Comments Off on Pet Sitter Summer Safety Tips
14 Jun 11

by Robyn Elman, In Home Pet Services, Inc.

Pet Sitter Summer Safety Tips

Pet Sitters and dog walkers typically enjoy the warmer weather that spring and summer bring, and this is especially true this year, after a harsh, cold, snowy winter that seemed like it would never end. New York is definitely a place with extreme temperatures on either side of the mercury, and this spring has already seen temperatures reaching above 95 degrees.

On these extreme days with high heat and humidity, it’s important to make some changes in your pet’s daily routine with your pet sitter. For example, if you’re high energy dog usually gets an hour walk or run at the dog park, consider splitting the visit between inside and outside time, allowing your pet, and walker, to cool down from the heat. Keep a doggie water bottle next to the leash for your walker to take with them on the walk, and feel free to leave a bottle for the human as well.

Consider leaving the air conditioner on for your pet during the day, which your sitter will also surely enjoy after being in the heat all day. It’s also important to leave instructions on how to use an air conditioner in your house or apartment, and what settings you prefer. You should leave it up to your sitter’s discretion if the air needs to be left on for your pet.

If you are leaving for vacation, keep an eye on the expected weather for the day. Just because it’s a nice cool morning, doesn’t mean you can leave your pets outside until the sitter comes for the next visit. (Also note that NYS law requires any pet left outside to have proper shelter, fresh water and in some areas cannot be tied up for more than 3 hours at a time). Several years ago, on a particularly humid day, I was informed that the client left her dogs (English & French Bulldogs) in an outside enclosure, and I would find them there when I arrived for the first visit of a pet sitting that I was doing for the week. When I arrived, I was horrified to see that one the English bulldogs lying down, not moving, and upon closer examination not breathing either. He had died from heatstroke. This case was also the impetus for me becoming a Pet First Aid & CPR instructor so I could help teach people how to prevent death and injury to their pets. After all, preventable accidents are the leading cause of death in pre-senior dogs and cats, and this was certainly one of those cases.

If you hire a sitter to care for your dog on the 4th of July, let them know how your pet may react to the loud noises, or where they may be hiding in the house. Limit the amount of time they stay outside, and allow your sitter to turn the radio or television on for your pet if they feel it will help. Keep a leash handy also if the dog is normally just let in the yard by your sitter – leashing the dog during a time of year that fireworks may be occurring nearby is a safety precaution. Some dogs can be so terrified they will find anyway to get out of the yard and run for cover – simply having the sitter leash the dog and “walk” him in the yard will really help the dog from bolting.

Keeping your pet sitter in mind, as well as your pet, can make for a happy, healthy, and safer summer for all. Enjoy the season!

Comments Off on Pups with Purple Hearts
11 May 11

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

On Saturday, May 7th, hundreds of people and their four legged friends gathered at Four Towns Firefighters Training Center in Merrick to support the Merrick Lions Club 2nd Annual Purple Hearts Pups  “Just for Fun” Dog Show event.  On the gorgeous spring day, families and dog lovers united for this one great cause all while having a lot of dog gone fun.

Purple Hearts Pup became a reality through the Merrick Lions Club.  As a new club starting out two years ago they were looking for a cause to support and get behind to be an integral part of the community and keep members involved.  Lisa Siano who is the chair of the event, felt that something needed to be done for the Veterans because her twin sister, Toni Pincus, is a puppy raiser with the Guide Foundation in Smithtown. Toni’s first puppy, Raleigh, was giving to Walter Reade Army hospital to work in the Physical Therapy department with the amputee’s coming home from the war.  The merging of the two gave birth to the idea of a fundraising event called “Purple Heart Pups.” The Merrick Lions quickly became a 501(c) (3) organization, and their effort to raise money for disabled veterans continues through various activities in addition to Saturday’s event.  “I got involved with the Club simply because two people who I knew asked me. When I first heard about the PHP, I knew despite anyone’s politics on the war, we have to support those who protect us,” said Audrey Shapiro a Merrick Lions Club member and volunteer for the event.

Purple Heart Pups was created to seek to aid disabled and amputee veterans by providing financial support to America’s VetDogs and the National Amputee Foundation.

Check out all the pictures from the days event below taken by Ben Whalen and Nancy Hassel.

Comments Off on LI’s Dog Friendly Mountain Climb
30 Apr 11

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Recently we hiked a trail in Manorville, Manorville Hills County Park, which is dog friendly and also has horse trails and mountain bike trails.  This path system is a relatively new addition to the Greenbelt Trail for hikers on LI.  I know what you’re thinking if you are reading this living in Nassau County – Manorville, you’re either saying, “where is that?” or “I am not driving all the way out there!”  First I would say, when you’re on this trail, you really can’t believe you’re still on Long Island – this has to be one of the hilliest trails around – boasting a 150-foot high elevation, (that’s 15 stories high folks), throughout the majority of this 6.5-mile hike we were climbing up some serious hills.  It is well worth the drive whether your 20 minutes away or and hour and 20 minutes away.  When you are at the top of the highest elevation – it’s just beautiful.

The hike will take you approximately 2 hours 15 minutes.  If you do bring your dog be sure you dog is up to a hiking a trail like this.  My dog, who is used to being walked 3 or 4 miles and going on hikes, was pretty tired ¾ of the way through, and was wiped the rest of the day! (But he was all ready for another walk the next day – damn good for an almost 10 year old dog!).

Also since this trail is right smack dab in the middle of the beautiful Pine Barren Region – make sure you wear long pants (covering your hiking boots or sneakers) and spray your pants with bug spray.  This is tick season (all over LI) and I did have to stop a few times to knock ticks of the dog – yuck, (the natural bug spray from Fetch Doggies Boutique I used on him worked pretty well), but the trails are wide enough for the most part that your not walking through brush.  Unfortunately, ticks are par for the course on any and most hikes, parks and even your own well landscaped back yard here on LI.  Be sure to check your dog thoroughly a few times during and after any hike – or even after he comes in from your own yard.

So if you are taking part of the 250-Challenge this will be a great hike to add into your challenge, knock out 6.5-miles, and have a great workout climbing those Long Island mountains! The pictures below don’t do justice to how steep some parts were.

We followed the yellow marked trail from the parking area (square yellow marks on sprayed onto trees) to the orange marked trees all the way through, (turned yellow again about ¾ way through, then back to orange) and this is a loop that will bring you back to the parking area.  We did this without a map of the trail!  However you can purchase a map from the LI Greenbelt and get directions to the park which is off of Country Road 111 (on the north bound side).

We didn’t see too much wildlife during the hike, to my surprise, some birds and a nuclear green colored bug, small lavender colored moths fluttering about, and on our way out a family of deer.

Max taking a rest during hike!

Comments Off on Dog Days at the Mansion
18 Apr 11

Dog Days at the Mansion ...

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Dog Days at the Mansion

This past weekend at Old Westbury Gardens, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, dog owners and their dogs flocked to the majestic grounds and estate for the bi-annual “Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens.”  The beautifully landscaped grounds, all 200 acres, were bursting with spring daffodils, tulips, buttercups and wagging tails.  The first day of the weekend wasn’t too nice but still did draw many people, but Sunday was the day to go.  A bit windy in some spots, the air was filled with laughter, some barking in the background and lots of smiling faces at all the cute dogs.  Some areas of the grounds were off limits to dogs, but the majority of the gardens were open.  The estate was packed with people and their dogs sitting and walking around enjoying the day and the camaraderie only a dog owner could understand.  From the tiniest Pomeranian to a huge Great Dane – there were dogs of all shapes and sizes in attendance.  If you missed it, don’t worry, you will get a chance again in the fall.

Check out our slide show below this picture, and see if your pup is in there!

Daisey, Photo by: R. Hassel

Comments Off on Hiking with your dog, Blydenburgh
14 Apr 11

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Hiking with your dog, Blydenburgh

The next park in our series of dog friendly parks throughout LI, as part of the 250 Challenge, we bring you Blydenburgh County Park in Hauppauge.  While many people may have heard of this park or past by it on their way to Suffolk County office buildings – most have yet to venture into the park itself.  This is one of my favorite places to take my dog for a good 6 – 7-mile hike through the woods.  The full hike around Stump Pond takes about 2 or 2.5 hours depending on which path you take and where you entered the park.  There are skinny, very hilly trails right along side the “pond” for a large part of the hike or a wider less hilly trail that is quite sandy due to the horses that frequent the park on a daily basis. Long Island is still horse country, if you didn’t know!   Recently we hiked there on a busy Saturday and I think we passed maybe 3 or 4 other people with dogs, on leashes, at most.  The reason the trails are not over run with dogs, like some of the other Suffolk County Parks is because of the large enclosed dog run that is there.

A few years ago the Long Island Dog Owners Group (LI-Dog) lobbied to get more dog runs built on Suffolk County land, and one of those great dog runs is located right inside of Blydenburgh Park.  In my opinion this has made a huge difference of a lot less off leash dogs running in the trails (and safer for horses, hikers and dog walkers alike).  Now the vast majority of people that want their dogs to run off leash go into the dog run.  It is a nice size too and there is a large dog and small dog area separated by fences.  There is also a water pump near by and open bathrooms too.  (The bathrooms by the row boats are not open until Memorial Day weekend I believe).  I was pleasantly surprised to learn from many dog owners at the dog run that they have had really nice experiences, and come back often to it.  When I stopped by there must have been like 50+ dogs in there, but it’s large enough that there is plenty of room for the dogs to run around and it didn’t look crowded.  (As a quick tip, you should always watch your dog’s body language and make sure he is having fun and not feeling overwhelmed by other dogs in the dog run.)

So if you are looking for a gem of a place to hike with your dog or to meet other dog owners Blydenburgh is the spot – centrally located on Long Island and very easy to get to. Why not try a different park to walk your dog, he will thank you!  You should bring with you water for you and your dog while hiking and be sure to check for ticks afterwards.  For directions and more information about Blydenburgh click here.  See below for pictures.

Max is a veteran hiker at Blydenburgh - on one of the many little bridges on the trail.

Horses walking by the Grist Mill.

Dog run

Coco enjoying her first hike at Blydenburgh