…..Facebook Update…..  Have you visited our updated Facebook Link for Thousand Hills Pet Resort? We would welcome the opportunity to have you take a look! You don’t have to be a member of Facebook to see us. You can get to our page directly through this link Thousand Hills Facebook.  You can also access it through our website atthousandhillspetresort.com and then “click” on the “Dog Blog” where you will see and can select “Facebook” to be connected. Once there you can view our current and most recent Daycare Dogs of the Month and many other fun photos and features of happenings here at the ranch. Be sure to “click” on the “Thumbs Up, Like” icon so we can know you were there and liked what you saw!! In appreciation for your “Like” we would be happy to give you a free day of daycare.

Mini Moose

This year’s Howl-O-Ween event, although smaller than it has been in the past, was still a festive and fun highlight of October for us at Thousand Hills Pet Resort.  The excellent tri-tip lunch, as always, was provided by the good folks at Old San Luis BBQ Co.  We had pooches of all shapes, sizes, and colors bedecked as everything from a panda bear to a punk rocker.  Some pet parents dressed up too!  Our judges voted for a tie for Cutest Costume this year.  Mini Moose the harlequin Great Dane (very appropriately named) sported antennae and wings as giant ladybug.  And while Strudel the Daschund probably won’t be warding off any crows from the harvest, he posed as the shortest, most adorable scarecrow you’ll ever see.  Best Pet/Parent costume combo went to Kobe Lake (Rottweiler/Labrador) and his mom.  Kobe was attired as a basketball player (Kobe Bryant from the Lakers, perhaps?) complete with jersey, shorts, and ball.  Mom coached him along as a pin-striped referee.  Best Trick was awarded to Finnegan, an Australian Shepherd who, until coming to Thousand Hills, was considered unsocial and ‘reactive’ toward other dogs, barking on leash and exhibiting defensive anxiety.  After a slow and careful process of socializing here at THPR recently, “Finny” has made huge strides and is now able to interact with other dogs in a healthy way and obey simple commands in their presence without stress.  Finnegan’s trick was simply being in the mix with all the dogs, people, and noise, and handling it well.  Finally, Best Costume went to the ever-smiling Chocolate Labrador, Shijo-Kingo, who strutted his stuff dressed as a nerd.  His clever costume, handmade as always by his human family, included glasses, suspenders, a nerdy red watch, calculator, and even nerdy shoes.  The owner’s daughter dressed as a nerdy school girl in braids and kilt as Shijo’s counterpart.  Overall the event was a fun get-together of people and their four-legged children.  If you missed the festivities and free lunch this time, don’t dismay–there’s always next year!  If you’re as “nerdy” as Shijo-

Kingo, get a head start brainstorming your costume designs now.  We look forward to seeing you at THPR’s Howl-O-Ween 2012.

Lily in Daycare

October’s Daycare Dog of the Month is sweet miss Lily! Lily, a wonderful little black Cocker Spaniel, brings a bit of calm to the play groups in Daycare, and often acts as a bit of a moderator for her two playful brothers when they are rough housing with each other. While she is getting on a bit in age, she is still so enthusiastic about giving and receiving attention, and always has energy to join in a little bit of play, especially with her brothers! Congratulations Lily, you are October’s Daycare Dog of the Month!

"Give me that leash Ollie"

At Thousand Hills Pet Resort, our main goal is to provide a caring, friendly, and fun place for your dog(s) to stay. That’s why we love the privilege of seeing our regulars blossom and grow (especially the young ones!) as they build friendships with each other (and the staff) and learn how to socialize. We have often seen a new dog come in for day care shy and a little unsure of the whole situation, and over the course of the next few weeks move to “cautiously friendly” and then to “the life of the party”! Abby is one such dog. She is a small heeler mix who started her experience at Thousand Hills in the mini yard with the little guys. (She was tiny enough back then!) The staff who knew her at that time remember her as a shy little wallflower, hesitant around people and dogs, and not engaging with the group. Eventually, she gained enough confidence (and size) in the mini yard that we graduated her to playing with the big dogs.

It was a process, but at some point in this stage she came to the delightful realization that it’s pretty darn fun to chase, wrestle, and play keep-the-staff’s-leash-away with the other dogs! Nowadays, Miss Abby is known for her warm, outgoing, and friendly personality and her zealous love for play (and people affection). Some of you may have been told upon picking up your dog from day care that your own four-legged kid had a great time playing with Abby. She is just one of the many success stories here at the ranch, and one we’re awfully proud of.

Enjoying the Meadow

My dad and mom took me on this really long trip I couldn’t believe how long it was taking. The whole time they just kept talking and talking and then started singing (I guess it was singing), I kept trying to go to sleep but they wouldn’t let me. Then came the crazy roads that they drove on, man I couldn’t wait to get the trip over with. It’s so hard to get comfortable when your swinging side to side in the back seat.

But when it was finally over, everything changed! Oh my goodness, I love the mountains. Have you ever been there? Its amazing, there is so much space to run and play and there are other dogs to play with it is awesome. I got to play frisbee, run through the tall grass, and dig for gophers, so much cool stuff. Plus, there was this Bar-B-Que they kept talking about, and ooooh boy that was good I got some meat from my dad and it was yummy. He even called me chubby this morning. I want to go back, it was awesome! He can call me chubby anytime if I get to do that again.

Such a Great View

Well two paws up to the mountains all my furry friends… Hope to see you there.I would also like to say a special thank you to my other my and dad from your Granddog, Brodie.

Bernie

Alpha Dogs of Thousand Hills has another dog, Bernie, ready for adoption.  In case you have missed previous columns describing Alpha Dogs; it is a program that takes in dogs who would otherwise go to a shelter (dogs must meet various specific criteria, and we must have openings for dogs to be accepted).  These dogs are trained by our Alpha students.  This experience for the students is better described by one of the students, Josh.  Josh states, “This for me (Alpha Dog training) was the pivotal point in my life.  Because you see, the dogs showed me something that I don’t think I have felt since my mother passed away; that is love and not just any love, but unconditional friendship and loyalty. This brought out a joy inside me that I thought had been lost forever.”

Bernie came to us when his previous owner was regrettably no longer able to keep him because their property was not fenced and Bernie liked to explore, leaving the property.  After getting to know Bernie, my guess is that he was on the hunt for lizards…he loves lizards, or hates them.  I’m not really sure which, but he sure would like to catch one.  Bernie is an 88 pound mixed bread dog who is wonderfully goofy and fun.  He is loving and gentle.  He loves people and other dogs.  He seems to love training as well and has been quite successful.  He is somewhat distractible though, by…you guessed it…lizards.  Even with this distractibility , Bernie has done very well when we have taken him on public outings to the park, a shopping center, Avila Barn, and yes, even the vet when he had his check up.  Bernie would be a wonderful companion for just about anyone who has the room and time for him.

If you are interested in Bernie, please contact us at Thousand Hills Pet Resort.

Manager’s Column

By Nicole Hern

We had a great Easter party!  It was so much fun to see some of our regulars in attendance as well as meeting a lot of new faces…human and K9.  The food provided by Old San Luis BBQ Company was excellent!  Tony Perez donated the cake pops for desert which were AMAZING!  Tony can be reached at perezynot@gmail.com…Thank You Tony!  Cloud Star also donated the Buddy Biscuits that were inside the Easter eggs for the dogs.  We really appreciate Cloud Star’s continuing support of our Easter Party with their generous donation.  Thank you to everyone who participated and made the Easter Party a fun and lovely day with great food and friends!

New Assistant Manager

I am excited to announce that we now have an Assistant Manager, Jade Emerson, here at the pet resort.

Jade is originally from Torrance, California where she grew up surrounded by canine and feline family members.  She recently graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Agricultural Business. She have been working at THOUSAND HILLS PET RESORT for a little over a year now and she says that she can’t think of a better way to spend her day.  Because of Jade’s excellent judgement and leadership skills, she has been working as a weekend manager throughout most of her employment here.  She really loves animals especially dogs, and she has a passion for training horses.  Before she came to San Luis Obispo,  she followed her passion for horses and recieved a degree in training and working with young horses and she has continued with that passion.  She currently has a horse and a cat that are her best friends and she says that  she wouldn’t have gotten where she is today without them.  According to Jade, animals have always been a big part of her life and will continue to be a big part of her life. She looks forward to what this job holds for her and meeting all the new dogs and enjoying the current ones we have here.

Welcome to your new position Jade!  Having an Assistant Manager will allow us to continue to improve upon the quality of service we provide here at THOUSAND HILLS PET RESORT.

Bordetella Questions

A couple of customers have had questions about why Thousand Hills Pet Resort does not require boarding and daycare dogs to have the Bordetella vaccine.  I’m guessing that more of you have the same question, so I thought it would be a good time to include the information in our newsletter.  According to  our consuting veterinarians at Animal Care Clinic, the Bordatella vaccine only protects against one of the bacteria that causes Kennel Cough.  Also, the Bordetella is labled to last a year, Animal Care Clinic believes that adequate protection only lasts for three months.  In other words, even if you dog has had the Bordetella vaccine, he/she is not protected from getting Kennel Cough.  There is no vaccine that fully protects your dog from getting Kennel Cough.  However, we do not discourage any pet owners from getting the Bordetella vaccine for their dog.  If you have any other questions regarding our vaccine requirements, please contact us at the pet resort office at (805) 596-0112.

A word about Flea and Tick prevention…

Here we go… flea and tick season is on the way and let’s face it, prevention is a whole lot easier than treating an infestation!

Monthly preventatives come in two types; Topical (Frontline Plus, K9 Advantix, etc.) and Oral (Comfortis or Program, etc.) These products kill not only adult fleas, but flea eggs and larvae, which stops the cycle cold. Some contain repellent, which is the basis for prevention. Where ticks are a problem too, the Frontline Plus and the K9 Advantix also kill ticks.  The Preventic collar contains Amitraz, which prevents tick attachment and lasts for three months. It can be used along with the topical treatment.
If you do get an infestation, only a three-pronged attack will eliminate it.

FIRST, vacuum everything and throw away the vac cleaner bag. Wash or discard all pet bedding and use indoor sprays or foggers. Ask your Vet for the best and safest products.
SECOND, apply yard and kennel sprays outdoors. It won’t do any good to treat your pet and home, then re-expose him to an infested back yard.

THIRD, Bathe your pet with a good flea and tick  shampoo. You may have to do this more than once. For severe infestations, apply a topical flea spray and use a flea comb. Remove ticks by hand if they don’t drop off.  Ask your Vet for best and safest products.

Be persistent! It may take time to kill all fleas, eggs and larvae on pet, house and yard. Remember, monthly protection with a product containing flea growth regulators/inhibitors is your best bet for PREVENTION. Again, talk to your Vet about what’s best for your pet and family.

Happy Mothers Day!
Judy Javert