Dental Cleaning for Dogs

After my recent visit to the dentist, it occurred to me that I ought to take Lucy to the vet for a dental cleaning. I did some research online and found this useful blog called "Small Dogs Paradise" which had a posting regarding dental cleaning dental cleaning.

It suggests that you brush your dog's teeth daily, which I had intended to do when I first adopted Lucy, but I got out of practice. I have a toothbrush for her and dog toothpaste, which is chicken flavored. I have found it hard to get and keep her mouth open for an actual through tooth brushing. Usually, I can only brush her front teeth and then she just licks off the toothpaste which she likes. I best get back into the habit. I'll enjoy those doggie kisses more too (which now don't smell so good).

Dog toys - tested by Lucy & made in Chapel Hill!

I found this dog toy at Phydeaux in Chapel Hill. When I read that the toy was "tested by Lucy" and "made in Chapel Hill", I had to give it a try! The result: My dog Lucy just loves it! Also, when her doggie cousin Dakota visited, it was her favorite toy too. I hope I can find another one to get for Dakota.

Here are a few pics:

Photos from PMAD event in Raleigh

My friend Tricia sent these to me from the PMAD event in Raleigh in May 2010. PMAD is Puppy Mill Awareness Day. As much as I love North Carolina, we have a long way to go in terms of regulating dog breeding and stopping puppy mills.

The Rescue Ink guys and Victoria Stilwell were also there to support the event.

With Tricia's okay, here are the pics that she shared:









Thanks to Tricia for sharing these & supporting such an important cause. To read more about this event, visit their press release.

Soldiers Team up with Shelter Dogs in Operation Heroes & Hounds

I found this great news article from the GoodNewsNetwork and had to share it:

Soldiers Team up with Shelter Dogs in Operation Heroes & Hounds

Tamar Geller developed "The Loved Dog" method of training - a book & CD set that I studied when I first adopted Lucy. I really was touched by how her methodology centers around compassionate and joyful play instead of punishing the dog when training. She also opened the first cage free dog facility in California. Check out the article for more details.

Mother's Day Weekend

On Mother's Day this past weekend, I did a lot of thinking about mothers in general, my mother and Stuart's mother and if I'll ever be a mother. Having a dog like Lucy who is so wonderful at least makes me feel like a "doggy-mom" as I have to take care of her and love her so much. I know that having an actual child is much much more work though, based on close friends who have little ones at home.

The other day in People Magazine, some celebrity was interviewed about her relationship with her dog. It was one of the dancing with the stars ladies, but I forgot her name. She said that coming home to her dog every night was like,and I loosely quote, 'coming home to a 3 to 5 year old who is eager to see me.' I couldn't have said that better myself.

I spent Mother's day with my parents, and of course, with Lucy in tow. I took a few pictures and will upload them, esp the one of me, Lucy and our friend Maria and my mom:






Lucy's favorite (and newly replaced toy):



As one of my Mother's Day goodies to my mom, I bought a raffle ticket for the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Rotary Club's annual "Rubber Duck Race". Each ticket has a number and corresponds to a number on a big rubber duck. They dump the rubber ducks into part of the Eno River in Durham for a "race". The first 15 or so ducks are culled out of the water and those raffle ticket holders are eligible for some great prizes. When I bought the ticket, I got a mini duck which I wrapped up for my mom. I think I'll go to the event too. I asked specifically if dogs are allowed and the volunteer joked that each year someone's golden retriever jumps in the water and steals a rubber duck. For more information, check out this link.

Playing with big sticks - not a good idea.

As they say, It's all fun and games, until someone looses an eye. Well, for a small dog like Lucy who thinks she's a big dog who likes to chew on large sticks or fallen branches, the phrase should be, It's all fun chewing and fetching, until a big branch swings you in the jaw and knocks out a tooth. Poor thing got a tooth knocked loose late Sunday afternoon. She kept rubbing her paw over her mouth and I figured something was stuck. I looked a few times in her mouth, gently reaching into her mouth to look for a string or piece of bark, but found nothing. A few hours later, Stuart looked again and we saw a small tooth that was very loose. I made a vet appointment to see how we could help her.

Then the strange thing happened. The vet couldn't find anything wrong with Lucy's teeth. Yes, a few of her small teeth are oddly shaped, but there were no signs of damage or problems. I still don't understand what happened, but am thankful that Lucy is alright and pain free.

Hundreds of dogs and thousands of bees....

Last weekend was full of creatures of all sizes. First of all, Stuart and I went to the SPCA of Wake County dog walk in Moore Square in Raleigh...lots of fun.
We saw the biggest dog ever. See photo:



Lucy was just fine around all the other dogs, although too excited to eat the doggie yogurt that I bought for her!

Then, Saturday afternoon, we checked on Stuart's bees (all 20,000 of them). I was a little nervous and agreed to only watch. First, we had to "smoke" the bees with a few puffs of smoke from the mechanical smoking device. This just makes them sleepy and slower. As I stood there a few feet away from the first hive, we saw a large block of honeycomb just fall from one of the frames and he wanted to pick it up to either take out or put on top of the hive for them to dismantle and use on one of the frames. But the only way to do that was to reach into the hive itself. He had to remove one more frame and was already holding one gently resting on it's edge. He replaced the one he was holding and then pulled out the second frame. He needed me to hold the edges. I was afraid, but slowly stepped up and held the edges. The sound of buzzing surrounded us and I think I stop breathing, in a miconcerted effort to seem relaxed around the bees. They just buzzed away, really ignoring us thankfully. I had to look away for a moment or two to try to _not_ think about the thousands of bees within touching distance. I did at least have the protective head gear with net on and long sleeved and pants on. Once we were done with the first beehive, we had to repeat the whole thing at the second one.

After the whole afternoon full of fun and creatures, I was exhausted and found my way to the hammock for an afternoon siesta!

Although we didn't record our bee outing, Stuart recorded the first weekend with his bees. Check it out: