Pre-order cool/cold weather wear for your pet NOW!

If you live in the Frazier Park area, you know how cold it can get up here in the winter months. Brrrr! Your dogs feel the cold too, especially the seniors and short-coated dogs.  Sure, my Rottie Ace loves the snow, but the rest of the kiddos rather be snoozing under a blanket! 

What about a festive sweater or a reversible puffy vest for your furry ones?  I can pre-order these at a great price if you order yours today through September 1. The sweaters are on sale for $35 and the reversible vests are $40.  There are several choices of sweaters and the vests come in a variety of colors as well.  Stop by and I can show you what is available!

Fall Festival is next weekend!! 9/1 - 9/2

High anxiety, what can a pet parent do?

Many dogs (and even cats) can suffer from ANXIETY. This is an extremely common problem!

Anxiety can manifest in different ways, everything from fearful behavior, hiding, shaking, whining, barking to neurotic behavior like pacing, licking, tearing up the house, etc.  Probably one of the most common anxiety-related afflictions is separation anxiety which, if you've had a pet with this problem, you know how difficult it can be to treat successfully.

Anxiety can be learned or it can be a temperament issue.  There may have been a trauma in puppyhood and the dog has become sensitized to something in particular. Sometimes it is due to a lack of socialization and exposure to different situations so the dog hasn't had a chance to build confidence. All of this said, whether it is temperament or it is a learned behavior, it is still possible to improve your dog's quality of life..

Although anxiety is a very complex issue, it can be helped through some very basic procedures that can put your pet at ease.

Teaching your pet to be neutral about staying home alone is a good place to start and one that I highly recommend.   Tone down your comings and goings. Downplay your emotions relating to leaving your dog and then being reunited.  Sure, you are sad to leave your baby and happy to see her again, but the less emotion that you display at these critical times will help your dog to feel less emotional  about it as well.  Less is more in this case and a big help to your dog in dealing with being alone.  You are not doing your dog any favors by having dramatic arrivals and departures.

What most people fail realize is that our emotional state directly affects our pets. If you think about it, you can probably come up with several examples where you felt that your pet was responding to your emotional state.  A lot of these emotions can be projected onto your pet including anxiety!

Crate training can also be very helpful to dealing with anxiety because your dog learns to enjoy the crate as a safe haven.  If you crate train you are more likely to have a dog who doesn't mind being alone and quiet.  It's also great for travel and especially in an emergency to have your dog acclimated to the crate.  Crate training is something that needs to be gradually introduced so I will leave that to another post...

Another thing that can keep your dog calm is having a regular schedule.  Dogs are truly creatures of habit. I find that when a routine changes there is usually an adjustment period that needs to take place. Try not to change too many things at once.  Even a food change can cause some mental upset.

Thankfully there are a lot of articles and books on how to deal with anxiety in dogs and I would advise anyone that they should take full advantage of the information that is readily available online. Websites like Dogstardaily.com and Cesarsway.com have dealt with the topic of of anxiety many times. These websites are a great place to start.

In recent years, products have come on the market like Thundershirt which is basically a snug fitting shirt-like wrap that can help the dog feel more secure much like swaddling a baby.  I personally would recommend the Thundershirt before going the medical or herbal remedy route.  If you do try Thundershirt, remember, read the directions first!  Oh and btw, I sell them at Lola 4 Pets! :-)

If you have an anxious dog, come by Lola 4 Pets and I will be happy to help you come up with a solution that works for you and your pet without breaking the bank.

Ciao!

Theme of the month: Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs are always a lot of fun!! Especially when they are in the form of a fuzzy squeaker toy!

L4P Grand Opening: And what a grand day we had!!

The ribbon cutting  with the MC Chamber of Commerce. L to R: Michi Knight, Lola, Chris, Rachel Unell 

The party went on all day with food and give aways!

Boo Boo said he had a good time and got a toy.

Beautiful food made by my hubby Chris Silagyi

The MC SPCA was there too!

Residents/customers signed the keepsake book.

The store has all kinds of fun & useful stuff

Healthy choices only!

I love the bone rugs...

Come visit L4P soon! More good things to come...

To be or not to be...off leash?

photo from Americanhunter.org

It seems that these days many people  feel that their dog should be able to walk around off leash in public spaces.  I don't mean in a dog park or a dog beach where dogs are sanctioned to be off leash, but rather just out and about in the public realm where there are all kinds of animals and people mingling.

Needless to say, the people who feel entitled to an off leash lifestyle for their dogs feel that their dog is super well trained and has no aggression issues towards people or pets.  They will usually say that their dog "always" obeys their command of "come" or "no" or even that their dog is not interested in people or other animals.  In fact, the person may feel they are in total control over their dog which is often referred to as "bomb proof. " Thinking your dog is perfect is okay (although unrealistic) and may even true up to a point. Regardless of whether you have what you think is a "bomb proof" dog or not, is it EVER okay to have your dog off leash around other people and dogs who may not be so dog friendly or well trained?

Here are some reasons that I feel it is not wise to walk your dog around the neighborhood off leash:

• Some people are afraid of dogs, I mean phobic, so they panic if approached by a dog. Some kids also feel this way.  A dog could react negatively to sensing the fear in the person or sudden movements. Kids are especially susceptible to dog bites since they are small and their face is so close to the dog's face.
• Some dogs are not dog-friendly when approached by a dog especially when they are on leash and the other dog is not, this can be very dangerous to the off-leash dog and the on-leash dog.
• No dog is 100% bomb proof, if something unexpected happens, how do you get your off-leash dog under control?
• If something goes wrong are you prepared to pay for any damage, vet bills, doctor bills? It could be very expensive and may even end up in a lawsuit. 
• It's against the law to have your dog off leash in public places,I guess there is probably a reason for that...just sayin'.

Isn't it better to be safe rather than sorry?

The color version

I kind of like this version better...

A little about me

We moved up to Frazier Park exactly a year ago. My husband Chris and I decided we needed to explore a different way of life. We stumbled upon the Frazier Park area just out of curiosity as I suppose many people do driving along the 5. I can't remember how many times we drove past the FP exit and wondered, what's going on in there?  Then one day we decided to seriously check it out.

Love at first sight!

We drove up from LA one Sunday and when we got to FP  we decided we needed a map of the area. We walked into a random real estate office and met the nicest person ever, Michi Knight who really impressed us with her love of the area. After that, we were hooked. It took us about a year from that time to sell our house, find a new house, buy it, fix it up, move up here and change our life completely!

I can't say the past year has been without its stresses like trying to find work and figuring out what to do if we didn't find work. At some point during my job search I realized that I didn't want to go back to the type of office work I had been doing for many years. This is when the new ideas started to germinate and after some pretty good ideas were nixed, the Lola 4 Pets idea was born. Kind of a no brainer really.

For the last several years, I had been an active volunteer at LA Animal Services as a dog trainer and adoption counselor. I got my training certification from Animal Behavior College and thought about a full-time dog training career. Unfortunately with a huge mortgage I didn't have the flexibility to focus entirely on dog training so I did it on the side and at the shelter. I continued my regular job that afforded me a huge discount at the vet so, it seemed like the best way to go. I decided to keep the status quo.

Even with a big perk like a 75% vet discount, Los Angeles starting to get to us with our inflated mortgage and few prospects as to how to improve our quality of life.  I felt so stressed by work and by not having time to do what I wanted.  The economy continued to flounder which made it seem like a bad time to relocate, but we just decided to do it and throw caution to the wind. The only plan we had was to move.  We knew we had to do something once we got up here. Our failure to find traditional work but wanting to stay in our new found paradise is why we started to consider all the options rather than depending on that old annoying status quo.

Chris and I have no regrets about our move and we are still in love with the mountain and all it's beauty. Now that we are working on Lola 4 Pets, Chris is going to do the web store, we feel we have a higher purpose than to just make a living. It's more like a way to do something we can feel really good about. If it fails, it would be sad but at least we can say we tried to follow a dream!

I still have things going on in Los Angeles. One of them is a non-profit called Shelter Animal Advocacy Fund, LA (SAAFLA) that some fellow volunteers and I organized. http://www.saafla.org They are a great group of people and we've done some very good work. Most recently we had a fundraiser to fund microchips for dogs whose family can't afford it. This was part of a larger project by Downtown Dog Rescue and The Amanda Foundation.  I was interviewed about it on this cool blog, http://www.laimyours.com/19386/a-word-with-lola-mcknight-of-shelter-animal-advocacy-fund-los-angeles/.  It was a very successful event!

Now I'm also working with the MC SPCA (http://mountainspca.org) as their outreach director. They are wonderful people who do so much to help the community with few resources. I admire everything they have accomplished for both dogs and cats. Impressive! I am proud to be on their board and I look forward to doing a lot of community outreach at the store.

The most important thing about me is that my passion truly is animals. I love talking about them, training them, learning about them and from them. Having an animal-related business is my dream come true.  I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to help animals in our community by offering great products along with my expertise with the goal of creating a thriving local business that also helps improve our local economy. I look forward to serving PMC and the surrounding areas for many years to come.

The Board of Directors of SAAFLA

Ice cream social at the MC SPCA Thrift Store

My cause: Mountain Communities SPCA

Raw bones, your dog loves 'em!

New Items are coming in every day. It's a lot of fun, I must admit! My favorite new product is the raw marrow bones. These meaty bones are frozen and made with the highest quality meat, no hormones or any of that nasty stuff.
Raw bones are great for your dog (and cats too) because they are an excellent source of protein, fat and calcium and bones are excellent for their teeth and gums. Plus dogs absolutely LOVE them and it's a lot of work to eat this stuff so they really get to enjoy it for a while.
Here is some info on the Primal brand 2 inch bones. I also carry their 4 inch bones. This is the BEST stuff.

Raw Beef Marrow Bones 2"

Ingredients: Beef Marrow Bone.

Raw Beef Marrow Bones 2" Benefits:

	Beef raised in the United States without antibiotics or added hormones.
	Use for tooth and gum nourishment.
	Natural source of protein and fat.
	Raw entertainment for your pet.

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min) 12% Crude Fat (min) 25% Crude Fiber (max) 3% Moisture (max) 26%

Additional Product Information: Beef Meat, CA-to-P ratio n/a Fat and Bone 100%

Grand opening planned...

Bone-shaped country rugs!

Wow! I just got a big order of fun stuff for the store! My new products include these cozy bone-shaped rugs! Check out how cute these are... They really go with the country feel of Pine Mountain Club, don't you think?