2 Paws up Pet Sitting| Dog Walking and Dog Training Service

The Statistics Of Lost Pets Did you know that a family pet is lost every 2 seconds, only 1 in 10pets are found, and 10 million plus pets are lost each year? These statistics are sobering. It’s easy to understand why our shelters continue to be full of so many missing pets. Each day in my Facebook feed I see all the posts of lost dogs. I find this very troubling. Recently, on Nextdoor a pet was lost, and a few days later it was reported found. However, it was not a happy ending. It’s was comforting to know how loving we all are. So many people commented how sorry they were for their loss. When we lose a pet, it’s just as traumatic as losing a relative or friend, and sometimes even more so. How It Happens There are a variety of ways a dog becomes lost or missing. Theft of an unattended dog in your yard,  in your car, or outside of a store. Loud and sudden noises can frighten dogs to run, hide, jump or dig out of a fence. Getting separated from their ...

We all love our pets immensely and want them to be happy. But let’s face it: everyone gets busy with the demands of daily life and might not offer them as much one-on-one play as we might wish we did. But not to worry or feel guilty, because there are plenty of ways to integrate a little more attention and play into your pets’ day even when you’re swamped for time. It helps them stay sharp and fit in addition to entertained. (It’s good for you too!) While new toys are often a hit, you don’t always need to buy something new for your pets to play with. Let’s first take a look at ways to sneak in extra playtime for cats, and then we’ll visit ideas for dogs in our next post. Enroll your cat in sports Some cats, believe it or not, like to fetch. Try throwing a crumple of paper or small cat toy across the room, and see if your cat brings it back to you. If she does, reward her with a treat. If she doesn’t, you can be the fetcher and just keep tossing it to her. Some ...

Did you ever think your pooch could turn out to be your most reliable workout buddy?  Are you tired of your calorie-burning partner canceling your workout sessions together more often than they showing up?  Perhaps you should turn to your pooch.  With a few training tips for your dog and the help of some safety tips you could be well on your way to the best workout.  “There is a new trend that your best workout buddy is your dog.” Says Arden Moore, pet expert and author of Healthy Dog:  The Ultimate Fitness Guide for You and Your Dog (Dog Fancy Books) (Bow Tie Press, 2004). Weight Loss:  Researchers have often said that pets reduce stress.  A study done by the University of Missouri, found overweight people who walked their dog everyday dropped an average of 14 pounds through the course of the year.  That’s better than the latest weight-loss plans, and more fun!  Arden Moore also states that if you’re working out with your dog, you h...

You want your cats to be happy and fulfill their need to reach high places. You want your cats NOT to scratch your furniture. You also want your home to be pretty…and most traditional scratching posts and cat trees just…aren’t. We’ve compiled some ideas that beat the cat tree status quo – turning something your cats need anyway into conversation starters with guests and loved new hangouts for your kitties so they can literally climb your walls. You’ll be “scratching” your head that you thought store-bought cat trees were the only way to go! 1. Urban Pet Haus Wave Wall-Mounted Cat Perch If your decor leans more modern or minimalist, you’ll love these cat tree shelves. They come with traction pads, and you could attach a sisal rug behind them to the wall for scratching. Yes, you’ll need a few to make a good jungle gym for your cats, so it’s not the cheapest option. But the varying sizes and shapes (single curves and waves) will interest your eyes as ...

As I’ve spent more and more time researching and learning about pet care and behaviors, I’ve become interested in the various methods and camps for pet training. What methods work best? How do they work in shaping a pet’s behaviors and actions? How are they taught? Today I’d like to focus on clicker training, which can be used to train a wide variety of animals. Most often we see it used for training dogs but it can also be used for horses, cats , birds, and plenty of other animals. Clicker as a tool vs. Clicker as training First, let’s make a distinction. There’s the actual clicker tool. Then there’s clicker training, which is the overall method for marking and reinforcing positive behaviors. You can do clicker, or marker, training without the actual clicker. On the flip side, simply having a clicker doesn’t mean that you’re automatically doing clicker training. The idea behind the method Next, let’s talk method. The basic idea behind clicker training is to mar...