July, 2023

happy Canada Day

Fireworks can be TERRIFYING for dogs.

A dog’s early life can determine how sensitive they are to unexpected, loud sounds. Puppies go through critical stages of development and their first 12 weeks of life are most influential. In our puppy imprinting program, pups are introduced to various sounds and sights from the time their eyes and ears open, including listening to the sound of fireworks on an app, while we’re playing with them, feeding them, giving them a favorite treat. This creates a positive brain connection for them. All this being said, a fireworks experience needs to be handled with extreme caution and planning, and perhaps even skipped altogether.
What you can do at home to prepare: start by playing sounds of fireworks at very low volume (ask Alexa to “play fireworks sounds” or you can download an app such as “Sound Proof Puppy Training” while your puppy is eating or enjoying a treasured chew. Watch your pup closely and stay next to him. If your pup displays any stress signs, continue petting and giving treats, decrease the volume and/or stop the sound and try again later. Remember “low and slow”. Low volume and short duration of sound and gradually increase volume and length of time over days and weeks until your pup is no longer reacting to the sound at all.
DO NOT allow your pup to be part of a live fireworks show until you have completed the above protocol and your pup is not reacting.
If your pup isn’t ready for fireworks but they are happening in your neighbourhood or campground, stay inside with your pup, shut the curtains and play white noise/tv/radio to drown out the bangs. Stay with your pup, giving lots of treats and reassurance, don’t react to the sounds yourself, play normal.

BRAND NEW TO OUR PUPPY PROGRAM:

(Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and our website as we roll out this new educational tool)

Stop The 77 is an online dog safety campaign for families. Their mission is to educate parents and kids on how to live safely and happily with the dogs they know and love and lower the number of dog bites to children.

We will be adding this family education program to every pet puppy reserved, and families will have access to the training right away, so there will be lots of time to prepare before the puppy comes home.

The Family Dog is a New-Jersey based dog training company for the whole family. Their mission is to teach families and children all over the world how to live happily & safely with dogs. 77% of all dog bites come from the family or a friend’s dog. Most of the time, it’s due to the family and child’s lack of understanding in safely interacting with dogs, not because the dog was aggressive. Any dog has the potential to bite regardless of breed, age or size and this program will help to dispel common myths and stereotypes behind dog bites.

Glenannon Pup-dates

We are getting closer to our next heat cycles beginning and preparing to bring our fall litters into the world. If you would like more information on bringing a Glenannon puppy into your family, reach out to us: https://gsrbelmore.com/contact-us/

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June 2023

Looking forward to a pawfect 🐾 summer ahead !

Here is what is new at Glenannon Station Golden Retrievers :

After a very busy winter raising 3 litter of pups, everyone has joined their new homes and have been settled in for several weeks now. We had pups join loving families, CNIB guide dog training, The Phoenix Canine Initiative PTSD service training, as well as Veterans & Everyday Heros PTSD service training. We are so proud of each of these pups, as they are life changers in every capacity.

We are busy making plans for our newest puppies, expected to begin arriving early this fall. Our pet puppy reservations are open again, and we’ve updated our agreement and website. Be sure to visit us here Puppy Application for information on our process and introduction package. The sooner you make plans, the easier it is for you to bring home a puppy when you’re ready.

There is still lots to do when we aren’t actively raising pups. Each of the Goldens intended to be part of our breeding program are required to have extensive health & genetic testing completed first. And even after they are cleared to join our program, we need to do certain check ups every year to ensure there haven’t been any changes that would potentially change their place in our program. It takes a lot of scheduling and coordination to make these appointments in a timely manner and to transport the dogs to the appointments and back home again. Our forever foster families often play a huge role in attending these appointments with us, and we are so appreciative of our extended Glenannon Puppy Family.

Don’t let your summer plans go to the dogs …

Fleas, ticks, heart worm & lime disease … bugs and parasites linger everywhere and they love the warm weather even more than we do, because it helps them survive & reproduce. Please do your part in keeping not only your pets, but your entire family healthy by ensuring you regularly do the following:

Visit your vet and ask to have your dog’s heart worm test completed, and discuss which flea & tick prevention is best for where you live & spend your time. The ticks are getting smarter and depending where you hang out with your dog, a lime disease vaccine might be recommended as well.
Brush your dog regularly to clean their fur of insects and allergens that might get caught in their fur, also make it a routine to check your dog for ticks from head to toe each day.
There are many natural insect repellents that you and your dog can use safely to compliment the flea & tick prevention that the vet prescribes.

Hot weather can be hard on dogs, just like humans.

Never, ever leave your dog alone in a parked vehicle. It’s sad that we need to remind people of this in respect to their pets and their children. Yet every year there are tragic events, and they are completely preventable.
When it’s hot out, hard surfaces such as sidewalks and pavement become very hot to walk on and can burn the bottom of paws and feet. If it’s too hot for you to walk on barefoot, it’s too hot for your dog too 🐾
Keep exercise to a minimum on hot days. A great strategy is to go out for a walk early in the morning or in the evening to miss the hottest part of the day. Bring water along and keep your adventure short.
Water play is fun for the dogs too ! If this is a new concept for your pup, start slow and introduce a kiddie pool with a shallow amount of water, or a sprinkler in the yard. Let your pup explore and don’t force them in the water. Lots of encouragement and treats will likely have your pup enjoying the activity in no time !

We incorporate water play into our puppy program, so whether pups are born in the winter or summer, we provide introduction to it either indoors or out. If our puppy families continue introducing their dogs to water, most find it is not difficult to encourage water play (in fact, it’s often hard to keep them OUT of the water 💦 )

Cottage & beach time is fun for our dogs too, but please be as careful with your dogs as you would your human family. Introduce the water gradually, and put a life jacket on your dog until both of you are confident in swimming abilities. It can be very useful to tether a long, light line to the dog’s collar, to prevent them from swimming too far out then getting into distress or too tired to swim back to shore.
Hot spots, swimmer’s tail, blue-green algae toxicity & dry drowning are all very real and each are important to be aware of. When dogs are often wet from swimming, they can develop hot spots from the extra moisture & bacteria that is held by their coats against their skin. Trim your dog’s hair shorter during the summer months and make sure to throughly dry their coat after swimming. Swimmer’s tail has the potential to occur after excessive swimming or over-use of the tail and tends to affect larger breeds more often. Be cognisant of how much time is spent swimming, then dry and encourage rest regularly. Be on the lookout for water that has visible algae, scum or foam on the surface. Lakes, ponds and rivers can all contain this. It can be fatal if ingested and it’s impossible to prevent a dog from taking in water when they are swimming or playing in it. Dry drowning can affect humans and dogs, so it is important to be aware of it. Even a small amount of water that is inhaled can irritate the lungs & cause swelling & fluid accumulation, and in severe cases cause death, even days after swimming. Wearing a life jacket can help to keep their neck and head above the water when swimming.

Would you like to keep up to date with what is happening at Glenannon Station? We would love for you to subscribe to our monthly updates !

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