Puppy Season !

Puppy season, puppy season, puppy season-- everyone loves puppy season! How can you not? These cute, adorable, fluff balls that snuggle up with you, are just so precious.

But there is a lot more to being an owner to one of these cuties. That’s something we all have to remember. As innocent as they are at 12 weeks old, they do eventually grow into toddlers, teens and adults. As an owner, this is something to remember when bringing a pet into your home.

People call me all the time telling me they are thinking about getting a puppy and then ask what breed I recommend. I always say the same thing.

1. Think of your family’s lifestyle and the time you have to dedicate to your dog. Of course, I always remind my clients I am PRO rescue and to consider that as an option. Different breeds have different temperaments, grow to different sizes and some have different dietary requirements. Do your research and decide what breed is the best fit for your family.

2. Before you take that cute puppy in the window home, take a good long look at your finances. Dogs are not cheap…visits to the vets, going to the groomers, hiring a pet careprovider, dog trainer, and your every day expenses of food, toys and treats can become quite costly. Don’t let emotion get the best of you, a pet is not an impulse item, it is a lifelong commitment.

3. Once you have that pooch, the first thing to do is make an appointment with your local veterinarian. Take the time to have a puppy consultation. Building a personal relationship with a vet is very important. This will be your puppy’s doctor for the course of his life. The vet will invite you in to discuss a health and wellness plan for your dog and start him on all the required vaccinations needed.

4. Don’t forget to ask your vet to microchip your dog. As puppies grow they do like to explore and chances are A LEAST once he will sneak away from your home. It happens all the time, it is their nature to take a stroll around your neighborhood to build their sense of independence. No, it doesn’t mean you are a bad puppy parent. It just means you need to be prepared by having a microchip that contains all your contact information. Also, please register your dog with your town and obtain a town license.

5. Grooming is personal hygiene for your dog. Dogs need to have baths, toe nail trims and their teeth brushed too. The sooner you can start a dog with a groomer the easier it will be for your puppy to get use to water, tubs and dryers. You can start a dog as soon as 12 weeks old for his first groom. Besides, who wants a stinky dog?

6. Training is a must! Unless you want your dog to rule your house. NO no no….do you want to wake up every morning to all your shoes eaten or bathroom accidents all over your home? Probably not. There are several reputable trainers and training programs available. Whether you want to go to a training facility or have a trainer come to your home, please start puppy school as soon as you get your loved one. Believe me, a trained dog is a happy dog…and you will be a VERY happy pet owner.

7. Pet sitting and dog walking is also something to consider. As you leave for your eight to ten hour work day, who is going to check on your dog? There is no possible way that a 16 week old puppy can go that long without a puppy break. Also, leaving a dog alone for long periods of time creates anxiety and behavior issues. Hire a dog walker to come in mid day to check on your pooch and to take him for a walk. This will help your dog learn to trust other people, create an exercise routine, and to keep your home from being destroyed by a lonely and bored puppy. When looking for a pet sitter please make sure they are insured & bonded and have taken a pet CPR and first aid class. You are trusting this person to take care of your new baby and you want to make sure they know what to do in case of an emergency.

Now…go to your local rescue or reputable breeder and pick out the pooch that will be the new love of your life. And ..ENJOY PUPPY SEASON !!

http://northandover.patch.com/blog_posts/puppy-season#photo-9316771

Doggie Flu Season

It’s that time of year… you feel horrible, your kids are coughing, everyone seems like they just have a really bad cold or even worse the flu. As your family is fighting this virus that is swirling through your house, don’t forget your dog can get the flu too.

People have asked me "what are the signs and how will I know my dog has the flu?" Basically, the symptoms are the same as humans:

Symptoms may include:
Coughing
Sneezing
Fever
Yellowish-green mucus
Rapid/difficult breathing
Loss of appetite
Lethargy

Whose dog may get the flu?
Any dog may catch the flu but it tends to be prone to dogs that are exposed to multiple dogs. Dog parks, playgroups, kennels and dog day cares. Always keep your dog up to date with the kennel cough shot. Most facilities are now recommending every 6 months your dog receives this shot.

How serious is the flu to my dog and can my dog die from the flu?
Well, like humans the flu and really make you feel miserable for a few days to a couple of weeks. Most of the time, with a visit to the vet and some extra tender loving care to your pooch your dog will recover quickly. Dogs that are not treated may have more complications. These secondary conditions, such as pneumonia could cause death if not treated. However, overall the death
rate from the flu in canines is quite low.

What do I do if I think my dog has the flu?
Call your vet immediately and make an appointment. The vet will do a complete examination and will recommend your dog get plenty of water and sleep. Your vet will also be taking precautions to prevent the flu from spreading into secondary conditions. He may recommend some supplements, medication to prevent bacterial infections and intravenous fluids to maintain hydration.

Most importantly if your dog has the flu, please remember quiet time, a nice tummy rub and a good bowl of chicken noodle soup will make your
dog feel much better!

Tracey is the owner of Wiggles & Jiggles Pet Care and may be contacted at 978-697-6571 or www.wigglewalk.webs.com on facebook at www.facebook.com/wigglesjigglespetcare

This blog was also posted on http://northandover.patch.com/blog_posts/doggie-flu-season

Martin Luther King Jr and his quote on Animal Abuse

"One day the absurdity of the almost universal human belief in the slavery of other animals will be palpable. We shall then have discovered our souls and become worthier of sharing this planet with them." (Martin Luther King, Jr)

A Pet Sitter's Journey in a Storm

Oh my…North Andover has really taken a beating in the last 24hrs!  October 30, and there are more trees down than a February blizzard, wires dangling and homes without electricity.    I was driving on Great Pond rd this morning to check on a cat client of mine and realized that every single home had lost electricity and trees where down all over the place.

Strategy time: 

Enter the home:   Yes,  as a pet care provider I do require all my clients to give me a key to their homes.  Most offer me their codes and electric garage door openers but once I say to them “What if we loose electricity?”  then they think about it and say …”Never thought of that.”  It really isn’t something one would think about but in reality when you are leaving your animals in your home, you must have a way for someone to get to your pets in case of an emergency or for pet care.

Snow removal:  This client and I had this discussion before they left and had a service scheduled to come and plow incase we got snow.   I NEED to be able to enter your home and in North Andover some of the houses have really long and steep driveways!

Flashlight:  Another check off my list- even if there isn’t any electricity I still have to be able to move around your house.   In this particular situation, I am taking care of two cats that require an IV injection.  Tonight I will be administering their IV’s under a flashlight.   Needs to be done, these cats need their fluids and that is why you hired me.   Task will be completed!

Food:  Always available...but I did have a good chuckle this morning.  On Sundays, this client gives their cats a special treat of tuna.  They left the can on the table for me to feed to the cats, but guess what?  The electric can opener obviously isn’t working.  Note to Me – bring over my hand held opener tonight to feed the kitties their special treat.

Water:  Well that fancy electric fountain isn’t working right now…therefore, I left a few extra bowls of water around the home.  Since both of these cats have kidney problems it was a necessity for me to leave a few extra bowls of water for them.  They drink a lot because of their medical condition and I didn’t want to take any chances they didn’t have enough.

Kitty litter boxes:   Cleaned!  I did that while the sun was shining through the house.  No way I would even attempt to clean those under a flashlight ...hehhehe

Property Check:    When I do a pet sitting job I always do a property check for my clients.   A few branches are down in the backyard, there is no water in the basement and the ceilings are not leaking in any of the rooms upstairs from the roof.  Oh,  and I found a UPS package on the front stairs buried under snow.  Another check off my list.

Lock the house:  Walk through is complete, door is locked, and leaving the property until tonight.
Now that my visit is complete I will send a message to my client.  All is fine with the house and the cats are doing well.  I don’t want my clients to worry while they are away.  They will see a newscast and will have concerns with the storm.  They will want to make sure their “babies” are fine.   And in this case, with proper preparations and planning from the client all is a success!

Tracey also blogs on  http://www.northandoverpatch.com/
http://northandover.patch.com/blog_posts/a-pet-sitters-journey-in-a-storm

Kobi -- Loved and Missed

       

Thursday October 6, 2011 I was reading our North Andover Patch, like I do every morning, when I saw a post that went straight down my spine.    Patch police log had a post that stated “At 7:04 p.m., a caller reported that a truck had struck a dog on Waverly Road. The dog was taken to Andover Animal Hospital.”
As a dog walker with a majority of my dogs on Waverly, Mass Ave and the side roads in between, I instantly got a really sick feeling in my stomach.  I knew, I didn’t know which one, but I knew by the feeling I had, one of my clients had experienced the unthinkable; their family pet was hit by a truck.   
Anticipating the phone call, I was still wondering which one it may be.  My phone would ring, I would check the number before I would answer, then the call, and I saw the number and thought to myself.  “No, it can’t be.”  I listened to the message of my client asking me to give her a call back.  Nervously I did, Kim Oswald answered and said “ Tracey, Kobi died, he was hit by a truck on Waverly.”
My heart sunk….I was speechless, heartbroken and in shock all at the same time.  How?  Kobi?  What?   I know how Kobi is, I know how Kobi walks on leash, I know how Kobi moves, I know everything about Kobi.  This really didn’t make sense to me how this happened.
Kim explained somehow Kobi got out of the house and was on the side of Waverly.  That happens, anyone that has a dog knows at some point their dog will get loose out of  their home.   Accidents happen.  The Oswald’s understand that too.  Yes, their Kobi got out and yes their Kobi did get hit by a truck.  But what is unsettling to the Oswald’s is when Kobi was hit the driver left the scene.  He didn’t stop, he didn’t report it into the police.  He left their family member, their dog, their love, to die on the side of the road.   Fortunately,  there was a witness who got the license plate number and called this into the police.       
Who would even think to leave a scene of an accident, especially when it involved a family pet, a dog or cat?   This person just left Kobi, the family companion, the dog that would run aside the Oswald’s son Nick when he would rollerblade, the dog that would play with his treats in the kitchen and wouldn’t eat them until you covered them in peanut butter, the dog that would snuggle with Kim on the couch when the kids where at school.     This person felt the best way to handle this situation was to just leave and forget about it.  Someone would eventually help this dog and someone else would have to be the one to tell the Oswald family.  This person did the unthinkable, he just left and Kobi died.  Maybe if he had pulled over, maybe if he had done the right thing, maybe there would have been time to save Kobi, but no, he just left and Kobi died alone.   Kobi and the Oswald’s never got to say their final goodbyes.  This man took that away from them, he didn’t stop, he didn’t help, he just drove off.  He denied the Oswald’s their final moment, their final closure.     
Well in Massachusetts, this is against the law !  Mass. Gen Laws 272 PAR 80H  The operator of a motor vehicle that strikes, injures or kills a dog…shall report forth with (to owner or police) such accident.   
If you are ever in the situation and this type of accident does occur, please pull over immediately and call the police.  Think before you leave, this dog or cat is more than just an animal, this is a family member, this is a loved one, this dog or cat has a loving home and a family that cares and deserves the respect to say their goodbyes.
Kobi – miss you, love you, and many many will never forget you    oxoxoxox  

Tracey is the owner of Wiggles & Jiggles Pet Care. She may be reached at 978-697-6571 or on facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/wigglesjigglespetcare

The K-9 Heroes of 9/11

The buildings went down, the search started.  Images of firefighters, police, military, New Yorkers and tourists all helping out, looking and searching.  As a viewer watching this unravel on TV, I still couldn’t fully comprehend or maybe believe what I was watching.  But I noticed dogs, and more dogs, police and fire dogs and search and rescue dogs.

I clearly remember thinking, are they trained for this?  As a Country, most of us hadn’t experienced anything like this.  Our Military, and the dogs of the Military had been trained for combat, served in Desert Storm and in other military conflicts, but this was a different type of event.  FEMA was utilizing dogs but their team consisted of less than twenty trained K-9’s.   As an animal professional, I became even more intrigued how the dogs would be utilized at Ground Zero.

These dogs were going to have to be able to sniff out humans, fire, bombs, explosives and even unknown foreign objects.  At that point, nobody really knew all the details of what occurred around this event.   Nobody really knew what to expect.  A handler really had to trust his dog and let the dog do what he was trained to do.  The handler had to have a keen eye and respond to every signal his dog was going to give him.  I saw a clip on the news about an organization called National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. They were one of the organizations that deployed to the site.   I immediately wanted to find out more about them and my research began.  How these dogs were trained, what were they capable of doing, will they be able to handle an event of this size.   In fact, my passion for working dogs began from the events of 9/11.   I was glued to my TV and flipping from station to station to watch each and every part of this rescue and in every scene I saw police and fire departments  from all across the country showing up with their dogs.

The intreget part these dogs played in the search from both a rescue and a recovery perspective is unbelievable.  The towers had already tumbled, people were trapped and our first line responders were unable to find or to get to them.  Emergency rescues were relying on the noses of their dogs.   These dogs not only sniffed to their needed location but the dogs were the ones that crawled into the debris, the dogs were the ones that stepped on the smoldering ground and the dogs were the ones that were digging into the rubble.  For most of the people saved from underneath the building, their first contact with life was with the dog that found them.   The events of 9/11 really brought well deserved attention to the power of K- 9 search and rescue.   Since 9/11 more and more towns, cities, States and government agencies have added additional K-9’s with several different search specialties to their forces.  

In respect to the Anniversary of 9/11 please take a moment and say a little pray to the K-9’s that took part in the tragedies of that day.   Some of those dogs lost their lives at that site, some were burned and several became ill with various diseases including lung cancer from that event.  Ten years later, most  of these K-9 Heroes have passed away.  They are not to be forgotten.  Think  positive thoughts in regards to all the human lives that were saved or to the families that were able to have the recovery of a lost one , all with great appreciation and a special thank you to “Man’s Best Friend“

*Blog posted also on North Andover Patch   http://northandover.patch.com/blog_posts/the-k-9-heroes-of-911

 *All pictures are courtesy of National Disaster Search Foundation  http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/98/html/index.html

*Tracey Zysk is the owner of Wiggles & Jiggles Pet Care and can be reached at 978-697-6571 or https://www.facebook.com/wigglesjigglespetcare
       

North Andover Let’s Take a BITE Out of Crime!

 

 

Tonight was our final National Night Out planning meeting with my fellow Neighborhood Block Captains and the NAPD.  We were putting the finishing touches on our event next week and then we were discussing some of the local activity taking place in North Andover.
In the past couple of weeks North Andover has seen an increase in break ins and illegal activity.   Just today there was a forced entrance at Boston Hill.  Yesterday there was one on Barker St. Two weeks ago a couple over near The Common.
As a Pet Care business and a CrimeWatch Block Captain this is something that I don’t take lightly.    My first concern is always your animal’s health and safety, my second concern is your home.
When you hire a pet care service please remember not only are these people coming to take care of your animal, they are also entering your house.   You are trusting these people with your security codes, a copy of your keys and basically allowing them to enter into your daily life.

Before you hire a service like this there are a couple of things you may want to consider first:
1. Is the company insured & bonded - which means does the company have insurance to protect your precious pet and will it cover any accidents or injuries that may occur.   Bonded- this is a protection stating this business or its employees will not steal from you.  Many say,” Well I don’t have employees I don’t need to be bonded.”   My personal thought is:  If you don’t have anything to hide, you will be bonded even as a sole proprietor.  You will provide that peace of mind to your clients.
2. Are they really insured & bonded? Ask to see their insurance card.  Insurance is insurance and insurance fraud is insurance fraud.  Even in pet care.
Unfortunately, many may say they are and really are not!   They just want to stay competitive with the competition; however they don’t want to pay for the insurance.
3. Ask the pet care business how they will be labeling your key and how they will protect your key. What if the pet care service lost your keys?  What if it had your address on it?  These are very important questions to ask.
4. Who has your keys?  Some businesses have more than one employee or they have multiple pet care providers entering your home on any given time.  Do you know which person(s) is entering and how those multiple keys are managed?  What if an employee is terminated?  How does the business retrieve those keys?
5. Does the business advertise their service on their automobile?  Personally, you will never see my business name on my car. In the 10 years I have been caring for animals in this town I have never, nor will I have  my company name painted on my car or a car magnet.  WHY? Why, would I advertise that you are not home!
Most break ins happen during the day.   Prior to a break in chances are the burglar has already scooped out your neighborhood.  He will know what time you leave and what time you will return.   He will know what time your neighbor picks up her kids from school and he will know what time your pet care services  is scheduled to stop in to your home.   How does he know that?  Well that magnet advertising the pet care business is a dead giveaway.   Therefore; why would I as a professional business indirectly give your schedule or vacation plans to an intruder?   Honestly, why would I put my own personal safety at risk too?  I am the one entering the home.  I am the one that may walk into someone that is already inside or I may be the one to walk into a home that was already ransacked before I got there.  Safety and protection comes at many levels and should be a standard business practice from your pet care service.

How can you protect your home:
1. Lock your doors – all your doors- even the one in the back of the house you think nobody even knows is there.  Don’t forget to lock that bulk head too.
2. Alarm systems- some may choose to have an alarm system installed.  They work !
3. If you don’t want to go to the extent of an alarm- have your key pad on your garage door link in to your cell phone.  You will be alerted when someone is opening and closing your garage doors.  (you always know if your dog walker is really walking your dog too! )
4. When traveling rotate a light – I have some clients that have me put their shades down at night and put them back up in the morning.  Just like you would do if you were home.  Keep that routine as consistent as possible.   
5. Have your pet care service bring in your mail and any packages that you may have being delivered.  Believe me, the way everyone shops on line, thieves love to grab packages off porches and stairs and run.   Living in an apartment complex, be weary of having packages left in your lobby.   
6. The Nanny web cam…no,  it’s not just for watching your infant and your babysitter, this tiny device is a wonderful way to see what may be going on in your house while you are not home.   Some of my clients actually set these filming out of the window to see the perimeter of the house.  Others may focus on one specific room, while all of you will be able to keep an eye on what your pet may be doing all day when you are away.
7. Common sense - this is the obvious one, have your pet care provider keep a routine as similar to yours as possible.  Hide your valuables and don’t leave anything just out in the open.  Put everything away before you leave.

As for your pets…remember,  animals are intuitive by nature.  Dog or cat it doesn’t matter.  They want to protect you, they want to protect your home, and they know good from evil.  They understand energy at a level far beyond most humans can.   Even that super friendly pet that sleeps all day while you are away and plays all night when you are home.  Guess what?  When put into this situation… he won’t pretend he will DEFEND   !!