| Green Acres Newsletter & Coupons for 2OCT12 |
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Published: 02OCT12 <Open PDF File for Printing> ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Does Your Pet Need a Boarding Reservation?Book Now for Thanksgiving and the December Holidays! Or call us at 945-6841 In This Issue
Help Us, Get Entered in a Drawing for a $250 Gift CertificateIf you have not responded to our survey yet, there is still time and we would still greatly appreciate your feedback. While we are fortunate for all of the many word-of-mouth referrals you give for us to family, friends and co-workers, like most businesses we also need to do a significant amount of marketing and advertising to keep bringing new clients in the door. We want to spend our marketing dollars wisely, because by doing so we can keep our expenses and our prices down. We would really appreciate it if you would click on the following link and complete our marketing survey. After completion if you provide contact information, you will be entered into a drawing for a $250 gift certificate. Thank you! Help Us Help the Furry Friends Food Bank
We believe that this is one of the most important fundraising drives we do every year. Many of the seniors in our community, as well as others on a fixed income, often have to make choices between feeding their pet or feeding themselves, purchasing medication or heating their homes during Maine’s long winter. The bond between people and their pets plays a vital role in the physical and mental health of both, especially those that are isolated. Sometimes a pet may be the only living thing a Senior interacts with on a daily basis. By helping them feed their pets, the Furry Friends Food Bank helps keep pet and person together. At this time of year when we reflect on all that we have to be thankful for, Green Acres wants to encourage everyone to consider the joy they can create by helping keep a pet and person together by donating to the Eastern Area Agency on Aging Furry Friends Food Bank.” Interested parties may follow the activities of the fundraising drive on the FaceBook page for the Friends of EAAA Furry Friends Food Bank at (https://www.facebook.com/GAKS.FFFFB). The Eastern Area Agency on Aging is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization serving Penobscot, Piscataquis, Hancock, and Washington counties dedicated to providing seniors, adults with disabilities and caregivers with a variety of options, opportunities, resources and referrals. (http://www.eaaa.org). This cause is very important to us, and even more important to those that will benefit. Please forgive us if in our enthusiasm we ask you too many times. Thank you! Congratulations to Our Photo Contest Grand Prize WinnerCongratulations to Robert Clark and his winning entry in out 2012 photo contest!
Robert’s photo of his dogs Zeus and Gracie will appear on the cover of our 2013 calendar. Each calendar will also include a monthly coupon good at Green Acres. We print a limited run of calendars. Featured Food: Nutrisource Grain Free
Please see the coupon section below for an offer on Nutrisource Grain Free Dog Food Featured Treat: 100% Organic Little Stars Training TreatsGreen Acres is now offering three varieties of Little Stars Training Treats; Cheddar, Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter in 9 ounce packages for $7.25. We love these treats because they are made from 100% organic ingredients and are a perfect size for training and come in at only six calories per treat. Your dog will love them because they taste so good! Please see the coupon section below for an offer on Little Stars Training Treats Featured Product: Orange Vests and CollarsIt’s officially fall. The sun is setting earlier and the hunters are out so to keep safe it’s a good idea to make sure you and your dog can be easily seen. We try to stock a wide variety of orange options this time of year, but like snow tires and air conditioners when are supply is gone we may not be able to get any more until next year. Suit up while you can! Bangor Humane Society - Cats on Tour Thanks for joining us on Cats on Tour on Friday, September 28th when the crew from the Bangor Humane Society adopted out two of their cats here at Green Acres.
Bangor Humane Society Paws on ParadePlease Join Our Team!Mark your calendars now for the 19th annual Bangor Humane Society Paws on Parade on October 6, 2012. This is the main fundraising event for the Bangor Humane Society and is crucial for the many homeless pets in our region. The Green Acres staff has formed a team to walk in Paws, but because several of us have to work in the store or kennel or teach training classes that day we need help filling out our team. We want a BIG presence so we are inviting you to join us as a member of the Green Acres Click! team. You can sign-up on line and even solicit donations from friends and family online through the BHS system. To join our team just click here The walk begins at the public parking lot on the Bangor Waterfront and continues around the waterfront. For more information, check the BHS website at: http://www.bangorhumane.org/ Adopt A Shelter Dog Month/National Cat Day PromotionOctober is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month and October 30th is National Cat Day. In celebration we are offering a coupon book, with coupons valued up to $25.50, to anyone who has adopted a dog or cat from an area shelter. To claim your coupon book, all you need to do is present your adoption paperwork that indicates the name of the shelter and that you have adopted your new pet within the past month. Holiday Pet Portraits with Debra Bell - Sunday, November 4th
Pet First Aid Seminar
On November 10th, Green Acres Kennel Shop will be hosting a Pet First Aid & CPR seminar taught by Certified Pet Tech Instructor, Tracy Haskell. This 4-hour PetSaver Program will teach participants Pet First Aid, Pet CPR, and basic care and handling that can be used in the event of emergencies. At the completion of the program participants will have the resources they need to keep their pet safe, healthy, and happy. Whether your pets just hang around at home with you or live an active and adventurous life, the knowledge you gain in this class may possibly save your pet’s life. The seminar will run from 1PM until 5PM and includes hands on instruction and a handy reference guide. The fee for the class is $50, with $10 from each enrollment being donated to the Eastern Area Agency on Aging Furry Friends’ Food Bank. A maximum of 10 spots are available, so don’t delay! Call Green Acres at 945-6841 to register. Doggie Kissing Booths - Good Idea or Unkind to Dogs?The concept of a “kissing booth” as a fundraising attraction at a carnival or some other event is not new. However, doggy kissing booths, where a person pays to give a kiss or hug to an unfamiliar dog or to get a kiss from a dog, is a relatively new trend. As a dog lover and Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, I find the idea of a doggy kissing booth very disturbing. When I privately shared this concern with a group organizing a fundraising event for a local dog park, the leader of the group publically labeled me a “jerk” on the groups Facebook page. If caring for the well-being and safety of dogs and people makes me a “jerk,” then I will gladly wear that badge with honor. So, why am I opposed to dogs being put on display at a doggie kissing booth? The answer is quite simple. Unlike people dogs, do not enjoy being kissed and hugged, particularly by people they do not know. Any qualified dog behavior consultant will tell you the same thing. In fact, kissing and hugging a dog, even by a child in its own family, is often what initiates a dog bite. Putting dogs in a position to be hugged and kissed by complete strangers, in a carnival like atmosphere, is going to be extremely stressful to most dogs further increasing the probability of a bite. That’s not smart, not kind and not something I would think any dog owner would knowingly do to a dog they truly cared about. Secondly, but equally important, a doggie kissing booth sets a very poor example for children because it models, promotes and encourages inappropriate behavior by humans towards dogs. Dog bites are a serious issue and Green Acres, like other pet care professionals throughout the country, works hard to educate children and their parents, teaching them how to and how not to interact with dogs. Do the organizers and supporters of events with a doggie kissing booth want to be responsible for a child being bitten in the future because that child saw adults kissing and hugging dogs at the event and therefore thought it is something that is okay to do? Lastly, having a doggie kissing booth is a potential legal liability for the owner of the property where the event is being held, the organizers of the event and the individuals that are allowing their dogs to participate in the kissing booth. All would be wise to consult with their attorneys and insurance companies before participating in such a venture. If you want to learn more about canine behavior, canine body language and appropriate human-canine interactions sign up for one Green Acres Kennel Shops dog training classes or seminars. You might also want to investigate the following books and web links found with the blog posting of this article at: http://www.greenacreskennel.com/whats-new/27/27/8/listmonth/2012.html. Behavior Tip: Does Your Dog Have Space Issues?Does your dog try to hide behind you if a person or another dog gets too close? Do they bark and growl? Maybe they even lunge towards the other dog/person or try to run away. Sadly many people have the misconception that ALL dogs like, or should like, ALL people and ALL other dogs. The fact is that is just not true. Just like with people, not all dogs are extroverts and some may prefer that those that they do not know just stay away. A dog may need additional space due to 1) health issues, 2) because they are in training, 3) because they are being rehabilitated, or 4) because they are scared and reactive. The Yellow Dog Project - http://theyellowdogproject.com/The_Yellow_Dog_Project/Home.html is a web site that promotes identifying “dogs in need of space;” with a yellow ribbon on their leash. We think that this idea has great merit and want to spread the word so that if you see a dog with a yellow ribbon on their leash that you will do the kind and compassionate thing and give them some space. We hope that you will teach others, especially children, to do the same. Movie Review: Tough Love: A Meditation on Dominance and Dogs
Last weekend Paula and I were visiting our friend Gail Fisher in Manchester, NH and had an opportunity to attend a screening of Tough Love: A Meditation on Dominance and Dogs at Gail’s facility All Dogs Gym and Inn. This documentary, by filmmaker and history professor Chad Montrie, examines the history of dominance and the theory of pack hierarchy and the “alpha dog” in the dog training world. The film looks at how the dominance construct came to be and how there has been a resurgence in this approach by some celebrity “trainers”, even though it is not supported by science. As someone who entered the field of dog training when dominance was widely accepted, I could really empathize with the people in the film (Gail Fisher, Dr. Sophia Yin, Paul Owens, Nicole Wilde, and others) who described their own cathartic moment when they realized that being dominant towards their dogs was not only unnecessary but was often damaging to the relationship between dog and person. If you like dogs or if you work with them in any professional capacity, you need to see this film. We are contemplating arranging for a screening of Touch Love here in the Bangor area. If that would be of interest, please drop me an email at click here The first link below will take you to the Tough Love FaceBook page and the second will take you to the website for Anchor Hold Films where you can purchase either a DVD or watch the film online. Tough Love on FaceBook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tough-Love-A-Meditation-on-Dominance-and-Dogs/347682325320475 Purchase Touch Love - http://www.anchorholdfilms.com/ Kennel NewsCaution: Dogs Running Loose near Green AcresSeveral of you have commented on the chocolate Labrador Retriever and the small white dog you have seen running loose near and in the Green Acres’ parking lot. Rest assured, these are neither our dogs nor guests staying here. We have a neighbor who is letting these dogs run loose and we are as concerned for their safety as we know you are. The neighbor has assured us that they will be watching the dogs closer. New Pet Detect CollarsIn an effort to give nothing but the best of care, we have recently started using a new product in our dog boarding and daycare services; the Pet Detect Collar. While many of your pets are frequent guests at Green Acres and we know them well, these collars give us the added assurance of proper identification for all pets staying with us, not just our “regulars”. The collars use thermal imaging to inscribe the pet’s name, status information such as if your animal is epileptic, deaf, etc., their assigned kennel number as well as that your pet is a guest here at Green Acres. Our experience so far has been overwhelmingly positive. The Pet Detect collars help us to more quickly learn our new guests’ names without having to flip through paperwork. We also like to be able to board dogs and cats of the same family together when possible, but this can be problematic if the animals look very similar. With the Pet Detect collars, even if animals look similar, we are able to identify each pet correctly; particularly important if the animals are on medication. Another huge bonus has been in play group. It is not unheard of for us to have 10 labs here at any given time, so when we have dogs that look similar they can still go together at playtime and there is no risk for confusion when playtime is over. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Staff ChampionsEvery month the Green Acres staff chooses two Staff Champions; someone who has done an exceptional job and someone who has publicly recognized another employee for doing an exceptional job. Hearty congratulations and thank you to our latest champions!
August – Kaila M. & Brenda M.
September – Paula H. & Amber T.
Dutra, Hanson & Woodard Attend Nutrition WebinarKate Dutra, Don Hanson and Hilary Woodard recently attended a webinar given by Dr. Jean Dodds where she discussed some of the latest findings in nutrition and the immune system, thyroid disease, different types of diets (commercial, home-made, and raw), a new raw food study, and new diagnostic tools for food sensitivity or intolerance. Tune in to The Woof Meow Show
Links We LikeThe Best Animal Trainers in HistoryThese four links are to two blog articles on Dr. Sophia Yin’s blog page where she has published her interview with Bob and Marian Bailey about the best animal trainers in history. I was very fortunate to have attended the same seminar that Dr. Yin did and heard some of this important history firsthand and had an opportunity to learn from two of the best animal trainers in history; Marian and Bob Bailey. A big thank you to Dr. Yin for publishing this interview. The next two articles discuss some of the training accomplishments of Animal Behavior Enterprises where Keller Breland, and Marian and Bob Bailey did much of their pioneering training work with animals. Find Us On the InternetGreen Acres Website – www.greenacreskennel.com Green Acres FaceBook – www.facebook.com/GreenAcresKennelShop Bach Flowers for Pets Website- www.greenacreskennel.com/bach-flowers-for-pets Bach Flowers for Pets FaceBook - www.facebook.com/BachFlowersForPets Woof Meow Show FaceBook – www.facebook.com/WoofMeowShow Friends of Furry Friends Food Bank FaceBook - www.facebook.com/GAKS.FFFFB
September CouponsNutrisource Grain Free Dog Food For [NAME] $4.00 OFF any single 30lbs Bag of Nutrisource Grain-Free Dog Food GN-0912-01 OR $2.00 OFF any single 15lbs Bag of Nutrisource Grain-Free Dog Food GN-0912-02 Coupon must be printed and presented in its entirety at time of redemption. Cool Treats For [NAME] $1.00 OFF any six pack of Cool Treats GN-0912-03 Coupon must be printed and presented in its entirety at time of redemption. Little Stars Tiny Organic Training Treats For [NAME] $1.00 OFF any 1 package of Little Stars GN-0912-04 Coupon must be printed and presented in its entirety at time of redemption.
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We are holding a fundraiser for the Eastern Area Agency on Aging Furry Friends Food Bank from October 1st through November 30th. Customers will be asked for a donation when making purchases and if over $1000 is raised, Green Acres Kennel Shop will match the donations dollar for dollar. All funds raised will be used to buy pet food, at wholesale prices, for distribution by the Eastern Area Agency on Aging Furry Friends Food Bank.
NutriSource now has 6 grain free formulas for dogs; Chicken, Lamb Meal, Heartland Select (Bison, Chicken and Menhaden Fish Meal), Seafood Select (Salmon and Menhaden Fish Meal), Large Breed Chicken, and Large Breed Lamb. All would be excellent choices to put into rotation with any of the other NutriSource adult formulas, or if you want to go all grain free you could do that as well. Like all NutriSource foods, they qualify for our frequent buyer program; after you purchase 12 bags you get one free. If you have wanted to try your dog on a grain free diet, this would be a great place to start.
Debra Bell from Bell Imaging Design will be at Green Acres from 9 until 5 on Sunday November 4th ready to capture your precious pet for posterity. The cost is $40 per session (up to 3 pets per session) and includes a 5x7 gift print. In addition, $10 from every session will be donated to the Eastern Area Agency on Aging's Furry Friends Food Bank. For three or more pets, Debra recommends choosing a double slot for the discounted price of $70 to ensure you'll have enough time. Slots go fast, so call today (945-6841) to secure your spot.
Are you prepared if your dog sustains a serious injury while out hiking? Do you know what to do if your cat stops breathing? Knowing how to perform basic pet first aid and CPR could help you save your pet’s life.
The Woof Meow Show