Tag: training

Dealing With Snow and Pets

Columbus was hit with a major snowstorm this weekend. I think we have at least 8 inches so far. But that doesn’t stop our Border Collie Ty from wanting to go outside all the time! We fenced in our yard a few years ago, our neighbors did theirs soon after, and we keep a gate between the two yards open all the time. It makes it very convenient to just let him run around on his own to do his business. He comes back with a dusting of snow covering his fur, but at least I know it’s on the outside layer of his fur and shouldn’t have gotten next to his skin to make him cold.

Ty wants to come back in
Ty sprinkled with snow

I keep an old towel next to the door for wiping his feet when he comes in, but the towel gets so dirty and isn’t very attractive lying on the floor all the time. I’m training him to come inside and sit down first, so I can wipe his paws (and fur) before he walks all over the house. As long as I’m consistent he should pick up the habit quickly. But I usually have to put in some effort and hold him back. I think he comes in thirsty and wants to go over to the water bowl. Perhaps I should bring the bowl close to the door! What is your routine? Do you have any tips to share with others?

Welcome to Pawfect Lounge: Pet Connection for Columbus, OH!

This is the first post in my new Pet connection website.  I want to create a site that makes it easy to connect pet owners to local businesses, services, and other resources geared towards pets.  An overwhelming number of animal shelter and rescue websites are available to search for pets online and to provide information. But how do you choose which one to use?  To maximize your search results, you’d have to learn how to search on each one. Looking for pet merchandise? Retail stores are usually easy to find by a Google search. But there are lots of other local retail stores that you may not know about, and one may be the only provider of that specific customized item you want. It can be trickier to find other services such as training, socialization, dog sitters and walkers, and even pet waste removal since some of these services may be provided by a single person operating from his or her home!  How do you know which one you can trust?    Not all of these are easily found by simple web searches.

So what will this site do?

Pawfect Lounge: Pet Connection will compile all of those resources and put them at your fingertips.  In return, I’ll ask you to review the businesses you use and provide some feedback. This is a great way for small businesses to receive feedback and get exposure on the web.  I’ll try to integrate each listing with social networking sites so you can spread the word of businesses you find here. Business owners will be able to claim their listing and update their information, including pictures and links to their presence on social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

When will the site be ready?

This site is still in the designing phase, so it’s hard to say. In the meantime, add your feedback and comments to this post to let me know what you think. What features would you like to see in the website? Also, follow Pawfect Lounge on twitter @PawfectLounge and become a friend at Facebook! Add your ideas to the discussion there. Thanks!