Homemade Pill Pockets for your dog

Our senior dog Jaeger has arthritis in his front legs, so he gets turmeric and yucca powder to help with the inflammation. I also have him on a wonderful supplement called Fresh Factor. 

He is usually pretty good about taking pills, and he loves the taste of the Fresh Factor supplement, but the turmeric and yucca, not so much. Because of the powder form, it is easy to mix them into pumpkin or can dog food. 

Recently I found this recipe for pill pockets online at the

 The Lazy Pitbull. I tried them out and they are awesome and super

 easy to make. 

Homemade Pill Pockets

 You can make them as needed. They contain only three ingredients that are usually found in most households: Peanut Butter, Coconut Oil and Oats (you can use Flour instead of Oats).
Use all three in equal amounts.

Ingredients for homemade Pill Pockets

I use my coffee grinder to make the oats into flour. If you like, you can substitute regular whole wheat flour, or almond flour. 

Mix everything together and then put in the refrigerator to let the dough harden. Roll the dough into small balls and use the handle of a wooden spoon to make small indentations for the pill.

 

Pill Pockets for dogs

Then you just need to put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes to keep their shape. If you want to make a larger amount, you can simply store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

When you are ready to use one, let it get to room temperature, so it softens a bit, which makes it easy for you to insert the medication and pinch it shut. Now it's easy to feed to your lovely canine!


Check out some of our previous blogs on homemade dog biscuits and on Supplements for your senior dog



Here is the full Pill Pocket recipe:
 

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Peanut Butter
• ¼ cup Coconut Oil
• ¼ cup oats made into flour + some for reserve
  

Directions

• Liquefy Coconut Oil in Microwave.
• Mix all ingredients together.
• Place dough into the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden.
• Roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
• Sprinkle 1 to 2 T of crushed oats (you can substitute with flour) onto wax paper and then roll each ball in the oats.
• Use handle of a wooden spoon to push a small hole in the center of each ball (not all the way through, only about 1/2 way) to create your Pill Pocket.
• Place Pockets on a tray in the freezer for about an hour so they retain their form.
• You can then place the pill pockets, in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge until you're ready to use.
  

Notes

• Store them in the refrigerator, they will keep for up to 3 months.
  
• You can use flour instead of oats

If you are looking for an online pet pharmacy, we recommend WorldPetExpress:

Is your dog greeting everyone with too much excitement?

Is your dog greeting everyone with too much excitement, barking, jumping and clawing at strangers and friends? Is he hyper and overly excited when someone comes up to give him attention and can't seem to hold still to be petted? Maybe he even climbs on top of your visitor, who is sitting on the couch, pushing and licking with way too much enthusiasm?

It's nice to have a friendly, go lucky dog that loves everyone, and surely most people don't mind - or do they?

 Well, your friends and family may not say so, but an overly excited greeting can be a bit overwhelming, especially if the guest is not a dog-lover. Sometimes the pawing and jumping can even hurt someone.

So what can you do about it? Most of the people we meet with overly excited dogs don't realize that this behavior is something they have taught their dog over time. They think the dog is just naturally hyper or super friendly. But the behavior described above is anything but natural. If your dog is greeting you, or other people (or even other dogs) in this way, he has been conditioned over time. More than likely, he has received positive feedback, when he acted this way in the past. For example, jumping and scratching at his owner or visitors has resulted in him getting attention. He was petted in return for it. He became the center of attention, even if the attention, later on, may result in negative attention to his behavior.

So now what? Can you break the pattern and recondition the dog? 

The good news is: Yes you can!

It may take a little time, and certainly some effort and determination on your part, but dogs can learn new behavior very quickly, as long as the owner is consistent in teaching and expecting it.

1. Start with yourself

Start expecting calm behavior whenever you come home. This can be challenging for most dog owners because they just love to come home to loving enthusiastic fur-babies.
However, if you allow your dog to greet you in an overly excited way,  it is much harder to condition him to behave otherwise with strangers.

The best way to curb his initial excitement is to ignore the dog, whenever he is in an excited state. Do not talk to him, and please, do not pet him when he is in this way! When he jumps on you, rather than pushing him off you, or stepping backward, step into him.

Watch our YouTube video on this technique:

 2. Require calmness when walking up to strangers

When you are out walking your dog, do not allow your dog to walk up to strangers when he is pulling or jumping. The easiest way to discourage the dog to do this is to walk him in the other direction for a few steps until his attention reverts back to you. Walk forward again if he is quiet. You should practice this on your daily walks. This technique will take some time at first, but you will soon reap the benefits.

See how this works for Jim with Abbey, an 8-month-old Labrador Retriever that had learned to associate excitement with greeting strangers:

 

 3. Visitors to your home must not engage with your dog upon arrival

For a while, until he has learned to associate calmness with greetings, ask your friends and family to ignore your dog, when they come into your home. They should not speak to the dog, not pet him, and not look directly at the dog.

Once the dog has calmed down, then the person can give attention. If the dog gets overly excited again or invades the person's personal space, you as the owner need to take control of the dog. This may mean to tell the dog to get back or lay down on this bed.

Again, this is best taught in a teachable moment environment, meaning practice with someone that is willing to help you, rather than waiting until someone comes over that may not even like dogs.



Remember it takes calmness to teach quiet calm behavior in your dog, so keep the sessions short, and don't try to train your dog, when you notice yourself being frustrated or angry.

It took some time for your dog to learn the old behavior, and it will take time to condition him to the new, quiet way to greet and interact with you and others. Consistency is the key in all behavior modification. 


Thank you for reading our blog, we value your feedback and would love to read your comments. Please share our posts, if you believe others may benefit from reading them.

Until next time: Keep your Paws on the Road.

Bee Walker

Another articles that you may like on the subject: The Power of Pause

Stop your dog from pulling on the leash

It's nice to go for a walk and have a well behaved dog on the leash. Even more importantly, most people don't realize that allowing their dog to pull on the leash can have negative effects on the dog's behavior and can also injure  the dog or the owner. If the dog wears a collar around the neck, strong consistent pulling can damage the trachea, the dog's airway. This does not happen from a little pulling, but strong and consistent pulling bruises the trachea and can lead to permanent damage. If your dog pulls constantly and you hear him gagging or raspy breathing, make sure you switch to a harness for the time being, until you can train him to walk on the leash without pulling.

However, be aware that the harness is going to increase the strength of the dog and the pulling will be worse. A strong pulling dog can do injury to the person holding the leash, as the pulling can strain the wrist, or shoulder, and can lead the person to fall during walks.



Even when no one gets hurt, walking a dog that has bad leash behavior is no fun. When you travel with your dog, you have to walk him at least three times every day. We hear from our dog training clients that fixing the leash pulling and lunging is the number one crowdpleaser - changing the walk to an enjoyable and fun activity for both the dog and the owner.



It is not hard to teach your dog not to pull on the leash. In this blog, we will share an easy to do training exercise that will train your dog. However, it is more important that you, the owner, understands the important part consistency plays after training. During our private in-home obedience training sessions, Jim can train a dog within 15 minutes to walk properly on the leash, even to heel. The dog will be in the training mode and the owner and dog will be doing great on leash for the rest of the 1 hour class. Later the dog will often go back to pulling, if the owner does not consistently work with the dog every day.


When we train, we show the dog what behavior we want from him. But it is through repeated behavior, that the dog actually learns. A lot of dog owners work with the dog for some time, but then go back to letting the dog pull and revert to the undesired behavior. Consistency in behavior is what actually teaches the dog, not training.

 At first you will set aside time for training, meaning you will make sure you have a controlled environment to do the leash training exercise with your dog. As you both progress, you will expect the new leash behavior at all times.

While you are doing the leash training, you are not actually walking your dog for exercise. So in the beginning stages, you need to be sure to first walk your dog to allow him to relieve himself, and also provide some form of exercise for him. It is a good idea to play fetch or let him romp around in an off leash area, if possible.

We recommend you use a training collar and six foot leash. Take all the other collars off the dog at this time.

Leash training Exercise 1:

In the quiet area you selected for the exercise, choose two focal points for yourself. This might be a parked car and a tree. Or maybe a mailbox and a streetlamp. These two points should be about 100 feet apart. From here on out I will refer to them as Marker A and Marker B.

Your dog is pulling on the leash while you are walking toward marker A. That's okay, just keep walking toward A. Once you get to the marker, turn your focus on your second marker and start walking towards it. Your dog, thinking he knows where you are going, will be pulling you towards B, or maybe he is pulling toward somewhere else he wants to go sniff. Let him go to the very end of the six foot leash and as soon as the leash gets tight, turn 180 degrees and walk back towards A. It is very important that you not stop, continue to walk and do not say anything. The training collar will do all the work. Your dog will feel the collar tightening and he will turn around and see your backside, as you are walking back toward A. In his mind, he wants to get out in front of you, so he will dart past you and pull toward point A. Just as soon as he runs past you and the leash gets tight, turn again 180 degrees and start walking towards B. Do not stop and don’t say anything. Just keep walking towards B.

Each time your dog gets to the end of the leash and pulls, you change direction. By doing so, the training collar will get tight, and your dog will automatically want to come towards you to relieve the pressure. As long as the leash is loose, continue to walk forward. As soon as your dog pulls tight on the leash, change direction.

After a few minutes, your dog will become suspicious of you changing your mind all the time and will start to stay closer to you, so he can keep an eye on you. This is exactly what we are looking for. Start making it a game, don't just wait for him to yank on the leash, change directions more often and see him stay with you. Change your speed and start stopping and then going again. Your dog will have fun, feeling the challenge to pay close attention to you and to what you are going to do next.

Here is our Youtube video showing this technique:

Do this exercise for several days in a row, at least twice each day. Spend no more than 30 minutes on it each time.After a few days, you can start to incorporate the same leash behavior into your regular walks. 

Each time you start your walk, make sure you expect calmness, never start the walk excited. If you get your dog all wound up before you put on the leash, how can you expect him to be calm and not pull you excitedly down the street? Many dog owners unintentionally get their dogs into these super hyper states by talking to the dog about going out for a walk. They will usually say something like: “Fido, do you want to go for a walk? Come let's go outside!” They will use a happy voice. The dog will get excited and start running back and forth, he may jump around or whine. If your dog acts in any of these ways when you are getting ready to go outside, he has learned to associate a hyper and excited state of being with going outside. If you want him to behave on the leash, you must get him to calm down before you leave the home.

See our previous post on a exercise to calm your excited dog

Thank you for reading this blog-post, I would love to hear your experience with the exercise or other information. Please comment below.

Until next time: Keep Your Paws on the Road!

Bee Walker  

Make your own Dog Biscuits

Home made dog treats are easy to make and are certainly a lot cheaper than getting them at the store. You are also able to control the ingredients. Store bought dog treats are full of fillers and preservatives.

If your dog has any food allergies or food sensitivities, it makes a lot of sense to make your own dog treats. But even if your dog can eat everything, making your own treats will insure that you are feeding him the best and most nutritious treats.

Here is a easy recipe for our home made dog biscuits:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups of oats
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup bacon bits
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 F
heat chicken broth until hot
add remaining ingredients
knead dough until smooth
roll dough to 1/2 inch
use cookie cutters to make shaped cookies
arrange on lined cookie sheet
bake for 30 minutes

You can purchase your bone shaped cookie cutter here Set of 4 bone shaped cookie cutters

I hope you find the information helpful. Please share your comments below!

Until next time - Keep your Paws on the Road!

Recommendation for European adjustable dog leash

A lot of people comment on the type of leash I use for my dogs and want to know more about them. 
So this weeks blog post is about the European adjustable dog leashes  I use exclusively when traveling with our dogs. Wherever I go, I get people asking me where I got the leash. The leash looks very classy, but most of all, it is extremely versatile.


 I love these leashes, because they allow me to adjust them in so many different ways. I personally prefer the leather type, but also own a few rope ones.

6 way European adjustable Leather leash

 Here are a few ways to use the leashes:

1. You can tie up anywhere you like. 

With an easy snap, you can tie your dog to your camping chair, or a pole or whatever you like. It is also perfect for Therapy and Service dogs, as you can clip the leash at any length to a wheelchair, if needed.By using the different rings, you can adjust the length of the tether to your situation.

2. You can adjust the leash length easily from short to medium to long

Rather then gathering up the leash in your hands, which can make it somewhat difficult to carry, the leash can be adjusted to 3 different lengths. This is great for traveling. When you take you dog through a crowded street market, use the shortest to keep your dog right by your side. On another occasion, when you are out walking in the park, you can have the leash at it's full length, allowing Fido to roam freely.

3. You can wrap the leash around your body.

By wrapping the leash over one shoulder, you can have a hands-free set up perfect for biking, hiking or while out shopping. I use this option all the time when walking several dogs. I can wrap my senior dog's leash around my body and have my hands free to work more closely with the younger pup.

4. Use both ends to walk two dogs at a time.

The leash offers you the opportunity to walk multiple dogs. This makes it a great  emergency leash, when one gets lost, or you come across a dog that is without leash.

 I bought these leashes in Germany, every time I go to visit, I would bring back one more for my personal use. I recently found them online and have now created a link to them in our online Pet Store. 

To find a wider selection of different styles of these wonderful leashes, follow this link 

 MCS Pet Store