funnywildlife: Awww, walking the blind dog!!
Tag Archives: cute dogs
9.17.12 The Down Stay
Louise: “Mommy, are you really going to make us lie here until you take all the garbage, recycle, and yard waste cans in from the curb?”
Sofie: “I can not believe that she is making us ‘stay’ when she gets to run all over the place and drag heavy looking things around!”
Louise: “Sometimes Sofie, life is just not fair. How would Mommy like it if we made her stay in one place while we ran up and down the driveway?”
Sofie: “You are so right Lulu, but if we get up she will be mad at us. I don’t like when Mommy is mad at me, she makes this really loud noise.”
Louise: “Ok, well I guess laying her in the cool grass under the shade of the tree isn’t the worst thing that could happen. She did just take us for a long walk and down to the river for a while. Maybe we should listen to her?”
Sofie: “I will. But only this once and you better give me your cookie after dinner.”
Louise: “Here she comes, make like you didn’t mind waiting.”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
9.14.12 The Power Of Touch
Sometimes, when I am feeling lonely, I look up and the sky is a beautiful shade of blue and the clouds kind of hang there, just so fluffy and white, with that little grayish blue undertone that makes them look like ice cream in cones, and that is when the universe reminds me that I am not alone. It is hard for me to remember sometimes that I am always in relation to something, always connected. I am in relations to the earth, and other humans, and the animals, and to myself. I heard a news report yesterday about the zillions of little microscopic organisms that live on our bodies, so even when you think you are alone, you are not (now that is kind of creepy). I wonder sometimes if I surround myself with furry pets so that, when the other humans are not around, I still have some life form with me to connect to. I am one of those people that needs to physically connect to other living things or I feel off balance. (There is actual medical advice now that supports prescribing four hugs per day to a patient suffering from depression. eight hugs per day to achieve mental stability and twelve hugs per day for real psychological growth. If this is the case, touch has a greater significance than most of us would realize. (US National Library of Medicine))
I replenish my energy through the cuddling of a cat and the petting of a dog. (Now I do not want you to think I am weird, I do mostly replenish my energies through my interaction with humans (especially my significant humans) but that is for another blog (this one is about animals, remember).) Each of my animals has their own way of asking and receiving physical contact from the humans and from each other. Lulu does not like a lot of petting, except from me, and she can be very demanding several times a day wanting to be rubbed and hugged and scratched. Sofie will lie on Louise, and Lulu can tolerate it for a few minutes, but then she gets up and moves to another spot (because that is all the connection Lulu can take). Sofie on the other hand, craves tummy rubs and hugs and will make sure to ask for them morning and night, from anyone and everyone. She will not go to sleep however, until she has had a few minutes of Mommy cuddle time. She will whine in her crate if I try to put her to bed without that physical connection. Sofie and Nine, the cat, do a lovey dance (at least the ones that I observe) fur to fur, several times a week. Cats lie on laps, dogs lie on feet, dogs lie on dogs…. you get the picture. The power of touch, the power of interconnection between living bodies, it is critical to the well being here at the zoo.
How about in your house? How do you and your furry friend physically connect? How many hugs a day do you need?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.13.13 Sofie Wants A Party Too
Sofie’s Rescue
Ride Home
March 2011
Sofie got jealous because yesterday I talked about how much I love Louise, and that I was planning a party for her 3rd birthday next month which is on Halloween (October 31).
“Hello new Mommy,
Can I come out of this cage now?”
OK Sofie, now Mommy will show off her little bitty baby, It was not that long ago that you actually came to live with us. March 2011. I did not have a car crate, so I brought you home in a large plastic tub (see picture). Since you are a rescue, and they thought you were going to be this big collie/shepard dog, they figured you were younger, based on your size (maybe 12 weeks). But now that I know you are more like a sheltie/corgie thing, you must have been older and I decided that your birthday would be around Thanksgiving; we will celebrate it on November 25. I will throw you a little party just like Lulu’s, but since all the kids will be home from college, you will have an extra special time. You know who (Peanut, the little human) will let you in her room and up on the bed, if you want to go, and also the bigger little human (K8) will be here to give you extra treats and let you out back a lot. You will have to wait your turn though, Sofie Bear. I know it is not easy because I was the youngest and had to wait a lot for the older ones who always seemed to get all the good things and all the attention. But your day will come. You are my ‘Little Bit,’ and Mommy adores your cute little whiney self. You are a sweet silly little girl with mischief on your mind. Your day will come, hang in there. But first you can help me plan Lulu Belle’s party.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.12.12 I Love Lulu
Louise just rescued
April 2010
Louise
July 2012
Louise then and Louise now. It is amazing how much an animal can change when it is cared for and shown respect and kindness. Lulu was such a mess when we got her. Not only was she afraid of everyone and everything, but her skin was in such terrible shape and she had scars in many places; including where the flea collar was embedded in her neck. But you would never know that part of her life to look at her now. She is going to be 3 years old next month. I can hardly believe it. I am so in love with this silly, prancing, ball of anxiety. I guess we should have a dog party. Dog cookies for everyone! I will start planning. Look for your invitations early next month. Of course, I made her birthday Halloween, since I didn’t know the actual date. Isn’t that perfect? Just like Lulu Belle. 
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.8.12 Doing A Bassa
Our blog friend Bassa (she is now on Facebook too) has this incredible perspective on things as she and her Tall person walk around their town of Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia. So, when we were out walking today, the dogs notices a giant green dog guarding a house. This is something that Bassa would notice for sure. Louise asked me to take a picture of them with him. He did not say much to us and just sat there guarding.
The girls want him to come over and play in the yard but I told them that I think he is kind of ‘rooted’ at his house.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.6.12 Tummy Rubs & Scratch Zones
Tummy rubs. My dogs love tummy rubs. I think that humans like backrubs best, but dogs, well they really like tummy rubs. I guess it would just feel to vulnerable to me to have someone rub my tummy. When I was pregnant, total strangers thought they had some weird right to touch my belly. How Rude! I think that is so invasive of a person’s privacy. But my dogs, they love it and ask for it daily. (Since I have never had a pregnant dog, I don’t know how they feel about it, maybe they don’t like it during that time for the same reasons that humans don’t, it is just to vulnerable.) Louise and Sofie are both submissive animals in my pack, so I figure they get on their backs and just sort of say, ‘Hey, aren’t I cute, please don’t hurt me!’ Come to think of it, I do not remember ever having seen The Muffin Man, our old alpha cat, ever, in all his years, show his belly. All the other cats in the pride do, but not him. The other cats lie on their backs and show their bellies very often, but around here, if you want to keep your hand in one piece, I would not try to rub any cat’s underside (S C R A T C H!).
Tummy rubs are a big deal in our house. I tend to give them in the morning before work and definitely find time for some before the pups go to bed. Sofie is a big one to throw herself on the ground and roll over immediately if she thinks she is going to get yelled at (smart dog). 
Rubbing a dog’s tummy is different than scratching (I look at rubbing more like massage). I like to give all my animals a good scratch in some of their favorite ‘scratch zones’ regularly. Have you noticed that most dogs seem to have a scratch trigger spot down near the inside of the back leg (kind of between the ribs and mid-hip). This makes their back leg kick as a reaction to the scratching motion. I think the dogs like it, but I don’t know for sure. Something tells me it is probably a protective response (more so in male dogs) to protect their private regions. (Is that TMI (To Much Information)?) Louise also really likes to be scratched on her flanks and top of her tail (as I watch the short little black hairs fly). I am still exploring Sofie’s scratch zones, but I know she likes her chest done.
Does your furry have a special scratch zone?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.29.12 Sofie’s Terrible Teens.
“But Mommy! I am not sleepy! Why do I have to go to bed? It is not fair. Can’t I have one more cookie? I need a drink of water! It is much more fun to sleep on your bed! But Mommy I HATE MY BED!”
I find it funny how Sofie is so like a human child. I am not saying this because my human baby has left and gone to college. I think that Sofie is actually entering the ‘terrible teens.’ She will be two in November. I don’t know if dogs have the same type of growth spurts as humans but she definitely is in a defiant and willful phase. It reminds me a lot of what we called the ‘terrible twos’ (which Peanut did not go through until about three). This is the phase in a child’s growth when they refuse to do almost anything they are asked. They are exploring the world and pushing the limits. I read that in the dog world it is called ‘terrible teens’ because for a dog that lives 10 to 12 human years, when they are about 2 years old that is ‘teenage’ in cognitive growth.
According to the DogChannel.com
“Adolescence can be a challenging time for puppies and their owners. It tends to begin anywhere between 9 and 14 months of age for most puppies, but it can start earlier. There is no set time period for how long adolescence lasts, however, the majority of puppies are through the worst of it by 11⁄2 to 2 years of age.
This phase can be so trying that many adolescent puppies are given up because the owners, not understanding that it’s a phase, assume their formerly wonderful puppies have gone bad. An adolescent puppy’s behavior may be far from perfect, but this is a very natural stage of life, one that all growing mammals go through.
1. Understand the adolescent brain.
Before you can help your puppy through adolescence, understand what’s going on in its head. “The puppy’s brain is going through incredible changes [during adolescence],” says Melissa Alexander, author of Click for Joy (Sunshine Books, 2003). “The cerebral cortex becomes a leaner, meaner thinking machine.”
The puppy is changing from a baby to an adult that can think, reason, make decisions and learn. The adolescent puppy might seem to listen to its owner and obey commands one minute and not the next. The puppy really hasn’t lost its brain; it’s simply in transition.
2. Don’t accept the challenge.
At some point after 9 months of age, some puppies become quite challenging. They may refuse to follow a known command or growl when you reach to take away a chew toy. These challenges are normal and short lived (usually occurring just in the beginning of the adolescence). Prepare yourself so you don’t answer the challenge. In dogs and especially in adolescents, aggression begets aggression. If the puppy issues a challenge and you react angrily, the puppy may escalate its behavior, too. Instead of becoming angry, take a deep breath and think before responding.
3. Train, train and train some more.
If you began training the puppy before adolescence began, continue the training. If you didn’t begin training then, start now. By establishing guidelines for acceptable behavior, you can prevent bad behaviors – such as dashing out the front door, growling over a toy and raiding trash cans – from becoming habits. Keep the training as simple as possible by using clear commands, a lot of positive reinforcement and setting the puppy up to succeed by asking it to do known exercises.
Use positive training with rewards your puppy really likes. Make food treats special or use a toy your puppy loves Use your voice or a clicker to mark the behaviors you want to happen again. Daily training will help keep your puppy’s behavior from spiraling out of control during this stage, and will help keep your relationship with your growing puppy positive.”
Or I can just complain endlessly on my blog until she gets to the other side of this phase … BOL!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.27.12 Lulu’s Lament
Here we are waiting for Mommy to get home from taking Peanut to college many hours away.
We are tired of waiting and she always seems to leave us behind. Someday we want to go with her. We promise that we will be good, We won’t throw up in the car, or bark at every thing that passes, or try to get in the front seat, or any of that. Well, I can’t speak for Sofie. She doesn’t do well riding in the car. Sofie turns kind of green if she can’t see out the front window all the time. Mommy tries to make her lie down but she doesn’t like to listen. Sofie tries stepping in between the front seats, which is a big ‘No – No!’ I don’t know how to tell her if she just laid down and closed her eyes she would be ok. I don’t like the car very much either, except I get to be close to Mommy and that I like. And if I stay behind the front seat, I get cookies! I love cookies. Maybe that is Sofie’s problem, because she does not like cookies very much. She spits most of them out and gives them to me. The only cookies she seems to like are the little one’s with molasses in them or the real chicken pieces that Mommy makes. It is not natural, a dog that doesn’t like cookies. Maybe Sofie is really a fox or something. She does smell funny at times. I do hope that Mommy comes back tomorrow like she said she would. V is going to leave us at the Dogcare place overnight tonight because K8 has to go back to college too, and we have never ever ever slept at a kennel before. I hope that they keep Sofie with me, ’cause she gets scared and needs me to protect her. When Mommy gets home this time I am going to make sure she never goes away again… (I have a plan for Sofie and Nine to eat a hole in her suitcase (don’t tell her please.)) – Lulu Belle
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 