Guide to Staying At Home With Your Dog In A Pandemic

1. Cleaning & Organizing

With more free time on our hands now than ever, we’re often finding ourselves feeling bored or just plain lost. Here’s a few simple cleaning routines to keep us busy and our live/work/play spaces tidy and sanitary while we practice Stay-At-Home with our beests.

• Wash out pup’s food bowls and wipe down any mess around their feeding area (daily)
  
  
• Sweep / vacuum around the kitchen floor to keep any food scraps away from pup (daily)
  
  
• Vacuum / mop the floors & rugs for fur & dust (daily or weekly)
  
  
• Tidy up pup’s lounge area, keep their nest fresh and comfy (daily or weekly)
  
  
• Organize pup’s pantry - make sure all foods & treats are sealed for freshness, labeled clearly and out of nose’s reach (weekly)
  
  
• Reorganize pup’s belongings - hang up their walking gear, tidy their bandanas and outfits(!), go through old toys and reintroduce or purge (monthly)
  
  
• Wash / wipe down / shake put pup’s gear - leash, collar, harness, treat pouch, blankets and bed / duvet, etc. (monthly or bi-monthly?)
  
  
• Provide safe & sanitary access to other spaces of your abode for beest - keep clean the porch, stoop, back yard (lucky you!), garage, car, etc. (monthly)
  

2. Beauty + Grooming

Anyone else noticing your Beests looking a little extra FLOOFY lately…. Shelter in Place has been tough especially when it comes to grooming the pups. Sharing a couple simple DO’s and DON’TS if you plan on giving Beest their at home self care day.

• Hair / fur - DO have patience and take your time. Trim with a dry and clean pup. Make sure to have proper grooming shear / clippers (No. 10 clipping blade is recommended).
  
  
• Nail - DO choose a place that is well lit to see properly. If your pup has white nails clip until you see pink (quick) if your pup has black nails, clip a little at a time until you see a solid black dot on the tip.

• Tooth brushing - DON’T use human toothpaste. Use pet-safe tooth paste and a soft bristle brush or a child’s toothbrush. Give your pup small samples of toothpaste to introduce the taste. Don’t forget to reward them with positive behavior with treats, play time, or petting.
  
  
• Paws - DO use moist wipes that are pet safe after each walk. Gently wipe in between toes and pads. If paws are too messy consider washing pups paws with a soapy washcloth and make sure to rinse thoroughly.

3. Exercising & Activity

Staying at home doesn’t necessarily mean we have to give up our activities. For us dog people, our beests are a good reason to stay active outdoors as well as indoors. Here are some easy exercise & activity ideas to keep us healthy in the body and mind.

• Walking / jogging around the neighborhood together. Go a different way to keep it fresh & stimulating. Don’t forget to bring your mask!
  
  
• Stairs - find some flights of stairs around your house, building, neighborhood and walk or jog ‘em up & down... get some cardio in (& butt lift yeah!) with pup in tow.
  
  
• Squats & Lunges - cradle that beest in your arms like a baby and go about your squat and lunge reps. 3 or 4 sets of 10? Use your discretion for larger/heavier dogs!
  
  
• Tug & Fetch (AKA good ol’ endless fun for beest!) - you all know this one and it’s still a good indoor activity for engaging and bonding with your pup.
  
  
• Nosework - hide pup’s favorite treat or toy in a box and have them “find it”. Praise them! Make it more challenging by hiding one or more treats in multiple boxes. A fun way to repurpose all those cardboard boxes or paper bags you’ve accumulated this month!
  
  
• Hide and seek - dare you to get this silly! Literally go hide when pup’s not looking and call them or give that squeaky toy a good squeeze. Give treats and praises when they find you.
  
  
• New tricks - why not use this time to teach pup that trick you always wanted to. Don't forget to bring your Alamo Treat Pouch to your training session! :)

4. Meditations

Shelter in place has got us going a little stir-crazy, so we can only imagine how your pup is doing with all this indoor time. Meditation is a great way for not only you but also for Beestie to relax and spend some quality time together. A few tips on how you can incorporate a simple 10 minute meditation to your daily routine:

• Find a cozy calming spot in the house and sit down with Beest. You can even lay out a yoga mat for you and Beest to share.
  
  
• Focus on your Breath, this is the key to meditation. Try to align your breath with your pup’s. Focusing on their inhale and exhale and do your best to sync them together.
  
  
• Put on some dog meditation music to help set the mood. Remember the most important step is making your pup feel comfortable and relaxed.
  
  
• Know that there will be times where you pup won’t want to meditate, that's okay you can do other forms of meditation together like on your morning walk
  
  
• Stay patient, this will take some time for you and pup to learn. Know your pup’s body language to know when is a good time to do a meditation moment
  
  
• Practice Practice Practice. Start with meditating for a couple minutes then slowly progress the time once your pup starts to get the hang of things.

5. Homemade Treats

We’ve been seeing a lot of home cooking and baking going on these days which we think is PAWSOME and encourage you to carry on FUREVER! When it comes to dog treats, home cooking is THE way to ensure the ingredients are healthy and catered to any dietary restrictions, and of course budget-friendly. Ok, here are some EASY delicious treat ideas to keep beest happy & healthy.

6. Homemade Toys

For those of you feeling up for some no-frills crafting, here’s a couple of homemade toy ideas to make out of scrap materials that'll keep pup entertained while social distancing! 

• Braided tug toy: cut three 3” wide by 12” long strips from an old T-shirt. Make a knot with the strips on one end, braid them and make another knot to finish. Add your own touch by using different colors or braiding techniques, letting the loose strips of fabric hang long on one side or attaching a tennis ball.
  
  
• Tennis ball treat dispenser: cut a slit in a tennis ball that will fit your pup's favorite treat. Make it challenging enough for pup to figure out how to get their favorite treats out!

• Crackly sock toy: only god knows where those socks disappear to from the laundry, but at least we can make a dog toy with what’s left. Put an extra crackly water bottle in an old sock and tie a knot at the opening. Crunchy crackly fun for hours!

7. Movies for Dog lovers

Let’s be honest here… a lot of us are spending more time on Netflix and Hulu than anything else these days (totally acceptable in times like this), so we wanted to share some all time favorite dog movies to watch for any dog lover / those who want to have a movie night with Beest.

• “Lady and The Tramp” - a Disney classic filled with romance and spaghetti.

• “Best In Show” - get ready for the obsession. This is US!

• “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” - trust us and bring a box of tissues.
  
  
• “Marley & Me” - perfect for the whole fam, filled with lots of laughs and relatable “getting your first dog” moments.

• “101 Dalmations” - Mom & Dad to the rescue from the infamous Cruella De Vil.
  
  
• “Beethoven” - a rambunctious St. Bernard wins the heart of his new family, slobbers and all.
  
  
• “Frankenweenie” - a Tim Burton stop motion animation brings a quirky fantastical story of a boy and his dog.
  
  
• “Turner & Hooch” - young Tom Hanks & slobbery Hooch the dogue on a quest for love.
  
  
• “A Dog’s Purpose” followed with the sequel “A Dog’s Journey” - if you need a good cry, these won't let you down. :)

• “Isle of Dogs” - stop-motion animation of Japanese dogs on a trash island, with a touch of Wes Anderson quirk and humor.

Stay home and stay healthy everyone!

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