Pet Expo Time; Should I Take Oliver?

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© All Things Dog Blog
Do I Need the Suitcase or My Snoozer?

© All Things Dog Blog
How's This?

It never ceases to amaze me how Oliver senses the least little change and knows exactly what is up. He also figures out a way to get his own message across, like this image where he was clearly saying, "I want to go too".


I considered taking him along in his Snoozer rolling carrier. He loves riding in it and would be a great "magnet" for me. However, the decision was made when I considered the issues of taking him outside--it's a 20 minute walk to the exit :(--and how to carry other materials when my hands need to roll him. So Oliver is staying behind, sadly. 

© All Things Dog Blog
When Will She Return?

Little does he know that he has a date to play with some of his favorite friends at doggie daycare, where he enjoys a rich social life, along with Tanner, who will be boisterously running the big dog area's tag games.


When I return home, he'll no doubt be waiting for me at the front door, pondering how to greet me before Tanner gets to me. "It's okay, boys. There's plenty of mom to go around. I'll be ready to kick back for some puppy time after long days on my feet. Be ready!"

Dog-Safe Travel, Around Town and on the Highway--Part I of III

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© courtesy K. Litz
Pounce Travels
Comfortably in his Crate

Years ago when Xena was just a pup, I dutifully got her a doggie seatbelt. Xena wore her seatbelt in the back seat* for quite sometime until one day--one scary day--I had to slam on my brakes. 


After that day, she rode with me less frequently on highway expeditions, and more often on my errands to the bank and other drive-through pickups nearby. Slower speeds around town became the mainstay of her car rides. When I did take her to Grandma's or otherwise out of town, she would travel in her crate, tucked snugly in the back of my SUV--a necessity with 3 kids to run carpools for. It wasn't her favorite place to ride, but she soon became accustomed to it, especially when I added a soft bed to the crate bottom. 


I have to give her credit; she always worked with me during periods of change. When Tanner joined the family, Xena decided that the crate was pretty nice digs, now that she had a companion--albeit a whipper-snapper--to keep her company. By the time he rivaled her size, we had taken on an out of town project to manage. The dogs and I did a good bit of traveling for nearly a whole year. We logged a bunch of highway miles and also learned that two dogs in one crate could mean knocked heads. 


My solution to this dilemma was a second crate. My SUV became a Retriever-mobile, with the back seats folded down eternally, and two crates taking up much of the rear cargo area. (Didn't Pounce's mom get creative with her space in the picture above?) Thankfully I was down to one kid at home by that year, so we were able to make this work as family transportation, as well. After a tough year I hadn't bargained for, everything bundled into a bunch of stress that needed to be unleashed--pun intended! 


Soon I discovered a nearby doggie daycare through a friend and began leaving the dogs at Bow Wow Resort on my traveling days. I found that this was a safer and more productive way to manage my days out of town. The downside was that I missed my travel buddies, even though they traveled in a crate in the back. They had provided nice companionship that I missed; it was time for another change.


After the beginning of All Things Dog Blog, I met a new friend through the blog. The owner of Pet Auto Safety, has introduced me to safer options that I never knew existed. Join me for Part II of Dog-Safe Travel, as our journey to safer traveling continues. I'll share our newest travel choices for Oliver and Tanner--more secure and flexible, yet more convenient than ever. Even Tanner has some positive commentary over at 5 Minutes for Fido. See you soon.


*Just as with young children, the front seat is not your best choice for Fido's transportation. Even if Fido is seat belted with a crash-tested safety belt, he is still susceptible to life-threatening injury by an airbag deployment. With most automobiles equipped with front seat airbags, this seat is only safe for pets whose weight does not engage the airbag. Elevated car seats relieve the seat-bottom of the pet's weight, disengaging many newer car's airbag systems for front passenger seats. Check your auto manual for information on your own vehicle's airbag operation before making any decisions. 


Visit Be Smart. Ride Safe.
Need a travel crate? Amazon has over a 1000 different sizes, types and colors. Click here to shop:

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The Hardest Lesson for a Dog Owner

by Carrie Boyko 

(c) Alan Boyko

Walking 101

A week's summer vacation became a profound lesson for me as a dog owner. Here's where I have to swallow hard and fess up. About once a week or so, often when I need to work out of town for the day, I take Tanner and Oliver to play at  a doggie daycare. On the weekend we regularly enjoy a romp at the dog park. No big news. You probably already knew this if you read much of this blog.

The real secret is that sometimes I don't manage to work in a structured walk on those days. Often the dogs come home tired, flop on the cool tile and are only interested in napping for the remainder of the day. That's fine. That's great. But what happens on the days they come home seemingly unphased by the social and physical activity of the daycare or the park?

Today I learned the answer to that question for the first time. It shouldn't be new information to me, but it nevertheless is a lesson in balancing the dogs' activity that I needed a reminder on.

Tanner has not been a 'chew-on-everything' kind of dog since his puppy days when training got that behavior in line. Much of that training involved extensive physical and mental exercise: biking, walking, swimming, agility courses, training, mental games and so on.

After arriving home yesterday, the dogs returned from the doggie daycare, where they were boarded for a week during our vacation. Being a free play facility, Tanner loves to go there. There are various levels for lots of jumping and climbing action, a splash pool, toys, balls, and lots of canine friends to play tag and wrestle with. There is even a playground monitor to keep tabs on all the 'kids.'

There is one thing missing though--a structured walk--where Tanner is reminded who the boss is. Today I learned that this ingredient is needed, if not necessary, even during a week's stay at this high-activity play-place. What happened? He destroyed two hangers (you know--that cardboard thing on pants hangers) and a plastic clasp on a tote bag. Granted, these bad boy actions are not the end of the world, but they were a wake up call for me to put first things first. The walk is primary. It is primal--like following the pack leader through the forest. Tanner's ancestors buried this in his DNA, and it is up to me to continue to honor this.

I've been home for a day and we've taken 3 walks, in addition to the other stuff like Fetch and swimming. We're getting there. I hope you guys got something out of my lesson. The moral of the story is you can't skip the walk.

If you have to ask yourself why Rover ate the couch, the answer is "Did you walk the dog?"

Related Reading:

• Backpacks aren't Just for Students and Hikers
• 10 Signs of a Happy Dog Owner
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective Dog Owners

(c) Alan Boyko

Tanner Focuses Better

with his Backpack

Check out my guest post over at Critter Minute, where I'm giving tips on Managing Your Multiple Dog Household. Like it? Leave a comment there.

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An Interview with Tanner, My Golden Retriever, and Houdini Wannabe

by Carrie Boyko

(c) Carrie Boyko

Tanner, My Goofy Golden

This idea was prompted by a reader's letter that suggested I help you guys get into the heads of my dogs--i.e. get to know them a little better. What better way to get acquainted than with an interview.


I know it's a little quirky, and a lot corny, but if anyone knows what my dogs are thinking, it's me, so here's Tanner's interview. Hope you enjoy:

Tanner:

"I'm over the hyperactive stage now; just give me a daily walk or dog park visit and don't leave out the afternoon swim with my favorite fetch toys. Fetch is loads of fun, and I'm trying to teach Mom to throw a Frisbee. I could use some help with that, but I guess we all have talents and challenges. Mom says she throws like a girl, and she's not kidding!"

"I love chow time and I'm the master of patience while waiting for meal preparation. What is it that takes Mom so long to put food in a bowl? She rubs her scent on our bowls, then scoops the food with her hands, makes meatballs for Xena's thyroid medicine, and finally, our bowls are put on the floor. I almost always get to eat first, because I'm the best at waiting patiently. Mom and I are both proud of my personal best stay. While we were waiting for permission to eat one morning, the doorbell rang. By the time she returned it was nearly 30 minutes later and I was sitting in a puddle of drool. My breakfast was still in my bowl though. I got lots of praise for that!"

"Meeting mom at the door when she comes home from errands and stuff is really exciting. She always has good smells on her and I enjoy giving her a good once-over. Sometimes we think about getting into Therapy dog work so that I can go out and share my friendly nature with lonely folks. I'd really like that."

"I love going to see the vet. We always shop for goodies there in the place where they keep pup toys and stuff. My vet gives me a nice massage while I get my physical. Mom says I have to get shots sometimes, but she talks to me like everything is fine and I never notice them. What's up with that? Patches, my cat, turns a shot into an international event!"

"Next to my pool and the dog park, my favorite place to play is my doggie daycare, where I go to hang with the 'ruff crowd.' All my best friends are there and we play with the toys, run on the grass, play in the pool, and jump around on the walls and obstacles. The girls that help us play have to put extra locks on the gates to keep me from opening all the doors, gates and other latches. It's a talent I have that is very useful. Yesterday, we had company in my pool, and I was not invited. Imagine that?! I let myself out the front door and went around back to swim with the guests. I'm so smart!"

"Speaking of obstacles, I tried out agility training for a year and a half. I really had a blast on everything except the teeter; it was sorta scary, but I did it anyway. Mom and Miss Joanne said it was okay, so I believed them. Between you and me, I'm much better at Fetch.

"I can't give an interview without telling you what an extrovert I am. I LOVE everybody--dogs, people, cats, rabbits--you name it. I'm so friendly that I get my feelings hurt when people walk by without stopping to say hello. And snobbish dogs; well, I just don't understand that!"

"I better go now. Xena is frolicking with one of Dad's socks; that always means she'll be wanting to wrestle with me soon. I'm there for ya, Xena! Us pups gotta have our playtime."

Have you been over to check out OUR BLOG? It's called 5 Minutes for Fido. Xena, Oliver and I have started our own blog with tips for living happily with your dogs. After all, we're the experts. We have the happiest family ever. If you read more here, you'll see. I have the life!

Coming Soon:


An Interview with Xena, my Super Sweet, Senior, Retriever Mix, Rescued Rover and An Interview with Oliver

© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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