Wendy says!

Warm Veggie Delight Kong Recipe

You’ll need:
Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, green beans, tomatoes, peas and/or carrots (use any or all of the above), Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Chop the veggies into chunks, grate them or steam and mash them. Put a few veggies into a KONG. Sprinkle in a spoonful of cheese. Repeat, layering the veggies and cheese until the KONG is full. Then microwave the KONG for five to eight seconds, just until the veggies are warm and the cheese is soft. Make sure the veggies and cheese aren’t too hot to eat before giving the KONG to your dog. To challenge him, you can freeze the KONG after stuffing and microwaving it. (The melted cheese will be hard to get out after it’s been frozen with the veggies.)

For fun photos, training tips and information, please follow Good to the Bone Dog Training on Facebook or Twitter!

NEW CLASSES!

I am excited to announce Good to the Bone’s summer classes! Basic Obedience & Good Manners as well as Puppy Kindergarten have now been expanded to a seven-week course! The course will now include an orientation, which is just for the humans so we can go over lots of information without the distraction of the pups being there. We will also be having our first round of Tricks for Treats, as well as Reliable Recall. Please see the class schedule below, and be sure to let me know right away if you are interested in signing up for class in Astoria.

Tricks for Treats!
Want to teach to impress your friends and neighbors with your dog’s cool tricks? Teaching your dog tricks is also a great relationship-building activity! This two-week workshop will cover roll over, sit pretty, stick ’em up, jump, and more!

Mondays in Astoria:
Classes start Monday, 9/12 at 8:15pm at The Jumping Bulldog.

Reliable Recall
Are you tired of your dog only coming when called when he has nothing better is going on? In this four week class, you’ll learn how to train a reliable recall, so that when your dog hears his name, he’ll drop everything and come running to you! Whether your goal is to take your dog to off-leash hours in public parks, or get his attention when he’s playing with his buddies at the dog park, this class will help.

Mondays in Astoria:
Classes start Monday, 9/12 at 7:00pm at The Jumping Bulldog.

Puppy Kindergarten
Want to learn how to communicate with your new canine friend and have tons of fun in the process?
Our classes focus on teaching bite-inhibition (gentle jaws), socialization, household manners and obedience (sit, down, come, and more!) You will learn how to housetrain your pup, as well as how to prevent and troubleshoot common behavior problems, such as barking, nipping, and chewing. Classes also include puppy playtime, where your pup will learn vital socialization skills, which can prevent fear-based aggression as your puppy matures. All puppies 8 weeks to 6 months are welcome.

Mondays in Astoria:
Classes start Monday, 7/11 at 8:15pm at The Jumping Bulldog.

Basic Obedience & Good Manners
This class is designed to help you better understand your dog, enhance communication, and teach your dog to make good choices. With an emphasis on impulse control, you will learn how to apply essential obedience commands, including sit, stay, come, leave-it, and loose-leash walking to your daily life. Whether this is your first attempt at training your dog, or you are building on the skills learned in previous training endeavors (including Puppy Kindergarten), you and your dog will benefit from this life-changing class – all while having a blast! Dogs 6 months or older are welcome.

Mondays in Astoria:
Classes start Monday, 7/11 at 7pm at The Jumping Bulldog.

Email me to reserve your spot in class!

Wendy says:!

Happy Monday!

Returning to the office on a summer Monday can be rough after a weekend of fun in the sun.  Mondays can be rough (or ruff!) on your pooches, too.  The warm weather means we get to have more fun outside with our dogs.  Perhaps your pup has been enjoying longer walks, more time at the doggie park, or joining you for a barbecue or sidewalk cafe where they receive lots of attention and stimulation from your friends and family.  When Monday rolls around, they are back to their boring routine of waiting for you to come home from work.  Boredom and excess energy can lead to behavior problems.  How about giving them an extra special Kong before you leave for work?  A Kong is a hollow rubber toy you can stuff with food.  They are a great way to keep your dog’s brain and jaws busy while you’re away from home.  Kongs are the staple food puzzle toy, but there are many others, including the Buster Cube, Tricky Treat Ball, Tug-a-Jug, Twist ‘n Treat, Atomic Treat Ball, TreatStik, to name a few!

Try not to get stuck in a rut, stuffing the usual treats in your pooch’s Kong. If your dog’s digestive system can handle a wide variety of foods, be creative and think of new and tasty snacks to give Rover.  Have you considered keeping some halved bananas in your freezer so you can quickly and easily stuff one in a Kong before you leave for work?  It doesn’t get any easier than that!  I suggest making up some Kongs on Sunday night and keeping them in your freezer, ready to go for the week.  Below you will find a fancy Kong-stuffing suggestion, but you can click here for more examples: http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/76/How-to-Stuff-a-KONG-Toy.aspx

 

Wendy DeSarno, CPDT-KA, CTC

Certified Trainer and Behavior Consultant

Good to the Bone Dog Training

(516) 967-8177

www.GoodtotheBoneNYC.com

Pet food recall due to Salmonella threat

We are happy to say that The Jumping Bulldog does not carry this product!

Nestlé Purina PetCare Company has announced a recall of approximately 870 bags of dry cat food that is feared contaminated with Salmonella. The product was shipped to three western states: Colorado, Idaho and Oregon.

The cat food was erroneously distributed in February, 2011. So far, no reports of illness have been made.

The specific items involved in the recall are:

• Cat Chow Naturals Dry Cat Food, sold in 6.3  lb. bags. The product has a “best used by” date of August 2012; production code 10331083 13; and bag UPC code 17800 11320.
• Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food, sold in 3.15 lb. bags. The product has “best used by” date of August 2012; production code 10381083 06; and bag UPC code 50000 08450.
• Friskies Grilllers Blend Dry Cat Food, sold in 16 lb. bags. The product has “best used by” date of August 2012; production code 10381083 06; and bag UPC code 50000 57578.

No other Purina cat or dog products are involved in the recall.

Consumers who have purchased any of the affected products are urged to discard them in sealed containers. Product refunds may be obtained by calling the manufacturer toll-free at 1-800-982-6559 weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time, or by visiting the Nestlé Purina website: www.purina.com.

Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit diminished appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may become lethargic and experience bloody diarrhea and vomiting.

Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and displays these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Be mindful that humans who have handled contaminated products are at risk of Salmonella poisoning. This is especially true of individuals have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product.

Authored by:

Howard Portnoy/ Pet News Examiner/ June 28, 2011 9:24 am ET

http://www.examiner.com/pet-news-in-national/pet-food-recall-due-to-salmonella-threat

ASPCA Pet Tip

Make sure your pets have a shady place to get out of the sun, be careful to not over-exercise them, and keep them indoors when it’s extremely hot.

Home-Prepared Cat Food

A Compilation of Recipes for Your Cats

I’ve assembled several recipes that provide the essential ingredients for a home-prepared cooked diet for your cats. It’s best to alternate these meals to ensure your cat gets all the nutrients she needs over a period of time. You may want to start by offering a home-cooked meal once a week, as an alternate to your cat’s normal commercial foods. Since cats are sometimes known to be fussy creatures, they may enjoy some of these recipes more than others. Feel free to experiment with ingredients, but avoid those human foods that are toxic to cats.

Kitty Breakfast¹

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. nonfat dry milk
• 3 medium eggs
• 3 Tbsp. cottage cheese
• 2 Tbsp. grated veggies

Mix together the milk powder with a small amount of water; add the eggs and beat well. Pour into a small non-stick frying pan and cook on medium low until done. Flip over and spread the cottage cheese and veggies over half the top. Fold like an omelet. Cool and cut to bite-sized pieces to serve.

By Franny Syufy, About.com Guide

Let’s make a deal

New Groupon-like sale sites help pet owners save

Sites like Groupon, Gilt Groupe and Living Social have changed the way we shop for clothes, restaurant reservations and even things such as gym memberships and apartment cleaners. Now, a new breed of daily deal sites is after our pets as well.

Like many New Yorkers, financial analyst and MBA grad Matthew Krunkel had scored great deals on clothing and restaurant meals courtesy of flash-sale sites like Groupon and Gilt City. But many of the products and services he saw advertised just weren’t relevant to him, so he’d delete the e-mail.

Thinking about how these sites could target more specific shopping niches led him to a new business venture and service for New Yorkers — a Web site that allows pets to get in on the sale site act, too.

Christian Johnston

Recently on ThePetDeal.com, owners could score a $39 grooming session — 51 percent off the original price!

His big idea, ThePetDeal.com — a sale site specifically for pet owners — launched last month, offering discounts on local services and products. Recent deals include $80 worth of dog or cat grooming at SoHo’s Happy Paws for just $39, and 51 percent off dog-walking and cat-sitting from Doggie Patrol.

Discounts offered on the site range from the practical — dog treats and grooming services — to what Krunkel calls more “esoteric” offers such as doggie fashion or a professional photo shoot with your pet. He also hopes to partner with city animal shelters to offer pet-deal credits to people who adopt.

Another new site,

Pawsley.com, combines the sale-site model with social networking — think Facebook for dogs meets Groupon. The founder, New Yorker Mike Pacifico, was inspired to create Pawsley when he couldn’t find a “cool site” on the Web to show off his English springer spaniel, Maeby, and connect with other dog owners. Like on Facebook, Pawsley users can create profiles for themselves and their dogs, upload photos and videos, and join groups connecting them to other users. Pacifico added pet product and services deals as “a cool new twist to keep people coming back.”

Like Krunkel, Pacifico spent his pre-pet Web days crunching numbers on Wall Street. As a fan of sale sites, he knew that dog owners would be attracted to deep discounts — and that pet businesses would love the word-of-mouth advertising that Pawsley could provide.

“How cool would it be for a business to offer a deal, have someone buy it and then have all that person’s friends know that she bought it? That’s what Pawsley offers,” he explains. (When Pawsley members buy a deal, it shows up on their user profile.)

Not surprisingly, given the runaway success of Groupon, there’s a growing pack of pet deal sites that also includes PetSimply.com and BarkingDeals.com. Both offer discounts that average 40 to 50 percent off retail

prices. Pet owners can also snag bargains on traditional sites such as Groupon, which periodically caters to pets in its Home and Garden section, and Ideeli, which has hosted a number of sales on designer pet furniture. An Ideeli sale that ends tomorrow, in fact, offers up to 80 percent off Harry Barker dog bowls and storage containers.

New York is not exactly lacking in pet stores — the city is home to everything from big-box retailers such as PETCO to smaller, more upscale pet boutiques. So do pet owners really need to turn to the Web to spoil their furry friends? Yes, says, Krunkel, who finds the brick-and-

mortar pet-store and service scene in New York to be

fragmented.

“Even if you go to a directory like Yelp.com, it’s not always easy to find what you’re looking for,” he says. “People with pets seemed to be going to the first place they saw in their neighborhood, even if they weren’t in love with it.” He hopes ThePetDeal.com will make New Yorkers more aware of pet-centric businesses in the city.

As for Pawsley, the ultimate goal is to become the place for dog owners to share their pics, videos and thoughts, says

Pacifico. Offering treats to that community is icing on the cake.

“The one clear winner in all of this is our dog, Maeby,” he says. “From custom IDs to organic treats and epic toys, she’s sampled it all.”

By REBECCA WALLWORK

Last Updated: 10:16 AM, June 12, 2011

Posted: 8:04 PM, June 11, 2011