The theme for July’s Meetup is Exercise!

The Pooch Coach will discuss the importance of exercise and how to properly walk and exercise your dog for his or her best mental and physical health.  And she’ll explain how Whistle has been helping her and her clients’ keep track of what their dogs are up to!

Katie from Whistle will attend to tell us all about this great new device, often called a “fitbit for dogs”. The Whistle Activity Monitor provides a visual summary of your dog’s well-being and behavior trends by measuring your dog’s daily activity and rest.  Set goals for daily exercise and even see what your dog is doing when you’re not around. Whistle will be here to demonstrate the device, as will Kompis, who’s been using one since March.  Learn more at whistle.com

Everyone who signs up and attends will get a free Whistle swag bag, and one lucky dog will go home with a FREE Whistle device! 

DOGTV will be on hand to film the dogs for their programming and feature us in their blog. They will also be bringing free gifts for SF Dog Connector’s: portable water bowls, gift cards & more!

Kira from Nuena Photography​ will also be on hand to capture the day for us!  Everyone will get free low res images from the event.

1. A tired dog is a happy dog. Exercise always helps your dog to behave better by tiring him out. Do extra walks and runs during stressful times to help relax your dog and make him less likely to react to loud noises or anything he is fearful of.

2. Lead by example: Make sure *you’re* calm during the loud and sudden sounds! Sometimes, we project fear by expecting it to be there. It’s like when a child falls down and their parent reacts by saying, “Oh my gosh, Johnny!! Are you OK? I bet you’re hurt badly!!” The kid sees their parent’s reaction and starts crying. Instead if you just say, “You’re fine, Johnny. Let’s get you up and take a look. Yep! You’re fine. Let’s go get some ice cream!!”  Don’t feed into your dog’s reaction. Show him it’s silly to be scared.

3. Redirect: Play and/or run through commands with your dog when the sounds go off. You could even put on some loud music if needed to help drown out the noise. Just make sure you keep him occupied rather than allowing him to run and hide or shake.

4. Desensitize: You can download firework noises (or sirens or any other sound your dog is afraid of) and play them for your dog on low volume and build his tolerance slowly. All the steps above are still important to keep in mind while doing these practice runs.

5. First timers: If you have a puppy that hasn’t heard fireworks yet, make sure and teach him that they are FUN!! Celebrate with him instead of looking for any scared reaction. I’ve trained my dogs to run outside with me when we hear fireworks – because they know it’s exciting & fun!!

If your dog is really nervous and you feel you could use some expert help, The Pooch Coach is just a phone call away!

Happy 4th of July!!!

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