Furry-friend Manners and why learning them is important

Hi, Furry Friends & Humans, Taylor here,

Welcome back to our Snowcat, Snowdog and Snowhuman friends! We’re glad you’re back. Lots of you have stopped into the store already. So good to see you!

Hmmm… I’m just wondering why Snowhumans are called Snowbirds? …But, I’m getting off our topic for this month.

We want you to know we are taking many measures to keeping our store space clean & healthy. If you prefer to wear a mask inside, please do! If you wish to call in your order, you can use our drive-up space to pick up. We’ll even put it in your car!

There are 2 parts to this blog: Using Your Manners and our Holiday Safety Tips Reminder

I’d like to reintroduce our friend Mark, from Advanced Canine Development, who sat down with us to talk about doggy manners and why it’s so important to learn and use our manners. This new article is for grown-up dogs since we talked about puppy manners in our October blog.

WHAT are good doggy manners?

According to Mark, Humans and their dogs need to know:

Sit, Down, Leave It, Stay, Wait… Mixed in with lots of Good Dog… Good Boy… Good Girl

As an adult dog, these are things we learned as puppies – but it’s always good to keep practicing. Don’t want to get lazy! Just as Humans practice remembering to say Please and Thank You.

WHY do we need manners?

1. For meeting other Humans – we wuffers find it pretty exciting when the doorbell rings! Someone is coming to visit US! Beating your Human to the door is ok – but charging out the door to say Hi – or worse, jumping on your visitor is not good manners. Better to just Stay and wag a happy greeting. Your visitor might give you a belly rub or even a treat!
2. For meeting other Furry Friends – your mama probably taught you not to rush into greeting another cat or dog. Your furry friend might take offense and growl or bite. Easy does it. Be cool and polite.
3. Remember when you learned to do your ‘business’ outside? You learned to ask and to hold it until you got to the right spot. As an adult, it is still and ALWAYS good manners to remember this. ‘Nuff said.
4. It is not good manners to Wuf, Wuf, Wuf, Wuf. Some days you just feel like being chatty. But alerting your Humans to everyone walking by on the street and announcing every little odd sound is talking too much.
5. Do you go for walks on a leash? Most of us do in this community of streets, houses and cars. Good Manners is learning to walk with your Human. Pulling and trying to go your own way and stopping every 10-feet make what should be an enjoyable experience annoying.

Safety manners good to know

Go to Your Spot: Sometimes our Humans can tell when we are losing our self-control. A good thing to know is how to go to your ‘quiet place’ when your Human asks. It can help you from getting in trouble.

Stop, or Wait: With our busy streets in Charlotte County, obeying this command can literally save your furry face!

No: means STOP what you’re doing. Hopefully, your Human will give you another command, so you can make a better decision.

Hey Special Humans – we really DO want to please you!  And most of us furry friends are playful and sociable. We enjoy playing with You, with our toys and other dogs. We might need a little help from you occasionally in remembering our Good Manners, which just makes companionship so much more enjoyable for all of us.

Thank you, Mark for your information in this blog – you were a great help. And – Hey Everybody – if you and your Human need help in HOW to learn some of these manners, Mark and his team are expert teachers! Give them a call: 941-380-8238. Or check out the Advanced Canine Development website.

Here is a another website that has more great reading: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/ttrain.html

Holiday Safety Tips for Cats n Dogs

We’ve mentioned this in the past – but it’s Holiday Time again, so we want to remind you & your Humans…

How to Handle Parties and House Guests

1. For parties, my Human has a dish of treats on the counter that guests are allowed to feed me. She says “No, no, no” to guests that try to feed me crackers and dip.
2. Friends, it’s bad form to beg for food during a “sit down dinner”. It is a good idea for us to go hang out in our quiet place.
3. If you have company staying at the house, your Human can make sure the guest luggage is out of your reach. You can get sick if you eat medications or other stuff from their suitcases. (When he was a puppy, our friend Max ate 3 rolls of Rolaids from his Uncle Robert’s suitcase. They tasted good going down, not coming up. He said he can’t even sniff a Rolaid now!)
4. If guests have small children or if they bring their dog or cat, “Be Nice” to them. If they’re not nice, ask your Human for help. But don’t get ugly. No growling, hissing, scratching or biting.
5. Humans like to make noise and throw little bits of paper on New Year’s Eve. Don’t eat that stuff, and don’t freak out. This craziness stops pretty quickly. Dog friends: it can be a good time for you to make noise too! Let out a howl or a wuf, wuf! Or, if you‘re like Mango… go to your quiet place before the noise starts.

Local After-Hours Pet Care

The Veterinary Emergency Clinic, 941-255-5222

Hours: 5 PM to 8 AM daily
During weekdays, contact your regular vet.

Address
17829 Murdock Circle, Port Charlotte, FL 33948