IB Pet

IB Pet is playing a good game of catch with human health trends

2012-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

IB Pet is playing a good game of catch with human health trends: Russ Blauert has two golden retrievers, two cats and a bunch of chickens and fish. And since he’s the co-owner of IB Pet, it’s a cinch those animals are in the best of hands. IB Pet, af...

Lost or Found Dog--what should you do?

2012-01-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

Lost or Found Dog--what should you do?: Have you ever experienced any doggy parents’ worst nightmare--losing your dog? Have you ever found a dog and didn't know what to do? This is the time of year where many people go away ...

It's All in How You Say it to the Dog...

2012-01-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

by Amanda Purviance with Train Me Dog Training in San Diego

Voice Control in Dog Training

During my time dog training I am always amazed at how different people talk to their dogs. Now that’s not to say there’s anything wrong with talking to your dogs, it’s only bad when they start answering you. What I am referring to is how I have to correct people in their tone of voice and inflection. When you are dog training it is important to realize that you have to be not only in control but also emotionally in control to properly train your companion.

There is a sliding scale that I use in dog training to illustrate my meaning of voice inflections and tones. On one side there is the harsh, loud, forceful voiced person that trains as if they are angry at the dog. On the other end there is the soft, quiet voiced person that begs, or nags at their dog to do what they want. Which one would you want to be trained by?

In Inflection of Voice...

Amanda and her dog Gun

They key to training is that you tell your dog to “sit” you do not ask it. Understanding that is what begins the process of creating a relationship with your dog. Your dog can be your friend, but you must be the dog’s teacher and leader first and foremost. Being too harsh, on a soft dog is a quick way for that dog to shut down. However, being too soft with a “hard” dog will end in nothing but frustration and anger and can cause you to over react to the dog’s actions. Here is where balance must be struck.

To Tone the Voice...

When I am dog training, I rarely allow my voice to raise above a soft spoken voice, or louder than if I was talking to a person who was standing 2 ft from me. Unless your dog has hearing problems, or is deaf, they can easily hear you from one end of the house to another when you speak in a normal voice. I use this trick on people when I want them to concentrate on what I am saying. Works well on husbands too ladies! Keeping your voice soft keeps not only you calm, but registers in your dog’s mind as that you are calm and collected just like a good teacher is!

Contact Amanda at (619) 565-3688 or by email trainmedogtraining@gmail.com

New Year’s Resolutions for Pets

2011-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

YDR Pets | New Year’s resolutions for pets

Nutrition Tips From Lucy Postins, CEO of The Honest Kitchen:

Overweight Chihuahua

1. Check to see if your pet is at an ideal body weight. The ribs should easily be felt and your dog or cat should have a defined waist. Be sure not to compare your pup to his pack of friends at the dog park as a staggering 44% of pets in the US are overweight or obese.

2. Re-think your pets’ meals. Just like people, pets thrive on minimally processed whole foods. Look at changing their diet to raw, homemade, dehydrated or freeze-dried foods as a healthy alternative to over-processed kibbles and canned diets. Try to eliminate by-products and unnecessary ingredients from reaching your pets’ bowls – like corn, wheat, soy, added sugar & salt as well as artificial colorings, flavors and preservatives. The processed simple carbohydrates in kibble can pack on the pounds for your pooch, just as they do in people.

The Honest Kitchen Pecks

3. Treat well. As much as your pup may love her cookies and biscuits – the calories can add up quickly, causing weight gain. Try to find treats low in calories, like Honest Kitchen Pecks™ which only contain .6 calories, or opt for whole food treats like pure meat jerky (look for one with minimal salt, sugar and flavorings), carrots or snap peas.

4. Be sure your pet has adequate moisture in his food. Moisture intake should come not only come the water bowl, but also from the diet. Diets high in moisture help your pet digest his food better and helps to keep the whole body well-hydrated too. Chronic low-level dehydration that results from a dry-food only diet can lead to water retention, which in turn makes a pet seem oven more overweight. Kibble diets are unnaturally low in moisture (about 10%), which is akin to us eating a bowl of cereal, without the milk!

5. Senior dogs and cats need extra loving care. As our beloved companions age, it’s harder for them to get around like they used to and they burn less calories, causing weight gain. If you notice that their waist is filling out, try reducing the amount fed per day and consider a non-weight-bearing exercise like swimming. Extra pounds might place an unnecessary burden on their hips and joints.

Activity Tips from Melissa Morrison of Fur Fitness:

Add variety to your pet’s workout. You can keep your workout sessions fun and interesting by adding some cool games and different activities, such as:

1. Dog Tag: Give your pet a great cardiovascular workout as you chase each other in the park, through the yard or around the house.

2. The Stairmaster: Find some stairs in your house, a local park or high school. Walk or jog your dog up and down several times.

3. Fetch Races: Liven up your workout session with this competitive game. Grab your dog’s favorite toy and toss it across the yard. Then race your dog to see who can retrieve the toy first.

4. Power Walking: Take your dog for a walk around the neighborhood. Mix in some jogging, or use the curbs to enhance an aerobic activity. Don’t be afraid to harness up your kitty for an outside walk too.

5. Obstacle Course: Set up obstacles around your house or yard for your pet to jump over. If you are walking on a trail, look for branches, logs and tree limbs to use as obstacles. Cats love to run through tunnels, up their kitty posts, or over the top of your counters. You can turn your living room into a mini-gym as you encourage your cat to bounce, jump and leap over furniture and other objects.

6. Laser Tag for Cats: In a dark room, run the beam of a flashlight or laser across the floor and walls. Watch your pet try to chase and pounce on the moving light.

7. Swat the Feather: Find a long feather and tickle your cat’s nose or head. Swiftly move the feather up and down as your cat attempts to swat it with his paw.

8. Catch that Ball: Drag a ball of yarn or a toy across the floor, while encouraging your pet to pounce and tackle the moving object.

Top 10 Tips for Dogs and Babies!

2011-12-29T13:16:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Tips for Dogs and Babies!: BY Linda Michaels Was your first baby a fur-baby? Many dogs accept a new baby without any problems. However, some don’t and some will need a lot of help adjusting to the presence of a...

All Natural and Effective Flea Treatment and Preventative

2011-10-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or are fleas really bad this year in Imperial Beach? I think it has a lot to do with being so close to the beach and during the winter months it never gets below freezing to break the flea cycle. Southern California offers a great climate for fleas to breed and it's our pets that suffer from it. If you are like most people you turn to your vet for advice and your vet probably gave you Frontline, K9 Advantix, or another similar topical treatment. These treatments are effective but can break the bank and are very harsh on your pet's skin. The first time I put Frontline on my cat, she sneezed and hid from me the rest of the day! So the next time she had fleas I decided to give her a bath with some flea shampoo instead thinking it would be less harsh but it wasn't. She wasn't herself for a few days after I bathed her and she hid from me for a week! The warnings on the bottles state to keep away from children and not to use on puppies or kitten under 12 weeks of age. It got me to wishing there was a natural solution to my flea problem and after some research I found the answer!

The natural solution was food grade diatomaceous earth (DE). DE is an all-natural product made from tiny fossilized water plants. It works by simply dehydrating fleas and ticks that come in contact with it within 72 hours. DE can be sprinkled in your home carpeting, on pets, applied in their bedding, and even outdoors. If your pet currently has fleas, it can also be fed to them to address the tapeworms they will have from ingesting fleas. DE can also be used to keep ants, roaches, flies, mites, bedbugs and all other insects from bothering you and your pets. To read about the many other uses of DE visit got to www.wolfcreekranch.net.

Once your pet is free of fleas you can start using a natural product called Flea Free to repel fleas. Flea Free will NOT harm your pets, or the environment. It's completely natural and safe for puppies as well as pregnant and nursing dogs. This natural liquid supplement is added to your pet's food or water and goes to work internally in the blood stream and emits an enzyme which shields the protein the female fleas need to lay eggs. Not sensing a protein, she will jump off the pet and search for another blood meal because if she doesn't draw blood every 20 to 22 hours she will die. Males never bite.

We now carry both food grade diatomaceous earth and Flea Free at IB Pet. We also carry a number of all natural flea and tick shampoos and sprays. For more information about these or any of our products, please call or stop in the shop. You can also email me at lori@ibpet.net.

The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Raw Diets

2010-09-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

The Honest Kitchen is a dehydrated raw food for dog and cats. You simply add warm water and in minutes you have a tasty healthy balanced meal for your pet. THK uses only 100% human grade products and humans actually taste every ingredient that goes into their recipes, as part of our product development process. How many pet food companies can say that?

As primarily a raw feeder I use THK on days that I'm in a rush or forgot to set out the frozen raw. My dogs enjoy getting a variety of foods and their favorite flavors are the grain free Force and Embark.

For more information about The Honest Kitchen visit their website at http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/ or stop in IB Pet today for a free sample.

IB Pet's Blog

2010-09-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

IB Pet is brand new to blogger. We are always looking for better ways in interact with our customers. We hope that our customers and friends will find our blog topics useful and interesting. :)

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