Erica joined Two Bostons in September, 2011 and can be found exclusively at the Springbrook store. Her loyal Bernese Mountain Dog Captain Jack is a goofball and a clown but loves his Orijen Regional Red dog food.
When Erica isnʼt at Two Bostons, sheʼs usually at a Bernese Mountain Dog event with her husband, working towards the betterment of the breed. That, or working towards the betterment of her favorite pop artist, Gwen Stefani. (Of theʻNo Doubtʼ era. Erica even met Gwen once. Sheʼs practically famous now.) Erica also loves soy ice cream, eating/cooking healthy, and her favorite dinosaur is the Stegosaurus.
What is Cranimals? (Not garanimals for those of you who love to mix and match your children’s clothes) 
Cranimals is a supplement that will make your dog very happy. It is made from organic, raw cranberries and comes in an easy-to dispense powder form.
Here’s a bit of info on each of the varieties Two Bostons carries:
Cranimals Original: Great for dogs and cats that suffer from urinary tract infections (UTI’s). Cranberries contain a substance called proanthocyanidins (PAC’s) which inhibit the attachment of E. coli, the most common culprit in UTI’s. For the same reason, this is great for dental health because it also prevents attachment of bacteria in the mouth. And, hey! February is National Dental Health Awareness month, so there is no better time to give this amazing little supplement a try!
Cranimals Gold: Another great option because in addition to the above, it contains DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which is naturally found in breast milk. In the case of Cranimals, it comes from vegetarian algae. 
DHA is extremely important for brain development, as well as eyes, skin, and heart. Cranimals Gold is especially good for puppies. Hmmm…do you know of anyone who might need this? I’m pretty sure I do!
Cranimals Very Berry: Is just what it sounds like…Very Berry because it contains blueberry and raspberry extract in addition to cranberry. This creates a one-two-three punch of powerful antioxidants which have been shown to have anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral properties.
This awesome supplement sure packs a punch. Check it out for yourself today.
Sam, rarely Samantha, joined the Two Bostons team in October of 2011. She has three Italian Greyhounds, Yonah, Mercury, and Dash, who all love to play catch. Not fetch.
Sam loves finding collars and leads that match a dogs personality as well as its coat. Style is a choice, so choose wisely. Samʼs favorite thing about working at Two Bostons is, “The people. The staff is fantastic and the customers are amazing.” When sheʼs not at Two Bostons, Sam can most likely be found exploring her other great love in life, the arts. She will always choose a showtune for karaoke, and has seenʻThe Princess Bride,ʼ at least 25 times.
Meg is the Two Bostons Special Projects Coordinator and good luck trying to catch her as she is constantly going from store to store. Many of you have already “met” Meg, as she is more often than not posting here on the blog.
Meg shares her home with her “Assistant” Diesel the black lab, who loves, loves, loves to take one for the team when showing off the products for the blog. If Diesel had to pick a favorite though, it would most likely be the deer antlers. He can’t get enough!
Aqua (the very mean) parakeet, and Perry the Lizardpus, Spike II (Spike I went to live in heaven recently) and Killer (all green anole lizards) also live in Meg’s house, but only because she is a sucker for her kids. Meg loves to sing the praises of the Cocotherapy products as they did wonders for Diesel (check out her blog entry on it!) When sheʼs not working a birthday party or special event at Two Bostons, Meg is often traveling with her husband and children for a wide variety of sporting events ~ or her second job as she affectionately refers to it…travel ball anyone? She also finds time to glue her fingers together and call it crafting.
Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? It is…it really is.
Did you know that good oral care can add about 3 to 5 years to the life expectancy of your best friend? It can…it really can.
Here are some fun facts about your dog’s teeth:
1. Puppies have 28 baby teeth and start to get their adult teeth at around 4 months. They will end up with 42 permanent teeth.
2. Dogs can and do get gum disease ~ and it hurts.
What are the symptoms of gum disease?
Yellow and brown build-up of tartar near the gum line, red and inflamed gums, and yes, stinky (and persistent) bad breath.
And, I’ll let you in on a little secret…the number one myth of pet oral hygiene is that eating a diet of kibble keeps the teeth clean. That is simply not factual. It would be like us thinking eating cereal keeps our teeth clean. Kibble actually leaves a coating on the teeth than needs to be removed.
You can certainly make oral care part of your dog’s grooming or vet visits; however, it is really easy to take steps at home to ensure great oral health as well.
You can use Plaque Off by Proden
and it is as simple as adding a scoop to your dog’s food.
Or, you can try brushing at home with this
The Triple Pet Finger Brush.
Then there is this Breath-less Toothpaste
It’s a chew and a brushless toothpaste.
Any one of these items would be very simple to integrate into your day and really go a long way to help with your dog’s dental health. Never fear, if these items don’t fit into your lifestyle, there are plenty more to choose from. Call or stop by one of our stores today and our helpful team members will be happy to help you find one that fits your needs.
Hi Mel,
I have 2 two-year old Bordie Collie sisters. How do I keep them from jumping on people and on the furniture?
Help!
Christie
Dear Christie and the Jumpy Twins,
This is one of the most popular questions that I get asked…how do I keep my dog from jumping on people?? There are a couple of basics that I like to start with first. Beginning with these and using those to build on will make more advanced training easier on you and your pup. Having two of them absolutely makes things a little more complicated, so I recommend working with them one on one as much as possible and then combining the training with both at the same time.
–Jumping is the #1 complaint of owners of young dogs that I deal with. And the easiest way to contend with this is to do…nothing. You heard me correctly! Many people choose to push the dog off or knee them in the chest, and that results in a pup that found a great rough-housing game! So they jump up again, you push them off, its great fun…you get the picture. I use something called “four on the floor”, meaning all four dog paws must be on the floor in order to get me to give attention, pets, or even eye contact. Puppies are attention hogs and are all about games, and with this technique they learn fairly soon that by jumping on people they get ignored. Frankly, that’s no fun.
When the pup jumps up, cross your arms and turn your back to them, and stand there until they have decided it’s not working for them and they are no longer jumping. Take that opportunity to turn around and calmly ask them to “sit”, followed immediately by a treat. Rinse and repeat. And repeat. And repeat again. It takes time and consistency, and lots of both. But with a pup that young, usually within 15 minutes or so they get the drill. The harder part is getting everyone else to do that consistently, including family members and people visiting your house.
–Same thing goes for furniture jumping, but instead of sitting there ignoring him, stand up and assume the position (arms crossed, back to the pup). Also keep in mind that allowing the pup on the furniture at ANY TIME gives him the ok to jump up there…so decisions have to be made about where he is and is not allowed, and getting him to stop jumping on people on the couch might be a bit more difficult.
–You can work on some distraction techniques with the pup on a leash in the house and you at the ready with your bag of treats. Doorbell rings, you ask the pup to sit and pay attention to you (I like the “watch me” command) as people come into the house. Better yet, once they are in and settled they can join in the fun and ask pup to sit and give treats. Pup then gets the light bulb over his head that doorbell rings, I sit. People come over, I sit. And I get treats!! How cool is it to be a puppy!!
–I also recommend that if you know there are people coming (or if you are going somewhere as you mentioned for Christmas), TIRE THAT PUPPY OUT. A tired dog is a happy dog, and a happy dog means happy humans. Make an effort to do a bit longer walk, or let them run at the park, every day.
–Last but not least, use those treats!! I tell new puppy families to have treats in their pockets at all times. Now is the time to take advantage of their little spongy brains and get them off on the right foot. Reward all those great behaviors that you want to see, and don’t give any reward (no treats, no attention) for those behaviors that you don’t. Make it a game with the whole family…the pup will not only learn faster, but he will be so busy sitting for everyone in the family he will forget how much fun it was to jump.
Good Luck!
Mel
Vicky, or sometimes Victoria, has been with Two Bostons since June of 2011. She loves the Chuck It toys, especially the launchers, both indoor and outdoor, that allow optimum fun for a pooch, but minimum ick factor for owners.
Vickyʼs favorite thing about working at Two Bostons? “The team. We work great together,” she says, “and always help each other out.” When sheʼs not at Two Bostons, Vicky is usually at school, or the gym. Which is normal since sheʼs studying kinesiology. She finds a lot in common with the Apatosaurus, both have gentle dispositions and huge appetites.
The resident guy of the team, Pete has been doing wonders with the Springbrook backroom since July of 2011. He made it through the Christmas shipping and receiving madness and came through the other side only slightly more jumpy than before.
Pete plays dad to Cash the Boxer, Diesal the Min Pin (spelled that way on purpose- Diesal prefers it), Subie the Chihuahua, and Frank (the tank) black cat. Pete loves giving his guys Himalayan Dog Chews, and they love playing with the Hide A Squirrel. Peteʼs favorite thing about working at Two Bostons is, “How rewarding my job is. How I get to help improve petʼs lives daily. And work with really cool people.” He knows that the DC universe of comics is far superior to Marvel, but if it came down to it, Superman would win in a fight against Batman.
Jen joined the Two Bostons team in July of 2011 and is the resident singer at the Springbrook store. When sheʼs not singing along with the music in the store, sheʼs usually talking up the benefits of the Himalayan Chews. Hunter, Jenʼs Australian Shepherd mix, loves to chew on them in between his agility and flyball courses.
Jenʼs ideal dinner party guests would include NASCAR legend Terry Labonte, Confederate general Robert E. Lee, and actor/beautiful man in general Ryan Gosling. And (no surprise) her favorite movie is ʻThe Notebook.ʼ Next time you are at our Springbrook store be sure to say hi!
Hi again. I wanted to talk to you today about walking well with your pet. I’ve already spoken to you about the importance of the ID tag, but there is a lot more to walking your dog than you think.
Walking. It sounds so simple. And most of us do it on a daily basis.
But, we know that when it comes to walking your dog, a large number of you have, shall we say “challenges”.
Sometimes they pull, and sniff, and chase squirrels.
You like to walk straight.
Right.
Like any good relationship, walking your dog involves a bit of preparation, a bit of of compromise, and a bit of perseverance.
Here’s how you start:
1. Start out by finding the right collar and leash for our pooch.
You want a collar that is an appropriate width for size of your dog. You also want a leash that is easy for you to hold on to and handle. Retractable leashes are viewed by many as giving more control; however, they often do the opposite. If your leash isn’t locked, your dog may startle you by taking off after one of those squirrels I mentioned before. You should invest in a sturdy standard leash. You will have better control.
If your dog is a large dog, or one that pulls, you may wish to consider a harness.
I use the Sporn Harness for Diesel (that’s the harness, but not my dog) which has allowed for his walks to be led by my 8-year-old son who weighs approximately 40 pounds less than Diesel. If you have a puller, you really want to check this out. Saved my walks.
2.The next thing you are going to want to do is prepare your dog for the weather.
There is snow on the ground right now. Where there is snow, there is usually salt. You really have to protect your dog’s paws from the salt. There are a number of really easy ways to do that. Boots are a great option. Musher’s Secret or Muttluks Pawstick work really well too. Both of these products are a balm that you put on your dog’s paw pads prior to going outside. Cocotherapy is another great option as you can use that on paw pads too.
You also want to make certain you dog is protected from the wind and cold with a warm coat…especially if you have a toy breed or one without a thick coat.
Yes, it’s true that dogs and wolves have lived for a very long time without wearing coats; however, the breeds of today do not necessarily have the same type of fur coats their ancestors possessed. It’s safe to say that if you are anticipating spending time outdoors with your pet, you should consider investing in a warm winter coat.
3. Next, you’ll want to consider a portable water bottle.
Hydration is key…people normally equate the need during the warmer months; however, it is just as important in winter to stay hydrated.
4. Finally, the last thing you need to consider is poop bags.
Because, let’s face it, it’s just the right thing to do. Nothing puts a damper on a day like an unexpected pile of… well, you know.
I’m going to be showing you some really great options for all of the items I’ve mentioned over the next couple of posts. Feel free to stop by either of our stores and have a team member help you out if you need the information sooner.
Now you are ready to open the door and head out on your first of many walks.
