I thought I’d share a few updates and pics from the week!

Our life in the military, my hubby is a pilot in the AF, means my hubby is often gone.  He was gone last week and this was Toby’s sad look as he laid by the front door waiting for him to come home!  And, I’m very pleased to say he seems to like my new rug! Or, at least he’s dealing with it!

I did not bring this leaf into the house and onto the carpet. It traveled through the kitchen and living room and halfway down the hallway almost to my office. Grrr…..  Keeping a floor clean is nearly impossible with a hairy dog who sheds and brings the outside IN! This picture has definitely spiked my interest in taking a pic of the living room floor covered in his toy mess….teeny little pieces all over the place.  This scares me when I think ahead to having a crawler who wants to stuff everything into her mouth! I’m shaking in my boots!

In November, I posted a pic of my front door and my minimal Fall decorations. I also said that my Welcome Mat that we got when we were married in 2004 was SAD, SAD, SAD and it was time for a new one! So, you can imagine my excitement over replacing it!!! I am cheap, or thrifty, depending on perspective!  So, I had to find a good deal but I also have a rule that I will not bring things into my home that I do not LOVE.  I LOVE this new welcome mat!  I liked the well-placed [placed by the wind, not by me] leaf on there when I took the pic but I don’t love it now. I think I should have moved the leaf.  Details. Details.  I love how my new rug matches my entry and it’s just ME! Love it!

So, to take the pic above I had to open the front door. Toby LOVES to go out the front door and explore the front yard. NOT this day! I wanted him to stay put. I picked the wrong time of day to take this pic because I couldn’t get him and the welcome mat in the same pic with the glares in the mid-afternoon sun.  I still thought this pic below was hilarious. He was sitting so perfect, hoping to get the chance to run out the front door!  It cracked me up! I had to share it.  I often think we only trained him to “Sit” & “Stay” so I could get good photos of him or make him sit/stay outside of the frame of the pic I’m trying to take without him! WHAT A GOOD DOG!!!! [He definitely got a treat for his efforts!]

What did you buy this weekend??? How do your animals/kids act when your other half is away??? Link away to your fun pics on your blogs from your weekend!

I’m off now to buy my new lens from B&H Photo!! I saved up to buy it and can’t wait to use it!!!  I opted not to rent it first so let’s hope I love it….I have a very strong feeling it will be perfect!!!

Today is Toby’s 4th Birthday!!!

The pic to the left is a preview of our Christmas card.  Check back in a few weeks to read what his shirt says!

Toby was our first child. This is a tribute to our first child on his 4th birthday.

I figured…who doesn’t love cute puppy pictures??!!

You can tell by the photos and videos that he was our first child and we have loved him like he’s our kid…yet still a dog.

He’s such a great dog we haven’t gotten another….we’re scared the next won’t be as good as him!

I only made it from 6 weeks [breeder pics] to 14 weeks with 32 photos!!!  Seriously!!! We have thousands of photos of him growing up and hundreds of videos.

Our neighbors have always kidded that they can’t wait to see us with kids because we got SO excited with Toby teaching him how to swim. The neighbors heads all popped up over the fences when we were screaming “YAY!” and “Good Boy!” when he was learning to swim. [Videos below]

Enjoy….

Did you have a furry baby before you had a human baby?

Toby’s First Bath….

Toby learning to swim, first at 14 weeks, then at 5 months…

This is a photo of my FIToby at about 75 pounds the first week of January 2010.

Well, since my ankle injury has kept me down and off my bike, my own weight has crept up a bit but so has my Toby!!  We used to go for a daily bike ride, which kept him in great shape!  Well…I didn’t adjust his diet like I adjusted mine and I think he gained as much weight as I did…over 10 pounds!!!

I feel so guilty! I feel horrible!  What a bad mommy!  Just like humans, when you see them every day it “creeps” up and I didn’t notice right away and didn’t take enough steps to change it right away!  [10 pounds for a dog is like 20 or 30 on us!!]  I used to pride myself on having the only Golden Retriever who wasn’t fat. It seems like all the Goldens in the movies are fat.  Goldens have a propensity to gain weight, much like those in my family…hahaha!  We’re getting back there though, even though he’d eat himself fat if we let him….and so would many of us!  :)

I know many people are different with regard to their animals. We really take our dog ownership seriously. We feel like we took on the obligation and responsibility of a life and we have the duty to take care of him.  Now, I’m sure things will change after we have kids, but he’s still our responsibility.  He can’t make decisions on his own to keep himself safe. That is our job.  So, I feel like I let the poor guy down…but we’re fixing it!!!

Toby at about 87 pounds.  Makes me sad. I feel like such a bad Mommy.  :(

Anyway, he’s lost almost 7 pounds now since we put him on a diet a month ago or so.  We had to adjust his food according to his activity level now and his lowered metabolism.  The vet explained to me that dogs are just like we are in the sense that some can eat a bunch more than others and not gain any weight. Some have higher metabolisms than others. So, we have to adjust their food based on their activity level and metabolism. He’s on the right track. He’s looking better, but he’s not back to the svelte 75 pounds he was at the beginning of the year.  He got up to 87 pounds and he’s down to 80 now.  I think he looks best, according to the models in the doctor’s office and the “feel the ribs test” at 75 pounds.  So, we have another 5 to go.

Do you know how to tell the proper weight for your dog by looking at or feeling him or her?

TOUCH TEST…First, you can test by simply rubbing your dog’s side and feeling for ribs.  You should feel each individual rib with a thin layer of fat over each, but not be able to see them just feel them.  If you can’t feel the ribs, he is overweight. If you can see the ribs, he is underweight.

HOURGLASS FIGURE….Next, you can stand over the dog and look for his hourglass figure…seriously!!  Here is a great diagram.

Score 1: Emaciated. No obvious body fat, the ribs and backbones are easily seen form a distance.  There is noticable muscle loss.  The waist has an accentuated hourglass shape and the abdomen is severely tucked.

Score 2: Poor. Ribs and back bones and hips are easily felt and possibly seen with no obvious fat cover.  The waist has a marked hourglass shape and the abdomen is tucked.

Score 3: Ideal. Ribs have some fat cover but can be felt with a flat hand.  The backbone also has a cover of fat but can be felt. The abdomen has a slight tuck towards the hips and there is an obvious waist.

Score 4: Overweight. This pet carries up to 15% extra weight.  There is visible body fat and minimal muscle tone.  It is difficult to feel the ribs, backbone and hips.  The waist and abdominal tuck have disappeared.

Score 4: Overweight. This pet carries up to 15% extra weight.  There is visible body fat and minimal muscle tone.  It is difficult to feel the ribs, backbone and hips.  The waist and abdominal tuck have disappeared.

Any more tips?  Have you let this happen to your animals?  Do you feel as badly as I do?

source: daily puppy |  Weston Creek Vet Hospital

Toby, 3 year old Golden Retriever child

We took Toby for a run this morning.  We live in Louisiana so it’s hot, but we took him early. Well, evidently we pushed it a bit far for him. He was hotter than normal and had a hard time cooling down. My sweet hubby was worried about him and put him in the bathtub, put a fan on him and then we put a cool towel on his back.  By the time I took this picture his “near death experience” where “his life flashed before his eyes” according to my hubby (LOL…I’m chuckling again as I write this) was over and he was feeling fine….hence the doggie smile!  Can you tell we don’t have any kids?

I thought I’d share some tips to be careful with your pup since I know my readers are active and have doggies (some who need a little more exercise than others – you know who you are )who need to run.  My pup put on a few lbs while I was competing since I was too busy to get his exercise in every day along with my own busy schedule.  Anyway….

Look for the following signs of heat stroke in your dog….

• Excessive panting;
• Pale gums, bright red tongue;
• Disorientation and your dog doesn’t respond to his name;
• Increased heart rate;
• Thick saliva;
• Vomiting;
• Breathing difficulties;
• Collapse;
• Coma;
• Death

If you are truly concerned take your dog for medical care ASAP. If you think your dog is just a bit overheated, work to cool the dog by

• drinking cool water but not too much
• cool water on the dog’s chest will help
• a cool towel laid over them (see photo above)
• a cool fan and obviously a cool room

We chose not to torture ourselves or Toby with a rectal thermometer, but you can check to see if the dog’s temperature is over 106.

I took a neat pic of Toby today that I thought I’d post…I’m still learning. I don’t think the focus is perfect.  I’d like to see the bush to Toby’s right more out of focus.  I have some work to do on focus – need to read more about it, but first….off to write a masters paper…what fun!

petcentric * Friend Fetcher

click on the link above to check it out!!!

Mom and I saw this on the Purina Dog Show on Thanksgiving and I forgot to share it until now.  I was telling a friend about it last night and realized I needed to share it with more people.  Check out your favorite dog breed, the breed you have, the dog breed you had growing up, the dog breed you are considering purchasing or your friend’s dog breed.

These are some of my favorites below….my Toby (golden retriever), my next favorite choice dog breed and friend Nestle (bernie), My BFF’s dog Rusty and one of my Best Dogs (boxer) and the dog I grew up with, Duchess (chow).

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I saw this story this morning and, of course, as the proud owner of a Golden and a huge fan of Goldens I had to share this story with you.

Toby is my first Golden though my husband grew up with them. I had no idea if he would be a good watch dog. I read somewhere that you can’t have both a watch dog and a family dog in the same dog. I think maybe that’s true for a guard or attack dog but not a watch dog. I have been very impressed with Toby’s ability to bark at strange noises and happenings outside and make me aware of possible threats, even though he’s a great and harmless family dog also.

One night, Toby was on the foot of the bed and I was in bed reading. The house was dark. My husband was on the other end of the house. My husband came from the other end of the house and showed just enough in the hallway that Toby could see him….still across the house and barely a silhouette of him showing in the dark house. Toby stood up on the bed and barked ferociously. He didn’t know it was “dad.” So, I said “Get him” and he did!!! He leaped off the bed and across the house until he saw it was my husband and he flipped over on his back, waiting for a belly rub for being such a good protector. So, we’re still not sure if he would have done anything. We hope he would have if he had needed to. We kid that he rolled on his back thinking “oh good, cause I didn’t know what I was gonna do when I got here if you were a bad guy” or “I knew I couldn’t go through with it anyway.” Who knows!

I don’t need a guard or attack dog, just a dog to watch out and use his “super-power” senses to let me know if there is danger on our property or in our house. I can take care of myself at that point, God willing, but I am just so impressed with this Golden in the video. Renews my faith in my dog!

Goldens are such good dogs.

This post is about my Kirby.  I love it.  No, I did not pay retail for it. No, I did not buy it from a door-to-door salesman who would not leave.  Disclaimer: My next door neighbor is the owner of the Kirby Distributorship for this area.  Regardless of how I stumbled upon this wonderful machine, I love it!  Here’s what I did with my evening and saved the money from a Stanley Steamer carpet cleaning.

This is what happens when you have FIVE dogs in the house over Christmas break (yes, payback is a bitch!) and you used carpet cleaner and every time a dirty paw walks across the living room the dirt STICKS to the floor!  And, this is also what happens when you put IVORY carpet in a house…who does that??!!

Yes, this is the way my carpet is supposed to look….I LOVE CLEAN.

Now, let’s walk into to the hallway….

Yes, my friends, that is puppy pee.  One of the dogs was a young pup. Luckily she only weighed 6 pounds so the amount of pee on the carpet was not too bad!

As the proud owner of a “retriever” I have to admit that I love all ads and commercials with retrievers in them….labs or goldens. So, when I saw this commercial I thought it was adorable. I know it has nothing to do with Fitness but it has something to do w/ me…FITori