Running and biking with your pup is a great way for you to have some fun together. Depending on the right circumstances, age and breed of your dog, running and biking can also be a good way to maintain prime health for you and your pup.

Owners need to ensure that weather conditions are appropriate as extremes of hot or cold can cause respiratory problems and other issues. If you’ve never tried exercising with your pooch some things to be cautious of are hot concrete, salted streets, and other dogs or distractions that might make them uneasy.

Be sure to start slowly and progress gradually and hydrate your pup properly.

In the summer time one of the best activities you can do with your dog is to take them to the beach to cool off in the ocean and have some fun. Although your dog may look healthy after their dip, tiny microbes can stick on your dog’s coat and get into their skin if they aren’t rinsed off. By washing your dog off with fresh water after they swim you’ll help prevent any skin issues with the added bonus of getting rid of that low-tide smell!
In addition, drinking seawater may cause very upset tummies. Try to keep your pup from drinking excessive amounts.

Happy swimming!

Ticks are common during the spring and summer season months when your dog is adventuring in the woods and open fields.  Identifying them early can keep your dog from discomfort, possible infection and Lyme disease.

Search for ticks in your dogs fur where they might be crawling and run your hands over your dogs skin to feel for any unusual bumps. The most common areas they attach themselves too are the neck, face, and ears. Sometimes they will venture to the other areas of the body so it’s best to check the whole body, especially after a walk. If the tick has attached itself to your dogs body you won’t see the head as it’s under the skin. You’ll see and feel a dark oval-shaped sack which will grow in size with the more blood it consumes, and it can become quite large.

To pull the tick out, invest in a $2 tick remover because most times if you use your fingers and nails you won‘t be able to completely remove the head that’s under the skin (if the head stays in the skin there’s a much greater chance of infection). Place the fork of the tick remover right against the skin where the ticks head has gone in and twist in a quick upward motion pulling hard to free the head from under the skin. Make sure the tick is dead before discarding it. Disinfect the wound especially if the head does not fully come out. If the wound continues to be infected after 24 hours a visit your vet is advised to prevent a bad infection.

The greatest danger with ticks is that they may carry Lyme disease which can cause permanent harm to you and your dog. Symptoms include fatigue, chills, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. If untreated you or your dog could go into the second stage of Lyme disease which is more aggressive. If you or your dog are experiencing any of these symptoms get take your dog to your local vet and see your doctor. Lyme disease is not that common but it’s best to be safe than sorry.

Our beloved Riley, an 11-year-old pit bull-pointer cross, was terrified by repeated piercing whistles from our smoke detector during the power interruptions last Saturday evening. In his fright, he bolted and disappeared into the steep terrain surrounding our home in the Valhalla area. We were frantic when he hadn’t returned by midnight, with the temperature rapidly dropping.

After a sleepless night, we rose before dawn to find our old boy still missing. We criss-crossed the rugged hillside in semi-darkness, calling until we were hoarse, picturing Riley caught in a hole, with a broken leg, slowly freezing.

With flagging spirits, we decided to ask for advice from the Bowen Island Dog Ranch, where Riley has always received excellent care as a boarder and happy day-camper. Response from the Dog Ranch was amazing!  Within minutes, owner Karen Munro took charge, posting the news about Riley on the Bowen Phorum and Facebook and contacting Iris Carr at CAWES (proper actions that hadn’t occurred to us).

Chris Buchanan, the Bowen dog control officer, also responded immediately, despite the early Sunday morning phone call.

Only a half-hour later, we were awed and appreciative when Dog Ranch owner Scott Munro, manager Jocelyn Cannem and their neighbour Tina Clark, of Tina’s Dog Grooming Studio, arrived at our home with their three magnificent shepherds – Rio, Nikita and Ulrick. What a top-notch team: Scott tracking uphill through the dense underbrush, Jocelyn traversing fallen trees like a gazelle, and Tina methodically combing the roadside ravines with Ulrick. All generously gave up their Sunday mornings to spearhead the search for Riley.

And, thanks to the efforts of these fabulous volunteers, this story has a happy ending. Flushed from his hiding place, Riley suddenly appeared out of the bush, no worse for wear for his overnight experience.

We are deeply grateful to Karen, Scott and Jocelyn of the Bowen Dog Ranch, to Tina of the Dog Grooming Studio, and to their respective four-legged trackers. These warm-hearted experts demonstrated extraordinary interest in our problem and delivered hands-on help when we most needed it. They are treasured friends for all dogs and dog lovers on Bowen – and true pillars of this community.

Gayle Stevenson and Michael Cornelissen

Kat and Cam of  Turtlebox Productions here on Bowen Island shot and produced this great video of their dog “Indy” dreaming of being at the Dog Ranch.

They approached us with this great idea of shooting the Dog Ranch from a dogs view point and we spent a day with Kat and Cam and their upside-down camera following all the dogs here for the day. It seemed like a great opportunity to show what the Dog Ranch is all about. So fun!

No leashes, plenty of trails to run on, a warm bed: Bowen Island Dog Ranch has it all

MARCUS HONDRO
S T A F F C O N T R I B U T O R
WWW.BOWENISLANDUNDERCURRENT.COM

Original article

You will not often hear of us humans having the chance to take a walk with 25 dogs.  And for us to have that experience without hearing a single bark is, well, virtually unheard of.  Put that many Rovers together and at least one of them is certain to make that familiar sound, right? Wrong actually. Or at least not at the Bowen Island Dog Ranch.  I took a walk at the ranch Tuesday, March 9 with 25 active and joyful canines.  Also along were Karen and Scott Munro, who own and operate the ranch, and two of their employees, ranch manager Jocelyn Cannem and Tempest Thornhill.

We were out for half an hour and did not hear a single “ruff” from the clearly contented dogs. I found it amazing and said as much. “I’m still amazed at it, too,” said Karen, whose training is in graphic design and who for some 20 years ran her own design and marketing company in Vancouver and Toronto before meeting her husband. “It’s Scott. He really understands how dogs think.” Scott – who said dogs that are not stressed don’t need to bark – is an experienced dog trainer from Seattle and has worked with dogs in a variety of capacities there and here, including Search and Rescue and with the Humane Society. His training includes the speciality of physical therapy for dogs. “These dogs just want to please you and we bond with them,” Scott said as we walked down wooded paths on their five and- a-half-acre fenced property. “That’s why we’re so successful. We treat them like they’re our own.” The Munros bill the ranch as “off-leash boarding” and to have unleashed dogs living and playing together is not the way dogs traditionally spend their time while their family vacations or works. Scott says it’s not as hard to achieve as people accustomed to using kennels and cages might think. He says that dogs naturally get along and you just need to help them understand who’s in charge and give them exercise, good food, fresh water and lots of affection.

The Munros met at a boat race in Kits six years ago. When talking with Karen – also a dog lover whose dog, Marlee, has been a constant companion for years – it becomes clear that Scott’s ability with dogs is something that drew her to him. When she first got to see her husband to- be “hiking dogs” and “doing physical therapy on dogs in a vet clinic” in Seattle, she knew he had a special relationship with dogs.

“He was like a dog whisperer who had an effect on dogs like I’d never seen before.” After getting together they moved here and started K9 Pet Services, essentially hiking dogs during the day. But they thought Bowen would be a good location for a ranch that served the island and the North Shore (they also have dogs stay from other provinces and even U.S. states) and opened on Oct. 1, 2007. They usually have 25 or more dogs but during special times like Christmas, the recent Olympics and July and August when families vacation the number grows to 40. They operate a shuttle between here and the North Shore three times weekly
and will pick up dogs individually; for Bowen “daycamp” dogs they offer a pickup and drop-off service five days a week.

Dogs must be neutered or spayed and Scott and Karen say there are rarely problems. They point out that there are things they do to keep dogs safe, happy and getting along, such as having basketballs rather than tennis balls to play with. (Scott says “tennis balls cause fights”). They’ve also had the entire property double-fenced to keep dogs from going off property and to keep deer from getting in. There are 36 gates to create separate spaces to contain the dogs as they move about and create areas if any dogs are not getting along within the group. The sleeping quarters are an old converted barn that is two floors of heated dog-rooms, each with a comfortable looking bed and a fresh water bowl that automatically refills. Relaxing yoga music is played and Karen says the dogs look forward to their time in their rooms. “They go in for naps at one o’clock each afternoon and believe me by the time one comes around they crash,” Karen reports. “There’s not a peep in the barn. It’s amazing.”  Other staff include rancher Nikki Nagy, groomer and rancher Tina Clark, landscaper Simon Jessop, barn and property designer Tim Waters and contractor and carpenter Johnny McClelland. Local dogs who are clients include the sisters Spirit and Karma Shatzky-Greenspoon, Theo Woodall, Sasha Silberman, Linus Lalonde and fun siblings Angus and Tate Armer-Petrie. On our walk were many breeds including two vizlas, a Rhodesian ridgeback, a blue heeler, labs, a Springer spaniel, retrievers, an Aussie shepherd, a poodle-cross Bernease mountain dog and a shiba inu.