Blog

Category: Tips

March 19, 2019

DogWatch Dog Story: Mudge

Mudge the St. Bernard from Chanhassen is a DogWatch dog, but his family didn’t always work with DogWatch of the Twin Cities. With their previous dog, Mudge’s parents bought a dog fence from another company and it worked well to keep that dog in the yard. When they got Mudge, though, they decided to call us at DogWatch to help train him.

We put up boundary flags to show Mudge the boundaries of his yard and got to work. Mudge’s mom told us from the beginning: “He’s the sweetest puppy ever, but he doesn’t want to walk on the leash. He won’t try to pull you around, he’ll just lay down and not want to get back up.” And she was exactly right!

We had to get creative to train Mudge. Typically, we bring dogs around the yard on a leash over and over to help them learn where the boundary is and to stay inside the flag line. But if a huge St. Bernard doesn’t want to walk, that doesn’t quite work. Instead we focused on showing Mudge one flag at a time, we got his favorite toys involved, asked the neighbors to let their dogs out, and walked around with him off-leash (not usually recommended!).

After four days, we were happy and Mudge was happy. Finally, he was able to just take a nap in the yard. And his owners were able to trust that he wouldn’t walk off, even if they went to get the mail or went inside.

March 11, 2019

The DogWatch Crew Got a Cat

Afton and Jake with DogWatch of the Twin Cities got a cat. It’s not news at this point, they got the cat back in May 2018. But almost a year later, here’s the update: we love it! Neither of us has ever had a cat before, not even as children. They’re so different from dogs. Afton would say they’re a little unpredictable. Jake would say they’re the worst.

2018 was our first year in a new-to-us house in Chaska, and we had some issues with mice. They were collecting the dog food from the closet and stashing it in the washing machine and dryer. Good plan for them, but not ideal for our clothes.

The mouse problem combined with our son’s inexplicable love for cats caused us to start considering adding a cat to the family. We started telling our friends, and one day Afton got a text about free kittens at a garage sale. Jake was out of town, so the timing was perfect!

We all instantly fell in love with tiny baby Murph. She was brave, adventurous, affectionate and friendly. It took just two days or so before she and our dog Moose were getting along great. They cuddle on a very rare occasion, but they like to play. More accurately, Murph likes to play with Moose and then run away.

Within the first couple months, she started bringing us mouse presents too! She has solved our washer/dryer issues, and we’re very grateful for that. But she has brought SO MUCH more to our family. She is such a fun addition. We love how easy it is to take care of her. We can leave town for the weekend and leave her home? Amazing. And we love how she hops on our laps and purrs, whether we pet her or not.

March 7, 2019

DogWatch Dog Story: Vinnie

Vinnie the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy is a mild, sweet guy from Eden Prairie. When his parents got him, they had raised their kids and accomplished many things, but they had NEVER had a dog. Not even when they were kids. So they were a little nervous and wanted any help they could get.

They took a puppy class at PetSmart where they heard about DogWatch of the Twin Cities. They liked the fact that a dog fence would allow them to spend time outside with Vinnie without a leash and without a physical fence. They wanted some help decided where and how to install the hidden fence. “Should we cover the whole yard? Do an hourglass shape with the wire so Vinnie can be in the front yard or back yard, but can’t travel between the two?”

With some consideration and advice, we at DogWatch ended up giving Vinnie access to the front yard, back yard, and one large side yard. But the skinny side yard with hostas was off limits – we used the wire to cut off Vinnie from causing any trouble.

Vinnie is a little sensitive and nervous, so we started training him on a beep-only function. He didn’t receive a correction from his DogWatch collar until day 2 of training when he had done a few laps around the yard and started learning about his boundary. After 4 days and slowly increasing the shock level, Vinnie learned where he couldn’t go, but he also learned where he COULD go! He was afraid to get too close to the flags, but he wasn’t afraid to chase a ball in the front yard or sniff around the trees in the back yard.

We love working with unique dogs like Vinnie and unique dog people like his parents. We can help find the most effective ways to contain dogs and make dog owners’ lives easier.

March 5, 2018

Moving with a Dog

Moving to a new house is always a strenuous, stressful process. Now imagine if you’re a dog going through it, and you have no idea what’s going on. Where are the couches going? Where are my people going? What do you mean this is my new house?

Dog runaways during a move are very common because doors are left open and there’s lots of chaos. So in the process of moving out of one house and into the next, first and foremost keep your dog safe. Put her in a room with her bed and toys while the front door is open and people are coming in and out. Similarly, bring her to the new house along with her familiar possessions after the big items are inside. She’ll stay safe inside and recognize things like couches and shoes in the new place.

The next priority is making your dog comfortable in the new place. Close off parts of the house so she can get accustomed to a couple rooms at a time. But make sure in the first few days she gets to see all the rooms so she knows they’re all part of home. If a dog doesn’t spend any time in the basement, for example, she may think it’s a place to relieve herself.

Just like in the house, slowly introduce your dog to the yard starting near the house and venturing outward as time passes. Always keep her contained so she doesn’t run off towards an unfamiliar neighbor dog or a new critter. If your dog is a walker, get her out in the neighborhood as soon as possible. That way if she ever loses her way, she’ll be more likely to know how to get home.

If you’re a DogWatch customer and you’re moving with a dog, it’s simple to bring your dog fence with to the new place. The transmitter, collar, and other components can move and then get hooked up to a new wire at the new house. Just list your house as “wired for a dog fence” instead of “includes a dog fence” when it’s time to sell.