Traveling with Dogs

Traveling with pets can be a stressful time. Insure your vacation stays stress-free and fun with these helpful tips.

Travel by Car:

1.  Bring a collapsible exercise pen with you if you are traveling by car. This will ensure your puppy has a safe and comfortable place to stay, without the worry of him/her getting into the unknown while on the road or in a pet friendly hotel room.  
2.  Make stops every four hours or so for potty and drink breaks. A portable water dish or bottle makes this a breeze. 
3.  Most important—have familiar smells to keep your baby calm. Whether it is an old shirt, shoe or his/her favorite blanket, the smell of home will make any puppy on vacation happy and secure.   

Hotel Stays:

1.  Check online to ensure your hotel destination is pet friendly.
2.  Book on the phone when possible to ensure booking a pet friendly room and getting a person-to-person confirmation. First floor rooms are always best and make for easier potty breaks. 
3. After making sure the hotel allows dogs, make sure it is truly pet friendly. Is there green space near by for potty breaks? How many floors is the hotel—and is there a balcony?

Airline Travel

Your pet’s travel crate should be sturdy and breathable. There are many on the market—but beware! Each airline has their specific pet carrier specifications, so check each airlines web site, and when in doubt call customer service.

There are also companies who take care of the travel for you. Starwood Animal Transport and Animal Transportation are companies that give door-to-door service. Whether your destination is Florida, California, England or India, these companies will take care of vaccinations, immigration papers, cargo tickets and more.

House Rentals

Want a more leisurely vacation—rent a house. Dogs can discover a new home with pet friendly rentals. Sometimes a vacation home can be a more calming environment for you dog instead of the hustle and bustle of a busy hotel. With more room to roam, and less noise to distract your vacation becomes your pet’s vacation!
Helpful links: www.petravel.com, www.dogfriendly.com, www.starwoodanimaltransport.com, www.vrbo.com

10 reasons not to buy a Flexi leash

Flexi leashes are those flimsy, retractable leashes (like a tape measure) that allow a dog to pull ahead 20 feet or so. I don’t know who is encouraging people to buy Flexi leashes, but they are a big problem. If you are considering buying a Flexi leash, it is a bad idea. Here’s why:

1. Flexi leashes are not for big dogs.

I would never buy a Flexi for any dog, especially a dog over 20 pounds. Every day I see people in my neighborhood walking german shepherds, labs and even huskies on Flexis.

2. You can’t control your dog on a Flexi leash.

You just can’t. I had a situation about 15 years ago with my well behaved lab mix, Jack. We were walking on a quiet country road and he was out about 10 feet from me. A car came speeding by and I barely had enough time to reel him into safety. They are a nightmare on narrow pathways as the owner has so little control while bikers and other walkers are passing.  

3. Flexi leashes teach your dog to pull.

The more the dog pulls, the more leash it is given. This is not a great training situation.

4. Flexi leashes cause accidents.

We were out yesterday at the Clear Lake Farmer’s Market and I witnessed three dogs become so entangled on meeting nose-to-nose that the owners had to remove leashes to release dogs. The owners were quite lucky that the dogs were friendly because entangled dogs can sometimes become aggressive and dog fights are common given the situation. What about the biker passing a dog on a Flexi? It is an accident waiting to happen.

5. Flexi leashes put the dog in control.

When the leash is tight, the only way to shorten it is to walk toward the dog. This teaches the dog she doesn’t have to come to you. You will instead come to her.

6. Flexi leashes are unsafe for outside tethering to you or a post.

These “leashes” allow you to stand there while your dog runs around you. If you need to exercise your dog, please find a fenced area where your dog can run and play.  

7. Flexi leashes are awkward to hold.

I’d rather walk, run or bike with my dog without holding onto a big hunk of plastic (that’s what the leash retracts into). The handle part offers little control when your dog is pulling.

8. The dog can easily get away on a Flexi leash.

It doesn’t take much for a dog to pull the leash out of her owner’s hands when she has a 20-foot head start.

9. Flexi leashes are the worst tool to walk your dog with.

In a proper heeling position, a dog should be at her owner’s side on a loose lead. Flexis are always tight and the dog is almost always several feet in front of the owner.

10. Dogs aren’t safe on a Flexi leash.

With that much slack in the leash, they can get hit by a car or bike, bit by another dog or just plain get away. They are a danger to themselves, their owners and others. A safe way to use a Flexi is to exercise their dogs in an area where the dogs will be safe and under control, like out in a quiet field in the country. The safer alternative to a Flexi is to teach your dog to walk on a 4 or 6 ft. leash with a no-pull harness or gentle leader. We have classes at Bayside that deal specifically on walking/heeling, so take some time and have some fun learning some new skills.  

Freedom Harness

Freedom No-Pull Harness

I just came home from a service dog seminar in Austin. The presenter talked about a new style of no-pull harness called the Freedom Harness. The harness works like the Easy-Walk Harness but also can clip in the back between the shoulder blades, giving a little more control. I bought two to try out on my dogs and some of the dogs that I am working and will keep out posted. If I like them, we will be carrying them at Bayside.

I like that they come in many colors....you turquoise fans will love them. I already like the way the included leash can be used a number of different ways. The manufacturer website is  www.wiggleswagswhiskers.com

Valerie's Story

Valerie is an 20 month old lab that just needed a chance. She must have been an adorable puppy bought by a young family with a lack of time to devote to a high energy lab. After 18 months of living in a yard, she was given away to a home in the country for a few weeks and when that did not work out, a kind-hearted woman named Lisa took her into her home.

Lisa contacted me about training for her new silver girl a few days after bringing her into her home. We set up an appointment for an evaluation and some private training. Valerie and Lisa arrived at Bayside and I saw a dog that had no training and seemed to be quite disengaged and made little eye contact. Unlike most first training sessions, we were only able to train a sit and Lisa went home with some instructions on how to stop the wild jumping and biting. We met again the following week and we were able to train a down and worked on the jumping. In this second lesson, there was a break through and Valerie seemed to engaged and was happy to work for the rewards of play, food and praise. It seemed to me that most of her interactions in life with the people around her were negative and she just had learned to entertain herself. We finally had a great place to start her formal training at my house.


Valerie came to live with me for a few weeks on a board and train. She was quick to introduce herself to my dogs, Em and Hunter. They are always good hosts to the strange dogs that I bring into the house. Hunter always loves the girls and he was quick to find a partner to play Catch Me If You Can. There was a long list of behaviors that we needed to correct. She was a counter surfer, jumper, biter for attention, had little door manners, little impulse control, unsure about house training, and did not know how to walk on a leash . She craved attention and love but seemed to engage in bad behavior for attention. We worked on creating a house with clear rules and expections. The rules were the same each day and never changed. Dogs like to know what is expected and need to have a routine. Each day she improved and seemed to like the new experiences like taking a walk, getting a bath, getting nails trimmed and learning to behave politely in the house. Valerie's report card would read like this:


She is a quick learner and works and plays well with her peers. She likes routine and wants to know the expectations of each new task. Valerie likes people and takes new challengers on and tries to do her best. She is motivated by food, play and praise. 


The weeks passed by quickly and we were watching bad habits fade and polite and respectful manners emerge. Valerie visited stores with me and was a model dog offering polite sits for greeting strangers and walking with me up and down the aisles. She attended evening training classes with me and provided demonstrations of exercises for my students.


I am happy to say that she is back in her loving home and they are enjoying a well mannered family dog. Valerie just needed a chance and some training and she became a wonderful dog. I would say that my best advice to puppy owners is to start training as soon as you get a puppy. It is so important to lay a foundation of training (rules and expectations) when they are still young and cute. Please don't let your dog learn that there are counters to surf and garbage to raid. They should be learning that a polite sit gets attention, not the wild jumping. It is sad that the story of Valerie is all too common. The adorable puppy that can do no wrong becomes the wild child that destroys your house and yard and now is a problem.   

Dog with Food Allergies?

I am always looking for the latest research in canine health. Dr. Jean Dodds of http://www.hemopet.org/ has a salivary diagnostic test for food intolerance.  It is a test kit that you can order through her website and send in for analysis. Below is the current information available from her website.




Dr. Jean Dodds will be introducing Nutriscan, a novel, patented food intolerance and canine food sensitivity testing system. This assay system utilizes an important new approach in nutrition - that salivary diagnostics can more accurately identify the foods to be avoided rather than focus on those less like to be reactive.

Dr. Dodds' revolutionary concept is the first food intolerance and sensitivity testing program to match pets with their individual nutritional needs and genetic makeup, i.e. functional nutrition or nutrigenomics. This provides owners with accurate information to select the optimal pet foods and treats based on high level nutritional principles.

Dr. Jean Dodds' new Nutriscan saliva screening diagnostics should be used annually by dog owners. This canine food sensitivity and intolerance diagnostic system tests saliva for food reactant antibodies in healthy dogs and those with known or suspected food intolerance. Dog owners can obtain the test kit from Hemopet or through their veterinarians. After following directions, adding saliva, the kit is sealed and sent to Hemopet for analysis. The Nutriscan canine food sensitivity testing and diagnostic kit is now available.

Testing protocols are for gluten and other food ingredient intolerance and sensitivity. The primary dietary antigens to be tested are corn, wheat, soy, beef, eggs, and milk.

BAD DOG or BORED DOG

Is your dog counter surfing and eating your dinner, grabbing your precious possessions and running, excavating your landscaping or chewing your new furniture? Many people think that their housemates are bad dogs but maybe they are just bored dogs.

A bored dog can become a destructive pet when he's left alone. Leaving your dog with his favorite toys can help him pass the time. Better yet, provide some interactive dog toys that give him something to do – they will challenge him to think and “problem solve” to get what he wants. An active and focused mind means your furniture; shoes and household items won’t get destroyed when you're away from home.

Some dogs are just fine when no one is home; they entertain themselves by sleeping all day. Other dogs want more action in their life whether anyone's home or not. They spend the day chewing, barking, shredding and any other activity they can find to entertain themselves. The problem with letting a dog find something to do on his own is that he ends up getting in trouble once his owner gets home.

Dog toys have come a long way from the simple squeaky toys and rawhide chews that most canines quickly grow tired of. After all, there’s only so many times can you squeak a toy before it gets boring, and once the rawhide chew is gone; it's back to mischief making. If your dog needs something to do to keep him out of trouble, consider toys that can stimulate him and give him something to focus on. What you need are interactive dog toys that require your dog to think if he wants to get to the treat.

Wooden dog puzzles come in a variety of skill levels that can give your dog hours of stimulating problem solving to get to the treats hidden inside. They have to figure out how to slide blocks or pegs to find what they're looking for. Some are harder than others, but all of these dog toys challenge the smartest dogs. One of the harder dog puzzles has four layers that spin. The dog has to rotate the layers to get to pockets that hold his favorite treat.

For dogs who inhale their food, you might want to consider an interactive dog bowl that's designed to slow down how fast they eat. Dogs that wolf down their supper can have digestive problems, and certain dog breeds have a higher risk of developing bloat if they eat too fast. The interactive dog bowl slows down their eating by making them work for their supper in a fun way that stimulates their mind. It also helps your dog learn good eating habits by teaching him to not inhale his food. You can use the interactive dog bowl for treats instead of dog food to keep him entertained and stimulated when you're gone.

Interactive dog toys come in a variety of shapes and sizes. All of them require the dog to use his brain to get to the hidden treats. They are designed to hold up to the dog who likes to chew – but why chew on the outside when there's a treat inside? Figuring how to get the treat out is stimulating and satisfying.

You can also find interactive chew toys for dogs. They can give your dog hours of entertainment as they push, chew, tug or pull on the toy to get the treat. Some are designed to make the dog roll the toy around to get the treats to fall out. Others have the treat in plain sight and the dog has to figure out how to get the food prize out of a pouch.

Treat toys are an excellent way to provide a game of hide-and-seek dog for your dog while you're away. Fill three or four toys with treats and hide them around the house where he can easily find them. When he's finished with one toy, he can search for another one, which helps keep his mind focused on the treats instead of the temptation to destroy your couch cushions.

When buying an interactive treat toy for your dog, make sure to get the appropriate size for them. Puzzle dog toys and interactive games are designed so any size dog can work the pegs or twists and turns they have to maneuver through to get to the treats. If you have a dog that gets into mischief every time you leave the house, providing him with an interactive dog toy can help him beat the boredom of being left alone. Bayside has a wall of great interactive toys to keep your puppy busy and safe, while in his crate waiting for your return.  Please stop in to see our wall of fun toys that will be sure to keep your dog happy and busy while you are away from home.

If your puppy is a bundle of energy when you return from a busy day at work, Bayside also has a group daycare program that might address your puppy’s need for exercise. Socialization, with other dogs and our dedicated staff, will decrease the energy level and also provide a safe environment for your dog to grow and experience positive interactions. A tired puppy is always a good puppy with less behavioral issues. Please check out our website for some additional information about our group program.

Putting your dog into a training program will also alleviate the behavioral issues of a bored dog. A few short five minute training sessions each day will create a happy and tired puppy. The relationship building aspects of training your furry friend will also bring about positive long-term results. Bayside offers a variety of classes in obedience, agility, tricks and other fun activities that will be sure to help you create a well mannered family member. The website, www.bayside-bb.com, will provide greater details about our training programs that can be tailored to meet the needs of you and your dog.

Dogs have become a very special part of our lives and there are many ways to address the problems that arise when we have to leave them to go to work. Stop by or call Bayside Bed & Biscuit and we will turn your bad dog into a model canine citizen. Please remember this quote, “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.”