Welcome Megan Cundy to BirdSniffer's Pet Service

I am SO HAPPY to announce the latest addition to my little biz, BirdSniffer's Pet Service, Megan Cundy! Megan has trained with me for a week and started on her own last week. Already took on her first pet sitting gig and leash walks and I am so confident that Megan will be fantastic. The pups took to her immediately! Even ones that I suspected would be their usual shy selves came right up with ease. AWESOME! Below is a little bit about Megan and a photo so you can get to know her and put a face with the name. Welcome her aboard!

Tiffany

I have begun walking a few pups for Tiffany’s BirdSniffer’s Pet Service.  And, I must say, they are a particularly delightful bunch!

As for a little bit of history on myself: I have lived in Maine for most of my life. I grew up on Harpswell Island, not too far from the Greater Portland area. Our household typically had 3 to 4 dogs, so from that I have become quite experienced walking a few dogs at a time of various sizes, speeds and dispositions.  Also, from my years of experience around our dogs and other neighborhood dogs, I have learned to be perceptive of animal behavior cues.

Studying at the University of Southern Maine for a Philosophy degree initially brought me to Portland a few years ago. However, I have elected to take a ‘leave of absence’ so that I may focus in cultivating my interest in Art, particularly painting. So, when I am not walking pups I am likely occupying my time with painting, reading philosophical texts or working at a restaurant in Brunswick.

As of recent, I have dog-sat overnight for a Labrador who was recovering from surgery. From this situation I am comfortable administering medications and keeping track of a dog’s condition. I also have years of experience caring for a dog that suffered from epilepsy. Finally, as I am composing this brief bio, I am near to finishing my first overnight dog-sitting job of a charming Weimaraner for BirdSniffer’s Pet Service.

Well, I now bring my brief introduction to a close. I look forward to walking your pups in all weather conditions, especially the approaching Spring and Summer seasons!

Sincerely,

Megan Cundy

I find myself, as a "born and raised Mainer" to be very tolerant of extreme winter conditions. In fact so much so that when the snow is quietly falling, I head out with a pack of dogs. I love to watch them zig and zag in the fluffy snow and fall on their backs making doggie snow angels.

But today was not a day that I enjoyed it as much. I headed out this morning with my German Shorthair and a darling yellow lab that I'm pet sitting for. At ~5 degrees, the first couple minutes didn't seem so bad, but 10 minutes into our walk I was regretting the notion of braving the cold. Granted, these two particular dogs fared well in this weather. The lab is nicely insulated, stays at a decent pace and the GSP is pretty much at a constant 100 miles/hr. This high energy level keeps their heart rate up, the blood flowing and they stay warm. A little later in the day I had my little 11 lb. Italian Greyhound/Min Pin out in a jacket. As much as she LOVES to bound through the snow, today was not a good day for her to be doing this. Within 5 minutes she started to lose coordination in her legs due to the extreme cold. I scooped her up and got her inside immediately.


Here is a fantastic article on Frostbite and Hypothermia in dogs. It lists signs and symptoms of both as well prevention and treatment.

It looks as though we are lucky enough to see the end of this bitter cold heading into tomorrow and more snow on the way! But we'll take the snow any day!! Snowshoes and trail walks is how we roll in the pack!

"Good evening, Emergency Vet, what's your emergency?"

 A call from a friend about a dog eating a several pieces of fudge prompted me to write this post.

Last year, Christmas evening I sat in the emergency vet waiting room with a dog that had a twisted stomach. I couldn't believe how busy it was! I asked one of the techs why and she stated that it's always this busy on and around Christmas. Why? There's so many things lying around for pets to get into. She went on to name them off....plants (poinsettia's), tinsel, garland, ornaments, bows, wrapping and tissue paper, ribbon, chocolates of all sorts, small toys, and even family member's that are staying can tend to leave their own prescriptions around.

And let's talk about Grampy that loves to give the ol pooch all those table scraps! High-fat foods can upset your pet's stomach. The following foods are commonly found around many homes during the holidays, and can be especially hazardous to your pet:

Bones: Small bones or bone chips can lodge in their throat, stomach, and intestinal track. Beware of steak bones, and ham bones, too. *Raw bones are ok*

Onion and garlic: These contain sulfides, which can cause the destruction of red blood cells, and are toxic to animals. Foods spiced with onion and/or garlic should not be given to pets.

Raisins: But, they could pose a choking hazard, so keep them out of reach. Raisins are particularly problematic for cats.

Chocolate: It can be toxic, or even fatal, to dogs and cats. The amount of toxicity depends on the amount of a substance called theobromine (also known as xantheose, a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant) in the chocolate and comparable to the size of the animal. Unsweetened cocoa or bakers chocolate is usually the most toxic. Milk chocolate being the least and the amount found in white chocolate or chocolate flavored dog treats is usually negligible. Chocolate poisoning requires emergency medical treatment.

Clinical Sx's of chocolate toxicity include:
Hyper excitability
Hyper irritability
Increased heart rate
Restlessness
Increased urination
Muscle tremors
Vomiting
Diarrhea

Keep your pet tired and balanced with tons of added exercise during the holidays. And when everyone is opening presents, eating dinner or napping, keep them busy with some kibble stuffed bones (see my previous post on how this is done, it's brilliant and the pups love it!)

Merry Christmas from BirdSniffer's Pet Service!

Time to Get in the Zone

There's nothing I love better than seeing a dog in the zone. Tonight we had our two (younger) dogs in the zone. 

Many studies show that pet owners tend to get more exercise than non-pet owners. Unfortunately it appears that like their American owners, more than half of American dogs are overweight. Quite frankly I can't imagine a jog WITHOUT our dogs. It's just so much more enjoyable, builds confidence and a strong bond. I look down at them, eyes ahead, ears back, tails relaxed and swinging and feet moving. THAT'S the zone.

Here you can see the results, a nice quiet evening.

Just STUFF IT!

Having a new puppy in the house has raised my management awareness. And then again, it's also quite entertaining.

I grew up raising puppies, my parents bred and raised bloodhounds back in the 80's. The puppies were born and whelped inside and then when they were big enough they moved out to the heated kennel with a big run. So I guess TECHnically didn't get to enjoy the inside play of a puppy. Yes I have my first dog Moss who is 8 years old, but he wasn't your average puppy. He didn't play with toys, he was pretty much content on pointing the cat (he's a German Shorthaired Pointer), flies, butterflies and following me around everywhere. Plus he was quickly put into training at young age. As my first bird dog, and being that I was training him as a hunting dog just from reading training manuals I was very neurotic with it. Therefore I suppose he had little time to play with silly squeaky toys. Trust me, I don't feel that he's missed out as he is a fantastic hunting dog and loves every minute of it.

So here we are with our little Lyla. She's truly a great puppy. Yes, she's chewed through a couple wires while we were away....OY! But it's fun for me to watch a puppy actually playing with squeaky toys, you know? She actually entertains herself with the hundreds of toys she has rather than looking to me for it (as did Moss)! Now, there still is SOME management needed when we are away. She's very food driven, so stuffing treats in various contraptions is working great with her. I started by stuffing a Kong with all natural peanut butter and freezing it. Then I was recently introduced to this ingenious idea! (pictures posted)

You take some of your dogs kibble, soak it in water, mash it up, stuff it, and freeze it. Voila! Hours of entertainment! I tried it today on the little one. She LOVED it. She stayed quite busy, at least I would imagine she did because there weren't Tupperware covers strewn all over the house......

Whacky Dog Behavior

I have a hard time with blogging...obviously. I love it, when I do it. Then another problem is that I'll be falling asleep thinking about what I want to write about and well....here I am and I can't remember what the heck it was! And then if i sit and stare at the key board I remember.... here it is.

A couple months ago we got a new puppy from a shelter. She's an Italian Greyhound/Min Pin mix, only 7lbs when we got her. Lyla. As a dog walker I knew that this little girl was gonna get socialized big time. We knew that we wanted to add a tiny dog to our 2 "big boy" pack but I didn't want to have that snippy, timid, afraid house dog. Then again that's not always in the cards either. Well I played my cards and got super lucky. Lyla fit right in with all the new dogs, big and small. Her meet and greet behavior was fantastic as well as her play behavior. Two thumbs up! This girl is part of my packs!

Fast forward to May 5th. Into the vet to get spayed and to have her back dew claws off. Here we are on May 13th and Lyla has been on "low activity" since then. And if by low activity, I mean zipping around the house playing with the boys like a crazy girl. When I'd let her out for potty breaks she fly around in fast circles then head to a corner of the yard, start digging frantically then bounce back and forth. When I'd deter her from the digging she continued the crazy circles, throwing sticks into the air. Currently (at 9:30pm) she is flying around the house, looking for the best corner to hide her toys in....all with a huge cone on her head. None of this whacky behavior presented itself prior to bed rest.

Yes it's true, exercise is the key to balanced behavior. Well at least for a 6 month old puppy.

It's not the first time I've been told....

"You must have the best job in the world!"

Yes, yes I do. If you're a lover of the canine world then you will understand. What is that you will understand? That you could have woken up to the most miserable mood possible, the coffee maker breaks as you rub grumpiness out of your eyes, you stub your toe on the tub getting into the shower and maybe you get pulled over for rolling through a stop sign......but the minute you step foot through that first door and see those happy doggie faces, barks of joy and wagging tails.....it's gone, all of it.

Thanks TL for reminding of this.