Tag Archives: A Dog's Life

A Dog’s Life: “Ultimate” Frisbee

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Let me start by saying Bailey loves the frisbee, but the way she plays frisbee is a bit odd. It’s less about catching it in mid-air and retrieving it, and more about running in all directions, finding it, and then tackling it to the ground like a living creature. Exhibit A:

labrador playing frisbee
“Alright B, get ready…”

labrador playing frisbee
“Look to your right B!” Yeeeaaahh, she has an issue with looking up.

labrador playing frisbee
“Alright, good job! Bring it here.”

labrador playing frisbee
“Bailey, the frisbee is not for eating!”

labrador playing frisbee
“Let’s try this again…you catch it and bring it back, okay?” That face seems promising.

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A Dog’s Life: Keeping it Solid

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Dog eating pumpkin

So what’s happening in my world, keeping me from posting on this lovely blog? Well, I could tell you work, but let’s not go there. Why don’t I tell you about the other part of my life that’s becoming a real time-sucker. It’s an upset stomach.

The “upset stomach” is not a people stomach either. The furry friend you’re used to seeing here on this blog seems to have baffled us once again. Bailey has been dealing with an upset stomach for weeks, maybe even months now. Yes, we took her to the vet and after a couple hundred dollars in prescriptions and recommendations, the word we don’t speak anymore, the “D” word, is back again. The baffling part of all this is that her temperament is pretty normal, and her upbeat and wacky self is always ready for a wrestling rematch in the dining room. So that’s a good sign. The down side is that she’s almost skinny enough to walk down the doggy runway.

Could it be the water? Food? Lawn chemicals? An allergy? Stress? I’ve read about them all, and switched a couple things around in her diet including feeding her a little arroz con pollo each day- her fav. That all seemed to help, until I had a lapse in judgement and gave her a rawhide bone- whoops! I paid the price for that mistake.

Then I took it a step further and changed her food all together to Natural Balance, sticking with a couple spoonfuls of rice mixed in. That seemed to “plug” the situation. But I could tell it wasn’t solved. I have a feeling that although we take her on a run a few times a week, the change in my schedule is affecting her. I’m home later, her eating schedule is off and her walks are becoming a little less frequent. That could have something to do with it.

I did a little more online reading and kept coming across people mentioning 100% pumpkin, and that it worked for their dog. I thought that it couldn’t hurt to try it, so I grabbed a can, gave her a couple tablespoons in her next meal and voila! We’ve got a solid one, folks! It’s been about a week and things are looking up every time I look down at the grass. So for now, pumpkin is on the menu!

A Dog’s Life: Throw Me a Bone

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What is it about bones that dogs love so much? Well, I’m not sure. It would be comparable to us chewing on a large, hard, tasteless rock I suppose. But to them, bones are probably one of dog’s seven wonders of the world. It could have to do with relieving stress or tension, but seriously, what does Bailey have to stress about? Or, it could be simply their nature to scavenger and chew on just about anything, and that I could believe. We’ve also always had this theory that B was a cow in a previous life because of how much she “grazes” outside, and so when we bought her a cow femur it wasn’t surprising that she fell in love with it.

A Dog’s Life: Old Friends Die Hard

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Upon cleaning out Bailey’s old bedroom, and by that I mean the room she used to sleep in that included her crate and some old toys, we found an old plush, stuffed beagle we used to let her play with right before we put her to bed. It was mainly to distract her a bit before we left her in her room at night, and boy did she love that stuffed animal.  We’d prop it up, make it run around her, toss it across the room and she’d fetch it back, acting as if the thing was really alive and kicking. It was cute, but became unnecessary as she got older and didn’t need to sleep in that room or the crate anymore.

I’d forgotten about it until we did some cleaning and thought, wouldn’t this be a nice surprise for Bailey. So we called her over, “Hey B! Look what we found…your old friend!”

Labrador stuffed animal

She came galloping in and instantly displayed a proper ‘sit.’

Labrador stuffed animal

She instantly took the toy in her mouth, still covered in her dried spit from their last encounter. She looked happy, too happy…and then things turned sour for Mr. Beagle.

Labrador stuffed animal

That’s not the friendship I remember!

Labrador stuffed animal

Remembering the good ole days with Mr. Beagle. [Dont' they understand that once all this fun is over Mr. Beagle will be DEAD?!? Oh the horror.]

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