Oh boy, December is here. How did the year go by so fast?
Do you have any plans traveling to see family and friends? Considering taking your dog with you?
Awesome idea!
I recently had to travel with one of my dogs for a certification and one thing that definitely helped me to stay focused on the certification and made me stress less about traveling with my 67lb dog was being well prepared. My dog has been crate trained since he was a puppy, hence staying at a hotel was a breeze with him since the crate inside the hotel room gave him a sense of comfort and familiarity. I would like to share my tips for traveling with a dog or dogs with you since I’ve been traveling with mine for workshops and seminars and certifications for years.
Here are a couple of things that I find the most helpful:
Ø Have a crate for your dog. If traveling by car and you have the space, I recommend traveling with two crates: one for the car and one for the place that you are staying at. If your dog is well behaved, a soft sided pop up crate should suffice inside a hotel room.
Ø Pre package all the dog’s meals including supplements so you don’t need to travel with more dog food than you need to
Ø Familiarize your dog with busy environments that resemble maybe a hotel with elevators and such
Ø Book a hotel room nearby a staircase and on the lower floors to make potty breaks feel less like a marathon run
Ø Don’t forget your dog’s medications
Ø Your dog’ s favorite chew toys
Ø Poo bags in every piece of luggage
Ø Collapsible food and water bowl
Ø Copies of your dog’s current vaccination records
Ø Cleaning supplies in case your dog has an accident inside your hotel room
Ø A lint roller

Black Friday is here, are you as excited as I am for all the great deals ? We all know the typical deals of flatscreen TVs, laptops, tablets, household items and so on but what about your dog’s needs? Dog training equipment and accessories can be very pricy hence I wanted to remind you what all you should keep an eye out for that might be running a Black Friday special. Happy shopping my friends
· Temp monitor for car
· Crate for car
· Fan for car crate
· GPS tracker for your dog
· Light up harness for your dog
· Rex specs
· Dremel for nail care
· Treadmill for your dog
· DOG TRAINING AT TEAM DOG WITH YASMIN ;-DDD (don’t forget out biggest discount ever tomorrow)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. That means gathering with family and friends, having a full house with lots of people, and a huge spread of delicious food. We all know how chaotic and stressful it can get when hosting the Thanksgiving festivities; now add to that your dog, who sees no harm in greeting everyone by jumping on them, sniffing private areas of your guests, and generally thinks your kitchen counter is his/her own version of Golden Corral Buffet. What do you do?
A) Put your dog outside for the time being (works as long as your dog doesn’t bark up a storm outside/ the weather is decent/ your guests don’t venture out into your backyard)
B) Put your dog in a crate (works as long as you don’t forget to let your dog outside every so often)
C) Have your dog show off his/her manners that he/she learned after successfully completing a formal dog training program :-D
In order to make Thanksgiving and any other family gathering a more enjoyable event with your four-legged companion, it is beneficial to teach him/her manners, how to behave around your guests, and the temptations of a big food spread. Obedience training can definitely help there: From teaching your dog to be on a dog bed and stay there while you are answering the door and letting your guests in, how to politely keep all four paws on the ground when getting greeted and petted, to doing a down stay while people are walking past your dog and passing food around and of course staying off the kitchen counter and table. Like I always say, obedience training is more than teaching dogs how to do tricks of sit and down; it is actually teaching your dog manners and how to behave around people.
Of course, you want your dog to be part of the family, but therefore, you need to give your dog guidance on how to be around other people calmly and politely.
Including your dog in the Thanksgiving festivities doesn’t need to end just there; it is totally ok to fix your dog a plate, too. When doing so, please be reminded to only feed foods that are safe for your dog. I wanted to mention a few here; for a more comprehensive guide, you can always consult with your veterinarian. If your dog likes raw meats, you can try feeding the turkey gizzard to your dog, but keep in mind that you may have to cut it into bite-size pieces so your dog won’t choke on it.

Safe Foods:

Fat free turkey
Plain carrots
Plain pumpkin
Corn (off the cob)
Hard boiled Eggs
Unseasoned (Sweet)potatoes
Plain green beans

Unsafe foods:
Stuffing
Fat and gravy
Chocolate and nuts
Butter
Grapes/raisins
Items that contain alcohol
Cooked Turkey bones
Onions/garlic

Now with the temperatures finally getting more bearable here in Texas it also gets more fun to do outdoor activities with your dog like hiking, hunting, playing fetch at parks. Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who like the nice mild Texas fall weather, rattlesnakes like it too. Rattlesnakes usually go into winter hibernation called brumation but that usually depends on the weather and if the weather stays mild until January, these snakes will take their sweet time to do that.
Hence getting your dog a rattlesnake vaccination should definitely be something to consider year round here in Texas and the majority for the southern states. A rattlesnake vaccination won’t completely make your dog immune against rattlesnake venom but it will help you to buy time to get your dog to the nearest vet for emergency care. Without the vaccination, your dog’s survival chances could be significantly compromised especially when being far out in the country. Into further consideration shall be taken to enroll your dog into snake avoidance training, if available. Not all snakes are created equally but the rattlesnake is definitely not one you want your dog to mess with.

Now with the temperatures finally getting more bearable here in Texas it also gets more fun to do outdoor activities with your dog like hiking, hunting, playing fetch at parks. Unfortunately, we are not the only ones who like the nice mild Texas fall weather, rattlesnakes like it too. Rattlesnakes usually go into winter hibernation called brumation but that usually depends on the weather and if the weather stays mild until January, these snakes will take their sweet time to do that.
Hence getting your dog a rattlesnake vaccination should definitely be something to consider year round here in Texas and the majority for the southern states. A rattlesnake vaccination won’t completely make your dog immune against rattlesnake venom but it will help you to buy time to get your dog to the nearest vet for emergency care. Without the vaccination, your dog’s survival chances could be significantly compromised especially when being far out in the country.