Weekly Local Dog Events & Subaru Dog Approved Video!

Photo by Carly Mackler on Unsplash

It's already the last week of February, time flies when you're out having fun with your pup! There is another hot week ahead of us, so make sure to keep your best furry friend hydrated when out and about at this weeks local events. For more details please visit San Diego Happy Dogs.

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Adoption Events: Here's are some wonderful opportunities if you've been thinking about adding a fabulous furry friend to your family

• Every Saturday: Baja Rescue: 9 am – 2 pm; 3495 Sports Arena Boulevard, SD

• Every Saturday Labs and More Adoption Event: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm; Road Runner Sports San Diego, 5553 Copley Dr, San Diego

Photo by Mia Anderson on Unsplash

Meet Ups  and Social: Here's another great week of opportunities for your pup and you to get out and meet some new friends!

• 2/26: Doggie Cafe: 6 – 8 pm; Humane Society and SPCA at 5500 Gaines Street, San Diego 92110

• 2/27-28: Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show; Del Mar Fairgrounds

• Every Wednesday: Mission Valley Dog Meet Up: 10 – 11 am; Mission Valley Off Leash Civita Dog Park 2355 Via Alta, SD

• Every Wednesday: Yappy Hour: 5 – 8 pm; Savoie Eatery 2015 Birch Rd, Ste 720, Chula Vista!

Who Are my Local Veterinarians in Pacific Beach? We get to know Dr. Reed of Turquoise Animal Hospital

                                                                  Dr Reed and adorable ferret Zaya!

Dr Melissa Reed has been in the veterinary field for 17 years. She grew up in San Diego and for 12 years she very much enjoyed being a vet technician. At the age of 27 she decided to go to school at the University of West Indies in Trinidad to become a veterinarian. She’s now been an official vet for 5 years. Just by looking at Melissa you would never guess she has her 17 years in the field as she looks refreshingly young and has a very light, and easily likable spirit about her. Having a fresh face isn’t always the easiest when your younger when it was impossible to get in anywhere, however to quote Doctor Reed, “ Well I’ll be cute when I’m 80!” And we absolutely agree although we’re pretty positive she’s been cute all her life. Here’s more from the Doctor!

What  are the top 3 questions to ask when deciding on a Veterinarian?

“If they are AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association,) accredited that’s really a good sign, and there’s a website. Say your moving into a town where you don’t know anybody you can always go on the website and see which hospitals are accredited. This just means you adhere to stricter guidelines, then you have to. You certainly can ask for referrals and talk to your neighbors to see who they use. Also, if they are close to your house I think that’s another benefit. If you have an emergency you want to be able to get there quick.”

What’s the most common question you receive from an animal’s owner?

“People really want to know if their animal is normal, whatever they’re doing. Sometimes animals make these weird reverse sneezing noises and puppies get the hiccups. Puppies and kittens also lose their baby teeth. People don’t realize that and they find a tooth on the carpet and they are really alarmed. People just really want to know if things are normal or not.”

What is the most common reason an animal comes to see you?

“Most the time it’s wellness visits. We make sure they are up to date on their vaccines, check their poop once a year, do heart worm testing, and with senior pets test their blood and urine. Mostly wellness I would say.”

What is your favorite breed of dog and why?

“I’d have to go with mutts. We get all these fun little french bull dogs, and really cute adorable little pure breed dogs. They tend to have more health issues then some of the mutts. And I just think it’s so cute all the Heinz 57 dogs, all the different shapes and configurations you see. They tend to be healthier dogs.”

How often should you bathe your dog?

“It depends on the dog, if the dog is going out and getting really dirty all the time monthly is a good rule of thumb to start at. It’s not going to strip all the oils and everything that are important for their coat. Certainly if you have a short hair dog that tends to stay clean you don’t have to bathe them that often. Also, some dogs are very clean, and some dogs have terrible allergies. Sometimes when they are having a really bad outbreak we will have people bathe them a couple times a week or weekly. This just gets all the pollen off of them and their skin so their comfortable.

What is your number one piece of advice to give a client when getting a brand new puppy?

“Brush their teeth. Start brushing their teeth early and get them use to it.  You should really just be brushing their teeth along the upper gum line. I think the little pet tooth pastes are nice fun flavors for dogs, and just starting slow is a good tip. We have a whole little “30 Days to Brushing Your Dogs Teeth” guide that we give to people. They just start with giving them a treat, sitting them down, and making it part of the routine. This eases them into things. You should have them lick the tooth paste,and then have them play with the tooth brush. We have the whole step by step guide, it should definitely be fun experience. If it’s not fun for the puppy they will not want to do it and if it’s stressful for the people, we don’t want to do that to our puppy. You should brush their teeth everyday but only for about 10 seconds. It should be real fast, people have more trouble remembering to brush their dogs teeth, then actually doing it.” 

Thank you to Dr Reed, Zaya (pictured above) and the fantastic team at Turquoise Animal for participating in this week's Zen Veterinarian blog feature!

Zen Dog Spotlight: Charlie

Hooray for another Zen Dog Spotlight! This week we are delighted to introduce you to adorable and always entertaining yorkiepoo, Charlie!  We absolutely love hanging out and visiting Charlie when his mum and dad are at work. He's been featured in Merry Christmas from DogZenergy and  Zen Dog's New Year Resolutions, along with his adorable mug on our social media! Charlie is such a little love  who absolutely loves to cuddle up with you and will literally be your shadow. He adores his early afternoon walks with awesome DogZenergy team member, Tristan and continues to make friends wherever he goes. Here's Charlie! 

State your full name and let us know a bit about your background.

"Hi there!  I’m Charlie Brown Bensley.  I’ve just recently moved to San Diego from New York City and boy was that a trip!  My parents sure do love to sing in the car.  #mypoorears "

What’s your favorite toy and why?

"My purple toy is by far my favorite.  When I bat it around and tip it over, treats come out!  It’s a never-ending source of joy."

What does your typical day consist of, and what would your ideal day include?

"Sleeping is my favorite and I do as much of it as I can.  In the afternoons my friend, Tristan from DogZenergy, comes to visit and we take nice long walks outside.  I love the smelling all the smells.  On the weekends I try to tag along with my peoples to explore new beaches, parks and restaurants.  Any time with my peoples is a happy time for me.  My ideal day would involve endless belly rubs and a bottomless bucket of liver treats."

 Who is your best friend and how did you meet?

"My best friend is one of my peoples, Ryan.  He moved to the US from Australia and calls me, “Mate”.  He was slow to warm up to me as he had only been around farm dogs, but I won him over!  We have a special game we play together called “Huff & Puff”.  It’s my favorite." 

 What is the one question you wish your human would stop asking you, and the one question you wish your human would never stop asking you?

"Ugh, stop asking me if I ate my breakfast!  I’ll eat it when I’m good and ready.  Just because I have a bit of class and don’t inhale my meals… Geesh." But please never stop asking if I want a cookie.  YES, I always want cookies.  Please and thank you."

 If you were going to win an award at the "Oscar Pet Awards" would you want to win it for  1.) Cuteness 2.) Heroism/Courage 3.) Sassiness 4) Loyalty 5) Fashionista.  Give us a quick example/story of why we should pick you!

"I’ve been dabbling in the arts for some time.  Check out my acting/modeling on Instagram @mycharliechannel I’d be grateful for any award I receive and have already been practicing on the red carpet. "

 Any other insight you would like us to know?

"When I was a puppy I was afraid of fire hydrants.  Especially the yellow ones.  But now… They’re afraid of me!  And sometimes when I play fetch, I get SO excited about the game that I forget to bring back the toy.  But that’s okay, it give me a reason to run some more!  #secondtimesacharm "

Thank you to Charlie, his mate Ryan and momma Tracy,  for participating in this week's Zen Dog Spotlight!

Thoughts of a Zen Dog: Jax

Dog Bloopers!

We all love when our dogs behave but they always can give us a good laugh when they don't!