Green DogGoods

08/17/2024

Puppy Love documentary today! 2pm at the Cinema Center. We have a pair of tickets to give away to the first 3 people to come in and ask for some Puppy Love!!!
Stop by the store to pick up FREE TICKETS! Jody and Morgan will be there handing out free goodie bags as well. Hope to see you there!

08/12/2024

This Saturday!
You can never have too much Puppy Love.

Get ready for some PUPPY LOVE! 🍿

📽 Puppy Love --- When a healthy litter of pups suddenly becomes paralyzed and the vets say the dogs should be put down, a group of dedicated women rally together to fight for their survival. 🎬

🐶 We'll be joined by Green DogGoods during our PUPPY LOVE screening happening @ 2pm on August 17th with Director Gail Gilbert and Canine Star SCOUT in attendance!

🎟 Find Tickets| https://bit.ly/PuppyLove_FWCC

06/03/2024

Unleash Your Dog's Inner Genius: Mealtime Enrichment Ideas!

Mealtime can be a great opportunity for a mentally-stimulating activity for your dog. Foraging is a species-typical behavior for our domesticated dogs. Finding and extracting food is a sensory workout that has calming benefits for most dogs. Here are some ideas to incorporate foraging opportunities when your dog eats:

Snuffle mats: Snuffle mats are like a small rug with fleece or other fabric projections that can hold onto dry treats or food for your dog to find. Sprinkle your pup's kibble onto a snuffle mat and let them sniff out their meal.

Food dispensing toys: Pop some kibble in a specially designed toy that your dog can nudge, paw, and manipulate to make food come out. We like the Kong wobbler, PetSafe Kibble Nibble, and West Paw Rumbl for starter toys.

DIY food puzzles: Use a muffin tin and tennis balls to create a fun, interactive feeder. Place kibble in each cup and cover with a ball. Watch your dog enjoy the challenge.

Kibble hunt: Scatter your dog's food around the house or yard and let them hunt for their meal. This encourages natural foraging behavior and adds a bit of adventure to their day.

Stuffed foraging toys: Fill a stuffable toy (such as a Kong or West Paw Toppl) with your dog's kibble and other add-ins like veggies or yogurt. Remember to start simple to avoid frustration. There are lots of ways to make this a longer lasting activity for a more experienced dog, including popping the stuffed toy in the freezer.

Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise for your furry bestie. Use your observational skills to notice what your dog does after they have engaged in a foraging activity…they may need a nap after all of that thinking!

Feel free to share your own ideas and let us know which ones your dog loves the most!

05/28/2024

Goat milk can be a fantastic addition to your dog or cat's diet. It's packed with nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that support overall health.

Using raw, fermented goat milk offers even more benefits. The fermentation process enhances probiotics, which are excellent for gut health, aiding digestion, and boosting the immune system.

Goat milk is also gentle on sensitive stomachs, making it an ideal choice after a digestive upset. It helps restore balance and provides easily digestible nourishment.

Consider adding goat milk for nutritional and gut health, or just for a tasty snack! We carry raw, fermented Answers frozen goat milk, freeze dried Shepherd Boy, and dried Honest Kitchen brands of goat milk in stock, and can special order other brands. Stop in and chat with us if you’ve been thinking about adding goat milk to your pet’s diet.

05/24/2024

We will be closed on Monday 5/27 in observance of Memorial Day.

05/20/2024

"They like lots of really short interactions — like not intense,” Delgado noted. “A lot of humans are, like, ‘I want to pet you, kitty, and I want to pet you for a long time,’ and then we get bitten. ‘Overstimulation’ is what we call it, or ‘petting aggression,’ when a cat has had too much petting — and too much is based on the individual preference [of the cat].”

There are several signs when a cat is annoyed by your touch. Here's what a pet behaviorist suggests you look for.

05/13/2024

Humans are not the only species to grieve loved ones. Dogs and cats show behavioral changes when they experience grief. Here are some signs and suggestions to help them.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-help-grieving-pet_l_6411ce05e4b0cfde25c23c02

05/06/2024

Training never happens in a vacuum. Our dogs are complex, sentient beings with their own distinct personalities, learning histories, likes, and dislikes. If there are skills we’d like them to learn, we can work together to reinforce behaviors to get us there, and sometimes that includes changing behaviors. When you work with a trainer, the plan will always include elements of managing behaviors, making sure the dog’s needs are met, and working on reinforcing behaviors to build skills.

Management: By setting up our dog's environment to prevent access to situations where they might engage in unwanted behaviors, we help them avoid rehearsing those behaviors. It's like child-proofing a house to keep little ones safe.

Enrichment: More than just puzzles and fancy stuffed toys! Enrichment means meeting your dog’s physical, mental, and emotional needs. This includes (but is not limited to) exercise, sensory experiences, plenty of mental stimulation, and adequate rest. Having unmet needs can be stressful for our pets, which makes learning difficult. Which brings us to…

Positive Reinforcement Training: Using treats, praise, and rewards to reinforce desired behaviors creates a strong bond between us and our furry companions. When we reinforce a behavior, we see it happen more often. This is the focus of positive reinforcement training.

When training, management, and enrichment are used together, they create an environment where the animal feels safe, engaged, and motivated to learn. This leads to more desirable behaviors (and fewer undesirable behaviors), improved welfare, and a stronger bond between you and your dog!

04/29/2024

“Sniffing has so many benefits for our dogs. Not only can it be a key method of communication to help them make sense of the world, but it doubles as a great form of mental enrichment to engage the body and mind, which is key to a dog’s overall well-being,” Bernal said.

Veterinarians reveal the behavior that's essential for a dog's well-being and why it's such a big deal.

04/22/2024

Are you a cat parent looking to enhance your feline bestie’s resting spots? Here are some tips to provide the ultimate relaxation zones for your cats:

Create Elevated Perches: Provide vertical space for your cats to enjoy. Set up shelves, cat trees, or window perches to give them a comfortable spot to observe their surroundings. This not only fulfills their natural instinct to survey and hunt but also offers a cozy resting spot away from disturbance.

Incorporate Feline Enrichment: Stimulate your cat's mind and body by incorporating enrichment activities into their resting areas. Hide treats (might we suggest a nice freeze dried minnow?) or toys to encourage the hunt and play aspect of their nature. Provide different sensory experiences like textures and smells to provide mental stimulation, leading to a more satisfying rest afterward.

Provide Cozy Hideaways: Cats often seek out secluded and snug spots for rest and relaxation. Offer cat caves, enclosed beds, or even cardboard boxes lined with soft blankets. These spaces fulfill their need for security and privacy during the grooming and resting phase of their daily cycle.

By catering to your cat's natural behaviors and instincts, you can create a serene and enriching environment that supports their hunt, eat, groom, rest cycle and provide spots to recharge and unwind. Stop in and chat with us if you need some ideas!

04/15/2024

Tis the season for preventing fleas and ticks! If you’re looking for natural options for your dogs (or cats), here are some of our recommended herbal remedies:

Flea and tick collar - Collars for dogs treated with essential oils and aromatic herbs to repel fleas and ticks.

Flea shampoo - Shampoo for dogs and cats with cedarwood, rosemary, and geranium, and thyme oil that repels fleas but is safe and nourishing for your pet’s skin.

Spray - Botanical spray for dogs and cats that repels and kills fleas and ticks. Some formulas also repel mosquitos and flies and are useful for humans as well!

Topical powder - Powder infused with an herbal and essential oil blend that can be combed through dog or cat fur, or sprinkled on carpets, floors, baseboards, and bedding to repel fleas, ticks, and mosquitos.

Oral drops - Organic extracts can be given orally to dogs and cats to change the scent of blood and repel fleas and ticks.

Internal powder - A powdered combination of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that help support a healthy immune system. Used for dogs and cats to deter fleas and ticks

Warm weather is on its way! Stop in if you’re looking for options to keep those bitey critters at bay.

04/11/2024

Happy National Pet Day to all of our furry, scaly, feathered, spiky, slimy, or hairless friends! How are you celebrating? Share a photo! 🐕🐢🦜🦔🐔🐸🐍🐠🐩🐇🐀

04/08/2024

It's Dog Bite Prevention Week! National Dog Bite Prevention Week takes place during the second full week of April each year, and focuses on educating people about preventing dog bites. Understanding canine behavior and communication cues is a crucial step in preventing unwanted incidents. Here are three tips to keep in mind:

1: Learn to decode canine body language: Dogs communicate with their bodies. Tail wagging, ear positioning, facial expressions, and body tension can all be observed to get an understanding of how they are feeling. Fearfreehappyhomes.com has some great content for learning body language.

2: Follow the ladder of escalation: Dogs typically display a sequence of warning signs before resorting to a bite. It starts with subtle cues like lip licking or yawning, escalating to growling or barking, and finally, biting. Recognizing these signals can help prevent escalation.

3: Embrace positive reinforcement training: Encourage behaviors you appreciate through rewards and praise! Positive reinforcement builds trust and strengthens the bond between you and your dog.

Let's prioritize safety and harmony in our interactions with our four-legged besties!

04/02/2024

Manage barks in style with window film! Management is an important component of any behavior change strategy. Here are some ways window film can help with barking behavior:

Create visual white noise: Window film creates a visual barrier, cutting down on visual access to triggers that prompt barking. Managing your dog’s surroundings can reduce the need to vocalize about something they’ve seen outside.

Decrease distractions: With a quieter visual landscape, your dog has fewer things to distract them. We always practice training new skills in the lowest distraction environment possible, which leads us to our next point…

Cultivate positive reinforcement magic: Pair window film with positive reinforcement training to reinforce desirable behaviors. When your pup remains calm and quiet, reinforce with snacks and/or praise. It's the ultimate win-win for training a replacement behavior!

Create a serene scene: Cutting down on visual disturbances and barking can allow your dog to get better rest at home. Think of a time you weren’t functioning as well as you could because you didn’t have enough time to rest and recharge. Dogs should spend the majority of their day resting (SOME of that time is sleeping). Comfortable, quiet spaces and lots of cozy resting and sleeping options can help your dog relax. Remember, for dogs AND humans, rest is enrichment, too!

If aesthetics is a concern, there are many options as far as texture and color. Some popular window films even cast rainbows as the sun shines through. Additionally, you don’t have to film the entire window, just the part your dog can see out of. Blinds, curtains, and other window coverings are also great options.
If you could use some training help with a chatty pup, we are here to help!

03/25/2024

"...when thinking about an object, dogs imagine the object’s different sensory features. For instance, the way it looks or the way its smells."

Dogs have a “multi-modal mental image” of their familiar objects. When thinking about an object, dogs imagine the object’s different sensory features.

03/11/2024

🐕🤝🐢

Iowa researchers have implemented an innovative method to help conserve a species that once thrived on the state's prairies — the ornate box turtle.

03/04/2024

Senior pups deserve fun too! Here are three enrichment ideas tailored for our wise and wonderful senior dogs to keep those tails wagging and minds sharp!

- Sensory Scavenger Hunt: Engage your senior dog's incredible sense of smell by hiding treats or favorite toys in different areas of your home or yard. Start on easy mode–help and encourage them to use their noses to find each hidden treasure and avoid frustration. Have fun!
- Lickable Puzzles: Invest in a few stuffable toys and fill them with delicious, healthy snacks. Our favorites include the West Paw Toppl, the classic Kong, and lick mats. This is great mental stimulation that is also low-impact for our senior pals. Check out our posts on how to stuff these toys if you need some ideas!
- DIY Snuffle: Try sprinkling kibble or treats over some old blankets or towels and then bunching them up. Your dog will use their paws and nose to move and manipulate the folded fabric, which encourages gentle movement along with mental stimulation. You can easily elevate this activity on a raised bed or cot if your senior dog cannot safely snuffle on the ground.

Remember, each dog is unique, so tailor these activities to your senior pup's preferences and abilities. Regular mental stimulation contributes to their overall well-being, enhancing their golden years!

03/01/2024

It's World Compliment Day! If you had to compliment your pet, what would you say to them? Share a photo and tell us their best qualities!