Pet Resort Blog, Paws Resort Prior Lake, MN

Whether a pet resort such as Paws & Pals or a pet sitter, make sure you know who is caring for your family member. Here are a series of questions to ask when interviewing a potential pet care provider. Are there quite a few questions? You bet! But better to have asked too many rather than too few when it comes to your pet’s safety and well-being. As a charter and leading member of the International Boarding and Pet Services Association (IBPSA), we’re committed to providing pet parents conscientious care, dealing with you honestly and fairly, to continuously learn more and improve our services, and operate our business honorably.

What Questions Should You Ask When Choosing a Pet Care Provider?

• Is the pet care services provider a member of a professional trade association like IBPSA? How long has the provider been in business?
• If the provider is “away care”, that is a service not in your home such as a pet boarding or day care facility, pet salon, or a pet sitter’s own home, have you toured the premises to see if it is clean, sanitary, and secure?
• What types of cleaning products does the provider use and are they pet safe?
• If the provider is a pet care boarding or daycare facility, are there security fences around the boarding area?
• Does the provider have a fire safety or abatement program? And, if so, how often is it checked?
• If the provider is “away care” are the premises climate controlled with air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter?
• What type of animal care education and training does the provider and, if applicable, the provider’s staff receive?
• What is the provider-to-pet ratio?  For example, how many pets will a pet sitter be caring for at one time or how many pets per employee does a boarding or daycare facility staff for?
• If “away care”, does your dog have its own run or suite, or will your pet be housed in a crate?
• If housed in a crate, how frequently are the dogs let out for exercise and elimination?
• Will your dog be with other dogs not related to your pet, and how much contact will there be with other dogs?
• If dogs will be with other dogs, does your provider temperament test the dogs being put together?
• Does the provider separate dogs being put together such as in daycare into groups by size, age, and temperament?
• If you are not supplying food, what type of food will your pet receive?
• What if your pet requires medication while with the provider, how will those be administered?
• What other services does the provider offer?
• Can your pets go for a private walk, play Frisbee or ball, and get a bath?
• If your dog requires grooming, what options does the provider offer?
• Does the provider have a dedicated grooming area for the pets to reduce stress during the process?

We hope you find these questions helpful. We encourage you to take your time and do your research before selecting a care provider for your beloved 4-legged family member. We’re available and happy to help you with learning what options are available in our area based on the specific needs and likes of your pet!

Clues to Winter Blues

Learn signs and tips for helping alleviate your pet’s winter blues

With fall drawing to a close, many of us are looking at the approach of cold, inclement weather, earlier nightfall and limited outdoor time. Regardless of where we live, the busier schedules of work and school, holidays and other commitments often leave us with less time to spend at home and outdoors, and less time to spend with our pets.

The sudden change in schedule can limit time for company, play and attention. These reduced opportunities for exercise can sometimes leave pets bored, stressed and even depressed.

How can I tell if my pet has the blues?

Not all pets will have the blues when winter rolls around. But there are some signs to look for to make sure your pet is just hunkered down, and not in distress or struggling. Find these signs and symptoms listed below.

Signs of the blues:

• Sleeping more than usual can be a sign of stress, depression or illness.

• Increased attention-seeking behaviors, such as scratching, chewing and other destructive behaviors can be indicators of a bored, understimulated or stressed pet.

• Changes in regular eating, toileting or sleeping habits can also be a sign of illness, stress or depression in a pet.

•  “High-strung” behaviors such as hypervigilance, problem barking, urgent, loud meowing, and repetitive behaviors can be indicators of a stressed, bored or anxious pet.
•  For cats, not using the litterbox is a telltale sign of stress.

• Cold weather can cause flare-ups in arthritis and other physical ailments, causing stress and pain, making activities less fun and contributing to the blues.

What can I do to help?

First, try to figure out what’s different. Are you and your family home less? Are you going on fewer walks? Are the kids away at college? Are you too busy to spend time playing? Is it just too cold to have much fun outside?

Next, think about what might help bring some enrichment back into your pet’s life. Rather than give them their meal in a bowl, capitalize on their natural instincts by using food dispensing toys, hidden stashes of edible goodies, and five-minute training sessions using some of their food as rewards (reward yourself, too, with a special treat so you want to do it more often). Set up mini-obstacle courses with cushions and cardboard boxes, teach them some useful or silly tricks and play nosework. Play fetch and hide-and-seek games up and down the stairs and throughout the house to help tire out more active dogs and cats. Another great option is signing your dog up for SmartPlay daycare at Paws & Pals. This innovation program will provide your dog just the right amount of physical, mental, and emotional stimulation in a fun and loving environment!

Finally, exercising your pet’s brain can be as rewarding as exercising their bodies. While this holds true any time of the year, it’s especially important in the winter months to keep their bodies and minds happy, challenged and free of the winter blues

Marjie Alonso, CDBC, CPDT-KA, KPA CTP is the Executive Director of the IAABC.

Every dog or animal with a reasonably developed central nervous system has fear. Fear is one of the basic drives, along with hunger, thirst, sleep, sex, and sociality. Out-of-control fear is as much of a problem as any other drive that is out-of-control. But fear in the normal amount is essential, as it helps to keep a dog out of harm’s way. However, like people, dogs are not born with fear.

In dogs, fear responses begin between 6 and 8 weeks of age. By three weeks after its onset, fear plateaus at a level normal for pups and for the specific genetic complement they have. There are three factors which alone or in combination act to determine the level of fear any given dog shows.

The first of these is genetic. The dog inherits a predisposition for a high level of fear. Thus, what would cause a mild startle response in a dog with a normal fear level will drive the over-reactive dog ballistic.

A second factor that causes uncontrolled fear is early environment. The typical cause is
improper or total lack of primary and secondary socialization during the period of 3 to 12 weeks of age. Simply stated, the dog is not exposed to people, various sounds, and short periods of separation from its mother and siblings. Therefore, the dog will forever fear these things that will normally occur every day of its life.

The third factor is learned fear. It develops by the chance association formed between some arbitrary neutral stimulus—say a slamming door—and a coincidental negative reinforcement, something painful—like stepping on a sharp object.

Dogs can express fear in a variety of ways. Because they have several options, a dog might show fear one way at one time and another way at a different time. This varies based on its mental state at the time, the type of stimulus and its intensity. The most common expressions of fear include:

• The dog adopts a submissive posture; head down, ears back, tail tucked tightly between its legs

• The dog might lie down and roll over on its side, lifting the top hind leg

• Shows a high level of excitability: panting, salivating, dribbling urine

• It may whine or bark while showing a low-level submissive posture

• The fearful dog might take flight if he is able to by running away

• If confined in some way, the dog might pace, circle or whirl in a “make believe” running away

The most dangerous expression of fear is aggression in which the dog might growl, raise its hackles, bare teeth and could even nip. Or, in the extreme, it could launch an all-out attack with vicious biting, especially if escape is not an option.

The cure for fearfulness will depend first on recognizing the underlying cause—
genetic, early environment, associative learning or some combination of thereof. Not surprisingly, genetic fear is the most resistant to change and is therefore nearly impossible to completely cure. However, it can be made to take a back seat. The first step is careful, gentle, behavior modification along with obedience training or retraining, starting right back with the basics. Ultimately, to be successful, the dog must gain self-confidence and self-reliance. With your patient and positive guidance, a fearful dog can learn to manage its responses to uncomfortable situations and live a happy life.

Back-to-school season is a time of transition for the whole family, as parents and children begin to adjust to a new routine. It’s also a difficult time for pets, who have grown accustomed to some extra attention during summer vacation. Dogs are social pack animals – they normally prefer being with others. Usually dogs learn to be alone for periods of time without a problem, but for some, being alone is unacceptable. Separation anxiety in dogs is much like a panic attack in a person. Symptoms usually start within 20-40 minutes after the pet parent leaves the home.

Signs of separation anxiety include urinating or defecating in the house, scratching, biting, and digging at doors (sometimes until they break nails or teeth), barking and other vocalizations whenever the dog is left alone. Pet parents sometimes come home to find pillows, furniture or other household items destroyed.

Separation anxiety is often triggered by a major change in a dog’s normal routine or by a traumatic event (from the dog’s point of view). A few examples are: a new job that takes the pet owner away from home all day; the death of a family member, especially one the pet was very close to; a family household relocation; or kids going back to school.

What to Do
• Keep arrivals and departures uneventful and low key – pets frequently recognize the signs of departure, so do not give them extra attention when leaving. Also, ignore the pet the first few minutes after returning. Exuberant displays of affection may actually encourage anxiety (the pet feels rewarded when you return). So stay calm.

• Give the pet something to do – mental and physical exercise is important to combat separation anxiety. Toys and physical activities provide mental and physical stimulation which help a dog gain confidence. A confident pet will rely less on human contact for stimulation. Try daycare. Avoid long lonely days at home with doggie daycare, where dogs play together in a safe, supervised environment that is helpful for dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds.

• Give the dog a mental cue that you are leaving – something consistent like using a word/phrase that the pet will recognize as something you say every time you leave and return.

• Practice leaving – get everything ready to go, then sit down. Get ready and go to the door, then sit back down. Get ready, go out the door, close the door for a few seconds and re-enter. The idea is to provide short stimulation in the act of leaving, but prevent the dog from going into a panic attack. Repeat each move several times until the pet feels comfortable. Then take the next step a little further. Once the pet can handle absences of a few minutes, increase the time periods gradually. Once an owner can leave for 30 or 40 minutes, separation anxiety should no longer be much of a problem. Be aware these steps will need to be done slowly and repeatedly for days to break the cycle.

• For severe separation anxiety, consult a dog trainer or behaviorist. In some cases, a pet sitter might be required so the pet is never alone.

• If all else fails, talk to your veterinarian to see if one of the anti-anxiety drugs available for pets might be right for your dog. The right medication combined with the one or all of the above suggestions should make a positive difference.

In the end, when treating a dog with separation anxiety, the goal is to resolve the dog’s underlying anxiety by teaching him to enjoy, or at least tolerate, being left alone. This is accomplished by setting things up so that the dog experiences the situation that provokes his anxiety, namely being alone, without experiencing fear or anxiety. Remember to be calm, loving and patient with your dog and to focus on making small steps of progress.