People look at me like i'm crazy when they realize that not only do we currently have our two dogs and a foster dog, but we also have two cats!
Merlot is 6 years old this month! He's my not so snuggly but sometimes a super lover, kitty cat. He's not mean or anything like that, he just likes his own space - specifically the back of the couch or a cozy chair.
Whereas Belle, my 5 year old beautiful girl (think Belle from Beauty and the Beast) is my talking shadow kitty who insists on being the center of attention and on my lap at every possible moment.
Belle insisting on sitting where I sit.
Don't let the dogs fool you though, the cats rule the house especially Belle. She rules with an iron kitty fist and the dogs give her lots of space. At the beginning when we first took in Jack he was great with the cats from the start but for whatever reason Belle took an intense dislike to him and chased him around the house on numerous occasions! Poor Jack! But it was soo funny! He also wouldn't walk past her if he didn't have to because she would swat at him any chance she got. Not sure why she chose Jack to pick on, but she's been leaving him alone for a while now. I think they figured out their differences.
Dante and Ziva do great with cats too! Ziva it seems would like to play with Belle sometimes, but so far no luck. She'll do a super cute puppy bounce that ends in a play bow and Belle just looks at her like she's nuts. I think it's reminiscent of her foster baby days.
Ziva's "baby" last summer.
She's all grown up now! Friends of mine adopted her.
Dante just ignores the cats and vice versa, the cats seem least offended by his presence so they share quite a bit of space with him. Bedtime for example Belle insists on sleeping right on top of my back or next to me every night. Dante is very polite about her demands and snuggles up on the opposite side.
So far our campaign has raised $100, this is enough for a couple bags of food! Thanks guys! With the cold coming Sevadog is also looking for donations of warm blankets and bedding, every penny counts! So even if you don't want an adorable doggy calendar consider donating to save these beautiful faces!
I'd like you to meet some of the Sevadog's you are helping by purchasing a calendar or donating.
Meet Lilly!
She's such a lover, she's a big girl who wants to play tug and sit in your lap. An American Bulldog mix she's tons of fun and was one of my favorites when I went to visit. Her sweet personality just shines through and she'd love to have a family to call her own!
Lilly - American Bulldog mix
Mia is a dream on a leash! Not always great with other dogs, she's a spunky senior lady who wants to be treated like one! But she's such a lover, she enjoyed sitting in Mandy's lap while we visited after our long walk. A couple walks a day and someone to give her attention would make this lady's dream come true!
Mia - American Pit Bull Senior
Teddy! Look at his gorgeous face and ears! I just want to squish his adorable wrinkles and kiss his big nose!
Teddy is a young boy ready to learn! He's learning manners very quickly but would do best in an active home that will continue to train him and keep his brain busy. He was a lot of fun to meet in person because he is very human oriented and thought he deserved to be the center of attention, this handsome boy will quickly work his way into your heart if you give him the chance!
Teddy - American Bully
Clay is another pittie mix located at Sevadog, he was a lot of fun and loved to play ball! He reminded me a lot of Dante because he has that same kind of leggy build and would make for a great agility or flyball dog!
Sevadogs also have "Littles"!
This sweet chihuahua mix was pretty shy about meeting me at first but with a few gentle words and some treats we quickly became buddies. He's very social and was getting along great with all the other dogs.
It's hard to tell all of the dogs stories that I met, and honestly I don't know all of their stories. But all the faces of Sevadog are beautiful. If you're looking for a forever pal make sure you consider adopting. If you aren't looking to adopt and maybe have some extra time on your hands, shelters and rescues are always looking for volunteers. And if you see a face that touches your heart consider giving a donation to the dogs or even sponsoring a dog for their stay at Sevadog.
In the meantime our calendar fundraiser is going to continue being open! Our calendar just arrived and it's gorgeous! I love the colors and dogs involved in the pictures, big shout out to Rescue Strong for their help in this!
Happy Friday furfriends!! This weekend we're finishing up our costumes, we'll have pictures to post soon!
Exercise has always been a big part of my life, recently I realized my habits got out of whack thanks to my senior year and finishing up my degree. I used to do Muay Thai and American Style boxing 4-5 times a week, as well as Jujitsu. I miss those days but it's been hard reintegrating it into my schedule.
After graduating in June I didn't think much regarding my body because i'm a healthy person, we eat right, lots of veggies, home cooked meals, nothing store bought or processed. We were constantly hiking, lots of walking...
What I didn't realize until August was that I had reached a point of being at my heaviest. Slowly packing on more calories than I was burning. I'm a foodie what can I say!
It's a personal decision to be healthy, and in August although I was "healthy" so to speak, I decided something needed to be done about my weight. Well I can proudly say since August I've lost 10 pounds! I don't normally talk about this kind of thing, it's kind of personal. But you can too! If you want to of course.
While we stress how important it is for our dogs to be healthy the same goes for us (the human counterpart of that equation), without being healthy myself their was no way I could hope to keep up with Dante and Ziva. I still eat right and i'm not worried about my cooking, but what I started doing was hitting a Zumba class three times a week and counting calories. I decreased my portion size and moved my wine indulgences to weekends only. Having two cheat days (Saturday and Sunday) really helped me to stay on track, then when Monday hits BOOM Zumba here I come! And you know what? I made my goal, i'm now working on just maintaining my new healthy eating habits and this time i'm not going to stop working out.
Same goes for my pups! Exercise and eating healthy are key components to a long and happy life.
I keep our dogs on a rotating diet of kibble. What this means is every couple months I like to switch up what they are eating just to keep things new and fresh for them.
Since every brand of dog food is slightly different, by rotating brands or even just proteins within the same brand - you are ensuring that your dog is getting a balance of differing components such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins. Some dogs *COUGH Ahem...Dante...That story HERE* become uninterested in their food over time. With rotation feedings you can help prevent this food boredom and they continue to look forward to eating. Currently Dante, Ziva, and Jack are all on Petcurean's GO! Salmon Sensitivity and Shine diet, and they love it! Even Dante my picky eater loves his kibbles.
Their is also evidence to suggest that if consistently fed the same food for their whole life both dogs and cats can develop allergies to certain ingredients.
Personally though I could imagine getting bored if I had to eat the same thing day in and day out for my whole life.
I know SlimDoggy is wrapping up their Fall Fitness challenge, but if you missed it you should head on over and check out their posts! If you didn't participate you can still go back and start the challenge from the beginning! Either way I encourage you to take a look at your exercise and eating habits, stay fit and healthy this upcoming holiday season!
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles,
Wild gees that fly with the moon on their wings,
These are a few of my favorite things."
I love fall in Oregon, it is one of my favorite times of year! I think the dogs can agree.
My first favorite thing about fall? Pumpkin!!
We all love pumpkin at my house, so this time of year I go a little pumpkin crazy.
Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin chai, pumpkin latte, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin treats for the dogs, canned pumpkin in the dog's food...I think you get the picture.
Hmmmm... Pumpkin....
I love how the leaves get all nice and crispy, hearing the sound of the leaves crunch underfoot and swirl around as you walk through them. It brings back the kid in me to kick the leaves and watch them dance, they also smell wonderful!
Jack though I think was just humoring me when I said the leaves smell good, I think he was searching for fragrance a la deer poop.
I love our brisk mornings where a sweatshirt is required, watching the sun rise on the horizon line as the fog drifts away. Of course this is our favorite time of morning, because we have it all to ourselves.
No neighbors up yet, the field is ours to play in!
Cold mornings though means the dogs are going to have to start wearing their coats again!
A photo posted by DZ Dog Mom (@dzdogadventures) on
After our morning ritual of playtime we head back to the house for coffee (for mom) some snuggles while the dogs cool down, and then a nice warm breakfast. Yes my dogs are spoiled, I like to switch up what I give the dogs with their kibbles, sometimes it's coconut oil or another supplement, and sometimes I just put some warm water in their kibbles.
I love to snuggle with the dogs, I mean who could resist this baby!
Or this one...
Or this one...
Gotta be honest, it's hard to leave these squishy faces for work in the morning.
Fall also takes great pictures, look at handsome Jack!
Other things to love about fall? Cold evening walks bundled up in a cozy jacket with hubby and the dogs, spending time with family, apple cider, cozy fireplace blazing hot, all the wonderful soups that warm you to your core when you get too cold, and lets not forget holiday drinks like homemade eggnog (my husband makes the best eggnog EVER!! Not storebought.) and hot toddys!
Or more simple than that, snuggling on the couch with hubby in a big old pibble pile with a glass of wine and a movie.
I realized it's been a while since I've done a Jack update, shame on me! We've been doing so much!
Jack has made great progress from his initial runaway risk status to now being allowed off-leash in low distraction environments. I'm so proud of him!
He still struggles with focus when we are around other dogs, I recognize this is mostly a lack of exposure - we live just far enough out of town that he only really encounters my neighbors dogs a couple of which are not very friendly so we just watch them from a distance. What he really needs is more distraction training and working him up to those higher stimulation environments. He's already proven he can do it by our walks, we just need to be a bit more consistent with the walking.
Off Leash!! Can you believe it!
To set Jack up for success I take all the dogs out every morning, this is usually our "hard" playtime, I run them hard, then they chill while I finish getting ready for work and eating breakfast.
Usually by the time i'm done getting ready for work they have had a good hour to cool down from their play time, this is very important so that you don't run into tummy twisting issues!
Then I feed everyone breakfast, potty the dogs, and head off to work while they settle in to sleep. At this point we are still crating Jack - he's the instigator and I worry he'd wind everyone up and they'd destroy something for fun if I left him un-crated.
On a good note, Jack loves his crate. As soon as they've pottied he knows the routine, he runs right in and lays down awaiting his precious cow horn that I give him to chew when I leave.
In the afternoon when I get home I take the dogs out again for some more playtime, and then we train. Depending on how ambitious i'm feeling we'll do a group walk, but more often then not I feel like I can accomplish more with just one dog for a training walk at a time.
When we do training walks my neighborhood is really busy, all the kids are usually home and playing basketball in the street or riding their bikes and scooters up and down the sidewalk. It's the perfect place to train and since we're hoping to send Jack home in a week I've been spending a bit more time on his training walks than on Dante and Ziva's... Naughty me, they've gotten a bit lazy when we go for walks.
Off-Leash Playtime!
During a training walk I bring tons of treats and Jack is really learning to ignore the distractions and he can now walk past almost anything without an issue. We can even walk past barking dogs 80% of the time without him trying to engage!
Yay Jack!
In the mornings and the afternoons when we play I've worked Jack up to being off-leash. I'm always careful to watch my surroundings, his recall isn't perfect, but at least now I can retrieve him if I need to rather than him just running away. I never take him off-leash if their is another dog around, not because he's reactive but because he is that rude dog that would run up to another dog and we all know how I feel about those kinds of dogs/I do not want to be THAT person. Dumb Ass Dog Owners - HERE
