Introducing Mr. B

I got a call last week from my dad telling me that they are now a "Two dog family".  Otis has a new brother, Mr. B.  My dad was at a local end of summer festival and they had a bunch of dogs from shelters they were showcasing in hopes of finding them homes.  For whatever reason it was decided that Mr. B should become part of the family.  But it was not that easy, it was a 4 day mission trying to track the dog down after the festival.  But he was found.

Apparently, Mr B was picked up from a shelter, a few days before he was to be put down.  He was then taken to a no-kill shelter for a few months, and was moved to another no-kill shelter for another month.  And then he was showcased at the festival.  He is a black lab mix.

He is not in perfect health.  He is very overweight.  He is between 90 and 95 pounds and should probably be between 60 and 70 pounds.  He is about 8 years old.  He will be going on a diet and going on many walks to get to a healthy weight.

He is sweet around people, but he seems somewhat defensive and on edge around other dogs.  He is ok, with Otis, since Otis is so mellow, (although I was told he growled and snarled at Otis a couple of times).  But he was a bit on edge around Lola and her energy level and went at her a couple of times.  We put a stop to that very quickly.  But we think it will take sometime for Mr. B to be comfortable around Lola and her energy level.    Lola was fine and just left him alone after he went at her.  I think she knew and sensed what was going on and knew it was better to just let him go to sleep on the couch.

There will be more updates on Mr. B's new life (and diet).  We hope that once Mr. B is at a healthier weight and adapts more to his new home he will be more comfortable around other dogs.  I think he has had a rough life the past year, (and perhaps longer) and just needs to learn that everybody around him just wants to love him, (Lola and Otis included). 

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Toys

The pictures need a little explaining.  Lola's toys are kept in a tote where she has access to them whenever she wants.  One day last week I came home and found this.  I am not sure if Lola was looking for a specific toy, or if she just could not decide.  She either found what she wanted or just gave up.

Bath Time

Lola has been shedding up a storm lately.  I think she must be losing her summer coat.  (That may not be true but that is what I like to think.)  So I decided it was time for a bath.  Lucky for me, Lola does not mind baths at home.  (I do take her to the groomer periodically, but that can be expensive, so I give a bath at home sometimes too.)  First thing I say, is "In".  And she jumps in the tub.

Then it is time to get wet and washed.

I feel so naked without my collar.  Can we get this over with. 

She is very good when it comes to washing her.  She just stands there and lets me lather her up and get her nice and clean.  After the bath it is time to dry off.

Do you really need to take picture Ma?

And since it was a nice hot summer fall day, I thought it would be easier to just go for a walk and get dry by the sun.

I have to say going for a walk, and getting dry by the sun was much easier than pulling out the blow dryer. Now, Lola is nice and clean and white again.  And hopefully it will help a little with the shedding.

Everlasting Treat Ball

I was told about this Everlasting Treat Ball from a friend of mine.  She has dogs that are good at destroying things like Lola.  She said this treat ball keeps her dogs occupied for hours.  So I figured, why not try it.  I should have known better.  Hours in my house usually means minutes.

Within a few minutes it looked like this.

Yes, she managed to pull the treat part out of the ball and eat it within minutes.  So as an alternative, I filled the holes in the ball with her food.  And that distracted her a little longer.  It is another good alternative for food dispensers.

Small, Priceless Things That are Great About Having a Dog

1.  I have a built in alarm system.  Lola is not a barker but when she hears a strange noise or somebody knocking on the door, you can bet she lets me know. I always kid if anybody came into the house who was not suppose to she would like them to death. But I know Lola would be there to protect me if need be.

Don't worry, I'll protect you

2.  I have an automatic vacuum cleaner.  I love my Dyson and it is great for the hair, dirt and dust, but nothing beats Lola when it comes to food falling on the ground. It is cleaned up in a matter of seconds.

3.  No matter how bad my day is Lola is there to put a smile on my face and give me a sloppy kiss.  That tail wagging back and forth when I walk in after a hard day is the best cure.

4.  I have my own personal gym and trainer.  She is my treadmill when we go for walks everyday, and when we play with a rope she has jaws of steel and I can pick her up, so she is my weight lifting system too.  I am not sure if Lola is cheaper than a gym, but at least I do not have to pay additional money for my gym.

Keep you pace up Ma

5.  She is a great to cuddle with when it is warm or cold.  It is like I have a built in blanket wherever I go.  And even better, she is more than happy to keep the bed warm when I get out of it.

I know there has to be more.  What are some things that are great about your pets?

Protective Lola

I was going for an evening walk earlier this week and something very strange happened.  We were walking our normal route, and I turned a corner and noticed there were some landscapers mowing the lawns at two house about half way down the block.  No big deal, I just crossed to the other side of the street. I figured it would be easier for all parties not to have a dog walking by when people were mowing. 

We continued to walk and we passed the landscapers on the other side of the street.  Lola was beside me walking and all of a sudden she turned around and started barking.  This is out of character for her.  I can't remember her ever barking on a walk.  I immediately made her sit to calm down, and turned around and saw one of the landscapers stopped in the middle of the street.  I released her from the sit and started walking again. As we started walking and the landscaper asked if she bites.  I said not usually and just continued our walk.  As we continued walking she seemed uneasy and anxious, so I cut our walk short and headed home. 

Once I got home and had a moment to unwind from our walk, I realized something set Lola off.  Lola is always happy  and never barks when people approach us walking. In fact she gets so excited because she knows somebody is coming to pet her.  As I thought about it more, I realized something made her turn around and bark like she.  I am not sure what exactly. But I am glad to know that she will bark and become protective when appropriate. Not that I ever doubted she would protect me if needed, but I have now seen the first inkling of it.

Have you ever seen your dog go into a protective and/or defensive mode for you or anyone else?

Blog Hop Special Edition - Write a Post Help a Dog!!

Now, I know a lot of you have done this and it is time for us to hop on the band wagon and help as well.

I know it is a tough time out there for a lot of people.  And it is not always easy for somebody to take in another dog, or volunteer time.  But here is an easy way to donate.  Click here, and ever click donates .6 bowls of food to rescued animals.  And you can click EVERY day!  This is one of the easiest ways to help dogs out there. And it costs nothing, just a few seconds of your time.

And here is another easy way to help out.

This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a "Fan" or "Likes" the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated. 

And here is the last one.

Looking for a way to help a homeless dog? If you have a blog of any kind, simply write a post to help a dog from now through September 19 and Pedigree will donate a 20-pound bag of food to an animal shelter.

It's that simple.

Just include the bullets listed here, and add the direct link to your blog post to our Blog Hop below so we can all see how big an impact we are making!

• Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs. 
• This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a "Fan" or "Likes" the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1 million bowls have been donated.
• Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive through September 19, PEDIGREE will donate a bag of its new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It's simple: Write a post, help a dog.
• Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19, the Pedigree BlogPaws bloggers will host a Blog Hop to help raise awareness for the "Write a post, help a dog" effort.

Tell as many of your blogger friends as you can, so we can help even more dogs. And if you don't have a blog, please tweet about this using the hashtag #dogsrule, re-tweet this post, or share on Facebook to help spread the word even further!

Let's see how many bags we can collect!

Tug a Jug Video

Wordless Wednesday - Flowers

Kong Wobbler

Time To Eat

Lola is a food motivated dog.  She will do just about anything for food, assuming it is something she likes. When it comes time to eat breakfast or dinner, she is ready.  The routine is pretty much the same everyday.  She gets fed after she goes out in the morning and that can be anywhere between 5:30 or 7.  Then an hour or two later (depending on the morning and when she first gets up), she gets food in one of her food dispenser toys,  usually the Tug a Jug, when I leave for work, or after a morning walk, depending on the day.

In the evening, she gets fed after we go for a walk.  And with dinner she gets some wild Alaskan fish oil added to her food.  And she loves that.  And then after that she gets some more food in a food dispenser toy, usually the Kong Wobbler.  (Don't worry it is all balanced out so she is not getting fed too much.  We can't have an overweight Lola.)

She loves the food dispenser toys.  I think she would be fine if I fed her with just those all the time.  And I am amazed at her technique and how quickly she can get the food out.  The next two days will be videos.  One of the Kong and one of the Bottle.  So come back over the next few days!

Never Forget - 9/11/2001

As I'm sure most people realize, today is the 9th anniversary of 9/11.  I think it is important to take a moment to remember all the people who were injured and lost their life on that horrible day.  I also think it is important to thank all the police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and anybody who risked their lives to help others on that day.  And thank you to all the military service men and women, and their families, who risk their lives to make our so much better and safer.  You are all heroes in my eyes.

Saturday Blog Hop 9/11/2010

Jingle Jangle

As most of you know, Lola got a pretty new collar about a week ago.  So, I figured it was time to tell everybody about the pretty charms she has on it, aka. dog tags. 

Lola has 4 different tags.  She has 2 different ID type tags.  One is a tag is an ID tag with her name and then my information and one is issued by her vet with the information about her microchip.

Her other tags are issued by the city and the vet.  She has her city dog license tag and her rabies tag. In my city they require you to have your dogs licensed.    And her rabies tag is pretty self explanatory.  And I am sure many dogs out there have that tag. 

Most dogs I know, always keep their collars on, and Lola is the same.  Lola is not a runner and is so use to her comforts at home that I doubt she would ever disappear.  But you never know, there is always that small chance something could happen or she could be spooked by something, so I feel much better knowing that she always has her collar on.  And with her tags, hypothetically speaking, it would be pretty easy to contact me if she were found.

Wordless Wednesday - Still So Tired

Lola's Weekend

We has a reminder that even though it is the unofficial end of summer, it is still not over.  It was in the 90s both Saturday and Sunday, so Lola and I stayed in most of Saturday.  It was too hot for both of us when we went out. And when we got home Lola crashed on the cold hardwood floor.

Sunday Lola got to go visit Otis for the night.  And that means car ride.

Let's go!!

Lola loves going for car rides and checking out everything.

And you know what it means when Lola gets to go see Otis.  It is time to patrol the yard and make sure no squirrels get in.

I think there is a squirrel up here

 And it goes without saying that Lola was exhausted and went right to sleep when we got home.

I hope everybody has a good weekend.

Saturday Blog Hop 9/4/2010

The Sporn Harness

Thanks to Roo and Corbin, we decided to try the Sporn Harness.  They both look like they have a similar built as Lola so I decided to look in to it.  I did some research online and thought we would try it.

Previously we were using this harness that hooks under her front legs and around chess.  And the leash connector is on her chess.  It worked well, but it does not seem to fit as well lately and it seems like I was tightening it a lot more lately.  Almost like it was wearing some.

Old Harness

I got the Sporn home and we tried it.  I think I had it way too tight on her the first time. She was walking really slow with her head down, and I finally realized when we got home what the problem was.  Corbin warned me that his mom did not have it adjusted right the first time and he walked funny.  (Us humans just have some issues sometimes, Corbin. )

So I adjusted it so it was fairly lose at least compared to the old type of harness. And it seems to be working great now.  When I walk Lola around the neighborhood or to the park I usually let her wander ahead or behind a little.  And I have to say with the Sporn she does not pull at all, she will slow down for me and a lot of times she will just walk right by me. 

Overall, it is working great, and I would recommended it if you are looking for a new harness or if your dog is pulling when you walk.

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Girl