Help! Puppy zoomie hour!

So many new puppy owners are taken by surprise when their little bundle of fur becomes what seems like a different species - Tasmanian devil mix? - for a short period at the same every evening (and sometimes in the morning too).

It's been labelled as zoomie hour, witching hour, acid hour, and other #%$%$ names..... Luckily it usually doesn't even last close to an hour. Luckily you can almost set your watch by it too which means that you can somewhat plan ahead for it.

Very much like the children's book "Too Much Birthday" by Stan & Jan Berenstain.....   It is often the storm before the calm and then puppy is so tired she finally succumbs to a long, deep sleep.

How do you deal with this frenzied time? Puppy can barely focus for a nano-second! And those sharp teeth! This is the time when you basically put pup in a puppy proofed area and give an outlet for the physical needs.

• Full out zooming in a wide open space (fenced yard)
• Digging wildly and then zooming
• Rolling and squirming and then zooming
• Shredding something safe and then zooming
• Pile of leaves to zoom in and out of
• Long, floppy type tug toys to carry and wrestle and zoom with
• Big balls to bump around while zooming at full blast
• Obstacles that pup can negotiate at zoom speed

A certain amount of zoomie time seems to be normal and always seems to be followed by a decently long period of zonked out puppy. Zzzzzzzzzzz.... Only sleeping when exhausted isn't a great way to live the rest of your life though. Conditioning your puppy to settle on her own is very important. More on that another time...

Furry Faced Feature - "Chief"

Occasionally we will be featuring one of our Paw In Hand clients (or families!). If you would like to see your pet(s) featured on our blog, please contact us.

Meet Chief!

Black Labrador - Male - dob 4 May 2014

Submitted by

Shannon, Shane and Cameron

Chief joined our family at 3 months of age. He has a wonderful nature, and has taken to obedience work with great gusto. Since it's obvious that he's going to be a big dog (everyone who meets him comments on the size of his paws), we were determined from the start that he learn good manners, especially around children. So far, so good - Maren's help has been invaluable in ensuring that we are constantly getting compliments for his good behaviour, everywhere we go.

Holidays! Owieeeeeee! Trail first aid and no holidays or hiking for Maren

As usual, I took holiday time at the end of August. I started my time off with a weekend in Seattle at an excellent dog behaviour seminar. Then back home for a day before heading out camping with my family. I took time out from packing to take my canine sidekicks Opal and Trixie out on the trails. We had a fabulous run and even a nice swim. What a great start to holiday time! Then when we were close to home I somehow fell.  I landed on a loose rock with my shin and smashed my flesh open in some mangled unrecognizable shape. First step - stay calm Maren and sit down. I pulled a 2" rock out of my mangled flesh. Second step, quick trail first aid. After notifying someone where I was, I  hobbled home and then drove to Squamish General Hospital emergency.

The wound was assessed the the emergency physician. Not enough tissue left to stitch. Wound will have to granulate in slowly and be irrigated and packed daily at outpatient care. Keep the leg elevated and no walking and.....  Well ... next day they decided they'd stitch it loosely and pack the undermining pockets

Cancel camping reservations. No hiking for the rest of the season.

I tried to see the silver lining in my cloud... It wasn't broken or strained and my head was okay and it could have been worse.

As for the silver lining ... I have been working on a few Paw in Hand training projects so keep tuned!

Three weeks later...... Shin wounds take a long time to heal because of the lack of tissue and blood supply in the area. I am still banadaged up and getting my special treatment dressing changes every other day but moving around is good and I have the clear to get back to leading all my canine clients on trail adventures.

 Dogggies are good for my emotional health too! Hiking time!

Reminder to all....Know basic first aid and carry a fist aid kit with supplies for both humans and dogs!

Maren is a Practical Nurse by training and is also certified in DogSafe Canine First Aid http://www.dogsafe.ca/index.html

Opal and Trixie having a swim

Foot up with a friend