Harmony Kennels -Boarding & Training

07/31/2024

We celebrated some birthdays this week!! One of the moms dropped off a bag of treats to share with all the guests so we had a little birthday party. 🥰 Happy birthday to Zoie and Dexter!!

07/08/2024

Good morning!! We will be out of the office from July 8-17th. We will return all messages after our return. Thank you!!

06/26/2024

I was halfway through bedtime outs when the storm hit for real. Sitting out here waiting to finish the last couple and listening to the crazy loud thunder. I realized that not a single dog (out of the 13 here) were bothered. They were all chilling on their cots and relaxed. ❤️

06/19/2024

Henry was a pup we fostered about 18 months ago. He loves to come visit us but also loves watching for his mama!

03/20/2024

A lot of excitement in the facility this week. That nifty square on my ceiling is a UV disinfectant unit. We take viral and bacterial pathogens very seriously and this has a 99.9% kill rate of tested pathogens. This was one of the biggest takeaways from our time spent at the Expo in PA and I am happy to say we have it up and running finally!!
*video in comments with more info

03/07/2024

The trainer is absolutely phenomenal. If you’re looking to fix some naughty behaviors this could be of tremendous benefit and it’s a great price right now! $49 for 4 months of online instruction!

03/05/2024

When we train a recall we always try and make it a fun game. We use the word touch and have the dog target our hand with their nose. These are all excellent points but I would add, not listening is probably the number one phone call I get and I always ask “did you teach the dog to come to you or do you expect them to know what it means when you call their name”?

ARE YOU WORTH COMING BACK TO?

I often cringe when I watch people trying to get their dogs to come back when they call.

They call and call and get increasingly angry and frustrated as their dog keeps ignoring them.

When their dog eventually does come back, or has been chased and "captured” by the now really angry person, they get screamed at, yanked about, smacked or punished in some way for taking so long and not listening.

Why on earth would a dog want to return to someone who does this to them!

Genetics may play a big part in this when an environment is far more stimulating and exciting.

Coming back to you is often the last thing a dog may want to do when genetic instinct is triggered.

An exciting scent or seeing something to chase can all override a response to recall.

Genetics aside, the most common reason that dogs don’t come back when called is because it’s not a positive experience.

Make coming back to you worth it by always making it a rewarding experience and keep practicing this throughout a dog’s life.

Have a little patience if it takes longer than you would like, let your dog finish what they’re doing before calling them, practice in different locations and environments and never reprimand or punish them for coming back.

There is never a guarantee of a perfect recall each and every time, but making it a rewarding experience will greatly improve the rate of success.

03/04/2024

Excellent write up and graphic! Even dogs that live together can need a break from time to time.

⚠️They were playing so well and then they snapped at each other⚠️
⚠️Our dogs were running around and out of the blue there was a fight !⚠️
Often signals ARE given, but some dogs really struggle to read signals that dogs can give....so it is our job to help them out when we see these signals that they need a break.

Everyone should know these signals that dogs can give when they either need to stop play for a while or they may not want any interactions with other dogs (or even people).

Once you start to see these signals it can open up a new way of advocating for your dog, and that is SO important.

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03/03/2024

Kinsie and I are enjoying the sunshine while we wait for her pick up. Hope everyone is out in this sunshine today!

02/08/2024

Friendly reminder of what NOT to feed your pets.

We're sharing a list of the ten most common human foods that are toxic to pets - and WHY! Learn more here: https://aercmn.com/10-most-common-human-foods-that-are-toxic-to-pets

01/01/2024

Happy New Year!!! We had a great time ringing in 2024 with our guests last night. Hoping everyone has a healthy and happy year!! We have been blessed with great clients and pups and look forward to another year of fun!

12/26/2023

Our boarders had a special visit from one of Santa’s elves today!! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

12/04/2023

A little message from Lee Asher of The Asher House to your dogs.
😂😂

11/22/2023

FROM STEVENS VETERINARY CLINIC. **Respiratory Disease Update**
We have now a few confirmed cases in the Quad Cities area. Please be diligent over the Thanksgiving weekend to protect your pets. Let us know if you have any questions/concerns! We are HERE for you!

11/12/2023

This past week my husband and I went to the Pet Boarding Expo in PA. We went to 12 seminars in 3.5 days plus wandered an amazing trade show full of fun items to help make your pup’s boarding experience better! We are super excited with everything we learned and look forward to implementing some changes and improving our facility!

09/04/2023

Some cool facts about a dog’s nose!!

Dogs can sniff out disease and analyze new odors even as they exhale. But how?

08/22/2023

Another graphic with stress signals to watch for.

08/20/2023

Signs of stress that we may not immediately recognize.

There are many reasons not to think of a dogs behaviour coming from stress....often the behaviour shown can be very subtle or dismissed as something else with another cause behind it.
Dropping their coat is one of those behaviours that people can easily confuse as coming from something else.....but sometimes it is coming from stress.
You may notice a LOT more hair on their bed or when you pat them your hand is covered in their hair....far more than is typical for your dog.
This can be dismissed as weather related, normal moult, needing a groom...or needing a good brush.
Sometimes though it is from stress especially if you have started to make connections with it....
Perhaps it is everytime a certain person pats your dog.
Maybe when the weather outside changes.
Making those connections is really important in deciding if your dog is showing signs of stress.....

Another piece of the puzzle of stress.....Is the behaviour accompanied by the more typical signs of stress ? Everything needs to be taken in context and looked at closely.

More than a few reactive dogs have diarrheoa or loose stools or changes in their bowel movements.....that may be contributed to stress.....and I have used that word "may" because anything like diarrheoa needs a veterinary check.

Instead of blaming diet, allergies, food issues.....maybe consider stress as a reason and mention that to your vet too.

08/15/2023

Excellent visual! Not only for puppies but for new dogs to the home that may have never been inside before.

07/22/2023

While doing supper chores Josh is working with 2 of our guests. Moon Pie is a little nervous with new people so he’s been working hard to earn her trust this week. By sitting down he’s less intimidating and by sitting sideways to the suite he’s making himself even smaller.

07/14/2023

Had the pleasure of getting to know these 2 new guests today. Milo and Miley are recent additions to their family and are a bit nervous in new situations with new people so their mom planned a half day so they could get to know us before staying for an extended period of time. It took a bit of time but eventually I won over Milo and soon Miley followed. ❤️❤️

07/12/2023

Really great explanation about resource guarding and how you, as the pet owner, can manage the behavior to keep everyone safe.

06/14/2023

We are fostering these puppies and they are the sweetest!

06/04/2023

Isn’t he just adorable?! 😱

06/03/2023

Lucy and Max know how to stay cool on these hot days!!

05/01/2023

Our facility is fully booked from Memorial Day weekend until July 8th. There are still some openings for May until May 24th.
Thank you for keeping us so busy!

04/15/2023

Rock delivery day!! Huge thanks to my husband Mike for getting the play yard ready for summer!

03/28/2023

So many reasons retractable leashes are not a good idea. From a training standpoint- it’s hard to have control of a dog who is 30’ away from you. I’ve seen too many dogs get loose and hit by cars when walked with these.

03/13/2023

Easter is coming quickly. Please be mindful of the candy, and other items on this list that are harmful to your pets!

The ASPCA Pet Poison Hotline just released new data showing the most common toxins that they receive calls for per state. Here at SVC we would agree with this list of toxins that the ASPCA collected as we see the same distribution of calls about these toxins. With Easter coming up, please make sure to keep all the delicious goodies up and away from where your pets could ingest them.

03/11/2023

Excellent post. Not all dogs like to be social and around other people and dogs. And that’s ok. We have to meet the dog’s needs, not force them to meet our wants.

Things people say about their dogs that I can totally relate to.

“She really doesn’t like strange men approaching her”

Same.

“He hates being restrained”

Same.

“She’s super food motivated”

Same.

“When we go somewhere new with a lot of noise, he gets really anxious and wants to leave”

Same.

“If you touch her while she’s eating she gets really stiff and looks at me like she might growl”

Same.

“He doesn’t want to go to the bathroom outside when it’s raining”

Same.

“I can tell when I ask her to do something, she looks at me wondering if she’ll get a reward”

Same.

"He's fine with new people, but gets uncomfortable if they try to touch him"

Same.

“If she’s in the middle of doing something and distracted, and I ask her to come over to me, she doesn’t do it right away she finishes that and then maybe she’ll listen but I usually have to call her again”

Same.

Why are these behaviors that are so totally normal and understandable with humans and other animals not acceptable or “problems” with dogs? Why are we so quick to assume that just because we have dogs in our lives, that their personal preferences, individual personalities and also natural behaviors should just change simply because it’s more convenient for us? Seriously.

Maybe the first step is looking through a new lens. A lens of understanding and empathy and realizing dogs are the ONLY creatures on this earth we do this to….. other than our kids but that’s a whole other can of worms. No one has ever called me in tears after trying to give their cat a bath and told me the cat didn’t like it hissed at them, and they don’t know what’s wrong with it - but I get calls like this for dogs all the time. It’s just assumed that dogs should and will tolerate what we expect and when they don’t, that’s a problem. But what if it isn’t? What if it’s just that dog? Why are we doing this to them? It’s making them crazy…. And making dog trainers even more crazy.

Take a step back. Look through a new lens. Behavior can be worked on, of course. But maybe it’s your behavior that has to change first, then we can talk about the dog.