Good News Everyone!

     I've been away for a while. Almost a year if the time stamp of my last blog post is to be believed.

In that time I've been dealing with a lot of personal things, which I won't go into here. On top of that I lost KoKo late last year and I haven't yet forced myself to deal with what that means to me. I'm also not going to go into that at this moment, but there will be a post in the near future about my baby girl KoKo. But not today.

     Today we're going to talk about a happy topic. We have a new addition to our dog family. Her name is Tonks. (Yes, as in Nymphadora Tonks from Harry Potter) She's a one year old Great Pyrenees that we rescued through the Great Pyrenees Club of Florida.

Tonks' first day at home

At the meet and greet we were a little disappointed when we saw her. She was dingy white, super skinny, and her fur was short. When my father knelt down and called to her (her name was Daisey at that time) she came right over to him and put her head in his lap. At that point she was ours. She and Remus sniffed each other then ignored each other. Perfect. Put her in the car and let's go home.

     She's come a long way in a short time.

     She's still too skinny but has put on some weight. Her fur, while still short, is now a bright white and is starting to grow back. She no longer cowers when we scold her and she doesn't duck her head when we reach to pet it. She's a much more confident and relaxed dog.

She loves couches

     Remus and Tonks love to play. I've never seen him play this hard before. He's never been able to play with a dog his own size. We've taken to calling them the Titans when they play. You can feel the ground vibrate as they jump on and around each other.

     My father now wants to take her to become a therapy dog. Unlike Remus who has become a Diva, not allowing strangers to pet him, Tonks goes right up to them to be pet. Having spent the first year of her life tied up outside she's more than happy to have anyone pet her.

     She's just another great example of why adopting a dog is a great way to go. It seems to me that a dog that has been abused or neglected all their life is extra loving and grateful when they finally land in a good home.

The Holidays and Your Pets

I saw this article about toxic foods to pets on Facebook and thought it was worth passing on. 
 
http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/pet-articles/pet-health-toxins/Toxic-Food-Guide-for-Pets.aspx?extcmp=smd-ebiz-BL0002-promotweet

Most of it seemed pretty straight forward and common sense, but there were a few I'd not heard about. Specifically the bit about persimmons, peaches, and plums. Not only was I not aware that the pits contained cyanide, but didn't realize how dangerous they could be to pets. Not that I'd ever considered giving my dogs any of these items, but it's good to know.

That article made me decide to search for other tips for keeping your pets safe during the holiday season. This time of year our homes become chaotic maelstroms with holiday decorations, extra guest in the house, and lots and lots of food and sweets within reach of curious pet noses it seems a good idea to give some time and thought to how this could affect your furry family members. So here are a few more articles on holiday pet safety I discovered.

Holiday Safety Tips from the ASPCA
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/holiday-safety-tips.aspx

More Safety Tips from Drs. Foster and Smith
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=147

Helping your pet cope with visitors. Important if you have an antisocial dog like KoKo. 
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_copewithvisitors.php

Until next time, have a safe Christmas!

Frodo Lives!

Okay, so the title is a bit misleading. This post has noting to do with Frodo. But now that I have your attention....I've realized that I have sorely neglected this blog. I started it nearly a year ago and have very few post and even fewer followers. So I just wanted to post that yes, I am alive and no, I've not given up this blog.
Here's a quick recap of things so far.

Remus turned 1 year old on April 8th and now weights 108 pounds. When I brought him home he was 15.5 pounds. Crazy. Sometimes I still have trouble wrapping my head around the size of my dog and he's not even the largest of his breed. I remember the day my father and I drove two hours on a windy, two lane road through the podunk corridor of Florida to pick him up from the breeder who was located in a town known for sheep and an evacuation route out of the town.

After safely navigating this rather frightening path, we finally made it to the breeders home whose address did not exist according to my GPS. When we walked into her house and as she handed me my puppy my eyes bulged out of my head and I began to think to myself.."what did I get myself into..."

Afterward the breeder took us out to see the parents. She had four adult Pyrenees dogs; a retired breeding pair and then the dame and sire for Remus. As we walked out to the sheep paddock (where the dogs worked as guard dogs for the sheep) I saw four very large white dogs run to the fence. My stomach dropped to my knees and my heart stopped for a second. I was glad that the breeder had her back to us because I know the look on my face would have made her reconsider selling us one of her puppies. I began to have serious doubts for the first time since deciding that a Great Pyrenees was the dog for me. The dogs were positively giant. Despite knowing all the size stats on the breed I was still unprepared for the reality. It's one thing to know how big the dog will get and another to know that you're actually going to put one in your house.

When the dogs put their paws on the fence to greet their owner they stood as tall as I did. I quickly composed my expressions and asked all the usual questions. We then placed our giant puppy into the giant crate we had brought along and made the two hour trip back home, cleverly avoiding tractors, a slew of pickup trucks and a school bus that had been converted into a mobile fruit stand.


For the first few days at home Remus was afraid of the tile and refused to walk on it. As soon as you placed him on the tile he'd just lay down and look pathetic. Eventually he realized that the tile was the coolest place to lay and then promptly determined that the carpet was a good place to pee.

Fast forward one year:
KoKo has become so attached to Remus that she waits by the door for him when he's been gone all day, we've arranged furniture to suit Remus' cooling needs as well as installed window AC's just for him, and most importantly we no longer have carpet that smells like dog pee. Remus and myself have also successfully completed beginner dog training. We were the only pair that didn't miss a single training class for the two month duration. Far as I was concerned I paid the money for these lessons and I'd be damned if I was going to miss any material. It was probably the best $110.00 I've spend on him so far as he's reasonably easy to handle and well behaved. So much so that he's always on the invite list at family gatherings. Even the day care he goes to once a week love having him there. Yes. I send my dog to day care. I'll explain why in another post. I swear I have a very good reason. Promise.

And to close things out here are two pictures of Remus. Enjoy. 

Remus at 8 weeks

Remus 1 year

Sensodyne for Dogs

Okay, so I don't think that particular company makes dog toothpaste but there are companies that do. Now I know what you're thinking. Are we seriously going to talk about brushing a dogs teeth? Yes. Yes we are. I remember when I first started owning dogs and someone mentioned to me that I should brush their teeth. I thought that person was crazy. Why would I brush my dogs teeth? Wolves don't exactly go to a dentist. But there was the flaw in my reasoning and after watching the National Geographic special "And Man Made Dog" I began to truly appreciate the differences between dogs and wolves.

Despite any physical resemblance between some breeds of dog and wolves, the fact is that dogs are not wolves. Dogs were domesticated between 14,000 and 30,000 years ago. (Though the exact date is hotly debated, as I witnessed by the debate that took place in an archaeology class) Dogs and wolves are different animals, even if their DNA is nearly identical. Add to that the average life span of a wolf as compared that of a house dog and it becomes clear that most wolves don't live long enough to die from periodontal disease.

Once you've managed to convince yourself to brush your dogs teeth you will be faced with the problem of how to do it. If you're like me you've never had to brush anybody's teeth but your own and most dogs are not real cooperative when it comes to things being shoved into their mouths.

First thing you need to do is get a toothbrush and toothpaste, both of which can be bought at your local pet store, groom shop or online. Luckily dog toothpaste (Never use human toothpaste. Ever.) has special enzymes in it that continue to work after it's been applied to the teeth. This is good news if you're dog hates the toothbrush. If you don't mind getting your hand slimy you can just put in on your finger and rub it onto the dogs teeth. This isn't as effective as brushing but it'll do in a pinch.

The best thing to do is start when your dog is a puppy. Puppies quickly learn to tolerate poking and prodding by their owners. Chances are though, that your dog is far from being a puppy. In this case it's just going to take some patience and persistence.

• Step One: have your dog sit in front of you, facing the same direction as you. This position is helpful if your dog is resistant and tries to get away. They usually do so by backing up and here, he'll just back up into you.
  


• Step Two: take your toothbrush with toothpaste on it and gently brush each side of your dogs mouth. Try to get the back teeth if possible. Those are always the ones with the most buildup.
  


• Step Three: reward him, but don't give him a treat. Generally you're not supposed to let your dog eat for 30 minutes after brushing, but you want to reinforce the positive with this exercise so be sure to give him some love.
  


• Step Four: Repeat at least once a week, preferably 3 times a week if your dogs teeth have a lot of tartar buildup.

Don't worry about getting to all of the teeth at first, especially if your dog is uncooperative. It's better to keep it short and sweet. After a few weeks your dog will likely just grin and bear it and some even enjoy it. Remus does. The toothpaste is beef flavored and he enjoys chewing on the toothbrush.

Now if actually brushing your dogs teeth is just unthinkable to you or your dog is Really uncooperative you can try a tooth spray. We've used PetzLife Oral Care Spray with a surprising amount of success.

Pool Time

Pool time with Remus has made me question my sanity in owning a white dog.

I hate having a dirty dog.

Remus loves being dirty.

The result?

Remus gets to be dirty.

As much as it pains me to see him covered in mud, he just enjoys it so much I have to relent.

The only upside I can see is that he gets cleaned off after each romp in the mud. Why is this good? It cleans off any pollen he may have picked up just by going outside in Florida. Since Pyrenees (any many other breeds) tend to have skin problems in warm weather this has turned out to be a small, if messy blessing.

Meet Remus

Remus, a Great Pyrenees, is the newest addition to our family. It's been over 10 years since I've raised a puppy and it seems I've forgotten everything, from what is 'normal' puppy behavior to how to get him to not run away when he steals my sandals.

Here I intend to share the trials and tribulations as well as the amusing stories of raising a puppy for what feels like the first time. I also hope to share the lessons I've learned in dog behavior and general pet health care.

Enjoy!