Hi, Where are you located in Seattle and what training are you looking for? For example, are you trying to train the dog to walk on a leash without pulling?

Have you considered wood chips?
I know when I was looking for a place to board my dog with lots of white fur...I saw one house with a muddy back yard and one house with wood chips. I picked the wood chips.

Thankfully, I live in the Seattle area and haven't had much problem with ticks, but I did have to remove a tick on my dog when we were visiting in Massachusetts....and we weren't even in the woods. This article has some good information about ticks and parasites. Also I've heard the dicatamous earth helps. http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/...source=petsnl&utmmedium=email&utmcontent=art1&utmcampaign=20160601Z1&etcid=DM107028&etrid=1508680770

If the puppy is 10 weeks, it hasn't received the full course of Parvo innoculations. This is a dangerous, deadly disease. You should make sure that the sitter has taken precautions....such as all dogs have been vaccinated, and there has been no history of Parvo. Parvo can survive for a months in the soil, grass, etc. so it's a danger if an infected dog pooped or peed in the yard.

Are you planning to visit parks along the way? National Parks do not allow dogs on the trail. I couldn't even take my dog within 50 feet of the visitor center at Glacier National Park. I also hear that some state parks (i.e. California) also prohibit dogs on the trails.

Also, you will want a raised bed to keep dogs cool, a shade and a crate that is roomy and portable (folds small)---I just ordered this thing from Amazon. It arrived today. I set it up and my dog climbed right in and really liked it. It's going to be great for when I take my dog to agility trials or camping.

(Quik Shade Outdoor Instant Pet Kennel Combo with Elevated Mesh Breathable Bed - Medium)

http://www.amazon.com/Quik-Shade-Outdoor-Elevated-Breathable/dp/B00B9D9PR6/ref=pd_sim_199_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=618f4441EyL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1BYXGV0PHH45DWBG5WDG (Quik Shade Outdoor Instant Pet Kennel Combo with Elevated Mesh Breathable Bed - Medium)

Could you distract the dog from nipping your feet by dangling a toy near your heels? My dog loves her snake toy.

Also, can you put the cat in a crate---keep him away from the dog so that he doesn't get scared? Maybe try putting the cat in crate downstairs, and then the dog might want to go upstairs.

I agree. http://Dogfoodadvisor.com is a great site. And you can sign up to be notified of product recalls. I used the chart on http://dogfoodadvisor.com to find a good, but fairly low cost kibble. I feed her Pinnacle kibble and a little bit of Darwin's raw.

As a new Rover dogwalker and a petowner, I see both sides of this issue. As a petowner, I did two different meet and greets. I was very nervous about leaving my dog because she is small--12 pounds. Both sitters were very nice and handled the dogs well. But at one house they had exposed Romex electrical wiring (due to an ongoing construction project) and a very muddy backyard. The other house had cedar chips in the backyard, and no visible chewing hazards. My dog has long hair and is all white....so a muddy yard is an issue. My dog has chewed my computer power cord, so I didn't want to take the chance on her chewing a live electrical wire. I also got to see how my dog reacted to the regular dogs that stay with the sitter. Although some of the dogs were very big, they were very gentle. I would have had none of this insight if I did not do the meet and greets.

Dare I say that there might be another factor? From the tone of the post, I get that you are frustrated, but your communication style might be perceived as abrupt by a pet owner, and they might have had a different experience when contacting other sitters and decided not to go through with a meet and greet with you. If there's a pattern of above average volume of meet and greet no-shows, it might be something to consider.

Test different rewards, such as bits of cheese, hotdogs, a tug toy or ball, and know which motivate your dog the most. I recommend clicking a clicker when the dog does something right and immediately feeding a treat. The clicking noise is a consistent signal that tells the dog immediately that they are on the right track. You can also add a reinforcing word such as yes or good girl. But use it consistently, with the same volume, pronunciation, inflection, etc.

For my dog, the word "treats: said in high voice means to come right away and I give her lots of treats. It's a good signal to have handy when you need to the dog to come quickly.

If you're feeding a lot of treats as part of training, then cut back on the food served at meals...otherwise you'll have an overweight dog.

how does it work if you are doing dog walking. I have a client whose dog I will be walking every Monday for about 2.5 months. Does she pay for all the visits in advance? Do I get paid 2 days after the last dog walk (i.e. June 8 is last dog walk--So I'm paid June 10?)

I found this helpful link about canine flu for those in the Seattle area. http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/ehs/~/media/health/publichealth/documents/petbusinesses/Canine-Influenza-Virus-FAQ.ashx (http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservi...)

Sometimes there is a lot more splashing than water actually being consumed. We have a water bottle with a ball at the tip and the dog licks the ball and releases the water. This seems to give the dog more water than lapping the dish. (It also helps keep the dogs muzzle from getting all soggy and gooky.) You might want to try a water bottle with this dog. See if it helps. The other nice thing is that you can fill up the bottle and not have to worry about the dog running out of water in their bowl during the day.

We go to the dog park, she is boarding with 6 other dogs and we do agility competitions. So are we at risk? It seems like it can easily be transmitted and can make dogs quite sick. There is a vaccine available now for dogs that are around a lot of other dogs. But is this necessary or a way for them to make money?

Apparently lots of cases around Chicago and Cincinnati.

If the puppy is teething it's probably chewing to help relieve the pain. You could wet some rags, twist them and freeze them and give these to the puppy. Then the puppy has something cool and numbing to chew.

Nina Ottosen has some great dog puzzles of varying difficulty. However, I've found that the removable pieces are easily chewed so you need to watch while dog plays with them. It is really fun to watch their little minds work and figure it out. The brown slidey-brick game is one of the easiest. My dog figured that one out very quickly. I have given her the hardest one, which is pie pieces that slide, and the dog has to first take out the bones. She has figured this out and has chewed all the bones. But we still enjoy sliding pieces under the pie slices. All of these puzzle take a little bit of room...as the dog has to slide his paw to move the piece. So they aren't great for inside a crate, but if you leave your dog in an ex-pen there is room.
Here's a link to the Nina Ottosen puzzles: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nbsbssc0_8?url=search-alias%3Dpets&field-keywords=nina+ottosson&sprefix=nina+ott%2Caps%2C254

Also, if you have a snub-nosed dog, such as a pug or bulldog, be sure to check the airline regulations. Some airlines on some flights do not allow certain breeds because of breathing problems. You'd want to know about this ahead of time.

Also, I think that this damage wasn't caused by a dog behavior issue. It's not the dogs fault it had diarrhea. I think you need to puppy proof your house and have furnishings that are less prone to damage or are less valuable.
For example, if you have white wall to wall carpet....don't sue the dog owner if the dog stains it.

I would check out the rules at various apartments/condos. Most have a size limit--such as under 25 pounds. You will want to get a dog that meets the usual size requirements because if you ever have to move, you will be able to find another place that will accept the dog.

If you get a dog with hair instead of fur there will be no shedding, but you will need to brush and cut the hair. I take my dog to the groomer about every 5 weeks, and it costs 60-70 dollars each time. So make sure you want to deal with that. In my case, my boyfriend is allergic to dogs, so my little Coton de Tulear is perfect. We've had her almost two years, and no breathing problems yet.

If it's a small dog, you could buy one of those "onesies" that they put babies in. The fabric usually covers where the stitches are, so you might be able to prevent the dog from chewing the stitches and also make him/her more comfortable.

I agree with the posters above. Rawhide is very bad for dogs. But I get very dismayed, especially when I go down the pet food aisle in practically every store (including Petco)..except the small pet stores....because they all have these terrible rawhide bones. They really shouldn't be selling them, but they do because customers ask for them.

I like http://Gollygear.com. They also have a good selection of clothes. They also offer different designs of harnesses--that I have not seen on other sites. I found one that works very well for my Coton de Tulear...less matting of her fur and easier for her to get in and out of.

Here are some good links, to very sad reports on puppy mills done by the Humane Society. http://www.humanesociety.org/news/publications/whitepapers/puppy-mill-research.html%3C/p%3E (http://www.humanesociety.org/news/publications/whitepapers/puppy-mill-research.html)

Please, please don't buy your dog at nextdaypets. They are a terrible puppy mill, but they are very sophisticated in fooling people into thinking they are not. You really want to get a dog that is healthy and well-socialized. Here are some questions to ask the breeder: Can I see the father and mother of the dog? Can I visit your home and see how the dogs live? What is your health guarantee for the dog? Have you tested for hips and other medical conditions common to the breed and can you ensure that the breeding parents are free of these issues? If I can't keep the dog, will you as a breeder take the dog back? How do you socialize the dogs before I get them? Do you ship pups? (I would want a breeder who insists on the puppy buyer coming to the house to pick up the dog. That means they care about their dogs and they care about the prospective puppy parents.) I know it's really tough to do the research and wait, but the responsible breeders usually have a waiting list. They want to be sure the puppy is wanted. Here's a link with more info. http://nopetstorepuppies.com/buying-a-puppy-online-is-bad-too (http://nopetstorepuppies.com/buying-a...)