pet care

10 Ways To Protect Your Dog This Summer

By Nomi Berger According to the calendar, it’s officially summer! And with the hot days comes hot dogs. Imagine yourself on a sweltering, summer day wearing a full-length fur coat. Are you hot? Itchy? Thirsty? Are you anxiously looking around for shade? Now imagine dogs outside on the same sweltering day. And you’ll have some idea of how THEY feel. Protecting your own dog

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The Value of a Microchip

On a cold Saturday morning in December, two TAGS volunteers, Ashley Farrugia and Shelley Willis, were on their way to a Christmas craft market. They managed to get lost along the way and decided to stop at a gas station for directions.As they were heading back to the highway, a car pulled over, the door opened, and a beagle popped out. As fast as

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Helping Rescue Dogs Get Adopted in PetSmart

The Animal Guardian Society is a small rescue. We do not own a shelter or a wellness centre (however, it is one of our long-term goals). Therefore, if we want to keep in contact with the public or showcase our dogs, we can do so only through PetSmart (or Pet Valu, which recently became part of our weekend schedule). PetSmart volunteers at the Whitby

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How to Deal With Separation Anxiety in Pets

Many owners face a pet’s separation anxiety at one point, especially if their beloved pet is a rescue dog. Our pets become anxious because they don’t understand why we can’t just stay and play with them all day instead of going to work. Source: quickmeme.com Source: The Animal Guardian Society’s website. Symptoms of Separation Anxiety: Whining, howling, barking Destructive chewing Urinating or defecating in

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How to Prepare Your Dog for the Fireworks

This article originally appeared in our official newsletter for the month of May. To get more informative articles and sweet tales from the life of a rescue group, sign up for our newsletter today! Caution: Seasonal Noise Ahead The arrival of hot weather and national holidays (like Victoria Day) aren’t always reasons to celebrate. Especially for noise-phobic dogs. For them, hot weather means thunderstorms.

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Tips for Dealing With Aggressive Eaters

When a dog is considered to be an aggressive eater, people can have a few different understandings. Dog food aggression refers to a dog’s behaving in a dominant way around his or her food. Dogs who have dog food aggression typically snarl, bark or otherwise make it known to humans and other dogs that the food is theirs—and everyone else needs to back off. This

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Why Spay or Neuter

Source: CSRA Humane Society Neutering refers to the removal of an animal’s reproductive organs and is a term used in reference to males, whereas spaying is used in reference to females. Why Spay or Neuter? Since TAGS is a rescue, most of the dogs and cats in our program have come from shelters. Shelters are brimming with unwanted dogs and cats—and to my surprise, many

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How to Start Fostering with TAGS: FAQ

Are you considering fostering but don’t know where to start? TAGS volunteers and foster parents are ready to help you set up for your first experience saving a dog’s (or cat’s) life! How do I know if I qualify to be a foster parent? Do you love pets? Do you have a house or an apartment with enough space in it? Do you have

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Dear TAGS: What’s the best method against pulling?

Hilary asked: I have had a few people recommend a certain way of putting on our dog’s leash to reduce his pulling. Basically it’s as follows: run the leash along the dog’s back to its hips; wrap the leash around the dog’s waist under its belly and loop the leash through itself to make a slip tie (it has a special name but I

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