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 the week.

You Make Me Smile – May 22, 2016

Cupcake said, “When any space sneaks in between Mom and me, I stand up in the bed next to her head and stare at her till she wakes up and opens a place in the covers for me to slide under and resume my position against her. If I can’t feel her heartbeat, I am too far away. When she says the word, “Get offa me, weirdo!” Then I know I’m in the perfect spot.”

Cupcake, you always make me laugh. Maybe I should feature YOU in one of my Sunday posts. 🙂

Hailey and Zaphod said, “Similar things have happened to me. I have been sure it was one dog in the bed and it was the other!”

Do you find that you typically KNOW which dog it is because of the way they get on the bed? Both my dogs have different techniques, which is what totally threw me off.

Jan K said, “Cricket always goes behind my legs, and Sheba doesn’t look for snuggles too often. It’s usually Luke if someone piles themself behind my back! Once he knows I’m awake he rolls right onto his back looking for a tummy rub. 🙂”

That’s super cool. Both my dogs will roll onto their backs for tummy rubs too!

Blueberry’s Human said, “You get to sleep in on Sunday?? I have to get up an hour earlier than the work week to get in a quick walk before church. It figures B feels most like snuggling and sleeping in on Sunday which makes it challenging to get up. And B doesn’t care if I want to snuggle or not. She will press herself as close to me as she can get. Sometimes she will press her nose into my neck and I will feel her nose juice drip down my neck. Makes me giggle every time.”

Yes, Sundays are my sleep in day. Don’t get so excited, I’m usually up by 8:00 am. 🙂 Nose juice makes you giggle? I can’t stand it when Delilah drips WATER on my feet!

Monika and Sam said, “Snuggles by any fur-iend means a big smile, on our face and in our hearts.”

You are spot on right there. 

Jan said, “They all like to pose three inches from my nose until I open my eyes to the horror that is before me.”

Ba ha ha, I only get that when someone has to go potty.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “LOL brown dawgs are not big snugglers so I usually don’t have to worry about them getting on the bed. Oh they don’t mind waking you up, but not by getting on the bed.”

So how do the brown dawgs wake you? 😉

Jen said, “When Leroy wants to snuggle he just jumps on top of me. When Sherman wants to snuggle he rolls over for belly rubs 🙂”

Good lord Jen, that dog weighs more than you! Doesn’t he crush you?

The Most Important Question You Can Ask Your Vet

Well no surprise, you guys rose to this challenge and gave some amazing suggestions, things I hadn’t remembered or thought of because I was so focused on supplements. Because the responses were so detailed, I’ve only briefly touched on them here. I highly recommend you go and check them out.

Jana Rade says vets hate that question and she’s probably right. I still ask the question though, because I’ve been with my vet for quite some time and she knows my dogs very well. She does keep on top of current nutrition and treatments and since our views are very similar, I depend on her for guidance. 

Emma pointed out that some products work better with some dogs than other ones do. You may have to experiment to see which ones (or combinations of treatments) work best for Lily, and also suggested chiropractic care. 

Jen Gabbard shared, “When it comes to glucosamine supplements we’ve noticed some of them seem to lose their effectiveness after awhile…”

This is something else I forgot about. At first the Rejenease was amazing for Sampson, it is what got him over that CCL repair hump, and then after a bit it seemed like Sampson needed a little something more. 

Jan K mentioned a product called “Wag” from Pet Research Corp, and fish oil.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom suggested a ramp to help Lily with the stairs. Which is also a great idea.

Monika and Sam said, “There’s no substitute for diagnostic tests and physical exams by professionals….Nutrition is also something that should probably be reviewed as nutritional needs change as pets get older.”

Good thought! I totally spaced on the nutrition piece. Weight can also play a factor, even a pound or two can often times make a difference!

Colby has his guys on generic glucosamine and chondroitin and always asks his vet what he would do if it were his dog.

Cupcake said her mom gave a previous dog Cosequin.

As you can see, there are some fabulous suggestions here! And if your vet is like mine, you can always call them up and run stuff past them.

Silent Fireworks – It’s a Thing!

Taryn Tipton said, “That is a wonderful meme! You should post it over on FaceBook (if you didn’t already) so we can all share it! Just last night, I had the boys out in the yard after dark and I heard a very loud POP, followed a split second later by Jimmy’s frantic pawing at the storm door to be let in. Just one firecracker is all it takes to ruin his night! Sadly, Memorial Day starts the season of never knowing when evening poppers (as we call them) will ruin our bedtime walk. Jimmy begins to get so phobic, he won’t go out after dark. ;-(

Thank you Taryn, I did post it on Facebook, and thanks for sharing it. That is so sad that Jimmy gets phobic, I wish more people put some thought into how their actions affect others.

Genevieve said, “Cupcake is not bothered by fireworks at all. I, on the other hand, am NOT a fan. The neighborhood street fireworks seem especially pointless.”

I’m with you, I don’t get it at all either.

Emma said, “I hate all the fireworks the people around here have. They used to all be illegal in MN, but they are now legal and people feel the need to start practicing about a month before the 4th. It doesn’t phase me, but it keeps Mom up! Katie used to be terrified too, but now not being able to hear has solved that problem.”

They used to be illegal here too, and you only had to worry about a few people that went to neighboring states to buy them, but now they are legal.  They can be super disruptive.

Sue said, “It is like WWIII every July here in our very rural neighborhood. It starts early and lasts way past July 4. The money these folks invest in fireworks makes me shake my head and my animals hate it. I close blinds and draperies, put dog calming music on and pull out the Kongs. The Thundershirt upsets Rudy even more and I have yet to find anything that really helps much at all.”

I would have thought you’d have less fireworks in your area. That really stinks about Rudy. Jan (two comments below) just posted about a new drug that is being marketed for this. It’s very new, but you may want to check into it.

Two French Bulldogs said, “We are moving to a small town in Italy.”

Ba ha ha!

Jan said, “I will never understand the joy in setting off $10 worth of noise for a few minutes of noise and smoke. Only one of my dogs is bothered by the noise, but it is enough for me to want to go to the silent fireworks. We live close to the university campus where the fireworks ground zero is, but it is the all day neighborhood ones that I really hate.”

That must suck! I know how loud our local campus gets! I’m with you though, it’s the neighborhood ones that really suck. The town ones have a specific time frame, where the neighborhood ones seem to go on and on and on.

Jen Gabbard said, “And any little thing we can do to help make lives easier for Veterans is A-OK by me. PTSD can be triggered by so many things, yet most of us are completely unaware.”

You are so right! It doesn’t even have to be a gunshot/fireworks pop, I watched my nephew duck and cover once when someone moved a large table unexpectedly.:-)

Well that’s it for me folks, have a safe and Happy Memorial Day!

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.

You Make Me Smile – May 15, 2016

Meagan and Merlin said, “So today my partner Trevor was burning some rubbish in the yard and Merlin hid behind my legs. It makes me smile in a way cos it shows he finds comfort in being next to me.”

Awe, that is so sweet. He knows you will protect him!

Jan said, “She is soaking up the vitamin D, isn’t that the sunshine vitamin or maybe communing with the Mother Ship.”

Yes vitamin D IS the sunshine vitamin, but I’m leaning more towards the communing with the Mother Ship. 🙂

Jen Gabbard said, “Naps in the sun are a major part of Laika’s day, and it always puts a smile on my face too. It always looks so comfortable, but when I try to join her I just get irritated by the ants & end up saying “ow my back, how do you lay like this all day…” Oh the joys of being an adult I suppose.”

Bah ha ha, them I’m hot and sweaty, etc. Yeah, no, laying in the sun is not my thing either.

Jan K said, “Every day when I would get home from work, Cricket would run to roll in the grass. Since we hadn’t had grass in the pen, I missed seeing her do that! Now that we’ve got the new fencing, I was so happy to see her out there rolling in it again.”

Yes! It gives you so much joy doesn’t it? To see them expressing THEIR joy!

Alexa88 said, “yesterday hubby an i were walking lily. lily was doing her sniffing thing when apparenty she smelled something bad. she started sneezing and had her tongue hanging out.
the look on her face was like ack wth!!… we were bad parents but couldn’t help but laugh at her facial expression.”

You are NOT bad parents! I know I would have laughed too.

Monika and Sam said, “Hey…a girl’s gotta work on her tan, doesn’t she? I mean how else can D-dog maintain that gorgeous brown body?”

Well that is true, but seeing as she’s dark, I would think she’d really absorb the heat!

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Oh noooo Delilah is now an old dog laying in the sun. Thunder started doing that too recently. He never did it when he was younger.”

Noooooo, say it isn’t so!! Delilah NEVER liked to lie out in the sun, she has always been an ‘inside’ dog. She’ll go out if you are doing an activity, but she prefers to be inside.

If It Was Any Closer

Saved by Dogs said, “Look at the bright side – she didn’t grab it and bring it in to run around the house, sharing it with everyone.”

Oh. Dear. God. Thank you! I can only imagine!! We had a cat when we were kids that used to bring mice in and play with them.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “I remember one time a squirrel fell out of a tree and landed right in between Coco and Pixie – our first two dogs. They were all so surprised that they just froze in place. But, as soon as the squirrel shook himself off and started to run, the dogs took off after him. Mom and I laughed about that for weeks.”

Oh my gosh, I would have laughed about that too. Don’t you wish you had it on video?

Emma said, “So frustrating! Mom often loses her sunglasses only to find them on her head, or she panics because her cellphone is missing, but she is actually talking on it. Humans are just silly!”

Yes, we are silly. It’s because we have so many things we are juggling. 🙂

Taryn said, “This happens to my dogs all the time. If it doesn’t move, they don’t see it. It’s especially true with deer when the wind is blowing their scent away from us. I can’t open our backdoor without both my knuckleheads barrelling/woofing out every single time. All wildlife gets fair warning to head for the fenceline!”

We had that happen with a deer in the woods. They could smell it, but it was standing still in the trees and neither one could spot it. But man, they see them when they are outside our fence. And same thing, barreling/woofing like crazy. Heads up deer, the loonies are coming! LOL

Jan said, “Dogs have predator eyes. They see movement football fields away, but they are not so good with still objects.”

You are right about that! Except sometimes my guys see something that is out of the norm, you know? Like when people put out those lawn ornaments and the dogs KNOW that it wasn’t there yesterday.

Jan K said, “I wonder if those chippies knew it was their lucky day?”

Somehow, I doubt it. 😉

Julie said, “Sometimes Cocoa does not notice something right in front of her. She becomes so fixated on something in the distance or whatever that she misses the cat or rabbit near her!!”

Ah yes, that happens all the time on our walks. I see the cat, but someone does not. 😉

Mary Ann said, “Lila walked passed some ducks today, and I wondered why! She missed seeing them. In her defense, I must say, they did blend in with their surroundings. It was nice that she didn’t go running off after them since I was holding onto her leash.”

Could you imagine? Delilah and the damn blowing leaves, there have been times when she’s just about pulled me off my feet!

Melf said, “This happened with Jasper once. He was dozing under the lilac bush and a squirrel started to saunter by, saw him, froze, and then skedaddled away as fast as he could. Jasper just watched him. Unlike Delilah, he saw the squirrel. Did nothing. Silly dog.”

LOL don’t you wish you recorded that? 

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Freighter was out in the yard not long ago, and in the next yard sat Mr. Bunny in the grass. Only one problem, I did not have the electric fence collar on Freighter and I was hoping he would not bolt after the bunny. Would have been a test of recall. Lucky for me there was no wind and the bunny was in the shadows so completely blended into the background. Bunny left and Freighter never had any idea it had been there.”

Oh gosh! That sure would have been a test! Yesterday morning on our walk there was a bunny in the bush, neither one of us saw it, but we heard it as it left the bushes. We both looked and then we saw it. Thankfully, I was able to distract her from it.

Jackie Bouchard said, “Are Labs scent dogs or sight? Because that reminds me of a story with our beagle – definitely a scent hound! Bailey used to always chase the squirrels and bunnies our yard. One day i went out and there was this oblivious bunny hoping along our fence. The dog came out and started sniffing around, and I was shriek-whispering to her and pointing frantically, “Over there! There’s a bunny RIGHT THERE!” And she could definitely smell it and knew it was out there, but she had to go nose-to-the-ground and follow everywhere he’d been before she could get around to the spot – that of course he vacated long before she got close enough. It was like those stupid Family Circus cartoons where you follow the dashes – – – – – – – to see everywhere the kids have been. (That also reminds me… once I got to SEE how that sniffer of hers really works. We briefly lived where it snows, and one day I could see that she was only nose-to-the-ground-ing in places where there were little critter tracks in the snow. I realized her world when we went on walks was all those little critter tracks – but I was only aware of them when there was a trail in the snow.)”

I think Labradors are scent hounds. Both my guys go out with their noses to the ground. As for you bunny encounter, that makes me laugh as I’ve done the same thing with Delilah!

Throwback Thursday – Puppy Size

Genevieve said, “Sweetest. Story. Ever. It IS all about the sighs. They say so much.

Yes, they do.

Emma said, “The small photos remind me of our early blog posts where we didn’t know the photos could be bigger! Such a cute story! My mom always cuddles with each of us and sighs.”

Do you remember when we first started blogging. I can’t believe how much I didn’t know! I’m like Mom and I like to cuddle and sigh too.

Jan K said, ” I love it when one of the dogs lies down on the bed or couch next to me and just lets out a big sigh. It is such a happy feeling to know that they are content.”

It really is.

Mary Hone said, “That is such a sweet story, and every shelter should have it hanging on their wall.”

Yes, I agree.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “And I too love the sighs of contentment that I’ve always gotten from my girls, all my girls – KissyAngel, CallieAngel, Shadow, and Ducky. They’ve always made me smile. And while I love all my girls equally, there’s something special about Ducky’s sighs. Having come from the shelter to which she had been returned twice before her first birthday, knowing that she’s happy and feels loved by us makes my own heart sigh whenever she sighs.”

There is a special feeling from a rescue dog, especially one that has had challenges, like Delilah and Ducky. It is almost like a validation that you’ve helped that dog, if that makes any sense.

That’s it for me my friends, have a wonderful weekend.

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.

You Make Me Smile – May 8, 2016

Emma said, “We know everything. We can tell by the sound of the clothes if it is a running or walking morning.”

You guys are so smart! Sampson is very in tune with that too. He knows what time we usually walk and he watches me, and when I go to change, he follows me. IF I sneak one past him, as soon as he sees my walking pants, he perks right up. 

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “It’s so sad when they start to have age-related separation issues. It tears at your heart to have to leave them. In Shadow’s case, it’s not having Callie around to keep her company when we have to leave her. She has been MY shadow since Callie got her wings. I can’t go from one room of the house to another without her joining me (unless she’s sound asleep) most days. I guess she’s afraid of losing me, too.”

It is sad and it’s so hard. He’s given me so much and I just want to make sure he’s comfortable, but there is only so much I can do. Poor Shadow, we at least have each other to talk to, how do they process their grief? Because as you know, they grieve too.

Julie said, “Cocoa gives me the look for sure. And she gets in her crate long before she has to and looks at me with the saddest hound dog face.”

They KNOW just how to work that face too. 🙂

Jan K said, “It’s hard enough to leave them, but when they look like that! Luke follows me around as well, but Cricket hangs close to the kitchen, since she knows they’ll get a treat when I leave!”

That’s Delilah! LOL She could give two shits less if you leave, as long as you give her a cookie.

Taryn said, “After they are positive that we won’t invite them along, they dash upstairs to the front bedroom and watch us leave. After that I’m pretty sure they have a pillow fight based on the way all the bed pillows are on the floor when we get home!”

OH MY. Mine have never done THAT, but there are times where it looks like someone had a wild time in the bed. 😉

Lauranne said, “I don’t know if I could ever leave him if he looked at me like that.”

It is so DAMN hard. I wish I could work from home or at the very least, bring him with me.

Monika and Sam said, “Sam acts much like my kids did when they were dropped off at daycare. Heartbroken for about 87 seconds, then it’s run around and then ‘pawty’ like it’s 1999.”

Bah ha ha, sweet, sweet Sam!

A Little Slice of Heaven

DZDog Mom said, “I’m so tired from moving this weekend I’m having trouble getting motivated to go do something. This helps. ❤”

I’m glad, it’s one of my ‘happy’ places. I hope you have some time to relax now!

Cupcake said, “That does look (and sound) heavenly. Our slice of heaven is a little more city-fied, but heavenly nonetheless.”

All you have to do is look, you can find beauty anywhere!

Emma said, “We love to see the sun come up, hear the birds, not see another soul out. It really sets the tone for the entire day!”

It sure does. When you start a day with that much beauty, how can you not have an amazing day?

Beth said, “I totally get it. There are plenty of evenings when I leave the house thinking, “Just a quick loop around the neighborhood” and then I look west and see the sun setting over Lake Erie and our quick loop turns into a leisurely two miles. Glad you have such a lovely way to start the day.”

Nature is the food that feeds the soul. At least for me, I bet I’d be following that sunset too. 🙂

Hailey and Zaphod said, “As we live in the foothills in the country, most of our days start like this. It is wonderful.”

Oh that sounds heavenly.

Alexa88 said, “i picked some pretty roadside flowers to put in a jar. they are yellow and seeing them on the kitchen counter is like abit of sunshine. im very thankful that all we been getting is rain without the thunderstorm type of rain.”

I love flowers, and they sure brighten a room. I’m with you, thankful that all the rain is just rain with no noise.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “Mine would be any walk in the mountains 🙂”

I’m sure it’s beautiful!

Frankly, We’re Woofing for Jones

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “toe cough er alls… That’s the best I could break it down.

Wow, look at you! 🙂 Thank you!!

Cupcake said, “My favorite treat right now is freeze dried chicken – one ingredient treat.”

THAT is a very good treat! I bet you get lots of them.

Emma said, “We are huge Frankenwoofer fans! They are awesome. Thankfully my mom didn’t try to “short” us out of the weiner portion like you did 😉”

Bah ha ha!

Beth said, “Barley would probably love these–her big treats are very limited because she gets SO MANY tiny treats for training throughout the day, so I love that you were able to cut up the ends and make them multi-purpose treats!”

My guys get a lot of treats throughout the day too, and we give them treats when we are eating dinner, which is why it’s so important to me that these treats can be modified.

Jan said, “You have captured the many moods of treat eating.”

Ha ha ha. Delilah only knows one mood. 😉 

Jan K said, “That certainly sounds like a treat that can’t be beat. I’m hearing grumblings from the crew now because they feel deprived that they haven’t gotten to try these yet!”

I forgot to mention, they come two in a package. 🙂

I did want to say at first I was concerned that the patty would be too hard, and someone would break a tooth on them, but that is NOT the case at all. The patty crunched up very nicely and as I noted, they both licked the floor. 🙂

Well that’s it for me folks, have a fantastic weekend!