Sit and Stay [11 Jul 2007|09:19am] Don't feel like going outside because it is cold and wet? What about doing some doggie training to stimulate your pooch's mind? Your four legged friends need to exercise their minds as well as their bodies. Teach them new tricks or practice those that they know already. Solidify basic commands such as "Sit, Stay and Down" as they are good for your doggie's overall manners. In addition, many tricks built on these three basic commands. Try "Shake hands, Roll Over or Fetch"! Don't forget to give lots of praises and rewards to encourage them to retain and repeat the tricks! Remember: A little love goes a long, long way!

Burrrrrr... [15 Jun 2007|03:29pm] Winter is here but that doesn't mean you should stop taking your pooches out for a walk just because it is cold! Just like us, our four-legged darlings can put on a few kilos during the colder months if they do not receive adequate exercise. Besides keeping your doggie healthy and happy, dog walking is a light exercise that is good for you! According to the Victorian Government Health website, walking your dog offers you numerous health benefits such as improved cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure, stronger muscles and bones (built up by walking regularly), and decreased stress. Remember, short-furred pooches such as whippets and chihuahuas may need to wear some winter doggie clothes to keep them nice and snug.

Change in diet. [21 May 2007|11:14am] We often hear from our clients that their pooches suffer from mild diarrhoea when they change their doggie's diet. It is not uncommon to see such symptoms as your four-legged friend’s intestinal tract adjusts to the new food. A gradual change in their diet may prevent diarrhoea from happening and allow the intestinal tract to make a slow transition from the ingredients and physical characteristics of their usual food to those of the new one. For example: if your pooches usually take one cup of dry food from Brand X per day, try mixing in 1/4 cup of dry food from Brand Y to 3/4 cup of dry food from Brand X for the first 3 days. Over the following 3 days, mix 1/2 cup of each brand before giving it to your pooches. Gradually increase the amount of Brand Y dry food till you reach 1 cup over the span of the next 6 - 9 days. Remember: the slower the transition, the easier the transition will be on your furry companion! Should diarrhoea develop despite the precautions taken, return to feeding the old food until their stool is normal again. If diarrhoea persists for the second time after trying the new food, then it is probable that the new food does not agree with your pooches. You may want to consult with a vet before making a switch to a different brand.

Grummm grummm! [09 May 2007|06:00pm] Instead of giving your pooches scrap from your dining table which (may be high in fat and other unhealthy ingredients!), why not try your hand in making them some healthy snacks during the colder months to prevent them from putting on the flab? Peanut Cookies - The goodness of peanuts and a great source of protein! 250g of Whole wheat flour 250g of Wheat germ 150g of roasted peanuts 30g of Honey Put all the ingredients together in a mixer and add one tablespoon of water at a time until the dough is formed. Roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter to cut out the shape of the cookie. Put them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 mins. Cool them and put them into an air tight jar. They last up to two weeks! Remember to give your pooches these fabulous cookies in moderation!

Scratch Scratch... [04 Jan 2007|06:29pm] As we're in the midst of Summer, it is not uncommon to see high infestation rates of fleas and ticks. However, fleas and ticks are not just pests to our four legged friends, they can also cause discomfort to humans through their bites. One or two fleas is enough to make your pooches chew and scratch at their skin, resulting in redness, scabs and hair loss. Some may develop allergies to flea bites and this can be life threatening. There are many flea control agents available on the market, such as Revolution or Advocate, and some provide extra protection against heartworms, intestinal worms and ticks. Be aware that some control agents are not water soluble and can be washed off - so take care to note when you're giving your pooch a shower if you've just applied a treatment! Another point to look out for is whether the control agent is able to stop all stages of fleas, including those in their environment (such as their beds). Fleas can be prevented easily with a monthly topical solution. Ticks can kill your pooches via paralysis and therefore you need to keep an eye out for ticks on your four legged friends if you live along the east coast. The best cure is still prevention. There are many tick control agents out in the market. Like the flea control agents, ticks can be prevented easily with a monthly topical solution. But apart from that... enjoy your Summer! It's looking to be a great time in the sun with your pooch. Remember to slip slap slop!

Ho ho ho! [24 Dec 2006|07:36pm] Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please don't forget that a puppy or a kitten is not a particularly great Xmas prezzie cos you can't return it for a refund or store credit! Plus, it's a bit hard to wrap a pet up in wrapping paper without it yelping and running around the place. Think: Inanimate object! And remember: your pooch does not get fat from Xmas to New Year but from New Year to Xmas!

Think twice before you give any! [29 Nov 2006|11:13pm] It is the holiday season and we're all surrounded by delicious festive food! Feeding our pooches food that we enjoy this period of the year is not only bad for their waistline but can also cause fatal injuries! Some common food widely available during this season can cause illness and death if consumed in large amounts: Chocolate - We love chocolate puddings but it is a well-known fact that dogs can't have anything to do with chocolate! Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms and can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea. In worst case scenarios, your pooches' heart can suffer lethal cardiac arrest. Onion - Switching on the barbie and tossing some onions to go with the burgers might sound tempting but onions contain a toxic compound that can cause your pooches' red blood cells to burst hence affecting circulation of oxygen. Macadamia nuts and walnuts - Whereas nuts are generally good for humans, macadamia nuts and walnuts are not good for your dogs! Although the toxic compound in macadamia nuts is unknown - it has been discovered that it can cause locomotory difficulties. So think twice before offering that lovely macadamia nut shortcake to your pooches. Bones - Scraps from the dining table are fine as long as they are in moderate amount but don't give them bones (especially chicken bones!). Cooked bones can splinter and damage your pooches' internal organs. Raisins (or grapes) - Having a fruit cake is a must in every home during this festive season but don't give any to your pooches. Raisins can cause kidney failure and may be lethal.

Time for Spring cleaning! [04 Sep 2006|03:48pm] This year's Spring has been warmer than the last few years and everything seems to be blooming everywhere! If you have kept your pooch's hair long and flowy during the autumn and winter months, this is the time to start thinking of keeping its coat short and tidy. If your pooch has a matted coat, the rising mercury, humidity and poor ventilation can have an adverse effect on your pooches. Matted coats trap moisture on the skin providing an environment for skin infections to develop. On the other hand, do not ask a groomer to clip off all your pooches fur if it is not matted. Keeping it short and tidy may actually provide a cool micro-environment for your four-legged sweetie. In addition, it also act as a sunscreen to protect its skin from ultraviolet radiation that may cause sunburn, especially white dogs like Diesel!

Easter Feasters! [16 Apr 2006|01:34am] [ mood | bouncy ] Happy Yappy Easter Everyone! Pooch Nation will be off this weekend in search for eggs from the Easter Bibly! Unlike our Northern neighbours who celebrate the season with the Easter or Spring Bunny, here at Pooch Nation we do it with the Easter or Fall Bilby. So while Diesel might look like he's got on rabbit/hare ears, he's actually got on bilby-ears. The exact origin of the Easter Bilby is not known, but it dates back to the 1970s and is generally credited to one of these three Bilby-fans: Rose-Marie Dusting, Ian Faithfull and Malcolm Turner. Please remember that Easter chocolates are a Big NO-NO for your pooches! And talking about autumn (it's been a bit chilly hasn't it?) winter is fast approaching... but that doesn't mean you should stop sending your pooches to the groomers! Many dogs come out of their winter break every year looking shaggy and untidy, with some even suffering from skin problems resulting from their severely matted coats. So while it may look like we're going to have a cold winter this year, don't let your pooches become too shaggy and lose their sweet charms. Regular brushing is still a must! Pooch Nation recommends sending your pooches for their regular grooming session even in Winter to keep them healthy and lookin' their best. Happy yappy Easter!

Small but deadly [15 Apr 2006|09:58pm] Heartworms are parasites that enter our four legged friend's blood system via a mosquito bite. These worms will move through the tissues and bloodstream, establishing themselves in the heart which may result in death. Heartworm disease is untreatable and hence prevention is still the best cure. There are many heartworm control agents available in the market. Some offer extra protection against fleas and intestinal worms. They can be prevented easily with a monthly topical solution, such as Revolution or Advocate, or through an oral tablet, such as Valueheart. In recent years, an annual preparation given by injection has gained popularity as it reduces the need to administer a heartworm control agent every month. Check with your local veterinarian regarding more information on annual heartworm injection!

from the dogfather: go big brother on your pet! [18 Feb 2006|08:17pm] [ mood | dorky ]

The Squirmies! [12 Feb 2006|01:19pm] Roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm and whipworm are the most common intestinal worms in Australia. Worms can cause a loss of appetite, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and death. Puppies should be wormed at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age, then every month until 6 months old and then every 3 months for life with an allwormer orally ,such as Drontal. Likewise, there are some allwormers available in the market that can prevent intestinal worms with a monthly topical solution. Please note: An allwormer does not prevent heartworms!

Have you heard the buzz? [07 Feb 2006|03:00am] [ mood | cold ] [ music | ain't it a bit chilly for summer? ] Like all previous occasions, time travel this time was accompanied with a little strain in the belly, the kind you get when you’ve laughed too long at something funny and didn’t know how to stop. But this time, there was an aftertaste of something sour in my mouth and I wondered if I had been drinking lemonade when I shifted. That’s the problem with time travel. If you go forward, the time you came from suddenly becomes a vague memory, full of soft edges and unearthly hues... and you can never quite remember. It’s worse when you travel back in time of course, because then you can’t remember what you haven’t known yet, so you end up frantically externalising your thoughts, bringing back or forward a journal or set of instructions... it’s all such a hassle really. Martin Bashfield from the room-next-door had been silly enough to shift on a joyride back to a time before he was born. He promptly forgot how to speak, think, or do anything for that matter. Fortunate for him though, Nathan Sim, our resident old fogey had found his shift recorded on the time machine log and had shifted and brought him back. But the damage was already done. We still haven’t managed to get him off the bottle yet and he does #2 in such copious amounts (it’s so NOT funny) that the garbage machine has refused to accept anymore diaper submissions for the week, but at least he’s now learnt to say “Diesel”. Anyway, I’m rambling. So, yes, here I am in the Antenna Theatre, Melbourne (or so I vaguely recall). K (that’s our boss) had learnt from the Oracle that there was news to be had from the choristers, and so I had shifted here to meet with them. But for the life of me, I still can’t remember if I was drinking lemonade... ... Hmmm. Okay. Let me see. The seat doesn’t feel very futuristic to me. Still the same neo-velvet they now shave off the deer-people (South American families that opted for gene-therapy to grow merkin-like velvet patches). The seat grumbled into a comfortable shape, moulding itself to my ever-increasing backside (why don’t I lose weight time-travelling? It’s like my body suddenly remembers all the weight it’s going to gain). Shoot. That means I’ll be fat in the future. Note to self: Must remember 300-calories-is-so-not-sexy motto. The conductor enters. The erupting applause bleeds into a splutter of cough and sighs. With a flick of his wrist the curtains slide back with a liquid swish and there, pressed against the silhouette of his collar, the choristers poured out of a mere crack. And there in the suddenly entombed silence of the placid backdrop, this urgent hum begins. It is a bestial cry of frustration and want; a murmur of captivity; a purr so quaint that every backbone straightens in its seat. This is the song of the fly choir. With just a thought, a mojito perches itself on the chair arm (OH! I love the future now), a fly flits lazily towards me, then overhead. And so smoothly, the choir swarms over the theatre, a rolling, buzzing madness that unfurls a canopy of flies above our heads. It is tragically beautiful, like a cloud of locusts descending on a farm, gruesome, majestic and an inexorable force of destruction. They hang there, a black pall above us. Another flick of the wrist. The lights come on. The flies begin to glow – first a shy green, then a reticent blue, then a searing red. The humming gives everyone goosebumps. Out come pink hairdryers, suspended on black adders that writhe and slither, a medusa-crown of tendrils that begin to seemingly strike at the fly swarm. The hairdryers woosh on and suddenly, there is a chord in the song of the fly choir. Confused, I read the brochure on my lap. Oh. Like that huh? I smile and drink my mojito, happily chewing on the mint leaf as the choir now takes on Pachelbel’s Canon in D. “buuuzzzzzz buzz buzz”. I pause. “buzz buzz”. I glance about furtively. “buzz...” Oh! Morse code! Urm. Let’s see... that translates to D – I – E... Die???!?! "buzz buzz buzz.... buzz... buzz buuuuzzzzzzzz buzz buzz". Erm. That's Die- S - E - L. Oh! Diesel.... yes. That's me. I grab my pen and start scribbling on the brochure, sure that I would forget this message when I shifted back unless I got it all down. The fly agent rapidly fires off its Morse message, and I, rusty as hell in the ancient Morse code, scramble to take notes: Poachers are entering the country and trying to get at the last remaining population of kangaroos. The species has been crippled due to the poaching that followed the discovery of kangaroo serum as an antidote to XC40, a biological weapon that eats the eyeballs and nose, and leaves the patient drowning in their own vitreous humour. Terrorists are entering the country with these poachers and it has now become a matter of national security. The oracle department cannot issue a back-line report as its lines have now been compromised, and so the canine chronicle has been contacted to receive the message. Guard dogs must be bred to stop the advance of poachers, but instead of the usual bull mastiffs of old, the oracle suggests staffordshire bull terriers so as not to flag attention to the programme. Treat matter with great caution! The lives of servicemen are at stake! Go now! The buzzing ceases. And in that moment, the hairs begin to stand on my arm. Suddenly, a pat on my shoulder: “Sir! Turn around and raise your identification scan tag....” I shift back. But not before I am clipped in the head. Something’s burning, something’s burning! Oh: and there’s that glass of lemonade. I black-out. * * * “Agent Diesel, what’s this you’ve brought back? What’s this Pooch Nation? An ochlocratic society of canines?” I stare at the note, it had been burnt badly: pooch-nation-dog-treat-service. Something tugs at my memory. I hesitate. Then report, “Sir, the future says to start Pooch Nation for Dog treats and services.” “Well done, Agent Diesel. Get started then.” “Right away, sir!” And so begins: Pooch Nation.

igrresistable.... [07 Feb 2006|02:04am] [ mood | amused ] Woof! Any Melburnians see our mascot walk the talk recently around the CBD during lunch time? (We were trying to take some promotional photographs) Well, he was meant to look like Diesel - all dressed up in white with a black patch around the eyes - with this big black signboard that read: "Pooch Nation - Dog Bakery and Services"... Anyway, "Dog Bakery" certainly piqued the interest of some concerned passersby and a few of them stopped him to enquire if we actually baked dogs! No we don’t. (Baby food isn't made from babies!) Pooch Nation freshly bakes vet-approved low fat healthy dog treats made from 100% human-grade natural ingredients. And that's with no added salt or sugar! Give us a call for more information (963 963 40). *** Guess what happened today after I came home from the bank? Diesel sniffed out our Sgrrumptious Nibbles stash (which we left in a bag after showing them to some distributors) and woofed down all of them! Imagine the surprise I had when I saw the empty Sgrrumptious Nibbles packets on the floor and Diesel was on the sofa lying on his back showing off his bloated frog belly! I-grr-esistable eh? Did we mention he was the original pizza thief?

say you love me [05 Feb 2006|02:47am] [ mood | Woe Is Me!!!! ] It's Valentine's Day soon.... so: please direct all love letters to diesel@poochnation.com.au While my owners may make me do ludicrous things like pose with bags, wear hats, floral wreaths, hang out on clouds (very cold and wet), and stare into the sun while I squint, your proclamations of undying love will bring me greater fulfilment, or at least, make it all that little bit more bearable. Love and sloppy kisses, Diesel Frey-Orpheus Malachi High Lord of the Couch Supreme, Baron of the Greater Food Bowl, Great One of the Massive Snore, sometimes nicknamed, The Pizza Thief P.S. They also gave me Orpheus as a middle name. I AM DOOMED TO A LIFETIME OF HEARTBREAK!!!!!

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