It is best for all canines to be professionally groomed.  These sessions, however, are not enough. Even if you take your dog to a groomer, it’s vital to care for your dog between grooms.

Below are a few suggestions for owners on the proper care and grooming of their four-legged friend.

Here we have how to take care of your dog between grooms!

Brushing

All dogs must be brushed regularly to keep their coats in tip-top condition.  Be careful to use just enough force. You don’t want to inflict pain, but you want to be sure to get rid of excess hair, fur and dirt. The kind of brush you use will depend on the breed and the type of hair.  When grooming, start at the tail and move toward the head.  The hardest part of spiffing up your pet is getting rid of matted hair. It must be dealt with, however, as tangled hair is not just unsightly but may cause health problems.  One of the best ways to deal with this problem is to grab the mat at the base and slowly attempt to comb out the tangles.  Watch for items that might be lodged in the hair that could be the cause of the problem.

Bathing

Regular bathing is also important.  There are few guidelines on this procedure.  The water should be lukewarm and the bather must be sure to avoid getting soap in the ears or eyes.  Thorough rinsing is essential as any remaining shampoo can be very irritating to the skin.  It’s also a good idea to brush before and after bathing;  this stimulates the oil glands, distributes the oil and keeps the skin from drying out and getting itchy.

Nail Care

Probably the most unpleasant part of the process for both you and your pet is clipping the nails.  To avoid cutting off too much of the nail and causing bleeding, it’s usually best to just trim the tips.  This should be sufficient until the next professional treatment.  If you do cut too far and cause bleeding, there’s no reason to panic.  Placing a little flour or cornstarch on the nail or simply applying pressure until the bleeding stops should resolve the problem.

Caring for your furry friend is a big responsibility.   It is important to have professional grooming done, but pet owners must do basic upkeep on their own in between.  Here’s to keeping them clean and cute!

Bailey from http://www.aussiepetmobile.ca/grooming

Owning a dog is fun, but it also comes with many responsibilities. One of the most important responsibilities you have as an owner is dog training. “Sit” is among the most basic and important commands. These tips will help you learn how to teach your dog to sit.

1. Assign a Command and Signal

When teaching the sit command, and other commands, it is a good idea to assign both a verbal command and a signal. A hand signal will come in handy when it is loud and your pooch cannot hear you, and a verbal command works well when your pup cannot see you. Begin by teaching your pup to sit using the verbal command and signal together. More than likely, you will use the word “sit” as the verbal command. A suggestion for a hand signal would be a hand or finger held over your pup’s head.

2. Show Your Pup What You Want

Dogs, in general, want to please their owners. This will work in your favor as you teach your pooch the sit command. For any type of dog training to work, however, you must show your pup what you want him or her to do.

To teach the sit command, you will want to get your pup’s attention by saying his or her name, then clearly give a verbal command and hand signal. A hand or finger held over your pup’s head is a great hand signal since your pup will be more likely to sit down when he or she looks up. Immediately after giving the verbal command and hand signal, gently place the pooch in a sit position by placing light pressure on his or her backside. Praise your pup immediately and then repeat.

3. Praise

There are many ways to praise a pup. A cheerful “good pup!” and petting is great immediately following a command and action. For additional reward and motivation, each pooch is different and will respond to different types of praise. If your pup loves to play ball, a game of fetch following a training session might work best for you. If your pup is motivated by food, then treat training will be best for your pet. The key is to keep training positive, praise your pet consistently, and gently correct your pup when he or she disobeys. Correction should only be used, however, after your pup has learned a command, never before he or she understands what you are asking of him or her.

A well trained pooch is a happy one. Your pup will be a well behaved part of the family, and will be able to accompany you to more places when he or she is well trained. Use these tips to begin with a simple sit, and you will progress smoothly from there.

We at Aussie Pet Mobile believe in health and wellness whole heartedly. From the products and services that we provide, our solar powered mercedes benz sprinters and the businesses that we partner with. We spend so much time taking care of our families and pets that we often forget to take care of ourselves. Well, maybe just not as we should do! We’re offering some easter contest fun from Aussie Pet Mobile and everyWOMAN!

We have partnered up with everyWOMAN for their Whistler conference upcoming on April 27, 28, 29. everyWOMAN is all about inspiring women through physical activity! This is a weekend to remember and and will have you kickstarted back into your own self care routine. The weekend is full of many different types of fitness classes, hiking, dancing, yoga and more. Workshops are also offered in nutrition and life coaching group sessions. It is a full weekend and this is the 9th year that everyWOMAN has hosted this conference up in Whistler.  

We would like to give one lucky reader the opportunity to win a VIP pass for attending the conference in Whistler this month! Not only that, we are going to add a Groom for your pet to the prize package as well! – Total prize value $275!

To Enter: 

On Twitter? Tweet - ” I entered to win a VIP Self Care Weekend & Pet Groom from @AussiePetCanada & @everyWomanmove http://bit.ly/Hd5hIu” – 1 Entry

Facebook: It’s Easter! Head on over and post a photo of your pet in their Easter BEST! - 1 Entry

Comment on the blog below and let us know why you need a weekend away and your why your pet needs that Groom! – 1 Entry

Contest will be drawn at noon on April 11th. VIP pass is for everyWOMAN conference, accommodations will be separate.

We have been sitting on this news for a little while now and are just so excited and honoured to share with you that we have received the Franchisees’ Choice designation! We couldn’t do this without amazing franchise owners in all 41 of currently operating territories from Vancouver to Toronto!

The Canadian Franchise Association (CFA), annually awards the Franchisees’ Choice designation to member franchise systems for solid rankings in franchisee satisfaction. Franchise owners take part in an independent CFA survey and are asked to rate the franchisor in many key areas including information packages, leadership, business planning and marketing and the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee, to name a few.

As we continue rolling on in 2012 we look forward to adding new territories across Canada! If this is something that interests you or someone that you know please register here for more information!

Thank you again to our amazing franchise operators, groomers and clients for bringing the Franchisees’ Choice designation to us here at Aussie Pet Mobile!

Choosing a doggy daycare to care for your pet is not a decision to take lightly. Ensure that all your concerns are addressed, and that the facility is willing to be thorough and transparent in answering all your questions.

We don’t want to scare you… but we have found out first hand, with our Aussie Pet Mobile ‘Mascot’ that some daycares are better than others and the only way to know for certain if a daycare provides essential care is to ask questions, questions and more questions!

Here are some tips on how to find the right doggy day care:

The Ultimate and Most Important tip we can share with you is to utilize the power of the web, reviews and social media.

•  Online Review Sites – Often if someone has a bad experience, they feel the need to share their story so that others too, won’t fall victim to a less than great experience. We can all agree mistakes do happen, but how could these have prevented? Most importantly what is the company doing to resolve the negative feedback? A few to check out are Yelp, Google, and Better Business Bureau.
•  Use Social Media – If you are on Twitter or Facebook, post a question asking your followers and friends if they have tried the daycare in question.  We Guarantee you will find out what you need to know from Twitter.
• Company Website – What sort of experience do they promise you and your pet?  Take notes and you can formulate questions based around this, when you make your initial inquiry call.  Do they promise that they are eco-friendly? Have a certain amount of staff on site at all times to care for your pet? Do they have an intake process to ensure the safety of your dog? Have they lost a dog before?

Other equally important doggy daycare tips are:

• Take a Tour – Be suspicious if they only schedule tours by appointment. A tour should only take a few minutes and if there aren’t enough people on call to assist a potential client with a tour, then the facility might be understaffed. Another issue that bears consideration is whether the facility is hiding anything and doesn’t offer unannounced tours simply to ensure that the daycare is clean and ready for visitors.
•  Human to Pet Ratio – Ideally, the daycare should have at least one caretaker to every 10 dogs. Ask how many handlers are on call at any given time. A minimum of two caretakers on staff at all times regardless of the number of animals is the bare minimum. This ensures that if a pet needs individual attention, enough caretakers are available to handle its needs.
• References – What pet care certifications do they have? Have they received awards for their pet service? Ask the daycare for references. If it is a larger daycare, it may have won awards or received certification for pet care. At least one attendant at all times should have certification in some form of animal training and emergency techniques. Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to ensure that the daycare doesn’t have any complaints such as this one for example here.

• Dog Screening – Do they isolate pets with an aggressive temperament? Ask the daycare about screening process. If they allow any animal regardless of temperament ensure that they have the ability to isolate more aggressive pets. Bring your pet to a daycare that allows large aggressive pets to interact with smaller weaker pets is a recipe for disaster

• Boarding Arrangements – Do they get exercise and socialize?Ask about hourly rates and how many pets are placed in each room. Responsible daycares avoid placing too many animals in a small area. Also, the pets should have plenty of access to water and receive individual attention from breeders. Pets need time to interact with humans to avoid becoming lonely. Taking good care of the pet prevents a need for the animal to lash out when it gets home by destroying furniture, shoes and other valuables. If the pet is not allowed to release energy, then the animal may become overly energetic and problem-some when brought back home.

• Transportation – What safety measures do they enforce? Does the doggy day care provide transportation to and from their location? If so, you may want to ask them what safety measures they and their employees strictly adhere to.  If your pet is shy, you may also want your pet to first feel comfortable with the driver, to prevent any un-necessary stress.  You may also want to ask them if any pet has successfully escaped a vehicle and whether or not the dog was recovered right away.

•  Outdoor Walks – GPS collars are a GREAT idea.  Ensure the right type of collar is used. Different people have different methods of training a dog, and which collars they believe to be OK for a dog that ‘pulls on leash’.  Ensure the care facility uses only a friendly non-pronged collars nor shock collars that may cause pain and harm to your pet.  Aussie Pet Mobile recommends harness’s that eliminate choking tension around the neck. A great article here supporting this by Dr. Peter Dobias. Companies like Wagging Trails use GPS collars and provide a location of where your pet is at all times.  Ensuring peace of mind, should anything happen.  They even provide a map of what trails your dog has been while they are on walks.

We hope that you’ve found this read helpful. Our intent was to keep it short and sweet but due to our experience with a local Vancouver dog boarding, shuttle and training service we were hoping to lay it all out for you.