Well, I am not going to complain about the weather because we did have a wonderful weekend, but I do want to show you what Alex and Roxy have been up to this rainy day.
Alex does not seem to be concerned at all about the weather. She and Roxy had a short walk, followed by breakfast, and a nap.
No, Roxy does not seem to care about the weather either. I am going to follow their lead and make the best out of this rainy day. Have a great week.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be 6 weeks of Alex being on limited walks and a lot of bed rest.
Alex seems to be enjoying her bed rest.
Walter, on the other hand, decided that the best place for him to hang out and fall asleep is under the table. I guess he does that because in the wild a den is where they go to sleep, raise a family and to avoid danger. What is your dog’s favorite place(s)?
Posted in Breeds, Dog Equipment, Dogs, Humor, Nutrition, Outings, Walking
Tagged bed, Bedrest, Business, den, Dog, Recreation, thunderstorm
Alex, enjoying a well deserved nap. I envy her. I have very sensitive ears and even though I am asleep I can hear almost everything that is going on around me. But look at Alex. She is out like a light.
Oliver, a Lhasa Apso, is our guard dog. He is the first one to bark when he hears something going on around the house.
Walter, an Aussie, was the only one awake, but within 5 minutes he was also out like a light. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday afternoon with your loved ones.
Posted in Breeds, Dog Equipment, Dogs, Humor, Nutrition, Outings, Walking
Tagged Breeds, Dog, Dogs Trust, Guard dog, Lhasa Apso, Pets, Recreation
Let me start by saying that Dozer was not mine, but although my brain keeps telling my heart that, my stubborn heart will never be able to comprehend that, therefore I say that he is “my” Dozer.
My dear Dozer,
When I first met you, during a meet and greet, I was in awe of your size. You, so far, are the biggest dog I’ve been fortunate and lucky enough to board, know, and love. You were impressive, to say the least. As I got to know you, I realized that what was more impressive than your size was the fact that you were sweet, loving, docile, and so easy to fall in love with.
Forgive me for not writing right away, but I was filled with anger and I did not think that that would have been the right time to write this letter to you. Why angry? Because you are gone, it is that simple. While dwelling in my anger, I remembered reading somewhere that the reason why a dog happens to be in our lives is to teach us the many things we are unable to learn from other humans, and that a dog’s life is short because if it were to be long, we, humans, would not be able to cope with such a loss. It actually made sense to me.
Before I had that epiphany, I was just sad, period. At night, I could not stop thinking about you and so I started to cry. Cynthia saw me and comforted me and told me the following: “Dozer will be sorely missed, that is for sure,” then she said, “He farted when we were sitting at the table. Didn’t you smell it?” I don’t know why, but for some odd reason I just laughed my butt off. I truly needed that, but in all honesty, I did not smell your farts. Thank you for that.
Cynthia, Alex and I are going to miss you dearly, and we hope the best to your pet parents while dealing with your loss. I am not going to say good-bye to you, but rather I’ll see you later for I know we will see each other in the future. Until then, a big hug and kiss from all of us.
Yours always,
Marcela
Josie, Marcela, Alex, Sarris, and Dozer (L to R)
This weekend, I’ll be in good company with Josie, Alex, Sarris and Dozer. Relaxing in the morning.
Josie was the first one to arrive early in the morning. I was glad when her mom said that she took my advice and took Josie to the vet. The growth I pointed out on Josie’s last visit, according to the vet, needs to be monitored but so far there is nothing to be concerned about. I was so glad to hear that.
The second ones to arrive were Dozer and Sarris. It took them a couple of minutes to get settle, and this is what they looked like after they sniffed Alex and Josie. The novelty wore off for all of them in a matter of 5 to 10 minutes. When I introduce dogs to one another, I always take them for a walk, let them sniff each other during our walk and after about 40-60 minutes we come home.
Although that is my routine for introducing dogs to one another, I was not able to do it this time because it was raining very hard today. So, what did I do? I put all of them on a leash and allowed them to sniff each other while watching their body language: relaxed, curious, but calm. After a couple of minutes I removed their leashes and collars, as you can see in the picture, and they were off to sniff our kitchen while I was watching them. I do prefer to walk them as a way of introducing them to a new dog, but when the weather does not cooperate I have to improvise. Always, and this is very important, look at the body language of the dog. If he is tense, fixated on one dog, does not move, etc., chances are that he is ready to strike. My best recommendation is: if you are bringing a new dog home, go for a long walk with all of them, 40-60 minutes, and then go home. Living with dogs should not be stressful, but rather enjoyable and rewarding, but it’s up to you to make this happen. Enjoy your weekend with your pack.
Alex
It’s been a month since Alex, as per her vet’s instructions, has been on bedrest. I thought that she was going to drive me nuts because she is a very active dog even now that she is almost 11 years old. To my surprise, and delight, she has taken this time off from walking quite well. I take her for a walk, twice a day, for about 15 minutes each time, but no longer than that.
She can walk around the house, but she is not allowed to run up and down the stairs which she loves to do. I taught her to go up and down the stairs slowly. How? I started by walking with her on a leash while telling her “slowly,” and extending my left arm so she understands that she cannot go beyond my arm. Within a couple of days I was able to do this without using a leash.
She has another month to go and I know she enjoys her long walks, but I want her to recuperate therefore we’ll stick with short walks. I still can’t believe that my beautiful girl will turn 11 in May 5th. I hope to share many, many more walks with her.
Posted in Breeds, Dog Equipment, Dogs, Humor, Nutrition, Outings, Walking
Tagged active dog, Bedrest, Leash, long walks, short walks
On Saturday, we, Cynthia and I, Alex is still on bed rest, met Ann Greene, dog trainer, pet parents, and their fury kids in Annapolis, MD. I was quite shocked because Cynthia is not a morning person, but she was more than willing to go with me and walk for an hour with these beautiful doggies.
All these dogs and pet parents have already worked with Ann and what she was doing is putting the dogs in an environment where there are a lot of distractions in order for them to get used to following commands even when there are a lot of things going on.
Ann got the kid holding the leash to walk these two big dogs without being dragged all over the place.
Cynthia was not able to take a picture of the entire group so she had to take two pictures.
Ann is a really nice and funny person and she has her own company called A Tail Above, LLC.
This is me talking with a pet parent. I had a great time even though we got to Annapolis a little late. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I was surrounded by a bunch of doggies. What a great Saturday.
Posted in Breeds, Dog Equipment, Dogs, Humor, Outings, Walking
Tagged dog trainrt, Maryland ANNAPOLIS, Pet, Recreation, walk
Mandy,http://shoefulofdrool.com/ , was kind enough to nominate All My Canine Companions for the Missy Award. Thanks from my pack to yours.
Three things are required of me, and that is to answer two questions and to link back to http://ivonnemontijo.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/the-missy-award/
The questions are:
What inspires me to write? I write anytime I feel passionate about something, whatever it may be, and I need to vent.
Why do I love animals? I love dogs above any other animal because when I am in the company of a dog, whether this dog is my Alex or any of the dogs staying with us, I feel happy, peaceful, and safe. My first dog, Casey, taught me how to say, mi amor, my love, in Spanish. This was something that I never thought I could ever say because to me, those two words in Spanish, have always had a tremendous amount of significance as well as a high degree of intimacy. The first time I told Casey, “mi amor,” I had to make sure that those two words came out of my mouth. Wow! It was me. He was my very first teacher. How can I not love dogs? They all, in one way or another, have taught me and continue to teach me so much about life, love, new beginnings, forgiveness, etc.
Thanks a million for the nomination. Alex is getting a special treat tonight.
