“Dogs with long, fine hair tend to shed less than other breeds. Some breeds shed very little hair. Strictly “non-shedding breeds” do not exist. However, most breeds with single coats are considered “non-shedding” because their shedding is not very noticeable.” – The Science of Fur
The person who wrote that article never met Louise.
Every day when I make my bed, I throw a flannel sheet over it immediately or I will be sleeping in fur.
I carefully tuck the sheet over my pillows and make sure every inch is covered before I go to make breakfast.
But, Louise wants my pillows. No matter how tight under the covers I put them, she digs them out and makes a nest.
It’s no fair! I used to give her a special pillow but she wants all of them. But worse….
The hair, the hair is everywhere!!
Louise is single coated and short hair. Sheis supposed to be the least of my shedders.
With the addition of Charles’ long black hair, I just can’t win.
Thankfully, Sofie doesn’t shed much (even though she has the longest finest hair). Or maybe I just don’t see it because she is blond.
Any ideas how to keep a bed fur free? I know, ban the dogs from sleeping on it! Hahahahaha – good luck with that at DogDaz Zoo.
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Tags: Animal, animals, blog hop, dog, dog hair, DogBlog, DogDaz, Dogs, funny dogs, lorian lipton, Mischief Monday, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, pomchi, postaday, shedding
Louise, aka Lulu Belle, is 8 years young today. How did that happen? She was just a scared 5-month-old puppy with a bad start. Now she is a wonderful (still scared) big girl. When I was adopting Louise, I did not start out looking for a black dog or a short hair. I was a fan of light colored long hairs. Louie was a silver poodle, Nikki a buff cocker, and Squash was an everything with the thickest coat in the world. We went to an adoption event to see this tan long haired boy dog that I found online but ended up falling for this shy short haired black dog covered in mange. I didn’t know then that black dogs are usually the last to be adopted and the first to be put to sleep. There is actually a name for it – Black Dog Syndrome. What a sad mistake if I passed over adopting Louise. She is a joy and has taught me so much.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! LULU
Louise would like everyone to adopt a less adoptable pet next time you have space for a new furball:
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animal awareness, black dog syndrome, Dog People, DogBlog, DogDaz, lorian lipton, nature, pet blog, Plott Hound, plott hound mix, postaday
If the Vet does not see me then she won’t know that I am here and then she can’t take any more tests, right?
Oh no! The vet tech found me. Now I have to go in the back to that scary place.
Mom, you were supposed to save me from all the scary needles. But it is over now.
Yeah!!! The Vet said that my pancreatitis is all gone! My enzymes are back to normal.
Let’s go home, Mom, and have a steak*!
*Note: Since Mom hasn’t eaten anything with 4 legs in 45 years, a steak is doubtful.
We are all jumping for joy that Louise is feeling better.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: animal awareness, Dog People, DogBlog, DogDaz, lorian lipton, pancreatitus, pet blog, plott hound mix, postaday, vet visit
It all started 2 weeks ago Wednesday night with Louise throwing up, twice. Then the smelly gas started. It was so bad all night that I had to move her to another room. Louise rarely throws up. Her tummy was grumbling and making weird noises, which it does sometimes with her colitis. But this was different. She was refusing to eat, which she just doesn’t do. She was mopey and blue. I made her favorite chicken and rice. No luck. The other dogs were sniffing her behind a lot, which they do when her Perianal Fistula Disease is acting up.
When she refused her breakfast Saturday morning, I called my usual vet. But it was Saturday morning and he was packed, so he said to go to the emergency vet. Before doing that, I called the cats vet (it’s a long story why I have 2 different vets) and luckily they were able to fit her in.
After waiting almost 2 hours (Louise was a doll, as usual), they did blood work and gave her fluids and some other stuff. They put her on Metronidazole (Flagyl), which is really hard on the system. She was not herself.
On Tuesday the vet called (while I was in the middle of grocery shopping, so you know I only heard half of what she said). She is a new vet to the practice, I had not met her before, and she is really nice and spent a lot of time explaining her diagnosis to me (while my ice cream was melting). She ran this special blood test (SPEC cPL) that showed significant pancreatic inflammation (high normal is 200 ug/L and Louise is 1,369). All the other blood work was normal. The Vet added Clavamox (Oh My Dog that is expensive) and some Spleen Support Formula on top of the Metronidazole.
In the last 2 weeks, I have researched the heck out of Pancreatitis in dogs. High-fat diets are one of the main things that they blame pancreatitis on. Since Louise has been on Z/D ultra (19% protein/14% fat) exclusively for years and never gets table scraps or garbage, it is hard for me to believe this is diet based. Certain conditions may predispose dogs to pancreatitis and I am thinking that it is just a mix of genetics and her other health issues.
Getting 5 pills into Louise at every meal has been a challenge. When she first got sick I ground them with some white meat chicken and wet food in the blender. I usually use Peanut Butter to give the dogs pills, but that is off limits because of the fat issue. After a few meals Louise started to refuse the mash. So now I wrap each pill in some cooked chicken breast and gooble gooble gooble. She is happy to eat again. Louise loves chicken.
We go back to the vet today to redo the test, so hopefully this bout has passed.
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: blog hop, dog, dog health, DogBlog, DogDaz, Dogs, lorian lipton, Mischief Monday, pancreatitus, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, postaday, vet visit
Louise is a very serious dog. She always has this thoughtful face on. But once or twice a day Louise the puppy comes out. She finds a squeaky toy and goes crazy for about 10 minutes. Then it is back to being serious Lulu. Are you mostly silly or serious?
Have a wonderful Black and White Sunday.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animals, Black and White Sunday, blog hop, cute dogs, dog, DogDaz, Dogs, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, postaday, serious dog, silly dog
Somethings never change. Here is a throw-back black and white of Louise in July 2013. I love how she finds the best shade spots to plop down and take a snooze on a summer afternoon. Have a wonderful BLACK AND WHITE SUNDAY!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, Black and White Sunday, blog hop, cute dogs, dog, DogDaz, Dogs, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, postaday, summer dogs
I have 3 leaders and no followers. Well, I guess Mom is the follower. Maybe if I got a sled they would actually take me somewhere but knowing Sofie and Charles they would jump on and make Louise do all the work. Walking this trio is a blast. I use different colored leashes so that I can tell who’s where without having to look at the dog. Truthfully, I always know where Charles is, since his leash weighs about 1 ounce. Bark Out Loud. Have a colorful Sunday!
This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animals, Black and White Sunday, blog hop, Chihuahua, cute dogs, dog, DogDaz, Dogs, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, pomeranian, postaday, sheltie mix, walking dogs
Louise wearing Squash E Bear’s Valentine collar.
I know it is big on her, but memories are more important than size sometimes. I wonder if she even remembers him, because she was only 1 when he passed over the rainbow bridge to the big meadow in the sky. She digs down deep in the toy box sometimes and brings up some of his old toys that they used to share. Do you think animals remember the ones that are no longer with us? I like to think they do.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, animals, Black and White Sunday, blog hop, cute dogs, dog, DogDaz, Dogs, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, postaday, valentine's day
Sometimes I wonder if Louise and Sofie are a bonded pair. Louise was 1 when puppy Sofie came to live with us. They have been together almost their whole lives (they are now 6 and 7). They do not function well when the other is not near by. They work together as a team, especially when it comes to squirrels. They get mopey if the other is not around. Though they are not always next to each other, or even in the same room (for example: Louise sleeps in her kennel downstairs and Sofie on her dog bed upstairs), they don’t like if the other is not in the house. Charles is new to the pack, so they really don’t care much about him, and may never, but clearly, they get confused if the other is not in the picture.
Bonding to another animals comes in many varieties, some healthy and some unhealthy. Here are several different types of bonding that I have found:
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Litter mate bonding (genetic). When pups are kept together to adulthood, they may become very codependent and throw tantrums when separated. There has been much written about the problem with litter mate bonding. Most literature warns that they may never be able to be independent of the other. I also read that they may not bond well with their human, because they are so bonded to each other.
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Mother and child bonding (dam and offspring). When a pup stays with the Mom longer than 9 weeks, especially if the pup continues to nurse, there can be significant separate issues for both. The Mom can become overprotective and the pup could lack independence.
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Work pack bonding (think sled dogs or herders). The dogs are not necessarily related genetically in this case. When dogs work together to carry out a task, they learn each others habits, and depend on each other to reach their goals. When not together, you can imagine that they may feel incomplete and lost.
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Grief bonding. This is where an animal, who may have lost their long time pal, replaces that spot with either another animal in the existing family or a new friend. So, if you have 3 dogs and dog 1 & 2 are bonded, and dog #2 of that bonded pair dies, the mourning dog may bond to dog #3, even if they hated each other when dog #2 was alive.
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Medical bonding. This is actually one of the reasons we got Louise. Squash was blind and we wanted another dog to help him get around better. Medical bonding is when you have one animal help another, especially when they are blind or deaf. These dogs not only bond because they are together so much, but one would clearly suffer if they are apart. Squash passed away in Louise’s first year, so I don’t think this bond got a chance to be that strong.
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Trauma induced bonding. Dogs that have survived floods, tornadoes, puppy mills, even being placed in kennels together in a shelter, have been found to emotionally bond over their shared situation.
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Inter-species bonding. These days we are seeing tons of photos on the internet of animals of different species that seem to be very emotionally tied to each other. If you have a cat and dog that have been together for 10 or more years, it would seem to reason that they would miss the other if separated. Is this a true bonded pair? All I know is that when one of the pack here at the Zoo disappears over the rainbow bridge (whether feline or canine) things do shift.
Are your pets bonded to another animal in your family? Tell us about it.
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Have a wonderful Sunday!
This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Tags: Animal, Animal Bond, animals, Black and White Sunday, blog hop, bonded pair, bonding, dog, DogDaz, Dogs, Pet, pets, plott hound mix, postaday, sheltie mix
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