Dogtopia of Omaha, NE Blog

επιφ! (That’s “Hi!” in Greek)
Greetings from Winnie in Omaha, Nebraska!

Sweet Winnie

Miss Winnie is sleeping over at Dogtopia® while her Mom is enjoying a lovely Grecian holiday! Winnie loves everyone (human and canine alike) and L-O-V-E-S to play! Winnie has many doggie friends, but some of her favorites are Charlie the Corgi mix, Callie the Dachshund, and Max the Havanese mix.  Her BFFs during her stay have been Cookies and Cache, who are Puggles and who are also sleeping over with us. Winne, Cache and Cookies love to play chase and wrestle, especially on the futon! They wear each other out and are ready for bed at the end of the day! : -) (or a nice snooze on the futon together anytime!)

Wrestling with Cache and Cookies, DWWF (Dog World Wrestling Federation) style! : -)

We are really enjoying having Winnie stay with us, she is such a fun girlie!
Winnie sends her kisses and love!

We all want to keep our dogs healthy. We give them good food, exercise, training, playtime and love. One thing that should not be overlooked is keeping your dog free of parasites. And now it’s more important than ever.

“The American Heartworm Society became aware of a pending product unavailability of the only available heartworm adulticide product, IMMITICIDE®, for an undetermined duration.” This means that if your dog gets heartworms, they will be harder to treat than ever before! Your vet will have a plan to treat dogs during this time, but it would be even better to prevent your dog from getting heartworms in the first place. Luckily that is easy to do!

Heartworms are worm like parasites that can infect dogs (and other animals). Once infected, the worms grow inside the dog, usually residing in the heart and lungs, but eventually spreading to other areas of the body if the disease goes unchecked. Heartworm preventative is (usually) a monthly dose that you give to your dog. The preventative eliminates the chance of heartworm infection when given monthly. Some preventatives are chewable tablets and others are topically-applied solutions. There are many brands of preventative to choose from, and prices vary too, but a typical price is around $10 per monthly dose. Preventative is much easier on you and your dog than treating for heartworms once they have infected your dog. Typical heartworm treatment takes around 2 months to complete, and during that time the dog needs to be kept quiet and have limited exercise. (and if you have an energetic dog, you can imagine how difficult that would be!) Heartworm preventative is easy to give and an easy way to help your dog stay healthy. If your dog is not on heartworm preventative, call your vet and ask about preventative options for your dog. Here’s to happy, healthy dogs!

Want to learn more about heartworm disease in dogs?
Check out the American Heartworm Society’s website here: http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/canine-heartworm.html
Or the AHS’s FAQ page: http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/faqs.html#q1

Summer is just about here and we’re starting into the “buggy” season now.

It seems the ticks are out in force, especially in tall grass and wooded areas. We highly recommend that your dog be on flea and tick preventative to help prevent tick-borne diseases such as Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. All of these diseases can have a serious effect on our dogs’ health. Tick & Flea Preventatives are the best defense against preventing tick-borne diseases. Check out this helpful website to learn all about ticks, tick borne diseases, preventatives, and more at http://www.dogsandticks.com/index.html

Heartworm preventative is also extremely important, especially in Nebraska. Heartworms are spread from dog to dog by mosquitoes (which we tend to have quite a few of in Nebraska!) Mosquitoes carry hearworm micro-larve and infect the dog when they bite. The heartworms then grow in the body (mainly the lungs and the heart) and can cause serious illness or death. Heartworm treatment is much more costly (and is also hard on your dog) than monthly preventative. For more information about heartworm disease in dogs, and prevention, visit http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html

If you are interested in putting your dog on a flea/tick preventative or heartworm preventative, just ask your vet. Here’s to our happy healthy dogs!

The dogs had a great time playing inside and out today! The storms we had this afternoon didn’t seem to bother anyone too much, all the dogs just kept right on playing! We celebrated two doggie  birthdays today, check out photos of the birthday dogs, and all of their friends, on our Facebook page!

We are very excited to announce we installed artificial turf for the dogs today! They had a blast breaking it in and the swimming pools were an awesome addition to this afternoon’s fun! It’s going to be an awesome summer at Dogtopia!

Check out more photos at our Facebook page!

Several lucky dogs came to play and stay with their buddies at Dogtopia! Here are some photo highights from this week (and a couple from last week too)!

Pooh stayed with us last week, he's so happy!

Here's Joker and one of his pals!

Cam, Lucy, and Pooh had so much fun playing chase!

We're happy to be fostering Frank again, he's such a sweet, playful boy!

Blitz had such a great time playing fetch after dinner!

Bella stayed for her very first sleepover with us. She was a rockstar and loved meeting new friends!

Lola plays really hard! Whew!

Everyone thinks Lucy is pretty cool.

Joey, Brinkley, Willie and friends had a great time in daycare this week!

Briggs says all this playing is exhausting work! He loves to hang out on the futon when not playing

Maya is such a happy girl!

Ollie and Red had a birthday this week! Happy Birthday guys!

Boomer joined us for his first day of daycare this week and did great meeting new friends! His best buddy was Jeff!!!

Peanut is our Dog of the Week for this week! He's such a smiley boy!

Lucy and Phobe resting after a busy morning of playtime.

Angus loves to play!

The weather is getting warmer, slowly but surely! It’s time to mark your calendars for our exciting Summer 2011 events!

On Saturday MAY 21st Dogtopia of Omaha will be co-presenting Bark in the Park at the brand new Werner Park! On Saturday May 21st, bring your best canine buddy to the game, and watch the Storm Chasers go head to head with the Las Vegas 51s! The game starts at 7:05pm. While at the game, you can visit booths for local dog-friendly businesses, participate in raffles and giveaways, and experience the new Werner Park! Check out Werner Park’s website at: www.wernerpark.com Werner Park is located in Sarpy County, NE on 126th & HWY 370. (just southeast of Dogtopia in fact!)

Come out and support a great cause!

On JULY 17^th we will be hosting our 3^rd annual K9 Support Dog Wash event! This event keeps growing every year! Join us this year to meet local rescue organizations, area and check out the silent auction! Bring your dog and we will treat him or her to a soothing bath and ALL proceeds go to the Omaha Police K-9 Unit. We had a spectacular event last year, and hope we can raise even more funds for the K-9 Unit this year, and have a great time doing it!

Join us at Dogtopia of Omaha on Sunday July 17^th, from 11:00am to 4:00pm, for this fun event!

Are you thinking about adding a (or another) canine to your family? Adopting a rescue dog can be a very rewarding experience, and a lifetime of love and fun! Never shared your life with a rescued animal? Read Why would anyone want to adopt a Rescue dog? for an insight into adopting a rescued dog. Check out these great local adoptable dogs!

Hoyt

Hoyt says Hi!
“HI! My name is Hoyt! I’m a 10 month old blue male Weimaraner.  I am super sweet and my foster mom says I am an absolute character. Maybe it’s because I like to hop in the shower with her! Yippee!  I love to toss my toys  up in the air… I am having such a  great time!! I know some commands and I love to fetch.  I am very social with people and dogs. I am a  super star at doggie daycare.. I take flying leaps on to and off the back porch!  At night when I’m all pooped out you might find me sleeping around your head trying to get as close to you as I can.  I have a lot of energy but I’m a great dog!!  I’m going to be a smaller guy.. around 50 pounds. Won’t you be my new best buddies?” Hoyt is adoptable through Wonder Weims Rescue

Frank

Meet Frank!
Our buddy Frank is still available for adoption! Frank is a border collie/lab/pit mix. He is a year and a half old, and already knows his basic obedience. He loves to play with other dogs and he has attended doggie day care on a regular basis.  Frank is a very well behaved young dog and everyone is quick to compliment him on it. He is micro-chipped, current on his vaccinations, and neutered. If you are looking for a well behaved companion who loves to go on walks, Frank is your dog! Frank is available for adoption through No Pets Left Behind

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More of Hoyt and Frank . . .

Hoyt

Hoyt

Hoyt

Hoyt Sits

Frank on a walk!

Handsome Frank

"Snow is awesome!" : -)

Hanging out with buddies.

Last week we were proud to hold our first “Lucky Dogs Giving Back” Fundraiser. During the week of March 13th – 19th we raised money for a local cause. This year we raised funds to benefit a local Relay for Life team – “Team Perseverance”! $1.00 was donated for every daycare dog in attendance throughout the week; and in addition we would like to extend a big thanks to everyone who donated monetarily! Dogs playing at Dogtopia last week raised $334 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life “Team Perseverance”! A huge thank you to everyone who participated!

Click HERE to read more about our beneficiary, Relay for Life “Team Perseverance”!

Springtime is here! Check out some of our daycare and boarding guests soaking up the sunshine!

Emma says Hi!

Sweet Divot cruises by

Duke and Daisy bask in the sun.

Otis and Cam hanging out with the staff

Boo celebrates St. Patrick's Day with a shamrock!

Gonzo smiles for the camera!

Eddie takes a break from playing. Whew!

Leo is a pretty happy guy and loves to play!

Mason, hanging out in the sun.

Smiling Oreo

The Romper dogs say "Lets play ball!"

Hi Nylah!

Holly and Sadie loved playing together!

The gym dogs decide what to do next . . . more play!

Leonard says Hello!