Kent County Pet-Sitting Service

Jersey loves her dock diving sessions at PJs Canine Club! Labrador Retrievers were bred to spend long, cold days tirelessly retrieving ducks out of ponds and wetlands for their owners so her genetics definitely shine through in the pool! While she may only be retrieving a bumper, this is still an appropriate activity to fulfill her needs and it is important for us to meet the needs of our specific dogs for their mental and physical well-being. Dog sports are a super fun way to try something new with your dog, meet new people and satisfy their needs. Sporting breeds (retrievers, spaniels, pointers, setters, etc) of course love to play fetch but they also love to use their nose as they would do finding a dead bird in thick marsh grass. Jersey loves to compete in rat hunting trials as well where using her nose is the only objective! Scent work (which can be done at home and can be as easy as playing hide and seek with treats), hunt trials, lure coursing, and tracking are all options to get their nose working. Other dogs like herding breeds (collies, cattle dogs, shepherds, etc) are super intelligent, VERY high energy as they were bred to work cattle and/or sheep all day long. Exercise is very rarely enough for them (especially not just a leash walk around the block) and they need positive outlets for their drive. Agility, FastCAT, disc, and flyball are all great sport options for these fast paced, quick thinking dogs but scent work, rat sports and trick training are great options for mental stimulation. Remember; tiring out their minds is more important than trying to tire out their bodies! There are MANY other sports out there to suit every dog. Canicross, bikejoring and scootering are “pulling” sports, suitable for huskies or any breed that wants to pull weight behind them! Protection sports (IGP), obedience sports (rally, heelwork, etc) are also other options, obedience in particular is a very breed-friendly sport for any type of dog that has a willingnes

Let's talk enrichment! Providing enrichment for your pets is crucial for their mental well-being as we are the ones who decide how their day to day life is going to look. Mental stimulation will never replace exercise but did you know that a dog sniffing for 15 minutes is the equivalent to them exercising for thirty minutes? Something as simple as letting your dog have a leisurely sniff around a new area for an hour can exercise their brains and tire them out more than going for a run! Offering your dog a frozen Kong filled with peanut butter, Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, soaked kibble, wet food or anything else they make like is a great way to give them entertainment if they need to be in their crate and will help them relax. Too much high arousal activity (fetch for example) can lead to your dog getting too over-stimulated and not being able to shut their brains off of play mode so a balance is important! Enrichment items can get expensive (puzzles, feeder toys, chews, etc) but there are so many ways that you can DIY a fun activity for your pet. Fill a cardboard box with old rags and plastic bottles then scatter some treats or kibble instead and let them sniff out the snacks. Spread some kibble/treats onto a towel and tie the towel into knots then let them figure out how to untie it. Even just hiding treats around the house is a fun game! Is it just dogs who need enrichment? NO, every animal can benefit from having a new activity to do! Sicey the horse is showing off his feeding enrichment in the videos below. My small animals love getting the paper bags from the grocery store stuffed with hay or smaller strips of paper so they can burrow in it to find their favourite treats. Facebook wouldn’t let me upload multiple videos so please bear with my TikTok compilation!

Was terrible about taking pictures this week but had a great stay with Aengus, Branwin, Taranis, Zeus plus all their feathered and feline friends!