Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts

Our Must Have Dog Supplies

Let me first start this post off by saying you're are the only one who knows what your dog needs. You can get all the advice from professionals all you want who've read all the books out there,  & watched every episode of the Dog Whisper out there. None of that is going to show them how to help your dog. Only you can help them, They're your family member. You're with them all day, you know how they act, a certain part of you knows deep down what they need in order to be better. We learned this the hard way with our boy Lucky. We ended up getting ripped off paying over $100 a session with a certified dog obedience trainer, when what we really needed to do was follow our instincts. Yes she gave us tips on what we should do and teach lucky before the next session. She guaranteed us that Lucky could become an inside dog with her training, but he would NEVER be around people.

Whats the purpose of these classes if we can never have people around him? He's already an inside dog. After she informed us of that little slap to the face we decided to take matters into our own hands, do our own research with what we needed lucky to become. We spent a good bit of money on this dog, but the results have been great. Now we've slowly introduced people to him. He's taken with Jason's brother who can be both inside the house or in the back yard while Lucky's out there off a leash. 

- How we did this was by buying the right toys to help him interact with people and enjoy doing it. 

- Praising him for good behavior and ignoring bad behavior no matter how much we want to yell at him. Attention is attention no matter if it's good or bad and all he wants was attention.

- Find a schedule and keep him on it.

-Making them work off built up energy daily. Lucky was aggressive because he didn't get to go outside and play much. He didn't know what to do with all his energy to he let it out in the wrong way.

- Take things slow, realizing this wont be fixed over night. Its taken us half a year to get him to be around Jason's brother without problems.

- Not being afraid, they know when you're scared and unsure of yourself. They look at you for leadership, and how they should act.

- Don't be discouraged or give up. Even when it seems like there's no progress, it happens slowly.

I wanted to show you the toys and products we bought to help Lucky. Reminder this is not a sponsored post we bought these products last year and they've really helped us and we want to share them with you.




Number one is the clicker. I had my doubts about this little thing, but the moment Jason and I started using this all those doubts were thrown out the window. The key with this is only clicking it when they're good or have done a trick like sitting or laying down. It slowly went from just laying down and sitting to get treats when inside the house. To them knowing that when they're inside they need to be calm and lay down somewhere until we call them.

Second is treats, our dogs prefer dried beef or chicken liver. You can buy this in the store or make your own with a dehydrator. I choose to make mine because its a little cheaper. Then only give them these treats when their being good inside or have done something that they need to be rewarded for. When I get home from work I let them outside and grasp a hand full of liver and put it in my pocket for rewards through the day.

The Kong Classic is number three on my list. This list is in no type of order depending on what I recommend most. Kong toys are more expensive than the other dog toys out there, but for a very good reason. This toy is still going strong even when three large dogs use it. It's so heavy duty that its lasting through my dishwasher. There's tons of recipes you can put in there, or dog treats. It keeps them occupied for a while, and also wears off some of the energy. I've been known to put left over pet friendly table scraps in there. It gets his mind to working trying to figure out how to get everything out.

Fourth is the exact same concept as the Classic Kong Toy, but it's a bit more complex this one is a bit tricky the treats have to come out of a much smaller hole. While being inside a ball. He has to roll the ball a certain way to release the treat. Its great to get their minds working.

Finally is tennis ball. If you cant put two and two together and figure out why then all hope is lost. Majority of Lucky's problem is he needed exercise, he needs that energy to go to something positive instead of being aggressive. Playing fetch is a good way to do that, when hes tired he can come straight inside and be calm instead of running around. A calm Lucky is more friendly than a energy filled Lucky. He's more open to meeting people and could care less whose inside the house or in the back yard.

All i'm saying folks is you know whats wrong with your animal. You don't need to spend a arm and leg for someone to tell you what you already know. Then take the steps you need to help your family member to become better for you. 

Our Furry Family

Its pet appreciation month here in the US, if you're a dog or cat lover its time to show your appreciation for those little bundles of fur. Yes it even includes fish, rodents, and reptiles though we have none of those in this house. One because our dogs would eat them, and second if one of those happened to get on Jason he would scream like a little girl.

To start this month off right I decided to introduce you to our little furry clown family. Yes I consider them family and if I could I would take the with me to work every day. I wouldn't get much work done with Mocha growling at every phone that rings, Lucky humping every chair in site, and Ginger literally climbing the walls with excitement. It would make for a hell of a day though.

Lets begin with the oldest, weighing at a whopping 75 lbs is our Lab/Pit mix Lucky. How we came into owning this big baby is slightly embarrassing. He was a gift from my ex 6 years ago, for a birthday present. I wouldn't trade lucky for anything, even when he gives us problems and attacks lawn mowers when he escapes the back yard. We've been putting him through all sorts of obedience classes since the middle of last year. He became a very possessive dog when we moved into our house two years ago and he was not socialized at a young age (my fault). It got to the point we considered putting him down, until we made the obedience training decision. Now he's slowly getting use to people, and has became best buds with Jason's younger brother. It's taken baby steps but he's slowly becoming the dog everyone loves. With him I've learned to never give up on an animal no matter how hopeless it seems, it might be hard work but you have to push through it because you love them.



Next clown on the list is our stubborn child Mocha. She still refuses to sit even though we've been trying to teach her for almost a year now, I put full blame on the basset hound in her. My mother brought her home one day, and I complained about it the whole time. Till one night when Mocha's brother attacked her, right when I was walking in the door. I quickly snatched her up and took care of her. We've been inseparable ever since, she's my rock, and pillow for when we take naps together. I've never had an animal that would protect me like she does, I've heard stories about people having that one animal that just loves them, the one they remember through out their whole life. Well Mocha's that for me, she's there no matter what even when I'm having a bad day, I cant stay mad for long because she cheers me up.



Finishing off this circus of clowns is the baby of the bunch...The Ginger (We call her "The Ginger" because just "Ginger" doesn't do her justice) She is the sweetest, well behaved dog and the best addition to our little family. She has so much energy that when she gets wound up she will bounce off the walls. She's too smart for her own good and can open doors and lock them, she's locked me out of the house a few times. She is Lucky's BFFL and Jason's sweet baby girl, this dog makes him do the baby voice...it's weird. Shes some sort of a hound, we got her when visiting my grandmother up in GA. Granny found her dumped on the side of the road as a puppy barely alive, it breaks my heart people can be such bastards and do this.



Three dogs may seem like alot to some people, and yes there are days it seems a bit overwhelming. Those days I just remember how we got them and how worse their life could of been had we not taken them in. They fit in with Jason and myself so well, we all love to eat, don't like working out unless made to, and are faithful and have each others backs no matter what. It takes a special person to love animals, we as people normally only care for other people and consider them family, it's when we take in something different and consider it part of the family that makes us shine.

Wednesday Link Party

Its already Wednesday? Well time has flown by over here, I chalk that up to computer problems. Hows yalls week been so far? Any exciting news? If its been a bad week that's nothing a night of wine and carbs cant fix. Speaking of carbs if anyone has a great recipe for loaded baked potatoes they want to share i'll forever be you BFFL complete with one of those matching friend bracelets.

Last weeks feature is something different. In case you don't know I have a weird relationship with my dogs. They're family to me, If i could I would take them with me to go furniture shopping and let them pick out what they want. So it comes as no surprise that I found Artsy VaVa dog bed from a old ammunition box to be the shiznitz!



If I had a tiny dog you best believe I would have one of these in every single room for them, unfortunately all three of mine weigh above 60 lbs. Instead I have those huge Orthopedic dog bed for my fur babies. When I say huge I mean I could use it as a bed. Only the best for my children. There's something about re purposing a random item most people would throw away into something useful that really deserves to be featured.