1. Big Bad Wolf & Red Riding Hood

Who doesn’t remember the classic Big Bad Wolf and Red Riding Hood characters of our youth? Even better, you already have little ‘wolves’ of your own; the costumes make themselves!

Time to hit the fabric store for these incredibly simple items! All you need is a red ‘blanket’ cape for the back of one pup, with a simple ribbon/bow around the waist and in front of the shoulders to hold this one, and a simple blue ‘bonnet’ cap for the other!

     2. DIY Wild West Bandanna & Boots

So, you’re looking for an easy two-piece dog costume for your little one this season? This western outfit is so simple, it practically puts itself together! Talk about no assembly required. You can simply purchase a bandana at any craft/clothing store, or cut out your own.

Though it may take some time for your pooch to adjust to his/her new boots, they are functional as well as absolutely adorable. Dog boots offer protection, traction, and prevent burning from hot cement or sand.

• Most pet stores will sell various types of ‘doggie boots’.
• Easily attach your bandana to your dog’s collar.

   3. Dino-Dog Dinosaur Costume

Once again dinosaurs can roam their battlegrounds of old with this easy to make costume! Not only is it the cutest thing, but the dino-dog costume is also one of the classic pet costumes for any holiday.

Time to visit the fabric store! You can easily make triangle cutouts for the ‘scales’ to attach (sew) to the top of and dog costume or existing dog coat! You can even take a child’s sweater, cut off the sleeves, and sew the spikes on the back!

     4. Bat Wing Doggie!

Do you have a dog harness for your pup? If not; no worries- you can use any old shirt cut to fit your little one. Simply wrap the ends of two strips of pre-cut fabric around a couple pencils, attaching with a hot glue gun. Be sure to allow the fabric time to cool, and attach the pencil ends to your dog’s harness in batwing style!

Materials:

• Scissors
• 2 strips of fabric
• Harness
• 2 pencils
• Hot glue gun

5. Mummy Dog

Perhaps one of the easiest costumes to make, the ‘dog mummy’ is absolutely perfect for a Halloween costume or any celebration! Even better- this one doesn’t require any special sewing tools or experience. Why not WOW the neighborhood with ‘Mummy Dog’?

Using a large roll of gauze or several ACE bandages (making sure not to wrap too tightly), simply wrap the bandage material around your pet’s legs, torso, and head (making sure to leave plenty of open space for the face and elimination spots).

• Make sure wrapping material is non-adhesive.
• You can also use a white hooded sweatshirt, and simply attach gauze or white bandaging, avoiding your pet’s fur altogether.

Conclusion: A Great Way to Socialize!

Socialization is one of the more important skills your dog will ever learn. He won’t just love all of the attention your costume will bring, it’s a fantastic way to amp up that socialization!

Are you looking for a doggie daycare that your furry loved one can spend time at while you are away? A place they can call their ‘home away from home’? Don’t you wish you could find caretakers that are like a second family to your fur-child, and not just hourly employees working for a paycheck? No need to look further- you may have just found your dream daycare!

Building Fur-Ever Friends!

All of our dogs love it here. After one day with us, they will form valuable connections and always look toward the next visit with overwhelming excitement and joy! Several of our clients say that their dogs begin whining with anticipation every time they turn the corner and Pets In The City comes into view.

Most of our customers visit Pets In The City every workday, Monday through Friday, or at least 2-3 times weekly, so their pets quickly become part of our family. It doesn’t take long for the pets to learn our daily routine, looking forward to daily walks, feeding times, and playtime with friends!

• Because we are a smaller facility, we are able to build a personalized relationship with both the dogs and their owners.
• We’re able to pinpoint unusual behavior/ actions of each dog, always informing their owners. If a dog is sick or not feeling well, we always let the owners know!
• We’re a ‘one stop shop’! Many of our dogs use our grooming services, and vacations become easy transitions when dogs are already familiar with our facility and process!
• Our staff is fun loving, always treating all the pets as our own!
• The dogs we care for become family members, here on a regular basis. Not only do we know their likes and dislikes, we’ve become closely accustomed to each individual personality!

Why not Visit Pets In The City Today!

Sure, dogs can learn to recognize human words and singular commands. The number of commands they can learn can sometimes reach into the hundreds with patience and perseverance. Despite this amazing ability, no dog is capable of comprehending the meanings behind complex human sentences; human speech is a secondary form of communication to them.

Using a precise set of visual cues, on the other hand, a dog can speak entire volumes in a fraction of a second! Your dog is telling you what’s on his mind every second of every day- you just need to learn to watch him.

• Learning dog ques and communication is very helpful in a daycare or dog park environment.
• All these visual cues (tail wagging, for example) will always be accompanied with other visual cues. Dogs use their entire bodies to send signals and communicate (ears, eye contact, tail, body posture) with every thought, not just one part.

Is this dominant aggressive or submissive, defensive aggression? Hint: Look at the ear position.

Dog Tail

A dog’s tail is like an antenna, a beacon for other dogs to pick up on, and usually the very first thing people notice, probably the best indicator of a dog’s mood. Is the tail wagging rapidly, almost causing the dog’s entire body to vibrate (happy excitement)? Is it point straight backward (interest, focus) or curved upward?

Rigid, highly held tail: Aroused, ready to react

Tail tucked or held tight to body: Submissive, frightened or injured

Neutral or low position: Content, relaxed (can also indicate fatigue)

Wagging rapidly: Excitement

Highly held w/ slow wag: Could indicate imminent action

*What is this dog thinking? Hint: Notice the ear position.

Dog Ears

Not only do they help augment a dog’s hearing, able to rotate in order to face a sound and enhance hearing, a dog’s ears are heavily used in dog communication. Have you ever seen your dog’s ears lie flat against his head? How about standing up rigidly, pointing straight upward?

• Ears will usually ‘point’ toward whatever the dog is focused on.
• Various breeds, such as hounds, will have more difficulty manipulating ears that tend to droop.

Neutral Position: Relaxed, content

Pricked, forward: Attentive, playful

Low, flat against head: Submissive

Body Posture

Is your dog standing tall and rigid, staring intently? Or is he crouched, slouching his back in a curve, trying to make himself look smaller? A certain type of body posture will accompany these other signals when displaying one mood or another.

Slouched, low body posture: Submissiveness

Tall, rigid posture: Alert, Dominant

Judging by his tail, body posture and ear position, how is this dog feeling?

• Direct eye contact can be considered a challenge to a dog’s dominance. This is why your pets will often look away rather than staring you straight in your face.

Conclusion:

Remember, dogs are constantly relaying their feelings and thoughts all of the time! To understand dog communication, you just have to be willing to pay attention.

Evaluating a dog’s individual temperament through a series of tests, temperament testing measures individual traits like stability, confidence, shyness, friendliness, aggressiveness, protectiveness, play drive, and self-defense instincts.

• Ensure that your dog breed is the right fit for you and your family!

A Temperament test simulates a casual walk in the park, a natural pet environment where everyday life situations are encountered. The dog experiences visual, auditory and tactile stimuli during this walk, and responses are recorded. How sociable is the dog, and how will it react to strangers or other animals? Is it calm, timid, eager to play with each individual encountered, or aggressively barking at every passerby?

• Dogs must have completed the series of puppy shots and/or current on vaccinations in order to attend doggie daycare.

Neutral, friendly, and threatening situations are all encountered. The dog’s ability to discern between non-threatening situations and those calling for protective reactions is measured.

Any of these signs will indicate a failure:

• Unprovoked aggression
• Extreme anxiety or panic without recovery
• Strong avoidance

The dog is on a loose six-foot lead, and the hander isn’t allowed to talk to or react to the dog in any way. The temperament testing consists of 5 main categories.

Behavior toward strangers: Measure the dog’s reaction toward strangers in a non-threatening situation.

Reaction to Auditory Stimuli: Measure the dog’s investigative behavior and reaction to auditory stimuli. Big trucks, buses, garbage truck, mail carrier, bicycles, skateboarders, etc.

Reaction to Visual Stimulus: Measure the dog’s reaction to a sudden visual stimulus.

Tactile Stimuli: Measure the dog’s reaction to an unusual or uneven footing.

Self Protective/Aggressive Behavior: These tests measure a dog’s ability to recognize and react to an unusual situation, protective instincts, and ability to recognize threats.

How Breeds Are Judged

All dogs are social pack animals by nature, reactions governed by a sort of instinctual set of ‘rules’ ingrained genetically. Those reactions and temperaments are partly affected by heredity and breeding, but environmental influences have the largest impact by far. Because no one dog is raised the exact same way as another, many dogs of the same breed are tested to achieve an overall estimation.

Watch a Video of the Temperament Test Here!

Dog Communication & Language

Sure, dogs can learn to recognize human words and singular commands. The number of commands they can learn can sometimes reach into the hundreds with patience and perseverance. Despite this amazing ability, no dog is capable of comprehending the meanings behind complex human sentences; human speech is a secondary form of communication to them.

Using a precise set of visual cues, on the other hand, a dog can speak entire volumes in a fraction of a second! Your dog is telling you what’s on his mind every second of every day- you just need to learn to watch him.

• Learning dog ques and communication is very helpful in a daycare or dog park environment.
• All these visual cues (tail wagging, for example) will always be accompanied by other visual cues. Dogs use their entire bodies to send signals and communicate (ears, eye contact, tail, body posture) with every thought, not just one part.

Is this dominant aggressive or submissive, defensive aggression? Hint: Look at the ear position.

Dog Tail

A dog’s tail is like an antenna, a beacon for other dogs to pick up on, and usually the very first thing people notice, probably the best indicator of a dog’s mood. Is the tail wagging rapidly, almost causing the dog’s entire body to vibrate (happy excitement)? Is it point straight backward (interest, focus) or curved upward?

Rigid, highly held tail: Aroused, ready to react

Tail tucked or held tight to the body: Submissive, frightened or injured

Neutral or low position: Content, relaxed (can also indicate fatigue)

Wagging rapidly: Excitement

Highly held w/ slow wag: Could indicate imminent action

*What is this dog thinking? Hint: Notice the ear position.

Dog Ears

Not only do they help augment a dog’s hearing, able to rotate in order to face a sound and enhance hearing, a dog’s ears are heavily used in dog communication. Have you ever seen your dog’s ears lie flat against his head? How about standing up rigidly, pointing straight upward?

• Ears will usually ‘point’ toward whatever the dog is focused on.
• Various breeds, such as hounds, will have more difficulty manipulating ears that tend to droop.

Neutral Position: Relaxed, content

Pricked, forward: Attentive, playful

Low, flat against head: Submissive

Body Posture

Is your dog standing tall and rigid, staring intently? Or is he crouched, slouching his back in a curve, trying to make himself look smaller? A certain type of body posture will accompany these other signals when displaying one mood or another.

Slouched, low body posture: Submissiveness

Tall, rigid posture: Alert, Dominant

Judging by his tail, body posture and ear position, how is this dog feeling?

• Direct eye contact can be considered a challenge to a dog’s dominance. This is why your pets will often look away rather than staring you straight in your face.

Conclusion:

Remember, dogs are constantly relaying their feelings and thoughts all of the time! To understand dog communication, you just have to be willing to pay attention.

It’s important to be sure your pup has the social skills necessary to get along with other dogs. How does your pup act around others, and are you sure he has what it takes? In most cases, there will be several dogs interacting at doggy daycare.

Ways to Prepare Your Dog Before they Come to Daycare

How sure are you your dog is ready for doggy daycare? Follow the tips below, and you can kiss your doubts goodbye!

Temperament Test & Socialization

Strong socialization is perhaps the single most important aspect to install in your dog before doggy daycare, and might make the difference between pleasant, happy and fun interactions and aggressive fights.Introduce your puppy to other animals, strangers, and children as soon as you can. Try your best to reward these happy experiences with praise and treats! Be sure to show your dog any other creatures he might encounter are good things to enjoy, and not threats to be wary of.

• The ATTS temperament test is a fantastic way to be sure your pup is ready!

Socialization is a Must

Many ‘old school’ pet owners, especially those with protection animals or many guard dogs, don’t want to desensitize their pets to strangers or other animals. You can’t have a well socialized dog without this. Poorly socialized dogs shouldn’t attend doggy daycare due to the potential risk for other, well socialized dogs.

• Reward pleasant interactions with treats and praise
• Introduce your dog to anything he might encounter at doggie daycare, including other animals (dogs, cats), children, even strangers.

Medical History & Vaccinations

Check your pup’s medical history with your vet. Not only are several vaccinations required before daycare facilities will allow your dog around others, they are a great idea for your little one’s health! Does your dog have his vaccinations? Is he microchipped?

Separation Anxiety

A fantastically well behaved dog, always happy when owners are around, might become anxious or even fearful when they are absent for long periods of time. Called ‘Separation Anxiety’, dogs not used to being left alone might behave erratically when their owners leave. It’s important to train your pet to be alone, first leaving him alone for several short durations, slowly increasing your absence. Teach your dog that you didn’t leave him forever, and will always return!

• Remember, dogs don’t think like humans. What might seem completely rational or irrational to a grown human adult could also seem natural to a dog.
• Always reward with pleasant things; never punish. Punishment can lead to increased fear.

Crate training should take advantage of your dog’s natural ‘den’ instincts, their place to hide from danger, sleep and even raise a family. If done right, your dog will come to love his crate, entering on a daily basis without being told to at all!

Why Crate Train Your Dog?

Safety: Puppies are kind of like toddlers in a way. If left alone they can wreak havoc, chewing on electrical cords, furniture, bedding, putting absolutely anything in there mouths (causing a huge choking hazard), crawling into tight spaces, and pretty much anything else you can think of. For their safety if not the tendency to cause household damage, puppies require constant supervision.

Author’s Note: I can remember a story of a young puppy crawling into a potato chip bag and suffocating while the owner was at work. This was a needless death, and could have easily been prevented if the owner would have just crated the pup!

Dog crates are useful tools for many reasons, but safety is probably the most important. When you can’t be home to keep a watchful eye, long hours at work for example, the dog crate is your friend!

Potty Training: No one wants their dogs to relieve themselves all over the house. Potty training is extremely important for any dog owner, and one of the first things they work on! Believe it or not, the dog crate is a pretty useful tool here.

No matter how well you train your puppy or when you begin, his bladder is small and he will need to go often. Very young pups are still developing mentally, and won’t pick up on potty training as fast. That being said, there are two things to remember:

1. Dogs won’t eliminate in small, confined places if at all possible.
2. Dogs won’t eliminate where they sleep if at all possible.

For these reasons, the dog crate is an extremely useful potty training tool (as long as the dog is given enough potty breaks)!

• Puppies will need to be let out frequently due to their developing bodies and small bladders.

Emergencies: In the event of natural disasters or emergencies, dogs tend to become stressed and anxious. They can become so anxious, their automatic ‘flight’ instinct will kick in and they will flee. This can easily mean running from the house and getting lost.

Excess chewing or household destruction is also a sign of anxiety and stress. This might not bode well for furniture!

In these cases, your dog crate will not only help calm your pet, offering a familiar place of solitude to settle down, but keep him safe from harm.

Crate Training Advice

Never use your dog crate as a punishment. Your pet might easily come to fear it and refuse to enter! You want your dog to view his crate as his own little ‘den’.

Try to slowly introduce the crate over time, as opposed to automatically beginning with a nine-hour work day. Sudden long crating periods while the owner is absent can easily increase anxiety!

Don’t bother or try to play with your dog while he is in the dog crate. His crate should act like his own little escape from the world!

Bringing your Dog to Hawaii: What it Takes

Vaccinations

Puppies

Microchip

Blood Titer Test

Quarantine

Air Travel

Airlines