Okami
Posted : 6/24/2008 6:36:07 PM
Hello!
Another calgarian here. Are you moving to airdrie?
Food wise, calgary is awesome. We have a store here called Pet Planet (around 4 or 5 locations, i think.), it sells all the good foods you can find. Like previously mentioned, Orijen and Acana are manufactored out of Alberta .. two hours away from Edmonton. There's also Go!, horizon and horizon legacy, Natural Balance, Innova/Evo, that are sold there, and a few others. Personally, I'm a huge Horizon fan. There are three kinds of Horizon. Horizon with grains, Horizon legacy which is grain free, and Horizon pure, which is a premade raw food, all three are carried by Pet Planet stores. Horizon is manufactored out of saskatchewan, and one of the only pet food companies who buy from and support ethical raised farm animals for their food, and there is such a enormous quality control system that they could take a bag of food (one with grain) and tell you which field the grain in your food came from. They also have Yucca in their foods, which helps with the smell of poop. Also, the ingredients are awesome as well. That would be my recommendation.. Horizon... any of the kinds!
Weather.. well,.. lmao our winters are quite brutal. Personally I was born and raised here and I don't even need to layer and I feel fine.. I'm definately a cold weather girl. However since you're not familiar with chilly canadian winters, a heavy down filled jacket, a headband or touqe, a scarf, long johns and good winter boots that come to the middle of the calf would be a must IMHO. It can get down to the -40s in really bad winters, and It did a couple of days this year. Some dogs adapt really well to cold weather, however you should get Thor some boots just in case. Also, be careful of frostbite! get out of the cold weather when you get frost nip (tingly but still sort of numb body parts, and redness. {Fingers, feet, face and ears are most susceptable.)
The summer is hot and dry.. welcome to the prairies! Just make sure everyone has some fresh cold water, and you'll be good. And like someone else mentioned, it really is in your best interest to take walks early in the morning, or late at night.. because it's really gross walking in the hot dry sun in the afternoon..
Speaking of walks.. since you're close to calgary you'll love all the dog parks we have here. Some range to big huge parks with river access to just small fields in residential areas. The city is starting to take action whereas regulations and control is concerned, however the only thing that is a concern is cyclists. Some just will *not* slow down even in a off-leash dog park, there are some real jerks. And again reinstating the early morning walk thing, for *some* reason the people who walk in the mornings usually have friendlier dogs... but that not be the same for all of them, thats just my personal experience. Winter walks are awesome for one reason too.. hardly anyone goes when it's cold, except for the really dedicated dog owners, which also own the most behaved. But if youre going to one with river access, be careful of it during winter! My grandmas partner had to crawl out on the ice because one of her dogs fell through 1 1/2 years ago, and my mum had to pick our lab out of the ice a few years back. It can look strong and stable, and they can fall through very fast.
Maybe we could have a calgary idog get together when you get here? Lol!