Fleas

　

Fleas can be a very big problem once your pets get them. The height of flea season is upon us. How do I know if my pet has Fleas? 1) They will be very itchy. 2) There will be little dark balls inside the coat, near the fur. Looking much like poppy seeds. 3) The fleas will be visible. They look like Rye bread seeds, and move very quickly through the coat. What do you do if you realize your pet has fleas? Well you need to kill them. Flea Shampoo will kill what's there, but will not prevent new ones from getting on your pet. Note also that once you Dip or Flea Bath your pet DO NOT PUT ANY TYPE OF FLEA PRODUCT ON YOUR PET FOR 24 HOURS. IT IS TOXIC AND CAN CAUSE SICKNESS OR EVEN DEATH. If you give the bath yourself, do not panic if the water turns bloody. Those little poppy balls are fecal matter from the Flea. They suck blood, hence when you wash them, that disintegrates turning the water blood red. You must also place an eye antibiotic onto the eyes to prevent shampoo form irritating the eye ball. If you choose to try this yourself, start with the head and then the rear end, as the fleas will move to where you can't put the shampoo, eyes and privates of pet. My recommendation is go to a good groomer.

You do not need to panic if your pet picks up one or two fleas, You kill them with a flea product and are pretty safe. It's when the animal is infested does it go beyond just the pet. One Flea will lay 40,000 eggs. Here is when I recommend and exterminator. Bombs work, but they only kill the fleas and not the eggs. So lets say you do the bomb, 2 weeks later they are back. They also will move away from the mist, and go into basements and attics, on the way stopping upstairs. See my point? Now inside is only part of the problem, any stray or wild animal will bring fleas into you yard. Spraying the yard is always a good idea. You don't want to treat everything inside, and have them hop on outside, to come back in!

The best way to prevent all this heartache is a product like Advantex or Frontline. I like Advantex better because it also repels Flea, Ticks, and Mosquitoes. (They are the big problem that leads to heartworm) Frontline kills the Fleas and Ticks only after the pest bites the dogs skin. God help the poor dog that is allergic to the bite. You can also cut up a flea and tick collar and put it into your vacuum bag, killing any strays you may catch in the house. Washing all the pets bedding regularly helps as well. Good Luck, and you can always call us of you have questions. DEB
Another true story.................
I had a client whose Sheltie was full of fleas. Even though she put Frontline on her pet, the fleas remained. I think because of the thick coat she had, maybe she was not reaching the skin with the product. Anyway 2 flea baths later, a bombing of her car, and extermination of her house, her Sheltie is finally at peace. You can read the story in her own words if you google Zoot Shoot Photos, under blog my Fabulous new groomer. Thanks for reading.

My dogs skin

　

Why is my dog itching? So many things can make your dog scratch. Inhalant allergies, food allergies, or contact allergies. The best thing to do is have a vet check your pet, but I can give you a few tips. First, look and see where your pet is loosing hair. If it is along the belly, under the chin, and on the leg areas, chances are its a contact allergy. Make sure what ever you wash the pets bedding in, is for people with allergies. Stay away from fabric softener. Wool rugs can also be a trigger. Many dogs have problems with wool. Beware fall is coming and leaves will be on the ground. On those leaves are mold spurs, do not let them walk or run in the leaves. Allergic dogs will flare from this. Other big problems are food allergies. One way you can help this is feed a quality food that has no Wheat, Soy, or Corn. I use Wellness Core, but there are several good one out there. Check with your local pet shop. This also goes for can food. Look at your labels. Sometimes it is easier to get a can of pink salmon from the store and mix it with the dry. My Westie does well on Ceaser and Natures Recipe Farmer Select. Inhalant allergies need to be handled by your Vet. There are shots you can give, much like the human shot. Getting down to allergies is a difficult task. Most times it a process of elimination, then allergic testing. Good luck with your furry kids.

One more note, use a shampoo that is Natural, or Oatmeal. In my experience, that is helpful to the skin. Vet Shampoo like Malasob is another great shampoo.
Now for our story:
I have a client whose dog lost its hair suddenly. The dog was really getting sick.  When I looked down, the baldness was even on both sides, and thinning all over.  I told her it looked like a classic Thyroid problem. She had gone to several Vets, had the Thyroid tested, and it came out that the thyroid was fine. I told my client, have it checked again, and she did. Well this time the test showed her pets thyroid was malfunctioning, and put her pet on Thyroid pills. The dog has done a complete turn around, Walking better, hair came back, over all a much happier dog. Same thing happened to my cousins Pom. Lost hair on both sides, then loss all his hair. Several thyroid test came back ok. He started to seize. I told her check him again.  Thyroid showed he now has a problem. After being put on a pill he now has hair, and he seizes once every 8 months compared to 1 time a month. Sometimes you have to keep checking until the thyroid hormone gets low enough to be seen. Just because it registers as normal, does not mean it is. I myself ran into the same problem as a adult human. I too am now on thyroid meds.

Puppy better on Thyroid Medicaton

lets talk about the essence of your dog

Some people believe that a dog has no soul. They feel that the bible claims this, so it must be true. I am a pretty spiritual person, and disagree with that statement. I could not imagine that god, would give no soul, to an animal with such an array of emotion. How do I know this? I live and breath dogs, and in general pets daily. I know that even if a dog has been neglected, that pet is so happy to see there owners.  I know that at times they come in so afraid,  with a kind touch and a snuggle, the shaking stops. I see the tails wag, and the teeth show when they like and dislike something. I see them sleep, so peaceful and secure.  Animals dream, and sometimes even watch TV. This will be part of my true story. This is not a conditioned response, but ones of emotion. They can problem solve. For example, I was putting up my Christmas Tree. There were a lot of boxes around that held ornaments and decorations. Justin was on one side of the room, I on the other. He wanted to be by me. After watching him, figure out the best route to me, he jumped on the ottoman, to the floor, onto the sofa, to the floor, around the coffee table through the door where I was standing. He jumped on me to say, I'm here pet me. That dog makes me laugh! When I am driving my car, he puts his muzzle under my hand flips it over his head , he wants to be petted. When he needs to go out he goes to the door. If he wants water, to the bowl, food to the pantry door. See animals even communicate. No souls, I beg to differ. Now my true story:
My husband and I are real horror movie lovers. Not so much the Saw type movie, but ghost stories, and even Alien type movies.  Well Justin was maybe 7 months old, and we were watching ALIENS with Sigorney Weaver. The movie was at the part where a character was looking for her cat.  They were leaving the mother ship. It is a pretty intense scene. Chains are swinging, and water was dripping from them. The character was saying," Here kitty kitty" over, and over again.  The cat pops out and you see him meow, then comes the hiss, and the guy gets ripped apart by the Alien. Justin was watching the TV, when all this was going on. Well he jumped off my lap, and ran into his crate. I assumed he wanted to go to bed. Little did I know he was so scared. Around 3 A.M., I heard him whimpering in his bed. He also was scratching the sides of the kennel. When I went to his bed, he was dreaming. That dog was having a nightmare. When I woke him he jumped into my arms and started to lick my face. I said to him, "Are you protecting mommy from the Aliens?" A cookie, water and a little love, he finally went back to sleep. Good night until tomorrow.

I want a dog, but what kind? Where can I find my dog?

When a family first decides to add a dog, its a big decision. Tonight I would like to help you make it.  In order to find the right dog for you, I would suggest going to the library. You may think, I can get the info from my computer. True, and you should, but first go and look at a bunch of books. I say that because books show you a wide variety of dogs. Write down the name of the breeds you fancy, and then go to your computer and research those breeds. Here is a list of questions you may want to research:
1) Health of the animal-  What are some genetic problems the breed has, and at what age does it appear?
  2) Do you have children? Are they a breed that works well with kids?  A big problem I see about dogs in shelters is that the couple had a child. If you think you may have a child after the dog, take that into consideration when researching one.
 3) What kind of grooming does this dog require? Is it a dog with lots of hair that needs to be groomed often? Do I have the time to devote to brushing and combing this dog? How much does it cost to groom that dog. Call a few local grooming shops and ask them. Does the dog have hair or fur? Does anyone in the family suffer from allergies? A word to the wise, when a dog has hair, its like human hair, most people with allergies are ok with hair. Most terriers are hair breeds as well as Poodles and Bishons. Saymonds, St. Brenards, are fur pets.
4) Can I afford the dog I want to buy? Dogs can be very expensive to purchase, more so from the show people. It sounds like a lot when you ask the price of a puppy, and you hear $2,000.00 to $2,500.00. I urge you to pay the price from the show people. Reputable breeders have bred many of their stock for many generations. They know everything about the pups that are born. Mom and sometimes dad are available to see. You see quality dogs with show wins year after year. This reflex's the over all look of the dog. They have shots and health records, but most important, if anything goes wrong, we are here for you. We stand behind what we do, and the puppy you bought.  Now, lets say you get a dog from a pet shop, or back yard breeder.( Someone who gets 2 pet shop pups and breeds them)  You may pay $1,000.00 to $1,500.00. Sounds ok,  you are not looking to show.  So many times I have heard from my clients that they spent at least $500.00 or more to get the pup healthy. Don't get me wrong sometimes you might get lucky. So you go back to the pet shop, and you hear them say, ok we will take the puppy back. To late most times you are already in love and want to save that little bundle that is in such desperate need of your assistance. Hard choice, the real question is how much can the family be put through? If you want to adopt, which is another way to get the breed you want, go to AKC web-site. Find your breed. Look for the number of the parent club secretary, who can give you the number of your local club officers. Then there is always the option of going to the pound and saving a dog. Just remember that the other questions still apply, even if it's a mixed breed. All dogs before being placed by the pound are temperament tested, and the people there should be able to answer all your questions.
Now for my story:

one pup named Maggie from the litter of 10 

 As I had said in a different post, we do not make lots of money .  One time not so long ago, my mom had a female with 10 puppies. Because she had so many, her pancreas was damaged due to the pressure of the babies. She could not push, so she need a c- section. This means they did surgery and removed the babies. It was her last litter so we spayed her. This was her second litter.  She did not really ever fully recover from that, and after days in an emergency hospital, with a cost of $10,000.00 mom died. A breeder friend tried to lend us her girl, which had just finished nursing her litter, but that lasted a week. She did her job, and was done. So here we are bottle feeding 24 hrs a day ever 2 hrs 10 puppies. That means also stimulating them to pee and poo. Bottle feeding was not enough, so we had to slide a tube down the throat, and into the belly. Using a needle syringe, with no needle, the tube is attached to the opening and slowly you push the milk into the tummy of the pup. This is called Tube feeding. It is dangerous, because if you get it say into the lungs by mistake, the pup drowns and dies. This happened to one pup. Now we have nine.  One puppy did not grow very much, she was cute, her name was Roxy, She turned out to be a dwarf, and had a cleft palette. This means it looks like a dry river bed on the roof of the mouth. She was so tiny, we did not see it at first. Usually a puppy like this is put to sleep right away. Now what? She is 4 weeks old, maybe 9 oz, do we snuff her, or try to fix the cleft pallet, and save her life. Understand we are attached as well. To make a long story short,2 cleft operations, and a spay, Roxy did not make it. She lived one year. Her bill was $10.000.00 as well. We lost tons of money, hence why the breeder charges more. We do what ever we can to help them, save them, love them. It's not about the money, but the love of our breed. Thank you and good night.

Thumper said, " If you can't say somethin nice, don't say nothin at all"

Tonight I would like to talk about the world of show dogs. Most people in the sport are truly supportive, and really great friends. Then there are the ones that its all about the ego. Theirs, not the wonderful dog at the end of the leash. In most competitions there is just one winner. At a dog show,  in each breed there are several winners. Let me break it down for you,  First there are several classes broken down , with placements 1-4. Each first place dog goes in for winners dog. This is the best male of that breed. Winners bitch, best female. Reserve winners which is second best or runner up in each sex. Best of Breed, which is say the best Westie of the day, Best of winners, be it the boy or girl that won  winners dog, or bitch, and Best of opposite sex. So lets say a male won breed, opposite sex would be the best female, or vice verse if a female wins.  In order to become a Champion, you must win a total of 15 points with 2 majors. In order to achieve a major win , you must be able to beat say 10 other dogs at one time which may boost the points to a 3, 4 , or 5 point major. You need to do this 2 times under 2 different judges. There is a whole way the AKC calculate points by how may dogs where registered at shows in an area, for each breed. Once a dog accumulates its points, they are now titled Champion. Some dogs finish and that is the end of the animals breed ring career, they may move into performance events, like the one I described, as earth dog. Sometimes they go to Canada, or another country to get a international title. Then there are the unique specimens that breeders like to call Special Dogs. This means that there quality is so high they try and become some of the top rank dogs in  the country.  These dogs are your Best of breed dogs. Once you win the breed you move into the group. Westies are in the Terrier Group. So all the Best of Breed dogs. in each group compete for group 1, 2, 3 , and 4. Each First place dog in Each group then competes for Best in show. There are 7 groups all together. When crowned Best in show that means no dog was as good as yours on that day. He was the best of the best.

Most show people think that there dog should have one, Sometimes they even yell at the judge about it. I as a young girl used to cry and say, but my dog is better. The truth is when you enter the breed conformation ring, you are receiving the opinion of the judge, on that day. To make a scene over loosing is a waste of emotion. I learned this as I grew up that given the choice between the winner or my dog, I would still bring home my dog.  I learned that we as a group are on the same side, trying to better our breed.  I learned at the end of a day, each dog just wants to be loved and fed.  They are only interested in the owners that love them.  I learned that I may not like you, but should respect your efforts, because we are all trying.  When I hear someone knocking me,  or my dog, I just get truly disgusted. Now for tonight's story:

Justin , I have been told by many breeders, and also in my experiences as a breeder, is a special dog. I finished him with 4 major wins and he has several Best of Breeds, Group1 and group placements in puppy groups and as an adult. He has been nominated for grand Champion Status, so he is considered a select animal currently. After being at so many shows , having people telling me he should be in commercials,prompted me to enroll Justin in acting school. He has done his fair share of winning. Most people I have to thank in my breed for there kind words of support for my child. Yet there are always a few that have to try and bring you down. Word got back to me that I was exploiting my dog and would be responsible for all the homeless Westies that would be in the pounds. See they felt that if everyone saw Justin in the Martha Stewart line, everyone would want one and then dump the dog. How crazy is that statement. Lets break it down, A) The little Ceaser dog has been out for years, that has not happened yet. B) Westies have been used on so many boxes, ads, commercials over the years. Still has not happened yet.  What about all the other breeds that are used in ads, still a no.  Maybe those who say such nonsense should look into their own inventory. To blame one person for such a situation is really reaching at straws. Hence listen to Thumper, he makes lots of sense. Thank you and good night. 

your just a

Hi everyone, what I want to write about tonight, is not meant to sound like I am preaching, but it may. For this I am sorry. There is an old saying .You can please some people most of the time, but not all people all of the time. This is a true statement even for me. 90% of my clients love and have the up most respect for me. For this I love them, and appreciate them all the more.  I save all my Christmas and holiday cards for the thank you after thank you. Thank you for loving my dog, making her beautiful, words like happy and safe. Oh how I love that, because I am doing my job well and your pet is happy. I am here for your pet. For me the dog comes first, and sometimes even a bunny. Which I will get to in my story.  My shops reputation is my up most priority.  I was trying to find ways to promote my business, and was amazed to stumble across a testimonial about me. I started to cry. You can read it at Zoot Shoot photos, in the blog section. Its called my new fabulous groomer. There is a picture of her Sheltie there. I was amazed to see it, and her words warmed my heart. Then there is the 10 % that no matter how hard I try, they are never happy. The one thing I hear out of peoples mouths are your just a dog groomer. Like in someway I am less then human and beneath their feet. If I can ask anyone who reads this blog to think before those words ever slip out of the mouth, I would be happy. See I am not just a dog groomer. I am a college graduate in the field of Interior Design. I am an artist, I paint animals on furniture, and pretty well known amongst the dog world. I am a business owner, a wife, a sister and a daughter. So know a person before you try and be little them in a bout of anger for whatever the reason maybe. Thanks for reading, and now for my story.

I was getting ready to close, when a local pet shop, called the Pet Den called me about a seriously matted bunny, which was in desperate need of help. See the people bought the bunny from a different, pet shop, but came to the Pet Den for the bunnies needs. Like bedding and such. Maurice and Denise two of the nicest and most help full people in the business called me, " Deb, please you have to help this bunny, it's in real trouble." I agreed to take a look. Well the owners were frantic, because they bought the bunny, to rescue it. Seems the other store never brushed this longer haired type rabbit. I had to shave it my god. This poor thing was so scared, yet stayed so still, it was like it new I was trying to help it. I got the fur off thank god no stitches, I am happy to say the owners came in and told me the bunny was doing great gaining weight and finally eating. Yes the fur was coming back also. I every so often get asked now if I will groom rabbits. I say no mostly because of all the dogs, I don't want it to have a heart attack.

New Puppies

Hi everyone tonight's blog is going to be a short one. Last night I wrote about being a breeder. Well after I did my post, I received a phone call from a friend of mine, seems her Boxer went into labor. This was the first litter for both Lily and her owner Dawn. She asked for some assistance as she was nervous, and that is a normal fear. Whelping Westies is a lot different then Boxers. The bigger the dog, the bigger the mess. Oh, my God, the things I saw, at one point even I was scared  lol. Thank God my mid-wife instincts kicked in, and I was able to remain calm, and keep Dawn calm as well. I am happy to report that mom and pups are all doing fine. A total of 4 pups were born, 1 boy and 3 girls. I will keep everyone updated on the puppies progress.  Hopefully I can get to Dawns every so often, take some photos, and post them for everyone to see. That is my story for tonight. Good-night until tomorrow.

For the love of Puppies

I was 7 years old when my family acquired their first West Highland White Terrier. My grandpa was ill, and our dog Jeb, he was an Afghan Hound, was ill. Into our lives came Sport and Muffin. One dog was for us, the other was for grandpa. Well Grandpa asked dad to train Muffin, and when push came to shove Westie number 3 came into our lives, his name was Laddy. Muffin was what we called a back yard champion. He did everything right, until he was in a show ring. Sport his brother won lots of prizes. Animal right activist feel that Dog shows exploit animals, and there are no responsible breeders. That is a lie, dog shows exist because we the breeders show the best of our breeding programs in competition. This gives us a view of what is out there to breed to. This helps secure the survival of the pure bred dog. As far as breeding goes, by the time we pay vet bills, caring for the dog, entry fees, and travel expenses, trust me we are lucky if we break even. Most breeders have 1 to 3 litters a year tops. We monitor each potential puppy buyer, and tell them that if they can no longer keep the dog, call us and we will take them back. Over population in pounds is not due to show breeders, but more likely do to puppy mills. Ever dog deserves to live in a safe and happy environment. Every breed of dog has a rescue program that helps get pure bred dogs from harms way and into the arms of a family to love them. These rescue programs save the dog,and pay all vet expenses to make sure the dog is healthy enough so the human heart does not get broken. I feel that adopting a dog from a shelter is a wonderful thing, and should happen often. As a groomer, I told all shelters, anyone who adopts can come into my store for a discount on their first groom. The truth still remains that people like to own a certain type of breed, it fits their personality, and its what they are comfortable with. Just as mixed breeds, need to be in peoples lives, so do the pure bred dog. Dogs that have been pure for at times centuries should not disappear off of the face of the earth, due to an over population of pets. Having a pet is like having a child. When you bring one into your life, care for it, if for some reason you can not, find someone who can. Do not dump it in a pound, or abandon them on a street, They look to us for their lives. Don't ever let them down, Look at the picture, this is all done for the love of a puppy.                Now for our story:

We once had a dog named Velvet. She set a record with a litter of 13 puppies. It was truly amazing to see Velvet care for her crew. While the little ones slept, she would divide them into 2 rows. As one row slept, the others nursed, when she felt they ate enough, she rolled over, woke the others to eat. As they ate, mom cleaned babies from row one. When row two was done, cleaning was done on them. Around 5 weeks puppies start to eat, and poop and get around well on their own. We now like to see the humans and we jump up and down, with or with out poop around us. Problem two, just when you think the pen is clean, oh boy another one is pooping. See, they do not all poop at the same time. Oh the life of a breeder, Until tomorrow goodnight.

Ruff's Manor

Ruffs Manor


Ruffs Manor Dog Salon

Friday, September 10, 2010True Stories in the life of a dog Groomer

I guess the first thing I should do, is introduce myself, and tell you a little about me. My name is Debra,my mom and I own Ruffs Manor Grooming Salon in Commack NY. I own a West Highland White Terrier named Justin. I am married, with no children, not because I do not want any, my health is to complicated for pregnancy. I am ok with this, I have my puppy, and that is my child. As many of you who own pets know, they are members of your family, its no different for me.

In my blog, if anyone ever reads it, one never knows, I would like too share with you grooming experiences, breeding experiences, as well as experiences with Justin. I guess I will start here. Justin is in acting school, yes you read me correct, acting school. He has had 2 jobs so far. Justin's first job was as a model for Martha Stewart's pet line. He is the Westie they used, and he is in every Petsmart, all over the United States. I have been told, but have not seen him in her TV commercial. He is the little white dog in the bed and the other photo is of him surrounded by her toys. Here is a photo of him. His second job is a You-Tube commercial for Swanson. It will air at the end of October, beginning of November. The title is The Great Stuffing Debate, check it out. Justin is a finished Champion, with pointed Children, and a promising Dog Show career. I groom him, and show him myself.

He won our very first Futurity, and Sweepstakes against other dogs from around the country. As a champion several Best of Breeds ,Group 1,and Group placements.He is also starting a go to ground title. That is where a dog goes under a brush covered tunnel, and tracks the scents of RATS! Please do not worry about the rats, I promise they are safe lol. Accomplishing this title tells other breeders that the dog can do what it was bred to do, which is hunt rodents. That is the job of the Terrier Group. They are ratters lol.

Please take a minute to check out my web-page http://ruffsmanorgroomingsalon.webs.com/ or check us out on Facebook.

My first unbelievable, yet true story:

I had just opened my dog grooming shop, and a man came in with a very severely mated Maltese. I am telling you even the eyes were ,mated shut. This was really sad. The owner then tells me that the dog lost his rear leg. I asked," Did you take him to the vet?" he replied, and I am serious," no" I asked ,"Why not" he responded " It wasn't bleeding". I just shook my head in disbelief. As I started to shave the dog, I found the leg which was mated up along side the body, It must have been like that for a while as, it was atrophy and shacking as I released it. I called the Human Society, but they responded he did right by getting the dog groomed. It needed to be called in prior to that. So my friends if you see a animal in distress call.

Matted dogs

Sorry this is so late, but its been one of those days. Tonight I would like to talk about brushing and combing your pets. There are 2 reasons I am writing about this now. 1 It works along well with last nights story, and 2 leads well into tonight's story. Brushing and combing is critical in the prevention of your pet becoming mated. I am not talking the mat here or knot there. I am talking about the indestructible chain that forms when those mats decide to link together. As you can see from the photos below:

Yes this rug is the fur of a Maltese. There are several reasons things like this happen. One the owner washed a dog that was mated. Then allowed it to roll on carpet to dry. Understand that static is in the rug, and builds into the coat of the animal. Remember the little shock you get when you walk on a rug with socks? Another skin and coat killer, dogs swimming in pools filled with chlorine. Much of this could be avoided with regular grooming, and using a brush and comb at home. In the case of the dog above, we get groomed once a year. I understand that sometimes, people who are new owners don't realize things like this happen. When a groomer tells you the dog needs to be shaved, at this point accept it. Please don't say things like I don't want it shaved. It is cruel to yank on a dogs skin when its mated. I for one will not do it. I say things like, god doesn't groom dogs, and I don't do miracles. Another saying is Harry Potters wand is not here today, sorry. Most of the time we all chuckle and off comes the hair. It's the repeat offenders that get me. Which leads me to a thought, do your homework before you purchase a pet. If you can not manage lots of hair get a pet like a Pug. So I become the dogs voice, because grooming once a year is cruel. So here is what I may say to them. I want you to understand what is going on with your dog, here is where we are. Go home, do not shower, or wash your hair. You can not brush or comb your hair, but you can scratch it all you want. Then for an added bonus, roll in the dirt, pee and poop in it. Then in 6 months go to your hairdresser and see what they tell you. Sounds bad double it, and we have your dog.

Now for tonight's story:

I was friendly with a local groomer who now has moved out of state. She groomed in a shop that was a pet/aquarium store. I bought lots of fish there. I went back to see her and saw what looked like an animal, resting in a cage. It looked like it had died to me, so I pointed it out to her. When she reached in and grabbed the animal, I was amazed to see it was hollow. Just a shell of fur, that could stand on its own. To the left was the cat it was pealed off from. Seems the owner thought that the cat had a fungus, and decided to give it a bath in Lystol. Thank god the cat was alive, and yes its a true story.Good night until tomorrow.