Calm Your Paws Dog Service

20/11/2022

SECRET SANTA DOG TOY EXCHANGE!!!!
I'm giving this a try for the first time!
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Worst case is I’m making a dog happy by sending them a toy - what can be better than that? No pressure to participate, all are welcome to join!

This should be fun! I’m looking for dog owners interested in a holiday gift exchange. Doesn’t matter where you live in the U.S. - you are welcome to join! You have to buy one gift valued at least $10 and send it to your secret dog. (Hello Amazon!). Your dog will receive 6-36 gifts in return. And the great thing is you can keep them or donate them! A present will brighten their day (and the owners too). We could all use some happy mail.
Just comment I’m in! Toys only please, no food or treats! I’ll send you a direct message with your secret pups info to send a gift to and how to add your pup to the secret gift exchange!

15/11/2022

Lol🐾🐾🐾🐶

🐾🙈🤭

09/06/2022

Need help with your dog stealing 🐾🐾🐾🐾Give us a call

08/06/2022

Excellent advice, please call if you would like help🐾🐾🐾🐾🐶

When a baby begins facing outward, their eyes are large, facing straight on. They go from being in someone's arms and being rocked to facing forward and looking all around very quickly, this can be a very big change for many dogs. Newborns and young babies’ eyes are very intense and they hone in! Having a baby sitting up on your lap facing outward could be the first point of discomfort for some dogs.

It can be easy (and totally normal) to think that your dog is “fine” or adjusted to everything. But, the word “fine”, doesn't mean that your dog is comfortable, even if they still have gotten up and moved away or growled in an uncomfortable situation. Help us shift this thinking to:

What can we do to prepare, plan and prevent situations? What can we do to set up our dog and child for success?

Instead of having your baby face straight on directly at your dog, you can move your body or position the baby so that their side is towards the dog.
NEVER allowing a child to crawl up to or on, reach for or grab the family dog. Invites decrease bites!!!

We also have to change our expectations that our family dog should tolerate or put up with uncomfortable situations. They're constantly giving us subtle signals, but we can learn what to look for and how they communicate so that we are able to recognize and intervene when we see signs of stress and discomfort. Increasing our Dog Aware skills is a life long learning experience!

Did baby start to move in the direction of the dog and their ears perked up? Did they yawn? Lip lick? That’s giving information, time to intervene. Knowing what you are seeing is the first step!

08/06/2022

Training begins the moment you welcome your dog into your home. 🐾🐾🐾🐾🐶

Waiting Too Long to Start Training
Training should begin the moment your dog comes home with you, regardless of his age. Don't wait until he gets older and develops bad habits. Dog training is not the same as behavior management. In dog training, the goal is to shape your dog's behavior and teach your dog how to respond to specific phrases.

Young puppies might not be ready to learn advanced actions, but you should begin to work on house training and basic commands. Over time, you will forge a deeper bond with your dog. He will mature and grow accustomed to the routine of training sessions. Then, you can try fun things like dog tricks and advanced training, like agility or animal-assisted therapy.

16/05/2022

Moms take care of yourself!

New parents & Cat naps. Practice & plan with your dog for safe snoozes.
We totally understand! Being a tired parent with a newborn (or even a parent of toddlers!) is a common occurrence and it is easy to doze off when you are a very tired parent to a newborn. Family Paws Parent Education programs encourage expectant families and caretakers of babies to have a plan and PRACTICE. Where will the dog be when….baby is in a crib, bouncer, on playmate, in a bassinet, or even asleep on a sleeping parent.

We’ve come up with some questions to help you plan ahead for situations in which your dog would need to be secured when you have your newborn at home, or you plan on taking a nap, or will not be able to actively supervise.

1️⃣ How does your dog handle being separated from you while you are at home?
2️⃣ Is your dog able to be behind a closed door in your home?
3️⃣ How does your dog respond to being in a crate while you are home? In view?
4️⃣Is your dog used to being on the other side of a secure gate while you are talking to guests?
5️⃣ Have you ever used an indoor tether system or put your leash on your dog while in the house?

Read more details in our blog:
https://www.familypaws.com/newborn-parents-get-tired-practice-plan-with-your-dog/

16/05/2022

What is this dog telling us?

DOG BODY LANGUAGE QUIZ! This dog is providing us with a ton of information and communicating how heʻs feeling about something (likely that something is not pictured). Though we aren’t able to see what the dog is reacting to, we can certainly get a reading from this dog’s body language. What’s he telling us? Let’s be Doggie Detectives and look at the Ears, Eyes, Tail and Muzzle! Gather the clues to solve the puzzle. What might be going on?

The subtle signals this dog is communicating (listed in the image) is showing us that he is uncomfortable and wants to be away from this situation.

🐶 EARS: They’re shifting backwards. This may indicate stress, fear, or discomfort.
🐶 EYES: The Whale Eye (or half moon eye) look shows stress and doesn't want to take their eyes off of whatever is happening.
🐶 TAIL: Her tail is lowered and not wagging loosely, which shows us that she is definitely not in a playful or relaxed mood.
🐶 MUZZLE: Now, let’s notice her muzzle. It is tense and closed. What’s she telling us? Thereʻs some stress there for sure.

Another important observation is weight shift or leaning, what do you notice?

02/02/2022

🛎Ding ding ding!!! Active Supervision!! Now THIS is what we're talking about! Full active awake supervision is when the adult is physically present and also not distracted and engaged with dog and baby/toddler.

✅There can even be both adults in the room. We're talking, dog on the scene, parent in between, everyone doing their own thing in their own space. If engaging, then inviting the dog to come over, yet giving them the option that if they don't want to, that's ok! They've got choices.

We hope that this series showing the 5 Types of Supervision helps you plan and prepare ahead and think actively about management throughout the home. 😊

Need help with management ideas? or maybe not sure where to begin? Let us know and we'll help you find solutions that will work for you.

Illustration by Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin

31/01/2022

What level of supervision do you use?

27/01/2022

Reactive Supervision...this is responding after the dog or child is too close. Reacting after something has occurred.

❓Do you have any questions so far during our 5 Types of Supervision Series?

❗️We know it can be a lot! But, don't worry, hang in there, we're here to help. ✅

22/01/2022

Dogs that allow or tolerate their familiar adults taking food, toys or high value treats or bones away should NOT be expected to behave the same with other dogs or unfamiliar children or unfamiliar adults.

Dogs with a Bone....Leave them alone. If the item is dangerous or needs to be removed. Use your head and make an exchange instead! Then be sure to teach and practice "leave it" before you need it! If you came over to my table at a restaurant with your fork reaching for my carrot cake on MY plate. I think my response might be a bit grumpy too. Don't put your dog or anyone's dog in this situation.

31/12/2021

RIP Betty 🌈

25/12/2021

Merry Christmas everyone🐾🐾🎄

23/11/2021

How did your walk go today?

19/11/2021

Does your dog watch TV?

11/11/2021

First day of puppy class🐾🐾🐾💕🐶🐕

09/11/2021

08/11/2021

Isn’t that the truth 🐾🐾🐾💕🐶

07/11/2021

07/11/2021

Beautiful day for some bonding 🐾🐾🐾🐶