Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

BLOGVILLE ROCKS This ‘N That Thursday

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Today we join our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie for This ‘N That Thursday.

Calendar Fundraiser

By now most of you in the continental United States should have received your calendars.  (My apologies to my Canadian and international friends, I sent them the quickest way I could.) They came out awesome didn’t they?  And it’s all thanks to Julie at the Daily Dog Blog!

Thank you Julie, you rock!

So here’s the final dilly.  After collecting all monies, including donations (thank you Donna) I ended up ordering 100 calendars.  Minus shipping and processing (and miscellaneous PayPal fees) I was left with $1,261.19!!

Of course it’s bitter sweet as you know because Benny lost his fight just a few weeks ago.

December - Benny and Lily - Two French Bulldogs

December – Benny and Lily – Two French Bulldogs

 Run fast, run free Benny.

I just want to take a minute to thank you all, each and every one of you for supporting this fundraiser, for entering, voting, promoting and purchasing.  I wish I could hug each and every one of you!

You all rock!!

Run Fast, Run Free Norman

On another sad note, Norman of Sand Spring Chesapeakes (Mr. August in our calendar) went to the BRIDGE on Tuesday night.  His mom, JoAnn has a beautiful tribute to him on her blog today, but make sure to grab a box of tissues before you head over.  I literally bawled my make-up off.

August - Norman - Sand Spring Chesapeakes

August – Norman – Sand Spring Chesapeakes

 Run fast, run free Norman.

Custom Portrait Giveaway

So happy news in the beginning of the blog, sad news in the middle.  Let’s end on a happy shall we?

Do you have any portraits of your pets?  Personally I don’t, although I do have a couple of pictures that were printed to look like paintings.  And I love them!

I would also love a custom painting of my two favorite pupsters and so I’m going to enter a contest to win a custom painting.  And the best part is, you can too!!

So there’s this artist, AJ Emm (go ahead look at it, you know you want to) and she does these amazing paintings.  Check out the one she did of Koly and Felix from Kol’s Notes.

ANYHOO, Kol’s Notes is having a give-away of one of these custom paintings!  Siriusly you guys, there are only 47 more shopping days until Christmas.  If you aren’t giving out calendars, have you considered a custom portrait?

And if you don’t want a portrait of your fur baby (really?  WTF is wrong with you?) she does people portraits too.

If you order a portrait and you win?  AJ will refund your money or give you a second portrait at no charge!

Amazeballs, right?

BUT WAIT, there’s more.

How about a 25% discount on a custom portrait?  I know right? It feels like Christmas is already here!

You won’t see this discount code floating around just anywhere.  There are only a few of us bloggers who have it.

What is it?

Oh yeah, you need that right?  So to get your 25% discount, you need to type UNICORN when you purchase.   Why UNICORN  you ask?  Because UNICORNS rock!

Enter here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow-Up Friday

I’m super excited to let you know that I have a newbie co-hostess joining me for Follow-Up Friday’s blog hop tomorrow.  It’s none other than Emma from My GBGV Life! Tomorrow is the day I highlight and answer comments, so be sure to tune in.

I’m a Lepto Maniac

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I got that tee-shirt at the Blog Paws Conference this past May and I absolutely love it!!

Siriusly you guys, Leptos is the only vaccine I voluntarily give my dogs.

I’m not anti-vaccine by any means, but I do question certain ‘protocols.’

Vaccine Doses

I’m uncomfortable that an 8 pound Maltese would get the same amount of vaccine as a 90 pound lab and that a 90 pound lab gets the same dose as a 130 pound Newfoundland.

Frequency

I also question the frequency of vaccines and if our pets (and we) are protected longer than we think we are as well as what immunities are passed down through parents who have been vaccinated.

Combination vaccines

Merriam Webster defines a vaccine as such, “a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease.”

These organisms work with your immune system to develop antibodies to help fight off that particular disease. Personally, I think combination vaccines are too much for one little immune system to handle.  And if my dog is already working their immune system fighting off an infection, I pass on the vaccine until (s)he is feeling better.

And next year, when both of my dogs are scheduled for Leptos and Rabies, I will space their shots about two weeks apart.  It may seem radical to some people, but I feel very strongly that their immune system should be able to focus on one thing and one thing only.

Leptospirosis is a Zoonotic Disease

Washington State Department of Health defines Zoonotic, “A zoonotic disease or zoonosis (plural is zoonoses) is any disease of animals that can be transmitted to people.”  And Leptos qualifies as a zoonotic disease.

Newer vaccines vs established ones

Leptospirosis is a fairly new vaccine, at least in my area. Relatively new as compared to say Rabies.  I had read an article written by a vet who felt the vaccine didn’t last for a year and that the vaccine might in fact lessen symptoms so I wanted to be sure I mentioned this to my vet.

Dr. Soutter says the vaccine covers four strands of the Leptos virus and two of the strands are the ones we see in this area.  She feels the vaccine may last a little less than a year or perhaps even a little longer than a year, but she is very comfortable giving the vaccine.

It’s been a bad year for ticks

I always ask about Lyme.  We have a lot of ticks and although we use a natural tick preventive, we still get the occasional dog tick.  Normally I find and remove them before too long, but the little deer ticks that traditionally spread the Lyme are very hard to find.

Dr. Soutter said the Lyme vaccine has gotten better in terms of protection, but she still sees a lot of reactions to it, reactions such as lumps, painful injection sites, etc.  We passed on the Lyme vaccine.

We did have blood drawn for the Four Way Snap Test, which tests for Heartworm Disease, Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis.  Dr. Soutter says with this test, no news is good news.  Fingers and paws crossed we don’t get a call.

Heart Like a Dog

So what was Sampson doing while he was being poked, prodded and pricked?

9-15-13 002

He was getting rubbies, lovies and treats from Chris.

Sampson lives in the now.  He is not worried about what he did yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. He embraces each moment for what it is.

In my opinion, that’s a great attitude to have and something I’m striving for in my life.  What about you?

 

Follow-Up Friday – November 1, 2013

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the blog hop that let’s you wrap up your week and leads you right into the weekend!  Today I am joined by my friend JoAnn from Sandspring Chesapeakes.  If you haven’t met JoAnn and her dogs Norman, Nellie, Gambler and Glory, well what are you waiting for?  JoAnn can get those dogs to pose for some crazy photos!

Follow-Up Friday Blog Hop

Follow-Up Friday Blog Hop

 

Thank you JoAnn for joining me today!

About Those Wooly Bears

Gizmo asked, “The “punk” effect is so cool…and your camera has a setting for that?”

Yes, my camera has a setting called “Magic” and within that setting are about 12 different options, one of them being “punk.”

Jessica asked, “Is Delilah good with other dogs?”

It depends on the dog and the situation.  Delilah does not like certain dogs while she is on leash.  I always have to worry whether she will snark or not.    Having been to Blog Paws last year and observed the people and other dogs, I prefer not to bring my dogs there.  I think I would be too nervous.

Such Intensity

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “There are so many things my girls do that make me laugh or smile — I wish I had a camera handy EVERY second of the day to capture it all!”

OMD I so agree with this!  The last couple of days Delilah has sat in the kitchen and ripped a long, loud fart and I so wished I could have caught it on video.

Jan asked, “That’s a cell phone shot?”

S and D

Yes, that photo was taken with my iPhone.

Animal Couriers said, “Lovely shot – looks like Sampson is doing a ‘lazy’ sit as we call it.”

Sampson has always sat like that.  He has never been a ‘strait’ sitter.

Val asked, “Did you have a treat in your hand?”

I believe I was working on getting one of their meals ready and they both just sat.  It was a perfect photo opportunity.

Heeeeeeeeere’s Jackie

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I still have not had a block of time to start the book. I need a maid.”

You and me both, sister.

I Have a Crap-load of Pumpkin

Emma asked, “Do you have Aldi in your area? Mom bought some all natural pumpkin in a can (15oz) yesterday for 89 cents.”

We do Emma, I’ll have to check that out, thanks for the tip!

Jen K asked, “And yes, that’s definitely a crap-load! (Is that a metric measurement?)”

It’s an industry term. 😉

Carol Bondy asked, “There…did you use the unsweetened one???”

Yes, the shredded coconut was unsweetened.

Lily asked, “Does punkin make you guys poopy more?”

No, actually pumpkin is full of fiber, which helps make the poopy firm.  Because my guys get chicken necks in the morning, I like to give them a little pumpkin to help them feel full.  I’ve also heard that pumpkin can help with an upset tummy, but don’t quote me on that.

Jan asked, “Do you ever start with fresh pumpkins?”

Actually I did last year.  I have hopes to have a pressure cooker for next season so I can make my own pumpkin.

Julie asked, “Hmm, I wonder how applesauce and banana would work for sweetness?”  I bet that would help.  Jodi also suggested some cinnamon and a little maple syrup.

Oz the Terrier said, “Oh Miss Jodi, what’s stopping us?! The fact that my Ma does NOT bake ever.”

Oz, you’ve got to get your mom on board.  It is such a satisfying feeling knowing what are in your dog’s treats.

Donna said, “(personally I prefer reeses pieces)”

That’ll work too!

The Post Where the Mama Learns a New Trick

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom asked, “What I want to know is WHO was recording the video while you and Sampson were torturing your Mama and “her creaky knees”?”

The Daddy was.  After the Mama gave him explicit instructions on how she wanted it recorded.

Emma said, “Has your mom tried walking you two in the creepy dark woods in the morning rather than the evening? We love walking in the dark in the morning, it is so peaceful and Mom says the chances of criminals being out in the early morning are slim to none, they prefer evening and night.”

It’s not the criminals that the Mama is worried about, it’s the coyotes and the fishers.

Jan asked, “That is a great trick, but shouldn’t you reward the mama with a treat when she does it the right way?”

She is being rewarded.  She actually believes she’s teaching us. BOL

Jessica asked, “Wait, you go up and down the stairs, too?”

I have too, it’s a great motivator for the Mama.

Sue said, “Love the video, but Delilah…. hobbit feet?! That’s no way to get more treats!”

Hey, I’m only repeating what the Mama says.

Happy Halloween!

Emma asked, “Can’t you get the postal supplies at an Office Max or other office store?”

I suppose I could.  I was planning on using priority mailers, but envelopes with priority stickers will probably work just as well.

Okay, so this Halloween photo:

Halloween

Is the exact same photo as the one above it.  I just edited it differently.  Typically I edit my photos in PicMonkey, but when I was looking for the Halloween theme, I wasn’t finding what I wanted.  I googled and found another editor called Fotor.  It’s got a lot of fun things to play around with.

Pamela asked, “Will we be seeing the blooper reel any time soon?”

There was no blooper, it’s such a great photo I am going to use it for many different things. 😀

Jan said, “Was there a bribe involved?”

Nope, it was a candid shot.

Roxy said, “Hey, you have the same mask as me. Aren’t we stylish!!”

Pretty neat huh?  I guess your mom found out about Fotor too.

Gizmo said, “Jodi Halloween is fun and all but the best thing I read today is that Arista is safe.”

I 110% agree!

I am now way over my word limit, so I shall stop here.  Many thanks to JoAnn for agreeing to co-host.  If you are interested in co-hosting next week’s hop, let me know.



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