November 11, 2009
We will be showing at:
O Come All Ye
Shoppers…to the Gifts Galore shopping event!
Where: Maxine’s Hideaway – 1215 Bidwell Street (at
Davie)
When: Saturday, Dec. 5th, noon – 4:00pm
Why: A fun way to shop for unique, fabulous Christmas gifts!
Tickets: $5 (at the door) includes a ‘beverage’
and over 20 door prize draws!
Now, doesn’t this sound like more fun than going to the
mall?
Come out and support these local entrepreneurs
( some vendors - cash only )
www.maxineshideaway.com/bazaar
Who's That Pussycat ?
This is a typical afternoon of photography in my household. My Himalayan "Bijou" wants to get in every picture!. He weighs more than my 3 Yorkies put together. You will notice that most of the pictures now are of Emily (as above).
Emily is a sweet little girl who just loves to please. She is so eager to be my model.... she will look over her shoulder to display the outfit, sit-say, smile...
all for her little treats! On the other hand, Sapphy no longer likes to have her pictures taken and Georgie justs puts a "fed up" look on his face. I call Bijou my Yorkie wannabe...
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Nov 19, 2008
A Word About Doggie Dental
My oldest Yorkie, George, is 12 years old.
Due to a vicious street dog attack overseas he has only one kidney and no spleen (see blog below). This happened in June/03. Due to this, vets will not give him anesthesia. Consequently he cannot have his teeth professionally cleaned (and he does not permit scaling by hand...) His plaque build-up became frightening I spent a lot of time researching it on the web. I came up with this amazing product called "Leba 3". I think it will save his life. Tooth decay can lead to death and Georgie's situation was chronic. I was lucky that a local rescue group "Little Paws Rescue" decided to carry the product on a non-profit basis. I have been using "Leba 3" for several months now and the difference is amazing. George gets a spray every day on his tongue.
My little females have beautiful teeth so they only get two sprays a week for maintenance.
Contact www.littlepawsrescue.net for more information and to order LEBA III - "the dental product for dogs and cats that cleans teeth with the ease of a spray. The product is all herbal, easy to administer and saves your pet the trauma of anesthesia and yourself the expense of periodontal cleanings." Or check it out at www.lebalab.com (I have just ordered my 2nd order directly from their Canadian branch in Ontario) Natural Plus Pet Store in North Van quoted me $100.00 for this product and I just ordered two bottle on-line for $55.00 each (cdn) and $14.00 shipping. The customer service rep was very well informed and we discussed doggie dentalfor an hour. She claims that she uses the product herself and has not had to have her teeth cleaned in 10 years!
Little Paws will order in bulk and you save about $10.00 a bottle. The bottle cost me $60.00 and has 285 sprays in it. I live in North Vancouver.
It is readily available in the US at vets.
Check it out and look at the research - I'm sure glad I found it!!
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Dec 30, 2008
Well the year is drawing to a close and I thank all of my customers who made December a record month. I am so glad that you are keeping your doggies warm. I often see wee little toy breeds outside in our cold weather and feel so sad that they could be warmer. My two little girls just shake with the cold even with all their layers and now we have several inches of freezing water on every sidewalk and they are hating it!
My two little girls were born in Thailand. I accepted a teaching position over there in 2003 and I took Georgie, Kai and Bijou with me.
Three months after we arrived Georgie got viciously attacked by two big street dogs. One grabbed his throat the other grabbed his hindquarters and they pulled. He lost a kidney and his spleen had to be removed. The doctors said he wouldn't make it. I thought my heart had broken.....
They stitched him up from one side to the other. I promised him if he lived I would buy him a little female Yorkie.
It took me 6 months to find Sapphie, Ironically enough I think that she was brought in from Vancouver. One week after I bought her I was in a Thai "Ikea"
carrying Georgie when a Thai shop girl came up to me and said in broken English, "You want to buy a Yorkie puppy?" And that is how Emily joined our family.
Georgie was like the bionic dog. Almost six years later he is thriving and has more energy than the rest of us put together!!
I think of this miracle at this time of year and am glad I could share it with you.
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Jan 3, 2009
How to Teach Your Dog to Love their Booties or To Wear or Not to Wear...
Booties are a must if your dog's paws are exposed to any streets where salt or other snow-melting chemicals are being used (which is most streets).We live in Vancouver and this is the worse winter my Yorkies have ever seen. The two little ones were born in Thailand where I was teaching, and they lived there until they were two years old. Georgie is twelve but has never experienced weather like this - so I had to introduce boots. The following article was a great help to me conditioning the dogs to wear their booties. If we can do it - you can do it!! Learn how to below...
As part of a grooming or training session, just slip a boot onto one of his feet — don’t fasten it, the first time — just slip the boot on, give a wonderful treat, and then slip it right back off again and go on with your other activities.
Stand your dog for this exercise — or have someone hold his collar, if he isn’t likely to stand still. You don’t want him trying to walk around with this loose floppy weird thing on his foot! A slip on the floor or a successful kicking-off of the boot will just make "boot training" your dog more difficult.The next day, repeat with a different foot… and the next… and the next… Then, try two feet. And a different two feet, the next day. What you’re doing here is working up to the point where your dog is happy to get his feet handled and get a boot on, because he knows he’ll be getting a lovely treat when it happens.
Step by step, build up his tolerance for the whole footwear issue. Don’t be tempted to go too fast! Patience will pay off in the long run.Note that I have suggested doing the boot training as part of your regular training sessions. That’s to help your dog to understand that the boot is just another part of the wonderful "school game" you play together. Go at the dog’s pace, and stay within his comfort zone when you’re introducing anything new.
For some timid dogs, that could mean you start out simply by showing him the boots (and reward him for being near them), then just gently touching one to the top of his paw (and reward while the boot is touching him) , then touching one to his paw while you lift his paw in your hand (and reward)… and so on.
If your dog isn’t used to having his feet handled, or has had a bad experience with clipping his nails, etc., this could take a good number of days to get him comfortable. Keep it calm and happy, with lots of great treats, and gradually build up his comfort level with this strange new activity.
It bears repeating: Don’t be tempted to go too fast!When the dog will eventually allow you to put boots (not fastened) onto all four feet at once, go back to putting a boot on just one foot — but this time, fasten it loosely, just enough so he can feel that there’s something around his ankle. Boot on, fasten gently, treat the dog, take off the boot. Next session, do the same thing on a different foot… again, working up to the point where all four feet can be in (loosely fastened) boots at one time.
Repeat the training cycle — one foot first, working up to all four — but this time you’ll fasten each boot more securely, as you would if your were taking the dog outside. You’ll find that each training cycle will go more quickly, because the dog is gaining confidence and becoming more comfortable with the whole process. At this point, some dogs will be quite calm about it all, and more interested in walking around than in standing still with you handling their paws. You’ll laugh out loud, the way a dog in new boots will lift his feet and shake them, trying to figure out what’s going on! Just keep his mind off those new boots, those first few times — offer treats, a favourite toy, a ride in the car, whatever he sees as a reward and will distract him from the funny feeling of wearing boots… Before you know it, your dog will be standing patiently while you put boots on his feet and walking gracefully with well-protected paws.
P.S. If all else fails - rub Vitamin E into their paws on a regular basic and buy pet friendly salt!
Thanks to the Domestik Goddess site for part of this information.
Jan 16, 2009
Confessions of a Dog Clothes Junkie
I started this business last summer but I have to confess that my dogs owned over 100 pieces of clothing prior to my business. I knew what I wanted - I just couldn't find it. I've bought a lot of junk. Biggest problem Dept. store clothes don't cut the pattern to allow for male dog tinkling. This was the first criteria with my line. No peeing on the clothes here!
I also find the cheaper brands lose their shape after one wash!
I know a lot about dog clothes, and fit and care so feel free to email me to discuss this issue.
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What Pet Owners Should Know about the H1N1 Flu
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First confirmed H1N1 case reported in house pet
Updated: Wed Nov. 04 2009 12:55:36
CTV.ca News Staff
A cat in Iowa has come down with a case of H1N1 swine flu, the first reported confirmed case of infection in a house pet.
The 13-year-old cat apparently caught the flu from one of the people
living in its house who was sick with a flu infection, the American
Veterinary Medical Association.
The veterinarian who treated the cat, Dr. Brett Sponseller, says two
of the three people in the same house had flu-like symptoms before the
cat became ill.
"Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had
suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill," Iowa
Department of Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Ann Garvey said in a
statement.
"This is not completely unexpected, as other strains of influenza have been found in cats in the past."
The cat and the infected owners have recovered.
There is no evidence the cat passed the virus on to any more people.
While H1N1 swine flu has been diagnosed in a number of animals,
including ferrets, turkeys, and pigs, this is believed to be the first
known case of a case in a house pet.
Theoretically, dogs can also catch swine flu; so far, though, none
have been diagnosed. The illness has been diagnosed in birds, though,
having recently been found in a turkey flock in Ontario.
Veterinarians say that pets that live in close proximity to someone
who has been sick with the flu are at risk of contracting the virus
too. But even with seasonal flu, it is uncommon for flu viruses to jump
between humans and pets.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association advises that people can
keep their pets healthy by washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes,
and minimizing contact with their pets while ill with the flu.
Pet owners should monitor their pets' health and consult a
veterinarian if their pet is showing any signs of illness, the CVMA
recommends. Common signs of flu infection in pets include not eating,
drinking, or playing as usual. Pets may also cough, sneeze, or develop
a fever.
Most animals infected with H1N1 so far have shown mild respiratory illness -- or no illness at all -- and have recovered well.
Genetic testing of H1N1 swine flu had suggested the virus has the DNA components of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu strains.
