It’s February, and that means that love is in the air and at Misty Pines you can feel free to go ahead and take two nostrils full of it. We like to encourage human/dog relationships in the most healthy way possible. I’m going to give you a few pointers on how you can keep your relationship on the right track.

The first step in any relationship is to enjoy spending time together doing things you both love and making a point to be interested in activities that your other half enjoys. My girl enjoys finding birds, so I go hunting with her. Sometimes it’s hard for me to put on my gear, grab my gun and leave my wife for a few hours to go hunting with Cammie, but it’s just something I have to do to let her know I care about her interests. To that end, you should take some time and see what your dog likes to do. Maybe your dog likes to pull, maybe a Husky, Malamute or Pit, well, sign up for our Weight-Pull Class. How about jumping over your couch while playing with the kids? Then maybe you want to look into Agility. Got a Frisbee nut on your hands? Become a Disc Dog team. The possibilities are endless and Misty Pines’ Specialty Dog Training Classes can help you with most of them. “Get up at 8 a.m. on a Saturday?” Yes. Drag your butt out of bed and work on your relationship. An ouce of prevention, right?

My mom always says, “Communication is a skill.” How do you communicate with your dog? Does your dog even know what your saying? Chances are: probably not. “Why’d you pee on the floor?” “You dumb dog, you chewed my shoe. Don’t ever do that again!” Sound familiar? Your dog has no idea what any of that means. You used those words purely for yourself. Whether a novice or professional trainer, we can always use a refresher course on communication. Personally, I find myself sometimes saying “down” when I want Cammie to “off.” Come to class, we’ll help you learn the proper way to communicate with your dog in a way that s/he can understand.

Nothing spoils a meal like bad presentation. When food doesn’t look appealing, we find ourselves struggling to eat. Likewise; we were first attracted to our dog probably by looks. “Oh, isn’t she cute?” Well, after a while of living together you get to the point where you don’t really care how you look, because I mean, you’re already together for the long haul right? Wrong! You are together for the long haul, but the presentation still needs to be there. We are much more apt to take our dogs out in public (and admit they’re ours), invite friends over and cuddle with them if they are well groomed and smell nice. Dogs have a very limited ability to clean and de-funk themselves, so the responsibility falls to us to make them presentable. Schedule an appointment with a Misty Pines professional dog groomer today! We have 3 on staff that would love to help you rekindle that spark that made you fall in love with your pooch in the first place.

Set the mood. When you’re relaxing with a loved one, or even by yourself, you like to have things a certain way. When I’m taking a bubble bath I like to have the water at exactly 125 degrees, 3 to 3 1/2 inches of bubbles, 15 candles arrayed in a “Rock on” hand signal, John Mayer playing in the background and the latest issue of Game Informer. I’m not saying you have to go that far, but why not start with a candle. Let’s get some good smells goin’ on. Misty Pines’ front office almost always has a candle burning. The Pet Odor Eliminator candles from k9 Granola Factory smell so good you just might try to lick the air. If you come home and get smacked in the face with 2 week old dog smell, you probably won’t want to cozy up to your furry furnace for a night of MRMs (Meg Ryan Movies), you won’t even want that smell on your hand. Couple a candle with proper grooming and you’ll be sharing kleenex with Scruffete in no time. Or if your a guy, you’ll be patting his head while watching 300 for the thousanth time!

Last but not least in this short list of tips, is exercise and diet! (Read Rid-Ex below) While some people like a pudgy pooch, it’s really not healthy. Dogs need a lot of exercise and a good type of food with a regulated diet. Think about it. If your dog is fat, it’s your fault, not his. It’s time to take a stand and say, “No you may not have another biscuit and I don’t care how long you stare at me with those sad eyes.” Instead of gourging him on treats and crappy food, look into alternative products, such as VF dog food and all natural treats. We will be having a seminar about nutrition in April, make it a priority to attend for the health of your pup. Time to put down the remote in your left hand and candybar in the right and pick up the leash to go for a walk. This also goes along with presentation. Let’s present the world with good looking dogs and responsible owners that can keep up with their dogs.

Let’s show the world that pet owners are the most responsible people out there and that we really love our animals. Oh and by the way, some of these tips can be used on your spouse or special someone as well.

Lastly, I hope you all know that I don’t really take bubble baths. Seriously, I don’t. I made that up purely for comedic value. Really. Ok? Ok then.