We all know by now just how taboo it is to leave your dog in a car on a hot day like today.
Some folks still aren’t getting it so let’s print this FREE poster,
and find some great places to showcase them New Westers!
XO
Stefania
#mindfulmutts #walksnwagspetfirstaid
Why is it important to know how to help your pet in an emergency situation?
For the same reasons it’s important to know how to help your human family members if something alarming happened and their health or safety was compromised.
Dogs will be dogs, they run and smash into things, sometimes they fight, sometimes they eat things that they shouldn’t. If they do and you don’t step in on time, injuries could become far worse and possibly even fatal if not tended to on time.
I am Pet First Aid Certified through Walks ‘N’ Wags Pet First Aid, I am so happy with the course that I want to share with you my own testimonial for the course based on a very recent incident involving my own dog, Bruna:
“Last week, one of my dogs was bitten in the ear by another dog and I was able to respond quickly and 
efficiently to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. I could not be happier knowing that I was able to think on my feet that way. I reached for my first aid kit and off I went, cleaning and bandaging and feeding her treats. Sure she tried to paw off the bandage wrapped around her little pug head, but the entire experience was positive, calm, and quick. Before I knew what to do in this particular emergency, I would have yelled, screamed, cried bloody murder and brought her to the nearest vet in a panic making my poor dog that much more afraid, worried, and concerned about what was going on. Her ear has since healed up perfectly!”
For more information on Walks ‘N’ Wags Pet First Aid Courses available in New Westminster through Mindful Mutts, please email info@mindfulmutts.ca
XO
Stefania
1) Adopting saves lives. Every time a shelter or rescue animal finds a “furever” home, there’s a spot that opens up to safely, temporarily house and care for another unwanted, abused, neglected, or lost animal giving them a chance to find a “furever” home too!
2) Most shelters and rescues ensure the health of the animal before sending them home with you! That means you don’t have to worry about spaying, neutering, vaccinations or giving other immediate medical care. Even better? All of this is basically always included in your adoption fee!!!! Of course, not all animals are perfectly healthy even after receiving veterinary care before their adoption. Temperaments, behaviors and medical issues are all assessed so that the right care giver is chosen according to the animals needs, this way the adopters are already made aware of any concerning issues.
3) Quite simply, you save money when you adopt from a shelter or rescue! Buying a pet from a pet store or a breeder can be significantly more costly. When you adopt from your local shelter or rescue, you pay an adoption fee, then spend the rest of your money on toys, treats, vacations together and maybe even some high fashion pet couture 😉
4) You’ll be helping to shut down backyard breeders and sales of animals in pet stores! Backyard breeders will continue to operate until people stop purchasing from them. Most of these animals are kept in small cages, and live in cruel conditions. The sales pitches by the operators can be so strong that most people easily believe their phony happy stories, and they’re so secretive it’s rare to get a glimpse of the circumstances in which the animals are actually forced to live in. There are millions of pets in shelters and rescues looking for families to take them home. Save a life instead of contributing to these horrific practices!
5) IT FEELS SO GREAT TO KNOW YOU HAVE SAVED A LIFE! Once you adopt for the first time, you most likely won’t go back to pet stores or breeders. Years after bringing home our 2 dogs from rescues, my husband and I still stare at them daily in awe. We realize that their fate could have been drastically different had the rescues not stepped in to save their lives, and had they not wound up in our hands. We are grateful for them every single day, just as they are for us. We proudly tell their stories, and about where they came from, and the excitement and the love is contagious! So much so that others have run to adopt their very own animals from shelters or rescues in a hurry. Get in on the fun, save a life, adopt don’t shop!
XO
Stefania
A spin-off from the last blog! In yesterday’s blog we discussed how to tell if your family was ready to introduce a dog into your lives. Today we’ll touch on the topic of what to consider before choosing a dog, so that you can look for one with the right personality, size, and energy levels for you and your kids! Here are a few things to consider before bringing a dog home to your family:
Lifestyle: How much time do you and the family have to devote to activity with the dog? While some breeds are more active and require up to a couple hours of running, playing, hiking, swimming in a lake, agility and other exercises, some breeds might be more interested in lounging around the kiddie pool getting a tan or watching tv 😉 Make sure the dog’s energy level coincides well with your own lifestyle so that you can spend as much time on the dog’s needs as possible. Some dogs, just like some kids, are more active and outgoing than others so bringing home a pooch that you can all keep up with will benefit the whole family, long term!
Grooming: How much time are you able to spend grooming a dog? Some dogs’ coats require several brushings a week, others require none. Some shed, some don’t. If you’re planning to involve the kids in the upkeep of the grooming, how often do you think you’ll be able to get them to help? Will you end up doing it all yourself? How about going to the grooming salon instead? Is there enough time in the family schedule to go regularly if that’s what your dog requires? If not, a dog with a lower maintenance coat would probably be a better fit than one which requires daily or weekly upkeep.
Affordability: Being realistic about affordability when considering a dog is incredibly important. Some eat 1 cup of food each day while others eat 3 or more! Grooming is also something that adds up, as well as training, toys, activities, dog walkers, dog sitters, daycares, vet bills, etc!! The list could go on but you get the picture.
Temperament & Energy: If the dog has had a traumatic history and is a little timid or fearful, is that something that your family has time to help with? Will anyone in the family be disappointed to find out that the reality of having a dog doesn’t mean long morning runs and fetching sticks out of the river if the dog is older or just simply lower in energy? It will help if the temperament and energy level of the dog matches the temperament and energy level of the humans it will be interacting with daily.
Do you have any other tips you think are important to consider when choosing the right dog for you and your family? Please share in the comments below!
~Stefania 🙂
I wish everyone could have a dog! There are so many awesome benefits to introducing a dog into your family, I barely know where to start listing them off! Adopting a pooch can enrich your life, teach responsibility, and a lot about friendship too. Dogs can provide companionship, assistance with daily tasks, do fun tricks, and encourage you to get outdoors and into the fresh air! After all, there’s a reason these loving, loyal, non-judgmental furry beings have been referred to as “man’s best friend” for ….well, hundreds of years! Click the Wiki link for more details 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_best_friend_%28phrase%29
While I wish everyone could have a dog, for all the reasons listed above and many, many more, it’s important to recognize the responsibilities that come with adopting the right dog for you and your family, at the right time in your lives. Here are just a few things to consider so that you can successfully come home with a dog that you, your family, your friends & neighbors, can all get behind and enjoy many years of fun together:
-Do you know much about dogs? If not, are you willing to learn? Educating yourself on the needs of a dog prior to adopting one will help you start off on the right foot. Even if you’ve never had the pleasure of being a dog owner before, you can set yourself and your new furry family member up for success by being 100% prepared
-Can you afford to have a dog? Be honest with yourself! A few surprise expenses that are often not considered:
-Do your work hours allow you to be there for your dog consistently, providing a stable environment so as not to confuse your pooch? Your dog’s training may possibly digress without stability
-Is your neighborhood dog friendly? Are there parks, places to hike, is there a veterinary hospital nearby? Make sure you have everything you need within a short distance to make traveling easier.
-Are you adopting a dog out of emotions? It’s important to be in a calm and rational state of mind when choosing to get a dog, so make sure you make the decision to bring one home with a relaxed state of mind. The last thing you want to do is bring a dog home without considering what an impact it will have on both your lives, if you’re not ready for one yet that’s ok, there’s always tomorrow or next week, or next year!
-Are you going to be able to confidently give a dog the leadership he/she needs and deserves? Having rules and boundaries doesn’t mean that you can’t have FUN with your dog, it means you can have even more fun because your dog knows which behaviors are wanted and which aren’t
-If you have kids, do they know how to approach, greet, and respect a dog….if not, are you willing to help teach them? There are many resources for kids as well as adults on these topics so do some research and give your kids the know-how to prevent injuries and bites from happening. It’s also important to recognize that even if your kids know how to respect a dog’s personal space, a shelter or rescue dog might not be comfortable around children because of a previously traumatizing experience so make sure the dog you bring home is one that can safely be integrated into your family!
Give me a shout at info@mindfulmutts.ca if you’d like more information and resources that can put you on the right path to getting your family ready to adopt a dog, I’d be happy to help! Comment on this blog to share more important tips to consider when getting a dog, your community will thank you!
XO
Stefania
Let me just start off by saying that I love my job, working with animals! As a dog walker, dog sitter, dog trainer, and pet first aid instructor, there is nothing more important to me than safety. When I’m walking dogs, it doesn’t even matter how many I have with me at the time, I am always thinking about prevention. Prevention meaning, that my dogs don’t bite other dogs or people, and that other dogs don’t bite me or my dogs.
Today I’m sharing with you a snippet of Dr. Sophia Yin’s teachings. Her studies changed my life and the way I run my business. There will never be another kid (or grown up) I meet that doesn’t get a quick tutorial based on this fun, illustrated poster at some point because it is easy to understand, and even a little entertaining which always makes learning a little bit more fun.
Please take the time to have a look at the attached poster, print it out, give it to your kids (or any adults you think need a little lesson in safety around dogs).
If you’re interested in more information on this or other preventative measures you and your kids can take to be safe around dogs, please follow Mindful Mutts on facebook at facebook.com/mindfulmuttsvancouver to find out which community events I’ll be at this summer. We’ll have posters for you to take home just like the one you can print out yourself below, and more! I’ll be spending the entire summer encouraging our community of New Westminster to learn how to SAFELY greet a dog among other fun and important topics so that you, your kids, and all the dogs can live happily ever after in a safe, bite-free community together!
Click below link for poster: