behance bloglovin dribbble email facebook flickr github gplus instagram linkedin medium periscope phone pinterest rss snapchat stumbleupon tumblr twitter vimeo xing youtube

Heart Like a Dog

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

  • Home
  • About
  • Sampson
  • Delilah
  • Contact
  • Community Page

Search Results for: www.heartlikeadog.com

Follow-Up Friday – July 11, 2014

July 11, 2014 By Jodi

Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

Before we get into this week’s wrap-up, I’d like to announce the winner of the Jones Natural Chews.  

And the winner is…Amy Orvin!  Congratulations Amy!

You Make Me Laugh – July 6, 2014

Did you see that?  Something moved there.  Right there!

Did you see that? Something moved there. Right there!

It seems many of your pups do things like this.  Here are some of my favorite comments:

Sherrie Petrie said, “My dog Phoebe is a great hunter of MOTHS … she will tear the house apart until she finally catches one that was accidentally let in from outside. But the other nite I really had to laugh because she was scared out of her wits when one landed on her back and she couldn’t get to it and she kept going round and round trying to get it off but it just stayed there. she is white and it was dusk so she kind of glowed so I think that’s why the moth was attracted to her. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to wet my pants.”

Marge said, “That’s just one of the great reasons to bring a dog into your family. We get to see things from a wonderful perspective.”

KB said, “I’m so glad that we have goofy dogs in our lives to keep us smiling and laughing!”

Blueberry’s Human said, “Blueberry once stalked a…rock. To be fair, it was in the shape of a rabbit. Well, sort of. (snicker)”

I’d laugh at that too!

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Freighter does that too and it makes me laugh!”

Do-Don’t, Will-Won’t

Pamela said, “I had a similar experience when I was fostering a dog recovering from surgery. I followed the shelter vet’s instructions to the letter, just to have a consulting vet express shock and horror about the abuser I was subjecting the poor little dog too. It felt terrible.”

It is a terrible feeling when you think you are doing exactly what your pet needs and find out that you’re not.  I remember that story Pamela.  I also remember that dog recovered well and found a wonderful home, thanks to you.

2 Brown Dawgs asked, ” Maybe the therapist and surgeon are not a fit for each other?”

Here’s what I think.  1) The surgeon is a good twenty years younger than the therapist.  He is all into the computer, while she takes hand notes, I don’t think he reads her charts.  The therapist did talk to the surgeon about Sampson and I will have an update for you next week.

Jana Rade said, “Well, we did go with our vet’s recommendations. Religiously. This did include PROM (passive range of motion) and VERY gradual introduction of weight bearing exercises; very short leashed walks etc. We followed his instructions to the letter. The final result was good with Jasmine’s knees as good as new.”

I think sometimes you can do everything right and not get the same results as someone else.  I’m glad you had good results with Jasmine.

Lexy said, “from an entirely non-veterinary/experienced point of view, I like your plan. It takes everything into consideration, including Sampson’s own happiness.”

Thank you, his happiness and recovery are very important to me.

Determination Can Find a Way

Follow me Mama, I haven't forgotten.

Follow me Mama, I haven’t forgotten.

Carol Bondy asked, ” Do you only take one dog at a time now??”

On our morning walk, I take both dogs.  On the evening walk I take them separately.  At this time Delilah needs more exercise than Sampson does and it’s not fair to either one to make them keep pace with the other.  I do hope at some point I’ll be back to walking them both all the time!

Leah Erb said, “I’m so glad I’m not the only one who strategizes hikes around possible off-leash dogs on trails!”

Good heavens no!!  You always have to strategize and have an exit plan. 🙂

Kirsten said, “Every walk with Fozzie involves multiple stages of mental preparation too–nice when it works out more relaxing than we expected.”

Exactly Kirsten, it’s hard to have a relaxing walk when you are on high alert.

Beating the Heat

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

Emma said, “We like to walk on the concrete on the side of the asphalt, it isn’t so hot on our paws.”

Great idea!  I would love it if we had sidewalks here to help cut down on the heat, but I don’t see that happening.

Cupcake’s Mom said, “I try to encourage Cupcake to walk on the grass since the sidewalks in our complex are asphalt and HOT, but she mostly sticks to the walkways, and sometimes flops down and rolls around on the blacktop and tries to sneak in a street nap.”

She’s a hoot that one!  Street naps.  LOL

We Live in a Flat said, “Not a fan of the heat so we walk at night… gets interesting because of the cats, rats and cockroaches in the dark though.”

EWWWW, I can’t imagine.  Delilah would constantly be stalking something.

Sand Spring Chesapeakes asked, “I like to do a lot of lake work on hot days.  Do you have lakes or ponds by you they can swim in?”

You are lucky!  Sadly we do not.  If Hubby is fishing, they can swim at the boat launch, but I don’t like the idea of them swimming where there are hooks in the water.

Frankie and Ernie said, “Our mom puts carrot SLICES in a tub of water… and we go Diving fur GOLD…. THAT is refreshing.”

YOU have a very SMART mom!  That’s a great idea.  I may do that in our little wading pool. 🙂

Jen K said, “I WISH I could get my ass in gear for morning walks! ”

Some days are harder than others (and I have to go to bed a wee bit earlier) but it’s so worth it.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “The grass is better for the dogs’ joints and muscles, too.”

I never thought of that, it’s good to know!

Blueberry’s Human shared, “I started using Musher’s Secret on Blueberry’s paws this summer. So far it has really helped. ”

Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to pick some up!

That’s it for me, thanks for reading, today I start my 100 day challenge to write at least 50 words in my book every day.  Wish me luck.

 

Like what you read? Please share on your social network.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Follow-Up Friday Tagged With: Follow-Up Friday

Beating the Heat

July 10, 2014 By Jodi

Exercising Tips to Beat the Heat:

In New England our really hot, humid days arrive towards the end of July, and really nail us hard in August.  I can’t really complain about the weather we’ve had thus far because we’ve had some really beautiful days.

The last couple of days though, we’ve had some hot (upper 80’s, low 90’s) humid days,  which makes exercising the pups challenging.  No worries on this end, we’re used to dealing with challenges.

I thought I’d share some of our tips for beating the heat with you.

The morning walk is fairly comfortable because we leave the house between 6:00 and 6:10.  Even if it’s a tad humid, it’s not uncomfortable. If I had my druthers (and Sampson didn’t need the second walk) I’d make this walk the ‘walk’ and extend it to half an hour or so.    It’s so quiet and peaceful, we rarely run into dogs never mind people.  (I probably just jinxed myself.)

The afternoon walk is harder.  We have no sidewalks in our neighborhood so we walk on the road.  The road that has been sitting in the hot sun all day.  Because of this I encourage the dogs to walk on the grass as much as possible.

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

This grass is nice and soft and very cool on my paws.

Since I know the area, I guide the dogs to take the shadier route.  The route where more trees line the road, shading it from the hot afternoon sun, because we live in an elevated area, there is often a gentle breeze blowing.

If we head uphill, we get to the shady part of the street.

It could almost be Mayberry, no?

Keep our walks short. 

For our morning walk, I set the timer on my phone for 11 minutes, when the alarm goes off, we turn around and head for home.  The afternoon is slightly different because Sampson and Delilah get separate walks.  Because I walk the area so much, I have a general idea of what constitutes a quick walk for Delilah.  For Sampson I set the timer on my phone for 9 minutes and turn around when it goes off.   I know those are odd increments of time, but for Sampson I am trying to keep his walks to between 15 and 20 minutes, leaning more towards the 15 if possible.  The extra time in there accounts for sniffing and time to do their business.

I know I don’t need to say this, but make sure your dog has access to water.  They can get heatstroke just like we can!  Always check with your Vet if you have concerns about your pet and what type of exercise is best for them.

Indoor fun

Sometimes on really hot days, we will have a heat warning and be advised to stay indoors.  That’s when I have to find some fun things to do inside.  

I’m sure you know this but I’ll say it anyway, switching things up for your pet can be as tiring as a long walk.  Making them use their brains to think also has the same affect and can actual tire them more.

Sometimes I’ll hide some carrots around the house and let them run about finding them.  We also have some boxes saved for scent work, or we can work on cavalettis, trick training or basic obedience.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up, especially when it’s really hot.

 

I prefer to be outside.  Please and thank you!

I prefer to be outside. Please and thank you!

Interview:

I was super excited to be invited for an interview on Confessions of a Rescue Mom yet?  It’s good practice for me for when I finally get that book finished. 😉 If you didn’t see my post on Facebook and you’re interested  you can read it HERE.

 

Heart Like a Dog

Welcome to Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dogs and Heart Like a Dog.

The Barks and Bytes hop is for anything at all and all bloggers are welcome.  You don’t have to be a dog blog to join. 

For new blog hoppers, a blog hop is list of links that is shared on multiple blogs.  In order to be fair to all participants we ask you to please use the linky list.  If your blog does not support a linky list, please link back to your hosts.

Like what you read? Please share on your social network.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Blog Hops Tagged With: Thursday Barks and Bytes

Determination Can Find a Way

July 8, 2014 By Jodi

Yesterday I told you I have plans to take Sampson up to the woods for walks.  I figure it will be challenging based upon the folks that let their dogs run off-leash up there, but if I plan carefully and take precautions I think it’s doable.

Saturday I set off for the woods.  We walked up the hill and into the park.  I’ve taken Sampson up here a couple of times, but during those times I’ve only gone into the field and walked him around.

Our park has a three or four different colored trails.  Saturday I chose the orange trail, which is (IMO) the hardest trail, because there are areas where it is very steep.  If you follow the entire trail (which we didn’t) you will encounter these challenging areas at a minimum of three or four times.

Sampson and I caught the orange trail right inside the park.  This particular trail starts off up hill but it levels out at the top, and it intersects with the yellow trail, which is very wide and the main trail into the park.  It’s also all down hill from where we picked it up. My thought process was all uphill for the beginning of the walk when we were fresh with lots of energy, then all down hill on the way home.

Follow me Mama, I haven't forgotten.

Follow me Mama, I haven’t forgotten.

The other reason I chose the this particular section of the orange trail was for the height.  This trail runs parallel with the yellow trail, so while the trees are full, I still have a great advantage to keep an eye out for people and off-leash dogs and that gives me the option of tightening my grip on Sampson, or turning around to avoid the conflict.

I’m not sure if it was the time of day, the fact it was a holiday weekend or we maybe the universe was just giving us a lovely walk, but we didn’t encounter another dog or person. 

 

Just like I remember.

Just like I remember.

He remembered all the spots we usually run into someone too!  

The Heart Like a Dog Lesson: Even when something seems impossible, determination can find a way. 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Like what you read? Please share on your social network.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Filed Under: Heart Like A Dog Tagged With: ACL Surgery, Activities, Health, Heart Like A Dog, Life With Sampson And Delilah, Sampson

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 260
  • 261
  • 262
  • 263
  • 264
  • …
  • 462
  • Next Page »

About Jodi

jodiHi, my name is Jodi. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog! I have all kinds of fun writing about my two crazy pups, Sampson and Delilah. Find out more!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Let’s Stay Connected!

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Heart Like A Dog

Products We Love

Heart Like a Dog reader's receive a one time 25% discount when purchasing. If you do purchase, we thank you as we receive a small commission. Use code HeartOff

Creative Commons

Creative Commons License
Heart Like A Dog by Jodi E. Stone is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.heartlikeadog.com.

Recent Posts

  • Dearest Delilah
  • Happy 17th Birthday in Heaven, Sampson
  • My Darling Delilah
  • A Year Without You
  • Six Months of Missing You

Recent Comments

  • Madison on Dearest Delilah
  • Ducky & Bogie's Mom on Dearest Delilah
  • Sue on Dearest Delilah
  • Brian Frum on Dearest Delilah
  • Cat and DOG Chat With Caren on Dearest Delilah

Copyright © 2025 · Dynamik Website Builder on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in