Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Scottsdale, AZ

Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

I get so over joyed to speak to students at Arizona State University in Tempe, Az.

Last semester, after receiving the Arizona Republic‘s 35 Entrepreneurs Under 35 Award, I was contacted by Mr. Blasko, a Marketing Professor in the College of Business at ASU. He wanted to know more about my business and if I would come and and speak. WOULD I? I would be honored!

Class #1

So I went to talk to two classes in December, and this week I am speaking to three classes.  It is surreal for me to be up there in the front talking to the classes, as it was only 5 years ago that I was sitting in those seats.

It went very well. I explained to them about the business, how I started, what makes us stand out from the rest, and what I think it means and takes to be an entrepreneur. I talked about how my faith is the backbone of my strength to get through the rough spots and how I built Bella’s House and Pet Sitting up from scratch.  I loved hearing their questions and be able to expand their perceptions of what a business owner and entrepreneur is. Sometimes hearing real life experiences can help expand ones perception and I get so excited at the ability to show that you can be young, make an impact on your community, and have balance in your life.

Class #2

I will go back in a heart beat and speak to any classes Professor Blasko asks of me. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

On Monday, one of my Scottsdale pet sitters called me late afternoon to tell me she had a fever of 102. Poor thing!  No problem! The team, will back you up and take over all your PM visits. Take two Tylenol and go to sleep!

tylenol bottle closeup (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The next morning her fever still hadn’t gone down so we kept going with the back up. All 15+ pets were visited throughout the day without interruption and it allowed my employee to go to the doctor and sleep it all off. This was in addition to what we already had scheduled with other sitters.

Sick in bed

We have the most amazing team players working with us at Bella’s and here is why:

(1) When someone is sick my whole staff is right there asking what can they do – willing to clear their personal schedules – because of their dedication to the pets and their “job” They even take it a step further and ask if the employee needs anything from the store. So caring, and I am so proud of them.

(2) Amazing clients who understand and trust our staff and systems to know that when “life happens” it will not become their problem. We are professionals, therefor we have taken the proper precaution to anticipate situations and solve them.

(3) A great centralized information system and back up keys. At Bella’s House & Pet Sitting, we require two copies of each client’s key. That way if one pet sitter is in an accident or something happens, we have a spare that is held with me so we can still do our job. The online system, which is password protected and encrypted, allows our clients to ensure their pet’s information is up to date, and a place where the sitters can update the notes as needed. It is a great way for us all to literally stay on the same page.

Part of the Bella's Staff Dec 2011

At the end of the day…. I just don’t know how I did it when I was a sole proprietor. Having to do 10 visits on a 102′ fever would be detrimental to me and to the four legged clients I was caring for.

So the next time you hire a professional pet sitter – ask them – what is your back up plan AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

Related articles

• Bissell Spot Bot – Every Pet Sitter’s Dream! (bellashouseandpets.com)
• The Secrete to Finding The Perfect Pet Sitter In Scottsdale (bellashouseandpets.com)
• Can You Be Safe Walking Your Dog With Your Headphones? (bellashouseandpets.com)

As I get ready to launch a twice a month radio show next month – I put a question out to one of the pet sitter forums I am a member of. I was wanting to get a feel to see if people would want to listen to our podcast while they were walking dogs and the results were shocking to me.

Music.

It is what keeps us alive. There are sting in my car seat at 1yrs old. I have been an avid salsa dancer and west coast swing.

Books.

Love them! Just fall asleep reading, so I have lots of business books on tape. It is food for my soul. After the awesome invention of the iphone my library follows me everywhere… from my home, my car, and yes, you guessed it, walking dogs.

So imagine my complete disbelief when a lot of pet sitters sounded off about NOT walking their dog clients with their head phones on. They said it would distract them and they wouldn’t be able to see things that were coming. Like a dog off its leash, a car gone crazy, etc.

I didn’t quite understand this because that would all be sight (not sound) driven. I wouldn’t ever be listening to something so loud that I still couldn’t hear what was going on. I would still be funny aware of my surroundings, this is why I have 5 senses. I walk my own dog, and your office manager, Rocco, with ear buds in my ears.

So I am curious… how do you feel about this? Do you think it is safe to walk a dog with headphones on? Do you do it when you walk your dog?

Related articles

• The Secrete to Finding The Perfect Pet Sitter In Scottsdale (bellashouseandpets.com)
• ASK THE TRAINER: What Does It Mean When My Dog Holds The Leash When We Walk? (bellashouseandpets.com)

Ever think that a dog who was known for constantly biting (including some faces) could be rehabilitated an turned into a celebrity?

Well, Flash the boarder collie (or whatever the breed is) certainly proves that anything is possible, and we should never give up on those in need.

Push play on this Walmart video and see how well Flash sells his products.

It is truly hard to believe that the same dog just some months ago was known as aggressive.

In this interview, dog trainer Jimi of Your Dog Guru, walks us through how she was able to take Flash from a scared, often aggresive pooch, to a dog ready for prime time starring in his own Walmart commercial.

It is truly inspiring.

Jimi, can you tell me who you are, what your background is and what you specialize in?

I am Owner of Your Dog Guru Company that specializes in Behavioral Rehabilitation, Personal Protection and Detection dog Training also Service dog and Hunting Dog Training.

When did you get a call from this client? Where did they live? What did they say their past experience was with this dog?

We got a call from a referral saying that their dog that has severe aggression that occurs without any signs and is sudden. They got this dog from the rescue and they did not ever mentioned about aggression. Further, we learned that our client has been bit repeatedly on numerous occasions. Erica told us that this dog attacks everything that moves and that he hides from any social contact. Our solution was our Rehab Program.

Explain to me how you got a dog from biting someone’s face to a Walmart commercial for angry bird toys? Was it easy? What methods did you use?

Nothing good comes easily.  Fixing problems that were manufactured by people that owned that dog prior to surrender to the shelter is especially tough.  We spend many hours in educating this dog how to communicate while abandoning fear and aggression. And giving him new tools to integrate in the world. Our approach is simple, that works with the dog’s personality. It enriches ability to cooperate and communicate with the external world. Who wouldn’t like that? This training  makes the dog happy because he is understood and appreciated. We created our diamond from the rough! Fast forward to today where he got to be on this Walmart commercial. He is so good now that he was on set for 5 hours and everyone get to pet him and play with him. Awesome dog!

In your opinion is any dog ever “doomed” or can they all be rehabbed?

No. I strongly believe that behavioral problems can be overcome. Best is to start with a consultation delaying a problem only puts your dog in unfavorable situation and can cause many liability issues.

What is your mission in your business?

We would love to see State of Arizona be first state without shelters and dogs that have to be put down for any behavioral inhibitions.it can be done if we all decide to make the first step and train our dogs.

How can people get in contact with you?

Phone: 480.788.1-DOG | Email: Jimi@yourdogguru.com | www.yourdogguru.com

Testimony from Flash’s mom:
Erica Kolton If it wasn’t for Jimi Livshitz my dog Flash would have most likely been put down.
He used to bite, be afraid of men and was very fearful and aggressive. But with Jimi’s excellent
training techniques now Flash is doing amazing! He just appeared in a video with me on Walmart
where we reviewed a new dog toy! Thanks for everything Jimi and Christina Livshitz!

So last week, I was very sick. The flue bug got me and then the bronchitis came. Who is more loyal to us than our pets when we are sick? Rocco was right by my side the whole time, and up on my bed (even though he isn’t normally allowed up)  As I was sneezing, blowing, and coughing I took a look at Rocco wondering if I should try to shield him from my sickness.

So what did I do?

I emailed our trusty veterinarian to get the answer…. Here is what Dr. Casey from McDowell Mountain Animal Hospital told me:

Their are multiple viruses that can cause the common cold in people- too many to discuss specifically, The common cold is a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. The most commonly implicated virus is a rhinovirus (30–80%), a type of picornavirus with 99 known serotypes.^[10][11] Others include: coronavirus (10–15%), influenza (5–15%),^[3] human parainfluenza viruses, human respiratory syncytial virus, adenoviruses, enteroviruses, and metapneumovirus.^[12] Frequently more than one virus is present.^[13] In total over 200 different viral types are associated with colds.^[3  These are all human-only viruses, but there are dog and cat versions of many of these viruses-  the good news is that they are species specific- meaning that they can only infect ONE kind of animal

Let me address Influenza-  the flu-bug.

Can people catch the flu from dogs or can dogs catch the flu from people?

The short answer is no.  There is absolutely no known influenza virus that can infect both dogs and people.  If you have the flu, do not worry about your dog or cat-  they are immune.  Influenza is a mostly “species-specific” virus- meaning that one virus only infects one species.  Now, there are rare strains of influenza that are shared between species- like the “bird flu” or the “swine flu”.  These made the news, and in my opinion, the animal-people significance was over-blown.  They were strong viruses and did make people and animals sick, but to the average American, they were the seasonal flu.

There is a NEW canine influenza virus- this was just discovered in 2005 and devastated many dog racetracks.  This virus acts just like the human version, causing fever, malaise, and if not treated appropriately, pneumonia.  This really affected shelters, racetracks and areas where large numbers of dogs were housed together (with many dogs in and out of the location). I do not believe that it is of major concern to “house-dogs”- as with proper treatment and attention, the complication rate (which means life-threatening complications) is much less that 1% and I personally have not seen the virus in 7 years.

Kennel cough in dogs is just like “the common cold” in people-  again the symptoms are caused by numerous viral and bacterial agents.  The most common is a bacteria called Bordetella bronchseptica- which again, only infects dogs (very rarely cats).  It is closely related to Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough in people), but is a different bug.  We do recommend highly vaccination for this disease- as the complication rate is closer to 5% and we see kennel cough about 5 times a month!