No more petsitting

Due to Maggie, my chocolate lab, having an unresolved health issue that is making her a bit testy, I will no longer be able to offer in-house petsitting.  I do not want to put anyone else's pets in any kind of danger -- even if it's just a little nip.  I also do not want to stress out my family more.

Therefore, all pet-sitting services will be done at the clients home.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Fighting the Ring

So, about a month ago we brought a pair of adorable kittens into our home.  These precious bundles of mischief (and claws) brought along a not so welcome guest -- RINGWORM! AAAAAAAAAARRRGH!

So, now that the whole household (minus the fish and chinchillas, thank goodness) is itchy and covered in scaly splotches, we are trying everything we can to rid ourselves of this mess.  I'd like to share a few things I've discovered:

Firstly, Ringworm is not a worm at all. Surprise! It's actually a fungus (eww) that feeds on your dead skins cells.  Also, ringworm itself is not itchy -- the itching is caused by a secondary bacterial infection.  Good to know, right?  So what do you do about this?

Well, while some people swear by OTC antifungal creams, they didn't do anything for us.  On the contrary, I think they made things worse.  My bf said that it did help some if you put the cream on and then covered it with a band-aid... but that would take a lot of band-aids...

We scoured the internet for advice, and came upon a few interesting ones we thought we would try.  We covered the spots with Tea Tree Oil -- it helped some, but since TTO is EXTREMELY toxic to cats, I didn't want to use this too much.  Next, we tried soaking pennies in vinegar and taping them over the spots.  This did help (surprised? I was too) but again, that's a lot of band-aids to go through. 

I showered with T-gel and then sprayed myself with vinegar... this helped some, but it was more than a tad painful.  Burny, very very burny. 

Through all this we were sure to be showering daily (remember, the fungus survives off your old, dead skin cells) and washing clothes and towels in HOT water after only one use.  Also, washing sheets/blankets and making sure to vacuum regularly is important, as the fungus can last for quite sometime and be passed back to you after you think it's gone. 

Eventually we broke down and got a prescription cream from the doctor, which is helping way faster than any home remedy we tried. 

Back to fore: Stella, Naomi and Gideon at naptime

And the kittens are settling in  nicely... though we haven't told Gideon that he's due to be neutered soon

Petsitting

I've decided to try adding in-house petsitting to my services.  This is a trial run, but if it goes well may become a permanent fixture.  Fees will be on a case-by-case basis -- dependent on needs and length of stay. 

Contact me for further details!

Not just good manners, but a safety issue as well

Today was the second day in a row that we were stopped on our way around town.  "Your dogs walk so beautifully together" Mary commented, as she reached down to pet Maggie.  If these were not my dogs, this could pose a real problem.  See, my dogs LOVE attention, and are very loving.  This does not mean that all dogs are like this.

The proper, safe (not to mention polite) thing to do when you want to great someone and their dog, is to stand at a safe distance, and ask if it's okay to pet.  This way, you have far less risk of, say, losing your hand!  This does not necessarily mean that the dog is bad, or heaven forbid needs to be euthanized! Don't forget that dogs are individuals, and just like people, some dogs don't like to be touched... especially by strangers.

Please take responsibility for your own safety, and your own actions.  

Lovely day for a walk!

Hello!  I'm Marty and these are my dogs Stella, Max and Maggie.  You may have seen us walking around Sunbury, or in the parks.  You may have even caught us swimming (we love doing that)! We also enjoy our outings to Petsmart and sharing an occasional small dish of vanilla ice cream.

We walk rain or shine, even when it's snowing!  As long as the weather is safe to be out in, we're out. For no less than 1 hour per day, we enjoy walking and jogging -- letting off steam and getting to know our new neighborhood.  We also get to sniff and train, and meet our new neighbors! 

I currently have space for 3 more full-time dogs in my schedule.  If you would like your dog to get the same loving treatment I give mine, contact me for your FREE CONSULTATION today!