Woof-It! Pet Care

08/26/2024

Happy National Dog Day (….pretty sure that’s actually every day) from client pups Sherlock and Julep!

08/19/2024

Update: Mr. Kitty is home safe, thanks to a caring resident on Harding Terrace, who noticed the (unfamiliar) visiting cat and it’s minor leg injury, and called us. Thankfully, it’s nothing too serious!
……

Missing indoor cat!

Mr. Kitty accidentally escaped his home on Colburn Street, last evening. He is little/about 6.5 lbs.

Please keep your eyes and ears open and report any sightings to us.

Mr. Kitty is a bit skittish (normally), so we expect he may be hiding, and is likely quite close to home, as is normal for cats unfamiliar with the outdoors. If you reside in this area, please check your crawl spaces, porches, garages, sheds, for us! Looking up a tree in your yard isn’t a bad idea either - it happens!

Mr. Kitty’s owner is already implementing some of our recommendations, so we just wanted to get the word out there in case he is spotted by any of our Facebook friends!

08/08/2024

Happy International Cat Day from client kitties Doug and Tammi!

08/08/2024

Researchers from Oakland University surveyed hundreds of cat caregivers and found that cats exhibited behaviors associated with grief after a fellow cat or dog in the household died.

06/26/2024

***Update 7/3- this pup has been contained and is en route to our animal care facility. He has no obvious signs of injury, but he will be checked over by our veterinarian. Thanks to everyone who has emailed and called reported sightings and thanks to our friends Missing Dogs Massachusetts for their advice and support.***

***Thanks to everyone who has reported seeing this pup. We ask that you do not follow or attempt to capture him as it is causing him to move further away. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call us at: 617-635-5348, or via 311. You may also email us at [email protected].

We are working with Missing Dogs Massachusetts***

Please let us know if you have seen this 2 year old Poodle who escaped from our Mahler Rd location. He was last spotted yesterday evening near Malcolm and Whitcomb Ave in Roslindale.

He is skittish, so please do not chase, or call out to him, instead, please call us at: 617-635-5348.

06/19/2024

Whew!! 🥵 it’s a hot one and we hope you and your loved ones are staying cool.

Unfortunately, we do see many cases of heat related stress in our Angell ERs on these super hot days. It’s best to prevent heat stress from happening by limiting activity during the hottest parts of the day, and keeping your pets mostly indoors. Some apartments without air conditioning can get dangerously hot as well, so always make sure your pets have plenty of access to water, cooler spaces, and try to keep fans going to make sure air is circulating. Never leave your dog in the car when it’s this hot, even for just a few minutes, even if you’re in the shade with the windows cracked. Brachycephalic breeds like frenchies, pugs, boxers, etc are most vulnerable so be extra careful!

Every dog will have different heat tolerance and ability to regulate so it’s very important to know your dog’s “normal.” If your dog is exhibiting major signs of heat stress - abnormally excessive panting with an inability to settle after several minutes, lethargy, GI symptoms - please don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian or bring them in.

06/17/2024

06/08/2024

Not Pulling

06/07/2024

That’s Little Nipper (1884-1895), a Jack Russell terrier mix from Bristol, England, portrayed in a painting by Francis Barraud who was fascinated by the sound of his human’s voice coming out of an Edison cylinder-based talking machine. Normally, he’d spent his days biting at the legs of visitors (hence his name) but on this occasion, he’s too busy trying to figure how his master’s voice is coming from this machine.

Originally called “Dog looking at and listening to a phonograph,” Barraud chanced it to, yes, His Master’s Voice. The painting was offered to Edison’s people, but they didn’t get it. “Dogs don’t listen to phonographs,” they said.

Later, though, the Gramophone Company chanced upon it and seized the opportunity. The image was changed to have Nipper listening to a Berliner Gramophone (sorry, Edison) and over the years, the images in the painting were used in advertising, branding and logos for HMV, EMI, RCA, Victor Talking Machine Company and others.

05/20/2024

It’s National Rescue Dog Day, created to raise awareness for the millions of dogs waiting for their forever homes in shelters across the country.

Consider making a difference and rescuing a pup from your local shelter or rescue group!

05/10/2024

😹😹😹

05/02/2024

04/25/2024

Update: 4:46pm-
Avery has been found safe after nearly 5 hours missing! Her owner stated that had it not been for the tip we provided to him, through the tip posted below, they would not have yet found Avery. As her owner drove down Enneking Pky, he spotted her in the middle of the road, opened his car door, called her name, and she ran over and jumped right in!

Her family is very appreciative for what our Dedham community does to help - even outside of our town. Thank you all again- and a special shout out to Anita Constantino for sharing that tip under our post!
…………..

Have you seen me?

Avery is missing. And her owners know that we, here in Dedham, have a good following, lots of dog owners who frequent different parks. And lots of big hearts that accompany our watchful eyes!

Avery is a 45lb female black lab mix, last seen around noontime today, wearing a pink collar, in the area of Stoneybrook Reservation near Turtle Pond, Hyde Park.

Anyone with information is asked to please call 781.751.9300.

04/10/2024

04/09/2024

Dog bite prevention week is April 7 - 13

Remember that ANY dog can bite if provoked. Almost 1 in 5 people bitten by dogs require medical attention and children are the most common victims of bites.

A dog may bite because it's stressed, scared, feeling threatened, protecting something, feeling sick, or injured.

Dog bites are often preventable.

Keep dogs and small children separate. Recognize risky situations, and read dog body language. Respect dogs and give space.

Check out more tips from our friends at American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) at www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/dog-bite-prevention

🐶

03/22/2024

‘My dog is naughty/bad/untrainable/dominant/stupid’

I hear this most weeks on intake forms. Usually I get pretty excited to see these cos I know I’m gonna get to change a dog and owners life!

So often we write our dogs off as any adjective that fits the above and honestly, I’m yet to meet a dog who fits any of those adjectives (and I have worked with 10k plus dogs over the ten years I’ve been doing this!). I do however week in week out meet dogs with health issues that contribute to their slow progress in terms of training. Did you know dogs don’t show pain or discomfort how we do? We often think ‘oh he isn’t limping or yelping so he is fine’.

Please read the examples below ⬇️

🐾 A huntaway cross who I work with who bit his owner. Reluctant to have his feet cleaned, got spicy over any intense handling, had periods of seeming insanity and relentless barking and being unable to calm down. Huntaways are vocal dogs… but…

Turns out he had hip dysplasia. This dog didn’t limp. He wasn’t lame in any way. He chased his ball and sprinted and jumped and had no issues physically on the surface however under that behaviour was pain.

🐾 A French bulldog. Resource guarding to the extreme. Bit his owners while resource guarding the knot pattern in their wooden floor. Also bombed around without a worry in the world and had no outward signs of pain.

Turns out he had a severe spinal condition causing intermittent excruciating pain.

🐾 A young spaniel owned by a very good friend who was having confidence issues. She would ‘tap out’ of training on the regular and my friend went from ‘this is my ticket dog who will represent my country’ to ‘is this even possible?’

Dog had hormonal issues and likely spikes of hormones left right and centre. A carefully timed spay and she is now grade 6 in agility.

🐾 A friends Border Collie. Owned by a very experienced and talented agility handler and trainer. Regularly ‘checked out’ of training sessions, seemed to not be able to learn things that were moderately straightforward. Described by other trainers as ‘oh she is just a border collie it’s what they are like’.

Turns out she is mostly deaf.

🐾 A black Labrador. Always social and friendly and attended brilliant puppy classes and adolescent classes. Had the best start training wise you can imagine. He started showing some intermittent aggression to his owners in the home and aggression to other dogs out and about.

Turns out he had bilateral elbow dysplasia.

🐾 Young German Shepherd. Always energetic and silly in her behaviour but suddenly got worse. Excessive zoomies, inability to settle, increased reactivity to other dogs, reluctant to get in the car, obsessive destruction at home.

Turns out she had an infection in her va**na that was causing discomfort and exacerbating all those teenage behaviours to the point of being unmanageable.

🐾 My own dog! My NSDTR started missing his dog walk contact early last year. I was tearing my hair out trying to fix it.

Turns out he had a minor iliopsoas strain and some physio fixed the issue for us.

———————————

All these dogs have one thing in common. They are not stupid or untrainable or naughty or dominant. They are uncomfortable and that is triggering extreme behaviour fallout.

None of the above issues would be resolveable with training. All of the issues will be resolveable with training ONLY when the pain is resolved. Some of them will have drastic improvement from the moment the pain or discomfort is managed!

If your behaviourist or trainer doesn’t immediately advise a veterinary visit if any aggression, excessive ‘naughtiness’ or strange behaviour is present, walk away immediately. Even if you think your dog is fine, visit the vets. Ask for a thorough examination and push for a proper evaluation of your dog from nose to tail and potentially blood tests too. If you’re still not sure, get a second opinion.

You cannot train the pain or discomfort out of your dog. Address THIS first and foremost.

02/29/2024

02/19/2024

She has specific sounds for some things and also the “you have to guess” whine

02/05/2024

February breaks will be here before you know it! Are you planning a vacation and boarding your pet? There are currently no statewide regulations that govern boarding kennels and pet daycare facilities in Massachusetts. The Animal Rescue League of Boston’s (ARL) Board Safely™ campaign encourages pet owners to do their own research before leaving their pet in the care of a boarding kennel or daycare facility. Download the Board Safely™ checklist today at https://www.arlboston.org/board-safely.
Image description: photo shows a black and white dog laying down. Text says "Did you know… there are no statewide regulations that govern boarding kennels and pet daycare facilities in Massachusetts?"