Molly's Heat Exhaustion

(from my blog at pets.com)

I learned a good lesson last week on my vacation about being prepared for my pets when I take them out. I’m a mom, and that has made me pretty adept at schlepping along random things we might need, like baby wipes, snacks and water. That certainly applies for my dogs, too.

But last week for my birthday I asked my family if we could do a day trip to Lake Tahoe with the dogs. I envisioned hanging out in the water, watching the dogs splash and frolic, and relaxing.
 

Not exactly the case.
 

My brother has my dog Molly’s sister, Rozsi, so I was confident he’d find a good dog-friendly beach (and he sure did!) But I should have paid more attention to where we were going. You see, the beach included a hike that was about two and a half miles downhill (yes, read uphill hike to go home). Not necessarily a problem, of course, but not ideal if you’re not prepared.

 

It was quite hot – breaking the triple digits in Reno, about 10 degrees lower at the lake – and, though we’re Phoenicians, doggie paws on hot sand isn’t the best. Hiking down, I could tell that Molly was getting hot. She’d dart through the sunlit areas and slug through the shade. She’d stop and enjoy the cool on her feet. But it was when she started immediately laying down in the shade that I realized she wasn’t doing so well. We had water and portable dog bowls with us, but in light of the heat and the hike I realized we miscalculated the amount of water to bring to keep humans and doggies hydrated.
 

I started jogging through the sun-baked areas for her, letting her cool off and drink whenever she could until we reached the beach. The second we did, I took her to the lake and she stepped in and laid down. I felt the guilt of bad doggie mommy hood passing over me as I saw how much she needed that cool water.
 

I was lucky the lake was there for us, Molly would have been miserable otherwise. Lake Tahoe is known for its fresh, cold water—even in summer, and that was our savior. Incidentally, Rozsi did great because she is much more physically conditioned. My brother and his wife hike and run with her regularly. It was a good reminder to me to keep that in mind as well when I plan what Molly or Rosso can do, just like I would for my six-year old daughter.

Dog Vacation

(from my blog at pets.com)

We had a fantastic week last week, taking Molly on a car ride vacation to Reno to visit my family and, more importantly to her, her sister Rozsi.

All week I kept thinking that the sole thought on Molly’s mind was “I LOVE VACATION!!!!” With trips to the dog park (field and stream), dog park/marina, Lake Tahoe (dog-friendly beach: Skunk Beach) and other dog-centric activities, this past week was definitely a dog’s vacation made in heaven.

Something I found interesting was that Molly and her sister were immediately fast friends. None of that dog park polite rear-end sniffing, who-are-you inquisition. Just “Wow! There you are! Let’s play!” Molly and Rozsi were immediately tied at the hip and did everything together.  When one did something, the other did it, too.

The subtle differences between the sisters was neat, too. Of course they’d be different, but it was neat to see how they were the same and how they differed. For example, Rozsi is more mature in development, both physically and behaviorally. Molly was clearly the baby sister. I’m dying to look back at my records to which girl was born first. My bet is that it was Rozsi. Both girls are wonderfully Vizsla-cuddly – two sweetheart peas in a pod.

I have lots of stories to share about our trip, so will share them over the next several days or weeks, and pics to share, too.

Has anyone else had a great dog vacation? Where did you go?

Molly Elevator (after her spay)

(from my blog at pets.com)

It’s been pretty quiet in our house this week. The dogs have been lying around, and there’s a noticeably absent Molly spirit around here.
 

And that’s because Molly got spayed this week. So far, she’s been doing pretty well keeping still and resting, but slowly her puppy spirit is coming back in to the game.

As we left the vet with our very dizzy little girl, we were warned about getting the stitches wet, letting her be too active (no jumping!), keeping her from licking her wound, and how to feed her following the anesthesia used for the surgery. Molly couldn’t have looked more miserable, and my heart just broke as we drove home, daddy sitting in the back seat with her, cooing at her and petting her.
 

That was the day that the Molly Elevator was born. I have created a bad habit of picking up my dog. Why is that a problem? Well, for those blessed with little doggies, it probably isn’t. But I have a 48 pound female Vizsla. Not exactly a pocket pet. But every since she was little, I’ve picked her up and held her. I guess I’m glad I did that, and actually I recommend doing that with your dog. It sure came in handy that she knew what I was doing when I went to pick her up: I had already gained her trust and it didn’t scare her. So I scooped her up, carefully holding in front of her chest and behind her rump, humming a happy little elevator sound for her as I lifted her in and out of the car.
 

This is definitely one of those times that any flimsy, rarely-enforced rule about no dogs on the furniture is strictly ignored. Molly Elevator up to the bed. Vrrrrrrrrrrr!

It’s been a few days, and Molly can certainly move about without pain. She’s perking up, but I see that look in her eyes... The one that says: “elevator up?”
 

*sigh*

 

What are some ways that you pamper your doggies after surgery or as they get old? Tell me I'm not the only one slightly silly!

A Tale of Two Toads

(from my blog at pets.com)

I just became a pet parent for the fourth and fifth time, consecutively. Suddenly I went from two dogs to two dogs, a guinea pig and now two Fire-belly Toads. And all my pets all red in some way… go figure.

I got them as a surprise welcome home gift for my boyfriend. It worked: he loved them. (By the way, just to clarify, I knew he wanted them before I went getting him a pet. I don’t recommend surprising anyone with a pet unless you know they want one and are ready for – and want – the responsibility.)

So now we have a microcosm of sorts, right in our own kitchen. Firmly planted on our granite island counter is a small, round, flying saucer-looking contraption, replete with watery spaces and rocky landings. Our two beautiful emerald green toads with their brightly-hued tummies occupy this center island in our home quite happily.

Naturally, we wanted to name them something that ascribed to their fire-belly namesake and appearance. One is quite teeny and feminine-looking (who knows if it is a female or not), and immediately “she” seemed suited to the name Firefly. She skitters around their home much like she is sailing on delicate wings. The larger, more dominant one evaded christening for days as we tried on name after name and just couldn’t land on one we liked.

Then all of a sudden this past weekend, Scorch. It was the perfect fit for him, and well-suited to his fire quality and personality.

Now, we’ve been pouring over information online to help us plan a better home for our friends: we very quickly became dissatisfied with the small habitat we started with: the initial inconveniences of it were soon compounded by its seeming inadequacy as a home.

We haven’t found a lot of information, but I wanted to share a site that not only gave us some good overall information on care as well as habitat specifications: WikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-Fire-Belly-Toads). 

I’m looking forward to this weekend and planning a really cool space for them!

Do any of you have frogs or toads for pets? Please share habitat pictures, I’d love to see what you’ve set up and hear suggestions on how we can create the best home we can for our little sparks.

Getting Fit with Miss Molly B

(from my blog at pets.com)

Swoosh! A blur of red fur and flying puppy feet: Molly is at it again. There seems to be no constraint to her boundless energy. I often feel sorry for Rosso: while on the one hand he now has a play buddy, it more often seems he wants to rest but instead is subjected to incessant entreaties to wrestle from his spunky little daughter.
 

“Play, play, play!” Molly seems to be saying with every fiber of her being.

It’s in times like this that I really see the importance of getting my dogs out for exercise. Sure, they have a yard and they play, but they don’t have room to really roam around and explore. Varying their physical activity is good for their health (and, in Miss Molly’s case, her attack of the Play-with-me’s), but it’s also good for their mental health.
 

Sound vaguely familiar? Isn’t that something we’ve all heard about exercising? Well, for me, I know it to be the case: when I exercise, I feel great. I see it in my dogs when I get them out for exercise, too. Molly is less hoppity, and Rosso is just plain woozy with happiness. They’re less destructive, too. While they don’t exactly actively annihilate anything, their rambunctiousness can cause mishaps (e.g. knocking over a plant in a quest to free an escaping tennis ball).
 

So, when I consider that it’s good for me and good for my dogs, it seems like a win-win. I want to get fit this summer, but in particular I want to do it by incorporating more activity into my lifestyle instead of becoming a tenant at my local gym. I love the outdoors, so it seems an easy fit to do more outdoor activities with my dogs.
 

I’m pulling together some resources to apply this concept to my plan to be more active and I’ll share what I learn with you. If you have any ideas that work for you, or want to join along, please let me know!***

This week has gone by fast, with so much going on to launch the new site. I hope you’re finding your way around and like the new features. It’s been fun watching faces join with names as everyone completes their profile!

If you have any questions about the site, please reach out to me. I’ll make sure to get back to you.
 

Have a safe and happy holiday. I’m making sure my dogs are inside – Rosso is terrified of the fireworks!

Sock it to 'em

(from my blog at pets.com)

Molly came bounding into the room last night, happy as a Viszla can be (which, apparently, is pretty darn happy) and I immediately knew from the look of her she’d discovered a sock. Prancing proudly in front of me, every fiber of her little red frame is boasting this amazing find.  Sighing because I know this routine quite well, I hold out my hand for her to deposit the soggy-but-otherwise-unharmed sock. She looks momentarily puzzled as I blandly thank her and put the sock out of her reach (apparently my enthusiasm leaves much to be desired), but shortly she’s bounding off, only to return 5, 10, 20 minutes later to repeat the entire Joy Dance of the Sock over again.

I don’t know where this fetish comes from, but Molly absolutely adores socks. Over the course of an evening—and I mean everyevening—Molly brings me upwards of five socks. Separately, of course. I’m not honestly even sure how she finds them, because I’ll think the house is sock-less and she’ll surprise me. I think she has a private stash…

I guess I should be grateful that she doesn’t eat them (except for once, sorry honey) and that she didn’t pick up my panache for shoes. But the apparently limitless ability she has to detect socks is uncanny at best.