Doggytopia, Daycare and natural food store for dogs.

05/25/2022

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04/20/2022

04/13/2022

04/05/2022

Frankie bobbing for a ball

03/23/2022

Spent some time at the beach today

03/23/2022

Leo playing in the water bucket. He’s very proud of himself

02/22/2022

Soaking up the sun ☀️

01/14/2022

Staying cozy

12/14/2021

Frankie is unsure how to feel about daycare

11/18/2021

Teddy looking very handsome in his Christmas sweater

10/06/2021

Busy day today 😮‍💨

09/02/2021

Hope you all got to enjoy the nice weather today!☀️

09/01/2021

Rainy day blues 🌧

08/17/2021

Swipe right——>
You won’t regret it 😬

08/06/2021

The only way to get a group picture is by holding a ball

01/06/2021

Tongues out Tuesday! 😋

01/04/2021

Happy Monday everyone, we’re back!

01/04/2021

We hope you had a great and safe holiday, full of relaxing like these two. We missed all of your furry friends, and are looking forward to be back to business as usual tomorrow! 🐾

12/17/2020

Tongues are always out with this bunch 😋

12/16/2020

Everyone feels the same about the temperatures outside... ❄️

12/16/2020

Louie is always picture ready 😍

12/15/2020

Can you tell there’s a treat behind the camera? 😂

12/15/2020

A few of our happy greeters! 🥰

12/15/2020

Brothers Burton & Hurley have the best personalities 😂

12/07/2020

Hey Everyone!

Just letting you all know we will be closed for the following dates for the holidays,

December 21st 2020 - January 3rd 2021

We will be open to regular hours January 4th 2021!

We wish you all a Happy and safe Holiday!

07/16/2020

This is a very well written article. It is one of the truest articles on this topic. The general public, quite honestly, does not have a clue when it comes to dogs and their temperaments but because they have "owned dogs all their life" they feel they have a good handle on it. I would recommend that people educate themselves better on these topics before commenting...and not just by asking other people who have "owned dogs all their life". Ask the people who work with them everyday! The trainers, vets, dog daycares and boarding facilities.....these people see everything!

When it comes to bully breeds, I keep hearing “it’s all about how they’re raised” “no dog is born aggressive” etc.

As a huge bully advocate and being the owner of a Bull Terrier with pedigree from an extremely reputable breeder that I’ve owned from puppy hood and a Pity shelter mutt that I acquired when he was about 1 year old I got great insight in this topic.

It’s an absolute fact that we can’t over write or ignore genetics that come with dog breeds. Natural instincts that they are born with which some may display more than others but they are there.

It's not about how the dogs are raise but about HOW THEY ARE HANDLED AND MANAGED which is totally different from how they are raised.

And that doesn’t apply only to Pit Bull's but to any purpose bred breed.

It’s normal that a Heeler or Border Collie will try to herd or bite/nip moving objects to control them, it’s normal that as Anatolian Shepherd or other Life Stock Guarding breed will guard property, potentially people and items from others and it’s normal that even the little Yorkshire Terrier wouldn’t mind killing small animals and get a kick out of it.

My Bull Terrier has an extremely stable temperament that I thank to incredibly good breeding but she would still kill a cat if you give her the opportunity.

My Pity Mutt came to me with a rather unstable temperament but at this point is an extremely enjoyable dog. I have raised him with the utmost care as he came to me with strong resource guarding issues and other behaviour issues.

While those issues have reduced drastically but are genetically imprinted, he has to be handled with a certain amount of care and safety protocols. Funny enough, you wouldn’t know about those issues unless I tell you about it. And that’s all not just because of training, which is a huge part of his raising, but HANDLING AND MANAGEMENT.

Some breeds and dogs in general are more prone to any type of aggressive behaviours.

Actually, many purpose bred dogs are more prone to some behaviours that we would considered aggressive, since many people would consider a Border Collie trying to control dogs at a dog park aggressive when in reality he's just doing his job.

But there’s many breeds that are naturally prone to be more aggressive and that will include any breed that particularly was bred for a guarding job or hunting/fighting.

So, with these dogs, you can raise them as perfect all you want but unless you know how to also HANDLE AND MANAGE these breeds, all your perfect “raising” won’t be of any success.

It’s not uncommon for many breeds that are bred to have more types of aggression to either show the behaviours in puppy hood OR in some cases only once they reach maturity.

It could be that your Great Pyrenees is the most lovable dog and at the age of 3 he starts tremendously resource guarding that you have to control.

Your dog could be lovable with all dogs and at the age two he all of a sudden turns and doesn’t like other dogs anymore without having had any bad experience.

The good thing is, that with purpose bred dogs that come from responsible breeders that breed for temperament, behaviours can be better predicted from the get go and therefore puppies can be placed into the right hands.

But when it comes to mixed breeds, or most "Pit Bulls" that are really just a shelter mutt (there are very few American Pit Bull Terriers that come from reputable breeders with pedigree) behaviours can be unpredictable and can pop up at any time.

So with any dog breed that is naturally a working dog, it’s not all about how they are raised at all. It’s about how they are handled and managed.

If you keep saying “It’s all about how they’re raised” you are putting people in danger by creating a picture that any dog can be owned by anybody as long as they “raise” them properly which is a term that clearly is still misunderstood by the main dog owner population.

www.k9possible.com

07/14/2020

”One of the First questions I ask clients who come to me for advice on behavior or training for obedience is, “Why did you Choose this breed?”
So many times the answer is, “Because they are really cool dogs!”
This, of course, is not a valid reason for choosing one breed over another.
When you see a dog doing what he was bred to do, harkening back to his ancestors whispering into their ears, telling them exactly how they should perform the task....well, it can make you weep.
EVERY dog needs a job, a purpose to validate them. A job that makes them stand proud and causes his tail to wag and his heart to smile.
Dogs were bred to work alongside humans, and they consider that a high calling.....along with educating us.....
And if one does not have sheep for a Collie or rabbits for a Beagle, or rats for a Terrier, there are still other functions for them to perform within their households. Our job is to find that activity, introduce it to the dog, and enjoy the companionship.

There's a woman that jogs with her GSD every day by the Indiana K9 Learning Center. She puts a prong collar on her huge working dog and off they go. We had a nice visit over the fence the other day. I complimented her on her dog's manners. I stood about six feet from her when we initially met and he was relaxed and unconcerned. (And no, I didn't ask if I could pet him). That's when I find out what a mean owner she is.

Her large GSD carries a doggy style backpack with water in it and she's been told that's mean.

She stopped at a yard sale, bought some books, put them in the backpack and she was told that's mean.

She's been chastised for running her dog with her because running a dog is mean.

I'm not sure why someone would feel that a 100 pound working breed isn't capable of carrying 10 pounds of books but someone did. I'd say that person has never looked up what a GSD was bred for. It's bred for work!

I know a Canadian that has huge herds of sheep free ranging on hundreds of acres. He has two border collies that he sends out as a team to round them up and bring them in to be counted. They'd go out before the sun was up and by mid afternoon they'd have them gathered in a large pen for him. He'd do a head count, open the gate and off they'd go. Imagine the intelligence and duration those dogs have to do that seven days a week! Now take those dogs and put them in an apartment. Yowza!

How about the frustrated woman who brought her German Short Haired Pointer in for classes...AKC's website said the breed is "easy to train" so she got one. She's a white collar wife with a young son who lives in a suburban neighborhood. That breed may be easy to train for a hunter or someone that is experienced with independent, strong willed breeds but she was really struggling with him. His energy level, strong personality and tenacity is a requirement for the job he was bred to do but a typical owner will really struggle with this breed.

Can we all agree on something right here, right now? Every dog that is in a home, in a shelter, in the show ring, or anywhere else comes from someone that was breeding dogs for a purpose. It may be way back in the dog's pedigree but it's there. Hunting, fighting, chasing, pulling, retrieving, protecting, patrolling, killing...your dog laying at your feet right now has ancestors that did at least one of those tasks very, very well. Those instincts don't disappear when they walk through your front door and become your family pet.

There's a reason terriers are tough! Because you have to be a tenacious little s**t to go down a hole after a rodent bigger than you knowing you're likely to get bitten.

There's a reason you can't get your beagle's nose off the ground during agility classes. Watch a youtube video of beagles in the field!

There's a reason your whippet wants to chase every squirrel in the yard. Watch a youtube video of sighthounds lure coursing!

There's a reason that cattle dogs go in low and nip anything moving. Watch a youtube video of them working cattle!

Here's the kicker...a cattle dog that goes in low and nips is probably the result of someone's responsible breeding. Same with the beagle, the whippet and the border collie. Those are desirable behaviors in each breed.

Understanding the propensity of certain behaviors in breeds and mixes will help owners understand where the behavior is coming from. It doesn't mean the dog gets a free pass for the behavior, but someone looking for an agility dog may not want to go with a bloodhound "because I just love their ears" or a herding breed "because I want a dog to lay around all weekend with."

All of us in the dog industry, including shelters and rescues, have a responsibility to the dogs we're in charge of and the people that want to add them to their family. We're responsible to educate the uneducated.”

- Michelle Steigmeyer, Indiana K9 Learning Center

Book reference: Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by Caroline Coile, PHD.

07/10/2020

This was shared by a vet in Nanaimo

We just received a positive rabies test from a bat we submitted for a client last week. Please ensure your pets are up to date on their rabies vaccines.