4 Easy Halloween Safety Tips For Your Dog...(and every other holiday for that matter)

🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃

from the Bakers Acres Crew to yours!

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Here are a few safety tips for tonight's festivities:

1. Keep 🍫candy and 🍭wrappers out of your dog's reach! 

Many of our favorite holiday sweets are toxic to dogs, not to mention the potential of ingesting wrappers and other plastics. The simplest way to do this is to designate one area of your house as the "candy zone". This is also designated as the "dog-free zone". You can install baby gates, or just simply teach your dog to respect the threshold into the "dog-free zone".

2. Prepare for lots of doorbells and opened doors! 

Our first recommendation is to crate your dog, especially if they are stressed when strangers visit or worse are prone to bolting out opened doors, no matter how slightly cracked. Second, teach your dog to mind his own business and stay on his bed (we call this "place"). You can practice right now before all the trick or treaters arrive. Get a "place" bed/mat/rug, leash your dog, guide him to the bed, "stay", and follow through each time he gets up. If this is too much work, then you can always tie your dog back to a sturdy piece of furniture or door.

3. While out trick or treating...

Keep your dogs on a leash and you might want to consider adding a reflective vest or glow stick to their outfit...just in case! If you have a Mini Educator remote collar, you can turn on the flashlight function!!! Oh snap!

4. Above all, be wise and follow your gut.

If you feel uncomfortable, your dog probably does. So just make the best judgment call to keep them safe and relaxed. Sometimes, it might just be easier to crate them or shut them in a room with the TV on.

Together, let's keep our pups safe and healthy this Halloween! Now get out and have some fun!

Dogs Are Dogs, Not Humans

“Most of the problem behaviors we see in today’s society will disappear if we treat our dogs like dogs.”

— Sara Baker

A recent vital video depicting a polar bear patting a dog on the head is being grossly misinterpreted.

"When we insist on seeing animals [like humans], we do them a disservice. We assign them the responsibility that comes with being human, including a code of morality that other animals [our dogs included] simply cannot follow." (Read more at, http://qz.com/841693/that-video-of-a-polar-bear-petting-a-dog-turns-out-to-show-us-a-predator-playing-with-its-prey/?utm_source=parBBC)

This is a problem that many of our domesticated pets, dogs especially, are continuously burdened with. We treat them like humans, expect them to behave like humans, hold them to the same accountability as humans. And then when they fail under such a heavy load, we're shocked. The dog ends up at the shelter, on death row, for our own stupidity and unwillingness to see them for who they truly are.

They are not little fur babies, little humans, babysitters, nanny dogs, etc. They are in no way, shape, or form genetically related to homo sapiens. In fact, they are a completely different species!!! Imagine that. They are Canis Familiaris, genetically 98% of they're wild forefathers, Canis Lupus, i.e. wolves...not humans...wolves.

Most of the behavior problems we see in today's society (separation anxiety, containment phobia, general anxiety, over excitement, aggression, reactivity, hyper arousal, household destruction, etc), behaviors we think can be fixed with medication or more love, will disappear if we treat our dogs like dogs.

Show your love, share your affection, when it is appropriate and earned. Then give discipline at the right time with just the right amount of information to teach your dog how to cope with domestic life.

Treat them like a DOG! And they will blossom.

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Teaching kids to resect dogs and dogs to respect kids

dogtrainingbaby tip...When #kidsanddogs are in the same space, SUPERVISE, but also be aware of what could happen. Don't put all the responsibility to be good on the #dog, especially when you're #baby is in their space, in their face, pulling their hair or ears, jumping on their back, etc.

‪When kids and dogs are in the same space, SUPERVISE, SUPERVISE, SUPERVISE. But all the supervising in the world won't stop the inevitable if you are just watching it happen. Step in BEFORE anything happens, even if you believe your dog and your child would never do anything to each other. Don't be dumb! Stop what COULD happen from becoming what WILL happen. Don't put all the responsibility to be good on your dog. Teach your kids to be respectful of the dog and teach your dog to give space to your kids. If you're too far away to remove the baby, call your dog away. If your dog is cornered, don't allow the baby or child to go anywhere near the dog. 

Above all, be wise!!!