New year, new decade, fresh start.

Each new year, I like to reflect back on the past few months and set goals for the next few months. This year, I seem to be finding things all around me that I want to go through, reorganize, purge and clean out. I think it’s the added drama of a new decade that has me feeling so energized. Since the dogs are a huge part of our household, I wanted to create an organizational punch list dedicated to them to add to my New Year’s goals.

1. Bath and groom. Everyone deserves a feel good in the new year and smelling fresh and clean is a great way kick things off.

2. Go through the grooming tools.

• Wash the brushes and combs. Replace any with broken bristles or tines.
• Send scissors out for sharpening and/or replace any that aren’t comfortable or work well.
• Refill products that you like and work well for your dog, dispose of products that you don’t use.
• Make a fresh batch of dry shampoo, two recipes that we use can be found here.

3. Is your house suddenly overun with toys? Sort and wash all of the dog toys. Donate extra toys to a local shelter, dispose of toys that are no longer in good condition.

4. Sort and wash beds, blankets and towels. Donate extras in good condition to a local shelter.

5. Review vaccination records for each dog. Make sure everything is up to date and mark the calendar for when each of them is due for their annual check-up and 6 month stool check.  Take a picture of the current vaccination certificate for each to keep in your phone. If required, renew pet licenses.

6. Review pet insurance policy, be aware of renewal date. Make any desired changes before policy renews for the year.

7. Go through your pet first aid kit. (I keep this one in the car.) Replace/refill any products that have been used or have expired. Insert current copies of vaccination records so that they are in hand if you have an out of town emergency.

8. Confirm that your contact information is correct with the pet I.D./chip company.

9. Take a look at collar I.D.’s. Replace any that are hard to read or have out dated phone numbers or information. Order extras if you change collars frequently or ID clips that make it easy to transfer tags from one collar to another. 

10. Set some new goals for you and your pets. Walk more, play more, try something new. There are so many options!

Winn and I when she passed her first Water Dog test

Maisie and I the day she passed her therapy dog certification