Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Monday, January 5, 2015

Pet Blogger Gift Exchange

We joined the Pet Blogger Gift Exchange, and we were lucky enough to be paired with Sue, writer of "The Golden Life" blog. This year is the third annual Pet Bloggers Gift Exchange, hosted by Pamela at Something Wagging This Way Comes. 


Now the collies always enjoy visiting blogging friends, but I was especially excited to be paired with Sue, as I have a soft spot in my heart for Goldens.   I wanted to post this sooner, but my computer died, and posting to Blogger on a mobile device has proven to be a real challenge.  (Which is why we haven't been posting at all in the last few weeks.). But Sue's blog is so special, I wanted to make sure to post this for the Gift exchange, which thankfully, I was reminded is ending soon.

Sue has three dogs, two senior Golden retrievers named Callie and Shadow, and then there is Ducky, a funny and endearing shelter dog that will steal your heart.  Callie and Shadow have those sweet, white faces, that all senior Goldens develop as they age, and which my own golden, Chloe, developed in her later years.  I think the white fur that graces a golden's face just serves to remind us that each day with those gentle souls is a gift.

I actually began following this blog awhile ago, as I was missing my golden, Chloe, and couldn't resist stopping by to read her posts and see her pictures.  So I can highly recommend this blog, because the love Sue has for her dogs is evident in all her posts.  The link for her blog is found below, so head over, sit, and stay for awhile....you won't be sorry that you did!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Tis the season...

Some of us have been a bit…naughty, and some of us have been extra nice.  So Mom said we better be careful, because Santa Paws is always watching.  She said if we aren’t good, we won’t be getting anything in our stockings but coal!  

Since we don’t want that to happen, we are setting our paws on the straight and narrow, and will be minding our doggie P’s and Q’s!  And just to make sure we do get some goodies in our stockings, we paid Santa Paws a visit.  We were on our best behavior, and are pretty sure we impressed Santa. 


 What are kind of gifts are you hoping for this Christmas season?  Are you being extra good?




Friday, November 21, 2014

Dogs in poems...

Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog. ~ Douglas Mallock  photo P1012771_zps7e1d33e0.jpg My sunshine doesn't come from the skies, It comes from the love in my dog's eyes. ~ Unknown

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Smarty pants... (Our 250th post!)

Jodi over at Heart like a Dog wrote a post about how her dog, Sampson, manipulated her into letting him off leash during a walk.  Which made me laugh, because so many people claim dogs are stupid.  But I think they are more clever than we realize, and here are some of the reasons why:


Our dogs know, by reading our facial expressions and body language, when we are happy, sad, angry, worried or frightened.  They can not only judge our moods, but they either join us in our happiness, or try to offer comfort if we are not in a good mood.







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We had one dog, Mojo, who taught herself how to open the fridge, and she would make midnight raids.  When we blocked off the fridge, she learned which button on the microwave to push to open it, and would steal the loaf of bread we stored in there.


And they know how to beg for food, without ever saying a word.  Our boy Ryder is the master of the "heavy head" trick.  To be fair, this is our fault, because the first time he did this, we didn't discourage him.  So what is this trick?  We can be sitting on the couch, eating something, and Ryder decides he would like us to share.  So he will hop up on the couch, sit next to you, lean against you and put his head on your shoulder.  That's it, there is no whining or drooling, just his head on your shoulder.  If this doesn't work, he will press his head closer, so that his cheek is pressed sweetly against you.  If it still doesn't work, his head becomes progressively heavier and heavier, just in case you were some how unaware he was there.  It's a pretty unique form of begging, and he will quit and get down if you tell him to stop, so it's not obnoxious.  But I have given in and shared whatever snack I had at the time, because I do think he was pretty clever to think of it...

So in what ways has your dog shown how clever he or she is?



Heart Like a Dog

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

We sure are lucky dogs!

It's that time again - the collies get to express their opinions in another review!  This is thanks to our friends at Chewy.com, where you can buy all sorts of yummy treats for your dogs and cats!


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Last weekend we had two friends staying with us.  Miley and Jody were visiting, while their parents were out of town.  These two collie girls are good friends of ours, and they even traveled with us to the Collie National when it was held in Wisconsin, back in 2013.  So we always have a good time when they come to visit! 


Since they were visiting, we decided to be nice collie hosts, and let them do the review with us!



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Miley posing pretty with the treats!
This month we were asked to review Natural Balance Delectable Delights Duck Formula Tender Cuts Dog Treats.  Mom of course HAD to read the ingredients list, she loves to see what is in our treats/food.  The first thing she noticed was this:


Key Benefits
  • Made with high-quality duck
  • No corn, wheat, artificial flavors or colors
  • Suitable for all breeds
  • Great for puppies and adult dogs
  • Made in the USA
Yes, "made in the USA!"  Mom will not let us eat any treats made in China, because so many dogs were getting sick from them.  So she is always happy when she sees that the treats are made in the USA.  She also mentioned that she liked that there was no corn, no wheat and no artificial flavors and colors.  She also likes that Duck is the main ingredient, followed by brown rice. 


Of course, we aren't concerned with all of that!  So on to the important stuff!  BOL


Smell - we thought the smokey smell to these treats was pawsome!  It had us all lining up to try some!
Taste - We were not disappointed, we LOVED these treats, and wished Mom would have let us eat them all!  They were that good!  They were nice and chewy, and Mom said they would be perfect in the show ring, as they would be certain to keep our attention when the judge was evaluating us!


We give these treats four paws, and we just bet your dogs will agree! 


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Pumpkin kitty thought these treats smelled really yummy too!

Monday, November 10, 2014

DADO - what does that mean?

It stands for "Dumb Ass Dog Owner," the subject of today's blog hop.  This blog hop was created for everyone to write about their experiences with dumb dog owners.  It was created/hosted by Heart like a dog and Tales from the backroad.


So what makes a person a dumb dog owner?  I think it is someone who deliberately allows bad behavior in their dogs, or someone who chooses to remain ignorant on how to properly care for and train their dogs.  And sometimes, a dumb dog owner, is just someone who is a lazy pet owner.


I have been a little unfocused while trying to decide what to write for this post.  There are just so many stories to choose from, I am having trouble narrowing it down!  There are the stories I could share from my time working at a veterinary hospital.  There are the stories about people I have met in my own neighborhood.  There are stories from my experiences at dog shows.  And finally, there are stories from people I have had arguments with on Facebook.  So which do I choose?


I guess I will share the stories that bothered me the most.  For instance, while I was working at an animal hospital, a black Labrador was brought in to the hospital by the police.  He was accompanying his owner on a quick trip to run errands around town.  While they were out driving around the owner’s truck was hit by another car, in a pretty bad motor vehicle accident.  I don’t know who was at fault for the accident…but I do know that most of the dog’s injuries were caused by his dumb owner.  Why?  Because his owner had this sweet, beautiful dog riding in the back of his pick-up truck unsecured.  Dogs do not belong in the backs of trucks, ever.  Not only are they in danger because of possible accidents, they could also injure themselves by jumping out of the truck.  Because no matter how well trained you think your dog is, if he sees two dogs running and playing alongside the road, he may jump out to join them.   Or he may see something that just excites him so much, he forgets everything you have taught him and just reacts by leaping out of your truck and into the path of oncoming traffic.  Why do people still think this is ok? 


Or how about the dog owner on one of the collie groups on Facebook who posts about breeding her collies?  Now, I am not saying that breeding your dogs makes you a DADO.  Without reputable, knowledgeable dog breeders, we wouldn’t have all the wonderful dog breeds we all love so much.  But when you adopt two collies without registration papers off of Craig’s List, and then breed them without doing any health testing what so ever, and then try to sell them on Facebook to strangers…well, that makes you an extreme DADO.  You don’t know what kind of health problems those puppies might develop, you don’t know what kind of temperaments they may have, and you do not know if those random strangers you met on the internet are going to provide loving, caring homes for those puppies.  And then when you fight with the people who try to educate you, because you announce “you are going to breed another litter because rescues charge too much money,” you are showing that not only are you ignorant, you are choosing to remain that way.


And how about the friend, from my past, who posts online to ask “does anyone know anyone giving away kittens?”  Because he will not get one from a shelter or rescue, because they charge exorbitant fees for mutilated animals!  (He thinks they are mutilated by being spayed or neutered, as he actually believes that all animals should be free to reproduce at least once.  Can you imagine the animal overpopulation we would be facing if everyone shared his views?) And I guess this makes him a DACO, Dumb Ass Cat Owner, technically speaking...


There are just too many stories, and that is just sad.