Breakfast time

Breakfast time at my house is always at a different time.  It really depends on what the morning brings.  I don't exercise the dogs on full stomachs so usually we walk first, cool off and then eat.  Of course they always eat a small snack early with us in bed so they aren't too hungry.  This was yesterday morning, Monday morning which is all the dogs day off.  So once I got back from the gym it was breakfast time. 

They had chopped chicken, salmon, apple, cabbage and eggshells.  Mmmmmmmmmm.  You'd never guess that Jessie is almost 15 and suffering from dementia when it's food time.  The dogs all have their own spot where they eat so there is never any confusion about who's bowl is who's. 

Luke has a strange habit of waiting until Jessie is done eatting to eat his food.  He's just putting in time here while Jessie chows down.

Tilley eats laying down most of the time now.  When she was a puppy she use to eat like this and since being stricten with Vestibular disease it is more comfortable for her.

This is the bed in the corner of the kitchen where Jessie must go after she finishes.  She's not so great about going there since her dementia is getting worse but once there with some help she'll stay until released.  What a cutie.

Tilley is done and Luke is just starting, now that Jessie is done.

A rare glimpse of Luke actually eating. 

Jessie waiting to be released.

After being released  Jessie cleans the place up.  Luke is a slob and does not pick up food on the floor let alone crumbs.

So there you have it; Monday morning breakfast at my house.  Feeding time is a calm and relaxed time.  With everyone understanding that there is no food stealing from anyone, there is no stress once so ever.  Nice. 

The Oscars-celebrities speaking out

Good Monday morning.  I was sitting watching the red carpet event before the Oscars lastnight when they had a piece about the amazing bags that they give to the nominees.  Like many others I was wishing I was a nominee, what a bag.  They quickly showed a canine related product by Earthpawz that was going to be in the bag.  Curious I hopped onto my laptop to have a look see.  What I found was a fairly new company with dog friendly cleaning products, impressive.  Without a second to waste I contacted them about trying their products.  I will be very excited to  try them out, and I will post my review here in the near future, so stay tuned.  And, yes it will be me trying them I don't have a cleaning service.  My cleaning lady's name is Sherri.  :)

So back to the Oscars, all the celebrities, pretty amazing to see so much put into an event.  But it is events like these that make celebrities a big deal and a big deal is sometimes a great thing.  One of the wonderful things about celebrities these days and in the past is their dedication to many charities and groups.  Celebrities have a voice, one that people will listen to over many others.  So when they take on the voice of a group or organization who is raising funds to help people or animals it is usually a wonderful boost in the amount raised.  Many celebrities choose multiple charity groups, which may encompass a dog group or two.

The more celebrities who step up in the name of animals the better.  Whether it is to raise awareness of abuse, help rescue group or just to help raise funds where they are most needed, celebrities can lead the way.  Causes that may struggle for years may quickly be rocketed into the limelight and the donations then start to poor in.  Anything that will draw attention to a good cause is beneficial to those in need.  Once a celebrity is on board it often becomes big news which is great for all the dog and animal groups that celebrities join.

Simply getting the word out and having others get on board is made so much easier when a celebrity supports a charity.   With their time, effort and goal to spread the word it of course is then in all the big news, magazines and television.  It's a win win for the dogs having a celebrity join the team.

If people don't know about a certain charity, it can be very difficult to raise funds for the group.  Getting the word out is essential.  Thank you to all the celebrities who lend their fame to help dogs around the world.

Dogs are dogs

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Okay; we are all guilty of anthropomorphizing to a degree, although some people take it to scary degrees. Last night I turned the channel to a show where human couples had adopted monkey's as their kids. No the animals were not purchased as pets; they were clearly tiny human substitutes. I watched in amazement as one woman was applying makeup to her little hairy daughter; odd to say the least. As far as dogs are concerned we all put human emotions on them at some time or another as well.


I am not into dressing dogs as humans; but I do believe in dressing for warmth. It was we humans who made the smooth coated and hairless dogs so we better keep them warm. My poodles are at this moment covered in blankets; they got a new haircut about a week ago and it was cold last night. It can be difficult not to place human emotion on our dogs but it simply is not how they work. Dog emotions are a far cry from our emotional roller coaster; they tell it like it is. Dogs don't lie; they don't play games, they don't do revenge or spite and they don't spend quality time on stupid drama. When humans think that dogs are doing some of these listed behaviors it is our mistake, not the dogs.

Dogs are very clear and when a dog is feeling; their emotions are shown in exterior body language. It is sad to see dogs clearly communicating to their guardian who in turn are oblivious to what is going on with their dog. I hate to see dogs being hauled around like a little ornaments; with no regard to the true dog wanting to be a dog. When I hear comments like "oh no she doesn't like to get dirty," or "she loves this sweater" I cringe. The list of of human emotions that some people put on their dog can lead to all sorts of issues between canine and guardian. For one; many people think that rules and regulations are mean. I see dogs who don't listen to their guardian all the time; this is probably one of my biggest irks. Dogs have to listen; yes dogs have their own mind and their own agenda but if I speak they must listen. If you have not taught your dog to listen to you; then you have failed.


Not listening and doing what they are told are entirely different; albeit the same. Not listening is simply a lack of respect and not doing as you as is very "I'll do what I want." It amazes me when people call their dog and they don't even get an acknowledgement; and they are okay with this. "Oh; she is busy right now; she didn't want to go for a walk today," or "she has to be in the mood." No; it's not cute and it could be dangerous. When you add a dog to your family you should learn about dogs; really about dogs. We are the leader; bottom line. If your dog is the leader and believe me there are a lot of leader dogs out there ruling their guardians lives. If you are not a good leader then you have failed your dog.


The term leader is getting a bad wrap these days. With regards to dogs in our home; they need a leader and that must be the human. Being a leader has nothing to do with strength, physical assertion or anger. Leadership is the act or an instance of leading; and when paired with the canine species it is our job to show them how to properly live in our very human world. But to try to mold them into little humans or misconstrue their behavior as human is unjust to them as a species. Dogs display a lot of behaviors that may be unwanted by us; and that is because they are dogs.

It is difficult to not put human emotion onto our dogs; hey I'm guilty. But to try to mold them into little humans or expect them to act like a good little human; well that is where it all goes wrong. Dogs growl, dig, mark, jump, bite, lick and steal. All of which are very unacceptable behaviors for a human; but they aren't are they?

Its raining

As I sit typing the big "storm" is just hitting.  We are suppose to have a big storm here in Southern Califonria and the temps will be dropping down to a mere 50 degrees if we even reach that tomorrow.  I know, that doesn't sound so chilly but for here it's freaking cold.  I know real cold, I lived 36 years of my life in Ontario Canada so yes I realize that 50 is really not that cold. 

So anyway, having California dogs they are not accustom to the rain so tomorrow morning they will do their look outside and go laydown until they absolutely have to go out.  Tilley and Jessie are actually from Canad but they were only 1 and 2 years old when we moved here so snow blizzards are a forgotten way of life for them now.    When we lived back in Canada both Jessie and Tilley were well accustom to rain, they've got a bit soft now much like us.  And like us they too enjoy sleeping on a rainy day.  Is there anything better than hearing the rain pouring down being snuggled in bed?

Tomorrow is suppose to be the worst of it and while my guys will be curled up in their blankets by the fire and have a few forced trips outside, many owners will be struggling with their dogs to go out.  Many dogs here just do not go out in the rain, they hate it.  Seeing them cringe as every drop falls on them you'd think that they were being tortured.  It's really funny actually but not if you are worried about your carpets.

So the big secret to get them to go out, is to go back to the beginning.  Back to square one when you treated your dog for going outside.  They don't want to go out and you don't want them to pee on the carpet so a couple of treats given for some bad weather is a very minor set back.  Hopefully you have taught them a verbal cue to relieve themselves outside so that you can call on that now.  Take them out, ask them to go and when they do they get a treat.  Just like old times.  And presto, the reluctance to going outside is gone.  A few big rain drops on their head is nothing now that they are rewarded for going out and facing the harsh California elements.  Joking of course.  ;)

I was considering hitting a dog show tomorrow to shoot some agility, obedience and rally but unless I see a sky like this one above it'll be a negative on that.  Unfortunately my camera feels much like my dogs about the rain.  Rain and cameras do no get along so well.  :)

My dogs

My dogs:  Jessie, Tilley and Luke.  I adore my dogs, who doesn't right?  Ask anyone about their dog and they'll go on and on.  I love hearing why people love their dogs and seeing that little beam of adoration in their eye.  I get to hear a lot about people loving their dogs and of course I too love to talk about my dogs.  I was stopped a couple of days ago at the park while walking Jessie and Tilley.  The woman had a cute little doxie, and I forwarned her that my little one was not friendly.  Tilley was busy with her ball so she wasn't too social right off the bat.  But after a bit she dropped the ball and came to say hi. 

The woman was fascinated when I told her that they were nearing 14 and 15 years of age. We talked about Tilley's Vestibular, Jessie's Dementia and basically how wonderful they were. Yes I was gushing. It was so cute hearing her talk to her little guy "now you don't want to go see that one," talking about Jessie. I love when I see how connected some people are with their dogs. There really is nothing like the bond between a human and a dog, truly there isn't.

And my dogs are no exception, I have a very special bond with all of them.  And they are all very different.  I have had standard poodles for 26 years and each and everyone has been very different.  Of course Jessie is quite different being a terrier, and a true terrier she is.  Jessie is very attached to me, but she is not mushy gushy like say Luke is.  But if she cannot find me she will cry.  My husband has told me often that when I'm out she runs around the house crying.  And especially now with her Dementia, deafness and near blindness it is a worry for her.  She is very dominant in the world of dogs and over the years I have helped her maintain her "top dog" status.  She is smart as a whip and has learned more tricks than any of my dogs.  She jumps through hoops, waves, spins, prays, pushes balls around, you name it she does it.  She has survived several falls that would have killed a normal dog.  And at the age of 6 we almost lost her to an auto immune disorder but here she is as almost 15 years old, crazy but healthy.  She is the most adorable little thing.

Tilley is my meek mannered girl, Lassie in poodle clothing.  She really is and if my kid fell down a well I know she would come and tell me.  ;)  Tilley always impresses people with her regalness and few have believed that she was a frisbee dog.  In fact Tilley has been on Petstar twice so if you watch re-runs you'll eventually see her performing with me.  Tilley is very affection but on her terms, she doesn't like if you hug her, unless she does the hugging first.  She adores my husband and son, she loves her men.  She is Miss Manners and my sons constant guardian, even now that he is 21 years old. 

And Luke, what can I say about Luke.  He is my mushy gushy one, he loves kissing and hugging and the more the better.  That is from his peeps, not strangers or acquaintances.  He is my constant shadow and wherever I am, he is.  He is a true guard dog and I dare anyone to bother me with Luke around.  He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen and the biggest pig in the same breath.  What he loves he loves, and he loves him some shortbread and buttered toast.  He considers himself the king of the castle and that makes him very happy.  He adores his Dad but is Momma's boy unless of course he just went on a run with Dad, then he is Dad's boy.  Luke is a reactive dog and has taught me more than any dog in my life.

So there you have it, my dogs and if you ask me?  I could literally go on for hours.  ;)

Dogs and kids

I have had dogs since the age of 18. We had two and three when my three children were born. And we had three dogs when my children were toddlers. We used baby gates a lot. And supervision was around the clock if the kids were hanging out with the dogs. But it wasn't until my son was born that the challenges started.

Both my daughters are huge dog lovers; but they weren't always interested in dogs. When they were small there wasn't a lot of interactions between them and it was not until the arrival of my son that the dogs learned about little kids. My son was different than my girls, as soon as he was mobile he made a b-line to the dogs. I remember the growling and the look on poor Clyde's face. As a Mother a growling dog is not something you want to hear but from Clyde's point of view he did not want a smelly small human crawling his way or on him.

So with work and time Clyde and my son got use to each other and learned how to appropriately interact. This is one of the most important things you can teach your dog and your child. Often when I am called in to work with a "problem" between children and dogs it is simply a lack of supervision and boundaries created by the parent.

I don't know how many times I've heard a parent say "the dog is going to bite you." If you think a dog is going to bite your child; whether it is your dog or someone elses dog then you should stop your child. It should never, ever be left to the dog to discipline your child; which is a very dangerous situation. It takes time for dogs to become accustom to children, especially small crawling children.

But even older kids can freak dogs out, it amazes me how dogs can tell the difference between a teenage human and an adult. Luke grew up with teenage kids and after a couple of years my sons friends look very much like grown men; at least in their size. But Luke could always tell the difference, he loved this age kids but grown men he wasn't really fond of. He acted differently and more guarding when a grown man would come in the house vs. a teenage boy.

It is so important to socialize dogs with children and if you can do it when they are puppies; all the better. Kids can really spook dogs and dogs can spook kids causing them to act strange with each other. Babies, toddler, kids and teenages smell different than grown humans. And they act very different at every age; to expect a dog to be okay with each you must socialize them with each.

The most important thing that I can never say often enough is to NEVER, EVER leave dogs and children alone. It is a recipe for a disaster. Of course all children and all dogs are different so at what age you allow them to be together is very individual. And as far as teaching each how to act with the other, that is the parents sole responsibility.

Never leave the disciplining of the kids to the dog, NEVER.

Submissive peeing

It sucks, yep! I'm with you on that, if you have a dog that pees everytime you come home, you look at her or raise your voice. I've talked to many people who are just fed up, they are sick of cleaning up the pee. Not only are they fed up but they are embarrassed to have anyone come over or heaven forbid someone should say "hi" to her. They'll be in for a sprinkling. I've often gone into a new clients home and had my shoes tinkled on, I don't care but the owners are mortified. So what can you do to stop submissive peeing?


The first and most important fact to deal with is when, when is this happening? Is it everytime you talk to your dog? Only when you come home after a really long absense? When anyone strange talks or touches your pooch? That is important because usually submissive peeing has very clear weaknesses. Weaknesses in tolerance. This means that your dog may be fine with people coming in your home, as long as they don't talk to her. Or she is fine with talking just don't touch. So every dog with a submissive peeing problem has their limit so to speak with regards to tolerance.

My very first dog had a problem with excited peeing, not quite the same issue but the same result. She was fine as long as we weren't gone too long. So when we were gone for several hours, we would walk in the front door, passed the dog and outside. She'd have her pee and if she got a bit excited before hand we were outside so it was okay. She quickly grew out of this as many dogs do.

Ignoring is a huge factor in assisting with the submissive pee as well. Many dogs are really happy that someone new is at your house, but it can take just one glance to push them over the edge. So your dog is dealing nicely with a new person, wagging low to the ground, dancing around super happy and then the push. "Oh no, that person is looking at me," and then the inevitable squat. As with most problem behaviors this one needs baby steps to succeed. So when someone walks into your front door, you immediately say "PLEASE, pretend I do not have a dog." All of a sudden people coming to the door is not quite as intimidating, they aren't even interested in meeting your little squirter.

Your pup gets use to the people coming and going with no problem. The next step is the hand drop, a hand dropped down to sniffing level of your dog. As she sniffs your guest, you praise calmly. The next step would be a touch, the person actually touches the dog once she has approached the hand. But still no eye contact, eye contact can be very powerful. Then give your friends a treat, have them come in, sit down and offer treats.

Now, all this is fine but you must also be practicing confidence building exercises. Sometimes nervous or overly submissive dogs thrive with structure. So we teach sit, down, stay, come and place. Place can be an amazing tool for a submissive dog. Let's say someone comes to your dog, you know what is going to happen so you tell your dog to go to her place. She runs enthusiastically over to her designated spot and waits for her treat. Beaming with pride the both of you are working through this.

You can also use a simple sit, this gives the dog a very specific activity. It builds confidence as they suceed and helps with the initial greeting process. Once people are in your home things are usually much easier for a submissive dog. That is unless you have someone over who just doesn't listen, they know dogs, all dogs love them. You know the type. I've heard so many stories of "my Brother, my Uncle, my neighbor." Some people will never listen, you can talk until your blue in the face and it will make no difference. So for these people you must take actions into your own hands.

Often a submissive dog will only pee when someone looms over them. This is a very dominant gesture from a human and if you offering it to a dog that is timid, it might just be what pushes them over the edge. People also tend to pat dogs on the head, DON'T. This too is a dominant gesture. My automatic default behavior when I meet a new dog is to bend down and turn sideways. If I am going into someone's home I often completely ignore the dog; of course I'm reading the behavior the entire time, I'm not really ignoring the dog. Many people just think that every dog wants to be pet, rubbed, hugged or have their ear scratched. They don't.

Submissive peeing can be cured. But patience is required and confidence building for the best success.  So if you have a little squirter, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you are not alone.  It is a very common issue.

What if your dog gets attacked

I was driving down my street the other day and noticed a sign on a light post.  I stopped the car and got out to read it; it had the word ATTACKED on it so I was curious.  It basically said that this person's dog was attacked by a very large mastiff/shepherd/lab mix and if you own "said" dog to contact this person.   So I'm thinking that the dog who was attacked was more than likely walking down the street when it was attacked by a stray dog.  A very scary situation and one that I have had happen to me twice.  The dog was not a stray but it was on my daily walk and very scary.

The first time was with my very first dog Mandy.  An adorably sweet and friendly Airedale gal, I was all of eighteen years old.  I was out walking before work, it was mid summer, probably around 6:00 am.  We were walking the neighborhood when a huge German Shepherd ran out of his open garage, grabbed Mandy by the neck and started shaking.  She never even saw it coming, I had barely enough time to see it in my peripheral before it was on us.  The dog was far larger than Mandy and shook her like a ragdoll.  I was screaming for the dog to stop and yelling at several men standing at a nearby bus stop for help.  Just as suddenly as it started, the dog let Mandy go and ran back into his garage.  I stood in shock, none of the men at the bus stop had stepped up to help.  They stood there watching and no one offered anything.  I scooped up Mandy and ran home. 

Once we were home I checked her over and found a large puncture wound in her neck.  I called work and then head to the vets.  Now this was some thirty years ago, it cost just under 500.00 to flush her wound and stitch her up.  She was given some antibiotics and we headed home.  Apparently a woman who had seen what had happened that morning had gone and told the owner of the German Shepherd and they had paid every bit of the vet bill.  The never challenged the bill, they obviously knew that their dog had committed the crime. 

From that moment on I never walked the streets again and preferred to walk in parks where I could see what was coming.  That was until we moved here to Southern California.  I decided to take Luke for a walk, I already knew that a very unfriendly German Shepherd lived only two doors down from us.  I looked down the street to be sure she wasn't out and off we went.  I got only a few feet and she came charging out of her open garage door at us.  With my adrenaline rushing through me I screamed at the dog, again the dog was much bigger than Luke.  The owner came out and called the dog luckily and I then screamed at him.  This dog was known to be very aggressive, it had already gone after several people and bit one jogger.  The owner should have known better.  No sooner did he turn his back and the dog charged us again, the event played out as a carbon copy version.  I screamed, the guy called the dog but this time I gave the guy a blast and told him that I would report the dog.  The dog was euthanized shortly after for biting someone else. 

As a side note, I am in no way putting German Shepherds under fire here, it just happened to be the breed that was involved with both of these incidents.  I love the breed myself.  I have had many big time dog issues with other breeds and mixes, these two happened to have been while walking on the street.  What is sad is that both situations could have been avoided had the owner taken responsibility for their dogs and not allowed them to be running around free.  Dogs can become territorial when on their own property.  Now most dogs will just muster up some bluster and noise and not attack but it can happen.

If it does happen it is essential that you report it.  If you do not report the incident and it happens again, there will not be a prior.  What if that dog went after a child the next time?  As much as I love dogs, some people with dangerous dogs do not ensure the safety of others by being lazy and irresponsible.  People who have dangerous dogs and do not keep them contained are the real criminals, not the dogs.  Sometimes dogs are simply not socialized as I believe was the cause of the second of my street incidents.  A dog that has aggressive tendencies added with the territory issue and perhaps fear can be a very dangerous situation. 

The best thing for everyone involved is socializing to start with.  If you have a problem dog you must go above and beyond to keep that dog contained.  If there is even the smallest chance of a dog slipping out, going over or under a fence it must be fixed.  It simply cannot happen.  Often a dog fenced in a front yard becomes frustrated by all the people and dogs walking past their property.  When they do finally get over the the fence, they are a big hazard to anyone walking by.  It is all caused by frustration.

If your dog does damage to someone else's dog, step up and do the right thing.  Your dog, your bill.  If someone else's dog injures your dog, go after those people until they pay.  And report the incident so that the people are held accountable for the safety of others around their dog.  And, if you should ever see someone in need of help, step up and do what you can to help.  It is always the right thing to do.

Beating my head against the wall

Okay, if any of you see me out and about and notice that my head is slightly flattened, you'll know why. Lastnight I made salmon for the dogs, yes Alaskan Salmon, yummy right? Well the girls thought so and I already knew that Luke was not going to think so by his absence in the kitchen. I fed the girls and decided to doctor up his meal so he might just eat it. Typically Luke is not a fish eater; he wouldn't do so well in the wild. (Wild poodle...........hmmmm)

Lukes customary routine is to stand in the middle of the kitchen, he waits for Jessie and Tilley to be done.  Then and only then will he have a look see as to what might be in his bowl.   But on this night he wasn't even coming in the kitchen, not good.  If there had been a big slab of raw beef on the counter he'd have been in the kitchen all right.  But I don't have raw beef all the time, and it's good to eat a big variety of foods.  Just like my two good girls do. 

Anyhow, I brought the food down to His Majesty where he was propped upon his thrown and placed the salmon, quinoa, liver biscotti and lots of butter down infront of him. He recoiled his legs and left. Nice! So I proceed to do the airplane routine which worked for a while but there was no way he was eating it out of the bowl. FINE!!!!  And I left to go upstairs with his uneaten food.

To my surprise he followed me, wow maybe he wanted to eat the rest. I put it on the ground and ........................................nothing. Nope, he was not eating it but Jessie was waiting as patiently as a pirahna to devour it. I grabbed the bowl and carried it to the safety of the counter.  Hmmmmmmmmm; what to put in this bowl?  He was not in a fish mood obviously, but he looked like he wanted something.  Running out of "real" food options I thought "I'll get some kibble  (Orijen) and throw it around, maybe he'll eat that." As soon as I poured the kibble into the bowl Luke's ears went up. What? He was interested in the dogfood?  I sat the bowl on the floor and he licked it clean, I added another bit and he ate that as well. 

Long story short? He ate two bowls of dry dog food, about a cups worth. Somebody shoot me.

Time to break the chain

BREAK THE CHAIN

Yes; it is time to break the chain.  Chain collars, chain leashes and chain tethers.  No more chain, let's all go chainless.  There should be no more association to dogs and chains. other than maybe chain link fencing. 
Yesterday I saw a woman walking down the street using a big chain leash.  The whole concept of chain leashes boggles my mind.  They are not only uncomfortable for a dog to haul around on their neck but they are uncomfortable for humans to use.  You can't bunch them up, they're heavy and kill your hands should your dog decide to give you a yank.  I just cannot wrap my brain around using chain leashes.

As far as neck attire? No, never, no more, not again.  No chains around necks.  There is just no need for them.  We have come a long way since yanking our dogs around by a chain to whip them into shape.  We can now lose the chains.  Can you imagine how much it hurts to be yanked on a chain continually?  Perhaps there will not be any visible damage on the outside but who knows what's going on inside.  With continual yanking, tightening and constricting one can only imagine what damage is being done to all the soft tissue, tendons and more.  Of course I don't want to see any dog yanked on any type of collar or leash.  Our poor dog's neck have taken a huge amount of abuse over the years.

BREAK THE CHAIN

Now; let's talk about the chains that binds.  A chained dog, tide to a tree, a dog house, a pole etc.  There life plays out in a small circular confine, day in and day out each step just like the one before.  This chained life is no life for a dog.  I'm not speaking about the occasional time when we all have to tie our dogs.  I am talking about life on the end of a chain with no freedom, no life, no point.  I just don't understand why people acquire dogs and then tie them outside on a chain.  Dogs are not decor for the yard, that's what patio furniture and garden gnomes are for. 

I recently read an article about a dog who hung herself after jumping over a fence.  Sadly she was a tied dog and hung before anyone could save her.  Dogs deserve so much more than to be treated as a material object chained to your property.  The people who tie dogs in the yard have no idea what they are missing.  They have yet to be touched by a dog and sadly may never be.  To many of these people dogs are "just dogs" in the bad sense of the term.  But things are changing, slowly but there is definitely a movement towards more humane treatment for animals in general.  One voice can be a strong one.  If each person speaks out against chain, one voice becomes a movement. 

I am happy to say that there are many groups who are trying to have tethering of dogs outlawed.  Perhaps someday there will be no more chained dogs.

Dogs deserve better

Unchain your dog

The only chain I want to see around a neck is my own.  And more than likely there will be a paw print or blinged out bone hanging from it.  :)

Mixing it up

No matter how you stir the pot, the result is spectacular.  The mixed breed.

The magic of, the dog.

Dogs; enough said.

The exterior is but the shell which holds the heart.

Canine combo

Yes; you do light up my life.

companion:   a celestial body that appears close to another but that may or may not be associated with it in space

Life is far too short not to enjoy it.

They would wait for all eternity.

Through the eyes of our canines we see the world anew.

Sometimes a simple face can light up another.