Category: PSA

Summertime Howlidays

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 37 Comments

With our hospital work this week, we’ve been a bit light on posts so we’re posting a Saturday PSA. Summer is officially here which means this weekend we will be enjoying a long weekend in the US. Here at the Ranch we want to wish effuryone a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend. 🇺🇸

Did you know that more pets are lost during this weekend than at any other time during the year?

With that in mind, Sam and Elsa offer the following red, white and blue tips for keeping your furry friends safe.


CREATE A SAFE ZONE

It’s best not to take your fur-friend with you to the neighborhood pawty. All those extra strangers, loud noises and inappropriate food coupled with fireworks make for a sure-fire guaranty for misery on your pet’s part. Leave them at home. Dogs and cats aren’t all that keen on the loud noises that come with fireworks AND crowds so creating a room with darkened windows, adding some white noise or leaving the TV turned on with a safe, crated retreat can go a long way toward keeping them at ease. Let them experience this space a few days before the fireworks start-up to get them used to it before it all starts. 

MAKE THEM COMFORTABLE

Provide their favorite treats and give them freely prior to the days leading up to the 4th to make them feel a bit more comfortable the next time there is a loud bang. 

PLAY WITH SOUND MASKING

Sound masking is a great way to cover up loud noises from fireworks. Music – whichever genre – can help them relax and feel a bit more at ease.  It is best to play what they are already familiar with so that association to the new music is not made with loud scary fireworks.

ADD SUPPLEMENTS IF NECESSARY 

When you know your pet is extra anxious during fireworks, the use of anti-anxiety helpers like Pet Releaf (a safe and effective CBD oil), use of a ThunderShirt, or LICKS Pill-Free ZEN supplements can help even the most stressed pet relax. Lavender essential oil can work wonders on their bed or collar and go a long way toward inducing relaxation.

It’s especially impawtant for us uprights to take the necessary steps to keep our fur-babies safe. Knowing they will likely react to all the loud noises, whatever can be done to make them feel safe and secure is in their long-term best interests. Don’t forget to make sure they are wearing a current ID tag, especially if they aren’t microchipped.  Better to play it safe and make sure they are wearing their collar all the time but especially this weekend.

Enjoy the howliday, but be safe!  What clever tricks do you use to keep your babies safe and sound?

Live, love, bark! ❤︎

It’s baaaack

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 53 Comments

It’s that time of year again where we arbitrarily move toward insanity spring forward. Yup, time for a Ranch PSA to let you know that Daylight Savings Time arrives this weekend for the majority of the US this Sunday. Regardless of the pending calamity adjustment, we hope your weekend arrives with the promise of fun and some rejuvenation. Enjoy your weekend and for those of you lucky enough to not have to yet start this bi-annual catastrophe, we at the Ranch are quite jealous. Happy weekend!

Any big plans on tap beyond dreading the change?

Live, love, bark! <3

Ding dong, DST is gone PSA

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 46 Comments

Well, at least gone until next Spring. Don’t forget to set your clocks back Saturday night and ‘sleep in’ an extra hour this Sunday unless you live in Hawaii, Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and parts of Indiana. I still keep wondering why the rest of us go through this reset twice a year. Sounds like something Facebook would do.

  • No one asks for it.
  • It messes everyone up.
  • Just when you’re used to it, they change it…again.
  • Besides, everyone just loves turning back their clocks and resetting watches so it’s dark by 4 pm. Said no one ever.

On the plus side, I think my car clock will be ‘correct’ now till next Spring. Does the return to standard time mess up your bio-rhythms? How do you and your pets handle the switch back to ‘regular’ time?

Live, love, bark! <3

Coffee and Canines

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 29 Comments

Move over felines…there’s some competition in the cafe business. Looks like someone let the dogs out in the Los Angeles Silver Lake neighborhood where The Dog Cafe recently opened and where you can pet pups and get your caffeine fix at the same time. Local resident Sarah Wolfgang (no pun intended, that’s really her name) was inspired by animal cafes she noticed when she lived in  South Korea for a number of years. In the Korean version, the  dogs were originally from puppy mills and in her cafe, the dogs will come from shelters.

The Dog Cafe the first of its kind in the country, will focus on rescuing dogs from nearby shelters and they will be separated according to age and personality. Employees trained in dog body language and behavior will be on hand to observe interactions. You can sip a variety of coffee, tea or flavored lemonades and spend time with the dogs in the separate dog lounge area away from the stress of an overcrowded shelter. All the dogs will be available for adoption. According to the cafe’s website, they are focused on “rescuing dogs who have been at the shelter the longest due to health or behavioral issues and are at the highest risk of being euthanized.” Ms. Wolfgang compares it to drinking your Starbucks at a kennel. Health department regulations require separating the service area from the dog area and no food will be served. Other safety restrictions include no children under 8 are permitted and an adult must accompany all children. A merchandise area is also a part of the cafe.

The logic behind this new concept in rescues being these dogs are socialized in a less stressful setting while potential owners get a feel for the dog’s personality. The website says, “We want to provide you with the opportunity to see these pooches in their true light.” For patrons unable to adopt a pup, they still can receive all the puppy kisses they want. Coffee served at the cafe comes from Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co., a Fair Trade organic coffee company who donates a portion of its profits to rescue organizations.

Many areas around the country have cat cafes, in fact there is one in the trendy Tennyson District a few blocks away. Now there is at least one dog cafe and hopefully more will spring up around the country to give our canine buddies one more opportunity of finding their own fur-ever loving homes.

Would you support a dog cafe? Lattes and laps seems like a pawsome idea to Sam and me.🐾

Live, love, bark! <3

DST PSA

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 26 Comments


You know the adage ~ “Spring Forward…Fall Back.” Sam here…it’s that time of year again (at least in the US) when we have to alter change the clocks but this time it’s one hour forward. Yippee…all us poor starvin’ Marvin pups and kitties get fed at a decent hour instead of wasting away until the so-called designated feeding time. Maybe now I can put a couple pounds back on my waistline. On the other hand, I’m losing a valuable hour of beauty sleep. 🙁

What does Daylight Savings Time mean to us 4-legged fur-iends? It means just like our human counterparts, our circadian rhythms are all whacked out again. Sigh. Can someone please remind me why we continue to torture ourselves do this silly time change business twice a year? Uh, huh…just as I thought.

Remember lose an hour of sleep to set your clocks one hour ahead this Saturday evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Live, love, bark! <3

 

Saturday Smiles

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 20 Comments

Interesting message but we do support neutering as a part of responsible pet ownership. Have a swell weekend. 😉

Live, love, bark! <3

Paws before feeding

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 9 Comments
Source: Woofipedia.com

Shortly after my recent post (and in keeping our family luck firmly intact-that is, a day late and a dollar short), I came across this graphic which I thought made a heckuva lotta of sense to share. Similar to that list of important numbers/contacts you put on the frig for the babysitter on the one night a year you actually can get out of the house alone, this one could live on the bulletin board or wherever it is that you prefer stash important stuff that you don’t want lying around cluttering up counters but which is equally as important. Then again if you’re a Pinterest junkie fan, you can always frame it as kitchen art-just saying.

Consider this a quick and friendly reminder for keeping those precious fur babies safe on the last day of Poison Prevention Awareness Month. But don’t let ‘out of sight, out of mind’ flummox you and especially remember to keep ALL gum away from curious busy-body noses. Xylitol, the sweetener in gum is quite toxic and can be fatal. I know from past experience about those ‘busy’ noses; my last dog was a master thief at finding this stuff probably because the scent of gum is so enticing (and I’m still convinced she probably taught Sam all his bad habits of getting that nose in places where it shouldn’t be). Where dogs (and cats) are concerned, if it isn’t one thing, it’s something else. 🙂

And now…let’s bring on April and warmer temps, baby!

Live, love, bark! <3