Fashion Week...for the Dogs!

We've all heard of Fashion Week, but did you know that human fashion is crossing the line to doggie fashion? About 4 years ago, Alexa Cach helped co-found Pet Fashion Week, and the response has been astounding. Wall Street Journal's Alexandra Marshall takes an inside look at what Pet Fashion is all about! Worth the read!

Back to School

For many of us, this week has been back-to-school for our kids. If you don't have kids, then you'll still have been affected by the surge in traffic as everyone hits the roads to make the 8 am bells on time.This morning, as my daughter was getting ready, she was very nervous for her first day back at school. Her head was all over the place, and she couldn't eat her breakfast. But a few things were confidence inspiring for her.

1. The alarm had been set the night before, with plenty of leeway time for bathroom, nerves, and any other disasters!
2. She had picked out her outfit last week, and it was washed and ready -- laid out on her bed for the morning.
3. Her backpack was packed and ready.

Nerves aside, she wanted to please me by following the routine to the best of her ability. And she did great. Once she was back in the familiar territory of the school playground and met up with some of her friends, she looked back at me with a smile and a wave and off she went. To start Grade 3.

Why tell this story? Because our dogs are so very similar in their desire to please us. Dogs do not go out of their way to cause problems, be mischevious or not listen. In fact, the opposite is true. Dogs want to please their owners. When they become destructive, it is because they don't understand the ground rules, are bored, unhappy, or need more exciting exercise.

Just like our kids, they need a routine. The need to be fed every day at the same time or they become anxious about their food. They need to go on a good walk at least once a day -- for exercise, to smell their territory and make sure their neighborhood is safe (patrolling their boundaries), they need love, they need praise for a job well done, and they need consistent correction on those things they do not do well.

Because, in addition to providing walking/sitting services for dogs and cats, I also bring dogs into my home for a premium boarding experience, I see so many different behaviors and themes.
The first thing is that your dog (like your child) is a reflection of your care. If you love your dog, that is evident in the way your dog interacts in my home. If you allow them liberties, they'll try to take those same liberties in my home. However, I have house rules. (Doesn't mean they are followed, but dog boarders learn what the rules are.)

Here they are:

1. No eating off a counter or table.
2. No sitting or jumping on my living room sofa or chairs.
3. The den sofa is allowed if the dog is allowed on furniture in your home.
4. No fighting. If you can't agree over a toy it gets taken away.
5. If you feel very energetic and want to run around like a nut, do so outside in the garden, not in the living room.
6. Keep the squirrels away from my fruit trees.
7. Behave well on your walks.

All the dogs who board with me get to understand the rules within a couple of days and the results are remarkable. My dog, Daisy, knows how to train the dogs to use the doggie door, which they all do within a couple of hours. Once they know that, the rest of the rules are easy. Do they follow all the rules? No...not always. But they KNOW what the rules are and they get lots of praise when they control their urge to go against the rules and gentle correction when they break the rules. They also know, solely because of the way I act toward them (like a loving, guiding, strong parent), that I'm the boss of the house and they are very eager to get my praise, love and attention (which I'm also very eager to give!)

When I pick up my daughter from school today, at the end of her first day, she also has a few rules for me:

1. Be cool. Don't say anything like: "Sweet!" "Word." or "Peace Out."
2. Don't hug or kiss her too much until we get to the car.
3. Don't embarrass her in front of her friends (that means basically anything I do will embarrass her -- a losing proposition!)
4. As soon as we get to the car, kiss her, hug her, ask her a million questions about her day and make sure she knows she's still my baby.