Peace of Mind Pet Care LLC

08/02/2024

06/16/2024

”One of the First questions I ask clients who come to me for advice on behavior or training for obedience is, “Why did you Choose this breed?”
So many times the answer is, “Because they are really cool dogs!”
This, of course, is not a valid reason for choosing one breed over another.
When you see a dog doing what he was bred to do, harkening back to his ancestors whispering into their ears, telling them exactly how they should perform the task....well, it can make you weep.
EVERY dog needs a job, a purpose to validate them. A job that makes them stand proud and causes his tail to wag and his heart to smile.
Dogs were bred to work alongside humans, and they consider that a high calling.....along with educating us.....
And if one does not have sheep for a Collie or rabbits for a Beagle, or rats for a Terrier, there are still other functions for them to perform within their households. Our job is to find that activity, introduce it to the dog, and enjoy the companionship.

There's a woman that jogs with her GSD every day by the Indiana K9 Learning Center. She puts a prong collar on her huge working dog and off they go. We had a nice visit over the fence the other day. I complimented her on her dog's manners. I stood about six feet from her when we initially met and he was relaxed and unconcerned. (And no, I didn't ask if I could pet him). That's when I find out what a mean owner she is.

Her large GSD carries a doggy style backpack with water in it and she's been told that's mean.

She stopped at a yard sale, bought some books, put them in the backpack and she was told that's mean.

She's been chastised for running her dog with her because running a dog is mean.

I'm not sure why someone would feel that a 100 pound working breed isn't capable of carrying 10 pounds of books but someone did. I'd say that person has never looked up what a GSD was bred for. It's bred for work!

I know a Canadian that has huge herds of sheep free ranging on hundreds of acres. He has two border collies that he sends out as a team to round them up and bring them in to be counted. They'd go out before the sun was up and by mid afternoon they'd have them gathered in a large pen for him. He'd do a head count, open the gate and off they'd go. Imagine the intelligence and duration those dogs have to do that seven days a week! Now take those dogs and put them in an apartment. Yowza!

How about the frustrated woman who brought her German Short Haired Pointer in for classes...AKC's website said the breed is "easy to train" so she got one. She's a white collar wife with a young son who lives in a suburban neighborhood. That breed may be easy to train for a hunter or someone that is experienced with independent, strong willed breeds but she was really struggling with him. His energy level, strong personality and tenacity is a requirement for the job he was bred to do but a typical owner will really struggle with this breed.

Can we all agree on something right here, right now? Every dog that is in a home, in a shelter, in the show ring, or anywhere else comes from someone that was breeding dogs for a purpose. It may be way back in the dog's pedigree but it's there. Hunting, fighting, chasing, pulling, retrieving, protecting, patrolling, killing...your dog laying at your feet right now has ancestors that did at least one of those tasks very, very well. Those instincts don't disappear when they walk through your front door and become your family pet.

There's a reason terriers are tough! Because you have to be a tenacious little s**t to go down a hole after a rodent bigger than you knowing you're likely to get bitten.

There's a reason you can't get your beagle's nose off the ground during agility classes. Watch a youtube video of beagles in the field!

There's a reason your whippet wants to chase every squirrel in the yard. Watch a youtube video of sighthounds lure coursing!

There's a reason that cattle dogs go in low and nip anything moving. Watch a youtube video of them working cattle!

Here's the kicker...a cattle dog that goes in low and nips is probably the result of someone's responsible breeding. Same with the beagle, the whippet and the border collie. Those are desirable behaviors in each breed.

Understanding the propensity of certain behaviors in breeds and mixes will help owners understand where the behavior is coming from. It doesn't mean the dog gets a free pass for the behavior, but someone looking for an agility dog may not want to go with a bloodhound "because I just love their ears" or a herding breed "because I want a dog to lay around all weekend with."

All of us in the dog industry, including shelters and rescues, have a responsibility to the dogs we're in charge of and the people that want to add them to their family. We're responsible to educate the uneducated.”

- Michelle Steigmeyer, Indiana K9 Learning Center

Book reference: Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by Caroline Coile, PHD.

06/16/2024

Yesterday we had two wonderful Golden Retrievers, ages 6 and 2, come in for elective surgical procedures. Both dogs had a history of eating a well-known and popular grain free diet for several years. In one dog, an arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) was detected so an x-ray of his chest was taken. His heart was enlarged, so an echocardiogram was scheduled for that afternoon. An x-ray was also taken of the other dog's chest as a precaution, and his heart was also enlarged. He was able to get an echocardiogram same day, as well.

The reports on both dogs just came back, and both of these gorgeous, otherwise perfectly healthy dogs have Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The cardiologist suspects that in both cases it is related to their diet. Thankfully, this condition was caught early, and when fed a traditional diet, their condition should hopefully reverse. Their cases are being reported to the FDA, along with the thousands of others from across the country.

There is no evidence to support feeding grain-free. Most pet allergies are related to environment (pollens, etc) or protein sources. Grain allergies account for a tiny fraction of all food allergies in dogs. Unfortunately, many dogs are becoming very ill or even dying from eating so-called "BEG" diets (boutique, exotic, grain-free), and the terrible thing is nutritionally mediated dilated cardiomyopathy is 100% preventable. There have been zero reported cases of NMDCM in dogs eating foods that meet WSAVA guidelines, currently made by Purina, Hill's, Iams/Eukanuba, or Royal Canin. We strongly suggest if you are feeding a "BEG" diet that you change your dog over to one of the brands listed above. If you have any questions specifically related to your pet, please call us.

We are so hopeful we caught this disease in time for our two beautiful patients to reverse their disease. Their very caring and dedicated owners have already changed their diet to one that meets WSAVA criteria. The articles below will help explain this disease, WSAVA guidelines, and why grain-free was more marketing than science.

http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/11/dcm-update/

https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Arpita-and-Emma-editorial/Selecting-the-Best-Food-for-your-Pet.pdf

http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/grain-free-diets-big-on-marketing-small-on-truth/

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/dogs-fed-some-popular-diets-could-be-risk-heart-disease/

05/24/2024

What are your opinions? 🚮 or 👍🏼?

12/25/2023

"On Friday I did an activity with my 5th graders where they wrote a short blurb entitled.
"I wish my teacher would know..."
These are just a few that stuck out to me:
Kid 1: I wish my teacher would know; my dad is in jail, and I haven't seen him in years.
Kid 2: I wish my teacher would know, I don't always eat dinner because my mom works and I don't know how to work the stove.
Kid 3: I wish my teacher would know; my sister sleeps in the same bed as me, and sometimes she wets the bed, and that's why I smell funny.
Kid 4: I wish my teacher would know that I don't always have sneakers for gym class because my brothers and I share one pair.
Kid 5: I wish my teacher knew I like coming to school because it's quiet here, unlike my house with all the yelling.
✨We spend so much time talking and judging what we think we know... we need to ask more questions and spend more time listening. We also need to shift our mindset and see things from other people's perspective. Give more than we get. Live to serve and to help make a difference in others' lives.
Let's leave this life a little better than we found it. 💕
Credit: Elle Deal

12/01/2023

Staying warm and exercising the dog.

11/19/2023

Your Late Night LOL! 🤣

11/05/2023

Saving up for a view like this.

Cotton candy skies at sunrise from Key Biscayne, Florida.

📸 Stay Salty Florida

10/06/2023

Kimberly Ing Porcaro

Days continue to shrink quickly this month, as we are still losing over 3 minutes per day at this time.
From start to finish for the month of October, we will lose 90 minutes (1.5 hours!!!) of daylight from Oct 1 - Oct 31.

09/03/2023

😂😆🤪

06/14/2023

My favorite picture from this morning!