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Five Fun Outdoor Activities You Can Do with Your Dog (Other than Walking)

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Five Fun Outdoor Activities You Can Do with Your Dog

Five Fun Outdoor Activities You Can Do with Your Dog

Getting outside with your beloved pooch means grabbing his or her leash and going out for a nice walk around the neighborhood. In addition to giving your four-legged friend some exercise and a chance to check “p-mail,” daily walks are a great way to make sure your dog stays happy and healthy.

But for dogs and their humans who love to get outside as much as possible, there are a wide variety of other fun activities that don’t involve grabbing a leash and a plastic bag to clean up any business transactions that might occur along the way. Consider the following:

Agility

Dogs of all sizes seem to enjoy learning agility courses. As Best Friends notes, agility involves owners guiding their dogs through obstacle courses that include Fido-friendly things like tunnels, slides, balance beams, hoops and much more. Depending on your schedule and the temperament of your dog, you can either join a local agility club and do it for fun, or you can even enter various competitions. While televised agility competitions are generally chock-full of border collies, pretty much any type of dog can get involved in the fun sport. In order to find an agility class in your area, just Google “dog agility” plus the name of your city or town.

Swimming

Most dogs have a natural inclination to swim. While some dogs would rather lie in the sun at the edge of the pool and relax, the vast majority of them will happily dive right in and start dog paddling around. As Nylabone notes, swimming is also a terrific outdoor exercise for dogs because it is low impact; in many cases, even older pooches who have arthritis or hip dysplasia can get some much-needed exercise in a pool. If you have your own pool, invite your dog to join you for some lap swimming—just be sure to wash his or her fur off afterwards to remove as much of the chlorine as possible.

ATV Riding

If you love going out on your ATV but hesitate leaving your dog home alone, it’s very possible that your four-legged friend will enjoy an ATV ride as much as you do. In order to make the ride as comfy as possible for your pooch, visit a gear store like MotoSport to purchase some aftermarket ATV accessories like a rack; this will allow you to modify your ATV so that your dog can ride with you as safely as possible. In many cases, dogs will readily hop up on a rear rack and happily cruise around with you on your property or a local dirt trail.

Exploring a beach

Dogs seem to have a natural affinity for sand and water. As Active notes, if you live near a sandy beach, by all means take Fido along as often as you can and let him or her run, sniff and explore. If you are on vacation and fortunate enough to have your dog with you, you can also enjoy some beach time activity during your time away from home.

Hiking

While many national parks do not allow dogs on the trails, there are plenty of state parks that welcome hiking pooches. The Hike With Your Dog website will help you to find dog-friendly hiking trails that are close to home. To be on the safe side, bring along a K9 first aid kit, plastic poo bags and plenty of water for both of you.

August 18, 2014 |

What to Leave for the Dog Sitter When Traveling

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Dog Sitter Tips

No one wants to leave their dog at home when traveling, it’s like going without your best friend! Sometimes you have to though and when you do we like to our’s to be able to stay at home so we get a dog sitter. Dog sitters are great! Not only do your pets get to stay at home, you also get a house sitter and sometimes, with multiple dogs, it ends up being cheaper than boarding. When leaving though, always check the list below to make sure you left everything the dog sitter will need.

  • Food – Always leave more food than the amount needed for the days you are away, you never know if you may be extended due to other circumstances.
  • Food bowls – Make sure the food bowls, scoops and anything else needed is out for them to find.
  • Medications – Leave out all the meds your dogs need along with exact instructions on how to give them and how often.
  • Emergency Contact – You may not be available if an emergency happens. Always have a backup plan in place and let them know they are the backup plan.
  • Toys – Make sure all your pup’s favorite toys are out. The dog sitter may not know where to get them.
  • Crates – If your dogs are crate trained and that is their safe place, ensure that it is open and accessible.
  • Treats – Ensure these are out but also ensure that you leave instructions about how and when you give them. Last thing you want is to come home to a dog that has been getting 10 treats an hour.
  • Old towels – In case of accident, you don’t want your good towels used ;-)
  • Poop bags – You know you want them to clean up!
  • Your contact information and itenerary – This way your dog sitter knows where you at and when they can get in touch with you.
  • Collar – Make sure your dog’s collar is on and that the contact information is readable just in case they get out.

Find a dog sitter for your next trip >>

 

July 21, 2014 |

4 Marketing Tips for Your Dog Business

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Dog Business TipsIn a small business, marketing is hard. We all know we need to do it but sometimes we don’t know where to start. Sit back and take a deep breath, it’s not as hard or time consuming as you think. Here are 10 tips that you can use to help market your business.

  1. Get a website with a real domain name. No, I’m not saying you need to go spend thousands of dollars with an agency to get a site up and running, although if you have it to spare it will help. Now you can use a plethora of tools from WordPress to Blogger to Wix. All of them offer easy ways to get your site up and running. But do invest the $10 or so dollars a year in a domain name. URLs that have pet sitter.blogger.com do not look as perfessional and if that company ever goes out of business you loose your site traffic. When starting Out, don’t try to be everything to everyone, just add some of your basic information starting with what services you offer and how to contact you. You don’t need a huge website to start.
  2. Become social. Everyone talks about social. Should I do Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc… Truth is, do what you like. If you try to start them all at one time and you don’t particularly like that platform it won’t do you any good. Start with one you like, add something daily, respond to folks asking questions and stick to it. Extra bonus suggestion: when you are sitting up your profile, ensure that your contact information and what you do is in there. This will help people to decide to follow you and with searches.
  3. Get listed on other sites. No… This is not a promotion to list here, although you can. But list everyone you can and you think will help. This will not only help visitors to those sites find your business but will help search engines find your site also. If the site offers ratings and reviews all the best! But remember to ask your best customers to go to the site and review your listing. There’s nothing wrong with asking!
  4. Use a car decal. They are inexpensive now and they provide an easy way for people to see your business. Don’t just put your name, ensure that you have what you do and a way to contact you. Example, if you are a pet sitter, put “Michael’s Dog Sitting 555-555-5555 Facebook.com/MichaelsDogSitting”. Always include the area code if you want to use your phone number, with mobile phones people next door don’t always have the same one as you.5. Have fun. Seriously, have fun, it shows. Your clients will be happier if you are happy and they will help spread the word. The best referral you can ever have is a happy client. And besides, your doing what you love working with animals all day, how can you not have fun?

Got more tips for your fellow pet business owners? Add them below!

July 8, 2014 |

Dog Sitter Business Tips

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dog sitting tips

dog sitting tips

As a frequent traveler I have to leave my pups at home a lot more than I would like to. Fortunately, my wife and I have been lucky enough to find some great dog sitters and house sitters to take care of our “kids” when we’re out. Unfortunately though, each sitter always forgets to do a couple of things that we think would take them from being a good dog sitter to a great dog sitter that we would promote more to all of our friends and family. Add these things to your list and you’ll win us over as clients for life!

  • Check in each day with a text to let us know how things are going, nothing fancy, just let us know you’re really there.
    Important though to remember that we’re traveling and may not be on the same time zone so don’t make it too early or late. 
  • Send a photo of the pups having fun or lounging around. It just takes a second and reinforces the fact that our pups are safe.
  • Leave a note for uswhen we get home. It leaves your client with a warm and fuzzy to ensure they call you next time.
  • Invest in Square, PayPal or other ways to take credit cards. Sure, cash is king, but after I see that note you just left I can’t leave a cash tip when you are gone.
  • Create an email list and use a service like MailChimp to send out emails around the holidays to remind people to book your services before all of your time is taken. It doesn’t cost much and is easy to use. 
  • Create a small website. Use a service like Blogger, WordPress, WIX, etc. that is free. That way people can have your contact info and find you.
  • Create a Facebook page and Twitter feed. It may seem useless to you, but it will help people find your site and give a place for your clients to say good things about you. When was the last time you bought something without a review? This will help you get them. 

The bottoms line is that people’s dogs are their family. Just as when you are traveling without your wife or kids, you always like to hear from them or check in. With your pups, you can’t always do that so be there to help put our minds at ease. These tips will help you get more clients and help ensure that your current ones stay with you.

List Your Dog Sitter Business with DogGeek.com and Get Found >>

 

June 19, 2014 |

Foxtails and Dog Ears

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foxtail

What is a Foxtail?

A DogGeek.com exclusive by Teresa Barker

This is the time of year when summer weeds can cause serious distress for your dogs. If you’re like me, you may hear all the the medical harm that foxtails can cause, but don’t really know what they are. The fact it, they can be extremely dangerous to dogs, most commonly lodging between a dog’s toes, inside the ears, and up the nose. If your dog is shaking his head violently, sneezing excessively, or biting at his paws, you might just have a foxtail to blame.

What exactly are Foxtails and where can you find them?
The name is given to a number of grasses that have a cluster of spikes at the end that resemble a fox’s tail. They are sometimes called “spear grass” and can be found in lawns, pastures and weedy areas of driveways. After doing more research on these nasty little buggers, I immediately went outside to my yard and inspected for their presence, and sure enough, there were many. The foxtail’s amazing design allows them to easily lodge onto any unsuspecting passerby, especially animal fur, and only move in a forward motion – even penetrating skin. If pulled back the barbs get involved and break off from the head. Quite a nuisance for any furry creature.

In order to prevent a trip to the vet for foxtail removal, there are a few measures that you can take to avoid exposure.

Look up images so you know exactly what they look like.
Then, take a look around your own yard in all the areas that your dogs roam, and you might just find them. Keep the grass short, and mow often to keep the foxtails from forming. The grasses and weeds themselves aren’t the problem, it’s the untamed bushy “tail” that forms when unattended that you want to destroy.

Inspect your dogs thoroughly every time they come in from outside
Be sure to check inside their ears and between their toes. Also, avoid hiking and picnicking where weeds and tall grasses are growing.

If you find a foxtail lodged in your dog’s fur, or you suspect one had been lodged in an orifice, contact your vet immediately. Remember, you could make it worse due to the foxtail’s design. Take time to scour your dog’s outdoor areas, and always do a thorough check over your dog’s body daily.

Find a Dog Park near you >>

May 6, 2014 |
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