Green Acres Kennel Shop

Are you thinking about adding a dog, cat, puppy or kitten to your family? If this is your first pet or 50th, tune into The Woof Meow Show on Sunday May 3rd for part 2 of our series on what to consider when adding a pet to your life. The Woof Meow Show is on every Sunday at 8:30PM on WVOM 103.9 and WVQM 101.3FM.

The April 2009 edition of the Green Acres Kennel Shop newsletter is now available on-line at the following locations: http://www.greenacreskennel.com/ga_blog_pdfs/April_2009_Newsletter_for_Web.pdf OR http://preview.tinyurl.com/c9ht44

Are you thinking about adding a dog, cat, puppy or kitten to your family? If this is your first pet or 50th, tune into The Woof Meow Show on Sunday April 26th when Kate and I will be discussing things to consider before adopting a pet. We'll offer tips on making the best decision so that you and your new pet are best friends for life. The Woof Meow Show is on every Sunday at 8:30PM on WVOM 103.9 and WVQM 101.3FM.

A well groomed pet not only looks and smells better, but is also more comfortable and healthy. On Saturday, May 30th our groomers, Shannan and Rachel, will be conducting a series of five 45 minute seminars to teach you how to keep your pet feeling their best between professional grooming appointments. They will demonstrate a variety of grooming tools and their proper use, as well as assist you in selecting the correct tools for your pet. The seminars will be broken down by coat-type as noted below. Limited space is available, so we suggest you call us at 945-6841 and reserve a spot today. Sorry, these seminars are for people only, please leave your pet at home. 9AM - Poodles (Toy to Standard) 10AM - Toy & Small Breeds (Shih Tzu, Maltese, Pekinese, Bichon Frise, Yorkie, etc.) 11AM - Double-Coated Breeds (Husky, German Shepherd, Newfoundland, Keeshond, etc.) 3PM - Terriers (Schnauzer, Cairn, Westie, Airedale, etc.) 4PM - Sporting Breeds (Retrievers, Setters, Spaniels, etc.)

If your dog has had an altercation with a skunk, the first thing you need to do is to check for injuries. Make sure there are no bites or scratches. If there is any possibility of the latter, get your dog to your veterinarian immediately. Skunks can carry rabies, and you want to make sure your dog and you are safe. If the skunk has just turned your happy dog into an anti-air freshener, your next step is to clean them up. We strongly encourage you to avoid trying tomato juice. In our experience all this will do is make more of a mess and give your dogs coat a pinkish tint. While there are several specialty products made for removing skunk odor, we have found that the following home products do the best job. It is what we use when you bring your dog to us to be "de-skunked." In an open container, mix the following:

• 1 quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
• 1/4 cup of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of a liquid dish detergent, such as Dawn

(This amount of mixture will handle a dog the size of a beagle) 1.      Wet your dog with water. 2.      Work the solution into the dog's coat with a bath puff and let it set for a bit. 3.      Rinse the dog's coat with water. You may need to repeat if the skunk odor is still strong. Use a conditioner such as HyLyt Bath Oil Coat Conditioner to restore the proper moisture to the skin. When done, dispose of any remaining solution. DO NOT PUT THIS SOLUTION IN A BOTTLE!!! Once mixed, the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda is no longer stable.

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We are open to the public as noted below.

Hours
Monday - Friday	7:30AM to 6:00PM
Saturday	8:00AM to 5:00PM
Sunday Morning	By appointment only, appoint must be made and confirmed by 4PM Saturday, 9AM to 10AM
Sunday Evening	5PM to 6PM

Holiday Hours

New Years Day - CLOSED Martin Luther King Day - 7:30AM to 6:00PM Presidents Day - 7:30AM to 6:00PM Good Friday - 7:30AM to 6:00PM Easter Sunday - 5:00PM to 6:00PM Memorial Day - 5:00PM to 6:00PM Independence Day - 5:00PM to 6:00PM Labor Day - 5:00PM to 6:00PM Columbus Day - 7:30AM to 6:00PM Veteran's Day - 7:30AM to 6:00PM Thanksgiving - CLOSED Christmas Day - CLOSED New Year's Eve Day - If weekday - 7:30AM to Noon, If Saturday 8AM to Noon, If Sunday CLOSED

From the North on I95

1.      Take exit 184 (old exit 47) 2.      Take a right on Union St./Hwy. 222 proceeding west. 3.      Green Acres is approximately 2.4 miles from I95 on the right hand side.

From the South on I95

1.      Take exit 184 (old exit 47) 2.      Take a left on Union St./Hwy. 222 proceeding west. 3.      Green Acres is approximately 2.4 miles from I95 on the right hand side.

Click for a link to Google Maps

Want to learn about some of the best pet foods available? Tune in to The Woof Meow Show on Sunday at 8:30PM on WVOM 103.9FM and WVQM 101.3FM when Kate and I will be discussing the quality pet foods made by Natura (California Natural, Evo and Innova). Green Acres Kennel Shop - your source for wholesome food for healthy pets.

Lyme disease can be a serious issue for both people and dogs. I remember our relief 14 years ago when Paula and I moved from Wisconsin, a hot bed of Lyme, to Maine, where the incidence of Lyme was relatively low. As indicated by the following email from Dr. Mark Hanks, of Kindred Spirits Veterinary Clinic, Lyme disease is on the rise in Maine.

One of the advantages of having computerized medical records is that I can pick up changes in the frequency of diseases over time.

So, historically our Lyme positive rate is 3-5%, but when I ran the numbers for the first quarter of 2009, I found that our Lyme positive rate is climbing. From the beginning of the year we have run 207 Lyme tests (this is the 4Dx test that you get reminders for if you have dogs) and 13 have been positive. That calculates to a slightly higher 6.3% positive rate, which is almost double from last year.

Not all dogs that are exposed to Lyme disease get sick, but a positive test makes me ask a few extra questions and check out a couple things more thoroughly.

I am not a fan of the Lyme vaccination in general. I advocate for as few vaccines as possible for each pet depending on their risk factors. I do think that the Lyme vaccine is warranted for some dogs, but since it is 70% effective, and one of the more immuno-stimulating vaccines we give, I think the average dog is better using the topical tick medications (Advantix, Frontline etc)

At this point I am not changing any recommendations, but am watching our positive rate more closely. I'll let you know if I think this represents a change in your dog's care.

If you want more info, the following article is a good overview.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1556&aid=458

If you have a cat, you can pretty much ignore this discussion. Lyme disease is very rare in the cat.

Have a great week.

Mark

If you haven't already discussed Lyme disease with your dog's veterinarian, now is the time to do.

Due to increased demand, we have added additional Basic Manners classes to our schedule starting Sunday, May 3rd at 1PM.  If the 1PM class fills, we will add a 2PM class. For more information, give us a call at 945-6841 or checkout the training section of our web site.