Celebrate Active Dog Month with us! Sign Up Your Pup for Daily Adventures!

Welcome to April, aptly deemed "Active Dog Month”, where we celebrate the boundless energy and joyful spirit of our furry friends! As the days grow longer and the weather warms up, it's the perfect time to get your dog moving and grooving with daily adventures. And what better way to do that than by signing up with to be a member of our VIP #VLPgang?

Here at Viva La Pet, we understand the importance of keeping your dog active and happy. Dogs are not just pets; they are beloved members of our families who deserve the best care and attention. That's why your dogs have been our forefront since 2004! We’re dedicated to providing top-notch dog walking services that cater to your dog's unique needs and preferences which helps to keep them healthy and thriving in countless ways.

Why should you consider daily dog walking for your furry companion? Let's dive into the benefits:

Physical Exercise: Just like humans, dogs need regular exercise to stay healthy and fit. Daily walks help them burn off excess energy, maintain a healthy weight, and improve cardiovascular health.

Mental Stimulation: A variety of sights, sounds, and smells during walks can stimulate your dog's mind and prevent boredom. This mental stimulation is crucial for their overall well-being and can reduce destructive behaviors at home.

Socialization Opportunities: Dog walks provide valuable socialization opportunities with the world outside of their yard, humans and the environment. It helps in building your dog's confidence, reducing anxiety, and promoting positive behavior around others.

Bonding Time: Daily walks strengthen the bond between human and dog. It's a special time for quality interactions, training reinforcement, and mutual enjoyment of the outdoors.

Health Monitoring: Our experienced dog walkers keep an eye on your dog's health during walks. Any unusual behaviors, limping, or signs of discomfort are noted and communicated to you promptly.

By signing up as a Viva La Pet VIP member, you're not just ensuring your dog gets the exercise they need—you're also investing in their overall well-being and happiness. Our team is passionate about dogs and treats every furry client with love, care, and respect.

How can you get started?

It's simple:Visit our website or give us a call to learn more about our variety of dog walking services.

Watch your dog thrive with daily adventures, exercise, and companionship!

This “Active Dog Month”, let's make a commitment to keep our dogs healthy, happy, and active. Join us in celebrating the joy of dog walking and give your furry friend the gift of daily adventures they deserve! Viva La Pet is here to make every step of your dog's journey a tail-wagging success. Sign up today and let the adventures begin!

All Natural Flea & Tick Preventatives

With the recent circulating article regarding a popular flea and tick collar causing over 1,000 pet deaths, we’ve decided to do a round up of our favorite natural flea and tick products. Just in time for Spring!

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Please note, we cannot attest to these working 100% of the time and we ALWAYS suggest you give your pets a once over to check for ticks and fleas after spending time outdoors.

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Our two personal favorites:

Bug Zone (formally known as Shoo Tags)

https://0bugzone.com 

These are tags with a magnetic strip that create a bug barrier for up to three months. The science behind this is quantum physics-based. We have tried these and they really work! They are 100% chemical-free.

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Wondercide

https://www.wondercide.com/collections/dogs-flea-tick-spray

These are sprays made with all-natural and plant-based ingredients. We personally love the rosemary flea and tick spray. Wondercide also offers a spray for your yard, which we have also used and given a thumbs up. 

Natural products we have not tried:

Kin & Kind

Another spray made with all natural ingredients. 

https://kin-kind.com/collections/flea-tick-prevention-treatment

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Natural Chemistry

A powder you can put directly onto your dog’s fur.

https://miraclecorp.com/collections/natural-chemistry/products/deflea-dog-powder

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Only Natural Pet

A natural flea and tick collar.

https://www.onlynaturalpet.com/collections/flea-tick-control-for-dogs/products/only-natural-pet-easydefense-non-toxic-flea-tick-collar-for-dogs?variant=29918847893568

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As always, be sure to read all instructions and safety guidelines for any products you will use on your pets. Check for age requirements and any usage restrictions. Last, never combine multiple flea and tick products on one animal.

Pet Obesity Awareness Day

Take a moment and look at your pet. Do they have a waist? Compare them to a photo from January of last year… Does it look like they’ve packed on some “covid LB’s”?

Since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, Viva La Pet, like many business, took a huge hit. Six months and some weeks into the pandemic, as businesses reopen, we at VLP are still experiencing hard times. With most of our clientele working from home, our daily walk services have dropped by a number that’s a bit too daunting to type out and publish in a blog post.

As people begin to venture out a bit more, we have gotten calls from those in our beloved #VLPfam to visit some pets we haven’t seen in months. We’ve been ecstatic to see those wagging tales again! But, (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) we’ve noticed a little change in some pets… their weight.

October 14th is Pet Obesity Awareness Day, so this is a great time to address the “number one health threat that pets face”. We know all pet owners want to provide their pets with their best life, especially our #VLPfam. We’re also learning that working from home doesn't always allow us to give our dogs the 30-120 minutes of daily exercise they require or provide our cats with the 20-60 minutes of daily exercise they need.

Viva La Pet is here to ensure your pets are living their best lives. Contact us today for a customizable exercise visit. We guarantee, with a regular schedule of exercise visits from us, your pets will lose that extra weight and gain more happy years with you.

Help! My Dog is Destroying My Home!

Sooner or later most dog owners will return home and find something ruined by their beloved pooch. Here is what you need to know: chewing is a natural behavior for puppies and dogs. It helps relieve teething pain in puppies, it's how Fido explores his environment (he doesn't have hands after all), it's a lot of fun, and it keeps their teeth healthy. Your dog needs to chew; it's up to you to teach them the difference between good chewing and bad chewing.

First, you need to figure out why your dog is chewing. Are they lonely, under-exercised, teething, or have separation anxiety? Knowing why will help you figure out how to stop it.

Here are some places to start:

Every dog, regardless of their age, needs toys. A lot of toys and with great variety. Be sure the toys don't look like household items. Buying a puppy a toy that looks like a shoe (and they are out there) and then being angry when the pup chews a real shoe is your fault. Get puzzle toys, chew toys, soft toys, Kongs, balls, and tug toys. However, if there are tons of toys lying around, they may get bored with them. Take all away except 3 or 4 and rotate them out every few days to keep life interesting. Be sure they are size appropriate and if your dog is a strong chewer that they are tough toys to withstand their chompers.

If your pooch is a chewer, you'll need to chew-proof your home. Put shoes away, put books on a shelf, don't leave your eyeglasses on the coffee table, and tuck electrical cords behind furniture. When your dog picks something inappropriate to chew, don't punish them, instead redirect your best friend to a toy they can chew. Some people say "no" or make a buzzer sound like "ehh" to tell their dog he has chewed the wrong thing. This is a good strategy as long as you give your pooch something acceptable to chew and say "good dog" when they chew that toy. If you're consistent, it won't take long for Fido to get the hang of the rules. You might want to try a taste deterrent like Bitter Apple to help him learn. When you can't supervise your chewer, put them in a crate or a gated safe room, so they don't get into trouble.

Other things that help with chewing: plenty of mental and physical exercise, a lot of people time, and playtime with other dogs. Another strategy is to feed them their meals in puzzle type toys because this builds a toy obsession, so hopefully, they choose the toy over your new leather purse.

If your dog has other reasons for chewing, like separation anxiety, fear, or boredom, you will have to solve those issues to resolve the chewing problem. It might be best to talk to your vet, a trainer, or a dog behaviorist to come up with strategies to combat inappropriate chewing. We are happy to help with underexercised or bored dogs!

Keeping your stuff safe is just a matter of teaching your pooch good habits, and doing this will strengthen your bond with your dog.