Sunday, March 31, 2013

God's Gifts

Easter Sunday brings back many memories: of Easter candy, Easter bonnets, Easter dresses, for Easter Mass. Easter, spring time brings beauty into nature. My other passion, working in my garden, fills me with awe of the miracle of life.

Thank you God for all my riches in love and friends and family in my life. My beloved father said that he was blessed with family and love in abundance.I'm just my Dad.



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Tips from Ericka Duggan

 I am happy to share tips from my dog trainer Ericka Duggun,K-9 Solutions.She the best, because of her help, Bud is learning better manners. Her motto is to set your dog up for success. I will put her newsletter for all you dog lovers.
House training a dog or puppy requires time, vigilance, patience and
commitment. Training your dog to eliminate outside (in the area that you would like
him too) includes both preventing accidents to the best of your abilities and rewarding
success. Following these guidelines will help you to minimize accidents, but remember
that no one is perfect and every dog will have a few.
* Feed your dog on a schedule- He will eliminate on one too.
*Keep his diet simple- avoid table scraps and canned foods, a high quality dry
kibble will produce less waste.
*Chose an area (about 10 square feet) outside where you would like your dog to
eliminate. On rainy days or when you are in a hurry you will be glad that your
dog does not have to take a walk to the tree at the end of the block to eliminate.
*Take your pet out on leash to this area, pace back and forth (movement
promotes movement), and chant an encouraging phrase like “go potty” or “do
your business.”Do this for a maximum of 3 minutes:
*If he eliminates praise, play, and treat
*If he doesn’t eliminate keep him on leash and go indoors, if you cannot
keep him on leash and watch him confine him to his crate.
*Try again in an hour. Eventually your dog will eliminate appropriately and you
can praise, play and treat.
*After each success allow 15 minutes of freedom in the house before placing
back on lead, in small area, or back in his crate. Your puppy should not be
allowed to roam free in the house until he is older and has learned some
control.
*After 3 consecutive days of success, you can increase freedom by 15 minutes.
*If there is an accident decrease freedom by 15 minutes for 3 days.
*You want to slowly build up the amount of time that your pet can “hold it.” All
puppies are different but a good rule of thumb is you take the number of
months old your puppy is and you add one. That is the number of hours that
your puppy can “hold it.” So if your puppy is 4 months old he can “hold it” for 5
hours. So if you are not available every 5 hours to let him out, make sure he has
an area large enough to sleep in and also an area large enough to fit some
puppy pads. An exercise pen works well in this situation. It must be tall enough
so he can not jump out. Most puppies will begin to sleep through the night or
only wake you once fairly soon after house training begins
*Adult dogs can “hold it” for the night and usually for 8-9 hours once they get on
a schedule.
*If you catch your dog in the act of eliminating in the house interrupt him and
take him to his potty place. If he goes then praise, play and treat

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Reunited and it Feels So Good!




BUD'S HOME!!!!!!

Ericka brought Bud home on Friday.  We've all been waiting for weeks for his return... but you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for comical stories of Bud's boot camp protests, training tips Ericka taught my staff and me, photos and much more! 

In the meantime, I'm off to go love on my dog.  I'm so glad he's home!  A home is not a home without a dog.  My life has purpose again!

Friday, March 15, 2013

An Inside Job

I put Brutus outside to go potty, but he just ran around the house and started whining at the sliding glass door.  Gin felt sorry for him and thought he'd help him out.  We're all still missing Bud!




Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Update of Boot Camp

Anyone can see Bud is not a happy camper right now. He hates to lay down on the dirt. I never taught him the lessons earlier in life that he has to do what he is told no matter what.I spoiled my dog! After his elbow and knee surgery, I don't ask him to lay down on something he doesn't seem comfortable on. I was too easy on him. My bad. I wrecked my dog. Ericka is great though. She is working with him, and she will whip him into shape.

This is a quote from Ericka:
 "As we have talked about Bud does not like to do many things. He has to learn that it is his job to do what we say. Right now he thinks he makes the rules for you. You can't let his surgeries be an excuse. He is far enough along after surgery to do sit and down when told. You also swim him often and keep him flexible. If he can lay down on a dog bed be can lay down on the ground. Don't be a sucker!

I am going to say he can go home Friday morning. Let me know what time everyone can be there for a session. He does what ever I tell him at this point in any situation. It is time for him to learn to do that for you too."

Monday, March 11, 2013

Brutus consoles Batman

Batty has had a rough time.  He misses Bud so much!  Luckily, Brutus  came to the rescue and gave Batty a fun distraction.  Here's a video of the two little guys romping and playing.


Monday, March 4, 2013

More Bud's Boot Camp According to Batman


Batman is used to seeing Bud. The first day he came over when Bud was gone, we found Batman looking for Bud everywhere in the house including his crate. He acted very strange and subdued. Here you see him sitting in the bathroom looking very depressed. Then he sat where Bud's bed used to be. He is missing Bud.  Here I am grief counseling with Batman. How do we tell him that Bud is OK?

Friday, March 1, 2013

Bud Updates and Dog Visitors!

Bud has been doing great at Boot Camp. I dropped some treats off to him for Ericka to use during training.  They are peanut butter flavored little bites.  I'll post more pictures of him when they come. 

My friend Albert is out of town for a couple days, so I'm babysitting his puppy Brutus.  He's a mix of Chihuahua and Doxen, we think!  He just got neutered last week and you would never know by his energy!  He's a total love bug.  He needs special care for both his post op care and general maintenance that are so important for dogs.  Brutus gets ear wash and drops everyday.  He's been doing great!

His first night staying with me, Michelle and Gin were over.  He and Gin are great buddies.  They are playing very gently, as you will see in the movie below.  Brutus slept in bed with me all night and I took him on a scooter run this morning.  Albert might have to fight me to get Brutus back. 

I miss Bud!  My house is just too quiet with no dogs around, which is why my friends bring their dogs over to give me my dog fix.  It's all about dogs!