On a hot summer day, nothing is more fun than a trip to the beach with your canine. Your dog will get a chance to exercise and a lot of space to move around. He will get back home feeling tired and have a sound sleep. All seem good and even joyful. Yet, the beach also means sunburn, broken glass, sharp shells and other aggressive dogs. Those things are not only harmful for you but for dog as well. Does that mean that you need to give up the idea of going to the beach? No! Pet Barn is ready to provide you with some safety tips to ensure that your trip to the sea is all fun and happy time for you and your furry four-legged friend.

5 Easy Beach Tips to Keep Your Dog Safe

The tips you are promised to find in this blog are all easy to follow, and sure to protect your dog from all that might hurt him on his trip to the beach. Read them carefully and be sure that if applied, your dog will have the best time of his life.

1. Keep your dog cool

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke are the two main things that you need to be aware of when taking your puppy to the beach. To protect him from those and keep him from overheating, try to do the following things:

• Avoid going to the beach on the hottest parts of the day.
• Provide your dog with plenty of shade and cool water.
• Keep activity to the minimum.
• Give your puppy plenty of time to rest, get out of the sun, and drink water between games.

Once you notice that your dog is feeling very tired, pack up your things, go back home early and let your dog enjoy sitting in an air-conditioned room.

If you notice any symptoms of extreme heat stress such as extreme lethargy, excessive panting, red mucous membranes, diarrhea and vomiting take your dog to the nearest vet immediately because this could save his life.

2. Let your dog drink only fresh water

While playing and moving around along the beach, it could be tempting for your dog to go to the sea and drink salt water. Think about it, we usually come out of the sea feeling thirsty and wanting to just drink some fresh cool water and relax. It is not different for your dog except that seawater can be more harmful for him than for you as he might become very dehydrated. Bring a lot of fresh water with you so that your dog can drink as much as he wishes.

In fact, you do not need to worry if your dog drinks a little of seawater as long as he has immediate access to fresh one. If he drank a lot of it, he might exhibit some of those symptoms: vomiting; thick, ropy saliva; and dry, tacky gums. Only then, you need to bring him to the vet.

3. Keep Your dog save while swimming

If this your first time taking your dog for a swim, you need to start preparing earlier. Do not just take your puppy and bring him to the middle of the sea to practice his swimming skills. Instead, let him practice before in a controlled environment such as a small pool. You can even bring your dog a life jacket to make sure he is safe when you first take him to the beach.

While not on the leash, never let your dog go out of sight and never turn back to the ocean, as your dog might go and take a dip while you are not paying attention.

4. Avoid sunburn

Even the dogs with thick of coats can get sunburns, so pack a sunscreen for you furry buddy while preparing for your beach trip.

You cannot apply the sunscreen made for humans on your dog. Dog sunscreens are usually non-oily, fragrance-less, and zinc-free because zinc can be toxic to your furry friend.

You need to apply sunscreen to your dog’s ears, nose, the inside of his back legs and anywhere else that receives direct sunlight. Do not forget to reapply sunscreen after your dog takes a dip in the water.

5. Protect your dog from the sand

Sand can be rough on your dog’s tender paws. If your dog has particularly sensitive paws, you can get him a special kind of wax, which forms a barrier between the sand and your dogs’ paws. Moreover, as it is mentioned before, sand can contain hidden harmful items such as broken glass and shell so always be on the look for those.

Also, sand can cause damage to your dog’s face specially if he tries to rub it off. Use a warm wet towel to clean all the sand off his face before he rubs it and so irritates his skin or eyes.

Create unforgettable Memories with little protection

If you follow the tips provided in this article, you are going to make your dog’s trip to the beach not only successful but also extremely joyful. Your little furry friend will be looking forward for you his next swim. Yet, one thing is left to add, try to opt for a pet-friendly beach and follow all the rules given. Rules are there for your safety and the safety of your dog.

Have you taken your dog to the beach recently? Did he enjoy it? Are you planning to take him soon? Share your experience with us in the comment and if you have found this article useful, share it with you fellow dog owners!

Your dog is sitting at your door waiting for you to come back home so that he can play with you! We know how you feel about that: happy and grateful that you decided to get a dog. He has been your faithful and trusted companion for months and probably years and he has given you days deeper meaning. Therefore, you are ready to do all it takes to keep this special bond. Did you know you have to keep working on that?

All relationships need hard work to flourish. That is why you see lots of self-help books that give you advice about how to maintain and improve a healthy relationship with your child, parent, partner and even friend. Your relationship with your dog is no exception. You need to always work harder on this unique bond between you two to make sure it is getting stronger every day. It can be a little bit difficult to find books on the topic but Pet Barn is going to make your life easier. In this article, we introduce 9 ways that will hopefully guide you to build a stronger relationship with your canine.

Improve Your Relationship with Your Dog in 9 Simple Ways

Yup! 9 simple ways can greatly improve your relationship with your furry friend. That is some good news for sure but we still have better news: the ways suggested are all fun for you and your dog. Keep on reading and see for yourself.

1. Spend more time with your dog

Dogs are social and friendly animals and they enjoy being around people, especially around their loving owners. Spending time together never fails in strengthening your relationship with them especially if you make it enjoyable by planning some trips or games.

2. Get to know your dog’s body language

To achieve better communication, which is key to any relationship whatsoever, listen to what your dog is trying to tell you. He might not be able to communicate what he wants to say to you in words, but his body language can reveal a lot. For example, when your dog is staring at you that could mean several things: he is probably trying to say “I love you” or “I need your attention” or “I am confused, please give me some directions”. Ask specialists and read about dogs’ body language because when you understand your pet better, your relationship with him is sure to improve.

3. Offer him food that is both healthy and delicious

The way to your dog’s heart can be through his stomach. Dogs like to be given food that tastes good. Of course, you mainly think about the nutritious ingredients that your canine’s meal should have, and that is great. Yet, you can try to make it delicious as well. You can prepare some meals at home or buy him the delicious ones you notice he loves.

4. Choose enriching toys for your dog

Toys help your dogs to be mentally stimulated and get them tired easily. Moreover, toys teach them how to be alone when needed specially that they are fun and relaxing. More importantly, toys are one of the best ways for your dog to learn and develop new skills. Because toys can do all that and more, they are sure to bring you closer together.

5. Speak to your dog

Our dogs tend to enjoy hearing familiar voices, so hearing his owner’s voice can be really relaxing and soothing for him. You can even try reading a book aloud to your dog. This way you both enjoy your time.

6. Touch your dog

Researchers has found that physical touch such as petting and grooming reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases anti hormone oxytocin. This has led them to believe that physical contact enhances the bond between you and your dog.

7. Take your dogs for walks

Walking your dog provides mental stimulation, physical exercise, chances for socialization, and opportunities for behavioral training for your dog. Moreover, it gets both of you to grow the bond you have.

8. Practice Basic training

Choose a simple behavior to teach your dog and work on it for five to six minutes each day. Those few minutes can enhance your relationship with him specially when using treats to reinforce the newly learned behavior.

9. Try to remain calm

Not matter what is going on around you, try to exude a sense of tranquility so that your dog can depend on you to stay cool. Losing your temper, yelling, or freaking out will work your dog up, and make him feel stressful.

Bonding with Your Dog Is a Lifetime Goal

Keep in mind that will not see signs that your bond has gotten stronger in just one day. Bonding with your dog is a permanent journey, which requires constant work on your side, each and every day. When setting off in this journey, remember to pack your kit of patience, hard work, and love and get ready to receive the gift of a calmer, more trusting and loving dog at each stop.

Do you follow any of the tips given in this article to strengthen your relationship with your four-legged buddy? Do you do any other things to achieve that? We would to hear from you so share your experience with us down in the comment section.

We probably know how it feels to take care of a pet. This experience brings us great happiness and many responsibilities as well, which we joyfully take and try to never ignore. All seems well until here, but we have some sad news to share: accidents and emergencies that involve dogs are on the rise! Did you know that every year thousands of dogs around the world have various accidents and suffer from bleeding, choking, difficulty breathing, inability to toilet, injury to eyes and face, broken bones, and heatstroke? We are not sharing those to worry you, but to tell you have some extra work. You need to know what to do in an emergency, because this could save your dog’s life. And hey! you are in the right path. In this blog, Pet Barn provides you with several tactics that help you rescue your dog in case of any possible ill-fated accidents.

Tips and Techniques to Save Your Dogs in Emergencies

As it is mentioned before, dogs, as all other creatures, are very often exposed to accidents. You know well as a dog owner that those fun creatures are playful, curious and usually active. As joyful as that is, it also means that they are likely to have more accidents than other animals. So what do you need to do?  As Pet Barn aims to always make life easier for you and your furry friends, it offers you some pieces of advice that you will find handy in case of emergencies.

Pre-preparations that Help in Emergencies

When it comes to emergencies, pre-preparations are key to help your dog survive. Try to have an emergency plan that specifies necessary procedures for handling sudden or unexpected situations that your dog might undergo. The aim is to be prepared to prevent death or severe harm and to reduce damage as well.

One of the most useful preparations is providing your dog with good nutrition including vitamins and supplements for healthy and stabilized growth. Dogs need such vitamins to get a high level of immunity and strength. They need Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K to face any coming asthenia.

Moreover, having a valid and ready-to-use first aid kit for your dog helps you to provide him with needed support that could save you some visits to the vet.

Ways to Give Your Dog Health Support at Home

You have done all pre-preparations needed but this will not stop accidents from happening. Do not worry! Here are some easy to follow steps that will make the difference between life and death for your dog in case any evils befell this poor four-legged.

1. Keep Calm

Safety is important for you and for your dog as well. Keep calm and assess the situation before acting. Injured or wounded dogs are frightened and in pain and may try to bite anyone who touches them. In addition, do not forget that you might need to drive your dog to the vet, and you should never drive while feeling nervous, so try your best to hold your temper.

2. Contact the Vet via Phone First

Keep your vet’s phone number close to hand and remember the name of the practice well. There may not always be a vet available, but staff may be able to suggest immediate action you can take. Also, have a pen ready next to the phone in case another number is given.

3. Do not Give Your Dog any Food or Medicine

You should never give human medicines to an ill or injured dog or any dogs at all. In fact, do not give your dogs any medicine, human or otherwise before consulting your vet. In case your dog is suffering from any injury, do not offer him food or drinks. An aesthetic might be needed, and it is better to be well prepared for that.

4. Train Yourself to Perform Some Vital Steps

What if the worst happened? What if your dog needed some kind of a quick intervention? Some simple procedures will be of great help if the worst scenario occurred. At first, those procedures might seem hard but ask your vet about them and let him tell you where you can learn to perform them well. What those? Here are some:

• Check for your dog’s pulse.

The easiest place to check your dog’s pulse is in the upper third of his thigh. Put your hand over their thigh and gently squeeze your fingers just underneath their leg. You will be able to feel the artery pulsing there.

To calculate the number beats per minute, time the pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply the result by 4 in order

• Use a makeshift muzzle.

As it is stated previously, when a dog is in pain, he might become nervous and bite. A makeshift muzzle will protect you from his bites. Yet, remember that you should never muzzle an animal that is overheated, having difficulty breathing or is likely to vomit.

• Perform CPR

If your dog is chocking, you need to call a vet right away. However, performing a CPR can increase your dog’s chances of survival.

Small Steps Can Make a Great Difference

Hopefully, you will never experience an emergency with your dog. Nevertheless, the possibility is always there. By taking the time to learn how to proceed, you might be able to save a dog’s life someday.

If you feel like those tips can help other dogs’ owners, share it with them.  If you have other tips to add, share them with us in the comments. After all, sharing is caring, and one piece of advice can save the life of some poor wounded or injured puppies.

Brain games is one of our ways as humans to keep our mind sharp. Learning new things is another because every time we learn something new, we create new neural pathways in our brains, which can improve cognition and even repair damage. Have you ever wondered if your pet needs such mental exercise? Do our pets need such kind of stimulation and for what reasons? With Pet Barn today, we learn why our pets actually do require mental stimulation and how to achieve that.

The Importance of Mental Stimulation for Pets

In most cases, pets’ owners focus more on physical stimulation and forget about the mental one. However, the importance of the latter should not be taken lightly and here are some of the reasons why.

1. When Pets are mentally stimulated, they are less bored, happier and more satisfied.
2. When pets are not mentally stimulated, they channel their energy into unwanted behavior such chewing.
3. Mental and physical exercise should go hand in hand, when one is ignored, the result is destructive, restless, hyperactive and attention seeking behavior.
4. Mental stimulation reduces stress in your pet and improves mental stamina now and at old age.

Ways to Give Your Pet Mental Stimulation at Home

1. Teach your pet a new trick

All pets love getting treats and snacks, but, without stimulation, this can quickly turn into a boring routine. To avoid such a scenario, teach your pets new tricks and offer them these treats.

Both cats and dogs love learning tricks, especially if food follows. In fact, learning new tricks helps your four-legged friend stay mentally stimulated in the house. When your pet is mentally stimulated, he gains confidence and focus better.

2. Try interactive play

You can buy your pets many toys but this should not replace your interaction with them. Both cats and dogs enjoy playing fetch and tug of war, as few examples. Go for it and do not deny them the opportunity to build a bond with you while they are being mentally stimulated.

3. Make an obstacle course for your dog

Obstacle courses are a great way to stimulate your dog physically and mentally. It is not as difficult as you think. Actually, you do not need professional equipment or a large space to build it. Instead, use the furniture and stuff you already have at your home, such as:  chairs, blankets and toys.

4. Play hide and seek

In addition to playing fetch, you can play hide and seek. Hide treats and toys around the house and let your pet search for them. By doing so you stimulate your pet’s senses and give them some form of physical exercise at the same time.

5. Give them access to light and a window

Clearing a space for your pet by a window will allow him to watch what is happening outside. Your pet will watch other animals, changes in the weather or cars and people passing by. This mentally stimulates your pet but you need to keep an eye on him. If your pet becomes restless, he may be experiencing anxiety and frustration at not being able to go outside. If you notice this behavior, you may need to change tactic.

Final Thought

A lot of evidence and research suggest that a mentally and physically stimulated pet is happier and healthier. You need to know your pet and observe his behavior and then you will notice the difference mental stimulation does. Even when you have to stay at home for any reasons whatsoever, you can find ways to stimulate you pet. In this blog, we mentioned a few examples. Also, do not forget that some mental stimulation exercises give you a great chance to build a stronger bond with your pet and try it now and enjoy such a chance.

If you liked the methods we suggested, you could tell your friends who have pets about them or probably share this blog on your Facebook page so that they can read it and enjoy it themselves.

Your wife has just given birth to a new beautiful healthy baby, and she is coming home soon.

Your uncle is coming to visit for a couple of days.

Your sister would like to spend the holidays with you.

Your pet has not met any of these people before. They are new to home. You do not know how he is going to behave and handle the situation.

Pets, just like us human, experience varying degrees of stress when they face change in the environment, so their reaction to a new family member can vary as well. However, preparing your pet in advance for this new situation can help him and the new visitor cope more easily and quickly. If you are asking how you can do that, Pet Barn you will give some helpful guidelines in this blog.

Pet and New Family Members Guide

1. It is time to train your dog well if you have not already done that.

When your dog is well trained, he acts more politely around humans and feel more relaxed and confident around them. All you need to focus on are the simple instructions such as “sit”, “stand”, and “down”.

2. Explain your pets’ rules to the new comers.

Probably you have created a set or rules for your pet now. These rules include stuff like” my dog is not allowed on the bed, no treats between the meals, my cat stays indoor”. Make these rules are clear to the new comer ahead of time.

3. Give the new comers helpful tips about how to deal with your pet.

If your dog loves belly rubs, or your cat gets stressed out when people try to pick her up, be sure to give the new comer heads up. Any tips you provide in advance will be much appreciated by both the pets and humans alike!

4. Do not force your pet to do anything they do not want to do.

Animals, like people, have their own pace when it comes to accepting newcomers. Therefore, try to make sure that your pet’s interactions with the new human family member are all positive, and do not force your pet to interact if it seems that he does not want to.

5. Provide a safe zone for your pets where they can get away from stressful situations at any time. 

For your dog, this can be a kernel. For your cat, it can be a simple cardboard or a modern and stylish cat’s house.

6. Try not to change your pet’s routine.

Pets do better when they are following their regular routine. It better to keep walks, playtime and mealtime the way you pet is accustomed to.

7. Pay attention to your pet’s body language.

Body language can tell you when your pet is feeling nervous, confused or afraid.

8. Do not ignore one-on-one time with your pet.

This can help your pet adjust better especially if you couple that with a lot of love, praise and affection.

9. If you are bringing home a newborn baby, here are some pieces of advice.

• Get a life-sized baby doll to help your pet get used to the real thing when it is time for that.
• Install a barrier at the entrance of the baby’s room. This will allow your pet to see and hear everything that is happening inside, and, at the same time, helps him maintain a safe distance until everyone feels more comfortable.
• Discourage cats from jumping up onto your baby’s crib by using a double double-sided sticky tape.

A Little Preparation Will Do a Great Job

Introducing pets to a new human family member can be stressful and that is why preparation is necessary. Pay attention to your pet’s body language, be reassuring with your reactions so that your pet adjusts easily and feels happy and secure.

Do you remember the last time you introduced your pet to a new family member? How was it like? Did you follow any of our tips? Do you have any others you would like to share?