Christmas Puppy

In the movies, a new puppy arrives all wrapped up in a colorful box with a bow and when the box is opened that pup wiggles, wags, whines, and licks the new owner's face and everyone lives happily ever after.

Reality is rarely this magical. The puppy you saw and thought was the cutest thing to ever grace the Earth, may not be cute to the person receiving it. You may like Great Danes and your spouse or friend may prefer Chihuahuas. That new pup will need to be walked, fed and watched every instant on Christmas afternoon or there may be wet spots on the rug or new gifts are shredded all over the dining room. This makes the Christmas puppy an unappealing gift at best.

If you get an ugly outfit for Christmas and you hate it, you can always return it or regift it and get something you really wanted. This often happens with puppies too, except they end up at the local shelter in January or they go to "live on a farm" in some mythical country setting. Clothing doesn't care if it goes back on the shelf to get sold again. The unwanted pet probably won't be so lucky.

Children especially do not need a Christmas puppy. Even if your child has been begging for a puppy, most young children have no idea of the commitment required to care for a puppy. The child's eyes will light up when they see the adorable puppy and there will be squeals of happiness, then the next gift will be opened. The puppy will need care and attention, but the new toys make noise and have lights that flicker. The puppy won't get the attention it deserves until the thrill of the other toys has worn off. Even then, most children are not able to handle the responsibility of a pet.

Let the person who is going to care for the new puppy or dog select the one that they really want. Your new best friend may be at the local shelter or in a breed rescue program. For this lifelong commitment to work, there must be a connection between the person and the dog. It is a personal thing. If you are set on a holiday puppy, wait until the gift wrap is gone and the ribbons are put away, then go select your new family member.

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Pet friendly lodge has dog lover's weekends

Your pets are welcome to bring you to Gunflint Lodge. They will enjoy the opportunity to check out all the sights and sounds of the northwoods, and you know they prefer to be with you enjoying the trip rather than being left behind. The lodge has some fairly simple rules, including keeping your dog on a leash when outside, securing them (crates are your friend) if they are left in your cabin unattended, and notifying them about any unintentional damage to the cabin. There's also a special ski trail that's available for you and your dog so you can explore the woods together. There is a $20 per pet per night charge, except during the Dog Lover's Weekend, when dogs stay free!

This winter, the lodge held the October Waggalot event with many experts of various disciplines attending and putting on seminars, talks and demonstrations. January was the Woofda Uffda weekend and included dog massages, a dog photographer, K-9 dog Olympics, dog socials, ski-joring demonstration and more.

The basic dog lover's package includes 3 nights accommodations, all meals, all dog activities including treats, ski and snowshoe rentals and naturalist activities.

To learn more visit Gunflint Lodge  

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Teaching your dog to sit

SIT!
Your goal is to train your dog to SIT within a few seconds of your command. You will be practicing with your dog to SIT – even with some small distractions – for one-minute.

Difficulty: One Paw(Easy)

Supplies: Your dog, Leash, Yummy Treats, Enthusiasm, Patience.

Time Required: 5- to 10-minutes at a time for three to five practice session a day, every day – yes, every day – until your dog understands what SIT is all about.

"SIT" is the easiest command a puppy can learn and is a great first command to teach. In my classes, students are encouraged to use SIT as a default command, which means when the dog doesn’t know what to do in a new situation, SIT is a good response. The default SIT will help your dog be successful in stressful situations for your and him. Even though we talked about SIT being easy for puppies to learn, you can successfully teach dogs of any age.

How To:Preparation: Get your tasty soft treats (cheese, hot dogs, soft dog training treats) that you've cut into bite sized pieces – think no bigger than a pea – ready in your pocket or training pouch. Have your dog on a leash (I like a leather lead.) in front of you.

1.      With your dog in front of you, hold your tasty treat above the dog’s nose, just out of reach.
2.      Move the treat over your dog’s head in a straight line toward the tail. Think of a straight line from nose to tail. If you are doing this correctly, your dog will need to back up or sit to be able to keep his eyes trained on the treat.
3.      Once your dog’s rump hits the floor, praise and treat. Be sure your dog is still sitting when you give the treat so you are rewarding the SIT behavior.
4.      Add your SIT command once the dog starts offering the SIT behavior. Your voice should be businesslike for the command, and happy-go-lucky for praise. “Spot, SIT.” Then SIT happens and you get to praise and treat. Initially, you’ll treat for every sit, just like a Coca-Cola machine. As the dog improves, you will become more like a slot machine with random rewards like every third or fifth sit. Remember to vary your slot machine rewards so your dog doesn’t anticipate.
5.      Repeat the steps throughout the day. I like short sessions doing five sits in a row and doing it three-to-five times throughout the day. Your goal is to have your dog sit quickly and reliably. Once your dog sits reliably, you’ll want to have him sit longer before treats and become a slot machine with treats rather than a Coca-Cola machine.

Consider this:

• Training: Dog sees food (also called a “lure”) and the food encourages the SIT to happen. This is luring. Luring is a great place to start your dog’s training. You’ll want to shift to dog hears SIT (or sees SIT hand signal) and sitting makes the food reward happen. This is the real meaning of rewards in training. 

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The scoop on poop

Top Five Reasons to Clean up Pet Waste
Dealing with pet waste is something all pet owners must do, but few ever really discuss. The majority of pet problems in neighborhoods result from the inappropriate handling of pet waste. Additionally, pet waste is the greatest source of health risk for your family and your pet.

1. Disease Control
There are several very common diseases that can be transmitted to dogs, cats and people through feces. These include giardia, roundworms, salmonella and E-Coli. In addition, your dog can contract and spread parvovirus or coronavirus through infected fecal matter. All of these diseases are very common and very serious and every effort should be made to keep pets and family members away from potentially infected feces.
One of the simplest methods to dispose of feces is the installation of an in-ground stool digester. These digesters work like a septic system, safely breaking down feces and allowing the residue to harmlessly sink into the surrounding soil.

2. Make your Yard more Useable
No one likes to walk through a yard with "landmines" lurking in the grass. If you and your family are afraid to use your yard because of the dog, then you are wasting one of your biggest time and financial investments. Additionally, your pets will get less interactive exercise and suffer as well. "Scooping" off your yard once or twice a day with a shovel or "pooper scooper" will only take a few minutes and it helps make your yard a place where everyone can enjoy spending time.

3. Fly and Pest Control
Flies consume and lay eggs in feces. These same flies then come into your house and spread disease as they pause on your counters and food. That should be gross enough to motivate anyone to clean up after their pets.

4. Be Responsible
It is ultimately your responsibility to clean up after your pet, both outside of your yard, and inside your yard. One of the most annoying things to neighbors is a dog that "goes" in their yard. Pet owners need to clean up after their dogs every time they go to the bathroom. No exceptions, no excuses. If you are walking in the woods and your dog goes, clean it up. If you are in a neighborhood or a park, clean it up. If you live somewhere without a yard, walk your dog and make it your responsibility to pick up after your pets.

5. Poop du Jour
Most of us think this doesn't apply to our dogs, but the shocking truth is that most dogs will engage is stool eating at some point in their life. Dogs started as carnivore scavengers and feces were considered fair game in lean times. To prevent this occasional indiscretion from becoming a life-long habit, clean up feces as soon as possible, especially with a young dog where stool eating is more prevalent. At the first sign of this habit, add an oral product to your dog's food to decrease the palatability of the stools.

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Dog grooming tips

SHAMPOO: Use a shampoo specifically for dogs. The pH of their skin is different than people's and our shampoo can cause dermatitis. If you are in a bind, you can use a mild dish soap like Ivory. It is best to stick with products that are designed for dogs.

CALLOUSES: Some dogs develop callouses on their elbows. Use hemorrhoid cream on them to keep them soft. (Check your labels and keep your dog from licking the cream off.)

NAIL BLEEDING: If you are out of Quik Stop or other styptic powder and sticks, you can use flour, corn starch or softened bar soap to stop the bleeding.

BRUSHING: Brush in the direction the hair grows. Work from a new area into an area that has all ready been brushed. After the entire dog has been brushed you can go over them with a comb. Depending on your dog's coat, several brushings per week will help maintain a healthy coat. If you need breed specific directions on grooming, try the library, contact your local breed club or talk with your local groomer. For mixed breed dogs, you may need to get several books to cover all the breeds represented by your dog.

BATHING: Regular brushing should cut down on your need to bathe your dog. Every time you bathe your dog you are removing the natural oils from their coat and it takes several weeks for the oils to return to the skin and coat after shampooing. Always use shampoo that is developed for dogs as their pH is different than ours. You will want to brush your dog out before bathing. To protect the ears, place a cotton ball in the ears. To protect the eyes from soap, you can smear on some vaseline or eye ointment around the outer rims. Be certain to rinse out all of the shampoo and conditioner when you are finished. You dog can be dried with a hair dryer (make sure the setting isn't too hot) or a specially designed dog blow dryer. In cold weather be sure to wait several hours after bathing before putting your dog outside. There ar some great moisture magnet cloths available to help wick moisture off your dog. Keep some moisture magnet towels available for after swimming too.


EARS: Check ears weekly. Using an ear powder, remove any hair blocking the ear canal. You can use your thumb and index fingers or a tweezers to pull out the excess hairs. When pulling the hair be sure to use quick movements. Use an ear cleaning solution after removing the excess hair. To clean the ears a cotton ball or cotton swab can be used to remove wax and secretions. If you dog is scratching or rubbing his ears or if they smell foul, the ears need some attention. Always check the ears before and after swimming making certain they are dried out after getting out of the water.

EYES: Remove the discharge that gathers in the inner corners of the eyes using a cotton ball soaked in water. There are specially formulated pads to help keep the eyes clean and remove tear staining.

TEETH: Rub teeth with gauze or cheese cloth soaked in a baking soda solution. Specially formulated toothpaste and cleaners are available for dogs too. Along with daily cleaning you can help maintain healthy teeth by providing chew toys and using hard dog foods.

NAILS: If you can hear your dog clicking over your floors, the toenails are too long. Nails that are too long can cause serious problems for your dog. Long nails are uncomfortable, can cause damage to muscles and tendons, can cause serious injury if the nails catch on something and tear off. Nail clippers and grinders are available for maintaining and caring for dog toenails.

CLIPPING: Long coated breeds may need scissoring or clipping to maintain a neat and healthy appearance. Hair between the pads of the feet should be trimmed on all dogs and especially on dogs living where it snows as ice balls can form in the feet and cause problems. Breed specific books, breed clubs and your local groomer can help you learn more about maintaining your longer coated breeds.

DOG GROOMER: Your dog groomer should be an excellent source of information for you. Remember to take your dog in on a regular basis to make the experience better for your pet.

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Paws at Your Door - Mobile Grooming

Paws at Your Door - Mobile Grooming

Credits: Jennifer Anderson/Paws at Your Door Grooming

Have you ever been concerned about dropping your companion off at the groomer, and wondered if there was a simpler approach? There is, and it is called Paws at Your Door mobile grooming. 


They have an amazing, state of the art grooming salon on wheels – which is green too -- and come to your home to and offer a unique personalized service, made to fit you and your pets' needs.

I have been recommending this service to my clients and the all have reported having a very pleasant experience. Some dogs are so excited to see the van pull in they push to be first for the grooming experience.

Owner, Jennifer Anderson, does an amazing job meeting the needs of her clients – both two- and four-legged. I first met Jennifer at a dog show when she was set-up next to us. I was really impressed with her dog skills and her dog’s wonderful behavior.


Anderson makes an effort to keep enhancing her education and has multiple certifications in addition to her knowledge and sensitivity about yours and your companion’s needs. Jennifer is now nationally certified in sporting, non-sporting, and terrier dogs! She has completed in depth testing, the culmination of years of study. Her testing was done through NDGAA, and she is in the 90 percentile for all grades. A few more tests this year and she will be a certified master groomer.


Paws at Your Door regularly serves the south and west metro of the Twin Cities, but will help your pet enjoy their services outside this area for an additional fee. They offer many packages including hydro-massage with organic shampoos, “peticures,” blueberry facials, holiday themes, de-shedding and hand-stripping for terriers.

For more information on Paws at Your Door’s services, check-out their great web site: or give them a call at or you can call Jennifer at: 612.499.0399. You can “friend” them on Facebook too!


You’ll love having the groomer come to your door! All new clients receive $10 off their first service - try them once and you'll agree: Your Pet Never Looked So Good. Tell them Kathleen sent you!

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