Many people don’t just go see fireworks. They go to parties that last for hours. While you are away enjoying the festivities, hire a pet sitter to come keep your pets company! This can go a long way to minimize the stress your pets feel. Just knowing someone is there can be hugely helpful.

You love your pets so, follow these simple measures to avoid losing Fido July 4th Fireworks.

 

5 Simple Insights, Microchipping Your Pet, Is It Worth It?

Microchipping Your Pet, Is It Worth It? 5 Simple Insights

Is this your idea of how to find your pet if they are lost?

microchip for dogs in lawrenceville, ga

Considering the fact that pets that HAVE a microchip are more than twice as likely to be returned to their owners when lost than pets that are not.  I say yes.

1. What is a microchip? A microchip is a small (just a bit larger than a grain of rice) indentifying  circuit device that carries a unique identifier which microchip for dogs and catswhen scanned can give the matching pet recovery service (Home Again, Avid just to name a few) so they can be contacted to find out the name of the owner that the chip is registered to. That being said you must keep your registration up to date with current address phone number etc (which you can usually do easily and quickly online). [Read more…]