Nobody likes when their dog is feeling sick, so when tummy troubles arise, I want them to stop as soon as possible!
Petunia had some unexpected tummy troubles yesterday, she was having liquid diarrhea every 10 minutes, she was drooling and puking. I was concerned about my girl, but she was acting completely normal otherwise. She was running around like the little psychopath she is, wanting me to throw her Frisbee, bringing me her ball. She had been with me all day and I knew with certainty that she didn’t get into anything or eat anything out of the norm for her. If she were lethargic, not drinking and refusing food, I would have rushed her to the vet. It’s always best to consult your vet if you are unsure, and know where the nearest emergency vet is.
Luckily I was fairly sure the heat was just getting to her despite having access to water, she plays hard and doesn’t handle heat well. So a quick hose down, a drink of water and laying in the shade was step 1 for this girl since we weren’t home at the time. I knew what she needed when we got home though, our delicious upset belly blend!
I’m not promising it will work for your dog, or that it will work this quickly. As soon as she ate it she didn’t get sick again for the rest of the night (I thought for sure i’d be up all night with her) and this morning her stool was almost completely normal. I made enough to feed her last night, this morning and this evening, then she should be good to go back to her normal food!
Disclaimer: This is not a balanced diet or something that can replace their food long term. This is a short term solution to fix some belly issues, make them feel better quickly, or to supplement their normal diet for chronic issues.
Ingredients:
Cooked white rice
Boiled unseasoned chicken
Canned pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
Slippery elm tea (It comes in powder form and we mix 1 tsp with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.)
Take 1 cup of cooked white rice and 1 boiled chicken breast. Shred the chicken and mix it in with the rice. Next add 3-4 tbsp of pumpkin, and 9-10 tbsp of slippery elm tea.
This batch is about 3 meals for Petunia. She’s 40-45 lbs, if you have a larger or smaller dog feed accordingly!
Leave a comment below to let us know how this recipe works for your pup!
Do you want your dog to be able to have freedom to exercise and play off leash?! We’ll tell you how!
This is the single most important command that you will ever teach your dog.
This is a life saving command, and you need it to be reliable! For pet dogs, one recall command is absolutely fine, Petunia and Myrtle being future sport dogs have many recall commands.
Before we get started I’ll explain all of their recalls and why we use more than one.
Come- We use “come” only during training, this means “immediately come here and sit directly in front of me, nice and straight and look up”. We use this for Rally obedience, and if we decide someday to put our dogs in obedience, it’ll be used for that as well.
Here- We use “here” often, this means “come here and touch my hand with your nose”, this is perfect as a check in, they don’t need to stay long, they don’t need to sit, just quick contact with us and they can go play again.
Let’s go- We use “let’s go” during off leash walks, this just means come in my general direction but no need to come all the way.
Come!
Here!
Let’s go!
We have also taught them to come check in naturally when off leash, they are expected to check in with us often, we fed them for their automatic check ins every single time until they were about 8 months old, and now being 10 months (Myrtle) and 13 months (Petunia) we still feed them about 50% of the time for checking in, the other 50% we praise them for checking in but don’t feed. Once they are older it’s important to continue rewarding them for their automatic check ins, but not nearly as often! This is how you create a perfect off leash dog!
There are many techniques to teach a recall, and we recommend using more than one! We’ve used so many techniques to teach a solid recall, it keeps it fun and exciting for the dog. We’ll explain 2 of our favourite ways down below. Teaching the recall should be the most fun your dog ever has, you want to know that your dog is going to come every single time you call. You need to learn to be more exciting than anything else to your dog, this will keep your dog interested.
Method #1
It will take so much practice to get your dog reliable off leash, but it is worth it! Start by having your dog on a leash, say “come” and back up a few steps as you lure them with a treat, as they catch up to you lift the treat up to your belly and they should naturally sit; Then say “yes” and feed. Repeat this about 1000 times, and they’ll come running and sit in front of you when you say “come”. They’ll get it after a few tries, but this is something that you can never practice enough! Eventually you can have them on a long line and wait for them to get distracted and say “come” and they should come running and sit in front of you. If they won’t get distracted (this is awesome if your dog is this attentive ) simply throw some treats away to get them to leave, then call them back to you after they are finished eating the treats!
Method #2
Another great method works best with toys, but if your dog is not toy motivated, it can also be done with treats. You’ll need 2 people for this one, a long line, and a toy on a string.
So get your helper to hold the dog on a long line but by the collar so they can’t get far, you’ll take the toy and tease the dog with it a little bit, make them really want that toy! Then you’ll leave and stop about half the length of the long line, turn to look at your dog and say “come” or whatever word you’d like to use and get your helper to release the dog, once they start coming drop the toy (while holding onto the string) and run away while dragging the toy and get the dog to catch the toy.
If you’re using treats simply tease them with the treat, then go then call them, run away then reward with the treat when they catch you.
IMPORTANT
The most important thing about teaching a good recall is, never let your dog off leash fully until they are reliably coming back every single time. Keep your dog on a long line so you can grab them if needed. Taking them off the long line too early can cause them to make the wrong decision and not come when called. If they learn to do that, it’ll set you back in your training and they can start playing “catch me if you can”. The goal is to never let it get to that point, but if that’s where you and your dog already are, then the above methods with the long line can help fix your recall as well!
Step 1: With your dog in a lay down place your hand near your dog’s chin and lure your dog’s chin into your head. Once your dog is touching your hand with their chin say “yes” and feed. Repeat until your dog seems to understand.
Step 2: Once your dog sees your hand and anticipates putting their head in it, you can add the word. You can use any word or phrase you’d like, but I just say “head down”. Now say “head down” and show your hand, once the put their head down, reward.
Step 3: Once they get it with your hand, start trying it with something else like a stuffy or pillow. Place them in a down with the stuffy or pillow between their front legs and say “head down” and point to the ground. As soon as they place their head down, reward!
Step 4: Remove both the stuffy or pillow and your hand now and just say “head down” and point to the ground. They should now put their head down between their front paws on the ground. As soon as their head touching the ground, reward!
Step 5: Now you’ll start fading the pointing to the ground. Say “head down”, wait a few seconds and if needed point to the ground. Once they put their head down with verbal only, and don’t need to help, they know “head down”!
You can now start practicing in different locations and putting their head on different objects. Once they will do it anywhere, we consider it a finished trick!
Comment and let us know what tricks you’d like tutorials for!
Does your dog get easily distracted on outings? Do you want your dog to be EXTRA motivated during training? Do you want to make your dog an extra special yummy treat?! If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you need to check out this super simple, healthy, yummy recipe!
Ingredients:
2 cans (6 ounces) of tuna (do not drain)
1 1/2 cups of flour (we used plain white this time, but you can also use whole wheat, coconut flour, almond flour etc)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
Coconut oil for greasing the pan
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add all your ingredients to a large bowl and mix together until smooth. The consistency should be slightly softer than cookie dough.
Once mixed grease a large pan with coconut oil and add your mixture to the greased pan.
Smooth it out and place in the oven for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cut into cubes or use a cookie cutter to cut shapes, and break the extra pieces into training treats.
We doubled the recipe as we have 7 dogs, and do a lot of training, but a single batch is probably fine for single pup homes. Keep in the refrigerator for up to a week or if you make too many put the extras in the freezer! Like anything, feed in moderation, especially if your pup isn’t used to new food or treats.
Here in New Brunswick we are currently experiencing a heatwave! This brings lots of questions on how exactly to keep your pup cool during the summer months. There are tons of ways to keep your pup cool, but there’s no doubt about it that swimming in the water is the best way to quickly cool your dog down and keep them cool. So let’s get started!
Things you’ll need!
High value treats
Water toys
Small plastic pool
Water (duh!)
Petunia at 9 weeks, playing with her favourite water toy!
Some dogs are naturally more drawn to the water, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t teach your pup to love the water. I’m not claiming that this will work for every single dog, but in the majority of cases you’ll have a water loving dog in no time with a little patience and training.
Start by determining whether your dog is motivated more by food or toys, and use whichever your puppy prefers. It’s best for this to use both treats and toys eventually but start with your dogs favourite.
Treat method
If your puppy really loves food, kibble may be just fine, but we choose to get the good stuff out when teaching new things! Some favourites in our household are dehydrated liver, chopped hot dogs, cubed cheese, but whatever your dog likes will work!
Start by just walking your puppy around the pool to see their reaction, don’t put any pressure on them and whatever you do, don’t force them into the pool. Forcing them in, too quickly will often have the opposite effect and you’ll end up with a puppy that is scared of the water.
This will go one of two ways, either your puppy will go right in the pool, or they’ll go around it. If they go right in, perfect, you have a confident puppy, reward them heavily with treats and tell them how amazing they are, and repeat! Most puppies will go around the pool though, and that’s fine too.
If you have the second kind of puppy, start by taking a treat and luring them into the pool. It may take a few tries but if you reward them for the littlest try, they’ll catch on quickly. Some puppies will do much better if you walk right in with them, and some don’t need it. Some puppies need to be rewarded for going near the pool and never stepping foot inside (yet!), and some can be rewarded for putting one paw in, and some will jump right in after the treat. Move through the steps as slowly as you need to for your puppy, but once your puppy is confidently going in the water for a treat or when you point (I use the command “go in the water”) then you can move on to the next steps! Hopefully your puppy will also start going into the pool for fun to cool down without being asked!
Toy method
First grab your puppy’s favourite water toy and get them all excited playing with it away from the pool. Once they are really into it, bring them near the water and see what they do if you throw it in the water.
Note: Your dog should already be toy motivated and know how to fetch and tug, etc.
If they go fetch it out of the pool, throw them a party and play with their toy away from the pool again. Repeat a bunch of times and eventually they should love fetching it out of the water and it will definitly cool them down and tire them out. If they really don’t want to go in, i’ve had good sucess with tying the toy to their flirt pole and getting them to chase it into the pool.
To increase difficulty you can then move onto toys they don’t love quite as much, get them to “leave it” for a minute before fetching or move into larger bodies of water such as the beach or river.
Working with toys they don’t love as much is a great way to practice building their toy drive. You’ll have to get very active and excited until they get excited about the toy too. Basically don’t give up until they start playing with the new toy, just like their favourite. This is also a great activity to do with all toys, not just their water toys! Switch out their toys often to keep it interesting.
Getting them to “leave it” requires them to know what “leave it” means. So if they don’t know yet, go back and teach them before doing this step. Even if they know leave it well, you’ll want a leash for this part. Put a leash on your puppy, then say “leave it” and throw the toy into the pool. If they go to get it, pop the leash lightly and say”no”, keeping in mind that you don’t want to discourage them. Once they leave it and look at you, say “okay” and release the puppy. Holding them back like this will make them NEED to get the toy even more, which will build confidence, drive and enthusiasm in the water.
To start at the beach or river you’ll have to check out our next post!
Happy swimming! Comment and let us know how your puppy does, we are happy to answer any questions you may have!
Start by melting your coconut oil in the microwave until it’s liquid, and pour until the mold or tray is about 1/3 full. Place ice cube trays with coconut oil in the freezer until solid (5-10 minutes). Next add the pumpkin until the cube is 2/3 filled. Then with the remaining 1/3 add plain yogurt. Lastly take a small treat, we use dehydrated chicken for this and place it in the middle. The order you place the ingredients really doesn’t matter!
Freeze overnight then in the morning your pups will have a delicious and nutritious treat! Play around with the amounts of everything you’ll need, depending on how many trays you’re making! Once frozen they can be bagged or put in a container and kept in the freezer. Silicone trays can have the treats popped right out quickly, if you used a plastic tray, simply allow to thaw for 5-10 minutes then they should slide right out. These are perfect for hot summer days to cool your pup down after playing outside!
Pumpkin
Pumpkin is super nutritious and beneficial for your dog, and most dogs absolutely love it. It’s one of our favourite things to feed! You can find pure canned pumpkin at most grocery stores. Make sure you get the “pure pumpkin” because the pumpkin pie filling has too much sugar!
Plain Yogurt
Plain yogurt has many benefits for your canine companion, and we’ve never met a dog that didn’t like it! It is good for tummy troubles and perfect if your dog happens to be on antibiotics due to all the good bacteria in plain yogurt.
Coconut oil
Pure organic virgin coconut oil is also great for your dogs! It may not be the “cure all” that many people claim; but it has some great health benefits, especially for your dog’s coat and breath. We get ours in bulk from Costco, its the most cost effective.
Dehydrated Chicken
Everyone knows that dogs need meat, dehydrated chicken is the perfect thing to add to any meal, any treat and is even more perfect for training. Dogs are obsessed and more likely to try harder if you have a delicious treat, not to mention it’s choc full of vitamins and minerals that your pooches need!
Thanks for reading, we can’t wait to hear how your dogs like these. Comment below and let us know!
We use frozen Kong’s a lot in our household, it’s a perfect way to keep your pup busy in their crate while you’re gone, entertain them while you’re working from home or even to cool them down on a hot day! We’ll most likely start sharing new Kong recipes weekly as we test them out! Your dog will LOVE this one if they love peanut butter and bananas!
You’ll need:
Natural peanut butter
Coconut oil
Ripe bananas
A bowl
A fork to mash and stir together
A butter knife (we find this is one of the easiest ways to fill the Kong)
A Kong of appropriate size for your dog
We took 2 bananas and mashed them up, then added 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter and 1/2 cup of softened coconut oil. Mix it all together and now you have a delicious treat for your dog! This will fill quite a few Kong’s dependent on the size of your dog, we have a variety of large, medium and small Kong’s for our pack. Once filled we place in the freezer for a couple hours or until we are ready to feed!
It’s important to note that our dogs eat different food and treats daily so their stomachs are strong and used to every treat. If your dog is used to only eating their kibble you should introduce new treats slowly and in moderation to avoid an upset tummy!
Nacho testing the new recipe for us, I think he liked it!
Petunia happily napping in her crate during an agility seminar at 15 weeks, dogs barking and whining but she has always been super comfortable in her crate, using these techniques!
Crate training is the number one most important thing to teach your puppy. The benefits are endless and it’s a skill that will be used so many times in your dog’s life, even if you choose to let your dog roam free in the house once they’re older.
Benefits of crate training
Potty training made easy! Dogs will naturally avoid using the bathroom close to where they sleep, so with a properly sized crate you can easily teach them to hold it.
Keeps your puppy out of trouble when you can’t supervise or when you leave the house. They can’t counter surf, chew things, potty in the house, or bark out the window if they’re crated. Therefore they are far less likely to learn some bad habits that are totally avoidable!
Their crate gives them a safe “den” to hangout in whenever they feel like it. Dogs are den animals, if you teach them to love and enjoy their crate when they’re young, don’t be surprised if they hangout in there randomly when you’re home as well. We always keep the crate doors open in case they want to go relax in there.
If your dog gets hurt and need to go to the vet or simply need “kennel rest” to heal, they’ll be far less stressed out than a dog that isn’t used to the crate.
If you go away on vacation or unexpectedly have to leave your dog for any period of time, you’ll need a place for your dog to stay. They’ll be well adjusted enough to stay anywhere; Whether they stay at a dog kennel , or even if you have an in-home type dog sitter, your dog sitter will definitely appreciate a crate trained dog. It keep them safe while your dog sitter is away from them and makes their job much easier. If you send your dog to a groomer or a doggy daycare to play, they may need to wait in a crate for a few minutes or a couple hours, a crate trained dog is happy to do so, while one that isn’t used to the crate will be stressed out and possibly even hurt themselves attempting to break out.
Creating a good “off switch”. Have you met a dog that runs around constantly whether inside or outside, they just can’t relax? That would be a dog that hasn’t been taught to relax. Some dogs are natural born couch potatoes, but most dogs need some help learning to relax in the house. A crate teaches them that it’s okay to relax and chill even when we’re around as a puppy. Once they can relax well in the crate, you can slowly start teaching your puppy to relax in a playpen, on a leash with you, and eventually how to relax free in the house.
When eating something messy like a raw bone, or filled Kong toy it saves your house from needing to be cleaned when they’re finished. It much easier to sanitize a crate than it is to sanitize your couch, rug or whole house.
Choosing the right crate
Firstly a crate that is the correct size is important. For a puppy you can either start with a smaller crate and buy a larger one when they outgrow it or you can buy a crate with a divider so that you can section off the crate to make it the correct size. It should be just big enough to stand up and turn around comfortably. If it’s too big your puppy could get into the habit of using the bathroom in the crate away from their sleeping area, and if it’s too small your puppy will be uncomfortable and cramped. Once your puppy is full grown and well trained you can upgrade the crate to be bigger if you want to give them more space during the day, but for training purposes a properly sized crate is important. Wire crates or plastic crates work well for most dogs, stronger metal crates are also available for stronger breeds. While fabric crates are best used for trials, dog shows and shorter term crating.
The crate should be a safe and happy place for your puppy, so start by putting some of their favourite things in the crate. Favourite toys, safe chews, and a blanket that smells like you are all a good start. Once you have a comfy crate, you can start teaching your puppy to go to their crate on command.
Training the “go to your crate” command
Start by saying your command (“kennel” “crate” “go to bed” are all good ones.) then immediately throw a treat into the crate. Your puppy should follow the treat and go to their crate. Once you practice a bunch of times they should start going to their crate before you throw the treat.
Once they have that down pat, you can start keeping them in there for longer. To start this next step, send them to their crate then throw multiple treats into the crate one by one for a few seconds. Slowly start increasing the time in between treats, and when they’re finished eating the treats, quickly release them from their crate. To keep them in there even longer you can send them to their crate, throw some treats then give them a frozen Kong treat and monitor them when they eat it, then release them. You can build on this with duration and eventually start closing the door.
The next step would be teaching them not to bust out of their crate until verbally released. When releasing them open the door, and they will try to leave the crate, quickly shut the door, then open again. Repeat until you open the door and they stay put, then say “okay” and allow them/ call them out. They will catch on quickly, usually within 1 -2 days, and you’ll be thankful that they no longer bust out of their crate. Impulse control is something you can never work too much on! With an adult dog that always busts out, it will take longer to teach them, but they will eventually catch on as well!
Another super easy way to teach them to love their crate is always feeding them in their crate; Simple yet so effective at teaching them that their crates is their happy place!
Crate training puppies: Important tips
Myrtle at 9 weeks
It is extremely important when crate training to never let your puppy out of the crate when they aren’t calm. If you let your puppy out when they are whining, barking or scratching at the bars, you’re teaching them that all you have to do is be loud and struggle and you’ll let you out. Puppies cry and bark, they are babies so it is natural. The first few nights they will most definitely cry at first, but if you never let them out while they’re crying they will learn super quickly. It is however super important that you understand that when they cry at 3 am, after sleeping peacefully all night, that they do in fact need to potty and you should listen to them.
Placing the crate beside your bed when they are young makes them feel comfortable and not alone. When Petunia would start crying, I’d stick my hand through the crate so she could feel that I was there, without taking her out. When she calmed down and fell asleep I’d take my hands out. Remember that until you bring them home, they are used to being with their litter mates and momma 24/7, it is a big adjustment for puppies.
When letting them out in the middle of the night it is equally important that you never play with them or feed them during their potty break. Middle of the night pee breaks should be all business, out to potty then directly back in their crate. Puppies learn very quickly that if they wake you up in the middle of the night and you play with them or feed them, they will wake you up earlier and earlier because it’s fun to get out and play. This is the same reason that we never feed them first thing in the morning, wait a little while after waking up to feed them, otherwise they’ll wake you up at the break of dawn every morning for breakfast, and nobody wants that! We feed them at a random time every morning so that they never get upset if breakfast is off schedule.
Never leave them in their crate too long, 4 hours is typically the maximum amount of time a baby puppy (8-16 weeks) can handle before going outside, and that includes overnight! Some puppies, like Petunia mature quickly and start sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, and others take much longer before they stop waking up in the middle of the night. Adults can usually make it 8 hours or even longer, but it’s not fair to them to force them to wait that long everyday without a potty break, unless you exercise them vigorously before and after work. A dog sitter letting them out for a potty break mid day is always a great option as well.
Always exercise your puppy and let them potty before crating them. If your puppy has already used the bathroom, you know for certain that if they cry they don’t need to go out and you can ignore their crying. A tired puppy is a happy puppy, and it makes crate training a much better experience. Even my full grown, well trained adult dogs get lots of exercise before crating them, it’s super important!
Give them a filled Kong toy when you kennel them to calm them and keep them occupied during their time in the crate.
Most dogs are obsessed with the taste of pumpkin so you don’t need to try to convince your furry friend to eat it, in fact they’ll be begging you for more! You can freeze pumpkin in ice cube trays for a frozen snack, put some pumpkin in a Kong toy, add it to their food or simply give them some by the spoonful! Most grocery stores sell pure canned pumpkin. Just make sure you get the “pure pumpkin” as the pumpkin pie filling has too much added sugar. We always have a can or two in our pantry in case one of our dogs has an upset tummy or in case we want to spontaneously make some treats!
Digestive health
Whether your dog is having constipation or diarrhea, a tbsp of pumpkin added to their food will help solve their problems.
Weight management
Is your dog a little on the hefty side? Pumpkin is full of fiber to help keep your dog full without adding too many calories. Simply replace a portion of your dog’s food with pumpkin, there’s a good chance it’ll help them lose some weight!
Immune boosting
Pumpkin is full of antioxidants and vitamins needed to boost your dogs immune system. Kennel cough season is just around the corner, so why not give your dog’s immune system a little extra boost!
Healthy skin and coat
The moisture, vitamins and minerals in pumpkin is perfect for their skin and coat. They’re skin will be softer and less likely to have dandruff, and their coat will shine more than ever.
Pumpkin is delicious
Last but not least, pumpkin is delicious; even the pickiest dogs tend to love pumpkin. Using the delicious taste of pumpkin you can help picky dogs eat their kibble, or even to help hide a pill if your dog requires medication.
Slippery elm is a must have in our house, we never let ourselves run out, and here’s why!
Treats Diarrhea
Slippery elm is our go-to for any type of stomach upset for our dogs. In our experience it can stop diarrhea in 1-2 doses. We will also give this on days where we may be feeding them some extra treats or snacks. We always give them a dose or two of slippery elm for doggy birthday parties, it keeps them regular and prevents diarrhea!
Treats Constipation
Slippery elm is also perfect for constipation, this “magic” herb works both ways!
Soothes sore throats and coughs
Kennel cough is so common, especially if your dog is a social butterfly like our puppies. We’ve had our dogs catch kennel cough multiple times despite our best efforts; slippery elm tea is perfect to soothe their throats and stop their coughs. If your dog socializes with other dogs, goes to pet stores, grooming shops, doggy daycare or dog parks there is always a risk of kennel cough. If your dog catches it, keep them home, make them some slippery elm tea and let them rest!
Immune system
Slippery elm has vitamins and minerals and it has been known to help boost the immune system. It definitely doesn’t hurt to try it!
Topical use
Slippery elm can also be mixed with a bit of water to make a paste. This paste can be used topically on cuts, scrapes, abscesses and hot spots to promote fast healing. The perfect thing about using it topically, is it’s completely edible therefore safe to lick so you don’t need to worry about your dog ingesting it!
Where to buy and how to feed
We buy our slippery elm powder from Totally Raw (click here), as directed we mix 1 tsp of powder with 1 cup of cold water (we typically double or triple the recipe since we have a large pack) then whisk and bring to a boil. Allow to cool then add the proper dosage to their meal and either refrigerate (good for up to a week) or freeze in an ice cube tray! Our ice cube tray holds 1 1/2 tbsp of tea per cube, which is the perfect dose for our little dogs.
We feed our small dogs 1 1/2 tbsp 1-2 times a day as needed. Our Aussie’s get 2 ice cubes (3 tbsp) 1-2 times a day as needed, and Mable, our Doberman gets 4-5 tbsp 1-2 times a day. Read the package and start out with the recommended dose but then you can play around with the amounts slightly to see what works for your dog!
When we first got Mable she had the worst stool quality; It was constantly runny. She was otherwise happy, active and eating well. With the right food and supplements, her stool is almost always solid now and slippery elm has played a huge part in that, we recommend it to everyone!
