Moonlight goes boating

Received this note and photo from our recent foster, Moonlight‘s family…

Moonlight in a boat

Moonlight in a boat

Hi Kristin,

Here is Moonlight from today on his first boat/fishing trip. He did great! He had his nose in the wind half the time we were out on the lake. Yesterday, he was one of the stars of his first puppy obedience class! (And we totally adore him!)

Thank you for all you did for him and so many dogs. Hope all is well.

Best Regards,

Kathy

What a great picture! Look at those EARS!! Wow. He looks totally calm and at peace. I love that you love him so much. I am happy to do my part but you, opening your heart to him, did/will do it all. Thanks for the update and picture.
-Kristin

10 Party Tips for Dog Owners

With the holiday season upon us, I’ve had many questions about what to do with “rowdy” dogs during a party. Here are my top ten pieces of advice:

1. Feed the dog prior to the party starting and then make sure you take them out to potty after about 15 minutes. If they don’t produce for you, then make sure you make a note for yourself to try again in another 5 minutes. Nothing worse than a potty accident right at the start of the party.

2. WALK them as long as you can as close to the start of the party as possible. Make this a controlled walk, dog at your side, you determine the pace and the direction. Try for a 45 minute walk but no less than 30 minutes. More is better.

3. Advise guests to completely ignore the dog when they arrive and not to pet, look at or talk to the dog until you give the go ahead. Prepare for this to be the hardest thing to accomplish! Only let guests say hello to the dog once the dog is settled nicely. Expect this to take awhile – likely a good 45 minutes into the party.

4. Keep the dog on leash during the party. There is no reason to let a young or out of control dog have free reign of the house during the party. Keeping them on leash and nearby is far better than isolating them to their crate or a back room. This will only cause barking or possible distructive behavior. Dogs are social like us, they deserve to be wtih the group.

5. Work the obedience skills – especially down/stay. Have treats ready and practice these two commands while you take a break and sit down. If you can’t take a break from the action then …

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