Wordless Wednesday: No sleeping on the job









Black & White Sunday: Ella

I've been thinking about this incredible dog a lot today.
She would've been 7 years old on Friday, the 26th.
I spent Friday morning stressed and nervous; I was forgetting something.
Late afternoon things calmed down and the day was really turning around. It was becoming a really great day after all.
Then I remembered what I had forgotten: Ella's birthday.
The funny thing (but not "ha ha" funny, strange funny) is, as I remembered what day it was, my mood only improved. It brought a smile to my face. I didn't expect that. I thought I would cry, I didn't.
 I miss her. I really miss her. But her birthday, her first birthday since her passing, did not darken what was turning out to be a great day, it only made it better. I don't know why. I can't explain it. I guess I just... felt, somehow, closer to her in a way.

Today, however, I've been battling the waterworks as I look through her pictures. I miss this bossy, noisy, sweet, weird, funny, overly affectionate, gorgeous mutt.

 

Me, Ella and many piles of clean laundry. Who could ask for more? ;)

I still think about you every day, Smella Ella.♥

 

Today we are participating in the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by You Did What With Your Weiner, Dachshund Nola and My Life In Blog Years.

Keeping Our Cool

I've said it before: this summer has been pretty mild for a Southern Utah summer thus far. We've had many thunder and lightning storms with some rain and we're expected to have storms every day this weekend.

Today and tomorrow, however, we're expected to reach a high of 95.

So what do we do when it's hot?

We stay inside with the swamp cooler on. ;) We play indoor games like ring around the couch (my Collies are crazy) and tug. We do some training. They play with puzzles or enjoy a bully stick or a frozen KONG (they love a good yogurt and fruit mixture or peanut butter or pumpkin).

If it's considerably cooler come evening, we'll go outside so they can run and race and play fetch in the yard. Sometimes we'll go out in the mornings before it gets hot. We stay close to home, or the air conditioned car, if temperatures are expected to rise. I keep a rubber, BPA free, collapsible bowl in the car and bring 2 bottles of cold water when we leave the house.

I often get asked, "Don't you shave them for the summer?" "Aren't they hot with all that fur?"
Answer: No, I never shave them (excluding between their paw pads and a trim around private areas for the sake of cleanliness). Yes, they do get hot just like many other living creatures do when it's hot out and yes some dogs, just like some humans, don't tolerate the heat as well as others. But shaving them will do them more harm than good, being the double coated breed that they are. Their coat actually protects them from the sun and even the occasional hitch-hiking insect. Their coat not only keeps them warm in the winter, but it keeps them cool in the summer.



Some people argue with it, but I stand by it. I would never shave Lassie or Petal unless a medical reason demanded it. If it's too hot for them and all their fur, we stay inside and entertain ourselves until it's cool enough to play a game of fetch outside or go for a walk in the shade. I wouldn't shave my head because it's hot outside like Pedro did.*

Their coats protect them from getting sunburned and being easily bitten by bugs. That's not to say they can't get sunburned or bitten by bugs; Petal's nose gets sunburned if she's out in the sun for a prolonged amount of time with no sunscreen on her nose and determined bugs have forged their way through their coats a few times, but the majority of the time, I find the bug and remove it before it can make it to their skin.



I worry it wouldn't grow back properly if I shaved it. I am also 99% sure that they would be extremely uncomfortable without their fur. They would also look ridiculous and would probably never forgive me. I had a lady once tell me, as she ran her fingers through Lassie's coat, that she would shave her Rough Collie every summer and he would hide under the bed for days afterward. Lassie told her off with some barking.

They'll put up with me putting ridiculous things on their heads, but shaving off their gorgeous coat? I would be in the dog house.

Looking ridiculous.

There are many other ways to help keep your dog cool during these hot summer days.
The Uncommon Dog has provided this cute infographic with tips for keeping your dog cool and recognizing early warning signs that your dog is overheating.

(click to enlarge)

Some of the tips (like getting a dog house) probably aren't necessary unless your dog lives or spends a lot of time outside. I don't recommend them living outside, but a lot of the dogs where we live do live outside, all year round. But luckily I have yet to see a dog who did not have a dog house and/or shade and water.

My dogs spend very little time outside unsupervised. They have a dog run where they go for potty breaks and that's the only time they're outside without supervision. We have a decent amount of property but only one area of it is fenced (you can see it in the above pictures), apart from the dog run, and it is most certainly not an escape proof fence. Because of that, and the fact that they just don't enjoy being out there alone, they are never out there without a human or two or three. Which means there is always someone there to bring them in right away if the heat begins to be too much.

How do your dogs stay cool on hot summer days?
I've been thinking about buying a kiddie pool. Think my Collies would be willing to get their feet wet?

Yeah, probably not. ;P


*Don't worry, I do know there is a huge difference between my head of hair and my Collies' bodies of fur. ;)

(mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Play time!

"You're going down, Mr. Flamingo!"


"Go ahead, try and take it. I dare you."






:'(


Note: No worries, Mr. Flamingo is alive and well. ;P Petal doesn't actually "kill" her stuffies (or... unstuffies in Mr. Flamingo's case). In fact, she use to cry when Ella would "kill" them.






Review: True Chews from Chewy.com!

Today we are doing a review of True Chews from Chewy.com!


"Open it, oh Thumbed One!"

The lovely folks at Chewy.com sent us 1 bag of Lils pig ears and 1 six inch bully stick to try.

The Lils pig ears are for dogs 20 lbs and under. In our case they made the perfect sampling size!
There were three ears in the bag plus one teeny tiny one.

They're a pretty decent size. I bet a small dog would be in heaven and get lots of chewing time from it. Lassie and Petal finished them off in under 5 minutes. They LOVED them. I loved that they're made in the USA. But the little hairs still on the ear made me cringe. My dogs have had pig ears before (usually when I take them to a pet store and they snatch one off the shelf or I tell them to "pick something!" That's what they usually go for), but I've never noticed little hairs. Then again, I've never looked too closely either. ;)

They're a very messy treat. I was glad I had Petal and Lassie (trust me he got some, in fact, he got 2 of the 3; I just didn't get any decent pictures) eat them on the kitchen floor/their dog cot.


"Licking crumbs off the floor is a little difficult with an overbite."

I gave the bully stick to Petal, since Lassie got 2 of the 3 pig ears.
It was a very thin little bully stick and it only lasted her about 8 minutes! Six inch bully sticks usually last my dogs somewhere between 20-60 minutes depending on thickness (yes, I hear you giggling ;P).

 
Thin little bully stick.

These bully sticks would be perfect for little dogs/dogs that aren't strong chewers at all. They wouldn't be worth the money for us though. I expect the pricey chews to last a minimum of 20 minutes. This didn't even last half that.
On the plus side, I didn't notice any smell and I sat right next to Petal as she ate it.

Lassie & Petal give the pig ears 3 1/2 out of 4 paws up for deliciousness and being made in the USA. They're a little pricey though.


Petal gives the bully stick 1 paw up. It was tasty and made in the USA, but it was gone in a flash; not for strong chewers.


While I wouldn't buy True Chews' bully sticks for my dogs, I would happily buy any of their other treats, and I do think their bully sticks would be the perfect size for soft chewers/small dogs.

Of course Chewy.com still has all our love. Our package arrived promptly and the goodies were packaged well.
The dogs get excited when a package from Chewy.com comes. Even the cats come running to see if it's their usual order of food.


"Hey, I know that Chewy bloke! He sends me food!"

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Discloser: I was sent one bag of True Chews Lils Pig Ears and one six inch True Chews bully stick from Chewy.com for review purposes. I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Black & White Sunday: Missed you

 Last night's view. Pretty darn adorable right?

I went out of town for the weekend and got back yesterday afternoon. I was only gone two nights, but I still missed my crazy Collies. I think they missed me too. Petal curled up and laid next to me all. night. last night. It isn't unusual for her to sleep with me all night, however it was a little unusual for her to sleep so close to me (close enough to prevent me from getting up all night, which was fine by me) all through the night. She wanted to be absolutely sure that I wasn't going to go anywhere. ;)

My dogs make me feel so loved.



Today we are participating in the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by You Did What With Your Weiner, Dachshund Nola and My Life In Blog Years.

Wordless Wednesday: Good looking guy








Twins!

 
(Dobby image source) 

They're identical! ;P

My parents have been calling her Dobby.
"Dobby want a sock?" Mom says. Penny licks her face.


I'm sure you're all probably wondering why she's still here.
Penny will be staying indefinitely. My sister wants to keep her.
It's a long story that doesn't belong on this blog. ;) But basically: Penny needed a new home, we were going to find that new home until Sister #2 said she wanted to keep her and would take care of her.
And that's that.
Dobby Penny will stay.
Might be nice to have a house-elf around.