Ottawa K9 School

The Ottawa Canine School will be attending again this year. Can’t wait! This year, I donated a spot in one of the upcoming classes (puppy, basic, agility, etc) for the Silent Auction.
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Going To The Dogs Fundraiser

The 2010 Annual Going to the Dogs Dinner and Race Night is scheduled for Friday, September 10, 2010 at the Rideau Carleton Raceway, 4837 Albion Rd., Ottawa, Ontario.

The partners in this fundraiser are Therapeutic Paws of Canada (www.tpoc.ca) and Responsible Dog Owners of Canada (www.responsibledogowners.ca) .

The Rideau Carleton Raceway is well-known for its fabulous all-you-can-eat buffet, featuring more than 100 items.

Tickets for the event are available at $40 per person and include dinner, valet parking, coat check, live racing, a complimentary race program, a $2 wager coupon and $5 coupon for the SLOTS.

There are fabulous door prizes. A silent auction and 50/50 draw will also be available.

Tickets can be purchased on line at http://www.gttd.org/GTTD.html or call 613.228.7764. All guests must be 19 yrs of age and older.

This is a major fundraiser for Therapeutic Paws of Canada and Responsible Dog Owners of Canada. The profits from this event are shared equally and go towards the important work that the organizations do.

We hope that you will come out and support the event. Please feel free to cross post the event information.

Cute article in Wednesday’s Globe and Mail.
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Arlyn Levy
Published on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010 6:12PM EDT

We wanted something roomy for road trips with our pooches, so we brought them to the dealership for their own test drive

It’s been exhausting: consumer research, test drives, post-dealership debriefs. These discussions start logically (engine size, the merits of all-wheel drive, trade-in value conjecture), but inevitably end with the $64,000 question: Will our dogs be comfortable?

My partner (let’s call her Gail, because that’s her name) and I are the human companions of Charlie Parker, a cockapoo, and a schnoodle named Louis Armstrong.

Just before the summer we decided it was time to trade in our respective wheels for a family car. We’d save on insurance, gas, repairs, precious street parking in our downtown Toronto neighbourhood and, most important, buy something roomy for Charlie and Louis’ frequent road trips to the country.

find complete article here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/our-dogs-picked-our-new-car/article1676368/

A friend of mine just sent me this article. Another dry food recall.  Another reminder to carefully choose what we feed our dogs. This recall includes foods that have the potential to contain salmonella, and includes foods you may be getting from your vet.

What is disconcerting, is that this is not the first Proctor & Gamble pet food recall.

Here is the article:

P&G EXPANDS VOLUNTARY LIMITED RECALL OF SPECIALIZED DRY PET FOODS!
July 30, 2010 – The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) (NYSE:PG) is voluntarily expanding its recall to include veterinary and some specialized dry pet food as a precautionary measure because it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.  No salmonella-related illnesses have been reported.
 
The following P&G products have been included in the recall:

1. Iams Veterinary Dry Formulas
2. Eukanuba Naturally Wild
3. Eukanuba Pure
4. Eukanuba Custom Care Sensitive Skin

1. Iams Veterinary Canned Formulas
2. Iams Cat and Iams Dog Dry Food
3. Eukanuba Canned Products
4. Iams Canned Products
5. Treats, biscuits and supplements

I think I have, at least for now, satisfied my latest craving: reading about running your own business.

Though this is not dog related, I wanted to share something that has made a big difference in the way I manage my time: a little book called The Power of Less, by Leo Babauta. 

Leo is the creator and blogger at Zen Habits. He runs,  has a gaggle of children,  leads a productive simple and efficient life and gets a LOT done.

Leo believes that if you focus on fewer things at a time, you will end up accomplishing more. I’ve been following his advice. The idea is to have 3 goals at a time and to focus only one those until they are DONE. No more doing “ a little of this” and “ a little of that” and not getting projects crossed off the list! 

Here are 12 tips from The Power of Less. This is what I strive to achieve:

1. Set your 3 Most Important Tasks each morning

2. Single task. When you work on a task, don’t switch to other tasks.

3. Process your inbox to empty.

4. Check email just 2X\day

5. Exercise 5-10 minutes a day (ok, I’m going for more than that… but this is a good start)

6. Work while disconnected, with no distractions.

7.  Follow a morning routine

8. Eat more fruits and veggies every day (thanks Ottawa Organics for the beautiful produce we receive every week!)

9. Keep your desk decluttered

10. Say NO to commitments and requests that aren’t on your short list

11. Declutter your house for 15 minutes a day (Flylady would be proud)

12. Stick to a 5 sentence limit for emails

I met Marty a few years ago when his owners called me for some help. They worked hard with him and enjoyed many happy years together.  Unfortunately, Marty is no longer happy. He is not adjusting well to the new baby, despite his owners’ efforts to make it work.

If you’re looking for a great dog, please read on….

Marty is a wonderful lab/border collie mix that we rescued from the pound approx 5 years ago. He is about 8 years old and suffers from a lot of separation anxiety.

His anxiety at our new family situation has rendered him completely miserable and fearful all the time.

We are therefore looking for a good spot for him. He is a lovely boy and would probably thrive in a different environment that did not include kids or long work schedules. All of his vet visits are up to date and he is fine health physically. He is well trained with the exception of being left alone.

Marty is a wonderful dog, but he is miserable right now and very anxious all the time. He’s always been a nervous guy, but this is now at a whole new level and he deserves better, he is such a great guy

If you are interested in giving this dog a home, please contact: Chantal Mills

July has been quite a scorcher! Perhaps you have been seeking air conditioned hangouts for relief, drinking a lot of water and wearing sunscreen when having to venture outside. We are all aware of the dangers of heat exhaustion and sunburn on humans. But what about on dogs?

 Tempted to take your pooch on a run, or have him run beside you while you cycle? Think again! Dogs do not have as many sweat glands as human and can suffer from heat exhaustion. They can even get sunburned.  Dogs can also suffer brain damage and die from the effects of the heat.  Snub-nosed dogs, overweight dogs and older dogs tend to be the most susceptible

Exercising your dog in the heat is not a good idea. But what about a little road trip?

It may seem harmless, but leaving your dog in the back of a truck can cause burns. If your dog doesn’t have a blanket to sit on, the metal will heat up in the sun. Never leave your  dog in a car without the A\C on. A few minutes in a hot car can cause heat exhaustion and even brain damage EVEN IF you leave the windows open a crack.

Dogs don’t have the same coping mechanisms we do to deal with the heat.  Keep your beloved pet safe!

 Think of a plan B to exercise  your dog in hot weather. Walking your dog in the early morning or late evening will help avoid the burning sun.  Bring water along and make frequent stops to allow your dogs to drink. A wading pool, a trip to the pet store, an indoor play-date in an air conditioned home  are all good ways to entertain your dog safely on a hot day.

The Ottawa Canine School is offering Fun Friday events – a great way to do something fun with your dog and keep it out of the heat! Friday August 6th we are hosting a small dog playdate (in an air conditioned space of course!). Friday August 13th we will be hosting an Intro to Agility.

ottawak9school@yahoo.ca or (613) 296-3643 for more information

We are so excited to be in our brand new Dog Training Facility! We have been working hard since we returned from the Calgary CAPPDT dog trainer’s conference in June to transform the space into a bright, clean, welcoming Training Facility.

Here is what the space looked like the day we got the keys.

Thanks to my hubby, the electrical engineer, the random wires hanging from the ceiling were sorted out, Jiffy poles were moved, and the electrical panel properly labelled.

And what would I have done without André ?  Here he is, hard at work, heating and peeling off the tape left behind by the previous owners.

André hard at work, preparing the walls

 The space used to be a pharmacy. The white sticker in this front window was quite difficult to take off! I tried Goo Gone, blades, heat… and mostly just a lot of elbow grease. It took me nearly 3 days to take it off. I’m sure there was a better way, but I was not willing to subject myself to stronger chemicals. Goo Gone was offensive enough! (Aside: a lady walked in while I was scraping away to ask me “had I ever heard of  Goo Gone?”  I was hoping she would suggest something I hadn’t tried. Alas, it was not so.  I must say, however, that I enjoyed every moment spent scraping and peeling. Odd, I know) 

Amazing what a coat of primer does!

Even more amazing… what a coat of paint can do! Thanks to Lyn for hooking us up with paint at a good price. (oh, and don’t mind the mess – that is our “pile of stuff” that came in pretty handy during this whole transformation )

Another Big Thank You to Donna, for her expertise and her attention to detail. Here she is working away at the trim for the new Training Facility. Our plan is to put tethering stations on this trim,  which will be safer than attaching them directly to the wall. What you have to do when you can’t find a stud…

See what I mean by attention to detail? Donna ROCKS!

We had many evening trips to Home Depot. Thankfully, our little helper enjoyed these excursions.

With the floor down, it is starting to come together. This is the much touted Tenderfoot Rubber Flooring, made of recycled tires. It is 3\4 inch thick and so gentle on doggy feet.  It was definitely worth waiting for.

Last picture before the big reveal…. Here is my son testing out the new flooring. His verdict?  He’s jumping for joy! He thinks the dogs will love it, and so do we.

Our doors open August 1st, and our GRAND OPENING will be Saturday September 25th. There will be free draws and deals on our classes and services. Hope to see you at the new OTTAWA CANINE SCHOOL location, @ 425 St-Laurent Blvd., right beside Full Cycle.

Chantal

Tellington Touch Training coming soon!

July 24-29

Rupert, QC (near Ottawa, Ontario)

Foundation Training and on-going TTouch training with dogs, cats and other companion animals.

Contact www.ttouch.ca or 1-800-255- 2336

I learned recently that dogs react best to classical and country music. Apparently it calms them.

Really? I thought. Let’s test that theory!

I selected some classical music, loaded up the cd player and pressed play. The dogs seemed to enjoy it. Every time I pressed play, the dogs did seem to calm down.  They slept soundly. They chilled out. They were in a happy place.

A few weeks ago, I decided to listen to my beloved Iron Maiden collection. Enough with the classical! Hemi (our Great Dane) let me know that he did not approve. He barked, he paced…. he was an unhappy beast. I turned to him and said “I don’t care if you don’t like Iron Maiden. Too bad.”  There is no coincidence. I play Maiden. Hemi lets me know he doesn’t like it.

Classical or country music  is the way to go. It won’t solve separation anxiety problems, but if you’re going to leave music on for your dogs, Iron Maiden may not be the best choice