Purrz and Paws Pet Supply St. Helens

21/06/2025

Don't forget to pick up CBD and other calming remedies for your pets before the holiday!

14/06/2025

Fera's Calming Support Save $3.00

Promote Relaxation & Calming
Support Normal Emotional Balance
Promote a Balanced Mood by Supporting the Gut-Brain Axis
Support Stress During Situations That May Cause Anxiousness

Pets Keep It Local Columbia County Columbia City Dog Park

22/05/2025

Informational Thursday
Famous animal behaviorist Ian Dunbar says that “punishing a dog for growling is like removing the ticker from a time bomb”.

Dogs use growling as a way of letting you know that they are stressed or upset. If you punish a dog for growling, you run the risk that they will avoid the early warning procedure and go straight for a bite the next time that they are uncomfortable.

There is a world of difference between temporarily suppressing a behavior, and changing the dog's underlying emotional state to produce long term behavior change.

For example, if you were scared of snakes, and I punished you for screaming by shooting you in the leg, you'd probably force yourself to stop screaming. But have I changed the way you feel about snakes? Would you act rationally if a snake got up close and personal with you? Probably not! If anything, I may have made you feel even more afraid of snakes, as you now associate them with the pain I inflicted. This is exactly what happens when you punish a dog that growls.

With your training, always think to yourself - is this a quick, short term solution, or will this benefit my dog and I in the long. So what can happen when you punish a growl is that your dog will learn that growling doesn’t work, and they will escalate to the next step. If you’re lucky your dog is very socially tolerant and offers many protracted warning signals, trying to avoid escalation. You punish the growl, so your dog moves to a snap. If you're unlucky, you will have a less tolerant dog with less warning signals and may go from a growl directly to an out right bite. Now, you have a dog that bites without warning. These are some of the most dangerous dogs to live with. And it’s difficult if not impossible to get that growl back.

So if you can't punish a growl, what can you do? You can take stock of the situation and ask yourself what happened right before your dog growled (this is known as the antecedent to the behavior). Did they have a high value chew? Were they being approached by a stranger? Were you touching their paws? Then, reach out to a positive, force-free behavior professional and come up with a behavioral modification plan to help counter condition the dog to whatever it is that is eliciting the growling, and manage the behavior in the meantime (avoid putting the dog in these situations).

If your dog growls, don’t take it personally. Understand that our dogs have a whole range of emotions, just like we do, and if we can build mutual respect by listening to our dog’s communication signals it can only deepen and improve our relationship. And most all, don’t punish that valuable communication!

(Graphics from https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/thatdoggeek and http://www.co-evolve.co.uk/featured/blog-11-your-puppys-learning-and-experiences/)

21/05/2025

Real ingredients for real adventures. 🐾🌳 FirstMate Free Range Lamb & Oats brings together ethically sourced protein and nutritious berries to keep your FirstMate at their best.

🥩Free Range, Grass Fed Lamb without added hormones or antibiotics
🫐Blueberries, raspberries & cranberries as a healthy source of antioxidants
🌾 Wholesome oats for lasting energy and easy digestion

Fuel every adventure with nutrition you can trust. 💚

15/05/2025

https://secure.astroloyalty.com/email/social/?2035068014dbab19b4&cachecode=0bu53ayoqLsUEvxwmH1MAX

So, for the month of April while supplies last all TOPICAL Frontline and Advantage/Advantix flea treatments are buy one get one free!

15/05/2025

14/05/2025

It’s all smiles when you realize you’re having FirstMate for dinner 🥩🐶
Made with Pasture-Raised New Zealand Beef combined with potato for its stomach calming and low allergen benefits, in addition to antioxidants from blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries.
🐾 Grain & Pea Free
🐾 Single Animal Protein
🐾 Family-Owned & Canadian Made
🐾Pasture-Raised New Zealand Beef
🐾Family Owned & Operated
🐾In-house production: Dry facility & human-grade cannery

11/05/2025

Moms of kiddos and moms of pets, we all work hard to make sure our family has what it needs. From cuddles to food to play time. Here's to the Moms. Happy Mothers day!

10/05/2025

We've always had our fair share of natural disasters. When preparing your preparedness kit, don't forget about your pets. Even the bare essentials is better than nothing.

https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/emergency-preparedness/preparedness-kit.html

04/05/2025

All pets deserve praise! Especially the ones that can say it back to you! (And the ones who provide us with our beloved eggs). Hopefully you can give extra scritches and/or treats to your feathered friends today, with love Purrz and Paws.