Life with the Three Crazy Dogs

With all the nana bread we have been eating, Db and I totally need a quick weight loss program to melt the butter, eggs and sugar in our system!!  Yeppers, indulging in all these cakes every week is not helping us to lose the already piling pounds.  Nadine thinks we are looking good, but looks is just too deceiving.  Put your pants on and if it feels tight, you can’t button them pants/jeans, or worse still, split open your pants, you need to lose that glob of chicken fat.  Where is the motivation???

DB and I did give the thought of getting another puppy, but I shoved it off.  The two big boyz are more than enough for me to walk, bathe and split my attention-giving for them.  DB insisted that we should at least get a puppy within the smaller breed category, but I was persistent, No means NO. 

Having another puppy right now is not the right time for us.  If I want another puppy I would check out other dog breeds besides Labrador Retrievers.  Labs are great dogs, but they are high maintenance dogs.  I love all kinds of breeds but for DB he said he will get any dogs too but not Pitbulls.  There is actually a pitbull in our neighborhood.  The dog’s name is Greta, a very affectionate and very playful dog.  Greta has very short hair which actually shines.  She is such a muscular dog, very strong but she has not assert any aggressiveness at all.

The owner of Greta, a brown colored pure bred said he bought Greta from a pup when she was 8 weeks old.  She started her obedience training very young and she needs very strict commands and the owner always has to be in control at all times.  Unlike other breeds like my labs that can be spoiled a little, Greta he said needs to know who is the alpha.  She is the most well behaved dog I have ever encountered.  She obeys all voice and hand commands so well.  She is now 5 years old, loves her walks and runs.  Owning this breed is not the same as owning the other kind of easy going breeds like beagles, labs or golden retrievers.  Pit bulls for owners who have good experience handling dogs.  They are not for easy going owners.   

Before picking out your Pit Bull puppies, the owner might need to find out from their city authorities if is allowable to have this particular breed in the city.  Greta has been a sweet puppy and a now an adult which all the neighbors fell in love with her.  She has this very lean looking body which some folks might think she is a killer dog.  But it is completely the opposite.

Caring for the pit bull puppy is the same as caring for all other puppies.  Patience and consistency are the keys to successful training them.  Initially they will at a lost when they set paws in your home, but once they get their surroundings checked, they will start looking towards you for everything from food, play/walk, bathroom, and attention.   You need to have a fence-yard for a pit bull.  Pit bull loves to work for its owner.  Greta was trained to fetch since she was young.  Her main thing in life now is to fetch anything her owner ask her to.   Once you give enough exercise and love for this breed, he/she will be the best companion dog ever and of course will stay out of trouble.

*Pictures source from dogchannel.com*

Maxine and I were chatting on Yahoo last weekend updating on our deadless life.  She is thinking of moving to New York to get away from her cousin, Rachael.  Rachael is a hard core meth addict.  She was once busted with meth in her friend’s home in the quite famous Dakota County, the county I’m living in.  Rachael has been with her boyfriend for a few years, the POS who started her on meth.  Maxine is so adamant of telling Rachael’s social worker about her addiction again and maybe the social worker can kick Rachael’s butt into a drug rehab to clean her up.  She needs help really bad.

DB and I did give the thought of getting another puppy, but I shoved it off.  The two big boyz are more than enough for me to walk, bathe and split my attention-giving for them. DB insisted that we should at least get a puppy, but I was persistent, No means NO.

Having another puppy right now is not the right time for us. If I want another puppy I would check out other dog breeds besides Labrador Retrievers which are great dogs.  I love all kinds of breeds and especially the one our neighbor, Margie has, a Bernese Mountain name Como. Como is such a loving dog, so affectionate, friendly and very playful. Como has medium black with tan hair and has some white on her paws, chest, and face.  She has a great disposition, happy and always wants to be with you.

A Bernese Mountain dog is a herding dog.  Como loves his rides on the tractor whenever she goes home to her parents’ farm.  Como will be herding the cows and horses, very playful with the other farm animals. She obeys all voice and hand commands so well. Bathing and drying her was so easy, no fuss at all.  At her age, 7 years old, she still behaves like a puppy – loves to play fetch, run and enjoys all her walks. Fetching tennis balls, running along the horses, pulling the kids’ wagon are her favorite forms of exercise and that is how Margie maintain her weight so he wouldn’t be overweight. 

Bernese Mountain dogs are wonderful watchdogs.  Margie’s parents’ love it when Como comes over.  She watches over every thing in the farm, all person who drove up the driveway and any strangers on the farm, she will be warning you ahead of time.  This breed is also good with kids. 

Caring for the Bernese Mountain dog is the same as caring for all other puppies. Patience and consistency are the keys to successful training them. Initially they will at a lost when they set paws in your home, but once they get their surroundings checked, they will start looking towards you for everything from food, play/walk, bathroom, and attention. Bernese Mountain dogs loves to work for its owners.  Some owners train their berneses to work in the farm, as search and rescue dogs and some train them for obedience competition, or are trained as service/utility dogs.  Like and other large breed dogs, Bernese Mountain dogs do get bored if not exercised enough.  They know how to dig holes, a burrow in your yard if you are not careful of execising them enough.  These dogs need weekly brushing which is absolutely essential, trimming their nails and as with these breeds with floppy ears, their ears need to be cleaned frequently, too.

This breed needs to be thoroughly mixed in with the family and should not be left alone in the house or even chained up for a long period of time.  The dog might turn aggressive and the owner needs to be very assertive with this breed.  Never allow this breed to “win” its fun “games”.  The alpha should be the winner of all “games”.

*Pictures source from DogChannel.com*

Chase was with us since Monday and to be honest, I got used to having him around the house.  We have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t get eaten up!!  Chase loves to lick Ranger and Cooper’s face.  Each time he gets carried away with his licking DB and I will have to move him away from the big guys.  We think Ranger almost got him, we didn’t personally see it, but Chase was scurrying away from Ranger in the backyard.  I did see him licking and kept licking Ranger, but Ranger being the mellow one just moved his head left, right, down and up.  Maybe Ranger had enough of it and growled at him or something.  We don’t know, but that little fella was running away yelping for awhile and then he was back to his normal self.

*See the three scars on Chase’s snout?*

*Chase – waiting to go meet his friends next door*

*Chase and Coops.  Look at Chase’s legs, he is going to be a big boy*

SD and BF came to pick him up this evening.  It was so funny seeing Chase watching DB fold his kennel up.  (We put his kennel in our room – all 5 of us in the room.)  He wanted to get in to his kennel and followed DB to the front door with the kennel where DB left it there for SD to pick up.  I got Chase’s leash and collar to the entryway, too.  That cute little guy thought he was going some where.  Kept going back and forth from the dining room to the front door.  Man, he is so darn cute.  

Our neighbor, Margie has a Golden Retriever (Shadow) and a Beagle mixed Collie (Rocky).  Chase loves running along the fence line with the two.  He is getting so big for a 3 month old.   Oh, we saw Chase starting to dig along the fence when the other two dogs are out there.  I told DB probably he is digging to get over the fence to play with the other dogs. 

The day Chase got here he was quite skeptical of Cooper.  I threw the ball for him, he had to look at Cooper first, i suppose to make sure Cooper is not going for it.  I think he is getting there, he is learning.  Last evening, he started going for the squiggy ball that only Ranger plays with.  And today, he went for Coopers plastic frisbee.  Cooper let him have it, which was so cute to watch.   The frisbee was on the ground, Chase was standing next to it about to pick it up but Coops was about two feet away from the frisbee.  Chase looked at Cooper, Cooper looked at him and then at the frisbee and finally walked away.  Chase grabbed it and went galloping happily away, flinged it, pick it up and again and again he did it. 

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Spring is defenitely here.  The last drop of snow disappeared yesterday with temps up to 67F.  The above picture was taken on Sunday, the boys cooling off after their walk in the evening.  They were panting so much when they got home.  They actually asked to go out and that was what they did – laid on the snow. 

This was last evening – no more snow and that means big time allergy season for Ranger.  he is already scratching and chewing his paws.  DB is taking him to the vet tomorrow.  Poor Ranger.

Ok, that’s it for tonight.  See why I have not been blogging, I have Mr Chase to play with every night.  I missed him.