Megan’s Musings: Is Daycare Right For Every Dog?

Your dog does not like daycare. I have had to deliver this news a few times and it is never easy. I always feel proud of my team for taking the dog’s emotional and behavioural well-being so seriously and understanding when daycare is not right for certain dogs. However, the team is often faced with frustration, hurt, and even anger by dog owners when this decision is made. We pride ourselves on our dog-dog programs and our success at integrating dogs back in with their canine...

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Megan’s Musings: Helping Your Other Dogs After A Death

Losing a pet is hard on the whole family. We lost Guinniss in June and saw the effects it had on the remaining pets immediately. Deja and Duke were both lethargic and stayed in bed for hours. For a few days after his passing, neither of them got up to greet us when we came home. Deja stopped eating and they were quiet and withdrawn. It was a big adjustment for everyone and we are still seeing the impact today. In this post, I will share some of the lessons I have learned through...

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Megan’s Musings: Helping Your Dog Cope After an Emergency

Emergencies are stressful for everyone involved. For our pets, they will be confused and potentially scared from all of the activity and stress of their families. They may be left behind, rushed out into new environments or placed somewhere strange on their own. This is hard on everyone and the stress can have an impact on your dog’s emotional and behavioural well-being. Below are some simple ways you can help to ensure you minimize the impact of the stress after an emergency.

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Megan’s Musings: Happy Holidays Safety Tips

When most of us think of the holiday season we think of celebrations, creating happy memories and spending time with those we love. For many, it is a time full of love and joy. However, for our pets, it can be full of dangers and be a time filled with fear and stress. This is because many of the things we do to celebrate the holidays are foreign and new to our pets and can instead cause anxiety and pose potential threats. By following the below tips for each holiday item, you can ensure you...

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Megan’s Musings: Halloween: Less Tricks, More Treats

The world can be scary for our dogs on any given day due to the variety of new situations, people or objects they can run into. Many of our holidays are stressful and potentially scary for dogs, but Halloween is one that can be just as scary for dogs as it is for some people. All of the sudden, dogs are faced with strange things on lawns that may move or make noises, bizarre looking creatures they have never seen before and there is a lot of excitement in the air that can make them nervous....

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Enhance The Bond With Your Dog Through Walks

Don’t we all dream of nice leisurely walks with our dogs? We wish for a special bonding time where they get to sniff and take in the world. And long for time when we get to reflect and enjoy the outdoors. This should be a time that lets us forget about our worries, but too often, a walk with our dog means stress and frustration. With some small effort on our part we can begin to enjoy our walks together and enhance the bond with our dogs; all by taking a simple walk with...

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Cold Weather Enrichment

Enrichment can be defined as the action of improving or enhancing the quality or value of something. For our dogs, this means improving their quality of life through various activities and/or experiences that improve their physical and/or psychological health. This is important for our dogs year-round, but in places where winter weather happens for a good portion of the year, it is critical that we address enrichment needs for our pets when they cannot get outside as often or for as long.

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Megan’s Musings: Bucket Lists For Our Dogs

It started when I noticed him shaking his head and not responding to my voice. I realized he was losing his hearing. And then the walks became harder and I started noticing he was stiff; slow to stand up and quieter in his ways. He was getting old and his time was becoming precious and limited. This amazing dog that was my first dog I got on my own, that had been with me through such a transitional time of my life, that had guided my life, inspired dogma and had taught me so much. I...

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Megan’s Musings: #Brainsnotbreed

Outdated breed specific legislation (BSL) exists throughout Canada. People were outraged when BSL was passed in Montreal in September. In early October it was suspended, however, there is still a risk of the law being passed. Although a law like this targets bully breeds, it is dangerous for all dogs. BSL creates fear of our canine family members, promotes hate and discrimination and ignores expert opinion and facts. Every time we have a knee-jerk reaction and make decisions based in fear, it...

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