How to Find the Perfect Family Dog

There are many different qualities we look for when welcoming a puppy into our home. Perhaps we want companionship or loyalty - someone who will always be happy to see us after a long day at work. Or maybe you are looking to teach kids about responsibility through pet ownership. However, there are a growing number of dog owners who are on the lookout for family rescue dogs - who are able to come to your aid should you require assistance or get lost. 

Photo by Marliese Streefland on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to find (and train) the perfect family rescue dog. 

• If buying your dog from a breeder, ensure that they are a reputable company that you can trust. One with years of experience in the field, which operates with the best interests of their dogs at heart. For example, you might want to get in touch with a member of the team at Smoky Mtn Labradors, who have nearly four decades of experience in breeding happy, healthy dogs. 

• Alternatively, you could rescue a dog from your local shelter. However, if they are an older dog, training them could be a little more difficult as they will have already set into a pattern of behaviors that can be difficult (though not impossible) to amend. Either way, you should ensure that you set up a straightforward training plan that helps them develop good habits, such as learning how to heel and stop pulling. 

• Follow our comprehensive lesson plan to help train your dog to become a family rescue dog. Remember, training requires a great deal of determination and patience from both the dog and the owner, and you have to be willing to put the work in if you want to get the best results. 

• Focus on rewards-based training where possible, where dogs are rewarded for good behavior or for picking up a new skill. This is due to the fact that when rewarded, dogs find it easier to learn what is expected of them as they receive something positive in response to their efforts. Rewards can vary from verbal praise and cuddles to snacks - whatever gets the most positive response out of your dogs. 

• When training your dog to find you, ensure that you are also aware of the different elements That could impact their training. For example, if they aren’t getting enough rest, their focus levels could be greatly impacted. Furthemore, factors such as temperature and scent can affect working dogs in different ways. 

• In order to achieve success when training your dog, you should also ensure that they are happy and healthy. For example, you should ensure that you choose the right food for them, give them plenty of exercise and make time in their schedule for fun. For example, they cannot train consistently if they are not given time to cut loose or stop enjoying what they are doing. However, there are plenty of ways in which you can make training fun for your dog.  

Stay cool out there tips for keeping animals and homes cool in heat wave

 Stay cool out there! 

Here’s some tips for keeping animals and homes cool in the heat wave.

I’ve lived with many animals in high heat zones, I’ve learned the hard way by losing animals and watching people experience heat stroke.

Here’s how I keep everyone cool

Indoors without AC

1. At night open windows to allow cooler air in and hot air out.

2. In the morning close all windows and drapes or cover windows until the outdoor heat begins to cool. Usually around 4pm. Even if it’s only a few degrees difference. Be sure to close and cover windows if you leave for the day.

3. Do not leave animals without extra water and a shaded area indoors and outside.

4. Be careful allowing dogs to swim in creeks, lakes and oceans in areas known to have bacteria or algae blooms that may be toxic to your pets and you. Here in Oregon there are beaches and recreational waterway areas that sometimes close to the public due to toxic conditions that made pets or humans sick when the temperatures is just right. 

Homemade Portable AC

1. Fill small and large empty bottles and jugs with water and freeze.

2. Leave a couple inches space in bottles to allow ice to expand.

3. Freeze extra bottles so you can rotate them.

4. Thawed bottles go back in freezer when you get frozen bottles out to use.

5. Place frozen water bottles near animals to help cool their area.

6. Do not place the frozen bottles directly next to the animal, especially newborn and young ones.

7. Allow space for the animals to move themselves closer or further away from the bottles.

This works great for outdoor caged animals like rabbits, guinea pigs, foul, parrots, (I’ve owned them all) and the frozen bottles help cool in vehicles and indoor crated pets too.

Caged and crated animals must have a bigger water bowl which they often spill so be sure to use bowls that attach to the crate or wire to tie the bowl in place. Don’t use a tie they will chew.

If your dog will chew the frozen bottles do not put the bottle inside the crate or cage, hang or place bottles on outside of cage.

Outdoor/Indoor Kennels and Buildings

On hot days, AM, Noon, PM

Use a water hose and lightly spray a mist or light rain over the whole kennel or stall area. Inside and outside the building. Wet the play yards and walkways.

Dogs love the light rain on hot afternoons.

Do not flood the animals. Do not make mud. You’ll be surprised how little rain and mist will quickly drop the temperature.

I have worked in very large boarding kennels that have use sprinkler systems like the kind used for lawns and gardens hung above the kennel and dog runs. Most turn on automatically with a timer. This works for livestock, small farm animals barns too.

A homemade system is easy to make with a sprinkler hose hung above the animals so they can not chew it.

Or buy your dog a pool ! 

haha this is one of my Daisy's pups at her home pool.. her mom, Daisy, who was with me 13 years was an escape artist no matter where she was put inside or out, left alone she would bump open windows, jump 2 stories to the ground, open doors, unlock handles and I'm really surprised she never learned to drive the truck ! She would disappear and come home soaking wet after a swim in a cattle pond and when we moved to the city from the farm, she had a fenced yard instead of pasture so she would get on top of a woven wire fence, 2 legs on each side and she would bounce her 120 lb bloodhound body on the fence until the fence folded to where she could touch the ground and step over! 

Very intelligent dog who I would then find laying soaking wet on a neighbor's floating deck in a creek behind his back yard and house. I later found out she was doing this daily when I was working in my grooming shop at the front of my property. She was sneaking out the back, smashing the fence because she was to heavy to jump that high and only her front legs would make it over so she bounced the fence flat then went to visit a neighbor who sat with his door open watching TV and then she would lay on the other neighbor's floating deck, after a swim of course. She would come home at dinner time if I didn't go get her. 

The neighbors liked her visiting but I feared she would be hit by a car or stolen so I had to keep her crated for her own safety, if I went to work. She never tried to get out of a crate, she was happy and slept in one with the door open or closed. While loose in the house, she was opening doors and windows to escape. 

Animals will find a way to stay cool if they have the freedom to do so.

Dog training and working dogs in heat

For K9SAR/scent dog training and working dogs. Outdoor training and events.

This is the time of year to train and practice night search with headlamps and lights on dogs because many people go missing at night and the sooner a dog team responds the better chance of finding the person alive.

Yes I mean train between midnight and 5 AM lol

Darkness does not necessarily stop a search team from working but safety does. So make sure to night train in safe areas. I like the challenge of night training with dogs and most of all how the scent particles come alive, like one of those early mornings when you step outside and feel ahhhh fresh air!! 

Scent Science tells us the scent particles, dust, environment absorbs moisture and regenerate to become more alive and fresher stronger smelling at night and like dry grass becomes covered in dew overnight. As the day warms, scent particles lose water through evaporation and dry out making the scent particles drier and harder for dogs to smell.

A dry nose will not help in a search either. Always be sure the scenting dog is well hydrated and has a moist nose especially in warm weather. Dogs love to search at these times. Horses put their heads up, wrinkle the lips to get a bigger sniff. Quite funny too.

I say if we can smell so many more odors at that time of day just imagine how much more a dog is going smell.

How much fresher, easier a missing persons trail will be for the dog to work and how much time is saved reaching the person.

On real searches I always try to rest the dogs and myself in the heat of the day 12-4pm. Afternoon is time to eat, sleep and regroup, plan search strategy for the remaining 24 hours.

Last but least of suggestions 

Here's what I have been using when we're experiencing hot weather. These two items are available at stores everywhere.

Bandanna/scarf that are made to be frozen and used around the neck of animals and people. Do not use on animals that can chew their own scarf or another pets.

My dog and I really love the tiny portable AC units available these days. 

These AC units work amazing !  I was surprised how well. They charge up like cell phones and the charge lasts for hours.

I keep one in the SUV and travel trailer to turn on for my dog when I go in shops.

Put ice in it and chill out!!

I hope this post helps everyone stay cool.

Feel free to comment with tips you use to stay cool and share so everyone knows.

Amber Higgins

author founder

Family Disaster Dogs

Keep Your Canine Best Friend Comfortable As They Age!

Dogs are not just our pets; they are our unconditional best friends, more part of the family that some humans! Sadly, their lifespan is significantly shorter than ours, and that means we will have to deal with them during their senior years as well as when they are young puppies.

However, there are some tactics you can use to keep your mutt in tip-top condition, comfortable, and around for as long as possible as they age. 

Read on to find out what they are.

Look after their teeth.

Teeth can be a critical issue in a dog's’ health. In fact, the teeth are an area that is particularly at risk as dog get older. Specifically, plaque, tooth decay, and gum disease can affect your dog, can be painful, cause problems with their eating, and if not treated in time can mean the offending teeth need to be removed, something that necessitates the use of general anesthetic and the risks that go with it.

Of course, concerning teeth, prevention is always better than cure, and that means providing you dog with teeth cleaning treats and toys regularly throughout their lives as suggested at dogvills.com. You can also brush their the teeth manually, something you can learn how to do in the video below.

Maintain a healthy weight.
Next, an essential part of keeping your dog comfortable as he ages is to keep their weight under control. Now, this can be something of a tall order especially if your pooch likes the odd treat or tidbit off of your plate. However, it is essential to their well being because obesity in dogs is linked to all sort of medical conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and increased strain on arthritic joints.

With that in mind, it is vital that you deal with your dog's diet and only feed them the calories they need. Something that can help with this is to provide them with treat puzzles and toys that require activity to release the food items.

Deal with any health conditions.

To keep your dog comfortable as they age it is vital to deal with any health conditions that arise. Although, sometimes no matter how much you focus on keeping them healthy while they are young, their genetic predisposition and even bad luck can mean that your pooch will still have an illness or disease in later life that needs treatment.

Luckily, vets are adept at picking up on these and treating them in a way that ensures our dog remains comfortable as possible during their older years. You can even help things along by providing treats such as the one available on honestpaws.com to help calm or offer pain relief to your pooch if he is suffering. Something that no owner wants to see!


Adapt their day to day life as they get older.

Lastly, do be sure to adapt your life and routine to match your dogs as they age. What this means is that you may need to provide them with a quiet space in the home or garden where they can rest uninterrupted. Alternatively, you may have to reduce the length and speed of their walks to account for their reduction in mobility as the years go by.