All Things Dog Blog |
- The Year of the Rabbit
- Dog CPR Skills Add to Your First Aid Tool Kit
- Dog Walk Motivation Running High,Thanks to the Walking Challenge
| Posted: 27 Apr 2011 06:20 AM PDT by Carrie Boyko, CEB
Unfortunately, Robby, our family's rabbit, only lived to see the beginning of this event that was planned in his honor. As the day of the Adoptathon went on, he became lethargic and stopped eating. The rest, as they say, is history. Robby lived a full 9 years, a good life for a rabbit who has always had a loving home. He came into the world as the adoptee of my son, a college student at the time. Marc enjoyed having a quiet roommate that did not have nightly drunken brawls like many college roommates. They shared a small, but adequate space together, until the new school year placed Marc with a roommate that preferred an animal-free environment. Imagine that! Robby came to live in our home in 2003. We successfully taught Xena that Robby was off-limits for playing, feeling that she was too large and heavy to play safely. Ever the mother, though, she still attempted to wash his ears and watch after him. It was no surprise to me, as she had done the same with our cat, Patches, when we adopted her in 1998. With many opportunities, we thought perhaps Patches and Robby might hit it off, but alas, Robby continued his aloof attitude toward this much-too-playful, like-sized housemate. Patches was curious, but not enough to encourage play or even camaraderie. The two simply watched one another from a safe distance, sharing only a modest interest in the other's activities. When Tanner joined our family in 2006, Robby was a well-established member of the family, and Tanner thought he seemed fair game as a playmate. And I have to give it to Tanner, he made every effort to befriend Robby, learning to get down and play at Robby's level. He learned to be quiet, still and gentle, but never did have the satisfaction of a good romp with Robby. It just was not meant to be. Robby was far too smart to allow it. If Tanner was not enough of a nuisance, Robby's resolve was really put to the test when Oliver was adopted by my daughter in 2007. Much smaller than Robby when he arrived, Robby finally found himself with a diminutive packmate-wannabe, but nevertheless a much too rambunctious one. Oliver never quite grasped the concept of "The bunny doesn't want to play". He was certain that he could eventually convince Robby to be his bunny-buddy. Robby remained with us until Marc finished graduate school in 2009 and moved into an apartment of his own. No one could tell him whom he could live with any longer; he paid the bills and chose the roommates. It was at that time that he requested HIS bunny back. Who were we to refuse him? Robby was a good traveler, venturing north to Virginia in the back of our car, to settle in with his original roommate in a new home. This home turned out to be the perfect place for two young men--plenty of space to hop around exploring, without Xena, Tanner, little Oliver or curious Patches poking around.
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| Dog CPR Skills Add to Your First Aid Tool Kit Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:01 PM PDT by Carrie Boyko, CEB This video offers a step by step approach to giving a dog CPR, something that we all could benefit from learning. I especially appreciated her tips on administering CPR to a smaller dog, since she is demonstrating on a large pooch. There are a couple of differences, so listen carefully. An important point to make light of is the possible need to continue CPR in the car. Melanie suggests calling out for help immediately, so that others can handle transportation while you continue to administer CPR. This very educational video offers clear and precise technique for up to 20 minutes of CPR, checking for pulse or heartbeat about every minute. For more information, you may enjoy reading the Safe Dog Handbook: Once again, I'm posting this article to a new blog hop, looking for new friends in new areas. Today we are joining The Two Savvy Sisters. Stop on by and see what they're up to. Their hop has a ton of articles to choose from.  
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| Dog Walk Motivation Running High,Thanks to the Walking Challenge Posted: 26 Apr 2011 09:01 PM PDT  Back in March I announced my entry into a Dog Walker's support group of sorts. I officially started April 1, the day my round of two back two back groups of company left town. It was good timing. I am finding that the idea of having someone expecting to hear my progress is motivation in itelf. My original plan was to check in with Katie, our fearless leader, at the end of each month. But today she beat me to the punch. I guess that's good, as some of us may not have been sticking with the plan. She was on her cheerleading tour, making sure everyone is paying attention to keeping on track. I've had one hiccup this month--a 3 day long migraine that put me in low gear, to be sure. I have not been having migraine headaches for about 5 years now, but early this week that changed. I'm not sure what brought it on, other than the voluminous flowers that erupted on the Jasmine outside. I'm deathly allergic, but have never had a migraine reaction that I recall. Whatever caused it, it was a bad one. I'm back on track as of today. Yesterday and today Tanner, Oliver and I did some extra tracks through our suburban area, exploring nearby neighborhoods in the cool morning air. This is my favorite time of the year to walk; it was glorious. Tanner and Oliver thought so too. We took a few detours to avoid large areas of Jasmine. Hopefully this helped to keep me from getting another whopper. Since I pledged to walk 2 miles a day, every day I miss means 2 more miles added to another day. What was I thinking? I didn't even allow myself a day off! I guess I'll learn from this experience. Hopefully you'll consider this when you pledge your miles. Today I joined the Facebook page for Katie's site and the group, and updated her on my progress at her site: Lessons from 4 Legs. I think she was pleased and this made me feel proud, if only because I made up 3 days of 'sick time'. I was surprised that I had not already "Liked" her FB page, and pleased to see everything that is going on there: polls about what reinforces your dog, giveaways, Earth day ideas for your dog and much more. Looks like Katie and I are on the same page about living a greener lifestyle. Enough rambling, I'm really here today to invite you to join Katie's Walking Challenge. She is extending the membership option through the end of June and enticing members with a nice prize package. I guess I should tell you it's free. The goal is simply to help everyone join forces to encourage one another. I'm curious about her prize package, but she's not naming everything except to say it will all be homemade, so I guess it will be a surprise. I like surprises, don't you? And it sounds sort of Etsy-ish; cool! Before I wrap this up, I thought I'd share another idea I got from Katie (she's a bubbling bonanza of bow wow ideas!). I mentioned that I've been scribbling my miles on my planner and it's rather messy, crowded, etc. She then proceeded to introduce me to a really cool online place to track your exercise: Map My Walk. I checked it out today and wish I had started it from the getgo. It's a super cool way to keep track of your fitness, nutrition, goals, events and more. There's even a mapping function and you can access it with your iPhone or Blackberry. Who needs a planner? I'm really old school, huh? So, if you're in need of some moral support to get in your daily walks with Fido, this may be your ticket. Just stop by her site, leave a comment with your name, your dogs' names and the number of miles you plan to walk for the remainder of the year. You can check in periodically and update her on your progress. She keeps a record in her sidebar, so there you have your ultimate motivation. Imagine having your name in someone's sidebar with an obvious "I'm behind on my dogs' walks" sign hanging there. Yikes! Hope to see you there soon. Happy tails!
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