Now Hiring: Management/Grooming Assistant

July 8, 2014

A key position at Cedar Creek Pet Resort will be opening up soon. It is currently a part-time position – about 25 hours/week, but the responsibilities are key to a great facility. The ideal candidate will have a good background in dog behaviors and training, some basic grooming skills, some client intake skills,and a little experience with retail sales.

This person will have primary responsibility for making appointments on the phone, client intake, client release and assisting groomers. The person needs experience in working with the public, and should have a positive, can-do attitude. The position functions as a liaison between the kennel maintenance staff and the grooming/management staff. Previous kennel experience is useful but not required, though we do require demonstratable pet care experience.

We are looking for someone who wants the challenges of working with the public in an industry that often undervalues real pet care experience. We are very proud of our employees’ interest and training in the pet care field, and we work hard to earn the trust and respect of our clients with real experience rather than marketing hype.

If you are up for the challenge of working in an environment of pet care and public relations, then we want to talk to you. Ask to speak to Jackie, and find out more about this position.

Healthy Puppies Are Home Grown!

Recently the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a health alert reporting an increasing number of dogs shipped to the United States with questionable documentation of prior rabies vaccination.

The state of Wisconsin passed along the warning and reminded consumers how to best go about getting a new puppy from local breeders.

AKC agrees that working with responsible breeders and checking everything frompuppies to paperwork is the best way to add a new purebred puppy to your family and offers the following tips:

•  How to find a responsible breeder. The best source of information to find responsible breeders is www.akc.org. There you can use the Find a Puppy tool, which allows AKC breeders in good standing to list their litters by state. There are also tools to find national breed club breeder referrals by breed and state.
• A dog breeder can become an invaluable friend and advisor.  In addition to striving to improve and preserve the integrity of their breed, many breeders will make themselves available throughout a pet’s life to answer questions and even, if need be, take the pet back if the owner is unable to care for the dog. A responsible breeder carefully matches pet owners with their dogs.
• Visit the breeder’s home or kennel. A breeder will introduce you to the mother (and father if available) to get an idea of what the future holds for your dog in terms of temperament and appearance.
• Observe the premises. Is the house/kennel clean? Odor-free? Dogs and puppies should be clean, well fed, lively and friendly.
• Find out about the health of your puppy and its parents. Responsible breeders will willingly show you proof of health tests, such as OFA and CERF certificates, on the parents.
• Breeders should be willing to answer any questions you have and should ask many of you as well. Breeders will want to make sure their puppies are going to good homes, with people who know what to expect and have made all the necessary preparations.

Veterinary Village Health Clinic Friday June 6

The fabulous vets from Veterinary Village will be at Cedar Creek Pet Resort this Friday from 4 – 6 pm. If your dog or cat needs a shot, microchip blood test, or general health check-up, now is the time to schedule those services!

We are so excited to have these great vets set up shop at Cedar Creek Pet Resort on the first Friday of every month. What could be better? Great services at a discounted price, in a convenient location. This clinic is open to the public.

Call us to reserve your appointment:  262-677-4500.

Next month the clinic will be on July 11 instead of the 4th – because we assume you will be celebrating Independence Day, just like us!

Back From Westminster!

I am glad to be home from New York! Our young dogs were not “in the ribbons” this year, but I am still happy to have them. Dog show judging is always subjective – like judging artwork. One person’s Renoir is another person’s graffiti. As a licensed breeder-judge, I am very happy with the dogs we have, and I really don’t depend on one judge’s opinion to guide my breeding program. Tomorrow is another day.

But did you see the line-up of great dogs in the Best-In-Show ring? All seven of those dogs are world-class, in my opinion. What a thrill it must have been to select the top two from a line-up like that.  My personal favorites were the Bloodhound and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, but I am perfectly happy with the Standard Poodle and the Wire Fox Terrier. The Min Pin is a show stopper who never lets down, and the Portuguese Water Dog and the Irish Water Spaniel were magnificent – sound, healthy and groomed to the nines!

I think, like travelling to Europe, every American should get to New York to see the Westminster Dog Show at least once in their lifetime. It is a world-class event in a world-class city. If you love dogs, this is the Superbowl of the dog world. It is the best of the best all dressed up with somewhere to go! No sad or pitiful faces here.  These trainers and their dogs are athletic and well-cared for. In a world that constantly tugs at your heartstrings to adopt a pitiful neglected or abandoned dog, it will do your soul good to see how these dogs live. Celebrate the healthy! Come to New York  – or any other dog show – and support a sport dedicated to producing healthy and well-cared-for dogs that will lift you up and fill you with pride, not weigh you down with worry and sorrow.

Does My Dog Need A Coat?

The short answer to the above question is no, she already has one. Unless you are trying to make a fashion statement, Portia does not need extra outerwear. That does not mean you can leave her outside for long hours in cold temperatures, or that a sweater might not be appreciated by a whippet or Rhodesian Ridgeback  – dogs with short, thin coats – when you take them on a leisurely walk. But if you are just letting your dog outside for potty time, or you are going for a vigorous walk, your dog probably will not need a coat or sweater.

Dogs are not little humans, even though they can be our best friends. So it’s important to love them for who they are – fabulous canine companions! That means we humans need to invest a little time figuring out what’s best for our dogs rather than assuming what’s best for people will be best for our dogs, too. Dogs interact on very subtle, non-verbal levels with other canines, and clothing can sometimes mask those subtle interactions and body language. That means the cute sweater you put on Henry may be masking his messages to the other boys to stay away from him. If they can’t read his clues, they may interact inappropriately with him, and this can be dangerous in a park or on a walk.

And if you are on a vigorous walk, there is no need to pack his real fur coat down with a coat that will impede his normal movement and could cause him to overheat.

Some dogs never need human-style outerwear. The double-coated northern breeds like Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Great Pyrenese or Chow Chow are just fine with their own winter coats. These dogs need the cold to develop their thick undercoats, and will suffer if they get too warm. At Cedar Creek Pet Resort we usually find these dogs lounging on the unheated side of their runs while the other dogs bask on the heated floors in their bed area. It’s good to know what your breed needs when it comes to providing fashion accesories!

So if you want to dress Portia in that totally cute tutu for Christmas – that’s fine with me. Just don’t think she needs to put on a fleece coat when she goes outside for a quick potty break.

And what about footwear? If your dog will keep them on, I think they are great to prevent damage to the pads from cold and salt. You can also coat your dog’s pads with a prduct like Mushers’ Preparation to protect them. Winter does wreak havoc with doggy feet.

Also, remember that a clean, fluffy coat will keep your dog warmer than dirty matted-down fur, so make sure to schedule her regular grooming appointments in winter.

Cage-free boarding? Never!

I can’t even imagine placing one of my terriers in an environment that brags about cage-free services. For my dogs, and many of yours, that would mean subjecting them to injuries – or worse. Who thought of this idea? Certainly not anybody with the amount of dog experience I or my staff have. We know what cage-free really means. It means the person providing the service didn’t have the money or good sense to invest in a proper pet-care facility or equipment.

Even our PlayCare services make use of crates at times. We think all dogs need some time in a safe place, by themselves to just relax without the worry that another dog is going to come after them. We give our PlayCare dogs a one hour break to relax and eat a cookie before resuming supervised play with the group. They need that down time!

Don’t be fooled by the marketing hype. Cage-free is NOT worry free for you or your dogs. And a cage-free overnight stay is a recipe for disaster. My terriers don’t look like they want to fight, but fight they will if another dog irritates them too much. And it won’t be pretty.

We want to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment for ALL pets regardless of their training, breed characteristics or social abilities. You should expect no less when looking for pet lodging. You need to trust that your pet-care service providers understand dogs, and not just marketing.

Lois and Lila have New Homes!

WOW! Our friends are the best! Not only have we found two homes for our retired girls, but the new owners have also agreed to make donations to Keep Your Pets, Inc – a non-profit dedicated to keeping families in crisis together with their pets. We are currently serving 3 families, and we hope they will be able to be re-united with their pets soon.

It’s amazing the good we can do in a short time. Thank you Nick Smith and Mike Mennenoh for stepping up to the challenge. The families using our services really appreciate your generosity and kindness, and my two girls will be looking forward to retiring in your homes. It’s going to be a very good holiday season!

Doggy Day Care – What’s New?

We decided our PlayCare program needs a freshening-up, so we are sending Amy Spear to the Dog Gurus’s training school for tips and suggestions. Amy is a life-long learner, and a great asset to our staff, so we are pretty excited to hear what she comes back with.

The Dog Gurus were presenters at the Boarding & Day Care Conference I went to in Baltimore 2 weeks ago. They are absolute wizards at what they do, and I am thrilled Amy will be getting the full 3-week session. I learned a LOT in just 2 hours – can’t wait to hear what Amy brings back!

We think it’s important to keep improving how we serve our customers. We know we have the most dedicated staff of dog-care experts around, but we are not afraid to try some new stuff, either.  We’ll keep you posted as we roll out some new ideas! And if you have any suggestions for how we can be better, please send us an email or give us a call. Your  stress-free happiness is what we want to achieve!

Holiday Pet Care

Are you going to somebody’s house for a holiday adventure? I love to bring my dogs with me wherever I go, but sometimes the people I am going to visit don’t love them as much as I do.  I understand.  The 12-week old bedlington puppy that finds the ball of expensive yarn to pull down and chew up, or the basset who pulls towels down to sleep on are not always endearing to my relatives. Usually I find it’s best to leave tham at home or in the care of the very experienced pet caregivers who work at Cedar Creek Pet Resort.

I know you want the best for your pets. So do I. That’s precisely why I trust experienced pet care givers to care for my dogs. It’s not good enough for my dogs to have just anybody watch them. If I had a neighbor come over, how do I know she will remember to give the old dogs their medication or not give the retired champion a treat he is allergic to. Will she accidentally leave a door open so the 2-year old can run out? Is she really coming over 3 times every day, or is she just telling me she is so she can spend more time with her boyfriend?

I want professionals to care for my pets. It’s too important for me to ask just anybody to watch my dogs. I love them, and I want to come back to see tham happy. safe and secure.

When you are looking for someone to care for your pets, ask about the caregivers’ experience and the security of the place they will be staying. Ask how many times your pets will be fed and walked, and how secure their exercize yard is.  Who will be doing the care? Will it be the responsible 18-year old, or his inexperienced 14-year old brother? Do they recognize symptoms of potentially fatal conditions like bloat or allergies? Will they know what to do if something goes wrong?

My answer, of course, is to consider using a professional service first. We have already thought about all of these things, and we have thoughtful answers to all of your questions.  You don’t take chances with your children, don’t take them with your pets. Safe, secure and healthy. Come back from your holidays less stressed knowing that your pets are well-cared for. Leave them with professionals who care about having you come back! Bring them to us at Cedar Creek Pet Resort

When Is a Vet Visit an Emergency?

I have bred, raised and shown dogs for more than 40 years, so I am sometimes surprised at the general lack of good information available to new pet owners. One area not covered often enough is when to seek emergency care, or when to wait until regular hours.

In general, most conditions can wait. A cough, slight limp, bile vomit, acute diarrhea, hot spot, scrape or scratch, not eating as usual are all things that can wait until your vet opens in the morning.

True acute emergencies are severe trauma (hit by a vehicle), bloat, non-responsiveness and poison ingestion. All of these require emergency care. Pet owners should all familiarize themselves with the symptoms of bloat because you will only have  about 2-3 hours to act before your pet dies.

If a condition persists for more than a few days or gets worse, it’s a good idea to make a regular appointment with a veterinarian. As long as your dog or cat is acting otherwise normal, it’s probably nothing serious.

Remember, symptoms seem worse at night! So if you are not liking the way your pet is acting in the morning, don’t wait until night to call the vet. Panic and emerergency vet visits are never a good option. Ask your vet what medications are OK to keep at home and administer yourself. A good vet who trusts you will be happy to make recommendations.