Tag Archives: puppy

‘Pandemic Puppy’ Walks this fall đŸ¶

Happy End of Summer,

This fall will have less of normal life; school, social outings, sporting events, etc. But, it’s also full of MORRRRRE PUPPIES!!!

Adding fur-pals to households during COVID has been compared to the Cabbage Patch Kid craze of 1985 or the Tickle Me Elmo mania in 1996. So many puppies.

If you, or someone you know, has been lucky enough to welcome a pandemic pup into your home, we’d love to help get them outside and socialized.

Schedule a Virtual Meet-&-Greet

Out-U-Go! Pet Care Services Partners with Village Green Property Management Services

Out-U-Go! Village Green Partnership

The OUG! Gang is very excited to announce becoming the official pet care provider of Village Green properties! Village Green is a wag-worthy and award-winning property management service with 40,000 units across the US. Furry residents can now enjoy customized packages for dog walking, dog and cat sitting, and puppy and critter care!

In addition to providing awesome pet care, we will be co-hosting pup and kitty events for our four-legged friends at Village Green properties! Keep an ear to the ground for upcoming dates to hang out with us. We can’t wait to shake paws!

Zsa Zsa's story featured in coffee table dog book

Zsa Zsa’s Story To Be Featured in Dog Coffee Table Book

Here at Out-U-Go!, of course we think every dog and cat deserves a loving home. And we love a happy ending.

Zsa Zsa, a Cavalier King Charles pup, has one of those stories. Her mother, Izzy, was rescued from a Puppy Mill. When the organization rescued her, they discovered she was pregnant.

Zsa Zsa is one of her puppies. She will never have to endure a Puppy Mill. In fact, she will be showered with her Pet Parents’ and OUG! love furrrever!!

An author recently became interested in the story about Izzy and her puppies, including Zsa Zsa, and is putting together a coffee table book telling their amazing “tail”!

Table Talk: How to Feed your Pet the Natural & Healthy Way

Guest Blogger:  Many of our pet parents are interested in feeding their furry friends a healthy & natural diet so we thought we’d check in with the experts over at Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital for some advice.  Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital is a full service veterinary hospital located in Boulder, CO.

 

If you take some time to think about the trends and changes in the food products you find at your grocery store, you’ll notice that things are very different than they were even 5 years ago.

With more consumers adopting health-conscious and environmentally-conscious eating habits, natural and organic options have sprung up everywhere! Similarly, many companies have introduced ‘healthier’ options such as natural and fortified foods for your pet. With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know what foods are right for your pet and what’s just plain hype. Have no fear: in this post, your friends at Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital would like to help shed some light on the tricky subject of pet nutrition. We’ll discuss some things to look for as well as those to avoid and why, so you can be a savvy shopper and the best possible pet parent. Bon appetit!

Things to Look for

  • AAFCO Approved Foods: The motto of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is  “Feed Safety & Consumer Protection – Over a Century of Partnership & Progress”. This organization certifies pet foods that meet at least the minimum requirements for nutritional content. As such, seeking foods that are approved by the AAFCO is a good baseline. It’s also important to note that the AAFCO has not established official definition for the words ‘holistic’ and ‘organic’. So don’t be fooled by fancy language on the side of a bag.
  • Please Pass the Meat! Many people have made the choice to eliminate the consumption of meat from their diets. Some may also choose to feed their pet’s vegetarian fare. As a pet owner who places your companion’s well-being at the top of your list of priorities, it is imperative to note that dogs and cats are carnivores. Biologically, they need real meat and the proteins that come along with it to thrive. On the same note, Fido and Fluffy have not evolved to utilize grains as a source of nutrition. This means that rice, corn, and other carbohydrates are unhelpful at best and downright dangerous at worst. The only reason they are added to most pet foods is because they are less expensive and make the meal chunkier.
  • Watery Food: Though it may sound a little bit strange, the “waterier” your pet’s food the better. Dogs and cat’s alike need a large amount of water in their diets to stay hydrated. For their more wild relatives, a large amount of their daily water comes not just from drinking, but eating as well. This is because the bodies of prey animals are composed of up to 70% water! Compare that to your standard dry kibble and you might see a problem developing. If possible, feed your pet wet food at least a few times per week, but strive to make the mushy stuff a daily part of their diet if possible.

Things to Avoid

  • Enhanced, Fortified, Blah Blah Blah: If you put our ‘Things to Look for’ list into practice, you can forget all of the hype-filled claims that fortified foods come with. Remember that dogs and cats are biologically programmed to derive everything they need for optimal health from a natural diet. Additives can be harmful whether they present a short term danger or cause complications over time. In dog foods you should strictly avoid any brands that contain BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin and propyl gallate, as they are known to be harmful and some are even carcinogens. For both dogs and cats, avoid foods that contain artificial preservatives in favor of those preserved with vitamins E and C.
  • By-products: The first ingredient in your pet’s food should be meat
 and we’re talking REAL meat. Remember that your pet is a carnivore by nature and his body is fine-tuned to receive the maximum benefit by processing and using the nutrients from prey animals. Fillers and meat by-products sometimes contains additives that can be harmful to your animal companion. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if the meat isn’t human-grade, you shouldn’t feed it to your pet.
  • Overfeeding: This tip might be a bit different than the others that we’ve discussed so far, but we feel that it is just as important. America’s pets have a weight problem, just like many of our people. The key to a happy and healthy pet is feeding them the right things in the right amounts. Pets don’t have the mechanisms in their minds to turn town a delicious bowl full of food if it’s sitting on the floor in front of them all day. Make sure you feed your pet the proper amount of food for their particular size and breed and you’ll have a much happier camper on your hands.

We hope that you’ve found these tips to be helpful and informative. Some pet parents may decide that trying to navigate the complex world of pet food brands is too risky and preparing a home-cooked diet is the way to go. If you would like to explore the home-feeding option, schedule an appointment with one of the skilled veterinarians at Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital – just call 303-494-7877.

– The Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital Staff

www.bouldersnaturalanimal.com

 

 

Doga Day for Charity is coming up fast on August 6th!!!

Out-U-Go! and Boulder’s Natural Animal hospital are teaming up again on an awesome event for charity!  Doga, otherwise known as Yoga for Doggies, will be featured.  On August 6th from 1pm – 4pm, we’ll all be hosting the Doga Day for Charity, a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.  For just $5 you and your pooch get:

  • A Doga lesson with Yoga instructor, Steph Schwartz, of the Bali Yoga Retreat
  • A massage for your dog by certified canine massage therapist, Lisa Simmerman, of Stella Earth
  • Fresh-baked dog treats from Paws Barkery
  • Grilled hot dogs, sodas, water, chips, and treats for the humans

What a deal, right?!  

This will be a great time for pups and people regardless of doga or yoga abilities and experience 🙂

When:  Saturday, August 6th from 1 PM to 4 PM

Where:  Outside of Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital at 685 S Broadway in the Table Mesa Shopping Center

Who:  Co-hosted by Boulder’s Natural Animal Hospital (www.bouldersnaturalanimal.com) and Out-U-Go! Boulder (www.OUTUGO.com)

What:  A cooky, crazy canine event to raise funds for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley

When Carly met Olive…

Miss Olive as a puppy!

It was my 28th birthday and I had a case of the blues.  For some reason, 28 sounded much older and much scarier than 27 (perhaps because  28 was much closer to the dreaded 30!) So,  I took the day off work and my mom came down to the city to meet me for lunch and take me on a mini ” birthday spree”.  I knew my blues would lift quickly with a little shopping and mom time.

There are two routes to Michigan Ave from my house.  I thought we should take the Grand Ave route but my mom insisted taking Randolph was much quicker.  It was a simple debate and in the end I won because it was my birthday. 🙂   And this begins the tail of when Carly met Olive…

We walked, we talked and we laughed down Grand Ave enjoying the amazing sunshine beating down on our face.  In the distance, I spotted a cute lil’ pup walking towards us.  This pup had something so sweet about her and I, of course, stopped the owner as she came closer to me (I have a problem where I feel the need stop every dog to say hello).  “What kind of dog is she?” I asked as I gave her kisses.  The woman replied that she was unsure what kind of dog she was as she was fostering  her for a week.  “She needs a loving home and she loves to watch tv,” said the woman chuckling. At this point, I began to feel a sensation inside of me that this might be fate.  Could this sweet lil’ pup (named Stacey at the time) be my new little angel?  It felt so right and it seemed like a twist of fate that I happened to take the day off of work, fought to take that specific route and met her on my birthday.  But, I knew I had to think this through and sleep on it.

So, I took the ladies name, said goodbye to Stacey and went on my way.  For the next couple of days, I could not get this lil’ pup off my mind.  This had to be fate.   So, I made a call, filled out some paperwork, had an interview, and within days I was on my way to pick up my new pup, who I named Olive.

I have now had Ms. Olive Stein for over 2 years and to say she has been an easy pup would simply not be true.  Olive’s history  was that she had been picked up in Texas as a stray and sent to a shelter when she was only a baby.  From that point, a rescue group in Texas saved her,  put her in a animal sanctuary and then Arf House (a shelter in Chicago) shuttled Olive and her sisters & brothers 17 hours back to Chicago to be adopted.  (Arf House is a wonderful organization and are such nice people to work with, btw!)

Even though Olive has been a lot of hard work and a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated, I love my little girl to pieces.  She is as sweet as they come and truly brings so much joy to my life.  Olive loves coming to work with my every day at Out-U-Go! and her favorite part of the day is when the walkers check in and out because she loves to greet each and every one of them with kisses.  Olive and I are so lucky that our paths truly crossed and I do believe it was twist of fate.  And, as I am about to turn 30, it doesn’t feel so scary anymore. 🙂

Carly and Olive