Great Outdoors Dog Academy

31/07/2024

I’m super busy today.

13/07/2024

16/06/2024

“Let's talk about this photo. It's cute, except it's not. I see a dog who cannot get up without telling the child to get off. How do you think a dog is going to do that?

The 7 Golden Toddler Dog Rules:
#1: If a dog walks away from you, you DO NOT FOLLOW.
#2: Always leave room for the dog to walk away from you.
---that right there is 90+% of dog bites eliminated---
#3: We do not climb on the dog.
#4: We do not grab or pull on the dog.
#5: We do not hit or throw anything at the dog.
#6: We do not touch the dog's food.
#7: We do not go into the dog's kennel.

I promise these are not overly difficult concepts for littles, nor will they rob a kid of their bond with the family dog. It will deepen that bond, while keeping everyone safe.

"Oh, it looks like Moose is walking away from you. She is saying she wants a break. Let's play with this instead!"

"It's Moose's dinner time! Let's give her space to enjoy her yummies."

"That is Moose's room(kennel) and only she is allowed to go in there."

"If Moose wanted a break, could she walk away from you right now? No she really couldn't. Let's move away from the play house. You can keep playing but now she can leave when she wants a break."

In conclusion, ***parent your child or your dog will do it for you, and you will not like how they do it.***

Thank you - Levitt lead”

29/04/2024

The more we learn about our dogs' body language, the better we can recognize their feelings and support them. Sometimes the signs of fear can be pretty subtle! Here are six ways your pup may display fear:

⭐1. Refusing treats. If your pup who usually loves his snacks is not interested, there's some big emotion going on! Often, this is fear.
⭐2. Snapping & snarling. Oftentimes, people mistake blustery behaviors for confidence, but it's just the exact opposite: scared dogs may feel like they need to puff up big to defend themselves!
⭐3. Sudden stillness. The "freeze" may last for quite some time, or may be just a couple of seconds.
⭐4. Avoiding eye contact. Dogs who don't make any eye contact are often communicating, "Oh man, I don't want any trouble! Let me be!" in an attempt to escape confrontation.
⭐5. Drooling. Some breeds of dogs drool regularly, but drool stemming from fear is out of the norm and often foamy.
⭐6. Looking all around. Some amount of looking around is normal, but looking around in all directions or constantly scanning the environment is a sign of hypervigilance. Think of it as feeling so nervous that they must "keep on a lookout" for dangers in their environment.

If you've got a scaredy-pup on your hands, we'd be glad to help you out! You know we got you! 🐶😘

18/04/2024

The Franklin County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center announced it is at capacity on Tuesday.

16/04/2024

Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Chris Pachel and Steve Dale go deep in a discussion on canine separation anxiety, and Mella Pet Care

26/03/2024

Did you know?

While the front part of your dog's nostrils take in air, those slits on the sides are there to allow the air to escape when your dog exhales.

What is more, as the air flows out of those slits, it creates a swirl of air.

These small currents of air, seemingly exiting from the side of the dog's nostrils, are not gone for good, but rather lift more particles of odor off the sniffed surfaces which are then once again suctioned for further investigation.

Discover more interesting facts about dog noses: https://pethelpful.com/dogs/30-Facts-About-Your-Dogs-Nose-You-Didnt-Know-Until-Now

23/01/2024

16/01/2024

https://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet-health-columns/winter-safety-for-dogs/

Winter may bring hazards for your dog. Learn about cold exposure, frostbite, ice-melt ingestion, holiday travel, and other safety concerns.

23/12/2023

🎄🎄This is a long one🎄🎄
Sometimes things are donated to the shelter we’re unable to use here (ceramic feeding bowls, toys that need supervision, cat food/toys…) But we don’t let ANYTHING go to waste! Friends of the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter has had a pet pantry since the start of the pandemic and EVERY month is able to supply cat & dog food for over 100 families throughout the county. But at the holidays something magical happens✨… we are able to take all of the wonderful and generous donations and those from others, to make gift bags for these pups and cats. Because EVERY animal should have something to open Christmas Day. So while the majority of donations stay here with the shelter, those we’re unable to give our pups, we pay it forward. Thank you for all the kindness you show us throughout the year. We’re so grateful that because of you, we can help other pets have the holiday they deserve. And thank you to PetSmart for donating gobs(!) of dog toys!❤️
If you would like to donate to the pet pantry: https://fccas.org/what-we-do/pet-pantry-program/
Because no one should have to choose between paying a bill or feeding their pet.

03/12/2023

The domesticated dog is not a den animal. They use "dens" for whelping and raising young and protection from predators and the weather, but not den animals.

29/11/2023

These little things are what we refer to as stressors or triggers. They might not seem like much to us, and we often don't even notice that our pet might be uncomfortable.

26/11/2023

Respiratory Syndrome of Unknown Etiology in Dogs 2022-3 in New England: Diagnostic Investigation Effective 11-21-2023

24/11/2023

https://info.canine.org/webmail/883483/1044367035/0373129b60bb0e468596d31a634b7f80db72edcc97ac48a23729a18365803784

Happy Black Lab Friday! Donations are fully matched today! 🐾

Every year, we dedicate this special day to highlight our amazing black Labrador service dogs (don’t worry, we love our yellows and goldens, too!) and their impact on people with disabilities.

11/11/2023

Today's Best Photo ❤️❤️

30/10/2023

In order for our dogs to get it right, we need to allow them to be confident enough to try, offer and progress. This all comes more naturally when we allow them to confidently make mistakes.

The same goes for us. You wouldn’t be able to look back and say ‘I wish I’d done it differently’, if you hadn’t made those mistakes in the first place. Mistakes are what progresses us, keeps us unstuck and helps us grow. Mistakes are never really mistakes at all.

24/10/2023

Helping your dog build a positive association with visitors can be very helpful when there is a fear of visitors. Food is a great tool to help build a positive association. Things can get slippery though when food is coming from the scary thing.

With low levels of fear, you probably won't see anything negative come from having the visitor give the food. Anything above a low level of fear can set your dog and visitor up for failure. How so?

1. We don't want our dogs to have to get closer than they're comfortable to get the food. If the visitor is trying to hand your dog the food it's possible that this could be happening.

2. We don't want the food to predict something scary or unpleasant. Often visitors are well meaning and give the treat and then they reach their hand out to either allow for a sniff or pat dogs on top of their heads. If your dog is already weary of the person, having that person reach out is likely going to make your dog more weary.

3. Sometimes dogs will become obsessed with the person giving the food. The problem can then happen when the food stops flowing and what's left is a dog that is very close to the scary visitor. (This lines up with 1.)

The best thing to do is for you to be the food deliverer. As long as you have a clear order of events, (the person appears before the food does) your dog will likely catch on and build the association with the visitor.