The Ball Craze!

This is one of the best inventions I think by far!!!

The Chuckit Ball Launcher!

I love this product. I have had mine for 2 years now. It is one of the best things I have ever purchased.

It started out that I could not throw the ball very far since I throw like a girl! My Ellie a Border Collie mix who loves to play ball was growing up and has all kinds of energy… and me throwing to her was…well…bad. So I saw this goofy looking thing at the store and figured OK lets give it a shot!

Not only can I Chuckit all the way up the yard (I have a big yard) but Ellie really needs to run to get it…it does not take much effort to do.

The best part is you don’t have to touch a wet slimy ball!

If you have a dog that loves to play ball you gotta check out this product. There are even ones for little dogs. And they have many different types of balls for it. We love the Max Glow Ball it glows in the Dark one so we can play at night!

We have this posted as one of our Favorite things.
Let us know if you have a chuckit...tell us how much you love it!

Take Your Dog to Work Day

Hi Everyone!!
Don't forget next Friday, June 22, 2012 is "Take your Dog to work Day!" Let all your bosses know your bringing in the pooch!

Take your dog to work day was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs.

For more information click on the link below:
 www.takeyourdog.com/

Let me know how many of you take your dog to work.

The Importance of Puppy Training

Training your dog is an important responsibility that a dog owner will have. Not only for the owner’s welfare or the welfare of everyone that is around him, but for the dog itself. Being a responsible owner is not only making sure he has food and water, or medical attention.

A well trained dog can be a great addition to any household but let’s face it; an untrained dog that goes to the bathroom in the house, or pulls your dinner off the counter, or jumps on the dining room table and eats all your food or chasing after a car going down the street, or bites someone is not doing Fido any good. 

As a good owner you need to teach your dog what you expect of him. There are many different methods to train your dog. What ever way you choose, stay with it and follow through.

Let’s stick with some basic principles.

• Be Consistent:

It is important for you to be consistent with your dog’s routine. This will be one of main rules that help you with housetraining.

When your dog has a specific time for eating, sleeping, and playtime, he will more likely succeed in housetraining.

·       Keep an Eating Schedule:

Regular eating schedule will give your puppy a predictable appetite, which will help to regulate his digestive processes.

Obviously, the more food and water you give your puppy, the more he will need to eliminate.

Be sure to follow the instructions regarding how much to feed your puppy at which ages and weight level.

Also only leave your dog food down at meal times for about 20 minutes. Leaving food down throughout the day makes potty training much more difficult to master as it upsets your dog’s toileting regime.

After your puppy eats, there will be a very short amount of time before he needs to eliminate. To be safe, take him outside 15 to 20 minutes after he eats.

Be sure to give your puppy plenty of water throughout the day, especially around mealtime because this is critical for carrying waste material from his body.

·       Keep a Sleeping Schedule:

Consistency in your puppy’s sleeping patterns is also important. Crate training really comes in handy here. A puppy likes to keep his “den” clean, so he will be less likely to eliminate in his crate as long as it is not too big.

You can predict that a puppy will almost always need to eliminate when he wakes up in the morning or after naps. He should be given an opportunity to eliminate before retiring to the crate for a nap or for the night.

·       Play:

When a puppy is engaged in playtime, chances are he will need to eliminate during or afterwards. Keep your play sessions short and make sure you give him plenty of time to eliminate before coming back into the house.

·       Command Phrase:

Think of a command phrase that you will say every time you want your dog to go outside. It could be “Do you want to go outside” or “Do you want to go potty?” You will use this same phrase every time you take him outside. Be consistent, don’t say “do you want to go outside” in the morning and then say “Do you want to go potty” later.  Your dog needs to learn what you are saying to him.

Again, be consistent and educate the whole family on the methods you choose to train your new puppy.  Changing methods between family members will confuse you dog.

Do your research and have fun. With a little work you can enjoy a lifetime of happiness with your dog.

Fleas and Ticks

Hey Folks…it’s that time of year again! Heat starts to set in and  you start to think…

Should you protect your dog against fleas and ticks? Are you’re a responsible dog owner if you don’t?  This is a question that many dog owners ask themselves.

Personally I think this is a no brainier.

We watch TV and see all the commercials for all the top brands of flea and tick medications there are… we watch how just one female can lay thousands of eggs, and that’s just one!!!

They are all over your dog biting him, jumping on you, the carpet, the bed, they are biting you as well and you have bite marks that swell up and are itchy….yuck! Have you ever been in a house that is infested with fleas? Trust me you don’t want to be.

What about the ticks…especially deer ticks. All it takes is one flee to infest your home. All it takes is one tick to latch on to your dog and harm him…you’ve heard about lime disease.

I was with some friends the other day, they have a little Pomeranian I’ll call her Lucky. Lucky’s mom was telling me that she was petting Lucky and found a growth on her. Scared she took her to the vet (she thought Lucky had a tumor). Well, as it turns out …..it was a tick. The vet removed it and they brought Lucky home. A couple days later …yea you guessed it…Lucky had another tick. So off to the vet again to have it removed. Now poor Lucky has had two in a couple days and they were fully engorged, Lucky had a blood test to test for lime disease. So I asked Lucky’s mom if she has been treating Lucky. The answer was NO…Lucky is two years old and never been treated. Lucky’s mom says she is not outside a whole lot so she did not think it was a big deal. 

The good news is Lucky is fine, and all tests came back negative. But poor Lucky had two trips to the vet and test that could have been avoided with a very simple solution. 

The cost of treating our dogs for three months are less expensive than a trip to the vet.

We have all watched the commercials for the top name brand flee and tick products such as Frontline, K-9 advantix, Biospot, Sentrypro, which I have used them all. There is now a less expensive brand called PetArmor that is less expensive and is compared to Frontline. This product does work as I have used it on my own dogs for the past year.

Save your dog from misery this summer, talk to your vet and get him on a flea and tick treatment. You will both be happier for it.

Me and My Sister

Hi Everyone! I’m Ellie… and this is my sister Maggie. I’m the one on the left… you know the cute black one. I asked mommy if I could write on the computer since she said it’s always good therapy to write down how you feel.

I’m a 4 year old Border Collie/ Queensland Heeler mix, and Maggie is a 16 year old Australian Shepherd / Queensland Heeler mix.

 Well, mom told you how Maggie had to go to sleep. I don’t know why she couldn’t go to sleep here with us… and I miss her. Mommy said she is in doggie heaven and we will see her again someday. But now I have no one to play with. Even though Maggie was a lot… and I mean a lot older than me… she would still play with me and chase me around the coffee table. And when mommy and daddy went to work or something she was there to keep me company and now I am all alone.

At first I was really sad, I know mommy was really sad and all she did was hold me and love on me… I never saw mommy like that. I was sad too. I did not want to eat… or play… and my best thing to do ever is… well ….it’s….a ball! I love my ball… I live to play ball! But For a while I did not really want to play, I would just go on my blankie and curl up. Mom was real worried about me. It’s has been a couple of weeks now and I am not as sad anymore, mommy said it will get better and it did. But now… I am bored. I have no one to play with but Mom. She is great and all. She takes me out side when it’s nice and we play…what else…Ball.

Mom says that she and dad are going to get me a baby brother or (sister) so I have someone to play with.  She says I will have to help teach the puppy… like playing ball and listening to mommy and daddy… and playing ball and where the potty is… and playing ball.  I told mom I will help, but it better like to play ball!

Wow… I do feel better… I guess I will come back and let you know when I get a puppy. In the meantime I will have mom put up some pictures of me playing what else… BALL.

GoD and DoG

This is a must see for anyone who has a dog. It went viral on youtube. There is a reason why dogs are called mans best friend. Make sure you have a tissue handy,
I cry everytime I see it.

Losing My Beloved Dog

It was a month ago that we had made the decision to put our beloved Maggie, an Australian shepherd mix to "sleep". This was one of the hardest decisions that we had to make. After 16 years, how do you say goodbye to your best friend? The one that has been there through all the ups and downs in life. All the good, the bad, (and the ugly). The one who went everywhere with you, who loved to listen to you sing (She was tone-deaf) and the one who would just sit and listen when you needed to talk. She was my protector and my nurse when I was sick. She was truly my best friend.

But she was getting old, and arthritis has settled in, and she had lost weight, and started to lose control of her bladder.

In my head I knew what I had to do and so did my husband, but our hearts...WOW, that was another story. It's not that cut and dry. We did not want to let go... We did not want to lose our beloved dog, but knew it was time. Her quality of life was not good and we had to think of her and not be selfish. (Even though I wanted to). I worried about how our other dog (Ellie, a Border Collie/Queensland healer) would react? Ellie is only 4 and had grown up with Maggie. She had never been on her own without her big sister. Maggie has always been in her life.

This was tough, and I had talked to friends about when they were faced with having to put their dog down… They were not with their dog when it was euthanized, and the only choice they had, was to cremate the dog. They were not given a choice. Then the ashes were given back to them in a Ziploc bag. It was not a good experience for them and the cost of all this was quite expensive.

This was not the experience I wanted. Not only for me, but for Maggie. I wanted to be there. I wanted, to be able to hold her so she wouldn't be scared. I couldn't hand her off to strangers, I needed to be there. I also wanted to bury her in the yard. This is where she needed to be. She loved her yard.

So I called a few places and found a place that would let us be there if that is what we wanted. When talking to them on the phone, they also asked if I wanted a back yard burial. I did and yes! I found a place that was going to let me be with her and then take here home. They let me know what the cost was (which was not expensive, especially since I don't think that they should charge much for a service like this). They said that payment would be done as we came in so that in our grief we did not have to worry about this as we left the clinic and also being in the front among other people.

Now I was OK. For me, it was easier to be able to let go.
On the day we were going to put her down. We went to the clinic and we were brought into a room, we did not have to stay out in the waiting room. Payment was taken care of. They let us know everything that was going to happen, as it is done in 2 stages with 2 shots.

They let us have as much time as we wanted with Maggie. She was relaxed and peaceful. She was in our arms. She felt no pain; she was not anxious or agitated. And when we were ready to say our last goodbye, they did they gave her the 2nd shot. And she was gone. They allowed us to have time alone with her again... we were not rushed or hurried and when we were able to let go, they came to get her. They took her to another room then wrapped her up in a blanket. We took her home, and then buried her in the yard she loved.

My heart broke that day... It was so hard. And of course I cried my eyes out, as I am doing now as I write this. I miss her. But for me...being able to do this the way I wanted made something that was hard, a little easier. My Heart ached a little less.
As a dog owner this is one of the hardest decisions you will ever make. Make sure that you talk to your vet. That when the time comes, you do it the way you want, and to not let anyone tell you otherwise. Do your research and do what is best for you and your best friend.

You will greave for your dog, but doing what is best for him or her will make the process easier.

As for Maggie...

She will forever be in the yard she loved.

I miss my baby girl. She was a Great Dog and my Loving Friend.