A Celebrity Dog Ranch In The Hills Above Malibu

On a recent visit to Topanga Pet Resort, I did a triple take at a handsome German Shepherd. “Oh, you probably recognize her from television,” a staff member said in a whisper, and she was probably right.

Open since 2005, the luxury getaway for dogs is a home away from home for pets of celebrities as well as for a few pets famous in their own right. Nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, Topanga Pet Resort is a 6.5-acre hillside retreat in a neighborhood heavy on rock stars, sitcom actors and Oscar winners.

While the resort won’t say who its notable clients are, I did notice signed photos by some of my favorite entertainers–an iconic sitcom star and a chart-topping band of “brothers,” among others–in the main office off Old Topanga Road, across from CaliCamp and Mill Creek Equestrian Center. Cesar Millan has filmed there, and that episode’s featured dog, who was there for socialization training, liked the Topanga pack so much, he kept coming back.

Pet grooming and boarding is a $5.4 billion a year business in the U.S., according to a 2015 survey by the American Pet Products Association. In affluent areas like this one (Topanga Canyon is sandwiched between Malibu and Pacific Palisades), over-the-top amenities and preschool-like staff-to-pet ratios are the norm. “Guest” visits at a dog ranch can easily run into the thousands when a performer is on tour or on location, and it’s essential for the quality of care to match the price.

I talked to Topanga Pet Resort owner Keith Tomlinson, who runs the business with his wife, Pat, and live on property, about running one of L.A.’s premiere pet pampering outposts.

What sort of special attention to dogs get at the resort?

Some of our small dog condos have mini furniture, which is nice. All our dogs get bedding when they’re staying overnight but I was pretty excited when I found those miniature beds. We’re also committed to keeping the environment smelling fresh and also to using organic products whenever possible. We use natural herbs for disinfecting, which adds a wonderful thyme scent. That also lets us keep our grass for pets to run on without resorting to harsh chemicals. Vets ask where they can buy our natural products. We provide baths and nail trims and special time with the trainer, trips to the veterinarian and can accommodate special diet requests.

The scenery is pretty spectacular, too. We’re blessed to have a spectacular rock formation across the street that draws local artists and provides a picturesque background for our dogs playing in the yards. The play yards themselves are outdoors, under the oaks, and play times are scheduled for four sessions a day. Our staff-to-dog ratios are typically between 1-5  and 1-8.

With a high-profile client list, you must get some outlandish requests.

Probably my favorite is that several of our long-time customers have moved away but still bring their dogs to us. One client who now lives in Miami flies her dog out to us to board and then goes on to her destination. Quite a compliment to our staff.

What should pet owners look for when searching for a place to board?

First, ask for a meet and greet session. This should allow the owner to see the grounds, play yards, and indoor sleeping area. It’s important that facilities look and smell clean. This will also be a time to share shot record information and allow the dog to meet some of the other dogs in a controlled no-cost evaluation.

Your Pet Dog Would Rather Have Your Praise Than Food

Dog owners, take note! Your pet pooch may prefer praise from you over food, a new study suggests.

The study is one of the first to combine brain-imaging data with behavioural experiments to explore canine reward preferences, researchers said.

"We are trying to understand the basis of the dog-human bond and whether it is mainly about food, or about the relationship itself," said Gregory Burns from Emory University in the US.

Out of the 13 dogs that completed the study, researchers found that most of them either preferred praise from their owners over food, or they appeared to like both equally.

"Only two of the dogs were real chowhounds, showing a strong preference for the food," said Berns.

For the study, researchers began by training the dogs to associate three different objects with different outcomes.

A pink toy truck signalled a food reward; a blue toy knight signalled verbal praise from the owner; and a hairbrush signalled no reward, to serve as a control.

The dogs then were tested on the three objects while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. Each dog underwent 32 trials for each of the three objects as their neural activity was recorded.

All of the dogs showed a stronger neural activation for the reward stimuli compared to the stimulus that signalled no reward, and their responses covered a broad range.

Four of the dogs showed a particularly strong activation for the stimulus that signalled praise from their owners.

Nine of the dogs showed similar neural activation for both the praise stimulus and the food stimulus. And two of the dogs consistently showed more activation when shown the stimulus for food, researchers said.

The dogs then underwent a behavioural experiment. Each dog was familiarised with a room that contained a simple Y-shaped maze constructed from baby gates - one path of the maze led to a bowl of food and the other path to the dog's owner.

The owners sat with their backs towards their dogs. The dog was then repeatedly released into the room and allowed to choose one of the paths. If they came to the owner, the owner praised them, researchers said.

"We found that the caudate response of each dog in the first experiment correlated with their choices in the second experiment," said Berns.

"Dogs are individuals and their neurological profiles fit the behavioral choices they make. Most of the dogs alternated between food and owner, but the dogs with the strongest neural response to praise chose to go to their owners 80 to 90 percent of the time," he said.

"It shows the importance of social reward and praise to dogs. It may be analogous to how we humans feel when someone praises us," he added.

The findings were published in the journal Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.

Pet Dog Insurance: Weighing Your Choices

Dogs are the most common pet in any household. Their loyalty and gentleness could endear them to their owners making them not just a pet but a part of the family. But most dog owners have no idea how expensive their dog's medical bills could get, especially when it gets older. This is where pet insurance becomes useful.

Most dog owners would consider that getting their dog a pet insurance as unnecessary and a luxury that only the rich could afford. In fact, only 3% of dog owners have pet dog insurance.

What are some of the reasons for not buying a pet insurance?

It's too expensive - When dogs get older, they become vulnerable to a lot of ailments like arthritis, cancer and diseases of the heart, liver and kidneys. Compare spending a $30 a month premium on a dog insurance now to spending around $500 a year on medication and a support harness for an arthritic dog later on.

It won't cover all my dog's health cost - Of course, it's impossible to find a plan that covers everything. It's the same with your own personal insurance. But I believe that having a plan is better than nothing.

I don't know what policy to buy - Most people don't know either. But you could start by checking online. This is where you can find companies, different policies and insurance prices that you could compare and select from.

Now let's look at the reasons why you need to cover your dog with a pet insurance:

You don't need to worry about health expenses for your pet - it is inevitable that your dog will grow old and could develop various diseases. The American Kennel Club's survey shows that an average dog owner spends around $1500 a year on health care for their dogs. Having a pet dog insurance could really help lessen your expenses.

Helps reduce the risk of loss - The insurance company will help you find your lost pet and will provide burial processes for your beloved canine.

It could increase the lifespan of your dog - Having a good health treatment could insure your dog's good health thereby giving you more years to enjoy with him.

It could cover damage fees caused by your dog - Your insurance could help you pay any damage to property that your dog might cause. This is an unexpected situation that you don't need to worry about.

It could cover legal fees caused by your dog - Your pet could cause some injury to other people, which could bring you into a legal situation. If ever this happens, your insurance will be there to cover the cost.

Your pet may cause injury to other people. This can happen if your pet is quite aggressive. This incident can bring you into difficult legal situation. When this happens, you don't need to pay the legal fees from your own pocket because the insurance will cover this need.

After reading this, you can now weigh the pros and cons of getting a pet insurance. Decide fast! It just might be too late.

Train your pet to be comfortable in dog clothes

It is not in an animals' character to wear clothes and dogs are no different. However, there can be many reasons you would want to put clothes on your dog. You may require them to wear clothes for a special occasion, to protect them from the weather or to help them regulate their body temperature. Your pet needs to be accustomed to moving around in clothes and making dogs wear clothes requires training as it is against their nature. However, this task can be easily accomplished with the help of patience and positive reinforcement.

If taught from the beginning, dogs can learn to be comfortable in clothes. Training is the key to ease your pet into getting used to wearing dog accessories and clothes. It is best to begin training them when they are young as they learn things quickly during that period. However, if you did not train your dog at an early age, don't fret because it is never too late to start.

The best way to start training your pet to be comfortable in clothesis with easy-to-wear clothing. The clothes have to be comfortable enough and should not cover their hind legs, feet or head. Try to avoid clothes that have to be worn from over the head as this can be a frightening experience for them.

To begin with, reward your pet when they look at you pulling out their clothes from the closet. The motive of this exercise is to simply develop a positive association with clothes in their minds. When your pet sniffs their dog clothes, reward them with another treat to signify this act as one that is positive or desirable. The next reward is given when they stand in place when you approach them with the outfit and do not run away. Once you have clothed your dog, reward them again with a treat if they do not move from their place during the process. Once your dog is dressed, keep him/her busy with an activity so that they are occupied and distracted from the feeling of being in clothes. Begin keeping them clothed for short periods, increasing the duration with each session till they are completely at ease. After taking off their clothes, reward them again for their co-operation.

The rewards should be reduced when your dog is not in his/her outfit. This makes them look forward to wearing clothes and they begin associate wearing clothes with fun or "treat time". Your dog will soon be trained to wear clothes with little fuss and stay in them without any discomfort. Using the tools of positive reinforcement elucidated above will help you train your dog to be comfortable in clothes.

Dog walkers without 'poop bags' face fines

Dog walkers who leave home without “poop bags” could face fines of up to £100 – regardless of whether their pet fouls or not.

Daventry district council in Northamptonshire said owners should have to prove how they would clean up after their dogs to cut down on the problem of fouling.

Those who fail to pay the £100 fine under the new powers – which will be introduced on 1 December – could face a penalty of up to £1,000 if the case is taken to court.

The authority said the idea of forcing dog owners to carry plastic bags was not unreasonable and the fines under the Public Space Protection Order would not be levied until the turn of the year.

Mike Warren, the council’s health and housing official, said: “This order will give us greater powers to take effective action against the minority of dog owners who do not pick up after their pets.

“We will be advising them to make sure they have extra poop bags with them at all times to ensure they have the means to pick up, regardless of how long they’ve been out and about with their pet.

“It’s not unreasonable though, for example, to expect someone who has just arrived at a venue to walk their dog to be carrying poop bags.”

A council report said: “It was difficult to catch people who had not picked up their dog’s faeces and that was why the proposals had been made to enhance the dog control powers.”