Bringing Up Bella is dedicated to Leslie’s current dog, Bella. She’s a sweet little thing, but has some “issues”- such as extreme fear of thunderstorms (which I completely understand).While she is definitely loved and adored, Bella is not Leslie’s first dog, and we all know how hard it can be for the new dog to stack up against the old dog. We get a good look at their differences in Opposites Distract. But the thing Leslie really does remember is that it’s not about the dog that was, it’s about the dog that is, even if she’s Not Quite Perfect.
Archive for the ‘Dogs’ Category
Welcome DST
11
Mar
For the first time ever, I looked forward to the switch to Daylight Savings time. Not because I wanted to get up earlier- I hate mornings. And I will miss having natural light when I leave for work (at least for now). No, this year I welcomed it because of Mr Larry Dog. The short daylight hours after C and I were both home in the evening over the winter made it really difficult to get to the dog park on a regular basis. An hour of daylight relocated to the end of the day will actually make a difference.
Blog Feature: Love & a Six-Foot Leash
10
Mar
Love & a Six-Foot Leash is the blog of a family that recently moved to Austin. They have an older pit bull, Chick, and have been fostering Pits for quite some time. Chick has put up with the fosters, but with their latest foster dog, Snickerdoodle, Sir Chick fell in love. He found his brother from another mother, and guess what, the Dude is staying with the family, and going back to school.
They will stop fostering, with two of their own now, but hopefully they won’t stop blogging, as I’m looking forward to the adventures of Chick and Dude.
Blog Feature: The House of Two Bows
25
Feb
The House of Two Bows is called such because of their Shiba Inu Bowdu and their Basenji Bowpi. They are both beautiful dogs, and one of my favorite things about this blog is her pictures. For February, she’s taking one picture every day and posting it. My favorite so far is this one from just last Monday- Bowpi being chased by the mini-Aussies and a Sheltie. How adorable!
M.C. also tracks their pet spending and does some great reviews of different kinds of dog foods. If you’re interested in dehydrated dog food, this is where I’m going to direct you.
Blog Feature: The Chronicles of Cardigan
11
Feb
I love Corgis. We often think “Our next dog should be a Corgi”. Mind you, we’ve been thinking this since before we got Junebug (though before we got Smokey we thought we should get a Beagle, so maybe down the road there will be a Corgi.) While I think all Corgis are cute, I am partial to the Cardigans- the ones with tails.
Currently, I get my Corgi fix via The Chronicles of Cardigan. It’s a mostly lighthearted blog that focuses on the joy dogs bring us. How can you not smile seeing these great pictures of a happy dog?
Hockey & Dogs
03
Feb
How often do I get to write a post that combines hockey and animal rescue? How happy does it make me that I get to do so today?
Over the All-Star break, St. Louis Blues’ captain, center David Backes was not playing in the game. Did he sit home and mope? Absolutely not.
His wife is very involved in animal rescue and Backes, his wife, and his flight instructor did a rescue flight fromSt LouistoHoustonand back to bring three stray dogs to the Five Acres Animal Shelter, which is no-kill.
As of today, I’m a fan.
Vets Helping Heroes
31
Jan
I love highlighting organizations like this one. I have written in other places about Pets2Vets, which helps provide companion animals to veterans. The animals come from shelters, so the soldiers aren’t just getting a pet, they’re saving a life.
Vets Helping Heroes works to help provide veterans with service dogs, which comes with a much higher expense. Currently, our federal government does not provide any assistance to veterans who would benefit from a service animal. Vets Helping Heroes is lobbying to change that, but in the meantime, they are raising funds to provide as many service animals as they can.
Blog Feature: Kenzo the Hovawart and Viva
28
Jan
I know, your first questions is “What is a Hovawart?”. Can I answer that by saying that Kenzo and Viva live in Denmark. I know that’s not an answer, especially since the breed appears to be almost as rare in Europe as it is here in the US.
Hovawarts look kind of like Golden Retrievers to me, so it amazes me that they are one of the breeds often discriminated against, as a “dangerous”, but they are.
I hate breed specific legislation and my favorite thing about this blog is the dedication to making it visible, and fighting against it.
Blog Feature: Two Pitties in the City
14
Jan
Given a Chicago alderman’s renewed attempt to ban Pit Bulls in the city, I want to highlight the wonderful people at Two Pitties in the City.
I love Pits. I think they are absolutely wonderful, sweet, and loving dogs. It is not the fault of the dogs that they’re currently the breed of choice for idiots.
The people at Two Pitties are also the founders of SociaBulls (look for them on FaceBook), a group that takes their Pits (and other dogs) on large group walks throughout the city. Hopefully, they will be able to counter some of the negative press.
Dogs Know
06
Jan
Dog owners know that our dogs understand not just the tone of our voices or our body language, they understand our facial expressions too. You can’t hide what you’re feeling from you dog. Science has now proven what we know.
Scientists say dogs have evolved to read humans. A dog trainer doesn’t agree. She thinks that that’s just the way dogs communicate.
Honestly, I have to agree with the scientists. Yes, dogs read body language of other dogs and humans, but dogs don’t have facial expressions the way humans do. We have bred an understanding of us in to them.