March Newsletter - Coming Soon...
PET PALS PAWPRINTS FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
Delta Professional Dog Trainers Association will hold its 2010 Quality Assurance Seminar for its dog instructors
next 6th & 7th March 2010. It'll be a great opportunity for professional development and Adriana Milne from
Pet Pals will attend the occasion. I am looking forward a great level of debate, study and discussion time.
Adriana Milne is the APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers Australia - state of Victoria representative for 2010. I have many activities planned for the year ahead and I'd like to get together and to listen the opinions of as many Vic. dog trainers as possible so we can have discussion groups, promote educational opportunities for APDT Vic. trainers and to approach relevant topics to our industry.
DOG HEALTH
OVERWEIGHT & OBESE DOGS
It has become a major problem due to:
Some causes:
-
too many food treats and fat in diet
-
food available at all times
-
owners not having enough time to exercise their dogs due to busy lifestyles
-
lack of information
Related Health Problems in overweight dogs:
-
too many stress in the joints
-
dogs at higher risk of suffering diabetes & heart disease
-
dogs with arthritis - dog mobility would be affected
Simple steps to follow:
-
advice from your vet
-
start a proper diet & exercise program for your pet
-
watch amount of food dog eats: max. 2 meals a day
-
remove or decrease treats to a minimum
-
add more fibre to your dog's diet and lower calorie density
-
remove fatty food
-
no food scraps from the table
-
increase his fitness levels:
- help of a family member
- use of a dog walking service or a dog day care
- introduce more play and games for your dog
- some off leash time at dog parks if possible
+ exercise, a + settled pet
Less nuisance behaviour such as :
-
barking 
-
digging up the backyard
You'll have a much happier pet !
MORE HOT WEATHER AHEAD... HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR DOG
February is still a very hot month so here we have few tips on how to cool down your dog this summer:
- Ice cubes or an ice pack inside dog's water bowl
- Keep 2 or 3 water bowls in different spots of the backyard as sun direction might change during the day
leaving 1 water bowl in full sun
- A little pool for your dog - with some shallow water like those 'clam shells' from kids toy shop - 'Toys R us'
- A cooling pet bed
- To fill in Kongs with semi moist food, vegemite, peanut butter and freeze it, leave it out when you are
about to leave home or put it out during the hot days
- Walk your dog early in the morning if possible or later in the day
- Hose it down a bit after the walk to cool down
- Take it to the beach or local river more often (on appropriate times and places)
- Wait to feed it a bit later after exercise, give it time to cool down first
- On extreme hot days keep your dog indoors and if possible on tiled areas
- If your dog is overheated and isn't behaving like its normal self, take it to the vet
DOGGIE SOCIAL
E- mail the photo of your dog having fun with another dog(s) or pet to us or on an outing with you and family.
Each month I'll choose 3 photos for this newsletter section.
But I want good clean fun times. It can be anywhere - at your home, at the beach, doggie park, dog day care, at the farm, street cafe.
Tell us what the occasion was and the dog(s) or pet(s) names.
The chosen photos of the month will receive a gift of choice from 3 different items - 1 gift per person.
Pet Pals e-mail: petpals@iprimus.com.au
