Dogs At Play

Playing is so much fun I didn't realize it is actually very good for dogs.  You've heard the expression "a tired dog is a good dog", well, it's true.  I can see it with my sister DixieLee.  I'm a pretty laid back dog but DixieLee is hyper.  If we don't do a lot of play she manages to find some way to get into trouble.

Neither one of us is a puppy any more be we still love to wrestle and fight like puppies do.  Some people think we are vicious because we play rough but we know the rules and never hurt one another.  When we go to day care we have  to remember that not all dogs like to play as hard as we do.  If I am playing too hard the other dog will let me know.  He will nip me or just not want to pay any more.  If this happens I know I need to say I am sorry and then most of the time they will want to play some more.

Chasing around the pen is another of our favorite games.  DixieLee can run really, really fast.  We love to chase each other around the house too but Mom gets all grumpy we we race down the hall to see who can jump on the bed first then race back down the hall to see who can get the best seat on the couch.

We like to play with our humans too.  It's great fun to steal socks and have them pay tug of war with us.   Mom doesn't like that game so much but she will play if we use one of our tug toys instead.  Games that make me think are lots of fun. Dad does good hide and go seek and I love when I have to figure out how to get the kibble out from inside the Kong.

Play is good exercise too.  We like to take Mom and Dad on hikes because they are getting old and exercise helps to keep them young.  Walking also keeps everyone's weight down.  Being a lab, I love to eat and if I don't get enough exercise, I get a buffalo butt.  Going on hikes is fun and going on hikes at Dog Park is the BEST.  It's so much fun I never want to leave so sometimes I don't get in the car when I am supposed.  Not getting the care makes it so everyone has to stay longer.

Some dogs like to chase balls or Frisbees but DixieLee and I would rather chase squirrels.  We never catch them cuz they can climb trees but one of these days...

I hear that we re going to go to day care tomorrow.  The weather has been cold and rainy and I hate to get wet so we have been staying inside.  The day care people have a big covered outside area where we can play and we can run all we want in the big inside room.  It's lots of fun to run inside and not have anyone tell you to stop!  The bestest part is that there are so many other dogs to play with.  I can't wait. Maybe I'll see you there.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  We now have our very own website with the BESTEST dog gift baskets in the whole Universe.  Check it out at pawpalsboutique.com

Walkin' The Dog

The mail person brought a package for me and DixieLee the other day.  It was a surprise.  Mom bought us new harnesses.  I have to admit I am not the best leash walker.  I like to go fast and Mom is so slow.  It’s not her fault that humans only have two legs so they can only go half as fast as us dogs who have four legs. 

 Not being a great leash walker hasn’t been a big problem since we do most of our walking at Dog Park or at Dog Mountain where I don’t have to be on leash.  It would be nice to be able to walk other places so we have tried a bunch of different collars and harnesses but I didn’t like any of them.   I had a nice harness that I sort of liked but I still pulled cuz I wanted to go faster.  I know, we are supposed to do training but it just frustrates Mom and me so we gave up

 I liked that harness, it was a pretty purple color and it worked okay until DixieLee ate it. With two dogs to walk, we really needed to find something that made us be good leash walkers. Instead of buying a new harness right away, we tried using a gentle leader but I didn’t like it on my face.  DixieLee is okay with her gentle leader but it makes her face itchy and she tries to rub it off after it’s been on for a while.

 We looked at all kinds of leashes and harnesses but we didn’t like any of them much.  Then Mom heard about a new kind of harness that connects the leash to the front on my chest instead from behind on my shoulders.   It’s called Walk Your Dog With Love.  It works sort of like the gentle leader, turning me around if I start going too fast or going in a different direction than Mom wants me to go in.

 My new harness is black which looks absolutely stunning on me and goes nicely with my pink collar.   DixieLee’s is blue which looks very nice with her brown coat.  Mom’s pretty good with knowing fashion stuff.  This harness is very easy to put on too.   With my other harness, I had to pick up my foot and then Mom had to clip it this way and that.  The Walk Your Dog With Love harness is super easy to put on.  It slips over my head and Mom takes the strap under my tummy and clips it on the other side.

 Having an easy to get on harness is very helpful when you have a dog like DixieLee who gets so excited that she rolls around and squiggles every which way when you try to get her ready to go out. Mom likes that these harnesses are made in the USA.  They even have some stuff called Scotchlite on it which makes it easy to see us in the dark. 

 We tried them out today and I think they are going to work good.  We all went for a big walk in town and I hardly pulled at all.  I walked slower and Mom was able to keep up.  DixieLee walked better than me but that’s cuz she got to practice yesterday.  The only one who failed walking was Dad.  He was a real slow poke.  He needs lots more practice if he is going to walk with us again.

 Going for walks is one of the best funs we have so I’m happy we found a harness that makes walking even more fun.  Were you always a good leash walker and if not, how did you get better?

 Your good walking friend,

 Zeva

 P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion.   Our To The Rescue Gift Basket has everything a new dog needs, even a pretty leash.

The Ten Pound Challenge

I had my annual check up at the vet last week and I am soooo upset.  That mean man said I was FAT.  What's worse is he said in front of the techs and anyone in the waiting room could hear.  I was so embarrassed and upset it's taken me this long just to talk about it.  I may need to go into therapy.

I am part lab and we all know labs aren't skinny chic like greyhounds.  Labs are more robust and have a layer of fat around us so we don't get cold in the water.  So my layer of fat is a little thicker than some other lab's layer of fat.  So I'm  a few pounds overweight.  Well, actually ten.

Instead of siding with me, Mom is siding with the vet.  She says it's all Dad's fault.  Since he got retired he is home with us all the time and he was much easier to train than Mom.  DixieLee and I figured out that if we want a treat and our usual tricks like looking cute or showing him where the cookie jar is don't work, DixieLee goes into Crazy Dog mode.  She runs around and jumps on the furniture.  I chase her until Dad says "enough" and gives us a cookie to quiet us down.

Works every time. Well, it worked every time until Mom read Dad something called the Riot Act.  Now we only get half cookies and only right after meals and before bed.  Now when we do Crazy Dog Dad makes us go outside instead of giving us a treat.

The mean vet gave Mom this teeny, tiny cup to measure my food with too.  He said that I don't need to eat as much as the people who make the dog food say I should eat.  After all, they want me to eat lots so we have to buy more.  Mom always bought us good quality food, not loaded with fillers, but even if it's full of good stuff, too much isn't good for you.

I guess the only good thing is that Mom thinks DixieLee is getting a little chunky so she only gets the teeny, tiny cups of food and half treats too.  The other thing is we are supposed to get more exercise.  I like that part.  Exercise means playing and going for walks.

When DixieLee came to live with us, Mom thought she would be a good playmate and we would get lots of exercise together.  That didn't work out so well.  She and I both like to nap and she'd rather chew on a toy than play chase.  My friends Sadie likes to play chase so Mom said Dad needs to take me to play with her more.

Dad likes that cuz Sadie's Dad is his good friend and they do guy stuff all the time.  Last time they got to paly with these big machines that dug a giant hole  in the ground.  DixieLee would have been impressed cuz she likes to dig holes.  When I go to Sadie's house we just run around her yard.  I like her yard because it is miles big and there is no fence.

I would really like to make that ten pounds disappear because I don't want Mom to be upset.  She said dogs who are overweight get died sooner than dogs who aren't and she wants me to be her Zeva for a long, long time.  I'm good with that!

Any of you have any suggestions.  Did you ever have to lose weight and if so, how did you do it?

Your starving friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion: Every dog is a good dog, that's why we created our Good Dog Spot gift basket.