Senior Dogs Need Love Too

Something that has been on my mind a lot lately , are senior dogs. My almost 14 y/o Poodle has had quite a rough year.

In January he was sickly. He would constantly throw up and would not eat.
Took him to the vet, and turned out that he had a bad infection in his body due to his dental hygiene. He had a lot of plaque build up and gums weren't so great either. That caused an infection to go into his blood stream. So had to get his teeth cleaned.
I was such a nervous doggie mom. Out of all of his years of life, he has never had any health problems and this was his first time to have surgery and be under anesthesia!
However, it went great and he didn't even have to have any teeth pulled!
After that he gained some healthy weight and was eating like crazy an being my silly happy baby again.


In April, he started throwing up again and his appetite was gone. He wouldn't even eat his TREATS!
Now, at that point I knew something was wrong. Took him to the vet immediately and he had another infection. So they ran tests and had to put him on antibiotics. That cleared it up then he was back to normal again.

On July 5,  I took him and Sweetie (my German Shepard mix), to the dog park. Long story short, as soon as we walked in and I took off his harness, he got attacked by a dog. He had two bites on him and was bleeding and yelping.
I was crying frantically and rushed to the emergency vet.
He had to get survey immediately. The bites were already forming into a puss like form and becoming worse. I was so sad, scared, and angry all in one.
Once again, my baby is a trooper and surgery went well and he had to have a drainage tube in him for a week and had two sutures taken out 2 weeks later. Now, he is doing wonderful and living the life: Sleep, eat and repeat! The good ol' life of a senior dog.

I said all that, just to say how precious Senior dogs are. I always expect him to be there to greet me at the door when I come in my house, and always expect him to follow me like he always does and to be by my side at night when he sleeps on the bed with me. These cherished moments I may have taken for granted at times, but I definitely do not anymore!!

Senior dogs are sadly overlooked in the shelters and I just want to get a big house and save them all! Of course, I can not, but I just wish more people knew how awesome senior dogs are.
Just because they are much older and not so youthful looking or not as energetic as puppies or adult dogs, they are so patient, kind, and love you unconditionally. Their love for you never ends. They keep imprinting on your heart and your life. They are a constant reminder of what love is and true companionship.

Senior Dogs Are Awesome, And They Need Love Too!!!!

Do's and Dont's For Dog Owners!

As a dog owner for basically my whole life, I have learned numerous "Do's & Don't's" of what you should and should not do to your precious four legged pup.

Thought I'd share some. :)

(The Do's seem to outweigh the Don't's. I guess that's good, right?)

Disclaimer: this may or may not apply to all dog owners 

Enjoy!

-Don't watch family feud with dogs in the room. ;)
Im guilty, I do love Family Feud, but I always forget it had the ringing noise that sounds like a doorbell! So now, I try to make sure they are not in the room. lol

-Do give your pup unlimited annoying kisses

-Do stare at your dog as they do to you. But don't blink first!! ;)

-Do throw blankets over your dog and watch them struggle out as they get from underneath it

-Do constantly make weird noises with your mouth so you can see that Oh So Adorable head tilt that NEVER gets old.

-Don't try to make barking noises or they will look at you like your crazy!

-Do put glasses and clothes on them and use them as your personal "Dog Doll" to dress up with!

Last and foremost, DO give them unconditional love!! They are more than just a pet,they are family!!!!

Bully Breeds: Adopt Dont Shop!

As I was walking one of my clients dog, a beautiful American Pit Bull, I was approached with the question, "Would you like to breed him?"

Um.....of course NOT! 

People fail to realize that pitbulls are the majority breed In shelters! 

It saddens / angers me that there are many people that are like minded like this individual who approached me. 

Especially since Bully Breeds get a lot of negative attention. It irks me.

According to an article on the Examiner.com, Pit Bulls and euthanasia rates, it states:

"Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes average about 33% of shelter intakes nationally, but in large cities the numbers are as high as 40%-65%. About 75% of municipal shelters euthanize Pit Bulls immediatelyupon intake, without them ever having any chance at adoption. Those that are offered for adoption are usually the first chosen for euthanasia when overcrowding forces the shelter's hand and decisions have to be made."

Also, very recently of this month, City of Stockton Animal Shelter in California were giving away FREE pits/pit mixes due to shelter being completely full. 

Click Here To Read More

In response to this, Candace, (Click to view her instagram page) a beautiful woman inside and out who has over 100,000 followers on her instagram page, and is a Pit Bull advocate, awesome foster mom, AND had rescued/adopted 6 dogs stated: 

"This shelter is completely full. Maxed out brimming with pit bulls. Giving them away is terrible and scary, but it is the lesser of 2 evils as they will be put down if not adopted. All at the fault of humans ****Friends I have tears in my eyes as I write this. This is the very REAL problem in our pit bull community. I completely understand why the shelter needs to do this as they've decreased the number of dogs they put down to try to save more, but at the same time it breaks my heart. That a breed would be specifically given away for free. Because there are too many. BECAUSE PEOPLE KEEP BREEDING THEM. Please just STOP! It is the most unfair and selfish thing you can do, both to the animals and the people who cannot rescue them."

Need I say more?

Go to your local shelter and save a life!!!!!
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Enjoy the below pics of some Pit/Pit mixes of my beautiful clients :)

Brego

Hitch

Liddy

Pepper: My Love Poem To You

I have had my Toy Poodle, Pepper ever since he was 7weeks old. He is now, 13 years old.My mom got him from one of her former co-workers who had an un-wanted litter.I am so thankful that you got him.

I love him so much. Even though his physicality, is dog. He is so much more than that. I call him my son, all my friends know I love and care for him like crazy.

He is family.

Just wanted to share a love poem about him.  Its just something short and sweet.Hope you enjoy.

You are always there to greet me when I come home.
You are always there to stare at me at random times

You are always there by my side at night,curled so tight

You are always going to make me smile

Rather far or near

Even if you are not physically with me,you will always be here!

You are always there to lick me and tell me everything is and will be ok

You are always there to just simply-look and be so cute

You are always there when I want to take an "usie"

No matter what happens,you will STILL be here and there for me

You taught me so much.

Responsibility,Patience, and Unconditional Love. 

So many memories or your love for me and it reciprocated

Glad to make many more and to keep loving you!

I love you forever and always!!!!!

DIY: Dog Bed & Elevated Dog Bowl

Ever since I found my baby girl Sweetie (previous post), I have been shopping online non stop for the perfect elevated doggie bowl and dog bed for her. I never realized how expensive large/xl dog beds and elevated dog bowls were until I started shopping for them. 

I have a couple beds for my Toy Poodle. However, for cute small dog beds,it only runs about $13-$25 of course, depending on what you want. For the L/XL, it starts around $40 and up. 

I didn't just want ANY bed,I wanted Sweetie to have a pink bed!

I found great sites that do custom beds but I didn’t want to pay $100 and up for one doggie bed.

So I went to my forever faithful inspiration board - Pinterest. 

Found an awesome COST EFFECTIVE way to do a DIY doggie bed. 

Dog Bed:

*Fleece Fabric (I used yard and half for medium/large dog size,use one yard of fabric for toy size) 

*Polyester Stuffing ($6 a bag at Joanns with 40% coupon, they ALWAYS have coupons),

*And scissors!

The Fabric cost me a whopping grand total of $14 at Joann's.

So my initial idea was to make one huge doggie bed for Sweetie but I bought more than enough fabric so I ended up making two beds. So for 2 beds, it averaged to only be about $13 or so each! Now, thats a steal!

Instructions:

1) Fold fabric in half

2) Cut out the 2 corners opposite of folded side. (about 2inches or so)

3) Cut 3 inch slits all the way around on all three sides. (Not on the folded material side)

4) Double knot all ends beside about 6 slits or so.

5) Start stuffing in the opening you left out.

6) Tie remaining slits.

Here are pics of the final product:

She loves it! (Pepper does as well lol)

My Supplies

Before I even started, they loved it!

As I was tying the slits, she stayed on top of it.

Bed #1

She loves it

Bed #2

The Elevated Dog Bowl:

My friend Stephanie, and I found the cutest $4 flower pot. Yes, only $4!

(from Dollar General)

It is absolutely adorable and the perfect height for her. I think it was made just for her. Or I will keep telling myself that. :) 

So after we saw that,I got a doggie bowl and it fits perfectly inside! The tin dog bowl was $3. 

Whole project=$7 total! I am very happy with this! 
I placed some rocks I already had in my yard, inside the pot to add some weight to it so she would not knock it down when she is eating. 
Below are some pictures:

Handful of rocks or so

:)

Rescue Love

Want to share some awesome news!

On February 7,  as I was approaching one of my clients house I saw this young beautiful German Shepard/Rott mix right in the middle of their yard.She was laying down, panting heavily, lost, and so sad. She followed me wherever I went she would lay at my feet when I was still. Every move I made, she made one. So precious.I have seen MANY strays before, so sad as always, but there was and still is something different about her. I knocked on doors trying to see if I would find owner, or if anyone knew anything....went to Petsmart to see if she was microchipped-negative. Put flyers everywhere, print and social media-nothing. contacted shelters-no hits. Needless to say, 2 months later, she is officially mine. Vaccined and a healthy, beautiful girl!Hope you enjoy these pictures of her. She is my little model. :)  

Easy Natural Pet Treats

I am very particular of what my dog consumes. Which led me to make treats myself. It is all natural and so I know exactly what my pet is consuming instead of the by products and fillers most of them consist of at the pet store. 

Of course, you can buy all natural treats, but you will pay a pretty penny for it and it adds up so quickly buying bag after bag. 

Here is one of my favorite recipes, it’s super easy! Depending on how big you make them, this makes about 25-50 or so. Any leftovers can be frozen for up to a few weeks! 

Just blend all together and place on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10-15min, depending if you want them chewy or crispy!
1 Egg

1 Cup of Peanut Butter

1 Cup of Wheat Flour (or Rice flour if your pup has wheat allergies)

1/2 Cup of Oats 

Bacon Bits (optional for that extra crunch and flavor, they love!) 

I do not have a cat however, Pet Adviser has some easy recipes as well! 

Enjoy!

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