One of my facebook friends sent me a link about why blogs fail.  The one and only message was that the blogger talks too much about themselves.  It is never my intent to talk about myself, the goal is to get some interest in a book and get the book published.  My goal is to talk about my dogs, to help other people with their dogs and maybe share some of the joy we all receive from our pets.

That being said, please indulge me just a bit.  I decided about three days ago, that I had the winter doldrums, I was just sick of winter.  Last night at obedience class it seemed like all the dogs that were there were also sick of winter.  Neither Sampson or Delilah really wanted to walk around in a circle and most of the dogs didn’t want to do anything at all.  It is a bit concerning because when you have a dog that is bored, you usually have someone looking for something to do.  Sampson is not prone to “getting” into anything, but Delilah on the other hand is more than willing to be the instigator.  One of the main reasons Delilah came into the household was to give Sampson someone to play with when we weren’t at home.  Sampson however is a couch potato and Delilah gets bored.  This means that everything must be picked up, because it can sit on the floor for a month and she will never touch it, but one day….there she goes and she tore it up.

They go to daycare two days a week (weather permitting) and obedience class once a week, but other than that no exercise!  I’m at a loss as to what to do with them, so I throw it out to you…what are you doing with your dogs to keep them happy this winter?

I mentioned in a previous post how my dogs have very slim collars with one tag (with a silencer on it) and that one tag has their name on the front and my name and cell phone number on the back.   Chet said something last night that reminded me of how important it is to have a name tag on your dog whether they are in their house, in their yard or somewhere else.

Our back yard is fenced it; and it is very hilly.  Last night when we let the dogs out for their before bedtime break Chet said, “someone’s been up there.”  At first I thought he meant someone human and admit I was a little bit nervous, but then he said one of the dogs has been up there.   Ok, I’ll bite, what’s the dilly?  Then he said something that really scared me, he said there’s so much snow up there that they can practically walk over the fence.  SNAP 

It reminded me of two instances within the last 14 months, where I came in contact with dogs that were without their owners.  The first time was on Christmas Eve and I was driving home past Risley Pond, a reservoir in the area when I saw two yellow labs running…alone.  Naturally I stopped and got a hold of the dogs and called the number on their tags.  Their dad came and got them and told me their mom liked to drop the leash and let them run, which a lot of people do in that area, but they ran off on her.  She was frantic trying to catch them, but naturally they run a lot faster than she did!

The second time was at work; one of my co-workers came in and said, there’s a dog outside.  Of course I went out and there was a sweet, very friendly dog that was just wandering around.  Luckily for the dog, she also had a tag with her name on the front and a phone number on the back.  I called and the owner was beside herself, both her dogs had escaped and her husband was out looking for them.  Thankfully once she called her husband she found out that he had the other dog, so there was a happy ending in both situations.  But it did reinforce for me, the importance of tags.

The tags are less than $10, come in about 6 different shapes and you can have them made almost instantly at most pet stores.  You love your pet and want the best for them, so please don’t skimp on a really important yet fairly inexpensive investment.