Aunt Rosie's Pet Care Services

09/01/2026

DOG FOOD RECALL!Northwest Naturals.

See a complete list of all dog food recalls and FDA warnings since 2009, as tracked by the editors of the Dog Food Advisor.

08/24/2026

DOG FOOD RECALL!

See a complete list of all dog food recalls and FDA warnings since 2009, as tracked by the editors of the Dog Food Advisor.

03/29/2026

It's that time of year again for your reminder that if you love your pets give lilies a hard pass.

Lilies, in many forms, can be life-threatening to cats, but how can you figure out which to steer clear of? Well, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has composed this list to keep you informed and your pets safe!

01/28/2026

RED FLAG LANGUAGE

"FIX"

The word “fix” doesn’t belong in dog behaviour, because dogs aren’t broken machines. They’re living beings with nervous systems, histories, emotions, and unmet needs.

You don’t fix fear. You don’t fix anxiety. You don’t fix stress. You support it. You work with it.

Certain behaviour can appear problematic for guardians but for the dog behaviour is communication.

Growling, barking, freezing, lunging, shutting down, these aren’t flaws to be corrected.

They’re messages. They’re a dog saying “I’m overwhelmed,” “I don’t feel safe,” “I don’t know how to handle this,” “Please give me space.” or " Im in pain".

Our job is not to silence that communication.
Our job is to listen, to understand.

When we focus only on stopping behaviour, making a dog quiet, compliant, or “well behaved”,we risk missing the reason it’s happening in the first place.

Suppression isn’t understanding. A dog that looks calm but feels unsafe isn’t fixed; they’re just silent, to worried to try and tell you " help"… how heartbreakingly sad.

Real behaviour work is about:

Listening, Learning, Investigating and Investing.

To understanding what the dog is experiencing, and make changes that build hope, trust and confidence and clear compassionate communication.

Positive changes come from professionals who ethics are based on emotional and physical safety and guardians who are willing to step up and be a constant and integral part of the journey.

Building skills and emotional safety, that helps the dog feel capable, not controlled is key for me.

I don’t aim for dogs who don’t react.
I aim for dogs who feel better and guardians who understand the why and feel they can contribute to change in compassionate positive ways.

Because a dog who is was forced into silence, isnt being supported 🐾

10/28/2025

SECONDS COUNT
This post is not advocating that dogs meet every other dog, but rather about how to go about it in a safer way, if and when it does happen.

The 3 second rule for dogs meeting each other is used as a guideline to help foster positive introductions, prevent either dog from feeling overwhelmed or trapped and prevent any potential reactivity and stress.

A short 3 second introduction is enough time to provide important information to both dogs.

Enough time and information for dogs to decide – “are you a threat?”, “do I like you?”, “do I want to learn more about you?”, “do I really dislike you?”, “do I want you to go away?” etc. Both dogs may not feel the same way – one may not be happy to engage while the other may want to.

All interactions should ideally happen like this, not just initially. Just like us, dogs can have off days – things like pain, trigger stacking, lack of sleep or a host of other reasons can influence a dog’s emotional state and whether a dog wants to interact or not.

There are countless times I have witnessed meetings or introductions between dogs that have gone on just a few seconds too long and have not ended well.

This can have long lasting effects on future behaviour when meeting other dogs.

Understanding body language is critically important. If we are going to share our lives with another species, protect them, advocate for them and help them feel safe, then we need to understand and respect their language.

The examples in this post of red and green flags are just a few general ones to look out for – there are many more and these will differ depending on the individual dog, context and circumstances.

Here are some resources that provide more detailed information about body language –

The Veterinary Behaviour Centre
https://bit.ly/4hwC8k1

On Talking Terms With Dogs - Calming Signals, 2nd Edition by Turid Rugaas
https://bit.ly/4oftWqW

Make sure those first 3 seconds count – they can make all the difference.

10/18/2025

Why do we continue to push them?
Distressed barking in carparks because they would be "bored" at home.
Sitting in bars while they cower under a table to "help them become exposed to life".
Walking around busy hardware stores where they're confronted by machinery, people, dogs and smells and they're completely overwhelmed.
So why do we persist?
We've seen (or think we have seen) a glimmer of relaxation in that chaos.

We crave fast results and visible “progress”.
We take the smallest piece of calmness and stillness as a positive.
Those glimpses of coping aren’t always comfort.

Far from it for many.

We've often misread just how comfortable they are and we think that's enough of a signal to push them far more.

It's not.

So how long do you have to do the bars, cafes and stores before they just accept new environments?
For many in just those scenarios, pushed that much, they may never accept them.
You'll be doing the same in 2 months and still doing it in 2 years.
Or, their world will quickly become much smaller because their reactions will be stronger to the point they will screech, lunge or feel they have no choice but to use their mouth.

We need to stop throwing them in the deep end when they can barely cope "paddling" around.
They need careful exposure, not just exposure.

It's the old "they can, but should they" debate.
Not much of a debate for me.

10/17/2025