Makeover of the week!

Sparkle H.

Hello! My name is Sparkle. I am a four year old Miniature Poodle.  This is my first visit to Best Friends.  I board with my housemate and best buddy, Koda.  He is a eleven and a half year old Great Pyranese.  We are quite a pair and like to play, play, play!  As you can see from my before picture, all my playing gets me quite shaggy and tangled.  Today I am getting a complete makeover from the awesome groomers at Best Friends before I go home from my boarding stay.  You won't even recognize me after my haircut and bath!  I'm ready to do it all over again!



Makeover of the week!

Lily R.



Hello my name is Lily. I am a 4 years old Shetland Sheepdog. When I stay at Best Friends I enjoy getting a bath and haircut before I go home. Whether I am staying at Best Friends or at home I love to play which means that I can get a little dirty and not feel so beautiful. When Sara is all done with my bath and haircut I look and feel like the Princess that I am. Thanks Sara for making me look and feel like a million bucks.

Makeover of the week!

Oliver M.

Hello my name is Oliver and I am a toy poodle that is going to be 2 years old very soon. As you can see from my before picture, I like to get down and dirty playing and having a good time at home. Then I like to come see Claire at Best Friends for a bath and haircut so I can look fresh and handsome again. When Claire is all done, I will look like the most handsome guy you have ever seen.

Groom of the Week!!!

Beignet F.

Hello, my name is Beignet, and I am a 5 month old Himalayan. This is my first time coming to Best Friends for grooming. With the type of cat that I am, I will be coming to see the groomers at Best Friends quite a bit. I am a sweet guy that is very laid back. Claire is the groomer that gave me a bath for the first time and I didn't mind at all. She said that I was a very good cat.

How to teach your cat tricks

Yes, even cats can be taught tricks. Some cats are easier than others. Here are some techniques that will help you train yours.


Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Lots of patience

A sense of humor

1 First you need to know what your cat absolutely loves. One of mine, Nori, is madly in love with shrimp tails. He hasn't gotten as well trained as the other who loves ordinary -- far more affordable -- cat treats.

2 A clicker

Clicker training works very well on cats. The concept is to get one of these little plastic clickers, click it and treat the cat simultaneously until the cat associates the click with the treat. It is a lot faster to click the clicker than to feed the cat so when the cat (dog or other trainee -- no, I haven't tried this on children ;-) )-- actually does the behavior, you can 'mark' it and the cat knows the treat is coming. If you just use treats, by the time you give the cat a treat, he or she may be doing a totally different behavior and you are essentially rewarding the new behavior, not the one he/she was doing a second ago.

3 Get the cat's attention. The sound of the freezer door where shrimp is kept usually is enough for my shrimp-lover. Do what works for yours. I always call mine. They so look forward to training (and rewarding) sessions that they always come when called. This means if ever I NEED to call them, they will also come.

4 Once you have the cat's attention, wait (and this may take awesome patience) until he/she makes at least the beginning of the move you want. For example, to make my cat, Nori, "spin" I would move my hand around his head while he is sitting. When he gets up and starts to turn I click and treat. Before long he starts to get up and move around automatically hoping for a click and the following shrimp tail. Once he has part of the turn learned, I make him turn more each time before clicking until he makes a full circle.

5 Once he starts to make a full circle I start labeling it by saying "spin!". Before too long he associates the command with the trick -- and that wonderful shrimp tail.

6 There are many techniques for training. Even clicker training is handled a little differently by various trainers. This is how I've been training my cats -- and others -- and it's worked well for me.

Thank you to ehow.com for information to this article.

Pet Of The Week!!!

Cody L.

Hello, my name is Cody and I'm a 1 1/2 yr old german shepard mix who's filled with oodles of energy!! I've been coming to Best Friends now for a little over a year, and OMG it's Woof-Tastic!! You see I used to board and my mommy would put me in their playgroup which is 45 mins of pure bliss playing with some fuzzy friends. But now they have a new programs called Play N Stay and it's only $3 dollars more than the playgroup and I get a minimum of 4 hours of group play a day!!! Kudos to my mom, that $3 is the best money spent on me here at Best Friends yet!!! So talk, well woof, to your moms and dads that you wanna join me in Best Friends Play N Stay!!

Make Over of the Week

MAKE OVER OF THE WEEK
SOPHIE K

HI! My name is Sophie. I am a young Yorkie

and the apple of my mommies eye. I came in to see my

favorite groomer Sara today. As you can see I was quite the

sight when I first came in ......

but Sara took control and soon made me back

into the beautiful young girl that I am!

Don't I look wonderful now?

Groom of the Week

Pookie S.

Hello, I'm Pookie. I'm a 3 1/2 yr old Bichon Frise. In the 1800's my ancestors used to lead the blind and do tricks in circuses and fairs. Although my ancestors used to enjoy doing this, I prefer to snuggle on your lap and give you lots of kisses! And who better to do this than a freshly groomed pup!! Sara always does an excellent job making me look and feel like the pup I know I am!! I'm giving her a round of applause!!

Make Over of the Week

MAKE OVER OF THE WEEK

BOW I

HI! My name is Bow (sounds like a Christmas *Bow*).

 I am an American Cocker. I've been coming to see my

 Best Friend's Groomer, Sara for over a year now.

She always makes me look and feel SO wonderful.

My mom makes sure I come regularly so I never

get unruly in my hair style, but the work that

Sara does on me makes me even

 more *stylin'* then ever!