Rainy Days: Indoor Activities for You and Your Dog

Playing Tug of War With Your Dog

 

 

 

Many dogs love to play tug of war - it is a healthy display of their predatory nature. There has been some debate over tug of war and dogs. Some feel the game causes aggressive behavior and dominance. However, the tug of war is actually mental and physical exercise for your dog. It is also a great way to reinforce the human-canine bond. The most important thing to remember is that there are rules that should be followed to keep the game from going overboard.

1. Before you begin playing tug of war with your dog, you should teach a release command, like drop it. This will help you stop the game if necessary.
2. Choose a dog toy that is designed for tugging. The toy should be durable and flexible. The best tug toys are typically made out of rubber or a similar material and have a comfortable handle that keeps your hand away from the dog's mouth. Here are two good choices:
3. Kong Tug
   Orbee-Tuff Tug
4. Play in a large area without distractions, clutter or dangerous objects. Outdoors is great, but the beauty of tug of war is that it can be safely played indoors if you have a bit of space. Make sure there is room for you both to move about and that there is nothing in the way should one of you back up.
5. While playing tug of war, your dog might get excited and begin growling. This is normal, as the game itself is predatory behavior. However, it is important to keep your dog from becoming overly excited. A low mild growl with tail still wagging is probably okay, but anything more warrants a break. Or, if you are in doubt an any point, take a break.
6. To take a break, stop tugging and use the release command. Take 30 seconds or so to go through basic commands like sit and down. Once your dog seems more relaxed, the game may resume.
7. If your dog's teeth come into contact with you at any point, play should stop immediately. Let out a yelp, say "drop it," then take the toy and walk away for 30 seconds. If your dog seems relatively calm, you can go through the break with commands, then begin the game again. If your dog makes the same mistake two or three times, tug of war should be ended for the day. This is just to remind your dog to be extra careful with her teeth. It is likely that teeth might graze you from time to time due to the nature of the game, but once your dog understands the rules, she will be much more careful.
8. While playing tug of war, it is okay to let your dog win! This builds her confidence and rewards her. However, if she misbehaves, you should be the one who ends up with the toy.
9. Two dogs can play tug of war with one another - if they get along on a normal basis. The game should be supervised and the same rules apply. This will help keep it from getting out of hand.

Playing tug of war with your dog can be a quite rewarding experience. It is mentally and physically stimulating for your dog, and pretty good exercise for you, too. Have fun and be safe!

Tweet Tweet Test

Grace Avila (@northcountypet) has shared a Tweet with you: "NorthCountyPet: Another day, another dog! We love our extended family!" --http://twitter.com/NorthCountyPet/status/90864489221718016

Yes, my friends we have finally upped our social network status to Twitter! Our feed runs live on our website, as well as being posted on facebook directly! Pretty cool. We could have it run live here on blogger, but I figured that would be pushing the envelope! We have something to say every 10 minutes! I don't want to drive my fans away, we in fact want to gain more!

As we try to keep Twitter fun and factual, or with uplifting news, we still need more followers on all our sites! Give us the good word, and we'll keep the prizes flowing! At least that's our new incentive! If we can get 500 fans on our FB page, we'll be giving away a $100 dollar gift certificate to one lucky person! As added bonus to make it more challenging, we figured throwing an incentive such as "see how many people you can refer" into the mix would sincerely boost our numbers! It has given us a few more fans, but not likely the numbers we were hoping for, so as another instrument of competition, we have given the contest a deadline!
August 5th at midnight is when we'll end the contest, in hope by then we will have fulfilled our goal of 500 loyal followers. If you rather follow us on Twitter, same contest rules, same incentive, but I figured facebook would be much easier since it already has roughly 250 fans!

Give a shout out, whether or not you really want to know more about our fabulous arganization, or just like the concept, hit 'LIKE' and make it simple for everyone! Peace. Love. and Paws!

Leadership Skills 101, even a Pet Sitter knows business!

I thought after having dealing with some recent events of my own, these tips could help future business owners deal with the struggles of everyday life. It's ineviteable that mistakes will happen, you will often be faced with making quick executive decisions, and later be faced with unexpected consequences. We are only human. Take it in stride, one day at a time, and never give up!
Effective leadership is what determines whether a business achieves, struggles or falls by the wayside. There are reams of articles, books, and audios available. For me, there are at least 8 qualities that successful leaders have.

1. Responsibility
The best leaders take responsibility for making things happen. We all know just how easy it is to blame external factors and we probably all have done this at some time. You know the scenario. If only accounts, purchasing, sales and marketing, customer services, etc would do this everything would be okay. We might even blame the economy, the weather or even the competition. If you want to excel as a leader take responsibility for making things happen.

2. Integrity
Your success depends on others following. People will only follow if they believe they can rely on you to demonstrate high standards, be open, honest and truthful with them. They also expect consistency. When you are consistent (no matter what your leadership style is) people know what to expect.

3. Decision takers
We all have fears and doubts when it comes to taking decisions. Will it be the right one, what happens if it goes wrong, how will I look or be perceived by others? These are just a few of the questions and dilemmas faced or going through their head. What sets successful leaders apart is their willingness to face fears and take decisions rather than procrastinate. They know that they will get their fair share of decisions wrong and will learn from them.

4. Deal with facts
Realism is essential if you are to be a successful leader. Realism is about facing up to whatever is going on, rather than expending energy wishing it was different. When faced with decisions, the best leaders will focus on the facts to determine what is realistic. Imagine you are faced with a poorly performing organisation. You might wish it could be fixed next month or next week, but the reality might be that it will take months and maybe years.

5. Vision and inspiration
The most successful leaders have the ability not just to create a vision but to communicate it in an inspiring way. They see the big picture and inspire others to work together to make it happen.

6. Optimism
There are some who are naturally pessimistic, while others are naturally optimistic. Successful leaders are part of the second group. They know that they cannot control every eventuality but they can control how they respond. They focus on solutions, not problems.

7. Resilient
No matter what you set out to as a leader, there will be set backs, disappointments and failures along the way. The most successful leaders are extremely resilient and when things do not work out as they hoped, they bounce back.

8. Excellence
Excellence in what they do is one of the defining qualities of successful leaders. They have a mindset of continuous improvement. They look for better, smarter ways of doing things. They are continual learners.

While leaders have numerous qualities, making a start on these 8 can get you off to a flying start.

Back to the Basics! Q&A about choosing your sitter!

First off, we would like to express a big sincere "Thank You" to all of our loyal clients that have helped make North County Pet Pawsitive Watch so successful over the last few months! We thrive on the unconditional love your pets have shown us, and we'll continue to grow with your families, as well as our community for many years to come! We are honored you have chosen us to be your professional pet care provider!

As a new client in search of a pet sitter, you can expect overwhelming responses, and a lot to consider before choosing whom might be best for your needs! Generally speaking, you must consider your precious pet's best interest. Ask yourself questions about his/her behavior, reactions to strangers coming in or around the house, and how long he/she can be left alone. Stress levels are very important to think about, and ultimatley can lead to depression, bad behavior, poor habits, and eating disorders in a short period of time.

At NCP, we understand the changes in diet and behavior, and that is why we specialize at in-home care for your pets! Not having to hassle with crates and car drives, or boarding facilities that keep them in kennels or small rooms without the freedom they deserve. Not to mention, your companion may come home with an unforseen illness due to a high stress environment. We do our best in keeping them comfortable and happy at home! However, before choosing just any pet sitter, there are necessary steps, and things to consider:
  -  Most places need to set up a meeting to meet before hand. It's importnat that your pet gets the opportunity to check us out too! As much as we all claim to love animals, some pets may not love us back! For this reason, you may end up having to interview a few people before making the correct decision. This is also the time for you to ask questions, show us around, and let us help you in any way we can.
  -  Also, schedules are apart of our daily life, so make sure your pet sitters are available at the times you request! If your pet is on a schedule for feeding and potty breaks, the sitter needs to be flexible and able to complete the job without conflict. NCP treats your pet as if they are one of our own, and we never cheat our clients the time they deserve! In fact, more often than not, we extend our stays at no extra charge! We love our job!
  -  Planned trips and advanced notice is always ideal, but only in a perfect world! If you have an emergency, or last minute request, the Pawsitive Watch Team is always on-call and available! Life happens, and so we understand the last minute stress this may cause, and so we are as flexible as you can get! Others may require a minimum of 24-hour notice, and that can be an inconvenience. Make sure your sitters are readily available and reliable!
  -  Lastly, before making the important decision of who gets to hang out in your house, and play with your pets, is trust! Look for testimonials, recommendations, and references on websites, and/or ask for verifications through email or at the initial meet and greet. You have to have a good sense of intuition to know whom you can trust before handing over the keys to your home. We are confident at NCP that you will find us to have the highest standards in trust and integrity. And we also boast animal information that will put us above and beyond what you are looking for! Having the knowledge of animal behavior, reading signs of illness/injury, and offering our advice in basic obedience and other training, gives us recognition over others!

Our services are designed with you and your pet in mind! We are open to comments and suggestions, and value the input of our clients to help serve you, and our community better!
From the staff, and pooches here at North County Pet, we say thanks for stopping by and visiting, and we look forward to hearing from you and your pet soon!

Pawsitive Watch Team
(760) 533-6944www.northcountypet.com

Another day, another dog! (and ultimately, another dollar)!

NCP is proud to announce that we an finally be found on the google search engine! And not just our website, but full description of services, hours, contact info, and most important a map of where are located and the areas we serve!! It's a very exciting day! This week alone we obtained 3 new clients, one of which found us using google! We hope our ratings will help keep NCP at the top of the list and w're eager to grow within our community!

Many hours have been spent over the last several months since returning home from Miami, networking on facebook, linking our blog to our web pages, setting up with multiple search engines, and updating our website! Finally, it has all come together, and we  feel very blessed to be doing a job we love in San Diego County! Over the next few months as we continue to grow, we hope the future of NCP allows us to support more rescue groups by donation, and start doing fundraisers at local events around town! This last week alone we have attended the soft opening of the new SPCA - San Diego Humane Society North Campus as a business guest and it was fabulous! Wine and cheese tastings, viewing of the facility with a few pets already up for adoption and mixing and mingling with Oceanside's finest, like the Mayor who personally greeted us with a kiss! The Chamber of Commerce was also represented by some fine folks who asked for a few of our business cards, and got some insight of the charity events coming up where we can solicit our business and help it grow!!! I would like to thank everyone that participated at the SPCA teaser, and we look forward to seeing you again!

With much anticipation of the vacation season ahead, we have already begun to fill our calendar with jobs! Ultimately this means another day, another dog, and another dollar! Business will be boming and we can continue to offer great services at affordable prices! And we are happy to have a staff ready and waiting! The Pawsitive Watch Team has some fresh, and friendly faces happy to help our future clients with their needs! Give us a call, or shoot us an email today! We look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks everyone!