YOU CAN HELP (Covid-19 in Manitoba)

Please take care, stay safe, and STAY HOME to help Flatten The Curve.

Please practice social distancing so that small businesses like ours can get back up and running as quickly as possible.  During this time many businesses, like ours, are essentially shut down.  The longer we need to practice social distancing, the greater the harm to our economy.  This is especially true for small businesses and their employees who rely on the jobs they create.

Thank you for doing your part.  Be well.

From your friends & pet-caregivers at Pawsitive Pet Care

In the mean time, we are offering a special on video consultations for as long as social distancing requirements are in place.  

We want to get back to doing what we love and what we do best!

Can you Help?  (Covid-19 in Manitoba)

Image from the MB Health Website

I was listening to the latest Covid-19 press conference update and Minister Friesen provided a list of products and services needed in our province to help in the fight against the novel Coronavirus.  

To my surprise, one of the services needed is pet care, so of course we signed up immediately!  Perhaps front line workers will need people to care for their pets while they are caring for our humans. 

If you go to https://forms.gov.mb.ca/GoMCovid19 you can see a list of products followed by a list of services currently needed in Manitoba.  If you, or anyone you know, can help with anything on this list, please encourage them to go to this link and fill in the relevant information.  

If we can all help in our own way, we can come together as a community to flatten the curve and do our part.  

Please STAY HOME and help to Flatten The Curve.
Take care and be well.

Jillian Enright, CPDT-KA 

Facebook.com/PawsPetMB

Desensitization to Head Collar

Helping your Pet Adjust to Wearing a Head Collar

Desensitization to Head Collar (i.e. Halti or Gentle Leader)

Head collars can be great management tools while you are working on polite leash walking with your dog; they can help keep you both safe on walks and reduce the pulling on your arm and shoulder, they can also help while you are working on training for dogs who are reactive, or dogs who like to try to eat things they shouldn't while out and about.  For some dogs, they can take some getting used to.  Most dogs aren’t immediately comfortable with something placed over their nose and may paw at the head collar or rub their face on the ground or other objects in an effort to remove it.

Positive Associations

Never punish your dog for trying to paw at or rub the head collar.  You want to create positive associations with wearing it so your dog can get used to it and become comfortable with having it put on his nose.

The Right Size

Make sure the head collar is the right size for your dog.  You can bring him to the store and have him try it on before you buy it and ask for help fitting it if you’re not sure what size he needs.  The head collar should be loose enough that you can slide one or two fingers under the band behind the ears, but not so loose that it slides up into your dog’s eyes or that he could back out of it.  Try to pull the nose loop over the tip of his nose - if it can slide off, then it's too loose.

Step 1

Put a treat through the nose loop of the head collar so that your dog has to stick his nose through to get the treat.  Give him the treat and remove the head collar (out of sight).  Each time hold the loop over his nose a second longer before giving him the treat.  When the head collar goes away, the treat bar is closed.  When the head collar comes out, the treat bar is open again.  Keep these sessions very short and sweet to begin with, you can just do a few trials before each meal, or a few times per day when your dog is relaxed.

Step 2

Once your dog is comfortable with the first step, then clip the head collar behind the ears and feed your dog a few treats, then remove it again.  Do this a number of times a day, for only about 20-30 seconds at first, then slowly increase the length each time.  Give your dog a few treats and remove the head collar before he gets to the point of wanting to paw at it or rub his nose on things, the goal is to "quit while you're ahead" and end on a positive note.

Step 3

Once your dog can have the head collar on for a longer period of time, put the head collar on and give him his meal, adding a few treats to the bowl to make it extra special.  Let him eat his food while wearing the head collar and remove it as soon as he has finished.  If your dog will not eat with the head collar on, go back to step 2 and work on that for a while longer.  Keep in mind that you want the head collar to have positive associations, so go at your dog’s pace and reward heavily when he is wearing it.

Step 4

Take your act on the road: once your dog is able to eat a meal with the head collar on, start using it for very short walks.  Remember to give him treats for putting it on, and bring some treats along with you on your walks.  If he starts to rub or paw at his nose, simply redirect him: call his name in a cheerful voice to get his attention, pick up your walking pace slightly, then give him a treat for paying attention to you and moving forward.  If your dog is rolling on the ground and absolutely refusing to move, go back to step 3 and give him more time to get used to it.  The end goal is safer, more comfortable walks for both of you so you want to make sure you’re both enjoying the benefits of the head collar and it doesn’t become a battle.  Keep these walks short, sweet, and fun and then gradually increase the length of time your dog wears the head collar.

You'll know you're on the right track if your dog has an excited reaction when you pull out the head collar.  He should be thinking "oh goody, treats!" and "oh goody, walk time!" when he sees it.

About The Author

Jillian is a fear-free certified and CPDT-KA certified animal behaviour specialist and has been working in the animal care and behaviour field since 2009.  

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Photo Credit: Audrey Fear

Our Boarding and Pet Sitting Cancellation Policy

Pawsitive Pet Care's Boarding & Pet Sitting Cancellation Policy 

We understand that sometimes plans change, and sometimes these changes are outside of our control.  With that said, we make every effort to keep our availability as accurate and up-to-date as possible.  We also wish to be considerate of our staff's personal time and respect the fact that they set aside their own time to be available for our clients for pet-sitting services.  As such, we ask that clients please give us as much notice as possible if you need to change or cancel any services.  This may also allow us to offer the services to clients on our waiting list.

As our services are in very high demand, and we book very far in advance, we have the following cancellation fee schedule in place.

Unfortunately, because we are often turning away clients due to being fully booked, we require a non-refundable deposit with no exceptions.  This policy will always be discussed at our meet-and-greet, prior to confirming bookings.  We thank you for your understanding.

A deposit of 50% of the total service cost is required to guarantee the pet-sitting or boarding dates.   Post-dated cheques must be dated at least two weeks prior to the start of services.  There is a minimum $50 administration fee on all cancellations with no exceptions.

Once the deposit is received the booking is confirmed and the following cancellation policy is in effect:

14 or more business days:  cancellation fee of $50
13 business days:                cancellation fee of $60
12 business days:                cancellation fee of $65
11 business days:  cancellation fee of $70
10 business days:  cancellation fee of $75
9 business days:                 cancellation fee of $80
8 business days:                cancellation fee of $85
7 business days                 cancellation fee of $90
6 business days:               cancellation fee of $95
5 business days:  cancellation fee of $100
4 business days:  cancellation fee of $125
3 business days:  cancellation fee of $150
2 business days:  cancellation fee of $175
one business day:  cancellation fee of 50% of service cost
**One business day or less:     Deposit  (50% of service cost) is forfeited

Please note that the cancellation fee will never be more than 50% of the service costs, unless service cost is $100 or less in which case the $50 deposit is retained. 

As our services are in very high demand, and we are often turning away clients due to being fully booked, we require a non-refundable deposit with no exceptions.  This policy will always be discussed at our meet-and-greet, prior to confirming bookings.  We thank you for your understanding.

This policy is also provided with all boarding and pet-sitting invoices and is also available on our website at PawsitiveCare.ca/cancellation-fees

Please contact Jillian if you have any questions or concerns.

Please always ask any questions you may have and always be aware of all policies prior to booking any services.  We also have cancellation policies for dog-walking services, and these can be found on our website at PawsitiveCare.ca/dog-walking

Thank you for your understanding, and thank you for your business.

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Pawsitive Pet Care has been providing pet care services in Manitoba since 2010.