Merry Christmas from the Dogs

Trying to get to sleep?

This is not my house, but might as well be. Yes, it takes them forever to get to bed at night because the bed is the softest and bestest place to wrestle, you know :) Add in Petunia burrowing under the covers and Rizzo destroying the paperback novel after the lights go out, and you pretty much know how it is going to bed around here, too! I love how they disappeared and she had to go get them out of trouble about halfway through.

New picture of Rizzo's pup

It's been a while since any updates. So much has been happening, not enough time to tell it all. But here is a picture of Rizzo's baby girl taken today. She is aware of the world now, and been getting some new experiences. Today she was outside going potty and a truck came by with a whoosh. It scared her, so she jumped back behind the coral bells and peeked out between two leaves. Too cute! Wish I had a camera for every cute moment with these precious pups. But here is one of her trying to sleep while I was in the mood to take pics.

Miss Jolene growing up?

Maybe it's because I was feeling under the weather this last week. Or maybe it was because I said something public about Jolene having only two speeds, on and off. But whatever the reason, Miss Jolene went out of her way this week to prove to me that she has a softer side. She snuggled up for cuddles on several occasions and was calm and polite when doing so instead of "in your face." It was so nice!

And I've put on her website that she is too fragile for a home with small kids, especially remembering back to all the dresses I put on my poor yorkshire terrier when I was young, but she has me re-thinking that, too. We have a family living with us temporarily with 3 and 1 year olds. And when they giggle the loudest, Jolene is usually involved. She's so tiny that she doesn't hurt them if she jumps on top of them. She's light on her feet and QUICK! and can bounce back out of harm's way easily when she dives in for a kiss, especially when they're laying on the couch. They LOVE playing with her and she with them. She's tireless. And the rewards of a giggle spur her on and on, she could play for hours.

Stairs? No Problem!

I am so proud of brave little Alvin. I was proud of him when he mastered the back deck stairs, but it takes a lot longer for them to be brave enough to come down the inside narrow stairs.

Last week when Ellie went up the stairs, Alvin decided he was brave enough to go up, too. He paused a few times and looked down, but decided it was safer to keep going up than to attempt going down. And we had to carry him down because it was way too scary to do it on his own. But on his third trip up, when I was carrying Ellie down, intending to come back for Alvin, the little trooper marched right down the stairs, his nose practically touching my leg. He was a VERY brave little boy! And now he goes up and down with ease. His mother, however, still requires carrying. So occassionally she gets left up there for a while to discourage her from going up in the first place. But she eventually gives someone her pouty Ren & Stimpy face and someone carries her back down.

One of Ellie's puppies enjoying sheer bliss

Made with the girly girl kit from freedigitalscrapbooking.com plus a few elements from other kits from other sources (the tag, the pearls at the bottom and the brad holding the tag).

Storytime - Alvin

I had Alvin up on the bed Saturday night playing with the pack. We have hardwood floors, so the gang values their play/wrestle time on a nice, comfy bed. After the pups were weaned, Ellie took great care in teaching them the pro wrestling moves, but they still haven't been able to pin mom down unless she fakes it.

At any rate, I fell asleep long before they did. (If I lay just right, when they run over me, it's like a massage!) And here's how I woke up at 4am Sunday. I was laying on my side, head on my pillow. Alvin was laying on his side, upper body on my pillow, facing me. His little head was right by my head. Ok, honestly, his little mouth was right by my lips. I was wakened by his dreaming. He was making all sorts of noises and when the air would come out, his lips would billow with the wind, all up against my lips. If that won't shock you out of a deep sleep, don't know what will! I picked him up (totally dead weight, head lolling back, lips smacking in protest of being woken) and put him back in the ex-pen, thinking he would need to go potty soon.

But then I found out he already had! He was very polite, didn't wake me, and went to the far bottom corner of the bed and quietly had gone potty at some time during the night. I love waterproof mattress pads so I can enjoy my puppy time :)

Waiora Animal Conference Call

Tonight was the first time I've tuned into a conference call with Waiora, the distributors of Natural Cell Defense (liquid zeolites) in addition to other products.

Those of you I've talked to recently either in person or on messag boards are aware that NCD is my new favorite thing. It is an incredible detoxifier and has such a magnificent impact on health and critical situations.

In the interview, they spoke with a veterinarian who practices in Sacramento and uses a combination of traditional and alternative applications. The practice has, I believe, 4 veterinarians, and they have used the NCD product specifically for 2 years. Information about the doctor and a recording of the call will be posted in the next several days at www.zeoliteforums.com.

They began using the product on elderly cats, specifically those who were experiencing renal failure. Not only did they experience great results and clinical results indicating lowering (good) indicators, the cats often increased their appetite and their fur became more shiny. Having success and measurable results with this issue, they also began using it effectively for the following issues: chronic ear infections, cancers (prostate, mammary, carcinomas, and other cancers to remove free-floating cancer cells to prevent metastisis), chronic skin disorders and allergies, bacterial issues alongside traditional anti-biotics, and liver disease. They are impressed with the way it removes toxins from the system.

In this house, we have used it to clear an abscess, to help recover from illnesses and surgeries. One of our dog has a moderate level of aggression due to vaccinosis. When treating her for an upper respiratory infection, the NCD wasn't working on her cough, but amazingly enough, it reduced her aggression level significantly. This further validated my belief she was suffering from vaccinosis, one common side effect being aggression believed to be caused by the mercury in the brain. We have also used it for another dog who had a mysterious, unexplained itch above her tail.

All together, I'm very pleased to have this product at my disposal and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to man or beast, well or ill, young or old.

http://my.waiora.com/home.php?897589

Pug in Violets

Millie is digitally scrapbooked using tutorial and elements from freedigitalscrapbooking.com
http://freedigitalscrapbooking.com/digital_scrapbooking_papers_assorted.html

Pug pups at the Nursing Home

I had an appointment in Columbus with a holistic vet who also does chiropractic adjustments. Ellie's boys and Millie went with me to get their puppy checkups and chiropractic adjustments as yet another step in helping them get the best possible start in life.

The boys didn't make it easy on me, though. They pooped in the crate on the way there, pooped on the floor of the car, and one of them vomitted on my freshly cleaned pants 3 times. By the time we arrived at the vet, we were dirty, stinky, and very unimpressive. And by the time we cleaned up the prior messes and a couple of new ones on the office floor, the room had be fumigated behind us. So embarassing! But the boys were very cute, despite all that. And Millie tried to pierce the vet's fingers with her extra-sharp teeth while he innocently tried to listen to her heart and lungs.

I was very impressed by the vet tech. She actually got all the boys' names straight and knew the difference between Alvin and Theodore right away! The whole staff was very pleasant to deal with, even though they might not want us back right away - lol!

On the way home, we took a detour and stopped by a nursing home where one of my relatives is living. She's going to be 98 this year! I was going to take in one or two of the boys, but they stank themselves right out of that job and Millie got to be the star. She entertained a lounge full of women and nurses aids with her antics. She loves to bring a smile to their faces!

Maybe next time, boys!

LOLPugs?

In case you've been missing out, there's a hot phenomenon called LOLCats or Macrocats. Do a search or check out these sites:

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

http://www.lolcats2.com/

Thank goodness dogs haven't been left out of the fun!

http://icanhascheezburger.com/tag/loldog/

But look out everyone, 'cause here comes LOLPugs!!! It's just getting rolling, but our pugs and frenchies had to get in on the action with some of their own shots. Watch the new www.lolpugs.com to see how it grows and send in your own!!!

Dog Allergies

Dog Allergies? Category: Pets and Animals
Wondering what has your dog itching? There are so many factors that could be affecting your dog. Gator had a mysterious itch and it turned out that if he goes into grass where birds have been and runs into the mites that had been on the birds, then he gets an itch. It took an animal communicator to figure that one out! But for the average dog, it will be something much more simple. Here is a superb article for helping a person figure out what might be causing that itch in their pet:
http://archives.zinester.com/15495/99245.html
The body is so full of incredible intricacies, with bodily functions being interdependent. Many people are unaware of the relationship between the gut and allergies. The intestines need good bacteria, also called probiotics, to counteract the bad bacteria that is ingested. And unless you eat yogurt or kefir or take probiotics intentionally, chances are you're not getting enough good bacteria in your system. This can lead to imbalances that can be seen in poor digestion, cramping, diarrhea, and many other intestinal issues. Damage can be done to the intestinal walls, parasites thrive in the poor conditions, and these nasty hosts can enter into other areas of your body through the damaged walls. There are theorists who link degenerative diseases to problems that initiated in the intestines. I strongly reccomend reading into nutrition and probiotics to get a better understanding as to how it might affect both people and pets.
In my research, I ran across a site talking about how there was a study that took children from families who had several generations of problems with allergies and they put those children on probiotics for the first portion of their lives. They grew into relatively allergy-free adults. Based on this study, they gave puppies probiotics the first 6 months of their lives, and even those coming from lines plagued with allergies, they remained allergy-free. (Unfortunatelly I found the article while web browsing and have been unable to find it again.)
We give our puppies colustrum and probiotics mixed in with their puppy food as they are being weaned. You can be assured that the puppies that come from us in late 2006 and after have been provided their initial doses of probiotics and we highly recommend that any new owners follow through with this routine. Just take a couple spoonfuls of moist dog food, mix it with some lukewarm bottled water, and sprinkle a bit of probiotics and any other supplements you wish to give to the pup and let them have their special treat for the day. They love it! And it gives them a great start in life. The same treat can be given to adults showing signs of allergies or itching and over a period of a couple of months you should notice a difference. It might sound like a long time, but repairing the damage that was done over a long time is not an easy fix.