Spring 2022 Newsletter

House training

Welcome to the world of consistency, patience, attention, and understanding. House training can be very trying while making a bond with your new puppy.

Understanding is so important for this task. We need to see the world from your puppy’s point of view. They don’t understand that your floors aren’t used for relieving oneself. If you catch your puppy in the act of urinating or defecating inside you simply say “No”, immediately take your puppy outside, and wait 10-15 minutes to see if they will go again. If your puppy goes potty while outside, then praise them right away and return to the house. If you don’t catch them having the accident, you will just need to pick up the mess and continue with your day.

This leads us into attention. We must pay close attention to our puppies. Just like toddlers if you turn your back for 2 seconds, they find trouble. When we don’t pay attention to them, they will go potty wherever they choose. By missing the accident, you lose the chance to train your puppy and it will set you back in your progress. If you can’t pay attention 100% of the time, we recommend you either crate train your puppy or use a leash to tether them to you so you can watch for their cues that they need to go outside.

Patience is virtue. We must always have patience. Puppies learn with smell, touch, taste, and hearing, just like humans. If you get upset and yell or rub their nose in their mess your puppy will react to your response and not understand that the accident was the cause. They don’t learn this way. They learn by praising all the “Yes” behavior. Remember by using positive reinforcement while training, you strengthen the human animal bond with your puppy.

Consistency is the last but most important part of house breaking. Always use the same door to potty every time. If you have multiple dogs in your house, we suggest you take your puppy out first, make sure they go potty, and praise them. Then you can let all the dogs outside together. If you let them out together the puppy will just play and forget to go potty, then will come inside and potty in the house. Using keywords, like “go potty” or “let’s go”, each time your puppy goes outside helps as well. But be sure you are always using the same keywords.

If you try these tips and are still having house training problems, contact us with any questions.

• Erica Suarez, LVT

Office Hours*

M,W,F                 9-6

T,Th                    9-8

*Please Remember: In January we started closing from 2pm-3pm the last Tuesday of every month, for staff training and continuing education.

Backyard Chickens: A Beginners Guide

So, you’d like to raise your own chickens? Be sure you’re ready to commit! There’s a lot to like about raising your own chickens. The eggs are tastier and fresher than any store-bought eggs. The shells and feces can be tossed right into the compost pile. Plus, they mitigate the number of insects on your property.

First, check with local town ordinances to ensure housing chickens is legal at your home. They can be noisy and may bother neighbors nearby. Second, find a reliable distributor. Many people around here acquire theirs from private breeders or Tractor Supply Company. I got mine from Eaton Farm Bureau and was very happy with the quality of care received. Next, build or purchase housing. I purchased mine from Family Farm and Home. Around the large coop, we built a lean-to and fenced in a large area for them to forage and acquire exercise.

Chickens will need a life stage appropriate commercial diet and fresh water daily. I give my (now adult chickens) many treats: bread, corn, meal worms, fruit, leftover trimmings from vegetables after preparing dinner, yogurt, cottage cheese, the pumpkin scraps after carving jack-o-lanterns for Halloween, etc. Some tips to keep in mind when raising chicks include:

• Always use red bulbs in the enclosure; injury doesn’t show under red light. Under white light, any bloody spot immediately attracts pecking.
• Block corners of the pen with cardboard to make wider angles that are harder for chicks to pack up in. You could also make a circular or octagon-shaped pen.
• Attempt to keep the coop at 92 degrees when first bringing home day old chicks. When the chicks have feathered out, reduce the temperature by 5°F per week until they are 6 weeks old to acclimate them to the weather.

    Feel free to contact us or schedule an appointment if you have any questions regarding your own backyard chickens.

- Dr. Hailee Cotter

Employee Spotlight:

Camila Eldridge:

We are so excited to introduce you to the newest addition to the Caring Animal Hospital staff, Paige’s baby, Camila. She was born a month early on January 16^th with a full head of hair! She is adorable and perfect in every way.

Please note the following changes to our regular business hours:

4/29/22 we will be closing at 5:00 pm for the Capital Area Humane Society Fur Ball

5/13/22 – 5/16/22 tentatively scheduled to be closed to move our equipment into the expansion