Since beagles are such active outdoors loving dogs, the winter weather can prove to be pretty depressing for our beagle.  Generally, he loves to go out for swims, walks in the park and of course he enjoys a nice long drive in the car.  Most of these activities come to a standstill when the cold and snow months hit.

For the first couple of years the best we could offer Patches was to take him in the car when we went to the store.  One of us would go in and shop while the other stayed in the car with him, keeping the motor running. Very rarely he would go with us to visit relatives or friends.  Needless to say each time the snow falls he would get seriously depressed.

We have found there are new great ways to keep him occupied during the winter months.  Thanks to doggie booties and jackets, we now take him for walks, pretty close to the length of time we normally would take him. It may not be the most comfortable experience for us when it’s cold, but from what I’ve read when your body is cold you burn more calories so, I’m trying to console myself by saying that I will be burning even more calories than before.  In all honestly however, it isn’t much of a consolation. Patches appreciates the sacrifice however.

On the days where the weather is tolerable we now take him to the park to play in the snow.  While we would be horrified at the thought of being neck deep in snow he thrives in it!  Running, jumping and playing in the neck high snow seems to give him more pleasure then a normal day at the dog park. He even loves Frisbee in the snow.

We also schedule play dates with friends that have dogs that seem to be also suffering from the winter blues. This seems to lighten the spirits of both dogs.  Sadly, there isn’t much we can do to replace his regular outing to the lake for a swim, as you can imagine the bath tub just doesn’t cut it.

Since there is less activity going on during the winter months we also switch him over to a low calorie dog food. Being a beagle I find patches is very prone to weight gain if he’s not active.  This helps reduce that problem for the winter months.  While the winter months can be somewhat depressing for your beagle with some creativity it can still be an enjoyable time.

Generally, when you are looking to purchase at new puppy you would look at site such as this one.  An established breeding and supply website to find a respected and knowledgeable breeder.   This site offers puppy ads of puppies available right now or you can find a breeder, and perhaps be put on a waiting list.  There are other common ways of finding new purebred puppies, but these would the normal ways.

But what if you’re in a hurry?  You find for whatever reason you need to sell off your puppies quick.  Let’s set aside the fact that you really shouldn’t be breeding animals of any sort unless you have the money, time and ability to take care of them.  Perhaps you would advertise in your local newspaper or approach the local pet shop.  My husband came across a very unique way someone was trying to sell their Chihuahua puppies, at a truck stop.

He was heading north driving through Raleigh, NC, several months ago.  As truckers will normally do, he and a buddy of his were conversing over the CB radio.  He was, of course, also paying attention to other conversations taking place within the area.  One particular conversation caught his attention.

Someone from a nearby truck stop was selling off four Chihuahua puppies for $100.00.  His buddy spoke up on the radio to see if perhaps he had misheard.  They had heard a lot of crazy stuff taking place over the CB radio, including the sale of assorted goods and services but the sale of Chihuahua puppies was pretty unique.  Upon verifying that he indeed did hear correctly, my husband’s friend found out the location of the truck stop this person was at and agreed to be there in 15 minutes.

They pulled their tractor trailers into the truck stop and located the vehicle the person said they would be waiting in. The man came out to greet them, then opened the back of his van to show a box which contained four little eight week old Chihuahua puppies, tails wagging happily.

The looked healthy and very happy.  The man explained that he was in a bind and the puppies had to go right away.  Despite the odd circumstances they felt it would be a better idea to take the puppies and find them good homes then to leave them with the strange man, in his van, at the truck stop.

The puppies were able to spend 10 fun filled days as truck driver dogs, until he finally made it home.  Once home he took them to the vet, had them fully examined and then proceeded to find homes for three of the four puppies.  The fawn pup he found he simply couldn’t part with, it had become very fond of truck life.  It simply goes to show that you never know what you’ll come across when you live a life on the road.

One of the dog breeds which easily has the fieriest of attitudes would be the Pomeranian.  They are little rockets of attitude, or at least until you confront them.  Perhaps it’s because they are a small dog and they are suffering from little dog syndrome or perhaps it’s because they simply love to hear themselves bark. Yet another theory is that they enjoy the startled look they get form humans that they chase.

Each day Andy, the Pomeranian goes out for his daily walk and each day he spends the majority of his walk telling off each and every person that dares walk, jog or run past him.  He is especially mouthy when it comes to children.  It can only be assumed that he figures there is less chance that small human with confront him for his behaviour.

Runners are his big favourite. If he sees a runner he will make an effort to “hide” in a ditch or behind anything he can find until you get just close enough for him to scare.  He times it perfectly and bombards the runner with a series of growls and barks.  You can also hear him laughing as the runner, turns deathly white and nearly has a heart attack from the unexpected fright.

He also has no use for other dogs, so humans shouldn’t feel too offended.  Regardless of how big or small the other dog is, Andy is more than happy to display his disgust for any other dogs.  Many other neighbourhood dog walkers have gotten to the point where they walk their dogs on the opposite side of the road simply to avoid the confrontation.

At home he could care less how well he knows you, unless you are one of the household members then you are subjected to a series of barks and growls.  He’s bold until you try to touch him. In that instance he runs as quickly as possible behind a family member, this is where he continues to growl and bark.

If you have a Pomeranian like Andy, don’t despair. You’re not the only one that has a small dog with a big dog attitude.  Think of them like you would an elderly relative that has a tendency to be rude to strangers. Sure the behaviour isn’t stellar but hey they’re family!

During the summer time, bathing your Golden Retriever is a pretty simple procedure.  You have several bathing options for your pooch. If you have a dog that loves the water then he will be more the happy to splash around in the nearest river, lake or pond.

For the dogs who do not care for a swim in the nearest lake, you have the option of taking them to the backyard, where you either spray them with the hose or you get the kids to coax him into the mini pool. Either of these options can be fairly stress free and easy for the dog owner.

The third option is what many people have to deal with in the winter months.  The third option is the bath tub.  It is especially difficult for people who have rather large dogs, like the one in this blog.  A bathtub of soapy water and a half terrified Golden Retriever usually result in a drenched dog owner.

I had run a nice warm bath for Alex, our Golden Retriever, since he was becoming a tad on the stinky side.  He always seems to sense when the bath is for him, because he tends to hide out in the kitchen during these times. From time to time he will glance around the corner, into the hallway, with a worried expression on his furry face.

Once the bath is completely run, I called to him sweetly, but he is on to me.  I found myself blocking the hallway in a sumo wrestler stance while trying to corner him.  He thought he saw an opening, under my arm, so attempted to make a run for it.  This is when I nabbed him.

Grabbing his collar I pulled, pushed, yanked and tugged at him until I had him to the tub. Despite him digging his feet into the floor and putting up a struggle we finally made it to the tub.  Since he is fairly large and strong getting him actually into the tub is extremely hard.  It requires some time and creativity, but eventually all four of his legs and one of mine are in the tub.

While the hard part is over, coordination is key for the remainder of the bath, or at least until your dog submits to their fate.  There are some dogs that will fake giving up just so you lower your defenses. They then make a bolt for it, so be aware, this will happen.  An attempted escape makes for a major mess leaving the owner drenched, in stinky dog bath water.

For those who have an attached spray hose to your bathtub, I envy you.  The bathing is made much easier.  For the remainder of us, we’re forced to use a bucket and simply pour the water of the dogs back and head.

Once the bath is complete I generally will unplug the bath and let the water drain before I release my hold on the dog.  This decreases the amount of water that is going to get splashed and tracked out into the other rooms.

Quickly, I rub him down with the towel, as he looks at me sadly. This brings us to the second tricky part of this process.  Getting out of the way before he does the water shake.

What I do is simple.  When he least expects it, I let him go and run in the direction I don’t think he’s going to run for.  Many times I can get out of the bathroom before he jumps from the tub, but there are some occasions where he will catch me.  I believe it’s his idea of revenge, in case he didn’t get me wet enough during the bathing process.

While I love big dogs, its times like bath day that I envy the small dog owners.

Bear Waiting For His Chance at Rudolf

It’s coming close to that time of year again where you start to consider putting up Christmas decorations.  When you do not own pets then this can be a great time for you.  You can decorate with lots of beautiful decorations, made of delicate glass.  Perhaps you even have special decorations passed down to you from previous generations.

When you have pets however, then it’s an entirely different story.  Bear, the German Shepherd has been very anxious to see all the new decorations.  Well perhaps not see them for long.  He is infamous for destroying Christmas decorations.  Anything glass and breakable is fair game.  The very first Christmas we had Bear was also the very last Christmas we owned glass tree ornaments.

The second Christmas our inflatable Santa and his elves, all who were working diligently, in Santa workshop, became victims of doggie teeth. The decoration was taken down by Doggie teeth and excessive trampling.  Santa put up a good fight, and was the last of the workshop to surrender to his fate.

This year we have taken a different approach to Christmas decorations.  This year we have decided to decorate, German Shepherd proofing as we go.  The tree ornaments are now all non-breakable plastic that has a striking resemblance to glass.  Our favourite ornaments stay as close to the top of the tree as possible.  One thing we have noticed about dogs is that regardless of how high up the ornament is; they find a way to get it.  The very top is usually the only truly safe spot.

All inflatable Santa’s, reindeer and angels stay on the top of the roof or inside the gated lawn that Bear is not given access to.  The plush animals are, of course, his absolute favourite Christmas decoration to destroy, so we have a new technique for them.

Instead of our plush Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer with the flashing red nose sitting on the back of the sofa, we have him stashed safely behind glass in the entertainment center. Bear was been quite upset over this development.

For several nights now he has lain in front of the glass, peering at the Rudolf. You can see his sad reflection in the glass as he sits and waits, hoping we’ll slip up and leave the glass door ajar. If I can get Santa, Christmas will be complete. Bear thinks to himself, while he lays waiting.

Shih Tzu

While this may seem like a strange or silly concept, I have a male Shih Tzu named Hobo, who loves the weekly dates he gets to experience with his “girlfriend” Betsy, also a Shih Tzu. Hobo is generally not extremely friendly towards other dogs with exception of his girlfriend.  He always seems terrified that the human attention may go towards the other dog instead of him. He reacts by trying to chase the other dog away, regardless of how big the other may be.

They are nearly dead ringers for each other, in size and markings.  You would almost swear they came from the same litter of pups.  They are both nearly all white, except for a little apricot color on their bum. They were born only a couple months apart, from separate parents of course.  Together they make an adorable pair.

Occasionally, they will have sleep overs at each other’s house.  Their sleepovers are supervised, to prevent any “hanky panky” from occurring.  Generally, they behave themselves, but Hobo seems to be somewhat of a bad influence on her.  Normally, Betsy is a very quiet dog, while Hobo has more than his fair share to say.  Since Betsy has been dating Hobo she has started to become more vocal, to her owners dismay.

There have been some instances where Hobo has been allowed to go on week long vacations with Betsy.  The company seems to quiet Betsy down for the long car ride, in addition to keeping her company for her week away from home. Despite the fun that Hobo has with Betsy on his dates and on occasional vacations he does seem to still enjoy the sweet comforts of his own home.  While he tolerates having to share the attention with Betsy for short periods of time, we are still doubtful he would be interested in sharing the attention on a full time basis.

If you have a dog that you think could use the companionship of another dog then doggy dating just might be the answer.  While you may feel silly bringing up the idea to someone else your dog may just well benefit from the interaction.  If you are single and spending time at the dog park it may just be the excuse you need to get to know another single that frequents the park as well.  It may seem underhanded to use your dog to get yourself a date, but I assure you that your dog won’t mind in the least.

When we decided we wanted a new dog we knew the best place would be to visit the animal shelter and give a home to a poor needy dog there.  Bear is a 4 year old German Shepard that we adopted from the local animal shelter.  His parents decided to move to an apartment in a new city and there was going to be no room for him, so they claimed they had no choice but to drop him off at the SPCA.

We have a large house and back yard so we knew that we wanted a large dog, so Bear was perfect for us.  We’ve always had large dogs since we found them less yappy and nippy then the smaller breeds.  When we saw Bear it was love at first sight.  He looked so sad laying there in his cell but when he stood as we came nearer to the cage he had that strong, alert look of a true German Shepard.

Within a few days the paperwork was completed and he was free to go home with us.  Despite his size he seemed comfortable enough in the backseat of our small VW Jetta.  The people at the animal shelter didn’t have a lot of information on his background or previous experience with other animals so we were hoping for the best when we got home. At the current time we had some gerbils and a couple very ambitious chinchilla.  Our former dog had been a Rottweiler, who used to let them jump and bounce all over her head and body.  You could tell they missed they’re daily tormenting session of the large dog, so we were sure they would be more than happy to resume their torture with Bear.

We gave Bear some time to adjust to his new surroundings, keeping the smaller pets locked up for the first day.  The next morning however we decided it was time to introduce them to each other. We brought the chinchillas into the living room to meet Bear. They bounced and bobbed anxious to get out for an official meet and greet with the new dog. Bear didn’t seem to be very interested in the chinchillas so we took a chance and let them out.  They recklessly went hopping off in the direction of the large German Shepard to say hi.  We didn’t expect what was about to happen.

Once the chinchilla closed their distance to roughly two feet from Bears snout he bolted out of the room.  The little furry troublemakers stood where he had once sat confused at his reaction to them.  Curious they went off in search of him.  A few minutes later we found Bear backed into a corner of the kitchen with the chinchillas bouncing gleefully in front of him.  Upon seeing us he leapt over them and came to hide behind us, assuming we’d be his protectors from the big, bad chinchilla menace.

It has been over a year now and the chinchillas still chase the poor terrified German Shepard around the found.  He is fierce and brave in face of any other danger that may come about, as long as the danger doesn’t include a chinchilla.  With any luck no robbers will figure out the way to get past the guardian of our home is to come bearing a chinchilla.

Butch the bulldog was quite a big eater.  It used to surprise us on how much food this dog would consume on a daily basis.  We would always have a bowl of kibble which would be devoured each day when we came home from work.  He would even be given table scraps from mealtimes which would be eaten in what seemed like seconds, than he’d be back for more.

While we were eating at the dinner table the family would all pitch in and give Butch lots of goodies.  Pieces of steak, hamburger, and even pasta were given to him and he always seemed like this bottomless pit.  Don’t get me wrong Butch was a very hardy sized dog to say the least.  He was solid muscle and you really had to put some effort into lifting him.  Regardless, however we always found he ate an abnormal amount.

One particular evening we had run out of kibble.  My husband had it on the shopping list and was bringing it home with him after work.  Butch hadn’t had much to eat that day since my husband was bringing home the grocery order for us humans as well.  While we still had salad and fruit, Butch isn’t much of a fruit and veggie kind of guy, so he would simply look up at us with a dirty stare and walk away.

My husband was later than usual so we simply sat in the living room and watched some television until he arrived home.  Because of the late hour he was going to be bringing home a pizza, one of Butch’s favourite foods, for supper so we would not have to cook that evening.

As we watched television we kept hearing a digging sound coming from behind the loveseat in the far corner of the room.  We could see Butch’s rear wiggling as he struggled with whatever he was trying to reach.  Finally, he backed out from behind the loveseat with something in his mouth.  At first thought we assumed it was a bone he had lost and finally remembered he had.  As he trotted up to us, as proud as can be, we come to realize it was actually a dried up old hot dog!

Disgusted we began to wonder what else he may have stashed under the loveseat.  We moved it away from the wall to see a variety of foods from the dinners we’d had over the past week.  He had pizza, steak and some hamburger all stashed there for safe keeping.

We have now come to really watch where Butch goes with the table scraps we give him.  As many dogs do, trying to bury and hide food items around the house is quite a disgusting habit.  If you find your dog tends to disappear when you pass him some table scraps then you might want to consider he is stashing the food within your house.  Take note of where he heads and do a good sweep of the room he seems to run to with his treasures.  The last thing you want in your home is nasty rotting food under your furniture, we learned that lesson the hard way!

Once we decided that we wanted a boxer pup we set out in search of a breeder.  We happened to get lucky since the local breeder had a litter of puppies that were ready to go. When we looked over the group of puppies, Ceaser was easily the most energetic of the bunch.  We had been told that we should stay away from the most energetic puppy because they are always the trouble makers but he was so cute that we fell in love instantly.

A couple days later, 10 week old Ceaser was in the backseat of our car on his way to his new home. He was quite quiet on his way home, not anything like the energetic dog we had seen at his former owner’s home.  He was sound asleep when we finally made it home.

We realized within minutes of walking him into the house that the cars drive home was the last time, aside from sleeping, that he was going to be quiet. As soon as he was unleashed he frantically explored the entire house. This exploration continued for hours until he exhausted himself and finally flopped down to the floor.

Being that it was quite late we decided to go to bed and left Ceaser sound sleep in the living room.  When we awoke we were surprised that it was so quiet.  Ceaser hadn’t woken us up at all during the night. We assumed he must have slept the entire night as we had.

When we entered the living room we realized we couldn’t have been more wrong. Our mouths dropped as we took in the sight that lay before us.  Two of the three sofa cushions had been removed from their respective spots and lay in shreds over the floor.  The curtains from the large patio window had been pulled down and also lay in shreds on the floor, next to the cushion remains.  Several shoes had been brought in from the kitchen and were well on the way to being shredded as well.

Even the garbage bag from the kitchen had been pulled into the living room and its contents emptied.  Finally, we looked to the far corner of the living room to see Ceaser curled up in a ball in the big armchair.  We assume he must have exhausted himself before he had a chance to start shredding that.

Since that day we have discovered that Ceaser has issues with being alone.  The issue being he simply can’t. When we are home and awake he is as good as gold, but if you fall to sleep or leave, you’ll regret it.

We bought him an extra-large crate for bedtime and when we are out which seems to be the perfect solution for us.  He doesn’t seem to mind it and we get the peace of mind that our house will be in one piece when we come home.  If you happen to be having the same destructive puppy issues that we had a crate may be the answer to your problems.

When we decided to bring home Sammy, a four month old Rottweiler we decided to make sure she had all the luxuries that a dog could ever ask for.  We had just recently bought a house and felt it needed a dog to really make it feel like a home. After much thought we decided to Rottweiler would be the best choice for us.  Like many other new pet owners we went overboard with toys in all shapes, sizes and colours.  We bought a huge dog bed and a solid month supply of what we were told was the best dog food on the market.

The big day finally came to bring her home and we were extremely excited.  We placed all of her toys, goodies and dog bed in the living room waiting for her arrival.  When we finally took her in the house, like most other puppies in a new home she spent an hour or so exploring the house and fenced in back yard.  We happened to get quite lucky with her; she was already fully housebroken and seemed to have no issues going outside in her new home.

Somewhat tired and losing interest in exploration Sammy finally settled into the living room to explore her bed and toys.  Our favourite toy was a Kermit the Frog squeaker toy so we waved it under her nose expecting a happy response from her.  She showed absolutely no interest whatsoever in Kermit. We were slightly disappointed that she didn’t like Kermit as well as we did but there were many other toys to choose from so we selected another.  This time we waved a squeaky slipper at her, again no response.  A few more toys were brought to her with equally as bad of a response.

Frustrated and disappointed we finally gave up trying to convince her to play.  We assumed perhaps she was tired and would play later on; she did have a full day.  We watched her wander out of the living room and into the kitchen.  A few minutes after she left we heard odd clanking noises followed by an odd half grow, half yelp coming from the kitchen.  Quickly we ran into the room hoping Sammy hadn’t gotten her hurt.

The noise Sammy was making wasn’t a sound of pain after all it was actually what we would later learn is her gleeful noise.  She had found our soda bottle recycle bin and was having a great time tossing empty tin cans and plastic bottles around.  We learned that day she was in fact a girl of cheap desires.  The crunching noise of a five cent soda bottle is all she needs to give her hours of entertainment. Even sadder still is the fact she prefers to lay on a tattered old army blanket compared to her expensive dog bed.  The moral of the story is that dogs don’t necessarily need the best of the best to be happy, even a soda bottle can provide unlimited entertainment.