Heart Like a Dog

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

Sampson’s Puzzled – This ‘N That Thursday

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Today we join our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs along with their co-host Ruckus the Eskie for This ‘N That Thursday.  2 Brown Dawgs says it’s a little of this and a little of that and anything in between!

Courtesy of 2 Brown Dawgs Blog

Courtesy of 2 Brown Dawgs Blog

Delilah and I are back in Nosework class again!!  

Tuesday night Delilah and I started Advanced Nosework.  For those unfamiliar with this sport, Donna from Donna and the Dogs has a small series running on her blog that explains this sport.

In our beginner class our hunts/finds were strictly food.  This time around we are introducing birch.  I’ll have a full post on how we’re doing that coming up soon.

In the meantime, here’s Delilah back in the classroom setting.  She’s just like her Mama, she loves to learn!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Why are you making me wait?  I see the boxes in the middle of the room, let’s work!

 Then there were two.

Two weeks ago as I was taking my grandson home Hubby warned me of a dead deer in the road.  I don’t know about you but seeing any animal lifeless on the side of the road, just about breaks my heart.  It is so sad.

I worry about the deer.  The herd is getting smaller and smaller.  When we first moved to our home seven years ago there was a herd of about eight deer.  The last time I saw deer running in the woods there were three.

Last week the dogs were going ballistic and I looked out the window.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Looks like the herd is down to two.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Do you like jigsaw puzzles?  I recently got into jigsaw puzzles on my iPad.  Sadly the one I loved didn’t update their app for the new operating system Apple came out with so I’m still in the market.  If any of you have a jigsaw app for your phone or iPad that you love, would you please share it?

In the meantime, I found this picture of Sampson standing on a trail of leaves and thought, that might make a pretty challenging puzzle.  What do you think?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Puzzle? You’ve got me puzzled with that thought Mama.

Follow-Up Friday

For those of you participating in tomorrow’s blog hop, my co-hostess is once again, the only Flea you wouldn’t mind hanging around your dog.  Yes, it’s Flea from Jones Natural Chews!

Join us tomorrow as we answer questions, highlight reader’s comments and wrap up our week!

Many thanks to 2 Brown Dawgs and Ruckus the Eskie.

Good Gracious Sebaceous!

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Handsome Sampson

Sampson is a handsome boy.  I mean just look at this face.

photo You cannot see the Sebaceous cyst in this photo.

Besides a myriad of nick names, I sometimes call him Handsome Sampson.  Try saying that three times fast.  Go ahead.  I double dog dare you.

See you can’t.  It’s just like licking your elbow.  Not possible.

Dogs don’t care what they look like

Sampson’s mother is a Golden Retriever while his dad’s breed is unknown.  Since we’ve never had any DNA tests run, we’re guessing Black Lab.  His vet records indicate Golden Lab.  As you can see from this photo, Sampson is beginning to get the white face that you see on so many Goldens and Labs.  When I look at that sweet graying face, it breaks my heart because I know my time left with him is less than the time I’ve already had with him.  But Sampson rarely looks in the mirror and when he does, all he sees is a happy dog.

Good gracious sebaceous!

There’s one other thing Sampson has going on on his face and that’s a Sebaceous cyst.  (Thanks to poor planning on my part, the photo I took of it, is not currently available.  I’ll share it on Friday.)

Sampson of course, is oblivious to the growth on his face. I’ve never noticed him paying much attention to it.  It doesn’t seem like it’s itchy because I haven’t noticed him scratching at it or rubbing his face on the carpet to scratch it.

He doesn’t look in the mirror every day to see what the cyst is looking like, he doesn’t pick at it in hopes of ‘popping’ it or making it smaller and he certainly doesn’t rearrange his fur to try and ‘cover’ it up.

Heart Like a Dog Lesson

I on the other hand seem to always touch this when I’m petting him.  At least once a day I think Oh no, he’s got a tick before realizing I’ve touched the cyst.  It’s well below his eye and in no way affects him.  Yet I still obsess over it.

I also obsess over what people will think of me because I’m carrying a little more weight than I feel comfortable with.  I worry what people will think when they look at my choice of outfits.  I make damn sure to point out the zit on my face before anyone else can.

In a nutshell, I’m vain.  I worry about how I look.  And because of this vanity, I also worry about how my dogs look too.  Which is why when Sampson goes in for his teeth cleaning on December 10th, I’m have that Sebaceous cyst removed.

Why I don’t know, because it’s certainly not bothering Sampson.

Are you like me, worried how others will view you?  Do you find yourself projecting that worry on your dog’s appearance as well?  Are you struggling to find your inner Heart Like a Dog?

Smiley McSmiley

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Back in September I made an appointment for Sampson to have his teeth cleaned.  It’s scheduled for December 10th.  And yes, my vet is booked that far in advance.  I know right?

I think a professional dental cleaning is a good thing to have done before your pet gets too old.  I’ve been told it has something to do with age and anesthesia (just like people.)

Brushing your dog’s teeth

Back when Sampson was a puppy I wanted to give him the very best of everything.   Sadly I did not know about brushing your pet’s teeth.  By the time I learned, I was too lazy to acclimate him to the tooth brush, although I do on occasion brush his teeth.

Choosing the right brush

I bought two of those little finger brushes, but last year I won a dental kit from My Brown Newfies.  Included with the kit was a really nice dog tooth brush.  I’ve used both and I like the brush better.  It fits better in the dog’s mouth and saves your finger, just in case you have a pup that doesn’t tolerate the brushing.

Here’s where the raw diet helps

Dog breakfasts at Stone Manor consists of raw chicken necks.  It may not be the best diet for those of you on the squeamish side, but like anything else, if you do it long enough, you get used to it. (Besides sometimes you can make a blog post out of a chicken head.)

Feeding Sampson and Delilah breakfast bones has made a huge difference in the cleanliness of their teeth.  I mean look at this smile.

SMILE-Pic That right there could be a Pepsodent smile!

As good as those teeth look, some of the chompers in the back have a little tartar at the base, and this needs to be removed.

Delilah’s teeth look good thus far, (she was a bit younger than Sampson when we started the raw diet) but we will address this with Dr. Soutter at Delilah’s next wellness exam which is scheduled for June of next year.

Heart Like a Dog Lesson

Sampson spends his day in the now, he does not project what’s to come, he doesn’t worry about tomorrow.  When tomorrow comes he will roll with whatever comes at him.

Not me.   December 10th is fine when you’re looking at it from the far side of September but it’s a lot scarier for me now.

I’m terrified.  Terrified that something bad will happen while he’s under anesthesia.

What if he has a bad reaction and doesn’t come home?  How will I live with that guilt?

How do I learn to live in the now and NOT project what scary things might come my way on December 10th?

How do I learn to live my life with a Heart Like a Dog?

Veterans Meme Don’t forget to thank a Veteran today and remember, it’s not just two-leggers who serve.

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